The Readable Bible: Genesis

The Readable Bible

Genesis

From Iron Stream Media

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The Readable Bible

Genesis

Creation of Earth, Humans, and Israel

Translated and Edited by Rodney S. Laughlin Brendan I. Kennedy, PhD

Alabama

The Readable Bible: Genesis

Iron Stream

An imprint of Iron Stream Media 100 Missionary Ridge Birmingham, AL 35242 www.ironstreammedia.com

Copyright © 2022 by Rodney S. Laughlin

e Readable Bible text may be quoted in any form (written, visual, electronic, or audio) up to and inclusive of ve hundred verses without express written permission of the publisher provided that (a) the verses quoted do not account for more than 25 percent of the total work in which they are quoted, (b) no more than 25 percent of a book of the Bible is quoted, (c) all quotations conform accurately to e Readable Bible text, and (d) one of the following credit lines appears on the copyright page or title page of the work:

Scripture quotations marked TRB are taken from e Readable Bible®. Copyright © 2022 by Rodney S. Laughlin, Leawood, Kansas. Used by permission of Iron Stream Media.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from e Readable Bible®. Copyright © 2022 by Rodney S. Laughlin, Leawood, Kansas. Used by permission of Iron Stream Media.

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2022938636

Cover design: twoline | | Studio

Interior designer/illustrator: Clyde Adams (www.clydeadams.com)

Map geographic features courtesy of Bible Mapper (www.biblemapper.com).

Typeface: Veritas AE from Altered Ego Fonts, a division of Aespire

The Book of Genesis

Part 1. Creation

Part 2. The First Humans

Genealogy: Adam

Years of the Patriarchs

Life Spans of the Patriarchs

Man’s Degradation, Nephilim

Part 3. Life of Noah

Genesis 6

The Ark 10

Ark Specifications

10 Genesis 7

The Flood 10 Genesis 8

Flood Recedes

Genesis 9

12 Canaan Cursed; Noah Dies

God’s Covenant with Noah

13 Genesis 10

14 Genesis 11 Tower of Babel

Genealogy: The Nations

16 Genealogy: Shem to Abram

Part 4. The Formation of God’s Covenant People

Terah’s Journey

The Call of Abram

Genesis 12

16

17

17 Map: Life of Abraham

18 Abram in Egypt

Life of Abraham

18

Genesis 13

Lot Chooses Sodom 19 Canaan Promised to Abram

Genesis 14

19

Battle of the Kings; Abram Saves Lot 20 Map: Battle of the Kings

20 Table: The Battling Kings

20 Tithe to Melchizedek 21

Genesis 15

God’s Covenant with Abram

22

Egyptian Bondage and Exodus Foretold

Land Location

Sarai Drives Out Hagar; Ishmael Born

Genesis 16

23 Genesis 17

Abram Renamed “Abraham” 23

Covenant

Isaac Promised as Child of the Covenant

24

Genesis 18

25 Why God Chose Abraham

Isaac’s Birth Foretold

25 Abraham Pleads for the Righteous

Genesis 19

25

Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed 26 Moab and Ben-Ammi Born Out of Incest

28

Genesis 20

Abraham Calls Sarah His Sister; God Intervenes 28 Genesis 21

Birth of Isaac; Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away

29 Treaty with the Philistines 30

Genesis 22

God Asks Abraham to Sacrifice Isaac

Sarah Dies

30 Genealogy: Nahor 31

Genesis 23

32 Genesis 24

Servant Sent to Find Isaac a Wife

Genealogy: Abraham

32 Isaac Marries Rebekah 35

Life of Isaac

Genesis 25

36

Abraham Dies; Esau and Jacob Born 37 Esau Sells His Inheritance

Genesis 26

Map: Life of Isaac

God Promises to Bless Isaac

Life of Abraham Life of Jacob

37

Abrahamic Covenant Reaffirmed to Isaac 38 Isaac Calls Rebekah His Sister

Jacob Steals Esau’s

Prophecy

Life of Jacob

Jacob Sent to Laban

Jacob’s Dream

Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel

Sons

Jacob Becomes Rich

Jacob Flees from Laban

Pursues Jacob

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

Wrestles and Is Named

Jacob Meets Esau

Shechem Rapes Dinah

and Levi Take Revenge

of Isaac

Life of Jacob

Life of Joseph

Jacob Returns to Bethel...................................................................

