Jewish tradition calls the first book of the Bible after its first word, Bereshit, which can be translated as “in the beginning” or “when first.” It was common in the ancient world to name a book after its first word(s); for example, the Mesopotamian epic that narrates the world’s creation, Enuma Elish, gets its name from its first words, which mean “When on high.” Bereshit also highlights the character of the book as the beginning of the Bible.
