Chapter 1

1:1-2:3 - The first of two contradictory creation accounts. Compare with Gen.2:4-25 in which the order of events is entirely different.

The Genesis 1 account also conflicts with the order of events that are known to science. In this account the earth is created before light and stars, birds and whales before reptiles and insects, and flowering plants before any animals. From science, we know the true order of events was just the opposite.

* Genesis 1 and 2 are complementary accounts of creation.  Genesis 1 is a detailed account of the entire creation week.  Genesis 2 is a more detailed account of creation on the 6th day.  Further, the Hebrew word for "formed" in Genesis 2:19 could also be translated "had formed."  This clarifies the assertion of two, contradictory creation accounts.

* Science has not proven any order of events nor has science proven how matter was created.  The Bible gives the only logical explanation for the creation of matter.

1:3-5 - God creates light and separates light from darkness, and day from night, on the first day. Yet he didn't make the light producing objects (the sun and the stars) until the fourth day (1:14-19).

* This is correct, but poses no problem.  The God who created all things was the light.  This is further evidenced in Revelation, where God will be the light (Revelation 21:23 and 22:5).

1:6-8 - God spends one-sixth of his entire creative effort (the second day) working on a solid firmament. This strange structure, which God calls heaven, is intended to separate the higher waters from the lower waters. This firmament, if it existed, would have been quite an obstacle to our space program.

* The word firmament is used to designate the atmosphere.  The higher waters were released with the Great Flood (Genesis 7:11).

1:11 - In chapter 1 plants are created on the third day before humans are created on the sixth day. But in chapter 2 the order is reversed. (2:4-7)

Plants are made on the third day before there was a sun to drive their photosynthetic processes (1:14-19).

* The plants in 1:11 were plants in the Garden of Eden.  The plants in 2:5 and 6 are "of the field."  These plants were clearly different and even required a human to tend to them.

* God was the light (see above).

1:14 - In an apparent endorsement of astrology, God places the sun, moon, and stars in the firmament so that they can be used "for signs". This, of course, is exactly what astrologers do: read "the signs" in the Zodiac in an effort to predict what will happen on Earth.

* Genesis 1:14 reads, "Then God said, 'Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years;'" The stars were primarily for a calendar system. The "signs" in the stars were signs that winter was coming, spring had ended, summertime was coming, etc. There is no allusion to astrology. Astrology involves manipulating God by predicting things without His supervision or blessing.

1:16 - God makes two lights: "the greater light [the sun] to rule the day, and the lesser light [the moon] to rule the night." But if God made the moon to "rule the night", then why does it spend half of its time moving through the daytime sky? "He made the stars also." God spends a day making light (before making the stars) and separating light from darkness; then, at the end of a hard day's work, and almost as an afterthought, he makes the trillions of stars.

* Before there were city lights and such, the moon was a bright light in the nighttime sky.  It spends half of its time moving through the daytime sky because it revolves around the Earth.  It would be a larger, scientific miracle if the moon stood still and did not revolve around the Earth.  Plus, this would cause other problems.

* The stars were not an afterthought.  One reason God made the stars is so we could have a calendar system.

1:17 - "And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth." Really? Then why are only a tiny fraction of stars visible from earth? Under the best conditions, no more than five thousand stars are visible from earth with the unaided eye, yet there are hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy and a hundred billion or so galaxies. Yet this verse says that God put the stars in the firmament "to give light" to the earth.

* The light was given by the stars for our calendar system (and there are several other reasons for starlight).  Only a tiny fraction of the existing stars are visible from Earth because the rest are too far away to see.

1:20-21, 2:19 - From what were the fowls created?

* Fowls were created out of the ground.  This is stated in Genesis 2:19 and is not contradicted. 

* Genesis 1:20 doesn't indicate that God made the fowls from the water.  It indicates He made the water animals, then He made the fowls of the air.

1:24 - In verse 11, God "let the earth bring forth" the plants. Now he has the earth "bring forth" the animals as well. So maybe the creationists have it all wrong. Maybe God created livings things through the process of evolution.

* Verse 25 indicates exactly how God made these things.  It reads, "And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good."  They were all made "according to its kind," so they didn't evolve into existence.

1:25-26 - In the first creation story, God makes humans (male and female) after the other animals; in the second, God makes a man first, then the other animals, and then a woman.

* Genesis one is the entire six-day creation.  Genesis two is an overview, with a specific look at the sixth day of creation.  This has been mentioned above.

1:26 - The use of the plural (us, our) implies that there is more than one god, contrary to many monotheistic biblical statements.

* God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit constitute the trinity (also called the triune God).  There is one God in three persons.  This is the earliest reference to the trinity.

1:27 - When was Eve created? At the same time as Adam.

* God created Adam, then Eve in the same day.  This happened after the animals were created.

1:28 - God commands us to "be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over ... every living thing that moveth upon the earth." This verse is used to justify Christian opposition to birth control, to concern for the environment, and to animal rights. The earth was made for humans, and they can do as they damn well please with it.

* I've never heard this verse used in defense of the opposition to birth control, abusing the earth or the animals in it.  Contrarily, this verse is used to indicate that we are responsible for how we treat God's creation.  We have been put in charge of it and we must take care of it.

1:29 - God tells Adam that he may eat from "every tree," but in 2:17 he contradicts himself by saying there is one tree that he may not eat from.

* There are two reasons why this isn't a contradiction.  First, God tells Adam that he may eat from every "seed bearing tree."  Did the forbidden tree have seeds?  Next, these two statements from God are spoken and written in the same way a father tells a child that they can do various things, but they can't do one thing in particular.

Is it okay to eat meat?

* At this point, God did not give Adam permission to eat meat.

1:30 - All animals were originally herbivores. Tapeworms, vampire bats, mosquitoes, and barracudas -- all were strict vegetarians, as they were created by God. But, of course, we now know that there were carnivorous animals millions of years before humans existed.

* The evolution of species, from microbe to man, is an unproven theory primarily believed by atheistic evolutionists.  Therefore, we do not "know" that things took millions of years to evolve.  Radiometric dating, evolutionary bias and changing scientific theories can't be assumed to be correct and elevated over the Word of God.  Evolutionary science is on the same level as forensic science, creation science, etc.  Nobody living can use the scientific method to determine anything about the fossils that are dig out of the ground.  All we can tell is that something died.  To say that we "know" more is a lie.

1:31- In Genesis 1 the entire creation takes 6 days, but we know from modern science that the universe is at least 15 billion years old.

* Modern science has not proven this number.  Incidentally, secular scientists cannot agree on a date of the universe.  God could easily make all things in 6 days.

Chapter 2

2:4-25 - The second creation account. Notice that the order of creation is entirely different from the account given in 1:1-2:3.

* This isn't a different creation account.  This is an elaboration of the sixth day of creation.

2:4-7 - In chapter 1 plants are created on the third day before humans are created on the sixth day. But in chapter 2 the order is reversed. (1:11-13, 27-31)

* Chapter two isn't a chronology of events.  It is an overview of the creation week and an emphasis on the sixth day of creation.

* God had already created fully grown plants on the third day.  The phrases "in the field" and "before any herb of the field had grown" should be noted.  God created plants, shown in Genesis 1, that were fully grown - they weren't seedlings or seeds.  In Genesis 2:5, plants and herbs of the field, that required human help, had not grown, yet.  This verse is clearly talking about a different area and type of vegetation.

2:7, 18-22 - In the first creation story, God makes humans (male and female) after the other animals; in the second, God makes a man first, then the other animals, and then a woman.  

But humans were not created instantaneously from dust and breath as in the Gen.2:7, but evolved over millions of years from simpler life forms.

* The Hebrew word for "formed" could also be translated "had formed."  "God had formed man from the dust of the ground."  The second chapter of Genesis isn't a chronology of events.  It is a highlighting of certain events from the creation week.

* The evolution of species has not been proven.  Even Charles Darwin said, "Millions of intermediary fossils need to be found in order for my theory of the evolution of species to have legitimacy" (paraphrase).  This was spoken in the 1800's and in 2002, we still haven't found anywhere close to this number of fossils that could be even remotely considered "intermediary fossils."  Once again, even from the few, potential, intermediary fossils, the only thing scientists can tell is that the animal died - not that it had kids and surely not that its descendants were of a different species.

2:17 - In verse 1:29 God told Adam that he could eat from "every tree," but now he changes his mind and tells him not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

God says that if Adam eats from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, then the day that he does so, he will die. But later Adam eats the forbidden fruit (3:6) and yet lives for another 930 years (5:5).

* See above.  This is nothing more than a father telling his child, "You may have all of these things, but not this one thing."

* The death Adam suffered was separation from God and imputed sin to his descendants.  This Hebrew word for death can be used figuratively, so literal death was not the punishment for his sin.

2:18 - God creates a woman to keep Adam company saying; "It is not good that man should be alone." Paul offers a dissenting opinion in 1 Cor.7:1.

* 1 Corinthians 7:1 reads, "It is good for a man to avoid touching a woman."  Paul makes it clear that it is not easy to choose a life of chastity, but if one can bear it and devote his or her life to God, then one could do it.  However, marriage was never forbidden or even frowned upon by Paul or any other Bible writer.

2:18-22 - God makes the animals and parades them before Adam to see if any would strike his fancy. But none seem to have what it takes to please him. (Although he was tempted to go for the sheep.) Note that in these verses, God makes the animals after making Adam, whereas in the first creation story (1:25-27) the order is reversed. After making the animals, God has Adam name them all. The naming of several million species must have kept Adam busy for a while.

But we know that the animals were not created instantaneously from the ground, but rather that they evolved over millions of years. And we still don't have names for all of them. Ten thousand new species of insects are discovered and named each year.

* God did not show Adam the animals for him to choose a bride.

* Adam named the animals that were before him.  We surely didn't have all of the "species" of animals that we have, today.  Incidentally, scientists cannot agree on where the species line is drawn.  At any rate, Adam named the animals that were before him; which surely didn't include any of the genetically challenged offspring that we see, today.

* We surely do not know that animals evolved.  There are more gaps in this theory than there are in Swiss cheese.  This is precisely why the theory of punctuated equilibrium was suggested (large jumps from one kind to another).  The fossils and other evidence simply don't support the evolution of species.

* The scriptures say that Adam named the "beasts of the field and the birds of the air."  He did not necessarily name the insects and the beasts of the sea.

2:20-22 - God fashions a woman out of one of Adam's ribs. This was necessary since Adam couldn't find a "help meet" in any of the animals that God made for him.

* This is an inappropriate suggestion.

2:20-22 - When was Eve created? After Adam and all the animals were created.

* God created Adam, then Eve in the same day.  This happened after the animals were created.  The only difference in chapter 2 is there are more details regarding the creation of Eve.

Chapter 3

3:1-5 - A clever serpent (God's most "subtil beast") talks to Eve about trees, death, and the knowledge of good and evil. He persuades her to eat the forbidden fruit. She takes the first bite and gets the full blame (3:12, 16).

* This is what the scriptures say.

3:6 - In 2:17 God said that if Adam eats from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, then the day that he does so, he will die. But in this verse Adam eats the forbidden fruit and yet lives for another 930 years (5:5).

* This was answered above.

3:8-11 - God walks and talks (to himself?) in the garden, and plays a little hide and seek with Adam and Eve. God's inability to find Adam shows that, contrary to many Bible passages, he is neither omnipresent nor omniscient.

* God's question, "Where are you?" was a rhetorical question.  God had just created all things, so He surely knew where Adam and Eve were.  This question has rang through the ages, to all people and generations, asking them a rhetorical question about their spiritual life, "Where are you?"

3:12-13 - Adam blames Eve and Eve blames the serpent.

* This typifies human thinking - passing the blame.  One of the authenticators of the Bible is the honest evaluation of its characters.  They were not perfect people and the scriptures attest to this.  If a human hand wrote the Bible, it surely would have glorified its characters to the point where the account of their mistakes were unwritten, hidden and lost.

