A Genesis Retelling or a Bible Translation?

An illustrated retelling selects and rewrites material to tell a story for its intended readers. A Bible translation aims to translate the biblical text. Those are different purposes, and a family should know which kind of book it is buying.

What our Genesis book is

Genesis: A World, a Promise, a Family is an illustrated family retelling inspired by Genesis 1–50. It has twelve story sections, illustrations, questions and notes for grown-ups. It is not a direct verse-by-verse translation and does not reproduce every verse of Genesis.

That means it can introduce a story or open a conversation, but it should not be used as though its wording were the wording of a particular Bible translation. When a question depends on exactly what a verse says, read the passage in a Bible.

Read the two alongside each other

Choose one story in the retelling. Look up the corresponding chapters in Genesis, then compare what is included, shortened or expressed differently. Ask what the illustration helps you notice and what information you still need from the biblical passage.

An illustration is also an interpretation. The text may not specify a character’s expression, clothing or every feature of the setting. A useful family question is: “Which part did we read, and which part did the artist show?”

Preview difficult material

Genesis includes violence, loss, family conflict and sexual material. An illustrated presentation does not make every underlying passage suitable for every child without preparation. Read ahead and decide how much detail to discuss with the particular children present.

Choose for the purpose

Choose a retelling for shared storytelling and discussion. Choose a complete Bible translation when you want the full wording of Genesis or a text for detailed study. You may want both, but one does not replace the other.

Our physical Black and White books contain the New Testament, so they do not include Genesis. If you want to compare this retelling with the original biblical book in English, use a full Bible or the linked public-domain WEB text below.