GENESIS BIBLE STUDY

GENESIS
“In the beginning…”

The book of Genesis
• It is called Bereshit (In the beginning) in Hebrew.
• It was written by Moses.
• Primeval history (chapters 1–11), Ancestral history (chapters 12–50)

CHAPTER 1 – IN THE BEGINNING

◦ Chapter one begins with the story of creation. The first sentence “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” is made of 7
words in Hebrew.
◦ “Bereshit bara Elohim et hashamayim ve'et ha'aretz.” – The words “et & tov” represent Jesus as they mean “alpha & omega”
◦ TOHU AND BOHU – WITHOUT FORM AND VOID
◦ DAY 1 – God created light and named the absence of light as darkness. (Day&night)
◦ DAY 2 – God separated the waters and named the space as sky and the waters as ocean.
◦ DAY 3 – He did not create but called forth the plants, shrubs and trees of all kinds.
◦ DAY 4 – God created the sun, moon and stars. The sun is called “shammesh” in Hebrew and Jesus the son is called shamish. Moon
represents the church or Israel which emits the light of Jesus.
◦ DAY 5 – God created the birds and sea creatures and asked them to multiply. Number 5 represents law/grace
◦ DAY 6 – God created all kinds of animals and man.
◦ DAY 7 – He rested.

CHAPTER 2 – THEY SHALL BE ONE

◦ We arrive in Genesis 2 with the conclusion of the creation story and the beginning of the seventh day, where God finished creation and
rested. We see that this day has been blessed by the Creator and set aside for the rest of mankind. There are many wonderful truths in this
act of God that still govern humanity today, such as the weekly and paid rest of workers, the balance of the work journey and the
maintenance of the body as a whole. But it is also the basis of a healthy relationship with God. We realize that from the beginning the Lord
is calling us to a life of balance. Where we can be productive and still take time to learn and listen to His voice.
◦ The Man and the Woman: Here we have a repetition of the creation of man and woman, however, there is a wealth of detail in the
description of the act. For example, in this chapter we are told that the raw material used in creating man was "dust of the earth". It's not
just that various mineral components found in the soil form part of our organic composition. Then seeing that loneliness is not a good
thing, God created the woman from Adam's rib. Making the first use of stem cells in human history, something that scientists consider to be
a recent discovery, the Bible speaks at least about 5,000 years ago. Another important principle established here is the family structure,
which should be: Man and Woman. After he created them the Lord blessed them and ordered them to fill the Earth which would be
impossible in a homosexual relationship.
◦ The Garden of Eden: The first couple lived in a perfect setting in Eden, where the Tree of Life and also the Tree of knowledge of good
and evil were planted .God instituted the man as the gardener and the woman as his helper, and gave Adam the order not to eat of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil, lest they eat of it on the day they would die, which to them was a strange term.

◦ Eve falls as a victim to Satan’s plan of deceiving humankind. She believes and eats the fruit of knowledge and gives it to Adam also.
◦ Their eyes were opened and felt ashamed of their nakedness and they wore dresses made of fig leaves.
◦ God find this out the next morning and they were punished and sent out of the garden and protects the tree with a cherubim. The first
prophecy of the Messiah is also seen in this passage.
◦ God makes the first sacrifice of animals and dresses them using animal skin.

CHAPTER 4 – THE FIRST MURDER

◦ Genesis 4 begins with the story of the first baby born to Adam and Eve - Cain. Later his brother, Abel is born. (Adam and
Eve must have had other sons and daughters too.)
◦ Abel becomes a shepherd and Cain becomes a farmer and they both give their first fruits as a sacrifice to God. God
accepts Abel's sheep - as it has blood sacrifice whereas Cain's produce is rejected as it does not have blood! He later kills
his own brother - which is the first murder in the world. I am not even sure if he realized that he killed Abel when he beat
him as he asks God, "Am I my brother's keeper?"
◦ God later gives him an identity so that others would not be able to kill him. (wonder what it is!)
◦ In the same chapter we can also find the second murder recorded in history.

CHAPTER 5 – WALKING WITH GOD

In Hebrew each name plays a very important role and has meaning. When we put together the meanings of the names in Genesis 5, they reveal the Gospel!
◦ Adam - "Man"
◦ Seth - "Appointed"
◦ Enosh - "Mortal"
◦ Cainan - "Sorrow/dwelling"
◦ Mahalaleel - "the Light of God"
◦ Jared - "Came down"
◦ Enoch - "Teaching"
◦ Methuselah - "His death shall bring"
◦ Lamech - "the Despairing"
◦ Noah - "Rest, or comfort."
◦ [Man is appointed mortal sorrow, but the light of God shall come down, teaching and His death will bring the despairing comfort.]
◦ ENOCH
"Enoch walked with God for 3 centuries and was not, for God took him.“ Men lived for many years in the beginning - Methuselah marking 969 as the highest age
because back then the earth was not cursed before the flood of Noah.

CHAPTER 6 – BUT NOAH FOUND GRACE

◦ Genesis 6 talks about two sets of people - "sons of God" and "sons of Men". Many confuse "sons of God" as angels and
that they took the daughters of men and they gave birth to giants. Noo! Angels are spiritual beings and cannot mate for they
do not have a gender or a physical body.
◦ According to the previous chapters, we can see that Adam and Eve had another son - called Seth - and from this
generation people started to worship God. So, the children of Seth are mentioned here as "sons of God" and the children of
Cain are mentioned as "sons of men" as Cain went far away from God.
◦ It is true that Nephilims existed (giants) as we can see evidences scientifically and also biblically (Eg: Goliath)
◦ The sins of men grew day by day that God could not handle it anymore. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord - not
that he was without sin, but he walked with the Lord. God asked Noah to build an Ark using gopher wood along with the
specifications of how huge it should be. It had three decks - one for birds, one for storage, and another for animals. All birds
and animals came to him in pairs, since man had dominion over them before the flood and every living being was a
vegetarian.

◦ Genesis 7 talks about God warning Noah to prepare for the flood and gives him one week for the final preparations. He is
also commanded to take 7 pairs each of the clean animals and 2 pairs each of unclean animals. Noah, his wife, his 3 sons
and 3 daughters in law enter the ark along with the animals and God shuts the door. (8 people)
◦ It rained for the first time in history - that too for 40 days straight. The "waters" broke which was above the firmament. The
climatic setting of the earth went through a drastic change. Every living creature in the earth was killed. (Except for sea
creatures I guess?)
◦ The whole earth was covered in water. Only those who were in the Ark were saved. All the others - sinners, sexually
immoral, homos, LGBTQ or whatever you name them - God wiped them away from the beautiful earth He created.
◦ Jesus said that the last days would be like the days of Noah - and it is already here - the pride movement. Something that
God can never resist!
◦ Repent before God pushes the 'reset' button, for the time is near!

CHAPTER 8 – THE RAVEN AND THE DOVE

◦ Genesis 8 talks about God remembering Noah and the ark and He sends a wind and slowly the waters start to subside. 8 is a number of
new beginnings.
◦ WHY A CROW AND A DOVE?:
Noah sends a raven (crow) first out of the window. It starts circling - to and fro. Crows are black, strong, impure, noisy and are
carnivores. It is unclean as it feeds on dead bodies. Noah knew that mountain tops would have been the last place of refuge for those who died
during the flood and sent out a crow to know if they were visible. It is confirmed since the crow never came back to him. Doves on the other
hand are white, clean, fragile, pure, quiet and are herbivores. They were used as messengers during the ancient days. Noah sends out a dove
now. It returns to Noah meaning that there was no land to be found. If a dove does not find anything, it returns to its source. Noah sends the
dove again after a week, and this time it brought a branch of an olive tree. This signifies that the water has subsided but still land could not be
found. Olive trees survived during the flood. Doves feed only from the ground and they make nests using discarded twigs. A bird cannot make
a nest just from a tree. Noah sends out the dove for the third time after a week and this time it never returns - which means that the earth is
now suitable for all animals to survive. One may ask how clean and unclean animals were known to Noah even before the Law was given. The
giving of the law only made God's standard crystal clear to mankind - it always existed. Spiritually speaking, the Raven signifies John the
Baptist (who had the spirit of Elijah) and the Dove signifies Jesus Christ who had the Holy Spirit himself.

