The first book of the Bible which covers events from Creation to the start Israel's sojourn in Egypt.
2
votes
5answers
390 views
Differences in Genesis creation stories
It is sometimes depicted that the basic argument to read "the creation story" (Genesis 1) as a non literal story are modern science and the evolution theory. But I believe that the biggest problem ...
5
votes
2answers
169 views
Is there external historic or scientific evidence of a particular flood that corresponds to the Genesis 7 account?
Some have posited that the flood account in Genesis 7 corresponds to the flooding of the Mediterranean basin, others have suggested it may correspond to the refilling of the black sea.
My question is ...
7
votes
2answers
171 views
Did Abraham leave Haran before or after his father died?
Genesis 11:31-12-1 appears to indicate that Abram left Haran after his father Terah had died. (The author of the New Testament book of Acts certainly saw it that way.)
Terah took his son Abram and ...
10
votes
6answers
1k views
What are the “household gods” Rachel stole from Laban?
When Jacob flees from Laban, Rachel steals his household gods.
When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s
household gods.
Genesis 31:19 (NIV)
Jacob seems pretty ...
10
votes
4answers
735 views
What was Noah thinking when he sent a raven from the ark?
In tablet 11 of the epic of Gilgamesh, after Utnapishtim's ark lodges on a rock, he releases a dove, a swallow, and a raven, in that order. The first two birds return when they fail to find a resting ...
1
vote
2answers
50 views
Genesis 3:13 Does the Hebrew actually say הִשִּׁיאַ֖נִי deceived ME?
In Genesis 3:13
Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Does the Hebrew word actually say "deceived me"? ...
8
votes
3answers
143 views
Who was Nimrod?
In the middle of an otherwise repetitive genealogy in Genesis 10, one man is especially singled out:
Cush was the father of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on the earth. He was a mighty hunter ...
4
votes
1answer
121 views
Meaning of (et)“את” and (v'et)“וְאֵ֥ת” in Genesis 1:1
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית
created בָּרָ֣א
God אֱלֹהִ֑ים
(unknown word) אֵ֥ת
the heavens הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם
(unknown word) וְאֵ֥ת
the earth הָאָֽרֶץ׃
I ...
5
votes
2answers
237 views
What does 'Dominon' mean in Genesis?
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and ...
5
votes
2answers
174 views
Did God make an idol?
In the decalogue God forbids the making and or worshipping of images in the form of anything in the created order.
And God spoke all these words: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of ...
3
votes
1answer
167 views
Did Lot or the men of Sodom recognize Lot's visitors as angels?
When the two angels arrive in Sodom in Genesis 19, Lot seems to immediately recognize them as such. He bows down to them, calls them "My lords", and invites them into "your servant's house." When the ...
4
votes
0answers
49 views
Just how overpriced was Efron's burial cave anyway?
In Genesis 23 Avraham pays 400 shekels to Efron for a burial cave for Sarah (and, later, other family members). This seems to be an enormous amount of money and Rashi suggests it's even worse than it ...
5
votes
1answer
120 views
What do we learn from the different usages of “aman” and “batach” in the OT?
aman (Strong's H539) and batach (Strong's H982) are both used in the OT to imply some level of trust in God.
And he believed (aman:H539) in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. ...
3
votes
2answers
93 views
Genesis 23 — Why does the Bible change the spelling of Ephron's name?
In Genesis 23, we learn that Sarah has died and Abraham is looking to acquire a grave for her. He approaches the children of Heth and meets Ephron the Hittite who, initially, offers his land (which ...
8
votes
2answers
995 views
At what point did Abraham know he was talking to God in Genesis 18?
At the start of the story in Genesis 18, Abraham does not seem to know who the three men are:
Looking up, he saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them, he ran from the entrance of ...
3
votes
1answer
32 views
Did 70 or 75 Hebrews go down to Egypt with Jacob?
Acts 7:14 states that "Joseph sent word and invited Jacob his father and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five persons in all." This seems to contradict Deut. 10:22, Ex. 1:5; and Gen. 46:27 ...
9
votes
1answer
127 views
Why is Genesis careful to record the exact dates of the flood?
Genesis 7:11 (NIV emphasis mine)
In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
Is “breath of life” in Genesis 2:7 is the same as spirit?
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7 (KJV)
What is the meaning of "breath of life" ...
