Structure – Sefer Bereshit/0

Structural Analysis – Sefer Bereshit
"From Creation to the Chosen Family"

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Boundaries of the Book

" From Creation to the Chosen Family "

• Names – The name "בְּרֵאשִׁית", which is derived from the opening word of the book, dates back to antiquity.¹ Two other names found in rabbinic sources² relate to the content of most of the book: "ספר אברהם יצחק ויעקב"  and "ספר הישר" (referring to the upright character of the Patriarchs.)  In the vernacular the book is known as Genesis, referring to to its opening description of the creation of the world. 
• Theme – 
• Setting – 
• Timing – 
• Characters – In contrast to the rest of Torah which deals with the nation of Israel, Sefer Bereshit focuses on the founders of the nation, Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov and their families.
• Genre – 

Division of Sefer Bereshit

• Plot – 
• Transition unit – 
• Characters – 
• Setting – 
• Timing – 
• Literary marker – 

Subdivision of Unit I – "Universal History"

• Plot – 
• Characters – 
• Timing – 
• Refrains – 

Subdivision of Unit II – "Avraham's Fathering of Many Nations"

• Plot – 
• Characters – 
• Timing – 
• Refrains – 

Subdivision of Unit III – "Yaakov and the Twelve Tribes"

• Plot – 
• Characters – 
• Setting – 
• Refrains – 
• Timing – 

¹ Eusebius cites Origen as writing that this was the name used by the Jews.

² See Bavli Avodah Zarah 25a.