For this one chapter, following Isaac's toledoth, we focus in on the life of the promised son and his relationships with YHWH and the Philistines. Josh, Brendan, and Tori reflect on the similarities to, and deviations from, what his father's life looked like and discuss new terms that YHWH uses to describe his terms for existing in covenant with Him.

Key Words

• mitsvah (מִצְוָה) - commandment
• chuqqah (חֻקָּה) - something prescribed, an enactment, statute
• torah (תּוֹרָה) - direction, instruction, law

Sources

• Bible Hub
• Abarim Publications

Contact us with your questions and feedback at [email protected]

We seek to read the Bible with fresh eyes to understand God on His terms.

We've come to another chapter full of family lines and names. Often these sections can be tough to read through, especially since most of these characters never come up again. Josh, Tori, and Brendan dig through the names of Abraham's other sons to see if there's anything that can be learned about who they were and what their stories might have been like while discussing Abraham's complicated legacy.

Key Words

• Esau (עֵשָׂו) - Hairy (also Doer, Maker, Worker)
• Jacob (יַעֲקֹב) - He Who Closely Follows, Supplanter
• Edom (אֱדֹם) - Red
• ratsats (רָצַץ) - to crush

Sources

• Bible Hub
• Abarim Publications

Contact us with your questions and feedback at [email protected]

We seek to read the Bible with fresh eyes to understand God on His terms.

We've come to another chapter full of family lines and names. Often these sections can be tough to read through, especially since most of these characters never come up again. Josh, Tori, and Brendan dig through the names of Abraham's other sons to see if there's anything that can be learned about who they were and what their stories might have been like while discussing Abraham's complicated legacy.

Key Words

• asaph (אָסַף) - to gather, remove
• Keturah (קְטוּרָה) - Incense
• Midian (מִדְיָן) - Strife, Contention

Sources

• Bible Hub
• Abarim Publications

Contact us with your questions and feedback at [email protected]

We seek to read the Bible with fresh eyes to understand God on His terms.

This chapter feels long and repetitive, but it's worth digging into. Josh, Tori, and Brendan seek to understand what the language has to reveal about what may be beneath the surface of this story and how it relates to Genesis 1.

Key Words

• checed (חֵסֵד) - lovingkindness (especially in covenant relationship)
• bethulah (בְּתוּלָה) - a virgin
• almah (עַלְמָה) - a young woman, a virgin
• yarek (יָרֵךְ) - thigh, loin, side, base
• Laban (לָבָן) - White

Sources

• Bible Hub
• Abarim Publications

Contact us with your questions and feedback at [email protected]

We seek to read the Bible with fresh eyes to understand God on His terms.

Chapter 23 of Genesis is pretty straightforward as it centers around Abraham negotiating to buy a plot of land for burying Sarah's lifeless body. Even so, it's a dense chapter worth unpacking. Josh and Brendan aided by Tori's curiosity explore what may be hidden in the language while seeking to understand what's happening in the negotiations.

Key Words

• Kiriath-arba (קִרְיַת אַרְבַּע) - City of the Four
• Hebron (חֶבְרוֹן) - Place Of Joining, Alliance
• Machpelah (מַכְפֵּלָה) - Double
• Ephron (עֶפְרוֹן) - Place Of Dust/Malleability

Sources

• Bible Hub
• Abarim Publications

Looking to go deeper?

• BibleProject Podcast: Trees of Testing and Blessing

Contact us with your questions and feedback at [email protected]

We seek to read the Bible with fresh eyes to understand God on His terms.

This story is tough. It's hard to imagine being in Abraham's shoes and saying yes to God's request, especially considering how out of character the request seems! Why did Abraham say yes? Is there more going on here than we realize? Josh, Tori, and Brendan search the text and its depths to answer these questions and more.

Key Words

• nasah (נָסָה) - to test
• yireh (יִרְאֶה) - from raah (רָאָה) to provide/see
• maakeleth (מַאֲכֶלֶת) - a knife
• akal (אָכַל) - to eat
• qeren (קֶרֶן) - a horn
• Moriah (מוֹרִיָּה) - Seen By Yah
• Bethuel (בְּתוּאֵל) - perhaps Man of God, House of God, Virgin of God
• Rebekah (רִבְקָה) - Tied Up, Secured

Sources

• Bible Hub
• Abarim Publications

Looking to go deeper?

• BibleProject Podcast: Trees of Testing and Blessing

Contact us with your questions and feedback at [email protected]

We seek to read the Bible with fresh eyes to understand God on His terms.

Josh, Tori, and Brendan explore the culmination of three stories about Abraham in Genesis 21. This exploration focuses on the Hebrew language used in the chapter to tie the events within to other stories previously explored in Genesis in order to shed light on what's happening here.

Key Words

• tsachaq (צְחַק) - to laugh (to make sport, mock, play)
• garash (גָּרַשׁ) - to drive out, cast out
• siach (שִׂיחַ) - a bush, shrub, plant
• zera (זֶרַע) - a sowing, seed, offspring
• midbar (מִדְבָּר) - mouth (wilderness)
• sheba or shibah (שֶׁבַע) - seven
• shaba (שָׁבַע) - to swear
• kibsah or kabsah (כִּבְשָׂה) - ewe lamb
• Phicol (פִיכֹל) - Mouth Of All

Sources

• Bible Hub
• Abarim Publications
• What was the significance of weaning a child in the Bible (Genesis 21:8)?
• How to grow a tamarisk tree

Contact us with your questions and feedback at [email protected]

We seek to read the Bible with fresh eyes to understand God on His terms.

It really feels like Abraham with never learn. How can this account possibly shed light on Abraham’s prior deception? What does this mean for the child of promise? What’s God doing in all of this? Josh, Brendan, and Tori explore what looks like a replay of Abraham’s journey to Egypt. 

Key Words

• nabi (נָבִיא) - spokesman, speaker, prophet
• palal (פָלַל) - to intervene, interpose
• kesuth (כְּסוּת) - a covering (vindication)
• yakach (יָכַח) - to decide, adjudge, prove
• Abimelech (אֲבִימֶלֶךְ) - My Father Is King

Sources

• Bible Hub
• Abarim Publications
• The Free Dictionary: Go South

Looking to go deeper?

• William Schlegel's Satellite Bible Atlas: Historical Geography of the Bible Second Edition

Contact us with your questions and feedback at [email protected]

We seek to read the Bible with fresh eyes to understand God on His terms.

We've reached one of the most uncomfortable pairing of narratives in the Tanakh. Buried within are echoes of the stories immediately preceding it, as well as language which clues us into parallels to Genesis 3, and the story of Noah, as well as calling forward to parts of Exodus. Josh, Tori, and Brendan dig in to unearth these allusions, as well as attempting to provide some levity in the midst of such a heavy chapter.

Key Words

• Moab (מוֹאָב) - Of My Father, Who Is Your Father?
• Ben-ammi (בֶּן־עַמִּי) - Son Of My People

Sources

• Bible Hub
• Abarim Publications

Contact us with your questions and feedback at [email protected]

We seek to read the Bible with fresh eyes to understand God on His terms.

Rounding out Genesis 18, Josh, Tori, and Brendan dig through the so called bargaining scene in which Abraham pleads for Sodom to be spared if 10 righteous men can be found within its walls. While exploring this passage, we discuss Abraham's demeanor, YHWH's response, and what all of this has to do with intercessory prayer and the divine court.

Key Words

• zeaqah (זַעַק) - a cry, outcry
• tseaqah (צַעֲקָה) - a cry, outcry

Sources

• Bible Hub
• The Steinsaltz Humash (The Louis Weisfeld Edition)

Contact us with your questions and feedback at [email protected]

We seek to read the Bible with fresh eyes to understand God on His terms.