CHAPTER 9 – THE BAPTIZED EARTH

◦ Genesis 9 says that Noah built an altar and made an offering to the Lord after leaving the Ark. God blessed Noah and his sons and told
them to repopulate and fill the earth. Then the Lord gave some instructions that permitted man to eat meat, but He gave a strong warning
against killing people, since life is in the blood. It is said that everything grew bigger before the flood, even men. Animals started to fear
men only after the flood. God established a covenant with man and the living creatures to never again flood the earth. He put the rainbow
in the heavens as a sign of this covenant. The rainbow is a beautiful reminder that God cares for us and keeps His promises. There are
groups that claim that it is their symbol, but it is not! It belongs to God. Then we see a negative incident that happened between Ham and
Noah. Some say Noah was drunk and that he sinned. Scientifically, fermentation was a new thing after the flood. So Noah did not know
that grape juice would become wine over time. There are arguments regarding what Noah's nakedness really means - is it his, or his wife?
Why did Noah curse Canaan if it was Ham who made a mistake?

CHAPTER 10 – TABLE OF NATIONS

Genesis 10 is considered to be the oldest ethnological list in the world. God sends 70 people(nations) to repopulate the earth after the flood
just like how Jesus sends 70 people to spread the gospel in Luke. Noah's sons were Japheth(the first born), Shem (the second born) and Ham
(the last born).Everybody in the world today is a descendant of Noah. You can trace your lineage all the way back to Noah through one of his
three sons or a combination of these three.

JAPHETH (EUROPEANS)
Japheth was blessed by Noah that his territory would be extended. So apart from Europe, it was his generation that occupied America and
Australia.
Japheth had 7 sons
1. GOMER (Germany, France, Spain, Wales)
2. MAGOG (Russia, Ukraine, Slavs, Bulgarians, Bohemians, Pols, Croatians)
3. MADDAI (Medes, Persians, Iran, Indians, Afghans, Kurdish)
4. JAVAN (Greeks, Romans, Italians)
5. TUBAL (Georgia)
6. MESHECH (Moscow)
7. TIRAS (Macedonia, Yugoslavia)

SHEM (Semitic People)
◦ The middle east countries were occupied by Shem. Noah blessed him and in his generation, Abraham, a father of many religions was born. Our
Lord Jesus came in Shem's lineage. He had 5 sons.
◦ 1. EBER (Hebrews, Arabians, Chaldeans)
◦ 2. ELAM – Iraq
◦ 3. ASHUR – Assyria
◦ 4. LUD - Lydia (Asia Minor)
◦ 5. ARAM - Syria (Aramaic)

HAM
◦ Ham had 4 sons. They settled in Africa, South West Asia and Canaan
which later became the land of Israelites.
◦ 1. MIZRAIM (Egypt)
◦ 2. PUT (Libya)
◦ 3. CANAAN - Palestine (Hittites, Amorites, Jebusites etc)
◦ 4. Cush - Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia
◦ We also read about "Nimrod", a mighty hunter who was against the Lord.
He is better known as Sargon I or "Gilgamesh" in History.
He was the first King in the world and ruled Babylon and Nineveh.
His name literally means "rebel" and is a prototype of the antichrist rebel
in the last days.

CHAPTER 11 – THE TOWER OF BABEL

After the flood, God had instructed men to "reproduce and fill the earth". But the people built a huge tower out of bricks and asphalt, which
is called BABEL (meaning "gateway to god" in accadian, the first and only language that existed back then). It is called a "Ziggurat" structure,
a 7 storey building with a temple at the top for their deity. They considered that if another flood comes, that this place would save them and
started idol worship there. Nimrod, who was the King of Babylon did many things that was against God. He considered himself to be a
demigod and Babylon is the place of origin for idol worship, black magic, prostitution, etc. So God came down and twisted the language they
spoke (called "Accadian") and the construction was left unfinished. Many consider that all languages started here - but according to scholars it
was just one language which took shape into 3 dialects (Probably mother languages like Latin, Tamil etc.) The ones who continued to speak the
same language, stayed there - and this became the "Mesopotamian civilization" - the oldest civilization of the world between the Euphrates
and Tigris river. One group moved towards the south to the Nile river and these people were the "Egyptian civilization", and to the "Indus
Valley civilization" (Sindhu), and from there we get the "Chinese civilization" (Yellow river) etc. The last group moved towards north to the
Europe (Celtics and other tribes of Europe.)Even though the people forgot the language they spoke in Babylon, its culture remains all over the
world - idol worship, female deities, polytheism, child sacrifice etc. Since the days of Babel, Satan has been deceiving that there are many ways
to God by creating religions, different belief systems etc., But the Jesus said that He is the ONLY WAY! We also see that God called out
Abram from the same place - Ur of the Chaldeans which was a part of the Babylonian Empire. It was Terag who left Ur with his family to
Haran. (A city named after his deceased son.) God chose Abram out of the same place which Satan considers his capital to create a godly
generation. He could have chose anyone, someone who was already good enough - like Melchizedek. But God had other plans!

CHAPTER 12 – GOD’S CALL ON ABRAM

◦ In the end of Genesis 11, we see Terag's family. He has three sons - Haran, Nahor and Abram. Haran the first born, dies before Terag dies.
Abram marries Sarai who was barren (probably his half sister) and Nahor marries Milcah, Haran's daughter. According to Jewish tradition,
Terag was a wealthy and religious man. He held a high position in Ur. When Abram was called by God, he counselled with his father and
rejected God's first call. It was only after Haran's death, Terag, being the head of the family decides to leave Ur thinking that the God who
called Abram was angry on their family. They thought that YHVH is just another deity just like the other idols they worshipped in Babylon.
Since God did not tell them where to go, they stayed in a city and named it "Haran" in memory of Haran and Terag dies there. After many
years God speaks to Abram again telling him to go to a place that He points out. Abram obeyed God and went to Canaan, the promised
land along with his nephew Lot. God had promised the land of Sechem to Abram's generation which was in Canaan. So Abram built an
altar to God there. But later he leaves that place and moves to a higher altitude that was between Bethel and Ai. It would have probably
angered God when Abram built an altar there to convince his move. Again he gets bored or what, I am not sure, he moves towards the
south. God sends famine over that land, but instead of going to Sechem, Abram travels to Egypt, the most powerful country in those days.
Although he knew they would take Sarai away from him he goes there and asks her to lie. The Pharaoh took her to be his wife and kept on
sending gifts to Abram. God punished Pharaoh for this and he sends out Abram from Egypt. Abram became even more rich after this
incident.

CHAPTER 13 – RETURNING TO GOD’S
PRESENCE

◦ Genesis 13 starts with the return of Abram to the land between Bethel and Ai, where he had built an altar for the Lord. Abram and Lot
separate. Since both of them were very rich, and there were frequent quarrels between their servants they had to split up. Abram offers a
part of the land God promised to Lot and tells him to choose a land that he likes. Abram, seems to have repented and does not have the
love for money, whereas Lot still wants more. He chooses the most fertile land he could see and went towards Jordan as it "looked like
Egypt" and stayed in Sodom and Gomorrah, a city of sin! Abram on the other hand goes back to the promised land and pitches his tent
near Mamre in Hebron which is near modern day Jerusalem. God promised Abram all the land that he could see. We can see Abram did not
think about God when he was in Egypt. He was so carried away by the wealth he was accumulating. This separation was a good thing to
Abram, but not for Lot which we shall see in the next chapters.

◦ Genesis 14 records the Battle of Siddim in which 5 cities in the Jordan plain battle against 4 kings of the Mesopotamian kingdom. The 5
kings lose and many including Lot's family were taken as captives.
◦ As soon as the word reached Abram, he mounted a rescue operation arming 318 of his servants and defeated the enemies (4 armies of the
Mesopotamian Kingdom) at night in Dan. He recovered all the loot and captives including Lot's family.
◦ After the battle, Melchizedek, King of Salem, brought out bread and wine and blessed Abram, who gave him a tenth of the plunder as
tithes. Then Bera, king of Sodom, came to Abram and thanked him, requesting that he keep the plunder but return his people. Abram
declined, saying, "I swore I would never take anything from you, so you can never say 'I have made Abram rich." What Abram accepted
from Bera instead was food for his 318 men and his Amorite neighbours.
◦ This Melchizedek is believed to be a "Christophany", who is none but Jesus appearing before Abram. His name translates to "King of
Righteousness". This lineage of priests are higher than the Levites who come later.

CHAPTER 15 – GOD’S COVENANT WITH
ABRAM

◦ In Genesis 15 we see that God tells Abram to not be afraid - which implies he was in fear of something. From the previous chapter we can
say that he must have had the fear of man - as he had just won a war with just 318 men and must be expecting them to attack him with a
bigger army. God says He will be his shield and comforts him and "Abram Believed God".
◦ Abram continues to lament that he is childless and Eliezer from Damascus, a servant of Abram will be his heir and God assures him that a
son born to Abram will be his descendant. Abram is already old but still believed in God's word. God showed him the stars of the sky and
says that if anyone could count the stars, they will be able to number the descendants of Abram. Abram believes God and for this act he is
named "the father of faith." Since Canaan was already occupied by 10 different groups of people Abram talks about how this might
happen.
◦ Later we see that God asks Abram to bring a few animals and sacrifice it to Him. When Abram does that God makes him wait for a long
time - so long that the birds of the air start to eat the carcasses and Abram shoo-s them away. When the night comes, Abram fell asleep and
God comes and tells Abram that his generation will be slaves in a foreign country for 400 hundred years but will return to this nation with
great wealth.
◦ It is really hard to wait on God. We think that after a period of waiting that this might be the perfect time for God to do something, but He
does have his own time. To trust and wait on God is one of the greatest capabilities a Christian can develop.

CHAPTER 16 – HAGAR AND ISHMAEL

◦ Sarai, seeing that she was barren gave Hagar, an Egyptian slave she got from the Pharaoh (many say she was the daughter of Pharaoh) to Abram so that
through her she might have children.
◦ Though God had promised Abram that a child will come through his own body, Sarai did not believe that she could bear children as she was very old
and gave Hagar, a young looking black woman to Abram. Abram too did not deny it and slept with Hagar.
◦ Once Hagar became pregnant, she started to think low of Sarai and because of this Sarai started treating Hagar badly, to the point that she runs away
from Sarai. Though Sarai orchestrated all of this, she blames Abram.
◦ She tries to go back to Egypt, through the desert of Shur. There she was met by "the angel of the Lord" who is none but the word of God (Jesus). He
tells her to go back to her master and be submissive to her and consoles her that the child will become a great nation.
◦ Hagar gives the Lord the name "El Roi" in this place, because she saw the God who sees her. All the other gods she had were dead and did not come to
rescue her. Hagar is the first person in the Bible to give a name for God.
◦ So this particular spring in the desert is called "Beer Lahai Roi" ("Well of the living God who sees me.") Once God meets anyone, they change for the
better.
◦ She goes back to Sarai, and gives birth to Abram's first born - Ishmael, who later becomes a hunter and is the father of the Arabs.
◦ The Bible does not tell that Sarai had a good relationship with them afterwards.

◦ For the first time, God appears before Abram and introduces Himself as "EL SHADDAI" - The almighty God and commands Abram to
walk upright before him. Anyone who claims to know God, must put God first in whatever they do. Abram had listened to his father, wife,
heart in the past and disobeyed God in the past. Only when He was 99, the Babylon in Abram had died and slowly he started walking in the
ways of God. As soon as he saw God, Abram fell on his face towards the Lord as a sign of respect. God makes an unconditional covenant
with him - and changes his name to "Abraham". In Hebrew the letter "Hey" [5th alphabet] means "power of God". When "hey" is added to
Abram ("exalted father"), it becomes "Abraham" ("father of nations"). He does the same to Sarai ("princess") - into "Sarah" ("mother of
nations"). As a sign of God's covenant with Abraham, God asks him and all the males of his household to be circumcised. Though the
removal of foreskin already exists in cultures, God adopts it. It signifies that the old worldly life is gone and that the new spiritual life has
come. Newborn babies must be circumcised on the 8th day as they develop the nerves after a week. God promised a son through Sarah to
Abraham, and since he laughed (not out of disbelief, but of joy) when God told him so, God asked him to be named "Isaac". God also
promised to bless Ishmael and his descendants. Abraham was 99 and Ishmael was 13 when they and all the males of their household were
circumcised.

CHAPTER 18 – THE THREE VISITORS

◦ In Gen 18, we see that the Lord comes in the form of a man along with 2 angels. (Appearance of Christ in OT) When Abraham sees them,
he rushes and bows down before "the angel of the Lord" and invites them to his place.
◦ Usually, no one travels during the afternoon in the middle east, everyone relaxes at that time. Being an old man, we see Abraham's
hospitality towards these men which is full of joy and respect. He ran to the tent and asks Sarah to prepare bread, runs to the herd and tells
his servant to cook meat. He had so much servants, but since the guest was God himself, Abraham served water and food to them from his
own hands. (God had food for the first time at Abraham's place!) Hospitality is the sacred duty and delight of all people who belong to
God.
◦ Later, the Lord promised Abraham that a son would be born to them this year. Sarah, who was hearing this conversation laughed in her
heart out of disbelief, since it was impossible to give birth after menopause. God heard Sarah’s laugh even though she laughed within
herself. We might think God would take the promise away, but God responded by dealing with her sin of unbelief, not by taking away the
promise.
◦ After they spent enough time, the other two angels left towards Sodom. Since The Lord considered Abraham to be His friend, God tells
Abraham that He will see if Sodom and Gomorrah are worthy of judgment.
◦ Abraham, remembering that his nephew Lot's family is there, intercedes for the city. He might have just prayed, “LORD, get my nephew
Lot out of there first,” but he didn’t. Abraham’s heart was full of sorrow and compassion, even for the wicked of Sodom and Gomorrah.
◦ This is the kind of heart God wanted to draw out of Abraham; a heart that cared so much for people made in the image of God that he
worked hard to intercede on behalf of a city that deserved judgment. This was the heart a great leader of a large and mighty nation needed
to have.

CHAPTER 19 – THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM
AND GOMORRAH

◦ Now, the 2 angels mentioned in Gen 18, enter Sodom and find Lot sitting at the gate of the city - indicating that he was a leader. There has
been a steady growth in Lot's compromise - he went to the city, pitched his tent and he has now built a house and settled there. Lot
convinced the 2 men to stay the night at his house and served them food. Men came rushing towards Lot's house, wanting to rape them.
The Bible says all the citizens of Sodom & Gomorrah were given over to violence and sexual immorality (Ezekiel 16:49-50).When the mob
became violent, Lot closed his door and made a horrible offer - to take his 2 unmarried daughters instead of the guests at his home.
Quickly, the angels struck the mob with blindness. At this point Lot must have realized that these men were angels with supernatural
powers. The angels tried to hurry out Lot and his family, but Lot lingered and as he tried to bring his future sons in law with him. They must
not have believed him. The angels, took hold of the hands of these 4 people (1 angel for 2 people) and pulled them out of the city. They
told him to run to the mountains and to not look back, but Lot bargained and went to a city called "Zoar" which means small/insignificant.
When the sun started to rise, God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with brimstone and fire. Lot's wife looked back and became a pillar of
salt. Some think she lingered behind and was caught up in the cataclysm somehow. When Abraham saw the smoke of the cities and their
destruction, he knew that his request was answered. After a few days, Lot moved from Zoar and started to live on the mountains. His 2
daughters decided to give his father wine and sleep with him to have children. They are called the Moabites and Ammonites who were
enemies of Israel. Lot himself was a righteous man who was grieved by the sin he saw around him (2 Pet 2:7-8), but because of his deep
compromise and love for the world, few of his family and none of his friends were saved. Compromise destroyed his testimony.

CHAPTER 20 – KING ABIMELECH RETURNS
SARAH

◦ In Genesis 20, we read what happened in Gen 12 again. Abraham leaves the promised land, and moves to a nearby city called "Gerar" and
identifies Sarah as his "sister". Sarah was 90 and she was not as young as she was like in Gen 12. But many consider that her beauty was
beyond compare even at that age, and the King of Gerar, Abimelech took her to his harem. More importantly, she was connected to one of
the richest and most influential men of the region. In that day, a harem was sometimes more of a political statement than a romantic
statement. God intervened before anything could happen physically, because He has promised a son to Abraham and Sarah. God warned
King Abimelech in his dream about Sarah and closed the wombs of the women of Gerar, struck him with a disease and calls Abraham a
"prophet". Abimelech, being a just King, condemns and returns Sarah to Abraham. Abraham tries to cool down the King that he was afraid
of the place, and that Sarah is also his half sister and also blamed God for what had happened. But a half-truth, said with an intent to
deceive, is always a whole lie. Abimelech, who had integrity and innocence in his hands gifted sheep, oxen, servants, free land and silver to
Abraham, referring to him mockingly as Sarah's brother. Abraham prayed and Abimelech was healed and all the women of his household
were able to bear children again. It is sad to see that Abimelech – a pagan king – was in the right, and Abraham – the man of God – was in
the wrong. God blessed Abraham in spite of his fear and faithlessness.

CHAPTER 21 – THE BIRTH OF ISAAC

◦ After 25 years of waiting, Sarah gives birth to Isaac. Isaac's birth is a wonderful type of the birth of the Messiah.
◦ 👶🏻 Both were promised sons.
◦ 👶🏻 They were conceived miraculously, and were born after a period of delay.
◦ 👶🏻 Both their names were prophetically revealed by God. [And the list goes on]
◦ After Isaac grew and forgot mother's milk (appx, around 3 years) Abraham and Sarah threw a party for him. Sarah found Ishmael scoffing
at Isaac and complained about it to Abraham and asked Hagar and "her son" to be sent away. She did not even want to pronounce his name,
even though he was born because of her silly idea. Isaac was their God given son, but Abraham wanted to keep his son of flesh as a backup
- but God insisted Abraham to send them away. With a heavy heart, but trusting that God will take care of them Abraham sends them away
with only bread and water even though he was a rich man. It was a tradition for masters to send their bond servants free. As Hagar and
Ishmael traveled away from Abraham, their supplies eventually ran out. Their water was used up and Hagar left Ishmael under the shade of
one of the shrubs, expecting their soon death in the wilderness. But God provided miraculously to them and Ishmael was saved. He became
a hunter and his descendants became a great nation. (Arabs)Later we see that Abraham makes a no-hostility treaty with Abimelech, the
Palestinian King in a place called "Beersheba" which means the well of seven/well of oath. The phrase from Dan to Beersheba would later
become a proverbial phrase describing the entire land of Israel.

CHAPTER 22 – THE TEST OF ABRAHAM’S
FAITH

◦ Genesis 22 is not about a "test to produce faith" but it was a "test to reveal faith". God had built Abraham slowly, piece by piece, year by
year, into a man of faith. God tells Abraham to "take his only son" - Isaac,[As far as God's covenant is concerned - Ishmael is not taken into
account here] "whom you love" - this is the first mention of the word "love" in the Bible. "And offer him as a burnt sacrifice" - Burnt
sacrifice requires the sacrificial lamb to carry the wood, build an altar using stones in a mountain, tie the lamb and kill it first. Finally it is
burnt. Though God had promised that he will bless his generation through Isaac, Abraham obeyed God immediately. He saddled a donkey,
took the boy, and 2 servants with him and left early in the morning to Mount Moriah. The Bible does not tell if he said a word about this to
Sarah. It must have been hard for him, but still he trusted God. On the 3rd day he leaves behind his servants and asks them to stay there till
"they" would come back. This shows his faith - that he believed that God would even bring Isaac back to life. Isaac received the wood for
his own sacrifice from his father, and he carried it to the hill of sacrifice. Abraham took the boy and tied him to the altar. I am not sure if he
resisted his father or laid down willingly. But just before he was about to kill him, "the angel of the Lord" stops him. He asks Abraham to
sacrifice a ram that was standing nearby, stuck in a bush. With this, God emphatically showed Abraham that He was not like the pagan gods
worshipped by the Canaanites and others, gods that were said to demand human sacrifice and were thought to be pleased by it. God
strongly and clearly demonstrated that He did not want human sacrifice. Abraham displayed his heart towards God in that he was willing to
give up his only son. God displays His heart towards us in the same way, by giving His only begotten Son. Abraham called the place
"Jehovah Jireh" - meaning "In this mount it will be provided". At the end of this chapter we see the listing of Nahor's family.

CHAPTER 23 – THE DEATH OF SARAH

◦ Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years and she dies. Sarah is the only woman in the Bible whose age at death is recorded. This
gives us some measure of how highly she is regarded in the Bible. Nowhere in the Bible are we told to look to Mary the mother of Jesus as
an example of a godly woman. Twice we are told to look to Sarah as such an example (Isaiah 51:1-2 and 1 Peter 3:3-6).The man of great
faith, the friend of God, wept for the loss of Sarah’s companionship. From the Bible, we can understand that Abraham and Sarah were not
together when she died. Abraham dwelled in Beersheba, whereas Sarah dies in Kirjath Arba which is in Hebron. Scholars suggest that after
the incident in Genesis 22, Sarah was very angry with Abraham for such an act of child sacrifice, even though it was aborted. Isaac was 37
years old when his mother passed away. Abraham wanted to buy the cave of Macpelah in Hebron to bury Sarah, which belonged to Ephron,
a son of Heth. Ephron quoted a high price claiming it was genuine. Abraham showed how a follower of God should conduct business with
the world: courteously, fairly, prudently. In not giving a counter-offer to the suggested price of four hundred shekels of silver, Abraham was
remarkably generous in his dealings with Ephron. This cave became the great tomb of the patriarchs (Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca,
Jacob & Leah. According to Jewish tradition Adam and Eve were also buried here).

CHAPTER 24 – THE WEDDING OF ISAAC AND
REBEKAH

◦ In Genesis 24, we can see that the old man Abraham appoints Eliezer, his eldest servant to find a suitable partner for his only son, Isaac. He made him
make an oath that he will not get him married to any of the Canaanite women but find someone from Ur, his hometown by putting his hand under his
thighs. (It was their tradition for serious commitments). Abraham made sure that Eliezer never took Isaac out of the promised land since he was bound
in God's covenant. Eliezer began his journey towards Ur with 10 of his master's camels. After reaching the city of Nahor (Abraham's brother), he sat
near a well and asked God to show him the woman chosen to be Isaac’s wife through an offer to provide water for his 10 camels. He cared nothing
about the woman’s appearance. He wanted a woman of character, a woman whom God had chosen. Then comes Rebekah, the grand-daughter of
Nahor, daughter of Bethuel and the sister of Laban, she not only gave Eliezer to drink water, she gave water to all the 10 camels. [Appxly, it could have
taken 1 hour for this job]After Rebekah fulfilled the sign Abraham’s servant prayed for, he immediately revealed precious gifts for her. [A golden nose
ring & 2 bracelets]. He praised God when he found out that she was related to Abraham’s family. A day that likely started as any other turned out to be
a remarkable, life-changing day for Rebekah. With an agreement from Rebekah and her family for marriage to Isaac, she received even greater gifts as a
sign she would become one with the one who would inherit all Abraham’s wealth. We can only imagine what conversations she must have had with
Eliezer on their journey towards Hebron. Once she saw Isaac meditating on the fields, she took a veil and covered her face. Isaac took her into his
mother's tent and they got married. She was his comfort after the loss of his mother. This chapter, resembles how the Holy Spirit <Eliezer "the
helper"> brings the bride, the church <Rebekah> for the wedding of Jesus Christ <Isaac>Genesis 24 is all about God bringing a man and a woman
together. Arranged marriage is something that is still followed in some parts of India and Asia, which is exactly what is there in the Bible. [The Bible is
against dowry, infact it is the groom who should pay for the bride, not vice versa.] When we seek a partner out of our own fleshly desires, it will not last
long. When God is in the picture, the blessing is greater.

CHAPTER 25 – THE BIRTH OF JACOB & ESAU

◦ Abraham married another woman named Keturah and had 6 another sons with her. It was not wrong since he did this after the death of
Sarah. He gave them gifts and sent them away, but gave all his wealth to Isaac. He passed away at 175 and was buried at Macpelah by
Ishmael and Isaac. Abraham is one of the most important men of the Bible. He is mentioned 70 times in the NT alone. Ishmael also had 12
sons and passed away at the age of 137. Though he did not inherit the covenant of God from Abraham, he was also blessed by God.
(Arabs)After 20 years of their marriage, Rebekah became pregnant after Isaac pleaded the Lord in prayer. Since she found abnormal
movements in her womb, she sought the Lord asking what it could be. She was about to give birth to two sons, the younger being more
blessed. They were named Esau as he was red &hairy and Jacob meaning deceiver as he came out holding his brother's heel. "So the boys
grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau because he ate
of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. "One day, Esau came home hungry and asked some red lentil stew that Jacob was cooking. Jacob,
taking advantage of his brother asked for his "birthright". Jacob knew that this birthright contained both spiritual and material blessings
bound in the covenant passed from Abraham to Isaac. Esau, who did not value spiritual blessings replied, I am going to die someday anyway
and he sold it off to Jacob for a stew. He valued only material things, so a spiritual birthright meant little to him when his stomach was
hungry. Esau’s character as a fornicator and profane person shows God was entirely correct in choosing Jacob over Esau to carry on the
birthright, even though Jacob was younger.

◦ As there was famine in Canaan, Isaac decides to go towards Egypt just like his dad. But God intervened and he stayed in Gerar, where he
almost compromised his wife to another Abimelech (not the King's name, but a title to the King of Gerar which means "my father is
King"), because of his father's bad example. Isaac was also condemned by the pagan king. Even though Isaac inherited all the wealth from
his dad, he worked hard and became very prosperous which made the Philistines jealous. For nomadic herdsmen, wells were a source of
wealth to feed their livestock. When Isaac dug the first well, the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled that it was theirs and he named it "Esek"
meaning "contention" and leaves the place. The same happens again when he dug the second well and he names it "Sitnah" meaning
"opposition". From these two incidents we can see that Isaac was not brave enough like his dad, who would take an army and fight against
the enemies. The third well was named "Rehoboth" meaning "roominess", because it was far enough to not be a problem. Isaac saw this as a
testimony to God’s faithfulness and blessing. He then moves back to Beersheba, where the Lord appeared to him for the first time and he
also enjoys the blessing of another well. Abimelech and 2 others meet Isaac and make a peace treaty with him knowing that God has blessed
this man tremendously. Esau, went against Abraham's rule and married 2 Canaanite women, who were a grief to his parents.

CHAPTER 27 – JACOB DECEPTIVELY GAINS
THE BLESSING OF ISAAC

◦ Genesis 27 is a story of a messed up family, where no one trusts anyone else. Isaac believed his time has come to die when he was 137.
(Ishmael passed away at this age). So he called his favorite son Esau, although he was not the chosen son and asks him to hunt an animal
and cook it for him, so that he may eat and bless his firstborn son. Although Esau has sold off his birthright to Jacob, he goes out to hunt
to get the blessing. Rebekah overheard this conversation and pursues Jacob to put on his brother's coat and gives him a home cooked meal.
Instead of trusting that the Lord will fulfill the promise, she took the task to herself. It is always better to leave the Lord's plans in His
hands. Jacob wears Esau's coat, lies to his father and also uses God's name in vain, and gets the blessing Isaac intended for Esau. Isaac
blessed Jacob as the spiritual head of the family. As soon as Jacob received the blessing and left his father’s presence, Esau his brother came
in from his hunting. Jacob, realizing that he cannot do anything against the will of God, does not retract and says, indeed Jacob will be
blessed. Esau, the mighty man of the forest, cried for (material) blessing. Isaac did bless Esau also, but he would be serving Jacob. Esau
wanted to kill Jacob after the period of mourning for Isaac was over. Knowing this, Rebekah sends away Jacob to Laban, her brother for a
few days, but it turns out to be 20 years and she never sees Jacob again.

CHAPTER 28 – STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

◦ Isaac bids farewell to Jacob and blesses him and instructs him not to marry a Canaanite woman but to take a wife from the land where his
mother was raised. (Knowing this, Esau married 2 other non-Canaanite women from his uncle Ishmael's family, hoping to impress Isaac to
get blessings.)Abraham's blessings of land and a nation were passed on to Jacob, although he did not deserve it. Jacob, aged 77 flees from
Esau, towards the east to his uncle Laban's family. In this long journey, we can only imagine the feelings of fear, loneliness and isolation of a
man who was always used to be at home. That night, he took rest on a stone at a place called "Luz", which eventually turns out to be a life
changing experience for Jacob. While he was asleep, God spoke to him in a vision. There was a "stairway to heaven" and angels were going
up and down. This means that heavenly beings are connected to the worldly activities. God stood above it and repeats the promises to Jacob
and blesses him. Jacob woke up from his sleep and built an altar to the Lord proclaiming that "God is definitely in this place" and renames
the place as "Bethel". Although it was superstitious, God also refers to himself as the "God of Bethel" later. God is not confined to a place,
and we must know that He is omniscient. For Jacob, just the mere words of God weren't enough and makes a vow saying "If God is with
me and provides for me, then he will be my God". God was gracious enough not to take His covenant back when He saw such an
unspiritual response from Jacob. Instead, He was willing to be called "The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."

CHAPTER 29 – JACOB MARRIES LEAH &
RACHEL

◦ "Jacob finally reached his grandpa's hometown, Paddan Aram in Mesopotamia. He noticed a well and three flocks of sheep waiting to be
watered. He enquired the shepherds about his uncle Laban and they not only said they know him, but also pointed out to a beautiful
shepherdess coming towards them, who was none other than Rachel. It was love at first sight for Jacob. In an attempt to impress his cousin,
he moved the heavy stone from the well and watered Rachel's sheep. He then kissed her, and began to cry and revealed his identity to
Rachel. She ran towards her home and when Laban heard this, brought him home and showed great hospitality for a month. Now, Laban
offers Jacob a job and asks him what wages he expects. Out of his love for Rachel, Jacob promises 7 years of labour for his daughter, and it
seemed only a few days to him because of his love for her. Laban agrees, this greedy man never promises to give her after 7 years. Rachel
also had an elder twin, Leah but her "eyes were delicate". (Did she have problems with eyesight or is the Bible is trying to tell decently that
she did not look as beautiful as Rachel?...)On the day of wedding Laban switched Rachel with Leah. Since the wedding customs those days
happened at night, the bride is to be veiled and probably Jacob was drunk, he did not know it and went into her. Many doubts arise about
Leah's and Rachel's feelings about their cruel dad. When he woke up, Jacob realizes what had happened. The trickster got tricked! Jacob
exchanged the younger for the older; Laban exchanged the older for the younger. Laban justified his act and Jacob learned that you reap
what you sow. Jacob worked another 7 years for Rachel and married her and loved her more than Leah. But God saw the affliction of Leah
and opened her womb. It is quite a topic of debate how men have sex even if they dislike the woman. She bore him Reuben, Simeon, Levi
(the priestly tribe) and Judah (the royal tribe). The less-attractive sister, who felt neglected was chosen by God from whose lineage the
Messiah was born!

CHAPTER 30 – FAMILY OF JACOB

◦ Despite Rachel’s great beauty, she also was near despair. No doubt Leah often said, “If I only had my sister’s beauty and the love of my
husband, I would be happy.” No doubt Rachel often said, “If I only had sons like my sister, I would be happy.” Beautiful or plain, we all
have our problems. Just like her aunt Sarah, Rachel, out of frustration, gives her maid Bilhah to Jacob to bear children through her. She bore
him a son and Rachel named him Dan and the next one as Naphtali. Similarly, Leah also gave her maid Zilpah to Jacob and she gave birth to
Gad and Asher. Rachel saw Reuben having some Mandrake fruits and asked Leah to give it to her. Mandrakes were believed to be a
stimulant to help with fertility and conception in barren women. Rachel sees the mandrakes as a way for her to bear a child with Jacob. Leah
traded them with Rachel for Jacob and she gives birth to Issachar and later to Zebulun and finally a daughter named Dinah. In the pain of
her heart, she still waited for her husband to truly love her and live with her, and she hoped the sheer quantity of sons would win his heart
to her. After a long time, God opened the womb of Rachel and she gave birth to Joseph. Jacob then requested Laban to give his wages and
send him off to his country. But Laban insisted that he work a few more days and makes a deal to give all the speckled and spotted sheep to
Jacob. Jacob used selective breeding to increase the strength and vitality of his flock. We don’t know exactly how this method worked. It is
possible Jacob knew more about animal husbandry than we do today; but it is more likely Jacob did the best he knew, and God blessed it.

CHAPTER 31 – JACOB FLEES & RACHEL
STEALS

◦ Laban's sons were filled with envy over Jacob's wealth and lied that Jacob has taken away all that was their father's. Because of this, Laban's
countenance towards Jacob was not favorable. God put the desire in Jacob's heart to go back to the promised land. Jacob explained the
situation to his wives and they too agreed and started packing, since they hated their father for using their money. Rachel stole her father's
household idols (teraphim) and hid it in her camel. It would fit that she held a grudge over how her father tricked Jacob and presumably
Rachel when they were originally supposed to marry. Some scholars also say that she stole those idols so that her family might inherit
Laban's wealth after his death. (Many other reasons exist)God told Jacob to go to Bethel and he leaves Paddan Aram without saying
goodbye to Laban. But on the third day, Laban knew of their escape and went to catch them. But the Lord spoke to Laban and told him to
be careful with the dealings between him and Jacob. So Laban met Jacob at the mountains of Gilead and confronts him for not giving him a
chance to kiss his sons and daughters farewell. He also complained that someone stole his idols and searched the caravan of Jacob. It is sad
and strange to have a god that can be stolen. Rachel learned the ways of deception well from her father – and perhaps also from her
husband. She succeeded in deceiving her father about the idols. After searching, Laban found no evidence of the stolen gods he accused
Jacob of taking. Jacob, not knowing his beloved wife Rachel stole the household idols, proclaimed his innocence and pronounced a harsh
curse on the thief, not knowing that he actually invited judgment on his own wife. Laban didn’t get his idols back, but he did get a covenant
with Jacob that he would not put any claim on Laban’s inheritance, thus protecting his sons’ future inheritance. He called that place Jegar
Sahadutha and Jacob called it Mizpah. Laban saw his daughters and grand children for the last time and Jacob took his family to Canaan and
never returned to where Laban lived.

CHAPTER 32 – THE NAMING OF ISRAEL

◦ Jacob met an army of angels and named that place as "Mahanaim". This wonderful revelation of God’s presence and care came after Jacob finally
separated from Laban. His twin brother Esau lived in Edom and Jacob sent his servants to Esau to tell him about Jacob's arrival. Knowing that Esau was
coming towards him, Jacob feared and prepared for war. He prayed that God should deliver him and made his people stand in troops, keeping his
concubines in the front, then Leah and finally Rachel. In doing so, he gained the hatred of his sons and exposed his unfaithfulness in God and the army
of angels he had just met. He did pray but took things into his own hands. He also sent gifts to Esau so that he might accept Jacob. He sent everyone
before him across the brook of Jabbok and spent the night alone across Jordan. A man wrestled with him all night. It was not Jacob - but God wrestled
with him. God wanted all of Jacob’s proud self-reliance and fleshly scheming, and God came to take it, by force. When God saw that Jacob did not
prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip and asked Jacob to let Him go since it was day break. Jacob started to limp from then and sought
God's blessing with weeping. He knew he was defeated, yet desperately wanted a blessing from this Greater One. Jacob thought the real enemy was
outside of him, being Esau. The real enemy was his own carnal, fleshly nature, which had not been conquered by God. God changed Jacob's name as
"Israel" (meaning God rules). Jacob named the place as "Peniel" as he saw the face of God here. When you battle with God, you only win by losing and
by not giving up until you know you have lost. This is how Jacob prevailed.

CHAPTER 33 – JACOB MEETS ESAU

◦ When Jacob saw that Esau was marching towards him, he made his people stand in four troops, with the servants' family in the front, then
Leah and her children and finally Rachel. The order of the groups shows that Jacob openly favored Rachel and her son Joseph. Jacob led the
procession and bowed 7 times to the ground before Esau trembling, but Esau ran and hugged his brother and started crying out. The past
did not have power over the present and they shared their joy of reunion and introduced each other's family. Though Esau did not receive
the blessing of the Abrahamic covenant, he was content. He only accepted Jacob's lavish gifts after Jacob insisted in getting it. Later, Esau
calls Jacob to come with him to Seir, but Jacob is afraid and lies that he will catch up slowly because of his livestock. He also moves towards
the north and builds a house and tents for his people and booths for his livestock and names the place as Succoth. Although God had
instructed him to go to Bethel, Jacob goes to Sechem and builds an altar there for the Lord and names Him as "El Elohe Israel". His
obedience was partial and he is about to suffer a lot because of this.

CHAPTER 34 – THE RAPE OF DINAH

◦ God called Jacob to Bethel, but his poor choice of a place to live left his family open to ungodly influence. When Dinah, the only daughter
of Jacob went to see the daughters of Shechem the Prince of Sechem saw her, and was immediately attracted to her and raped the young
girl. His soul was strongly attracted to Dinah and he even spoke kindly to her. Yet we cannot say he loved her, because he violated her. His
heart was shown in the words “get me this young woman as a wife.” When Jacob heard this, he held his peace until his sons (Simeon &
Levi) came. In the middle east culture, the brothers had a greater responsibility to protect their sister than the father. They became furious
when they knew about Dinah's rape. Meanwhile, Hamor the father of Shechem came to Jacob with a marriage proposal as if money and
marriage could take away the disgrace his son did to Dinah. Simeon and Levi planned to kill them and demanded that only after all the men
of Shechem circumcise, will they give and take daughters with them. Hamor and Shechem agreed and convinced the men of Shechem it
was worth it because they could then take their daughters as wives and take their livestock, property, and every animal of theirs. They
received the painful and potentially dangerous operation of circumcision. When they were in pain, Simeon and Levi killed all the men of
Shechem. Jacob was only worried about his reputation, but Simeon and Levi justified their act because the men of Shechem treated Dinah
their sister as a prostitute. But they prostituted the sign of God’s covenant for their own violent purpose.

CHAPTER 35 – THE BIRTH OF BENJAMIN AND
THE DEATH OF RACHEL

◦ The whole Sechem incident happened because Jacob disobeyed God and went there instead of going to Bethel. He finally goes to Bethel, and asks
his household members to get rid of the idols and earrings and change their dresses. Jacob’s family only got right with God after Jacob himself
did. God protected Jacob and his family until they reached Bethel, and as a sign of thanksgiving, Jacob builds an altar there and renames the place
as El-Bethel. Deborah, a nurse of Rachel dies on the way and is buried under a terebinth tree and the place is named "Allon Bachuth" meaning
"Oak of weeping". God appeared to Jacob, blessed him and names him ISRAEL again. Rachel, gives birth to the last son of Jacob in Bethel. The
labour of childbirth was hard and she named him "Ben-oni" meaning "son of my sorrow" since her soul was departing. But Jacob wisely named
him as "Benjamin" meaning "son of my right hand". He prized Benjamin so greatly because he was the final link between him and the woman he
most loved. Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (Bethlehem). After this incident, Reuben, the firstborn commits an offensive sin
against Israel - he laid with his concubine Bilhah. Finally, we read that Jacob sees his father Isaac after 20 years of separation. After the death of
Isaac, his sons buried him.

◦ The Edomites descended from Esau, the son of Isaac and the twin brother of Jacob. (The Hebrew word "Edom" means red.)
◦ God blessed Esau because he was a descendant of Abraham, and God blessed him in the only way he really cared about – materially. Esau dwelt in Mt.
Seir, the land to the south and east of the Dead Sea, that became known as the land of Edom. Even though the Edomites became enemies of the
Israelites, God commanded special regard for the Edomites among Israel: "You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother" (Deut 23:7).The
entire book of Obadiah records an extended prophecy against Edom. The Edomites also held the rock city of Petra, or at least its early version. This
city can only be reached through a narrow, winding gorge. We can see a list of chiefs in Genesis 36.
◦ "If God blesses so abundantly those who are not chosen, what is the magnitude of His blessings for those who are chosen? If nonspiritual people
experience such outpourings of merely common grace, how great must the special grace of the regenerate be!” (Boice)
◦ Notable among this list is Amalek. From him came the Amalekites, notable enemies of Israel. From the meanings of the names listed in this chapter,
we can see that Esau's descendants were worshippers of idols and Baal.

◦ Joseph was the most favourite of all the sons of Jacob. Joseph reported the bad behavior of his brothers to his father. This naturally made
him even more unpopular and disliked among his brothers. As an outward display of his favor, he gave Joseph a tunic of many colors. This
signified a position of favor, princely standing, and birthright. It was a dramatic way of saying he was the son to receive the birthright.
◦ Joseph had 2 dreams from the Lord and shared them with his family. He dreamed of the brothers in a grain field at harvest, each with a
bunch of wheat sheaf. The sheaves belonged to the brothers all bowed down to the sheaf belonging to Joseph. The brothers understood
perfectly the meaning of the dream – one day Joseph would reign over them and have dominion over them.
◦ If Joseph was unwise to tell the first dream, then it was worse to share this second dream. The second dream was likely to cause even more
resentment, because it set him not only above his brothers, but also set him above his father and mother.
◦ One day, Jacob sends Joseph to deliver food to his brothers in Sechem. He found them at Dothan. Their brothers plan to kill him but
Reuben suggests that they put him in a pit. Finally Judah asks them to sell him to some Midianite merchants for 20 shekels of silver.
◦ His brothers took his coat and stained it with goat’s blood and lied to their father that they found it in the forest.
◦ Joseph ends up in the court of a high Egyptian official, Potiphar.

GENESIS 38 – JUDAH AND TAMAR

◦ Judah left his brothers and went to Adullam to his friend Hirah. He married the daughter of Shua, a Canaanite – a group which God does
not want the Israelites to join with.
◦ She bore him 3 sons – Er, Onan and Shelah.
◦ Er married Tamar, a Canaanite woman and he was evil in God’s eyes and was put to death by God.
◦ If a man died before providing sons to his wife, it was the duty of his brothers to marry her and to give her sons. The child was considered
the son of the brother who died, because the living brother only acted in his place. Onan knew that the heir would not be his and refused to
give her children, but merely used her for his sexual desires. So God judged him and Onan was also killed.
◦ Judah, did not want to lose his last son also. So he sent away Tamar and she stayed in her father’s house until Shelah grew up.
◦ Even after Shelah became of age, Judah did not give her to him. So she took the matter into her hands and deceived Judah himself to give
her offspring by disguising herself as a prostitute at Timnah.
◦ He gave her his signet, cord and his staff until his pledge of a future-price of a young goat was given to her.
◦ When Hirah could not find Tamar, they let it be so that their name would not be put to shame.

◦ After 3 months, it was evident that Tamar played a harlot – and not knowing this Judah passed judgment on her.
◦ Judah did not care for Tamar, the widowed wife of two of his sons. He found it easy to pass judgment on someone who sinned just as he
sinned, without passing the same judgment on himself. Tamar acted shrewdly and vindicated herself against the charge of harlotry. She
made the logical appeal of noting that the man who hired her was just as guilty as she was. However, even Judah could see through to the
real issue. He was at fault for not providing for Tamar a son through his last son Shelah.
◦ She gave birth to twins – Perez and Zerah.
◦ Perez is an ancestor of Jesus the Messiah. God took the son of this ungodly situation and put him in the family line of the Messiah, despite
the fact that neither Judah nor Tamar were examples of godliness.

CHAPTER 39 - JOSEPH IN POTIPHAR’S HOUSE

◦ Joseph was brought to Egypt and sold as a slave to Potiphar when he was just 17. God was with him and he grew up to be a brilliant and
handsome boy. The Potiphar gave Joseph authority over his household.
◦ Potiphar’s wife was attracted to Joseph and seduced him day by day to lie with her – which Joseph hated and avoided. Potiphar’s wife knew
Joseph avoided her, so she made a deliberate plan to trap him. Surely, it was she who arranged it that none of the men of the house was
inside. Joseph resisted this tremendous moment of temptation when he ran outside. Joseph did what we are all supposed to do when faced
with this kind of situation: he fled and ran. 2 Timothy 2:22 makes it clear: Flee also youthful lusts. He left is outer garment which was in her
hand and ran outside.
◦ Potiphar’s wife immediately accused Joseph falsely and this led to Joseph being imprisoned. Potiphar knew what kind of woman his wife
was and he knew what kind of man Joseph was. His anger probably came because he knew that her accusation against Joseph was not true.
Joseph worked 11 years in Potiphar’s house.
◦ If God blessed Joseph in the pit, if He blessed Joseph the slave, we are not surprised to see that He blessed Joseph in prison. None of
these terrible circumstances changed or defeated God’s plan for Joseph’s life. As happened before in the house of Potiphar, Joseph rose to
the top, becoming the chief administrator of the prison. Through his experience in both places, God sharpened the administrative skills
Joseph needed to one day save his family and to save the whole world.

