Abel
_The Hebrew spelling of this word means ‘breath,’ ‘vapor,’ that which is
‘insubstantial.’ However, it is more likely that the name should be
linked with the Accadian word meaning ‘son.’ Abel was the second son of
Adam and Eve and was murdered by his brother Cain because God preferred
Abel’s sacrifice over Cain’s.
Abel is referenced multiple times throughout the Bible, including in Heb 11:4; 1 John 3:12; Matt. 23:35; Luke 11:51; and Heb 12:24, always as a faithful, innocent, righteous man.
Biblical references:
Genesis 4:2- “Next she bore his brother Abel. Abel became a keeper of flocks, and Cain a tiller of the soil.
Genesis 4:4- “…while Abel, for his part, brought one of the best firstlings of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering,…”
Genesis 4:8- “Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out in the field.” When they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.”
Abel is referenced multiple times throughout the Bible, including in Heb 11:4; 1 John 3:12; Matt. 23:35; Luke 11:51; and Heb 12:24, always as a faithful, innocent, righteous man.
Biblical references:
Genesis 4:2- “Next she bore his brother Abel. Abel became a keeper of flocks, and Cain a tiller of the soil.
Genesis 4:4- “…while Abel, for his part, brought one of the best firstlings of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering,…”
Genesis 4:8- “Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out in the field.” When they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.”
Adam & Eve
Adam & Eve: Past the Hype
This article is divided into three parts:
1) Notes and Discussion on Language
2) “The Fall of Eve?” or “The Fall of Adam and Eve?”
3) The Bible Uses Figurative Language: Follow Your Heart
1) Notes and Discussion on Language:
Many people underestimate both the challenge of understanding the translation process and the rich amount of learning that can be gained by thoroughly understanding that same process. I shall set forth the many proposals put forth, and allow the reader to absorb what they will.
Adam:
-It could be ultimately derived from Hebrew meaning “to be red”, referring to the ruddy colour of human, or from Akkadian “adamu” meaning “to make.”
-With Adam, God is portrayed as a potter molding man's body out of the clay. This is a play on the how the words sound in Hebrew. The Hebrew "Adam" is "man" and "adama" is "ground". Adam is literally simply named “man”.
-“Adham” is Hebrew for “of the ground” or “taken out of the red earth.”
Eve:
-From the Hebrew name “Chawwah”, which was derived from the Hebrew word “chawah”, “to breath” or the related word “chayah,” “to live.”
-With Eve, the name is also descriptive. The Hebrew name “hawwa” (Eve) is related to the Hebrew word “Hay” (living). This implies that she is not only the mother of all the living, but also the mother of promised Seed who would give life to the human race now subjected to death.
-The name given to the first woman by the first man (Gen. 3:20). The Bible interprets this name to mean “the mother of all living,” both because Eve is, through her sons, the female ancestor of the entire human race and because the name sounds similar to the Hebrew word for “living being.” The wordplay is probably etymologically incorrect, and later rabbinic tradition proposed a connection with the Aramaic word “serpent.” The actual linguistic derivation of the name remains uncertain. (Oxford)
2) “The Fall of Eve?” or “The Fall of Adam and Eve?”
Katharine Doob Sakenfeld, professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, has dedicated her life to understand the Bible and sharing that knowledge with others. I am going to quote her directly out of my great respect for her learning…..my paraphrasing would be insult to her concise and well-reasoned arguments. I went back and double-checked the Bible verses myself. She’s right…the Bible specifically states that they WERE together when the serpent spoke to them; God DID create them as equal; and they were BOTH cursed/punished, not just Eve. Anyway, in her own words:
“According to the the account in Genesis 2-3, the woman is created to be a companion corresponding to (not originally subordinate to) the man. Because the two of them eat the forbidden fruit, the man is destined to toil as a farmer in fields of thorns and thistles, and the woman is destined to suffer pain in childbearing. It is in the aftermath of these divine pronouncements that the man names the woman as he had earlier named the animals, thus indicating dominion over her.
Both Jewish tradition and the New Testament offer a very negative view of Eve, presenting her as representative of the alleged weaknesses of women. Paul feared that the Corinthian Christians would be led astray from Christ as Eve was deceived by the serpent (2 Cor 11.2). In 1 Timonthy 2.13-15, Eve’s deception by the serpent and also her creation subsequent to the man are cited as reasons that women must keep silent in church (cf 1 Cor 14.34-35) and hold no authority over men. Early Christian theologians contrasted Eve’s sinfulness with the perfection of the “new Eve,” Mary, the mother of Jesus.
