GENESIS: Snoopy's Short & Snappy Review

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@unsafe

Here's the part I found confusing.
www.biblegateway.com

Bible Gateway passage: Genesis 12:4-5 - New English Translation

So Abram left, just as the LORD had told him to do, and Lot went with him. (Now Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran.) And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they left for the land...
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It could be two different sources mashed together. Or it could just be writing style.

Or maybe two Lots but this doesn't seem very likely.
 
I see what your saying here

4 So Abram left,[a] just as the Lord had told him to do,[b] and Lot went with him. (Now[c] Abram was 75 years old[d] when he departed from Haran.) 5 And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew[e] Lot,

Lot went with him.and here Abraham takes him with him -----It is the same Lot ----who is his nephew ---

Now I wounder if Abraham ever said to Lot --no family is to come with me ----the Lord said I was to leave my relatives and go to where He wants me to go -----the scripture doesn't tells us how Lot ended up going it just says Abraham took Lot with him ----the bottom line is Abraham disregarded God's Command ---- and Lot brings trouble with him ----as you will see
 
Good morning! Here is Genesis 13.

Snoopy's Snappy Review: Farewell Lot! :unsure:

www.biblegateway.com

Bible Gateway passage: Genesis 13 - New English Translation

Abram’s Solution to the Strife - So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev. He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot. (Now Abram was very wealthy in livestock, silver, and gold.) And he journeyed from place to place from the Negev as far as Bethel. He returned to the...
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Abram, Serai and Lot return to the Negev.

They have been kicked out of Egypt, but this is no poor refugee story! Abram has gold, silver and livestock with him. Servants, too, by the sound of things.

Lot also has flocks, herds and tents. Because their possessions are so great, the land can't support them living side by side. There were quarrels between the herdsmen of the two men.

Abram decides they need to go their separate ways. Lot selects the region of the Jordon and moves to the East.

God promises the land of Canaan to Abram and his descendants. Abram moves to Hebron and builds an altar to God there.
 
Snoopy needed a quick geography lesson. Present day Hebron is located in the southern West Bank. It is about 30 km south of Jerusalem.

Anyone else find this a curious story? Abram disregarded one of God's instructions (to leave his relatives behind) and he was deceitful in Egypt.

Rather than being run out on his ear, he gets to leave with his possessions and actually seems to be quite wealthy.

These OT characters mess up a fair amount. Why does this feel surprising? Is it because the One we follow is such an exemplar of ethical and compassionate living?
 
It is about being human. We mess up from time to time. If we are on the right path, it is acceptable to mess up from time to time. And we are making judgements from our time of actions from almost 4000 years ago.

Also, of you are rich as Abram was when he left Sumer, you can get away with stuff.

You keep commenting that Abram disobeyed when Lot came with him. Leaving your family means leaving your home and all of your family who live there. Having Lot join him does not mean he did not leave his family.
 
jimkenney12 said:
You keep commenting that Abram disobeyed when Lot came with him.
Click to expand...
No, I don't keep saying that at all. I said that Abram disregarded one of God's instructions. And I am pretty sure I only said it once.

It was @unsafe who used the word "disobey" which got me thinking.
 
Was Lot independently wealthy, does anyone think? Scripture doesn't say anything about him receiving livestock or servants in Egypt. Could it be Abram took him along to Canaan because he needed Lot's resources?
 
It was awesome to visit this 4,000 year old gate in the wooded area of the tribe of Dan that Abraham allegedly passed through en route to rescuing Lot:

www.jpost.com

4,000-year-old 'Abraham's Gate' reopens

Tel Dan site underwent major restoration; Tradition says Biblical patriarch passed through gate during rescue of Lot.
www.jpost.com www.jpost.com

Nearby were the walled ruins of an ancient Canaanite village in excellent condition for buildings traceable to the time of Joshua.
 
So Abraham and Lot Separate -----and look where Lot goes ------and settles

Bad choice -----

10 Lot looked up and saw[t] the whole region[u] of the Jordan. He noticed[v] that all of it was well watered (this was before the Lord obliterated[w] Sodom and Gomorrah)[x] like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt,[y] all the way to Zoar. 11 Lot chose for himself the whole region of the Jordan and traveled[z] toward the east.

So the relatives separated from each other.[aa] 12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, but Lot settled among the cities of the Jordan plain[ab] and pitched his tents next to Sodom. 13 (Now[ac] the people[ad] of Sodom were extremely wicked rebels against the Lord.)
 
jimkenney12 said:
Having Lot join him does not mean he did not leave his family.
Click to expand...
this is what the Scripture says jimkenney12

Abram Journeys to Egypt​

12 Now [in Haran] the Lord had said to Abram,

“Go away from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;

Lot is a relative ---a nephew ---he was never to go with Abraham ------Abraham disobeyed God's Command by allowing Lot who is a Relative to go with him -------
 
Lot put himself in proximity to the wicked rebels of Sodom. Is this why settling where he did was a bad choice?
 
unsafe said:
Lot is a relative ---a nephew ---he was never to go with Abraham ------Abraham disobeyed God's Command by allowing Lot who is a Relative to go with him -------
Click to expand...
One thing we don't know is exactly how these ancient people viewed kinship. The genealogies always focus on direct descendants. A nephew might not be considered a relative in the same way as a descendant.

Just guessing though. :)
 
paradox3 said:
One thing we don't know is exactly how these ancient people viewed kinship. The genealogies always focus on direct descendants. A nephew might not be considered a relative in the same way as a descendant.

Just guessing though. :)
Click to expand...
Depends on the culture. In Rome, being related to someone important was quite a good way to advance your own fortunes. Augustus was Julius Caesar's heir but was actually Julius' grandnephew (son of his niece), not child. And following that precedent, Roman emperors often chose relatives other than children as successors or even adopted unrelated men that they preferred to succeed them.
 
Here's another confusing thing. We have nothing to suggest that Sarai is much younger than Abram, and in fact, her pregnancy even later in the book is miraculous. So Abram is 75 when they hit Egypt, and he is worried about 70 something Sarai being a sexual temptress?
 
Good morning! Here is Genesis 14:

Snoopy's Snappy Review: WAR! Let us pray. :cry:

www.biblegateway.com

Bible Gateway passage: Genesis 14 - New English Translation

The Blessing of Victory for God’s People - At that time Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (that...
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Snoopy's not gonna lie. Geography is not his strong point and this is one confusing passage. The first war of the Bible is taking place.

(Snoopy pauses to consider the present day war in the same part of the world and says a prayer for peace.)

A contingent of four kings has defeated an alliance of five kings. Sodom and Gommorah have fallen and Abram's nephew Lot has been captured.

Abram organizes 318 trained men from his own household and goes in pursuit. They defeat the four kings and rescue Lot.

On return, Melchizedek gives Abram bread and wine and blesses him.

Melchizedek is both a priest of the Most High God and the king of Salem. He was not involved in the war. Abram gives him him 10% of the plunder he has taken.

Any comments?
 
Christians have often taken Melchizedek to be a prototype for Christ. It's not hard to see why.

What do you think of him accepting the tithe from the spoils of war?
 
The whole thing about Salem and Melchizedek raised questions.

Salem is a very secure city. The first leader to succeed in capturing it is David. If an established community serving God is already in Palestine, why was Abram needed to go there?
 
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