GENESIS: Chapters 16 & 17

Chapter 16
Summary:	Sarai and Abram were still having trouble conceiving a child*, so Sarai took her maid - an Egyptian girl named Hagar - and gave her to Abram as a second wife. Sarai explains that since God has not given her any children, Abram may sleep with Hagar and Sarai will take the resulting children as her own. Abrahm (not-surprisingly) agrees*. Abram sleeps with Hagar and when she realized she was pregnant, she became arrogant towards Sarai. 16:2 "And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai." Sarai complains to Abram that Hagar's arrogance is his fault* and curses Abram hoping that God will judge him for this. Abram tells Sarai that she can punish Hagar as she sees fit, so she gives Hagar a good beating, and as a result Hagar runs away. An angel of God finds her besides a desert spring along the road to Shur and demands that she return to Sarai and to act as she should. The angel tells her that the child she is carrying will be a son and that Hagar is to name him Ishmael (meaning "God hears", explaining that God hears her woes). The angel further explains that Ishmael will be rebellious and will be against everyone, just as everyone will be against him, yet he will live near the rest of his kin. Thereafter Hagar spoke directly to God and was astonished to have seen God and live to tell it. Later the well was named "The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me" (it lies between Kadesh and Bered). So Hagar gave Abram a son, and Abram named him Ishmael. Abram was 86 years old at the time.
Notes:	1.) Moreover, a male child - as girls are not considered true heirs. 2.) The bible notes that this takes place 10 years after Abram first arrived in Canaan. 3.) Despite the fact that this was Sarai's idea in the first place.
Thoughts:	It's difficult not to look at this chapter as disturbing for a number of reasons: we have Abram having sex with his wife's maid (probably a slave), we have Abram's wife beating the tar out of a pregnant woman - carrying her husband's child, and we have an angel condemning Hagar for running off even though she just got beaten by her mistress (regardless of whether her arrogance justified punishment, it's hard to justify beating a pregnant woman). It's also a bit unclear as to why God tells Hagar directly to name the child Ishmael, yet it states that Abram give the child that name. Do we assume God told Abram also to name the child Ishmael, or did Abram take Hagar's word that she spoke to God and that's the name God chose?
Chapter 17
Summary:	When Abram was 99 years old, God appeared to him and told him to obey him and live as he should, and also that he had prepared a contract between them guaranteeing to make Abram's descendants into a mighty nation - and not just one nation, but a multitude of nations. Abram fell face downward to the ground as God talked with him. He continues on to tell Abram that he is also changing his name from Abram (meaning 'Exalted Father') to Abraham (meaning 'Father of Nations'). He continues to tell Abram/Abraham that he will continue this agreement forever amongst Abram's/Abraham's descendants. 17:11 "And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you." Abram's/Abraham's part of the contract is to obey God's will, and have every male amongst him circumcised on the eighth day after being born, and that this will be proof that Abram/Abraham and his people accept the covenant. God clarifies that this also applies to every foreign born slave as well as anyone born in Abram's/Abraham's household, and that anyone who refuses will be cut off from his people. God also renames Sarai to Sarah (meaning 'Princess') and proclaims that he will bless her to provide Abram/Abraham with many children*. Abraham throws himself down in worship, but was having doubts in his thoughts thinking about how ludicrous it sounded for him to become a father at age 100* and for Sarai/Sarah to give birth at 90, so he instead says to God, "Yes, do bless Ishmael!" God corrects Abraham and clarifies that Sarah will provide him with a son, and that son is to be named Isaac (meaning 'Laughter'), but decides that he will bless Ishmael also - adding that Ishmael will become a great nation and that 12 princes will be among his posterity - before stressing that God's contract is with Isaac and not Ishmael. Abraham then went home and proceeded to circumcise every male in his household - including himself and every male slave.
Notes:	1.) Which didn't seem so ridiculous when his great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather Shem had a child at the age of 100(?) 2.) Although chapter 11 states that Sarai was barren and therefore did not provide Abram any children, we can still consider that chapter correct when taking into account that God changed both Sarai and Abram's names at this point to Sarah and Abraham respectively. In that sense, Sarai and Abram didn't have any children, whereas Sarah and Abraham did.
Thoughts:	It's unclear what circumcision has to do with upholding a contract with God, and why he wants men to be circumcised in the first place. It's pretty nonsensical and seems very awkward that God is concerned with the way his people's penises look. What is to stop other tribes from circumcising their male population as well? Wouldn't the covenant be meaningless at that point? Would God strike men dead outside of Abraham's tribe for circumcising themselves? Also strange is Abraham's amusement at becoming a father at the age of 100, when the average age of the people of his time is still mentioned to be roughly around 200(!) if which taken into context with the average modern human living to be about 85, doesn't seem so strange for a man of 43 to have a child.

