Commentary on Parashat Bereshit, Genesis 1:1-6:8
Questions
1. God made two great lights. What were they and what did they do?
2. On a certain number of days, God reviewed His work and said, “It was good.” On how many days did He say this?
3. On one day God said something different. Which day was that and what did He say and why?
4. What was God’s first commandment to the fish, creeping creatures, and fowl He created?
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5. What was God’s first commandment to man?
6. God said that man could eat from every tree in the garden, save one. Which one and why?
7. A river flowed out of Eden and then parted and became four rivers. Name three of the rivers.
8. What did God tell Adam and Eve their punishment would be if they ate from the Tree of Knowledge? What did Eve tell the serpent God had said?
9. After eating of the fruit what was the serpent’s punishment? What was Eve’s? What was Adam’s?
10. Having eaten from the Tree of Knowledge, what did God fear man would do next?
11. What did Cain and Abel do for a living?
12. Who were Noah’s three sons?
Answers
1. God created the sun to rule the day and the moon to rule the night (1:16).
2. God said “It was good” on five days of creation (1:4, 1:10, 1:12, 1:18, 1:21).
3. On the sixth day God said “It was very good,” because God had created man and the living creatures (1:31).
4. “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas and let the fowl multiply on earth (1:22).”
5. “Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, subdue it and have dominion over all living things (1:28).”
6. God forbad people from eating from the Tree of Knowledge, lest they come to know as much as God (1:17).
7. The four rivers were the Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates (2:11-14).
8. God told Adam and Eve: “If you eat of the fruit you shall surely die” (2:18); Eve told the serpent, “You shall not eat of it nor touch it or you will die (3:3).”
9. The serpent’s punishment was to crawl on its belly and eat dust (3:14-15); Eve’s punishment was pain in childbirth (3:16); Adam’s punishment was working hard for a living (3:18-19).
10. God feared man would eat from the Tree of Life and live forever (3:22).
11. Cain was a tiller of the soil and Abel was a shepherd (4:2).
12. Noah’s sons were Ham, Shem, and Japheth (5:10).
Provided by special arrangement with the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies.
