Amy Keisler, age 16, of Austin, Texas, for her question:

WHERE DID THE NAME GENESIS COME FROM?

Genesis is the name of the first book of the Bible. The name comes from a Greek word meaning birth or beginning.

The first part of Genesis describes God's creation of the world

and relates the stories of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and of Cain and Abel. It also tells the story of the great flood, or deluge, from which only Noah, his family and selected animals were saved.

Most of Genesis, from chapters 12 to 36, describes the lives of the three patriarchs, or fathers, of the Jewish people: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The last section, from chapters.37 to 50, tells of Joseph, Jacob's son, who was sold into slavery by his brothers and later became a government official in Egypt.

People admire the book of Genesis for its religious and ethical ideas and its great literary quality.

The great Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy called the story of Joseph and his many colored coat "the most perfect narrative ever written."