Genesis 24:2-3 - Why did Abraham have his servant put his hand under his thigh and swear?

Apparently, this was a way of having someone take an oath when the situation being sworn was very serious.  Putting the hand under the thigh was a euphemism, a nice way of saying that the servant put his hand on Abraham's "procreative organ".  While there is speculation as to what such an act was supposed to signify in an oath it is clear that doing something like this made the oath a very serious matter.

Genesis 32:24-30 - Who was the man that Jacob wrestled with?

The man that Jacob wrestled with was God.  Before Jesus came as a baby, a real human being, there were situations like this where Yahweh, probably Jesus, takes on the form of a human being, a man, to interact with another person, in this case to wrestle with Jacob. As you read through this passage it is clear that Jacob somehow knew this was God because he says that he had just seen God face to face and lived.  Jacob asked this man to bless him because he knew this must be God or some being sent from God.

Genesis 30:4-5 - Did Jacob also get married to the servant girls of Leah and Rachel because they are called his wives?

When Jacob got married to Rachel and Leah each of them was given a woman to be her personal servant.  In Genesis 30:4-5 Rachel chooses to give her servant girl, Bilhah, as a wife to Jacob so that Rachel could bear children through her servant girl since Rachel was childless.  The Hebrew word for "wife" here is the same word as the one that is used when Leah and Rachel get married to Jacob in a marriage celebration.  So, how is the servant girl, Bilhah, called a wife just like Rachel, her mistress, when Bilhah was never "married" to Jacob in an official, cultural ceremony?

The Hebrew word that is translated "wife" in Genesis 30:5 has the general meaning of woman or womanhood.  It gets the meaning of "wife" from its use in a particular context.  So, when Rachel and Leah got married to Jacob they were called wives not only because they were married but because of that marriage they would have sexual relations with their husband Jacob.  When Bilhah is given to Jacob as a "wife" even though there is no marriage ceremony or celebration she is being given as a sexual partner for the purpose of producing offspring and this makes her a wife to Jacob.

Genesis 28:11 - Why did Jacob put a stone under his head to sleep?

Unlike today when we have hotels and airbnb in which to stay when we travel Jacob had nothing like that.  He simply has to find a place to lay down out in the open field and sleep.  He also doesn't carry a pillow with him.  So he has to use what is available where he chooses to spend the night.  In this case he simply chooses a stone to put under his head as a pillow.

Genesis 27:46 - Why were Esau's wives a source of grief to Rebekah?

The Canaanite or Hittite wives that Esau married would have brought their heathen practices of worshipping their false gods.  As Isaac's wife, Rebekah, would have been taught the ways of Yahweh from both Isaac and perhaps even Abraham she would have been a committed follower of Yahweh.  Esau's marriage of these two Hittite women showed his total disregard for the worship of Yahweh.  This would have caused grief to Rebekah as she watched her oldest son completely reject Yahweh and probably even join in with the worship practices of his two wives.

Genesis 19:26 - Why did Lot's wife become a pillar of salt?

The short quick answer is that Lot's wife looked back at Sodom, which she was told not to do, and became a pillar of salt. The follow-up question is, why would looking back turn her into a pillar of salt?  

We need to start with the attitude of Lot, and likely his wife, in this crisis.  Far from being grateful for God's mercy in coming to rescue him Lot is hesitant to leave at the angel's insistence.  The angels literally have to drag him and his family out of Sodom.  They were about to lose everything they had worked for and the fact of that loss seemed to pull Lot and his wife back to Sodom despite the impending judgment. Once they were out of the city Lot complained about where the angels were sending them making the angels agree to Lot's request. So, this is really the setting in which Lot's wife looks back.

Lot's wife look behind her was more than a glance.  For years I thought that all she did was do a quick glance over her shoulder that caused her to turn into a pillar of salt on the spot.  But that is not what happened.  One commentary said that the text implies that she went behind her husband and looked backwards.  She was so conflicted about leaving Sodom and all her earthly belongings that she takes a deliberate action to go behind her husband and turn around to look.  The implication is that this hesitation caused her to get caught in the firestorm of falling burning material and is killed where she stood.  Her body eventually becomes encrusted with salt which makes her body into a pillar of salt.

Genesis 47:29-31,49:29-32 - Why did Jacob want to be buried in Canaan with his fathers?

I believe this was an act of faith.  Jacob believes that though his whole family has moved down to Egypt to sojourn there God will bring them back to the land of Canaan, the land that God Himself had promised to give to Jacob and his offspring.  If Jacob truly believes this he will not want to be buried in Egypt but back in Canaan.  In Hebrews 11:21 it says that by faith Jacob worshipped leaning on his staff.  He did this in Genesis 47:31 after Joseph, his son, swears to Jacob to bury him in the family tomb in Canaan.  Jacob, in faith, worships God who has been his shepherd his whole life and who he knows will bring his offspring back to Canaan one day to where he is buried.  