3:14 - God curses the serpent. From now on the serpent will crawl on his belly and eat dust. One wonders how he got around before -- by hopping on his tail, perhaps? But snakes don't eat dust, do they?

* This passage doesn't necessarily say the serpent became a snake.  This serpent was likely a unique animal that the Devil left after this incident.  Furthermore, if this serpent literally ate dust, it is likely that this is an extinct species.  One of the fossils that evolutionists use to promote the evolution of species is likely this extinct animal (which did not evolve any further) or its offspring (if it had any).

3:16 - God punishes Eve, and all women after her, with the pains of childbirth and subjection to men.

* Sin has its consequences.  Some sins and punishments are generational and passed to descendants.  Incidentally, women are to submit to their husbands and their husbands are to submit to them and love them like Christ loves His people.  This is not a one-way submission for the woman (1 Peter 5:5 and Ephesians 5:25).

3:17 - Adam is also punished, although less severely. He now will have to work for a living because he "hearkened unto the voice" of his wife.

* Adam knowingly sinned and reaped the consequences.

3:17-18 - But God is not done cursing yet. He curses the ground and causes thorns and thistles to grow.

* The Creator of all things has the power and right to do this.

3:20 - Is everyone descended from Adam and Eve?

* Yes, every human is a descendant of Adam and Eve.

* Hebrews 7:3 refers to "Melchizedek."  This mysterious person was a type of Christ and many believe He was a theophany - an Old Testament appearance of Jesus Christ.

3:21 - God kills some animals and makes some skin coats for Adam and Eve.

* This is true.  This is an example of the animal sacrifice that was required for the forgiveness of sins.  The fig leaf garments that they had made were inappropriate (this is typical of the person who tries to be good on their own).  This is also a precursor for the "covering" or atoning that Jesus Christ would perform on the cross.  "Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins."

3:22 - God expels Adam and Eve from the garden before they get a chance to eat from that other tree -- the tree of life. God knows that if they do that, they well become "like one of us" and live forever. A spooky thought indeed for an insecure god. Notice that God refers to himself (themselves?) in the first person plural, suggesting, contrary to many other Bible verses, that there are several gods.

Notice that although God told Adam not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (2:16-17), he never told him not to eat from the Tree of Life. God said that Adam would die the day that he ate from the forbidden tree (2:17). Well, Adam ate from that tree (3:6), so why was God worried that Adam might eat from that other tree (the Tree of Life) and live forever.

* God removed Adam and Eve from the Garden because they had chosen to disobey Him.  Their intimacy was compromised because of their poor decisions.

* Since there is a trinity, then God can refer to Himself in either the plural or the singular.

* God certainly wasn't worried about Adam doing something like eating from the Tree of Life.  This was a real situation, but there is a symbolism here that shouldn't be missed.  Adam and Eve's sin cost them their intimacy with God.  Their sin required a punishment and God chose this punishment for them.

3:24 - Where are the cherubims, flaming sword moving back and forth, and the tree of life? Surely if they existed, we would have found them.

* These were removed at the Great Flood (if not before).

Chapter 4

4:1 - "And Adam knew his wife; and she conceived." This is the first sexual intercourse mentioned in the Bible. Of course it resulted in a baby boy.

* This isn't a contradiction or a problem.

4:3-5 - God likes Abel's dead animals better than Cain's fruits and vegetables. Why? Well, no reason is given, but it probably has something to do with the amount of pain, blood, and gore involved.

* Adam and Eve knew the correct sacrifice that God required.  Cain and Abel knew it, too.  This is precisely why Abel was a shepherd before they could eat meat.  

* Cain's rejection of God's requirement was deliberate.  This is further seen in his reaction to God's anger.  Cain was not repentant, he did not care what God wanted and his sacrifice was not unlike Adam and Eve's effort to clothe themselves.  It was their fleshly and human attempt to do what they thought was right and best, despite what God wanted.

4:4 - This verse tells us that God "had respect unto Abel," but this contradicts many Bible passages that claim that God doesn't respect anyone.

* God is not a respect of persons - which means earthly titles or wealth do not impress Him.  Abel's obedience pleased God.

4:12 - As a punishment for killing Abel, God says Cain will be "a fugitive and a vagabond." Yet in just a few verses (4:16-17) Cain will settle down, marry, have a son, and build a city. This is not the activity one would expect from a fugitive and a vagabond.

* After this point, very little is said about Cain.  The time between his punishment and his marriage is unknown.  An argument from silence is a very weak argument.

4:14 - Cain is worried after killing Abel and says, "Every one who finds me shall slay me." This is a strange concern since there were only two other humans alive at the time -- his parents!

* Adam and Eve lived for hundreds of years.  They surely had other children.  Their other children also had children.

4:15 - But God is worried, too. He says whoever kills Cain will be punished sevenfold (whatever that means). Just to make sure, though, God puts a mark on Cain so no one will kill him. Good idea. But it contradicts the law given in Gen.9:6 that says whoever kills shall be killed.

* There are several things at work here.  First, a punishment was pronounced on whomever would kill Cain.  Next, God protects Cain.  In Genesis 9:6, God gives a command to humans that a person should be put to death if they murder another human.  Genesis 9:6 reads, "Whomever sheds mans blood, by man his blood should be shed."  As we will see all throughout the Bible, simply because God commands people to do something, it doesn't mean they will do it.  Nonetheless, this isn't a contradiction.

4:16 - "And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD." So I guess it is possible to hide from God, which means that God doesn't know everything.

* This Hebrew word for "presence" can be used figuratively.  Cain left the blessings of God's intimacy.  This is not unlike Adam and Eve's situation when they were expelled from the Garden of Eden.

4:17 - "And Cain knew his wife." That's nice, but where the heck did she come from? The Bible doesn't mention any of Cain's sisters. Well, maybe he married his mom, or maybe God pulled another creation over in the next county. In any case, Cain and the mysterious Mrs. Cain have a son (another blue cigar!). His name is Enoch and he builds a city (population 3).

* Adam and Eve had numerous children in their very long lives.  These children also had children.  Cain married a sister or another relative.  Incidentally, the pure gene pool did not mind his intermarriage and it had not yet been forbidden by God.

4:18 - Who was Methuselah's father?

*  Methuselah isn't mentioned in this passage of scripture.  Enoch was Methuselah's father (Genesis 5:22, 1 Chronicles 1:3, Luke 3:37).

4:19, 23 - Lamech is the first of a long line of biblical men with more than one wife. It seems that God approves of such marriages.

* Simply because Lamech took more than one wife, this doesn't not mean that God approved.  There are different literary devices in the Bible.  Some of it is poetry, some is historical narrative, etc.  It is not simply a list of commands, it is also an account of human behavior.

4:23-24 - Lamech kills a man and claims that since Cain's murderer would be punished sevenfold, whoever murders him will be punished seventy-seven fold. That sounds fair.

* Once again, simply because his actions and words were written in the Bible, this does not mean his murder and his curse were justified.

4:25 - "And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son." Way to go Adam!

* This isn't a contradiction or problem.

Chapter 5

5:2 - God created a man and a woman, and he "called their name Adam." So the woman's name was Adam, too!

* Even in today's culture, we can see how the man's name is preferred.  When a couple get married, the woman takes his name.

5:3-18 - Was Enoch the sixth or the seventh from Adam?

* In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul refers to the first Adam and the second Adam. The second Adam refers to Jesus Christ; the eternal Christ and second person of the Godhead. Therefore, since we see that Enoch is the sixth from the earthly Adam, we know that he was seventh from the heavenly, eternal Adam: Jesus Christ.

5:4 - Finally, sometime in the next 800 years, Adam begat some daughters. These nameless ones are the first (and nearly the last) girls to be born in the Bible. Maybe the rest of the women were made from male ribs.

* The Bible doesn't record every name or event.  This doesn't necessarily make extra-biblical people and events unimportant.

5:5 - Adam finally dies -- 930 years after eating from the tree of knowledge, contrary to God's false prophecy that Adam would die the day that he ate the forbidden fruit (2:17).

The first men had incredibly long lifespans.
5:5 - Adam 930
5:8 - Seth 912
5:11 - Enos 905
5:14 - Cainan 910
5:17 - Mahalaleel 895
5:20 - Jared 962
5:23 - Enoch 365 (didn't die; God just "took" him)
5:27 - Methusalah 969 (world record holder)
5:31 - Lamech 777 (Was his life shortened because he took two wives?) 4:19
9:29 - Noah 950

* The ages of these people cannot be (and are not) proven to be false.  Before the Great Flood, people lived much longer.  This was due, in part, to the greenhouse effect that encompassed the Earth (from the water canopy, which blocked radiation).  There is also evidence that suggests there was more oxygen to breathe (causing an effect we see in hydroponics and hyper baric chambers). 

5:21 - Who was Methuselah's father?

*  Methuselah isn't mentioned in this passage of scripture.  Enoch was Methuselah's father (Genesis 5:22, 1 Chronicles 1:3, Luke 3:37).

5:24 - Enoch ascends into heaven, contradicting Jn.3:13 which says, "no man hath ascended up to heaven."

* This verse says "God took him."  Therefore, Enoch did not ascend to Heaven (which implies he floated to Heaven by means of his own will).  He was "assumed" or "raptured."  The Hebrew word "taken" means "seized" and "taken up."

Chapter 6

6:2, 4 - Do angels have sex? Yes, angels love sex (especially with pretty women).

* The "sons of God" is a phrase that refers to the Nephilim (the fallen angels).  This behavior was forbidden and condemned.  In fact, this was a primary reason for the great flood.

6:2-4 - "The sons of God saw the daughters of men ...." But according to John (Jn.3:16, 18, 1 Jn.4:9), God only has one son -- Jesus. Well, maybe they died before Jesus was born. Anyway, the "sons of God" copulated with the "daughters of men," and has sons who became "the mighty men of old, men of renown."

* The "sons of God" refers to fallen angels.  The Hebrew word for "sons" includes a wide variety of figurative uses, such as "nation, grandson, quality, condition, subject," etc.  God is not referring to Jesus Christ or a literal son.

6:3 - Here we are told that the human life span is 120 years, but Ps.90:10 says it is only 70 years, and many people in the Bible lived far beyond either of these limits [for example Abraham's father lived to be 205 (Gen.11:32)].

* This verse never says the human life span is 120 years.  God says "I will not always strive with men, his days will be one hundred and twenty."  God is saying that He will destroy the Earth and all humans, except Noah and his family, in one hundred and twenty years (which He does).

6:4 - "There were giants in the earth in those days." And they had sex with "the daughters of men." Well, I suppose it's good to know that. But why is there no archaeological evidence for the existence of these giants?

* These giants were pre-flood giants.  They were killed in the Great Flood.

6:4 - Did everyone (except for Noah and his family) die in the flood?

* These giants were killed in the flood. These were the Nephilim that were the offspring of demons; resulting in giants.

6:5 - God decides to kill all living things because the human imagination is evil. Later (8:21), after he kills everything, he promises never to do it again because the human imagination is evil. Go figure.

* "Every thought and imagination of the heart was evil, continually" is what Genesis 6:5 says.  In order to give humans comfort and security, God promises not to destroy the Earth with a Great Flood, again.  In Genesis 8:21, God says that "the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth," but He will still not destroy all the Earth with a Great Flood, again.  This is a great synopsis of humanity and the need for redemption.  From the youngest ages, humans have evil thoughts and they need God.

6:6-7 - God "repented ... that he had made man." But elsewhere the Bible tells us that God does not repent.

* This Hebrew word also means "to be sorry."  God did not repent from a sin.  God saw their huge and continual sin and was upset.  In that moment, He was sorry that He had made these people who wanted nothing to do with Him.

6:7, 17 - God is angry. He decides to destroy all humans, beasts, creeping things, fowls, and "all flesh wherein there is breath of life." He plans to drown them all.

