Genesis

Jacob dies in Egypt and makes Joseph promise that he will be buried in the family cave back in Canaan. In the meantime, Jacob is to be embalmed (a rather expensive and time-consuming practice at the time) and everyone mourns for 70 days. Weeping now fulfilled, it’s time to move Jacob to the cave.  But… Read more: Genesis | Chapter 50

As the family of Israel prepares to leave for Egypt, there is an intentional stop in Beersheba where sacrifices are made to God. This is no particular surprise, Beersheba has been a place of covenants, confirmations that God is with Abraham and sons and their sons. What follows is a two-way conversation between Jacob and… Read more: Genesis | Chapter 46

The earnestness of Judah’s speech finally breaks Joseph, who has up to this point been behind a series of plots to seemingly heist his only full brother Benjamin from the rest of his family. Instead, all his brothers return to Egypt and Judah offers to take Benjamin’s place in consideration of the promise he made… Read more: Genesis | Chapter 45

In chapter 40, we stay with Joseph, who is in prison based upon the accusation of Potiphar’s wife that he had tried to seduce her (the opposite being true, of course). There are a few considerations as to where Joseph is kept. He may have been put in Pharaoh’s prison simply because Potiphar has access… Read more: Genesis | Chapter 40

Chapter 35 starts with a message from God for Jacob to go to Bethel and live there. This is interesting for a couple of reasons. One, it means the defiant protest of Simeon and Levi that it was better to have wiped out the Hivites then permit their sister to have been treated like a… Read more: Genesis | Chapter 35

Interestingly, right after Jacob has a direct encounter with Yahweh in which the promises of blessing to and through his generations to the rest of the world, he runs smack dub into his comeuppance. The deceit from his own hands to both his father and his brother will be revisited upon him by his shifty… Read more: Genesis | Chapter 29

Chapter 25 is a transition chapter, one that ties up some loose ends with the life of Abraham and of Ishmael so that we can transition the focus to the next generation of sons who belong to Isaac. At the start of the chapter we find that Abraham has another “wife” (concubine, per the text,… Read more: Genesis | Chapter 25

The efforts expounded in chapter 20 to protect the clear lineage and source of this promised “seed” of Abraham finally bear out their importance with the arrival of Isaac in chapter 21. This laughable promise that God has made to not only provide a son for the 100 year old Abraham through his equally aged… Read more: Genesis | Chapter 21

13 years pass between the events of chapter 16 and the start of chapter 17. This is a good reminder that we’re not getting a diary or all-inclusive history here, we’re getting highlights that have some importance in understanding God, His promises and His interactions with His creation. Abram is 99 and God appears to… Read more: Genesis | Chapter 17

In chapter 14, the narrative shifts from the peace that comes from the parting of ways between Abram and Lot and zooms out to a conflict between 4 Mesopotamian kings, ring-led by Chedorlaomer, king of Elam (henceforth known as Cheddar and the Gang) and the 5 king alliance (henceforth known as the Dead Sea Alliance)… Read more: Genesis | Chapter 14

After his excursion of faithlessness into Egypt, Abram heads back to Canaan with Sarai and his nephew Lot in tow. Both he and Lot have considerable wealth, an unfortunate point of contention that will cause unnecessary disruptions in the family. We get a bit of a reset point, here, as Abram makes his way up… Read more: Genesis | Chapter 13

As we leave the ark, it’s as if Creation as begun again. And like Eden, God’s blessing’s have returned in the form of multiplying and filling the earth. However, things aren’t quite the same. No longer is there a seemingly harmonious relationship between man and beast, who have now become part of the food chain… Read more: Genesis | Chapter 9

We’re likely to read chapter 4 and 5 together for the purposes of comparison. The end of chapter 4 follows Cain and his lineage (his “seed”).  The story of his family tree is preceded by his murder of Abel and ends with the pompous proclamations of the murderous Lamech who seems to think that his… Read more: Genesis | Chapter 5

One of the questions we have to answer in chapter 2 is, where are we at in the timeline? Man was already created in chapter 1, and God was resting from being done with everything already. And yet, we find the creation of humans back in focus. I’ve seen atheist arguments against Genesis for being… Read more: Genesis | Chapter 2

The start of the book sets the stage for every word and situation that is to follow. When it all began, there was God, and everything that is to come will come at His behest, direction, and intention. This is important, as this story of creation sits within the context of an ancient world where… Read more: Genesis | Chapter 1

The word Genesis comes from the first word of the book. The Hebrew word is translated as “In the beginning”, the companion Greek word is genesis (guh-nessiss), meaning “origins”. (That Greek word is transliterated to our English “Genesis”. Transliteration just means to take a word from another language and treat it like it’s a legit… Read more: Genesis | Introduction