GENESIS MAKES SENSE: INTRO

© 2025.

Scroll below this Introduction to select the commentaries and Topical notes.  Authorship, post date, and contact email appear after each section. Posted commentaries and Topical notes have been updated as recently as October 2025**.   

INTRODUCTION to the COMMENTARIES and TOPICAL NOTES.

Genesis Makes Sense is a series of well-referenced commentaries and Topical notes that cover most of the accounts in Genesis chapters 1-11 from a factual SCIENTIFIC and HISTORICAL perspective. Nearly all other internet commentaries for these early chapters of Genesis explain only their religious content. The verse-by-verse coverage of Genesis chapters 1-3 uses proper Hebrew word translations from reliable cited references so these accounts may be correctly understood. Genesis chapters 4 and 5 have summarized coverage. Topical note 4 includes scientific descriptions of Noah’s Flood and the Ark from Genesis 6-9 and provides extra-biblical historical evidence for Noah and his family.  Migration of Noah’s extended family after the Flood to their initial settlement in Mesopotamia and beyond from Genesis 10-11 is covered. Topical note 3B includes scientific and historical coverage of their later (extra-biblical) world-wide migrations.  Topical notes also include other important subjects related to the early accounts in Genesis.  The Topical note content listing is given below. 

The commentaries and Topical notes provide insight about “how” the events in these accounts factually occurred using evidence from recent discoveries in astronomy, archaeology, Hebrew linguistics, character analysis, and ancient history. 

The section about the Authorship of the Hebrew Law provides convincing archaeological, linguistic, and historical evidence that Moses was the original writer of the books of the Hebrew Law during their Exodus from Egypt about 1450 BCE, and why later explanatory “editorial updating” by others didn’t change his message. It explains where and when the Book of Genesis was written, and the historical background and authorship for the Book of Job.  

Evidence for the information trail of these earliest accounts in Genesis from their originators into modern bibles is summarized after Highlights of Genesis 4, is and covered in more detail in Topical note 4.  This study concentrates on details that people have questions about and strives to answer critics’ objections.

The commentaries and Topical notes are written in plain English and don’t assume readers have a thorough understanding of the bible or the scientific disciplines involved. The thought progression of the material was carefully organized for easy reading. Although the material was prepared for those with a Judeo-Christian background it welcomes those who have other faiths and people with a secular world view as well.  

Unfortunately, today the early books of the bible are viewed by many as “myths and legends” that are not relevant for today, or only “fables” (fictious stories) that teach spiritual lessons.  Genesis is the foundational book of the Bible so it contains the early accounts that originated the concepts taught in the rest of the bible. Life lessons that have eternal value are included in the commentaries that illustrate these accounts still have application for today- because human nature hasn’t changed since they were written.

There are three commentaries for Genesis 1- They explain its Origin and Authorship, Creation- the Beginning for verse 1 when the heavens and the earth were created, and Creation- the Six Days for verses 2-31 when the original barren planet earth was made into a habitat with living creatures and humans.  

A brief technical (scientific) summary of biblical Genesis 1 introduces and precedes the commentary, Genesis 1 Creation- the beginning.  It inserts explanatory scientific descriptions into the bible text inside of bold braces. This carefully researched science is completely consistent with the biblical account and is clearly separated from the bible text. Adding scientific descriptions to this otherwise unscientific bible account makes the meaning of Genesis 1 in all English bibles clearly understandable to modern readers!     

The commentary, Genesis 1: Creation, the Beginning includes the unrecorded science behind what happened in the "beginning" according to modern astronomy. Then it compares the (few) observationally supported features from the “Big Bang” creation scenario from modern astronomy with the creation of “the heavens and the earth in the “beginning” from Genesis 1, v1 and other scripture verses. Apparently flawed human interpretations of Exodus 20:11 and Genesis 1:16-17 have set barriers to understanding how good observational astronomy and accurate scripture verse meanings are consistent. (See Bible reference notation below*.) The common interpretation for Exodus 20:11 is used to support a single-day creation of the universe that is incompatible with observational astronomy.  And the meaning for Genesis 1:16 that alleges the sun, moon, and stars were “formed” on the 4th day after they were created in the beginning in v1 is confusing. Careful Hebrew word and scientific studies are presented in the Genesis 1: Creation, The Beginning commentary for a different, linguistically correct and scientifically compatible meaning of Exodus 20:11.  Similarly, another meaning is developed for Genesis 1:16-18 in the Genesis 1: Creation, The Six Days commentary that is consistent with the Hebrew and fits well scientifically with events of the previous three days.

Recently, discoveries were made of some stars and planets in our galaxy that are presently forming from "accretion disks" of particulate solid matter that surround them.  These developing stellar systems are commonly used by secular scientists to claim the celestial heavens weren’t created in the “beginning” and the bible is wrong. This claim is evaluated (and refuted) in the commentary, Genesis 1: Origin and Authorship. Instead, this observational discovery is shown to explain how the "young" features of the planets in our solar system including their active surfaces and magnetic fields that creation scientists note are related to their hot interiors, actually date from only several thousand years ago. How our solar system completed forming from an accretion disk several thousand years ago that fits with scripture chronology is explained scientifically in the Genesis 1: Creation, The beginning commentary.             

The commentary, Genesis 1: Creation, The Six Days continues coverage

for vv2-31 after the “beginning” in v1. Its introduction includes a scientific explanation for the origin of “the waters” that produced Earth’s ocean and explains why our planet differs so much from the other planets in our solar system. Next, the events in the first four days of creation that importantly prepared the originally created barren earth for life are summarized to introduce the Creation commentary for the “Six Days” that follows. This full-length commentary provides detailed verse-by-verse descriptive explanations for these daily events. That proven, observable science supports the scripture is convincingly presented throughout.