This traditional emphasis on the gullibility of Eve and her tendency toward sin is one possible interpretation of the Genesis narrative itself. Genesis 3 gives no indication why the serpent addressed the woman and even indicates that the man and woman were together when the serpent spoke. It has been suggested that the serpent might have addressed the woman as provider of food or as theological thinker, not as the more gullible of the couple, and that the woman’s addition to the divine prohibition about the fruit (“we may not touch it”) represents not a lie, but a desirable exaggeration meant to make sure that the basic command would not be broken. The man and woman together discover their nakedness, together make fig leaf garments, and together hide from the deity. Both are destined to a life of pain (neither is cursed) because of their actions, and together they are expelled from the garden. Thus, once the reader sets aside the portrait of Eve based on later tradition, the great skill of the Genesis narrator in presenting a character open to diverse interpretation becomes apparent.”
3) The Bible Uses Figurative Language: Follow Your Heart
This current insistence on refusing to accept that the Bible uses various literary techniques and that every single word is a literal fact, not to be interpreted in any way, is simply foolish. I’m sorry, but it’s true. The Catholic Church, the most conservative of believers, maintains the position that we as human being must INTERPRET the Bible, that God can have placed more than one meaning in each story, and that our understanding can be wrong.
It also specifically, and in multiple places states, that the various events in Genesis are used to illustrate an eternal truth, that God is behind the existence of all, NOT that every event in Genesis took place during a literal 24-hour day, that the world began only 10,000 years ago, or that evolution is completely false. The following article explain these concepts at further length: http://www.catholic.com/tracts/adam-eve-and-evolution
As with all, use your mind. Pray to God for guidance. And follow your heart.
This article is divided into three parts:
1) Notes and Discussion on Language
2) “The Fall of Eve?” or “The Fall of Adam and Eve?”
3) The Bible Uses Figurative Language: Follow Your Heart
1) Notes and Discussion on Language:
Many people underestimate both the challenge of understanding the translation process and the rich amount of learning that can be gained by thoroughly understanding that same process. I shall set forth the many proposals put forth, and allow the reader to absorb what they will.
Adam:
-It could be ultimately derived from Hebrew meaning “to be red”, referring to the ruddy colour of human, or from Akkadian “adamu” meaning “to make.”
-With Adam, God is portrayed as a potter molding man's body out of the clay. This is a play on the how the words sound in Hebrew. The Hebrew "Adam" is "man" and "adama" is "ground". Adam is literally simply named “man”.
-“Adham” is Hebrew for “of the ground” or “taken out of the red earth.”
Eve:
-From the Hebrew name “Chawwah”, which was derived from the Hebrew word “chawah”, “to breath” or the related word “chayah,” “to live.”
-With Eve, the name is also descriptive. The Hebrew name “hawwa” (Eve) is related to the Hebrew word “Hay” (living). This implies that she is not only the mother of all the living, but also the mother of promised Seed who would give life to the human race now subjected to death.
-The name given to the first woman by the first man (Gen. 3:20). The Bible interprets this name to mean “the mother of all living,” both because Eve is, through her sons, the female ancestor of the entire human race and because the name sounds similar to the Hebrew word for “living being.” The wordplay is probably etymologically incorrect, and later rabbinic tradition proposed a connection with the Aramaic word “serpent.” The actual linguistic derivation of the name remains uncertain. (Oxford)
2) “The Fall of Eve?” or “The Fall of Adam and Eve?”
Katharine Doob Sakenfeld, professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, has dedicated her life to understand the Bible and sharing that knowledge with others. I am going to quote her directly out of my great respect for her learning…..my paraphrasing would be insult to her concise and well-reasoned arguments. I went back and double-checked the Bible verses myself. She’s right…the Bible specifically states that they WERE together when the serpent spoke to them; God DID create them as equal; and they were BOTH cursed/punished, not just Eve. Anyway, in her own words:
“According to the the account in Genesis 2-3, the woman is created to be a companion corresponding to (not originally subordinate to) the man. Because the two of them eat the forbidden fruit, the man is destined to toil as a farmer in fields of thorns and thistles, and the woman is destined to suffer pain in childbearing. It is in the aftermath of these divine pronouncements that the man names the woman as he had earlier named the animals, thus indicating dominion over her.
