Once God changed Abram’s name to Abraham and shortly afterwards commanded the rite of circumcision, it was from that juncture that Abraham became a Hebrew. However, there is a debate as to when the word “Hebrew” itself came into use. Concerning the meaning of the word Hebrew, the general scholarly consensus is that it means […]

Today we begin Genesis Chapter 17. For the Complete Jewish Bible, click here. For the King James version, click here. A full 13 years has passed since Genesis Chapter 16. Outside of knowing that Hagar’s son Ishmael is now about 13 years old, we have no record of what transpired in that 13-year period. However, […]

Let’s talk a little bit about Ishmael, the name of the child born to Hagar. First, Ishmael means “God pays attention”, or “God has given heed”. God tells Hagar that she will have a male child who would eventually become the father of a large number of descendants. While Ishmael is the patriarch of several […]

So we are continuing on the heels of the last post. Sarai, who is barren, summons her slavegirl Hagar to sleep with Abram. And just as planned, Hagar gives birth to a child. However, Sarai is just downright insecure about the whole situation. She feels like Hagar is parading a sense of superiority around her […]

Today we begin Genesis Chapter 16. For the Complete Jewish Bible, click here. For the King James version, click here. In this chapter, we are introduced to a series of events leading to the birth of the forefather of the Arab race. A good long 10 years has passed since Abram departed from his hometown […]