Genesis Study Notes

1:1 This opening verse of the Bible, seven words in the Hebrew, establishes seven key truths upon which the rest of the Bible is based.

First, God exists. The essential first step in pleasing God is recognizing His existence (Heb. 11:6). Second, God existed before there was a universe and will exist after the universe perishes (Heb. 1:10-12). Third, God is the main character in the Bible. He is the subject of the first verb in the Bible (in fact, He is the subject of more verbs than any other character) and performs a wider variety of activities than any other being in the Bible. Fourth, as Creator God has done what no human being could ever do; in its active form the Hebrew verb bara', meaning "to create," never has a human subject. Thus bara' signifies a work that is uniquely God's. Fifth, God is mysterious; though the Hebrew word for God is plural, the verb form of which "God" is the subject is singular. This is perhaps an allusion to God's Trinitarian nature: He is three divine persons in one divine essence. Sixth, God is the Creator of heaven and earth. He doesn't just modify pre-existing matter but calls matter into being out of nothing (Ps. 33:6,9; Heb. 11:3). Seventh, God is not dependent on the universe, but the universe is totally dependent on God (Heb. 1:3).

1:2 Bible translations since the time of the Septuagint, the translation of the OT into Greek (ca 175 b.c.), have rendered the first Hebrew verb in this verse as was. However, in an effort to explain the origins of evil and/or find biblical evidence for an old earth, some Bible scholars have suggested that this verb should be translated as "became." Citing evidence in Isa. 14:12-21 and Ezek. 28:12-19, they believe a time gap, possibly a vast one, exists between the first two verses of the Bible, during which Satan led a rebellion in heaven against God. This allows interpreters to suggest that the early earth was without form, and void because Satan's rebellion marred God's good creation. However, the construction of this sentence in the original Hebrew favors the traditional translation ("was" rather than "became").

The sense of verse 2 is that God created the earth "without form, and void" as an unfinished and unfilled state. Working through an orderly process over a period of six days, God formed (days 1-3) and filled (days 4-6) His created handiwork. The "forming" was accomplished by means of three acts of separating or sorting various elements of creation from one another. The "filling" was carried out through five acts of populating the newly created domains. The deep, a single word in Hebrew, suggests an original state of creation that was shapeless as liquid water. The Hebrew verb translated moved, translated "fluttereth" in Deut. 32:11, suggests that the Spirit of God was watching over His creation just as a bird watches over its young.

1:3 A foundational teaching of the Bible is that God speaks and does so with universe-changing authority. The command in this verse is just two words in Hebrew.

1:4 Another basic truth of the Bible is that God saw; this means He is fully aware of His creation. Later writers directly declared that God is aware of events occurring throughout the earth (2 Chron. 16:9; Zech. 4:10). The term good, used here for the first of seven times in this chapter to evaluate God's creative work, can be used to express both high quality and moral excellence. The physical universe is a good place because God made it. God found satisfaction in His labor. This first instance where God divided created the twin realms of light and darkness, day and night. God's activity in the material world parallels the role He also performs in the moral universe, that of the righteous Judge distinguishing between those who live in moral light and those who do not (1 Thess. 5:5).

1:5 In ancient Israel, the act of naming an object, place, or person indicated that you held control over it (35:10; 41:45; Num. 32:42; Deut. 3:14; Josh. 19:47; 2 Kings 23:34; 24:17). When God named the light and the darkness, He asserted His lordship and control over all of time. In ancient Israelite and modern Jewish tradition, evening is the transition point from one day to the next.

1:6 Based on a verb that can refer to covering something with a thin sheet of metal (Num. 16:39; Isa. 40:19), the noun firmament always refers to the vast spread of the open sky.

1:7 God's second act of separation was to divide atmospheric water from terrestrial water. Thus He began the process of giving form to the material world. The clause it was so, found six times in this chapter, emphasizes God's absolute power over creation.

1:8 Heaven can refer to the earth's atmospheric envelope (v. 20), outer space (v. 15), or the spiritual realm where God lives (Ps. 11:4).

1:9 God's third and final act of separation created oceans and continents.

1:10 In His third and final act of naming, God demonstrated His authority over all of the Earth and the Seas. This contrasts with what Israel's polytheistic neighbors believed about the range of divine powers. Their gods were not all-powerful, but instead exercised authority over a limited territory. The God of Genesis 1 holds dominion over everything at all times and in all places.

1:11-12 In preparation for the rise of animal and human life, God provided an abundant supply of food. The consistent biblical teaching is that "like begets like" (Luke 6:44; James 3:12); Gen. 1:11-12 establish that principle for plant life. While five of the six days contain at least one act of creation evaluated as good, only the third and sixth days have this statement more than once.

1:14-15 The events of day four complement those of day one, filling the day and night with finished forms of light. The various lights, or "light-giving objects," were worshipped as gods in the cultures that surrounded ancient Israel. In Genesis, however, the sun, moon, and stars are portrayed as servants of God that would fulfill three roles: separating the newly created realms of day and night; marking seasons so that those who worshipped the Creator could keep their appointed festivals (cp. Lev. 23:4,44); and providing light upon the earth.

1:20 The fifth day's events complement those of day two, filling the newly formed heavenly domains above and the watery regions below.

1:21 The great whales are literally "sea monsters." This Hebrew word (tanninim) is also translated "serpent" (Exod. 7:9) and "dragon" (Deut. 32:33; Ps. 74:13; Isa. 27:1; 51:9). In this context, the word designates all the large mammals and fish of the sea. The reuse of the verb created (Hb bara'; cp. v. 1) emphasizes God's authority over the large sea-creatures. This point was especially significant to the ancient Israelites, whose neighbors worshipped Rahab, a mythical sea monster (Isa. 51:9).

1:22 The first of three blessings God pronounced in the creation narrative occurred when God blessed the water animals and birds. This blessing is similar to the one for persons, but lacks the commands to "subdue" and "have dominion" (v. 28).

1:26 God's use of plural pronouns (us . . . our . . . our) to refer to Himself has raised many questions (3:22; 11:7; Isa. 6:8). At least five different suggestions have been put forward to explain them: they may be references to (1) the Trinity, (2) God and His angels, (3) God and creation, (4) God's majesty as expressed by a literary device known as the "plural of majesty," or (5) a polytheistic view of God. Since the Bible teaches elsewhere that there is only one God (Deut. 6:4; Mark 12:29; 1 Cor. 8:4), the fifth option is not tenable.

The two Hebrew words translated as image and likeness are often understood as having the same meaning. But some interpreters suggest that "image" refers to the ability to reason, with "likeness" referring to the spiritual dimension. What exactly is the "image" of God? Since the Bible teaches that God is a Spirit (John 4:24), many commentators believe it refers to the non-material aspects of a person—our moral sensibilities, intellectual abilities, will, and emotions. Based on God's commands in Gen. 1:28, others have suggested that it consists of the role humans are to play on earth—their rulership over the planet and its resources, and secondarily the physical, mental, and spiritual abilities that enable them to fulfill that role. The NT teaches that Christians will someday bear the image of Christ (1 Cor. 15:49; 1 John 3:2).

1:27 The creation of humanity is the crowning event of chapter 1, as shown by the fact that created is repeated three times. The verb "created" (Hb bara') is the same one used in 1:1, referring to a kind of creative activity that only God can do. The term "man" (Hb 'adam) is used elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible to refer to humanity in general, not just males (7:21); all people, both male and female, are created in the image of God (cp. James 3:9). People are the only beings that are created in the image of God (Gen. 9:3-6). The Bible never lumps people into the category of animals. Instead, it separates the creation of people from all other beings and attributes the most privileged roles in creation to humans alone.

1:28 In this the longest of the five blessings found in the account of creation, God gave humanity five different commands. Implicit in the first three commands is God's blessing on the institutions of marriage and the family. The word replenish does not mean to do something that has been done before, but to fill the earth for the first time. The final two commands, to subdue the earth and have dominion over the animal kingdom, express God's blessing on the use of the planet's renewable and nonrenewable natural resources. Of course, only the wise use of these resources permits people to fulfill God's command to fill the earth. A similar command to the survivors of the flood is shorter, having only the first three verbs in it (9:1).

1:29 Here the word meat means food. After the flood in Noah's day, God issued additional dietary guidelines that expanded humanity's permitted food sources beyond herbs (plants) and trees to include meats, that is, "flesh" (9:3-4).

1:30 Here again the word meat simply means food. The Bible does not address the issue of diet for carnivorous and insect-eating animals.

1:31 This is the seventh, final, and most elaborate use of the word good in the account of the seven days of creation.

2:1 This verse serves as a complement to 1:1. Together, the two set the first six days of creation apart from the sacred seventh day.

2:2 This is the first use of the number seven in the Bible, a number that will play an especially significant role in the religious and social life of ancient Israel (4:15; 7:2-4,10; 21:28-31; 29:18-20). On the seventh day God rested, thus setting an example for people—who are made in His image—to follow (Exod. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-14). Though God rested from all his work which he had made, this is not to say that God has abandoned the universe. In the NT Jesus affirmed that God is still at work in the world, even on the Sabbath (John 5:16-17).

2:3 This is the only instance during the creation process when God blessed a unit of time. The term sanctified is applied in the Bible to something set aside for service to God.

2:4 The Hebrew word toledoth, translated here as generations, is used 11 times in the book of Genesis to introduce new units of material (5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10,27; 25:12,19; 36:1,9; 37:2). Here it introduces a detailed elaboration of some key aspects of the creation account that opens the book of Genesis (1:1–2:3). Special emphasis is placed on the events of day six. Here the phrase in the day is a Hebrew idiom for "when" (Exod. 5:13). Verse 4 includes the first use of God's personal name, rendered in English as the Lord, the most commonly used noun in the OT. The Hebrew spelling is transliterated as "YHWH," a word Jews considered so sacred that they would not permit themselves to pronounce it. Its accurate pronunciation is thus unknown, though common suggestions include "Jehovah" and "Yahweh."

2:5 A plant or herb of the field was one which required cultivation.

2:6 This source of water, a bountiful blessing that provided moisture for the whole face of the ground in the time of human innocence, later became a source of judgment on humanity's sin (7:11).

2:7 The Hebrew verb translated here as formed is used elsewhere in the Bible to describe the potter's profession (Jer. 18:4; Zech. 11:13); God acts here as the divine potter, skillfully fashioning man of the dust of the ground. But people are more than just material beings. It was only when God breathed into the man's nostrils the breath of life that Adam became alive. God is Spirit (John 4:24); thus, when God breathed into him, Adam and all later human beings became a unique mix of the physical and the spiritual. The Hebrew phrase translated as living soul is used elsewhere in Genesis to describe other creatures (1:20,24,30; 9:12,15-16). Nevertheless, humans are in a class by themselves since they alone are made in God's image.

2:8 The location of Eden is unknown; suggestions include Armenia, Iraq, Africa, and Arabia. Changes in geography caused by the flood in Noah's day (7:11) make it unlikely that Eden will ever be discovered. The Hebrew word "Eden" literally means "pleasantness."

2:9 God's concern for beauty is seen in the fact that the trees He caused to grow were pleasant to the sight. The Lord's love of beauty will later be extended to Israel's religion, which will make use of furnishings fashioned by expert craftsmen using expensive materials (Exod. 25–40). Of course, God's beautiful created works were also practical, being good for food.

2:10 The abundance of the waters supplied in the garden of Eden is indicated by the fact that it served as the headwaters for four rivers.

2:11 The location of the Pison river is unknown. A land known as Havilah existed in the region of the Arabian peninsula at a later point in time (1 Sam. 15:7), but the preflood land may have represented a different locale.

2:13 The pre-flood locations of the Gihon river and Ethiopia are unknown. Later, biblical Ethiopia was located in the region of modern Ethiopia and Sudan (Esther 1:1; Ps. 68:31; Acts 8:27).

2:14 The Hiddekel (Tigris; Dan. 10:4) and Euphrates rivers, as well as Assyria, probably correspond to geographical features associated with modern Iraq.

2:15 The Hebrew word translated as put literally means, "caused to rest"; this pre-sin state of rest anticipates the "rest" ("relief"; 5:29) that would again come to humanity because of righteous Noah, as well as the rest that God would again give Israel following its episode of calf worship (Exod. 32:1-21; 33:14). As a being created in God's image, Adam, like God, was to be a worker. Without the taint of sin, work was an undiluted blessing. The verb translated here as dress literally means "serve." Adam's second task in the garden was to keep it. The verb is used elsewhere to refer to the action of God toward His people (Ps. 121:3-4) or the work of a military guard (SS. 5:7).

2:16 The seriousness of God's order is reflected in the fact that it is introduced by a two-verb phrase in Hebrew: commanded . . . saying. This formula was used frequently to express royal decrees (1 Sam. 18:22; 2 Sam. 18:5). God gave Adam both freedom and limits, the freedoms vastly outnumbering the limitations. After all, Adam could eat freely from every tree of the garden except one.

2:17 The only limit God placed on Adam was eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which apparently imparted divine wisdom (3:22). Eating the forbidden fruit represented Adam's rejection of God as the source of divine wisdom and his choice to pursue wisdom apart from God. God's penalty for disobedience was stated especially forcefully in the original language, with a two-verb construction, "dying you shall die" (thou shalt surely die). Death would certainly come to Adam and all humanity after him; but the death that God warned about would be more than physical (3:19). Besides severing the cord of life, sin would shatter the harmonious relationship that existed between Adam and his environment (3:17-18), his wife (3:16), and God.

2:18 The theme of God providing for Adam's needs (see note at v. 8) is picked up again here, as God declared that Adam's solitude is not good. God created the man with a need to relate to one who was meet, or "complimentary," for him, and now God will fill that need.

2:19 As He did with man, God formed animals out of the ground, but they did not receive the breath of life from God (v. 7) nor the image of God.

2:20 By giving names to the animals, Adam showed that he ruled the animals and that he perceived the nature of each animal (see note at 1:5). Adam's understanding of their nature only highlighted the differences that existed between him and the rest of God's creatures: no helper was found as his complement (see note at v. 18).

2:21 At what must have been a moment of loneliness in Adam's life, God stepped in to create one who would perfectly meet Adam's need. Because God took one of his ribs to use as His raw material, the woman would correspond perfectly—though not identically—to Adam. Like Adam, the woman possessed God's image. The fact that she was not taken either from the man's head or his foot may suggest that the woman was not to rule over the man (1 Cor. 11:3), nor the man to oppress the woman (1 Pet. 3:7).

2:23 Adam's first recorded words express his delight with God's handiwork and his recognition of the unique suitability of God's last recorded creation in the creation accounts. As with no other piece of divine craftsmanship, this one was singularly suited for the man, being bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh. Adam expresses dominion by choosing a name for God's final created being, yet the divine order calls for a reciprocity exhibited in male servant leadership and female submission, both of which are modeled in Jesus Himself. The Hebrew term 'ishshah, Woman, identifies her as the feminine complement to 'ish, the man.

2:24 God's timeless design for marriage is declared here. The one flesh relationship certainly involves sexual union, but also includes a husband and wife coming together in spiritual, mental, and emotional harmony.

2:25 Because the devastating effects of sin had not yet ravaged nature or humanity, there was no need for clothing. Even without barriers to shield them from their environment and each other, Adam and Eve could live without shame. Later, in the time of the patriarchs and kings, clothing was associated with dignity. Accordingly, prisoners of war were not permitted to wear any clothing, slaves wore very little clothing, and the highest social classes wore the most clothing.

3:1 The Hebrew word for subtil means crafty or shrewd in a negative sense (Job 5:12), or prudent in a positive sense (Prov. 14:8).

3:3 The woman's claim that God said, neither shall ye touch the tree, lest ye die, goes beyond anything recorded in God's instructions to Adam. Therefore either Adam had given his wife an additional command, or else Eve exaggerated the command as Satan tempted her to view God as selfish and overly restrictive. If Adam added to God's command, he almost certainly had a good motive—after all, if Eve never touched the tree, she certainly wouldn't eat its fruit. However, the sad truth is that when people add to the word of God, they create confusion and trouble.

3:4-5 The serpent, recognizing the woman's confusion, found a point of attack. Knowing that the woman would not surely die by merely touching the fruit, he boldly contradicted what she had reported to be God's command. He then skillfully lied (John 8:44) by distorting God's word (Matt. 4:6), implying that God had prohibited people from eating the fruit only to keep them from becoming as knowledgeable as He. The woman was now fully deceived (1 Tim. 2:14).

3:6 Since the woman did not die when she touched the fruit—in contradiction to what she had thought God said (v. 3.)—she did eat. Though Adam was with her at the time, he did nothing to stop her. Perhaps he wanted to eat of it as much as the woman did, but fearing the consequences, used his wife as a "guinea pig" to make sure it would not cause instant death.

3:7 As the serpent had indicated, the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew, but instead of producing godlike power, the knowledge brought only a sense of human inadequacy, fear, and shame.

3:9 God took the initiative in reaching out to sinful humanity. This pattern—humanity sinning, then God seeking out sinners—becomes the primary theme of the rest of the Bible. Its ultimate expression is found in Jesus Christ, who came to seek and to save people alienated from God because of their sin (Luke 19:10); in Him God once again walked on the earth in search of sinners. The all-knowing God asked Adam, Where art thou? for Adam's benefit, to encourage Adam to face his sin.

3:10 Rather than walking with God as righteous men of later generations would do (Enoch, 5:22; Noah, 6:9), Adam hid from Him.

3:11 Through the use of two direct questions God brought Adam to accountability for his sin. God does not overlook sin, but He can be gently firm in confronting it.

3:12 Adam answered neither of God's questions. Instead he sought to shift the blame first to the woman and then to God.

3:13 The woman passed the blame to the serpent and admitted that prior to eating, she was beguiled (1 Tim. 2:14).

3:14 Though accountability began with God's confrontation of Adam, judgment began with the serpent. Because of the serpent's key role (being used of Satan) in bringing sin into the human experience, it would be permanently consigned to the position of ultimate shame. Just as conquered kings were made to lie on the ground under the foot of their conquerors (Josh. 10:24), so now the serpent would live under the feet of humanity.

3:15 This verse is known in Christendom as the protoevangelium, or "first good news," because it is the first foretelling of the gospel of Jesus Christ. God announced here that a descendant would someday deal the serpent (meaning Satan) a fatal blow on the head (Rev. 20:2,7-10). The NT writers understood Jesus Christ to have fulfilled this prophecy (Heb 2:14; 1 John 3:8). The NT also indicates that God would work through the church—those indwelt by the Spirit of Christ—to destroy the works of the devil (Rom. 16:20). The assertion that the snake would only strike his opponent's heel foreshadows that Christ's wounding on the cross would not be permanently fatal.

3:16 Even though the woman had been deceived into eating the forbidden fruit, she was still held accountable for her act. Notably, however, the word "cursed" is not contained in God's words to her (v v. 14,16). Two penalties were imposed; both struck at the heart of a woman's roles in life. More than would have been the case had sin not entered creation, bearing children would add to the sum of sorrow in the universe (God said he would multiply, not originate, woman's labor pains). Marriage would also be marred; though the woman's desire would be for her husband, sin would mar God's plan for marriage and create tormenting inequality and subjugation. The latter is a description of the ravaging effect of sin on a husband-wife relationship, not a prescription for abusing one's wife. The NT teaches that marriage should reflect the relationship of Christ with the church (Eph. 5:24-25) and be characterized by a husband's understanding of and respect for his wife (1 Pet. 3:7).

3:17 Because Adam listened to his wife's voice in preference to what God commanded (2:17), a curse would strike at the heart of a fundamental relationship in his life as well. Adam's relationship with the ground would now be forever damaged by sin. All the days of his life he would experience sorrow (cp. the woman's labor pains, v. 16) as he worked to bring forth the fruit of the earth.

3:18 Prior to the first couple's sins God is only recorded as having put trees in the garden (2:8-9); now there would also be thorns and thistles. Prior to sin, humanity had only to reach up to get food; now they would have to bend their backs to gather plants of the field.

3:19 The simple plucking of fruit in order to eat food (lit "bread") would now be replaced by backbreaking labor and the sweat of man's face. Working daily in the soil, Adam would be continually reminded that he was dust and that he would return to dust.

3:20 The new name Adam gave his wife (cp. 2:23) emphasizes the woman's life-giving role that counteracts the curse of sin, which is death.

3:21 The Lord God graciously provided for humanity's need for clothing in a way superior to what Adam and Eve had done with fig leaves. The use of animal skins anticipates the OT system of animal sacrifices (Lev. 1; 3–7; Num. 15:1-31). In the NT, the apostle Paul spoke of a day when God would clothe His people with immortality (1 Cor. 15:53-54; 2 Cor. 5:4), thus providing the complete undoing of the curse of humanity's sin.

3:22-23 Because of sin, people now knew good and evil experientially. Since the gift of life was directly tied to obedience, man's sin meant that the penalty of death must be enforced. Ironically, the Lord God sent Adam forth from the garden so that Adam would not reach (lit "send forth his hand") for the garden's fruit.

3:24 Following their sin, the first couple went east, a direction associated with departure from God in numerous biblical examples. Other instances of eastward movement in Genesis include Cain's journeys after judgment (4:16), humanity's migration toward Babel (11:2), and the migration of Keturah's sons (25:6). Cherubims are used as an artistic motif in the tabernacle (Exod. 25:18-22; 26:1) and are also mentioned in Ezekiel 10 and 11. The ironies continue as the man who was once commanded to "keep" the garden (Gen. 2:15) is now kept from the garden.

4:1 Adam and Eve now begin to fulfill God's original command to them, to "be fruitful" and "multiply" (1:28). Eve, whose name means "Life," now becomes the life-giver. Eve knew that the child was more than the result of her and her husband's love; it came into being from the Lord. A wordplay in the Hebrew suggests that the name Cain (qayin) came from the verb "have gotten" (qaniti) in Eve's comment, I have gotten a man.

4:2 The name Abel means "Breath"; the term is used elsewhere in the OT to refer to that which passes away quickly and is unsubstantial (Ps. 62:9; Eccl. 1:2).

4:3 Cain's sacrifice marks the first mention of an offering unto the Lord in the Bible. The Hebrew term used here suggests a freewill gift given to an authority (Judg. 13:19).

4:5 Ironically, the first recorded offering given to God was also the first one rejected by Him. Since cereal offerings were authorized in the law of Moses, the fact that Cain's offering was of vegetation rather than an animal is not why God had not respect for it. Cain's wroth reaction suggests that the offering was rejected because of sin in his heart, not the nature of his offering. See note at verse 7.

4:7 The Bible makes it clear that God had rejected Cain's offering because of Cain's wicked lifestyle (1 John 3:12). The animal-like description of sin as lying is reused in 49:9 to describe a lion couching. The parallel use of desire in this verse and 3:16 suggests that sin wishes to be as intimate with humanity as a woman is with her husband. The only way to avoid this is to be its master, not its companion.

4:8 In a move that demonstrates premeditation, Cain waited until they were in the field and slew Abel where there were no human witnesses. This was the first death of a human being, realizing the curse of human death pronounced against Adam (2:17; 3:19).

4:9 God's use of questions with guilty sinners continues here (v. 6; cp. 3:9-13). By claiming he did not know where his brother was, Cain added lying to his sin of murder. God once made Adam a keeper (Hb shamar) of the garden (2:15). Cain now asked if he was to be his brother's keeper (Hb shamar). The Bible's answer to Cain's question is yes (Lev. 19:18; Matt. 22:39; Gal. 5:14).

4:10 Unlike his father Adam (3:12), Cain never confessed his guilt, even though God directly confronted him. Though Abel never spoke in the preceding narrative, his blood now cried out from the ground.

4:11 God's judgment began with a curse whose wording in the Hebrew parallels the curse placed on the snake (3:14). This is particularly fitting since both were liars and murderers (John 8:44). It is possible to translate God's statement here as "You are more cursed than the ground." The curse against a murderer is repeated in the law of Moses (Deut. 27:24).

4:12 Cain's punishment destroyed his livelihood as a farmer and turned him into a vagabond.

4:13 Cain's response has several possible English renderings. The Septuagint and Martin Luther translated it as, "My sin is too great to be forgiven," while early rabbis took it as a question: "Is my sin too great to forgive?" In view of Cain's previous and later actions, the KJV translation (My punishment is greater than I can bear) seems best. He expresses anguish, but no remorse

4:14 Just as his father Adam had been driven out (Hb garash) of the garden, Cain noted that God was driving him out (Hb garash) from the surface of the soil. Since he would be hid from God's protective face (presence), he feared that other descendants of Adam and Eve (5:4) would slay him to avenge Abel's murder.

4:15 True to His compassionate and forgiving nature (Exod. 34:6-7), God made provisions to protect Cain despite his sin.

4:16 Cain's departure from the presence of the Lord was both physical and spiritual (Jon. 1:3,10). "Nod" means "Wandering." The land of Nod is never again mentioned in the Bible. Perhaps the phrase simply referred to any area where Cain wandered. The notation that Cain departed to live east of Eden identifies him with other sinners who also moved east (see note at 3:24).

4:17 The parallel tracks of Adam's and Cain's lives—sin, judgment by God, banishment, and eastward movement—continue with the notation that after these things Cain knew his wife (cp. v. 1). In spite of his grave sin, Cain still fulfilled the divine command to be fruitful and multiply (1:28). On the other hand, Cain's efforts to build a city were one more expression of disobedience to God, for God had ordained Cain to be a wanderer (v. 12). The city of Enoch is not mentioned elsewhere in the Bible, and its location is unknown.

Cain's genealogy in verses 17-24 has similarities with Seth's genealogy (5:3-32). Two of the names in both lines are identical (Enoch, Lamech) and others are similar (Cain/Kenan; Methushael/Methuselah). In addition, the seventh member of both genealogies (Cain's Lamech, Seth's Enoch) are given special emphasis, and both conclude with a person who has three named sons. Notable differences exist as well: Seth's genealogy is longer and contains lifespan details, but it omits any mention of occupations or wives' names.

4:19 More details are provided in this genealogical section for Lamech, the seventh member of Adam's line through Cain, than for any other. His three named sons made crucial contributions to human culture. However, the description of Lamech's life paints a troubling picture of an individual who lacked respect for marriage or human life. By taking two wives Lamech became the first polygamist, a violation of God's intentions for marriage (2:22; Mark 10:6-8).

4:20 Jabal brought about key advances in the profession of the nomadic herdsmen—those who cared for sheep, goats, and cattle (Hb miqneh). This represents an advance beyond what Abel had done since he is only known to have tended sheep and goats (v. 2; Hb tso'n).

4:21 Jubal advanced civilization in the area of the musical arts, playing a key role in developing two of the most important musical instruments of the ancient world, the harp and organ. This "organ" may have been a type of flute or reed pipe.

4:22 Tubal-cain's metallurgical advances in working brass (or bronze) and smelting iron would prove crucial for crafting tools and weapons.

4:23 Lamech's speech, the longest by a human being to this point in the Bible, represents the dark climax of the Cainite genealogy. His level of retaliation against a man for wounding him and a young man who merely hurt him goes far beyond the biblical limits (Exod. 21:23-25), and his boast of killing for vengeance foreshadows the "violence" that led to the flood in Noah's day (Gen. 6:11).

4:24 Using twisted logic, Lamech seemed to suggest that God would provide him with greater protection than He did Cain since he had killed double the number of men.

4:25 The name Seth (Hb sheth) is a wordplay on the verb translated appointed (Hb shath). Once again (v. 1), Eve recognized God as the ultimate source of her offspring. The expectation that Seth would be more righteous than Cain is established by Eve's statement that God gave him to replace Abel. In fact, the family line that ultimately produced Jesus is traceable through Seth (Luke 3:38).

4:26 The name Enos, like the name Adam, means "humanity." In a very real sense Enos's birth marks a new and brighter beginning for humanity, as men now began to call upon the name of the Lord. This is Jehovah, God's personal name (Exod. 3:15; 6:3).

5:1 This is the second of 11 toledoth sections in Genesis (2:4; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10,27; 25:12,19; 36:1,9; 37:2). The Hebrew term toledoth ("generations" or family records) refers to "those who were given birth." Each section contains genealogical information and/or historical accounts regarding the descendants of the people or things named in the section title.

Only the Sethite genealogy is called the generations of Adam, even though Cain's descendants are equally related. This is because only offspring in Seth's line are noted as being righteous. In this genealogy, emphasis is given to the fact that Adam was created in God's likeness, a characteristic that would be passed along to future generations (v. 3).

5:2 Key themes of chapter 1 are repeated and extended in the Sethite genealogy: (1) God created both male and female, thus making it possible for humanity to fulfill the divine mandate to create offspring; (2) people, though made in God's image, are not God; they were created; (3) humanity has been specially blessed by God; and (4) humanity is under God's authority, as demonstrated by the fact that God assigned them their name.

5:3 Whereas God "created" Adam, Adam begat Seth. Whereas Adam was made in God's image, Seth was made in Adam's image. Like God, Adam named the one he was responsible for bringing into being.

5:4 The phrase begat sons and daughters is repeated 10 times in the Sethite genealogy, but it never occurs in the Cainite genealogy. The line of Seth more faithfully fulfilled God's command to be fruitful and multiply (1:28).

5:5 Only three individuals are said to have lived longer than Adam's 930 years. They are Noah (950), Jared (962) and Methuselah (969). The notation that he died emphasizes the solemn truth of God's curse following Adam's sin (3:19). The fact that it is repeated seven other times in this chapter demonstrates the lasting consequences of Adam's sin.

5:9 The name Cainan (Hb qeynan) is closely linked to Cain (Hb qayin), and may mean "Metalworker."

5:12 The name Mahalaleel may mean "One who praises God."

5:18 The name Enoch means "Dedication."

5:21 Enoch, as the seventh member of the Sethite genealogy, is given special emphasis. The name Methuselah may mean either "Man of the Spear" or "Man of Shelah."

5:22 Enoch's life stands in stark contrast to Lamech, the seventh member of Cain's line. Whereas Lamech was notorious for his immorality and violence, Enoch walked with God, much as Adam must have done before his sin in the garden (3:8) and as Noah did later (6:9). The phrase "walked with God" suggests living a life consistent with God's will as well as experiencing fellowship with Him. Perhaps it was Enoch's entrance into parenthood after he begat Methuselah that inspired him to take his relationship with God seriously. Imagine the level of spiritual maturity Enoch must have attained after 300 years of living wholeheartedly for God! Jude 14 indicates that Enoch was a prophet.

5:24 The description of Enoch's life differs from the others in two remarkable ways. First, his righteousness is highlighted through the double notation that Enoch walked with God (v v. 22,24). Second, the description of the end of his life is mysterious: he was not; for God took him. The NT confirms the meaning of this phrase: "Enoch was translated that he should not see death" (Heb. 11:5). Enoch's experience, like Elijah's later (2 Kings 2:11), anticipates an experience reserved for Christians living at the end of time (1 Cor. 15:51-55; 1 Thess. 4:17).

5:27 Methuselah's 969 years marks him as the oldest person in the Bible. Ancient genealogies commonly attribute long life spans to people. While the Bible's numbers are exceptionally large compared to modern life spans, they seem much more credible than those found in the Sumerian king list, which states that one individual reached the age of 72,000!

5:29 The Lamech of the Sethite genealogy (v. 28) stands in sharp contrast to the Lamech of the Cainite genealogy. Both Lamechs are the only individuals in their respective genealogies to have quotations attributed to them, but Cain's Lamech spoke of murder and vengeance (4:23-24), while the Lamech in this chapter spoke words of hope and deliverance. The name Noah means "Rest/Relief." Prophetically, Lamech declared that the son born to him would live up to his name: he would comfort humanity concerning our work and toil of their hands that had resulted from Adam's sin.