* God's judgment was on hold for one hundred and twenty years.  Was this long enough for the sinners to repent?  When they saw Noah building the ark, wasn't this a prime time to believe God and turn from their sins?

6:9 - Noah is called a "just man and perfect," but according to several other Bible passages such a man has never existed. I bet he didn't seem so perfect when he was drunk and naked in front of his sons (9:20-21).

* Genesis 6:9 says, "Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations."  This simply means he loved God and his bloodline had not been contaminated by the "sons of God" that had slept with the human women.  This does not say, mean or imply that Noah was a flawless person or that he would never sin.

6:9 - Has there ever been a just person?

* Yes. There have been some just people.  The apparent confusion lies only in Ecclesiastes 7:20.  However, the writer is stating that there are no perfect people.  In his new "circle of friends," there surely weren't any godly people (and definitely nobody perfect).

6:11-13 - Okay, I'm confused. God was angry because "the earth was filled with violence." But didn't God create the whole bloody system in the first place? Predator and prey, parasite and host -- weren't they all designed by God? Oh, it's true that according to 1:30 God originally intended the animals to be vegetarian. But later (3:18) he changed all that. Still, the violence that angered God was of his own making. So what was he upset about? And how would killing everything help to make the world less violent? Did he think the animals would behave better after he "destroys them with the earth"? I guess God works in mysterious ways.

* God didn't make human violence.  He created the Earth without sin.  It was "very good."  However, sin entered the world through Adam and Eve and every person has continued to sin.  People decided to reject God and fill the Earth with violence.  Therefore, God judged them for their wickedness.

6:14-15 - Noah is told to make an ark that is 450 feet long. The largest wooden ships ever built were just over 300 feet, and they required diagonal iron strapping for support. Even so, they leaked so badly that they had to be pumped constantly. Are we to believe that Noah, with no shipbuilding knowledge and no shipbuilding tradition to rely upon, was able to construct a wooden ship that was longer than any that has been built since?
But not only was the ark too big to be seaworthy, it was far too small to be able to contain the earth's millions of plant and animals species.

* Noah did not need to build a typical ship that would sail in the sea.  He needed to build an ark that would simply float and house his family and the animals.  John Woodmorappe's "Noah's Ark: A Feasibility Study" goes into great detail describing how Noah could have made this ark and how it could have housed all of the animals.

* The millions of plants and animals that we see today are descendants of much more pure plant and animal species (that existed in fewer varieties).  Small offspring were taken into the ark - not large parents.  Lastly, Noah had a very long time to collect all of these animals and get them onto the ark.

* A common fallacy among atheists is to insert the word "species" into Genesis.  In this context, the correct word is "kind" and not "species."  Species is never used in the scriptures.

6:16 - God tells Noah to make one small window (18 inches square) for ventilation.

* This may be correct if your cubit was the same as Noah's cubit.  Cubits were typically measured by the length of one's arm.  Noah was likely a very large man and his cubit was likely much larger than this.  Furthermore, simply because there are no other specific commands for ventilation, this doesn't mean there wasn't any.  There was likely an area under the ark that was indented, causing it to stabilize and causing fresh air to be injected into the boat with each wave or surge.

6:19-20 - Poor Noah must be confused. First God tells him to bring two of "every living thing of all flesh" onto the ark. Later (7:2-3) God says to bring seven pairs of some animals (the "clean beasts" and the fowls).

* This is correct.  This is so Noah could sacrifice some of them (which he did) without ending an entire kind's population.  This was also so they could eat some of them after the Great Flood.

Chapter 7

7:1 - God calls Noah "righteous." but this contradicts several other verses that say there never has been such a person. And he just doesn't seem too darned righteous in 9:20-21. (Where he gets drunk and lies around naked in front of God and everybody.)

* Noah's righteousness was a state of being.  His righteousness was partial and temporary.  If "contradicting" verses were given, they would be explained.

7:2 - "The male and his female ..." Notice that in the Bible female animals are the property of male animals, as women are the property of men.

* In this verse, this is phrase is used to designate that each male animal had an appropriate partner that could produce offspring.  Even though a possessive pronoun is used, it doesn't say that the female animal belonged to the male one and it surely doesn't mention a woman being the property of a man.

7:2-3 - In these verses the "clean beasts" and fowls go into the ark by sevens, but 6:20 and 7:8-9 say that only two of the fowls and "clean beasts" entered the ark.

* Noah was instructed to bring additional clean animals for the post-flood food and sacrifice.

7:4 - God repeats his intention to kill "every living substance ... from off the face of the earth." But why does God kill all the innocent animals? What had they done to deserve his wrath? It seems God never gets his fill of tormenting animals.

* God commanded humans to rule over the animal kingdom.  The animals are subject to humans and the humans are subject to God.  The Creator of all things may end the lives of the animals that He created.

* Next time you fill up your car with gas, think about the animals that were killed in the Great Flood and remember that they are the reason you're able to drive that car (their death and decay made the Earth's crude oil deposits, which are turned into gasoline and many other, useful products).

7:8-9 - Here Noah is explicitly told that both clean and unclean animals are to go into the ark in pairs. This is in direct contradiction with the instructions God gave Noah in 7:2-3.

Whether by twos or by sevens, Noah takes male and female representatives from each species of "every thing that creepeth upon the earth." Now this must have taken some time, along with expert knowledge of taxonomy, genetics, biogeography, and anatomy. How did Noah manage to collect the endemic species from the New World, Australia, Polynesia, and other remote regions entirely unknown to him? How, once he found them, did he transport them back to his Near Eastern home? How could he tell the male and female beetles (there are more than 500,000 species) apart? How did he know how to care for these new and unfamiliar animals? How did he find the space on the ark? How did he manage to find and care for the hundreds of thousands of parasitic species? How did Noah obtain and care for the hundreds of thousands of species of plants? (Plants are ignored in the Genesis account, but the animals wouldn't last long after if the plants died in the flood.) No, wait, don't tell me. A miracle happened. Millions of them.

* Noah was instructed to bring additional clean animals for the post-flood food and sacrifice.

* The Bible never uses the word "species."  The Bible uses the word "kind."  This is different and part of the interpretation problem at hand.

* Undoubtedly, God caused the animals to come to Noah.  This was not a huge miracle since the Earth was in its pre-flood state and didn't contain the vast oceans or freezing poles.  The Earth was relatively flat before the Great Flood.

* The animals that he put on the ark were not like the animals we see, today.  These animals had few genetic defects, therefore they were more hardy and their diets were not as regimented as some of the animals, today.

* The ark was very large and large enough to house all of the types of animal "kinds" that are listed in Genesis.  

* The animals in the New World, Australia and Polynesia were largely absent from those places before the Great Flood.  Their migration occurred after the flood waters receded.

7:11 - God opens the "windows of heaven." He does this every time it rains.

* God is the one who allows rain to fall.  However, the "windows of heaven," in this context, are referring to the water canopy that was mentioned earlier.

7:13-14 - All of the animals boarded the ark "in the selfsame day." Since there were several million species involved, they must have boarded at a rate of at least 100/second. How did poor Noah and his family make sure that the correct number of each species entered through the door and then get them all settled into their proper living quarters so efficiently? I wish the airline companies could do as well!

* Once again, the Bible doesn't use the word "species."  The animals boarded the ark in denominations of their "kinds."  Therefore, there were not millions of species boarding the ark.  The varieties of animals that we see today could have easily varied from the parents of these "kinds" of animals.

7:15 - "And they went ... into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein there is breath of life." This contradicts 7:2-3 where seven pairs of some species entered the ark.

* Noah was instructed to bring additional clean animals for the post-flood food and sacrifice.

7:17 - This verse says the flood lasted for 40 days, but 7:24 and 8:3 say 150 days.

* This verse says the flood lasted forty days.  Genesis 7:24 and Genesis 8:3 say the waters "prevailed on the Earth" one hundred and fifty days.

7:20 - The flood covered the highest mountain tops (Mount Everest?) with fifteen cubits to spare. Where did all the water come from? Where did it all go? Why is there no evidence of such a massive flood in the geological record?

* Before the Great Flood, the Earth was relatively flat.  The water came from the water in the water canopy.  This water is in our oceans, today.  The pre-flood world didn't have these oceans.

* Even evolutionary theories teach that there were numerous local floods throughout the Earth's history.  This is how they explain sea shells and aquatic fossils at the tops of the highest mountains.

7:21-23 - God drowns everything that breathes air. From newborn babies to koala bears -- all creatures great and small, the Lord God drowned them all.

* This is correct.  The Creator God had given people the recipe for righteousness and they didn't care.  He also gave them 150 years to repent (while Noah built the ark and preached to them).  God deemed it time for a fresh start.

7:21-23 - Did everyone (except for Noah and his family) die in the flood?

* Yes, this passage is correct. The only humans that lived were Noah and his family.

7:24 - This verse says the flood lasted for 150 days, but 7:17 says 40 days.

* Genesis 7:17 says the flood lasted forty days.  Genesis 7:24 says the waters "prevailed on the Earth" one hundred and fifty days.

Chapter 8

8:3 - Did the flood last for 40 (7:17) or 150 days?

* Genesis 7:17 says the flood lasted forty days.  Genesis 8:3 says the waters "prevailed on the Earth" one hundred and fifty days.

8:4 - The ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat in the seventh month. But how could this be since the mountain tops weren't visible until the tenth month (8:5)?

* The ark was very large and it was able to rest on the mountains of Ararat without allowing the people in it to see the tops of the mountains.  There are also several factors (besides water) that could have obstructed the tops of the mountains.

8:8-11 - Noah sends a dove out to see if there was any dry land. But the dove returns without finding any. Then, just seven days later, the dove goes out again and returns with an olive leaf. But how could an olive tree survive the flood? And if any seeds happened to survive, they certainly wouldn't germinate and grow leaves within a seven day period.

* The Bible doesn't say the bird plucked the olive leaf from a tree that had grown after the flood waters receded.  This was likely an olive leaf from a dead olive tree that was recently exposed.

8:13 - This verse says the earth was dry on the first day of the month. The next verse (8:14) says it wasn't until the 27th day of the second month.

* Genesis 8:13 says "the surface of the Earth" was dry on the first day of first the month.  Genesis 8:14 says "the earth was dried" on the twenty-seventh day of the second month.  Therefore, the surface of the Earth was dry enough to exit the ark on the first day of the first month, but it took about eight weeks for the dry parts of the Earth to become completely dry.

8:19 - When the animals left the ark, what would they have eaten? There would have been no plants after the ground had been submerged for nearly a year. What would the carnivores have eaten? Whatever prey they ate would have gone extinct. And how did the New World primates or the Australian marsupials find their way back after the flood subisided?

* Noah brought plenty of food for these animals to eat.  He even brought extra animals, so he could offer an animal sacrifice to God without making some "kind" of animal go extinct.

* After the Great Flood, there was an ice age where many things became frozen and subsequently defrosted.  Therefore, there was a point, after the Great Flood, where places like the Bering Straight and the path to Australia were not covered with water.  The animals crossed these paths (and some were chased, like the weak marsupials in Australia) and went in all directions.

8:20-21 - Noah kills the "clean beasts" and burns their dead bodies for God. According to 7:8 this would have caused the extinction of all "clean" animals since only two of each were taken onto the ark. "And the Lord smelled a sweet savor." After this God "said in his heart" that he'd never do it again because "man's heart is evil from his youth." So God killed all living things (6:5) because humans are evil, and then promises not to do it again (8:21) because humans are evil. The mind of God is a frightening thing.

* Both of these things were addressed.  Read above.

8:21 - God promises to never again curse the earth, yet in the very last verse of the Old Testament (Mal.4:6), he threatens to do it again.

* In Genesis 8:21, God says "While the Earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease."  In Malachi, God never threatens to destroy the Earth with a Great Flood or stop any of these things.

Chapter 9

9:1 - "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." Although this would have been good advice for the mythical Noah, it is deadly advice for humankind as a whole. Overpopulation is one of our greatest problems, yet there is nothing in the bible to address it.

