Why did Joseph want his bones dug up and buried in the Promised Land?

Question: Why did Joseph want his bones dug up and buried in the Promised Land? Answer: Joseph prophesied that Israel would not remain in Egypt. To demonstrate his confidence in God’s promise, Joseph insisted that when they left, they would take his bones and bury them in Canaan — a land they would not possess…

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How did Joseph prove who he was to his brothers?

Question: How did Joseph prove to his brothers that he was Joseph and not an Egyptian? Answer: He had knowledge that only a brother could possibly have. He knew the birth order of the adult brothers. “And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth; and…

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How many sons did Abraham have?

Question: Regarding Genesis 20, where it says Sarah was untouched. So being the wife of Abraham she had no relations with him?  Then how was it written she was barren?  Abraham was married to his half-sister so he only told half a lie to the Pharaoh. Why was the Pharaoh plagued when this was the…

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Why is the sky referred to as “heavens” in Genesis 1:6-8?

Question: Hello, I am currently bust with a Bible study of Genesis and I am confused about something. In Genesis God said: “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth”. If the first heaven is the atmosphere i.e the sky. Then why…

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Thank you for explaining where the other people came from in Genesis 4:14

Question: Hello, I just want to say thank you for your explanation of Genesis 4:14. I was reading today and thought, “What other people?”  It was nice to see some proof as to what could have happened to cause Cain’s line of thinking. It is very hard to think people lived so long, but it must be. Answer:…

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How were all the animals feed on the ark?

Question: Hi, I have a question about Noah’s Ark that I recently stumbled upon. With all the animals that God brought to Noah for the Ark, how did the animal feces get thrown out? Did all eight people take care of all of that and take care of the animals with food, etc.? Answer: God…

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Is the biblical account of Creation not meant to be taken literally?

Question: I actually once wrote an article my junior year of high school titled “Creationism vs. Evolution”, and my entire paper was about how Creationism was right and Evolution was wrong. However, over the years I’ve come across so much evidence arguing for the sake of evolution in the world. I also have come to…

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Why did Noah curse Ham’s child just because Ham saw Noah naked?

Question: Hi, I could not understand why Noah issued a curse on Ham just because Ham saw Noah naked in Genesis 9:22-27. Q1. Was there a law of the land regarding seeing someone naked and Ham did not follow it? Q2. What’s wrong with Ham telling his brothers? (If I was the youngest and saw…

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Is the third river from Eden the Hiddekel or the Tigris?

Question: I was studying about the location of the Garden of Eden today, and I noticed you said the Bible lists four rivers Pishon, Gihon, Euphrates, and the Tigris? I don’t believe that the Bible lists the Tigris. I believe the last river is listed as Hiddekel which is found in Genesis 2:10-14. Answer: “The…

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Why wasn’t Judah punished for seeing a prostitute?

Question: Hi, There is something that has been nagging me for a long time. I am a young Christian man, and I have this question about the story of Judah and Tamar. As you know, Tamar tricked Judah into fathering a child with her by disguising herself as a prostitute. In the narrative, at least…

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You can’t claim that men can eat meat because Adam and Eve did not exist!

Question: I am not going to spend the time on pointing out the contradictions and major flaws in your ‘bible-based’ theories about why animals may be hunted,slaughtered and consumed at our peril, for the entire article and your reasoning is so deraged that it would probably be a waste of time. Just for the record:…

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What was the original language?

Question: Hi, I’m a part of the church of Christ and have found this site to be on point. I have grown very much in Christ and I’m having the time of my life obeying our God. I just had to say all that because it feels good to preach and teach about God, Jesus…

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Was God sexist in punishing Eve?

Question: Is God in Genesis 3:16 talking to Eve specifically, or all women in general? If so, how isn’t God being the modern term of a sexist? Answer: “To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your…

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How long did Noah build the ark before his sons were born?

Question: How long did Noah build the ark before his sons were born? Answer: In Genesis 5:32, we are told that Noah was 500 when his sons were born. In Genesis 6:3, God said He would destroy mankind in 120 years. Since this was in Noah’s records, Genesis 6:9 being the closing line of that…

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Were Jacob and Esau identical or fraternal twins?

Question: I overheard an argument concerning Esau and Jacob.  One was arguing that they were twins (Genesis 25:21ff) but not identical twins. What are your thoughts? Answer: Twins are when two children are born to one mother in the same birth. “So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in…

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Did God create darkness or did it always exist?