Genesis 12:8 - Why did Abram have to build an altar at Bethel?

Nowhere does it say that Abram had to build an altar at Bethel. In verse 7 God speaks to Abram and promises to give the land in which Abram is dwelling to him.  In response Abram builds an altar to the Lord. Then, in verse 8 Abram moves from where he is dwelling in verse 7 to the place between Ai and Bethel. Then, Abram decides, on his own, to build the alter at Bethel and call on the Lord.  The Bible doesn't tell us any more about this event as to why Abram was calling on the Lord.

It is useful to note that act of setting up an altar an calling on the name of the Lord is not an insignificant event. Altars like this open portals into the heavenly realm and created places where heaven and earth meet.  Two generations later, in Genesis 28:10-21, Abram's grandson Jacob, comes to the same place, spends the night, and has a dream of an open heaven with a ladder from earth to heaven with angels descending and ascending and the Lord renewing the covenant promise to Jacob to be with him and give him the land of Canaan.

Genesis 15:7-21 - What is the meaning of the animals being cut in half?

In Genesis 15:8-10 God tells Abram to bring certain animals which were to be of a certain age.  Abram brings the animals, slaughters them, cuts them in half and lays out the halves facing each other. This was the conclusion of an ancient custom in that part of the world to finalize a covenant.  God had just told Abram that he through his offspring would inherit the land on which he was living as a stranger at that time.  Abram wants to know what assurances God will give him that the promise God made will happen.

God chooses to use the culturally accepted way of sealing a covenant so Abram would have confidence in the promise God had made.  This is where God asks Abram to bring the animals, Abram, knowing the customs of the their culture understands what God is doing and slaughters and cuts the animals in half and lays out the pieces.  The custom of the sealing the covenant was that the two parties making the covenant would walk between the halves of the dead animals and in doing so covenanting that if either party broke the covenant they would become like the dead animals.  You pledged your life in theses covenants.

In this scene there is one difference.  Only God passes through the pieces and not Abram because only God could bring about the fulfilling of the promise of inheritance He had just made to Abram.  Abram had no part to play in the fulfillment of this covenant.

Genesis 7&8 - Why did the flood last as long as it did?

The flood lasted a total of 370 days, just over one year.  Probably the main reason was that the flood was a total "de-creation" meaning everything had to be totally destroyed.  It was more than just wiping out life on the earth. The reason was that the corruption on the earth was complete and total.  God tells Noah that he along is the only righteous person left on the earth at the time of the flood. 

Once the "de-creation" was complete the earth needs to be restored.  The flood waters need to be drained off the earth into the oceans.  That means the geology of the earth needs to be radically reshaped with mountain ranges being raised up.  Then land had to dry and God had to re-create the trees and plants on the earth before Noah, his family, and the animals could leave the ark.  All of this took time, the 370 days mentioned above.

Genesis 4:1-7 - Why was Abel's offering accepted and Cain's offering rejected?

In Genesis 4:1-7 we have the story of Cain and Abel bringing offerings to the Lord.  The Bible makes it clear that Abel's offering was accepted by God while God rejected Cain's offering. Yet there is no details or explanation given as to why Cain's offering was rejected. 

We must start with the truth that both Cain and Abel knew what God's requirements were for an offering.  While the Bible text doesn't say this explicitly that God told them what the requirements were it is clear that Abel does the right thing and Cain doesn't that they both knew what the requirements were from God.

Hebrews 11:4 sheds some new light on this whole episode.  It says that by faith Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain and by that acceptable sacrifice God commends or testifies to Abel as righteous.  It further says that the testimony or commendation of Abel's righteousness was that God accepted Abel's gift or sacrifice.  It is also possible that the bringing of the right sacrifice in faith actually caused righteousness to be credited to Abel.

By contrast, Cain was not righteous when he came with his offering and therefore did come before God in faith and so his offering was rejected.  Because Cain was not righteous and did not come before God in faith it suggests that Cain didn't believe what God had told him about the requirements of the offering he was supposed to bring.  It seems Cain brought what he chose to bring rather than what God had told him to bring.  All of this meant that Cain continued in his condition of unrighteousness after his offering was rejected.

As to the offering itself both animal sacrifices and grain offerings were a part of the worship ritual of the Israelites so both were acceptable depending on the reason for the offering.  In this case God may have told both Cain and Abel to bring a first fruits offering which Abel did and Cain didn't or God may have told them to bring an animal sacrifice which Abel did and Cain didn't.  The point is that Cain did not believe whatever God told him to bring and therefore was rejected by God.