* These words of God were spoken to Noah.  These were very appropriate words for him and his family.

9:2 - According to this verse, all animals fear humans. Although it is true that many do, it is also true that some do not. Sharks and grizzly bears, for example, are generally much less afraid of us than we are of them. "Into your hand are they (the animals) delivered." God gave the animals to humans, and they can do whatever they please with them. This verse has been used by bible believers to justify all kinds of cruelty to anmials and environmental destruction.

* God spoke to Noah and his sons.  He told them that all of the animals would dread them and be given into their hands.  God didn't necessarily say that all animals would fear all of their descendants.

* This was the first command for humans to eat animals.  Therefore, animals would surely be unprepared and unable to protect themselves adequately.  Incidentally, since they lived in the post-flood world, Noah and his sons were likely large people and much larger than people are, today.  This would help intimidate the animals, too; especially the small animals that were exiting the Ark.

9:3 - Which animals may we eat?

* At this point, God allows people to eat all living things (after they have been killed).

9:5 - All animals have hands.

* This Hebrew word for "hand" has a variety of meanings, including "power, charge, custody, debt," etc.  This verse never explicitly says animals have hands.  God is saying that even animals will be responsible for murder.

9:6 - God says: "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed." If so, then why did God put a mark on Cain (after he murdered Abel) so that others wouldn't kill him? (Gen.4:15).

* There are many reasons why God said and did these things.  First, God had many plans for Cain and his offspring.  Next, at this point, God felt it appropriate to make a specific law about murder.  This is quite reasonable when we consider the wickedness of the pre-flood people.  Lastly, simply because we read God's specific commandment involving murder, at this point, this doesn't mean that murder wasn't punishable or wrong before now.  The two who walked with God, in the Garden of Eden, surely knew that murder was inappropriate and they passed this knowledge to their offspring.

9:7 - "Be ye fruitful, and multiply." With 6 billion people on this planet, we need to disobey God on this one.

* This was a commandment to the first, post-flood generation.  When we read the Bible, we must take it in context and consider whether or not a specific command was for a specific people or for everyone.  For instance, you wouldn't apply the laws for Old Testament priests to New Testament teachers.  This wouldn't make sense.  In the same way, consider the audience and the circumstances in Genesis 9:7.

9:9-13 - God is rightly filled with remorse for having killed his creatures. He makes a deal with the animals, promising never to drown them all again. He even puts the rainbow in the sky so that whenever he sees it, it will remind him of his promise so that he won't be tempted to do it again. (Every time God sees the rainbow he says to himself: "Oh, yeah.... That's right. I promised not to drown the animals again. I guess I'll have to find something else to do.").

But rainbows are caused by the nature of light, the refractive index of water, and the shape of raindrops. There were rainbows billions of years before humans existed.

* The promise and the rainbow were given to "every living thing," which specifically included Noah, his sons and their descendants (vs. 9).

* This is a partial and scientific reason why rainbows occur.  However, they weren't here millions of years ago because nothing was created, yet.  Disease, suffering and death clearly began when Adam and Eve sinned.  Before this, there was no disease, suffering or death.  Therefore, for this reason and countless others, there cannot be millions of years of these things.  The fossil record clearly shows them and the fossil record also shows a record of the animals that died during the Great Flood and the immediate pre-flood world (like in the ice age, which was much shorter than evolutionists think).

9:20-25 - The "just and righteous" Noah (6:9, 7:1) plants a vineyard, gets drunk, and lies around naked in his tent. His son, Ham, happens to see his father in this condition. When Noah sobers up and hears "what his young son had done unto him" (what did he do besides look at him?), he curses not Ham, who "saw the nakedness of his father," but Ham's son, Canaan. "A servant of servants shall he [Canaan] be unto his brethren." This is a typical case of biblical justice, and is one of many Bible passages that have been used to justify slavery. But there are other verses that say that children are not to be punished for the sins of their fathers.

* Noah prophesies about the future of his sons (which includes all people, tribes and nations).  We have seen this prophecy come true, but since the prophecy isn't in question or even mentioned, then I will not mention it either.

* If verses were given that were allegedly contrary to this passage of scripture, then they would be addressed, too.

9:24 - What did Ham do? Did he just look at his naked father or was there something more to it than that? Some commentators have suggested that Ham committed homosexual rape on his drunken father, and that this was why Ham's descendants were eternally punished with slavery.

* This verse doesn't seem to imply any such thing.  Hebrew words for sex or sexual misconduct are not used.

Chapter 10

10:1-32 - The entire tenth chapter is the first of many boring genealogies (see 1 Chr.1-9, Mt.1:1-17, Lk.3:23-28 for other examples) that we are told to avoid in 1 Tim.1:4 and Tit.3:9 ("Avoid foolish questions and genealogies.")

* It was important that Jesus Christ come from the line of Abraham, Joseph, Jacob, David, etc.  These genealogies were intact and traceable until 70 A.D.  However, the New Testament epistles rightly told people that genealogies were no longer important.  The Messiah had come and it had been proven that He was from the correct lineage - fulfilling numerous prophecies.  Now, in the New Testament times, throughout human history, it would be pointless to brag about genealogical relationships to the Patriarchs and such.

10:5, 20, 31 - These verses show that, contrary to 11:1, many languages existed before construction began on the tower of Babel.

* The word in these verses is "tongue."  They were divided by many ways and one way was according to their "tongues."  This Hebrew word for "tongues" has a variety of meanings.  In this context, it likely refers to dialect.  For example, the English spoken on the West Coast is somewhat different than the English spoken in the South.  If you've visited these areas and spoken to people in them, you will understand what I'm saying.

* Since Adam and Eve were the first people on the Earth and obviously spoke the same language, how or why would these other people invent totally different languages?

10:24 - says that the father of Salah was Arphaxad, but Luke (Lk.3:35-36) says Salah's father was Cainan.

* Arphaxad begat Cainan and Cainan begat Salah.  Genesis 10:24 simply omits one man (Cainan), however the fact that Salah was from Arphaxad is not lost.  Incidentally, the Masoretic text, the Targum, the Latin Vulgate and the Greek Septuagint support the passage in Luke.

* The word "begat" doesn't specifically mean "fathered."  This word has been used, in lineage purposes, to designate family lines.  Occasionally, it designates a line and omits a person.

10:25 - Some creationists believe that this verse refers to continental drift, which, they say, began to occur during the days of Pelag (which means "division"), about 100 or so years after the flood. But many other creationists disagree.

* There is no contradiction here.  Yes, some creation scientists and apologists are divided on their interpretation of this verse.

Chapter 11

11:1, 6 - "The whole earth was of one language." But this could not be true, since by this time (around 2400 BCE) there were already many languages, each unintelligible to the others. This is even admitted earlier in Genesis (10:5, 10:20, 10:31) where other languages are mentioned before the tower of Babel was supposedly constructed.

* There is no evidence and surely no proof that there were other languages before this time.  The other verses have been properly interpreted.  See above.

11:4 - God worries that people could actually build a tower high enough to reach him (them?) in heaven.

* Babel was the place where idolatry began.  Human pride "let us make a name for ourselves" and fleshy desires were running rampant.  God was not worrying about the efforts of man reaching Him.  They couldn't.  This is precisely why God sent Jesus Christ to Earth and has been reaching to man with His plan of redemption since the first sin in the Garden of Eden

11:5 - "And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower." Couldn't he see it from where he was sitting? Apparently not. So contrary to many biblical claims, God doesn't know and see everything.

* This verse never says the God couldn't see them from Heaven.

11:6 - God is worried again. He remembers how humans nearly became gods by finding and eating from the tree of life (Gen.3:22). It was a close call, but now he faces a similar threat. He begins talking to himself again saying, "Behold, the people is one, and they all have one language." He fears that "now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do."

* There is no contradiction here; only a misinterpretation of God and His nature.

11:7 - God says, "Let us go down ..." Maybe he hasn't been talking to himself; maybe there is more than one of them up there. Well, however many there may be, they all decide to come down to confuse the builders by confounding human language and scattering them [humans] abroad.

* The triune God decides to change the languages of the people.  God's nature has been explained.  See above.

11:9 - According to the Tower of Babel story, the many human languages were created instantaneously by God. But actually the various languages evolved gradually over long periods of time.

* There is no proof for this.  Making an unsubstantiated and biased statement like this is simply poor scholarship.  Incidentally, even today, scientists cannot decide or prove whether human thought or language came first.

11:12 - This verse tells us Salah's father was Arphaxad, while Luke (Lk.3:35-26) says his father was Cainan.

* Arphaxad begat Cainan and Cainan begat Salah.  Genesis 10:24 simply omits one man (Cainan), however the fact that Salah was from Arphaxad is not lost.  Incidentally, the Masoretic text, the Targum, the Latin Vulgate and the Greek Septuagint support the passage in Luke.

* The word "begat" doesn't specifically mean "fathered."  This word has been used, in lineage purposes, to designate family lines.  Occasionally, it designates a line and omits a person.

11:26, 32 - Acts7:4 says that Abram didn't leave Haran until after his father died. Verse 26 tells us that Abram's father was 70 years old when Abram was born, and Abram's father lived to be 205 (11:32). Clearly, then, Abram was at least 135 when he left Haran. Yet Gen.12:4 says he left Haran when he was only 75.

* Genesis 11:28 says "Haran died before (his father) Terah in Ur of the Chaldeans."  There was clearly a person named Haran and a place called Haran because they later travel to and from a place called Haran.  Abram left the dead Haran, in Ur, when he was seventy five years old.  From this place he traveled to the place they called Haran.  Terah died here and Abraham left him.

* Genesis 11:31 states they "went out from Ur of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran."  Verse 32 states that Terah died (after the person of Haran had died) and he died "in" (the land) of Haran.  Therefore, the last verses in Genesis 11 and the first verses in Genesis 12 overlap.  Abram left the body of Haran at age seventy-five and he left the place of Haran once his father died there.

* In Genesis 12:4, the phrase "departed from Haran" is not so in the Hebrew.  This word "from" is implied by modern translations.  This phrase is the same one used later (vs. 5 - "went forth") and should be translated "departed for Haran."  It is clear from Acts 7:2-4 that Abram was called in Genesis 12:1-3, while he was in Mesopotamia (specifically, Ur) and not yet in the land of Haran.  Genesis 12:5 is correct in implying that they gathered all of their people and things from Haran, then continued to Canaan.

* This overlap is further seen by the fact that God called Abram in Ur, like it is stated in Acts 7:3, which is before he went to the place called Haran (also like it says in Acts 7:3).  Chronologically, God visited Abram between Genesis 11:29 and 31.  This account is revealed, in detail, in Genesis 12:1-3.  These situations and sequences are not unlike the telling of the creation account in Genesis 1 and 2.

1. If you're lost, here is a timetable of events:

2. Genesis 11:26 - Terah is 70 years old and has Abram and Haran.

3. Genesis 11:28 - Haran dies in Ur.

4. Genesis 12:1-3 and Acts 7:2, 3 - God calls Abram while he is in Mesopotamia (specifically, Ur) and tells him to leave home.

5. Genesis 11:31, Genesis 12:4 and Acts 7:4 - Abram leaves Ur at age 75 and comes to the land of Haran (this is where the modern translation, in Genesis 12:4, of the word "from" is wrong and "for" should be used, making this correlate with Genesis 11:31, Acts 7:4 and other usages of this term).

6. Genesis 11:32 - Terah dies in the land of Haran at 205 years of age.

7. Genesis 12:5 and Acts 7:3, 4 - Abram leaves the land of Haran after Terah dies.

11:27 - Was Lot Abraham's brother or nephew?

* Lot was Abram's nephew - Haran's (Abram's brother) son.

Chapter 12

12:4 - Acts7:4 says that Abram didn't leave Haran until after his father died. Verse 26 tells us that Abram's father was 70 years old when Abram was born, and Abram's father lived to be 205 (11:32). Clearly, then, Abram was at least 135 when he left Haran. Yet Gen.12:4 says he left Haran when he was only 75.

