Summary of Genesis 1
Everything is created by God.
(The heavens, the earth, and all living things were created by Him. He created humans in his image and entrusted them with the management of the planet.)
In Genesis 1, God creates the heavens and the earth. After that, He created light. He then divided the light from darkness, which is the definition of day and night. That was the start of the world as we know it.
God then separates the waters, the water on the earth He separated from the waters in heaven on the second day.
On the third day, God caused the waters on the earth to be gathered in one place which He called seas; the rest of the earth, he called dry (land).
Moreover, God commanded the earth to bring forth grass, the herb-yielding seed, and the fruit tree-yielding fruit after his kind. He also created the creatures of the sea, the sun, moon, and stars on the fourth and fifth day respectively to mark seasons, days, and years.
On the sixth day, God created living creates to occupy the earth, man was also created on the sixth day and was given authority to have domain over everything that God had created.
Summary of Genesis 2
Perfection in the garden.
(Everything was perfect that God had made, and the man that God had formed was placed in the garden in Eden to dress it)
The seventh day was holy, God rested and blessed it. Moreover, there arose a mist from the ground that watered the face of the earth.
The garden of Eden had many trees, but there was one called the tree of knowledge of good and evil that stood in the middle of the garden.
God told the man that he could eat of any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because if he ate from that tree, he would die.
Summary of Genesis 3
The temptation and fall.
(The serpent deceived the woman; she and Adam ate from the tree. The earth became cursed, and God sent Adam and Eve out of the garden.)
The serpent with his guile persuades the woman (Eve) to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and then Eve convinces Adam to do the same.
They suddenly realize they are naked and cover themselves with fig leaves. God returns to the garden and finds them in a sinful, self-conscious state.
Who is to blame? God curses the serpent for his actions, causing it to crawl on its belly all the day of its life.
God curses the woman and declares that she would have pain during childbirth and to be ruled by her husband. God curses Adam and pronounces that with the sweat of his brow he would eat food.
Summary of Genesis 4
The first murder.
(Eve’s sons made offerings to God. Only Abel’s was acceptable, so Cain killed him. Abel’s blood cried out and God sent Cain away.)
Adam and Eve his wife gave birth to two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain was a farmer by trade. Abel was a shepherd by profession.
Cain presented God with plants, while Abel presented God with fat animal parts. Cain’s plants were rejected by God, but Abel’s offering was accepted.
Cain was furious, he was envious of Abel’s divine favor and he assassinated Abel his brother.
Cain is cursed by God. God also set a mark on Cain so that anyone who kills him will be cursed seven times.
Summary of Genesis 5
The lineage of Adam to Noah.
(Adam’s line was: Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah. Noah’s sons were Shem, Ham, and Japheth.)
Summary of Genesis 6
Reasons for the Flood
(Humans have tainted the planet with evil. They were to be destroyed by God. He instructed Noah to construct an ark to be saved from the flood.)
The ladies begone mate with the “sons of God,” and gave birth to giants. God wasn’t pleased, man was becoming eviler. Even to the point where most men only think to do evil.
As a result, God regretted that He had created man and declared that He would wipe all creatures from the face of the earth. But Noah, on the other hand, was the only man alive at the time who did not sin.
As such, God visited Noah and told him to build a large boat because He was going to flood the earth and all life under the heavens would perish except for the people on the boat.
Noah is to board the boat with his three sons, their wives, and two of every living creature on the planet, male and female.
Noah is to gather and store all of the food that the animals that will be eaten during the flood will require.
Summary of Genesis 7
Building the ark.
(Noah and his family went into the ark with two of each creature. It rained for forty days and forty nights and the earth was covered.)
Because Noah is the only righteous person in his generation, the LORD commands Noah and his household to enter the ark. He also instructs Noah to bring seven pairs of “clean” animals, one pair of unclean animals, and seven pairs of each type of bird into the ark.
God will send rain on the earth for 40 days and nights after 7 days. Noah follows God’s instructions. When the flood begins, Noah is 600 years old.
Along with the clean animals, unclean animals, and birds, he and his family flee to the ark. As God had predicted, the flood occurs, and God seals Noah, his wife, Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, as well as their wives, inside the ark.
The ark rises on the swelling waters as the rain continues to fall; even the mountains are flooded.
Every living creature on the planet, including humans, passes away. Only Noah and his family have survived the 150-day journey on the ark.
Summary of Genesis 8
The Flood.
