Genesis Structure and Outlines

Structure

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The book of Genesis contains four main narratives that are divided into two major sections: Primeval History and Ancestral History. The book is further divided into ten narrative sections (five in each major section). These sub-sections are marked by a repeated expression, "these are the generations." This is called the Toledoth Formula.

Genesis Major Sections
Primeval History 1:1-11:26	Ancestral History 11:27-50:26

Narrative Sections
Primeval Narratives		Ancestral Narratives
2:4-4:26	The Generations of the Heavens and the Earth	11:27-25:11	The Ancestral Narrative of Terah
5:1-6:8	The Generations of Adam	25:12-18	The Geneology of Ishmael
6:9-9:29	The Ancestral Narrative of Noah	25:19-35:29	The Ancestral Narrative of Isaac
10:1-11:9	The Generations of Noah's Sons	36:1-43	The Genealogy of Essau
11:10-26	The Geneology of Shem	37:1-50:26	The Ancestral Narrative of Jacob

Four Main Narratives

1.      Primeval 1:1-11:26

2.      Abraham 11:27-25:18

3.      Jacob 25:19-36:43

4.      Joseph 37:1-50:26