No'ah

No’ah: Genesis 6:9-11:32

A couple items to consider when reading the story of Noah.
First, since Noah involves the destruction and restart of humanity, it is not too surprising that other cultures have a similar story to the account of Noah. Noah is a common ancestor to the whole world. These stories differ as would be expected and carry characteristics of the gods of the culture in which they were written, but it is still interesting to note. Probably the most popular of these tales is Gilgamesh. A link to the summary of this tale is attached.

http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MESO/GILG.HTM

A second line of discussion that I have had with my own children and we have found fun to pursue is the historic pursuit of Noah’s Ark. There are many sites which explain one adventure or another but this one tends to include a lot of the search data, and even has a little children’s game (similar to Memory) where you have 40 seconds -40 days) to match the animals 2 X 2 before the flood.

http://www.noahsarksearch.com/

The story continues where we left off before. The catch phrase “These are the generations of Noah”, again sounds very much like that colophon format. The break from Genesis 6:9 onward does encompass a complete story by itself (see colophon theory in Bereshit entry).
Noah was a “righteous man” (Hebrew ‘Tza’deek’) This word is one that is lost to much of our English translations, but very common within Jewish thought historically and today. We have no automatic comparison within the evangelical Christian experience, although the Catholic concept of “saints” do come close to this. The Tza’deek (or Tza’deekim in plural) are literally translated “Righteous man (men)”, but it often means more then just that. The Tza’deek are understood as miracle workers. They are ones who live in such close communion with God that God responds to their requests very differently. These people are sought out.

Just a couple verses to bring to mind.
In a discussion, Jesus says people don’t die for each other, although they might die for a Tza’deek (Righteous man).
Some thought Jesus was a Tza’deek (Righteous man) but others thought no, because he deceives the people.

Jewish stories and folklore are full of stories of the Tza’deek. They are often the important player of the story who directs the hero to do something that brings about the happy ending. Much could be (and should be) written about the Tza’deek, but for this, we just wanted to highlight that Noah is one of those men.
Verse 11, 12 and 13 repeat over and over again that the whole world was corrupt and full of violence. Noah being the only exception. God reveals his plan to Noah.
Verse 14: make an ark. This word is so old that it doesn’t have much use in modern English. We think it’s a boat. It is not. It is literally a box. A long and skinny box with three levels, and a window on the top. It would look a bit like a mobile home. The size of the box is massive by any standard. Quick math puts this at about 150 yards so 1 and a half football fields. This would be an amazing creation especially without the benefit of arc welders and modern cranes. Also, remember, Noah is not building this in a dry dock form. The is no impression that there is the ocean nearby. He could have build this in the middle of a field. Make it out of “gopher wood.” This is an example of a difficulty in translation that could not be effectively fixed. The Hebrew root is obscure, so rather then attempt it, they just phonetically translated it and left it in the passage. This gopher wood likely has no relation to the small rodent in Saskatchewan called the “gopher”, some have suggested that it may come from a root meaning “house” or something similar, but no clear translation has been available. Perhaps someday if we find the true are we can test the wood and see what type of wood was used.
“Cover it with pitch both inside and out”. That word for “cover” I included in an earlier writing about “Yom Kippur”. The word hints at redemption, and atoning. This is not surprising when we see later Bible authors refer to the ark in terms of redemption. It sometimes is ties to salvation. Noah’s experience is intended to keep us thinking even today about God’s ability to protect his own people through all situations.
:18 God tells Noah he will establish a covenant with him. The first time this significant concept (covenant with God) shows up in Scripture. Here the covenant includes protection through an incredible destruction.
:19 Noah is told here to bring two of every living creature. Later we will hear that God also desires 7 of each type of clean animal. This is not a contradiction, but another inclusion. God is revealing that even Noah knew the difference between “clean and unclean” animals. However, God does not state the man can eat animals until after the flood. It is interesting to think how “clean” would have been understood if man were not actually eating the animals.
:22 Noah did everything as the God commanded. The action one would expect from a Za’deek.
Chapter 7:
:4 the rain would last 40 days and 40 nights (the flood lasted roughly a year) these 40 days were just the start of the cleansing of the Earth.
:6 Noah was 600 years old when the flood came. Noah was also 500 when his sons were born (Genesis 5:32). We don’t know how long this project ran, but if we are to understand that Noah and the start of the ark project is connected with Gen 6:3 then we suspect that building of the ark and preparation for the flood may have been 120 years. This means Noah would have done this work alone for 20 years before his sons were born. Noah was also doing something else during this time. (2 Peter 2:5) He was a “preacher of Righteousness”. Yet, no one except him and his family responded, in spite of 120 years of effort.
:16 the LORD shut the door. After they entered, it was God who put the final act for Noah. Their fate and the fate of the world was sealed.
:20 the mountains were covered by 15 cubits. (about 22 ½ feet) People will note that some of the mountains today (Mt. Everest for example) have very limited air, not enough to maintain life. Further, the water at that altitude is frozen, how much more so if they were high still.
Creation scientists often point out that the waters from Noah’s flood are likely still here. The topography of Earth may have been (like was) flat with minor hills. The present theory of plate tectonics
Suggests that our present land formations including Mt. Everest and the deep oceans did not exist at the dawn of creation. The following article gives more detail.
http://www.christiananswers.net/q-aig/aig-floodwater.html

