Questions tagged [genesis]
Genesis is the first book of the Old Testament, a narrative starting with creation.
463 questions
9
votes
5
answers
35k
views
Why did God create the Heavens and the Earth? [closed]
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Why ?
Does the Bible state a reason anywhere?
- 4,044
8
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Where do Catholics believe the historical narrative of the Bible begins?
I heard on the Relevant Radio recently that the Genesis account of the deluge is prehistorical. Meaning, it wasn't really recorded in histories the way other more specific accounts of historical ...
- 34.2k
1
vote
3
answers
4k
views
What did the carnivores/predators eat on the Ark? [closed]
It's something that has stumped me since I was a kid:
What did the carnivores/predators eat on the Ark?
Did Noah also round up sufficient vegetation to feed all of the animals? Or did they somehow ...
- 2,164
7
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Did Adam and Eve understand death? What did death mean to them? [closed]
This answer says that the serpent convinced Eve to eat the apple to avoid death by saying "surely not die".
Since they are described as the first people that existed, what could death mean to them?
- 197
-5
votes
1
answer
211
views
How much of Genesis 2 *actually* occurred? [closed]
Building on this question...
How much of Genesis 2 actually occurred?
And how do historians/biblical scholars know that it occurred?
- 2,164
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 ...
- 12.5k
13
votes
6
answers
4k
views
How we do we know that Joseph wasn't Hyksos?
According to the ancient historian, Mantheo, the fifteenth dynasty of Egypt were a people known as the Hyksos, literally the "rulers of foreign countries" or, as sometimes been translated "the ...
- 64.2k
20
votes
3
answers
7k
views
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 ...
- 2,235
4
votes
1
answer
139k
views
How did the world get populated according to Bible?
Adam and Eve had only three sons (Cain, Abel, and Seth), but no daughters: how did the world get populated?
- 869
4
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Why was Tamar more righteous than Judah?
Genesis 38 tells the story of Judah and Tamar. At first Tamar was married to Er (Judah's firstborn son) but he was wicked and killed by the Lord v6-7. So Judah tells Tamar to wait until his youngest ...
- 1,016
8
votes
4
answers
839
views
Genesis 3, original sin and mortality
I'm currently doing some research for a Church project and next week we are covering creation. While looking at creation, I came across an interesting tidbit that I've never actually thought about ...
- 479
10
votes
3
answers
42k
views
Jacob and Esau: what is this story all about? [closed]
This is how I see the story of Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25 and 26):
They are two very different twins who seem to fight a lot. Esau goes hunting and he is starving when he gets back. He asks Jacob for ...
- 1,016
15
votes
9
answers
128k
views
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 ...
- 1,921
9
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Are there other biblical references where angels are disguised as humans? [closed]
I was reading Genesis 19: Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed and in the first verse, two angels are greeted by Lot as they arrive at the gates of Sodom. But instead of the "do not be afraid" speech that ...
- 1,016
22
votes
4
answers
67k
views
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.
...
- 64.2k
6
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Is there biblical evidence of "cavemen"? [closed]
Do old earth Christians believe that there were cavemen in early times? This is not to say people who lived in caves but more as what is pictured in early evolution.
I hope I'm wording this correctly ...
- 267
22
votes
3
answers
13k
views
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 ...
- 2,164
1
vote
3
answers
21k
views
Which came first, man or animal? [duplicate]
Genesis 1:24-27 states that humans were created after the other animals, and the first man and woman were created simultaneously.
1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature ...
- 153
0
votes
4
answers
2k
views
How do Creationist Christians respond to the evidence for Evolution? [closed]
This is a question for people who believe in the creation.
One point considered a serious proof of evolution is the scientific method of carbon dating. As per this method, humans haven't existed from ...
- 489
6
votes
2
answers
3k
views
What is the significance of verb choices in Genesis 1?
I was surprised recently when I read Genesis 1 again, and noticed how inactive God is during the creation process. I mean that from a literary standpoint, not a literal one... bear with me. :)
Below ...
