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 are more descriptive and relate to the content 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.
• Themes – Sefer Bereshit servesa s the introduction
• Setting – In contrast to the rest of Torah which takes place in exile (in Egypt or the Wilderness), much of Sefer Bereshit occurs in the Land of Canaan.
• Timing – Sefer Bereshit takes place over a much longer period than any other book in Torah, encompassing thousands of years.
• Characters – In contrast to the rest of Torah which deals with the nation of Israel, Sefer Bereshit focuses on the family unit, discussing the nation's founders: Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov.
• Genre – Sefer Bereshit is unique in Torah in that it contains almost no legal material whatsoever.³

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 Yerushalmi SotahSotah 1:10About the Yerushalmi and Bavli Avodah ZarahAvodah Zarah 25aAbout the Bavli.

³ See Rashi's opening comment where he questions why the Torah did not open with Shemot 12, and the first commandment given to the nation of Israel.