* This has already been explained.  See above (11:26, 32).

12:7 - God appears to Abram contrary to those verses that say that God is invisible and cannot be seen.

* Genesis 12:7 reads, "And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him."  There are few details about this "appearance."  It was likely Jesus Christ appearing to Him, though.

12:13 - Abram makes his wife lie for him, by telling the Egyptians that she is his sister. But at least it was half-true, since she was his half-sister. Such incestuous marriages are condemned elsewhere in the Bible, but god makes an exception for Abram and Sarai. (See Gen.17:15-16 where God blesses their marriage.)

* At this point, marrying a close relative was not forbidden.

12:15 - Poor Pharaoh couldn't resist the "very fair" Sarai, and he takes her into his harem. (She must have been well preserved, since she was about seventy years old at the time.)

* There is no contradiction or problem here.

12:17 - God sends a plague on the Pharaoh and his household because the Pharaoh believed Abram's lie.

* Believing a lie can get a person into trouble.  This should be obvious and will surely be obvious one day.

Chapter 13

13:13 - "The men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly." (Gee, I guess they must have been gay -- at least that is what the Christian Right believes.)

* By definition, the word "sodomy" means homosexual.

13:15 - God promises Abram and his descendants all of the land of Canaan. But according to Acts 7:5 and Heb.11:13, God's promise to Abram was not fulfilled.

* God gave all of this land to Abram and his descendants.  It was their spiritual inheritance and gift.  Simply because they haven't always occupied every inch of it doesn't mean it isn't theirs.

Chapter 14

14:7 - The Amalekites were smitten before Amalek (from whom they descended) was born. Amalek was the grandson of Esau (Gen.36:12).

* At this point in time, there were probably millions of people living on the Earth.  There were surely many large cities filled with people.  Therefore, the Amalekites in this passage were from a different Amalek than the one in Genesis 36:12.  Once again, an argument from silence isn't an argument at all.

14:12, 14, 16 - Is Lot Abram's nephew as it says in verse 12 or brother as in verse 14 and 16.

* Lot is Abram's nephew.  This much is very clear in Genesis 14:12 and even in Genesis 11:27.  Apply the "law of first mention," here.  Simply because Lot's relational title was abbreviated in Genesis 14:14 and 16, it does not change or confuse their relationship.  This same rhetorical device would be used if you called your "brother-in-law" your "brother."  Technically, you aren't correct, but figuratively, you're getting your point across; especially after it has been made explicitly known that this person is your brother-in-law, or in this case Abram's nephew.

Chapter 15

15:9-10 - God tells Abram to kill some animals for him. The needless slaughter makes God feel better.

* God required an animal sacrifice to be made for the remission of sins.  The command to take these animals and sacrifice them to God was in concert with God's character and previous commands.

15:13 - How long was the Egyptian captivity? This verse says 400 years, but Ex.12:40 and Gal.3:17 say 430 years.

* First, this verse isn't referring to the Egyptian captivity. Genesis 15:13 reads, "Then He said to Abram: 'Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.'"  This indicated that from the time when Isaac was first afflicted (which began at the time of his weaning in Genesis 21), to the time when the Israelites left Egypt, there would be four hundred years.  This was fulfilled and can be verified.  Click here for a timeline of these events.

* In Exodus 12:40, it reads "Now the sojourn for the children of Israel, who lived in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years." This began when Abraham left Haran. He left Haran 25 years before Isaac was born (see Genesis 16:16).  Click here for a timeline of these events.

* The entire sojourn was four hundred and thirty years and their affliction lasted four hundred years. Galatians 3:17 correlates with Exodus 12:40.  Click here for a timeline of these events.

15:16 - "In the fourth generation they [Abraham's descendants] shall come hither again." But, if we count Abraham, then their return occurred after seven generations: Abraham, Issac (Gen.21:1-3), Jacob (Gen.25:19-26), Levi (Gen.35:22-23), Kohath (Ex.6:16), Amramn (Ex.6:18), and Moses (Ex.6:20).

* This Hebrew word for "generation" means "a revelation of time or an age."  This doesn't simply mean four children.  The phrase used here is "after four generations they will return here" and this clearly means after 400 years and before 500 years - some time after four generations - which happened.

15:18 - God promises Abram's descendants the land of Canaan from the Nile to the Euphrates. But according to Acts 7:5 and Heb.11:13 God's promise to Abram was not fulfilled.

* Hebrews 11:9 states that Abraham dwelled in the promised land.  The promise that they had not received, which is mentioned in Hebrews 11:13, is the promise of eternal life, in Heaven, with God.  Acts 7:4 says that Abraham "lived in the land which you now dwell."  This was written to the Jews in Israel.  The inheritance that Abraham hadn't been given was the one I just mentioned.  He wasn't in his true home, yet.

* Under King David's rule, they occupied the land of Canaan, from the Nile to the Euphrates, the same land that was promised to Abraham's descendants.  Furthermore, this land will always belong to Israel.  This is their home, even though other nations have taken parts of it and even though fearful, unwise leaders trade their land for peace.  Their possession has been taken and given away because of their sin.

Chapter 16

16:1-4 - Sarai is the first of a long line of barren women who were desperate for children. (In the Bible, it is the women who are barren, never the men.) She sends Abram into her handmaid, Hagar, so that she can "obtain children by her." Abram gladly complies.

* This is an account of a sinful plan.  The Bible never claims to contain perfect individuals.  Only God is perfect.

16:6 - Hagar conceives, making Sarai jealous. Abram tells Sarai to do to Hagar whatever she wants. "And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled."

* Once again, the truthfulness of the Bible is confirmed when it gives accounts like these.  A fictional book surely would have deified its heroes.

16:8-9 - The angel tells Hagar to return and submit to her abusive owner,Sarai.

* We read that Sarai "dealt harshly" with Hagar. We don't know if this was abuse or not, though.

16:15 - Ishmael was Abraham's first son, and Isaac was his second. Yet Gen.22:2 and Heb.11:17 claim that he had only one son.

* In Genesis 21, Ishmael and Hagar leave Abraham and Isaac.  They enter the wilderness and do not return to Abraham's family.  We do not see or hear about Ishmael again until Abraham dies.

* Isaac was the child of promise.  Simply because his mother and father were impatient, this didn't make Ishmael the child of promise or Abraham's legitimate son.

* In Hebrews 11:17, we see the phrase "only begotten son" used to describe Isaac.  This phrase has also described Jesus Christ.  Both of these were prophesied children of promise.  Therefore, they had a very special designation on them.  Although they technically had other brothers and sisters, as far as God's plan of redemption was concerned, they were their father's only begotten sons.

Chapter 17

17:8 - God gives Abraham and his descendants all the land of Canaan "for an everlasting possession." But history and the Bible (Acts 7:5, Heb.11:13) show that this promise was not kept.

* God gave all of this land to Abram and his descendants.  It was their spiritual inheritance and gift.  Simply because they haven't always occupied every inch of it doesn't mean it isn't theirs.

17:10-11 - God establishes his covenant with Abram: "This is my covenant ... every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin." It seems that penises are supremely important to god. Consequently, God's covenant is for men only, and women have no way to be consecrated to God, or to take part in religious ceremonies. Note that while God requires circumcision, Paul says (Gal.5:2) that it is completely unnecessary.

* Circumcision was part of the Old Covenant with God.  Paul was correct in saying that circumcision was no longer necessary.  After Jesus Christ came, the New Covenant was in place and the Old one was gone (Hebrews 8:8-13).

17:12-13, 23 - God tells Abram that all males must be circumcised, even those whom Abram had bought with money. There isn't the slightest evidence in this passage, or in any other in the Bible, that the biblical God disapproves of slavery.

* Here is another "argument from silence."  Much of the Bible is historical narrative.  Simply because God doesn't strike someone down, it doesn't mean He is pleased with their behavior.  However, in most cases, we see the punishment for sin in the subsequent chapters of the Bible.

17:14 - An uncircumcised boy is to be abandoned by his parents and community.

* This is written in the scriptures.  If God's children did not want to obey Him and sanctify themselves to Him, then they were to leave the presence of the ones who loved God.

17:16 - God blesses the union between Abraham and his sister (Gen.20:12), though he condemns such incestuous marriages in Lev.18:9, Lev.20:17, and Dt.27:22.

* This is correct.  At this point, intermarriages were all right and later they became forbidden.

17:24 - Abram was 99 years old when he was circumcised. To commemorate this important event, God changes his name to Abraham.

* Abraham's name was changed in Genesis 17:5.  His name was changed because he was to be a father of many nations.  This prophecy was fulfilled.

17:25 - From this verse and Gen.21:5-8, it is clear that Ishmael was nearly a grown man (at least 16 years old) when he and his mother were abandoned by Abraham. Yet according to Gen.21:14-18, he was only an infant at the time.

* Genesis 17:25 says Ishmael was 13 years old.  Therefore, he is not much older than this in Genesis 21. 

* Genesis 21:18 uses a Hebrew word for "lad" that can mean several things.  Here are some translations of this word: "young man" and "servant," etc.

* Another translation, based on the Hebrew text in Genesis 21:18 reads, "Arise, encourage the young man and confirm his power.  I will make him a great nation."

* 2 Kings 4:12 calls Gehazi a "servant" and uses this same word that was translated into "lad."  It is quite apparent that he isn't a young child.

Chapter 18

18:1 - God appears to Abraham, contrary to several Bible passages that say no one has ever seen God.

* Genesis 18:1 reads, "And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre."  God is seen in the person of Jesus Christ.  God the Father was in Heaven.  However, Jesus spoke to Abraham in the form of an angel.  This is consistent with several other passages that contain a pre-Christ appearance of Jesus Christ.  In the Old Testament, He is often called "the angel of the Lord."  See Genesis 16:7.

18:11-14 - Sarah, who is about 90 years old and has gone through menopause, laughs at God when he tells her that she will have a son. She asks God if she will "have pleasure" with her "Lord" [Abraham], when both are so very old. God assures her that he will return and impregnate her at the appointed time.

* Sarah did laugh and God did reassure her.  It did happen, too.

18:17 - God, who is planning another mass murder, is worried that Abraham might try to stop him. so he asks himself if he should hide his intentions from Abraham.

* God was considering invoking righteous judgment on the unrepentant sinners of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Abraham cared for those people and knew he had relatives there.

18:20-21 - "And the Lord said ... I will go down now, and see." Is it necessary for God to leave heaven and come down to earth to see what is going on in Sodom and Gomorrah? Doesn't he already know? Apparently not, contrary to many other Bible verses.

* Verse 21 is obviously a figurative statement by God.  Not only did He make and know everything, He didn't have to literally "go down" (it isn't that he actually did) and He still knew what was happening and discussed it with Abraham.

18:23-25 - Abraham begs God not to kill everyone in Sodom and Gomorrah. [Which is odd, since later (Gen.22:2-10) Abraham doesn't even question God's request that he kill his own son.] asks God two good questions: "Wilt thou destroy the righteous with the wicked?" and "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"

* Yes, Abraham was trying to convince to use His perfect mercy instead of His perfect justice.  Christians pray for these kinds of things all the time - even in America.

18:33 - "And the Lord went his way." Now where might that be?

* There is no contradiction here.  At this time, He simply stopped talking to Abraham.

Chapter 19

19:1-4 - Do angels have sex? Yes, angels love sex (especially with pretty women).

* These verses are the beginning of a passage that indicates how the wicked men of Sodom wanted to have sex with these angels.

19:4-5, 24-25 - God kills everyone in Sodom and Gomorrah. This was because, so say the Christian Right, some homosexuals lived there.

* Don't forget what sodomy means.  Plus, God had said (much earlier in Genesis 13:13) that these people were very wicked and unrepentant.  It seems that God gave them plenty of time to repent, but they didn't.  How much time should people get to repent?  How long should they hurt themselves and others before God says "enough"?