A content listing of the Topical notes follows: 

Topical note 1 covers scientific bias against the bible. Topical note 2 critiques alternate views of the life creation account described in Genesis 1- theistic evolution, the gap theory, and day-age interpretation. Topical note 3A explains how fossil humans fit into the Genesis accounts, 3B describes how humans migrated to fill the earth after Noah’s Flood, how the earliest nations originated, and how today’s human races began, and 3C covers worldwide animal migration after the Flood. This includes why the unusual marsupial and monotreme mammals, such as kangaroos and duck billed platypuses inhabit Australia, how penguins reached Antarctica, and New World monkeys reached the tropical parts of the Americas after Noah’s Flood. Topical note 4 explains the historical evidence that Noah and his family were real people, geological and historical evidence for Noah’s Flood and how it originated Earth’s plate tectonics and continental drift several thousand years ago, and why human life spans dramatically decreased after the Flood. It also explains the paraphrased ancient Mesopotamian creation and flood epics and surveys the worldwide cultural creation and flood traditions, then covers their relevance to the Genesis creation and flood accounts.  Topical note 5 explains the worldwide pre-Flood tropical climate and why it no longer exists. Topical note 6 critiques evolutionary speciation theory and its promotion by conventional scientists as a fact. The section on micro-evolution within species introduces recent discoveries in molecular genetics. The newly described adaptive process of continuous environmental tracking (known as CET) by organisms to climate change in their environment is covered. Their biochemical sensing is directly coupled to epigenetic modification of their genomes and RNA editing that allows organisms to continuously adapt to climate change and pass these changes to their progeny. This process was recently documented for birds including “Darwin’s finches” in conventional scientific journal articles quoted. CET obsoletes the older and much slower theoretical process of “natural selection” by the environment as the selective agent for organisms to climate change.  Origin of the flightless birds is studied. Topical note 7 covers radiometric dating, why it is used by conventional scientists instead of other methods, and exposes its flaws. Topical note 8 critiques the conventional age of the universe, and details the creation of our solar system according to scripture and new astronomical discoveries. It explains how the observationally supportable parts of Big Bang cosmology fit rather than conflict with scripture that was introduced in the Genesis 1: Creation, the Beginning commentary. Topical note 9 explores requirements for habitable exoplanets and evaluates scientific and biblical evidence for extra-terrestrial life. Topical note 10 explains why God created the universe with intelligent life.

Here are some popular bible mysteries that are explained in these commentaries and topical notes, with the evidence:

How did the ancient Genesis accounts get into modern bibles? (Summary after Highlights of Genesis 4).  Where is ancient Eden today? How could eating from the Garden of Eden's "tree of life" let people live forever? (Genesis 2 commentary). Was the Garden’s serpent a snake or something else? Did he really speak to the woman? Why did the serpent tempt the woman instead of the man? (Genesis 3 commentary). Where did Cain’s wife come from? (Highlights of Genesis 4). How do fossil humans fit into the creation accounts? (Topical note 3A). Did humans ever meet T.rex dinosaurs? (Genesis 1 commentary and Topical note 3A). Authorship of the Hebrew Law includes the following five topics: Who was the pharaoh of the Exodus? Have any solid archaeological discoveries been made in Egypt from the original Passover?...Yes! What was the name of pharaoh’s daughter who adopted Moses and later became a ruling queen of Egypt? Which pharaoh ruled Egypt who appointed Jacob’s son, Joseph as prime minister? Who wrote the Book of Job, and when did Job live? Did fire-breathing dragons described in The Book of Job really exist? (Genesis 3 commentary). If the biblical God created everything why and when did pagan gods originate? (Genesis 1: Origin and Authorship). How were so many big animals kept on Noah’s ark?  Was the ark the same as a boat? (Topical note 4). Are UFOs real? Do they confirm that extra-terrestrial life exists? (Topical note 9). Why did God create the universe with intelligent life? (Topical note 10).

This study consistently provides real answers to searching questions that are presented with supporting scientific and historical evidence.

Many carefully selected science and history articles from reputable websites, books, technical periodicals, and videos were used as source material for the commentaries and topical notes. These cited references show their content is not just the author’s asserted opinions! Numbered references appear in bold braces {} and they are listed at the end of each section. When scripture is referred to the verses are conveniently cited to find them in a bible. Internet references may be accessed by clicking on their live web links.  Use of the cited references does not imply their endorsement.

Scripture references in the commentaries and Topical notes are recommended to be read along side of a bible, but this is optional.  Chapter and verse designations and scripture wording refer to the New International Version (©1984 NIV) bible, and references to other bible versions including the King James (KJV) are noted in brackets [].  Originally each book of the bible was written as continuous text without chapter or verse numbers.  These were added much later during the medieval period in Europe to assist referring to parts of the text.  

*Bible reference notation: Genesis 1:1 means Genesis chapter 1 verse 1 (or v1), plural for verse is vv, Genesis 1-3 means Genesis chapters 1 through 3, and the verse reference for v6c (or :6c) means the third sentence in verse 6. 

**Text emphasis: Use of bold, underlined, and italicized text assists faster reading.  Blue and black bold font indicate major concepts.  Underlined and italicized text indicate important details.           

W. Cook

Independent researcher September 2025

contact: genesismakessense@gmail.com

Please do not use web links in comments.