7
votes
4answers
134 views
Before the Tower of Babel did all speak Hebrew as the original human language?
I find it fascinating that rabbinic literature suggests that Hebrew was the original human language. I have seen Christian authors also argue the same.
For example, from the Jewish Encyclopedia:
...
11
votes
7answers
934 views
What does “image” in Genesis 1:26-27 mean?
Genesis 1:26-27 (ESV)
26Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the ...
9
votes
3answers
325 views
How can we understand “fear”?
It seems that (throughout the Bible), we have been told to "not fear" but also to "fear God".
How can we understand this word "fear" in these two contexts? If this word in these two contexts carries ...
-2
votes
1answer
242 views
Was Abimelech a granny chaser?
Continuing the response to the meta call for contradiction.
In Genesis Chapter 20 we find the following sister/wife story:
And Abraham journeyed from there to the land of the Negev, and he ...
0
votes
1answer
91 views
Why is Joseph taken to prison, and yet still seems to be with Potiphar?
This is a response to the meta call for contradictions.
In Genesis 39, there is a fantastically vivid story of Potiphar's wife seducing Joseph, or rather, attempting to. The result is that Joseph is ...
4
votes
2answers
227 views
Did Noah take two doves, or fourteen?
Continuing the response to the meta call for contradiction.
In Genesis 6:18 we read the following:
And I will make my covenant with you: and those that come on the ark, you and your sons and your ...
4
votes
2answers
530 views
Why is Isaac called Abraham's only son? [duplicate]
Continuing the response to the meta call for contradiction.
In Genesis 22, we find the following passage:
And it was after these events that the God tested Abraham; and said to him "Abraham", who ...
9
votes
1answer
92 views
Genesis 3:12: What is the underlying Hebrew word translated into English as “with me” (in KJV)?
In Genesis 3:12, is the underlying Hebrew word, translated into English as "with me" (in the KJV), supposed to be Strong's H5978 as the HCSB and HiSB suggests, or Strong's H5973 as the KJV suggests?
...
7
votes
1answer
84 views
What does Genesis 3:16 literally say?
I've noticed that sometimes words are repeated in the hebrew text.
Gen 3:16 אֶֽל־ H413 to הָ·אִשָּׁ֣ה H802 Unto the woman אָמַ֗ר H559 he said הַרְבָּ֤ה H7235 I will greatly אַרְבֶּה֙ H7235 ...
1
vote
4answers
330 views
What else can “Fifteen cubits from above” in Gen 7:20 mean?
When translating Genesis, I took pains to preserve the implied flat-Earth cosmology that a naive reading suggests. One of the places where this made a big difference is in the story of Noah. Noah is ...
3
votes
2answers
224 views
Is “wept on his neck” a Hebrew idiom?
In a number of places, the English Standard Version uses a phrase like "wept on his neck," e.g.
Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. —Genesis ...
3
votes
4answers
143 views
Should The Creation Story in Genesis Be Understood as Metaphorical?
I have been lead to understand that the creation story of Genesis should be read as metaphorical and not literal. However, there seems to be abundant evidence that the ancients understood the story ...
4
votes
2answers
142 views
How does the Genesis account of the Tower of Babel compare with other traditions about the tower?
I'm aware there are number of accounts of the Tower of Babel in Midrash, from the Islamic traditions, Kabalah, Josephus and the Jubilees.
For the most part, these accounts seem to derive from ...
8
votes
2answers
2k views
What are the similarities and differences between the Genesis creation account and other creation stories of the time
(Operating under the assumption that Genesis was authored by Moses, and its intent is a polemic against other origin stories and their view of the deity at the time).
The Enûma Eliš is said to have ...
8
votes
3answers
340 views
How does the Noah's Ark narrative relate to the Gilgamesh flood account?
How does the Noah's Ark narrative relate to other the Gilgamesh flood account?
For reference, the Biblical flood account is in Genesis 6-10 and the Gilgamesh flood account is on Tablet XI. The ...
8
votes
3answers
132 views
Does Genesis contain a “death sandwich”?
Recently David Musgrave of Amridge University and Gordon Rugg of Keele University presented research that suggests the entire book of Genesis contains an inclusio on the words "life" and "death". ...
4
votes
4answers
629 views
What was life like in Eden before the fall?
This question is partly in response to this question.
