In the Beginning a Blog series on the Book of Genesis by Book and Chapter

Image by Sabrina ヅ via Flickr

A good way to look at Genesis as a book is to understand the themes of the work.

Dr. Allen P. Ross breaks it down through the generations aspect.

The Structure of Genesis
The structure of the book is marked by an initial section and then ten further sections with headings. The major structural word of the book is tôledôt, expressed in the clause “these are the generations of.…” The word is a feminine noun from yālad, “to give birth” (properly derived from the hiphil stem of the verb, meaning “to beget”). It is often translated as “generations,” “histories,” or simply “descendants.”2
This word has been traditionally viewed as a heading of a section. Reconstructing the outline according to this view would yield the arrangement below. (See C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch, trans. James Martin [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1949 reprint], pp. 70–71; Bush, Notes, p. 57; Leupold, Exposition of Genesis, vol. 1, pp. 109–11.)
1. Creation (1:1–2:3)
2. Tôledôt of the heavens and the earth (2:4–4:26)
3. Tôledôt of Adam (5:1–6:8)
4. Tôledôt of Noah (6:9–9:29)
5. Tôledôt of Shem, Ham, and Japheth (10:1–11:9)
6. Tôledôt of Shem (11:10–26)
7. Tôledôt of Terah (11:27–25:11)
8. Tôledôt of Ishmael (25:12–18)
9. Tôledôt of Isaac (25:19–35:29)
10. Tôledôt of Esau, the father of Edom (twice) (36:1–8; 36:9–37:1)
11. Tôledôt of Jacob (37:2–50:26)


Ross charts the days of creation as follows

Chart 1. Basic Elements in the Creation Account
Title: God created the universe
Chaos: Waste and void, darkness on the deep
Creation: Spirit of God hovering over the face of the water
Day 1: Light out of darkness, day and night separated
Day 2: Waters above and below separated: heaven
Day 3: Seas gathered and dry land appears: vegetation
Day 4: Heavenly luminaries formed to rule and divide times
Day 5: Marine life and birds created and blessed
Day 6: Animal life created and blessed; human life created, blessed, and commissioned
Completion:
Day 7: Creation marked with sanctified rest

I like this view and my personal way of looking at Genesis is as follows:

My Outline

Book in Brief outline

To remember what the book of Genesis is about we look at one word. COVENANT

It is the book of God’s Covenant of Salvation, the Rainbow Covenant, The Abrahamic, Davidic, Palestinian, and Solaric Covenants with Israel.

Outline

C reation 1.1-2.3

O rigin of sin 2.4-3

V iolence in the earth due to sin 4.1-6.8

E ntire world judged by flood 6.9-9.22

N oah’s ark and the replenished earth 9.1-11.25

A bram born and the origin of the nation of Israel 11.26-32

N ational Covenant and Nations building (Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob and Esau) 12.1-15.21

T he twelve sons of Jacob in Egypt up until Joseph’s death *  16.1-50.26

The doctrine of the covenant is all throughout the work of Genesis and helps me remember the faithfulness of God.