GENESIS:
Reading Assignment,
Part II
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1: Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD."
"Know" in the Bible commonly means sex, as in the English phrase, "carnal knowledge," which also means sex. So, to have "carnal knowledge" of a person is to have physical (sexual) knowledge of them. So when Adam "knew" Eve it means when Adam had sex with Eve. Note how Eve praises God for her baby: "with the help of the Lord." For the Jew everything comes from God; so the first-born is "redeemed" (exchanged for money instead of sacrified) to show that God gives all life.
2: And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground.
3: In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground,
4: and Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering,
5: but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
6: The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen?
7: If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is couching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it."
Like a lot in the Bible, it's not clear why Cain's offering to God is not accepted. But it does show how human nature does not change. Even today fathers prefer one child over another and no matter what the neglected child does it's not good enough. So jealousy comes. Here again we see the theme of envy, of not being as good as another. It's also possible that God knew Cain's mind and refused his offering for that reason (v. 7). Also, Abel was a shepherd, and so, for Christians, became a type of the great Shepherd, Jesus. In fact all the great Jewish leaders were shepherds and the figure of the "shepherd" suggested leadership, as with Moses, King David, Jesus, and God himself. The most famous psalm begins ("The Lord is my Shepherd"). For this reason, Abel becomes the type of Jesus and is killed the same way the Good Shepherd is killed. Finally, it's interesting that the first murder occured due to religious worship! This continues to this very day when people are still dying in the name of religion.
It is possible the basic sin of all in the Bible is "envy": in fact, for the Christian, Paul, envy (or "to covet") is the one sin he cannot escape (we'll study this in the letter to Romans). Envy (to covet) is the basis of Eve eating the forbidden fruit ("to be like God"). Our need to be like others is the basis of all advertising, for example. And as the writer of Ecclesiastes points out, most of us work needlessly just to compete against our neighbors!
8: Cain said to Abel his brother, "Let us go out to the field." And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him.
9: Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?"
The Bible is full of famous phrases. This is one of them. In fact, James Dean speaks those words in the movie, East of Eden.
10: And the LORD said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.
11: And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.
12: When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength; you shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth."
13: Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is greater than I can bear.
14: See, you have driven me this day away from the ground; and from your face I shall be hidden; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will slay me."
Note that it's not clear who could kill Cain since there's nobody else around. According to Rene Girard, the Bible is the first book to show sympathy for the victim (as in the Psalms); this reaches its peak in the story of Jesus, who is clearly shown to be "innocent," despite his death. Here Abel is clearly innocent; but Cain too is protected from vengeance, so the cycle of violence is limited. (Compare this with Greek plays, where the cycle of violence never stops.)
15: Then the LORD said to him, "Not so! If any one slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who came upon him should kill him.
The "mark of Cain" is often used to refer to evil, but it was actually a mark of protection. The number "seven" is always symbolic in the Bible. God rested on the seventh day, so it's a number of completion (the Devil's number falls short three times: 666). Jesus requires that one's enemy be forgiven "seventy times seven times," which seems to refer to this text, as if surpassing the Law of Moses (remember, this is part of what are called the Five Books of Moses). (Jesus will often claim to be better than Moses!)
16: Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
17: Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch; and he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.
Note that the first city was built by a murderer. The Jews, a wandering [nomadic] people, were always suspicious of cities; even Jehovah dwelled temporarily in a tent, until the Temple was built in King Solomon's time. And the motif of wandering, of being "sojourners" on earth, continues in the Christian texts.
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5: The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6: And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
7: So the LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the ground, man and beast and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them."
Note that the Hebrew God is emotionally involved in mankind in an eternal dialogue realized in history. This is the special status of the Jewish God compared to other Gods. The very first words of the Ten Commandments are, I am the Lord your God who freed you from slavery in Egypt. Modern democracy comes from these words, which even today ring around the world (as in the Rastafarian movement in Jamaica, the basis of Reggae music).
8: But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
9: Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.
10: And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11: Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence.
12: And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.
13: And God said to Noah, "I have determined to make an end of all flesh; for the earth is filled with violence through them; behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
14: Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.
17: For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall die.
18: But I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you.
19: And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.
20: Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you, to keep them alive.
21: Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up; and it shall serve as food for you and for them."
22: Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.
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1: Then the LORD said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.
2: Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate; and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate;
3: and seven pairs of the birds of the air also, male and female, to keep their kind alive upon the face of all the earth.
