The Holy Bible is a Christian scripture respected and believed in by about 2.3 billion people, which is 29% of the global population. Today, the Bible has been distributed to some six billion people - 80% of humanity. Yet the paradox is that, although being the best-selling book year-on-year, it is considered among the least readable. Genesis is the first of the 66 books of the Bible which God showed His prophet Moses thousands of years after they had taken place for Moses to record. Let's take a look at the first of the 39 books of the Old Testament.

Main Figures and Events in Genesis
*Every Biblical name has a meaning included in brackets

• Adam (man): Adam sinned by betraying God's command and eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23), which has plagued all creation
• Noah (comfort): believed in God's promise by building an ark. Only Noah's family - eight in all - were saved from the impending flood
• Abraham (father of many): obedient to God, even offering his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering
• Isaac (he laughs): although deceived by his son, Jacob, Isaac gave him his blessing in place of Jacob's older brother, Esau
• Jacob (he deceives): After wrestling with and overcoming the angel, God renamed him 'Israel', meaning 'he struggles with God'. Israel had 12 sons, who formed the 12 tribes
• Joseph (God will increase): During Joseph's life in Egypt, Israel's descendants moved to the land of Egypt

The main figures of Genesis are Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Genesis is a story centred on promises made between God and people and the first step towards thoroughly understanding the content of God’s covenants (promises) and the consequences of not keeping them.