GENESIS: Chapters 14 & 15

Chapter 14
Summary:	War has broken out amongst the following: Amraphael - king of Shinar Arioch - king of Ellasar Ched-or-laomer - king of Elam Tidal - king of Goiim vs. Bera - king of Sodom Birsha - king of Gomorrah Shinab - king of Admah Shember - king of Zeboiim King* of Bela (later called Zoar) The kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela mobilized their armies in the Siddim Valley. For twelve years they had all been subject to King Ched-or-laomer, but decided to rebel in the thirteenth year. A year later King Ched-or-laomer and his allies arrived and the slaughter began. King Ched-or-laomer and his allies prevailed over the following tribes at the places indicated: The Rephraim in Ashteroth-karnaim The Zuzim in Ham The Emim in the plain of Kiriathaim The Horites in Mt. Seir, as far as El-paran at the edge of the desert They then swung around to Emmishpat (later called Kadesh) and destroyed the Amalekites and also the Amorites living in Hazazan-tamar. The rebel armies unsuccessfully attacked King Ched-or-laomer and his allies at the Siddim Valley. As they fled some of the armies of Sodom and Gomorrah slipped into tar pits, while the rest escaped to the mountains. The victors plundered Sodom and Gomorrah, carrying off their wealth and food before heading back home - taking with them Lot and all he owned. One of the men who escaped came and told Abram the news. 14:14 "And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan." When Abram learned of Lot's capture he gathered together the slaves born to his household (318 in all) and chased the retiring army as far as Dan, successfully attacking them and chasing the fleeing army to Hobah, north of Damascus. Abram recovered everything: his nephew Lot, the loot that had been taken, all the captives, and all of Lot's possessions. As Abram returned from his strike against King Ched-or-laomer and his allies, the king of Sodom came out to meet him, and King Melchizedek of Salem (Jerusalem) brought him bread and wine. Melchizedek blessed Abram and Abram in turn gave him a tenth of the spoils. The king of Sodom told Abram that he just wished for his people to be returned and that Abram could keep the stolen loot from the city of Sodom. Abram tells the king of Sodom that he has promised God that he will not take so much as a single thread from the city of Sodom, but tells the king to share the loot with Aner, Eschol, and Mamre - whom Abram calls his allies.
Notes:	1.) This king is not named.
Thoughts:	It seems a little odd to me that King Bera of Sodom is portrayed as humble in this chapter considering the description of the inhabitants of the city of Sodom to be "unusually wicked" in the previous chapter, however I think it's written that way to show moreover how unselfish Abram is supposed to be in contrast. It also seems strange that Abram is able to amass a small (presumably untrained) army of 318 that is able to defeat the trained armies of King Ched-or-laomer and his allies, but I think the point that is trying to be conveyed is that God was on the side of Abram and his militia.
Chapter 15
Summary:	God speaks to Abram in a vision and tells him not to be afraid, as God will defend him and bestow great blessings upon him. Abram complains to God asking what good are all these blessings to him when he has no son to inherit his wealth, mentioning that someone "undeserving" in his household might instead inherit his wealth. God assures him that he will in fact have a son to inherit his wealth and brings him outside to look at the stars in the sky. He then shows Abram the stars and claims that the number of Abram's descendants will be as difficult to count as the stars in the sky. God reminds Abram that he brought Abram out of the city of Ur and gave him this land forever. When Abram asks how he can be sure that God will in fact give it to him, God tells him to gather up a three year old heifer, a three year old goat, a three year old ram, a turtle dove, and a pigeon, and tells him to slay them all and split them all down the middle except for the birds. After doing so, Abram shoos away the vultures who try to feed off the carcasses. That night as Abram goes to sleep, God comes to him in another vision, this time a vision of terror and darkness. God tells him that although his descendants will indeed inherit this land that they will first be enslaved in a foreign land for 400 years. However, God continues on saying that he will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end Abram's descendants will come away from their slavery with great wealth. 15:18 "In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:" Continuing on, God says that the people will return to this land as the wickedness of the Amorite nation living here now won't be ready for punishment for another 400 years. Abram apparently wakes up and sees a smoking fire-pot and a flaming torch pass through the halves of the animal carcasses. God makes a covenant with Abram telling him that the land from the Wadi-el-Arish to the Euphrates River will belong to Abram's descendants, and lists these nations that will belong to them: Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.
Thoughts:	The most interesting thing I find here is God's apparent sense of clairvoyance, and it almost begs the question of whether it is actually God foreseeing the future or if he is simply guiding it that way. However, God specifically predicts that the Amorite nation won't be ready for punishment (meaning that they probably haven't sinned enough yet) for another 400 years. Now the problem I have here with God's apparent clairvoyance is that it makes the genocidal flood seem rather senseless when Abram would still be born through Noah's lineage and could have inherited the same land without all the world wide death and destruction. It also seems to make the Adam and Eve story even grimmer if God apparently has the power to see the future and willing knew that Adam and Eve were doomed from the beginning. Also of note, this is the first time God specifically calls for an animal sacrifice, and a pretty gory one at that.

