The canonical placement of Genesis. Besides being a book about beginnings, Genesis and its concern about creation constitute a fundamental theological category for every other biblical book. Only in relationship to creation can God's subsequent actions in and through Israel be properly understood: God's purposes with Israel and the church are universal in scope.

THE TALE, the Parable, and the Fable are all common and popular modes of conveying instruction. Each is distinguished by its own special characteristics. The Tale consists simply in the narration of a story either founded on facts, or created solely by the imagination, and not necessarily associated with the teaching of any moral lesson.