GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:1–11:26 Primeval History. Genesis 1–11 surveys the history of the world before Abraham, while chs. 12–50 focus on one main family. There are no real parallels to chs. 12–50 in the literature of other ancient civilizations. However, other ancient stories do exist about both creation and the flood. These stories stand in sharp contrast to the biblical account. Generally they depict creation as a great struggle, often involving conflict between the gods. For example, they claim that the flood was sent because the gods could not stand the noise made by human beings but were unable to control it in any other way. Genesis disproves such stories by its teachings. There is only one God, whose word is almighty. He spoke the world into being. The sun and moon are not gods in their own right but are created by the one God. It is human sin that prompts the flood. These principles in Genesis 1–11 run through the rest of Scripture.
In the Hebrew Bible, the title of Genesis is In the Beginning, the book’s first words. The English title is related to the Greek word genesis, which means “beginning.”
1:1–2:3 God’s Creation and Ordering of Heaven and Earth. The book of Genesis opens with a majestic description of how God created the heavens and earth and then put everything in order so that it might become his dwelling place. God assigns humanity to govern the other creatures on his behalf, so that the whole earth should become the temple of God, the place of his presence, displaying his glory.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:1 In the beginning. The opening verse of the Genesis creation account can be taken as either (1) a summary of the entire process of creation or (2) a description of the first event in creation. This event would have occurred sometime before the first day (vv. 3–5), and would have included the creation of matter, space, and time. This second view emphasizes the fact that God created the universe from nothing (compare Heb. 11:3). God created. The Hebrew word for God, ’Elohim, is plural, possibly to express God’s majesty, but the verb “created” is singular, indicating that God is one being. In contrast to other ancient Near Eastern accounts of creation, Genesis always emphasizes that there is only one God. Whenever the Hebrew verb for “create” occurs in the OT, God is the subject. Heavens and the earth here means “everything.” Thus, “in the beginning” refers to the beginning of everything. The text indicates that God created everything in the universe, which means that he created it out of nothing.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:2 Before the first actual day of creation (vv. 3–5), the earth was without form and void (compare Jer. 4:23), implying that it lacked order and content. The reference to darkness . . . over the face of the deep points to the absence of light. The Spirit of God was hovering suggests that something was about to happen. There is no reason to think that a long time elapsed between Gen. 1:1 and 1:2.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:3–5 And God said. God’s absolute power is seen in that he merely speaks and things are created. Each new section of ch. 1 is introduced by God’s speaking. Everything that God speaks into being is good (vv. 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). These verses show how God has arranged time in a weekly cycle (Day . . . Night). God is pictured as working for six days and resting on the seventh, which is a model for human activity. Day 4 will develop this idea further: the lights are placed in the heavens for signs and seasons, for marking days and years and the times of the festivals, such as Passover. This sense of time having a structure is further emphasized as each stage of God’s creative work is separated into specific days. there was evening and there was morning, the first day. After each workday there is an evening and then a morning, implying that there is a nighttime (the worker’s daily time of rest) in between. Similar phrases divide ch. 1 into six distinctive workdays, with 2:1–3 being a seventh day, God’s Sabbath. On the first three days God creates the environment that the creatures of days 4–6 will inhabit. For example, the sea and sky (day 2) are occupied by the fish and birds (day 5). These days can be understood as days in the life of God, but how his days relate to human days is more difficult to determine (see 2 Pet. 3:8).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:6–8 As light was separated from darkness, so the waters are separated to form an expanse, which God calls Heaven. It is difficult to find a single English word that accurately translates the precise meaning of this Hebrew term (see esv footnote). In this context, it refers to what humans see above them, that is, the region that contains both heavenly lights (vv. 14–17) and birds (v. 20).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:9–13 God organizes two further regions: the dry land, forming Earth; and the waters, forming Seas (vv. 9–10). God then instructs the earth to bring forth vegetation (vv. 11–12). The creation of distinctive locations in days 1–3, along with vegetation, prepares for the filling of these locations in days 4–6.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:14–19 These verses, describing the fourth day, correspond with the separating of light and darkness on the first day (vv. 3–5). Here is the creation of lights that will govern time, as well as provide light upon the earth (v. 15). By referring to them as the greater light and lesser light (v. 16), the author of Genesis avoids using terms that were also proper names for pagan gods linked to the sun and the moon. The term made may simply mean that God “fashioned” or “worked on” these greater and lesser lights. It does not necessarily mean that they did not exist in any form before this. On this day God made it possible that the sun and moon would define the passing of time. The references to seasons (v. 14) or “appointed times” (esv footnote) and to days and years probably refer to appointed times for religious observances in the Hebrew calendar (see Ex. 13:10).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:16 and the stars. The immense universe that God created (see note on Isa. 40:25–26) is mentioned here only briefly, almost as an afterthought. The focus of Genesis 1 is on the earth.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:20–23 This section, on day 5, describes how the waters and the expanse of the heavens are filled with various kinds of creatures.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:21 The Hebrew term for great sea creatures can mean large serpents, dragons, or crocodiles, as well as whales or sharks. Some have suggested that this could also refer to extinct creatures such as dinosaurs.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:24–25 livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth. These terms group the land-dwelling animals into three broad categories, probably reflecting the way nomadic shepherds would experience them. This list is not intended to be exhaustive, and it is hard to know in which category to put some animals.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:26 Let us make man in our image. Some have suggested that God may be addressing the members of his heavenly court, whom the OT elsewhere calls “sons of God” (e.g., Job 1:6) and the NT calls “angels.” But man is not made in the image of angels (see Gen. 1:27), and the Bible never teaches that angels participated in the creation of human beings. Since God alone creates man (v. 27), many Christians believe that “let us” means God is speaking to himself. If so, this would be the first biblical mention of the “Trinity” (see note on John 1:1).
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God said, “Let us make man” (1:26). This phrase could be the Bible’s earliest indication that God exists as three persons in one: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Christians around the world refer to this as the doctrine of the Trinity.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:27 The term image of God can be seen as describing the ways in which man is different from all other created beings. It describes how humans resemble God in their ability to think, to communicate, to understand right and wrong, to be creative, and to experience relationships with God and with one another. This allows men and women to represent God as they exercise authority over the rest of creation (see v. 26; and note on v. 28). The Hebrew word for man (’adam), is often a generic term for both male and female, though sometimes it refers to man in distinction from woman (e.g., 2:22, 23; 3:8). It can also be the proper name “Adam” (2:20; 3:17; 4:1; 5:1).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:28–30 Although the word “covenant” does not occur in the Bible until 6:18, many consider 1:28–30 along with 2:16–17 to be God’s covenant with Adam. See Hos. 6:7 and note. Adam receives this covenant on behalf of the rest of mankind. Thus, in the NT, Paul views Adam as a representative head of the human race (1 Cor. 15:22).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:28 Be fruitful and multiply. From the time of creation, God’s plan has been that the whole earth should be populated by those who know him and who serve wisely as his representatives. To subdue the earth and to have dominion over it probably means that humans are permitted to make the earth beneficial for themselves. They are to investigate and develop its resources. This command provides a basis for wise scientific and technological development. It does not mean that humans may exploit the earth and its creatures simply to satisfy their own greed.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:31 One final occurrence of behold, it was very good invites the reader to imagine seeing creation through God’s eyes. Despite the invasion of sin (ch. 3), the material creation retains its basic goodness (see 1 Tim. 4:4).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:1–3 God has now completed the process of putting his creation in order (see note on 1:1–2:3). That God rested does not imply he was weary from labor. Rather, God’s resting hints at the purpose of creation. God’s purpose for the earth is that it should become his dwelling place, not simply a place for his creatures. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy (2:3). These words provide the basis for God’s instructing the Israelites to rest from their normal labor on the Sabbath day (see Ex. 20:8–11).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:4–4:26 Earth’s First People. Centered initially on the garden of Eden, the episodes in this part of Genesis recount how God’s ordered creation is thrown into chaos by the human couple’s disobedience. The subsequent story of Cain and Abel and then Lamech (ch. 4) shows human society spiraling downward into violence. These events are essential for understanding not only the rest of Genesis but the rest of the Bible as well.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:4 These are the generations of. This is the first of 11 such headings in Genesis (5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10; 11:27; 25:12; 25:19; 36:1; 36:9; 37:2). LORD God. Throughout 1:1–2:3 the generic word “God” was used for the Creator. The reader is now introduced to God’s personal name, “Yahweh,” which is rendered in most English Bible translations as “LORD,” using small capital letters. This practice comes from the ancient Jewish tradition of substituting for “Yahweh” the Hebrew term for “Lord” when reading the biblical text. The Septuagint (an ancient Greek translation of the OT) used the Greek word for “Lord” (Kyrios) to refer to God. That translation was then quoted many times by the NT authors, who also used Kyrios rather than Yahweh for God’s name. See notes on Ex. 3:14; 3:15.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:7 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground. The verb “formed” describes a potter fashioning clay into a particular shape. The close relationship between the man and the ground is reflected in the Hebrew words ’adam for man and ’adamah for the ground. living creature. The same Hebrew term is used in 1:20, 24 for sea and land creatures. (See Paul’s quotation of this passage in 1 Cor. 15:45.)
Genesis describes the location of Eden in relation to the convergence of four rivers. While two of the rivers are unknown (the Pishon and the Gihon), the nearly universal identification of the other two rivers as the Tigris and the Euphrates suggests a possible location for Eden at either their northern or southern extremes.
Adam, whose name means “man,” was the first human being. Created out of dust, he was made in the image of God. Adam was given dominion over the rest of creation and was placed in the garden of Eden to care for it. God created Eve as a helper for Adam, and together they enjoyed perfect fellowship with their Creator. But Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, which brought sin and death into the world. Because of their sin, all humans are now born sinners and will someday die. The Bible tells the story of how God redeems his creation from the curse of Adam’s sin. “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:22). (Genesis 2:7)
GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:8–9 God provides a suitable environment for the man by planting a garden in Eden, in the east. The name “Eden” suggests luxury and pleasure. It probably refers to a region much greater than the garden itself. God formed the man in the “land” (see vv. 5–7), and then put him in the garden (compare v. 15). The earliest translation into Greek (the Septuagint) used the word paradeisos, from which comes the English term “paradise” (compare Luke 23:43), to translate the Hebrew term for “garden.” The abundance of the garden is suggested by the fact that it contained every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food (Gen. 2:9). This very abundance will later become a source of temptation (3:6). On the tree of life, see note on 3:22–24. On the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, see note on 2:17.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:10–14 The description of the river that flowed out of Eden dividing into four rivers implies that Eden occupied a central location in the ancient world. In spite of the very specific details provided, however, Eden’s location remains a mystery. While the names Tigris and Euphrates are associated with the two rivers that surround Mesopotamia, the rivers Pishon and Gihon, as well as the regions of Havilah and Cush, have not been satisfactorily identified. The reference to gold and onyx points to the land’s rich resources.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:15–16 The overall picture of Eden suggests that the park-like garden is part of a divine sanctuary. The man is put in the garden to work it and keep it. Since God commanded Adam to work before Adam had committed any sin, work did not come as a result of sin. Productive work is part of God’s good purpose for humans. The fact that God commanded the man implies that God gave the man a leadership role, including the responsibility to guard and care for all of creation (v. 15). This leadership role is related to Adam’s relationship with Eve as his wife, who was given as “a helper fit for him” (v. 18). (On the NT understanding of the relationship between husband and wife, see Eph. 5:22–33.)
The Euphrates (2:14) is the longest and most important river in southwest Asia. Early settlers depended on the river for commerce and agriculture. The Euphrates and Tigris rivers form what is today the Shatt-al-Arab, a waterway that flows into the Persian Gulf.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:17 The fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil has been variously understood as giving (1) sexual awareness, (2) moral discrimination, (3) moral responsibility, and (4) moral experience. Of these possibilities, the last is the most likely. If Adam disobeys God and eats the fruit of this tree, he will come to know evil by experience. you shall surely die. What kind of death does this threaten: physical, spiritual, or some combination of the two? The Hebrew word can be used for any of these ideas, and the only way to discover what “surely die” means in this case is to see what happens as the story unfolds (see note on 3:4–5). In the day that you eat of it does not mean that death will come on that very day. It means that once the forbidden fruit is eaten, death will become a certainty.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:18 Not good is a jarring contrast to 1:31. Helper is one who supplies strength in an area that is lacking in the one who is helped. Fit for him or “matching him” (see esv footnote) is not the same as “like him.” A wife is not to be just like her husband but is to complement him. I will make him can also be translated “I will make for him,” which explains Paul’s statement in 1 Cor. 11:9.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:20 The man gave names. By naming the animals, the man demonstrates his authority over all the other creatures. Adam. See note on 5:1–2.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:23–24 This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. Compare 29:14. Marriage creates the closest of all human relationships. Heterosexual monogamy is the divine pattern for marriage that God established at creation. Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife. Marriage creates obligations that are more important than one’s duty to one’s parents. In ancient Israel, sons did not move away from home when they married. They lived near their parents and inherited their father’s land. But they “left” their parents in the sense of putting their wife’s welfare before that of their parents. The term “hold fast” is used elsewhere for practicing covenant faithfulness (e.g., Deut. 10:20). Thus, other Bible texts call marriage a “covenant” (e.g., Prov. 2:17; Mal. 2:14). Paul’s teaching on marriage in Eph. 5:25–32 is founded on this text. When a man leaves his parents and takes a wife, they shall become one flesh. That is, they become one unit, a union of man and woman. This oneness is consummated in sexual intercourse. Jesus appeals to this verse and to Gen. 1:27 when teaching about marriage (Matt. 19:4–5).
God created Eve, whose name means “life,” as a helper for Adam. Fashioned from one of Adam’s ribs, Eve became the mother (that is, the female ancestor) of all human beings. Though enjoying perfect fellowship with God, Eve was deceived by the serpent and disobeyed God by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Because of their sin, Adam and Eve were driven from the paradise of Eden and began to experience great hardship. For Eve, that included pain in childbearing. Yet, as promised in Genesis 3:15, one of her offspring would defeat the serpent and bring salvation and eternal life to all who put their trust in him. (Genesis 2:23)
GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:25 naked and . . . not ashamed. The man and woman are living in a state of innocent delight.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:1–24 The sudden arrival of a speaking serpent presents a challenge to the human couple. Their choice to disregard God’s instructions is an act of willful rebellion that has terrible consequences for all of creation. Nothing is said about where the serpent came from. The text does not indicate when or how the serpent became evil. It is clear, however, that evil entered the created world at some time after God’s “very good” work of creation was completed (1:31). Unlike the teachings of some other religions, the Bible never teaches that evil has always existed. See notes on Isa. 14:12–15; Ezek. 28:11–19.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:2–3 The woman’s response echoes the divine instruction given in 2:16–17 (see note on 2:17), although she fails to identify the tree clearly, and she adds, “neither shall you touch it.”
GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:4–5 The serpent directly contradicts what God has said. He presents the fruit of the tree as something worth having. By eating it, he says, Adam and Eve will be like God, knowing good and evil. The irony of the serpent’s remarks is that Adam and Eve, unlike the serpent, were already made in the image of God (1:26–27). They are already “like God.” This means they are expected to exercise authority over all the beasts of the field—including the serpent! By obeying the serpent, however, they betray the trust that God has placed in them. You will not surely die. It is sometimes claimed that the serpent is correct when he says this, for they do not immediately “die.” Further, their eyes are in fact opened (3:7), and God acknowledges that “the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil” (v. 22). Yet the serpent speaks only half-truths. What Adam and Eve will experience outside of Eden is not life as God intended. It is spiritual death.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:6 when the woman saw that the tree was good. Somehow the serpent has made the woman discontented with the permitted trees (2:16), and she desires instead the forbidden one. Apparently she is attracted to the tree’s ability to make one wise (see note on 2:17). she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. As Adam ate what God had forbidden, he was deliberately rebelling against God. The fact that he was “with” Eve at the time meant that he had failed to carry out his God-given responsibility to guard and “keep” both the garden and his wife (see 2:15). The disastrous consequences of Adam’s sin include the fall of mankind, the beginning of every kind of sin, suffering, and pain, along with spiritual and physical death for the entire human race.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:9 the LORD God called to the man . . . , “Where are you?” Both “man” and “you” are singular in Hebrew. God thus confronts Adam first, holding him primarily responsible for the sin committed by both Adam and Eve. Adam is thus treated as the representative or “head” of the husband-and-wife relationship, established before the fall (see note on Eph. 5:23–24).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:14–15 The serpent is punished for tempting the woman. It will live in ongoing hostility with the woman, which will be carried on by their respective offspring.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:15 This verse is usually understood as pointing forward to the defeat of the serpent by the offspring (that is, a descendant) of the woman. For this reason, it has been labeled the “Protoevangelium,” that is, the first announcement of the gospel. While Genesis does not explicitly identify the serpent with Satan, that is clearly what the apostle John understood (see Rev. 12:9; 20:2). The idea of the woman’s “offspring” is seen again in Gen. 4:25 in the birth of Seth. The rest of Genesis traces a single line of Seth’s descendants (see diagram), which will eventually produce a king through whom all the nations of the earth will be blessed. he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. The use of the singular “he” and “his” suggests that one particular person (“offspring”) is in view. The promise of this person comes to fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who is clearly presented in the NT as overcoming Satan (Heb. 2:14; 1 John 3:8; compare John 12:31). At the same time, he is “bruised” by Satan at the cross.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:16 Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you. God originally intended that there would be a complementary relationship between husband and wife, with the husband in a leadership role (see note on 2:15–16). But that plan has now been distorted and damaged by sin. This takes the form of “desire” on the part of the wife and heavy-handed “rule” on the part of the husband. The Hebrew term here for “desire” appears again in 4:7, where the Lord says to Cain that sin’s “desire is for you.” Eve will have the sinful “desire” to oppose Adam and to assert leadership over him. But Adam will also abandon his God-given role of leading, guarding, and caring for Eve. Instead, he will have a sinful, distorted desire to “rule” over her. Thus one of the most tragic results of Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God is ongoing conflict between husbands and wives, as they both rebel against their God-given roles and responsibilities in marriage. (See notes on Eph. 5:21–32 for the NT ideal for marriage.)
GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:17–19 Because he has eaten what was prohibited (v. 6), Adam will have to struggle to eat in the future. He will no longer enjoy the garden’s abundance but will have to work the ground from which he was taken (v. 23; see note on 2:8–9). The punishment is not the work itself (see note on 2:15–16) but rather the hardship and frustration that it will involve. To say that the ground is cursed and will produce thorns and thistles means that it will no longer be as productive as it was in Eden.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:19 Because of his sin, the man’s body will return to the ground, that is, he will die. Death was not a part of the original creation (see Rom. 5:12). The Bible looks forward to a time when nature will be set free from death and the other consequences of human sin (Rom. 8:19–22).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:20–21 God’s words of judgment are immediately followed by two actions that offer hope. First, the man names his wife Eve, which means “life-giver” (see esv footnote). Second, God makes clothing for Adam and Eve, which suggests that he still cares for them. Because the clothing requires the death of an animal, this can be seen as an anticipation of (1) the system of animal sacrifices that God would later institute to atone for sin, and (2) the death of Christ as the final atonement for sin.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:22–24 God begins a sentence in v. 22 and breaks off without finishing it. For the man to eat of the tree of life and thus live forever in his sinful condition is an unbearable thought, and God must waste no time in preventing it. therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden. (On the “tree of life,” see Rev. 2:7; 22:2, 14, 19.) Outside the garden the man will have to work the ground, but the task of keeping or guarding the garden is now given to the cherubim (Gen. 3:24).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:2–5 The fact that God had regard for Abel and his offering, but not for Cain, does not mean that shepherds are better than farmers or that animal offerings are better than plant offerings. Both kinds of offerings will be part of the later Levitical system (for offerings of the fruit of the ground, see Deut. 26:2). This passage and others suggest that God’s acceptance of Abel and rejection of Cain had to do with the attitudes of their hearts. Cain’s fundamentally bad heart can be seen in his resentment toward his brother and in his unloving attitude in the rest of the passage (see also 1 John 3:12). As compared to Cain’s offering, Abel’s offering (from the firstborn of his flock) is more costly, perhaps expressing greater devotion (see also Heb. 11:4).
Cherubim (3:24) are angels who guard holy places. They appear in various places in the Bible. “Cherubim” is the Hebrew plural form of “cherub.”
GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:6–7 The Lord’s words challenge Cain to do better. He still has the possibility of pleasing God. To do so, however, he must overcome the power of sin, which is like a wild beast seeking to devour him.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:9 am I my brother’s keeper? Cain denies any knowledge about his brother and shows no sign of remorse.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:10–12 Because his brother’s blood cries out to God from the ground, Cain will no longer be able to cultivate the soil. As seen throughout Scripture, human sin has an impact on the fertility of the earth (compare 3:17–18).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:13–16 Cain will be alienated from both the ground and God. He will become a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth. He fears that others will have such a dread of him that anyone who sees him will kill him. The precise nature of the mark on Cain is not known, except that it must have been something visible.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:17 Cain knew his wife. Presumably, Cain married his sister, since the whole human race descends from Adam and Eve (see 5:4). The later laws forbidding this practice, such as Lev. 18:9, would not have been relevant yet.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:18–22 Lamech’s immediate descendants are associated with animal breeding, music, and metalwork. Whereas Abel is linked to sheep (v. 2), Jabal raised livestock, which probably included cattle and donkeys, and possibly camels.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:23–24 Lamech killed a man merely for wounding or striking him. His response is out of proportion to the injury. sevenfold . . . seventy-sevenfold. Lamech says that his vengeful response makes him safer than Cain, who had only God’s protection (v. 15).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:25–26 another offspring. Compare “her offspring” (3:15). At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD. This suggests that the birth of Seth marks a new beginning for humanity. It probably refers to public worship, initially within Adam’s own family circle.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 5:1–6:8 Adam’s Descendants. This section of Genesis falls into two parts: 5:1–32 traces a single line of descendants from Adam to Noah, naming only one person in each generation (see diagram); 6:1–8 provides a worldwide picture of increasing human wickedness.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 5:1–32 Most people living after the flood (that is, after chs. 6–9) did not live nearly as long as the people of chs. 1–5 (see chart). This could have been due to some change in the structure of the earth or in the bodies of humans (or both) following the flood. Psalm 90:10 describes a normal life span as 70 or 80 years, which has more or less been the case throughout subsequent history.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 5:1–2 the book of the generations. This heading differs from the 10 others that provide the outline for Genesis (see note on 2:4) in that it refers to a “book.” This was probably something like a clay tablet. The book is named after Adam. The same Hebrew word is also translated in 5:1 by man and in 5:2 by Man. The word may function as a proper name, a common noun referring to a male individual, or a generic noun meaning both males and females. the likeness of God. See note on 1:27.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 5:3–5 The genealogy of Adam’s family through Seth contrasts with the seven generations linked to Cain (4:17–18). Instead of saying that Adam “fathered Seth,” which would be the normal wording for such a genealogy, the text says that Adam fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image. This language echoes 1:26–27.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 5:22–24 Enoch walked with God . . . and he was not, for God took him. The Hebrew verb for “walked” conveys a close relationship with God (compare 3:8; 6:9; 17:1; 24:40). Remarkably, because of this special relationship, Enoch does not die (compare 2 Kings 2:1–12).
Two men who never died. Enoch and Elijah are the only people in the Bible who did not die a natural death. Instead, they were “taken by God.”
GENESIS—NOTE ON 5:28–31 Lamech expects that Noah, whose name means “rest,” will bring both rest and comfort from the painful toil of working the soil (see 3:17–19).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:1–2 Although God had commanded mankind to multiply (1:28), their increasing numbers led to increasing wickedness on the earth. The problem was worsened by the joining of the sons of God and the daughters of man. Scholars have proposed at least two interpretations of this passage: (1) fallen angels were marrying the daughters of man; (2) male descendants of Seth were marrying the ungodly female descendants of Cain. However one interprets the passage, it is clear that the relationships described here involved sexual sin, as men saw and took any women they wanted.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:3 God announces that because of the immoral nature of people, their days shall be 120 years. This could mean either that the lives of human beings will no longer exceed 120 years, or that the flood will come in 120 years.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:4 The meaning of Nephilim is not clear. The only other OT occurrence of the term is in Num. 13:33, where the Israelite spies use it to describe a group living in Canaan. The Nephilim were mighty men or warriors and, as such, may well have contributed to the violence that filled the earth (see Gen. 6:13).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:6–7 The Hebrew word for regretted is sometimes translated “repent” and sometimes as “feel sorrow” or “be grieved.” God is grieved over his creation, which he at first saw as very good (1:31) but which is now filled with sin (see note on 1 Sam. 15:29).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:9–9:29 Noah’s Descendants. Chapters 6–9 describe a flood that leads to a renewal of the earth—a reminder of the creation account of 1:1–2:3. But while the land is cleansed and God makes a new start possible, human nature has not changed. This is clearly seen in the final verses of these chapters (9:20–29).
Favor in the eyes of the Lord. “Favor” (6:8) is another word for God’s grace. Of all the people living at the time of the flood, only Noah and his family found favor in God’s sight.
Noah was a righteous man who faithfully walked with God despite the wickedness of his generation. When God chose to destroy the earth because of its hopeless corruption, Noah alone found favor in his eyes. God instructed Noah to build an ark that would keep him and his family safe during the coming flood. Noah also took representative pairs of each kind of animal with him into the ark, to replenish the earth after the flood. God made a covenant with Noah, promising that he would never again destroy the earth with a flood. The NT calls Noah a “herald of righteousness” (2 Pet. 2:5). (Genesis 6:7–8)
GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:9 Noah’s personal righteousness explains why he is warned about the forthcoming deluge. Blameless conveys the idea of being without evident fault, though not necessarily sinless. walked with God. See note on 5:22–24.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:11–12 In contrast to Noah, the earth was corrupt in God’s sight. These verses confirm vv. 1–7. Here the emphasis is on the violence that fills the earth. Compare “bondage to corruption” (Rom. 8:21): the creation suffers because of mankind’s sin.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:15 In modern measurements, the ark would have been around 450 feet (140 m) long, 75 feet (23 m) wide, and 45 feet (14 m) high, displacing about 43,000 tons (about 39 million kg). The inside capacity would have been 1.4 million cubic feet (39,644 cubic m), with an approximate total deck area of 95,700 square feet (8,891 square m).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:17 Everything that is on the earth shall die. This does not necessarily mean that the flood had to cover the whole earth. Since the geographical perspective of ancient people was more limited, it is possible that the flood, while universal from their viewpoint, did not cover the entire globe. Genesis implies that prior to the Tower of Babel incident (see 11:1–9), people had not yet spread throughout the earth. Many interpreters argue that a huge regional flood may have been all that was necessary for God to destroy all humans. The expression “all the earth” (7:3; compare 8:9, “the whole earth”) does not exclude such a possibility. Later, “all the earth” came to Joseph to buy grain (41:57); here, “all the earth” clearly refers to the eastern Mediterranean seaboard. To support the view that the flood did in fact cover the entire globe, other interpreters point out that the text says “all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered” (7:19) and that the water was “fifteen cubits” above the tops of the mountains. If “the mountains of Ararat” (8:4) refers to the range that includes present-day Mount Ararat in Turkey (elevation 16,854 feet or 5,137 m), the amount of water necessary to cover it would be at least 16,854 feet above sea level.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:18–22 God indicates that he will establish a covenant with Noah (see note on 9:9–11).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 7:1–5 On the distinction between clean and not clean creatures, see Lev. 11:1–47 and Deut. 14:4–20. Since after the flood some clean animals will be offered as sacrifices (see Gen. 8:20) and some will be eaten as food (see 9:3), it was necessary to have more than one pair of each kind in the ark.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 7:11–12 The exact dates given for the flood (see 8:4–5, 13–14) show that it was a real event. all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. From below and above, water poured out to cover the land.
Why did Noah take seven pairs of each clean animal but only one pair of each unclean animal? After the flood, some clean animals were needed for making sacrifices and for food. To ensure their survival, it was necessary to have more than one pair of each kind in the ark.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 7:16 The safety of those in the ark depended on both human and divine action. the LORD shut him in. The use of the personal name “Yahweh” (“LORD”; see note on 2:4) emphasizes God’s special relationship with Noah.
Dates are in the form of month, day, and Noah’s year, as given in the text. Hence, 2/10/600 means the tenth day of the second month in Noah’s 600th year. Months are calculated at 30 days each. Dates in parentheses are guesses based on dates given in the text.
| Reference | Event | Date | Day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7:4, 10 | Announcement of the flood 7 days in advance | (2/10/600) | Sunday | |
| Waters prevail: 150-day period | 7:11, 13 | Flood begins; Noah and family enter the ark | 2/17/600 | Sunday |
| 7:12 | Flood lasts 40 days and ends | (3/27/600) | Friday | |
| 8:4 | Ark rests on mountains of Ararat after waters prevail and abate for 150 days total | 7/17/600 | Friday | |
| Waters abate: 150-day period | 8:5 | Mountaintops eventually become visible | 10/1/600 | Wednesday |
| 8:7 | Raven sent out (after 40 days of mountaintop visibility) | (11/10/600) | Sunday | |
| 8:8 | Dove sent out | (11/17/600) | Sunday | |
| 8:10 | Dove’s second flight (7 days later); returns with olive leaf | (11/24/600) | Sunday | |
| 8:12 | Dove’s third flight (7 days later); does not return | (12/1/600) | Sunday | |
| 8:3 | Waters fully abated; end of second 150-day period | (12/17/600) | Wednesday | |
| Earth dries: 70-day period | 8:13 | Noah eventually removes the covering of the ark | 1/1/601 | Wednesday |
| 8:14–19 | Earth dried out; Noah leaves ark | 2/27/601 | Wednesday | |
| Total time in ark: 370 days |
GENESIS—NOTE ON 7:17–24 the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days (v. 24). The figure of 150 days, which includes the 40 days of rain mentioned in v. 12, is repeated in 8:3 (see chart). In both places it refers to the five-month period between the detailed chronology in 7:11 (at the very start of the flood, on the 17th day of the second month) and 8:4 (when the ark comes to rest on the 17th day of the seventh month). It will be an additional seven months before the land is sufficiently dry for those in the ark to leave it safely (see 8:13–14). On the depth of the flood (above the mountains), see note on 6:17.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 8:1 God remembered Noah. When the Bible says that God “remembers” someone or that he remembers his covenant with someone, it means he is about to act for that person’s welfare (see 9:15; 19:29; 30:22; Ex. 2:24; 32:13). God proceeds to renew everything, echoing what he did in Genesis 1. God made a wind blow over the earth. The Hebrew word for “wind” is also sometimes translated “Spirit” (e.g., 1:2; 6:3).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 8:2–4 In v. 2 God reverses the process started in 7:11. The waters both rose and fell during the period of 150 days (see note on 7:17–24). Mountains of Ararat indicates a range of mountains of which Mount Ararat (in modern Turkey) is the highest. The text does not name the specific mountain on which the ark came to rest.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 8:20–22 Noah’s burnt offering is intended to express gratitude for divine deliverance. It is also an act of atonement. Despite the human tendency to sin, atonement through sacrifice is possible, resulting in a peaceful relationship between the Lord and humanity. I will never again curse the ground means that God will not send another flood. He is not revoking the curse pronounced in 3:17, which continues (the words for “curse” in these two verses are different; see esv footnote). These verses show the importance of sacrifice in the Bible’s plan of salvation.
Extending an olive branch. The universal symbol for peace—a dove with an olive branch—is based on the Bible story of the flood (8:11).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 9:1–4 The earlier positive instruction that humans should exercise authority over the other living creatures (1:28–30) is replaced by the negative comment that those creatures will fear and dread humans. God now permits the taking of animal life for food (in contrast to 1:30, where man and animals are given “every green plant” for food). However, the animal’s blood remains sacred and is not to be consumed; this is because the blood is the source of life, and all life is from God (see Lev. 17:12–14).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 9:5–6 From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. Any animal or person that takes a human life will be held accountable by God (see Ex. 20:13; 21:28). Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed. Human life is to be valued so highly because God made man in his own image. To murder another human being is to murder what is most like God, and is thus like an attack on God himself. Many see this as permitting the death penalty for murder—with the understanding that the person’s guilt has been established beyond any reasonable doubt (thus the requirement of two or three witnesses, Deut. 19:15). A further requirement is that such a death sentence must always be carried out by the established authorities (see Deut. 19:15–21; Rom. 13:1–5).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 9:9–11 This is the first covenant explicitly named in Genesis. A covenant formally binds two parties together in a relationship, with consequences for keeping or breaking the covenant. God makes this kind of covenant with a group of people through one person who represents the entire group. Everyone else then experiences the covenant by being included “in” the representative (see note on 12:3). Emphasizing that this particular covenant is for all living creatures, God states that there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 9:12–17 The rainbow will be a reminder of God’s everlasting covenant. This does not mean that rainbows did not exist till this time.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 9:20 The reference to Noah as a man of the soil and his success in growing vines points to a fresh start after the flood (see note on 5:28–31).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 9:21–23 became drunk. The brevity of the description of Noah’s drunkenness indicates God’s disapproval. Ham’s actions of looking on the nakedness of his father in the tent and then reporting this to his brothers bring serious criticism. There is no indication that perverse sexual behavior was involved. Though the text does not explicitly state what happened, it is clear that Ham humiliated and dishonored his father, and apparently he involved his brothers in that humiliation.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 9:24–27 The designation of Ham as the youngest son is peculiar, since he is always listed after Shem and before Japheth. Possibly the traditional order of names does not reflect the birth sequence of the boys. Cursed be Canaan. Noah’s reaction to Ham’s action is to curse Canaan, Ham’s son. a servant of servants shall he be. This passage was wrongly used in past centuries to justify the enslavement of African people, resulting in grievous abuse, injustice, and inhumanity to people created in the image of God. Noah’s curse of Canaan, which focuses on his being a servant, anticipates the judgment that will later befall the Canaanites (compare Deut. 7:1–3 with Gen. 10:15–19). This, coupled with the fact that the curse falls on Canaan alone and not on Ham’s other children (who settled in northern Africa), shows how illegitimate it was to use this text to justify enslaving African people. (For more about biblical teaching on slavery, see notes on 1 Cor. 7:21; Eph. 6:5; Col. 3:22–25; 1 Tim. 1:10.) Shem is highlighted in Noah’s remark that Japheth will dwell in the tents of Shem (Gen. 9:27).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 10:1–11:9 The Descendants of Noah’s Sons. The next main section of Genesis shows how humanity becomes divided into different nations.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 10:1–32 This passage shows how the descendants of Noah’s three sons populated different regions of the earth, forming nations. This process covered a long time, as families migrated to particular regions.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 10:2–5 From these the coastland peoples spread. This places Japheth’s descendants in the coastal regions and islands of the Mediterranean Sea.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 10:6–20 Many of Israel’s enemies, such as the Egyptians, Babylonians, Philistines, and various Canaanite groups, descended from Ham. Cush and Put are regions south and west of Egypt, respectively. Cush fathered Nimrod (v. 8). This may seem unusual since Cush is linked geographically with Africa, and Nimrod with the great cities of Babel and Nineveh in Assyria. The military might of the Assyrians and Babylonians may account for the observations that Nimrod was a mighty man and a mighty hunter (vv. 8, 9). These descriptions are probably to be viewed negatively. Nimrod’s aggression runs totally counter to God’s intentions. Babel . . . in the land of Shinar (v. 10). These details link Nimrod with the Tower of Babel episode (11:2, 9). Nimrod’s kingdom is the opposite of what God desired. The great city (10:12) probably refers to a region that included both Nineveh and Calah (see Jonah 3:3). “Canaanite” is sometimes used to cover all the different groups mentioned in Gen. 10:15–19 (e.g., 28:1).
c. 2200 B.C.
Many of the people groups mentioned in Genesis 10 can be identified with relative certainty. In general, the descendants of Ham settled in North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean coast, the descendants of Shem in Mesopotamia and Arabia, and the descendants of Japheth in Europe and the greater area of Asia Minor.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 10:21–32 Abraham was descended from Shem. Many of Shem’s descendants are Arabian tribes or kingdoms. Shem’s great-grandson Eber receives special attention (v. 21), being mentioned even before Shem’s own sons are named (v. 22). The designation “Hebrew” (see 14:13) is derived from “Eber.” He called one of his sons Peleg (which could mean “division”), for in his days the earth was divided (10:25). This is probably a reference to the Tower of Babel (11:1–9).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 11:1–9 The story of the Tower of Babel is more important than its length suggests. It tells of a unified humanity using all its resources to establish a city that is the antithesis of what God intended when he created the world. The city builders see themselves as establishing their own destiny without any reference to the Lord.
| Primeval History (1:1–11:26) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction | General heading | Specific heading | Section introduced |
| 2:4 | These are the generations of | the heavens and the earth | 2:4–4:26 |
| 5:1 | These are the generations of | Adam | 5:1–6:8 |
| 6:9 | These are the generations of | Noah | 6:9–9:29 |
| 10:1 | These are the generations of | the sons of Noah | 10:1–11:9 |
| 11:10 | These are the generations of | Shem | 11:10–26 |
| Patriarchal History (11:27–50:26) | |||
| 11:27 | These are the generations of | Terah | 11:27–25:11 |
| 25:12 | These are the generations of | Ishmael | 25:12–18 |
| 25:19 | These are the generations of | Isaac | 25:19–35:29 |
| 36:1, 9 | These are the generations of | Esau | 36:1–37:1 |
| 37:2 | These are the generations of | Jacob | 37:2–50:26 |
GENESIS—NOTE ON 11:1 The description of the whole earth having one language indicates that the present episode happens before the events in ch. 10, which specifically mentions nations and languages. It may have occurred during the period covered in ch. 10, especially if it is linked to the naming of Peleg in 10:25 (see note on 10:21–32).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 11:2–4 Come, . . . let us make a name for ourselves. Contrary to God’s plan that humanity should fill the earth (e.g., 1:22, 28; 9:1, 7), the builders of Babel want to prevent the population from being dispersed over . . . the whole earth (11:4).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 11:9 This verse links the name of the city, Babel, with the verb that means “to confuse, to mix, to mingle.” This is also the name used in the OT for the city of Babylon. Babylon symbolizes humanity’s ambition to dethrone God and make the earth its own (see Revelation 17–18).
Sinful pride and rebellion against God brought negative consequences to the builders of the Tower of Babel, introducing the many languages that now exist around the world.
What did the Tower of Babel look like? The Tower of Babel (11:1–9) probably resembled the ziggurats of ancient Mesopotamia. The most famous of these is the Great Ziggurat of Ur. Its remains can be seen today in southeastern Iraq.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 11:10–26 Shem’s Descendants. Resembling the list of Adam’s descendants in 5:3–31, this genealogy traces Noah’s line through Shem down to Terah, the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran (see diagram). The length of time these men live is much shorter than for men living before the flood (see 5:1–32; see chart).
The ancient city of Ur lies 186 miles (300 km) southeast of modern Baghdad on a bend of the original course of the Euphrates River. Major excavations took place at the site in 1922–1934 under the direction of Sir Leonard Woolley. Ur became an important city in Mesopotamia near the end of the third millennium B.C. The governor of Ur, a man named Ur-Nammu (c. 2113–2095 B.C.), brought the city to great prominence. He took the titles “King of Ur, King of Sumer and Akkad.” Thus was founded the Third Dynasty of Ur (2113–2006 B.C.). This period was one of great peace and prosperity, the high point of the city’s existence. This diagram of the city represents the Third Dynasty of Ur, and it includes a central palace and a temple complex. The latter has as its center the Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu that is dedicated to the moon god Nanna. Ur was the birthplace of the Hebrew patriarch Abraham (Gen. 11:27–32), and the plan below represents the city that he would have been familiar with.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 11:27–50:26 Patriarchal History. The story now moves from the general survey of humanity to the specific family from which Israel comes.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 11:27–25:18 Terah’s Descendants. These chapters focus on the immediate family of Terah, paying special attention to Abram. Abram will later have his name changed to “Abraham” (see 17:5).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 11:28 Ur of the Chaldeans was a city in southern Babylonia, the remains of which are located in modern Iraq.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 11:29 The name Sarai is later changed to “Sarah” (see 17:15). The initial inability of the patriarchs’ wives to have children is a recurring theme in Genesis (see 25:21; 29:31).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 11:31–32 Haran was an important crossroads and commercial center in the ancient Near East.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 11:31 Although Terah’s ambition is to move his family from Ur to Canaan, they settle instead in northern Mesopotamia at Haran (in modern-day Turkey). The spelling of the town name “Haran” in Hebrew is quite distinct from the name of Terah’s third son, also named Haran. This is the Bible’s first reference to “the land of Canaan.”
GENESIS—NOTE ON 12:1–3 Through Abram, all the families of the earth will be blessed. This marks an important turning point in Genesis, as it reverses the predominantly negative implications of chs. 3–11.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 12:1 said. In Acts 7:2–3, Stephen says that God called Abram before he lived in Haran; the esv footnote, “had said,” shows that the grammar allows for this interpretation.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 12:2 make your name great. This was the failed goal of the tower builders (11:4).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 12:3 Although Abram is called to be a blessing to others, much depends on how they will treat him. The text speaks of those who bless (plural) but of him who dishonors (singular), emphasizing that many more will be blessed than cursed. This promise that the nations will be blessed through Abraham is later reaffirmed to Isaac and Jacob (see 22:18; 26:4; 28:14). in you. This may simply indicate “by means of you,” but more likely this expression designates Abram as the covenantal representative for a people. To be “in” some person is to be a member of the group that person represents (see 2 Sam. 20:1).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 12:4 So Abram went. Abram’s response to God’s call was immediate and unquestioning. Lot went with him. Abram may have been responsible for Lot after the death of Haran (11:27–28). By this time Lot was a wealthy adult (see 13:5–6).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 12:5 the people that they had acquired in Haran. Abram had under his authority a substantial number of men; many of them may have been herdsmen (see 13:7). Genesis 14:14 mentions 318 trained men “born in his household,” and 17:12 refers to males whom Abram has bought with money from a foreigner. Abram migrates with everything he possesses from northern Mesopotamia to Canaan.
c. 2091 B.C.
Abram was born in Ur, a powerful city in southern Babylonia. Abram’s father, Terah, eventually led the family toward the land of Canaan but decided to settle in Haran (see Gen. 11:27–31). After Terah’s death, the Lord called Abram to go “to the land that I will show you” (Canaan), which he promises to give to Abram’s descendants.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 12:6 Shechem is the first of a number of locations in Canaan associated with Abram. the oak of Moreh. As a seminomadic herdsman traveling with a large group, Abram probably camped away from urban areas; these locations are identified by distinctive natural features (e.g., trees; see 13:18). At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Other people already occupied the land when Abram arrived.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 12:7 the LORD appeared. This is the first of a number of times that God shows himself to the patriarchs. altar to the LORD. Altars were common places for worshiping God in the patriarchal period because no central sanctuary existed.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 12:8 From Shechem, Abram migrates southward to a location between Bethel and Ai, before going much farther in the direction of Egypt.
Altars were tables or platforms used for presenting sacrifices to God. They could be built of stone, mud-brick, or dirt mounds. The first altar mentioned in the Bible is the one Noah built after the flood (8:20; see also 12:8).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 12:9 The Negeb is the southern region of Canaan.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 12:10–20 A severe famine in Canaan forces Abram to seek refuge in Egypt. Because of the Nile River, Egypt was a more likely place than Canaan to find food during a drought. As is common in biblical stories, the narrator offers no moral evaluation of the participants’ actions.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 12:11–13 Abram devises a plan, based on a half-truth (see 20:12), implying that he thinks God is unable to protect him. Yet when the plot backfires, the Lord rescues him (12:17).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 12:15 Pharaoh is the title of the king of Egypt, not a personal name.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 12:16 To own camels, Abram must have been wealthy, since they were scarce in this time and place.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 12:17 Plagues on Pharaoh and his house will be seen again in the exodus from Egypt, when God will punish another pharaoh for his mistreatment of Abram’s descendants.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 13:1–18 Expelled from Egypt, Abram retraces his steps northward, through the Negeb, back to the hill country between Bethel and Ai where he had previously built an altar (12:8). Competition for pasture soon leads to strife between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot. When Abram offers Lot first choice of the land, Lot chooses the fertile Jordan Valley. Afterward, the Lord reaffirms that Abram’s descendants will possess all of Canaan.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 13:7 The scarcity of pastureland may have been related to the fact that the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land. Compare the similar statement in 12:6.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 13:10 the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere. Lot’s experience with the effects of famine (12:10, probably from drought) makes his choice of the fertile Jordan Valley understandable. like the garden of the LORD. A reference to the garden of Eden, which was also well watered (see 2:10). This description of the Jordan Valley predates the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (chs. 18–19), which may well have made this area less suitable for flocks and herds.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 13:11–13 Lot’s decision to settle among the cities of the valley brings him into the vicinity of Sodom.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 13:14–17 At this stage, Abram still has no children.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 13:18 Abram relocates near Hebron (also known as Kiriath-arba; see 23:2), setting up his tent by the oaks of Mamre. Since one of Abram’s allies is “Mamre the Amorite” (14:13), the oaks are probably named after him. altar. See note on 12:7. At this time, Hebron was a major settlement in the Judean hills, covering between six and seven acres.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 14:1–24 After separating from Abram and settling in Sodom, Lot is taken captive by an alliance of four kings who invade the Jordan Valley. Abram gathers a small army and recovers Lot, leading to an interesting encounter with the king of Salem.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 14:3 The Salt Sea is the Dead Sea.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 14:4 After twelve years of being ruled by others, the kings of the Jordan Valley gain independence for one year.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 14:5–7 Under the leadership of Chedorlaomer, the invading kings defeat several tribal groups. The six locations reveal that the invaders moved southward along the King’s Highway in Transjordan as far as the Gulf of Aqaba before turning northward. They eventually arrive at Hazazon-tamar, also known as Engedi (see 2 Chron. 20:2).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 14:13–16 Abram the Hebrew. This is the first occurrence of the term “Hebrew” in the Bible (see note on 10:21–32). The town of Laish in northern Canaan was later renamed Dan (14:14; see Judg. 18:29). The use of the name “Dan” here indicates that this account was edited sometime later. A nighttime assault allows Abram’s forces to overcome their opponents, who flee northward.
Non-Levite Priests? Melchizedek (14:17–21) and Jesus Christ are the only approved priests in the Bible who were not Levites. The NT book of Hebrews explains why this is important.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 14:17–24 This passage emphasizes Abram’s reliance on God rather than on military might to gain possession of Canaan.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 14:17 The Valley of Shaveh, also known as the King’s Valley, lay to the east of Jerusalem (see 2 Sam. 18:18).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 14:18 Melchizedek (which means “king of righteousness”; see Heb. 7:2) generously provides a meal for the returning victors. Salem is possibly a shortened version of “Jerusalem” (see Ps. 76:2) and is related to shalom, the Hebrew word for “peace” (see Heb. 7:2). He was priest of God Most High. Although very little is known about Melchizedek, he provides an interesting example of a priest-king linked to Jerusalem. See Heb. 5:5–10; 6:20–7:17 for a study of Jesus Christ as belonging to the “order of Melchizedek.”
GENESIS—NOTE ON 14:19–20 Melchizedek’s blessing praises God for giving Abram victory. When Abram gives Melchizedek a tenth of everything (that is, a tithe), he shows that he believes what Melchizedek says.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 14:22 the LORD, God Most High. By combining the divine name “Yahweh” (translated “LORD”; see note on 2:4) with ’El ‘Elyon, “God Most High,” Abram indicates that Yahweh and ’El ‘Elyon are one and the same deity.
Melchizedek is among the most mysterious figures in Scripture. King of Salem, a city identified with Jerusalem, and “priest of God Most High,” Melchizedek’s name means “king of righteousness.” Following Abraham’s defeat of Chedorlaomer and his rescue of Lot, Melchizedek provided a meal of bread and wine for Abraham and his men. He then blessed Abraham, attributing Abraham’s victory over his enemies to God Most High. In response to Melchizedek’s blessing, Abraham gave the priest-king a tenth of everything he had. David mentions Melchizedek in the messianic Psalm 110, and the writer of Hebrews presents Melchizedek as a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ, who is both priest and king. (Genesis 14:18–20)
GENESIS—NOTE ON 15:1–21 Verses 1–6 of ch. 15 focus on Abram’s concern that he is still childless; vv. 7–21 focus on his desire for assurance that the land of Canaan will belong to his descendants. God’s conditional promise in 12:2 that Abram will become a “great nation” is now guaranteed by a covenant, although the fulfillment will not take place until several centuries after Abram’s death.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 15:1 In ch. 14 Abram rejected the victory spoils that the king of Sodom offered. In response (After these things), God states that Abram’s reward shall be very great.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 15:2 the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus. This individual is not named elsewhere. The context suggests he is a trusted member of Abram’s household, possibly a slave.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 15:6 This key verse in Genesis is quoted four times in the NT (Rom. 4:3, 22; Gal. 3:6; James 2:23). Faith in God requires trusting him (see notes on John 1:12–13; Heb. 11:1), based on the truthfulness of his words. Faith in God leads to obeying his commands. Abram believed God would give him a son despite many years of childlessness. counted . . . as righteousness. Before Abram has shown himself righteous by his deeds, God sees him as righteous because of his faith.
Abram believed the LORD, and that was the basis for God counting him as righteous. Such faith remains the basis for God’s justification of Christians in the NT (Gal. 2:16).
God called Abraham to leave his native country for a land that he would show him. When Abraham arrived in Canaan, God promised to give the land to him and his descendants, who would become the nation of Israel. The Lord promised that the whole world would be blessed through Abraham and his descendants. Abraham faced the ultimate test of faith when God commanded him to sacrifice his son Isaac. Because Abraham was willing to do so, God once again promised to bless him and to multiply his offspring. God spared Isaac from death by providing a substitute sacrifice, foreshadowing the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross. (Genesis 15:5–6)
GENESIS—NOTE ON 15:9–17 The ritual described here is possibly a type of oath. God is saying that he will become like the dead animals if he does not keep his word (see Jer. 34:18–20). Another interpretation is that the sacrificial animals symbolize Abram’s descendants and the “birds of prey” (Gen. 15:11) signify their enemies (unclean nations).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 15:13–16 Four hundred years appears to be a round figure. and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. The Lord’s promise to Abram was fulfilled 600 to 800 years later at the time of the exodus. for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete. The Amorites are one of the main groups living in Canaan (vv. 19–21) and are descendants of Ham (see notes on ch. 10). God’s comment implies that the Amorites’ land will be taken as an act of punishment for their sin. See note on Josh. 6:17–18.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 15:17 The smoking fire pot and flaming torch symbolize God’s presence, which is often associated with fire (e.g., Ex. 13:21–22).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 15:18–21 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram. This covenant differs from the one described in ch. 17. (On covenants, see note on 9:9–11.) God unconditionally pledges that Abram’s offspring will possess this land, linking this covenant with the earlier conditional promise that Abram would become a great nation (12:2). from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates. The designation “river of Egypt” is unclear. It could refer to the Wadi el Arish (midway between Israel and the Nile). Or, “river” could refer to the eastern branch of the Nile. This promise was probably fulfilled for a time in the reign of Solomon (see 1 Kings 4:21).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 16:1–16 Sarai seeks to resolve the problem of her barrenness by having her maidservant, Hagar, bear a child on her behalf.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 16:2 Abram listened to the voice of Sarai may mean that he gave in too readily to his wife’s request (see v. 6).
Taking servants as wives. It was common in ancient cultures for a married man to take a servant as a wife (16:2). But this was contrary to God’s original design for marriage (2:24).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 16:3 as a wife. Hagar’s status within Abram’s household is changed from servant to wife, although this does not place her on a par with Sarai (see note on 25:5–6). While the OT records occasions of polygamy, these relationships are usually difficult and are never encouraged in the Bible (see 2:24; Deut. 17:17).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 16:5–7 Sarai initially directs her anger at Abram, and he allows her to deal harshly with Hagar. The human solution to Sarai’s childlessness creates new problems.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 16:7 The angel of the LORD. The Hebrew word for “angel” may also be translated “messenger.” There is something mysterious about this figure. In 19:1 the “two angels” who arrive at Sodom resemble human beings (in 18:2 they are called “men”). When “the angel of the LORD” speaks, his words are perceived as being God’s words, giving the impression that the angel is identical with God. On this basis, some Christians believe this is the preincarnate Christ. the spring on the way to Shur. Hagar’s escape takes her toward Egypt, her homeland. The location of the spring/well is clarified in 16:14, when it is named “Beer-lahai-roi.”
GENESIS—NOTE ON 16:9 God commands Hagar to have a better attitude toward her mistress, Sarai. Instead of despising her, she is to submit to her authority.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 16:11–12 Ishmael means “God hears.” God has observed Hagar’s suffering. The angel promises Hagar that her son will not need to serve others. However, he will live a life of hostility toward others.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 16:13 here I have seen him who looks after me. Although this could imply that Hagar actually saw God, it could also mean she understands that God sees or “looks after” her. He is the God of seeing.
Ishmael was Abraham’s eldest son. His mother was Hagar, the maidservant of Abraham’s wife Sarah. Ishmael was around 16 years old when his half-brother, Isaac, was born. Sarah overheard Ishmael mocking his younger brother, so she angrily expelled Hagar and Ishmael from her household and sent them to wander in the desert. God protected them, however, and promised that Ishmael would become a great nation. Ishmael grew to be strongly independent and, as the Lord had prophesied, he lived a life of hostility toward others. Ishmael settled in the wilderness of Paran, where he became an expert archer. Because Ishmael was Abraham’s son, God blessed him. He had 12 sons, who became princes of 12 tribes. (Genesis 16:11–12)
GENESIS—NOTE ON 16:14 Beer-lahai-roi means “well of the Living One who sees me.”
GENESIS—NOTE ON 16:15 By naming Ishmael, Abram publicly acknowledges him as his son and heir.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 16:16 eighty-six years old. Ishmael was born 11 years after Abram settled in Canaan.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 17:1–27 Thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael, the Lord appears to Abram and announces that he will establish an eternal covenant with Abram and his offspring. Abram will become the father of many nations. The sign of the covenant is circumcision. The covenant will be established with Isaac but not Ishmael (although Ishmael, by being circumcised, will enjoy some of the benefits of the covenant).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 17:1–2 God Almighty. Like many other names for God in Genesis, the common Semitic word for “God” is followed by a particular attribute of God. This name emphasizes God’s power, which will enable Sarai to bear a son. that I may make my covenant. Unlike the unconditional covenant in ch. 15, here a condition is clear: walk before God and be blameless (see note on 17:19).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 17:4–5 the father of a multitude of nations. These words summarize the covenant being established by God. To underline their importance, the words are repeated at the end of v. 5: your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 17:6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful. This promise echoes the divine blessing given at creation (1:28) and later repeated to Noah after the flood (9:1). kings shall come from you. Fruitfulness includes exercising authority over the earth on God’s behalf (1:28; 9:1–7).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 17:10 Circumcision was not a Hebrew invention. For example, it was used in Egypt as an act of ritual purity.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 17:11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins. Circumcision, cutting off the foreskin of the penis, creates a mark that would not normally be visible to others.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 17:12–13 eight days old. To ensure that the covenant extends to the next generation, all newborn male children are to be circumcised eight days after they are born. The covenant is not about establishing racial purity, since males who are not Abraham’s offspring are included.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 17:14 shall be cut off from his people. Uncircumcised males were excluded from the benefits of the covenant. Circumcision distinguished those who believed in the importance of God’s promises to Abraham from those who did not. For the NT view on circumcision, see Rom. 2:25–29; 1 Cor. 7:18–19; and Gal. 6:15.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 17:15–16 The name Sarai is changed to Sarah; both forms mean “princess.”
GENESIS—NOTE ON 17:19 Isaac means “he laughs.” The theme of laughter occurs in several passages associated with the birth of Isaac. See v. 17; 18:12–15; 21:6, 9. I will establish my covenant with him. While Ishmael and the other male members of Abraham’s household are also circumcised, the covenant will continue through Isaac (see 17:7, 20–21; and chart). This line eventually leads to Jesus Christ, through whom God’s blessing comes to the nations.
Sarah was Abraham’s wife and was also his half-sister. On two occasions, to save himself from possible danger, Abraham said that Sarah was his “sister,” failing to mention that she was also his wife. After many years of not being able to bear children, Sarah encouraged Abraham to start a family with her maidservant, Hagar. This plan backfired when, upon conceiving, Hagar became condescending toward Sarah. Later, God promised Abraham that he would give him a son through Sarah. Since she was 90 years old at the time, and Abraham himself was 100, Sarah’s initial response to the promise was laughter. However, one year later, Sarah gave birth to Isaac, the child of promise. She thus became an ancestor of Christ. (Genesis 17:15–16)
Isaac means “he laughs.” When Abraham and Sarah heard that they were going to have a son in their old age, they both laughed (17:17; 18:12). When Isaac was born, however, they and all their friends laughed with joy (21:6)!
| Offspring | Explanation | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Natural, physical offspring | Physical descendants of Abraham | Ishmael, Isaac, the sons of Keturah (and by extension Esau, Jacob, etc.) |
| Natural, yet special offspring | Physical descendants of Abraham especially tied to God’s elective and saving purposes | Isaac (by extension Jacob and the entire nation of Israel) |
| Promised offspring | The true, unique offspring of Abraham | A distinctive line of offspring, starting earlier with Seth and continuing through Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Israel, and David, culminating in Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:16) |
| Spiritual offspring | Those united with Christ (the promised offspring) | Jews and Gentiles who trust in the Messiah |
GENESIS—NOTE ON 17:20 God blesses Ishmael with the promise that he will become a great nation (see 25:12–18), even though God favors the yet-to-be-born Isaac.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 18:1–15 The Lord appears to Abraham and announces that Sarah will bear a son, about this time next year.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 18:1 Although Abram settled at the oaks of Mamre many years earlier (13:18), he is still dwelling in a tent (see Heb. 11:9).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 18:2 Abraham’s actions suggest that he viewed the three men as very important. he ran. In the Middle East, a socially prominent elderly man would not normally respond in this way. bowed himself to the earth. While this may have been a common greeting (see 19:1), it shows that Abraham regards the visitors as worthy of great respect.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 18:3 O Lord. The term here is a distinctive one for God in the OT (e.g., 20:4). The polite term of respect “my lord” (e.g., 23:6) has a slight difference of spelling in Hebrew. Clearly Abraham recognizes that one of his visitors is divine.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 18:4–8 Although Abraham speaks of a little water and a morsel of bread, he prepares a large meal. The writer of Hebrews was probably thinking of the events of vv. 2–8 and 19:1–3 when he wrote of people who had “entertained angels unawares” (Heb. 13:2).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 18:11 The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. She has ceased to have menstrual cycles, indicating that her reproductive years have ended.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 18:12 Sarah honors Abraham with a title of dignity and respect: my lord. First Peter 3:6 notes this, indicating that she is submitting to and obeying her husband.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 18:16–19:29 The Lord reveals to Abraham his plan to destroy Sodom and then carries out that plan. Through Abraham’s intercession, Lot and his two daughters escape. The city’s destruction is fully justified because of its overwhelming wickedness (compare 13:13).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 18:17–19 God tells Abraham what he is about to do, since Abraham has a unique role to fulfill regarding his own descendants and all the nations of the earth.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 18:21 I will go down to see. This remark does not mean that God’s knowledge is limited (compare 11:5). It simply means he is giving his direct attention to the matter.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 18:23–25 Abraham’s response is probably prompted by his concern for Lot. Abraham wonders if God intends to destroy the righteous along with the wicked.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 18:26–33 God eventually affirms that for the sake of ten I will not destroy Sodom (v. 32). He assures Abraham that he will not punish the righteous along with the wicked.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 19:1–3 The two angels. These are the two men who accompanied the Lord in ch. 18 but then separated from him (see 18:22). Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. These verses parallel the opening verses of ch. 18. Like Abraham, Lot greets the two men by bowing before them, offering them hospitality. There is no report of his wife assisting him. Unleavened bread implies it was baked in haste. By resembling Abraham’s earlier actions, Lot demonstrates that he is righteous, unlike the men of Sodom.
The city gate was a place where leaders made key decisions (Prov. 31:23; Lam. 5:14). Lot’s presence at the city gate (Gen. 19:1) shows that he had a position of importance in Sodom.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 19:4 the men of the city. Every male in Sodom, it seems, both young and old, was involved in the attempted rape of the two visitors.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 19:5 that we may know them. In Hebrew the verb “to know” sometimes implies sexual intercourse (e.g., 4:1, 17, 25; 19:8; compare Judg. 19:22). The context suggests that the men of Sodom intend to have homosexual relations with the two visitors, hence the origin of the term “sodomy.” By acting so wickedly against defenseless strangers, the entire community invites divine punishment.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 19:6–9 Lot’s readiness to protect the two men from the mob is admirable. In desperation he offers his two unmarried daughters as substitutes—a shocking, cowardly, and inexcusable act, even if he intended this only as a bluff, or expected the offer to be rejected. The reaction of the crowd only confirms the truly evil nature of their intentions.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 19:9 While Lot addresses them as “brothers” (v. 7), the crowd resents him as a foreigner who has become the judge.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 19:16 he lingered. Even Lot is slow to grasp the seriousness of the situation.
Abraham’s nephew Lot traveled with him to the promised land of Canaan. When the combined wealth of Abraham and Lot proved too much for one place, Abraham generously offered his nephew first choice of the land. Lot chose the fertile Jordan Valley, settling in Sodom. Later, Abraham rescued Lot when he was taken captive by invaders. When the wicked city of Sodom was destroyed, God allowed Lot’s family to escape. Lot’s wife disobeyed by looking back, however, and was turned into a pillar of salt. Filled with fear, Lot and his daughters hid in a cave. Both daughters, desperate to have children, tricked Lot into fathering a son with them. Despite his shortcomings, Lot is described in 2 Pet. 2:7–10 as a righteous man. (Genesis 19:15–16)
GENESIS—NOTE ON 19:17–23 Since the entire valley will be destroyed, Lot is told to escape to the hills. Lot thinks this will be too difficult and therefore asks to be given refuge in a small city in the valley. The Lord grants this request, further showing his mercy to Lot amid the judgment on Sodom.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 19:24–25 the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. This judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah, the flood of chs. 6–9, and the later destruction of the Canaanites (Deut. 20:16–18) all demonstrate God’s righteous wrath against sin, his mercy in rescuing the godly from destruction, and the certainty of the final judgment to come.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 19:26 The pillar of salt may have been composed of the fiery matter raining in molten lumps from the sky.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 19:27–29 The text now focuses briefly on Abraham, reminding the reader of his intercession for Lot and his family (18:20–33).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 19:31–38 Lot’s daughters had intercourse with him on consecutive nights, but he was unaware of it. This unseemly episode marked the origin of the Moabites and Ammonites.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 20:1–18 King Abimelech takes Sarah into his harem, which seems to put at risk God’s promise that Sarah will bear Abraham a son.
What is the Negeb? The Negeb (20:1) is a dry area of rolling hills in southern Israel. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived there. Hagar sought refuge in the Negeb. Later, it provided refuge for Israelites fleeing from invading armies.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 20:1 No specific reason is given for Abraham’s relocation to Gerar, in the northern Negeb. Abraham and Sarah are unknown to the inhabitants of the region.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 20:2 She is my sister. This comment assumes that the reader is familiar with 12:11–13, which explains the rationale behind Abraham’s words. Abimelech king of Gerar. Abimelech, which means “my father is king,” appears to have been a common royal name (compare 26:1–2).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 20:3–6 But God came to Abimelech. The text emphasizes that Sarah has not had intercourse with the king; otherwise, it could have appeared that Abimelech was the father of Isaac (21:1–3). in a dream by night. Throughout Genesis dreams often bring divine revelation (compare 28:12; 31:10–11; 37:5–9; 40:5–8; 41:1).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 20:7 Abraham is the first person in the Bible called a prophet. This context emphasizes his ability to intercede for others, one of the characteristics of a true prophet (Jer. 15:1); compare his actions in Gen. 18:22–33.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 20:9 Abimelech rightly criticizes Abraham for deceiving him about Sarah. The term great sin sometimes implies adultery.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 20:11 There is no fear of God at all in this place. Abraham’s response betrays both his lack of faith in God and his misjudgment of the people of Gerar. The story shows clearly that the king and his servants were God-fearing (see vv. 5, 8, 16).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 20:12–13 Besides, she is indeed my sister. Abraham’s half-truth does not excuse his behavior. at every place to which we come. Abraham regularly resorted to this wife-sister ruse for his own self-protection. Yet only God’s intervention protects Abraham’s relationship with Sarah.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 20:14–16 Abimelech’s generosity and innocence contrast sharply with Abraham’s deception. The king’s actions publicly affirm that he has not acted inappropriately toward Sarah.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 20:17–18 God has power over fertility. By praying, Abraham demonstrates that God’s blessing is being mediated through him (see 12:3).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 21:1–21 In fulfillment of God’s promise, Sarah bears Abraham a son, who is named Isaac. While Isaac takes priority over Ishmael, God does not abandon Hagar and her son.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 21:1–2 as he had promised. See 17:16, 19, 21. at the time of which God had spoken to him. See 18:10, 14.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 21:3 Isaac. God had announced the name to Abraham in 17:19 (see note).
God had promised Abraham that the world would be blessed through his descendants. When Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah, it was the initial fulfillment of that promise. At God’s command, Isaac was almost sacrificed by his father, but his life was spared when God provided a ram to be sacrificed in his place. This prefigured the sacrifice of God’s own Son in the place of all who would believe in him. Isaac settled in Gerar, a Philistine city, where he became prosperous. He married Rebekah, who bore him twin sons, Jacob and Esau. Although Esau was his favorite son, Isaac was tricked by Jacob into giving him the blessing intended for his older brother. (Genesis 21:1–3)
GENESIS—NOTE ON 21:4 Isaac is circumcised by Abraham, fulfilling God’s instructions in 17:12.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 21:8 Isaac was probably two or three years old when he was weaned.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 21:9 The Hebrew verb translated laughing can mean either “mocking” or “playing.” Here, it probably means “mocking.”
GENESIS—NOTE ON 21:12 through Isaac shall your offspring be named. Even though Ishmael is older than Isaac, God confirms that Isaac will take priority over Ishmael (see 17:19). The importance of this is explained in Rom. 9:7 and Heb. 11:18.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 21:14 putting it on her shoulder, along with the child. While these words might suggest that Ishmael was placed on Hagar’s shoulder, this is hardly likely, since Ishmael is about 16 years old (see 16:16; 21:5, 8). Abraham gave Ishmael to Hagar, probably after putting the bread and water on Hagar’s shoulder. The Hebrew term for “child” may mean an older teenager. wilderness of Beersheba. Water was difficult to find in this region. Man-made wells appear to have been the main source (see 21:30; 26:18–22).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 21:17–18 God’s intervention saves Hagar and confirms to her that her son will become a great nation, echoing the promise given to Abraham in v. 13. God heard . . . the boy (v. 17). “Ishmael” means “God hears” (see 16:11).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 21:21 wilderness of Paran. The central region in northern Sinai.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 21:22–23 God is with you in all that you do. Abimelech attributes Abraham’s success to God.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 21:25–30 Before sealing the treaty, Abraham raises the controversial issue of ownership of a well. The covenant or treaty was designed to prevent conflict between the two parties. The gift of seven ewe lambs to Abimelech confirms Abraham’s ownership of the well.
Why fight over a well? Wells are of great importance in the hot, dry climates around the world. Because lack of water was a constant threat, both military generals and civilian travelers would often plan their routes according to the location of wells. (See 21:25–31.)
GENESIS—NOTE ON 21:31 In light of Abraham’s gift to Abimelech, the name Beersheba probably means “well of seven.” It could also mean “well of the oath,” since the Hebrew words for “seven” and “oath” are similar. Perhaps the name was chosen because it embraced both concepts. When a permanent settlement was established in this area, it was named after the well (see 26:33). The town of Beersheba, in the northern Negeb, marked the southern boundary of Israel (e.g., Judg. 20:1).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 21:32 land of the Philistines. The term “Philistines” is normally associated with non-Canaanites from the Aegean region who inhabited southwest Canaan from about 1180 B.C. onward—nearly a thousand years after Abraham’s time. In light of this, the term may have been used here and elsewhere to replace an earlier, obscure term; Genesis contains various examples of such modernizations.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 21:33 Everlasting God. Here the common Semitic term for “God” is followed by the attribute of everlastingness.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 22:1–19 The conditional promises of 12:1–3 are now unconditionally guaranteed as a result of Abraham’s preparedness to sacrifice his son. Put to the test, Abraham displays remarkable trust in God. James 2:21–22 says that Abraham’s actions here “completed” the faith he had already expressed (see Gen. 15:6).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 22:1 God tested Abraham. While it is not unknown for God to test individuals, testing must be clearly distinguished from tempting. God does not tempt anyone to do evil (James 1:13). He does, however, test people’s commitment to him (e.g., Ex. 15:25; 16:4).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 22:2 your only son Isaac, whom you love. With Ishmael’s departure from Abraham’s household, Isaac had become Abraham’s cherished only son. land of Moriah. According to 2 Chron. 3:1, Solomon constructed the temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. While Genesis 22 does not specify that the sacrifice of Isaac took place at or near Jerusalem, v. 14 may imply such a connection. A burnt offering involved the entire sacrifice being consumed by fire.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 22:3 Abraham rose early in the morning. Abraham promptly responds to the challenge placed before him.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 22:4 On the third day. It requires about two days to travel on foot from Beersheba to Jerusalem, a distance of about 45 miles (72 km). Elsewhere, two days represents the time set aside to prepare for a special encounter with God on the third day (see Ex. 19:11).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 22:5–8 I and the boy will . . . come again to you. While Abraham is committed to sacrificing Isaac, he believes that both of them will return (see Heb. 11:17–19). God will provide . . . the lamb. It is unclear whether Abraham is speaking ironically here (Isaac is the “lamb”), or whether he is expressing faith that somehow God will preserve his son.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 22:11 the angel of the LORD. See note on 16:7. The repetition of the name Abraham, Abraham underscores the urgency of the intervention (compare 22:1).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 22:12 now I know that you fear God. While Abraham’s faith was the means by which God counted him as righteous (15:6), that faith is now “active along with his works” and is “completed by his works” (James 2:21–23). His faith resulted in obedience.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 22:13 God provides a ram to be sacrificed as a burnt offering. In Genesis such sacrifices are associated with solemn promises made by God (see 8:20–22). instead of his son. The fact that a ram died in the place of Isaac suggests the principle of substitutionary atonement, especially the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross, as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 22:14 The LORD will provide. The belief developed (as it is said to this day) that God would provide the sacrifice necessary to atone for sin. The mount of the LORD probably refers to the hill on which the temple was later built in Jerusalem.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 22:15–18 By myself I have sworn. The oath concentrates on a single descendant of Abraham who will overcome his enemies and bring blessing to all the nations of the earth (v. 18). This oath to Abraham comes to fulfillment in Jesus Christ (Acts 3:25–26; Gal. 3:16).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 22:16–17 because you . . . have not withheld your son, your only son. Abraham’s actions prove his faith (see Rom. 4:3, 22–23; Gal. 3:6).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 22:24 concubine. See note on 25:5–6.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 23:1–20 Upon the death of Sarah, Abraham buys a cave in Hebron as a burial place. By acquiring this land, Abraham confirms that his descendants are to be associated with the land of Canaan, as God had already promised (12:7; 13:14–17; 15:18–21).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 23:2 Kiriath-arba means “town of four” (see Josh. 14:15). It was later known as Hebron (see Judg. 1:10).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 23:4 a sojourner and foreigner among you. Despite God’s repeated promises that Abraham’s descendants will possess all the land of Canaan, after 62 years in the land Abraham has no permanent location to call his own. The NT explains that Abraham chose to go on living in tents because he was looking for a city “whose designer and builder is God” (Heb. 11:9–10).
GENESIS—NOTE ON 23:6 The Hittites recognize Abraham’s special relationship with God and give him the title prince of God.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 23:10 Although Ephron is present, Abraham seeks permission from the Hittite population as a whole—either because Abraham himself was not a Hittite or because the transfer of property required the involvement of a third party.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 23:11–16 Although Ephron first offers the field and cave to Abraham for free, this may not have been his true intention. The second time he offers it, he casually mentions what he would consider a fair price (v. 15). It is important that Abraham buy the property because that ensures that he has full legal title to the burial plot. Comparisons with 1 Kings 16:24 and Jer. 32:9 suggest that four hundred shekels of silver was a high price, although this cannot be known for sure, since the weight of a shekel could vary according to the weights current among the merchants.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 23:17–19 Mamre. See note on 13:18.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 23:20 Abraham’s purchase of the field and cave meant that his descendants would always own this land. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Rebekah, and Leah would later be buried in this cave.
Two biblical firsts. The burial of Sarah (23:19) is the first biblical record of a burial. Abraham’s purchase of the burial plot is also the first biblical record of a business transaction.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 24:1–67 Abraham sends one of his servants to his homeland in Mesopotamia to find a wife for Isaac. The journey was about 550 miles (900 km) and would have taken the servant about 21 days.
GENESIS—NOTE ON 24:2–6 Abraham did not want Isaac to marry a Canaanite, fearing this would draw him away from the Lord. From ch. 9 onward, the Canaanites are frequently portrayed as wicked. put your hand under my thigh. See note on 24:9. In spite of having left Haran in northern Mesopotamia almost a hundred years earlier, Abraham refers to it as my country (v. 4). He emphasizes, however, that Isaac should not return there (v. 6); Isaac’s future is in Canaan.