Bible Study Notes (Genesis)

Our community group has started to read through the Bible in 1 year. I will be using this post to track things I find interesting.

Genesis 1-3

• Look for God in scripture, not myself
• Genesis is not always literal
• This is the book of the law
• Days could mean 10’s of thousands of years (Day-Age theory) – old earth creationists believe this
  • Plants were created on Day 3, the Sun on Day 4, so if this theory is correct, plants lived without the sun for X number of years
• Timeline in Genesis is literal – Young earth creationist
• Make man in “our” image – refers to the trinity.  
  • God the father gave the commands
  • God the son did the manual labor and created things in response
  • God the spirit approved of it all
• lord = can refer to humans
• Lord = adonai, means master
• LORD = ancient unpronounceable word (yhwh/Jehova)
• God Shot
  • Creator, Lord over everything, and Merciful.  
  • God said they would die if they ate the fruit but he let them live, he didn’t strike them down immediately.  
• It appears that neither Adam or Eve were created in the garden, rather they were brought into the garden after being created.

Genesis 4-7

• Cain murdered Abel.
  • This happened about 2500 years before the 10 Commandments
  • Cain still knew it was wrong
• Scripture does not point to God creating other people besides Adam and Eve, so it’s likely Adam and Eve “populated” the earth.
• Cain likely married one of this sisters or nieces
• God banned incest much later but may have been what he used to populate the earth
• Mankind was likely vegetarians or even vegans but later says to eat meat
• “sons of God” typically refers to angelic beings
• Old Jewish understanding was that this referred to fallen angels, which means fallen angels took human wives and recreated. Referred to as the nephalim.
  • Angels in heaven don’t procreate.
  • Are all angels male?
  • Assuming it was fallen angels that helped to populate the earth, then God wiped all of that corruption with the flood

Genesis 8-11

• God destroys earth with a flood and promises he will not destroy the earth with a flood again. Later reveals he will destroy it with fire.
• God blesses and curses

Genesis 12-15

• Abram was born almost 2000 years after Adam and only 300 years after the flood.
• God promises to bless Abram.
• Abram convinces Sirai to say she is his sister when they go to Egypt.
• Pharaoh takes Sirai and God sends plagues on Egypt.
• Sirai was about 65 years old when this was happening.
• Pharaoh kicks Sirai and Abram out of Egypt and they go to the Negev.
• Abram lets Lot choose the land he wanted. Lot chose the land near the dead sea, near all the wicked people.
• War breaks out between Lot and the wicked people.
• Abram gets all of his warriors and tracks down Lot (about 160 miles).
• First introduction into Melchizedek (King of Righteousness, he was also the king of Salem which means peace).
  • He also brought out bread and wine
  • He was a king and a priest
  • He was a model of Jesus
• God promises that Abram will have a son
• Abram believed what God told him, which was counted to him as righteousness
• Abram asked for confirmation, God tells him to sacrifice some animals, God shows up as fire and walks between the animals, signifying that he will hold up his end of the bargain.

Genesis 16-18

• Sarai is at least 75 years old and still hasn’t had a baby.
• Sarai took matters into her own hands and made her servant (Hagar) make a baby with Abram.
  • Hagar gave birth to Ishmael. Ishmael is the father of Islam.
• Sarai eventually gives birth to Isaac.
  • Isaac begins line from which the Isrealites descend.
• After Hagar got pregnant, Sarai abused her and drove her away.
• “An angel of the Lord” = a messenger sent by God to deliver a message
• “The angel of the Lord” = pre-encarnate version of Jesus
• Theophany = visible representation of God
• Christophany = visible representation of Jesus
• Angels may be giants, no scripture talks about them having wings, always male in scripture, spoke local language, seem to appear out of thin air
• Cherubim and Seraphim do have wings and they are covered in eyeballs
• God promises that Sarah will have a baby
• Both Sarah and Abraham laugh at it
• Did God the Father show up in human form here?
• God promises that Ishmael will have numerous offspring

Genesis 19-21

• Abraham pleaded that Sodom and Gamorrah not be destroyed because Lot lived there
• Angels appeared once again as human males
• Locals wanted to get it on with the angels
• Lot offers wicked men his daughters, some think this was a bluff as he knew they wouldn’t accept his daughters
• God intervenes, angels strike the men with blindness
• God destroys Sodom but saves lot despite his wickedness.

