Structure of Genesis 1-8

Study:

Note: if you don't feel like reading all of these Bible texts, you can just view the final structure that they make, visible at the bottom, and then return to reading these texts after, if you so wish.

Creation:

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. vss. 1:1,2

And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. vs. 1:9

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind... And the evening and the morning were the third day. vss. 1:12,13

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. ... And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. vss. 1:24,31   

And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. vss. 2:2,3

The Fall:

And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. ... Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.  vss. 3:8,23,24

Cain and Abel:

And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain... And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. ... And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. ... vss. 4:1-16

Lines of Cain and Seth:

And (1) Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare (2) Enoch...  And unto Enoch was born (3) Irad: and Irad begat (4) Mehujael: and Mehujael begat (5) Methusael: and Methusael begat (6 gen.) Lamech. And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. And Adah bare (I) Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. And his brother’s name was (II) Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. And Zillah, she also bare (III) Tubal–cain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron:... And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold. vss. 4:17-24

Note: "Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one..." 1 John 3:12

 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. ... And (1) Adam ... begat a son ... and called his name (2) Seth: ... And Seth ... begat (3) Enos: ... And Enos ... begat (4) Cainan: ... And Cainan ... begat (5) Mahalaleel: ... And Mahalaleel ... begat (6) Jared: ... And Jared ... begat (7) Enoch: ... And Enoch ... begat (8) Methuselah: ... And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. And Methuselah ... begat (9) Lamech: ... And Lamech ... begat a son: And he called his name (10 gen.) Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed. ... And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died. ... and Noah begat (I) Shem, (II) Ham, and (III) Japheth. vss. 4:25-5:32 

Note: "...Adam, which was the son of God." Luke 3:38

The Antediluvian World:

And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. vss. 6:1-7

The Flood:

...and the (ONE) door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof... vs. 6:16

And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. ... And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. vss. 7:1,7

The Post Diluvian World:

And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged; vs. 8:1

And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen. vs. 8:5

And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. vs. 8:11

Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark. vs. 8:19

And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. vs. 8:20

The Lines of Cain and Abel:

Notice the similarities between the lines of Abel and Cain. Looks like a counterfeit to me... the similarities in names that are used!

 
Generation
0.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
3 sons:
Line of Abel
English
God
Adam
Seth
Enos
Cainan
Mahalaleel
Jared
Enoch
Methuselah
Lamech
Noah
Shem, Ham,
& Japheth
 
Hebrew
---
אָדָם
שֵׁת
אֱנוֹשׁ
קֵינָן
מַהֲלַלְאֵל
יֶרֶד
חֲנוֹךְ
מְתוּשֶׁלַח
לֶמֶךְ
נֹעָה
Line of Cain
English
Satan
Cain
Enoch
Irad
Mehujael
Methusael
Lamech
|
|
|
|
Jabal, Jubal,
& Tubal–cain
 
Hebrew
---
קַיִן
חֲנוֹךְ
עִירָד
מְחוּיָאֵל
מְתוּשָׁאֵל
לֶמֶךְ

Note: "...Adam, which was the son of God." (Luke 3:38); "Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one..." (1 John 3:12).

Note: Concerning the numbers 6, 10 and 3... 6 is the number of a man (See. Genesis 1:26-31; Revelation 13:18); 10 is the number of the Law of God or the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20; Deuteronomy 5); lastly, 3 is the number of God, or the Trinity, as well as the counterfeit-Trinity of the sea beast, land beast, and dragon (Revelation 12 & 13). 

Structure:

Creation (ch. 1 & vss. 2:1-3 (+4-25))
  • The Spirit of God moves over the waters
  • The waters gathered together and land appears
  • The creation of grass, trees, etc.
  • The creation of the land animals
  • The seventh-day blessed and sanctified
Expelled from the garden of Eden (ch. 3)
Division: Cain & Abel (vss. 4:1-16)
Line of Cain (the daughters of men) (vss. 4:17-24)
Line of Abel (the sons of God) (vss. 4:25-5:32)
[Note: Seth means "appointed" in place of Abel.]
Unification: daughters of men & sons of God (vss. 6:1-7)
Invited to enter into the Ark (vss. 6:8-22; ch. 7)
New Creation or Recreation (ch. 8)
  • A wind blows over the waters
  • The waters decrease and the mountains appear
  • The dove brings an olive leaf
  • The animals released into the earth
  • Noah builds an altar and worships

So why this structure?

To be continued...

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