Both Jewish tradition and the New Testament offer a very negative view of Eve, presenting her as representative of the alleged weaknesses of women. Paul feared that the Corinthian Christians would be led astray from Christ as Eve was deceived by the serpent (2 Cor 11.2). In 1 Timonthy 2.13-15, Eve’s deception by the serpent and also her creation subsequent to the man are cited as reasons that women must keep silent in church (cf 1 Cor 14.34-35) and hold no authority over men. Early Christian theologians contrasted Eve’s sinfulness with the perfection of the “new Eve,” Mary, the mother of Jesus.
This traditional emphasis on the gullibility of Eve and her tendency toward sin is one possible interpretation of the Genesis narrative itself. Genesis 3 gives no indication why the serpent addressed the woman and even indicates that the man and woman were together when the serpent spoke. It has been suggested that the serpent might have addressed the woman as provider of food or as theological thinker, not as the more gullible of the couple, and that the woman’s addition to the divine prohibition about the fruit (“we may not touch it”) represents not a lie, but a desirable exaggeration meant to make sure that the basic command would not be broken. The man and woman together discover their nakedness, together make fig leaf garments, and together hide from the deity. Both are destined to a life of pain (neither is cursed) because of their actions, and together they are expelled from the garden. Thus, once the reader sets aside the portrait of Eve based on later tradition, the great skill of the Genesis narrator in presenting a character open to diverse interpretation becomes apparent.”
3) The Bible Uses Figurative Language: Follow Your Heart
This current insistence on refusing to accept that the Bible uses various literary techniques and that every single word is a literal fact, not to be interpreted in any way, is simply foolish. I’m sorry, but it’s true. The Catholic Church, the most conservative of believers, maintains the position that we as human being must INTERPRET the Bible, that God can have placed more than one meaning in each story, and that our understanding can be wrong.
It also specifically, and in multiple places states, that the various events in Genesis are used to illustrate an eternal truth, that God is behind the existence of all, NOT that every event in Genesis took place during a literal 24-hour day, that the world began only 10,000 years ago, or that evolution is completely false. The following article explain these concepts at further length: http://www.catholic.com/tracts/adam-eve-and-evolution
As with all, use your mind. Pray to God for guidance. And follow your heart.
Cain
Origin of the name: Genesis 4:1- “The man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying ‘I have produced a man with the help of the Lord.’” The Hebrew name "qayin" (Cain) and the term "qaniti" (I have produced) is another play on words that would be recognized in the original Hebrew, but is lost in translation. An extremely rough equivalent would be “I have gained Cain”, with gain meaning “to begat” or “to create”
The first son of Adam and Eve. The first murderer in human history- killed his brother Abel because God preferred Abel’s sacrifice over his own. In punishment, Cain was “banned from the soil” and condemned to wander the Earth. He settled in the land of Nod and built a city. His descendants include: Jabal (forefather of tent-dwelling cattle-keepers), Jubal (forefather of musicians), Tubal-Cain (forefather of smiths). It is also hypothesized that Cain is the father of the Kenites, which included both shepherds and metal-workers. In this theory, though, some of the descendants of Cain must have survived the flood. This is entirely possible as it is becoming more common to accept that the flood was not world-wide.
The Oxford Illustrated Companion to the Bible lists multiple later interpretations, including identifying Cain as the son of either Satan, the wicked angel Sammael, or the serpent in the Garden of Eden. It also states that the “Zohar” and various medieval legends speculate on the fate of Cain’s offspring (with his wife Awan, meaning “Wickedness”) as demons.
The first son of Adam and Eve. The first murderer in human history- killed his brother Abel because God preferred Abel’s sacrifice over his own. In punishment, Cain was “banned from the soil” and condemned to wander the Earth. He settled in the land of Nod and built a city. His descendants include: Jabal (forefather of tent-dwelling cattle-keepers), Jubal (forefather of musicians), Tubal-Cain (forefather of smiths). It is also hypothesized that Cain is the father of the Kenites, which included both shepherds and metal-workers. In this theory, though, some of the descendants of Cain must have survived the flood. This is entirely possible as it is becoming more common to accept that the flood was not world-wide.