5:31 A final point of comparison between the Cainite and Sethite Lamechs is the use of sevens. The first Lamech mentioned Cain's sevenfold curse and pronounced a 77-fold curse on anyone who would bring death to him, while Seth's Lamech lived 777 years before death came to him. For the numbers-conscious original audience, the author's inclusion of a figure consisting of three sevens would have trumped the first Cain's numbers, and would have added a sense of completeness and perfection to the portrait of this man's life.

5:32 The mention of Noah at the end of the Sethite genealogy serves as both a conclusion to this section of Genesis and a subtle introduction of the central human character in its next major section. A similar technique will be used in the case of Terah and Abraham (cp. 5:32 and 6:9 with 11:26-27).

6:1-4 These verses transition to the account of God's greatest act of nature-based judgment on sinful humanity. Positively, these opening verses demonstrate humanity's faithfulness in fulfilling God's command to "multiply on the earth" (1:28). This brief portion of Genesis is one of the most controversial sections of the entire Bible. Major disagreements surround each of these verses. Careful study of the Hebrew text does not end the debates; if anything, it only sharpens them. The controversies are listed below.

6:2 This verse begins to build the case that there was something terribly wrong about the way in which God's command to multiply was being fulfilled. Using language that parallels the sequence leading to humanity's first sin in the garden (3:6), the sons of God first saw something that they thought was good, and then took what they desired.

Controversy surrounds the phrase "the sons of God." Three different basic positions have been staked out regarding the identity of these "sons." They have been understood as heavenly beings (an ancient Jewish position, still accepted by many today), as kings or men of high social status, or as men from the godly family line of Seth.

Favoring their identity as heavenly beings—likely angels—is the fact that elsewhere in the OT the phrase "sons of God" refers only to heavenly creatures (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7) and that the NT refers to fallen angels (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6). Those who accept this view hold that the sin that prompted God's anger in this passage was a violation of Gen. 2:24, brought about by sexual relations between human and angelic beings, resulting in the creation of the Nephilim. But this view has its difficulties. For instance, Jesus indicated that angels do not marry (Matt. 22:30), and Paul used the phrase "sons of God" to refer to godly people, not angels (Gal. 3:26).

The view that the "sons of God" are kings or aristocrats is supported by the fact that the common Hebrew word for God is sometimes applied to persons who have great social power (Ps. 82:6-7; John 10:34-35). Advocates of this position say that the "daughters of men" were people of lower social status. Thus the passage is thought to indicate possible abuse of lower class women by licentious men of privilege. Interpreters who take this view do not necessarily connect the Nephilim with these marriages.

The third position is the most popular view among evangelical Christians. It assumes that the "sons of God" were descendants of godly Seth, while the "daughters of men" were descendants of ungodly Cain. Assuming the descendants of both men followed the moral examples set by their respective forefathers, the union of these two spiritually incompatible lines was contradictory to God's will (2 Cor. 6:14) and resulted in the total corruption of humanity, represented by the Nephilim.

6:3 The meaning of this verse is one of the most disputed in the Bible: Is it about God limiting the human life span, or about God setting a time for the universal flood? The reference to spirit could refer to the animating force present in living beings or to the Holy Spirit. Closely related to this issue is the appropriate understanding of the phrase strive with. The Hebrew word could also mean "remain in." Complicating the issue still further is the Hebrew word basar, which is normally translated flesh (KJV) but which can be taken figuratively to refer to that which is corrupt.

6:4 Two major questions arise in this verse: who are the giants and what if anything is their connection to the sons of God and the daughters of men? The word "giants" comes from the Hebrew word nephelim, which means "fallen ones," a phrase that could mean morally or physically degraded individuals, or possibly angels who fell from heaven (Isa. 14:12).

It is impossible that these are the same race as the "giants" in Num. 13:33, since none would have survived the flood (Gen. 7:22-23) and thus could not have lived during the postflood events narrated in Numbers. Plus the Nephilim are never mentioned as one of the groups to be wiped out by the Israelites when they entered Canaan. Their mention in Numbers 13 probably came from the lips of a fear-crazed spy who misinterpreted what he had seen in Canaan.

Were these giants products of the marriages between the sons of God and the daughters of mankind (v. 2)? Possibly, but in the Hebrew text there is no explicit connection between them. Moreover, the fact that they were in the earth in those days, i.e., before and during the sinful unions, leads some to suggest that their origins are elsewhere. Whatever their ancestry, as mighty men and men of renown they played a significant role in preflood society.

6:5 God, who alone can observe both people's outward actions (Job 34:21) and their thoughts (1 Sam. 16:7), saw what was visible—that man's wickedness was widespread—and what was invisible—that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The word translated "heart" reflects the ancient conception that this organ was the seat of the intellect, emotion, and will.

6:6 The word repented does not mean that God had sinned or that He must change His divine nature, but that He felt sorrow for how man's sin had changed the situation and that He would now change His course of action accordingly. For the first time in the Bible, the Lord regretted something that he had made, not because of something He had done wrong, but because of what humanity was doing wrong. Humanity's preoccupation with evil grieved him at his heart, much as Israel's sin would later grieve Him (Ps. 78:40-41; Isa. 63:10).

6:7 Humanity was created to obey, worship, and fellowship with God. However, the magnitude of people's sin had progressively increased from that of eating forbidden fruit (3:6), to murder (4:8), to polygamy and multiple murders (4:23), and finally to worldwide preoccupation with evil (6:6). God's patience had come to an end, and the curse pronounced against Adam would now be amplified in a single catastrophic act. Since humanity was the capstone of God's creation, the elimination of people would take away any need for the ecological support system that sustained them: therefore it was expedient to destroy the beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air as well. Even as Adam's sin had caused him to lose the garden of Eden and Cain's sin drove him from the soil, the sins of humanity would now cause them to lose the earth.

6:8 This contrast to the rest of humanity anticipates Noah's contrasting destiny. The word grace means undeserved blessing given by a powerful being to one who is less powerful. Noah did not earn his salvation, but his life did demonstrate that he possessed saving faith (Heb 11:7). A wordplay exists in Hebrew between the words "Noah" and "grace," as both contain the same two consonants but use them in reverse order: n-ch/ch-n.

6:9 The generations of Noah is the third of 11 toledoth sections in Genesis (2:4; 5:1; 10:1; 11:10,27; 25:12,19; 36:1,9; 37:2). In this context, perfect means that Noah's loyalty to God was undivided and that he possessed integrity. In contrast to his contemporaries, Noah was just and mature, but he was not sinless.

6:11-12 Within these two verses three different forms of the verb corrupt are used to describe what humanity had done to itself and to the world. The Hebrew word means "to bring to ruin, to destroy."

6:13 For the first time in the Bible—but by no means the last (18:17; Amos 3:7)—God is shown expressing to one person what His intentions were for others. Noah is thus established as a prophet, a role he would faithfully fulfill (2 Pet. 2:5). God was about to bring the end of all flesh because of human sin. But judgment would not be limited to people; God would also destroy . . . the earth. Sadly, one of the victims of human sin is the earth on which we live (Lev. 26:18-20; Isa. 24:4-7; Jer. 12:11; Hos. 4:1-3).

6:14 Because of God's grace (v. 8) and Noah's relationship with God (v. 9), Noah and his family would be saved in an ark, along with the land and air animals. The term "ark" is used only in the Noah account and the story of Moses' early childhood (Exod. 2:3); as used in the Bible it refers to a watertight vessel used to preserve human life from impending disaster. Gopher is the transliteration of a Hebrew word whose meaning is unknown; gopher wood may be pine or cypress.

6:15 Noah was to make the ark rectangular and barge-like in shape, six times longer than it was wide, and ten times longer than it was high. These ratios have been used to produce seaworthy craft for centuries. In the Hebrew text the measurements are expressed as cubits, a cubit being the length from a person's elbow to the end of the fully extended middle finger—about 18 inches. The 450-foot length made the ark the largest ship known to be constructed in ancient times.

6:16 The word translated window (Hb tsohar) occurs only here, and its meaning is unknown: other possible translations include "roof" or "hatch." If the term means "roof," then the text probably indicates that it was to extend 18 inches over the sides of the boat. If the term means "window," then it refers to an 18-inch high gap separating the four sides of the boat from its roof (cp. 8:6).

6:17 Only after He commanded Noah to make the ark did God tell him why it was to be built: God would bring a flood—a term used only in connection with the massive, all-destroying flood in Noah's day. Every thing that is in the earth shall die. The biblical language here and elsewhere in Genesis 6–8 most naturally indicates that Noah's flood covered the entire globe. The apostle Peter seems to affirm this (2 Pet. 2:5; 3:6). That the flood was global has been the dominant Christian understanding throughout history and remains so today. Defenders of this view offer models to explain the flood's impact on the geological column. They also tackle questions such as how much water was required to flood the entire globe. If geography today reflects preflood geography, scientists estimate that Earth would have needed four times the current quantity of water for the flood to cover the highest mountains (Gen. 7:19-20). In this light some defenders of a global flood have suggested that pre-flood geography differed from today's geography. Specifically, they suggest that Earth's landscape was flatter in the preflood era, thus requiring less water to flood, and that the violent flood created many of today's geographical and geological features. Others take a different approach, suggesting that pre- and postflood geography is largely the same, that the flood did indeed require a greater quantity of water than is now present on Earth, and that by an unknown mechanism Earth's quantity of water has greatly diminished after the flood.

6:18 The term covenant refers to a binding, formal agreement between two parties—a sort of treaty, pact, or contract.

6:19 God's preservation of Noah meant that the ecological support network of animals would still be needed. One male and one female of all vulnerable species were to be preserved.

6:20 Noah would not have to go on safaris to collect the various animals. They would come unto him so he could keep them alive. On at least three other occasions in the Bible God directed animals to come to people (Exod. 16:13; Num. 11:31; 1 Kings 17:2-6).

6:22 As other heroic men of the Bible would do in later times—Moses and Aaron (Exod. 7:6), Aaron's sons (Lev. 8:36), Joshua (Josh. 11:9), Gideon (Judg. 6:27), Samuel (1 Sam. 16:4), David (2 Sam. 5:25), and Elijah (1 Kings 17:5)—Noah did all that God commanded him. An undetermined amount of time passed between the previous verses in this chapter and this verse. Certainly the construction of the ark would have been a lengthy endeavor.

7:1 Following the ark's completion, the Lord gave Noah the order to begin the complex process of boarding the craft. Because of Noah's righteous walk with God he and his house would be saved. The concept of sparing many because of the righteousness of a few occurs elsewhere in the Bible (18:24-32).

7:2-3 While one male and one female of every species of air and land animal were to be taken aboard the ark, of every clean beast—both those of the land and the fowls also of the air—Noah was to have seven pairs of males and females onboard. The concept of clean animals is explained elsewhere in the Torah (Lev. 11:1-46); essentially, these were animals that were fit for human consumption and could be offered as sacrifices to God. On the meaning of all the earth, see note at 6:17.

7:4 The advance warning God gives Noah here about the onset of rain was necessary, for it almost certainly would have taken seven days to finish boarding the ark. Loading, securing, and tending to the dietary needs of all the wild animals onboard the three-story barge-like structure was a complicated and dangerous task.

Here rain was the mechanism for the deadly act of judgment that would destroy every living substance. Elsewhere in the OT God caused burning sulfur (19:24) and hailstones (Exod. 9:18,23) to "rain" from the sky as a mechanism of judgment against sinners. The rains would continue unabated for forty days and forty nights. The number 40 played a significant role throughout the OT: Isaac and Esau were 40 when they married (25:20; 26:34), Moses was on Mount Sinai 40 days and nights receiving the law from God (Exod. 24:18; 34:28; Deut. 9:11,18,25), Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness following their disobedience (Num. 32:13), the Philistines oppressed Israel for 40 years (Judg. 13:1), and several kings and judges ruled over Israel for 40 years (Othniel, Judg. 3:11; Deborah, Judg. 5:31; Gideon, Judg. 8:28; Eli, 1 Sam. 4:8; David, 2 Sam. 5:4; Solomon, 1 Kings 11:42; Joash, 2 Kings 12:1; Saul, Acts 13:21).

7:6 Noah's age at the onset of the flood—six hundred years—will be used to indicate the duration of the flood (8:13). No human being after Noah lived to this age (see note at 6:3). On the scope of the flood, see note at 6:17.

7:10 After seven days, exactly when God said it would occur, the waters of the flood began.

7:11 Water came from two different sources—one below and one above. Exactly what is meant by all the fountains of the great deep is unknown; the phrase appears to refer to a massive outflow of pressurized water from underground sources that broke forth out of the ground with devastating effect. No known phenomenon in nature today corresponds to this description.

7:12 Exactly as God had indicated (v. 4), the rain fell 40 days and 40 nights. God's word to Noah is once again shown to be trustworthy.

7:13-15 The selfsame day that Noah completed the task of loading the ark—that is, the seventh day (v. 10) after God's command was given—Noah and his family entered . . . the ark.

A reconstruction of the ark Noah built. The dimensions of the ark made it eminently seaworthy. The vessel in the Epic of Gilgamesh, an account of a flood that has some parallels to Noah's, is a cube. Such a vessel would have rolled over at the slightest disturbance.

7:16 Shut him in—No details are given to explain how God performed the supernatural act of shutting Noah in. This divine act highlights the truth found elsewhere in the Bible: "Salvation is from the Lord" (Jon. 2:9).

7:19-20 Fifteen cubits would be about 22.5 feet. For more on the scope of Noah's flood, see note at 6:17.

7:21-23 Through the use of expanded restatement the author brings the detailed account of the flood's destruction to a climax. The overpowering presentation of death is contrasted with Noah's preservation.

7:24 Though the text does not explicitly say so, the total of 150 days seems to include the 40 days of rain (see note at v. 12). The Hebrew word translated as prevailed emphasizes the power of the waters.

8:1 Remembered does not suggest that God had ever forgotten about Noah; when used of God, "remember" suggests the initiation of a miraculous, saving act of God. Other instances of God "remembering" as the first step in providing divine help for His people include His intervention in the lives of Lot (19:29), Rachel (30:22), and the Israelites in Egypt (Exod. 2:24). Using language that reflects God's initial act of creating the universe (Gen. 1:2), God caused (Hb) ruach—"Spirit" or wind—to pass over the waters of the earth. Immediately the water began to subside.

8:2 Following the 150 days of ever-surging waters, a turnabout occurred: all the sources of water (from above and below) stopped and the water began to subside. The initial downpour ended after 40 days and nights (7:12), so presumably the rain that is said to have been restrained in the present verse was only sporadic showers.

8:3 Just as the flood had increased upon the earth for 150 days, so it returned from off the earth continually for 150 days, until the levels had abated significantly.

8:4 Exactly five months after the flood had begun (7:11), the ark rested . . . upon the mountains of Ararat—a region in modern Turkey or Armenia.

8:6 This is the only use of this Hebrew word hallon for a window in the ark (cp. 6:16). Noah checked the earth's readiness to receive the ark's cargo of people and animals.

8:7 Rabbis have suggested that Noah first sent forth a raven, a ritually unclean bird, because it was expendable. The fact that it went forth to and fro from the ark means that it could find no suitable habitat.

8:8 Perhaps simultaneous with the release of the raven or soon thereafter, Noah sent forth a dove. Since the dove ate seeds and insects, it would provide a useful indication of whether the waters were abated from off the face of the ground.

8:9 Though the ark was now resting on Ararat (v. 4) and mountaintops were visible (v. 5), the waters had not yet receded enough for the dove to find a place to rest her feet.

8:10-11 When the dove returned to Noah from its second foray with an olive leaf, this confirmed that the lower elevations (where olive trees grow) were now above water. Inspired by this passage, the image of a dove with an olive branch in its mouth has become a universal symbol of peace.

8:12 When Noah sent forth the dove a third time and it returned not, it was clear that life-sustaining conditions now existed at the earth's more temperate, lower elevations.

8:13-14 On Noah's six hundred and first birthday he removed the covering of the ark and confirmed what the dove had indicated—that the plains beneath the mountain range were dry. Some 57 days (one 29.5-day cycle of the moon plus 27 days) later, the earth dried.

8:15-16 Perhaps this is the first time that God had spoken to Noah since before the flood; during the entire year of the catastrophic flood there is no record that God communicated directly with the patriarch or his family. What faith Noah demonstrated during that terrifying time in the ark's dark interior!

8:20 Noah's first act following his departure from the ark was to worship God by giving a burnt offering. Since every clean beast and fowl—that is, one of every mammal that chewed the cud and possessed split hoofs, as well as one of every kind of bird that did not eat carrion—was offered, it must have been an impressive sacrifice.

8:21 Using anthropomorphic language—words that describe God's actions in human terms—the text notes that the Lord smelled a sweet savour. The phrase means that God accepted Noah's sacrifice. Elsewhere in the Torah, God's refusal to smell a sacrifice meant His rejection of the offering (Lev. 26:31). Acceptable offerings in other parts of the Bible are said to have a sweet savour (Exod. 29:25; Lev. 1:9; 2:2; 3:16; Num. 18:17). Following Noah's sacrifice the Lord made a solemn promise never again to curse the ground as He had done following Adam's sin (Gen. 3:17; 5:29). Almost with a sense of resignation, God noted that man's heart was evil from his youth (Ps. 14:1; Rom. 3:9,23). Yet in spite of humanity's sinful nature, God's grace and love would prevail: He would not again destroy all life as He had done in Noah's day.

8:22 The terrifying chaos of the flood would give way to the predictable, comforting rhythms of life—the harvest, the seasons, day and night—for as long as the earth exists.

9:1-2 This blessing fortifies the parallels between Noah and Adam (1:28), as both blessings began with the command to be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. However, in Noah's day the blessing is altered. Mankind is still to take dominion over creation (1:28), but due to the presence of sin, the harmony that existed in the garden of Eden had forever ended; now animals are filled with the fear and dread of humans. Terrorized animals can be dangerous; even so, God delivered the animals into people's hand, ensuring that humans would prevail over the animal kingdom.

9:3 The original dietary regulations given to Adam and Eve (1:29) were now expanded. Animal proteins would join green herb within the human diet. The phrase every moving thing referring to animal food sources can be understood to refer to smaller animals on land or sea, but it is usually understood here to mean every living creature. Israelites would later be limited to eating only clean animals (Lev. 11).

9:4 Though meat would be permissible as food, blood would not. God required Noah and his offspring to drain the lifeblood from any animal before eating it. This guideline would be expanded and clarified in Israel's Sinai law code (Lev. 7:26-27; 17:10-14; 19:26; Deut. 12:16,24; 15:23). To avoid offending Jewish Christians, first-century Christian Gentiles were also encouraged not to eat blood (Acts 15:20,29).

9:5-6 Because in the image of God made he man, the taking of a human life either by an animal or by another person was not treated like the death of an animal. Every beast or man who killed another human being, his own blood would be shed by man as a just punishment. This verse establishes that unauthorized taking of a human life is a capital offense, and it implicitly authorizes properly credentialed authorities to execute murderers. Other verses in the law of Moses reinforced this concept (Exod. 20:13; 21:23; Deut. 19:21). No such law exists for the killing of animals; the Bible consistently teaches that human beings are of superior worth to animals.

9:7 God's blessing of humanity in Noah's day begins (v. 2) and ends with the command to be fruitful, and multiply. This repetition underscores the sacredness and desirability of human reproduction within God's plan.

9:8-11 These verses are the formal conclusion of the covenant first mentioned in 6:18. The initial expression of the covenant unconditionally offered safety in the ark to Noah's family and many classes of animals. In the style of a royal grant or unilateral agreement, this portion of the Noahic covenant unconditionally promises that there will never again be a flood of the same destructive scale.

9:12-17 Accompanying the covenant was a visible token of the agreement between God and the earth that would continue for perpetual generations: God's bow in the cloud represented His promise that He would never again send a flood to destroy all flesh. From this point forward the rainbow would have profound significance as an affirmation of God's grace and peace. Elsewhere in the Bible the rainbow is associated with the presence of God or His angelic representative (Ezek. 1:28; Rev. 4:3; 10:1). This covenant is one of three in the Bible that were accompanied by a sign; the other signs were circumcision (Gen. 17:11) and the Sabbath (Exod. 31:16-17).

9:18-19 Beginning with repeated material (5:32; 6:10), the writer launches into a new narrative designed to prepare readers for God's judgment on the nation of Canaan. The familiar genealogy is extended with the note that Ham is the father of Canaan. At the same time verse 19 prepares readers for chapter 10.

9:20 The parallels continue between Noah and Adam as Noah is now shown to be a farmer (lit "man of the soil" [Hb 'adamah]) in the new world prepared for him by God.

9:21 As Adam had sinned through the consumption of fruit (3:6), so Noah drank of the wine, and was drunken. After sin entered the world, shattering innocence, nakedness was associated with shame (cp. 2:25; 3:10). In this case Noah brought the shame on himself through his sinful drunkenness. A minimum of two years must have elapsed between verses 20 and 21 since grapevines must grow that long before they can produce grapes.

9:22 A parent's sin often becomes a child's stumbling block (Exod. 34:7). In this case, Ham dishonored his father and thus sinned (Exod. 20:12; Deut. 5:16) in two ways: First, he dishonored his father by staring at his nakedness (Hab. 2:15). Second, he increased both his sin and his father's shame by reporting his father's condition to others. Later, the law stipulated curses for dishonoring a parent (Exod. 21:17; Deut. 27:16).

9:23 Shem and Japheth demonstrated their nobler natures by reacting to their father's condition far differently from Ham. First, they did not look upon their father's shameful condition. Second, they covered the nakedness of their father, thus ending his shame. Their action parallels God's clothing of Adam following Adam's sin (3:21).

9:24-27 When Noah knew what his younger son had done, he placed the curse on Ham's son, Canaan, who would be the lowest of slaves unto his brethren, that is, unto the descendants of Shem and Japheth. In later centuries the Canaanites, the descendants of Canaan, were pressed into slavery by the Israelites (Josh. 17:13; Judg. 1:28-35; 1 Kings 9:20-21). This curse does not refer to the descendants of Ham who settled in Africa.

9:28-29 Noah's 950 years mark him as the third-oldest human being in biblical history, behind Methuselah (969 years) and Jared (962 years).

10:1 The generations of the sons of Noah is the fourth of 11 toledoth sections in Genesis (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 11:10,27; 25:12,19; 36:1,9; 37:2). The purpose of this section is twofold: to show that Noah's sons fulfilled the command to be fruitful, multiply, and spread out over the earth (9:7), and to distinguish the "unchosen" lines of Noah's descendants (the Japhethites and Hamites) from the line that would be both the recipient and the agent of God's special blessing to the rest of humanity (the Shemites). Genesis 10:1-32 list a total of 70 descendants in the family lines of Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Seventy, a multiple of two numbers which suggest completeness (7, the number of days of creation week; 10, the number of fingers), would have suggested to ancient Israelites a satisfying completeness to the quantity of persons and nations that came into being after the flood.

10:2-5 Fourteen of Japheth's descendants are listed here. The Gentiles who lived on isles refers to people living in areas reachable by ship, especially in the Mediterranean basin. The fact that every one had its own tongue suggests that this listing refers to the situation after the Tower of Babel event (11:1-9).

10:6-7 Thirty descendants of Ham are included in this list. The geographic or ethnic identifications of most of the names have been lost in history, but they are associated with regions in Africa and Arabia. Havilah probably refers to a different geographic region than the Havilah of 2:11. Three different persons by the name of Sheba are listed in Genesis genealogies (v. 28; 25:3); Dedan is also found in 25:3. It is best to understand each of these as different persons, and the founders of different people groups.

10:8-12 Nimrod . . . began to be a mighty one in the earth, that is, he was successful as an aggressive empire builder. Like many other ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian kings, he was also famous as a mighty hunter. Nimrod's origins are from Cush, that is, Africa; his empire was Asian, stretching across the Tigris-Euphrates river basin. The order of place names suggests that Nimrod's empire expanded from south to north, and included Babel and Nineveh, the capital cities of two of Israel's most formidable enemies. Shinar corresponds to the ancient regions of Sumer and Akkad; Erech to ancient Uruk; Calah to Nimrod; Rehoboth may be ancient Asshur.

10:15-20 The most complex portion of the Hamite list is the Canaan branch, with 11 named descendants or people groups. The relative size and detail reinforces the significance of the Canaanites for later Israelite history. This genealogical section indicates that many of the earliest inhabitants of Canaan were non-Semitic peoples.

The Table of Nations shows that the Bible is firmly based on historical events. It provides the historical context for understanding Abraham, whose family became a nation through whom God would bless all peoples of the earth.

10:21-31 The genealogy of Shem, portions of which will be repeated in 11:10-17, represents the "chosen" line of Noah's descendants. From Shem's line will come Abraham, the Israelites, and ultimately Jesus. Larger and more complex than the Shemite genealogy in chapter 11 (26 names vs. 12), this presentation differs from the other mainly in that it includes the "unchosen" branches of Shem's lineage, especially that of Joktan with his 13 sons. The mention of all the children of Eber brings attention to the point in Shem's line where the "chosen" branch splits from the rest of the family. The word "Hebrew" is often understood to be derived from Eber's name.

Names in the Shemite genealogy that scholars have linked to various people groups or locations include: Elam, modern southwest Iran; Asshur, along the Tigris river in Iraq; Aram, eastern Iraq near the Iranian border; Uz, the Arabian peninsula or Edom; Mash, central Asia Minor. All of the 13 sons of Joktan that can be confidently connected to a location are associated with locations in the Arabian peninsula.

The name Ophir may not be connected with the Ophir mentioned elsewhere in Scripture (1 Kings 9:28; Job 22:24; Ps. 45:9) since the latter name appears to be a distant location, possibly in Africa or India. Joktan's Havilah should not be equated with Cush's Havilah, though the two share the same name.

10:21 The phrase the brother of Japheth the elder is difficult in the Hebrew: several other versions understand it to refer to Shem as "Japheth's older brother."

10:25 A wordplay exists between the name Peleg and divided. Both are based on the Hebrew sound sequence p-l-g. Exactly what is meant by "was the earth divided" is uncertain. It may be a reference to the Tower of Babel event (11:9), a devastating earthquake, a large Mesopotamian canal project, or a political division.

11:1-9 The account of Adam and Eve's sin in the garden of Eden (chap. 3) and the Tower of Babel share many similarities in plot, vocabulary, and theme. Both show people acting with sinful pride to try to make themselves godlike, and both show God expelling sinners from their homes as punishment for their sin.

11:1 The Tower of Babel incident occurred earlier than at least some of the events of chapter 10 since the whole earth still was of one language, and of one speech (10:5,20,31).

11:2 The land of Shinar corresponds to ancient Babylonia and includes the region of the cities of Babel (Babylon), Erech, Accad, and Calneh (10:10). The Hebrew phrase translated from the east could also be translated "eastward," which describes the expansion of humanity from the mountains of Ararat in modern Turkey toward Shinar in Iraq.

11:3 Unlike the original readers' homeland of Israel, with its extensive quantity of limestone building material, the people of Babylonia used oven-fired brick. Archaeological excavations have confirmed that ancient inhabitants of the land used asphalt in place of mortar.

11:4 The people's pride and ambition is expressed in three different ways: (1) the fivefold use of the first-person pronouns—us (four times) and we; (2) their desire to build . . . a tower up to heaven, thus giving them access to the domain of God; and (3) their attempt at self-glorification—let us make us a name. Because they did it to avoid being scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth, all their efforts amounted to a rebellion against God and His command to fill the earth (9:1).

11:5 In spite of their best efforts to elevate themselves to God's domain, the Lord still had to come down to see the city and the tower. Human attempts to achieve glory, which belongs to God alone, always fall pitifully short.

11:6 God's concern that nothing the people might imagine to do would be restrained from them does not express a divine fear that humans might someday become as powerful as God. Rather, it conveys dismay that people, unchecked, would undertake extraordinary deeds of evil and defiance.

11:7 On God's reference to Himself as us, see note at 1:26. Perhaps the most dramatic Hebrew wordplay in the Tower of Babel episode involves the deliberate reversal of sounds between verses 3 and 7. Human beings created "brick"—a word which contains the sound sequence l-b-n in Hebrew—to rebel against God. In response God created confusion—a Hebrew word containing n-b-l—to reverse the evil human plot.

11:9 The name "Babel" here is the same Hebrew word translated "Babylon" throughout the OT. The connection between the words Babel and confound (Hb babel and balal) constitute another of the many wordplays in this chapter. The Lord's action had two positive outcomes: first, because it confounded the language of all the earth, it ended the possibility of large-scale evil ventures; second, it caused humanity to scatter upon the face of all the earth, thus bringing people into compliance with God's command to fill the earth (9:1).

11:10-26 The generations of Shem constitute the fifth of 11 toledoth sections in Genesis (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:27; 25:12,19; 36:1,9; 37:2). Whereas the previous toledoth section ("the family records of Noah's sons," 10:1–11:9) presented Noah's "unchosen" descendants, this one traces the "chosen" offspring.

This genealogical table, which partially repeats information provided in 10:21-25, connects Noah's son Shem to Abram/Abraham. Though this list contains fewer names (12 vs. 26) than the genealogy in chapter 10, it traces out more generations (10 vs. 6) and includes chronological data as well. Its style links it with the genealogy in chapter 5, which also traces the "chosen" line and contains 10 generations. Whereas chapter 5 stretches from Adam to Noah (the preflood world), this table connects Seth to Abram/Abraham (the postflood world).

11:12 The inspired author of Luke 3:35-36 indicates that Arphaxad's actual son was Cainan. Thus it is best to accept Arphaxad as Salah's grandfather, and to view the Hebrew version here as a stylized genealogy shaped for thematic purposes. A similar technique appears to have been used by Matthew in his presentation of Jesus' genealogy in Matthew 1.

11:17 Eber lived a total of 464 years. This distinguishes him as the longest living person who was born after the flood.

11:27 The generations of Terah is the sixth of 11 toledoth sections in Genesis (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10; 25:12,19; 36:1,9; 37:2). Far more than a simple genealogical table, this section stretches across parts of 15 chapters and includes a rich supply of information about the life of Terah's most famous son, Abram (later called Abraham). In the Hebrew, the spelling of the personal name Haran differs from the place name Haran (v. 31).

11:29 Nahor's wife, Milcah eventually produced eight sons (22:20-23); her most famous son Bethuel became the father-in-law of Abraham's son Isaac (25:20).

11:30 In contrast to Milcah, Sarai (later called Sarah) was barren. This painful fact is emphasized by the biblical writer restating the fact: she had no child. God's provision of an heir for Abraham in spite of Sarah's barrenness is a major theme in the narratives that follow (15:2-4; 17:15-21; 21:10).

12:1-3 Acts 7:2 clarifies that the Lord had said these things unto Abram while he was still in Mesopotamia (Gen. 11:31). God gave Abram a one-verb command with four aspects to it. Abram was to get himself (1) out of his country, (2) away from his kindred and (3) his father's house, (4) unto a land chosen by God. Obedience to God often means leaving one thing in order to receive something else even better. These seven promises in verses 2-3, along with the land promise in verse 7, anticipate the Abrahamic Covenant (15:18). This is the turning point in the Bible from the history of the whole human race (chaps. 1-11) to the story of God's chosen people, Israel, through whom the Saviour of the world would be born.

12:4 Having migrated with his father's household from Ur (11:31), Abram stayed an uncertain amount of time in Haran. Since Terah lived 145 years after the birth of Abram (11:26,32) and Abram was 75 years old when he departed out of Haran, Abram literally fulfilled the command to leave his father's house (v. 1).

12:5 Abram was apparently his nephew Lot's protector since Lot's father had died in Ur (11:28). The group's journey to Canaan was about 450 miles.

12:6 Sichem (Shechem) is in north central Israel on the slope of Mount Ebal. Abram's grandson Jacob would live for a time in this region as well (33:18-19). Later, Abram's great grandson Joseph would be buried there (Josh. 24:32). The Canaanites were a distinct cultural group (Gen. 15:21), but the term Canaanite is also an umbrella term for many different people groups who were living in the region, including the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (Deut. 7:1). The Hebrew word for plain (eylon) could be translated "oak" or "terebinth." The large tree was a conspicuous marker for this holy place.

