12 h 19 minAudiobook6 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A garden, an ark, a road into Egypt: familiar Bible stories take shape in the rhyming couplets of medieval England.
The Story of Genesis and Exodus is an anonymous Middle English poem that retells the Bible’s early books. Its opening follows the biblical account of creation, then turns to Adam and Eve in the garden. Their choice begins a story of disobedience and its consequences, followed by Noah and the flood.
The poem follows Abraham into an unknown land, then traces the family stories of Jacob and Joseph toward Egypt. In its final movement, Moses faces Pharaoh, who refuses to release the enslaved Israelites. Written for hearers without Latin, this plain, lively telling brings scripture into the speech of medieval East Anglia.
What you’ll discover
- Creation and the garden Explore how medieval verse retells the biblical beginnings of the world and human disobedience.
- Noah and the ark Follow the poem’s account of Noah, his family, and the animals facing the flood.
- A family moves toward Egypt Meet Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph in stories of trust, wandering, dreams, and family conflict.
- Moses stands before Pharaoh Encounter the struggle over the Israelites’ release through the poem’s retelling of Exodus.
- English before Chaucer Discover regional speech and rhyming couplets shaped for people who hear scripture aloud.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you love Bible stories, medieval storytelling, or the early history of the English language, and like to see how people of the Middle Ages pictured Eden, the Flood and the Exodus.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A poet gives Scripture to ordinary listeners
- God makes the world and the devil falls
- Pride and envy bring Adam and Eve down
- Cain's family spreads sin until the Flood
- Babel, idols and Abram's long road
- Three visitors, Sodom and the testing of Isaac
- Rebekah, Jacob and the struggle between brothers
- Joseph is sold, jailed and raised to rule
- Joseph's brothers face a troubling demand
- Hunger forces Jacob to make a choice
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The Story of Genesis and Exodus
by Anonymous · 1250
A blind old man shoots at a deer in the woods and kills Cain, in a medieval English retelling of the Bible.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
What would you do if you wanted to teach the whole early Bible to people who could not read Latin? An unknown English poet answered with The Story of Genesis and Exodus, a retelling in short rhyming lines.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A poet gives Scripture to ordinary listeners
The poem opens by honoring those who teach the unlearned. The poet says his story comes out of Latin into plain English, so that anyone can hear it. He compares the joy of listeners to the joy of birds who see the dawn.
He sets out his plan at once. The tale will tell of a hill of bliss and a valley of sorrow, of how Lucifer led humankind into sin, and of how Christ later broke the devil's power. So the Old Testament is read throughout as the first act of a larger Christian story, and the poet often steps in to point out the link to Christ and the Church.
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What is The Story of Genesis and Exodus about?
It retells biblical stories in English verse, beginning with creation and the families of Genesis.
When was The Story of Genesis and Exodus written and who wrote it?
The author is unknown. His opening welcomes listeners without book learning. The poem itself gives no date.
Does the poem follow the Bible exactly?
It adds legends and comments, including the story of Lamech accidentally killing Cain.
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