- 22.3k
12
votes
2
answers
8k
views
What is the significance of the three distinct aspects of the temptation of Eve in the garden? [closed]
Genesis 3 indicates that there were three distinct aspects of the temptation of Eve:
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was
a delight to the eyes, and that the ...
- 64.2k
28
votes
9
answers
135k
views
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, ...
- 1,921
29
votes
9
answers
62k
views
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 ...
- 299
14
votes
4
answers
20k
views
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 ...
- 64.2k
26
votes
6
answers
103k
views
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 ...
- 34.2k
7
votes
3
answers
7k
views
What does Revelation 6:12 mean? [closed]
I've always thought that in Revelation 6:12 where it says:
I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair...
... that ...
- 482
13
votes
2
answers
6k
views
Who is Lillith?
The character Lilith, while not mentioned in the Bible, turns up in Christian mythology as Adam’s first wife. (She’s mentioned, for example, in CS Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.) Where ...
- 4,597
4
votes
4
answers
3k
views
How could Adam and Eve have known not to eat from the Tree of Good and Evil? [closed]
How could Adam and Eve have known not to eat from the Tree of Good and Evil? As it was said that Adam and Eve did not know right from wrong.
Genesis 3:22:
And the LORD God said, "The man has now ...
- 869
14
votes
6
answers
9k
views
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 ...
- 10.1k
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 ...
- 2,267
22
votes
5
answers
83k
views
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?
...
- 7,035
6
votes
3
answers
8k
views
Universe made of water?
Genesis 1:1-2 accounts what was before God gave form to the Earth, and that is water:
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was ...
- 455
0
votes
1
answer
6k
views
Were Adam and Eve the first? [closed]
Question:
Reading Genesis, there seem to be quite a few references to some 'other' humans. How do scholars interpret those passages (and more importantly, why do they interpret them a certain way)? ...
- 455
30
votes
5
answers
29k
views
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,...
20
votes
4
answers
2k
views
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.
...
- 22.3k
21
votes
6
answers
1k
views
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 ...
- 13.5k
8
votes
2
answers
520
views
Does Genesis 3 tell of a theophany? [closed]
Genesis 3:8-9 (NLT)
8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. 9 ...
- 12.5k
15
votes
5
answers
12k
views
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,...
- 2,897
2
votes
2
answers
281
views
Adam and Eve versus ecology [closed]
Estimates vary widely of the minimum viable population for humans to stably reproduce without being subject to significant detrimental effects of inbreeding. Minimum estimates (e.g., for space ...
- 304
14
votes
7
answers
6k
views
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 ...
- 37.5k
9
votes
1
answer
346
views
What is the most basic Biblical understanding of the nature of the firmament?
Going back to original Hebrew texts where possible, what is the most basic understanding of the firmament (the substance/realm/space that God supposedly stuck between heaven from earth)? I've read a ...
- 1,608
17
votes
3
answers
50k
views
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:...
- 1,002
21
votes
8
answers
26k
views
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?
- 275
16
votes
5
answers
26k
views
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?
user32
20
votes
7
answers
12k
views
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 ...
- 22.3k
2
votes
1
answer
672
views
What are the common arguments against theistic evolution? [closed]
What are the common arguments from Christians against the idea that God used evolution to create Earth over millions of years? This is not a place to argue. I'm interested in a rundown of the common ...
- 1,002
7
votes
5
answers
9k
views
Did Adam and Eve end up getting saved? [closed]
After answering a recent question, it occurred to me to ask: Is there any biblical evidence regarding whether Adam and Eve have been redeemed in some fashion (and are thus going to Heaven/the New ...
- 1,002
9
votes
4
answers
3k
views
How could Cain have built Enoch? [closed]
God cursed Cain to be an eternal wanderer:
Genesis 4:12 King James Version
When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee
her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt ...
50
votes
8
answers
8k
views
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 ...
- 2,168
8
votes
1
answer
649
views
Why was the mark of Cain necessary? [closed]
In Genesis 4:14-15 (NRSV) it says:
14 I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me.’ 15 Then the Lord said to him, ‘Not so! Whoever kills Cain will suffer ...
- 704