CHAPTER 40 – JOSEPH INTERPRETS DREAMS

◦ The butler was in charge of Pharaoh’s wine and the baker was in charge of Pharaoh’s food. They were imprisoned because they offended
their lord, the king of Egypt. By how the account will develop, it is probable there was a plot to murder the Pharaoh (perhaps by poisoning),
and these two were suspects.
◦ The butler saw a vine with three branches and serving the Pharaoh again, restored to his former position. Joseph said this will come true in
3 days and asked for help when he gets released.
◦ The baker saw three white baskets and crows eating the bread in them. Joseph interpreted that he will be put to death in 3 days.
◦ Joseph interpreted their dreams which came true. The butler was put back in his position, but forgot about Joseph and the baker was put to
death on Pharaoh’s birthday.

CHAPTER 41 – JOSEPH INTERPRETS THE
PHARAOH’S DREAM

◦ After 2 years, In Pharaoh’s dream, seven fat cows came out of the Nile and were consumed by seven ugly and gaunt cows. This strange
dream woke him up, but he went back to sleep. In a second dream, seven thin heads of grain devoured seven plump and full heads of grain.
This was a life-like, crazy dream, but it was a message from God.
◦ No one was able to interpret his dreams and finally the butler remembered Joseph. Joseph was taken out and he explained the dreams of
Pharaoh. There would be seven years of plenty and abundance, followed by another seven years of want and famine. The years of famine
will be so bad that the good years will be forgotten.
◦ Upon seeing Joseph’s wisdom, the Pharaoh honoured him by making him second to the King (Prime Minister). He was named Zaphnath-
Paaneah and was married to Asenath. He was only 30 when all this happened.
◦ Joseph doubled the tax and started saving the grains for the next 7 years.
◦ The years of famine started and every nation came to Egypt to buy grains.

CHAPTER 42 – JOSEPH MEETS HIS BROTHERS

◦ Joseph’s brothers lived with a terrible secret for 20 years. They never talked about it, but it never left them. Any mention of Joseph or Egypt
brought back the guilt. They needed to be set free from the power of their terrible secret. Jacob asked them to travel to Egypt and bring
enough grains for their family.
◦ Because he lost Joseph some 20 years before, Jacob lived in constant fear that he would also lose Benjamin – the other son of his favorite
wife, Rachel. He kept a close, protective eye on Benjamin.
◦ The 10 brothers bowed before Joseph in reverence not knowing that he was their long lost brother and Joseph also acted like a stranger.
◦ He accused them as spies and kept them in jail for 3 days. He sent them home with the grains and their money and told them to bring their
youngest brother next time by imprisoning Simeon.
◦ They reported everything that happened to them to their father and Jacob did not want to lose Benjamin.
◦ When all their grain was over this time, Reuben offered a promise to bring back Benjamin safe if he lets them go to Egypt with him.

CHAPTER 43 – JOSEPH MEETS HIS BROTHERS
AGAIN

◦ Judah pledges to Jacob that he would come back to Israel with Benjamin and if not he was ready to sacrifice his 2 sons.
◦ So Jacob sends his sons with double money – 20 silver coins to Egypt.
◦ When Joseph sees them, he becomes emotional but does not reveal his identity. He treats them well, makes them sit according to their age
and has food with them. Benjamin received 5 times more than anyone.

CHAPTER 44 – JOSEPH TESTS HIS BROTHERS

◦ The brothers left Egypt in high spirits. They were treated well, had their sacks full of grain, and Simeon was out of prison. Jacob’s fear of
something horrible happening seemed that it would not come to pass. As before, the grain sacks of the brothers were topped off by the
money they paid for the grain. This time, Joseph ordered that his special silver cup be hidden in the sack of Benjamin. In the morning, the
men were sent away, beginning the journey back to Canaan.
◦ The brothers were caught in Joseph’s trap. Some wrongly think that Joseph did this simply to use his position of power to torment his
brothers in revenge for their cruelty towards him. Yet knowing the character of Joseph, this wasn’t the case. Guided by the hand of God,
Joseph tested the hearts of his brothers and brought them to complete repentance.
◦ The brothers were so confident they did not have the cup (and trusted each other so much), they declared the thief should be killed and all
the others taken as slaves.
◦ It was found in Benjamin’s sack and Judah intercedes for him. Judah offers his life for Benjamin and for Jacob which moves Joseph.

CHAPTER 45 – JOSEPH IS REUNITED WITH HIS
BROTHERS

◦ Joseph revealed himself to his brothers and they were shocked to know that he was alive. All Joseph’s sorrows were for a purpose. God used
them to preserve his family and provide the conditions for it to become a nation. Joseph was a victim of men, but God turned it around for
His glory. None of it was for a loss.
◦ Joseph tells his brothers to go home and to bring their father and find protection from the famine. When Jacob eventually heard this, it was
one of the greatest days of his life. He had the joy of learning that the favored son, who would save his brethren, who was given up for
dead, is now alive.
◦ Joseph was affectionate and loving to all his brothers. Joseph did not exclude those who had been especially cruel to him. His heart was
open to his brothers, both as a group and as individuals.
◦ The sons of Israel received transportation, provision, garments, and riches because of who their favored brother was. Pharaoh blessed the
sons of Jacob for Joseph’s sake.

JESUS AND JOSEPH
◦ https://www.onepagebiblesummary.com/pad/pad_17.php
◦ Both Jesus and Joseph were loved by their father, hated by his own brothers (Jews), stripped off, sold, falsely accused, saviours, etc…

CHAPTER 46 – ISRAEL IN EGYPT

◦ God spoke to Jacob in a vision and he left to Egypt with all that he had and lived in Goshen. The total number of males of this clan was 70.
◦ It took this family 215 years to grow from one to 70, but in another 430 years they grew to two million or more.

CHAPTER 47 – ISRAEL SETTLES IN EGYPT
◦ Though there was a great famine in that entire region, God’s work through Joseph’s wise preparation meant there was bread for Joseph’s
family and countless others.
◦ ood was available in Egypt, but at a price. Because the famine lasted so long – seven years in total – eventually people ran out of money to
buy more grain. When the money first failed, Joseph received their livestock as payment. When the livestock was gone, then Joseph received
their land as payment.
◦ Jacob lived for 147 years and requested Joseph to bury him in the promised land along with his forefathers.

CHAPTER 48 - JACOB BLESSES JOSEPH’S SONS
◦ Jacob blesses Ephraim more than Manasseh, the first born.

CHAPTER 49 – JACOB BLESSES HIS SONS &
DIES
◦ Reuben: You shall not excel.
◦ Simeon and Levi: I will… scatter them in Israel.
◦ Judah: The scepter shall not depart from Judah.
◦ Zebulun: A haven for ships.
◦ Issachar: A strong donkey.
◦ Dan: A serpent by the way.
◦ Gad: He shall triumph at last.
◦ Asher: He shall yield royal dainties.
◦ Naphtali: He gives goodly words.
◦ Joseph: A fruitful bough.
◦ Benjamin: a ravenous wolf.

CHAPTER 50 - THE BURIAL OF JACOB; THE
DEATH OF JOSEPH

◦ Jacob was mourned for 70 days among the whole nation of Egypt. A royal mourning period in Egypt was 72 days. Jacob was obviously a
greatly honored man. He was buried in the cave of Machpelah in Canaan.
◦ After their father’s death, Joseph’s brothers were afraid of him but Joseph welcomed them with a great heart. He said “As for you, you
meant evil against me; but God meant it for good.”
◦ Joseph’s love for his brothers was shown not only in feelings and words, but also in practical action. He actually did provide for his brothers
and their families.
◦ Joseph lived to be 110 years old and was put in a coffin to be taken to Israel only after 400 years.
◦ Joseph died looking forward to God’s unfolding plan of redemption, and that is where the Book of Genesis – the Book of Beginnings –
ends. It concludes looking forward to the continuation of God’s eternal, loving, wise plan.

GENESIS BIBLE STUDY

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