12:7 This is the first of three times Scripture indicates that the Lord physically appeared unto Abram (cp. 17:1; 18:1). The Lord's promise to give the land of Canaan to Abram's seed is the single most repeated affirmation in the Torah. At least 37 references are made to it in the books of Moses. The altar Abram built at Shechem is the first of four he is said to have built; others were set up between Beth-el and Ai (v. 8), at Hebron (13:18), and at mount Moriah (22:9).

12:8 As a shepherd, Abram frequently moved to new locations to provide food for his animals. Beth-el, modern Beitin, was about 20 miles south of Shechem. This altar is the second of the four that Abram built in the land of Canaan (see note at v. 7). When Abram called upon the name of the Lord here, he identified himself as a true member of the godly line of Seth (4:26). This is the first of three occasions on which Abram is said to have done this (13:4; 21:3).

Ur of the Chaldeans (11:28) is usually identified today as Tell el-Muqayyar, 220 miles southeast of Baghdad, Iraq (11:31). Situated on a caravan route, Haran was an important city located on the banks of the Balikh River in northern Mesopotamia, in what is now modern Syria. The place name Haran (meaning "Caravan Route") has a different spelling in the Hebrew than the personal name "Haran" (meaning "Mountaineer").

12:9 Where Abram went toward the south (lit "the Negev") was a semidesert region west and south of the Dead Sea. About 50 miles south of Beth-el, this area has been inhabited by nomads since ancient times.

12:10 The only river that flowed year-round in Israel was the Jordan, and it was completely below sea level (minus 686 ft. at its highest point, and minus 1300 at its lowest). Canaan relied heavily on rainfall for its drinking water and crops. When there was no rain there was a famine. To avoid the famine, Abram went down into Egypt, the location with the best water supply. This meant abandoning the land God had promised to his descendants.

12:11 Even though Sarai was at least 65 years old at this time (Sarai was 10 years younger than Abram [17:17], and he was at least 75 [v. 4]), she was still a fair woman to look upon.

12:13 By telling his wife to say that she was his sister, Abram was technically asking her to be truthful since Sarai was his half sister (20:12).

12:15 Since Abram's group had many people and animals, they had to be given special permission to live and trade in Egypt. Important economic and political contracts in the ancient world were sometimes finalized by the weaker party giving a woman to the leader of the stronger party. The woman would then become part of the leader's harem (this probably explains why Solomon had 700 wives, 1 Kings 11:3). Sarai was the most desirable woman in Abram's group, so when Pharaoh's princes commended her before Pharaoh, she was taken into Pharaoh's harem.

12:16 Perhaps because of gifts from Pharaoh, perhaps because of favorable business deals, Abram became very rich. Abram would later use one of the maidservants in his group to produce a son (16:1-4,15).

12:17 If Sarai Abram's wife remained in Egypt as part of Pharaoh's harem, then God's plan to provide Abram with an heir through her would never be fulfilled. To restore Sarai to Abram and bring the founders of the Israelite nation out of Egypt and back to the promised land, the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues. This act foreshadowed what God would do in Moses' day to bring the Israelites out of Egypt again (Exod. 12:29), to take them to the promised land.

12:18-19 Pharaoh apparently connected the plagues with Sarai's entrance into his harem. An investigation revealed that he had been tricked into marrying a woman who was the wife of another man.

12:20 Just as Pharaoh commanded and sent Abram, the first Israelite, away with all that he had, so a later Pharaoh would order the Israelites in Moses' day to leave Egypt (Exod. 12:31-32) with all their belongings.

13:1 Having been forced to go out of Egypt, Abram returned to the Negev (the south), the last place he had lived in the promised land (12:9).

13:3 Abram moved northward to Beth-el, an area of Canaan with greater rainfall—and thus more vegetation—than the south. This move was probably necessary in order to feed the large flocks of Abram and his nephew Lot.

13:4 Abram's physical return to the place where God first spoke to him in the promised land was paralleled by a spiritual recommitment of his life to God. For the first time since he left Canaan for Egypt, Abram called on the name of the Lord.

13:6 Especially during the dry summer months, the land around Beth-el and Ai was too dry for such a large number of flocks and people. To remain in the area, Abram and Lot would have to separate.

13:7 With limited natural resources, strife between the herdmen of Abram and Lot was inevitable.

13:8 Abram defused a tense situation that had soured the relationship between himself and his nephew, and between their herdmen. Since they were brethren and were surrounded by people groups that had no reason to be friendly to them, it was important that they work out a compromise.

13:9 Abram realized the only way to end the dispute was for them to separate. As senior member and head of the clan, he should have been the first to select the region in which he would live. But Abram graciously handed the choice over to Lot, allowing his nephew to lay claim to the most desirable spot in the whole land.

13:10 Thinking especially of his flocks' need for water and pasture, Lot was particularly interested in the southern end of the plain of Jordan, an area that well watered every where. So well off was this region before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, two prominent cities located there (19:24-25), that it was reputed to be as lush as the garden of the Lord—the garden of Eden (2:9-10). The name Zoar anticipates the events of 19:20-22; the name of the village at this time was Bela (14:2).

13:11 To the careful reader, Lot's journey east has some troubling implications. Other situations in the early chapters of Genesis in which the "east" is mentioned as a destination include those of Adam and Eve following their sin in Eden (3:24), Cain following his judgment (4:16), and sinful humanity prior to the Tower of Babel incident (11:2).

13:12 Lot apparently lived a transitional existence, living in the cities of the plain while also maintaining a tent camp toward Sodom in order to maintain his flocks.

13:13 The wicked state of the men of Sodom and how they were terrible sinners before the Lord will be addressed further in 18:20–19:25.

13:14-15 When Abram gave parts of Canaan to Lot in the land-for-peace deal, it threatened to undo God's earlier promise to Abram (12:7), but God's promises could not be thwarted by Abram's actions. In spite of Abram's commitment to Lot, the Lord Himself would give Abram all the land that he could see in every direction. What is more, Canaan would also belong to Abram's seed for ever. Lot's offspring would not be left landless, however. His sons—Moab and Ben-Ammi (19:37-38)—would become the founders of Moab and Ammon, nations east of the land promised to Abram.

13:16 In addition to land, the Lord also promised Abram seed too numerous to be numbered. Since Abram was more than 75 years old and still childless at the time the Lord spoke these words, this divine pledge was particularly amazing.

13:17-18 Perhaps as a test of Abram's faith, the Lord issued two commands. With them came a reaffirmation of the promise first uttered when Abram arrived in the promised land (12:7). Immediately after God's command to walk through the whole land, Abram dwelt in the plain of Mamre, a site about two miles north of Hebron. Hebron became the primary residence of Abram and later, his son Isaac (18:1; 23:2; 35:27; 37:14). On "plain," see note at 12:6.

14:1 The prosperity of the lower Jordan River Valley attracted not only Lot, but it also got the attention of four Asian kings hundreds of miles to the north and east. While scholars cannot match the names here with the names of the kings found in nonbiblical sources, the following observations have been made: Chedorlaomer = the Elamite name "Kutir" + a deity name; Arioch = the name "Arriwuk/Arriyuk" found at Mari; Tidal = the Hittite name "Tudkhalia." The name Amraphel seems to be a Semitic name. Shinar (Babylonia) is in modern Iraq; Elam is in modern southwest Iran; Ellasar is unknown. Tidal may have been the king of a nomadic people group.

14:2 The north Asian kings probably made war against the peoples of the southern Jordan Valley in order to control a trade route (the King's Highway in the area of modern Jordan) as well as the food supply. The food produced there would have been particularly useful for armies marching to Egypt or fighting other nations in the region.

14:4 For 12 years the five kings of the southern Jordan Valley served Chedorlaomer; that is, they sent a portion of their annual income to him as tribute.

14:5-7 Chedorlaomer could not mount an immediate military response to the regional rebellion. But having assembled a coalition of kings by the following spring, he led the troops southward down the King's Highway to subjugate the rebellious city-states. Among those conquered were Ashteroth Karnaim (modern Tell Ashtarah in Syria), Ham . . . Shaveh Kiriathaim (probably near the ancient Moabite city of Kiriathaim, Jer. 48:1), and El-paran (in ancient Edom). He then went to En-mishpat . . . Kadesh in the northern Sinai desert and Hazezon-tamar (En-gedi, 2 Chron. 20:2).

14:10 The battlefield, with its many asphalt pits, proved to be more dangerous than the enemy. In this case, the notice that the kings fell does not necessarily mean they were killed (see v. 17).

14:13 One that had escaped came to Abram's camp, some 17 miles west of the Dead Sea. In that semidesert region Abram had established a treaty with some Amorites who gave him permission to encamp in the plain of Mamre.

14:14 When the survivor informed Abram that Lot was taken captive, the elderly clan leader hastily armed his 318 trained servants—his adult male slaves—and headed 120 miles north unto Dan in pursuit of his nephew's captors. The use of the name "Dan"—and not "Laish"—suggests that this verse was edited to include the updated name sometime during or after the period of the judges (Judg. 18:29).

14:15 Mounting a nighttime surprise attack, Abram gave his outnumbered troops the advantage. Caught off guard, the coalition of invaders fled headlong on a caravan route unto Hobah, which is on the left hand (north) of Damascus.

14:16 In their hasty retreat the invaders abandoned the loot and captives they had taken from Canaan.

14:17 The king of Sodom, who apparently survived his fall into the asphalt pit (v. 10), met Abram's triumphant group at the valley of Shaveh, probably located just east of Jerusalem.

14:18 Melchizedek, whose name means "king of righteousness" (Heb 7:2), held two titles: he was king of Salem (literally, "King of Peace")—Salem being another name for nearby Jerusalem—and priest of the most high God. Abram considered Melchizedek, who is the first person in the Bible to be called a priest, to be a priest of Jehovah, since he equated the title "God Most High" with "the Lord" (v. 22). The writer of Hebrews drew significant parallels between Melchizedek and Jesus Christ (Heb 5:6; 7:1-28). Jesus is the ultimate king of righteousness and peace, and the ideal high priest who offered up the ultimate sacrifice that sufficed for all time for the sins of the whole world.

14:19 When Melchizedek blessed Abram, he was performing what would become a major traditional function of priests (Num. 6:23; Deut. 10:8). Abram was blessed in the name of the most high God (Hb 'el 'elyon), whom he confessed to be possessor of heaven and earth (cp. Ps. 24:1).

14:20 In a construction that paralleled his blessing to Abram, Melchizedek also blessed (gave praise to) the most high God because of the saving acts He had performed. The priest subtly reminded Abram that his recent victory was really God's work; God had delivered the enemies to Abram. The first recorded act of tithing took place here as Abram gave the priest a tenth of the spoils he had acquired from the Mesopotamian kings. Abram's tithe anticipates Israel's tithe to God (Lev. 27:30-32; Num. 18:21-30; Matt. 23:23).

14:21 The king of Sodom then ordered Abram to hand over the liberated captives, including citizens of the king's city. As payment for his military efforts, however, the king gave Abram the recaptured goods, a term which can refer to livestock as well as objects.

14:22-23 With Melchizedek king of Salem, who worshipped God, Abram was cooperative (v v. 18-20); but when the Canaanite king of Sodom told him to take the goods, he refused to take even the smallest thing. Abram would not let the king diminish God's glory by taking credit for Abram's prosperity.

15:1 Abram's role as a prophet (20:7) is shown here. Visions were one of two standard means (the other was dreams) by which the Lord revealed His word to people (Num. 12:6). The only other patriarch who is said to have received a vision was Jacob (Gen. 46:2). The vision's content included a command (Fear not), an assurance (I am thy shield), and a promise (his reward would be exceeding great). Though Abram turned down a reward from the king of Sodom, the Lord would reward him richly.

15:2-3 Neither God's protection nor His reward seemed important to elderly Abram since all his goods would go to Eliezer of Damascus, a steward born in his house. Engaging in something of a "pity party," Abram made seven references to himself (in the Hb) in the space of 22 Hebrew words and twice utters the complaint that he was childless.

15:4-5 Ignoring Abram's apparent lack of gratitude, the Lord gave Abram one of the great promises of the Bible; the elderly patriarch would produce an heir out of his own body. God then made the breathtaking promise that Abram's seed would be as numerous as the stars.

15:6 Old and childless, Abram believed in the Lord, that is, he affirmed that God is dependable. God counted it to him for righteousness, that is, He judged or accounted that Abram measured up to the standard, conformed to the norm. Abram's faith and God's gracious response to it served as a paradigm of the Christian experience in three different NT books (Rom. 4:3; Gal. 3:6; James 2:23).

15:7 For the third time in Abram's life (12:1; 13:14-17) the Lord addressed the issue of land. Here Jehovah linked His name and His past leadership in Abram's life to the promise of land. He reminded Abram that the same God who had faithfully brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees would just as surely give him this land to inherit.

15:8 Abram, the shrewd businessman who had once dealt with earth's mightiest human—the pharaoh of Egypt (12:14-19)—now negotiated with the Lord God. How can he be assured of God's promise? Verse 9 provides the answer.

15:9 God provided assurance in the form of a solemn

commitment ceremony. The heifer . . . she goat, and ram were mammals later authorized for sacrifice in the law of Moses; however, this is the only time that three-year-olds—specimens in the prime of their lives—were used. The turtledove and young pigeon were permitted for certain Israelite sacrifices (Lev. 5:7). The ceremony here differs from other sacred rituals in the OT involving animals in that no animal parts were burned.

Paintings from the tomb of Knumhotep found in the noblemen cemetery of Beni-Hasan, a village on the east bank of the Nile River about 130 miles south of Cairo. The paintings date from the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (ca 1099 b.c.) and show a group of 37 Asiatics as they enter Egypt. This painting provides us with an idea of how Abraham might have dressed.

15:10 In an act unparalleled in the OT, Abram split the animals down the middle, and laid the pieces opposite each other, creating a clear central lane flanked by the carcass portions. The birds, being smaller, were not cut up; probably, one was placed on each site of this lane.

15:12 Since days were reckoned in that culture from sunset to sunset, the events of verses 12-21 occurred at the end of the day that began in verse 1. Abram's deep sleep (Hb tardemah) recalls the one Adam experienced when the Lord created Eve (2:21). Horror was Abram's reaction to an encounter with the Holy God (cp. Exod. 33:19-23; Isa. 6:5; Jer. 4:19; Ezek. 1:28; Dan. 8:27; 10:8). Darkness is often associated with God's presence (Exod. 20:21; Deut. 5:22; 1 Kings 8:12).

15:13-16 Here the Lord revealed unto Abram the prophet (20:7) an outline of the events of Genesis 46 through Exodus 13. Like Abram himself, his promised seed would live as a stranger (Hb ger; Gen. 23:4, "resident alien"). The land that did not belong to them was Egypt, where they would be enslaved and afflicted (Exod. 1:11-14) for approximately 400 years (more precisely, 430 years; Exod. 12:40). God would judge the nation they served through a series of 10 miraculous plagues (Exod. 7:14–12:30), after which they would come out with great substance (Exod. 12:35-36). Though Abram would not live to see these events, he would go to his fathers in peace—die a peaceful death—and be buried at the good old age of 175 (25:7). Abram's descendants would return to the land in the fourth generation, that is, after 400 years in Egypt; in this case, each generation seems to be 100 years, Abram's age when Isaac was born (21:5).

The Lord also hinted at one purpose of the return of Abram's descendants to the promised land: Israel would bring God's judgment on the iniquity of the Amorites.

15:17 When the sun went down the Lord climaxed the mystery by causing a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp to appear and pass between those pieces of the sacrificial animals. Both elements symbolized essential aspects of God; the smoke perhaps representing divine inscrutability, and the flame God's power. By going between the divided carcasses, the Lord was solemnly obligating Himself to fulfill the terms of the covenant—symbolically indicating that He would Himself be split asunder if He failed to carry out His promises (cp. 1 Sam. 11:7; Jer. 34:18-20).

15:18-21 The second explicit covenant in the Bible between God and a person (9:9-17) is established here with Abram, obliging God to provide the patriarch with seed and a geographic inheritance for them that began in the south with the river of Egypt (either the Wadi el 'Arish or the Shihor River—the easternmost branch of the Nile in Egypt's delta region) and extended as far north as the river Euphrates. The list of 10 different people groups here is the longest list of Canaan's inhabitants in the Torah. This is the only list to include the Kenites, Kenizzites, and Kadmonites; the Kenites and Kenizzites were probably groups living in the south that coexisted peacefully with the Israelites (Num. 32:12; Judg. 1:16). Perhaps the Kadmonites were the same as the Qedemites, a desert-dwelling enemy of Israel ("children of the east"; Judg. 6:33).

16:1 The issue of providing an heir from Abram's own body (cp. 15:3-4) reappears. Abram's wife, Sarai, was now 75 years old and well past her childbearing years. However, she did own an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar, probably acquired when she lived in Egypt (12:16).

16:2-3 Sarai faced a dilemma. On the one hand, the Lord had restrained her—Abram's only wife—from bearing. On the other hand, the Lord promised that her husband would become a father. To "fix" the problem, she ordered her husband to go in unto her maid—quite possibly a teenager—and try to obtain children through her. Abram, now 85, hearkened. Sarai likely intended to use Hagar as a surrogate mother, and then adopt the child as her own. In offering something that was tempting but not appropriate to her husband, Sarai was imitating Eve's fateful actions in the garden of Eden (3:6,17).

16:4 The young slave girl found herself carrying the child of the most important man in the clan—something Sarai had never done. As a result, Hagar despised her mistress.

16:5 Sarai, whose inadequacies were highlighted with Hagar's pregnancy, now found her own suffering unbearable. Abram had caused the pregnancy, thus Sarai blamed him for her maid looking down on her. Sarai called on the Lord to hold Abram accountable for her humiliation and pain.

16:6 Though Hagar was now his wife (v. 3), Abram relinquished his rights to her. Hagar was once again no more than Sarai's maid.

16:7-8 Hagar could run away from Sarai, but not from the angel of the Lord. He found her at a spring on a road leading to Shur and Egypt, where she might have been able to get assistance from passing caravans. Hagar, like many runaways, could say where she was from, but ignored the question of where she was going.

16:9-10 The angel of the Lord directed Hagar to return and submit to Sarai. The true source of Hagar's problems was her own bad attitude, not her owner. By obeying the Angel's divine guidance, she and her seed would receive a tremendous blessing. God's promise to multiply her descendants both paralleled and enhanced the promise given to Abram (15:5).

16:11-12 This is the final and longest of three consecutive speeches by the angel to Hagar. Hagar is told that she shalt bear a son, the more prestigious gender of offspring for a woman in the ancient Near East to bear. Then she is directed to name her son Ishmael ("God hears"), in recognition of the fact that the Lord . . . heard her cry of affliction. In the climactic final quatrain, character and destiny are presented: the boy will live outside of cultured society like a wild man . . . against every man. In this context, the phrase in the presence of all his brethren probably means "against all his relatives."

16:13-14 In wonder-filled recognition of God's intervention in her life, Hagar gave the Lord the title "Thou God seest me." She is thus the only person in the Bible who is said to have renamed Jehovah. The Asian custom of naming/renaming someone was always associated with the possession of authority over the one being named. To rename God would normally be considered blasphemous. Perhaps Hagar's lack of restraint in renaming the Lord was due to the fact that she was quite young and was a spiritually uninformed Egyptian slave.

16:15-16 Exactly as the angel of the Lord had promised, Hagar bore a son. The fact that Abram, the 86-year-old clan leader, gave the name Ishmael to the son indicates that he allowed the young slave girl to tell him her story, and he believed it.

17:1 Thirteen years after Ishmael's birth, the Lord appeared to Abram for the second time (12:7). In contrast to Hagar naming the Lord (16:13), here the Lord gives Himself a name: "El Shaddai," the meaning of which is unknown, though it is translated as Almighty God, based on a tradition going back more than 2,000 years (see note at Exod. 6:2-3). In commanding Abram to walk before me, and be thou perfect, God told Abram to live like Enoch and Noah (Gen. 5:24; 6:9).

17:2 As Abram obeyed the Lord, God promised him two things: first, He would make His covenant with Abram and second, God would multiply the patriarch exceedingly. Proof that the Lord kept the latter promise is found in Exod. 1:7, which speaks of the Israelites' fruitfulness and repeats this peculiar Hebrew phrase.

17:3 Falling facedown was Abram's sign of respect for a superior.

17:4-8 This section contains the fullest presentation of God's covenant with Abram. Eight different aspects of the covenant are presented in these verses. Most of these promises are not new, but nowhere else are they put together in one place. The new aspect is where God changed the patriarch's name, thus indicating His authority over him: instead of Abram ("Exalted Father"), his new name would be Abraham ("Father of a Multitude").

17:9-14 God now placed one final covenant-related demand on Abraham and his seed: circumcision. This surgical removal of the foreskin of the penis was typically done with a razor-sharp flint knife (Josh. 5:2-3). On newborns it was performed when the boy was eight days old; no form of female circumcision was authorized. This surrender of the first portion of the bodily instrument used to fulfill God's first command to humanity ("Be fruitful and multiply," Gen. 1:28) symbolized the individual's willingness to submit all of himself to God and to all of His covenant commands.

The fact that every man child among them was to be circumcised had a leveling effect within the Israelite community; whether wealthy or poor, master or slave, all shared a common experience and a common mark. All were equal before God. So vital was the acceptance of the sign on the body that anyone who lacked it was to be cut off from his people because he had broken the covenant.

17:15-16 The Lord decreed that Abraham's wife Sarai was now to receive the name Sarah ("Princess," which is an alternate form of Sarai). This "princess" would be given the privilege of producing nations; kings of people would come from her. During the OT period at least four nations came from Sarah's womb: Israel, Judah, Edom, and the Amalekites. Within Israel and Judah collectively a total of 41 kings reigned. Sarah is the only woman in the OT whom the Lord specifically indicated He would bless.

17:17-18 Abram laughed in a moment of unbelief and proposed a more realistic plan: he could adopt Ishmael.

17:19-22 Undaunted by Abraham's well-intended suggestion regarding Ishmael, God reaffirmed that Sarah would bear him a son who, appropriately, would be named Isaac—"He Laughs." With Isaac God would confirm an everlasting covenant—the Abrahamic covenant—that would continue with his seed after him. Lesser promises were made for Ishmael. Though no covenant would be established with him, God would bless Ishmael, enabling him to fulfill humanity's basic command to be fruitful and multiply . . . exceedingly (1:28; 9:1,7). No kings were promised in Ishmael's lineage, but from him would come twelve princes (25:13-16), and his offspring would become a great nation.

The Lord's amazing final statement named the child not yet conceived, confirmed a binding relationship between God and that son, and then set a date when the boy would be born to 90-year-old Sarah. Dramatically, God then went up from Abraham.

17:23-27 Promptly after the Lord ascended, Abraham circumcised himself and all the males in his house. With the sign of the covenant now on his body, Abraham was qualified to father the covenant child.

18:1 For the third time in Abraham's life the Lord appeared unto him (12:7; 17:1). This divine encounter must have taken place within three months after the events of the previous chapter (see note at 18:9-10).

18:2-8 Abraham is presented as the ideal host. He sees three men—actually God and two angels (19:1)—to whom he eagerly extended greeting and showed proper respect by calling them "my lords" (Hb 'adonai; a term that can refer to God) and bowing to the ground. Then he provided water, rest, and a feast that included a whole calf and cakes baked from 21 quarts of fine meal (the best flour). Abraham's behavior shows him to be a better host than Lot (19:1-3).

18:9-10 In keeping with western Asian customs still practiced in traditional Muslim culture today, the host's wife was not permitted to be in the presence of male visitors. But since her tent walls were thin and the conversation was interesting, Sarah heard every word. During or after the meal the Lord confirmed the promise made in 17:21, that according to the time of life (i.e., this same season next year) Sarah would already have given birth to a son. This promise was fulfilled (21:1-2).

18:11-15 For the sixth time in the Abraham narratives the writer emphasizes the advanced ages of Abraham and Sarah (12:4; 16:16; 17:1,17,24). Sarah's laughter expressed her skepticism, but the Lord, who heard her laugh and knew her heart, reminded Abraham and Sarah through the use of a rhetorical question that nothing is too hard for the Lord.

18:16-19 The Lord and the two angels—called the men because of their appearance—headed in the direction of Sodom, Lot's home since 13:12. The exact location of Sodom is unknown, but it, along with Gomorrah and Zoar, were in the area of the Dead Sea. Abraham, the ideal host, accompanied them to see them off. Treating Abraham like a prophet (20:7), the Lord did not want to hide from him what He intended to do to the place where his nephew lived. God gave two reasons for revealing His plans to the patriarch: the fact that Abraham had been chosen to become a mighty nation through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed, and the fact that God "knew" (that is, had a personal relationship with) Abraham to establish a people who would keep the way of the Lord.

18:20-21 Through His appointed representatives, the Lord would investigate Sodom and Gomorrah for two reasons: the cry coming from their victims was great, and the cities' sin was very grievous. According to Ezek. 16:49-50, the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah included self-centered pride, neglect of the poor and needy, and doing unnamed detestable things. According to Gen. 19:5-9, one of the "detestable things" was attempted homosexual gang rape.

18:22-32 This passage is one of the three greatest illustrations of petitionary prayer in the OT (cp. Exod. 32:11-14; Amos 7:1-6). Abraham got the Lord to agree to spare Sodom if six successively smaller totals of righteous people could be found within the city. Clearly evident in this section are Abraham's confidence in God's power and justice (v v. 23,25) and his compassionate concern for Lot and the other inhabitants of Sodom. At the same time the Lord's extravagant mercy is seen in His willingness to spare the entire city for ten's sake.

18:33 The Lord did not accompany the angels. His destination remains a mysterious part of the narrative.

19:1-3 Lot's position at the gate may indicate that he was accorded a spot of honor with the elders of the city (Prov. 31:23). Like Abraham in Genesis 18, Lot also played the role of gracious host to divine beings in human form, but whereas Abraham "ran" to greet his guests and prepared a lavish meal, Lot only rose up to meet them and prepared a feast that consisted only of unleavened bread.

19:4-5 Lot's hospitality was interrupted by the men of the city demanding sex, substantiating the great cry raised against the city (18:20-21).

19:6-8 Ancient Asian hospitality customs made Lot responsible for his visitors' safety while under the shadow of his roof—no matter what the cost. Accordingly, he put himself at risk by facing the mob and warning them that their intentions were wicked. Failing in his appeal to their higher moral instincts, Lot then put his family at risk, offering up his two virgin daughters to satisfy the rabble's sexual desires. Lot's daughters would soon get even with their father for his repulsive offer by making him a victim of disgusting sexual misconduct (v v. 32-36).

19:9 Enraged because Lot had declared homosexual rape to be wicked, the mob condemned him for trying to be a judge. Sinners rarely appreciate having a cherished sin condemned.

19:12-14 Noah and Lot were both righteous men (6:9; 2 Pet. 2:7), both were warned that the Lord was about to destroy entire civilizations for their great sin (6:13), and the families of both were included in God's salvation. Because the cry against Sodom had been confirmed, the angels, as God's servants (Heb 1:7), had to destroy it as God had directed. The men who had entered into binding agreements to marry Lot's virgin daughters proved themselves unworthy of salvation because they rejected Lot's message.

19:15-22 Lot and his family apparently disbelieved the angels' warnings as well, because the next morning they were still in the city. The family was literally saved because the Lord was merciful unto him, so the angels laid hold of the hands of each family member. Like Abraham (18:23-32), Lot negotiated a deal with God to save his life. As with Abraham, God graciously granted the request and spared a wicked village for the sake of the righteous people in it. Prior to this time Zoar (lit "Small") was named Bela (14:2). Because God was protecting Lot, the angel was not able to do any thing until Lot was out of the way.

Both of Lot's daughters became pregnant (19:36), resulting in the births of Moab, whose name sounds like the Hebrew phrase "From Father," and Ben-ammi, "Son of My People." Moab was father of the Moabites and Ben-ammi was father of the Ammonites. Many of Israel's neighbors who lived to the east, including the Edomites (from the line of Esau), were distant relatives.

19:24 The Lord rained . . . brimstone (sulfur) and fire. As in Noah's day, the fatal instrument of judgment against sinners came out of heaven. No natural explanation (e.g., volcano) is suggested, only a supernatural one: it came from the Lord. Perhaps the asphalt pits (14:10) were ignited, adding to the destruction.

19:26 The disobedience of Lot's wife brought about one of the most mysterious deaths in the Bible as she became a pillar of salt—perhaps becoming permanently entombed in one of the many halite formations in this region.

19:27-28 The destruction was so complete that thick smoke like that of a furnace was still billowing up 24 hours later.

19:30-38 The cave where Lot and his daughters moved to was probably east of the Dead Sea. Isolation and their knowledge of the detestable ways of the men of the region convinced Lot's daughters that there was not a man in the earth to come in unto us (i.e., to make them pregnant). Consequently, they schemed to preserve seed of their father, i.e., extend the family line.

This passage does not explicitly condemn drunkenness or incest; it doesn't have to. Every Israelite reader would have known these were sins to be avoided, because two of Israel's most troublesome enemies, the Moabites and Ammonites, were spawned as a result of Lot's drunken actions.

20:1-2 Abraham journeyed from Mamre to Gerar, a Philistine settlement west of the Dead Sea, perhaps to get farther away from the devastated area where Sodom had been. Then, less than three months after God had promised that Sarah would bear Abraham a son (18:10), the patriarch gave his wife to Abimelech! Abraham had previously told Pharaoh that his wife was his sister (12:12-15); later his son would try the same trick (26:7).

20:3-7 God in His mercy intervened to keep His promise regarding Sarah (18:10) from being destroyed by Abraham's foolish act. In addition to warning Abimelech that Sarah was married, the Lord had also created a health crisis in his household, causing all the other women to become temporarily sterile (v. 18). Because Abimelech had acted with integrity . . . and innocency, God would not destroy Gerar's governmental leadership and thus undermine the nation.

Abraham is the first person to be called a prophet in the OT, though Enoch, who lived before him, is called a prophet in the NT (Jude 14). As Abraham's intercession with God had saved Lot's life (Gen. 18:23-32; 19:29), so now his prayer for Abimelech would save his life.

20:16 These pieces of silver were not coins, which were not invented until later. The silver, not Abraham (he refers to "silver," a masculine noun in Hb), was a covering of the eyes, i.e., Sarah's vindication in the sight of witnesses.

21:4 Circumcision was a sign of the covenant between Abraham and God (17:9-14).

21:5 Though Abraham was 100 years old at Isaac's birth, at least four preflood patriarchs had fathered children when they were older than he (5:6,18,25,28).

21:7 Sarah, though 90 years old, was miraculously able to nurse her son.

21:8-10 When the day came for Isaac to be weaned, Abraham made a great feast to celebrate this step. During the party, however, Ishmael was mocking Isaac. The apostle Paul understood this to mean he was persecuting Isaac (Gal. 4:29). Cast out (Hb garash) is the same term used to describe the expulsions of Adam and Cain following their sins (3:24; 4:14).

21:11-13 It was very grievous for Abraham to expel his firstborn son from the household. However, God's guidance and comforting assurances enabled Abraham to do the right thing. Because Ishmael was Abraham's seed, God would not allow the child to die in the wilderness; instead, God would make him a nation. And though Isaac was not Abraham's firstborn, the patriarch's seed would be traced through his lineage.

21:14-19 Abraham's love and concern for Hagar and Ishmael are reflected in his diligence—getting up early and giving them provisions. The banished pair wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba, an area some 20 miles west of the southern end of the Dead Sea. When Hagar and Ishmael ran out of water, Ishmael almost died, perhaps of heatstroke. Overwhelmed with grief, Hagar placed him in the shadow of one of the shrubs and then went about a bowshot away—just far enough to avoid hearing his voice as he lay dying. Though Hagar may not have known that where there is large vegetation in a desert there is also a high water table, God opened her eyes to the fact that a well of water was nearby. God had providentially directed her wanderings and given her a demonstration of His faithfulness.

