| GENESIS |
| Explanatory Footnotes - page 2 |
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| by an appropriate symbol - the rainbow. While later covenants applied specifically to the Jews, this one extended - and still extends - to every living creature. 11:6 God Frustrates Human Ambition People are ambitious - they want to succeed. Genesis portrays humans as so ambitious that they try to compete with, rather than serve, God. This was Adam and Eve's sin (3:5, 22), and at Babel people were at it again, in a citywide effort. God frustrated their plans by confusing their language. 12:13 Abraham's Half-Truth "A lie is an attempt to deceive," according to one definition, and by that standard Abraham was lying when he claimed that Sarai was his sister. Yet he was telling half the truth, for she was his half-sister (20:12). Abraham pulled this ruse again years later and got caught again (chapter 20). On both occasions he had feared for his life, a situation in which half-truths are particularly appealing. 13:3 On the Road The main trade route through Canaan passed north-to-south through Shechem, Bethel, Hebron, and Beersheba. As Abraham and his children traveled, they naturally stopped in those places. These place-names crop up again and again in the story of God's work. 15:6 Faith Reckoned as Righteousness God accepted Abraham not because he led a perfect life, but because of his responsiveness to God's promises. This verse was quoted three times in the New Testament to demonstrate that salvation by faith was nothing new (Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23). Even in the Old Testament, God looked for faith, not moral perfection. 16:2 A Substitute Wife According to custom, a man could sleep with a servant and include her children in his household. Abraham was trying to |