(The flood abated. Noah sent out a raven and two doves. When the earth was dry God called them all out of the ark. Noah built an altar.)
Noah, his family, and the animals in the ark are remembered by God. He sends a wind across the earth, causing the floodwaters to recede. The ark finally rests on the Ararat mountains after 150 days. The mountains gradually reappear as the waters recede.
Noah opens a window and sends a raven out after 40 days. Until the waters dry up, the raven flies back and forth. Noah then sends out a dove, but it returns to the ark due to the lack of dry ground for it to rest on.
Seven days later, he sends the dove out again, and the dove returns with an olive leaf in its mouth, indicating that the waters have receded. Noah sends the dove out for the final time after another seven days, and it does not return.
Noah removes the ark’s covering and notices that the ground is drying. God tells Noah, his wife, and his sons’ families to leave the ark with the animals when it is completely dry.
Noah constructs an altar to the LORD and offers burnt sacrifices on it after they exit the ark. When the LORD smells the offerings, he swears that he will never destroy his creation again.
Summary of Genesis 9
Noah and his children.
(God blessed Noah and set the rainbow as a sign that he would never flood the earth again. Noah got drunk and cursed Ham’s son Canaan.)
God blesses Noah and his sons and tells them to “procreate and multiply” in order to fill the earth.
They will eat all living things, with the exception of a creature’s flesh, which must not be eaten with its blood.
Furthermore, human blood is costly: anyone who sheds another’s blood must pay with his own because humans are created in God’s image.
God then tells Noah and his sons that he is making a covenant with them and their descendants, as well as all living things.
God will never again destroy the earth with a flood, according to this covenant. A rainbow in the clouds will be the sign of the covenant. God will remember his everlasting covenant whenever a rainbow appears in the sky.
The entire earth is repopulated thanks to Noah’s three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Noah is the first to establish a vineyard. Noah becomes inebriated and lies naked in his tent one day.
When Ham discovers him, he and his brothers cover him with a garment, while the rest of the family walks backward to avoid seeing their father’s nakedness.
When Noah awakens, he curses Ham and his descendants, including Ham’s son Canaan and his descendants, saying they will be slaves to Ham’s brothers and their descendants. After that, he blesses Shem and Japheth. Noah dies at the age of 950.
Summary of Genesis 10
Noah’s descendants.
(Japheth’s line lived in the coastlands; Ham’s included Nimrod and the Canaanites; Shem’s lived in the East. These formed the nations.)
The descendants of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth after the flood are listed.
Japheth’s descendants lived in Asia Minor and Europe.
Ham’s descendants mostly settle in Egypt, with a few in Assyria; Ham’s son, Canaan, settles in the land that would later become known as Palestine.
The Semitic peoples of Arabia and Mesopotamia are Shem’s descendants. Nations grow and spread across the globe as a result of Noah’s descendants.
Summary of Genesis 11
Tower of Babel
(They began building a great tower for themselves, but the Lord confused their language. Shem’s line included Abram who married Sarai.)
At first, everyone on the planet speaks the same language. People eventually decide to build a city and a brick-and-mortar tower that reaches the heavens as they settle on the plain of Shinar.
They hope to “make a name” for themselves by doing so. The LORD looks at the people’s city and tower and sees that because they all speak the same language, they will be able to do whatever they want.
He sets out to pervert the people’s language so that they are unable to communicate with one another. As a result of his actions, the people are dispersed across the globe.
The name “Babel” comes from the fact that God muddled their language. Shem’s descendants can be traced back to a man named Terah through several generations.
Abram, Nahor, and Haran are Terah’s children. Haran was Lot’s father, and he died in the land of Ur before his father Terah.
In the meantime, his brother Abram married Sarai, and his brother Nahor married Milcah. Sarai was childless or barren.
Terah, along with his son Abram, Sarai, and Lot, Terah’s grandson, set out from Ur for the land of Canaan, but they stopped and settled in Haran.
Final Word on the summary of Genesis chapter 1 to 11
The story, and just a story, but a detailed description of God’s eternal plan for humanity where we saw the glorious grace, power, and blessings of God when created man a gave in dominion over all his other creations. We saw the fall of man when he disobeyed God and was kicked out of the garden of Eden. We even saw how men became viler, and it resulted in God flooding the earth. And at the end of it all, we saw that God is forever merciful. May you learn from this beautiful summary of Genesis 1-11.