Reaffirmed as “Israel”

Dies

Genealogy 1: Jacob

Dies

Genealogy: Esau

and Esau Separate

Genealogy: Sons of Seir

Table: Kings of Edom

of Edom

Joseph’s Dreams

Joseph Sold into Slavery

Life of Joseph

Judah’s Sons

and Tamar

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

Joseph Interprets the Prisoners’ Dreams

Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams

Put Over Egypt

Joseph’s Brothers

Brothers

to Egypt

to Canaan

Jacob’s Sons Go Back to Egypt

Silver Cup in Benjamin’s Sack

Offers Himself

Joseph Reveals Himself

Jacob Moves to Egypt

2: Jacob

Joseph’s Famine Policies

Jacob’s Burial Request

Jacob Adopts Manasseh and Ephraim

Jacob Blesses His Sons

Dies

Jacob’s Burial

Joseph’s Continuing

Joseph Dies

Life of Jacob

Life of Joseph

43

Genesis 45

46

47

Preface

To the Reader

One day I was standing in an airport bookstore looking for a book to read. I asked myself, “Why am I looking for something to read when I have a Bible in my briefcase?”

I answered, “The Bible is hard to read. I want to read something easier.” Then I asked myself, “Why is it so hard to read? You’re a seminary graduate, a former pastor, a Bible teacher!” Thus began a quest that has led to The Readable Bible—the Bible as it would look if Moses, Joshua, Matthew, Mark, Paul, and the other writers had been sitting in front of a computer when God spoke through them.

It seems to me that the Bible is hard to read because all material is presented in sentence format. Today we use tables to present census information and charts for genealogies. When we want something built, we draw up a specification document. Law codes are organized in outline form. We use bullet points, bold text, and other aids to help us grasp information. Yet in today’s Bibles, all the information is still presented in sentence format in plain text. Surely those men of old would have used modern formats if they had known about them when God spoke through them. Modern formatting does not change the information; it simply presents it in a way that makes it easier to grasp. The Readable Bible brings you the biblical text in modern formats.

You may struggle with the idea of Scripture in modern formats. Actually, all of today’s Bibles present the text in a form much different from that of the original manuscripts. Consider how many format changes that were developed over the past two thousand years led to the format considered normal today. Each change was radical in its time:

• Vowels: The earliest Hebrew manuscripts have no vowels; they were added hundreds of years later.

• Capital Letters: The Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament manuscripts have no uppercase and lowercase letters.

• Punctuation: The original manuscripts have no punctuation (no commas or periods!).

• Chapter Numbers: These were not common in Bibles until the thirteenth century AD.

• Verse Numbers: The first verse-numbering system was developed over a thousand years after the last Bible book was written. It had one-third of today’s verse numbers, making verses three or four times longer. Today’s Christian Bible numbering system was not developed until the sixteenth century.

• Paragraphs: The first paragraphed King James Bible was published in the mid-1800s.

So presenting the words of Scripture in tables, cascading the text of long, complex sentences, and using other modern formatting techniques is simply continuing the long-term trend of making the Bible easier to understand.

Our hope is that people who have never read the Bible will decide to read this version because it is so approachable. Please give a copy to someone who struggles to understand the Bible and, especially, to those who do not read the Bible.

Acknowledgments

My thanks to all the members of our editing team, our volunteer development team, and the many others who have donated funds and worked to bring The Readable Bible to completion.

A big “thank you” to my designer and partner in this project, Clyde Adams, for joining me in this faith venture. He has turned the translation into well-laid-out text and my formatting concepts into reality. The maps, tables, charts, book layout, and cover are all his work.

Most of all, I thank my wife Rebecca for her ideas, her love, and her strong support of this endeavor over the past twelve years.

Dedication

And now I dedicate to our Lord this translation of his holy Word, humbly asking him to grant that it may bring forth fruit to his glory and the building up of his people.

L

Introduction to Genesisa

The first eleven chapters of Genesis recount the biblical story of the origins of the world and humans. Chapters 12–36 describe how God called Abraham to settle in the promised land. Through his faithfulness, he became the progenitor of God’s chosen people Israel. Chapters 37–50 tell the story of how God saved his people through the steady faith of Joseph and how they came to live in Egypt. Many profound theological statements are made within this basic framework, such as

• God made out of nothing everything that exists and rules it all with no rival gods or limitations on his power.

• Humans are made in the image of God and to have fellowship with him but have chosen to sin and cut themselves off from him.

• God is grieved by our sin, yet he takes the initiative to begin a relationship with us.

• God superintends human affairs to further his plans.