The Oxford Illustrated Companion to the Bible lists multiple later interpretations, including identifying Cain as the son of either Satan, the wicked angel Sammael, or the serpent in the Garden of Eden. It also states that the “Zohar” and various medieval legends speculate on the fate of Cain’s offspring (with his wife Awan, meaning “Wickedness”) as demons.
Pharaoh, During Exodus
Who Was Pharaoh During the Exodus?
Despite the detail given in the Bible about Exodus, it neglects to give the Pharaoh a name. This is probably because with the oral tradition, there was no way that anyone was going to forget who the Pharaoh defeated at the Sea of Reeds (commonly translated as Red Sea) was!
Archeologists and theologians think that it was one of three Pharaohs: Ramses II, Thutmose III, or Amenhotep II.
The exodus is “guessed” at occurring around 1445 b.c. Ramses II reigned as Pharaoh during 1279-1213 b.c., much too late for the Exodus. However, the first signs of settlement in Israel occur during the early twelfth century, which corresponds to Ramses II’s reign.
Thutmose III was the father of Amenhotep II. Thutmose III’s reign, from 1479-1425 b.c., fits exactly with the guessed date of Exodus. Thutmose III was also known as a fierce warrior. But silence of his military victories later in his reign MAY be due to his defeat at the Sea of Reeds.
Amenhotep II was also a fierce warrior, and received tribute from as far away as Babylon. It was also recorded that at one time during his reign he invaded the area of Canaan. Not much is known about later in Amenhotep. The sudden silence about his military activities has caused many to speculate that this was because his army had been defeated by God in the Sea of Reeds. But this is pure speculation…nothing concrete has been found.
Despite the detail given in the Bible about Exodus, it neglects to give the Pharaoh a name. This is probably because with the oral tradition, there was no way that anyone was going to forget who the Pharaoh defeated at the Sea of Reeds (commonly translated as Red Sea) was!
Archeologists and theologians think that it was one of three Pharaohs: Ramses II, Thutmose III, or Amenhotep II.
The exodus is “guessed” at occurring around 1445 b.c. Ramses II reigned as Pharaoh during 1279-1213 b.c., much too late for the Exodus. However, the first signs of settlement in Israel occur during the early twelfth century, which corresponds to Ramses II’s reign.
Thutmose III was the father of Amenhotep II. Thutmose III’s reign, from 1479-1425 b.c., fits exactly with the guessed date of Exodus. Thutmose III was also known as a fierce warrior. But silence of his military victories later in his reign MAY be due to his defeat at the Sea of Reeds.
Amenhotep II was also a fierce warrior, and received tribute from as far away as Babylon. It was also recorded that at one time during his reign he invaded the area of Canaan. Not much is known about later in Amenhotep. The sudden silence about his military activities has caused many to speculate that this was because his army had been defeated by God in the Sea of Reeds. But this is pure speculation…nothing concrete has been found.
Seth
_Hebrew “sheth.” Various meanings from different sources- appointed,
compensate, granted, or substitute. His name signifies that he was the
replacement or substitute for Abel.
Adam and Eve’s third son, born after Cain murdered Abel. The father of Enosh. Founder of the line of faith, which eventually includes Jesus Christ. Seth died at the age of 912.
Christian, Jewish, and Islam tradition all have small branches of mysticism about Seth, his various attributes, his status as a prophet, etc.
Biblical References:
Genesis 4:25-26: “….she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, ‘God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.’ Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh…..”
Genesis 5:3-4: “…and he named him Seth. After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years…”
Genesis 5:6-8: “When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh. And after he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Seth lived 912 years, and then he died.”
Adam and Eve’s third son, born after Cain murdered Abel. The father of Enosh. Founder of the line of faith, which eventually includes Jesus Christ. Seth died at the age of 912.
Christian, Jewish, and Islam tradition all have small branches of mysticism about Seth, his various attributes, his status as a prophet, etc.
Biblical References:
Genesis 4:25-26: “….she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, ‘God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.’ Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh…..”
Genesis 5:3-4: “…and he named him Seth. After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years…”
Genesis 5:6-8: “When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh. And after he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Seth lived 912 years, and then he died.”
