Book of Genesis
創世記[1]
The Book of Genesis (from the Latin Vulgate, in turn borrowed or transliterated from Greek "γένεσις", meaning "Origin"; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית, "Bərēšīṯ", "In [the] beginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh) and the Old Testament. It can be divided into two parts, the Primeval history (chapters 1–11) and the Ancestral history (chapters 12–50). The primeval history sets out the author's (or authors') concepts of the nature of the deity and of humankind's relationship with its maker: God creates a world which is good and fit for mankind, but when man corrupts it with sin God decides to destroy his creation, saving only the righteous Noah to reestablish the relationship between man and God. The Ancestral History (chapters 12–50) tells of the prehistory of Israel, God's chosen people. At God's command Noah's descendant Abraham journeys from his home into the land of Canaan, given to him by God, where he dwells as a sojourner, as does his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob. Jacob's name is changed to Israel, and through the agency of his son Joseph, the children of Israel descend into Egypt, 70 people in all with their households, and God promises them a future of greatness. Genesis ends with Israel in Egypt, ready for the coming of Moses and the Exodus. The narrative is punctuated by a series of covenants with God, successively narrowing in scope from all mankind (the covenant with Noah) to a special relationship with one people alone (Abraham and his descendants through Isaac and Jacob).
創世記(從拉丁文的武加大譯本(Vulgate)而來,借用或音譯希臘文中「γένεσις」,意為「起源」。希伯來語中的「בְּרֵאשִׁית」[Bərēšīṯ],指「一切(的)開始」)是希伯來聖經(Tanakh)和舊約聖經中的第一本書。它分成兩個部分:太古史(第1-11章)和族長史(第12-50章)。太古史闡述了作者(或作者們)對於神靈的本質以及人類與其創造者的關係之概念:上帝創造了一個善良和適合人類的世界,但當人類用罪惡腐蝕它時,上帝決定摧毀他的創造,只拯救正直的挪亞,重新建立人與上帝之間的關係。 族長史(第12-50章)講述了上帝所揀選的族群,以色列的史前史。在上帝的命令之下,挪亞的後裔亞伯拉罕離開自己的家,到達上帝賜給他迦南,作為一個旅居者居住在那裡,他的兒子以撒和他的孫子雅各也是如此。雅各的名字改為以色列,並藉由他兒子約瑟的幫助,以色列的孩子們與他們的家眷共70個人下到埃及,上帝保證他們會有一個廣大的未來。創世記以以色列到埃及為結尾,並為即將到來的摩西和出埃及記做準備。敘事是由一系列與上帝的約定所組成,從全人類(與挪亞的約定)的範圍依次縮小至與一人(從亞伯拉罕到他的後裔以撒和雅各)的特殊關係。