Category: Genesis

Existence Without Purpose Does Not Exist

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Genesis 1:5 (KJV)

Light/Day – God called the light (‘or) Day (yom). How does this work exactly? Let’s look at the semantics of what’s going on here. God called the “light,” which is ‘or in Hebrew, a name, “day” or yom. But the thing already has a name, it’s called “light.” So why does God bother to name something that already has a name? Continue reading “Existence Without Purpose Does Not Exist”

Goats and Coats

31 And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;
32 And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no.

Genesis 37:31-32 (KJV)

Goats and coats – In this story we read how Joseph’s brothers took his coat and dipped it in the blood of a goat to deceive their father, Jacob. This was the defining moment that resulted in the slavery of Israel in Egypt. As we explored in the previous post we saw that the prophecy of slavery was fulfilled twice. The second time was preceded by these verses above, but what about the first time when Jacob was an indentured servant to his uncle Laban? What was the catalyst there? Continue reading “Goats and Coats”

Slavery Prophecy Fulfilled, Twice

13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
15 […]
16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

Genesis 15:13-16 (KJV)

This is the prophecy that starts the story of redemption which we know as Passover. God prophecies to Abram explaining how Abram’s seed will go into slavery for a long time and then come out in abundance and wealth. Continue reading “Slavery Prophecy Fulfilled, Twice”

Good and Evil

And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.

Genesis 1:31

Tov

Good – Would it surprised you to know that the word good is not based on morality? When God saw everything that he had made, he wasn’t saying that everything was righteous or morally good. He wasn’t stating that it was pleasant to look upon and enticing to the eye. So what was His meaning? Continue reading “Good and Evil”

A Questioning Punctuation

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Genesis 3:1 (KJV)

? – By now you should realize that ancient Hebrew doesn’t have punctuation, right? So there was no question mark here in the original text, but yet the translators felt it prudent to add it here. Why? Continue reading “A Questioning Punctuation”

God’s Story of Creation

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Genesis 1:2 (KJV)

Waters – Have you ever watched the movie HOME by The Goodplanet Foundation? It’s a movie full of beautiful cinematography, and vibrant colors, warning us of a disastrous future if man doesn’t change the way we live. Continue reading “God’s Story of Creation”

Mankind is Secondary

And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

Genesis 2:15 (KJV)

Dress – Did you know this is just a repeat of  verse 8? In between these two very same verses, there’s a detour about geography. He names a few rivers and gives their direction of flow. Why? Continue reading “Mankind is Secondary”

Ancient Prostitution

Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place.

Genesis 38:21 (KJV)

Harlot – Hirah is the one who asked the question. He was Judah’s friend, and an Adullamite. The story, as you might know, begins with Judah marrying off his sons – one of which, Er, marries a woman named Tamar. Er was wicked and dies before his wife bears any children, and so Judah promises his younger son, Shelah, to her for a future marriage. This is the law of the kinsman redeemer from Deuteronomy 25:5. As the story goes, Shelah becomes of age, but Judah never gets around to giving him to Tamar. So Tamar becomes anxious and sets out to persuade Judah on his way to the sheering floor (where he’s going to sheer his sheep). She covers her face and seemingly pretends to be a harlot. Continue reading “Ancient Prostitution”