A Story of Immorality Joseph is an attractive man. Potiphar’s wife notices. She pursues Joseph. We don’t know her motivation. Does her husband ignore her? Is she bored? Perhaps she’s merely promiscuous. Yet her reasons don’t matter. She tries to seduce Joseph. Joseph resists. He explains why he won’t sleep with her, but she ignores […]
A Wise Woman Abigail is an intelligent and beautiful woman. In contrast, her husband, Nabal, is surly and mean; his servants call him wicked and she confirms his name means fool. Nabal is wealthy, with thousands of livestock. David and his men protect Nabel’s herdsmen and flocks, anticipating he will appreciate their efforts and one […]
The Younger Twin Brother of Perez Zerah is the younger twin brother of Perez. They are sons of Judah and Tamar (1). When Tamar is in labor, the hand of one of her babies emerges. The midwife ties a scarlet thread around his wrist. Then the hand withdraws. The baby who is born first, however, […]
Though an entire book was written about his prayer (The Prayer of Jabez), we actually know little about Jabez. The Bible only mentions him in two obscure verses, buried among a lengthy genealogy. We know even less about the mother of Jabez, not even her name. We do know his birth is difficult, and the […]
After Tamar (1) tricks Judah into impregnating her, she gives birth to twins. They are Perez and Zerah. The name Perez means “breaking out,” because he broke out of the womb first before his twin brother. Though we know nothing more about Perez and what he did, future generations esteem him. Several generations later, one […]
Eve (along with her husband, Adam), is a well-known biblical figure. I’m surprised she’s only mentioned by name four times in the Bible, twice in Genesis and twice in the New Testament. I’ve never understood why Eve bears the heaviest criticism for disobeying God. Adam is likewise culpable, and he could have—and should have—put a […]
Ruth is Loyal to God and to Her Mother-In-Law Ruth is a widow and foreigner who remains faithful to her mother-in-law, Naomi. She leaves her family to follow Naomi to Israel. The reason for her loyalty to her mother-in-law is a mystery, since Naomi is a bitter woman at this time. However, Ruth also expresses […]
After God kills Er for his extreme wickedness, Er’s father, Judah, passes the dead man’s widow, Tamar (1), to his second child, Onan. The intent is that Onan will produce children for his deceased brother to carry on his family line through Tamar. Judah tells Onan it’s his responsibility as Tamar’s brother-in-law to do this. […]
Jacob’s son Judah leaves his family and travels to Adullam. There he marries a Canaanite woman, a descendant of Canaan, which as a group Noah cursed. They have three sons. The oldest is Er, followed by Onan, and then Shelah. Judah finds a wife for his firstborn son, Er. Her name is Tamar (1). All […]
Rebekah agrees to leave her family to travel to a distant land to marry her cousin Isaac. Her family sends her off, along with her nurse. This suggests Rebekah may be quite young at the time and still in need of adult care. It’s interesting to note that although Rebekah decides to leave her family […]