Book excerpt: As its name implies, Genesis is a book of origins. In it we are told of the origin of the universe, the beginnings of the human race and the birth of the Israelite nation. But it is more than an early record of origins. It is part of God's Word to us, what the apostle Paul calls "God-breathed" Scripture. Here we are given infallible instruction concerning where we all came from and why things are the way they are. The book of Genesis is also crucially important for our understanding of the rest of Scripture. It introduces us to the true and living God, to the beginnings of sin, its consequences and how it has affected the whole created order. - Publisher.