:24 water stayed 150 days. Still haven’t left the ark, but our initial 40 days of storm becomes 150 days of floating (almost ½ a year).
8:1 The God remembered Noah. Again the “Aleph Tav” appears here (see note Gen 1:1). This doesn’t imply that the God was ignoring Noah, but this serves as an introduction to the restoration of Noah to Earth.
8:4 On the 17 day of the 7th month. (Note: the festival of Sukkoth falls on the 15th ) so this would have been during the annual celebration of Sukkoth (Sukkoth is 8 days long). On this day the Ark rested (basically got) stuck on the mountains of Ararat. There is no sure way to know if the mountain that we call Ararat today is the same mountain. You can learn more my referring to the Ark search I put at the start of this entry.
8:5 on the first day of the tenth month. It is assumed since Moses is the author he uses the calendar that he instructed for Israel from God. So, this would be the “new moon” of the 10th month. (Roughly our December). The word for month is cho’desh. The word we use for new moon. Now they can see mountains, but still in the ark.
8:7- 8:10 sending out the raven and then the dove to see if there is dry land yet.
8:11 A dove with an olive leaf. The symbol of peace comes from this scene. Even if people don’t remember the story, they still recognise this symbol as peace.
8:13 On new moon, on the first month of the year, when Noah is 601 years old they finally pull back the cover of the ark and see that the Earth is dry. They continue to use this as their shelter for another almost 2 months. This time is roughly 2 weeks before the annual event of Passover.
8:14 On the 27th day of the second month (about a week before Pentacost) God tells Noah it’s time to go out.
Jewish legend says that the destruction of the world was so great that Noah was frightened to leave. Which is why even though it says the ground was dry, they still stayed in the ark. God had to force them out.

* Redemptive history- they enter the Ark between the time of celebration Passover and Pentacost. The Ark rests around the time of Passover (the next year). They leave the ark just before Pentacost. The first real Passover is the redemption of Israel from Egypt. Pentacost is when they receive the Law of God. Passover is when Yeshua dies on the cross. Yeshua goes back to heaven about the same day as Noah leaves the Ark. The Holy Spirit comes at Pentacost. I would suggest that these could months are pivotal for God’s teaching on redemption.

8:17 be fruitful and multiply. The commandment is repeated again since creation.
8:20 Noah built an alter. God smells the burnt offering and promises not to destroy the world again. Literally “curse the ground”. God acknowledges the depth of man’s corruption, but that will not bring an end like he did before.
8:22 the Earth (Eretz) exists there will always be the seasons. I knew one lady who used this verse to always argue there would always be a harvest pulled from the Saskatchewan fields. However, the verse doesn’t suggest that there might not be a killing frost or a famine. It is about the times (seasons), which have continued regardless of whether there is a good harvest.
9:3 Man is given meat to eat. Prior to this, he was a vegetarian.
9:4 There is not a list of animals that he can and can’t eat, but he is not to eat blood. A dietary prohibition for the sons of Noah. He also does know what a clean and unclean animal is and certainly he knows that a clean animal can only be used for sacrifices. It is difficult to argue that Noah did not eat “unclean animals” It is simply an argument from silence.
9:5-6 Noah is instructed about justice (capital punishment). The synagogues today refer to faithful “non Jews” as “Noahics” and they perceive God’s instructions for the non-Jew is here.
9:9-17 The Noahic covenant. The rules of this covenant is completely one sided. Man had no obligations. God would not destroy the earth, and his “bow” literally a bow as in bow and arrow would be placed in the clouds. *Note the bow does not have a string. A bow with a string and arrow would be a weapon. A bow without a string on it would show that there is no hostility.
9:20 Noah plants a vineyard. A Jewish legend says that it was actually Satan who (as he left the Garden of Eden stove a vine from the garden and presented this vine to Noah. Noah planted this fine (still perfect from the garden and it bloomed and brought forth the most amazing fruit. Noah then took the fruit and crushed it and made wine, and it instantly became a wine far too strong for fallen men. So, he was instantly drunk. There is no basis in reality for this story, but it is kinda fun.
9:21-27 Confusing passage. It almost appears to be spoken in code. For better or worse, I will pass on the interpretation I heard from a professor “Ken Guenter” at Briercrest Bible College.
Reviewing the facts. Noah is drunk. Ham sees this and “sees his father’s nakedness”. The older brothers put a garment over their shoulders and walk backward to cover their father. Noah awakes and knows what happens so he curses Ham’s son, and blesses the other boys.
If one was to look at Lev 20:11 it reads as such:

Lev 20:11 And the manH376 thatH834 liethH7901 withH854 his father'sH1 wifeH802 hath uncoveredH1540 his father'sH1 nakedness:H6172 bothH8147 of them shall surely be put to death;H4191 H4191 their bloodH1818 shall be upon them. (note: I kept the Strongs numbers in place if you want to check it’s meaning)

So Moses (who wrote both passages), uses a term that a wife is a her husband’s “nakedness” . This relationship of son and mother is forbidden. It was Guenter’s position and has become mine that while Noah was out cold his son’s action was the taking of Noah’s wife (likely his mother). The older sons found out about this, and did this strange item with the coat. Again, I don’t know how this proves anything to Noah, but when he awoke, he seems to have gathered what happened, and curses Canaan (the son of Noah, and in this scenario, his wife). Then he blesses his other sons. This also helps to justify the mass genocide of them when the children of Shem (Children of Israel enter the promised Land-up to that point called the land of Canaan.)
9:27 God shall enlarge the Japheth and “he” will dwell in the tents of Shem. Strange blessing. Obviously, a positive situation for Japheth and Shem while minimizing Ham (Canaan), but how does dwelling together come across as a blessing. This could mean that these other brother share greater peace. Some have suggested that the “he” is not referring to Japheth, but to the greater “he” that has been hinted to and aluded to since the beginning. There is the “He” that would crush the head of the serpent. He would later be connected to the “Aleph Tav”. This is the position of authors like Brad Scott.

www.wildbranch.org/Articles/10bradbrickstone.htm

And one of my teachers, Dr. Walter Kiaser
To be fair as well, others have suggested that this may be a prophecy of a time where the Gentile nations (Japheth) will dwell with Shem and learn from Him the way of God (The Torah).

