John Bergsma and Scott Hahn offer a compelling defense of a “maternal incest” view of the story of Noah’s nakedness in Genesis 9 (JBL 124:1). They reject a “voyeurist” interpretation of the story. They find more to recommend a “paternal incest” view of the . . . . Continue Reading »
Or is it Exodi? In any case, everyone can see that Abram goes through an exodus in Genesis 12. But Jeffrey Geoghegan makes a compelling case for seeing a Passover-Exodus theme running through the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 18-19. To wit: 1) The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah cries out to . . . . Continue Reading »
Would Adam have been admitted to eat from the tree of knowledge if he had kept the probation in the garden? Jim Jordan has argued from hints in Genesis 1-3 that the answer is Yes. Perhaps there’s also some further hint in Matthew 4:1-11. Jesus goes into the wilderness, and is keeping a fast; . . . . Continue Reading »
Jerome Walsh (in Style and Structure in Biblical Hebrew Narrative ) points out the chiastic structure of Gen 12:6b: Pharaoh gives Abram “flocks-and-herds/jackasses/men servants//women servants/jenny asses/camels.” This arrangement highlights the gift of slaves to Abram, anticipating the . . . . Continue Reading »
Israel’s exodus involved a move from Goshen to the promised land. But the move into Goshen is curiously similar to the later exodus. Here are some of the similarities: 1) Israel sought to escape Egypt because of the oppression of Pharaoh; they left because of threats to their well-being. . . . . Continue Reading »
Here are a few observations on Jacob’s blessings in Gen 49. I don’t know what the implications are; these are simply observations on the imagery and rhetoric of the different blessings. 1) The contrast between the rhetoric of curse and the rhetoric of blessing is striking. Reuben, . . . . Continue Reading »
In his fascinating book, Divine Symmetries , Victor Wilson points to a series of parallels between Ishmael’s banishment from Abraham’s camp (Gen 21) and the sacrifice of Isaac (Gen 22): 1. Yahweh’s command, 21:10; 22:2: “cast out this . . . son”; “take your . . . . Continue Reading »
When the men of Babel organize to build a tower reaching to heaven, they decide to use “tar for mortar” (Gen 11:3; NASB). The Hebrew phrase repeats two different forms of the same root word (CHMR): The word for “tar” is CHEMAR and the word for “mortar” is CHOMER. . . . . Continue Reading »
Though the issue of Abraham’s sinfulness is not immediately in view in the “justification” text of Gen 15, it is a crucial issue in the deeper context and structure of Genesis. This is true in two ways: First, Abraham is suffering under the curse of barrenness and death, and the . . . . Continue Reading »
A discussion of death in the prefall world led to this thought: What was Adam supposed to do when a big dragon came to his wife and began tempting her to sin? I think he was supposed to do exactly what the Last Adam did: Crush the serpent’s head. But that means that maintaining the unfallen . . . . Continue Reading »
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