This is another example of redaction, though different from the first. The first simply joined one version after another. Here two versions are interlaced, some so that some verses are J and some P. Note that in one version Noah takes 7 animals of each kind while in P he takes only 2. There's a reason for this. Noah took 7 animals in order to sacrifice 5. But by the time that P wrote, around the time of the Exile (more about this later), sacrifice was centralized in the temple at Jerusalem (earlier, in tabernacle/tent worship). So P wanted to write backwards and make it clear that there could be no sacrifice outside priestly control.
4: For in seven days I will send rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground."
5: And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him.
12: And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
13: On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark,
14: they and every beast according to its kind, and all the cattle according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth according to its kind, and every bird according to its kind, every bird of every sort.
15: They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life.
16: And they that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in.
17: The flood continued forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.
18: The waters prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark floated on the face of the waters.
19: And the waters prevailed so mightily upon the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered;
20: the waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep.
21: And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, birds, cattle, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm upon the earth, and every man;
22: everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died.
23: He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the air; they were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those that were with him in the ark.
24: And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days.
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2: the fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained,
3: and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of a hundred and fifty days the waters had abated;
4: and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest upon the mountains of Ar'arat.
5: And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.
Note that in the J version the flood lasted 40 days (a common number in the Bible we'll discuss later); in the P version, it lasted 150 days. In one version a raven is sent, in another a dove. Readers commonly don't notice these differences and they have been explained as part of the style. These different versions by the way are called "doublets" (=2). So there are doublets of the Creation, the Flood, and other stories, suggesting different sources. One theory why these sources were combined like this is out of respect for God's word. Another theory is political: one version came from northern Israel, another from southern Israel, later divided into two kingdoms. So both versions had to be saved because both regions would want the version they knew best.
6: At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made,
7: and sent forth a raven; and it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth.
8: Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground;
9: but the dove found no place to set her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put forth his hand and took her and brought her into the ark with him.
10: He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;
11: and the dove came back to him in the evening, and lo, in her mouth a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth.
The olive branch to this day represents peace.
12: Then he waited another seven days, and sent forth the dove; and she did not return to him any more.
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8: Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him,
11: "I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth."
12: And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:
14: When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds,
15: I will remember my covenant which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16: When the bow is in the clouds, I will look upon it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth."
17: God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth."
This is one of the many Bible stories. Note the etiology here, explaining the rainbow. This promise to Noah, not to destroy the world again, is called the Noachide Covenant, after Noah's name. T his is the first of the four covenants in the Jewish Bible. Since Noah is not Jewish, this is a universal covenant (agreement) that applies to everyone. The Bible is named after God's agreement with humans: covenant = testament. So the Jewish Bible is called the Old Testament by Christians because they believe that Jesus made a new Testament (agreeement) with those who believe in him.
18: The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan.
This is another etiological tale. Noah's three sons represent semites (Shem), dark races, like Egypt (Ham), and others (Japheth).
19: These three were the sons of Noah; and from these the whole earth was peopled.
20: Noah was the first tiller of the soil. He planted a vineyard;
21: and he drank of the wine, and became drunk, and lay uncovered in his tent.
Wine is an important motif in the Bible, beginning here; it represents new life. The first miracle Jesus performs in the Gospel of John is to turn water into wine at Cana; and wine is a main symbol in the Last Supper of Jesus.
22: And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.
Sex stories are often frowned upon today, yet the Bible is full of sex, like no other book. This is one example. It's unclear what happened here, but it's possible that something worse than just seeing his father naked happened. It's possible this text was edited by a later writer. One suggestion is Ham had sex with his father's wife (his mother) or even with his father. The fact that the mother/wife is not mentioned suggests she was edited out of the tale because it was thought unseemly to include such a story. This however cannot be proved.
23: Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it upon both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father's nakedness.
24: When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him,
25: he said, "Cursed be Canaan; a slave of slaves shall he be to his brothers."
Note the phrase, "what his youngest son had done to him," which suggests a sexual act. Anyway, this is also an etiological tale, since it "explains" why Black people are treated as inferior to others. Of course "black" in those days meant perhaps Ethiopians. In any case, the Bible has done great good and great harm. This verse was used to justify American slavery (see. v. 26 below):
26: He also said, "Blessed by the LORD my God be Shem; and let Canaan be his slave."
27: God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem; and let Canaan be his slave."
29: All the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died.
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1: Now the whole earth had one language and few words.
4: Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth."
5: And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men had built.
6: And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; and nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.
7: Come, let us go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."