Chapter 10: to history of the nations of the world and their locations as they divide the Earth. Note that this chapter starts and ends with the same words “These are the generations of the sons of Noah” This follows the colophon format as mentioned in the Genesis 1 entry.
Chapter 11: The Tower of Babel

Possible remains of the ancient tower found near the ruin of Babylon

11:1 everyone spoke the same language. (makes sense, they were all part of the same family)
11:2 valley of Shinar. This is generally assumed to be the area around the present day city of Bagdad. This is also the historical area around the ancient city of Babylon.
11:3 Bricks and mortar. Generally, of the 30 ancient structures in the region (Ziggurats) they are all made from brick and mortar. They also all served religious purposes. There were many structures that were built for military purposes which did not use this brick and mortar design, but in the area, they all appear to be religious in origin.
11:4 The reason for the city and town to the sky (literally heavens-Sham’mayim) So that they 1) won’t be scattered and 2) make a name for themselves. Remember, God had told them (9:7) they should increase and fill the Earth. This is in opposition to God’s revealed word. Make a name for ourselves is an issue of pride.
11:5 God comes down and investigates, and decides that if they can do this with one language then God should give them multiple languages.

This story more then any other makes God look like the ancient gods of other traditions (cf. Greek gods). They are often worried that people are too smart and therefore have to frustrate those efforts. So, God divides their languages (thus explaining how people of a common origin don’t have a common language). If this story was not correct, then we do have a significant sociological problem. Mankind genetically comes from the same single man, and yet some languages have almost no association. Why? How would this benefit any people?

Bere'shit

Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 6:8 (Bere’shit)

For teaching children one of the tools I often have used is printing off these colouring pages from aish.com They do an excellent job of getting something for small children to colour while you teach the Torah portion.
http://www.aish.com/tp/pak/cp/53031582.html

Another excellent fun and interactive Jewish Children’s site is Torah Tots. There is usually a story telling version of each Torah portion that simplifies properly things for small children. However, not everything said there are things a Christian can endorse, but you will find these good people have done some work and made your job that much easier.
http://www.torahtots.com/parsha.htm

It is no surprise that the Torah cycle starts where we would all expect it to start. “In the Beginning…” It is the classic beginning similar to “Once upon a time…” in old tales. Just a starting note, most English translations I have used dutifully say “In the Beginning…” which stands in slight contrast to the Hebrew Interlinear that I am using now which prefers to translate it “When God began to create…” A good look at the choice of worlds does allow either for the starting word “Bere’shit”.
This summer, while attending a Messianic fellowship in British Columbia, one of the tools they enjoyed looking for was the letters Aleph Tav together. The reason for this is based on what Jesus (Yeshua) says in Revelation. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last…” We do understand that Yeshua was a part and with God in creation, but this concept that he was (is) seen in these two letters. Most people, even with no knowledge of Greek can understand that Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek Alphabet. In fact, some paraphrased translations or modern English translations will even update this phrase to our modern ear by having Jesus say “I am the A and the Z…”
This explains a bit why the brothers in BC were interested in seeing points in any text when the Aleph Tav were seen together and stand alone. It was their belief as it is mine that when we see these letters together we also see a tag for Jesus in the text. I think John picks up on this theme in John when when he says “In the beginning (just like in the Hebrew) was the word and the word was with God and the Word was God. Back when I was in Bible school and Seminary we had great studies on the “Word” (Greek Logos). We speculated that this word may have been when God spoke it was Jesus who came forth from his lips and crafted the Earth. The Word used there in the Greek was sometimes compared with Greek Philosophy, since they tended to play into this “word concept”. However, if I had read the Hebrew text that John is practically quoting, I would have found there really was a word (Alaph Tav) which is printed right next the the word “Elohim”, that never gets translated into English. So, in the beginning was this word, and it was with God, and in the translation of the text it is actually seen as part of the action of God. You can honestly see it as God.
So, God, (and Yeshua) create the heavens and the Earth.
Just to complete the Trinitarian picture it is also mentioned (:2) and a wind of from God blew over the surface of the waters. The word in Hebrew and in Greek for wind is almost always a very flexible word. If you compare translations some will say wind, some will say spirit. Occasionally you will even see the word `breath``. The choice of vocabulary reflects all three of these possible meanings. So, in the first two verses we have God, the Word (Yeshua) and the Spirit.
``…Unformed and void… darkness``, I only mention a brief concept here. There have been those who have noted that if God would create something why is the first things he creates (unformed, and dark), it`s almost what we would consider destruction terminology. Some have speculated, and I don`t find merit in their position, but in case one runs across this position, that God had created an order of creatures who became evil, and so He chose to destroy them. Their bodies were destroyed, but their spirits remained, and thus the theory for the origin of demons. Demons would be the spirits of these departed beings that came before humans. Put simply, although there are parts of the world where this theory is popular, I find very little from this text to truly justify defending such a position.
In a discussion I had with a young Bible school student, he commented about how the who passage of Genesis 1 was written in prose. It is essentially a poem. He was correct. Many Bibles will specifically try to position the margins of this text so that one can see this poem style. However, since it was a poem, this was his justification to simply ignore the pain meaning of the passage. His reasoning was as follows. It was a poem written by Moses (the believed author) where He shows that the Hebrew God created everything. It was a defence for the Hebrews against following anything created. No one would worship a star or the moon since those were just things created along with bugs and chickens. He saw it simply as a divinely inspired, or perhaps well meaning lie. He then inserted that since we now know with science that the Earth is much older and the creation actually came together over thousands of years that we can discount the creation story as general fantasy.
Of course, there is some of this I do agree with. First, the text can rightly be considered a poem, but this is not necessarily a reason to say the events never happened. Yes, I do believe that Moses did write it and he very well may have had in mind the plagues on Egypt and his knowledge of the foreign gods who are worshipped over all matters of Creation. Again, this doesn`t necessarily mean that we can disregard the text. It is the account that God has chosen to give us about creation.
On the other side of the discussion is the ``Creation Scientists`` who use this as a primary text in the defence of a very short creation (6 days). Their efforts are intent on proving this text. Again, to put this simply, I don`t think this is a very good science text either. It just doesn`t appear as if Moses really expected this to be a science lesson.
In a seminary class I took with Dr. Walter Kaiser, he opened his class with wondering what the Biblical answer would be for when creation started. My hand was up in a moment. I wanted to impress my teacher with my defence of Christian doctrine. I said ``Aprox. 4000 BC.`` Dr. Kaiser answered in typically teacher fashion. ``a good answer, but not what I was looking for.`` Several other students tried their hand at it, but all were told they were not correct. Finally, when there were no more answers, Dr. Kaiser said the Biblical answer was ``In the Beginning…`` and he reminded us budding young Bible scholars to defend what the Bible teaches, stand against what the Bible stands against, and feel free to be silent on what the Bible stays silent on. I have always found those to be good words.
Understanding `day`: Some have pointed out that the Bible records a day is as a thousand years. Others specifically have said that ``a day is a day is a day`` (to defend the Creation Science position). To be honest, I have no interest in the debate, but did want to show something that would be foreign to most of our experience. (:5)`` and there was evening and there was morning, the first day.`` In the western world we have a 24 hour clock and our day starts at 12:00am. Almost no one generally talks about this as the start of the day. We just use it for technical reasons. Most days start when we wake. So, we would say in practical terms we would have morning and then evening and that would be a day. Again, if we were being technical we would say our day was from 12:00am until 12:00am the again. However, in God`s registration of time it starts with evening. This is why Jews and Sabbath observant people like myself start Sabbath on Friday night. Yes, we know the calendar and my wristwatch says it is still Friday, but as the sun goes down, we have evening, the start of a new day.
A good memory cue if you are trying to remember what was made on which days is to see that the 6 days of creation run in two similar sections

Day 1- Light Day 4- Sun, moon and stars
Day 2- Separating waters Day 5- Fish and birds
Day 3- Dry land Day 6- The animals upon the land (man)

All are listed as good.
Note the different words for the Sun and the moon and the stars. (:14) “…they shall serve as signs for the set times- the days and the years.” They were also to govern or dominate over their individual regions (day and night). Much to our shame I fear we have neglected the role these heavenly bodies have in telling us what is day, and when “the set times” (implied the set times for the spiritual holidays) are to be. We have calendars today, and have “outgrown” using the sun and the moon. In the Saskatoon community, it was Terry Fehr who really raised the profile of using the sun and the moon to determine God’s time table, and to that we owe him some appreciation.
(:26) “Let us make God in our own image…” In a spiritual belief system which is serious about stating there is one God, it is amazing that in Chapter 1, we find him speaking of himself in plural terms.
Man is made in the image of God. For a day to day comfort item, few find much encouragement in this, but when you look back at the vastness of the Universe, the fact that we (humanity alone) is crafted in the image of God. But, people are quick to point out that God is spirit. Thus, he is not flesh and blood like us. That is true, but we do see here that there is an image, and that image is very much like us. Perhaps it is the ability to communicate. Perhaps it is the spiritual and material element together. Perhaps it is the reasoning skill that makes us distinct from the rest of creation. Many people have speculated, and build some interesting application based on this. But, for this, we do see that God and man are uniquely crafted in similarity by God’s design.
Male and female are both crafted in the image of God. Later, a quote from Paul will imply (or can be interpreted as something different, but the plain truth of the passage is that they both hold the image of God. In fact, it is a complimentary image.
(:28) “be fruitful and multiply.” This is about the only commandment that man has done successfully.
(:29)”…see I give you every seed bearing plant for food.” Man was originally created a vegetarian. It was only later that man was allowed to eat meat. In fact, he was told what meats were appropriate and which were not.
(2:3) “…God blessed the 7th day and declared it holy.” The first time the Sabbath is listed. The date appears not to be a flexible date. It is the 7th day.
(2:4) “such is the story of the Heavens and Earth…” The colophon theory. This theory states that the book of Genesis may have been a mixing of several different books, which have now since been destroyed. Colophons are stone tablets. They typically have a phrase which tags the start and the end of the colophon so that you know you have the full tablet. This phrase in verse 4 is typical of this closing phrase.
Some have also noted that the name “LORD” which is the English tag line for the sacred name of God does not appear in Genesis 1. Only starting at 2:4 we see the words “LORD God” together. God (or Elohime is a generic term of gods (generally translated “God” when used in reference to Ha Shem). For example, in Arabic today the term they use is “Allah”. This is the same term. It is too general to really be considered the “God of Israel”, without clarification. This tends to give more credence to the idea that the first chapter may have been copied from another unknown text.
A second creation account: Many have noted that this second creation account acts different. It is presumed that they are events that came together during the days of the other creation account. So, while God spoke many things into creation, he crafted man from dust and blew his breath into man and gave him life.
I have always found (2:10-14) amazing. The assumption is that someone would want to know the location of Eden. In fact, this account makes no effort to hide that location. The head point of the four rivers. To the best of my knowledge there has never been a sense as to where exactly the rivers Pishon or Gihon. However, the Tigris and the Euphrates are two of the most famous rivers on the planet. However, fi you remember in the next Torah passage there will be an incredible flood, so these landmarks may not be as easy to find, but we do believe that Moses wrote the book here and the landmark he knew of as these two rivers would likely still be accurate.
Here’s the problem. The 4 rivers are supposed to come out from the garden of Eden. Today, those two rivers don’t actually merge (as near as I can tell). The Tigris river ends near the city of Mosul in Iraq, but a series of cannels seems to keep it going in different directions. The Euphrates seems to break into many much smaller brooks all throughout the nation today known as Turkey. The only place they do actually meet as where they dump into the Suez Cannel. This would put the garden of Eden under water. So, I am afraid a field trip to the Graden of Eden will have to be postponed.
The Trees: The Tree of Life and the Knowledge of Good and Evil. These trees are placed in the centre of the garden and the first prohibition is given. In fact, it was the only prohibition given. The entire world was full of possibilities and only one thing for them not to do.
Was the fruit from the Tree of life powerfully magical? Nothing in the text actually tells us this. I think the tree served as a test and a test alone. Just as a note, in most Christian depictions of this tree and Apple is seen as the fruit. In most Jewish literature, it is seen as a fig tree. Thus the reason why Adam and Even adorn themselves with fig leaves when they realize they are naked.
One of my teachers, Dr. Stephen Bramer, used to say, “think about it. You are in a garden. Why would you use fig leaves. There must have been some rhubarb somewhere.”
Man names all the creatures. One of the things I have told my children is that only the owner of a thing has the right to name it. If I see the neighbour’s dog “Barkley” and decide that I like the name “Rex” better I don’t have the right to name it whatever I choose. His name is Barkley. Man named everything, and thus it was the name. Man is the owner (rightful ruler) under the Creator, of all animals in the Universe. This also gave man a moment to understand the order of creation. Males and females of every species have some similarity. A male bull and female cow do look visually similar, although certainly you can tell the difference. This is true of all the animals in creation. Adam could see this, and he could tell he was really alone. (:23)