• God makes promises to humans that can be trusted completely.

These truths of Genesis lay the foundation for the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) and the entire Bible. Jesus quotes Genesis many times. Paul, James, Peter, and the author of Hebrews all refer to it in their respective books.

In chapter 12, the story of Israel, God’s covenant people, begins when he calls Abraham to “leave your country, your people, and your father’s house, and go to a country that I will show you.” He did that—without any knowledge of what lay ahead! At the very end of the book, we find Joseph’s brothers expecting him to take revenge on them for selling him into slavery. He says, “Am I in God’s place? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God intended it for good.” Genesis is a call for us to believe and act like Abraham and Joseph.

Before You Read

Words in italics are additions to the biblical text. In the context of commands, rules, and regulations, “shall,” “must,” and “are/is to” are equal terms, all the same strength.

Read lists from top to bottom in the first column then read the next column.

You will find a “Key to Genealogical Tables” in the back of the book. While we have endeavored to make our tables intuitive, you may grasp them more quickly if you look at the key first.

We encourage you to read “Translation Notes” and “Format and Presentation Notes” in the back of the book. They are easy reading and will increase your understanding of the text.

Please browse the glossary before you begin reading. You will find helpful information about words that appear frequently in this book, as well as important explanations of the words “L” and “Yahweh.”

a “Genesis”: a transliterated Greek word that means “origin.” The Hebrew Bible title for the book, Bereshit (the first word in the Hebrew text), means “in the beginning.”

Part 1. Creation

Genesis 1 Creation

1 Day 1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and empty—darkness was over the surface of the deep—and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. 3 God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day” and he called the darkness “night.” And there was evening and morning—the first day.

6 Day 2: Then God said, “Let there be a spacea between the waters to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” 7 So it happened.b God made the space and separated the waters that were under the space from the waters above it. 8 God called the space “sky.”c And there was evening and morning—the second day.

9 Day 3: Then God said, “Let the water under the sky flow d to one place, and let ground appear.” So it happened. 10 God called the ground “earth” and the gathered waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

11 Then God said, “Let the land sprout vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees that bear fruit with seed, each according to its kind on the earth.” So it happened. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and morning—the third day.

14 Day 4: Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night and as signs to mark seasons, days, and years. 15 Let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” So it happened. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night—and the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and morning—the fourth day.

20 Day 5: And God said, “Let the water teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves or swarms in the waters, all according to their kind, and every bird after its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase upon the earth.” 23 And there was evening and morning—the fifth day.

a Or “expanse.” And throughout this “Creation” section. Ancient people thought something was above the earth and sky and below whatever was above that (clouds, waters, etc.). Some thought of it as an architectural vault, a support like an upside down bowl.

b Literally, “It was so.” And throughout this “Creation” section.

c Or “heaven.” And throughout this “Creation” section.

d Literally, “be gathered.”

24

Day 6: God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creeping things, and wild animalsa according to their kinds.” So it happened. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, “Let us make humans in our own image, in our own likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the livestock, and all the wild animalsb—over all the earth.” 27 So God created humankind in his own image. In the image of God he created them. And he created them male and female.

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Look around you; I’ve given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit. They will be food for you. 30 And to all the wild animals and all the birds of the heavens and all the other creatures that move on the ground— everything that has the breath of life in it—I am giving every green plant for food.” So it happened. 31 And God saw all that he had made, and truly, it was very good. And there was evening and morning—the sixth day.

2 Genesis

1 Day 7: In this way the heavens and the earth were finished in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had completed the work he had been doing, so he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had done. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all he had been doing, the work of creation.

Part 2. The First Humans

Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve

4 This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth, when the L God made them.c 5 No shrub of the field was on earth yet, nor had any plant of the field yet sprouted. Now there was no man to work the earth, because the L God had not sent rain upon the earth. 6 (Mist d used to come up from the earth and water all the whole surface of the land.) 7 Then the L God formed man from the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

8 The L God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden, and he put the man he had formed there. 9 The L God made all kinds of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were pleasing to see and good for food. The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were in the middle of the garden.

10 A river flowing out of Eden watered the garden. Then it divided and became four rivers. 11a The first, named the Pishon, flowed through the entire land of Havilah,

a Literally, “beasts of the earth.” And throughout this “Creation” section.

b Literally, “over every creeping thing that creeps.”

c Literally, “when God made the earth and the heavens.”

d Or “wetness,” perhaps referring to springs.

where there’s gold 12 (the gold of that land is good), 11b aromatic resin, and onyx.