Note how the writer mocks the plans of the builders by repeating the word "Come/came": "Come let us build," but God says, "Come, let us go down." (Note again the plural form for God. Jewish religion was not at first a perfect monotheism, but became so later.)
8: So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.
9: Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
This is another of the more famous etiological stories: the Tower of Babel explains why there are so many languages. But note that everything is explained in terms of human evil.
27: Now these are the descendants of Terah. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot.
29: And Abram and Nahor took wives; the name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah.
30: Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.
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1: Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.
2: And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
3: I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves."
4: So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
5: And Abram took Sar'ai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions which they had gathered, and the persons that they had gotten in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan,
6: Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
This is just one of many examples where it's clear that whoever wrote this text wrote it after the settlement of Canaan, thus after Moses' death, since the writer writes, "at that time. . . ."
7: Then the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
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12: Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, while Lot dwelt among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom.
13: Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD.
14: The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward;
15: for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants for ever.
16: I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your descendants also can be counted.
17: Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you."
18: So Abram moved his tent, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron; and there he built an altar to the LORD.
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12: they also took Lot, the son of Abram's brother, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
14: When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, and went in pursuit.
15: And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and routed them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus.
16: Then he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his goods, and the women and the people.
18: And Mel-chiz'edek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High.
19: And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth;
20: and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!" Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Melchizedek is one of the most mysterious figures in the Old Testament and though a minor figure there becomes a major figure in the New Testament, because he is seen as a type of Jesus Christ. He is "priest of God Most High" and "blessed" Abram (later, Abraham). He also brings out "bread and wine," which is what Jesus had at the Last Supper, representing his body and blood. The argument goes that Melchizedek must be greater even than Abraham, Father of the Jews, since he blessed Abraham and only the greater can bless the lesser. Besides, Abraham gives a "tithe" (tenth) of everything, which is what priests would later receive.
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1: After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great."
2: But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Elie'zer of Damascus?"
3: And Abram said, "Behold, thou hast given me no offspring; and a slave born in my house will be my heir."
4: And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, "This man shall not be your heir; your own son shall be your heir."
5: And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be."
6: And he believed the LORD; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness.
13: Then the LORD said to Abram, "Know of a surety that your descendants will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and will be slaves there, and they will be oppressed for four hundred years;
14: but I will bring judgment on the nation which they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
15: As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.
16: And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete."
18: On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphra'tes,
19: the land of the Ken'ites, the Ken'izzites, the Kad'monites,
20: the Hittites, the Per'izzites, the Reph'aim,
21: the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Gir'gashites and the Jeb'usites."
This is the second of the four covenants or promises in the Old Testament. It's called the Abrahamic Covenant. This is specifically Jewish (unlike the Noachide Covenant, which was universal. The famous rhyme goes: "How odd / Of God / To choose / The Jews." But the point is that God chose the Jews because of Abraham's absolute faith. This theme of faith is the basis of everything that comes after, from Abraham to Jesus. Faith comes before anything else, even before the Law. St. Paul will later make Faith more important than anything else and will argue that we are saved "by faith alone" (quoting a Hebrew prophet). Abraham's faith will be shown time and again, especially in the act where he prepares to sacrifice his only son. The other big theme here is the Promise (part of the Covenant): if you do what I say I will do what I say; if you agree to follow me I will be with you forever. The great drama that follows is, how can God keep his promise if Abraham (Abram) has no children? And if he's so old? And his wife is old? And even when he gets a child he must kill that child?
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1: Now Sar'ai, Abram's wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar;
2: and Sar'ai said to Abram, "Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my maid; it may be that I shall obtain children by her." And Abram listened to the voice of Sar'ai.
3: So, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, Sar'ai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife.
4: And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.
5: And Sar'ai said to Abram, "May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my maid to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me!"
Typical of domestic (spousal) arguments even today: one spouse accuses the other. That's why the Bible has never lost its appeal, because it showed human nature raw, without makeup: sex, lust, murder, envy, pride, greed, etc.
6: But Abram said to Sar'ai, "Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her as you please." Then Sar'ai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.
7: The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness.
9: The angel said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit to her."
15: And Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ish'mael.
16: Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ish'mael to Abram.
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2: And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly."
3: Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him,
4: "Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.
5: No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the father of many nations.
6: I will make you fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come forth from you.
7: And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.
8: And I will give to you, and to your descendants after you, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."
9: And God said to Abraham, "As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.
11: You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.
12: He that is eight days old among you shall be circumcised.
15: As for Sar'ai your wife, you shall not call her name Sar'ai, but Sarah shall be her name.