GENESIS: Chapters 12 & 13

Chapter 12
Summary:	After Abram's father Terah died, God tells Abram to leave behind his country and his people to go to a land that God has picked out for him. He tells Abram that if he does, Abram will become the father of a great nation, will be famous world-wide, and will be a blessing to others. So Abram, now aged 75, does what he's told and brings his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot along with him too. He also brings his cattle and a bunch of slaves that he had gotten in Haran, and finally arrives in Canaan. Traveling through Canaan they set up camp at an oak tree in Moreh. God appears to Abram and tells him that he is going to give this land to Abram's descendants and Abram builds an altar to commemorate God's visit. Abram leaves and travels south to a hilly area between Bethel (on the west) and Ai (on the east). He makes another altar and prays to God, before heading off to Negeb, pausing frequently along the way. At the time there was a terrible famine, so Abram heads off to Egypt to live. Before entering Egypt, he tells his wife Sarai to tell people that she is his sister, fearing that an Egyptian might be tempted by her beauty to kill Abram and take Sarai for himself. When he arrives in Egypt he finds that he was right about the Egyptian people being entranced with Sarai's beauty, and once word got back to the Pharaoh, the Pharaoh took Sarai back to his palace for himself. The Pharaoh in return gave Abram gifts of sheep, oxen, donkeys, camels, and slaves. 12:17 "And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife." God, however, none too pleased about Sarai being held in the Pharaoh's palace sent a terrible plague amongst the Pharaoh's household. The Pharaoh then summoned Abram and asked him why he had pulled this rouse* about saying that Sarai was his sister instead of his wife. He tells Abram to take Sarai and get out of town, and Abram (along with his family and possessions) is escorted out of the kingdom by armed guards.
Notes:	1.) Not specified as to how the Pharaoh figured the deception out.
Thoughts:	This short chapter basically serves to set up a rivalry between God's chosen people and the evil Egyptians. Abram and his descendants will have further and more dramatic encounters with the Egyptians later on in the story.
Chapter 13
Summary:	After getting kicked out of Egypt, Abram and his family head back north to Negeb, and back further north to his old campsite between Bethel and Ai to worship God. 13:13 "But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly." Both Abram and Lot had become rather wealthy with lots of cattle and slaves and found that the campsite couldn't support both Abram and Lot's flocks, so fight broke out amongst the slaves who were shepherding their flocks. Abram tells Lot that the fighting has to stop and offers to split the land up between them. Lot takes a piece of land along the Jordan River and parts company with Abram, who stayed in the land of Canaan. Lot settled on the outskirts of the city of Sodom, whose inhabitants were unusually wicked and sinned against God. After Lot was gone, God told Abram to look in every direction he could and said that he would give all this land to Abram and his descendants, and ensured that he would have many descendants. He tells Abram to explore the new land he has given him, and Abram sets up his tent towards the oaks of Mamre (near Hebron) and builds an altar there.
Thoughts:	Another short chapter that sets up two different stories for Abram and Lot, and unfortunately doesn't leave much to discuss here, except to affirm that God still doesn't seem to take much issue with slavery and that he's already not very happy with the Sodomite's behavior.