13 The second, named the Gihon, flows through the entire land of Cush.a 14 The third, named the Tigris, runs along the east side of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 The L God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and take care of it. 16 And the L God commanded the man, “Eat freely from any tree in the garden, 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it you will surely die.”

18 Then the L God said, “It isn’t good for the man to be alone. I’ll make him a helper b to be alongside him.”

19 Now the L God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called a creature, that was its name. 20 So the man named them all—the livestock, the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But no suitable helper was found for Adam.c 21 So the L God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While he slept, God took one of Adam’s ribs and then closed up the place it came from with flesh. 22 Then the L God made a woman from the rib taken from the man, and he brought her to the man.

23 The man said, “This now is bone from my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of man.” 24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds withd his wife—and they become one flesh. 25 Though the man and his wife were both naked, they felt no shame.

Genesis 3

The First Sin

1 Now the serpent was craftier than any of the wild animals the L God had made. He asked the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’ ? ”

2 The woman replied to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden. 3 But God said, ‘You mustn’t eat fruit from the tree that’s in the middle of the garden, nor touch it, or you’ll die.’ ”

4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You surely won’t die! 5 For God knows that when you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you’ll be like God—knowing good and evil.”

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make a person wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together to make themselves loincloths.

a The Pishon and Gihon rivers and the land of Havilah are unknown today. Cush: Probably all or part of the territory of the upper Nile River (i.e., all or part of modern Ethiopia and/or Sudan).

b Or “a counterpart.” Also in verse 20. Hebrew: ezer. In Psalm 121 God is referred to as our ezer

c “Adam”: a transliteration of the Hebrew word for man/humanity. It is the same word that has been translated as “man” previous to here. When it refers to the first man, English Bibles traditionally begin rendering the word as “Adam” at this point.

d Or “is united to” or “holds fast to.”

8 Then they heard the sound of the L God walking in the garden in the breezy time of the day. The man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the L God among the trees of the garden, 9 but the L God called to the man, “Where are you?”

10 He replied, “I heard your voicea in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”

11 And God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

12 The man replied, “The woman you put with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

13 And the L God said to the woman, “What have you done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

The Curse of Sin

14 So the L God said To the serpent: “Because you have done this, you are cursed above all the livestock and all the wild animals. You will crawl on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity b between you and the woman, and between your descendants and her descendants. One of her descendantsc will crush your head, and you will bruise his heel.”

16 To the woman: “I will greatly increase your pain in childbearing; in pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

17 To Adam: “Because you listened to your wife’s voice and ate from the tree about which I commanded you (when I said, ‘You shall not eat from it’), the ground is cursed because of you. All the days of your life you will eat of its fruit, but only through painful toil. 18 It will sprout thorns and thistles for you. You will eat the plants of the field, 19 but only by the sweat of your brow will you eat your foodd until you return to the ground—because from it you were taken, for you are made from dust and to dust you will return.”

20 Adame named his wife Eve,f because she would be the mother of all who live.

21 And the L God made clothing of animal skin for Adam and his wife and dressed them. 22 Then the L God said, “Look! The man has become like one of us—he now knows good and evil. So now he might reach out and with his hand also take and eat fruit from the tree of life—and he’ll live forever!” 23 So the L God banishedg him from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 He drove the man out and placed cherubimh at the east end of the garden of Eden and a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life.

a Or “the sound of you.”

b “Enmity”: deep-seated ill will, hatred.

c Literally, “He.”

d Or “bread.”

e Or “The man.”

f “Eve”: a word that sounds like the Hebrew verb meaning “to live.”

g Literally, “sent.”

h “Cherubim”: winged angelic beings.

Cain and Abel

1 Adama had intimate relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. And she said, “I’ve brought forth a man with the help of the L.” 2 She conceived again, and she gave birth to his brother Abel.

Now Abel took care of sheep, and Cain cultivated the ground. 3 One dayb Cain brought some fruit of the ground as an offering to the L, 4 and Abel also brought an offering—the fat portions of the firstborn of his flock. The L approved of c Abel’s offering,d 5 but he didn’t approve of Cain and his offering. So Cain was very angry, and he scowled.e

6 Then the L said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why the downcast face?f 7 If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? g And if you don’t do what is right, remember, sin is crouching at the door, and it desires to have you; but you must master it.”

8 Later Cain suggested to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”

While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the L asked Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

He replied, “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

10 The L responded, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are cursed by h the ground that opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer produce good cropsi for you. You will be a fugitive, a wanderer on the earth.”

