This accessible introduction to the Book of Genesis examines introductory issues, overarching themes, and the overall argument of the book.

Encounter God through the Scriptures as you are guided by the wisdom and experience of the Blackaby family. The deepest need of every human heart is to encounter God. To meet with God, to be changed by Him, and to become more like Him as a result. For decades, the Blackaby family has dedicated their ministry to helping believers address this deepest need. Now you can learn from their insights to experience deeper encounters with God as you develop a regular routine of Bible reading and study in the Encountering God Study Bible. The Encountering God Study Bible is the crowning work of the Blackabys. Featuring their trusted approach to Bible study, explanatory notes, word studies, biblical character sketches, historical encounters with lives of exemplary faith, articles highlighting the creative nature of God, and other articles defending the faith, you will be encouraged to see that you can encounter God in His Word—and that He wants to encounter you through it. Features include: Encounter Notes highlighting how God might choose to encounter you in His Word Articles highlighting the creative nature of God by Daniel Blackaby Articles defending the lasting truths of the faith by Mike Blackaby Rich explanatory notes explaining ideas, events, people, and places in the text to make the meaning clear Word studies, character studies, and biographical sketches of church history figures all written by members of the Blackaby family Book introductions setting the scene for each biblical book and its importance for encountering God Timeline of the biblical narrative A succinct harmony of the Gospels Chart of the prophecies fulfilled by Jesus as Messiah Reading plans Center-column reference set Full NKJV concordance Index to word studies, character studies, historical encounters, apologetic, and aesthetic articles Clear and readable NKJV Comfort Print® in a 9-point print size

The ‘Exegetical Encounter between Jews and Christians in Late Antiquity’ is a collection of essays examining the relationship between Jewish and Christian biblical commentators. The contributions focus on analysis of interpretations of the book of Genesis, a text which has considerable importance in both Christian and Jewish tradition. The essays cover a wide range of Jewish and Christian literature, including primarily rabbinic and patristic sources, but also apocrypha, pseudepigrapha, Philo, Josephus and Gnostic texts. In bringing together the studies of a variety of eminent scholars on the topic of ‘Exegetical Encounter’, the book presents the latest research on the topic and illuminates a variety of original approaches to analysis of exegetical contacts between the two sets of religious groups. The volume is significant for the light it sheds on the history of relations between Jews and Christians in Late Antiquity.

After they sinned, Adam and Eve made clothes out of fig leaves to hide their shame. That was the first religious attempt to cover up sin with human righteousness and merit. But, they could not truly hide their shame (sin) with these fig leaf garments. God took away their fig leaf garments and gave them tunics made from the skin of a sacrificed lamb. These tunics symbolize God's righteousness, which perfectly and forever hides human shame (sin). The offerings of Adam's sons, Cain and Abel, show the difference between human and God's righteousness. God accepted Abel's offering of the "firstborn of his flock and of their fat" (Genesis 4:4), but He did not receive Cain's gift of "the fruit of the ground" (Genesis 4:3). Religion is about trying to show off human righteousness, which Satan encourages. On the other hand, faith is about trusting in and following God's righteousness, which He has made perfect and gives us as a gift. From the start of Genesis, the Bible tells us that only those who trust and follow God's righteousness are born again by receiving the remission of their sins to enter the everlasting rest that God has prepared.

An interdisciplinary study of a familiar patriarchal narrative Encounters in the Dark: Identity Formation in the Jacob Story traces the many moments of darkness in the life of Jacob. From the darkness of his mother's womb, to the darkness Jacob uses to deceive his father and his brother, to the night he sleeps on the ground with just a stone for a pillow at Bethel, and to the triumphant scene of wrestling God by the Jabbok River, the biblical story frequently situates Jacob in the darkness. Through an exploration of key moments in Jacob's story, Noel Forlini Burt follows Jacob's journey from home to exile and back home again. His story symbolizes the larger story of Israel's own wrestling with God in the darkness of exile and return. Features An exploration of the poetics and rhetoric of the Jacob story An examination of characterization in its ancient and modern contexts An analysis of individual and collective identity

This book began when the author realised that, when people said they were fascinated by particular biblical passages, they were usu- ally ones that presented dramatic encounters between people and between God and people. Such are the passages interpreted in this book. They usually set a vivid scene that heightens the dramatic nature of the encounter, and animated dialogue often directly ad- dresses the reader. There is also animated action that is vividly striking and often sudden and unexpected. These features involve the readers themselves and may question them about what they expect. Indeed the dramatic encounters provocatively lead to unex- pected new life in the future.

While most of its contemporary religions have faded away, Israelite religion continues to have a major influence in the world. First delivered in 1975 as a Jordan Lecture in Comparative Religion, this volume argues that in its beginnings Israelite religion had much in common with ancient Mesopotamian religion and suggests that its endurance is due to its dynamic development of the concepts it shared with other religions.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). God, who existed from eternity, created the entire universe and everything in it through His Word. And God proclaimed this fact in the very first verse of the Bible. To receive all the blessings in heaven, one must believe in the first verse of the Bible, which proclaims, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). Believing that the Creator God is alive is the first step of faith. Abraham is a representative person of faith who appears in Genesis. However, Jesus said about Abraham: “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56). Abraham, a man of faith who lived about 2,000 years before Jesus came to this earth, met Jesus. We also meet Jesus Christ in the Words of Genesis. Jesus is the Son of God, the only begotten of God the Father. Jesus, the Word of life which was from the beginning, is the true light that came among us in the flesh according to the will of God the Father. When the true light came to this earth and shone in the darkness, the darkness fled in an instant. Jesus, who came “by water and blood” (1 John 5:6), offered “one sacrifice for sins forever” (Hebrews 10:12) with His body and eliminated all the sins of this world. Through this collection of sermons, I hope readers will meet Jesus Christ, who has saved us entirely from all sins and made us children of light. And I pray that you will receive all the blessings in Heaven through Him.

"In this volume, Eric John Wyckoff examines four biblical texts which narrate encounters between a woman and a man at a well. The episodes in Genesis 24 and 29, Exodus 2 and John 4 share similar literary features, but the contrasts are revealing. Their complex interrelation represents an interpretive key."--

I began my expository preaching on Genesis with the proposition that “Genesis is the blueprint of the Bible.” The Words of Genesis contain truths and teachings that encapsulate the Bible. Through the lives of the faithful characters in Genesis, we can discern what kind of faith pleases God. Genesis teaches us in detail how we can obtain salvation and how the righteous, who have received salvation, should live their lives. The chief baker baked three baskets of white bread, placing various baked goods on them for the king, but he was executed. We must believe in the Word of God just as it is written, without adding or subtracting from the Word of Truth. Anyone who believes in the Gospel of Truth, which contains the witnesses of “the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one” (1 John 5:8), without adding or subtracting from it, receives the remission of sins and is born again as a righteous person. Also, only then can one follow the Word like Abraham did after being born again. Being the Words of life, the Book of Genesis guides us on the path of righteousness.