Questions tagged [genesis]
The first book of the Hebrew Bible which covers events from Creation to the start of Israel's sojourn in Egypt.
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Why does the punishment of him who kills Cain seem more severe in Genesis 4:15:
Genesis 4:10 NIV
10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to ...
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Why was it so important to Abraham that Isaac not go back to Abraham's homeland?
Genesis 24:1-9 (CSB): Abraham was now old, getting on in years, and the Lord had blessed him in everything. 2 Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his household who managed all he owned, “Place ...
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Did God intend to only “Join” man to his wife - physically or spiritually?
We first learn that "YHVH Elohim" (יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֧ים) brought Ishah to Ha-Adam, and-"joined" (וְ-דָבַ֣ק) the man to his wife in Bereishit / Genesis 2:22-24. * Later during the ...
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What is the meaning of the Hebrew word Israel - Struggle or Prince? Any scholarly resources on this? cf. Genesis 32:28
The Hebrew word Israel gets translated Struggle and Prince i.e. Gen 32:28. Are there any good scholarly resources that can help clarify which meaning is more accurate?
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Does Psalm 73:24 allude to eternal life?
Psalm 73:24
New International Version
You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.
What is the meaning of glory here?
Note the parallelism with
Genesis 5:24
Enoch ...
2
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1answer
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Is neshamah (breath) created or uncreated?
Berean Study Bible, Genesis 2:7
Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath [h5397 נְשָׁמָה neshamah] of life [h2416 חָי chay] into his nostrils, and the man ...
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How did Jacob's blessing on Simeon can to pass
Jacob prophesied that Levi and Simeon will be scattered among the Israelites, it happened to Levi. Are there biblical evidences that Simeonites were scattered too?
Reference: Genesis 49:7 A curse on ...
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Why did God give words for things in Genesis?
In Genesis 1:10, 1:5, and 1:8, why did God give words for things if he knew humans would have languages that would have their own words for the day, night, sky, seas, and earth?
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Do Adam and Eve have belly buttons? [closed]
Every one born has umbilical cord that is cut off at birth which leaves a belly button mark. Since Adam and Eve wasn't conceived and went through normal birth like all of us, there is no umbilical ...
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Is the Hebrew for “you” ( צִוִּיתִ֛יךָ ) in Genesis 3:11 singular or Plural?
Is the Hebrew for "you" in Genesis 3:11 singular or Plural?
I am asking this because in English "you" can be used for both singular and plural.
In my native language Malayalam ...
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Genesis 16:3 - Was Hagar the wife of Abram or was she his concubine?
I would like to know the meaning of the Hebrew word for “wife” within the context of Genesis 16:3. The reason I ask is because some Bible commentaries suggest that Hagar was not granted the status of ...
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Why was earth created? [closed]
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Why was earth created?
Isaiah 45:18 For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; ...
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What Exactly Were The FloodGates & “Springs of the Deep” In Genesis 7?
Was the flood caused by rain or the waters above and below the earth? In particular I'm looking at (Gen 7:4, 7:12 vs Gen 7:11, 8:2).
"Springs of the Deep" and "FloodGates" seems ...
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In Genesis 1 does the Hebrew say “a first day” or “the first day”?
"I recently looked at a bible where it says in Genesis creation account...And the evening and the morning were A first day."
In the original language, is it meant to be "A" or &...
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Could Adam have been a hermaphrodite before Eve?
I'm reading The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary by Robert Alter. He translates Genesis 1:27 as:
And God created the human in his image,
in the image of God He created him,
...
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Eden, Adam and Eve as Midrash
Can anyone point me to any detailed articles, books or theses that expound Genesis 2-3 as midrash; ie; the idea that the Eden-Fall story is a midrashic tale to explain creation and fall?
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Genesis 18:12 Origin of “Smooth Flesh” translation
Not a Hebrew scholar here but a Rabbi and I read our versions of Genesis 18:12 and I noticed a difference in wording. When Sarah laughed, his version rendered roughly “shall I have smooth skin” and ...
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Why was it okay for Solomon to seek wisdom and not for Eve?
1 Kings 3:9 English Standard Version
Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great ...
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3answers
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Why would Adam and Eve eating again the Fruit of the Tree of Life in the middle of the Garden give them Eternal Life?
I was reading Genesis of the First Testament and came across the following excerpt, Genesis 3:22-23 (KJV):
[22] And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: ...
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Why was Abraham not punished for looking at Sodom whilst it was burning in Genesis 19:27?
After Lot had been told to vacate Sodom and escape its judgement his wife is said to have looked back at the burning city and was turned into a pillar of salt
Genesis 19:23-26 NIV
23 By the time Lot ...
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Why did God choose circumcision and Paul cancel it? [closed]
Genesis 17:9 —
Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. This is the covenant that you and ...
2
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2answers
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Did Jacob and Manoah meet the same angel of the Lord?
Genesis 32:29
Jacob said, "Please tell me your name." But he replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there.
Judges 13:17 Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the ...
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Why did the Egyptians view shepherds as detestable and why did they refuse to eat with the Hebrews?
