Genesis 18 is a fairly familiar story for church goers. We know the story of the three visitors and Sarah laughing. Is there anything more we can understand or gain from this story? Josh, Tori, and Brendan discuss and dig into what this account may have to tell us about God and his relationship to Abraham.

Sources

• Bible Hub

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

In Genesis 17, God establishes a covenant with Abraham in addition to the one already established in chapter 15. This includes new names for Abram and Sarai, a promise of a son through the newly named Sarah despite their ages and her infertility, and a new sign for this covenant. Josh, Tori, and Brendan dig in to understand what this covenant is about and why circumcision is the sign.

Key Words

• meod (מְאֹד) - muchness, force, abundance
• olam (עוֹלָם) - long duration, perpetuity
• Shadday (שַׁדַּי) - Almighty (in reference to YHWH)
• Abraham (אַבְרָהָם) - Exalted Father
• Sarah (שָׂרָה) - Princess
• Isaac (יִצְחָק) - Laughter
• nasiy' (נָשִׂיא) - one lifted up, a chief, prince

Sources

• Bible Hub
• Abarim Publications
• Hebrew Today: The Letter Hei

Looking to go deeper?

• Abraham, the Immigrant, and Circumcision

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.

Genesis 16 is a chapter full of tragedy for a woman who was already living as someone less than human which is told as a replay of the fall in Genesis 3. It speaks of the state of human sinfulness, even that of God's chosen, but also hope in spite of sin and severe wrongdoing.

Key Words

• shama (שָׁמַע) - to hear (and to act in accordance with what's heard)
• malak (מֲלְאָךְ) - a messenger
• shaphat (שָׁפַט) - to judge, govern

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.

Genesis 15 is another very strange story. It’s not every day God shows up to talk to someone face to face, much less to do everything else He does in this chapter. Josh and Brendan work through all of the language and concepts present to derive a rich understanding of the process through which God intends to bring about Renewed Creation through Abram and the covenant.

Key Words

• machazeh (מַחֲזֶה) - a vision
• kokab (כּוֹכָב) - a star
• chashekah (חֲשֵׁכָה) - darkness
• alatah (עֲלָטָה) - thick darkness

Sources

• Bible Hub
• Abarim Publications
• Matthew Poole’s Commentary
• The Steinsaltz Humash (The Louis Weisfeld Edition)

Looking to go deeper?

• Naked Bible 95: David Burnett – Resurrection and the Death of the Gods

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.

Genesis 14 seems fairly straightforward, but it also raises some questions. What’s going on with the nine tribal leaders? Who are they? Who the heck is Melchizedek? Josh, Tori, and Brendan explore the story of what happened to Abram and Lot following their separation. 
 
Key Words

• maaser or maasar or maasrah (מַעֲשֵׂר) - tenth part, tithe
• Rephaim (רָפָא) - giants
• elyown (עֶלְיוֹן) - high, upper

Sources

• Bible Hub
• Abarim Publications
• JewishEncyclopedia
• Naked Bible 185: Hebrews 7

Looking to go deeper?

• Naked Bible Podcast on Melchizedek

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.

Genesis 13 tells a relatively normal story nestled between two stranger stories. Is there depth to what’s happening here? Josh, Tori, and Brendan discuss and dig in to see what this passage has to offer beyond an uncle and nephew going their separate ways.

Key Words

• Mamre (מַמְרֵא) - seeing, understanding
• Sodom (סְדֹם) - flaming, burnt
• Gomorrah (עֲמֹרָה) - tyrannical dealings

Sources

• Bible Hub
• Abarim Publications
• Fight To Believe God's Vision

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 week we dig into the strange account of Abram's calling and the failures that occur alongside it. God picked this man the same we he picked Noah, but unlike Noah, Abram doesn't display the level of righteousness we would expect from God's chosen. Did God make a mistake? Is He compromising? Why does Abram receive blessing despite the problems he causes? Josh, Tori, and Brendan explore those questions as well as digging into the topic of cosmic geography and how the Biblical authors expressed when people were acting in obedience or rebellion.

Key Words

• goy (גּוֹי) - nation, people
• Bethel (בֵּית־אֵל) - House of God
• Ai (עַי) - Ruin
• Negev (נֶגֶב) - south country, wilderness

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.

Is there anything we can learn from the record of Shem's descendants in Genesis 11? Josh, Tori, and Brendan dig into the names and their meanings to answer that question. This discussion also includes conversation regarding divine inspiration, the Septuagint, and the deuterocanonical books.

Key Words

• Abram (אַבְרָם) - Exalted Father
• Sarai (שָׂרַי) - My Princess

Sources

• Bible Hub
• Abarim Publications

Looking to go deeper?

• Naked Bible 185: Hebrews 7 (On why Shem isn't Melchizedek)
• Naked Bible Podcast on Melchizedek (For more on Melchizedek in general)

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.

What's up with the Tower of Babel? It's a story that's relatively known, but rarely understood as more than, "This is to explain why people speak different languages." What's really going on here? Josh and Brendan, with help from Tori's questions and analogies, dive in to understand why the tower was built, why YHWH responded how he did, and why Babel and Babylon are the same thing, but also not quite.

Key Words

• zamam (זָמַם) - to consider, purpose, devise
• puwts (פוּץ) - to be dispersed or scattered
• migdal or migdalah (מִגְדָּל) - a tower
• iyr (עִיר) - city (lit. excitement)
• saphah (שָׂפָה) - lip, speech, edge

Sources

• Bible Hub
• Abarim Publications
• Etymonline
• Were We WRONG About the Tower of Babel?

Looking to go deeper?

• The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible
• BibleProject: The City

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.

The Table of Nations, as this chapter is sometimes known, is a lot to get through. What was going on in the earth at the time these men were named? What do they have to do with each other? How will they impact God's family later? Josh and Brendan with the aid of Tori's curiosity work to break down the names present in an effort to understand the first half of this genealogical record.

Key Names

• Heth (חֵת) - ancestor of the Hittites
• Jebusite (יְבוּסִי) - Inhabitants of what would become Jerusalem
• Amorite (אֲמֹרִי) - significant people in the Tanakh
• Girgashite (גִּרְגָּשִׁי) - significant people in the Tanakh
• Hivite (חִוִּי) - significant people in the Tanakh
• Eber (עֵבֵר) - Perhaps father of the Hebrews
• Uz (עוּץ) - significant land later in the Tanakh
• Peleg (פֶלֶג) - Abraham’s ancestor

Sources

• Bible Hub
• Abarim Publications
• ESV Archeology Study Bible

Looking to go deeper?

• Traced: Human DNA’s Big Surprise
• Traced: Human DNA’s Big Surprise with Dr. Nathaniel Jeanson

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.