Why is Genesis a series of stories?

In Torah, form follows function. The fact that a piece of information is conveyed in a particular way is never accidental. The chosen genre, the literary medium, is there for a reason, and the reason is never merely aesthetic. Why then did the Torah adopt a story-telling mode for Genesis, its book of first principles?

Partly for the reason already stated: a story is universal. The Torah is a book written for all. One of the great themes of Tanakh is its consistent battle against elites, especially knowledge elites. ... Judaism is about the democratization of holiness, the creation of a society in which everyone will have access to religious knowledge. Hence the importance of stories which everyone can understand.

Yet not understand at the same level: that is another feature of Genesis. Each of its stories has layer upon layer of meaning and significance, which we only grasp after repeated readings. ... The truths of the human condition are simply too deep to be understood at once and on the surface. Only stories have this depth, this ambiguity, this principled multiplicity of meanings.

Jonathan Sacks, Covenant & Conversation: Genesis