Book of Genesis Facts for Kids

"Genesis" redirects here. For other uses, see Genesis (disambiguation).

Old Testament Books of the Old Agreement common to all Christians and Jews)

Additional Books (common to Catholics and Orthodox)

Georgian Orthodox

Genesis is the first book in the Hebrew Bible. Its name comes from a Greek word meaning "origin" or "birth." The book starts with the creation of the Universe and ends with the death of Joseph. In Hebrew, the book's name is Bre'shiyth, which means 'in beginning.'

Main Stories in Genesis
Images for kids
See also

Main Stories in Genesis

The Creation of the World

A famous painting by Michelangelo showing God creating Adam.

The book of Genesis tells us that God created the whole universe and everything in it in six days. On the seventh day, God rested. This day became known as the Sabbath, a special day of rest.

God made a beautiful place called the Garden of Eden for the first man, Adam, and the first woman, Eve. They were allowed to eat from any tree except one: the tree of knowledge. God warned them that eating from this tree would make them know both good and evil.

A snake tricked Eve, and she ate the fruit from the forbidden tree. She then gave some to Adam, and he ate it too. Because they did not obey God, they had to leave the Garden of Eden. From then on, people had to work hard for their food.

Cain and Abel

Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel. Abel was a shepherd who looked after sheep, and Cain was a farmer who grew crops. Cain became very angry and killed his brother Abel because he was jealous. This was the first time someone killed another person.

Noah and the Great Flood

Later, the world became filled with people who did many bad things. God decided to send a great flood to cover the whole world. He chose a good man named Noah to save his family and the animals.

God told Noah to build a huge boat, called an ark. Noah was instructed to bring two of every kind of animal onto the ark, and more of the "clean" animals. Noah followed God's instructions. A flood covered the entire world for 40 days and nights. After the water went down, the ark landed on Mount Ararat. God promised never to send such a flood again. He put a rainbow in the sky as a sign of this promise.

The Tower of Babel

After the flood, people decided to build a very tall tower. They wanted it to reach the sky and show how powerful humans were. God saw this and felt they were being too proud. To stop them, God made everyone speak different languages. Because they could no longer understand each other, they stopped building the tower.

Abraham's Journey

God chose a man named Abram and promised him that he would become "the father of many nations." Abram's name was changed to Abraham. God also promised Abraham the land of Canaan (which is now Israel) forever. As a sign of this promise, a special family tradition was established for Abraham's sons.

God tested Abraham's loyalty by asking him to sacrifice his son Isaac. Abraham was ready to obey, but God sent an angel to stop him. God told Abraham that people should never sacrifice other humans.

God also destroyed the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, but saved Abraham's nephew Lot and his daughters.

Isaac, Esau, and Jacob

Isaac and his wife Rebekah had twin sons, Esau and Jacob. Esau was the older twin, which usually meant he would get special family rights. However, Jacob traded some food to Esau for these rights.

Later, Rebekah helped Jacob trick his old and blind father, Isaac. Isaac thought he was giving his special blessing to Esau, but he was actually blessing Jacob. Esau later received a blessing of his own.

Jacob's Family and Joseph

Joseph's brothers bowing down to him.

Jacob left home to find a wife. He worked for his uncle Lavan for seven years to marry Rachel, but Lavan tricked him into marrying Rachel's older sister, Leah, first. Jacob then worked another seven years to marry Rachel. He also married the servants of Leah and Rachel, Bilah and Zilpah.

Jacob had twelve sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issaschar, Zebulun, Gad, Dan, Asher, Naftali, Joseph, and Benjamin. His wife Rachel died after giving birth to Benjamin. God later changed Jacob's name to Israel.

Jacob loved his son Joseph very much and gave him a special coat of many colors. Joseph's brothers were jealous of him. They sold him into slavery in Egypt. They then covered Joseph's coat in blood and told their father that Joseph had died.

Joseph became a great leader in Egypt. He was able to predict a long famine (a time when there is no food) by explaining the pharaoh's dreams. During the famine, Joseph's brothers came to Egypt to buy food. They did not recognize Joseph, who was now a powerful leader. Joseph first tested his brothers, but then he revealed himself. He gave them food and allowed them to live in a part of Egypt called Goshen.

Jacob later died in Egypt after blessing all his sons.