B'resheet, the beginning. The first words in the text is the title of the book in Hebrew and the Greek counterpart Genesis.

The first 11 chapters have quickly become one of the key teachings in my understanding of the narrative. Teachings from the Bible Project, Marty Solomon, Ray Vander Laan and others have made this section of the Torah so key in my understanding of the rest of the text.

Foundational themes

  • There is a creator God.
  • This God is unlike other gods known to humans.
  • We are the image bearers of this God.
  • All of creation is good.
  • God rested; God wants us to find rest and sabbath.
  • We can trust this God and that what he created was good.
  • We can join the narrative.
  • The themes unlocked here in the beginning continue throughout the text, constantly referenced and always inviting us back into the narrative that God has created.

Technical learning

  • The use of poetry and chiastic literature in the text is beautiful and masterful.
  • Translations are interpretations. Make sure to use different translations to uncover more meanings.
  • Seek people teaching what the Hebrew/Greek originally might have said more literally to uncover hidden pearls lost in years of fine tuning translations to the English language of today.

Breadcrumbs: