Joseph in the Book of Genesis

Joseph is a key figure in the biblical Book of Genesis and the Quran. He was the great-grandson of Abraham, the grandson of Isaac, and the eleventh son of Jacob. He was also the first of two sons born to Jacob’s favored wife, Rachel (the other being Benjamin). Most people are familiar with the story […]

The Ladder of Jacob: Jesus in the Book of Genesis

On the night that Jacob fled from home after deceiving his father to get the blessing meant for his older brother Esau, he came to a place called Bethel (which means “House of God”). He took a stone for a pillow and had a dream (Genesis 28:11-22). In the dream, he saw a moving ladder—in […]

Isaac: Jesus in the Book of Genesis

Abraham, the father of faith, is most famous for his willingness to offer his only son, Isaac, as a sacrifice to God. Isaac was not only his unique son but was also born to Abraham in his old age, a child of God’s promise. Abraham’s offering of Isaac can be seen as representing a lifetime […]

Melchizedek: Jesus in the Book of Genesis

Genesis chapter 14 recounts how Abram’s (Abraham’s) nephew Lot was caught up in an ancient conflict known as the “War of Four Kings against Five.” In the early stages of the war, the four-king alliance, led by King Kedorlaomer of Elam, defeated the five-king alliance, which included King Bera of Sodom. Lot and his family […]

Laban’s Household Gods

Laban is a figure in the biblical Book of Genesis. He was the son of Bethuel, the brother of Rebekah, the father of Leah and Rachel, the brother-in-law of Isaac, and the uncle and father-in-law of Jacob. Laban, like Jacob, was a deceitful man. He tricked Jacob in his marriage arrangements. Laban promised that if […]

Esau and Jacob

Esau and Jacob were the grandsons of Abraham and the sons of Isaac. Esau became the ancestor of the Edomites, and Jacob had twelve sons who became the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel. When Isaac was forty years old, Abraham sent his servant back to his hometown to find a wife for Isaac: […]

Ishmael and Isaac

Ishmael and Isaac were both sons of Abraham. Ishmael is the ancestor of the Arab people, and Isaac is the ancestor of the Jewish people. The story of Ishmael is found in the Old Testament Book of Genesis, chapters 16-21. Hagar was Sarah’s Egyptian maidservant. Because Sarah was unable to conceive after many years of […]

Ur, Abraham’s Hometown

Would you, at 75 years old, leave your home with a fireplace to live in tents on mountains for the rest of your life, enduring cold winters and wind? When God asked Abraham to do this, he obeyed. He took his family and left his homeland for a foreign place, never to return. Abraham’s hometown […]

Abraham

Abraham (Hebrew: אַבְרָהָם), originally named Abram, was a descendant of Noah’s son Shem. He is the common ancestor of the ancient Hebrew (Israelite) and Arab peoples. When Abram was 99 years old, God changed his name to Abraham, which means “father of many nations.” His wife, Sarai, was also renamed Sarah by God, which means […]

Noah’s Ark

Noah’s Ark (Hebrew: תֵּיבַת נֹחַ, Teyvat Noaḥ) was the large vessel built by Noah. The Ark was a huge, rectangular vessel constructed according to God’s instructions. Its purpose was to shelter Noah, his family, and all the world’s land-dwelling creatures from a great flood that God sent to destroy a human race that had become […]