Question: Genesis 1 speaks of darkness existing over the waters before creation. Was darkness something made or has it always existed? Did God create the initial darkness before He separated the initial light from darkness? I’m asking because a friend asked me this question. Also was God not light? So why was there a need…

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Did Tamar renounce Judah publically or privately?

Question: I have a question about Genesis 38:24-27. When Tamar informed Judah that she was the harlot he went into at Timnah, did Tamar tell Judah privately, or was Judah publicly humiliated? In verses 24-25, it appears that Tamar was going to be burned in public for her harlotry. But reading on in verse 25,…

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Why was Abram rewarded for lying to Pharaoh?

Question: I just read Genesis 12:1-20 and I’m a little perplexed by it. Abram bent the truth concerning Sarai by getting her to say she was his sister rather than his wife when they came into Egypt. I know she was his half-sister by his father, but it was still a lie. So why was…

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What makes some animals clean while others not?

Question: When God has created animals, he saw “it was good” (Genesis 1:25). Then why he told Noah that there are unclean animals (Genesis 7:2)? Aren’t all animals created by God and “it was good”? What makes some animals clean while others not? Answer: If you look at the list of clean versus unclean animals…

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What would have happened if Satan wasn’t in the Garden?

Question: I was scanning around the web and found your article on the Tree in the Garden. Some brothers get together for breakfast and fellowship one day a week before work.  This week we had both an elder and minister, two deacons, and another brother.  We occasionally discuss issues that I would not normally talk about…

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Does Genesis 1:1 say there was nothing except God before the beginning?

Question: Here’s another question and it may seem silly but all I want is you to answer it in the best way you can. Genesis 1:1 “in the beginning there was nothing except God.” or “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (different versions of the Bible) and I am confused about…

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How do we know that the serpent was Satan?

Question: I have started reading my Bible consistently, and have a couple of questions: Why do people say that the serpent who tempted Eve was Satan? I don’t see that anywhere. Maybe I missed something? Also, someone once told me that Abram and Sarai were half-siblings, but I can’t seem to find that anywhere either.…

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Is Cain the son of the serpent?

Question: Eve thanks God for buying a child with God. God never talked to Eve, only the snake did. Is she calling the snake God? Cain built a city, for who? Who did he marry? How did he have the skills? Chapter 4: Cain’s offspring contributed to society’s advancement, but they are not listed as…

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Couldn’t the Flood have been a local flood?

Question: Hi, Just thought I’d point out that in the Old Testament, terms that seem to at first clearly speak of the entire earth actually refer to only a localized region, such as the Babylonian Empire for example. Daniel, for example, plainly says that Nebuchadnezzar was king of the entire earth, but we know now…

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Is Genesis just a myth based on the Epic of Gilgamesh?

Question: I have read your Facebook writings on Adam and Eve with interest.  However, as a Unitarian I was presented with the beautiful Genesis story, not as a biblical illustration of the origin of sin, but as an important myth long misinterpreted in the Judaic/Christian tradition. Almost all the constituents of the garden paradise myth…

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Did the flood kill sea life?

Question: How did the flood kill animals from the sea? And if it killed them, how did Noah fit animals from the sea in a dry ark? Answer: “And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be…

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Why isn’t Cain mentioned in the genealogy of Adam?

Question: If everything in the original Bible is true, why is Cain not mentioned once in the genealogy of Adam? If we look into the word superinfertation at the three latest I have seen in medical files is there perhaps a way that Cain could have been born just before Abel without Adam knowing Eve…

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Which of Noah’s three sons did the Gentiles come through?

Question: Which of Noah’s three sons did the Gentiles come through? Answer: All three sons. “Gentiles” means “nations” and was used for anyone who wasn’t an Israelite (a descendant of Jacob). Abraham descended from Shem, but through Ishmael came the Arabs, and the Edomites came through Esau. Abraham’s nephew, Lot, was the father of the…

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Did God clothe Adam and Eve with feathers?

Question: Hi. The Bible does not specify what God used to clothe Adam and Eve with. Jewish commentary mentions the idea that the Nachash molted and that God used this to cover their nakedness. Answer: “Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21). The Hebrew word…

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Why didn’t Lot turn down his daughters’ advances?

Question: Why did Lot in Genesis 19, get drunk, have sex with his daughters, and get them pregnant? I wondered what was the purpose? Couldn’t he have just said no to his daughters? Answer: A major problem with all drugs, including alcohol, is that they impair a person’s judgment. Things that normally would be rejected somehow become “reasonable” to…

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