19:5 - Two angels are staying at Lot's house when all the men of Sodom come to visit. They ask Lot to "bring them out unto us that we might know them."

* This is correct.  The men of Sodom want to have sex with the angels.  If this doesn't epitomize their depravity, I'm not sure what can.

19:8 - Lot refuses to give up his angels to the perverted mob, offering his two "virgin daughters" instead. He tells the bunch of angel rapers to "do unto them [his daughters] as is good in your eyes." This is the same man that is called "just" and "righteous" in 2 Pet.2:7-8.

* In 2 Peter 2:7 and 8, Lot wasn't called just and righteous for this action.  Offering his daughters to these people was a very poor idea.  It is no surprise that shortly thereafter, Lot is restricted to living in a cave.  After the incident with his daughters, there are no more details about the rest of his life.

19:8 - Lot lied about his daughters being "virgins" in v. 8. But it was a "just and righteous" lie, intended to make them more attractive to the sex-crazed mob.

* Lot's righteousness was not an eternal quality. He had periods of righteousness and some times when he sinned. No human being has ever been eternally righteous because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

* Lot was not praised for his sin. He was praised for his righteousness.

19:13 - Who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah? The angels.

* This verse says God sent the angels to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.  Either God and the angels destroyed the city or the angels were the executor of God's will.  When God commands something to be done and it is done, it could be said that God did it, even though someone else did it by God's command.

19:21-22, 30 - Did Lot's daughters think God had killed every man except Lot? No, they knew that God spared the town of Zoar.

* No, they did not think that God destroyed every man.  They also knew the town of Zoar was saved.

19:24 - God kills everyone (men, women, children, infants, newborns) in Sodom and Gomorrah by raining "fire and brimstone from the Lord out of heaven." Well, almost everyone -- he spares the "just and righteous" Lot and his family. Although many Christians consider this story to be a condemnation of homosexuality, others disagree. See The story of Sodom at ReligiousTolerance.org for an excellent discussion of this topic.

God kills all of the children in Sodom and Gomorrah, yet Jesus in Mt.18:14 says that God doesn't want any child to die.

* God's desire is for all to live eternally by loving and trusting Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.  However, not everyone does this.  Read above to see the length of time God gave the people of Sodom and Gomorrah to repent.  According to God's perfect will, it was ample time.

19:24 - Who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah? God.

* This verse says God rained fire and brimstone from Heaven.  Either God and the angels destroyed the city or the angels were the executor of God's will.  When God commands something to be done and it is done, it could be said that God did it, even though someone else did it by God's command.

19:26 - Lot's nameless wife looks back, and God turns her into a pillar of salt.

* This is true.  Lot and his family were commanded to avoid looking back.

19:30-38 - Lot and his daughters camp out in a cave for a while. The daughters get their "just and righteous" father drunk, and have sexual intercourse with him, and each conceives and bears a son (wouldn't you know it!). Just another wholesome family values Bible story.

* The Bible is an account of actual events.  They aren't always perfect events.  Every human is flawed.

19:31 - Did Lot's daughters think God had killed every man except Lot? Yes.

* This verse doesn't say that the daughters that every man was dead.  However, it does say that there was no other man acceptable to procreate with them.  They were obviously using a certain standard and criteria.

Chapter 20

20:2 - Honest Abe does the same "she's my sister" routine again, for the same cowardly reason. And once again, the king just couldn't resist Sarah -- even though by now she is over 90 years old. (See Gen.12:13-20 for the first, nearly identical, episode.)

* This is right and this isn't a contradiction.

20:3-18 - God gets angry with king Abimelech, though the king hasn't even touched Sarah. He says to the king, "Behold, thou art but a dead man," and threatens to kill him and all of his people. To compensate for the crime he never committed, Abimelech gives Abraham sheep, oxen, slaves, silver, and land. Finally, after Abraham "prayed unto God," God lifts his punishment to Abimelech, "for the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah."

* This is true and it isn't a contradiction.

20:12 - Abraham married his sister, and God blessed their marriage (Gen.17:15-16). But such incestuous marriages are condemned in Lev.18:9, 20:17, Dt.27:22.

* This is correct.  At this point, intermarriages were all right and later they became forbidden.

Chapter 21

21:1-2 - "The Lord visited Sarah" and he "did unto Sarah as he had spoken." And "Sarah conceived and bare Abraham a son." (God-assisted conceptions never result in daughters.) It is strange that the 100 year old Abraham required God's help in fathering Isaac (See Rom.4:19 and Heb.11:12), yet later (Gen.25:1-2) he marries again and has six more children without any help from God.

* God did give Sarah a son. 

* If Sarah was the barren one, then even with earthly reasoning, we could see how Abraham could have more children.

* If something is strange, it isn't necessarily untrue.  Strange things happen every day.

* This Hebrew word means a variety of things.  It could mean mocking, playing, sporting, showing endearment, etc.  Therefore, the exact offense is unclear.

21:10-14 - Sarah, after giving birth to Isaac, gets angry again at Hagar (see Gen.16:5-6) and tells Abraham to 'cast out this bondwoman and her son." God commands Abraham to "hearken unto her voice." So Abraham abandons Hagar and Ishmael, casting them out into the wilderness to die.

* God's plan was not for Ishmael and Hagar to die.  This is shown by the prophecy that He gives to them; which later comes true.

21:14-18 - These verses suggest that Ishmael was an infant when his father abandoned him, yet according to Gen.17:25 and Gen.21:5-8 he must have been about 16 years old. It must have been tough for poor Hagar to carry Ishmael on her shoulder and to then "cast him under one of the shrubs."

* An alternate translation of Genesis 21:15 is this: "And the water was gone from the bottle and she left her son under one of the bushes."  The Greek word "shalak" doesn't necessarily mean "thrown" (literally).  It can also mean cast or left and it can also be figurative.  In the same manner, "child" is better translated "son" or "boy."

* The New American Standard Bible says, ". . . she left the boy under one of the bushes."

21:23-24 - Abraham swears to God, apparently with God's approval. Yet such oaths are condemned in Mt.5:34-37 and Jas.5:12.

* This Hebrew word for "swear" means "to take an oath."  In other words, Abraham made a promise.  Don't confuse this with swearing (like using profanity), cursing or taking God's name in vain.

* In Matthew 5:34-37 and James 5:12, we are told to be trustworthy.  "Let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'No' is Jesus' way of saying that we shouldn't need to swear for someone to take us seriously.  Be an honorable person of your word, then you simply have to say "Yes" or "No" and you will be believed and trusted.

21:31 - says that Beersheba was named by Abraham, though Gen.26:33 says that Beersheba was named after Abraham's death by his son Isaac.

* Genesis 26:23 also calls this location Beersheba.  This place wasn't named Beersheba by Isaac for the first time.  Water was found there, so they continued to call this place Beersheba.  Even more so than now, ancient names used to change.  If this well had been dry, Isaac would have called the place by a new name.  However, there was water here, so they kept the old name that was given by Abraham (and actually, he was simply calling it what it was "The Well of the Oath").

21:32 - "And they returned to the land of the Philistines." But the Philistines didn't arrive in the region of Canaan until around 1200 BCE -- 800 years after Abraham's supposed migration from Ur.

* There are no scriptures to support this alternative interpretation or alleged inaccuracy.  As far as I can tell, you're considering modern science to be correct on dating the Philistines to this region circa 1200 B.C.  Therefore, your error is apparently not a biblical one (this time), but a scientific one.

Chapter 22

22:1 - " God did tempt Abraham." But Jas.1:13 says that God has never tempted anyone.

* God "tested" Abraham is a better translation.  James 1:13 says God does not "tempt" or "entice" any person with evil.  With Abraham, God was testing his faith and refining him through this trial.  In the passage in James, it is stated that God does not tempt or entice people to do evil.  God leaves this to the fallen angels and powers of darkness.  Furthermore, God's power and refinement are seen through Christians who overcome the temptation to do evil.

22:2, 12 - God refers to Isaac as Abraham's "only son," yet Abraham had two sons at the time (Gen.16:15).

* In Genesis 21, Ishmael and Hagar leave Abraham and Isaac.  They enter the wilderness and do not return to Abraham's family.  We do not see or hear about Ishmael again until Abraham dies.

* Isaac was the child of promise.  Simply because his mother and father were impatient, this didn't make Ishmael the child of promise or Abraham's legitimate son.

* In Hebrews 11:17, we see the phrase "only begotten son" used to describe Isaac.  This phrase has also described Jesus Christ.  Both of these were prophesied children of promise.  Therefore, they had a very special designation on them.  Although they technically had other brothers and sisters, as far as God's plan of redemption was concerned, they were their father's only begotten sons.

22:2-13 - God orders Abraham to kill Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham shows his love for God by his willingness to murder his son. But finally, just before Isaac's throat is slit, God provides a goat to kill instead.

In Mt.18:14, Jesus said that God doesn't want any child to die. Could this be the same God who orders Abraham to kill his own son?

* This command was given to Abraham as a test of his faith.  God never wanted Isaac to die and this is why Isaac did not die.

* See "Special Questions" for more on this.

22:12 - If God knows the mind and heart of all humans, then why did he have to test Abraham to find out what was in his heart?

* During Abraham's test, he was refined and prepared for ministry.  God, of course, knew what was in Abraham's heart, but He wanted this to be revealed to him and to others.

22:14 - Abraham names the place where he nearly kills Isaac after Jehovah. But according to Ex.6:3, Abraham couldn't have known that God's name was Jehovah.

* According to Genesis 22:14, Abraham called this place Jehovahjireh, which means "God will provide."  This was simply a name that described God and what happened here.  Exodus 6:3 says God came to Abraham and Isaac as God Almighty ("El Shadai") and not Jehovah.  Consequently, God's name is most commonly "El Ohim" (in the Hebrew) when it is used in Genesis with Abraham.  This is an extension of "El Shadai" and also means mighty God (in the plural tense, designating the trinity).

* According to the scriptures, Abraham never used the name "Jehovah" for God, but he always called Him "Elohim."  In only one situation was "Jehovah" used with Abraham and this was when it was spoken by two pagans.  Incidentally, Abraham also calls God "Adonai," but he never calls Him Jehovah.  "Jehovah" was a term that God called Himself and one that Abraham surely recognized, but didn't use.

* The name "Jehovah" is used in Genesis 2.  Therefore, it was surely known to Abraham.

Chapter 24

24:2, 9 - Abraham makes his servant put his hand under his thigh while swearing to God. Weird. Of course "putting his hand under his thigh" is just a polite euphemism for "holding his testicles in his hand." Come to think of it, maybe it isn't so weird at all -- coming as it does from a god that is completely obsessed with male genitalia. (See Ex.4:25, Lev.15:16-18,32, and Dt.23:1) for just a few examples.) I guess it's sort of like swearing on the bible. But all forms of swearing are forbidden in Mt.5:34-37 and Jas.5:12.

* This ancient custom for securing an oath may or may not be what you mentioned.  Some scholars think Abraham's servant put his hand on the circumcised part of his body - representing an important covenant. 

* This Hebrew word for "swear" means "to take an oath."  In other words, Abraham made a promise.  Don't confuse this with swearing (like using profanity), cursing, or taking God's name in vain.

* In Matthew 5:34-37 and James 5:12, we are told to be trustworthy.  "Let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'No,'" is Jesus' way of saying that we shouldn't need to swear for someone to take us seriously.  Be an honorable person of your word, then you simply have to say "Yes" or "No" and you will be believed and trusted.

24:3 - Abraham makes his servant swear that he won't let Isaac marry a Canaanite.

* This was an excellent promise for Abraham to require from his servant.  Canaanites were pagans.

24:16 - "And the damsel was fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her." (Oh boy!)

* This is not a contradiction or problem.

24:35 - God blessed Abraham by giving him lots of slaves.

