Questions tagged [genesis]

Genesis is the first book of the Old Testament, a narrative starting with creation.

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Can I believe in evolution and still be a Christian?

It would seem that the first part of the book of Genesis contradicts what science teaches about the origin of life on earth. If I am to reconcile evolution and Genesis, it seems that I have a number ...
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How did all the animals fit into Noah's ark? [closed]

During the great flood Noah was ordered by God to fetch two animals of each species and put them into his ark. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind ...
Mad Scientist's user avatar
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What is an overview of the main interpretations of "day" in Genesis 1?

In the Creation account in Genesis 1 (and 2), God's work of Creation is famously split into 7 "days". For example, the first "day" occurs in verse 5: Genesis 1:5 (NLT) God called the light "day" ...
El'endia Starman's user avatar
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How can the sun be created after day and night? [closed]

"Light" was created on day 1 - Genesis 1:3-5. However the sun was created on day 4 - Genesis 1:14-19. How is this possible?
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Why did people live so long before the Flood?

In Genesis 5, some of the descendants of Adam are listed with their ages. The people listed lived very much longer than anybody does today. For example, Adam lived to be 930. The oldest age, 969 years,...
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9 answers
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How could Jacob wrestle with God if no one can see God and live?

Is this a contradiction? Or am I missing something. It seems strange to think one can "wrestle" with God. Genesis 32:30 (NIV): 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God ...
clicker's user avatar
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If God set the maximum age to 120, then how could Jacob be 130 years old?

At the time of Noah, God said: Genesis 6:3 NIV Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.” Now, ...
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Why did God wrestle with Jacob? [closed]

Sorry for asking a question kid in my Catechism class asked, but I didn't know the answer and she is an expert level 7th grader. Why did God wrestle with Jacob if they're both good? Was God ...
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What were the Nephilim, and what role did they play in the Bible beyond just being mentioned?

Did the Nephilim that are mentioned in Genesis 6:4 do anything beyond just existing?
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Who was Melchizedek? [closed]

Melchizedek ("King of Justice" in Hebrew) is mentioned in Genesis 14 as receiving the dime from Abraham, and breaking bread with him: 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: ...
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What are the Biblical and theological problems with theistic evolution?

Theistic evolution holds that God used evolution to create mankind. It seems to follow then that this view must also hold the creation account in Genesis to be unhistorical. So, Adam and Eve may ...
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Was Onan really struck dead by God for masturbating?

Historically, Onan in Genesis 38 has been accused of masturbation, and for this supposed transgression was struck dead. The term Onanism (or in German Onanie) is still used to describe this practice. ...
Affable Geek's user avatar
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Did Adam and Eve's Progeny Commit Incest? [closed]

I have a multi-part question. Did Adam and Eve's Progeny Commit Incest? Genesis, Chapter 4 tells us about Cain and Abel. Genesis, Chapter 5 tells us about Seth and "other sons and daughters". I ...
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Was the flood of Noah global or local? [closed]

Genesis 7 and 8 describes the flood of Noah, and says in part: 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, ...
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When was Abraham alive?

It is generally accepted that Abraham lived 175 years. However, the dates when he lived are rather fuzzy and hotly debated. When was he alive and what reasons would you give for your conclusion? ...
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Where did Noah find polar bears and penguins in Palestine, according to those who accept a global flood?

According to Christians who accept a literal global flood, how could animals accustomed to thriving in extreme temperatures be found in a common place for preservation aboard the ark?
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Why do OEC discount the literal interpretation of the book of Genesis?

This is to rephrase the question Are scientific findings a test to Christians' Faith? It seems to me that, without any outside interference, the Bible itself gives no suggestion that the Book of ...
capitalaudience.com's user avatar
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Why did God accept Abel's offering and not Cain's?

In Genesis 4, we read the following account of Cain and Abel: So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part also ...
Narnian's user avatar
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In Theistic Evolution when do the genealogies in Genesis become real?

In Genesis there is the genealogy of Adam to Noah, then the account of the flood. After that is the genealogy of Noah to Abraham. The accounts of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob's sons then follow. ...
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In Theistic Evolution, when did the alleged evolutionary animal/ape/man become accountable for his sins?

One answer to this previous question asks, One of the problems I have with theistic evolution is: when did this alleged evolutinary animal/ape/man become accountable for his sins? [sic] It would ...
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What is the case for interpreting the Genesis creation account literally?

I think we can all agree that the entire Bible is not meant to be taken literally. Consider the Song of Solomon (what would his lover look like if we take it literally?) or the book of Revelation. ...
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How did Noah preserve fresh water fish?

How did Noah prevent fresh water fish from dying when salt water inundated inland waterways during the claimed floods? I'm not sure which Christian doctrines take the literalist position but what is ...
rpeg's user avatar
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What is the specific meaning of "die" in Genesis 2? [closed]

Genesis 2:16-17 (NIV): 16And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you ...
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What is the support for saying Jesus believed Genesis was a literal account of creation?

Ken Ham has said "I take Genesis as literal history, as Jesus did." I've also seen this stated other places, but haven't seen anything that Jesus said which backs up this train of thought. What is ...
msmucker0527's user avatar
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Why are Adam and Eve considered married?

It seems fairly common for Christians to refer to Adam and Eve has being husband and wife. In particular, when (in my experience, evangelical) Christians are discussing questions of sex and marriage, ...
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Where did the notion that Adam and Eve ate an APPLE come from?

Contrary to popular belief no mention of the fruit being an apple can be found in the Book of Genesis. Jewish commentaries recorded in the Midrash Rabbah speculate that the tree might have been a ...
Leon Conrad's user avatar
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3 answers
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What is the significance of "seventy times seven"?

Twice in the bible, God makes reference to "seventy times seven" (or "seventy-seven times"). Once in Genesis 4:24 (dealing with Cain's punishment for his murder of Abel), and the other in Matthew 18:...
RCIX's user avatar
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16 votes
8 answers
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Why did God make garments of skin for Adam and Eve when they had already made clothing for themselves? [closed]

Immediately after Adam and Eve sinned, we are told that they made clothing for themselves. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together ...
Narnian's user avatar
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What was the problem at Babel?

In the Genesis account of the tower of Babel a bunch of guys got together to build a really tall tower somewhere in the desert. God gets wind of the affair but it doesn't sit well: Genesis 11:5–6 (...
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Who wrote the book of Genesis? (Overview)

I've heard reference in other questions on this site that seem to indicate a belief that Genesis was written by "the same man." What do we actually know about wrote Genesis (whether a single, or ...
Flimzy's user avatar
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Why did God create such complexity in man? [closed]

During Creation, God created man: Genesis 2:7 KJV And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Why did ...
monba's user avatar
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Why did God change Jacob's name to Israel?

I am reading the book of Genesis, and I have noticed that God changes certain people's names, such as Abram to Abraham and Jacob to Israel. Why does he change their names? What does it symbolize? ...
user5513's user avatar
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8 answers
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How did Cain and Abel know to offer sacrifices before the Law of Moses?

Genesis 4 has always bothered me. The story of God accepting Abel's sacrifice and not Cain's has led me to wonder: How did they even know to sacrifice? Was this practice started by Adam? Or did God ...
Stainsor's user avatar
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6 answers
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Was the cave of Abraham in Shechem or Hebron?

Genesis 23:17–20 says: So Ephron’s field in Machpelah near Mamre—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded to Abraham as his property in the ...
TheOne's user avatar
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5 answers
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What is the significance of the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden? [closed]

If Adam and Eve were created perfect and without death (immortal), then what is the significance and purpose of the Tree of Life in the middle of the Garden of Eden?
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15 votes
5 answers
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Was Enoch sinless? [closed]

I find this wording interesting in Genesis 5:24 (NIV) (my emphasis) Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. To me, this means God took Enoch to heaven. So,...
Derek Downey's user avatar
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14 answers
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Why does God command us to have children? [closed]

Genesis 1:28 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV) 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Have many children. Fill the earth and take control of it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in ...
Greg McNulty's user avatar
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Was the marriage between Abraham and Sarah incestuous?

In the comments to this answer to the question of why Abraham lied to Pharaoh about his relationship with Sarah, the following question which I am about to pose, appeared: Was the marriage between ...
Shathur's user avatar
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In which region of earth is the Garden of Eden located?

Genesis 2:15(NIV) The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. I'm curious to know, now, in which which country is the Garden of Eden located? (...
Vijin Paulraj's user avatar
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4 answers
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In Mormonism, how is the doctrine of Adam & Eve inability to have children prior to the Fall explained?

Inspired by this answer to a previous question, in which the answerer stated: "For example, the Book of Mormon adds the belief that Adam and Eve could not have children before the Fall." ...
warren's user avatar
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15 votes
6 answers
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Are there two different creation accounts in the bible? [closed]

There are two seemingly contradictory accounts of creation in the Bible. The first is in Genesis 1:1-2:3. The second is in Genesis 2:4-25. Why are there differences in the accounts?
rpeg's user avatar
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Why did God make it a sin to eat an apple?

Eating a fruit* is not even a real wicked deed like killing somebody or something. Why did this whole sin thing get started with something so innocuous that by today's standard it wouldn't even be ...
Caleb's user avatar
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14 votes
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Why did God need to plant the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden in the first place? [closed]

Why did God need to plant the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden in the first place? I mean Mormons say that God was in fact having a hidden desire for Adam and Eve to disobey ...
brilliant's user avatar
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14 votes
2 answers
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Reason for drawing water at unusual time

John 4:5-8 New Living Translation (NLT) 5: Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6: Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the ...
Phonics The Hedgehog's user avatar
14 votes
3 answers
1k views

How do local flood proponents explain God's promises to never do it again?

Some Christians believe that Noah's Flood was a local event, and that the author of the Flood narrative never intended it to be understood as global in scope. My question is, how then would we explain ...
Jas 3.1's user avatar
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Why did Adam claim he was "naked" before God when he and Eve had clothed themselves with fig leaves?

After sinning, Adam and Eve "sewed fig leaves together" and made clothing for themselves. However, when God comes into the garden and calls to Adam, Adam responds by claiming that he was afraid and ...
Narnian's user avatar
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14 votes
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What evidence is there that the Chinese script reflects a knowledge of Genesis 1-11?

It has been asserted that the author of the Chinese alphabet could very well been knowledgeable of the accounts in Genesis 1-11--those that occurred prior to the division of peoples and languages at ...
Narnian's user avatar
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13 votes
4 answers
10k views

What does it mean that someone managed to live beyond 120 years? [duplicate]

God Himself limited a human's lifespan to 120 years, as told in the following verse: Genesis 6:3 (NLT) 3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they ...
El'endia Starman's user avatar
13 votes
7 answers
13k views

What is the interpretation of the bow in the cloud after the Flood?

After the Flood abates, God reassures Noah that it was a one time event: Genesis 9:13 (ESV) I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. The ...
Rex Kerr's user avatar
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What is the Biblical Basis of a "water canopy", and is there scientific evidence to support it?

Some Creationists have asserted that in the pre-flood world that there may have been some sort of water vapor canopy that perhaps doubled the air pressure and caused things to be much healthier than ...
Narnian's user avatar
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