What Is the Outline of the Book of Genesis?

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Moody Bible Commentary
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What all happens in the book of Genesis? How do all of the events relate to one another, and what events are really within broader themes of the whole book? Here is one possible way to outline the first book of the Bible. 

An Outline of Genesis

  1. Primeval History: Establishing the Need for Redemption (1:1–11:26)
    1. Perfect Creation: The Absence of Sin (1:1–2:25)
      1. An Overview of Perfection (1:2–2:3)
        1. Inanimate Perfection (1:1-19)
        2. Animate (Animal) Perfection (1:20-25)
        3. Human Perfection (1:26–2:3)
      2. A Close-Up on the Human Ideal (2:4-25)
        1. The Ideal Creation of Man (2:4-7)
        2. The Ideal Place of Man (2:8-14)
        3. The Ideal Responsibility of Man (2:15-25)
      3. Fallen Humanity: The Advent of Sin (3:1-21)
        1. The Lead-up to Sin (3:1-6)
          1. Step One: Wrongly Recalling God’s Word (3:1-3)
          2. Step Two: Wrongly Assessing God’s Purpose (3:4-5)
          3. Step Three: Wrongly Approving What Seems “Good” (3:6)
        2. Humanity’s Response to Sin (3:7-8)
          1. Conviction (3:7a)
          2. Division from Each Other (3:7b)
          3. Division from God (3:8)
        3. God’s Response to Sin (3:9-21)
          1. Gentle Confrontation (3:9-13)
          2. Merciful Chastisement (3:14-20)
          3. Gracious Forgiveness (3:21)
        4. Dire Consequences: The Aftermath of Sin (3:22–4:26)
          1. Exile: The Communal Aftermath of Sin (3:22-24)
            1. The Problem (3:22)
            2. God’s Gracious Solution (3:23)
            3. The “Eastward” Paradigm (3:24)
          2. Murder: The Personal Aftermath of Sin (4:1-22)
            1. The Priority of Heart Attitude (4:1-8)
            2. God’s Mercy, Again (4:9-12)
            3. Cain’s Repentance and God’s Grace (4:13-22)
          3. Injustice: The Legal Aftermath of Sin (4:23-26)
            1. Injustice as a Result of Ignoring God’s Example (4:23-24)
            2. Injustice Not Preclusive of God’s Blessing (4:25)
            3. Injustice as a Catalyst for Turning People to God (4:26)
          4. Fallen World: The Attachment of Sin (5:1–11:26)
            1. Break in the Prosecution: God’s Blessing Despite Depravity (5:1–6:8)
              1. Hope of Redemption (5:1-32)
              2. God’s Gracious “Cap” on Depravity (6:1-4)
              3. Measure of True “Spirituality” (6:5-8)
            2. The Flood: Humanity’s Chance to “Come Clean” of Depravity (6:9–9:29)
              1. Prelude: A Righteous Remnant in a Depraved World (6:9-10)
              2. Corruption of the Land (6:11-12)
              3. God’s Covenant with Noah (6:13-20)
              4. God’s Provision for Life (6:21-22)
              5. Entering the Ark (7:1-9)
              6. Prevailing of the Flood (7:10-24)
              7. Subsiding of the Flood (8:1-14)
              8. Exiting the Ark (8:15-22)
              9. God’s Provision for Life (9:1-7)
              10. God’s Covenant with Noah and All Life (9:8-17)
              11. Corruption of the Land (9:18-19)
              12. Postlude: A Righteous Remnant in a Depraved World (9:20-29)
            3. The Depth of Depravity in Post-Flood Humanity (10:1–11:26)
              1. Setting the Stage for Universal Rebellion (10:1-32)
              2. Rebellion Expressed: The Rise and Fall of Universal Human Pride (11:1-9)
              3. Transition to Pardon (11:10-26)
            4. Patriarchal History: Delineating the Path of Redemption (11:27–50:26)
              1. Descendants of Terah: God Making His Own Name for Man (11:27–25:11)
                1. The Abrahamic Covenant: God’s Promise for Israel and the Nations (11:27–12:20)
                  1. God’s Sovereign Choice: Abram’s Passivity (11:27-32)
                  2. God’s Gracious Promises: Resetting Abram’s Direction (12:1-9)
                  3. God’s Unshakable Hold: Abram’s Deep Depravity (12:10-20)
                2. Living in the Land: God’s Affirmation of the Covenant (13:1–14:24)
                  1. Affirming Abram’s Right to the Land (13:1-18)
                  2. Affirming Abram’s Might and Prosperity (14:1-16)
                  3. Affirming Abram’s Blessing and Status (14:17-24)
                3. Ratifying the Covenant: God’s Compromise with Weak Faith (15:1-21)
                  1. Answering Abram’s Doubt about the Son (15:1-5)
                  2. Affirming Abram’s Imperfect Faith (15:6)
                  3. Answering Abram’s Doubt About the Land (15:7-21)
                4. Doubting God: The Fall Reprised (16:1-16)
                  1. The Temptation (16:1-4a)
                  2. The Human Consequences (16:4b-6)
                  3. The Divine Response (16:7-16)
                5. Circumcision: The Sign of the Covenant (17:1-16)
                  1. The Effected Covenant as the Basis of the Rite (17:1-8)
                  2. Content of the Rite (17:9-16)
                  3. Abram’s Response to the Rite (17:17-27)
                6. An Expression of Divine Fellowship (18:1-33)
                  1. God Affirming His Empathy with Abraham (18:1-8)
                  2. God Affirming His Grace toward Abraham (18:9-15)
                  3. God Affirming His Justice to Abraham (18:16-33)