Woman is constructed from a piece of Adam. Many have speculated the meaning for this. Taken near his heart. Taken from his middle to neither be trod under foot nor from his head to be his leader. These provide nice imagery, but I don’t know with certainty why God chose a rib.
If you learn only one Hebrew phrase to translate and get the real feel of, I would recommend Genesis 2:23. Adam’s statement is full of zeal. “This is it!”
(:24) Hence a man will leave father and mother. Appears to be commentary by Moses since Adam did not have a traditional father and mother.
3:1 enter the serpent. I have always found it strange that God chooses to describe the snake while excluding the generally felt belief that the Serpent was actually Satan en cognito. In fact, it the Snake who is punished here not specifically Satan.
“Did God really say…” the Serpent asks the woman who may have not actually heard God’s word directly. She is in error on the instruction. She says you can’t touch it. In fact, God gave no such prohibition. Adam may have. We don’t know.
3:4 “you won’t die…” the concept that God is withholding something good from mankind. She is fooled into acting against what she has been told.
3:6 “and she gave some to her husband who was with her.” Unfortunately, I fear too much has been made of this last phrase. She did give it to Adam who did eat. However, the text is not really clear that he was standing beside Eve while she was being tempted and just followed after her. The text is really not that clear. It should be noted that Adam did not fall into temptation. He chose to act. That sin is significant.
3:7 “…they sewed fig leaves to make loin clothes.” see earlier note about the fig and the apple.
3:8 God acts as if he’s unaware of what has happened. Adam has to admit his action.
3:12 Adam blames God for the defective woman he gave Adam.
3:13 God turns to Eve, and she blames the snake
3:14 the snake is left without a leg to stand on.
Just as a side note. At University of Saskatchewan, I studied biology and found out that the bone structure of a snake implies the faint signs of hips. This suggests that snakes may have actually walked at one point in time. The prof. was actually using this as a proof of evolution not to support a Christian position.
3:15 A war is declared between the seed of the woman (Jesus) and the seed of the snake (all people opposed to the work of God, esp. Satan)
3:16 Increased pain in childbearing.
Desire for your husband but he will rule over you. This is not a benefit as some have argued. This “desire” is listed only one other place in the Bible and that is (Genesis 4:7) Sin desires to have Cain. This is a creation of marital strive for man and wife forever. He will Lord over her and she will desire to usurp him. Neither of these actions are similar to the relationship held by Adam and Eve before the Fall.
3:17 for Adam, the ground is curse. Remember Adam was dust. Now, he must toil this dust for his days. It would no longer be easy. This cycle would continue until he finally became dust again.
3:20 God graciously clothes Adam and Eve
3:22 Problem, they could live forever in this fallen state. God graciously removes them from the garden and stations the Cherubim (plural) with an ever flashing sword to guard the way to the tree of life. Again another reason why a garden of Eden fieldtrip is likely to fail.
4:1 Eve…bore Cain, saying “I have gained a male child with the help of the LORD.”
One of the more surprising items I heard from studying under Dr. Walter Kiaser is an interpretation of this passage. The passage, he suggested, doesn’t really say that she bore with the help of the LORD. It says something similar to “I have bore a male child, the LORD.” Since this doesn’t make much sense, we add the “with the help of”, but Dr. Kiaser suggests that Eve suspected that God himself would somehow come through the seed of the Woman, to destroy the work of the Serpent. As, in simple when Eve saw her male son, the thought she bore Jesus (Yeshua). You can imagine her disappointment afterward.
4:4-5 Look at the word choices used for Able and Cain. Able brought the best, the fat portions from the first of his flock. Cain brought ‘some’ of his crop. The Lord paid heed to Able and his offering, but to Cain and his offering he gave no heed. Martin Luther is credited with pointing out that God listened to the man first then the sacrifice. He was looking at the heart and the offering was just the product of that heart.
4:6-7 Cain, is given a specific warning, and attempt to allow him to repent.
Cain kills Able, and when God asks him about it he’s glib “am I my brother’s keeper” Cain gains and education about the knowledge of God. “…The ground cries out with the blood of your brother.” God punishes Cain and he’s no going to wander for the rest of his days.
Cain is worried that one of his siblings will kill him. God marks Cain to protect him. Again, even in punishment we see the grace of God.
Back in ancient days, the belief was that Cain was given black skin. In some old picture books you will see that Cain is seen as Black. This was the official teaching of the Mormon church for many years. This is the classic example of institutionalized racism. It was generally accepted and no one else argued it, so it stayed and continues to stay in some small circles to this very day. The text does not actually say this, and it is incorrect to imply it does.
4:16-22 more general history
4:23 Lamech (from the line of Cain) brags that he`s better, tougher then Cain. Foolishness of this family continues.
4:25 A son to replace Able. Interestingly, this wasn`t necessarily Adam and Eve`s 3rd child. Remember, Cain was afraid of all the people who might kill him. All mankind comes from this same first family. In some way (likely the timing, immediately after Able`s death) made Seth a replacement for Able.
4:26 People called on the name of the LORD (apparently this had not happened up to this time). Very limited spiritual history recorded for what was 130 years.
Chapter 5: line of Adam through Seth
-note people lived to be about 1000 years old. We don`t know, but we do suspect that they were not necessarily maturing at the same rate as we do today. If so, that would mean that Adam would have spent over 800 years as an ancient crippled old man.
It has been pointed out that the names in this Geneology have a specific meaning which is surprising
God- The God
Adam- Man
Seth- is appointed
Enosh- a mortal man of
Kenan- sorrow is born
Mahalalel- The Glory of God
Jared- Shall come down
Enoch- instructing that
Methuselah- His death shall bring
Lamech- those in despair
Noah- Comfort