Why would the Egyptians refuse to eat with the Hebrew people? The first mention of this is in Genesis 43:32 when Joseph’s brothers first come to Egypt. The Egyptians could not eat with Joseph (a ...
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Who are the archers in Genesis 49:23?
In Genesis 49 when Jacob blesses his sons it is said of Joseph that the archers bitterly attacked and shot at him
Genesis 49:23 NASB
“The archers bitterly attacked him,
And shot at him and harassed ...
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1answer
276 views
What does the phrase 'she may bear on my knees' mean in Genesis 30:3?
Genesis 30:3 NASB
3 She said, “Here is my maid Bilhah, go in to her that she may bear on my knees, that [b]through her I too may have children.”
What does this phrase mean?
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What does “all things visible” refer to in Colossians 1:16?
What does "all visible things" refer to in Colossians 1:16?
All invisible creatures point to what is created in heaven which meant that all visible creatures point to what is created on ...
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How should we understand the idea that the Lord God walks in our midst?
English Standard Version
Genesis 3:8
And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God ...
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Is there a logical reason why the creation account came so late?
Would there be a logical reason as to why God would inspire Moses to write Genesis so late and not have the creation account available earlier. I have heard this question and people have said that ...
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1answer
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Why is Genesis 25:17 parenthesized in the ESV?
Genesis 25:17 is shown as follows in the ESV:
(These are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.)
Why are there parenthesis around ...
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Genesis 18 speaks of the Lord and two angels or the Lord as three men?
I would prefer an answer from the Hebrew for reasons that will become obvious I hope.
Reading through BH I come across the interpretation that Abraham saw the Lord and two angels in Gen18. My ...
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4answers
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To whom is the Lord God speaking in Genesis 3:22?
Genesis 3:21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed ...
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Is the Dan in Genesis 14:14 same as the one in Judges 18:29?
Genesis 14:14
When Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men who had been born into his household. Then he pursued Kedorlaomer’s army until he caught up with ...
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2answers
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Why did Rebekah's nurse go with her to Isaac?
Genesis 24:59
So they said good-bye to Rebekah and sent her away with Abraham’s servant and his men. The woman who had been Rebekah’s childhood nurse went along with her.
What role did the nurse play? ...
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Why did Rebekah veil her face before she met Isaac?
Genesis 24:64 When Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she quickly dismounted from her camel. 65“Who is that man walking through the fields to meet us?” she asked the servant.
And he replied, “It is my ...
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Didn't Eve know that she was like God already when the serpent tempted her?
Genesis 1:26
Then God [elohim] said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness [h1823], so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and ...
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Who were complaining against Sodom and Gomorrah?
Genesis 19:13
because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it."
Who are doing the outcry? They are the ...
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When did Leah die?
The last act of Leah is found in
Gen 33:7
Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down.
Then later, Rachel died from giving birth to ...
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1answer
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Where did Rebecca go to ask the Lord?
Genesis 25:21Isaac pleaded with the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The LORD answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins. 22But the two ...
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1answer
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What is the Hebrew Strong number for בּֽוֹ?
Genesis 41:38
New International Version
So Pharaoh asked them, "Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?"
https://biblehub.com/genesis/41-38.htm shows the ...
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Does Genesis 2:5 say there was “no man to work the ground” or “no man for the ground to serve”?
I have found someone asserting that the Hebraic structure of Genesis 2:5
When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the LORD God had not ...
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Was Leah 'unloved' (Genesis 29:31)?
The Wycliffe (1382) Coverdale (1535) Matthews (1537) Great Bible (1539) Geneva Bible (1560)
and Bishop's Bible (1568) all say 'despised' regarding Jacob's disposition towards the 'tender-eyed' woman ...
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How long did the wrestling last in Gen 32:24?
Genesis 32:22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over ...
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Did God honor Laban's divination in Genesis 30:27?
Genesis 30:27
But Laban said to him [Jacob], "If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the LORD [יְהוָ֖ה] has blessed me because of you."
Why was ...
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Would God destroy an innocent nation in Gen 20:4?
Genesis 20:1 Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my ...
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How old was Sarai when she was in Egypt?
Genesis 12:11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman, 12and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they ...
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3answers
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Was it a show of lack of faith in Abram in Gen 12:12?
Genesis 12:7
The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
God promised Abram an offspring....
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2answers
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Adam was created in the image of God but are we? [closed]
Genesis 5:3 NIV
When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.
Are we not born and created in the image and likeness of Adam?
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Did Leah have a physical defect in Genesis 29:17?
Genesis 29:17 NASB
17 And Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful of form and [e]face.
In other translations Leah's eyes are said to be tender
Genesis 29:17 KJV
17 Leah was tender eyed; but ...
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1answer
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‘Sin Crouching at the Door’ or ‘A Sin Offering at the Gate’ in Genesis 4:7
Young's Literal Translation
Is there not, if thou dost well, acceptance? and if thou dost not well, at the opening a sin-offering is crouching, and unto thee its desire, and thou rulest over it.'
...
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Why is Seth said to be in likeness and image of his father in Genesis 5:3?
Genesis 5:3 NIV
3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.
Adam had other sons prior to Seth who were not said to be in his likeness ...