Genesis 5:22-24 - What does it mean that God took Enoch?

When it says that God took Enoch it means that Enoch did not die like every other human being.  Hebrews 11:5 says that by faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death. He could continue walking with God in His presence in heaven.  

Genesis 9:4 - Why the rule against eating animal flesh with the blood still in it?

In Genesis 9:3-4 God is speaking to Noah after the flood and telling him that in addition to all the plants belonging to man for food God is now also giving them all the animals for food.  The Bible actually says that man was given everything for food.  The one rule God gives is that man can't eat animal flesh with the life blood still in it.  The question is why.  Why does God put that restriction on eating meat?

The reason given here is that the blood is literally the life of the creature and therefore should not be consumed.  In Leviticus 17:10-12 God explains to Moses why He gives this rule.  The reason is that the life is in the blood and that the blood makes atonement or a covering over for sin.  That which is meant for atonement cannot be consumed by man.  

Genesis 7:2-3 - What were the clean and unclean animals?

In this passage it does not tell us what the clean and unclean animals and birds were. But, God had communicated what these were to Noah who obeyed and brought them on the ark. Now, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  So, if we look at the law as it is recorded in the books of Leviticus and Numbers it describes what clean and unclean animals and birds were. God doesn't change so the clean and unclean creatures listed in law in Leviticus are going to be the same ones that were given to Noah.  God doesn't give Noah one list of clean and unclean animals and then give Moses a completely different list in Leviticus. They would be the same list. So, look in Leviticus to find the clean and unclean animals that Noah would have taken on the ark.

Genesis 6:14-16 - How long did it take to build the ark?

There is no indication in the Bible as to how long it took to build the ark.  Based on the size described in this passage it suggests that this was going to take time and manpower to construct. We don't know what kind of tools they had to construct this vessel.  We don't know if it was only Noah and his sons that constructed the ark or if other people were employed to help with the construction.  All we do know is that God gave Noah the command to build the ark, the dimensions and plans to construct it, and that Noah obeyed and built the ark and survived the flood with his family and the animals that God brought to the ark to save.

Genesis 6:3 - What is the meaning of the reference to 120 years?

 In Genesis 6:3 God says that man's days are going to be 120 years.  The question is what is God referring to with this very precise statement about the length of man's life.

This statement is made in the context of the flood about to be announced by God.  There are a couple of possible interpretations.  One of these interpretations is that God is declaring that man's life span is going to be 120 years from now on.  In the previous chapter, Genesis 5, a genealogy of men records life spans of 900+ years.  God is now declaring that He is shortening man's lifespan to 120 years in light of the corruption that is on the earth.

The problem with this interpretation is that for several centuries after the flood men lived much longer than 120 years although lifespans gradually decreased. On the other side, in Psalm 90:10 the writer says that man's days are 70 to 80 years.  Even now those numbers are quite common with many people living much longer but virtually no one is living to be 120 old.  The bottom line is that the number 120 as a life span is a number that is virtually never achieved either because life spans were longer or shorter.

The other interpretation of this announcement of 120 years is that this number represents the number of years left before the judgment of a flood comes.  God is telling mankind, "You have 120 years left before I destroy everything". This interpretation fits with the context.  Throughout the rest of chapter 6 the author is describing the corruption and violence on the earth and God's decision to wipe out all life on the earth. So, I believe that this is the most likely interpretation of the declaration of 120 years. 

What is this Blog all about

 For many years I have had a desire to see believers read, enjoy, and grow from their interaction with the Bible.  Many believers have never read through the whole Bible and therefore don't have the rich knowledge of all the stories, lessons, warnings, and truths that the Bible teaches. There are many reading plans available today that will systematically walk you through the process of reading through the Bible in a year or some other time frame. But, one of the problems that people face in reading through the Bible for the first time is that there are a lot of questions that arise usually with no answers. So, reading through the Bible becomes a tedious exercise in trying to read a bunch of stories that don't make any sense to us and raise a lot of questions.

We have started a read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year Bible study at our church to help several people read through the Bible completely for the first time.  Our Bible study meetings consist of attempting to answer the questions that arise from people who are reading through the Bible for the first time along with any discussions that arise.

I felt like it might be a good idea to capture as many of the questions that arise in our meetings as possible and then post the answers here in a blog.  That way as other individuals decide to read through the Bible for the first time (I'm sure this won't be the only Bible study we start for reading through the Bible) they have a place to go to get answers to at least some of their questions simply because others have asked the same questions and the answers have been captured and recorded in this blog.

Now, I'm not trying to say that all of the answers that are given in this blog are the final word for answers to the questions that will be posted here.  But, hopefully each answer will bring some clarity to the Bible issue and cause you to dig deeper if you so desire.