* This verse doesn't mention anything about slaves. The words menservants and maidservants are used. Nonetheless, the Bible never condones owning slaves. It only gives laws to curtail it and eventually end it. See 1 Corinthians 13 for God's will regarding the ethical treatment of other humans.

Chapter 25

25:1 - "Then again Abraham took a wife [1 Chr.1:32 says she was his concubine], and her name was Keturah."

* Most of the people who took more than one wife suffered major problems afterwards.  Even though, at this time, we do not read God specifically and personally telling each person to take one wife, this was the best plan, evidenced by Adam and Eve and other passages of the Old and New Testament scriptures.

25:2 - Abraham needed God's help to father Isaac when he was 100 years old (Gen.21:1-2, Rom.4:19, Heb.11:12). But here, when he is even older, he manages to have six more children without any help from God.

Since Abraham had so many sons, why does the bible say that he had only one son?

* Abraham needed God's help to have a child with the barren Sarah.  He didn't need His help, per se, with Keturah.

* Isaac was the son of promise, a type of Jesus Christ and this was mentioned and explained above.  This gave Isaac a special designation.

25:6 - Abraham had several concubines.

* This is a mere statement of fact; not an error or contradiction.  Concubines weren't recommended or even permitted by God in the Bible.  Those that had them reaped the consequences of their sin.  For instance, look at what happened to Solomon.

25:21 - Isaac's wife (Rebekah), like his mother (Sarah), was also barren.

* This is another statement of fact.  Incidentally, science has shown that these kinds of problems can be hereditary.

Chapter 26

26:1,8,14,15,18 - In these verses the Philistines are said to have lived in Canaan at the time of Abraham, yet the Philistines did not live in the region until the period of the Judges, well after the time of Abraham. (See Britannica.com, Philistine)

* The Encyclopedia Britannica is obviously wrong.  If there was a quote or a citation here (not just a web site), I would address it.

26:2 - God appears to Isaac contrary to those verses that say that God is invisible and cannot be seen.

* Genesis 26:2 reads, "And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, 'Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of.'"  This passage simply says that God appeared to Isaac.  It doesn't specify how or say that He had a body that Isaac saw.  For instance, God has appeared as a burning bush and as a cloud, so God could have appeared and He still would have remained consistent with His revealed nature.

26:7 - Isaac uses the same "she's my sister" lie that his father used so effectively (see Gen.12:13, 20:2).

* Lying is never condoned.  It is only recorded in the Bible.

26:8 - Unfortunately the king "looked out a window, and saw, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife." But Isaac grew rich from the lie anyway, just as his father had.

* There is no contradiction here - only a historical account of what happened.

26:12-14 - God blessed Isaac (like his father Abraham before him) with many slaves.

* This verse doesn't mention anything about slaves; only servants. Nonetheless, the Bible never condones owning slaves. It only gives laws to curtail it and eventually end it. See 1 Corinthians 13 for God's will regarding the ethical treatment of other humans.

26:33 - Who named Beersheba? Isaac as this verse says, or Abraham as is said in 21:31?

* Genesis 26:23 also calls this location Beersheba.  This place wasn't named Beersheba by Isaac for the first time.  Water was found there, so they continued to call this place Beersheba.  Even more so than now, ancient names used to change.  If this well had been dry, Isaac would have called the place by a new name.  However, there was water here, so they kept the old name that was given by Abraham (and actually, he was simply calling it what it was "The Well of the Oath").

26:34 - One of the wives of Esau was Bashemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite. But 36:2 says her name was Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and 36:3 says Bashemath was the daughter of Ishmael.

* Genesis 36:2 states that Esau took many wives.  In Genesis 26:34, it lists some of them: Judith and Bashemath.  In Genesis 36:2 it lists some more: Adah, Aholibamah, and Bashemath.  One passage says she is Elon's daughter and one says she is Ishmael's daughter.  This Hebrew term for "daughter" can be used figuratively.  Therefore, Bashemath was likely Elon's daughter and Ishmael's servant or step-daughter.

Chapter 27

27:19 - Jacob, with coaching from his mother, obtains Isaac's blessing by lying. God seems to have been fooled as well.

* No, God wasn't fooled.  In fact, Jacob receives quite a punishment for this when he learns the patience he would not learn here.  He had to work fourteen years for the wife of his choice.

Chapter 28

28:1 - Isaac tells Jacob not to marry a Canaanite.

* This is correct.  Canaanites were pagans.

28:5 - Who was Laban's father? Behuel or Nahor (29:5)?

* Laban's father was Bethuel (see Genesis 25:20).  Nahor was the grandfather and brother of Abraham.

* Incidentally, the Hebrew word for "son" in Genesis 28:5 and Genesis 29:5 can have several meanings, such as "grandson, subject, nation," etc.  Laban wasn't Nahor's literal son.  Genesis 29:5 is designating a relationship between Nahor and Laban, but not a father and son relationship.

28:13-14 - God repeats the same (land/progeny) promise that he previously made to Abraham (13:15, 15:18, 17:8). Once again, the promise wasn't kept. The descendents of Jacob (the Jews) are not particularly numerous, have seldom possessed much of the land in question, and the nations on earth haven't been blessed by them.

* The descendants that are promised refer to spiritual descendants that trust God (and later, Jesus Christ) for their salvation.  There is a very large number of people who fit into this category.

* This land will always belong to Israel.  Under King David's rule, they possessed all of the earthly, promised land.

* All of the nations of the Earth have been blessed through Jesus Christ - the person of this seed and the prime reason the genealogies and prophetic statements regarding lineage matter.

28:19 - Jacob names Bethel for the first time, before meeting Rachel. Later in 35:15, just before Rachel dies, he names Bethel again. (I guess the name didn't take the first time.)

* There is no contradiction or problem here.  Jacob simply names this place Bethel in Genesis 28:19 and recognizes this place as Bethel in Genesis 35:15.

Chapter 29

29:21-30 - Jacob is tricked by Laban, the father of Rachel and Leah. Jacob asks for Rachel so that he can "go in unto her." But Laban gives him Leah instead, and Jacob "went in unto her [Leah]" by mistake. Jacob was fooled until morning -- apparently he didn't know who he was going in unto. Finally they worked things out and Jacob got to "go in unto" Rachel, too.

* There is no hint that Jacob mistakenly "goes in unto Leah."  At any rate, there is no contradiction here.

29:31 - Once again, like Sarah and Rebekah before her, Rachel is barren.

* This is from the Bible.

Chapter 30

30:1 - "Give me children or else I die." Rachel considers herself worthless if she cannot produce children for her husband.

* Rachel's statement was likely an exaggeration.  People make exaggerated and emotional statements all the time.  However, she could have been talking about her offspring and lineage.  If she didn't have a child, then her lineage would end (or die).

30:3 - But luckily she has an idea. She says to Jacob, "Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her." She solved the problem the same way as did Sarah (16:2).

* This isn't a contradiction.

30:4 - "And Jacob went in unto her. And Bilhah coneived, and bare Jacob a son." (These arrangements never seem to produce daughters.)

 * This isn't a contradiction.

30:9 - Leah, not to be outdone, gives Jacob her maid (Zilpah) "to wife." And Zilpah "bare Jacob a son."

* This isn't a contradiction.

30:15-16 - Rachel trades her husband's favors for some mandrakes. And so, when Jacob cam home, Leah said: "Thou must come in unto me, for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night." Presumably God, by telling us this edifying story, is teaching us something about sexual ethics.

* Once again, the Bible is a book of imperfect people who have times of righteousness.  They even manage to complete God's purpose through their mistakes!  God surely is huge for being able to use their mistakes for His perfect will.

30:22 - And finally, "God remembered Rachel ... and opened her womb. And she conceived and bare a son [surprise, surprise]."

* This isn't a contradiction.

30:37-39 - Jacob displays his (and God's) knowledge of biology by having goats copulate while looking at streaked rods. The result is streaked baby goats.

* This is a miracle from God that science may or may not be able to explain.

Chapter 31

31:17 - "Then Jacob ... set his ... wives upon camels." Jacob had four wives (or two wives and two concubines -- this distinction is not clear in the Bible): Rachel, Leah, Billah, and Zilpah. There is no indication that God disapproves of this arrangement. (See also Gen.32:22)

* This is another argument from silence.  However, in many passages of the Bible, it states that men should have one wife.  In most cases, we see polygamy (directly or indirectly) punished.

31:34-35 - Laban, Rachel's father, is hunting for the "images" that Rachel had stolen from him. Rachel sits on the "images" and says to her father, "Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee: for the custom of women is upon me." She knows that no man will come near her when she is menstruating.

* She is hiding her father's divination idols and lies to her father (assuming she isn't menstruating).

31:53 - Jacob swears. God doesn't seem to mind. but swearing is forbidden in Mt.5:34-37 and Jas.5:12.

* This Hebrew word that was translated "swear," in the KJV, can also be translated "declare."

Chapter 32

32:22 - Jacob has two wives and two concubines, continuing the biblical tradition of polygamy.

* This is another argument from silence.  However, in many passages of the Bible, it states that men should have one wife.  In most cases, we see polygamy (directly or indirectly) punished.

32:24-30 - Jacob wrestles with god and wins. God changes Jacob's name to Israel to signify that he wrestled with God and "prevailed."

* This is what the Bible has recorded.

32:28 - God renames Jacob for the first time (See 35:10 for the first renaming).God says that Jacob will henceforth be called Israel, but the Bible continues to call him Jacob anyway. And even God himself calls him Jacob in 46:2.

* God changes Jacob's name to Israel.  However, he was still called Jacob, sometimes.  This is common among places and people that have changed their names.

32:30 Jacob saw God face to face and survived. Yet according to several Bible passages no one can see God and live.

* In Genesis 32:30, Jacob wrestles with Jesus.  This is a theophany - a pre-Christ appearance of Jesus Christ.  This isn't a face to face meeting with God the Father.

Chapter 34

34:1-31 - Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, is "defiled" by a man who seems to love her dearly. Her brothers trick all of the men of the town and kill them (after first having them all circumcised), and then take their wives and children captive.

*  This is recorded in the Bible.  It surely wasn't the best course of events, though.

34:30 - Jacob complains that his sons' actions have caused him "to stink among the inhabitants of the land."

* This Hebrew word for "stink" also means "morally reprehensible."  However, in 1611, "stink" was probably a suitable word.

34:31 - Dinah's brothers, to justify the massacre of a town for the rape of their sister, say: "Should he deal with our sister as with a harlot?" To the author of Genesis, rape is clearly a crime against the honor of men rather than against a woman.

* It is twisted logic to say the author of a book condones any of the historical facts in the book.  This is like blaming the historian for history.

Chapter 35

35:5 - "The terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them." I don't know what the "terror of God" is, but I'll bet it isn't pleasant.

* This isn't a contradiction.

35:10 - God names Jacob Israel for the second time (see 32:28 for the first naming). He says that Jacob will no longer be called Jacob. Yet Jacob is still called Jacob in the Bible, and even God calls him Jacob in 46:2.

* The repetition is for emphasis.  Has anyone ever repeated something to you?

35:15 - Jacob names Bethel again. The first time 28:19 the name didn't stick.

* There is no contradiction or problem here.  Jacob simply names this place Bethel in Genesis 28:19 and recognizes this place as Bethel in Genesis 35:15.

35:17-18 - Rachel dies in childbirth; but at least she had another son. And in the Bible, a woman is expected to die happily as long as she has a son.

* After a long life, Rachel dies in childbirth.

35:22 - "Reuben went and lay with his father's concubine." I wonder why God wants to tell us about it. Maybe he figures that "inquiring minds want to know."

* The details of the Bible lend to its credibility and authenticity.  Even so, there are reasons for even the smallest details.

Chapter 36

36:2 - Was Zibeon a Hivite or a Horite?

* The Hivites were a branch of the Hittites. The word "Horite" meant "cave dweller" and was a specific name for a Hittite and Hivite. Therefore, Zibeon was both a Hivite and a Horite. This would be akin to saying someone is both an American and a Californian.

