In the Beginning ... Trivia Quiz

With any luck, you realised that this had to come before anything else was possible! The first two chapters of Genesis form a creation story in two parts, which starts (in the New International Version, or NIV) by telling us that "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." This is described in stages that correspond surprisingly well with contemporary scientific thought as to how our current world may have developed.

Genesis 1:1-2:3 contains one description of the creation of the world, called the Priestly version, which focuses on the creation of the world. In it, the stages are allocated to specific time periods called days, and all is accomplished in six of them, allowing the seventh day to be decreed a day of rest, and explaining the origin of the concept of the sabbath day. Scholars consider this to be based on Mesopotamian myth, modified to accommodate the developing monotheistic religion.

This is followed by a different story, focusing on the creation of man, whose details are sometimes contradictory to those of the first. Genesis 2:4 (NIV) states, "This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens." The story then moves immediately to the creation of Adam and Eve, with much more detail than in the first story.

This is an extremely superficial account of some very complex (and contentious) material. No proper discussion can be made based purely on an English translation, as that ignores much of the textual ambiguity of the original Hebrew text, which has engaged Jewish scholars for millennia. I am using for reference a version which can be readily found online, and which is couched in contemporary language; its choice of words, however, cannot be considered to be definitively accurate in its connotations.

Genesis 3 ends with the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden; chapter 4 starts with the conception and birth of their first child, Cain. This is followed in the next verse by the birth of Abel at some later date. Their childhood seems to have been uneventful because the same verse that tells us Abel was born sees them pursuing adult activities: Abel as a shepherd, and Cain as a farmer. (I am always, if irreverently, reminded of the song from 'Oklahoma!' which states that "The Farmer and the Cowman Should be Friends" as I read that sentence. Some issues stemming from different priorities go back a long way.)

When the Lord prefers Abel's offering to that of Cain, brotherly love goes out the window. As a consequence, Cain is condemned to wander the earth, unable to farm it. He was, at least, protected by a mark placed on him to let others know that they must not kill him, unless they were prepared for dire consequences. Cain leaves to go to the Land of Nod, located somewhere east of Eden, and then follows some genealogy, first of Cain's offspring, then of the line of Seth, the other named child of Adam.

Chapter 5 links Adam to Noah, by way of Methusaleh, the longest-lived of a family who were clearly remarkably important, as they are attributed with extremely long lives.

Genesis 6 describes how wicked the world had become (some time later, as Noah had his three sons when he was 500 years old, and they are now adults, with wives of their own), and God's decision to destroy it so that humanity could have a new start. Noah was given very detailed instructions as to how he was to construct an ark, and what he was to do with it (although we seem to have several different stories being conflated, as the list of what he is told to take on board in Chapter 6 verses 19-21 and in verses 1-4 of Chapter 7 differ; and the description of what was actually loaded seems to accord with the instructions from Chapter 6).

Noah and his family survived the great flood, and emerged to be met with a promise from God that he would never again destroy the world, a promise that was signified by a rainbow. Genesis Chapter 9 establishes that humans are to assume dominion over the entire world - but the first of many dietary restrictions is outlined at the same time. Maybe a ban on alcohol might have been useful in preventing future conflict, as one of the first things Noah did was plant a vineyard, and get drunk on the wine he made. The fact that one of his sons saw him naked led to Noah decreeing that his children were no longer to be equals, but the sons of Ham were to be reviled.

Chapter 10 describes the following generations from the three children of Noah, and how they established themselves in different areas. Some of these names will be familiar today as places where conflict over the land continues unabated.

As Noah's descendants spread out, some settled on a plain in southern Mesopotamia, and built a city using locally-produced bricks, with a lofty tower to display their prowess. God was unhappy (whether from disappointment at their hubris or from being threatened by their skill, which is a matter of debate in scholarly circles) and showed them a lesson by confusing their language. No longer did everyone speak the same language, and this became a barrier to communication, leading them to spread out across the world, so that each group could have their own space.

Following the account of the Tower of Babel is another genealogy, taking us through to Abram, a descendant of Noah's son Shem, and one of the great patriarchs. After he had moved from Ur to Harran with his father Terah, the Lord instructed him to leave family behind, and travel to Canaan with Sarai, promising that he would become the father of a great nation. Unfortunately, the promised land was already inhabited by Canaanites, so the couple traveled onwards, planning to return when the time was right. His nephew Lot traveled with them, but they split up when the land could not support both herds, and settled in the city of Sodom.

Meanwhile, Sarai appeared to be barren, and arranged for Abram to have a child with her maid, Hagar. When Ishmael was thirteen, the Bible records God promising again to make Abram the ruler of nations, telling him to change his name from Abram (meaning exalted father) to Abraham (meaning father of many), and established the duty of circumcision of all male descendants in acknowledgement of this promise. Sarai's name was changed at the same time to Sarah, and God promised the couple that they would have a son, to be named Isaac. In Chapter 21, following the birth of Isaac, Hagar and Ishmael were sent away to resolve the conflict between the two women.