It's clear from Genesis 2 and 3 that life in Eden was simple (2:15) and innocent (2:24). We know that Adam didn't have to work for his bread ...
9
votes
2answers
315 views
Why did Abel keep flocks if man wasn't supposed to eat flesh til after the Flood?
Per Genesis 9:3, man is given the animals as food after the flood. A reasonable implication of that statement is that prior to this, man was supposed to be vegetarian.
That said, Genesis 4:2 clearly ...
7
votes
2answers
595 views
Did Adam and Eve not have sex in the Garden of Eden?
In the first few chapters of Genesis, we see God create Adam and Eve and then tell them to reproduce.
Genesis 1:28 (NLT)
28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill ...
0
votes
2answers
189 views
What is the “Light” of Genesis 1:3?
In Genesis 1:3 (ESV), it is written,
And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
The Hebrew word which is translated into English as "light" is אֹור (or) (Strong's H216).
Is ...
5
votes
2answers
246 views
How did Biblical translators decide on cypress for the type of wood in Noah's ark?
Reading from Genesis 6:14 (NRSV):
Make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover
it inside and out with pitch.
There is a note at "cypress" which says:
Meaning of ...
6
votes
1answer
308 views
The meaning of “stranger and sojourner” in Genesis 23:4 and Leviticus 25:23
In Genesis 23:4 Abraham is in conversation with the residents of Heth and says:
"I am a stranger and a sojourner with you. Give me a possession for a
burying place with you, that I may bury my ...
6
votes
3answers
641 views
Were the Nephilim in Genesis 6 aliens?
Could Genesis 6:1-4 be talking about aliens? (ESV):
When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were ...
11
votes
3answers
165 views
When the Bible says “the world”, does that only include Eurasia and Africa?
I've heard this argument a few different times for different verses. (Unfortunately, I can't remember exactly which verses as that would strengthen this question quite a bit.) However, the argument ...
4
votes
2answers
110 views
What is the significance of the verb בנה in Genesis 2:22?
And YHVH God built a woman with the rib that he took from the man, and He brought her to the man.
וַיִּבֶן יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים אֶֽת־הַצֵּלָע אֲשֶׁר־לָקַח מִן־הָאָדָם לְאִשָּׁה וַיְבִאֶהָ ...
5
votes
1answer
62 views
Did Tamar marry a third time, and if so whom?
Genesis 38:26 says:
וַיַּכֵּר יְהוּדָה וַיֹּאמֶר צָדְקָה מִמֶּנִּי כִּי עַל כֵּן לֹא נְתַתִּיהָ לְשֵׁלָה בְנִי וְלֹא יָסַף עוֹד לְדַעְתָּהּ:
Then Judah recognized [them], and he said, "She is ...
2
votes
2answers
61 views
Under Christian exegesis, where should the Messianic application begin and end in Jacob's blessing to Judah?
In Jacob' blessing to Judah (Genesis 49:9-12) both ancient Rabbinic and ancient Christian commentators have assigned the Messiah to be 'him' (in Hebrew 'Shiloh'). However, starting at 'Binding his ...
7
votes
2answers
134 views
What is the “Water” of Genesis 1:2?
We read in the creation account:
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.—Genesis 1:2 ...
7
votes
2answers
263 views
How big were the nomadic clans of the patriarchs?
According to the book Genesis, 70 people came down with Jacob to dwell in Egypt after contact was made with Joseph:
And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two souls; all the ...
6
votes
2answers
56 views
How did Yaakov hear about Dinah?
Genesis 34 tells about Shechem's rape of Dinah and the events that follow. 34:5 says that Yaakov heard ( שָׁמַע) about this (and didn't act immediately).
He didn't hear it from Dinah because she ...
3
votes
1answer
86 views
Is the territory of the Negeb considered part of the wilderness?
Genesis 13:1 and 20:1 both record Abraham traveling to a region called the Negeb (or Negev depending on the English translation).
13:1 - So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that ...
5
votes
1answer
64 views
Is there something significant about Avram's tactics in rescuing Lot?
Genesis 14 describes the war of four kings against five kings and the capture of Lot, and then describes how Avram mounted a rescue mission:
וַיִּשְׁמַע אַבְרָם, כִּי נִשְׁבָּה אָחִיו; וַיָּרֶק ...
