Genesis Notes

Egypt and the Nile

  • Egypt is located to the left of the Fertile Crescent, just over into Africa, with the Sinai in between.
  • The major source of water in Egypt is the Nile River.
  • The historian Herodotus called Egypt "the gift of the Nile".
  • The Nile's regular flow enabled agriculture and the establishment of cities.
  • Writing was developed in Egypt shortly after Mesopotamia.

The Invention of Writing

  • The invention of writing marks the dividing line between history and prehistory.
  • History begins with the advent of writing, providing records of events.
  • Prehistory refers to events before writing, lacking accessible records.
  • Sumerian and Egyptian writing provide records that allow us to study human history.

Ancient Egypt

  • Ancient Egypt is the civilization we know the most about due to preserved documents and Greek/Roman records.
  • Greek and Roman historians wrote about ancient Egypt using sources now lost to us.
  • Menetho was a scholar of Egyptian history who wrote a history of Egypt.
  • Archaeology has revealed a tremendous amount about ancient Egyptian history.
  • Biblical mentions of the "king of Egypt" lack specific names, making dating events like the stories of Abraham and Moses difficult.
  • Scholars in the 1800s identified the Fertile Crescent as the area between Mesopotamia and Egypt, resembling a half-moon shape.

Abraham and the Promised Land

  • Abraham initially lived in Ur in Southern Mesopotamia.
  • God tells Abraham to leave his land and go to a land He will show him.
  • The Bible does not explain if Abraham already knew God or if this was their first encounter. God gives Abraham two promises:
    • He will be the father of a great people, with descendants as numerous as the stars and grains of sand.
    • He will be given the land to which God is leading him.
  • These promises are fundamental to the rest of the biblical narrative.
  • The term "promised land" refers to the land God promised to Abraham.
  • Abraham obeys God without argument or excuses.

Abraham's Family

  • Abraham's wife, Sarai (later Sarah), is initially childless.
  • Sarah suggests Abraham have children with her maidservant Hagar, a common practice in the ancient world.
    • It was the ancient equivalent of surrogacy.
  • Abraham has relations with Hagar, and she bears a son named Ishmael (meaning "God hears").
  • Ishmael is born when Abraham is 86 years old.
  • God reveals that Ishmael is not the child of promise; that child will come through Sarah.
  • Sarah laughs upon hearing this, and God confirms she will have a child.
  • Sarah becomes pregnant when Abraham is 99 years old, and she gives birth to Isaac when Abraham is 100.
  • People in the early stories of Genesis live for very long times.
    • Methuselah lived 969969 years.
    • Moses lived 120120 years.
  • In Judaism, wishing someone a long life is expressed as "May they live until 120."

Abraham's Faith

  • Abraham is portrayed as the prototype of the faithful follower who obeys God without question.
  • God commands Abraham to mark his body with circumcision as a sign of their covenant.
    • This practice involves removing the foreskin of the male member.
    • The covenant of circumcision is still followed by Jewish people today.

Ishmael and Isaac

  • In the Muslim understanding, Ishmael is the older son and the heir to Abraham.
  • Sarah asks Abraham to send Ishmael away, which he does at God's command.
  • God promises to bless Ishmael as well, and peoples will come from him.
  • Understanding the terminology of Arabs and Muslims is important. Muslims:
    • Not all Muslims are Arabs, and not all Arabs are Muslim.
    • Some Christians are Arabs.
    • Muhammad was an Arab, and the revelation came to him and through him to the Arab people.
  • Indonesia is the largest Muslim nation in the world. Arabs:
    • The primary definition of an Arab today is someone who speaks Arabic as their first language.
      Egyptians:
    • Egyptians are Arabs because they speak Arabic as their first language, although they are not ethnically Arabian.
    • They are descendants of the ancient Egyptians.

The Sacrifice of Isaac

  • God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac as a test of faith.
  • Abraham is willing to obey, but an angel stops him and provides a ram for sacrifice instead.
  • Isaac marries Rebecca and has twin sons Esau and Jacob.

Esau and Jacob

Esau:
* Esau is born first, and is reddish in color (Esau means "red").
* He was a hunter and his father's favorite.
Jacob:
* Jacob, whose name means "he grabs hold of", came out holding Esau's heel.
* He preferred to stay at home and was his mother's favorite.

  • One day, Esau sells his birthright to Jacob for a pot of stew because he is very hungry.
    • This is an informal agreement between the brothers.

Jacob's Deception

  • Isaac, old and blind, asks Esau to hunt game for him so he can give him the firstborn inheritance.
  • Rebecca helps Jacob deceive Isaac into giving him the blessing instead of Esau.
  • Jacob pretends to be Esau by wearing goat fur on his hands and neck.
  • Isaac gives Jacob the blessing of the firstborn.
  • When Esau returns, he is very upset. Isaac cannot revoke the blessing.
    Esau plans to kill Jacob after Isaac dies.
  • Rebecca sends Jacob away to her brother Lavon to protect him from Esau.