Monthly Archives: January 2024

Session 031 – Genesis 11:27-32: Abram’s Family

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If we consider the first 11 chapters being sort of a prologue to the Bible, then this last section is sort of an epilogue to the prologue. It provides our bridge between this prologue and the rest of the Bible by linking the prehistory, with the story of the nation of Israel.

This week’s passage appears simple and straight-forward on the surface. Western Christians usually take it at face value and just move on thinking “So they left Ur and were heading to Canaan….”. Once you start digging and consider societal norms, the pagan land they came from, the complex genealogical web, and what Terah experienced in Ur; the plot becomes very interesting.

Here are a few questions to think about this week’s scripture:

  1. Who were the Chaldeans? Funny they weren’t listed in the Tables of Nations.
  2. Why did Terah leave Ur to go to Canaan?
    1. Why did he only get as far as Harah/Harrah?
    2. Why did only four of the family go?
    3. Looking ahead (yep, we’re cheating), wasn’t Abram the one God told to go for Canaan?
  4. Who did Terah’s family worship (might need sources outside of Genesis)?
  5. Did Abram marry is half-sister (i.e. – was this an incestuous relationship)?
    1. Was Abram aware of the Holiness Code (rabbit hole clue)?
    2. CHEAT: Looking ahead, how will this play in the Abram – Pharaoh story (Ch 12)?
    3. Or was Sarai, Harah daughter and de to the patriarchal bindings, Abram married Sarai so that Harah’s line could continue through her. (remember our study of the patriarchal structure at the time)
  7. Was Terah’s death physical, spiritual or the ‘second death’. (Rabbit hole clue)
  8. The numbers in relation to ages and events don’t really add up. One way to make things work (and relies on us to investigate chapters after ch11 is that Abram would have left Harrah before Terah died. Meaning that he would have continued to Canaan without an heir and without an inheritance. And Terah would have effectively lost a second son. (Another rabbit hole clue). Does this fit your interpretation?

Here are a few questions to think about our Unconventional Walk Through Genesis (1-11).

  1. Do you think of chapters 1-11 differently than you did before? How?
  2. What new insights do you have of scripture do you have now?
  3. Do you view God’s plan any differently now than before?

Session 030: Genesis 11:1-9: The Tower of Babel

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This week we are looking at the Tower of Babel story from Genesis 11. This is one of the ‘tangential stories’ told when we walked through the Table of Nations outlined in Noah’s descendancy genealogy.

  • Genesis 11

    Text from The Bible Gateway

    Genesis 11

  • Scripture Audio:

    Presented as dramatizations from The Bible Gateway

    Genesis 11 Audio

  • Suggested Study Resources

    The following resources should be helpful. Of course feel free to chase down any study rabbit holes and you want to chase. This is your deep dive in the Word.

  • The World Best Preserved Ziggurat

    This is a quick four-minute video showing what the world’s best-preserved ziggurat looks like today. Feel free to skip past most of it and just look at the structure itself. A large percentage of scholars believe that the Tower of Babel would have followed this type of structure since it was common in the area as a building type.

    YouTube Video

  • Extra-Biblical Writing:

    There are several sources outside of the Bible that speak to the Tower of Babel. We are not clear what ‘their’ sources were for their information. Realize that these are not canon but are regarded by some scholars and religious sects as important. To keep you from digging on your own, I have collected three sources and included them in a PDF document and uploaded it to the web site.

    Website Link

Here are some questions and thoughts to ponder as you look into the resources for this week.

  1. In the first verse of chapter 11 “Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words.”
    • Is this verse redundant in its speech?
    • Doesn’t using the same language also mean using the same words or is there some difference in meaning here or some point it is trying to make?
  2. In verse 4 they talk about building “a tower whose top will reach into heaven”
    • Do they mean literally building a way into heaven or figuratively such as building a tall tower that reaches into the sky?
  3. In verse 4 they talk about not wanting to be scattered over the face of the earth.
    • Would scattering have happened naturally anyway due to population increase and limited supplies within a given geographic area?
  4. God after seeing what they have built specifically calls out that they are one people with one language and together there is nothing that they try to do is impossible for them. God then goes on to directly interfere with their unity by confusing the language. Given the nature of humanity, the unity of the people likely would have waned after some time anyway.
    • Why did God feel it was necessary to directly interfere?
  5. Would the tower have naturally failed anyway due to physical limitations?
  6. Why did confusing the languages stop the progress?
  7. Did God directly physically scatter the people, or did He indirectly drive them apart?