21:20-21 Honoring His promises to Abraham (v. 13; 17:20) and Hagar (21:18), God protected Ishmael, who eventually settled in the wilderness of Paran, west of the Gulf of Aqaba in the northern Sinai Desert. Hagar, who was herself an Egyptian (16:3), got her son an Egyptian wife. Ishmael would produce 12 sons (25:13-15).

21:22-24 Isaac's miraculous birth and the success of Abraham's prayer (20:17) convinced Abimelech that God was with the patriarch in all that he did. Fearing that Abraham, who had hundreds of trained fighters in his camp (14:14), might mount a successful attack on Gerar, Abimelech and his military commander Phicol asked Abraham to swear that he would never deal falsely with their community. Abraham calmed their fears by making an oath of peace.

21:25-32 Having relieved their worries about war, the patriarch then expressed his own concerns about water rights. Though Abimelech's group had wronged the patriarch, Abraham gave sheep and oxen to Abimelech as part of a formal covenant. This gift, reminiscent of Abimelech's gift to Abraham earlier (20:14), was probably used in part for the animal sacrifices offered up when the covenant was established. Abimelech's acceptance of the additional gift of seven ewe lambs obligated him to recognize that the well that Abraham's men had dug would not be seized. The name Beer-sheba is a wordplay, meaning both "Well of Oath" and "Well of Seven."

21:33-34 In recognition of God's good gifts, including a son who would carry the bloodline forward into the future, Abraham planted a tamarisk tree (Hb 'eshel), which has many branches. He also worshipped the Lord as the everlasting God (Hb 'el 'olam) in recognition of the perpetuity of God's promises.

22:1-2 Abraham's ultimate test of obedience to God is described in 22:1-19. The Hebrew verb nissah, translated as tempt, means "to prove the quality of," not "to entice to do wrong." God used this event to affirm the sterling character of Abraham's faith by giving him the incredibly difficult task of sacrificing his son Isaac in the land of Moriah, i.e., the Jerusalem area (2 Chron. 3:1). Pagans in Canaan during the OT period regularly practiced child sacrifice by making them pass through the fire (2 Kings 16:3) to give them as food to their gods (Ezek. 23:37). With this command God was asking Abraham to demonstrate that he was as committed to the Lord God as pagans were to their gods.

22:3-4 Confirmation of Abraham's amazing trust in God is found first in the fact that he was up before sunrise (early in the morning) the next day to begin the journey. His diligence in going unto the place of which God had told him contrasts sharply with Jonah's actions (Jon. 1:3). Traveling from Beer-sheba, it was not until the third day that Abraham reached the Jerusalem area.

22:5-8 Evidence that Abraham believed God could raise Isaac from the dead (Heb 11:17-18) is found when he told his servants that he and his son would go and come back again. Ignorant of God's command and surprised that his father would forget the most important element in an animal sacrifice, Isaac asked Abraham where the lamb was. Abraham's faith-filled response was that God would provide . . . a lamb.

22:9-10 Abraham followed the standard procedure for a burnt offering involving a living being. In describing his preparation, the Bible emphasizes only Abraham's systematic acts of obedience, omitting any mention of Abraham's or Isaac's feelings.

22:11-12 Just before the knife was put to Isaac's neck, the angel of the Lord spared him. The patriarch had passed the test, providing experiential evidence that he feared God more than he loved his only son.

22:13-14 Exactly as Abraham had predicted (v. 8), God had miraculously provided a sheep—and the most prized variety, a ram. To memorialize the event Abraham named that place Jehovah-jireh (Hb yahweh yir'eh), which means "The Lord will provide" or "The Lord will see to it." The mount of the Lord is the future location of the temple in Jerusalem (Isa. 2:3).

22:15-18 As the angel (meaning "Messenger") of the Lord who had the Lord's authority, the divine emissary delivered a second message (v. 12), this one in the first person. Because Abraham had passed the "priorities test" by obeying God and not withholding his only son, the Lord would indeed bless him with offspring, victory, land, and goodwill. Since there is nothing greater, God swears by Himself (cp. Exod. 32:13; Isa. 45:23; Jer. 22:5; 49:13). Ironically, since Abraham was willing to accept the loss of his covenant offspring, God would make those offspring as numerous as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore. They would possess each fortified city gate—and thus the cities—of their enemies, a promise of both military victory and expanded territory. But more than being feared as conquerors, Abraham's offspring would be recognized as a fountainhead of blessing for all the nations of the earth.

22:20-24 Genesis next presents the offspring of Abraham's brother Nahor through his wife Milcah and his concubine Reumah. This brief section prepares the reader for the events of chapter 24 by introducing Bethuel and identifying him as the father of Rebekah, Isaac's future wife.

23:1-2 Indicative of Sarah's importance is the fact that she is the only woman in the Bible whose age at the time of her death is reported. Kirjath-arba ("City of Four") was the name for the city later known as Hebron.

23:3-6 When a family member died in Abraham's culture, the survivors were obliged to preserve the deceased's bones, ideally in a cave where all other family members could later have their remains preserved. Abraham owned no land in Canaan, so he had to obtain a buryingplace from the Hittites to bury Sarah. Like the Philistines earlier (21:22), the Hittites recognized that Abraham was a mighty prince among them. Perhaps in order to guarantee the favor of Abraham's God, they offered Abraham the right to use the region's choice sepulchre.

23:7-11 In the market square at the gate of Kiriath-arba, Abraham showed his respect for the Hittites, placing his head at the level of their feet. The patriarch was wealthy and highly respected, but he played the role of one who was unworthy to speak to the landowner whose property he desired. Accordingly, he asked the Hittites to ask Ephron on his behalf for the right to purchase the cave of Machpelah. Though Abraham was a skilled bargainer (18:23-32), he offered to pay the full price for the property. This gesture signaled respect for the Hittites and the desire to avoid undignified haggling. Matching Abraham's decorum, Ephron the Hittite spoke directly to Abraham and offered to give him not only the cave, but also the field.

23:12-18 With both parties in agreement, Abraham bowed again respectfully and repeated his willingness to pay the full price of the field—even though he did not yet know how much that would be. Four hundred shekels of silver—perhaps the price of eight healthy adult male slaves (Lev. 27:3)—may or may not have been a reasonable valuation. Either way, Abraham agreed to the price. Later, in Moses' time, the amount would have been about 10 pounds; we do not know how much it was at the Hittites' current . . . merchant rate. The piece of land was particularly valuable because it contained both a cave and trees.

23:19-20 Following the successful negotiations, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave . . . of Machpelah. Others who would be buried there included Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob (49:31; 50:13).

24:1-9 Abraham, now 140 years of age, had been blessed by the Lord in all things, but one thing was missing—a worthy wife for his 40-year-old son to insure the continuance of the covenant line. Based on his experience with the inhabitants of Canaan—whether the Sodomites or the Philistines—Abraham did not want Isaac to marry a woman from the daughters of the Canaanites. Instead, she must come from his relatives hundreds of miles away in northwest Mesopotamia. Abraham himself was too old to make the journey back, so he summoned his most trusted servant, perhaps Eliezer (15:2), to fulfill the task. Finding the right wife for Isaac required divine help, so Abraham had his servant take an oath by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, and also to put his hand under Abraham's thigh, the bodily zone associated with Abraham's posterity.

This act symbolically underscored the importance of the task for Abraham's future and that of his clan. With great faith and prophetic insight the patriarch promised that God would send his angel before the servant so that he could take a wife for Isaac from the clan. As part of the concern for his posterity, Abraham also warned his servant not to let Isaac abandon the promised land—and with it God's covenant—by going back there himself to Mesopotamia.

24:10 The chief servant and several other slaves (v. 32) took goods reflective of Abraham's wealth, which could be used to pay the bride price for Isaac's wife. The journey from Beer-sheba to Mesopotamia (Hb Aram-naharaim) could have taken a couple of weeks. The city of Nahor could mean that Nahor was the name of the village or that it was Nahor's hometown. Nahor was the name of Abraham's brother and grandfather (11:25-26), thus suggesting that this village was populated by Abraham's relatives.

24:11-14 Being in the ancestral village at the best time and spot to interact with eligible girls, the servant still needed divine help to accomplish his task. He had faith that God had appointed a worthy young woman from this area to marry Isaac and would show kindness unto his master. He prayed to the Lord, suggesting a test of hospitality and service. A thirsty camel can drink as much as 30 gallons of water in 15 minutes. Since 10 camels accompanied the servant (v. 10), it is possible that the young woman would have had to draw 300 hundred gallons of water (equal to 2,500 lbs) from the spring to pass the servant's test.

24:15-22 Before the servant was done speaking, God more than answered his prayer (Isa. 65:24) with the arrival of Rebekah. Not only was she the granddaughter of Nahor, Abraham's brother and a virgin, but she was also very fair. With courtesy and enthusiasm she passed the servant's test. As a generous reward for her selfless act, the servant gave Rebekah a golden earring (or nose ring; Hb nezem) and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels (four ounces).

24:23-27 The servant received the best possible answers to two more questions: Rebekah was indeed the daughter of Abraham's nephew Bethuel, and the men and their camels could lodge with her family. Overwhelmed with gratitude, the servant bowed down, worshipped the Lord, and praised Him for His acts of mercy (Hb chesed; "covenant faithfulness") and truth (cp. Ps. 57:3,10).

24:28-33 The generosity of Abraham's servant generated a response in kind from Rebekah's mother's house. The level of hospitality provided by Rebekah and her family rivals the hospitality Abraham showed his visitors in 18:3-8.

24:34-49 In the longest recorded speech by a slave in the OT (238 words in the Hebrew), Abraham's servant recounted in detail three relevant matters: how the Lord had blessed Abraham greatly, why a young woman was needed from Bethuel's house, and how God had revealed that He had appointed Rebekah for his master's son. Then the servant gave them the opportunity deal kindly and truly with Abraham by permitting Rebekah to accompany him back to his master's household.

24:50-53 When Laban and Bethuel—the ruling adult males in the clan—were presented with evidence that the Lord had spoken and had selected Rebekah for Isaac, they released her to be a wife for Abraham's son. As the bride price, the servant then presented gifts to Rebekah . . . to her brother and to her mother.

24:54-59 The next morning, Abraham's servant asked Bethuel not to hinder his return to Abraham, even though it was customary to spend several days with the wife's family members (Judg. 19:8-10). Rebekah's statement, I will go, expressed her willingness to leave immediately, not her acceptance of the marriage arrangement—that was already settled. As a wedding gift the family gave Rebekah the one who had nursed her, a beloved slave named Deborah (35:8) who attended to her for many years.

24:64-65 Rebekah saw Isaac for the first time on the day she married him. As was apparently the custom on the wedding day, Rebekah covered herself with a vail (veil) before meeting her husband.

24:67 As part of the marital ritual Isaac brought Rebekah into what had been his mother Sarah's tent. This would now become her home, which marked her as the clan matriarch, the most powerful woman in the group. There Isaac and Rebekah consummated the marriage. Having waited 40 years to marry, Isaac loved his wife deeply, and was finally comforted after his mother's death, which had occurred three years earlier (17:17; 23:1; 25:20).

25:1-4 Probably after Sarah's death Abraham took another wife with concubine status, Keturah. In partial fulfillment of God's promise that he would have descendants as numerous as the stars (15:5; 22:17), Abraham fathered six additional sons.

25:5-6 Abraham was generous to Isaac because Keturah, like Hagar, was a concubine; she and her sons had less status than Sarah and Isaac. Accordingly, Abraham only gave gifts to Keturah's sons, while he gave Isaac all that he had. Because God had given the land of Canaan only to Isaac's descendants, Abraham sent Keturah's sons eastward to the Arabian peninsula.

25:7-10 Abraham lived some 37 years after Sarah's death and died at the age of 175. The biblical writer's comment that Abraham was gathered to his people hints at the Israelites' early belief in an afterlife. The patriarch's two oldest sons Isaac (now 75; see 21:5) and Ishmael (now 89; see 16:16) took the responsibility of burying their father.

25:12-18 The generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the seventh of the 11 toledoth sections of Genesis (see note at 5:1), complement the family records of Abraham's son Isaac (25:19). The lesser status of Ishmael's family line compared to Isaac's is reflected in the section's relatively small size (7 verses vs. 364 verses) and the notation that Ishmael's mother Hagar was the handmaid of Isaac's mother Sarah.

Ishmael fathered 12 sons, all of whom became princes of their nations. Their towns and castles stretched from Havilah unto Shur—the region between the modern Suez canal and the Wadi el-Arish. Later their settlements, the best known of which was Kedar, would extend into the northwest Arabian Peninsula; these would be involved in incense trade. During his 137 years Ishmael would also father two daughters, Mahalath and Basemath (28:9; 36:3). In keeping with the prophetic word (16:12), Ishmael was still against his relatives (lit in the presence of all his brethren) when he died.

25:19 The generations of Isaac, Abraham's son, the eighth of the 11 toledoth sections in Genesis (see note at 5:1), extend from 25:19 through 35:29.

25:23 The two nations were the Israelites and the Edomites.

25:25 The name Esau was a pun on the Hebrew word for hairy. The Hebrew word for red sounds like Edom, and is related to Adam.

25:26 The name Jacob means "heel grasper" or "supplanter" (27:36) or "deceiver."

25:27-28 The differences between Esau and Jacob, already apparent at birth, became more pronounced as the boys grew. Esau was a rough-and-tumble hunter and outdoorsman (lit "man of rural regions"); Jacob was quiet and stayed at home. The differences between the boys highlighted a division between the parents: Isaac, something of an outdoorsman himself (24:63), loved his rugged son Esau, while Rebekah loved her more domestic son Jacob, even teaching him how to cook.

25:29-34 Esau's impatient, appetite-driven life contrasted sharply with Jacob's shrewd, calculating character. Esau willingly traded his birthright for the chance to eat some red stew. Because of his fateful decision, Esau picked up the alternate name Edom ("Red"), which would be carried by the people group stemming from him (32:3). The birthright of Issac's eldest son would have included a double portion (or perhaps two-thirds) of the material inheritance (Deut. 21:17) as well as the honor and responsibilities of the Abrahamic covenant. Because Jacob had made Esau swear to sell his birthright, the decision could not be undone.

26:1-6 Isaac and his clan experienced the second recorded famine of the Bible (12:10). To avoid the effects of the famine, Isaac sought refuge in the region where his father had once lived (20:1). The Abimelech mentioned here may or may not be the same one with whom Abraham negotiated a treaty (21:27). The name may have been given to each succeeding king within a dynastic family. Isaac must have been tempted to leave the famine-ravaged land and go down into well-watered Egypt as his father had done (12:10), but the Lord warned him not to do this. To inherit the promises of seed, land, and blessing that God had given Abraham, Isaac had to sojourn in the land as a foreigner.

26:7-11 Isaac would have had to negotiate with the Philistines to enjoy certain privileges among them. As a result he might have to provide a woman for someone's harem. If the person asked for Rebekah (and she was, after all, the most important female in the clan and fair to look upon), Isaac might be killed if he refused. Thus Isaac, like Abraham before him (12:13; 20:2), told outsiders that his wife was his sister. Isaac's lie was uncovered when he was caught sporting with (lit "laughing/playing with") Rebekah. Abimelech called Isaac and demanded an explanation. Isaac patterned his defense after his father's (20:11)—he feared he might die on account of his wife.

26:12-22 Because the Lord blessed him, Isaac enjoyed amazing success as a farmer, achieving the highest level of agricultural productivity recorded in the Bible (cp. Matt. 13:8). The Philistines viewed Isaac as a rich foreigner with a reputation for trickery, and they wanted him off their land. Isaac complied, moving to the nearby valley of Gerar, reopening old wells that had been filled with dirt and having his slaves dig three new ones to accommodate his increased herds and flocks without threatening the Philistines. However, as in the days of Abraham (Gen. 21:25) the contentious Philistines claimed the rights to the first two wells, giving rise to the names Esek (Strive) and Sitnah (Hostility). When at last the Philistines did not strive over a well, Isaac rejoiced and called the well Rehoboth (Open Spaces).

26:23-25 Isaac's clan moved about 25 miles southeast to Beer-sheba, where his father had once lived (21:31). There the Lord appeared to Isaac and reassured him at a time when the Philistines were making trouble. The Lord was with Isaac to bless him and multiply his seed, in keeping with God's promises to Abraham (15:5; 17:2; 22:17). Isaac was the third patriarch to build an altar (besides Noah, 8:20; and Abraham, 12:7-8; 13:18; 22:9).

26:26-29 As with Abraham (21:22-23), God's blessing was clearly present on Isaac's life. The Philistine leaders believed that to oppose Isaac was to invite disaster from God and reprisals from members of Isaac's clan who felt they had been wronged. Thus they wanted to make a covenant with him.

26:30-33 Isaac's preparation of a feast signified his acceptance of the treaty, which became official the next day when the parties swore an oath of non-aggression. That same day Isaac's slaves reported success in digging a fifth well, this one named Shebah (Seven or Oath), confirming Abraham's name for Beer-sheba (21:31).

26:34-35 Esau married at the same age his father had (25:20). His marriages to two pagan Hittites, Judith ("Praise") and Bashemath ("Balsam/Spice"), expressed more of his animal-like nature (see note at 25:27-28). Esau's wives cause grief to Isaac and to Rebekah, most likely by being contentious about Jacob's favored status.

27:1-4 Isaac was now over 100 years old (see 25:26; 26:34). Though he would live to 180—at least 20 years beyond this point (35:28)—Isaac may have been sick at the time, since his vision was obviously poor and he was so concerned to bless Esau his eldest son before he died. The blessing given by a clan patriarch to his heir was of great significance since it formally conferred the right to rule over the clan following the patriarch's death. As with covenant-making (26:28-30), a patriarchal blessing was accompanied by a delicious meal.

27:5-17 Following Near Eastern tradition (18:9-10), Rebekah could not be in the immediate company of males—even family members—who were conducting business. However, she was listening to the men from nearby. After learning of Isaac's intentions for Esau, Rebekah came up with a scheme to overturn the plans. Perhaps she did it because she remembered the decades-old prophecy about Jacob dominating his older brother (25:23).

With this the Bible paints a picture of a troubled family: Rebekah using her son (not "their son") to destroy her husband's plans, and Jacob agreeing to lie to his father and cheat his brother. A curse of an unexpected sort did result for both Jacob and Rebekah: their scheme forced Jacob to leave his father and mother (28:5), and the Bible gives no indication that Rebekah ever saw her favorite son again.

27:18-27 Isaac was blind, but he could still use his other senses in addition to his reasoning. To overcome this, Jacob used at least five different things to deceive his father; goatskins to make his hands seem rough and hairy (v. 23), the cooked goat his mother prepared (v. 25), his brother's raiment in order to smell like Esau (v. 27), alcohol to impair his father's judgment (v. 25), and blatant lies (v v. 19,20,24). Jacob's craftiness paid off since his father blessed him.

27:28-29 Isaac's blessing included four elements: agricultural prosperity (v. 28)—even as He had done for Isaac (26:12); international respect and success (27:29); a command directing Jacob to be lord over the entire clan; and the transference of the protective provision of cursing and blessing that God had once given Jacob's grandfather Abraham (12:3).

27:30-38 Esau apparently had to awaken his blind father, who was confused at first, but trembled very exceedingly when he realized he had given someone other than Esau the right to rule the clan. Esau complained that Jacob had now supplanted him two times, first gaining the double portion of inheritance (25:31-33), and now the clan's headship. Jacob (Hb ya'aqov), whose name sounds similar to words meaning "deceitfulness" (Hb 'aqevah) and "to supplant/replace" (Hb 'aqav), had lived up to his name. Having lost every desirable blessing, Esau begged his father to find some way to bless him also.

27:39-40 Isaac's response to Esau was much shorter than Jacob's blessing (21 vs. 34 Hebrew words), and was more of an "anti-blessing." Creating an ironic wordplay with phrases from Jacob's blessing (v. 28), according to the Hebrew text Isaac stated that Esau would live"away from" the fatness of the earth and from the dew of heaven. Jacob would "be lord" (v. 29), but Esau would serve. Living a life of violence by the sword, Esau's only consolation was that he would someday break Jacob's yoke from his neck.

27:41-46 For a second time in this chapter, Rebekah intervened to change Jacob's destiny. Her latest plan was for Jacob to tarry with his uncle Laban in Haran—hundreds of miles away—until Esau's anger subsided. Otherwise, she feared, she would lose both her sons in one day—Jacob by murder, Esau by capital punishment (9:6). The few days, however, turned out to be more than 20 years (31:38)! The excuse she gave to Isaac for sending Jacob away was for the young man to find a wife there.

28:1-2 As with Abraham in the previous generation (24:3), Isaac was concerned that his youngest son not take a wife from the Canaanite women.

28:3-5 Before Jacob's departure Isaac extended to him two major covenant blessings: offspring and land. The blessing of being fruitful was previously given to Adam (1:28), Noah and his sons (9:1,7), Abraham (17:6), and Ishmael (17:20). Isaac invoked it using the name "El Shaddai" (God Almighty), a name first revealed to Abraham (17:1; see note there). The second blessing was possession of the land . . . God gave unto Abraham, a blessing that only God could give. Having received these blessings, Jacob left for his mother's ancestral home of Padan-aram.

28:6-9 When Esau saw that his father Isaac disapproved of the two daughters of Canaan he had married (26:34), he did not divorce them. Instead he added to them, taking his cousin Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael as a third wife. Mahalath was also known as Basemath (36:3). Mahalath's brother Nebajoth was Ishmael's firstborn son (1 Chron. 1:29).

28:10-15 Jacob started northward on the approximately 500-mile journey to Haran. At the end of one of his first days he camped in central Canaan, and God appeared to him. Perhaps the ladder he dreamed of was a supernatural version of humanity's Tower of Babel (11:4), with the angels of God—and not sinful humans—using it to commute from heaven to earth. In the dream the Lord transferred to Jacob all the essential elements of the promises given originally to Abraham and Isaac.

Key features from Abraham's era include: the gift of land (12:7; 13:17); the promise of seed as numerous as the dust of the earth (cp. 13:16); and peoples being blessed through Jacob and his seed (cp. 12:3; 18:18). As with his father Isaac, God promised He would be with him wherever he went (26:24) and bring him back to the promised land.

28:16-19 No other person in the OT is recorded as anointing a sacred stone; Jacob would do it twice (35:14). Jacob renamed the site Beth-el ("House of God"), a name that would be retained throughout Israelite history (Judg. 1:23; Neh. 11:31).

28:20-22 Jacob is the only patriarch to make a vow. Though his words can appear selfish, the vow may simply contain a request that God would carry out the implications of the promises made in verse 15. Years later Jacob would confess that God had indeed kept the terms of His promises (35:3).

29:2 The well was covered with a great stone to protect it from unauthorized use and wild animals.

29:7-12 Foreshadowing his exceptional shepherding skills (30:29-30), Jacob instructed the local shepherds on how to do their job properly. The apparent laziness of the shepherds—or weakness—is suggested by their unwillingness to remove the stone from the top of the well.

Jacob's actions contrasted sharply with those of the local shepherds. Inspired by the appearance of Rachel, Jacob rolled the heavy stone from the well's mouth all by himself. His act of watering his uncle Laban's sheep is reminiscent of his mother's act of watering Abraham's camels years earlier (24:20). Rachel is the first shepherdess of the Bible (cp. Exod. 2:16); the task of shepherding flocks was usually given to men. The first mention in the Bible of a man kissing a woman occurs in Gen. 29:11; such actions were not normally performed in public.

29:13-20 In the ancient Near East, a male kissing another male in greeting signified acceptance of and respect for the other person (27:27; 45:15; Exod. 18:7; 1 Sam. 10:1). Laban called Jacob my bone and my flesh and gave him the right to stay in the home. Jacob was neither a son nor a slave, so it was appropriate to work out a suitable arrangement that compensated Laban for his provisions and Jacob for his labor. It was not appropriate for Jacob to work for nought, so it was agreed that Jacob would work for seven years for the right to marry Rachel.

This arrangement is reminiscent of a provision in the law of Moses that permitted certain slaves to work seven years for their freedom (Exod. 21:2). Men did not buy wives in the strict sense of the word; however, they did customarily pay a bride-price (Gen. 34:12; Exod. 22:17; 1 Sam. 18:25) to their future wife's family to compensate them for the care and protection provided to the woman prior to her marriage.

29:21-23 Jacob, now almost 50 years old (25:24-26; 26:34-35; 27:46) after working for Laban seven years, informed Laban that it was time for him to marry Rachel. Laban proceeded to cheat the family member who had cheated other people in the past (27:12-25,36). In the darkness of the evening and with his bride concealed behind a veil (24:65), Jacob did not realize Laban had brought Leah. Accordingly, he slept with her.

29:27-30 Jacob was obliged by convention to spend a week with Leah consummating the marriage. Then Laban gave Rachel to Jacob as well, and that marriage was immediately consummated, though Jacob was thereby committed to spend another seven years serving Laban.

29:31-35 The Lord, who had seen and provided for Hagar previously in her time of need (16:13-14), now saw that Leah was hated (i.e., loved less) and opened her womb. In a society where a woman's prestige depended almost entirely on her success in bearing sons, the Lord gave Leah four sons before she temporarily (31:17) stopped bearing children. Three themes are present in Leah's remarks: her conviction that God provided these children in response to her affliction and unloved condition, her hope that the births would cause her husband to love her, and her praise to the Lord for what He had done. The explanations connected with each son's name are not linguistic etymologies, but explanations of wordplays.

30:1-8 Rachel's extreme unhappiness created serious tensions in the marriage. Jacob reminded her that it was God, not he, who has withheld children from her. Partial relief came through the practice of surrogate motherhood as Rachel gave Jacob her maid Bilhah. The phrase upon my knees suggests that the adoption process involved placing the newborn child on the adopting mother's lap (50:23; cp. Ruth 4:16). When Bilhah gave birth to Dan, Rachel felt that God had judged her and vindicated her. When Bilhah gave birth to a second son, Rachel, who had frankly struggled in her relationships with God and Leah, felt that she had finally prevailed.

30:9-13 Leah, who had once used her fertility to try to win her husband's love, now resorted to the desperate act of giving her maid to Jacob as a surrogate wife to produce additional sons, Gad and Asher. Leah signaled their adoption by being the one who named them.

30:14-21 During the late springtime harvest, Leah's oldest son Reuben found some wild mandrakes. A plant possessing tuberous roots resembling human torsos, the mandrake was thought to enhance one's sexual powers and fertility. Leah, still lonely and desperate for her husband's affection, bartered some of the mandrakes with Jacob's favorite wife Rachel for the right to sleep with Jacob for a night. Because God hearkened unto Leah—and not because of the mandrakes—she conceived, and bare a fifth son, Issachar. When Leah bare Jacob her sixth son . . . Zebulun—her last—she gave God the credit. Jacob's only named daughter, Dinah, would play a tragic role in chapter 34.

30:22-24 For the third time in Genesis God is said to have remembered someone (cp. 8:1; 19:21), an event that always indicates the onset of a beneficial act by God. In this case He gave Rachel her firstborn son . . . Joseph, whose name (Hb yoseph) is actually a verb that expressed Rachel's prayerful hopes—"May He add" another son. The Lord would give Rachel her desire, but with bitter results (35:16-19).

30:25-36 Jacob, now with a dozen children and four wives but very little else, demanded release from his responsibilities in Laban's household so he could return to his homeland, where he would be the head of a wealthy clan. Though Jacob was poor, Laban's wealth had increased because the Lord had blessed him through Jacob, just as the Lord had promised (28:14). Laban, who had learned by the forbidden practice of divination (Lev. 19:26) that God had blessed him because of Jacob, realized the great advantages of keeping Jacob around, so he offered to pay Jacob whatever wages he would name.

Jacob asked for two things: the right to continue to keep Laban's flock, and all of Laban's sheep and goats that had rare and unusual markings. Laban readily agreed to the terms but virtually assured Jacob's financial failure by removing from the flocks every animal that possessed the traits Jacob had specified. To guarantee that Jacob could not use them in breeding, he drove them three days' journey—40 to 50 miles—away and put his own sons in charge of them.

Jacob's Family

30:37-43 Jacob began a six-year effort (31:41) to increase his wealth at Laban's expense. During that time he used at least three different techniques to make the flocks produce sheep and goats he could keep: (1) he separated the strong animals from the weak, using only the strong ones for his breeding purposes; (2) he set peeled branches in the watering troughs where the sheep bred; and (3) he made the flocks face the streaked and dark sheep in Laban's flocks. Though the latter two practices have no scientific value, God Himself (31:7-8,42) and the angel of God (31:11-12) caused Jacob to become very rich.

31:1-3 Jacob's overwhelming success created deep resentment in Laban's sons; their father's loss meant less inheritance for them. It also changed Laban's attitude to the point where Jacob no longer felt welcome. As the situation deteriorated, the Lord commanded Jacob to return to his land and promised to be with him.

31:4-16 Jacob presented Rachel and Leah with three reasons for making a major move away from the only home they had ever known to a land they had never even seen: (1) their father Laban had an unfavorable attitude (countenance) toward Jacob; (2) Laban was unethical in business, having deceived Jacob and changed his wages ten times—almost every time a new generation of sheep and goats was born (there would have been about 14 breeding cycles for sheep in six years); and (3) most important of all, the God who had taken their father's herds and given them to Jacob had now ordered him to return to his native land. Rachel and Leah were agreeable to the idea, since their father had treated them like foreigners (strangers).

31:17-21 Though Jacob had left 20 years earlier alone and with no possessions, he now returned with a family and an abundance of property. Even as Jacob stole away from Laban, his wife Rachel had also stolen the images (Hb teraphim) from her father. The group crossed the Euphrates river in what is now Syria, then headed south for Gilead (part of modern Jordan).

31:22-30 Learning of Jacob's secret departure, Laban gathered a posse and set out to catch the group. Laban intended to harm Jacob, probably because he believed Jacob had stolen his household gods, but the God of Jacob's father kept the promise of protection made 20 years earlier (28:15), and warned Laban in a dream not to harm Jacob. Laban was also frustrated because he had no opportunity to kiss his daughters and grandsons good-bye and send the group off with a joyful celebration.

31:35 As shrewd and deceptive as her father Laban, Rachel prevented him from searching her saddlebags by claiming she was having her monthly period. During that time, anything she sat on became ceremonially unclean and was not to be touched by others (Lev. 15:26).

31:36-42 Jacob unleashed a torrent of pent-up anger at Laban, noting seven ways in which he had helped his father-in-law and labored selflessly on his behalf. Then Jacob confessed that Jehovah, the God of his grandfather Abraham, alternately known as the fear of Isaac (the only use of this term in the Bible), saw Jacob's affliction, protected him from financial ruin, and rebuked Laban on his behalf.

31:44-55 To end the dispute, Laban proposed that he and Jacob make a covenant that would bring peace and a separation between the Israelite (Jacob's) and the Aramean (Laban's) branches of the Terah clan. In classic ancient Near Eastern treaty tradition, the covenant-making event consisted of building a sacred stone and a heap (Jegar-sahadutha, or Galeed ["Mound of Witness"]), the calling of witnesses (the covenant itself, the heap, and the pillar), a preliminary ceremonial meal, expression of the covenant terms, invocation of deities that would oversee the covenant (the God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor), and a concluding ceremonial meal.

32:1-2 For the second time while on a journey, Jacob saw angels of God (cp. 28:12). As before, he named the place—in this case, Mahanaim, "Two Camps," probably because both people and angels were at the same location.