16: I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her."
17: Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, "Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"
This is the beginning of the rite of circumcision, which all religious Jews still follow. Circumcision involves cutting the foreskin of the male organ as a sign of the covenant/agreement with God. Christians later rejected this sign and lived by faith alone. Note the name change for Abram and Sarai who become Abraham and Sarah. Names are changed by God's will and for God's purpose. Later Jesus calls Simon the Rock (Peter). This name change is still used today to mark important changes (as when a person becomes a movie star).
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20: Then the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomor'rah is great and their sin is very grave,
23: Then Abraham drew near, and said, "Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24: Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; wilt thou then destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?
25: Far be it from thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
26: And the LORD said, "If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake."
32: Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there." He answered, "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it."
33: And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.
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1: The two angels came to Sodom in the evening; and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and bowed himself with his face to the earth.
3: But he urged them and they entered his house; and he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
4: But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house;
5: and they called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them."
6: Lot went out of the door to the men, shut the door after him,
7: and said, "I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly.
8: Behold, I have two daughters who have not known man; let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please; only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof."
This sounds unfatherly. Lot will later be treated the same way by his daughters.
9: But they said, "Stand back!" And they said, "This fellow came to sojourn, and he would play the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them." Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door.
10: But the men put forth their hands and brought Lot into the house to them, and shut the door.
11: And they struck with blindness the men who were at the door of the house, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves groping for the door.
15: When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city."
17: And when they had brought them forth, they said, "Flee for your life; do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley; flee to the hills, lest you be consumed."
24: Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomor'rah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
25: and he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
26: But Lot's wife behind him looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
Sodom and Gomorrah have entered the language as famous sinful twin cities. "Fire and brimstone" has also entered the language for the means of God's punishment.
30: Now Lot went up out of Zo'ar, and dwelt in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to dwell in Zo'ar; so he dwelt in a cave with his two daughters.
31: And the first-born said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth.
32: Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring through our father."
33: So they made their father drink wine that night; and the first-born went in, and lay with her father; he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
34: And on the next day, the first-born said to the younger, "Behold, I lay last night with my father; let us make him drink wine tonight also; then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring through our father."
35: So they made their father drink wine that night also; and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
36: Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father.
37: The first-born bore a son, and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day.
38: The younger also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites to this day.
This is another etiological tale, explaining the enmity or conflict between the Jews and the Moabites and Ammonites.
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2: And Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him.
8: And the child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.
9: But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac.
10: So she said to Abraham, "Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac."
11: And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son.
12: But God said to Abraham, "Be not displeased because of the lad and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your descendants be named.
13: And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring."
14: So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.
15: When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under one of the bushes.
17: And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, "What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not; for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.
18: Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him fast with your hand; for I will make him a great nation."
19: Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink.
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1: After these things God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I."
The following is known in Jewish tradition as the Aquedah, or "binding of Isaac," known otherwise as the Sacrifice of Isaac. Of course Isaac is not sacrificed and that's the main point. The other main point is that Abraham was willing to sacrifice the very hope of God's promise still having faith in God's promise regardless. For this reason Abraham was praised by Christians as the very model of faith.
2: He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Mori'ah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."
3: So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; and he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.
4: On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off.
5: Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the ass; I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you."
6: And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together.
7: And Isaac said to his father Abraham, "My father!" And he said, "Here am I, my son." He said, "Behold, the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"
8: Abraham said, "God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together.
9: When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.
10: Then Abraham put forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
11: But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I."
12: He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."
13: And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
14: So Abraham called the name of that place The LORD will provide; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided."
15: And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven,
16: and said, "By myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son,
17: I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies,
18: and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed my voice."
19: So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.
Note there is no mention of Isaac! Some scholars believe that in the original version of the tale Isaac was actually sacrificed but this was later changed as social values changed. As the story is now it's a model of Abraham's faith. Isaac in turn became a type of Jesus (God's "only son"), who was also sacrificed on wood; but instead of being replaced, he finished the sacrifice; thus he became greater than Isaac.
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2: And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
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1: Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years; and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.
2: And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh,
3: and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell,
4: but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac."
This kind of oath, "under the thigh" = genitals/testicles, would risk future children if violated. The words testify, testimony, testament, are traced to this kind of oath.
10: Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose, and went to Mesopota'mia, to the city of Nahor.
29: Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban; and Laban ran out to the man, to the spring.
30: When he saw the ring, and the bracelets on his sister's arms, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, "Thus the man spoke to me," he went to the man; and behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring.
