Genesis

Overview

Author:

Moses

Israel’s deliverer

Law-giver, judge

probably used existing oral and written sources

Time period:

Around 1400 BC

during 40 year period of wandering in the desert

Audience:

Israelites

led out of Egypt

during their time in the desert

Style:

Historical narrative

some poetry and prophecy

Why:

To give the nation of Israel a history and a rule of life as they enter Canaan

To remind them of their past and prepare them for their future

Culture:

slavery in Egypt