36:2-3 - Esau (Isaac's son) had several wives (continuing the tradition of polygamy, with no editorial comment from the Bible). One of his wives, according to 36:2, was Adah the daughter of Elon, but in 26:34 her name is given as Bashemath the daughter of Elon. Yet verse 3 says Bashemath is the daughter of Ishmael.

* Genesis 36:2 states that Esau took many wives.  In Genesis 26:34, it lists some of them: Judith and Bashemath.  In Genesis 36:2 it lists some more: Adah, Aholibamah, and Bashemath.  One passage says she is Elon's daughter and one says she is Ishmael's daughter.  This Hebrew term for "daughter" can be used figuratively.  Therefore, Bashemath was likely Elon's daughter and Ishmael's servant or step-daughter.

* In the book of Leviticus,  God forbids polygamy.  However, early in history, while the gene pool was relatively clean and while the Earth was becoming populated, God allowed polygamy.

36:2, 14 - Who was Anah? The daughter of Zibeon.

* Adah (not Anah) was the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite.

36:12 - Amalek was born many years after his ancestors were "smitten." (14:7)

* Genesis 14:7 says the Amalekites were attacked and not that they were eradicated.

36:14 - Who was Korah's father? Esau.

* This verse says that Esau's wife bore him some children and one was named Korah.

36:15-16 - Who was Korah's father? Eliphaz.

* These verses tell us that one of Esau's sons named Eliphaz also had a son named Korah.  He was called Chief Korah.

36:20 - Was Zibeon a Hivite or a Horite?

* The Hivites were a branch of the Hittites. The word "Horite" meant "cave dweller" and was a specific name for a Hittite and Hivite. Therefore, Zibeon was both a Hivite and a Horite. This would be akin to saying someone is both an American and a Californian.

36:20 - Who was Anah? The brother of Zibeon.

* Anah was a descendant (not necessarily a literal son) of Seir the Horite.  This Hebrew word for the English word "son" has a variety of meanings and generally designates lineages; not necessarily fatherhood.  This verse also shows that Anah and Zibeon were both descendants of Seir the Horite; not that they were necessarily brothers.

36:24 - Who was Anah? The son of Zibeon.

* This verse gives us a more specific lineage than Genesis 36:20 and 1 Chronicles 1:38.  In those verses, we find that Anah and Zibeon are both descendants of Seir the Horite.  However, in Genesis 36:24, we read that Anah was either a son or a descendant of Zibeon.

Chapter 37

37:3-4 - Jacob loved Joseph more than his other children, and he made it pretty obvious. So the other kids in the family hated Joseph. (God didn't seem to mind; he liked Joseph best, too.)

* It's natural for a human father to have a favorite son.  Incidentally, the scriptures don't necessarily condone favoritism, but these verses do report it.

* God blesses people as He sees fit.  Some are blessed more than others.

37:12 - Has there ever been a just person?

* Yes. There have been some just people.  The apparent confusion lies only in Ecclesiastes 7:20.  However, the writer is stating that there are no perfect people.  In his new "circle of friends," there surely weren't any godly people (and definitely nobody perfect).

37:28 - The verse says the Ishmaelites sold Joseph into Egypt, but 37:36 says that the Midianites sold him.

* According to Genesis 37:27, 28, and 36 (and 39:1), there were Ishmaelites and Midianites with the band of traders that bought and sold Joseph.  They both bought and sold him.

* Incidentally, these two tribes of Arabian traders are used interchangeably in places like Judges 8.  They were difficult to distinguish and worked together.

* Midian and Ishmael were brothers and sons of Abraham.

Chapter 38

38:2-4 - "And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite ... and he took her, and went in unto her. And she conceived, and bare a son; and she called his name Er. And she conceived again [I guess Judah must have went in unto her again] and bare a son; and she called hi name Onan." (It seems that the probability of having a biblical daughter is considerably less than 50%.)

* These conceptions are recorded in the Bible and there are no contradictions.  However, the exegesis is awfully shaky.

38:7 - "And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord slew him." What did Er do to elicit God's wrath? The Bible doesn't say. Maybe he picked up some sticks on Saturday.

* Making mocking references isn't a way to expound the Bible.  Nonetheless, his sin isn't mentioned.

38:8-10 - After God killed Er, Judah tells Onan to "go in unto they brother's wife." But "Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and ... when he went in unto his brother's wife ... he spilled it on the ground.... And the thing which he did displeased the Lord; wherefore he slew him also." This lovely Bible story is seldom read in Sunday School, but it is the basis of many Christian doctrines, including the condemnation of both masturbation and birth control.

* This passage of scripture is rarely (if ever) used to form any doctrine on masturbation or birth control.  Incidentally, the passages about lusting in your heart are easily applicable to masturbation.  This story about Onan is a historical story and it isn't wise to build doctrines from the flawed people in the historical accounts of the Bible.

38:13-18 -Tamar (the widow of Er and Onan, who were killed by God) dresses up as a prostitute and Judah (her father-in-law) propositions her, saying: "Let me come in unto thee .... And he ... came in unto her, and she conceived by him." From this incestuous union, twins (38:27-28) were born (both were boys of course). One of these was Pharez -- an ancestor of Jesus ( Lk.3:33).

* These events were never condoned.

38:24 - After Judah pays Tamar for her services, he is told that she "played the harlot" and "is with child by whoredom." When Judah hears this, he says, "Bring her forth, and let her be burnt."

* This is recorded by the Bible.

Chapter 39

39:1 - Joseph was sold into Egypt by Ishmaelites -- or was it the Midianites as is said in 37:36?

* According to Genesis 37:27, 28, and 36 (and 39:1), there were Ishmaelites and Midianites with the band of traders that bought and sold Joseph.  They both bought and sold him.

* Incidentally, these two tribes of Arabian traders are used interchangeably in places like Judges 8.  They were difficult to distinguish and worked together.

* Midian and Ishmael were brothers and sons of Abraham.

39:7-18 - Joseph is seduced by Potiphar's wife. He rejects her advances, but she claims he "came in unto" her.

* This is correct.

Chapter 40

40:19 - Joseph interprets the baker's dream. He says that the pharaoh will cut off the baker's head, and hang his headless body on a tree for the birds to eat.

* This is correct.

40:20 - The Pharaoh had a birthday party (and so did King Herod in Mt.14:6-10), therefore you shouldn't. (If you do you'll be destroyed at Armageddon.)

* This isn't a contradiction, but it is an account of two pagan kings and their traditions.

Chapter 42

42:27, 29 - Joseph's brothers find their money at an inn on their way home (see also 43:21). But according to 42:29, 35 they found their money after they got home.

* Genesis 42:27 and 29 state that one of them finds his money in his sack when they arrive at the inn.  Genesis 42:35 states that they all found their money in their sacks when they were home.

Chapter 44

44:5, 15 - Joseph uses a divining cup.

* Joseph possessed a cup that is used for divining.

44:20, 22 - In these verses, Benjamin is an infant -- a "little one," a "lad, a "child." Yet just a little while later (46:8, 21) when Jacob's clan migrates to Egypt, Benjamin is a grown man with ten sons.

* These Hebrew words were already discussed.  They could easily have been interpreted "servant, short one, young man," etc.

* Genesis 46:8 - doesn't mention Benjamin.  Genesis 46:21 only mentions he has ten sons.  It doesn't say when they were conceived.

Chapter 46

46:2 - God calls Jacob Jacob, though he said in Gen.32:28 and 35:10 that he would no longer be called Jacob but Israel.

* God changes Jacob's name to Israel.  However, he was still called Jacob, sometimes.  This is common among places and people that have changed their names.

* The multiple mentioning implies intended emphasis.

46:3-4 - God promises to bring Jacob safely back from Egypt, but Jacob dies in Egypt (Gen.47:28-29)

* Genesis 46:3 and 4 read, "And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes."  The English words "thee up again" could also be translated differently, making them refer to Jacob's descendants.

* This was a promise to bring Jacob's lineage and descendants out of Egypt; which He does.

46:21 - Benjamin was a grown man with tens sons (at least according to this verse) when Jacob's clan migrated to Egypt. But just before they left, Benjamin was called a "little child," a "little one," a "lad" ( 44:20,22).

* These Hebrew words were already discussed.  They could easily have been interpreted "servant, short one, young man," etc.

* Genesis 46:8 - doesn't mention Benjamin.  Genesis 46:21 only mentions he has ten sons.  It doesn't say when they were conceived.

46:11 - Was Mahli the son of Levi?

* Mahli was Merari's son (Exodus 6:19).  Merari was Levi's son.

46:21 - There are four lists of Benjamin's sons in the Bible, and none of them agree. This one lists ten sons, Num.26:38-40, 1 Chr.7:6 lists three, and 1 Chr.8:1-2 lists five. Only one son (Bela) is found in all four lists.

* None of these passages claims to have an exhaustive or exclusive list.

46:21 - Were Naaman and Ard the sons or the grandsons of Benjamin?

* They were the grandsons of Benjamin. The Hebrew word for "son" also means descendant. It is commonly used to designate a lineage and not always used to refer to a literal son.

46:27 - Jacob's family is here said to include 70 people; but Acts 7:14 says there were 75.

* Genesis 46:26 stated there were sixty-six of Jacob's relatives coming to Egypt.  Genesis 46:27 included Jacob, Joseph and his two sons.  Acts 7:14 includes five unnamed "kindred" of Joseph.

Chapter 47

47:29 - God promised to bring Jacob safely back from Egypt (Gen.46:3-4), but God doesn't keep his promise and Jacob dies in Egypt.

* Genesis 46:3 and 4 read, "And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes."  The English words "thee up again" could also be translated differently, making them refer to Jacob's descendants.

* This was a promise to bring Jacob's lineage and descendants out of Egypt; which He does.

47:31 - Jacob swears, apparently with god's approval. But, later, in the New Testament swearing is forbidden (Mt.5:34-37, Jas.5:12). Jacob then dies in Egypt, contrary to God's promise in 46:3-4.

* This Hebrew word for "swear" means "to take an oath."  In other words, Jacob made a promise.  Don't confuse this with swearing (like using profanity), cursing or taking God's name in vain.

* In Matthew 5:34-37 and James 5:12, we are told to be trustworthy.  "Let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'No' is Jesus' way of saying that we shouldn't need to swear for someone to take us seriously.  Be an honorable person of your word, then you simply have to say "Yes" or "No" and you will be believed and trusted.

Chapter 48

48:21 - Contrary to the prophecy, Joseph died in Egypt, not Israel. (Gen.50:24)

* Israel's prophecy wasn't about Joseph's death. It was about Joseph's descendants and how they would return to their land.

Chapter 49

49:3-27 - Genesis 49 lists the twelve tribes of Israel with the verse number in parenthesis. Reuben (3) Simeon and Levi (5) Judah (8) Zebulun (13) Issachar (14) Dan (16) Gad (19) Asher (20) Naphtali (21) Joseph (22) Benjamin( 27). Revelation (7:4-8) adds Manasses and omits Dan.

* The tribe of Dan is likely omitted because they were severely addicted to idolatry.  Dan was the Judas Iscariot to the tribes of Israel.

49:4 - Jacob says that Reuben will "not excel" because he "went up to [his] father's couch [had sex with his father's wife]." (see Gen.35:22)

* This is what the Bible says.

49:10 - The tribe of Judah will reign "until Shiloh," but Israel's first king (Saul) was from the tribe of Benjamin (Acts 13:21), and most of the time after this prophecy there was no king at all.

* First, this is a Messianic prophecy and "Shiloh" is referring to Christ.

* Next, Saul was not the king God wanted for Israel.  He was a poor king, too.

* Lastly, Jesus Christ was from the line of Judah.

Chapter 50

50:13 - Was Jacob buried at Machpelah or Shechem (Acts 7:15-16)?

* Jacob was buried in Machpelah.  With our present day knowledge, it appears that Stephen (who is in the middle of a fiery sermon in Acts 7:15-16) simply misspoke.