A poll by Ynetnews found the following were the most popular stories in the Bible. It doesn’t say whether participants were allowed to choose stories from the whole (OT) Bible or not, but you can see that all are from the Pentateuch/Torah, 6 of them from Genesis.
1. Creation of the world (Genesis 1) – 21%
2. Joseph and his brothers (Genesis 36-50) – 20%
3. Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 14-16) – 13%
4. Binding of Isaac – (Genesis 22) – 10%
5. Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai (Exodus 18-20) – 10%
6. Noah’s Ark and the Great Flood (Genesis 6-9) – 7%
7. Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2-3) – 7%
8. The 12 spies sent to explore Canaan (Numbers 13) – 6%
9. Tower of Babel (Genesis 11) – 4%
10. Sin of the Golden Calf (Exodus 32) – 2%
If you were limited to these 10, what would your favorite story be? I have to say that my opinion would probably be different this year than last, given my new(er) appreciation for literary aspects. It’s interesting too what important stories are omitted from this list. There is nothing related to the Abrahamic covenant or Passover, both critical in salvation-history.
“There is nothing related to the Abrahamic covenant or Passover…”
#3 on the list is fairly close. I find it hard to believe someone would be more interested in the “Song of Moses” than in the 10 plagues.