A pericope (pur-IC-op-ee) (Greek περικοπη, "a cutting-out") in rhetoric is a set of verses which form one coherent unit or thought, thus forming a short passage suitable for public reading from a text, now usually used of sacred scripture. (Wikipedia 1/16/06)
Much of the Bible can be divided into pericopies that is what is being done in the following table with the book of Genesis. Pericopies are generally short so some of the stories in the table can themselves be broken down into pericopies and that is what will happen here at some stage. For the present the table serves as an outline for the book of Genesis. In addition to the pericopies Genesis contains genealogies that serve to tie together the pericopies. These generally cover the time period where there is no main narrative.
Another way to look a Genesis is to divide it into three sections and that is also presented in the table. Genesis begins with the creation of the world and ends with the death of Jacob. During that time we see a pattern develop: The pattern of rebellion and judgment tempered with mercy.
| Section | Pericope | Reference | |
| The First 2000 Years (Gen 1-11) |
The Seven Days of Creation | Gen 1:1-2:3 | |
| Adam and Eve | Gen 2:4-25 | ||
| Adam, Eve and Sin | Gen 3 | ||
| Cain and Abel - the first murder |
Gen 4 | ||
| Genealogy - Adam to Noah | Gen 5 | ||
| The Great Flood | Gen 6-9 | ||
| The Table of Nations | Gen 10 | ||
| The Tower of Babel | Gen 11.1-9 | ||
| Genealogy - Shem to Abraham | Gen 11.10-32 | ||
| Patriarchs | Abraham and Isaac (Gen 12:1-25:18) |
Abraham is Called | Gen 12-14 |
| God's Covenant with Abraham | Gen 15-17 | ||
| Sodom and Gomorrah | Gen 18-19 | ||
| Abraham Sarah, and Isaac | Gen 20-23 | ||
| Isaac and Rebekah | Gen 24 | ||
| The Death of Abraham | Gen 25.1-11 | ||
| Genealogy - Ishmael | Gen 25.12-18 | ||
| Jacob (Israel) (Gen 25:19-36:43) |
Jacob Competes with Esau | Gen 25.19-27.40 | |
| Jacob Flees to Aram | Gen 27.41-28.22 | ||
| Jacob in Aram | Gen 29-30 | ||
| Jacob Returns to Face Esau | Gen 31-33 | ||
| Dinah | Gen 34 | ||
| Jacob Returns to Bethel | Gen 35 | ||
| Genealogy - Esau | Gen 36 | ||
| Joseph (Gen 37-50) |
Joseph Sold into Slavery | Gen 37 | |
| Judah and Tamar | Gen 38 | ||
| Joseph in Egypt | Gen 39-41 | ||
| Joseph's Brothers Come to Egypt | Gen 42-45 | ||
| The Israelites live in Egypt | Gen 46.1-49.28 | ||
| The Deaths of Jacob and Joseph | Gen 49.29-50.26 | ||
based on http://www.bibleonthenet.com/01-Gen.htm 1/21/12
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- Last Updated: 10 September 2018