                7. A Paradigm of Corporate Judgment (19:1-29)
                  1. Cause of Judgment (19:1-11)
                  2. Distinction of Judgment (19:12-22)
                  3. Purpose of Judgment (19:23-29)
                8. Persistence of Sin (19:30–20:18)
                  1. Struggles of Lot’s Household (19:30-38)
                  2. Struggles of Abraham’s Household (20:1-16)
                  3. God’s Faithfulness and Grace in Sanctification (20:17-18)
                9. Sovereignty of God in Blessing (21:1-34)
                  1. God’s Sovereignty in Blessing Abraham and Sarah (21:1-8)
                  2. God’s Sovereignty in Blessing Hagar and Sarah (21:9-21)
                  3. God’s Sovereignty in Blessing Abimelech and His People (21:22-34)
                10. The Pinnacle of Abraham’s Faith (22:1-19)
                  1. God’s Call to Faith (22:1-2)
                  2. Abraham’s Expression of Faith (22:3-9)
                  3. The Angel’s Affirmation of Faith (22:10-19)
                11. Family Matters (22:20–23:20)
                  1. Keeping Up with the Relatives (22:20-24)
                  2. Mourning Sarah (23:1-2)
                  3. Purchasing the Family Burial Plot (23:3-20)
                12. Finding Rebekah in Mesopotamia (24:1-67)
                  1. Abraham’s Petition (24:1-9)
                  2. God’s Answer (24:10-49)
                  3. The People’s Response (24:50-67)
                13. Transferring the Torch to Isaac (25:1-11)
                  1. Abraham’s Affirmation of Isaac (25:1-6)
                  2. Isaac and Ishmael’s Burial of Abraham (25:7-10)
                  3. God’s Affirmation of Isaac (25:11)
                14. Descendants of Ishmael: A Locus of Conflict with God’s People (25:12-18)
                15. Descendants of Isaac: Learning to Wait on God (25:19–35:29)
                  1. Jacob and Esau: The Sons of Isaac (25:19-34)
                    1. Barrenness of Rebekah (25:19-21a)
                    2. Birth of Jacob and Esau (25:21b-26)
                    3. Sale of Esau’s Birthright (25:27-34)
                  2. Isaac: Struggles of a Patriarch (26:1-33)
                    1. Struggling to Trust in God’s Promises: Isaac Lies about Rebekah (26:1-17)
                    2. Struggling to Live with Sinful Men: Isaac Quarrels with the Men of Gerar (26:18-25)
                    3. Struggling to Recognize the Sovereignty of God: Isaac Makes a Covenant with Abimelech (26:26-33)
                  3. Jacob: Successor of Isaac (26:34–35:29)
                    1. In the Land: Striving with Esau (26:34–28:9)
                      • Prologue: Esau Marries Foreign Women (26:34-35)
                      • Body: Jacob Strives for a Blessing (27:1–28:5)
                      • Epilogue: Esau Marries Foreign Women (28:6-9)
                    2. Outside the Land: Striving with Laban (28:10–31:55)
                      • Jacob’s Journey (28:10-22)
                      • Jacob’s Marriages (29:1-30)
                      • Jacob’s Children (29:31–30:24)
                      • Jacob’s Prosperity (30:25-43)
                      • Jacob’s Flight (31:1–32:2)
                    3. Return to the Land: Striving Resolved with People and God (32:3–35:29)
                      • The Restoration of Jacob and Esau (32:3–33:20)
                        • Jacob’s Fear of Esau (32:3-23)
                        • Jacob’s Fight with God (32:24-32)
                        • Jacob’s Restoration with Esau (33:1-17)
                        • Jacob’s Restoration to the Land (33:18-20)
                      • The Rape of Dinah (34:1-31)
                      • The Close of the Jacob Story (35:1-29)
                    4. Descendants of Esau: Another Locus of Conflict with God’s People (36:1–37:1)
                    5. Descendants of Jacob: God’s Providence over Joseph and Israel (37:2–50:26)
                      1. Joseph in the Pit (37:2–40:23)
                        1. Joseph Is Sold into Slavery by His Brothers (37:2-36)
                        2. Judah Receives a Male Heir by Deception (38:1-30)
                        3. Joseph Is Falsely Accused by Potiphar’s Wife (39:1-23)
                        4. Joseph Is Forgotten by the Cupbearer (40:1-23)
                      2. Joseph as Prime Minister (41:1–50:26)
                        1. Joseph Becomes Prime Minister (41:1-57)
                        2. Joseph Tests His Brothers (42:1–44:34)
                          • The Conscience Test (42:1-38)
                          • The Character Test (43:1-34)
                          • The Compassion Test (44:1-34)
                        3. Joseph Reconciles with His Brothers (45:1-28)
                        4. Joseph Cares for All Egypt (46:1–47:26)
                          • Joseph Provides for the Family of Israel (46:1–47:12)
                          • Joseph Provides for the People of Egypt (47:13-19)
                          • Joseph Provides for Pharaoh (47:20-26)
                        5. Joseph Receives the Blessing for His Sons (47:27–48:22)
                        6. Jacob Blesses the Twelve Tribes (49:1-33)
                        7. Joseph Believes God to the End (50:1-26)

What do you think of the outline? How might you outline it differently?

Published on February 28, 2024.
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