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Genesis
102 posts
Challenging sexual double standards: Judah vs. Joseph
Judah’s voluntary sexual misbehavior contrasts starkly with Joseph’s refusal to sin sexually even under duress. Judah found himself…
Different names for God in the Pentateuch
These were not likely due to word-processing errors … (55-second video touching on debate about the different names…
Sleeping with a prostitute part 2: Genesis 38:15-26
In payment for Tamar’s services Judah offers her a young goat (38:17). The expression, “kid from the goats”…
Sleeping with a prostitute part 1—Genesis 38:1-15
The shift in scene from Joseph to Judah in 37:36—38:1—leaving Joseph just as he is sold into slavery…
Selling Joseph into slavery—Genesis 37:25-28
Coming from a dysfunctional family does not mean that you will necessarily turn out badly. God used Joseph…
Life is the Pits
How did Joseph’s have time to plot against him once they realized that he was approaching them (37:18-20)?…
When bad things happen to good people
Jacob had entrusted the flocks to Joseph’s older brothers, but now he sends him to check on their…
It wasn’t Joseph’s fault—Genesis 37:2-11
Sometimes I hear preachers blame Joseph for his brothers’ enmity. As a father of teenagers, however (and a…
Why is Genesis 36 about Esau?
Before continuing with Jacob’s line, the narrator of Genesis recounts the subsequent history of Edomites for a number…
Obedience, grief, and hope—Genesis 35:16-29
Jacob obeyed God and returned to the promised land, despite the threat of violence at the hands of…
Reuben defiles his father’s bed—Genesis 35:22
Immediately after mentioning Reuben’s immoral act (35:22), the narrator reminds us that Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn through Leah…
God reaffirms his promise to Jacob—Genesis 35:9-12
Sometimes in roundabout ways that I could not have imagined, God has brought my life around to fulfill…
God’s purposes, our grief—Genesis 35
Having recently escaped Esau’s wrath after wrestling with the angel of the LORD, Jacob encounters afresh the God…
Were Simeon and Levi right to slaughter the Shechemites?—Genesis 34
Was it right for Jacob’s sons Simeon and Levi to massacre the Shechemites because the prince of Shechem…
Facing the past: preparing for Esau’s wrath—Genesis 32-33
Jacob’s departure from (Gen 28:12) and return to (32:1) the promised land is framed by angelic revelations. The…