Genesis 5: I'm starting to look at the Jewish study Bible as I go through this, as well as a few other sources. This is Adam's family line. Buckle up; the intensity is going through the roof on this chapter! We are told by the author (which some believe to be Moses, how do we know?) that when God created mankind (remember the Hebrew word for mankind is 'Adam'), they were made in the likeness of God. We are not told what this means. I think it means that "God" "created" existence, and we are therefore inherently creative. This makes the most sense to me. Any idea of God being a big dude with a white beard is just too weird for me. Next we have the author rambling about lineage and exaggerated ages. THIS GUY IS A MILLION YEARS OLD BRO. LOL. During antiquity, it was actually quite common to embellish longevity and monarchical reigns; so this isn't unique to the Bible. The Sumerian King List is an ancient stone tablet which lists th...
I am writing from my desk in Seattle, WA. Genesis 37: So Jacob lived in Canaan and loved Joseph more than any of his other sons. Ya can't pick favorites! Because of this, his brothers hated him. Go figure. Joseph has a dream about how his sheaf rose and stood upright, and all their sheaves bowed down to his; and wouldn't you know, they hated him more lol. He has another dream and tells them about it. This time the sun and moon and eleven stars are bowing down to him this time. So Isaac (Jacob) sends Joseph to check on his brothers, who were grazing near Shechem. They weren't there but some dudes told him where they were. He found them near Dothan, they saw him coming, and then plotted to kill him. He's not so popular. They call him a dreamer and want to throw him into a cistern (a tank for storing water) and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Clever. Reuben tries to talk some sense into them, urging the brothers not to...
I’ve received some criticism because I haven’t read the Bible cover to cover. Okay then. Lets go! My take on Genesis 1: Let’s try to read this as a first time viewer. It seems pretty obvious that this is some type of story or poem. God is introduced right away with no explanation. The original text is in Hebrew. The word for create is “bara.” Interestingly, this word is only used together with God, suggesting that only God can “bara” or create. This reminds me of graduate school when I wrote the word “create” in a scientific context. My advisor reminded me that we don’t create. Scholars have suggested that this word ”bara” doesn’t mean “create” in a modern sense, but is more of a differentiation and allocation of roles. The word for God here is Elohim. This is a story about the beginning. It doesn’t tell us much, but seems to reiterate that it is all “good.” There’s a discussion of days, but written thousands of years ago, there’s nothing to suggest that these are 24 hour da...
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