Genesis 22-24

• God calls Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice.
• God rejects the sacrifice.
• God refers to Isaac as Abraham’s only son. This is not literally true because of Ishmael but he is referring to the covenant.
• Isaac was probably 25-30 years old
• Abraham was over 100 years old.
• Isaac didn’t resist, just like Christ.
• Isaac carried wood up the mountain, similar to Christ carrying the cross
• God the son (before he was born) shows up and stops the sacrifice.
• All my sacrifices to God, originated from God.
• God’s names tell us about his character or his actions
• Abraham needed to make sure that Isaac married someone that worshiped the same God as him.
  • But those women lived far away
  • Abraham’s servant travelled 20 days to the other land.
  • Servant starting praying and before he finished praying, he received an answer. “Rebekah”
• Rebekah returns with servant to Isaac

Genesis 25-26

• Abraham remarries after Sarah’s death
• Abraham had 6 more kids with new wife, totaling 8 kids.
  • All inheritance goes to Isaac
• Abraham died at 175 years old
• Ishmael died when he was 137
• God appears to Isaac just like he did to Abraham
• Then Isaac starts lying, calling his wife his sister
• God shows Isaac mercy
• King Abimalech tries to get rid of Isaac because he was so blessed.
• God appears to Isaac again, and He promises to bless him again
• Isaac got married at age 40 and him and Rebekah had their first child when he was 60.
• Rebekah became pregnant with twins.
• God told her that the younger son would rule over the older.
• Jacob tricks Isaac and Esau and gets the inheritance.
  • Similar to the offering of Able (younger) and his offering was accepted but Cain’s (older) was not.
  • Isaac (younger) got the inheritance that normally would have gone to Ishmael (older).
• Some scripture references that Jesus is our older brother…and we are the younger brothers. So Jesus should get all of the inheritance but Jesus shares with us.
• Esau married 2 Hittite women.

Genesis 27-29

• Rebekah tricks her husband into giving his inheritance to her favorite (and younger) son Jacob.
• Isaac was going against God’s will by trying to give the blessing to Esau.
• Jacob refers to YHWY as “Isaac’s God”, not his own God
• Blessing is different than an inheritance. It carries more of a spiritual significance than just a financial one. Once given, it’s irrevocable.
• Esau threatens to kill Jacob because of all this.
• God reassures Jacob that he will give some land to him.
  • Enemies are currently living in the land
• God reiterates that in Jacob’s offspring, all of the families of the earth will be blessed.
• Esau had already married women outside of their religion
• Jacob erected a pillar. Pillar’s were typically pagan structures, not built by the people of God.
• Jacob goes to the well in Haran. While there, Rachel appears. She was a shepherdess.
  • Some think that the shepherds that the angels appeared to on the night of Jesus’s birth were women.
• Jacob asks Rachel’s father if he can marry her. Laban says that Jacob can marry her if he works for him for 7 years.
• Laban tricked Jacob, just like Jacob had tricked Isaac. Jacob ended up marrying Laban’s oldest daughter, Leah.
• Jacob hates Leah.
• Jacob then asks what he has to do to marry Rachel. Laban says that he must work another 7 years.
• Leah ends up having 4 sons.

Genesis 30-31

• Jacob married 2 sisters
• Rachel in envious of Leah’s ability to bear children
• Rachel puts pressure on Jacob but Jacob says that only God can give life
• Rachel offers her maidservant (Bilhah) to Jacob
• Bilhah had 2 children for Jacob and Rachel
• Leah gives her maidservant (Zilpah) to Jacob
• Zilpah has 2 more sons
• Leah gives Rachel a mandrake (a plant to promote fertility) in exchange for a night with Jacob.
• Leah got pregnant again. She didn’t earn pregnancy, rather God said he heard her cries.
• Leah had 2 more kids, another son and a daughter
• Jacob now has 11 children but then Rachel had a son, making a total of 12.
• Jacob completes his 14 years with Laban, so he asks to leave.
• He needs to go back to Canaan where God promised him land.
• Laban doesn’t want him to leave because he was being blessed by God through Jacob.
• Jacob continues getting wealthier but eventually he leaves.
• It’s been 20 years since he originally left his dad.
• On their way out, Rachel steals some of Laban’s gods.
• It took Laban 3 days to realize that ~20 people were missing from his territory. But then he pursued them
• While he was on his way, God appeared to him and told him to keep his mouth shut.
• Laban ignores and asks where his household gods are.
• Rachel lies about where they are.
• Jacob and Laban make a treaty (stone pillar and heap of stones)
• Laban returns home.