32:3-5 Remembering Esau's death threats from 20 years earlier (27:41-42), Jacob now made a special effort to gain Esau's favor with the assistance of messengers. The first prong of his strategy was verbal: Jacob had the messengers call Esau lord and himself his servant, thus honoring Esau's position as firstborn—even though he had previously taken Esau's birthright and blessing. Jacob also made sure he was the first to initiate contact between the brothers, in order to find grace in Esau's sight.

32:7-12 To prepare for the coming confrontation Jacob did two things: first, he divided his group in two so at least some of his people could escape if necessary; second, he offered a prayer.

32:13-21 Jacob, who had been so adept at taking from others in the past, now arranged to give a generous present for Esau. Only after Esau had received all the gifts would Jacob meet him.

32:22-23 As a final measure of self-protection that night, Jacob put one more barrier between himself and Esau, moving his family and possessions across the Jabbok, a westward-flowing tributary emptying into the Jordan River 15 miles north of the Dead Sea. Perhaps Jacob believed that Esau would have compassion on his wives and children, and so end his pursuit.

32:24-30 Now Jacob experienced his third and final encounter with God while on a journey (cp. v. 1; 27:12-15). A man, understood by later Israelites to be God or an angel possessing the authority of God (Hos. 12:3-4), wrestled (the Hb word is a pun on "Jacob") with the elderly patriarch until daybreak. The fight ended when the divine being dislocated Jacob's hip. Jacob, injured but still unwilling to release his grip, demanded that He bless him. Asserting His authority over Jacob (see note at Gen. 1:5), the man changed Jacob's name to Israel (Hb yisra'el), meaning "he struggled" (Hb yisreh) with God (Hb 'el), as well as with men, and had prevailed.

Jacob was the third person to be renamed by God, joining Abraham and Sarah (17:5,15). The patriarch's inferior status is reflected in the fact that, unlike the divine being, who asked for Jacob's name and got it, Jacob was unable to learn the being's name. The renamed man now renamed the place Peniel—or Penuel—lit "the face of God," because he had seen God face to face and yet was spared from death (Exod. 33:20).

33:1-3 Following his transforming encounter with God, Jacob went from hiding behind his wives and children (32:22-23) to boldly taking the lead in protecting his family. In his encounter with Esau and his 400 men, Jacob passed over before the group, arranging his family behind him according to their status. In a display of respect unparalleled in the Bible, Jacob bowed down to Esau seven times as he approached.

33:4-7 Even as Jacob had been changed the previous night, it seems that Esau had changed too. Perhaps he had been warned by God not to harm Jacob, even as other adversaries of the patriarchs had been before (20:3-7; 31:24). The once-estranged brothers embraced . . . kissed, and wept together in gracious reunion—a scene that anticipated a reunion between estranged brothers in the next generation (45:14-15). Esau, who had three wives and five sons (36:2-5), inquired about Jacob's family. Each of the mothers approached Esau with their children and respectfully bowed. The fact that Joseph was the only named son in the group and was mentioned ahead of his mother foreshadows his leading role in later narratives.

33:12-15 To compensate Jacob for his generous gift, Esau offered to provide companionship (let us take our journey), leadership (I will go before thee), and—with the assistance of his 400 men—protection to Jacob's group for the remainder of the journey. Jacob, who had just escaped from 20 years of oppression from a troublesome relative, respectfully declined the offer, calling his brother my lord, but making excuses to travel alone.

33:16-17 Esau went south to Seir, a forested mountainous region east of the Dead Sea, while Jacob's group traveled a few miles north to settle at Succoth (Hb for "Temporary Shelters"; booths), named for the temporary facilities Jacob constructed for his cattle. The Bible does not indicate that Jacob and Esau met again until they buried their father many years later (35:29).

33:18-20 The Hebrew word for Shalem can also be interpreted to mean that Jacob arrived "safely" at the city of Shechem, in answer to his prayer many years before (28:21). His grandfather Abraham had first lived in Shechem when he entered Canaan (12:6). Jacob intended to live permanently in the land promised to him by God (28:13), so he bought a parcel of land in front of Shechem from the children of Hamor, including his son Shechem, whose name matched the city's name. The price of 100 qesitahs represents an unknown quantity; one suggestion is that a qesitah represented the value of one lamb. True to the seminomadic heritage of his grandfather and father (12:8; 26:25), Jacob lived in a tent. Like Abraham and Isaac before him (12:8; 13:18; 22:9; 26:25), Jacob also set up an altar, naming it God, the God of Israel.

34:1-7 Perhaps Dinah was seeking some female companionship since she was the only daughter in her large family. Shechem, one of the previous owners of the property on which Dinah now lived, saw her, forcefully took her, and then raped (defiled) her. The fact that he loved her, spake kindly to her, and even ordered his father to get her for him to take as a wife suggests that Shechem was following Hivite customs in his treatment of Dinah, though what he did ought not to be done in Israelite society. Jacob delayed responding to Shechem, probably because he knew there was nothing he could do alone.

34:8-10 Hamor, a prince, had the right to negotiate treaties with Jacob, who was now a landowner in the region. Jacob had been trustworthy in past business deals (33:19), so Hamor negotiated in good faith. As a "member of the family" through intermarriage, Jacob would be able to trade with fewer restrictions and acquire additional property.

34:13-18 Jacob's older sons proved that they could behave as wickedly toward outsiders as Hamor's son, Shechem, had done. Ironically, a later generation of Hivites would practice deception to join their peoples with the Hebrews (Josh. 9:3-15). In an outrageous misuse of the sacred rite of circumcision (Gen. 17:9-14), they stated that they could only give their daughters—and their sister Dinah—away in marriage to men who had been circumcised. Men of many different cultures in the biblical world practiced circumcision, including the Egyptians, Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites (Jer. 9:25-26), and the idea pleased Hamor, and Shechem as well.

34:19-24 As the future prince over the region, Shechem had great influence over the citizens of the village bearing his name. Meeting with the men at the gate of their city, where people gathered to share news and consider proposals, Shechem and Hamor provided the men with four reasons to establish a treaty with Jacob's sons, ratifying it with circumcision. Shechem convinced every able-bodied man of the village (all that went out of the gate) to be circumcised.

34:25-29 While the men of Shechem were still recovering from the removal of their foreskins with flint knives, they were murdered by Simeon and Levi, two of Jacob's four sons who had the same mother (Leah) as Dinah. After killing Shechem, they took Dinah from his house; she had been brought there after Shechem's circumcision. When Jacob's other adult sons—Joseph was probably not among them—learned of it, they spoiled the city, using the excuse that they had defiled their sister. The Hivite little ones and wives they took captive would possibly have been sold to slave traders (37:27-28).

34:30-31 Upon learning of the outrageous actions of Simeon and Levi, Jacob condemned them. Their actions had not only brought death to the Hivites, but Jacob's reputation for being a man of peace (v. 21) had now been destroyed. The clan, now marked as murderers, would have to live in fear that the Canaanites and the Perizzites would attack and kill them. Simeon and Levi would later be cursed by their father (49:5-7) because of their horrific crime. Their only defense was that Shechem had dealt with their sister like a prostitute—a criminal act, to be sure, but not one that was considered punishable by death in the Torah (Exod. 22:16-17; Deut. 22:28-29).

35:1-5 In his time of trouble God called Jacob back to Beth-el, the spot where he had first met God. There Jacob was to build a more formal altar to God than the marker he had left there 20 years earlier (28:22). God's command in Gen. 35:1 represents the only time in Genesis that He ordered an altar be built. The patriarch ordered his household, and to all that were with him to prepare themselves for an encounter with the living God.

This preparation involved three things: first, getting rid of the strange gods among them. Laban's household idols (31:19) as well as possible Hivite idols acquired in the raid on Shechem (34:29) were among the items that Jacob buried under the oak near Shechem. Second, the people were to purify themselves, a command that normally involved washing the body and clothing (Exod. 19:10; 30:19-21; Lev. 16:26), as well as avoidance of sexual contact since seminal emissions created temporary ritual uncleanness (Lev. 15:16-18). Purification would especially have been necessary because of Dinah's defilement and the touching of human corpses (Num. 19:11-12). Third, they were to change their garments (Lev. 6:10-11). Having purified themselves, they experienced God's protection on their journey to Beth-el. Jacob's sons were marked for death by the Canaanites in the region, but God sent a terror on the nearby inhabitants, and no one pursued the clan.

35:6-8 At Beth-el, known to the Canaanites as Luz, Jacob built El-beth-el ("God of Beth-el"), his second named altar (33:20). Rebekah's nurse Deborah (see 24:59 and note there), a woman who probably was like a beloved second mother to Jacob, died at Beth-el. Her death, along with Isaac's in verse 28, marked the passing of a generation.

35:9-15 God's final recorded words to Jacob came as He spoke to him for the second time (cp. v. 1) since the patriarch returned from Padan-aram. In this proclamation the Lord revealed Himself as God Almighty (Hb "El Shaddai"), a name for God revealed first to Abraham (17:1; see note there) and later known to Isaac (28:3). God's speech reaffirms promises previously made to Jacob (cp. 28:13).

At the same time God blessed Jacob with words that enlarged previously given promises. The blessing previously given to Adam, Noah, and Noah's sons (1:28; 9:1)—be fruitful and multiply—was now extended to Jacob. For the first time also it is stated that kings and a company of nations would come from the patriarch. To memorialize the event and bring closure to his vow to make Jehovah his God (28:21), Jacob set up a pillar of stone, pouring a drink offering on it (2 Sam. 23:16) and anointing it with oil.

35:16-20 While Jacob's clan was making a 15-mile journey to Ephrath, Rachel—now pregnant with her second child—went into labour. As her son was being born she apparently began bleeding uncontrollably, an occurrence that kills about 1 out of every 200 mothers in many African nations even today. Before she died she named her son Ben-oni, meaning "Son of My Sorrow." However, to make sure that his wife's dying gift to him would be properly remembered, Jacob renamed the child Benjamin, meaning "Right-hand Son," the most honored son. Jacob also set a pillar at Rachel's burial site in the Beth-lehem area. Visitors to Israel today can still visit the traditional site of her grave.

35:21-22 The disgusting character of another of Jacob's sons—this time his firstborn Reuben—was revealed beyond the Tower of Edar, a spot probably situated southwest of Beth-lehem. Reuben lay with Bilhah, the mother of his half brothers Dan and Naphtali. By doing this Reuben was asserting his right to take his father's place as leader of the group (2 Sam. 12:8,11; 16:21-22) and perhaps seeking revenge for Jacob's shunning of his mother Leah. His father later cursed Reuben because of it (Gen. 49:3-4).

35:23-26 With Benjamin's birth Jacob's set of offspring was now complete. This section lists the patriarch's 12 sons during his time in Padan-aram and, in Benjamin's case, following his return to Canaan. The sons are listed according to their mothers, not their birth order; the mothers are listed in the order of their connection with Jacob.

35:27-29 Jacob moved his family to stay with his father Isaac, who was living near the family burial cave at Mamre in the vicinity of Hebron. Isaac would live for many more years, dying at the age of 180. Esau and Jacob buried him in the cave of Machpelah (49:31).

36:1-8 The generations of Esau, the ninth and shortest of the 11 toledoth sections in Genesis (see note at 5:1), consists only of 36:1-8. This section complements the toledoth section of verses 9-43, which also contains family records of Esau, in that this emphasizes the "Canaan" portion of Esau's life. Esau, whose nickname was Edom (cp. 25:30), moved his family and property to Edom, whose primary feature is mount Seir.

36:9 The generations of Esau the father of the Edomites, the tenth of the toledoth sections in Genesis (see note at 5:1), consists of 36:9-43. This section, which repeats the genealogical information of verses 1-5, differs from that toledoth unit in that it provides five major subsections that focus on historical and genealogical details relevant to Edom.

36:10-14 These verses contain the first of five subsections found in the second Esau toledoth, and it expands on verses 4-5 with a listing of six sons born to Adah's son Eliphaz and four sons descending from Basemath's son Reuel. Teman ("South") is the namesake of an important region in southern Edom (Jer. 49:20; Obad. 9) associated with wisdom (Jer. 49:7). Timna was the daughter of Seir the Horite (v v. 20-22); thus, her son Amalek provides an important genealogical link between the Edomites and the Horites.

36:15-19 The second of the four Esau-related subsections contains the dukes of the sons of Esau, listing all of Esau's sons and grandsons in verses 10-14, but adding a seventh son, Korah, to the listing of Eliphaz's sons. The term translated as "dukes" (Hb 'alluph) refers to the leader of a familial unit or of a geographical region.

36:20-30 The third part of this Esau toledoth comprises the sons and chiefs of Seir the Horite, the father of Eliphaz's concubine Timna.

36:31-39 The fourth subsection of the Esau toledoth lists eight consecutive kings that reigned in the land of Edom prior to the days of King Saul, i.e., before 1050 b.c. Its inclusion demonstrates the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham (17:6). The observation that no kings reigned over the children of Israel, a nation that did not yet formally exist, suggests that this list was compiled no earlier than the days of King David. The parallel passage in 1 Chron. 1:43-50 differs from this only in the spelling of the name Hadar (Hadad) and the name of Hadar's royal city Pau (Pai).

36:40-43 The fifth and final subsection of the second Esau toledoth consists of a list of 11 of Esau's dukes who ruled over various portions of the land of Edom. This list appears in abbreviated form in 1 Chron. 1:51b-54.

37:1 In contrast to Esau, who left the land promised to Abraham's descendants, Jacob remained in the land of Canaan, demonstrating Jacob's acceptance of God's gift of the land to him and his descendants (35:12).

37:2-4 The generations of Jacob, which extend through the end of the book, constitute the eleventh and last of the toledoth sections in Genesis (see note at 5:1). The account begins with a description of 17-year-old Joseph, the central human figure in the final 14 chapters of Genesis. These opening verses continue the troubled portrait of Jacob's sons begun in chapter 35, as the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah—Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher—misbehaved. Jacob's unequal treatment of his sons (cp. 25:28) aroused great jealousy, so that Joseph's brothers hated him. The coat of many colours probably marked Joseph as Jacob's chosen successor for clan leadership, especially since he was the firstborn of Rachel, the only woman Jacob had ever intended to marry.

37:5-11 Like his father Jacob (28:12-15; 31:10-13), Joseph received two dreams from God during his lifetime. Both portrayed Joseph as gaining a position of supremacy in his family, though the symbols differed greatly. The first dream used an agricultural image (v. 7). The second, more important and wider in scope than the first, was astronomical (v v. 9-10). The pairing of dreams with a shared meaning meant that God would certainly make the events happen (41:32). Ancient interpreters suggested that the moon signified Bilhah since Joseph's mother Rachel was dead at this time (35:19).

37:12-17 Israel (i.e., Jacob) made his teenage son Joseph a supervisor over his brothers. Joseph, who had earlier given a bad report about his older brothers, was once again called upon to report how they were doing. Joseph traveled about 50 miles north to Shechem. Learning that his brothers had moved on, he finally found them at Dothan, some 15 miles farther north.

37:18-24 Joseph's older brothers, all of whom hated him and were violent men (34:27-29) or even murderers (34:25-26), immediately plotted to kill him, calling him "the lord of the dreams" (this dreamer). Being skilled at deception as well (34:13), the brothers also concocted the lie that an evil beast hath devoured him. They cast him into a dry cistern designed to store water for the flocks.

37:25-28 The fact that Joseph's brothers sat down to eat a meal soon after they disposed of him reveals how brazenly sinful they were. The brothers saw a company of Ishmeelites traveling south on the main road leading from Damascus to Egypt. Judah convinced seven of his brothers that it was more profitable to sell Joseph as a slave than to slay him. According to 42:21, Joseph pleaded with his brothers, but to no avail. They sold him for 20 pieces of silver, the standard price for a teenage male slave (Lev. 27:5). Midianite is another designation for Ishmeelites in this narrative. Mention of the descendants of Ishmael (21:9-13) and Midian (25:1-6) call to mind the kind of sibling rivalry that is taking place here again.

37:29-35 As the oldest of the brothers, Reuben felt responsible for Joseph's safety. He had not been present when his brothers decided to sell Joseph. He was shocked and dismayed when he discovered what had happened. In a traditional ancient Near Eastern show of grief, he rent his clothes.

Jacob naturally concluded that a vicious animal had torn Joseph in pieces. Joseph had been Jacob's favorite son (v. 4), and Joseph's mother Rachel had recently died tragically. Thus when confronted with this evidence, he refused to be comforted, expressing instead the desire to go down into the grave (lit "Sheol," the traditional term for the place of the dead) to be with his son.

37:36 Even as Jacob mourned his son's death, Joseph—very much alive—was taken to Egypt and sold to Potiphar, a prestigious military officer in Pharaoh's court.

38:1-5 Judah's departure while Jacob grieved may have been motivated by a combination of intense guilt feelings and anger at his brothers. Continuing the dark picture of Jacob's sons begun in chapter 36, Judah rejected the covenant family's marriage tradition (24:3; 28:1) and took a Canaanite as a wife. The couple conceived three sons, Er ("Watchful"), Onan ("Strength/Vigorous"), and Shelah ("Drawn Out [from the Womb]").

38:6-11 In keeping with ancient Near Eastern tradition, Judah took a wife for his son Er (24:2-4; Exod. 2:21; Judg. 4:1-3). The absence of any ethnic identification for Er's wife Tamar ("Palm Tree") may mean she was not a Canaanite. Because Er wicked in the sight of the Lord, the Lord slew him. God's judgment on sinners is not always immediate but there are cases in both the OT and the NT, and presumably throughout history, when God brings justice swiftly (6:5-7; 19:13; Acts 5:4; 1 Cor. 11:29-31). Er died before fathering any children, and ancient Near Eastern custom required the childless widow's brother-in-law to marry her and produce seed who would be counted as the dead male's heir (Deut. 25:5-6).

Onan, however, realized that the seed should not be his, so he took a course of action known as onanism (named after Onan's actions here) to prevent conception. Onan's motive displeased the Lord, and so God killed him also. With two sons having died while married to Tamar, Judah feared that Shelah might die too if he fulfilled the responsibility to his sister-in-law. Consequently Judah sent her away to live in her father's house, with the deceptive excuse that Shelah was not old enough.

38:12-19 Even after Shelah was grown and was eligible for marriage, Tamar remained a widow. In the meantime, Judah's wife had died. Having been deceived by Judah earlier, Tamar cunningly set about to deceive her father-in-law (cp. 27:15,27). In order to get Judah to fulfill his family's obligation to produce an heir for Er and remove the stigma of her childlessness, Tamar took advantage of her father-in-law's immoral character. She changed out of her widow's garments (signs of mourning), veiled her face like a cult prostitute, and positioned herself alone where she knew Judah would pass.

Though sexual relations with a daughter-in-law were prohibited in the Israelite law that was written centuries later (Lev. 18:15), Judah did not recognize her and so propositioned her. As proof of his willingness to pay once he had money in hand, Judah had to give Tamar his "cylinder seal" (signet), among other items. Having achieved her objective by getting pregnant, Tamar returned home.

38:20-23 Keeping his promise, Judah sent Hirah (v. 1) to Tamar with a kid goat to retrieve his possessions. When Hirah returned to Judah without recovering Judah's possessions, Judah recognized he had been outwitted by the prostitute since his credentials represented his honor and were thus more valuable than a young goat. He attempted to minimize the humiliation by giving up the search and thus telling no one else what had happened.

38:24-26 Since Tamar had an obligation to remain chaste and available for marriage to Shelah, but was discovered with child, Judah ordered that she be burned to death—a penalty that in later times was reserved for depraved sexual sins in the law of Moses (Lev. 20:14; 21:9). Before she could be executed, however, Tamar announed that she was pregnant by the man whose "cylinder seal" (signet) she possessed. Confronted by indisputable evidence of his responsibility for Tamar's pregnancy, Judah admitted that she was more righteous than he; he had wronged her by denying her the right to marry his son Shelah.

38:27-30 Six months later it was discovered that Tamar was carrying twins in her womb; the language mirrors that of Jacob and Esau's birth (25:24). The birth was a complicated one, as one of the babies stuck his hand—not his head, as is normal—out the birth canal. The child drew back his hand inside the mother.

As it turned out, his brother actually came out first, earning himself not only the rights of the firstborn but also the name Pharez ("Bursting Forth/Breach"). His brother, born belatedly with the scarlet thread still tied to his hand, received the name Zarah ("Dawning/Shining"). Pharez would later be mentioned as an ancestor of both David (Ruth 4:12,18) and Jesus (Matt. 1:3).

39:1 This verse, which retraces details presented in 37:36, returns the storyline to Joseph. The terms Midianites and Ishmeelites are used interchangeably by the writer (37:28,36; see note at 37:25–28).

39:2 Because the Lord is God over the whole earth (1 Chron. 29:11; Ps. 47:2; 83:18; 97:9), He was with Joseph even in Egypt.

39:7-9 In contrast to his brother Judah, who sacrificed his honor for the pleasure of a prostitute (38:15-16), Joseph refused the advances of his master's wife. To commit adultery would have been a great wickedness and a sin against God (cp. Exod. 20:14).

39:11-16 When the subtle approach failed to seduce Joseph, Potiphar's wife resorted to a more direct method. Finding—or perhaps creating—a situation where none of the men except Joseph was in the house, she grabbed Joseph by his garment and ordered him to lie with her. In a courageous display of godly self-control, Joseph resisted, left his garment in her hand, and fled. This is the second time that a woman used the personal effects of one of Jacob's sons (cp. Judah, 38:25) to get the upper hand in a situation where they would otherwise have been put to death. Potiphar's wife then lied to the household servants, playing upon the other slaves' jealousy that had been inflamed when Potiphar placed the Hebrew young man over them as their boss. The presence of Joseph's garment was evidence supporting her claim.

39:17-20 When Potiphar's wife repeated the story to her husband, she framed the lie in a way that placed the blame squarely on him. Her story made Potiphar furious. Without investigating the truth of her claims, Potiphar declared Joseph guilty. But instead of killing him, he put him into the prison (lit "the round house"). Why? Ancient Jewish opinion held that Potiphar's wife intervened because she hoped to take advantage of Joseph later. It is also possible that Potiphar already distrusted his wife and thus doubted the truth of her story. Ultimately, it was because God was directing matters.

39:21-23 The Lord, who is present even in Sheol (Ps. 139:8), was also with Joseph in prison. God, who is rich in mercy ("faithful love"; Hb chesed; see Exod. 34:7), demonstrated His love by granting Joseph favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. For the third time in his life (cp. v. 4; Gen. 37:14), Joseph was given authority over his peers—in this case, all the prisoners that were in the prison. Mirroring Potiphar's level of confidence in Joseph, once the warden put something in Joseph's hand, he did not pay attention to it anymore because the Lord caused everything Joseph did to prosper (Hb matsliach; cp. Ps. 1:3).

40:1-4 After Joseph had been imprisoned for a number of years and was now 28 years old (41:1,46), Pharaoh was wroth (Hb qatsaph) with two high-ranking officials (Hb saris). Because of their high rank, the butlers and bakers were given certain privileges even in prison: Joseph, as a young Hebrew slave, served them.

40:5-8 During their confinement the royal cupbearer and baker each had a dream—the third and fourth non-Israelites to have dreams with divinely inspired meanings (cp. Abimelech, 20:3; Laban, 31:24). When they awoke the men were sad because there was no professional Egyptian dream interpreter present. Joseph told them that accurate interpretations belong to God. And since the Lord was with Joseph even in prison (39:2,21,23), the men were directed to tell their dreams to him.

40:9-15 The chief butler, who was an adviser and security officer for Pharaoh, was the first to tell his dream to Joseph. While aspects of the dream seemed to portray something positive—blossoms . . . grapes, placing the cup into Pharaoh's hand—other aspects were doubtful, particularly the three branches. Joseph explained that the branches represented the next three days, after which Pharaoh would lift the cupbearer's head (i.e., grant him freedom or honor; cp. 2 Kings 25:27) and restore him to his place. Confident that the interpretation was accurate, Joseph pleaded for the cupbearer to remember him, mention him to Pharaoh, and arrange to get him out of prison. Joseph's release was a matter of simple justice since he had done nothing to deserve imprisonment.

40:16-19 Encouraged by Joseph's positive interpretation of the cupbearer's dream, the chief baker shared his dream. As with the previous dream, this one contained ambiguous elements—particularly the three white baskets and the birds—that needed a clear interpretation. This time the meaning was a dark one: Pharaoh would behead him (making a pun on lifting his head; see note above) and hang him on a tree (or possibly "impale" him "on wood").

40:20 Pharaoh's birthday could either refer to Pharaoh's physical birth or to his accession day, the day he became king and thus was believed to have become a son of the Egyptian god Horus.

40:23 The emphatic repetition—the butler did not . . . remember Joseph, but forgat him—marks the nadir of Joseph's sojourn in Egypt. For "two full years" (41:1) Joseph had to wait for God to rescue him.

41:1-7 Pharaoh, the most powerful man in the world of his day, received dreams from God that were far-reaching in their implications. His two dreams, both on the same night, had essentially identical plots, though the images were different. Both had 14 items, seven healthy and seven sickly and thin. In both dreams the seven healthy things appeared first, only to be consumed by the afflicted ones. Both were symbolic since they contained features not found in the real world.

41:8 These dreams clearly indicated trouble, but exactly what trouble was the question. To unravel the mystery, Pharaoh called for all the court magicians, who would have received instruction from ancient Egyptian scrolls of dream interpretation; some of these ancient scrolls, dating to the Twelfth Dynasty (1973–1786 b.c.), have been recovered by archaeologists.

41:14 Prior to entering the royal court Joseph had to be shaved—probably both his beard and scalp—and he put on raiment made of linen, as was appropriate for the Egyptian court. Joseph's change in appearance mirrored the change that was about to occur in his career.

41:15-16 Fluent in the Egyptian language after 13 years in the land, Joseph listened intently as Pharaoh described his problem. With humility Joseph confessed to Pharaoh that he was unable to interpret the dreams, but confidently added that his God would give Pharaoh the information he desired.

41:21 As Pharoah repeated his account of the dreams, he added that the ill favoured cows still appeared wasted after they had eaten the fat ones.

41:25-32 Joseph prefaced his interpretation with three important insights: first, Pharaoh actually had only one dream. Second, the dream's source was the one true God. Third, it revealed what God was about to do. He concluded with the observation that the one dream was given twice because God was certain to bring it to pass.

41:33-36 Joseph advised Pharaoh to take four steps in preparation for the upcoming 14-year cycle of events in order to create a food reserve for the seven years of famine.

41:37-46 Joseph's insight into the dream, along with his ability to devise such a wise plan, convinced Pharaoh that Joseph had the Spirit of God in him. Pharaoh gave Joseph the Egyptian name Zaphnath-paaneah ("Then God Said, 'Let Him Live'") and a wife of high social status. Asenath ("She Who Belongs to the Goddess Neith") was the daughter of Potiphera priest of On (Heliopolis), the prestigious religious center of solar worship in ancient Egypt. Joseph, who was now 30 years old, had been transformed by God in 13 years from an imprisoned foreign slave to the world's second most powerful man. He who had spent years in prison now went throughout all the land of Egypt overseeing a project that would save the lives of untold thousands.

41:49 In this context, corn refers to cereal grains. It was probably wheat, barley, and spelt.

41:50-52 In addition to God's blessing on the harvests, God blessed Joseph's personal life with two sons. Manasseh's name reflected the fact that God had helped Joseph forget his toil both in Egypt and in his father's house, with its sordid background of rape (34:2), murder (34:25-26), incest (35:22), deception (34:13), and betrayal (37:28). Ephraim's name confessed that God had made Joseph fruitful in a land where he had once been treated as a despised felon.

41:53-57 As Joseph, guided by God's revelation, had said, after seven years of plenteousness famine struck all lands in the region, even beyond Egypt's borders. Pharaoh directed the people to go unto Joseph, who sold grain unto the Egyptians to preserve the lives of his adopted countrymen. However, as other nations learned of Egypt's food supply, the whole affected part of the world also came to Joseph. As it would for thousands of years beyond this point, Egypt proved to be the breadbasket for the Mediterranean world.

42:1-38 In many ways this chapter reuses the elements of chapters 37–38. Members of Jacob's clan go to Egypt, are unjustly accused of a crime they did not commit, one (Simeon) is imprisoned under false pretenses, several of the brothers acquire silver after consigning a brother to live in Egypt, the (supposed) eldest living son of Rachel is forced to go to Egypt, and Jacob is made to grieve over Rachel's son.

42:1-5 News of Egypt's willingness to sell corn to outsiders reached Jacob. Since he was the patriarch and chief decision maker of the clan, it was Jacob's responsibility to look out for the clan's welfare. He had the right to order the rest of the adult males to go down to Egypt to buy grain. In a virtual replay of chapter 37, Jacob sent Joseph's ten brethren out to do the family's work, but he spared a son of his beloved late wife Rachel (Benjamin).

42:6-8 Since Joseph was the governor over the land of Egypt, his first responsibility was to meet the needs of his own people. Nevertheless, he did permit sales to non-Egyptians who posed no threat to Egypt. When Joseph's older brethren . . . bowed down themselves before him, they fulfilled Joseph's prophetic dreams (37:7,9). Joseph had not seen his brothers for 20 years, yet he knew them immediately. But the brothers did not recognize him; as a top Egyptian official Joseph had no hair on his head, wore eye makeup and expensive clothing, and spoke fluent Egyptian.

42:9 Joseph remembered his dreams about his brothers and their treacherous actions against him, so he devised a test to see if they had changed during the past two decades: he accused them of being spies sent to identify the nakedness (vulnerability) of the land. They immediately denied the charges, supporting their claim by telling him they were all sons of one man (v. 11)—members of a single clan, not a large coalition of enemies poised to strike Egypt. Furthermore, it was a relatively small clan, with only 12 brethren (by comparison, Gideon had 70 sons, Judg. 9:2), and one of them was no longer living.

42:14-20 As part of his test Joseph threatened to keep nine of the brothers imprisoned, letting one return to Canaan and come back with their youngest brother Benjamin. To give all 10 of them a small taste of what they had made him experience, Joseph had them imprisoned for three days. After their initial "shock probation" Joseph softened his initial conditions, requiring that only one of them be confined to prison while the rest returned to Jacob. Before leaving, however, they consented to bring Benjamin back to Egypt. Joseph probably made them do this to make sure they would not do to Benjamin what they had done to him.

42:21-26 The brothers' harsh treatment in Egypt—the land where they had once sent Joseph—as well as the stiff demands placed on them made it plain to them that they were being punished for what they had done to their brother 20 years earlier. Reuben, eldest of the group and the one who had kept Joseph from being killed by his brothers (37:22), interpreted the current events as a divine accounting for Joseph's blood, i.e., his death. Reuben's earlier defense of Joseph and his current rebuke of his brothers may explain why second-born Simeon was detained instead of Reuben.

Joseph, whose heart—but not his outward appearance—had been softened toward his brothers by Reuben's comments, understood the words the brothers spoke in Hebrew, turned away from his brothers, and wept. After dismissing his brothers Joseph compassionately provided them not only with corn for the family, but returned every man's money into his sack and gave them provision for their journey. Joseph's act of kindness was probably also meant to test the brothers' character; if they were honest they would return the money.

42:27-35 Joseph's brothers, who had once traded Joseph's life for money, now felt their hearts "depart" (failed) when they received this money from him. Worried that they would be pursued as criminals, they trembled in fear of what God had done to them. Upon their return home Jacob was greeted by only nine sons. The matter worsened when he was told that the brothers were taken for spies, and the clan could get Simeon back and traffick for additional food in Egypt only if the men brought back their youngest brother Benjamin. Everyone became even more afraid when they found a bundle of money in each man's sack; now all nine brothers could be imprisoned as thieves if they ever returned to Egypt.