31: He said, "Come in, O blessed of the LORD; why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.
51: Behold, Rebekah is before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has spoken."
61: Then Rebekah and her maids arose, and rode upon the camels and followed the man; thus the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.
62: Now Isaac had come from Beer-la'hai-roi, and was dwelling in the Negeb.
63: And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, there were camels coming.
64: And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she alighted from the camel,
65: and said to the servant, "Who is the man walking in the field to meet us?" The servant said, "It is my master." So she took her veil and covered herself.
67: Then Isaac brought her into the tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.
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8: Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.
21: And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22: The children struggled together within her; and she said, "If it is thus, why do I live?" So she went to inquire of the LORD.
23: And the LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples, born of you, shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the elder shall serve the younger."
24: When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25: The first came forth red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they called his name Esau.
26: Afterward his brother came forth, and his hand had taken hold of Esau's heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
27: When the boys grew up, Esau was a skilful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents.
28: Isaac loved Esau, because he ate of his game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.
The Bible is still read today because it speaks of timeless conflicts: sibling rivalry, envy, foolishness. Parents, by choosing one child over another, cause problems, as later Jacob does when he prefers Joseph over his other sons. This is also a conflict of values, as between Cain and Abel: one is a tent-dweller, the other a hunter.
29: Once when Jacob was boiling pottage, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished.
30: And Esau said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red pottage, for I am famished!" (Therefore his name was called Edom.)
31: Jacob said, "First sell me your birthright."
32: Esau said, "I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?"
33: Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.
34: Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
Selling one's birthright for a "mess of pottage" has become proverbial, showing how, slaves to our appetites, we give up long-term value for short-term pleasures. Like father, like son: Isaac is also a slave to his appetite and so is easily fooled by Jacob with a meal. Deception (being fooled) begins Genesis (the snake fooling Eve) and ends Genesis, with Jospeh being fooled. In between Jacob fools and is fooled many times.
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1: When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son, and said to him, "My son"; and he answered, "Here I am."
The seeing motif is also big in Genesis, from God seeing well ("and saw that it was good") to others who see poorly and so become foolish.
2: He said, "Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death.
3: Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and hunt game for me,
4: and prepare for me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat; that I may bless you before I die."
5: Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it,
6: Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "I heard your father speak to your brother Esau,
7: `Bring me game, and prepare for me savory food, that I may eat it, and bless you before the LORD before I die.'
8: Now therefore, my son, obey my word as I command you.
9: Go to the flock, and fetch me two good kids, that I may prepare from them savory food for your father, such as he loves;
10: and you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies."
11: But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man.
12: Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him, and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing."
Note that Jacob's character is well defined: always planning ahead, not concerned about right and wrong but about being caught.
13: His mother said to him, "Upon me be your curse, my son; only obey my word, and go, fetch them to me."
14: So he went and took them and brought them to his mother; and his mother prepared savory food, such as his father loved.
15: Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her older son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son;
16: and the skins of the kids she put upon his hands and upon the smooth part of his neck;
17: and she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
18: So he went in to his father, and said, "My father"; and he said, "Here I am; who are you, my son?"
19: Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your first-born. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, that you may bless me."
20: But Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?" He answered, "Because the LORD your God granted me success."
21: Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not."
22: So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau."
23: And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him.
24: He said, "Are you really my son Esau?" He answered, "I am."
25: Then he said, "Bring it to me, that I may eat of my son's game and bless you." So he brought it to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.
26: Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come near and kiss me, my son."
27: So he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his garments, and blessed him, and said, "See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD has blessed!
28: May God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine.
29: Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be every one who curses you, and blessed be every one who blesses you!"
30: As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting.
31: He also prepared savory food, and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, "Let my father arise, and eat of his son's game, that you may bless me."
32: His father Isaac said to him, "Who are you?" He answered, "I am your son, your first-born, Esau."
33: Then Isaac trembled violently, and said, "Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? -- yes, and he shall be blessed."
34: When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, "Bless me, even me also, O my father!"
35: But he said, "Your brother came with guile, and he has taken away your blessing."
36: Esau said, "Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright; and behold, now he has taken away my blessing." Then he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?"
37: Isaac answered Esau, "Behold, I have made him your lord, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?"
38: Esau said to his father, "Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father." And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.
39: Then Isaac his father answered him: "Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high.
40: By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you break loose you shall break his yoke from your neck."
41: Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob."
42: But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah; so she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, "Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself by planning to kill you.
43: Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; arise, flee to Laban my brother in Haran."
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