13 Cain replied, “My punishment is too great to bear. 14 Consider this: Today you’re driving me off the land,j and I’ll be hidden from your presence.k I’ll be a vagrant, a wanderer on the earth—and whoever finds me will kill me!”

15 And the L proclaimed, “If anyone kills Cain, sevenfold vengeance will be taken on him.” Then the L put a mark on Cain so that no one who met him would kill him. 16 Then Cain went out from the L’s presence and lived east of Eden in Nod (i.e., Wandering).

Enoch and Seth Born

Cain had intimate relations with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. Then Cain built a city and named it after the name of his son Enoch.

17

a Or “The man.”

b Literally, “In the course of time.”

c Literally, “had regard for” or “had feelings toward.”

d Hebrews 11:4 says that Abel offered his sacrifice “by faith.”

e Literally, “and his face fell.”

f Literally, “Why has your face fallen?”

g Literally, “won’t you be lifted up?” “Lifted up”: a common Hebrew idiom meaning “accepted.”

h Literally, “cursed from.”

i Literally, “no longer yield its strength.”

j Literally, “from the face of the earth.”

k Literally, “from your face.”

Note on Genealogical Tables

See “Key to Genealogical Tables” in the back of the book for an explanation of verse numbers, line types, and relationships depicted by the position of names. The thicker line depicts the ancestry of Christ.

Descendants of Adam and Eve 4:1–2, 17–26

Adam & Eve 1

Abel 2 Seth 25

17 Enosh 26

18

Mehujael

& Adah & Zillah 19

20 Jubal 21

Lamech took two wives for himself.

Tubal-Cain 22 Naamah

Forged all kinds of tools of bronze and iron. 23–24 Lamech boasted to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to my voice. You wives of Lamech, listen to my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech will be avenged seventy-sevenfold.”

Father of those who play the harp and flute.

Father of those who live in tents and raise livestock.

Adam had intimate relations with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granteda me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”

Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. Then people began to call upon the name of the L

Or “appointed.”

sounds like the Hebrew word for “to put.”

1 This is the genealogy

of the descendants of Adam.

When God created human beings, he made them in the likeness of God.

He created them male and female and blessed them. When they were created, he called them “human.”

Descendants of Adam 5:2–32

Adam 3 *

Enosh 6

A son in his own (i.e., Adam’s) likeness and image.

15

18

Enoch walked with God and vanished,b because God took him.

Methuselah lived 187 years.

c 25

28–29

32 Ham

Lamech named him Noah,d saying, “He will give us rest from our work, the toil of our hands working the ground that the L

cursed.”

32 After Noah was 500 years old, he fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

To descendants: See Genesis 10:1, “Table of the Nations.”

To Peleg: See Genesis 10:1, “Table of the Nations,” and To Abram: See Genesis 11:10, “From Shem to Abram.”

* Had other sons and daughters.

7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 26, 30

See next two tables, “Years of the Patriarchs” and “Life Spans of the Patriarchs,” for age information in 5:3–32

a Literally, “the book of the generations.”

Literally, “and was not.”

This Lamech is a descendant of Seth. Cain had a descendant named Lamech also.

“Noah” comes from the Hebrew word for “to rest.”

Years of the Patriarchs 5:3–32; 11:10–32

All the numbers are years after the creation of Adam. Italicized numbers are calculated and do not appear in the biblical text.

Verse Reference Patriarch Birth Year

Age at Birth of Heir

Years Lived

After Birth of Heir Age at Death Year of Deatha

5:3–5* Adam 0 130 800 930 930

5:6–8* Seth 130 105 807 912 1042

5:9–11* Enosh 235 90 815 905 1140

5:12–14* Kenan 325 70 840 910 1235

5:15–17* Mahalalel 395 65 830 895 1290

5:18–20* Jared 460 162 800 962 1422

5:21–24 Enoch 622 65 300 365b 987

5:25–27* Methuselah 687 187 782 969 1656

5:28–31* Lamech 874 182 595 777 1651

5:32; 9:28–29 Noah 1056 500 450 950 2006

11:10–11 Shem 1556 100 500 600 2156

10 Shem fathered Arphaxad . . . two years after the flood.

11:10–13 Arphaxad 1656 35 403 438 2094

Luke 3:36 Cainan 1691 33 403 436 2127

11:12–15 Shelah 1724 30 403 433 2157

11:14–17 Eber 1754 34 430 464 2218

11:16–19 Peleg 1788 30 209 239 2027

11:18–21 Reu 1818 32 207 239 2057

11:20–23 Serug 1850 30 200 230 2080

11:22–25 Nahor 1880 29 119 148 2028

11:26, 32 Terah 1909 70 135 205 2114

21:5; 25:7 Abramc 1979 100 75 175 2154

25:26; 35:28 Isaac 2079 60 120 180 2259

47:28 Jacob 2139 91 56 147 2286

41:46, 50; 50:26 Joseph 2230 30–37 d 73–80 110 2340

* The last verse of each of these verse groups ends with “and he died.”