42:36-38 Reduced to despair by his sons' report, Jacob responded by saying, all these things are against me! Perhaps Jacob even doubted God's repeated promise to bless him (32:39; 35:9). His adamant refusal to let Benjamin go down with his brothers to Egypt was understandable but irrational, since it meant that the entire clan would die of starvation. Reuben, who had once saved Joseph's life (37:22), now stepped forward to save the clan. He countered his father's fears of losing Benjamin by offering to experience the loss of two of his four sons (Exod. 6:14) if anything happened to him in a return trip to Egypt. If Benjamin died, Reuben would experience a proportionately worse fate than his father. However, Reuben's argument had no effect on Jacob; if Jacob's son should die, it would not make him feel better to kill two of his grandchildren as well.

43:1-10 Two years into the famine (cp. 45:6), Jacob's family had eaten up the corn purchased by the brothers in Egypt. Jacob, as clan head, ordered nine of his sons to go back to Egypt and buy more food. Judah, Jacob's fourth-born but still the most trusted of his older sons (34:30; 35:22), reminded his father that he must send Benjamin to Egypt in order for the family to buy food. In response Jacob, who was known for his deceptions (27:12-27), accused his sons (ye) of causing much trouble by telling the Egyptian the truth (v. 6). Judah finally convinced his father to let his sons go by using two things. First, his father's own words: they must go that we may live, and not die (cp. 42:2), and second, his willingness to be surety for Benjamin's safety.

43:11-14 Jacob realized he had to send Benjamin to Egypt, but to increase the likelihood that his beloved son of Rachel would return safely, he directed his sons to give the Egyptian some of the best products associated with the land of Canaan. Hoping that his sons had not actually stolen the money, Jacob had them return the original money, taking double money. Finally, they were to travel with their brother Benjamin, accompanied by a prayer that God Almighty would secure the release of Simeon and Benjamin.

43:15-24 When the men returned to Joseph in Egypt, they were brought to Joseph's own house. They feared they were about to be arrested and made slaves as punishment for taking their original grain money back to Canaan, but Joseph's steward informed them that he had already received their money. All seemed well as Simeon was brought out of prison to them, and they were given a traditional sign of hospitality—water to wash their feet (18:4; 19:2).

43:25-28 Learning that they were to eat the noon meal—the first meal of the day—with Joseph, the brothers made ready the food present (v. 11) and then humbly offered it to Joseph (cp. 37:7,9). As they twice bowed they again fulfilled Joseph's dreams (37:7,9; 42:6).

43:29-31 Joseph confirmed the identity of his brother Benjamin, his mother's only other son and therefore his only full brother. Joseph's blessing on Benjamin in the name of God was the first time Joseph blessed one of his brothers. Though Joseph had been filled with emotion in the presence of his brothers earlier (42:24), the sight of Benjamin overwhelmed him. To retain his dignity he quickly entered into his chamber, and wept there. The fact that as an Egyptian official he was wearing eye makeup was probably in part why he washed his face before returning to the room.

43:32-34 Because of racial and cultural prejudice, the meal was served at two different tables. Joseph arranged for the brothers to be seated in order by age, from the firstborn to the youngest—a fact that created astonishment among them since it would have required a detailed knowledge of the family. Perhaps as a further test of the brothers, Benjamin's portion was five times larger than any of the other brothers'. Joseph may have made sure they got intoxicated to loosen the brothers' self-restraint; if they harbored any jealousy or hatred toward Benjamin, Rachel's son, it would be more likely to show.

44:2 Joseph secretly put in place the ultimate test of his older brothers, ordering the steward to put Joseph's ceremonial silver cup in the mouth of Benjamin's bag. By watching the other brothers' response to Benjamin's trouble, Joseph would be able to observe firsthand the other brothers' true character.

44:4-13 Joseph then ordered his steward to overtake the small caravan. Armed with a scripted accusation regarding the ceremonial cup, the steward confronted the group. Joseph mentions divination as part of the ploy to make the brothers think this is a very valuable cup; there is no evidence that he actually practiced divination. At a later time, divination was officially prohibited for Israelites in the law (Lev. 19:26; Deut. 18:10).

The brothers responded with disbelief and disavowal to the steward's accusation. Quickly mounting a defense, they first provided evidence of their honesty: they had brought back the money found in their sacks after the first journey. Next they proposed a harsh punishment for any of their number caught with the bowl—he must die. Finally, they offered the remaining 10 of their group as lifelong slaves.

Rejecting their excessive offer, the steward indicated that only the guilty party would become his servant. Though the steward gave the innocent brothers permission to return home, they all returned to the city in a show of solidarity with Benjamin.

44:14-17 Jacob's most trusted son, Judah (see note at 43:1-10), spoke for the group. Bowing to the ground before Joseph (cp. 37:7,9), Judah confessed that God had found out the men's iniquity—a reference to the sins against Joseph more than 20 years earlier (37:18-28). Second, Judah maintained the group's solidarity by indicating that all the brothers, not just Benjamin, would become my lord's servants. Joseph's immediate rejection of the offer would have added more tension to the situation.

44:18-29 Judah's speech, the longest in the Bible by any of Jacob's sons (218 Hebrew words), marks the turning point in the relationship between Joseph and his brothers. In a display of great humility, Judah referred to Joseph on seven occasions as my lord, and on 12 occasions referred to himself and members of his clan as Joseph's servants. After a representation of three contentious conversations—one that the brothers had had with Joseph (v v. 19-23; 42:13-20) and two involving Jacob (v v. 25-29; 42:38; 43:2-7)—Judah said that his father would die of grief if anything happened to Benjamin.

44:30-34 Judah had once separated his father Jacob from a son of Rachel by making Joseph a slave in Egypt (37:26-27). Later, to save the life of the clan, he had voluntarily made himself accountable to his father for the well-being of Benjamin, Rachel's only other son besides Joseph (43:8-9). Now Benjamin, like his older brother Joseph, was on the verge of being made a slave in Egypt. Knowing that he would always bear the blame for sinning against his father if Benjamin did not return home, Judah volunteered to abide in Egypt as Joseph's slave.

45:1-4 Joseph was overwhelmed by Judah's words. Not wishing to lose his dignity before his Egyptian attendants, he ordered everyone but his brothers out of the room. Joseph then released more than 20 years of pent-up emotions, weeping so loudly that the Egyptians outside the room heard it. Joseph's revelation of his true identity—undoubtedly spoken in Hebrew, not Egyptian—so terrified (troubled) his brothers that they could not answer his question about his father's well-being. Violating protocol, Joseph ordered the brothers to come near to him so he could speak to them more intimately, this time explicitly identifying himself.

45:5-8 These verses stand as the theological high point of the account of Joseph's life (chaps. 37–50) and one of the most eloquent affirmations in the Bible regarding God's sovereignty in human events. With amazing spiritual maturity Joseph confessed that God had worked beyond the foul intentions of his older brothers to accomplish two vital things: to preserve life through Joseph's leadership leading up to and during the seven-year famine, and to preserve Israel's posterity in the earth. The word "posterity" (also translate "remnant" or "residue") is an important term used to refer to Israel as the people group who would pass along God's blessings throughout the generations (Ezra 9:8; Isa. 10:20; 28:5; Jer. 23:3). Three times Joseph affirmed that it was God—not his brothers—who had sent him to Egypt. Therefore the brothers did not need to be grieved, nor angry with themselves. Indeed, God had made Joseph a father—a top-level adviser—to Pharaoh, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

45:9-15 Joseph, who had once presented a plan to Pharaoh to save Egypt, now offered a plan to his brothers to save Israel's clan by moving them to Egypt to live in Goshen during the five more years of famine that were to come. Goshen was a region in the eastern portion of Egypt's Nile Delta and was also known as "the land of Rameses" (47:11). The brothers, who were still having trouble believing that Joseph was not only alive but a ruler in Egypt, watched as Joseph wept over meeting Benjamin and kissed all his brethren who had once plotted to kill him.

45:16-20 Affirming the commands Joseph had given, Pharaoh even provided wagons out of the land of Egypt to transport the weaker members of the clan and promised a good, rich location for their settlement.

45:24 The Hebrew behind Joseph's final command not to quarrel (See that ye fall not out) is unclear and may mean "Don't fear" or "Don't take undue risks."

45:25-28 Jacob experienced a storm of emotion when the group returned from Egypt. Initially he experienced relief, as all 11 brothers came back to him. His heart went numb (fainted) when he was told that Joseph was still alive. Jacob agreed to go and see him before he died. God's promise of blessing to Jacob (32:29; 35:9) had proven true.

46:1-4 Jacob, referred to here by his covenant name Israel, had God speak to him in the visions, the first vision granted to a patriarch since the days of Abraham (15:1). Calling the elderly patriarch's name twice—a practice in the Bible reserved for special revelatory moments (cp. 22:1; Exod. 3:4)—God, the God of Jacob's father made four important remarks to Jacob. First, He commanded Jacob not to be afraid to go down to Egypt, because He would go down with him. Second, God affirmed the generations-old promise to make Abraham's family line—represented through Jacob—a great nation, even in Egypt. Third, He promised to bring Israel's descendants back. Finally, God promised that Jacob's beloved son Joseph would put his hand upon the patriarch's eyes—i.e., be present at Jacob's death.

46:8-27 Not counting Jacob or his four wives, the list of those who came into Egypt contains the names of 71 people descended from Jacob/Israel. Since the list contains 71 descendants, the significance of the numbers 66 and 70 are debated. The total of 66 may be based on the fact that Jacob's daughter Dinah was not included, Er and Onan died before they could come to Egypt (38:7,10), and Manasseh and Ephraim were born in Egypt (41:50-52). Perhaps Dinah was not counted because she produced no children. Acts 7:14, reflecting the Septuagint, states 75 people went to Egypt; this number includes five more of Joseph's descendants: three grandsons and two great-grandsons (Num. 26:29,35-36).

46:28-30 As the group made its way to Goshen, Jacob sent his son Judah ahead to make arrangements for the long-awaited reunion between the clan leader and his most-beloved son. Leaving his duties at the royal court, Joseph traveled by chariot to Goshen to meet Israel his father. The meeting was satisfying to both parties, as Joseph at last threw his arms around his father, hugged him, and wept . . . a good while. For his part Jacob/Israel satisfied himself that Joseph was yet alive, thus extinguishing 20 years of grief. Jacob was now content that he could die in peace, though he would live an additional 17 years in Egypt (47:28).

Family of Abraham

46:31-34 Joseph now turned his attention to his brothers and the rest of his father's house. Anticipating tensions caused by cultural differences between Egyptians and Hebrews, Joseph informed his brothers of a plan that would guarantee them the right to dwell in the land of Goshen. First, he himself would inform Pharaoh that his father's house had arrived and that his family members were shepherds, an occupation considered an abomination unto the Egyptians. Then he would arrange for Pharaoh to meet with his family. If Pharoah asked about their occupation, they were to inform him that they and their fathers were men of cattle. Receiving this confirmation, Pharaoh would then issue a land grant to Jacob's clan, permitting them to reside in the eastern Nile Delta.

47:1-6 True to his word, Joseph met with Pharaoh. Joseph then presented only five of his brethren, possibly to prevent the Egyptian leader from thinking the clan would present a numerical threat to the land. As expected, Pharaoh asked Joseph's brothers what their occupation was, probably wanting to make sure the immigrants could make a contribution to Egyptian society and would pose no threat. When he learned that they were shepherds who wanted to settle in the land of Goshen—far away from the centers of Egyptian civilization in Joseph's day—he was pleased. Pharaoh decreed to Joseph that the clan of Jacob was to settle in the land of Goshen, the best of the land. Seeking to use the immigrants' talents for Egypt's benefit, Pharaoh requested that the most capable among them (men of activity) care for Pharaoh's own cattle.

47:7-10 The climax of the family's visit to the royal courts of Egypt was the introduction of the clan patriarch to the most powerful man in the world, as Joseph presented Jacob to Pharaoh. Jacob's initial (v. 7) and concluding (v. 10) blessings of Pharaoh fulfilled earlier prophecies (28:14; cp. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18). In the brief ceremonial meeting Pharaoh asked Jacob one question: his age. Jacob's response of 130 years marks him as one of the oldest men in postflood history. He would live to age 147 (v. 28), but was surpassed by the years of his fathers Abraham (175 years; 25:7) and Isaac (180 years; 35:28).

47:11 The land of Rameses is an alternate name for the land of Goshen and may be the result of a later scribe updating the place names, since the city named Pi-Ramesses (modern Qantir, 65 miles northeast of Cairo) served as Egypt's capital only from 1295–1065 b.c.—much later than the time of Jacob.

47:13-17 Just as the Lord had revealed to Joseph, the famine was so severe that neither Egypt nor Canaan could produce bread. However, because of Joseph's wise planning, the people could still purchase the grain he had stored up. But as the famine progressed, the region's inhabitants spent all their money. Joseph therefore authorized a barter system to trade cattle for food.

47:18-21 Consistent with cultures throughout Asia and Africa at that time, the Egyptians asked their government to buy them as slaves once all their resources were exhausted. Slavery was a universal practice in the region, and even impoverished Israelites were permitted to sell themselves as slaves during the OT period (Lev. 25:39-43). Such slavery was often temporary, and might be terminated when the debt was paid (Deut. 15:12). Joseph accepted their offer and took the additional step of removing the people to cities during the famine, perhaps to make the food distribution program more efficient.

47:23-26 Though the citizens gave up ownership of their land, Joseph permitted them to continue working their old fields. The requirement to give a fifth of their produce to Pharaoh was far less than the two-thirds to one-half rate that eighteenth-century b.c. Iraqi farmers paid Hammurabi after expenses. Egypt's citizens gratefully accepted Joseph's program. Joseph's policies produced such a stable society that they remained in effect in the days of the biblical writer hundreds of years later.

47:27 While the Egyptians were losing their possessions, land, and freedom because of the famine, the clan of Israel/Jacob prospered. The contrast at this point between Egypt and Israel could hardly be more complete, though the situation would be reversed later (Exod. 1:8-11).

47:28-31 As Jacob's death approached, he called for his son Joseph (cp. 46:4) and made him swear a solemn oath while his hand was under Jacob's thigh, an act that expressed great trust and accompanied only the most serious requests (cp. 24:2-4). Jacob asked to be buried in the promised land with his fathers . . . in their buryingplace near Hebron in the cave at Machpelah (23:19; 25:9; 35:27-29; 50:13).

48:1-6 Joseph, accompanied by his two eldest sons, visited Jacob again. Summoning his strength on this last day of his life, Jacob sat upon the bed and spoke with Joseph of how God Almighty (El Shaddai; see note at 17:1) gave a second revelation to him at Beth-el, more than 50 years earlier (35:9-12). Recounting God's promise to make him fruitful, Jacob now became even more fruitful by adopting Ephraim and Manasseh, counting them as his primary heirs (1 Chron. 5:1). They would receive the blessings of the first- and second-born, instead of Reuben and Simeon, who had previously dishonored Jacob (Gen. 34:25-30). Any other sons born to Joseph would be recorded under the names of their older brothers, and their inheritance would be split with the sons of Ephraim and Manasseh.

48:9-11 Jacob used his last measure of strength to bless his sons, beginning with the two newly adopted ones. Before blessing them, Jacob kissed . . . and embraced them (cp. 27:26-27). Though his eyes were poor because of old age (cp. 27:1), God let him see once more not only Joseph but also his seed.

48:13-16 Joseph presented Ephraim (at his right hand side) and Manasseh (at his left hand side) to Jacob in hopes that Jacob would reach out with his right hand and confer the greater blessing to the elder son, Manasseh. But Jacob crossed his arms and put his right hand on Ephraim's head, who was the younger, thus conferring the greater blessing on him. Jacob then blessed Joseph, but because his two hands were on Joseph's sons, it was they who received the blessing. Calling on the God of his fathers Abraham and Isaac, who had fed him like a shepherd (cp. Ps. 23:1; 80:1; Ezek. 34:11-12; John 10:11) all his life, Jacob's requests on behalf of Ephraim and Manasseh included that they would be called by the names of Jacob, Abraham and Isaac, that is, that they would identify with God's covenant people, not with Egyptian culture and religion.

48:17-20 Frustrated because it seemed that his blind father had made a mistake, Joseph held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head. Emboldened by prophetic insight, however, Jacob refused to move his hands, because by God's own hand Ephraim's blessings were ordained to exceed Manasseh's. Manasseh would become a people, but his younger brother Ephraim would become something more—a multitude of nations. Even so, both would be blessed so richly that in the future Israel would invoke blessings by asking God to make someone like Ephraim and Manasseh. The placement of Ephraim's name before Manasseh's foreshadowed his later superiority. Because of Ephraim's leading position in later Israelite history, prophets often referred to the entire northern kingdom of Israel as Ephraim (Isa. 7:5; Jer. 31:20; Ezek. 37:16; Hos. 5:13; Zech. 10:7).

48:21 Jacob promised Joseph that God would be with him (39:2,21,23) and would bring him back to the land of his fathers, i.e., Canaan (50:25; Exod. 13:19; Josh. 24:32; Acts 7:14-16).

49:1 As he spoke his dying words, Jacob was essentially blind (48:10), but he retained a clear prophetic insight of the last days (Num. 24:14; Deut. 31:2; Isa. 2:2).

49:3-27 Jacob's prophetic words to his 12 sons were delivered in three units: those delivered to (1) the sons of Leah (v v. 3-15); (2) the sons of the concubines Bilhah and Zilpah (v v. 16-21); and (3) the sons of Rachel (v v. 22-27).

49:3-4 As the oldest son in a Semitic family Reuben was poised to lead the clan when his father died. However, Reuben lost his rights as firstborn because he had intimate relations with Jacob's wife Bilhah (35:22). Ephraim would take his place.

49:5-7 Simeon and Levi are grouped together because in their anger they conspired together to kill the men of Shechem (34:25-29). The phrase they digged down a wall could also be translated "they hamstrung oxen." Their out-of-control anger at Dinah's rape (34:2) cost them the full measure of their inheritance. Historically, Simeon's land allotment was shared with Judah (Josh. 19:9), and the Levites were never given a region to call their own; they had to live in other tribes' cities (Josh. 14:3-4).

49:8-12 Judah, Jacob's fourth-born son, received the second-longest of the blessings, behind Joseph's (55 vs. 61 Hebrew words). The scepter and lawgiver (staff)—symbols of kingship in ancient Israel—foretold the establishment of the Davidic dynasty as Israel's kings (2 Sam. 7:8-16). As reflected in the passage, Shiloh (lit "him to whom it—the scepter—belongs") and him of verse 10b have been understood for thousands of years as messianic references (Ezek. 21:27) and, for Christians, a prophecy of Jesus' coming. The references to wine and milk imply abundance.

49:13 Though the territorial allotment of Zebulun, Jacob's tenth-born son, was landlocked (Josh. 19:10-16), Jacob's mention of an haven of ships may refer to the prosperity of the sea trade associated with the Mediterranean coastal city of Zidon (aka Sidon). Alternatively, Jacob may have referred to Zebulun's territorial division that was later mentioned in Ezek. 48:26.

49:14-15 Jacob's ninth-born son Issachar was prophetically compared to a strong ass situated between two burdens. Though the descendants of Issachar would live in a land that was pleasant (Josh. 19:17-22), they would be compelled to do the work of a servant—probably a reference to the oppression this tribe suffered at the hands of their own leaders and foreign invaders.

49:16-17 Jacob used a wordplay to describe the key positive action associated with his fifth-born son: Dan shall judge (Hb dan yadin; "the judging one will judge")—a possible prophetic reference to Samson's work (Judg. 15:20). Dan was compared to a serpent, the enemy of humanity in the garden of Eden. The comparison is to an animal with venom so poisonous that it could kill a horse. This contrast between images foreshadows the checkered history of the tribe of Dan. On the one hand, it was the second most populous tribe (Num. 2:26); on the other hand, it could not defeat the Canaanite inhabitants in its territory and so abandoned its allotment (Josh. 19:47). Though Samson led Israel for 20 years, the Danites also played a leading role in encouraging idolatry in Israel (Judg. 18:14-27; 1 Kings 12:28-30).

49:18 Jacob paused in his last words to express his faith in the Lord.

49:19 Gad, Jacob's seventh-born son, was once associated with good fortune (30:11). However, in an involved wordplay (Hb gad gedud yegudennu) Jacob prophesied that Gad would be overcome by a troop, a reference to its vulnerability east of the Jordan River. But Jacob praised the tenacity of the Gadites because they would not give up.

49:20 Asher, Jacob's eighth-born, was prophetically foreseen to enjoy prosperity that, associated with its coastal land allotment, would yield royal dainties supporting Israel's prosperity.

49:21 Jacob's sixth-born son, Naphtali, whose descendants would live just west of the Sea of Galilee, was foreseen to produce a people who would be free like a hind let loose. Naphtali's tribal territory had no northern boundary—the tribe was free to expand its holdings to whatever extent it was able to do so.

49:22-26 Jacob's longest blessing (61 Hebrew words) was associated with Joseph, Rachel's firstborn son (his eleventh son). This section contains the largest number and variety of references to God (five: mighty God of Jacob . . . shepherd . . . stone of Israel . . . God of thy father . . . Almighty) and the greatest number of references to "blessing" (six: one verb, five nouns).

49:27 Jacob's final prophetic blessing was reserved for his last-born son Benjamin. Metaphorically compared to a wolf, Jacob identified him as one who will tear and devour prey and divide the spoil. Benjamin's descendants were thus characterized as dangerous fighters, but also as ones who would provide benefits for others. Benjamin's fighting skills were most clearly seen in the sordid events of Judg. 20:14-25, but more positively in the capable military leadership of Saul and Jonathan (1 Sam. 11:4-11; 14:1-23,47-48). Benjamin was the fifth of the sons to be prophetically compared to an animal (also Judah: lion; Issachar: donkey; Dan: snake; Naphtali: deer).

49:28 Each blessing Jacob pronounced would prove suitable to later realities.

49:29-33 The dying patriarch emphasized two matters in his final words: where he was to be buried, and with whom he was to be buried. The burial site was in Canaan, two miles north of Hebron and some 17 miles west of the Dead Sea. Wishing to reestablish family solidarity in death, Jacob asked to be buried with his grandparents Abraham and Sarah his wife, his parents Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and his first wife Leah.

His last request made and his strength now spent, Jacob drew his feet into the bed and died. At death Jacob was spiritually gathered unto his people; as his sons fulfilled his request, his physical remains would soon be gathered to those of his ancestors (50:7). Jacob, who had spent 17 years in Egypt (47:28), outlived the famine by approximately 12 years.

50:1-3 Joseph, who was physically closest to his father at the moment of his death, embraced him. The usual Hebrew custom was to practice same-day burial without embalming; however, embalming was necessary to prepare Jacob's body for the journey to Canaan. Egyptian embalming, which took 40 days to complete, was normally a religious practice performed by priests to prepare the person for the afterlife; the fact that Joseph used physicians rather than priests to perform the task may suggest that he had rejected Egyptian afterlife beliefs and wished to avoid giving a different impression.

The 70 days of mourning probably reflected Egyptian customs associated with the deaths of particularly important individuals; normal Hebrew mourning periods were either seven days (1 Sam. 31:13) or 30 days (one lunar cycle; Deut. 34:8).

50:4-9 When the 70 days of his mourning were past, Joseph went to Pharaoh, asking permission to bury his father in the land of Canaan. Joseph probably had reduced access to Pharaoh by now, which was about 12 years after the famine ended and the crisis Joseph had handled so well was long past. Even so, Pharaoh granted him permission to go and bury his father, thus fulfilling the oath Joseph had made to his dying father (47:29-31). In contrast, 400 years later the Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go (Exod. 5:1-2).

As a sign of Pharaoh's continuing gratitude for Joseph's work, he permitted all his servants, . . . the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt—a considerable number of high-ranking Egyptian politicians—to accompany all the adult members of the clan of Jacob on the journey to Canaan. Chariots and horsemen, prestigious transportation used only by members of the Egyptian aristocracy, were part of a very great company to Canaan.

50:10-14 When the group crossed the Jordan River into Canaan, they camped at the open, level threshingfloor of Atad and went through a Hebrew mourning ritual. The presence of a large number of Egyptians publicly displaying solemn mourning so impressed the local Canaanites that they renamed the place Abel-mizraim ("The Meadow of Egypt"), a wordplay on a Semitic word for weeping ('ebel).

50:15-21 With Jacob now dead, Joseph's older brothers feared for their lives and hoped the words purportedly spoken by Jacob before he died would protect them from Joseph's wrath. They were so afraid of Joseph that they did not dare at first to come to him personally; instead they only sent a messenger entreating him to forgive his brethren for their trespass and sin, especially since they were servants of the God of his father—that is, they worshipped the same God that Joseph did. Perhaps the reason the brothers came to Joseph was that they heard he had wept when he received their message. To maximize their chances of survival they bowed down before him (cp. 37:7,9) and offered themselves as his personal servants.

Joseph refused their offer. They were servants of God, not of him, and he would not put himself in the place of God to make them his slaves. He admitted that his older brothers meant evil against him, but with great spiritual insight he also confessed that God meant it unto good, to bring to pass the survival of many people (see note at 45:5-8). God had transformed the soot of human sin into a diamond of divine blessing (Rom. 8:28; 1 Pet. 2:24). Far from being embittered, Joseph was emboldened to take care of the very ones who had tried to kill him, along with their little ones.

50:22-23 God's blessing on Joseph's life is apparent as he lived 110 years, 93 of them in Egypt, 80 as a ruler there. He lived to see the third generation of descendants through Ephraim, a phrase that could refer either to great-grandsons or great-great-grandsons. A further sign of God's blessing was the fact that Gilead (Num. 26:29) and other great-grandsons by Machir son of Manasseh were born upon Joseph's knees, that is, they were ritually adopted by him (Gen. 30:3; Ruth 4:16).

50:24-26 As Joseph was about to die, some 54 years after his father Jacob's death, he called his brethren to him for one last time and gave them two prophetic promises. First, that God would surely visit (come to help) their descendants. Second, that God would indeed bring their descendants up from Egypt to the land He promised to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob (12:7; 13:15,17; 15:7,18; 24:7; 26:3; 28:13).

After Joseph died, he was embalmed—one of only two persons in the Bible said to have been embalmed (also Jacob; see v. 2 and note at v v. 1-3). His preserved body was then put in a coffin, awaiting a future day when it was to be carried by Moses and the Israelites to the promised land (Exod. 13:19; Josh. 24:32).

The Nile is the basis of Egypt's very life and wealth. It is the only river to flow northwards across the Sahara. Egypt was unique as an agricultural community in not being dependent on rainfall. The secret was the black silt deposited on the fields by the annual flood caused when the Blue Nile was swollen by the run-off from the winter rains in Ethiopia. This silt was remarkably fertile. Irrigation waters, raised laboriously from the river, let the Egyptians produce many varieties of crops in large quantities (Gen. 42:1-2; Num. 11:5). If the winter rains failed, the consequent small or nonexistent inundation resulted in disastrous famine: some are recorded as lasting over a number of years (Gen. 41). This photo shows the striking contrast between the ribbon of land in which the rich silt was deposited annually and the desert-like land in the background.

Genesis Cross-References

a 1:1 John 1:1-2; Heb. 1:10

bPs. 8:3; 33:6; 89:11-12; 102:25; 136:5; 146:6; Isa. 44:24; Jer. 10:12; 51:15; Zech. 12:1; Acts 14:15; 17:24; Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 11:3; Rev. 4:11; 10:6

c 1:2 Ps. 33:6; Isa. 40:13-14

d 1:3 Ps 33:9

e2 Cor. 4:6

f 1:5 Ps 74:16; 104:20

g 1:6 Job 37:18; Ps 136:5; Jer.10:12; 51:15

h 1:7 Prov. 8:28

iPs. 148:4

j 1:9 Job 26:10; 38:8; Ps. 33:7; 95:5; 104:9; 136:6; Prov. 8:29 Jer. 5:22; 2 Pet. 3:5

a 1:11 Heb. 6:7

bLuke 6:44

c 1:14 Deut. 4:19; Ps. 74:16; 136:7

dPs. 74:17; 104:19

e 1:16 Ps. 136:7-9; 148:3,5

fPs. 8:3

gJob 38:7

h 1:18 Jer. 31:35

i 1:21 ch. 6:20; 7:14; 8:19; Ps. 104:26

j 1:22 ch. 8:17

k 1:26 ch. 5:1; 9:6; Ps. 100:3; Eccl. 7:29; Acts 17:20,28-29; 1 Cor. 11:7; Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10; James 3:9

lch. 9:2; Ps. 87:6

a 1:27 1 Cor. 11:7

bch. 5:2; Mal. 2:15; Matt. 19:4; Mark 10:6

c 1:28 ch. 9:1-7; Lev. 26:9; Ps. 127:3; 128:3-4

d 1:29 ch. 9:3; Job 36:31; Ps. 104:14-15; 136:25; 146:7; Acts 14:17

e 1:30 Ps. 145:15-16; 147:9

fJob 38:41

g 1:31 Ps. 104:24; 1 Tim. 4:4

h 2:1 Ps. 33:6

i 2:2 Exod. 20:11; 31:17; Deut. 5:14; Heb. 4:4

j 2:3 Neh. 9:14; Isa. 58:13

k 2:4 ch. 1:1; Ps. 90:1-2

l 2:5 ch. 1:12; Ps. 104:14

a 2:5 Job 38:26-28

bch. 3:23

c 2:7 ch. 3:19,23; Ps. 103:14; Eccl. 12:7; Isa. 64:8; 1 Cor. 15:47

dJob 33:4; Acts 17:25

ech. 7:22; Isa. 2:22

f1 Cor. 15:45

g 2:8 ch. 13:10; Isa. 51:3; Ezek. 28:13; Joel 2:3

hch. 3:24

ich. 4:16; 2 Kings 19:12; Ezek. 27:23

jver. 15

k 2:9 Ezek. 31:8

lch. 3:22; Prov. 3:18; 11:30; Rev. 2:7; 22:2,14

mver. 17

n 2:11 ch. 25:18

o 2:12 Num. 11:7

p 2:14 Dan. 10:4

q 2:15 ver. 8

r 2:17 ver. 9

sch. 3:1,3,11,17

tch. 3:3,19; Rom. 6:23; 1 Cor. 15:56; James 1:15; 1 John 5:16

a 2:18 ch. 3:12; 1 Cor. 11:9; 1 Tim. 2:13

b 2:19 ch. 1:20,24

cPs. 8:6; See ch. 6:20

d 2:21 ch. 15:12; 1 Sam. 26:12

e 2:22 Prov. 18:22; Heb. 13:4

f 2:23 ch. 29:14; Judg. 9:2; 2 Sam. 5:1; 19:13; Eph. 5:30

g1 Cor. 11:8

h 2:24 ch. 31:15; Ps. 45:10; Matt. 19:5; Mark 10:7; 1 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 5:31

i 2:25 ch. 3:7,10-11

jExod. 32:25; Isa. 47:3

k 3:1 Rev. 12:9; 20:2

lMatt. 10:16; 2 Cor. 11:3

m 3:3 ch. 2:17

n 3:4 ver. 13: 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14

o 3:5 ver. 7; Acts 26:18

a 3:6 1 Tim. 2:14

bver. 12,17

c 3:7 ver. 5

dch. 2:25

e 3:8 Job 38:1

fJob 31:33; Jer. 23:24; Amos 9:3

g 3:10 ch. 2:25; Exod. 3:6; 1 John 3:20

h 3:12 ch. 2: 18; Job 31:33; Prov. 28:13

i 3:13 ver. 4; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14

j 3:14 Exod. 21:29,32

kIsa. 65:25; Mic. 7:17

l 3:15 Matt. 3:7; 13:38; 23:33; John 8:44; Acts 13:10; 1 John 3:8

mPs. 132:11; Isa. 7:14; Mic. 5:3; Matt. 1:23-25; Luke 1:31,34-35; Gal. 4:4

nRom. 16:20; Col. 2:15; Heb. 2:14; 1 John 5:5; Rev. 12:7,17

o Ps. 48:6; Isa. 13:8; 21:3; John 16:21; 1 Tim. 2:15

p 3:16 ch. 4:7

a 3:16 1 Cor. 11:3; 14:34; Eph. 5:22-24; 1 Tim. 2:11-12; Titus 2:5; 1 Pet. 3:1,5-6

b 3:17 1 Sam. 15:23

cver. 6

dch. 2:17

eEccl. 1:2-3; Isa. 24:5-6; Rom. 8:20

fJob 5:7; Eccl. 2:23

g 3:18 Job 31:40

hPs. 104:14

i 3:19 Eccl. 1:13; 2 Thess. 3:10

jch. 2:7

kJob 21:26; 34:15; Ps. 104:29; Eccl. 3:20; 12:7; Rom. 5:12; Heb. 9:27

l 3:22 ver. 5; Like Isa. 19:12; 47:12-13; Jer. 22:23

mch. 2:98

n 3:23 ch. 4:2; 9:20

o 3:24 ch. 2:8

pPs. 104:4; Heb. 1:7

q 4:2 ch. 3:23; 9:20

r 4:3 Num. 18:12

s 4:4 Num. 18:17; Prov. 3:9

tHeb. 11:4

u 4:5 ch. 31:2

a 4:8 Matt. 23:35; 1 John 3:12; Jude 11

b 4:9 Ps. 9:12

cJohn 8:44

d 4:10 Heb. 12:24; Rev. 6:10

e 4:14 Job 15:20-24

fPs. 51:11

gch. 9:6; Num. 35:19,21,27

h 4:15 Ps. 79:12

iEzek. 9:4,6

j 4:16 2 Kings 13:23; 24:20; Jer. 23:39; 52:3

k 4:17 Ps. 49:11

a 4:21 Rom. 4:11,12

b 4:24 ver. 15

c 4:25 ch. 5:3

d 4:26 ch. 5:6

e1 Kings 18:24; Ps. 116:17; Joel 2:32; Zeph. 3:9; 1 Cor. 1:2

f 5:1 1 Chron. 1:1; Luke 3:36

gch. 1:26; Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10

h 5:2 ch. 1:27

i 5:3 ch. 4:25

j 5:4 1 Chron. 1:1, etc.

