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Bearing in mind these general outlines of the contents and the literary structure of Genesis, we shall easily understand the following analytical table.
* ''Introduction (Genesis 1:1-2:3) -- '' Consists of the [[Hexaemeron]]; it teaches the power and goodness of [[God (Catholic Encyclopedia)|God]] as manifested in the creation of the world, and also the dependence of creatures on the dominion of the Creator. * ''General History (2:4-11:26) --'' Man did not acknowledge his dependence on [[God (Catholic Encyclopedia)|God]]. Hence, leaving the disobedient to their own devices, [[God (Catholic Encyclopedia)|God]] chose one special family or one individual as the depositary of His Revelation. * ''History of Heaven and Earth (2:4-4:26) --'' Here we have the story of the fall of our first parents, ii, 5-iii, 24; of the fratricide of [[Cain]], iv, 1-16; the posterity of Cain and its elimination, iv, 17-26. * ''History of Adam (5:1-6:8) --'' The writer enumerates the Sethites, another line of Adam's descendants, v, 1-32, but shows that they too became so corrupt that only one among them found favour before [[God (Catholic Encyclopedia)|God]], vi, 1-8. * ''History of Noe (6:9-9:29) --'' Neither the Deluge which destroyed the whole human race excepting Noe's family, vi, 11-viii, 19, nor [[God (Catholic Encyclopedia)|God'scovenant with [[Noah]] covenant with Noe and his sons, viii, 20-ix, 17, brought about the amendment of the human family, and only one of NoeNoah's sons was chosen as the bearer of the Divine blessings, ix, 18-29.
* ''History of the Sons of Noe (10:1-11:9) --'' The posterity of the non-chosen sons, x, 1-32, brought a new punishment on the human race by its pride, xi, 1-9.
* ''History of Sem (11:10-26) --'' The posterity of Sem is enumerated down to Thare the father of Abraham, in whose seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.
* ''Special History (11:27-50:26) --'' Here the inspired writer describes the special Providence watching over [[Abraham ]] and his offspring which developed in Egypt into a large nation. At the same time, he eliminates the sons of Abraham who were not children of [[God (Catholic Encyclopedia)|God's]] promise. This teaches the [[Israelites (Catholic Encyclopedia)|Israelites]] that carnal descent from Abraham does not suffice to make them true sons of Abraham. * ''History of Thare (11:27-25:11) --'' This section tells of the call of Abraham, his transmigration into Chanaan, his covenant with [[God (Catholic Encyclopedia)|God]], and His promises.
* ''History of Ismael (25:12-28) --'' This section eliminates the tribes springing from Ismael.
* ''History of [[Isaac ]] (25:19-35:29 --'' Here we have the history of Isaac's sons, [[Esau ]] and [[Jacob(Genesis)|Jacob]].
* ''History of Esau (36:1-37:1) --'' The sacred writer gives a list of Esau's posterity; it does not belong to the number of the Chosen People.
* ''History of Jacob (37:2-50:26) --'' This final portion of Genesis tells of the fate of Jacob's family down to the death of the Patriarch and of [[Joseph(Genesis)|Joseph]]. What has been said shows a uniform plan in the structure of Genesis, which some scholars prefer to call "schematism".
** The whole book is divided into ten sections.
** Each section is introduced by the same formula.
