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Old Testament · Volume 1

Genesis: Creation to Isaac

Genesis 1–23 · keyed to the ESV

Eight adventures carry a child from creation through the garden, the flood, the tower of Babel, and on into the stories of Abraham and Isaac. Every adventure pairs the story with an English vocabulary and comprehension workbook and one rotating Treasure Wisdom domain — real places, archaeology and ancient daily life — so a child comes away knowing the world of the passage, not just the plot.

Read the whole workbook as one PDF

Every part in one file — Overview, Word Study, Understanding, Literary Craft, Wisdom and SAT/TOEFL practice for all 8 parts, ready to print or read offline. Available as a Student Edition and a Teacher/Parent Edition with the full answer key.

Open Student Edition → Open Teacher Edition →

The eight adventures

1
In the Beginning: Creation & the Ancient World
Genesis 1–2 · creation, ancient cosmology, the world of Genesis
🌍 Where
Gift →
2
Eden, the Fall & Life Outside the Garden
Genesis 3–4 · Eden, early farming, shepherding, family life
🌾 Daily life
Gift →
3
Noah Builds the Ark
Genesis 5–7 · ancient boats, flood traditions, animals
🛶 Ancient boats
Gift →
4
Rainbow Covenant & the Tower of Babel
Genesis 8–11 · Mesopotamia, ziggurats, languages, nations
🏛️ Cities & nations
Gift →
5
Abram Leaves Home
Genesis 12–14 · Ur, Haran, Canaan, nomadic travel
🐫 Nomadic travel
Gift →
6
God's Covenant with Abraham
Genesis 15–17 · ancient covenants, tents, circumcision, names
🤝 Ancient covenants
Gift →
7
Visitors, Sodom & the Cities of the Plain
Genesis 18–20 · hospitality, desert cities, Dead Sea region
🏜️ Desert cities
Gift →
8
Isaac: The Promised Son
Genesis 21–23 · Beersheba, sacrifice, burial customs
⚱️ Burial customs
Gift →

English phrases that came from these chapters

Some of the passages in this workbook gave English its everyday phrases. A few come straight from the verse; others are just well-known expressions the story inspired.

Part Phrase What it means today
Part 1
“Let there be light”
Genesis 1:3
Said today when someone suddenly understands something, or when something new begins.
“The breath of life”
Genesis 2:7
Used for whatever gives someone or something real vitality and energy.
Part 2
“Forbidden fruit”
Genesis 3:6
Something tempting mainly because it's off-limits.
“Fig leaf”
Genesis 3:7
A thin, obvious attempt to cover up something embarrassing.
“Adam's apple”
Fun fact · inspired by Genesis 3:6
The popular English nickname for the bump in the throat. Folklore says a bite of the forbidden fruit stuck in Adam's throat — it's not something the Bible itself says, just a well-known expression the story inspired.
“My brother's keeper”
Genesis 4:9
Used to ask whether we're responsible for looking after one another.
Part 3
“Forty days and forty nights”
Genesis 7:12
Used today for any long, difficult stretch of time.
“A flood of …”
Fun fact · inspired by Genesis 7
Used for an overwhelming rush of something, like “a flood of emails” or “a flood of tears.”
Part 4
“An olive branch”
Genesis 8:11
To “extend an olive branch” means to offer peace after a conflict.
“A tower of Babel”
Genesis 11:1–9
Used for a confusing jumble of voices, or a grand plan that collapses into chaos.

Recommended Bible edition

This workbook is keyed to the ESV® Bible (Crossway) — chapter and verse references, proper names and the vocabulary taught all follow the ESV. Read the referenced Scripture in your own ESV Bible alongside each part; the workbook retells and asks about the passage but does not reprint Scripture text. On the age of the earth, the length of the creation days and the historicity questions around Genesis 1–11, we state what the text says and note plainly where sincere Christians read it differently.