kch. 1:28

l 5:5 ch. 3:19; Heb. 9:27

a 5:6 ch. 4:26

b 5:18 Jude 14:15

c 5:22 ch. 6:9; 17:1; 24:40; 2 Kings 20:3; Ps. 16:8; 116:9; 128:1; Mic. 6:8; Mal. 2:6

d 5:24 2 Kings 2:11; Heb. 11:5

e 5:29 ch. 3:17; 4:11

a 5:32 ch. 6:10

bch. 10:21

c 6:1 ch. 1:28

d 6:2 Deut. 7:3-4

e 6:3 Gal. 5:16-17; 1 Pet. 3:19-20

fPs. 78:39

a 6:5 ch. 8:21; Deut. 29:19; Prov. 6:18; Matt. 15:19

b 6:6 See Num. 23:19; 1 Sam. 15:11,29; 2 Sam. 24:16; Mal. 3:6; James 1:17

cIsa. 63:10; Eph. 4:30

d 6:8 ch. 19:19; Exod. 33:12-13,16-17; Luke 1:30; Acts 7:46

e 6:9 ch. 7:1; Ezek. 14:14,20; Rom. 1:17; Heb. 11:7; 2 Pet. 2:5

fch. 5:22

g 6:10 ch. 5:32

h 6:11 ch. 7:1; 10:9; 13:13; 2 Chron. 34:27; Luke 1:6; Rom. 2:13; 3:19

iEzek. 8:17; 28:16; Hab. 2:8,17

j 6:12 ch. 18:21; Ps. 14:2; 33:13-14; 53:2-3

k 6:13 Jer. 51:13; Ezek. 7:2-3,6; Amos 8:2; 1 Pet. 4:7

lver. 17

a 6:17 ver. 13; ch. 7:4,21-23; 2 Pet. 2:5

b 6:18 ch. 7:1,7,13; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5

c 6:19 ch. 7:8-9,15-16

d 6:20 ch. 7:9,15; See ch. 2:19

e 6:22 Heb. 11:7; See Exod. 40:16

fch. 7:5,9,16

g 7:1 ver. 7,13; Matt. 24:38; Luke 17:26; Heb. 11:7; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5

hch. 6:9; Ps. 33:18-19; Prov. 10:9; 2 Pet. 2:9

i 7:2 ver. 8; Lev. ch. 11

jLev. 10:10; Ezek. 44:23

k 7:4 ver. 12,17

a 7:5 ch. 6:22

b 7:7 ver. 1

c 7:11 ch. 8:2; Prov. 8:28; Ezek. 26:19

dch. 1:7; 8:2; Ps. 78:23

e 7:12 ver. 4:17

f 7:13 ver. 1,7; ch. 6:18; Heb. 11:7; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5

g 7:14 ver. 2-3,8-9

a 7:15ch. 6:20

b 7:16 ver. 2-3

c 7:17 ver. 4,12

d 7:18 Ps. 104:26

e 7:19 Ps. 104:6; Jer. 3:23

f 7:21 ver. 4; ch. 6:13,17; Job 22:16; Matt. 24:39; Luke 17:27; 2 Pet. 3:6

g 7:22 ch. 2:7

h 7:23 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5; 3:6

i 7:24 ch. 8:3-4 compared with ver. 11 of this chap.

j 8:1 ch. 19:29; Exod. 2:24; 1 Sam. 1:19

kExod. 14:21

l 8:2 ch. 7:11

mJob 38:37

n 8:3 ch. 7:24

o 8:6 ch. 6:16

a 8:16 ch. 7:13

b 8:17 ch. 7:15

cch. 1:22

d 8:20 Lev. ch. 11

e 8:21 Lev. 1:9; Ezek. 20:41; 2 Cor. 2:15; Eph. 5:2

fch. 3:17; 6:17

gch. 6:5; Job 14:4; 15:14; Ps. 51:5; Jer. 17:9; Matt. 15:19; Rom. 1:21; 3:23

hch. 9:11,15

i 8:22 Isa. 54:8

jJer. 33:20,25

k 9:1 ver. 7,19; ch. 1:28; 10:32

l 9:2 ch. 1:28; Hos. 2:18

a 9:3 Deut. 12:15; 14:3,9,11; Acts 10: 12-13

bch. 1:29

cRom. 14:14,20; 1 Cor. 10:23,26; Col. 2:16; 1 Tim. 4:3-4

d 9:4 Lev. 17:10-11,14; 19:26; Deut. 12:23; 1 Sam. 14:34; Acts 15:20,29

e 9:5 Exod. 21:28

fch. 4:9-10; Ps. 9:12

g 9:5 Acts 17:26

h 9:6 Exod. 21:12,14; Lev. 24:17; Matt. 26:52; Rev. 13:10

ich. 1:27

j 9:7 ver. 1,19; ch. 1:28

k 9:9 ch. 6:18

lIsa. 54:9

m 9:10 Ps. 145:9

n 9:11 Isa. 54:9

o 9:12 ch. 17:11

p 9:13 Rev. 4:3

q 9:15 Exod. 28:12; Lev. 26:42,45; Ezek. 16:60

r 9:16 ch. 17:13,19

s 9:18 ch. 10:6

t 9:19 ch. 5:32

uch. 10:32; 1 Chron. 1:4, etc.

a 9:20 ch. 3:19,23; 4:2; Prov. 12:11

b 9:21 Prov. 20:1; 1 Cor. 10:12

c 9:23 Exod. 20:12; Gal. 6:1

d 9:25 Deut. 27:16

eJosh. 9:23; 1 Kings 9:20-21

f 9:26 Ps. 144:15; Heb. 11:16

g 9:27 Eph. 2:13-14; 3,6

h 10:1 ch. 9:1,7,19

i 10:2 1 Chron. 1:5, etc.

j 10:5 Ps. 72:10; Jer. 2:10; 25:22; Zeph. 2:11

k 10:6 1 Chron. 1:8, etc.

a 10:9 Jer. 16:16; ic. 7:2

bch. 6:11

c 10:10 Mic. 5:6

d 10:14 1 Chron. 1:12

e 10:19 ch. 13:12,14-15,17; 15:18-21; Num. 34:2-12; Josh. 12:7,8

a 10:22 1 Chron. 1:17, etc.

b 10:24 ch. 11:12

c 10:25 1 Chron. 1:19

d 10:32ver. 1

ech. 9:19

f 11:4 Deut. 1:28

g 11:5 ch. 18:21

h 11:6 ch. 9:19; Acts 17:26

iver. 1

a 11:6 Ps. 2:1

b 11:7 ch. 1:26; Ps. 2:4; Acts 2:4-6

cch. 42:23; Deut. 28:49; Jer. 5:15; 1 Cor. 14:2,11

d 11:8 Luke 1:51

ech. 10:25,32

f 11:9 1 Cor. 14:23

g 11:10 ch. 10:22; 1 Chron. 1:17

h 11:12 See Luke 3:36

i 11:16 1 Chron. 1:19

jCalled, Luke 3:35, Phalec

k 11:20 Luke 3:35, Saruch

l 11:24 Luke 3:34, Thara

m 11:26 Josh. 24:2; 1 Chron. 1:26

a 11:29 ch. 17:15; 20:12

bch. 22:20

c 11:30 ch. 16:1-2; 18:11-12

d 11:31 ch. 12:1

eNeh. 9:7; Acts 7:4

fch. 10:19

g 12:1 ch. 15:7; Neh. 9:7; Isa. 41:2; Acts 7:3; Heb. 11:8

h 12:2 ch. 17:6; 18:18; Deut. 26:5; 1 Kings 3:8

ich. 24:35

jch. 28:4; Gal. 3:14

k 12:3 ch. 27:29; Exod. 23:22; Num. 24:9

lch. 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; Ps. 72:17; Acts 3:25; Gal. 3:8

m 12:5 ch. 14:14

nch. 11:31

o 12:6 Heb. 11:9

pDeut. 11:30; Judg. 7:1

qch. 10:18-19; 13:7

r 12:7 ch. 17:1

sch. 13:15; 17:8; Ps. 105:9,11

tch. 13:4

u 12:8 ch. 13:4

a 12:9 ch. 13:3

b 12:10 ch. 26:1

cPs. 105:13

dch. 43:1

e 12:11 ver. 14; ch. 26:7

f 12:12 ch. 20:11; 26:7

g 12:13 ch. 20:5,13; See ch. 26:7

h 12:14 ch. 39:7; Matt. 5:28

i 12:15 ch. 20:2

j 12:16 ch. 20:14

k 12:17 ch. 20:18; 1 Chron. 16:21; Ps. 105:14; Heb. 13:4

l 12:18 ch. 20:9; 26:10

m 12:20 Prov. 21:1

n 13:1 ch. 12:9

o 13:2 ch. 24:35; Ps. 112:3; Prov. 10:22

p 13:3 ch. 12:8-9

q 13:4 ch. 12:7-8

rPs. 116:17

a 13:6 ch. 36:7

b 13:7 ch. 26:20

cch. 12:6

d 13:8 1 Cor. 6:7

e 13:9 ch. 20:15; 34:10

fRom. 12:18; Heb. 12:14; James 3:17

g 13:10 ch. 19:17; Deut. 34:3; Ps. 107:34

hch. 19:24-25

ich. 2:10; Isa. 51:3

jch. 14:2,8; 19:22

k 13:12 ch. 19:29

lch. 14:12; 19:1; 2 Pet. 2:7-8

m 13:13 ch. 18:20; Ezek. 16:49; 2 Pet. 2:7-8

nch. 6:11

o 13:14 ver. 11

pch. 28:14

q 13:15 ch. 12:7; 15:16; 17:8; 24:7; 26:4; Num. 34:12; Deut. 34:4; Acts 7:5

r2 Chron. 20:7; Ps. 37:22,29; 112:2

s 13:16> ch. 15:5; 22:17; 26:4; 28:14; 32:12; Exod. 32:13; Num. 23:10; Deut. 1:10; 1 Kings 4:20; 1 Chron. 27:23; Isa. 48:19; Jer. 33:22; Rom. 4:16-18; Heb. 11:12

t 13:18 ch. 14:13

uch. 35:27; 37:14

v 14:1 ch. 10:10; 11:2

a 14:1 Isa. 11:11

b 14:2 Deut. 29:23

cch. 19:22

d 14:3 Deut. 3:17; Num. 34:12; Josh. 3:16; Ps. 107:34

e 14:4 ch. 9:26

f 14:5 ch. 15:20; Deut. 3:11

gJosh. 12:4; 13:12

hDeut. 2:20

iDeut. 2:10,11

j 14:6 Deut. 2:12,22

k 14:7 2 Chron. 20:2

l 14:10 ch. 11:3

mch. 19:17,30

n 14:11 ver. 16,21

a 14:12 ch. 12:5

bch. 13:12

c 14:13 ch. 13:18

dver. 24

e 14:14 ch. 13:8

fch. 15:3; 17:12,27; Eccl. 2:7

gDeut. 34:1; Judg. 18:29

h 14:15 Isa. 41:2-3

i 14:16 ver. 11-12

j 14:17 Judg. 11:34; 1 Sam. 18:6

kHeb. 7:1

l2 Sam. 18:18

m 14:18 Heb. 7:1

nPs. 110:4; Heb. 5:6

oMic. 6:6; Acts 16:17; Ruth 3:10; 2 Sam. 2:5

p 14:19 ver. 22; Matt. 11:25

q 14:20 ch. 24:27

rHeb. 7:4

s 14:22 Exod. 6:8; Dan. 12:7; Rev. 10:5,6

tver. 19; ch. 21:33

u 14:23 So Esther 9:15-16

v 14:24 ver. 13

w 15:1 Dan. 10:1; Acts 10:10,11

xch. 26:24; Dan. 10:12; Luke 1:13,30

yPs. 3:3; 5:12; 84:11; 91:4; 119:114

zPs. 16:5; 58:11; Prov. 11:18

a 15:2 Acts 7:5

b 15:3 ch. 14:14

c 15:4 2 Sam. 7:12; 16:11; 2 Chron. 32:21

d 15:5 Ps. 147:4

eJer. 33:22

fch. 22:17; Exod. 32:13; Deut. 1:10; 10:22; 1 Chron. 27:23; Rom. 4:18; Heb. 11:12; See ch. 13:16

g 15:6 Rom. 4:3,9,22; Gal. 3:6; James 2:23

hPs. 106:31

i 15:7 ch. 12:1

jch. 11:28,31

kPs. 105:42,44; Rom. 4:13

l 15:8 See ch. 24:13-14; Judg. 6:17,37; 1 Sam. 14:9-10; 2 Kings 20:8; Luke 1:18

a 15:10 Jer. 34:18-19

bLev. 1:17

c 15:12 Gen. 2:21; Job 4:13

d 15:13 Exod. 12:40; Ps. 105:23; Acts 7:6

eExod. 1:11; Ps. 105:25

f 15:14 Exod. 6:6; Deut. 6:22

gExod. 12:36; Ps. 105:37

h 15:15 Job 5:26

iActs 13:36

jch. 25:8

k 15:16 Exod. 12:40

l1 Kings 21:26

mDan. 8:23; Matt. 23:32; 1 Thess. 2:16

n 15:17 Jer. 34:18-19

o 15:18 ch. 24:7

pch. 12:7; 13:15; 26:4; Exod. 23:31; Num. 34:3; Deut. 1:7; 11:24; 34:4; Josh. 1:4; 1 Kings 4:21; 2 Chron. 9:26; Neh. 9:8; Ps. 105:11; Isa. 27:12

q 16:1 ch. 15:2-3

rch. 21:9

sGal 4:24

t 16:2 ch. 30:3

uch. 20:18; 30:2; 1 Sam. 1:5-6

vch. So 30:3,9

wch. 3:17

a 16:3 ch. 12:5

b 16:4 2 Sam. 6:16; Prov. 30:21,23

c 16:5 ch. 31:53; 1 Sam. 24:12

d 16:6 Prov. 15:1; 1 Pet. 3:7

eJob 2:6; Ps. 106:41-42; Jer. 38:5

fExod. 2:15

g 16:7 ch. 25:18

hExod. 15:22

i 16:9 Titus 2:9; 1 Pet. 2:18

j 16:10 ch. 17:20; 21:18; 25:12

k 16:11 ch. 17:19; Matt. 1:21; Luke 1:13,31

l 16:12 ch. 21:20

mch. 25:18

n 16:13 ch. 31:42

o 16:14 ch. 24:62; 25:11

pNum. 13:26

q 16:15 Gal. 4:22

rver. 11

s 17:1 ch. 12:1

a 17:1 ch. 28:3; 35:11; Exod. 6:3; Deut. 10:17

bch. 5:22; 48:15; 1 Kings 2:4; 8:25; 2 Kings 20:3

cch. 6:9; Deut. 18:13; Job 1:1; Matt. 5:48

d 17:2 ch. 12:2; 13:16; 22:17

e 17:3 ver. 17

f 17:4 Rom. 4:11-12,16; Gal. 3:29

g 17:5 Neh. 9:7

hRom. 4:17

i 17:6 ch. 35:11

jver. 16: ch. 35:11; Matt. 1:6, etc.

k 17:7 Gal. 3:17

lch. 26:24; 28:13; Heb. 11:16

mRom. 9:8

n 17:8 ch 12:7; 13:15; Ps. 105:9,11

och. 23:4; 28:4

pExod. 6:7; Lev. 26:12; Deut. 4:37; 14:2; 26:18; 29:13

q 17:10 Acts 7:8

r 17:11 Acts 7:8; Rom. 4:11

s 17:12Lev. 12:3; Luke 2:21; John 7:22; Php. 3:5

t 17:14 Exod. 4:24

u 17:16 ch. 18:10

vch. 35:11; Gal. 4:31; 1 Pet. 3:6

w 17:17 ch. 18:12; 21:6

a 17:19 ch. 18:10; 21:2; Gal. 4:28

b 17:20 ch. 16:10

cch. 25:12,16

dch. 21:18

e 17:21 ch. 21:2

f 17:27 ch. 18:19

g 18:1 ch. 13:18; 14:13

h 18:2 Heb. 13:2

ich. 19:1; 1 Pet. 4:9

j 18:4 ch. 19:2; 43:24

k 18:5 Judg. 6:18; 13:15

lJudg. 19:5; Ps. 104:15

mch. 19:8; 33:10

n 18:8ch. 19:3

o 18:9ch. 24:67

p 18:10 ver. 14

q2 Kings 4:16

rch. 17:19,21; 21:2; Rom. 9:9

s 18:11 ch. 17:17; Rom. 4:19; Heb. 11:11-12,19

tch. 31:35

u 18:12 ch. 17:17

vLuke 1:18

w1 Pet. 3:6

a 18:14 Jer. 32:17; Zech. 8:6; Matt. 3:9; 19:26; Luke 1:37

bver. 10; ch. 17:21; 2 Kings 4:16

c 18:16 Rom. 15:24; 3 John 6

d 18:17 Ps. 25:14; Amos 3:7; John 15:15

e 18:18 ch. 12:3; 22:18; Acts 3:25; Gal. 3:8

f 18:19 Deut. 4:9-10; 6:7; Josh. 24:15; Eph. 6:4

g 18:20 ch. 4:10; 19:13; James 5:4

h 18:21 ch. 11:5; Exod. 3:8

iDeut. 8:2; 13:3; Josh. 22:22; Luke 16:15; 2 Cor. 11:11

j 18:22 ch. 19:1

kver. 1

l 18:23 Heb. 10:22

mNum. 16:22; 2 Sam. 24:17

n 18:24 Jer. 5:1

o 18:25 Job 8:20; Isa. 3:10-11

pJob 8:3; 34:17; Ps. 58:11; 94:2; Rom. 3:6

q 18:26 Jer. 5:1; Ezek. 22:30

r 18:27 Luke 18:1

sch. 3:19; Job 4:19; Eccl. 12:7; 1 Cor. 15:47-48; 2 Cor. 5:1

t 18:32 Judg. 6:39

uJames 5:16

a 19:1 ch. 18:22

bch. 18:1, etc.

c 19:2 Heb 13:2

dch. 18:4

eSee Luke 24:28

f 19:3 ch. 18:8

g 19:5 Isa. 3:9

hJudg. 19:22

ich. 4:1; Rom. 1:24,27; Jude 7

j 19:6 Judg. 19:23

k 19:8 See Judg. 19:24

lSee ch. 18:5

m 19:9 2 Pet. 2:7-8

nExod. 2:14

o 19:11 See 2 Kings 6:18; Acts 13:11

p 19:12 ch. 7:1; 2 Pet. 2:7,9

q 19:13 ch. 18:20

r1 Chron. 21:15

s 19:14 Matt. 1:18

tNum. 16:21,45

uExod. 9:21; Luke 17:28; 24:11

v 19:15 Num. 16:24,26; Rev. 18:24

w 19:16 Luke 18:13; Rom. 9:15,16

xPs. 34:22

a 19:17 1 Kings 19:3

bver. 26; Matt. 24:16-18; Luke 9:62; Php. 3:13-14

c 19:18 Acts 10:14

d 19:21 Job 42:8-9; Ps. 145:19

e 19:22 See ch. 32:25-26; Exod. 32:10; Deut. 9:14; Mark 6:5

fch. 13:10; 14:2

g 19:24 Deut. 29:23; Isa. 13:19; Jer. 20:16; 50:40; Ezek. 16:49-50; Hos. 11:8; Amos 4:11; Zeph. 2:9; Luke 17:29; 2 Pet. 2:6; Jude 7

h 19:25 ch. 14:3; Ps. 107:34

i 19:26 Luke 17:32

j 19:27 ch. 18:22

k 19:28 Rev. 18:9

l 19:29 ch. 8:1; 18:23

m 19:30 ver. 17,19

n 19:31 ch. 16:2,4; ch. 38:8-9; Deut. 25:5

o 19:32 Mark 12:19

a 19:37 Deut. 2:9

b 19:38 Deut. 2:19

c 20:1 ch. 18:1

dch. 16:7,14

ech. 26:6

f 20:2 ch. 12:13; 26:7

gch. 12:15

h 20:3 Ps. 105:14

iJob 33:15

ii ver. 7;

j 20:4 ver. 18; ch. 18:23

k 20:5 2 Kings 20:3; 2 Cor. 1:12

l 20:6 ch. 31:7; 35:5; Exod. 34:24; 1 Sam. 25:26,34

mch. 39:9; Lev. 6:2; Ps. 51:4

n 20:7 1 Sam. 7:5; 2 Kings 5:11; Job 42:8; James 5:14-15; 1 John 5:16

och. 2:17

pNum. 16:32-33

q 20:9 ch. 26:10; Exod. 32:21; Josh. 7:25

rch. 34:7

s 20:11 ch. 42:18; Ps. 36:1; Prov. 16:6

tch. 12:12; 26:7

u 20:12 See ch. 11:29

v 20:13 ch. 12:1,9,11,etc.; Heb. 11:8

wch. 12:13

x 20:14 ch. 12:16

y 20:15 ch. 13:9

z 20:16 ver. 5

aach. 26:11

abch. 24:65

ac 20:17 Job 42:9-10

a 20:18 ch. 12:17

b 21:1 1 Sam. 2:21

cch. 17:19; 18:10,14; Gal. 4:23,28

d 21:2 Acts 7:8; Gal. 4:22; Heb. 11:11

ech. 17:21

f 21:3 ch. 17:19

g 21:4Acts 7:8

hch. 17:10,12

i 21:5 ch. 17:1,17

j 21:6 Ps. 126:2; Isa. 54:1; Gal. 4:27

kLuke 1:58

l 21:7 ch. 18:11-12

m 21:9 ch. 16:1

nch. 16:15

oGal. 4:22

p 21:10 Gal. 4:30; See ch. 25:6; 36:6-7

q 21:11 ch. 17:18

r 21:12 Rom. 9:7-8; Heb. 11:18

s 21:13 ver. 18; ch. 16:10; 17:20

t 21:14 John 8:35

u 21:17 Exod. 3:7

v 21:18 ver. 13

w 21:19 Num. 22:31; See 2 Kings 6:17-18,20; Luke 24:16,31

x 21:20 ch. 28; 39:2-3,21

a 21:20 ch. 16:12

b 21:21 ch. 24:4

c 21:22 ch. 20:2; 26:26

dch. 26:28

e 21:23 Josh. 2:12; 1 Sam. 24:21

f 21:25 See ch. 26:15,18,20-22

g 21:27 ch. 26:31

h 21:29 ch. 33:8

i 21:30 ch. 31:48,52

j 21:31 ch. 26:33

k 21:33 ch. 4:26

lDeut. 33:27; Isa. 40:28; Rom. 16:26; 1 Tim. 1:17

m 22:1 1 Cor. 10:13; Heb. 11:17; James 1:12; 1 Pet. 1:7

n 22:2 Heb. 11:17

o2 Chron. 3:1

a 22:6 John 19:17

b 22:9 Heb. 11:17; James 2:21

c 22:12 1 Sam. 15:22; Mic. 6:7-8

dch. 26:5; James 2:22

e 22:16 Ps. 105:9; Luke 1:73; Heb. 6:13-14

f 22:17 ch. 15:5; Jer. 33:22

gch. 13:16

hch. 24:60

iMic. 1:9

j 22:18 ch. 12:3; 18:18; 26:4; Acts 3:25; Gal. 3:8-9,16,18

kver. 3,10; ch. 26:5

l 22:19 ch. 21:31

m 22:20 ch. 11:29

n 22:21Job 1:1

oJob 32:2

p 22:23 ch. 24:15

qCalled, Rom. 9:10, Rebecca

a 23:2 Josh. 14:15; Judg. 1:10

bver. 19; ch. 13:18

c 23:4 ch. 17:8; 1 Chron. 29:15; Ps. 105:12; Heb. 11:9,13

dActs 7:5

e 23:6 ch. 13:2; 14:14; 24:35

f 23:10 ch. 34:20,24; Ruth 4:4

g 23:11 See 2 Sam. 24:21-24

h 23:15 Exod. 30:15; Ezek. 45:12

i 23:16 Jer. 32:9

j 23:17 ch. 25:9; 49:30-32; 50:13; Acts 7:16

a 23:20 See Ruth 4:7-10; Jer. 32:10-11

b 24:1 ch. 18:11; 21:5

cver. 35; ch. 13:2; Ps. 112:3; Prov. 10:22

d 24:2 ch. 15:2

ever. 10; ch. 39:4-6

fch. 47:29; 1 Chron. 29:24; Lam. 5:6

g 24:3 ch. 14:22; Deut. 6:13; Josh. 2:12

hch. 26:35; 27:46; 28:2; Exod. 34:16; Deut. 7:3

i 24:4 ch. 28:2

jch. 12:1

k 24:7 ch. 12:1,7

lch. 12:7; 13:15; 15:18; 17:8; Exod. 32:13; Deut. 1:8; 34:4; Acts 7:5

mExod. 23:20,23; 33:2; Heb. 1:14

n 24:8 Josh. 2:17-20

o 24:10 ver. 2

pch. 27:43

q 24:11 Exod. 2:16; 1 Sam. 9:11

r 24:12 ver. 27; ch. 26:24; 28:13; 32:9; Exod. 3:6,15

sNeh. 1:11; Ps. 37:5

t 24:13ver. 43

uch. 29:9; Exod. 2:16

v 24:14 See Judg. 6:17,37; 1 Sam. 6:7; 14:8; 20:7

a 24:15 ch. 11:29; 22:23

b 24:16 ch. 26:7

c 24:18 1 Pet. 3:8; 4:9

d 24:21 ver. 12:56

e 24:22 Exod. 32:2-3; Isa. 3:19-21; Ezek. 16:11-12; 1 Pet. 3:3

f 24:24 ch. 22:23

g 24:26 ver. 52; ex. 4:31

h 24:27 Exod. 18:10; Ruth 4:14; 1 Sam. 25:32,39; 2 Sam. 18:28; Luke 1:68

ich. 32:10; Ps. 98:3

jver. 48

k 24:29 ch. 29:5

l 24:31 ch. 26:29; Judg. 17:2; Ruth 3:10; Ps. 115:15

m 24:32 ch. 43:24; Judg. 19:21

n 24:33 Job 23:12; John 4:34; Eph. 6:5-7

o 24:35 ver. 1; ch. 13:2

p 24:36 ch. 21:2

qch. 21:10; 25:5

r 24:37 ver. 3

s 24:38 ver. 4

t 24:39 ver. 5

u 24:40 ver. 7

vch. 17:1

a 24:41 ver. 8

b 24:42 ver. 12

c 24:43 ver. 13

d 24:45 ver. 15, etc.