Genesis 32-34

• Jacob is heading back to Canaan, where Esau lives.
• Esau lives in Edom (his descendants are called Edomites)
• Jacob sent messengers in front.
• Messengers came back saying Esau was coming with 400 guys
• Jacob divides everyone in case they attack, then they could flee
• Jacob prays
• Jacob sends 550 animals ahead as a gift for Esau
• Jacob then sends wives and kids ahead of him and slept alone
• Jacob wrestles with God that night, literally wrestling
• God changes Jacob’s name to Israel
  • Name eventually refers to all of his descendants
• Esau and Jacob finally meet
• Jacob buys some land in Canaan and builds an alter
• Dina (Jacob’s only daughter), is raped by Shechem
• Shechem wants to marry her.
• Jacob and his sons are outraged.
• Jacob’s sons plan to kill all of the men in the area in retaliation. Jacob doesn’t do anything. So they tell Shechem that him and all his men need to be circumcised.
• All the men get circumcised and on third day, Simeed and Levi entered the town, killed all the males, and rescued Dina.
• They captured and plundered everything.
• Jacob didn’t approve of any of this.

Genesis 35-37

• Jacob and family prepare to move out of Shechem.
• Jacob makes it known they are only going to worship YHWY and buries all of the other gods.
• God made all they came in contact with fear them
• God called Jacob to settle in Bethel. Jacob had previously set up a pagan pillar on this land.
• He replaces the pillar with an alter
• Why keep switching between Jacob and Israel?
  • Some believe it’s the direction of Jacob’s heart at the time
• God blesses Jacob in Bethel.
• Rachel has a baby, Benjamin. His 13th child.
• Rachel dies in labor.
• Jacob puts a pillar over her (a memorial, not a pagan pillar).
• Jacob visits Isaac.
• Isaac dies.
• Joseph was favored by Jacob because he came from Rachel.
• Joseph’s brothers didn’t like him.
• Jacob made Joseph a fancy robe.
• Joseph had a dream that his brothers would worship him.
• Joseph tells his brothers about the dream.
• Joseph’s brothers decide to try and kill him.
• Ruben (his oldest brother) convinces the others that they shouldn’t kill him.
• Joseph’s brothers sell him to the Ishmaelites/Midianites(who were descendants of Ishmael)
• They take him and sell him into slavery to a man named Potiphar.
• Potiphar was high up in the ranks to Pharaoh (Egyptian king)
• Brothers send his robe covered in blood back to Jacob.

Genesis 38-40

• Jacob is crushed.
• Judah (Leah’s 4th son), finds a wife from the Canaanites.
  • Canaanites are cursed descendants from Noah’s son, Ham
  • Not worshippers of God.
  • Currently inhabiting land that God promised
• Judah arranges a marriage between his oldest son Err and Tamar.
• Err is wicked and God kills him.
• After Err died, Judah gave Tamar his second son. If Tamar had no husband or children, she likely would have been killed or died
• God kills second son.
• Tamar sticks around until son #3 is old enough to marry.
• Tamar was fearful if she waited, she wouldn’t have kids. So after Judas’ wife died, Tamar veiled herself and Judah thinks she is a prostitute.
• Tamar gets pregnant, Judah orders her to be burned.
• Tamar proves that Judah was the one that got her pregnant
• Tamar gives birth to twins
• Joseph is still in captivity in Egypt. The Lord was with Joseph.
• Joseph kept succeeding, so he kept being put in charge of more stuff.
• Patriarchs = Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
• God promised to bless those bless them, and curse those who curse them, referring to their lineage
• Potiphar’s wife tries to seduce Joseph
• She tore Joseph’s clothes, and said that he tried to seduce her.
• She calls Joseph a Hebrew, meaning, he is from a geographic area. Israelite refers to lineage.
• Potiphar puts Joseph in prison
• God is with Joseph in prison, he becomes the highest ranking prisoner.
• 2 new prisoners show up, the cup bearer and baker of the king.
• They had dreams, Joseph interprets dreams.
• Joseph asks cup bearer to remember him when he is back with the king
• The cup bearer forgets Joseph