Session 029: Genesis 10:1 – 11:27: The Table of Nations & Noah’s Descendants

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This week we will be looking at some more genealogy. However this one is a little different. it is identifying the family and clan groups that have come out of the descendants of Noah. Our text covers from 10:1 until 11:27. There are several side-trips in the genealogy to tell stories. We are going to skip over the side-story of the Tower of Babel Story since we will be covering that story in more detail in our next session.

  • Genesis 10 & 11

    Text from The Bible Gateway

    Genesis 10
    Genesis 11

  • Scripture Audio:

    Presented as dramatizations from The Bible Gateway

    Genesis 10 Audio
    Genesis 11 Audio

  • Suggested Study Resources

    The following three resources should be helpful. Of course feel free to chase down any study rabbit holes and you want to chase. This is your deep dive in the Word.

  • Genesis 10 & 11 – talmidimway.org

    Good presentation (YouTube Video and Outline to review on site). Based primarily from a logical and factual perspective.

    Web Site Link
    YouTube Video

  • Genesis 10-11 – Complete Obedience – redeeminggod.com

    For those of you who like more of a narrative explanation, this article does a good job and adds a couple of interesting twists to the genealogy that you should find interesting.

    Website Link

  • EXTRA CREDIT ARTICLES:

    If you want to dive deeper into this scripture, I have found a few resources that take different views of this scripture passage. They are worth your time.

    Genesis 10-11 – 2009 – Skip Heitzig

    A sermon on these two chapters. This is an easy and enjoyable listen. There are some statements that you might find interesting in this presentation.

    YouTube Video

    The Blue Letter Bible: Genesis Chapter 10

    A very traditional Biblestudy/commentary. There are some good nuggets of info that we should take note of.

    Web Link – Chapter 10
    Web Link – Chapter 11

    The Table of Nations: The Geography of the World in Genesis 10 – Thetorah.com.

    A view of the chapter focused on more of a Jewish / Eastern perspective than we are used to. It also uses the different sources of the ancient texts to explain why some of the nations are mentioned more than once. (primarily from the J and P sources).

    Web Link

    Lesson 22: The Roots of the Nations (Genesis 10:1-32) – bible.org

    This one is somewhat repetitive to what we have already seen, but sometimes hearing the same thing in more than one way is beneficial.

    Web Link
    Audio Download Link

Here are some questions and thoughts to ponder as you look into the resources for this week.

  1. It is mentioned that many of these groups had their own language, but in the Tower of Babel story there is only one language. Explain.
  2. Is there something significant to the number of nations being 70?
  3. According to this account, we are all descendants of Noah. Just ponder for a moment.
  4. Why are the sons listed in different orders throughout Genesis?
  5. There are some groups of note. What is important in the Bible concerning
    • Magog (hint: Revelation)
    • Canaan (hint: Israel and the promised land)
    • Sheba (hint: Solomon)
    • Uz (hint: Job)
    • Tarshish (hint: Jonah)
    • Eber (hint: Hebrew)
  6. Why do we need to take note of these groups listed here?

Session 028: Genesis 9:18 – 9:28: The Son’s of Noah – Eastern and Jewish Perspective

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This session, we are going to look more deeply at what was actually done to Noah, did he have three or four sons, and how does Canaan fit in the mix. We will look at this from more of an Eastern perspective than the Western view that we are used to.

  • Genesis 9:18 through 9:28

    Text from The Bible Gateway

    Genesis 9

  • Scripture Audio:

    Presented as dramatizations from The Bible Gateway

    Genesis 9 Audio

  • Suggested Study Resources

    The following three resources should be helpful. Of course feel free to chase down any study rabbit holes and you want to chase. This is your deep dive in the Word.

  • The BEMA Podcast: A Misplaced Curse

    This podcast covers a lot of the questions that come up after Noah has left the ark. It also brings up an interesting perspective of what was done to Noah by his offspring and why was it such a big deal.

    Web Site Link
    Audio Download Link

  • Noah’s Four Sons – thetorah.com

    Is there an argument to be made that Noah had four son’s and not three?

    Website Link

  • Noah’s Sons names & Was Shem the Oldest? – revealedtruth.com

    A quick read and overviews the story with a couple of new tidbits that haven’t been covered in the other sources.

    Article Link

  • Why Did Noah Curse His Son Ham? – biblword.net

    A quick read and overviews the story with a couple of ew tidbits that weren’t covered in the other sources.

    Article Link

  • Why did Noah curse Canaan instead of Ham? – gotquestions.org

    Another look at how this story was used to mistreat a certain group of humans.

    Article Link

Here are some questions and thoughts to ponder as you look into the resources for this week.

  1. What do you think happened to Noah after reading these new interpretations?
  2. Does what was done even matter, other than the fact that Noah was ‘dishonored’.
  3. What are your thoughts on the three sons versus the four sons
    • Or how does that play into the story line that, if castrated, there was no 4th son?
  4. What do you think Noah really was mad about?
    • In Western thought would a son seeing a father naked be a big deal?
  5. Do you think that Ham wasn’t cursed, because he was already blessed?
  6. Since this is the only story of Noah after the flood, do you think that it was included to provide justification from Moses, when he wrote down these stories, as justification for moving into the land of Canaan with the ation of Israel?

Session 027: Genesis 9:18 – 9:28: The Son’s of Noah – Western Traditional Thought

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This week we look at the story of Noah and His Sons. This is rarely covered in everyday Christian sermons and Bible Studies because it is just weird to our Western ears. We will look at this from the Western perspective and the first thing that you will notice is that the variations of interpretations are mind numbing.

Major Interpretations of what happened:
– Ham sees his father naked and makes fun of him.
– Ham had sexual relations with his mother.
– Ham had sexual relations with his father.
– Ham castrated his father to prevent a fourth son, or additional brother for Ham.

Major interpretations of why Canaan was cursed instead of Ham:
– Mistranslation: Should have been translated “the father of Canaan”.
– Ham and Canaan were both involved in the event.
– Ham had been blessed by God. You can’t curse someone who has been blessed by God.
– The ‘curse’ of Canaan is more of a prophecy.
– The provides an ‘excuse or reason’ to support why the nation of Israel coming out of Egypt is justified taking over the land of Canaan.

  • Genesis 9:18 through 9:28

    Text from The Bible Gateway

    Genesis 9

  • Scripture Audio:

    Presented as dramatizations from The Bible Gateway

    Genesis 9 Audio

  • Suggested Study Resources

    The following three resources should be helpful. Of course feel free to chase down any study rabbit holes and you want to chase. This is your deep dive in the Word.

  • Got Questions: Why did Noah curse Canaan instead of Ham?

    Nicely covers several possible theories on what happened.

    Web Site Link
    YouTube Video Link

  • Verse by Verse Ministries – Genesis 9b

    Recaps all of Chapter 9, the covenant and the sons of Noah. If you want to skip over his review of the covenant he starts discussing the Son’s of Noah around the 26th minute. His analysis of the situation in my opinion is almost entirely from a Western perspective, even though he claims his basis is on the norms of Noah’s society. This will be a great contrast to the Eastern interpretation that we study next session.

    Website Link
    Audio Download

  • Genesis 9:18-29 – Noah and His Sons After the Flood.

    A quick read and overviews the story with a couple of ew tidbits that weren’t covered in the other sources.

    Article Link

  • EXTRA CREDIT ARTICLES:

    If you want to dive deeper into this scripture, I have found a few resources that take different views of this scripture passage. They are worth your time.

    The Sons of Noah

    A rather detailed look at the sons of Noah and what lands and peoples came from them. While generally good, there does seem to be a rather strong flare of ethnocentrism in places.

    Article Link

    The Curse of Ham – Wikipedia Article

    While a Wikipedia article, it covers the topic from multiple perspectives and attempts to do so in a non-biased manner. A few interesting thoughts that were not seen in the sources we listed for the class

    Web Link

    The Sons of Noah: Shem, Ham and Japheth after the Flood (A Bible Study on Genesis 9:18-27).

    Another telling which adds a few additional tidbits of interpretation. One of interest is looking at the parallel between Genesis 3 and Genesis 9.

    Web Link

Here are some questions and thoughts to ponder as you look into the resources for this week.

  1. Drinking wine verses getting drunk.
  2. We spent some time discussing the ‘shame’ of nakedness with Adam an Eve. Do you think that same shame is applicable here? Or do you think that something else is at play.
  3. What exactly was the indignity that was committed by Ham?
  4. What do you make of Ham neither being cursed or blessed by Noah? The blessings go to Ham’s brothers, and the curse to his son.
  5. Since this is the only story of Noah after the flood, do you think that it was included to provide justification from Moses, when he wrote down these stories, as justification for moving into the land of Canaan with the nation of Israel?
  6. Not a question, but a topic of thought. What of the descendants of the cursed genealogical line postulated as being of darker skin and/or of a lessor class of human? Are there still remnants of this thought alive and well today??
  7. Why do you think that the first words that we have EVER heard from Noah, are a curse?