Shortly after his renaming, Abraham learned that God was planning to destroy Sodom, the city where his nephew lived, because it was a den of iniquity. He argued that the city should be saved for the sake of the righteous living there - working God down from a requirement that there by 50 righteous men to 10, but the bar turned out to be still too high. Lot and his family were planned to be spared, fleeing to the nearby town of Zoar before Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by a storm of burning sulfur. Unfortunately, Lot's wife ignored the instruction to run as fast as possible without looking back, and was turned into a pillar of salt. Lot and his two daughters survived, and incestuously started the lines that would become the Moabite and Ammonites.

Following the destruction of these cities, and the birth of Isaac, Abraham and Sarah spent some more time wandering, then God called on Abraham to sacrifice his son as a proof of loyalty (Chapter 22), before relenting and accepting a ram. Following the death of Sarah, and sensing that his own end was approaching, Abraham organised Rebekah to be Isaac's wife. She became the mother of twins, Esau and Jacob, who were prophesied in the womb to be combatants. And so it proved, with Jacob first forcing his older brother to renounce his birthright, then (aided and abetted by Rebekah) tricking his dying father into giving to Jacob the blessing that was intended for Esau.

Obedient to Isaac's dying instruction, Jacob went to visit his uncle Laban, so he could marry a suitable (non-Canaanite) woman. He fell in love with Laban's younger daughter, Rachel, at first sight, and agreed to work for Laban for seven years in order to earn her hand in marriage. In the best Biblical tradition, his uncle tricked him into marrying the older and less desirable daughter, Leah; Jacob had to work another seven years to get Rachel as his second wife.

It's not hard to see problems developing in this relationship! Leah was fertile, producing four sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah. But still Jacob loved Rachel more, although she could not have children. He fathered Dan and Napthali with Rachel's servant Bilhah; Leah's servant Zilpah bore him Gad and Asher, before Leah again became fertile and produced Issachar and Zebulun, followed by a daughter (the only one named, although there may have been others in the mix), Dinah. Finally, Rachel became pregnant, and Joseph was born. All of this while residing with Laban.

After Jacob and Laban agreed that Jacob should return to his father's lands, he and his family set off (causing a slight contretemps because they stole away without a proper farewell, and Rachel stole some household goods). Jacob was understandably concerned about the reception he could expect from Esau, and sent servants ahead with generous gifts of livestock. Meanwhile, he spent the night alone, and wrestled with a man who informed him after the struggle, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome." The name Israel is thought to mean 'he struggles with God', while Jacob means 'he grasps the heel', which is an idiom to describe one who deceives.

In another example of multiple versions of events, Genesis 35 has a slightly different account, with the renaming happening after the encounter with Esau, while they were traveling to Bethel, and just before Rachel died giving birth to his last son, Benjamin. After her death, Israel went home to live with Isaac and Esau in Canaan.

Chapter 37 contains the story of Israel's preferential treatment for his youngest son, which set off yet another round of sibling rivalry. Eventually, the older brothers decided to get rid of him, but Reuben talked the others out of killing him immediately, so they just threw him in a well while they decided what to do.

Then along came a caravan of Ishmaelites heading towards Egypt, and Judah convinced the rest to avoid killing their own flesh and blood by selling him as a slave, to be safely carried away.

They took his clothing, soaked in goat's blood, back to provide an explanation to their father of his disappearance, presumably at the hands of some wild beast.

Joseph's time in Egypt was somewhat chaotic. He started out experiencing success running the household of a government official, before being thrown in jail when the man's wife accused him of rape because he refused to sleep with her. His time in jail once again saw him getting a soft ride, basically ending up running the place. There he once again showed his ability to interpret dreams, an ability which had angered his brothers. One of the two members of Pharaoh's household for which he performed this service remembered him when Pharaoh had some dreams that nobody could understand, and Joseph was brought from prison to interpret them. His success, of course, led to him becoming the second in command of the country.

The rest of Genesis describes the arrival of Joseph's brothers in search of grain and their dealings with Joseph, culminating in the settling of the Israelites in the Egyptian region of Goshen. Then follows the death of Israel/Jacob (the name switches around, suggesting that parts of this were written later, when the importance of the name became more significant). In a familiar scenario, Israel (nearly blind) bestows a dying blessing on Joseph's sons - but insists on blessing the younger one (Ephraim), not the older (Manasah) as Joseph had expected. He then blesses his twelve sons, and describes how they are to share their legacy.

Genesis ends with the death of Joseph, and the stage is set for Exodus, and the return of the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan.