Glory as Guide

Exodus 40:36-38 - In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.

I wonder if anyone else -- Midianites, Amorites, Egyptians, etc. -- wondered about the cloud and the fire that guided the Israelites' travels. Did anyone else get close enough to notice?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Threads of Gold

Exodus 39:2-3 - They made the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. They hammered out thin sheets of gold and cut strands to be worked into the blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen—the work of a skilled craftsman.

I wonder if anyone had tried weaving with golden threads before. Was there someone who had done it elsewhere and therefore got chosen to make this ephod? Did they experiment on a "test cloth" first?

I wonder what they used to cut the gold strands. That's pretty delicate work!

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Building the Tabernacle

Exodus 36-38 (roughly)

I wonder if there was anything made incorrectly the first time. Or did God see to it that no one messed up...everyone measured twice and cut once?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

6-Day Work Week

Exodus 35:1-2 - Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, "These are the things the LORD has commanded you to do: For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it must be put to death.

I wonder if people worked 7 days per week before this time. If there were people who had been working less than 6 days per week, did they now add a day to their work week?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Tablets - Take 2

Exodus 34:28 - Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.

So Moses didn't eat or drink this second time. Perhaps he didn't the first time then either. I wonder if Joshua went with his this second time too.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Sea cows

Exodus 26:14 - Make for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of hides of sea cows.

Where did they get the sea cow hides from? Midianite traders? Had they brought some/enough along from Egypt?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

On Mount Sinai

Exodus 24:13-18 - Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. He said to the elders, "Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them."

When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud. To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

I wonder if Moses ate or slept while on the mountain. God certainly could have sustained him without food and sleep.

I wonder if Joshua ate during that same period. It sounds like he didn't leave the mountain for 40 days either. He could have taken some food with him, or there may have been something edible up there, but would it have been enough for 40 days? Again, God could have miraculously solved this problem too.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Tablets of Stone

Exodus 24:12 - The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction."

I wonder what shape the tablets were. Modern artists' renditions (that I've seen) of them usually consist of vertical rectangles with rounded tops. But who's to say they weren't square, triangular, circular, or some other regular shape? Triangular tablets would have carried some built-in symbolism related to the Trinity. Other shapes could have been symbolic as well.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Dinner with God

Exodus 24:9-11 - Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.

I wonder what form God took when he showed himself to Moses and the elders. Most likely a human likeness as he is known to have taken on other occasions.

What did they eat and drink while in God's presence? I get the idea that it was something God had prepared for them as opposed to a meal they had brought up with them. How long did they stay and how much did they eat? Did this special meal have any unusual or lasting physical effects on them?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Sprinkling Blood

Exodus 24:8 - Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, "This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words."

I wonder how many people actually got hit with some of the blood. Moses certainly didn't touch each person among the hundreds of thousands of them. Perhaps he sprinkled just Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the 70 elders.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Holding up the prophet's hands

Exodus 17:8-13 - The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands."

So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

I wonder if Joshua and the army could see Moses' hands in the air from the battle field.

How many times did Moses lower his hands before Aaron and Hur decided to help him out? I'm guessing once was enough. Twice tops. Well, maybe a couple more, if it took them a while to put two and two together.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Water Supply

Exodus 15:22 - Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water.

I wonder how much water the people could carry as they traveled. How many days would it last? Apparently at least 3.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

A New Year

Exodus 12:1-2 - The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, "This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.

I wonder which month this had been -- 2nd, 3rd, 4th... -- on their old calendar.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Blackout

Exodus 10:21-23 - Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness will spread over Egypt—darkness that can be felt." So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. No one could see anyone else or leave his place for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.

The blackness was more than just the sun being covered by the moon as in an eclipse. It was a substance, that entered almost all of Egypt, because it could be felt. I wonder what the substance was. Was it just extremely dense fog?

If you had been in Goshen where there was light, could you see the line of demarcation between the light and the darkness? Or was there a sort of twilight zone between the two? Could you stand at the edge of the light in Goshen, reach your hand into the blackness (not that anyone would want to), and watch it disappear from view?

Did any of the Egyptians near the edge of the blackness bordering on Goshen dare to venture in that direction to see if the Israelites were spared? After all, they had been exempted from some of the other plagues.

I wonder how much money was lost due to lack of commerce for 3 days. I wonder what foreigners -- traders, businessmen, tourists, etc. (if there were any left in the country) -- thought about the darkness...or any of the other plagues, for that matter. Perhaps they all left after the Nile turned to blood.

I wonder how anyone knew whether it was day or night for those 3 days. Maybe they didn't really care.

The next time the power goes out for a few hours where you live, think twice before complaining too much. It could be a lot worse.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Hail, Hail!

Exodus 9:22-33 - Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt—on men and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt." When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt; hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both men and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree. The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were.

Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. "This time I have sinned," he said to them. "The LORD is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Pray to the LORD, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don't have to stay any longer."

Moses replied, "When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to the LORD. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is the LORD's. But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the LORD God."

(The flax and barley were destroyed, since the barley had headed and the flax was in bloom. The wheat and spelt, however, were not destroyed, because they ripen later.)

Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He spread out his hands toward the LORD; the thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured down on the land.

I wonder how Moses and Aaron were spared from being hit by the hail. Was it something miraculous that God had a hand in directly? Did they move about under the cover of some protective shield? Probably the latter since those who were sent to fetch them must have survived the trip under some form of protection as well.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Frog Piles

Exodus 8:12-15 - After Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the LORD about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh. And the LORD did what Moses asked. The frogs died in the houses, in the courtyards and in the fields. They were piled into heaps, and the land reeked of them. But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.

I wonder what became of the piles of frogs. Did the Egyptians burn them? Bury them? Did they eat any of them?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Moses' Own People

Exodus 2:11 - One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.

Moses was chiefly raised as the grandson of the Pharaoh. I wonder who told him he was a Hebrew. Was it his mother? Did she keep him long enough for him to understand what that meant? Was it Pharaoh's daughter? Why should she? How long before he murdered the Egyptian had Moses known he was a Hebrew?

Defying Pharaoh

Exodus 1:22-2:2 - Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: "Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live."

Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months.

I wonder how many other mothers (and fathers) defied Pharaoh's order and kept their children safe.

How long was Pharaoh's order in effect? It couldn't have gone on for years and years, could it?

Joseph to Canaan

Genesis 50:25 - And Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath and said, "God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place."

I wonder if the bones of any of the other brothers were taken back to Canaan for burial.

Mourning for Israel

Genesis 49:33-50:3 - When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.

Joseph threw himself upon his father and wept over him and kissed him. Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him, taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

I wonder what the Egyptians did for 70 days to show they were mourning for Israel. Was it something similar to flying the flag at half staff? Was it something they wore, like a black armband?

Ephraim and Manasseh and Israel

Genesis 48:8-11 - When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, "Who are these?"

"They are the sons God has given me here," Joseph said to his father.
Then Israel said, "Bring them to me so I may bless them."

Now Israel's eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them.

Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too."

Israel had been in Egypt for about 17 years, yet it sounds like this is the first time he met Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. If so, I wonder why Joseph hadn't introduced them to their grandfather before now. The boys were roughly 20 years old. It's not like they were toddlers who might have been too much for Israel to handle.

Goshen

Genesis 47:5-6 - Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you, and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock."

I wonder who had to relocate out of Goshen so that the Israelites could move in. If it was the best place that in the whole land, certainly someone would have been using it.

Egyptians and Shepherds

Genesis 46:31-34 - Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, "I will go up and speak to Pharaoh and will say to him, 'My brothers and my father's household, who were living in the land of Canaan, have come to me. The men are shepherds; they tend livestock, and they have brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own.' When Pharaoh calls you in and asks, 'What is your occupation?' you should answer, 'Your servants have tended livestock from our boyhood on, just as our fathers did.' Then you will be allowed to settle in the region of Goshen, for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians."

Why were shepherds detestable to Egyptians? I bet they didn't mind the animals they tended -- the stuff made from the wool or the mutton they could eat -- or did they?

The Silver Cup

Genesis 44:11-12 - Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.

The brothers' payment in silver was supposed to be put into the mouth of each of their sacks per Joseph's instructions. Did the steward just ignore it while looking for the silver cup? Did the brothers see the silver in the mouths of their sacks? Did no one even bother with the money now that the silver cup was involved?

The brothers had noticed that they had been seated at the table in Joseph's house in order of age. Did they notice that this was the search order now too? Did the steward know who was who from memory or did he use crib notes?

Silver in the Sacks - Take Two

Genesis 44:1-9 - Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: "Fill the men's sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man's silver in the mouth of his sack. Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one's sack, along with the silver for his grain." And he did as Joseph said.

As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys. They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, "Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, 'Why have you repaid good with evil? Isn't this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.' "

When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them. But they said to him, "Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like that! We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found inside the mouths of our sacks. So why would we steal silver or gold from your master's house? If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die; and the rest of us will become my lord's slaves."

Considering all the strange things that happened the first time around, wouldn't you have checked your sack to be sure only grain was found in it the second time?

How did the Egyptians manage to get the silver into the sacks -- either the first or the second time -- without the brothers' knowledge? The sacks must have been filled out of their field of vision -- in another room, behind a wall or barrier or something similar. Were all customers' orders processed this way or was it special handling for the brothers? If it was special, did the brothers notice something was different compared to other foreigners (or Egyptians, for that matter) who were buying grain?

Joseph's Steward

Genesis 43:15-23 - So the men took the gifts and double the amount of silver, and Benjamin also. They hurried down to Egypt and presented themselves to Joseph. When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, "Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare dinner; they are to eat with me at noon."

The man did as Joseph told him and took the men to Joseph's house. Now the men were frightened when they were taken to his house. They thought, "We were brought here because of the silver that was put back into our sacks the first time. He wants to attack us and overpower us and seize us as slaves and take our donkeys."

So they went up to Joseph's steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. "Please, sir," they said, "we came down here the first time to buy food. But at the place where we stopped for the night we opened our sacks and each of us found his silver—the exact weight—in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back with us. We have also brought additional silver with us to buy food. We don't know who put our silver in our sacks."

"It's all right," he said. "Don't be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver." Then he brought Simeon out to them.

I don't think the brothers knew how to speak Egyptian. Did the steward speak Hebrew or did this conversation employ an interpreter too?

No More Grain

Genesis 43:1-2 - Now the famine was still severe in the land. So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, "Go back and buy us a little more food."

I wonder how much grain they "bought" the first time they went to Egypt. Was there a limit? It sounds like each of the brothers only had one sack of grain. How big was it? It doesn't sound like anyone else had gone with them, so there would only have been 9 sacks. How long would that last?

And why did they leave their brother in Egypt until all the grain was gone, or nearly gone? Didn't the brothers dare to bring up the topic with Jacob sooner? Didn't Jacob care about the missing son? Did he really care that much more about Benjamin?

And didn't Benjamin have anything to say about all this?

Reuben's Sons

Genesis 42:36-37 - Their father Jacob said to them, "You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!"

Then Reuben said to his father, "You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back."

You might wonder, "What was Reuben thinking!" Nevermind that. Assuming they heard what Dad said, what were Reuben's sons now thinking? Were they near enough to hear the conversation? Did it ever get back to them? Before you doubt it, notice that it got down to Moses who wrote it down here.

Talk like an Egyptian

Genesis 42:21-23 - They said to one another, "Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that's why this distress has come upon us."

Reuben replied, "Didn't I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn't listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood." They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter.

I wonder how long it had taken Joseph to learn the Egyptian language. Had Potiphar provided someone to teach him, or did he just have to pick it up as he went along?

Food for All

Genesis 41:56-57 - When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt. And all the countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the world.

It's easy in retrospect to see God's hand in all of this. I still wonder though how Egypt had enough food to feed everyone. Which countries were included in "all the countries"? Obviously Canaan was (as we're about to see in Genesis 42).

Food in Egypt

Genesis 41:53-54 - The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food.

Perhaps the reason the Egyptians didn't tell anyone else during the 7 years of plenty why they were storing up so much food was because they wanted to be in a position of power for the following 7 years and even beyond. I wonder though that no one from the other lands noticed what Egypt was doing or was curious as to why they were doing it.

Word must have passed along the grapevine at some point during the 7 years. You can't keep that kind of thing secret forever. Even if Pharaoh and Joseph never really made a public announcement as to why they were making a sudden change in economic policy, someone surely would have leaked the information to "the press" or would simply have correctly guessed what was going on. Joseph's rags to riches story in itself certainly would have made some people wonder what was coming next.

So why didn't anyone else outside of Egypt store up food for the coming years of famine?

Asenath

Genesis 41:45 + 50-52 - Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt.

Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, "It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household." The second son he named Ephraim and said, "It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering."

I wonder if Joseph had any misgivings about marrying the daughter of a priest of a pagan god. He may not have had much choice. If he had misgivings, we aren't told about them. And he did have two children, Manasseh and Ephraim, with her within the first 7 years of their marriage.

Joseph in Charge

Genesis 41:15-40 - Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it."

"I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires."

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds. After them, seven other cows came up—scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up.

"In my dreams I also saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. After them, seven other heads sprouted—withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none could explain it to me."

Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine.

"It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.

"And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine."

The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. So Pharaoh asked them, "Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?"

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you."

I wonder if Joseph paused for effect after saying, "I cannot do it." Would have been a nice (but dangerous) touch.

I wonder if Joseph had himself in mind when he suggested that Pharaoh look for a helper. Or was he totally chocked when Pharaoh named him on the spot?

Dreaming

Genesis 40:4-5 - The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them.

After they had been in custody for some time, each of the two men—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison—had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.

Some (most? all?) who study sleeping and dreams will tell you that you dream every night, even if you don't remember the dream(s) upon waking. Even if they're only half right and we dream half of the times we sleep, that's still a lot of dreaming.

So it doesn't seem likely that the cupbearer and the baker each only had one dream while in prison. Maybe this is the first one they could remember.

Did those men seek out an interpreter every time they woke and remembered a dream? Seems unlikely. If not, when did they seek an interpreter? What made a dream significant enough to warrant interpretation?

What made them so sad about not having an interpreter available? And apparently interpreters were available elsewhere. Hm, maybe they really did go to one after every remembered dream. Did interpreters charge a fee? Did some make a living from dream interpretation? Probably.

Did the two men attach any significance to the fact that they each remembered a dream the same day?

Offending the Pharaoh

Genesis 40:1-3 - Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined.

Maybe you didn't have to try hard to offend a Pharaoh who had absolute power. But what can a cupbearer and a baker do to get themselves thrown into prison? Unless they were part of a plot to overthrow the Pharaoh, they'd have to screw up pretty badly to warrant such a punishment, wouldn't they?

If I remember correctly, the cupbearer was to taste drinks before the Pharaoh in case they had been poisoned -- a dangerous job, if your boss had crafty enemies. Did this cupbearer refuse to take a sip? Did he spill some on the Pharaoh's best robes? Or on the table? Or anywhere in Pharaoh's presence? Did he make some snide remark in earshot of the Pharaoh? Or in earshot of one of his enemies? Did he do something unseemly elsewhere that got back to the Pharaoh and upset and offended him? With such a prominent job, wouldn't you normally play it safe, especially considering the built-in hazards?

Many of the same things could be asked about the baker. However, he may have had the added hazard of trying to create new taste treats for the Pharaoh. I suppose if one of them flopped or displeased the Pharaoh or one of his mealtime guests, the Pharaoh may have been offended enough to want to try someone new in that position. (Pity the poor replacement.)

The Wise Warden

Genesis 39:20-23 - Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined.

But while Joseph was there in the prison, the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

I wonder if it was unusual for a prisoner to be given responsibilities such as Joseph had. Did any of the other prisoners get jealous of him? What did Joseph do, if anything, to make the warden look favorably on him?

Potiphar the Wise

Genesis 39:2-4 - The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.

I wonder how Potiphar could tell that the LORD was with Joseph. What was it in the way Joseph did his duties and conducted himself that made it evident? Were other servants given similar tasks but didn't produce the same good results? What kinds of tasks did Joseph have to perform?

I wonder if Joseph openly spoke about God to his co-workers or to Potiphar. It says that Potiphar saw that the LORD was with Joseph. Unless that only means he could observe the results of Joseph's work, how else could he have known it was the LORD working through Joseph unless Joseph had told him so?

Tamar in Disguise

Genesis 38:13-18 - When Tamar was told, "Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep," she took off her widow's clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife.

When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, "Come now, let me sleep with you."

"And what will you give me to sleep with you?" she asked.

"I'll send you a young goat from my flock," he said.

"Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it?" she asked.

He said, "What pledge should I give you?"

"Your seal and its cord, and the staff in your hand," she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him.

I wonder how Tamar disguised her voice. Surely she must have or Judah would have recognized her even though he couldn't see (most of) her face and had no reason to expect her to be in Enaim.

On the Way to Timnah

Genesis 38:12-15 - After a long time Judah's wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah, to the men who were shearing his sheep, and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went with him.

When Tamar was told, "Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep," she took off her widow's clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife.

When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.

I wonder how Tamar got to Enaim before Judah and Hirah, since it looks like they started out before she did. Did she have a faster camel, donkey, or horse?

Did Tamar travel alone? (That could account for more speed too.) I would have thought that would be a very dangerous thing to do for a young woman.

The Wickedness of Er

Genesis 38:6-7 - Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7 But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the LORD's sight; so the LORD put him to death.

By nature, I am wicked in God's sight. But through faith in Jesus and what he did to save me from the consequences of that wickedness, I am holy in God's sight.

So Er could not have been what today we'd call a Christian. He didn't believe in the promised Savior, the Messiah.

But a lot of people didn't believe in the Messiah, and God didn't put all of them to death. So I wonder if this was some particularly heinous wickedness that Er was guilty of.

How did the people know that "the LORD put him to death"? That seems to be a more pointed statement than simply saying that he died. Did he die in some unusual way that made this obvious? Did God reveal to the people that he had put Er to death specifically because of this wickedness?

I wonder if the particular wicked act(s) or lifestyle are not mentioned so that no one today can copy that form of wickedness on purpose -- just to see if the result would be the same; that is, to tempt God and put him to the test. There are plenty of other ways people have found to do that. They don't need additional suggestions.

Judah's Travels

Genesis 38:1-2 - At that time, Judah left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam named Hirah. There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua.

I wonder why Judah left his family -- his father and brothers. Did he already know Hirah before he went? How much, in terms of flocks and other goods and possessions, did he take with him? Did anyone travel with him?

I wonder why Judah's first wife isn't named, but her father is.

Daddy's Boy

Genesis 37:3 - Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him.

I wonder what else Israel did to show favoritism to Joseph. Surely there had to be more going on over the years than just the gift of the robe, or coat of many colors, as it has come to be known.

I wonder if Joseph didn't have to do as much work as the others. At 17, he was apparently old enough to help tend the flocks, but on at least one occasion he wasn't in the fields with his brothers until Israel sent him to check up on them.

I wonder if Joseph's brothers hid their hatred of Joseph from their father. If not, it's a bit surprising that (as far as we know) Israel never disciplined them for their behavior towards Joseph, nor did he alter his own behavior in hopes of calming the brothers' hateful attitude towards Joseph.

Esau's Men

Genesis 32:3-6 - Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. He instructed them: "This is what you are to say to my master Esau: 'Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, menservants and maidservants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.' "

When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, "We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him."

Who were the 400 men who were with Esau? Were they his friends? His army? (It doesn't say they were armed.) His neighbors? Some of each?

Why were they all coming to meet Jacob? To frighten him? For protection along a dangerous route? To help Jacob on the rest of his journey? If they were an army, was the trip being used as some sort of training?

Did they achieve the purpose for which they set out with Esau?

Mahanaim

Genesis 32:1 - Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. When Jacob saw them, he said, "This is the camp of God!" So he named that place Mahanaim.

I wonder how many angels there were. How many would Jacob have needed to see before he would have considered it a camp-full?

Could the rest of his family and servants see them too?

Why did they come to meet Jacob? Did any of them talk to him? Did he talk to them?

Angels are God's servants, his messengers. Did they deliver a message to Jacob? As God's servants, it seems a large portion of their duties, in addition to the messenger function, involves protecting man. Were they there to protect Jacob's camp? Was their very presence simply meant to comfort and reassure Jacob of God's presence and protection?

How did Jacob know they were angels? Was their form not exactly human? Were they winged? Did God reveal to him that they were angels?

Sister Act Revisited

Genesis 20 - Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.

But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, "You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman."

Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he said, "Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister,' and didn't she also say, 'He is my brother'? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands."

Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. Now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all yours will die."

Early the next morning Abimelech summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. Then Abimelech called Abraham in and said, "What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done." And Abimelech asked Abraham, "What was your reason for doing this?"

Abraham replied, "I said to myself, 'There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.' Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. And when God had me wander from my father's household, I said to her, 'This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, "He is my brother." ' "

Then Abimelech brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelech said, "My land is before you; live wherever you like."

To Sarah he said, "I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated."

Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his slave girls so they could have children again, for the LORD had closed up every womb in Abimelech's household because of Abraham's wife Sarah.

I wonder how long this charade went on before God put a stop to it. It must have continued long enough that Abimelech's people noticed that no one was having babies like they used to. If so, that would probably mean several months at least. And if that is so, that means Abraham was without his wife for several months (at least) as well. I wonder how long he planned to keep this up. It's not like he had a harem as some men did.

I wonder how God kept Abimelech from going near Sarah. Did it seem to them like coincidences always kept them apart?

Interesting to note that God spoke to someone (in a dream) whom Abraham didn't consider a God-fearing person.

Not Far from the Tree

Genesis 19:30-38 - Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. One day the older daughter said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is no man around here to lie with us, as is the custom all over the earth. Let's get our father to drink wine and then lie with him and preserve our family line through our father."

That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and lay with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

The next day the older daughter said to the younger, "Last night I lay with my father. Let's get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and lie with him so we can preserve our family line through our father." So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went and lay with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father. The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.

I speculated a few days ago that Lot was not very wise. I wonder (only a little) whether the same could be said of his daughters.

So they were living in a cave. Could they not travel to the nearest city or town or oasis or tent to see if there were any eligible bachelors (or at least non-immediate relatives) in the area? Could Lot not arrange something for them? Was he now too poor to do so? Had they no patience? Why did everything have to be accomplished in 2 nights all of a sudden?

This sad account is largely given so that we know the origins of the Moabites and the Ammonites who will later have encounters with the Israelites.

Not Even Ten

Genesis 19:27-30 - Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the LORD. He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.

So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.

Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave.

I'm sure when Abraham saw the smoke indicating the destruction of the cities his heart sank. He must have said to himself, "Good Lord, not even ten!"

I wonder how long it was before he found out that Lot and his daughters were safe. Remember, God hadn't promised Abraham that he would spare them. Perhaps Abraham didn't even consider looking for them. I wonder why they didn't go looking for him but ended up in a cave instead. Maybe they were too ashamed to face Abraham.

Lot's Wife Remembered

Genesis 19:26 - But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

I wonder why "a pillar of salt." Obviously her looking back (after being told not to) was a sign that she wanted to be back in Sodom or that she loved all the stuff she left behind more than what God had in mind for her on the road ahead. She paid for this choice with her life. But why did she turn into a pillar of salt as opposed to "simply" falling down dead due to heart failure or something more ordinary?

Perhaps this was so that we would talk (and write and read) about her as a warning not to have similar thoughts and feelings about the evil things in our past and as a reminder to keep looking forward to the good that God has in store for us in the future either here on earth or later in heaven or both.

Lot Hesitates

Genesis 19:16-22 - When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them. As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!"

But Lot said to them, "No, my lords, please! Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can't flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I'll die. Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn't it? Then my life will be spared."

He said to him, "Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it." (That is why the town was called Zoar.)

Was Lot just not very bright or was he just not very wise?

1. He chose to settle in the land near Sodom and Gomorrah because it was good for his animals. But it was near Sodom and Gomorrah.
2. He lived in Sodom even though he knew how bad the place was. He could have pulled up stakes and moved elsewhere.
3. He offered his daughters to the men of the city to spare the visiting angels (in human form) on the night before the cities and surrounding areas were destroyed. Points for protecting the visitors. But lose the game for offering your daughters!
4. He understood the area was going to be demolished. He even warned his sons-in-law. But he hesitated just before it was about to happen and had to be physically yanked out of town. Did he have that nice of a house?
5. He complains he can't make it to the mountains. How does he know that?! So he asks to go to a place closer to ground zero! What?!

The people of Zoar owed him big time, but I wonder if either side ever realized it.

Blind as a Bat?

Genesis 19:10-11 - But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.

I wonder if the blindness only affected their ability to find the door. Or was it a complete and "normal" blindness? Was it permanent or temporary? Actually, that doesn't matter much because they died the next day anyway.

Tourism in Sodom

Genesis 19:1-5 - The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. "My lords," he said, "please turn aside to your servant's house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning."

"No," they answered, "we will spend the night in the square."

But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."

I wonder if many people visited Sodom. Did the men of Sodom treat all their visitors this way? Why didn't they accost them when they first arrived? Was that because (and why) Lot hurried them to his house and insisted that they stay with him?

Countdown

Genesis 18:20-33 - Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."

The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"

The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."

Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?"
"If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it."

Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?"
He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it."

Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?"
He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."

Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?"
He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it."

Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?"
He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it."

When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

I wonder if Abraham kept asking for fewer and fewer righteous people because the Lord "gave in" so quickly -- too quickly for Abraham's liking.

I wonder how long each of them paused before responding to the other. That is, how long did Abraham have to ponder from one point to the next? I could imagine the conversation taking only a minute or taking 10 minutes. Maybe more.

Cut them in half

Genesis 15:9-10 - So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."

Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half.

I wonder if Abram did this all by himself. It seems like he did. I wonder what tools he used because it is no small task to cut an animal in half -- no matter which way you slice it.

318 trained men

Genesis 14:14 - When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan.

I wonder if these were all the men trained for battle that Abram had or if he had more and just hand picked 318 of them for this fight. In any case, if these were (as it does say) all born in his household, imagine how large his household must have been!

318 people is more than a lot of churches have on their rosters.

These men had parents who were presumably part of the household too. It's maybe not likely, but what if each man had a unique set of parents? That's almost 1000 people right there! And those men were just the military division of his household. Sure, they may have done double (or more) duty since Abram wasn't often at war, but still there were probably many other (young) people in Abram's service.

Even using minimal numbers to guess at the size of his household, God had indeed made Abram an extremely wealthy man.

Abram and Sarai in Egypt

Genesis 12:10-20 - Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you."

When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman. And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.

But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai. So Pharaoh summoned Abram. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!" Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

How did the Pharaoh know that his problems were caused by what Abram had done regarding Sarai? Did God tell him? Did the Pharaoh's wise men figure it out? Did someone spill the beans about Sarai and they just guessed (correctly) that she was the source of the problem? Were they able to deduce anything from the fact that only the Pharaoh and his household were affected?

What were the diseases? Were they life-threatening? Were there any fatalities? Who was included in "his household"? All of his servants and close government workers? Only his immediate family (which could have been quite large)?

It seems like it took some time for all of this to happen -- the diseases to develop and the determination of whose fault it was. (It's interesting that they even considered pinning the blame for the diseases on a specific person instead of something purely medical.) I think it took time because it says Abram was able to increase his wealth while living there. If all this happened over a few days or weeks, how could Abram have had time to become profitable?

The great tree of Moreh

Genesis 12:6 - Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem.

I wonder how big the great tree of Moreh was. It was obviously a well-known landmark. How old was it? Did anyone back then have any idea? If it started growing right after the Flood, it could have been about 400 years old by Abram's time.

What kind of tree was it? Cedar? Oak?

Where did the name Moreh come from? A place? A person?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Noah, Shem, and Abram

Genesis 11:10-26 - This is the account of Shem.

Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad. And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber. And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg. And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu. And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug. And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah. And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.

Noah, Shem, and Abram were all alive at the same time. I wonder if Abram ever got to meet Noah or Shem. I think I remember hearing that Martin Luther speculated that Melchizedek might have been Shem.

I wonder how many times Noah and Shem got to retell the account of the Flood. How many generations got to hear about it from these eyewitnesses? There were at least 9 generations who had the opportunity from Shem to Abram over a period of about 500 years!

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Months and Years

Genesis 7:11-8:14 - In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.

On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark. They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings. Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark. The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.

For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet. Every living thing that moved on the earth perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.

The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.

But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.

After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. But the dove could find no place to set its feet because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.

By the first day of the first month of Noah's six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry.

I often wonder if times -- especially months -- were measured differently in Old Testament times compared to today. The account of the Flood seems to hint that they were.

From the 17th day of the 2nd month to the 17th day of the 7th month is calculated here as 150 days. That's a nice round 30 days per month. Assuming full moon to full moon equals a month (since that's part of the reason God put the heavenly bodies there in the first place -- Genesis 1:14), that works out to 360 days per year, if the year had 12 months.

Noah and his family were in the ark for 1 year and 10 days. That makes a total of 470 days by this reckoning -- not 375 by modern-day counting.

Assuming modern scientists are correct in saying that it now takes a little over 365 days for the Earth to orbit the sun once, that means that the length of a year is very gradually growing longer as time passes. At the same time, the length of a month is getting shorter -- from 30 down to about 28 days from one full moon to the next.

I don't doubt that all of this is possible. In fact, I'd be surprised if things weren't changing, especially considering that everything in the universe is pretty much always on the move and that the effects of sin affect the whole creation. If it weren't for sin, we might still have 30-day months and 360-day years.

From Adam to Noah

Genesis 5 - This is the written account of Adam's line.

When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them "man."

When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.

When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh. And after he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Seth lived 912 years, and then he died.

When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. And after he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enosh lived 905 years, and then he died.

When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel. And after he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Kenan lived 910 years, and then he died.

When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared. And after he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Mahalalel lived 895 years, and then he died.

When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. And after he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Jared lived 962 years, and then he died.

When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. And after he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died.

When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. He named him Noah and said, "He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed." After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Lamech lived 777 years, and then he died.

After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.

I wondered earlier if Noah had more sophisticated and advanced technology at this disposal than most people probably think. Consider that, when Noah was 500 years old, the earth was 1556 years old. A lot can happen (i.e. be invented) in a millennium and a half. Just think how far modern man has developed since A.D. 952 (2008-1556=952). In addition, some say that early man was very possibly smarter, bigger, and stronger than modern man. The reasoning there is that the effects of sin hadn't taken as much of a toll on the human body as compared to today. Perhaps. In any case, I still think it was more than likely that Noah wasn't using a hand saw to cut the timbers for the ark.

Methuselah died in the same year as the Flood. I wonder if the Flood killed him or if he died before the rains began.

Tubal-Cain the Toolman

Genesis 4:22 - Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron.

I wonder what kinds of tools Tubal-Cain invented. What needs or problems arose for which tools were the solution or a means to it? Some of the same ones as today, to be sure, but which were some of the first?

How did Tubal-Cain discover the skill of forging? Or was it someone else who first put fire and metal together and Tubal-Cain who applied it to tool making?

Did they make alloy metals or was it only pure bronze and pure iron that they worked with at first? Did the purification of the metals go hand in hand with the discovery of forging techniques or was that learned separately?

Warning: Eden

Genesis 3:24 - After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

I wonder if anyone dared to approach the cherubim (angels) and the sword in the generations to come. Was it lost to memory or was it a tourist attraction or was it known but strictly verboten? Did people visit the area just to say they saw one of the wonders of the known world or did they shy away, afraid of the unknown? Did the cherubim or sword ever have to physically turn someone away?

Offering to the Lord

Genesis 4:3 - In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD.

I wonder where Cain and Abel got the idea to give an offering to the Lord. Did God suggest it to them (or to their parents)? I don't think Cain's offering would have been the first ever given. If it was, why wouldn't Cain have given his best? And why wouldn't his attitude have been better and pleasing to God?

Sewing 101

Genesis 3:7 - Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

I wonder what they sewed the leaves together with. Vines or grasses possibly? How tough are fig leaves that they can withstand being sewn together into a garment? Does anyone use them similarly today?

The Serpent Speaks

Genesis 3:1 - Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

I wonder if Adam and Eve could talk with all of the animals a la Dr. Dolittle. C. S. Lewis has the animals talking in The Magician's Nephew, which is a story about the creation of Narnia. I wonder if Lewis thought Adam and Eve could speak to the animals at the beginning.

Of course, the conversation here is really between Eve and Satan. I won't read too much into the silence of Scripture, but it doesn't seem as if Eve was surprised that the snake could talk. This is mainly what leads me to wonder whether talking to the animals was commonplace.

Then again, everything was probably still quite new to her. Maybe nothing and everything surprised her.

I wonder how long after they were created that this conversation took place.

The man speaks

Genesis 2:23 - The man said,
"This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called 'woman,'
for she was taken out of man."

I wonder what language Adam (and everyone else before the Flood) spoke. Was it a language still spoken today? Was it Hebrew?

Over the (hundreds of) years, did dialects and accents develop? Drawls, twangs, and such? Did the ancient equivalent of ebonics show itself?

Probably.

Omega and Alpha

I have reached the end of the Bible. I'm now starting over at the beginning again. As I read through it again, I'll either add to existing posts when that seems best or simply post a new entry following this one. Perhaps sometimes I'll do both. It will probably depend on the nature of what I have to wonder about.

"You mean you haven't wondered about all you have to wonder about already?"

Nope. Just as I find something "new" in the Bible every time I read through it, I know there are more things I'll wonder about that aren't spelled out. I've already thought of some that I'll post when I get to the corresponding verses this next time around.

"What do you mean you find something 'new' every time you read through the Bible?"

I've read the whole thing cover to cover more times than I can remember. (It's really not as difficult or as dry as some would lead you to think.) Every single time through, I've found something that I'd almost swear wasn't in there before. Of course, it's just something that I've forgotten (It is a big book.), but it feels sorta like a new revelation and makes me glad I took the time to reread it yet again.

For example, in Genesis, chapter 1, the account of the creation of everything, it just dawned on me -- like it never had before -- that the universe wasn't all created at once. The Earth was first; the sun, moon, stars, etc. came later. Obvious? Sure, but the idea of just the Earth being there all by itself really struck me this time.

So much for the Big Bang Theory. The Earth is the focus of it all, not some "starting point" billions of light years away. The universe was created for us to wonder about and discover things in. The Earth didn't come from the creation of the rest of the universe; that is, it didn't come spewing out of a massive explosion that got it all started.

I wonder if there's anyone or anything else living out there.

The body of Moses

Jude 9 - But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"

I wonder how that conversation/argument went.

What interest could the devil have had in Moses' body? God had buried Moses, and no one knew where. Was that (for some reason) what they were disputing -- the location of Moses' dead body?

I wonder how Jude came by this information. Perhaps it was something that Jesus had told his followers, and it's just not a conversation recorded by any of the other New Testament writers.

The unused room

Philemon 22-25 - And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers.

Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

I wonder how long Philemon kept the guest room ready for Paul. I don't think Paul ever had a chance to use it. He and Epaphras were prisoners (probably in Rome). As far as I know, Paul never left Rome as a free man.

Onesimus

Philemon 1-21 - Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,

To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker, to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier and to the church that meets in your home:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.

Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I appeal to you on the basis of love. I then, as Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus—I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.

I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced. Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good—no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.

So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.

I wonder how things turned out for Onesimus. Very well, I should think.

I also wonder how many people were in the church that met at Archippus' house. The bigger the house, the more that could meet there, I suppose. But wherever 2 or 3 are gathered in Jesus' name, that is enough to call it a church. It's his body, the communion of saints.