- You are here:
- Home »
- Book of Genesis
Category Archives for Book of Genesis
Judah Interlude – Genesis 38
The NIV Truth and Grace Study Bible has a great introduction to this passage: “If the first chapter of Genesis 37–50 set the stage for the Joseph story, the next chapter seems like a complete
Continue reading...Joseph Sold Into Slavery – Genesis 37
The selling of Joseph for 20 shekels of silver is a beautiful example of the historical accuracy of Scripture. Twenty shekels was “the going rate in the mid-second millennium. Examples from Hammurabi’s
Continue reading...Esau – Genesis 36
Lists like these are often boring to modern readers. But to the Israelites who are being led by Moses through the wilderness to Canaan, this list is gold. It explains to them the peoples they are going
Continue reading...Deaths of Rachel and Isaac – Genesis 35:16-29
The culture of the middle east in regard to clan succession was that the firstborn son or whoever inherited the firstborn inheritance from his father, took responsibility for the “care and ownership
Continue reading...Bethel – Genesis 35:1-15
We are not used to the sacred value ancient peoples put on places where spiritual experiences were had. Jacob does this. One of the places he finds sacred is a terebinth tree near Shechem. The ESV
Continue reading...Slaughter of Shechem – Genesis 34
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,” has been a principle of justice throughout all generations. We would say it, “The punishment must be fitting for the crime.” We have
Continue reading...Jacob Meets Esau – Genesis 33
When I was in high school I interacted with a guy who wanted to challenge all aspects of my faith. Years later he did some work for a person I worked with and found out she knew me and asked her to tell
Continue reading...Jacob Wrestles with Yahweh – Genesis 32:22-32
We had a wrestling team in the junior high school I attended, and I learned wrestling and competed for a couple of years. I haven’t done anything more fatiguing and energy depleting than wrestle.
Continue reading...Two Camps – Genesis 32:1-21
Today is, in a sense, a guest post, since I am quoting the excellent remarks by John Walton in his commentary on Genesis. So the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the
Continue reading...Laban Confronts Jacob – Genesis 31:22-55
I recently heard of a family who, upon departing each other’s company, would repeat the words of Jacob and Laban in their covenant with each other: “The LORD watch between you and me, when
Continue reading...Jacob Runs – Genesis 31:1-22
It is mentioned in this passage that Rachel stole from the family shrine her father’s terephim , a word either signaling idols (images of gods) or representations of ancestors (which were sometimes
Continue reading...God Blesses Jacob – Genesis 30:25-43
We see in this passage that Jacob’s brother-in-law sought information through divination, indicating he was not a Yahweh worshiper. The Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary explains
Continue reading...Jacob’s Children – Genesis 29:31-30:24
“Mandrakes” play a role in this part of Jacob’s life. Walton writes: “The mandrake (Mandragora officinarum) is a stemless, perennial root in the potato family that grows in stony
Continue reading...Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel – Genesis 29:1-30
Walton says, “Marriage customs in the ancient Near East combined legal and festive elements in different ways from current Western practice. The legal aspect did not feature a formal ceremony by
Continue reading...Stairway to Heaven – Genesis 28:10-22
Of the imagery in this dream, Walton writes: His dream presents a ladder or stairway that reaches to heaven. What Jacob is dreaming comes from the cultural world of the ancient Near East. In Mesopotamia
Continue reading...