According to the author, his purpose is to “help the reader appreciate the major literary and theological motifs that form the theological ideas in the narratives, and to demonstrate how these theological ideas can be developed into clear and accurate expository ideas.” To accomplish this goal, Ross introduces four approaches to the study of Genesis—literary-analytical, form-critical, traditio-historical, and rhetorical-critical—which he utilizes to expound on the theological ideas manifest in this first book of the Bible.
Ross divides his exposition of Genesis into four basic narratives—The Primeval Events (chapters 1–11); The Patriarchal Narratives about Abraham (chapters 11–25); The Patriarchal Narratives about the Descendants of Abraham (chapters 25–36); and The Story of Joseph (chapters 37–50). Within these narratives are more than sixty chapters where Ross discusses different theological ideas, explaining their structure and synthesizes their message. Included in the text are exegetical and expository outlines, four appendices and a bibliography listing commentaries and monographs on Genesis.
