April 2024

It’s been so long since Isaac was mentioned in Genesis that it’s easy to forget he was still alive through all the travels of Jacob. And yet, here we have it at the end of Genesis 35: the death of Isaac. A few phrases appear anytime a notable person of God dies in the Bible. […]

Genesis 36 officially marks the end of any kind of mention of physical Esau. Sure, he’s referred to as a metaphor in later passages and as the patriarch of the Edomites, but as for Esau himself, his story is over. He doesn’t leave without a bang, though. The last time we saw him, he was

As we discovered with the story of Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, who died and was buried under a tree, the Bible wastes no words. Every single mention, no matter how “random” it may appear, has a place. That’s the case with this incredibly out-of-left-field mention of incest behind Reuben and Bilhah. Reuben, as you’ll remember, is

It’s not just people that have name changes in Scripture. Occasionally, a plot of land will undergo a series of identification switcheroos also.  One such example is the town of Bethel, a town that used to be called Luz (Genesis 28:19) and would eventually be known as El-Bethel — “the God of Bethel” — earlier

When God created Adam from the dust of the earth, He gave him several commands: tend the garden, keep the garden, and stay away from that tree. He also gave him another command: Be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28). To be fair, God also told the birds the same thing (Genesis 1:22). But later on

In Genesis 32, right before Jacob meets Esau for the first time after he stole the birthright, Jacob wrestles with God (or a representative of God) (Genesis 32:24-32). It’s an interesting scene; most likely, it represents the struggle that Jacob has engaged in his whole life. And will engage in for almost the entire rest

It’s easy to feel forgotten. Time moves forward, “important” events happen around you, and sometimes, you just feel like you’re not a part of anything or anyone’s life. I’ve felt that, and I’m sure you have too. To be honest, I almost did that to Deborah in Genesis 35:8. I read the verses beforehand, saw

When Jacob left his father’s tent after stealing Esau’s birthright, he was a lost, lonely individual. Sure, he had the guidance of his parents to go and “take a wife from the daughters of Laban” (Genesis 28:2), but everything outside of that was up to him. One of the stops he made on his way

I get why Reuben and Levi wanted to protect their sister. I feel it. I understand it. But I don’t agree with what they did at all. To recap, Dinah is abducted and raped by the prince of Shechem. The prince’s father makes a desperate attempt to legitimize the union by offering to pay Dinah’s