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 serves as the introduction to the rest of Torah, describing a series of rejections and selections, ending with the choosing of the twelve tribes, later to become the Nation of Israel.  Subsequent books discuss the formative experiences which transformed the tribes into a nation and the laws which are to govern their interactions with each other and Hashem.
• 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, in contrast to the centuries of Sefer Shemot, decades of Bemidbar and weeks of Vayikra and Devarim..
• Characters – While the rest of Torah 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 Into Units

I. Universal History (1 – 11)
II. Selection of a Chosen Family (12 – 50)

• Plot – The book divides into two main sections, both of which contain a series of rejections and selections, first on the universal level and then on the individual level. Thus, the first 11 chapters speak of the creation, destruction and recreation of the world at large, while the subsequent chapters focus on the choosing of the individuals which were to father Hashem's chosen nation.
• Characters – While the first unit speaks of the seventy nations of the world, the second 
• Setting – 
• Timing – 
• Literary marker – 

Subdivision of Unit I – "Universal History"

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

Subdivision of Unit II – "Selection of a Chosen Family"

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

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 to the book, where he questions why the Torah did not begin with Shemot 12, and the first commandment given to the nation of Israel.