The Genesis Pattern
(Gen 1-11)
Session 2.1.5
Goals for this mini session
• Recognize the “Genesis Pattern”
• Know the Covenant Pattern
Sin Increases, God Remains Faithful
Two purposes to the accounts following “the Fall” in primeval history
1. They show the growth and worsening of sin
2. They show no matter how bad humanity fell, God remained faithful in
finding a way to keep his plan of salvation going.
3 Significant Stories
• Cain and Abel
• Noah and the Flood
• The Tower of Babel
Pascual 2
CAIN AND ABEL
GENESIS 4:1-16
Genesis 4:1
Genesis 4:2
Genesis 4:2
Genesis 4:3
Genesis 4:4
Genesis 4:4
Genesis 4:4
Genesis 4
Genesis 4
Genesis 4
Genesis 4
Genesis 4
Genesis 4
Genesis 4
Genesis 4
Genesis 4
Genesis 4
Genesis 4
Genesis 4
Genesis 4
Genesis 4:16
THE END
 * [4:2] Some suggest the story reflects traditional strife
between the farmer (Cain) and the nomad (Abel), with
preference for the latter reflecting the alleged nomadic ideal
of the Bible. But there is no disparagement of farming here,
for Adam was created to till the soil. The story is about two
brothers (the word “brother” occurs seven times) and God’s
unexplained preference for one, which provokes the first
murder. The motif of the preferred younger brother will occur
time and again in the Bible, e.g., Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and
David (1 Sm 16:1–13).
Gen 6:5-9:17
NOAH AND THE FLOOD
Genesis 6:12, 11
Genesis 6:8-9
Genesis 6:13
Genesis 6:14, 7:4
Genesis 6:18, 14
Genesis 6:22, 13, 15
Genesis 6:15-16
Genesis 6:19-20
Genesis 6:19
Genesis 6:20
Genesis 7:8-9
Genesis 6:13, 21
Genesis 7:1, 7
Genesis 7:16
Genesis 7:11
Genesis 7:11-12
Genesis 7:18
Genesis 7:19
Genesis 7:21
Genesis 7:23, 22
Genesis 7:24
Genesis 8:1
Genesis 8:3-4, 15-17
Genesis 8:18-19
Genesis 8:20
Genesis 8:21
Genesis 9:1-3
Genesis 9:4
Genesis 9:6
Genesis 9:8-12
Genesis 9:12
THE END
Fun facts NAB Footnotes
 * [9:1] God reaffirms without change the original blessing and
mandate of 1:28. In the Mesopotamian epic Atrahasis, on
which the Genesis story is partly modeled, the gods changed
their original plan by restricting human population through
such means as childhood diseases, birth demons, and
mandating celibacy among certain groups of women.
Pascual 2
TOWER OF BABEL
Genesis 11:1-2
Genesis 11:2-4
Genesis 11:3
Genesis 11:5-6
Genesis 11:7
Genesis 11:8
Genesis 11:8
Genesis 11:9
Fun Facts
 Babel is another spelling of Babylon,
the nation and city where the
Israelite leaders were brought as
captives.
 They built tall towers called ziggurats.
 During the Babylonian Exile, the
Israelites would have recognized
much idolatry, worship of false gods.
THE END
To wrap up and Conclusion
Skip to Covenants
Covenant Pattern
Pascual RE 2.4.2 D3
Cain and Abel
What do you know about Cain and Abel?
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The effects of Original Sin continue
in the story of Cain and Abel.
Eve recognizes God’s blessing in
Cain’s birth.
God warns Cain against resentment
and anger.
Cain kills Abel despite God’s warning.
Cain lies to God.
Cain is banned from farming,
paralleling Adam and Eve’s
banishment from the Garden.
God neither kills Cain nor allows others to kill him—revenge would
be the same sin Cain committed.
Image in public domain
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The Flood
What do you know about Noah and the Flood?
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In the story of Noah and the Flood, human beings fall prey to the sinful and
evil ways of the world.
Following the Flood a rainbow appears as a sign of God’s Covenant with
Noah and all living beings. God’s Covenant with Noah is an “everlasting
covenant” that “will remain in force as long as the world lasts” (CCC, 71).
The Covenant with Noah foreshadows God’s Covenant with Abraham.
God chooses Noah to escape the Flood because of his obedience to God’s
Law and respect for creation.
Image in public domain
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Tower of Babel
What do you know about the Tower of Babel?
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Image in public domain
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In the account of the Tower of Babel, power-hungry people of
different nations together attempt to build a tower that will reach
the heavens.
Longing to be like God, lured by the hope to be famous, and
forgetting about their covenantal relationship with God, nothing
will stop the people from building a self-serving tower of greed—
nothing except the hand of God.
God stops the people from building the tower by confusing their
speech, making it impossible for them to communicate and
effectively carry out their plan.
Important Teachings from Genesis 1-11
• God created the earth and humanity as good, and He invites us to
relationship.
• “The history” of our interaction with God began with His initiative in the
Creation.
• Disobedience is the source of Original Sin, the reality of our human condition
of brokenness.
• Disrespect for humanity and life is disrespect for God, the Creator, as shown
in the story of Cain and Abel. (lack of Original Holiness and Justice)
• God respects those who respect his creation and law (rules), as shown in the
story of Noah.
Important Teachings from Genesis 1-11
• God desires to be in relationship with humanity, as shown by the stories of
Adam and Eve and Noah.
• These stories are the opening moments of salvation history and the reason
for it.
• God did not abandon humanity at the Fall. Instead, salvation history
began at this point to help humanity return to a committed relationship
with God.
• Salvation history records humanity’s relationship with God through a
series of promises, or covenants, in which both God and humanity have
responsibilities.
5 Minute Break
• Skip to Covenants