Genesis 6:1
``The sons of god, looked upon the daughters of men and saw how beautiful they were and took wives among those that pleased them…``

One of the more difficult passages. Almost everything within us wants to find a way to make this not appear as if angels married human women, however, this is what the plain meaning of the passage suggests. Nephilim were their offspring. ``Men of renown``. The term Nephilim is generally thought of to be giants.

The depths of man’s wickedness had gotten God to the poin the never wished he made man, and the only possible solution was a whole elimination of mankind, with the exception of “Comfort”-Noah.

The concept

In ancient Bablyon the Jewish community pulled together the scholarship available to create a work which has simply become known as the Talmid. In it, is the wisdom of the scholarship of the day, a wealth of information for the observent Jew of then and of today. However...the Messianic community lacks such a document. We have "The Talmid", and we have Christian commentary, but we don't have a Messianic Talmid. It has been my intention to pull together thoughts on all the Torah passages as each family explores the Scriptures together. I will post these without comment, to create a "Saskatchewan Talmid".
Please don't be afraid to contribute. You don't have to say things on every passage, but do feel free to share. You do not need to be a Hebrew scholar. You can be new to the Messianic faith walk or a seasoned vet. We want all your comments. Use pseudonames (not your birth name) if you wish, but share...share...share, and let the Grace of God take this file where he wills. Baruch Ha Shem, Bradley Avi