Traditionally Moses. Since the nineteenth century most scholars have read it as several older strands brought together later; the book itself names no author.
When
Set from the beginning; written down over a long period, and finished well after the events it opens with.
What it is
Beginnings — of the world, of wrongdoing, of nations, and then, from chapter 12, of one family that the rest of the Bible follows.
What to watch for
The scale narrows fast. Eleven chapters cover everything; the remaining thirty-nine cover four generations of one household.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.Genesis 1:1
Bible Strands