Genesis 41-42

• A couple years later, Pharaoh had a dream and the cup bearer remembered Joseph had previously interpreted his dream
• Joseph is taken to Pharaoh, Joseph makes it clear that his ability to interpret dreams is from God.
• Pharaoh shares his dreams, Joseph tells him what they mean.
  • 7 years of agricultural abundance and then 7 years of famine
• Joseph tells Pharaoh that he should put someone in charge of collecting 20% of everything harvested.
• Pharaoh puts Joseph in charge of everything
• Joseph was 30 years old. He was sold into slavery at 17.
• Pharaoh gives Joseph a wife.
• Joseph has 2 kids, Manasseh and Ephraim.
• Joseph is 37 when the 7 years of abundance ends. It’s been 20 years since he was sold into slavery.
• Jacob and his 11 sons are impacted by the famine.
• The 10 oldest brothers make the journey (450 miles).
• Benjamin (the only other brother from Rachel) remains at home to take care of Jacob.
• Joseph meets his brothers but pretends not to know who they are.
• Joseph says they have to prove they aren’t spies by bringing back their youngest brother.
• He keeps 1 brother while the others have to make the trip back home to get their youngest brother.
• The brothers begin to open up to Joseph and share the story of how they sold him into slavery (not knowing that he was their brother)
• Joseph weeps.
• They pay for grain before the journey home but Joseph sneaks the money back into their sacks.
• Brothers see this as God’s judgement on them.
• Brothers get back to hometown, tell Jacob that they need to bring Benjamin in order for Simeon to be released, Jacob refuses.

Genesis 43-45

• Jacob and his sons finish off the grain they bought in Egypt so he agrees to let his sons go back., but only after Judah says he will take the blame if anything happens.
• Jacob gives them extra money so they can pay Joseph back.
• When they get back to Egypt, they think they are in trouble but Joseph is planning a feast.
• Joseph arranges them at the table from oldest to youngest.
• Benjamin gets 5 times the portion sizes of the others
  • This may have been a test or it may have been just because he was his full brother (or both).
• Brothers begin heading back to Canaan.
• Joseph puts his silver cup in Benjamin’s bag and then he sends his guards after them.
• The guards find the brothers and accuse them of theft.
• They open their bags one by one, oldest to youngest.
• This was a test, would the older brothers sell out their younger brother?
• Judah made a promise to Jacob so he is going to take the blame.
• Joseph confronts them.
• Judah confesses that they all have guilt (not to stealing the cup).
• Judah shows his transformation, he initially wanted to kill Joseph when they were younger, now he is offering himself in place of Benjamin.
  • Similar to how Jesus offered himself for us
• Joseph finally tells them that he is their brother.
• He invites them to move to Egypt to avoid the last 5 years of the famine.
• Pharaoh offers them the best of the land.
• Jacob is reunited with Joseph after 20+ years.

Genesis 46-47

• Jacob stops in Beersheba to offer a sacrifice to God
• God tells him to go to Egypt
  • Egypt is regarded as a terrible place for Hebrews to go. They were enemies of God’s people, they were racist, and enslaved them
• God is everywhere = omnipresence
• God’s special presense = manifest presense
• They start out as 70 people but God promised to make them greater
• Joseph wants to make sure that his family has access to Goshen (the good land).
• They said they were shepherds to Pharaoh.
• Pharaoh agrees to let 5 brothers live in Goshen.
• Jacob and his family thrive in Egypt, even as the famine gets worse
• Famine ends, and Jacob and his family are still living in Egypt a decade later.
• As Jacob is dying, he asks Joseph not to leave his bones in Egypt and wanted to be buried in Canaan

Genesis 48-50

• Jacob starting preparing for his death at 147
• Joseph wants Jacob to bless his sons, Ephraim and Manessah
• El Sheddaih = God of the mountains
• Jacob adopts Joseph’s children as his own
• Joseph’s sons will receive an inheritance from Jacob along with all of Joseph’s brothers
• Joseph put Manessah on Jacob’s right hand because that was the blessing of power
• He puts Ephraim on his left
• Jacob crosses his hands and puts his right hand on Ephraim’s head
• Angel that Joseph refers to is God (The angel of the Lord)
• Jacob blesses his own sons. He takes away Ruebens birth right.
• Simeon and Levi (who killed the men in Shechem), the birth right passes over them as well
• The blessing lands on Judah (who slept with Tamar).
• Judah fathered Perez (listed in the lineage of Jesus).
  • Perez was not the first born either
• The 12 tribes of Israel (Jacob)
  • Refers to his 12 sons
  • Each son has many offspring and each offspring belong to his tribe
• Pharaoh grants the family the opportunity to go back to Canaan to bury Jacob.
• When they get back to Egypt, Joseph’s brothers begin to fear him.
• Joseph has already forgiven them and reminds them of who God is.
• Joseph is getting old and does not want to be buried in Egypt.
  • Joseph dies trusting that God would provide them the land he promised
• Some say there are over 400 prophesies/references to Christ in the old testament.