a Ancient genealogies often skipped names. Cainan is not mentioned in Genesis but is listed in Luke’s genealogy of Jesus. Cainan’s numbers are estimated. Thus the years are uncertain at best.

b Enoch did not die. See 5:24 in Descendants of Adam table on the previous page.

c Renamed “Abraham” at 17:5.

d Joseph entered Pharaoh’s service at age thirty (41:46) and had his first son in the seven years of abundance, before the seven years of famine (41:50).

Adam Seth Enosh

Life Spans of the Patriarchs*

11:10–32

Kenan

Mahalalel

Jared Enoch**

Methuselah Lamech

Noah

The flood

Shem

Arphaxad

Cainan

Shelah

Eber

Peleg Reu

Serug

Nahor

* “Patriarchs”: The term usually refers to Abraham, Isaac, and/or Jacob; or to the ancestral family heads, Adam through Abraham. ** Enoch did not die. See 5:24 in “Descendants of Adam” table on the previous page.

Terah Abram Isaac Jacob Joseph

Man’s Degradation, Nephilima

1 When people began to multiply on the surface of the earthb and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of Godc saw that the daughters of men were attractive, and they married whomever they chose. 3 Then the L said, “My Spirit will not strive with mankind forever, for they are only mortal flesh. Their days will be limited to a hundred and twenty years.”

4 The Nephilim giants were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.

5 The L saw how great the human race’s wickedness had become on the earth—that every thought of every person’s heartd was always inclined toward evil.

6 The L was sorry that he’d made human beings on the earth, and in his heart it grieved him. 7 So the L said, “I’ll wipe out humans, whom I have made, from the face of the earth—humans and animals (creatures that move along the ground and birds of the air), for I am sorry that I made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the L.

a “Nephilim”: people of great physical stature, perhaps eight or nine feet tall. See also Numbers 13:33. b Literally, “on the face of the earth.” c “Sons of God”: It is unclear whether this refers to heavenly beings (as in Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7); descendants of Seth (with “daughters of men” seen as a reference to descendants of Cain); or powerful, evil persons. d Literally, “of his heart.”

Part 3. Life of Noah

The Ark

9 This is the family record of Noah: a righteous man, blameless in his time, who walked with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and it was full of violence. 12 God looked at the earth and realized that it was corrupt—everyone’s behavior was corrupt.a 13 God said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to all creatures,b for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Surely, I am going to destroy both them and the earth. 14a So make yourself an ark. 15a Make the ark this way:

Ark Specifications 6:14–16

Material Gopher* wood 14b

Coating

Pitch, inside and out

Length 450 ft.** 15b

Width 75 ft.

Height 45 ft.

Design

Rooms in it. 14c

Roof on it, finished to within one cubit (18 in.) of the top. 16

Door in the side.

Three decks (lower, middle, and upper).

* “Gopher” is a transliterated Hebrew word. Many believe it refers to cypress wood, because that was used for Phoenician ships.

** Literally, “300 cubits.” And next two rows, “50 cubits” and “30 cubits.”

17 Look, I—yes, I—am going to bring a flood of water on the earth to wipe out all flesh under the heavens, every living thing of all flesh that has the breath of life. Everything on earth will perish.

18 “But I will establish my covenant with you. You are to enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives. 19 You are to bring from all living things, from all flesh, two from each kind, into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. 20 Two of every kind of bird and animal and creature that moves along the ground will come to you for you to keep them alive. 21 Take some of every edible food and store it aboard as food for yourself and for them.” 22 And Noah did everything, all God had commanded him.

7 Genesis The Flood

1 Then the L

said to Noah, “Go into the ark with your whole family, for I have found that of this generation you alone are righteous. 2 Take with you every kind of

a Literally, “all flesh had corrupted their way.”

b Literally, “The end of all flesh has come before me.”