<P> The book 's author or authors appear to have structured it around ten `` toledot '' sections ( the `` these are the generations of ... '' phrases ) , but modern commentators see it in terms of a `` primeval history '' ( chapters 1 -- 11 ) followed by the cycle of Patriarchal stories ( chapters 12 -- 50 ) . In Judaism , the theological importance of Genesis centers on the covenants linking God to his chosen people and the people to the Promised Land . Christianity has interpreted Genesis as the prefiguration of certain cardinal Christian beliefs , primarily the need for salvation ( the hope or assurance of all Christians ) and the redemptive act of Christ on the Cross as the fulfillment of covenant promises as the Son of God . </P>
<P> The book 's author or authors appear to have structured it around ten `` toledot '' sections ( the `` these are the generations of ... '' phrases ) , but modern commentators see it in terms of a `` primeval history '' ( chapters 1 -- 11 ) followed by the cycle of Patriarchal stories ( chapters 12 -- 50 ) . In Judaism , the theological importance of Genesis centers on the covenants linking God to his chosen people and the people to the Promised Land . Christianity has interpreted Genesis as the prefiguration of certain cardinal Christian beliefs , primarily the need for salvation ( the hope or assurance of all Christians ) and the redemptive act of Christ on the Cross as the fulfillment of covenant promises as the Son of God . </P>
what are the first 11 chapters of genesis called
what are the first 11 chapters of genesis called
primeval history
primeval history