GENESIS: Chapter 11

Chapter 11
Summary:	Apparently all mankind spoke a single language at this point, until a group of people started colonizing eastward into the land of Babylon. The people who lived there began talking about building a great city with a huge tower reaching to the heavens. Apparently, God is none too happy to see the people all working together with political and linguistic unity, thinking that if they accomplish this unity that they'd become too smart for their own good*. God decides to put a stop to this by giving the people a bunch of different languages to prevent them from working together in unity - as they wouldn't be able to communicate with each other. 11:1 "And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech." Basically, God scattered them all over the earth with different languages, and it is noted that the city of Babel got it's name, meaning "confusion". The rest of the chapter rattles of some names and ages of Shem's descendants: Shem: His son Arpachshad was born two years after the flood when Shem was age 100! Died at age 600*. Arpachshad: Born two years after the flood. Was 35 years old when his son Shelah was born. Died at the age of 458*. Shelah: Was 35 years old when his son Eber was born. Like his father, died at the age of 458*. Eber: Was 34 years old when his son Peleg was born. Died at the age of 464*. Peleg: Was 30 years old when his son Reu was born Died at the age of 239*. Reu: Was 32 years old when his son Serug was born Like his father, died at the age of 239*. Serug: Was 30 years old when his son Nahor was born. Died at the age of 230*. Nahor: Was 29 years old when his son Terah was born. Died at the age of 148*. Terah: By the time Terah was 70, he had three sons: Abram, Nahor*, and Haran. Haran: Had two sons: Lot and Iscah. Had a daughter named Milcah. Died young (age unspecified) and was outlived by his father Abram: Married his half-sister Sarai. Sarai was barren and gave Abram no children*. Nahor: Married his niece Milcah (Haran's daughter) after Haran's death. Later took his son Abram, grandson Lot, and daughter-in-law Sarai and left Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. However, they stopped instead at the city of Haran* and settled there. Died at the age of 205*.
Notes:	1.) Seems to serve as a justification for stopping the spread of knowledge, or in other words, God seems to think people were becoming too smart for their own good. 2.) These are not typos. These are the actual ages listed in the bible. 3.) Not to be confused with Terah's father also named Nabor. 4.) Not to be confused with Terah's son Haran. Haran as mentioned here is the name of a city. 5.) Technically true, yet see chapter 17.
Thoughts:	The beginning of this chapter is in fact very interesting, disguising itself as an explanation for the reason behind the multitude of languages mankind speaks. The really telling part however is God's motives which seem to be saying that people really shouldn't think too hard or deeply, and that many minds working together develop knowledge and wisdom which apparently God doesn't care much for either. In this context it's more clear to why such events as the Dark Ages occurred where religion felt that man "knew too much" and put a halt to it. The biggest problems I personally have with religious beliefs is that they often put a halt to critical thinking. I find this dangerous and more over the real causes of war, killing, and censorship in the name of religious dogma. Taken alone, the Tower of Babel story seems to serve as a silly and harmless fable for why humans have so many languages, but upon closer inspection is really more about God acting out as the "Thought Police". The rest of the chapter is similar in respects to chapter 5 in that it's simply listing various people and their ages. However, an interesting thing occurs amongst a few of these advanced ages, being that a few of the descendants of Shem share similar attributes of their fathers: Arpachshad and Shelah both had sons at the age of 35 and both died at the age of 458, and Peleg and Rue also died at the same age of 239. Also of note is that the life spans of the people are dropping rather quickly towards more reasonable (but higher than any recorded human ages) levels. Shem outlives his son Arpachshad by a "mere" 42 years; while Eber outlives his son Peleg (who dies at age 239) by 191 years; and Serug outlives his son Nahor by a "mere" 52 years.