e1 Sam. 1

f 24:47 Ezek. 16:11-12

g 24:48 ver. 26

hch. 22:23

i 24:49 ch. 47:29; Josh. 2:14

j 24:50 Ps. 118:23; Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:11

kch. 31:24

l 24:51 ch. 20:15

m 24:52 ver. 26

n 24:53 Exod. 3:22; 11:2; 12:35

o2 Chron 21:3; Ezra 1:6

p 24:54 ver. 56; 59

q 24:59 ch. 35:8

r 24:60 ch. 17:16

sch. 22:17

t 24:62 ch. 16:14; 25:11

u 24:63 Josh. 1:8; Ps. 1:2; 77:12; 119:15; 143:5

v 24:64 Josh. 15:18

a 24:67 ch. 38:12

b 25:2 1 Chron. 1:32

c 25:5 ch. 24:36

d 25:6 ch. 21:14

eJudg. 6:3

f 25:8 ch. 15:15; 49:29

gch. 35:29; 49:33

h 25:9 ch. 35:29; 50:13

i 25:10 ch. 23:16

jch. 49:31

k 25:11 ch. 16:14; 24:62

l 25:13 1 Chron. 1:29

m 25:16 ch. 17:20

n 25:17 ver. 8

o 25:18 1 Sam. 15:7

pch. 16:12

a 25:19 Matt. 1:2

b 25:20 ch. 22:23

c 25:21 1 Chron. 5:20; 2 Chron. 33:13; Ezra 8:23

dRom. 9:10

e 25:22 1 Sam. 9:9; 10:22

f 25:23 ch. 17:16; 24:60

g2 Sam. 8:14

hch. 27:29; Mal. 1:3; Rom. 9:12

i 25:25 ch. 27:11,16,23

j 25:26 Hos. 12:3

kch. 27:36

l 25:27 ch. 27:3,5

mJob 1:1,8; 2:3; Ps. 37:37

nHeb. 11:9

o 25:28 ch. 27:19,25,31

pch. 27:6

q 25:33 Heb. 12:16

r 25:34 Eccl. 8:15; Isa. 22:13; 1 Cor. 15:32

s 26:1 ch. 12:10

tch. 20:2

u 26:2 ch. 12:1

v 26:3 ch. 20:1; Ps. 39;12; Heb. 11:9

wch. 28:15

xch. 12:1

ych. 13:15; 15:18

zch. 22:16; Ps. 105:9

a 26:4 ch. 15:5; 22:17

bch. 12:3; 22:18

c 26:5 ch. 22:16,18

d 26:7 ch. 12:13; 20:2,13

eProv. 29:25

fch. 24:16

g 26:10 ch. 20:9

h 26:11 Ps. 105:15

i 26:12 Matt. 13:8; Mark 4:8

jver. 3; ch. 24:1,35; Job 42:12

k 26:13 ch. 24:35; Ps. 112:3; Prov. 10:22

l 26:14 ch. 37:11; Eccl. 4:4

m 26:15 ch. 21:30

n 26:16 Exod. 1:9

o 26:18 ch. 21:31

p 26:20 ch. 21:25

q 26:22 ch. 17:6; 28:3; 41:52; Exod. 1:7

r 26:24 ch. 17:7; 24:12; 28:13; Exod. 3:6; Acts 7:32

sch. 15:1

tver. 3,4

u 26:25 ch. 12:7; 13:18

vPs. 116:17

a 26:26 ch. 21:22

b 26:27 Judg. 11:7

cver. 16

d 26:28 ch. 21:22-23

e 26:29 ch. 24:31; Ps. 115:15

f 26:30 ch. 19:3

g 26:31 ch. 21:31

h 26:33 ch. 21:31

i 26:34 ch. 36:2

j 26:35 ch. 27:46; 28:1,8

k 27:1 ch. 48:10; 1 Sam. 3:2

l 27:2 Prov. 27:1; James 4:14

m 27:3 ch. 25:27-28

n 27:4 ver. 27; ch. 48:9,15; 49:28; Deut. 33:1

o 27:8 ver. 13

p 27:9 ver. 4

q 27:10 ver. 4

a 27:11 ch. 25:25

b 27:12 ver. 22

cch. 9:25; Deut. 27:18

d 27:13 ch. 43:9; 1 Sam. 25:24; 2 Sam. 14:9; Matt. 27:25

e 27:14 ver. 4,9

f 27:15 ver. 27

g 27:19 ver. 4

h 27:21 ver. 12

i 27:23 ver. 16

j 27:25 ver. 4

k 27:27 Hos. 14:6

l 27:28 Heb. 11:20

mDeut. 33:13,28; 2 Sam. 1:21

nch. 45:18

oDeut. 33:28

p 27:29 ch. 9:25; 25:23

qch. 49:8

rch. 12:3; Num. 24:9

s 27:31 ver. 4

t 27:33 ch. 28:3-4; Rom. 11:29

u 27:34 Heb. 12:17

a 27:36 ch. 25:26

bch. 25:33

c 27:37 Fulfilled; 2 Sam. 8:14; ver. 29

dver. 28

e 27:38 Heb. 12:17

f 27:39 ver. 28; Heb. 11:20

g 27:40 ch. 25:23; Obad. 18-20; 2 Sam. 8:14

h2 Kings 8:20

i 27:41 ch. 37:4,8

jch. 50:3-4,10

kObad. 10

l 27:42 Ps. 64:5

m 27:43 ch. 11:31

n 27:46 ch. 26:35; 28:8

och. 24:3

p 28:1 ch. 27:33

qch. 24:3

r 28:2 Hos. 12:12

sch. 25:20

tch. 22:23

uch. 24:29

v 28:3 ch. 17:1,6

w 28:4 ch. 12:2

xch. 17:8

a 28:8 ch. 24:3; 26:35

b 28:9 ch. 36:3, she is called Bashemath

cch. 25:13

d 28:10 Hos. 12:12

eCalled, Acts 7:2, Charran

f 28:12 ch. 41:1; Job 33:15

gJohn 1:51; Heb. 1:14

h 28:13 ch. 35:1; 48:3

ich. 26:24

jch. 13:15; 35:12

k 28:14 ch. 13:16

lch. 13:14; Deut. 12:20

mch. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4

n 28:15 See ver. 20-21; ch. 26:24; 31:3

och. 48:16; Ps. 121:5,7-8

pch. 35:6

qDeut. 28:6; Josh. 1:5; 1 Kings 8:57; Heb. 13:5

rNum. 23:19

s 28:16 Exod. 3:5; Josh. 5:15

t 28:18 ch. 31:13,45; 35:14

uLev. 8:10-12; Num. 7:1

v 28:19 Judg. 1:23,26; Hos. 4:15

w 28:20 ch. 31:13; Judg. 11:30; 2 Sam. 15:8

xver. 15

y1 Tim. 6:8

z 28:21 Judg. 11:31; 2 Sam. 19:24,30

aaDeut. 26:17; 2 Sam. 15:8; 2 Kings 5:17

ab 28:22 ch. 35:7,14

acLev. 27:30

ad 29:1 Num. 23:7; Hos. 12:12

ae 29:6 ch. 43:27

a 29:9 Exod. 2:16

b 29:10 Exod. 2:17

c 29:11 ch. 33:4; 45:14-15

d 29:12 ch. 13:8; 14:14,16

ech. 24:28

f 29:13 ch. 24:29

g 29:14 ch. 2:23; Judg. 9:2; 2 Sam. 5:1; 19:12-13

h 29:18 ch. 31:41; 2 Sam. 3:14

i 29:20 ch. 30:26; Hos. 12:12

j 29:21 Judg. 15:1

k 29:22 Judg. 14:10; John 2:1-2

l 29:27 Judg. 14:12

a 29:30 ver. 20; Deut. 21:15

bch. 30:26; 31:41; Hos. 12:12

c 29:31 Ps. 127:3

dch. 30:1

e 29:32 Exod. 3:7; 4:31; Deut. 26:7; Ps. 25:18; 106:44

f 29:35 Matt. 1:2

g 30:1 ch. 29:31

hch. 37:11

iJob 5:2

j 30:2 ch. 16:2; 1 Sam. 1:5

k 30:3 ch. 16:2

lch. 50:23; Job 3:12

mch. 16:2

n 30:4 ch. 16:3; 35:22

o 30:6 Ps. 35:42; 43:1; Lam. 3:59

p 30:8 Called, Matt. 4:13, Nephthalim

q 30:9 ver. 4

r 30:13 Prov. 31:28; Luke 1:48

s 30:14 ch. 25:30

t 30:15 Num. 16:9,13

a 30:20 Called, Matt. 4:13, Zabulon

b 30:22 ch. 8:1; 1 Sam. 1:19

cch. 29:31

d 30:23 1 Sam. 1:6; Isa. 4:1; Luke 1:25

e 30:24 ch. 35:17

f 30:25 ch. 24:54,56

gch. 18:33; 31:55

h 30:26 ch. 29:20,30

i 30:27 ch. 39:3,5

jSee ch. 25:24

k 30:28 ch. 29:15

l 30:29 ch. 31:6,38-40; Matt. 24:45; Titus 2:10

m 30:30 1 Tim. 5:8

a 30:32 ch. 31:8

b 30:33 Ps. 37:6

c 30:37 See ch. 31:9-12

d 30:43 ver. 30

ech. 13:2; 24:35; 26:13-14

f 31:1 Ps. 49:16

g 31:2 ch. 4:5

hDeut. 28:54

i 31:3 ch. 28:15,20-21; 32:9

j 31:5 ver. 2

kver. 3

l 31:6 ver. 38-41; ch. 30:29

m 31:7 ver. 41

nNum. 14:22; Neh. 4:12; Job 19:3; Zech. 8:23

och. 20:6; Ps. 105:14

p 31:8 ch. 30:32

q 31:9 ver. 1,16

r 31:11 ch. 48:16

a 31:12 Exod. 3:7

b 31:13 ch. 28:18-20

cver. 3; ch. 32:9

d 31:14 ch. 2:24

e 31:15 ch. 29:15,27

f 31:19 ch. 35:2

g 31:21 ch. 46:28; 2 Kings 12:17; Luke 9:51,53

h 31:23 ch. 13:8

i 31:24 ch. 20:3; Job 33:15; Matt. 1:20

jch. 24:50

k 31:26 1 Sam. 30:2

l 31:28 ver. 55; Ruth 1:9,14; 1 Kings 19:20; Acts 20:37

m1 Sam. 13:13; 2 Chron. 16:9

n 31:29 ver. 53; ch. 28:13

over. 24

p 31:30 ver. 19; Judg. 18:24

q 31:32 See ch. 44:9

r 31:35 Exod. 20:12; Lev. 19:32

a 31:39 Exod. 22:10, etc.

bExod. 22:12

c 31:41 ch. 29:27-28

dver. 7

e 31:42 Ps. 124:1-2

fver. 53; Isa. 8:13

gch. 29:32; Exod. 3:7

h1 Chron. 12:17; Jude 9

i 31:44 ch. 26:28

jJosh. 24:27

k 31:45 ch. 28:18

l 31:48 Josh. 24:27

m 31:49 Judg. 11:29; 1 Sam. 7:5

n 31:53 ch. 16:5

och. 21:23

pver. 42

q 31:55 ch. 28:1

rch. 18:33; 30:25

s 32:1 Ps. 91:11; Heb. 1:14

t 32:2 Josh. 5:14; Ps. 103:21; 148:2; Luke 2:13

u 32:3 ch. 33:14,16

vch. 36:6-8; Deut. 2:5; Josh. 24:4

w 32:4 Prov. 15:1

a 32:5 ch. 30:43

bch. 33:8,15

c 32:6 ch. 33:1

d 32:7 ch. 35:3

e 32:9 Ps. 50:15

fch. 28:13

gch. 31:3,13

h 32:10 ch. 24:27

iJob 8:7

j 32:11 Ps. 59:1-2

kHos. 10:14

l 32:12 ch. 28:13-15

m 32:13 ch. 43:11; Prov. 18:16

n 32:20 Prov. 21:14

o 32:22 Deut. 3:16

p 32:24 Hos. 12:3-4; Eph. 6:12

a 32:25 See Matt. 26:41; 2 Cor. 12:7

b 32:26 See Luke 24:28

cHos. 12:4

d 32:28 ch. 35:10; 2 Kings 17:34

eHos. 12:3-4

fch. 25:31; 27:33

g 32:29 Judg. 13:18

h 32:30 ch. 16:13; Exod. 24:11; 33:20; Deut. 5:24; Judg. 6:22; 13:22; Isa. 6:5

i 33:1 ch. 32:6

j 33:3 ch. 18:2; 42:6; 43:26

k 33:4 ch. 32:28

lch. 45:14-15

m 33:5 ch. 48:9; Ps. 127:3; Isa. 8:18

n 33:8 ch. 32:16

och. 32:5

p 33:10 ch. 43:3; 2 Sam. 3:13; 14:24,28,32; Matt. 18:10

q 33:11 Judg. 1:15; 1 Sam. 25:27; 30:26; 2 Kings 5:15

r2 Kings 5:23

s 33:14 ch. 32:3

t 33:15 ch. 34:11; 47:25; Ruth 2:13

a 33:17 Josh. 13:27; Judg. 8:5; Ps. 60:6

b 33:18 John 3:23

cJosh. 24:1; Judg. 9:1

d 33:19 Josh. 24:32; John 4:5

e 33:20 ch. 35:7

f 34:1 ch. 30:21

gTitus 2:5

h 34:2 ch. 6:2; Judg. 14:1

ich. 20:2

jDeut. 22:29

k 34:4 Judg. 14:2

l 34:5 1 Sam. 10:27; 2 Sam. 13:20

m 34:7 ch. 49:7; 2 Sam. 13:21

nJosh. 7:15; Judg. 20:6

oDeut. 23:17; 2 Sam. 13:12

p 34:10 ch. 13:9; 20:15

qch. 42:34

rch. 47:27

s 34:12 Exod. 22:16-17; Deut. 22:29; 1 Sam. 18:25

t 34:13 See 2 Sam. 13:24, etc.

u 34:14 Josh. 5:9

a 34:19 2 Chron. 4:9

b 34:24 ch. 23:10

c 34:25 ch. 49:5-7

a 34:30 ch. 49:6

bJosh. 7:25

cExod. 5:21; 1 Sam. 13:4

dDeut. 4:27; Ps. 105:12

e 35:1 ch. 28:19

fch. 28:13

gch. 27:43

h 35:2 ch. 18:19; Josh. 24:15

ich. 31:19,34; Josh. 24:2,23; 1 Sam. 7:3

jExod. 19:10

k 35:3 ch. 32:7,24; Ps. 107:6

lch. 28:20; 31:3,42

m 35:4 Hos. 2:13

nJosh. 24:26; Judg. 9:6

o 35:5 Exod. 15:16; 23:27; 34:24; Deut. 11:25; Josh. 2:9; 5:1; 1 Sam. 14:15; 2 Chron. 14:14

p 35:6 ch. 28:19,22

q 35:7 Eccl. 5:4

rch. 28:13

s 35:8 ch. 24:59

t 35:9 Hos. 12:4

u 35:10 ch. 17:5

vch. 32:28

w 35:11 ch. 17:1; 48:3-4; Exod. 6:3

xch. 17:5-6,16; 28:3; 48:4

y 35:12 ch. 12:7; 13:15; 26:3-4; 28:13

z 35:13 ch. 17:22

aa 35:14 ch. 28:18

a 35:15 ch. 28:19

b 35:17 ch. 30:24; 1 Sam. 4:20

c 35:19 ch. 48:7

dRuth 1:2; 4:11; Mic. 5:2; Matt. 2:6

e 35:20 1 Sam. 10:2; 2 Sam. 18:18

f 35:21 Mic. 4:8

g 35:22 ch. 49:4; 1 Chron 5:1; See 2 Sam. 16:22; 20:3; 1 Cor. 5:1

h 35:23. ch. 46:8; Exod. 1:2

i 35:27 ch. 13:18; 23:2,19

jJosh. 14:15; 15:13

k 35:29 ch. 15:15; 25:8

lSo ch. 25:9; 49:31

m 36:1 ch. 25:30

n 36:2 ch. 26:34

over. 25

p 36:3 ch. 28:9

q 36:4 1 Chron. 1:35

a 36:7 ch. 13:6,11

bch. 17:8; 28:4

c 36:8 ch. 32:3; Deut. 2:5; Josh. 24:4

dver. 1

e 36:10 1 Chron. 1:35, etc.

f 36:12 Exod. 17:8,14; Num. 24:20; 1 Sam. 15:2-3, etc.

g 36:20 1 Chron. 1:38

hch. 14:6; Deut. 2:12,22

i 36:24 See Lev. 19:19

j 36:31 1 Chron. 1:43

a 36:39 1 Chron. 1:50, Hadad Pai; after his death was an Aristocracy; Exod. 15:15

b 36:40 1 Chron. 1:51

c 37:1 ch. 17:8; 23:4; 28:4; 36:7; Heb. 11:9

d 37:2 1 Sam. 2:22-24

e 37:3 ch. 44:20

f 37:4 ch. 27:41; 49:23

g 37:7 ch. 42:6,9; 43:26; 44:14

h 37:9 ch. 46:29

i 37:10 ch. 27:29

a 37:11 Acts 7:9

bDan. 7:28; Luke 2:19,51

c 37:14 ch. 35:27

d 37:16 SS. 1:7

e 37:17 2 Kings 6:13

f 37:18 1 Sam. 19:1; Ps. 31:13; 37:12,32; 94:21; Matt. 27:1; Mark 14:1; John 11:53; Acts 23:12

g 37:20 Prov. 1:11,16; 6:17; 27:4

h 37:21 ch. 42:22

i 37:25 Prov. 30:20; Amos 6:6

jSee ver. 28,36

kJer. 8:22

l 37:26 ver. 20; ch. 4:10; Job 16:18

m 37:27 1 Sam. 18:17

nch. 42:21

och. 29:14

p 37:28 Judg. 6:3; ch. 45:4,5

qPs. 105:17; Acts 7:9

rSee Matt. 27:9

s 37:29 Job 1:20

t 37:30 ch. 42:13,36; Jer. 31:15

u 37:31 ver. 23

a 37:33 ver. 20; ch. 44:28

b 37:34 ver. 29; 2 Sam. 3:31

c 37:35 2 Sam. 12:17

dch. 42:38; 44:29,31

e 37:36 ch. 39:1

f 38:1 ch. 19:3; 2 Kings 4:8

g 38:2 ch. 34:2

h1 Chron. 2:3

i 38:3 ch. 46:12; Num. 26:19

j 38:4 ch. 46:12; Num. 26:20

k 38:5 ch. 46:12; Num. 26:20

l 38:6 ch. 21:21

m 38:7 ch. 46:12; Num. 26:19

n1 Chron. 2:3

o 38:8 Deut. 25:5; Matt. 22:24

p 38:9 Deut. 25:6

q 38:10 ch. 46:12; Num. 26:19

r 38:11 Ruth 1:13

sLev. 22:13

t 38:12 2 Sam. 13:39

uJosh. 15:10,57; Judg. 14:1

a 38:14 Prov. 7:12

bver. 11,26

c 38:17 Ezek. 16:33

dver. 20

e 38:18 ver. 2

f 38:19 ver. 1

g 38:24 Judg. 19:2

hLev. 21:9; Deut. 22:21:

i 38:25 ch. 37:32

jver. 18

k 38:26 ch. 37:33

l1 Sam. 24:17

mver. 14

nJob 34:31-32

o 38:29 ch. 46:12; Num. 26:20; 1 Chron. 2:4; Matt. 1:3

p 39:1 ch. 37:36; Ps. 105:17

qch. 37:28

r 39:2 ver. 21; ch. 21:22; 26:24,28; 28:15; 1 Sam. 16:18; 18:14,28; Acts 7:9

s 39:3 Ps. 1:3

a 39:4 ver. 21; ch. 18:3; 19:19

bGen. 24:2

c 39:5 ch. 30:27

d 39:6 1 Sam. 16:12

e 39:7 2 Sam. 13:11

f 39:9 Prov. 6:29,32

gch. 20:6; Lev. 6:2; 2 Sam. 12:13; Ps. 51:4

h 39:12 Prov. 7:13, etc.

i 39:17 Exod. 23:1; Ps. 120:3

j 39:19 Prov. 6:34-35

k 39:20 Ps. 105:18; 1 Pet. 2:19

lSee ch. 40:3, 15; 41:14

m 39:21 Exod. 3:21; 11:3; 12:36; Ps. 106:46; Prov. 16:7; Dan. 1:9; Acts 7:9-10

n 39:22 ch. 40:3-4

a 39:23 ver. 2-3

b 40:1 Neh. 1:11

c 40:2 Prov. 16:14

d 40:3 ch. 39:20,23

e 40:8 ch. 41:15

fSee ch. 41:16; Dan. 2:11,28,47

g 40:12 ver. 18; ch. 41:12,25; Judg. 7:14; Dan. 2:36; 4:19

hch. 41:26

i 40:13 2 Kings 25:27; Ps. 3:3; Jer. 52:31

j 40:14 Luke 23:42

kJosh. 2:12; 1 Sam. 20:14-15; 2 Sam. 9:1; 1 Kings 2:7

l 40:15 ch. 39:20

m 40:18 ver. 12

a 40:19 ver. 13

b 40:20 Matt. 14:6

cMark 6:21

dver. 13,19; Matt. 25:19

e 40:21 ver. 13

fNeh. 2:1

g 40:22 ver. 19

h 40:23 Job 19:14; Ps. 31:12; Eccl. 9:15-16; Amos 6:6

i 41:8 Dan. 2:1; 4:5,19

jExod. 7:11,22; Isa. 29:14; Dan. 1:20; 2:2; 4:7

kMatt. 2:1

l 41:10 ch. 40:2-3

mch. 39:20

n 41:11 ch. 40:5

o 41:12 ch. 37:36

pch. 40:12, etc.

q 41:13 ch. 40:22

r 41:14 Ps. 105:20

sDan. 2:25

t1 Sam. 2:8; Ps. 113:7-8

u 41:15 ver. 12; Ps. 25:14; Dan. 5:16

v 41:16 Dan. 2:30; Acts 3:12; 2 Cor. 3:5

wch. 40:8; Dan. 2:22,28,47; 4:2

x 41:17 ver. 1

a 41:24 ver. 8; Dan. 4:7

b 41:25 Dan. 2:28-29,45; Rev. 4:1

c 41:27 2 Kings 8:1

d 41:28 ver. 25

e 41:29 ver. 47

f 41:30 ver. 54

gch. 47:13

h 41:32 Num. 23:19; Isa. 46:10-11

i 41:34 Prov. 6:6-8

j 41:35 ver. 48

k 41:36 ch. 47:15,19

l 41:37 Ps. 105:19; Acts 7:10

m 41:38 Num. 27:18; Job 32:8; Prov. 2:6; Dan. 4:8,18; 5:11,14; 6:3

n 41:40 Ps. 105:21-22; Acts 7:10

o 41:41 Dan. 6:3

p 41:42 Esther 3:10; 8:2,8

qEsther 8:15

rDan. 5:7,29

s 41:43 Esther 6:9

tch. 42:6; 45:8,26; Acts 7:10

a 41:46 1 Sam. 16:21; 1 Kings 12:6,8; Dan. 1:19

b 41:49 ch. 22:17; Judg. 7:12; 1 Sam. 13:5; Ps. 78:27

c 41:50 ch. 46:20; 48:5

d 41:52 ch. 49:22

e 41:54 Ps. 105:16; Acts 7:11

fver. 30

g 41:56 ch. 42:6; 47:14,24

h 41:57 Deut. 9:28

i 42:1 Acts 7:12

j 42:2 ch. 43:8; Ps. 118:17; Isa. 38:1

k 42:4 ver. 38

l 42:5 Acts 7:11

m 42:6 ch. 41:41

nch. 37:7

a 42:9 ch. 37:5,9

b 42:13 ch. 37:30; Lam. 5:7; See ch. 44:20

c 42:15 See 1 Sam. 1:26; 17:55

d 42:18 Lev. 25:43; Neh. 5:15

e 42:20 ver. 34; ch. 43:5; 44:23

f 42:21 Job 36:8-9; Hos. 5:15

gProv. 21:13; Matt. 7:2

h 42:22 ch. 37:21

ich. 9:5; 1 Kings 2:32; 2 Chron. 24:22; Ps. 9:12; Luke 11:50-51

j 42:25 Matt. 5:44; Rom. 12:17,20-21

k 42:27 See ch. 43:21

a 42:30 ver. 7

b 42:33 ver. 15,19-20

c 42:34 ch. 34:10

d 42:35 See ch. 43:21

e 42:36 ch. 43:15

f 42:38 ver. 13; ch. 37:33; 44:28

gver. 4; ch. 44:29

hch. 37:35; 44:31

i 43:1 ch. 41:54,57

j 43:3 ch. 42:20; 44:23

a 43:9 ch. 44:32; Phm. 18-19

b 43:11 ch. 32:20; Prov. 18:16

cch. 37:25; Jer. 8:22

d 43:12 ch. 42:25,35

e 43:14 Esther 4:16

f 43:16 ch. 24:2; 39:4: 44:1

g 43:20 ch. 42:3,10

h 43:21 ch. 42:27,35

i 43:24 ch. 18:4; 24:32

j 43:26 ch. 37:7,10

k 43:27 ch. 42:11,13

a 43:28 ch. 37:7,10

b 43:29 ch. 35:17-18

cch. 42:13

d 43:30 1 Kings 3:26

ech. 42:24

f 43:31 ver. 25

g 43:32 ch. 46:34; Exod. 8:26

h 43:34 ch. 45:22

i 44:8 ch. 43:21

j 44:9 ch. 31:32

k 44:13 ch. 37:29,34; Num. 14:6; 2 Sam. 1:11

a 44:14 ch. 37:7

b 44:16 ver. 9

c 44:17 Prov. 17:15

d 44:18 ch. 18:30,32; Exod. 32:22

e 44:20 ch. 37:3

f 44:21 ch. 42:15,20

g 44:23 ch. 43:3,5

h 44:25 ch. 43:2

i 44:27 ch. 46:19

j 44:28 ch. 37:33

k 44:29 ch. 42:36,38

l 44:30 1 Sam. 18:1

m 44:32 ch. 43:9

n 44:33 Exod. 32:32

o 45:3 Acts 7:13

a 45:4 ch. 37:28

b 45:5 Isa. 40:2; 2 Cor. 2:7

cch. 50:20; Ps. 105:16-17; See 2 Sam. 16:10-11; Acts 4:24

d 45:8 ch. 41:43; Judg. 17:10; Job 29:16

e 45:10 ch. 47:1

f 45:12 ch. 42:23

g 45:13 Acts 7:14

h 45:18 ch. 27:28; Num. 18:12,29

i 45:22 ch. 43:34

a 45:26 Job 29:24; Ps. 126:1; Luke 24:11,41

b 46:1 ch. 21:31,33; 28:10

cch. 26:24-25; 28:13; 31:42

d 46:2 ch. 15:1; Job 33:14-15

e 46:3 ch. 28:13

fch. 12:2; Deut. 26:5

g 46:4 ch. 28:15; 48:21

hch. 15:16; 50:13,24-25; Exod. 3:8

ich. 50:1

j 46:5 Acts 7:15

kch. 45:19,21

l 46:6 Deut. 26:5; Josh. 24:4; Ps. 105:23; Isa. 52:4

m 46:8 Exod. 1:1; 6:14

nNum. 26:5; 1 Chron. 5:1

o 46:10 Exod. 6:15; 1 Chron. 4:24

p 46:11 1 Chron. 6:1,16

q 46:12 1 Chron. 2:3; 4:21

rch. 38:3,7,10

sch. 38:29; 1 Chron. 2:5

t 46:13 1 Chron. 7:1

u 46:16 Num. 26:15, etc. Zephon

v 46:17 1 Chron. 7:30

w 46:18 ch. 30:10

xch. 29:24

a 46:19 ch. 44:27

b 46:20 ch. 41:50

c 46:21 1 Chron. 7:6; 8:1

dNum. 26:38, Ahiram

eNum. 26:39, Shupham; 1 Chron. 7:12, Shuppim

f 46:23 1 Chron. 7:12

g 46:24 1 Chron. 7:13

h 46:25 ch. 30:5,7

ich. 29:29

j 46:26 Exod. 1:5

kDeut. 10:22; See Acts 7:14

l 46:28 ch. 31:21

mch. 47:1

a 46:29 So ch. 45:14

b 46:30 So Luke 2:29-30

c 46:31 ch. 47:1

d 46:33 ch. 47:2-3

e 46:34 ver. 32

fch. 30:35; 34:5; 37:12

gch. 43:32; Exod. 8:26

h 47:1 ch. 46:31

ich. 45:10; 46:28

j 47:2 Acts 7:13

k 47:3 ch. 46:33

lch. 46:34

m 47:4 ch. 15:13; Deut. 26:5

nch. 43:1; Acts 7:11

och. 46:34

p 47:6 ch. 20:15

qver. 7

r 47:9 Heb. 11:9,13; Ps. 39:12

sJob 14:1

tch. 25:7; 35:28

u 47:10 ver. 7

a 47:11 Exod. 1:11; 12:37

bver. 6

c 47:13 ch. 41:30; Acts 7:11

d 47:14 ch. 41:56

e 47:15 ver. 19

f 47:22 Ezra 7:24

g 47:25 ch. 33:15

h 47:26 ver. 22

i 47:27 ver. 11

jch. 46:3

a 47:29 So Deut. 31:14; 1 Kings 2:1

bch. 24:2

cch. 24:49

dSo ch. 50:25

e 47:30 2 Sam. 19:37

fch. 49:29; 50:5,13

g 47:31 ch. 48:2; 1 Kings 1:47; Heb. 11:21

h 48:3 ch. 28:13,19; 35:6,9, etc.

i 48:4 ch. 17:8

j 48:5 ch. 41:50; 46:20; Josh. 13:7; 14:4

k 48:7 ch. 35:9,16,19

l 48:9 So ch. 33:5

mch. 27:4

n 48:10 ch. 27:1

och. 27:27

p 48:11 ch. 45:26

q 48:14 ver. 19

r 48:15 Heb. 11:21

sch. 17:1; 24:40

t 48:16 ch. 28:15; 31:11,13,24; Ps. 34:22; 121:7

uAmos 9:12; Acts 15:17

a 48:17 ver. 14

b 48:19 ver. 14

cNum. 1:33,35; 2:19,21; Deut. 33:17; Rev. 7:6,8

d 48:20 So Ruth 4:11-12

e 48:21 ch. 46:4; 50:24

f 48:22 Josh. 24:32; John 4:5

gch. 15:16; 34:28; Josh. 17:14, etc.

h 49:1 Deut. 33:1; Amos 3:7

iDeut. 4:30; Num. 24:14; Isa. 2:2; 39:6; Jer. 23:20; Dan. 2:28-29; Acts 2:17; Heb. 1:2

j 49:2 Ps. 34:11

k 49:3 ch. 29:32

lDeut. 21:17; Ps. 78:51

m 49:4 1 Chron. 5:1

nch. 35:22; 1 Chron. 5:1; Deut. 27:20

o 49:5 ch. 29:33-34

pProv. 18:9

qch. 34:25

r 49:6 Prov. 1:15-16

sPs. 26:9; Eph. 5:11

tPs. 16:9; 30:12; 57:8

uch. 34:26

v 49:7 Josh. 19:1; 21:5-7

w 49:8 ch. 29:35; Deut. 33:7

xPs. 18:40

ych. 27:29; 1 Chron. 5:2

z 49:9 Hos. 5:4; Rev. 5:5

aaNum. 23:24; 24:9

a 49:10 Jer. 30:21

bPs. 60:7

cDeut. 28:57

dIsa. 11:1; 62:11; Ezek. 21:27; Matt. 21:9

eIsa. 2:2; 11:10; 42:1,4; 49:6-7,22-23; 55:4-5

f 49:11 2 Kings 18:32

g 49:12 Prov. 23:29

h 49:13 Deut. 33:18-19

i 49:15 1 Sam. 10:9

j 49:16 Deut. 33:22; Judg. 18:1-2

k 49:17 Judg. 18:27

l 49:18 Ps. 25:6; 119:166,174; Isa. 25:9

m 49:19 Deut. 33:20; 1 Chron. 5:18

n 49:21 Deut. 33:23

o 49:23 ch. 37:4,24,28; 39:20; 42:21; Ps. 118:13

p 49:24 Job 29:20; Ps. 37:15

qPs. 132:2,5

rch. 45:11; 47:12; 50:21

sPs. 80:1

tIsa. 28:16

u 49:25 ch. 28:13,21; 35:3; 43:23

vch. 17:1; 35:11

wDeut. 33:13

x 49:26 Deut. 33:15; Hab. 3:6

yDeut. 33:16

a 49:27 Judg. 20:21,25; Ezek. 22:25,27

bNum. 23:24; Esther 8:11; Ezek. 39:10; Zech. 14:1,7

c 49:29 ch. 15:15; 25:8

dch. 47:30; 2 Sam. 19:37

ech. 50:13

f 49:30 ch. 23:16

g 49:31 ch. 23:19; 25:9

hch. 35:29

i 49:33 ver. 29

j 50:1 ch. 46:4

k2 Kings 13:14

l 50:2 ver. 26; 2 Chron. 16:14; Matt. 26:12; Mark 14:8; 16:1; Luke 24:1; John 12:7; 19:39-40

m 50:3 Num. 20:29; Deut. 34:8

n 50:4 Esther 4:2

o 50:5 ch. 47:29

p2 Chron. 16:14; Isa. 22:16; Matt. 27:60

a 50:10 2 Sam. 1:17; Acts 8:2

b1 Sam. 31:13; Job 2:13

c 50:13 ch. 49:29-30; Acts 7:16

dch. 23:16

e 50:15 Job 15:21:22

f 50:17 Prov. 28:13

gch. 49:25

h 50:18 ch. 37:7,10

i 50:19 ch. 45:5

jDeut. 32:35; Job 34:29; Rom. 12:19; Heb. 10:30; 2 Kings 5:7

k 50:20 Ps. 56:5; Isa. 10:7

lch. 45:5,7; Acts 3:13-15

m 50:21 ch. 47:12; Matt. 5:44

n 50:23 Job 42:16

oNum. 32:39

pch. 30:3

q 50:24 ch. 15:14; 46:4; 48:21; Exod. 3:16-17; Heb. 11:22

rch. 15:14; 26:3; 35:12; 46:4

a 50:25 Exod. 13:19; Josh. 24:32; Acts 7:16

b 50:26 ver. 2

The First Book of Moses, Called
Genesis

Circumstances of Writing

Message and Purpose

Contribution to the Bible

Structure

Outline

Timeline of Genesis

The Uniqueness of the Genesis Creation Story

Genesis Study Notes

Genesis Cross-References

The First Book of Moses, CalledGenesis

Circumstances of Writing

Message and Purpose

Contribution to the Bible

Structure

Outline

Timeline of Genesis

The Uniqueness of the Genesis Creation Story

Genesis Study Notes

Genesis Cross-References

The First Book of Moses, Called
Genesis