NIV Faith & Work Bible
NIV Faith & Work Bible
I N T E R NAT I O N A L
V E R S I ON
NIV
B I B LE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword by Tim Keller. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Essay: Faith and Work by David Kim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Storyline Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
OLD TESTAMENT
Genesis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exodus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Leviticus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deuteronomy. . . . . . . . . . .
Joshua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Judges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ruth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 Samuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2 Samuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 Kings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2 Kings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 Chronicles. . . . . . . . . . . .
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
2 Chronicles. . . . . . . . . . . .
Ezra. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nehemiah . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Esther. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Job. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Psalms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Proverbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ecclesiastes. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Song of Songs. . . . . . . . . . .
Isaiah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jeremiah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lamentations. . . . . . . . . . .
Ezekiel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
Daniel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hosea. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Joel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Amos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Obadiah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jonah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Micah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nahum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Habakkuk . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Zephaniah. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Haggai. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Zechariah. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Malachi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
Hebrews. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
James. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 Peter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2 Peter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2 John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3 John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jude. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Revelation . . . . . . . . . . . . .
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
NEW TESTAMENT
Matthew. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Luke. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
John. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Acts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Romans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 Corinthians. . . . . . . . . . .
2 Corinthians. . . . . . . . . . .
Galatians . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
Ephesians. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Philippians. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Colossians . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 Thessalonians . . . . . . . . .
2 Thessalonians . . . . . . . . .
1 Timothy . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2 Timothy . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Titus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Philemon. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
FOREWORD
By Tim Keller
n n n
hy do we need to understand how to integrate the Christian faith with our daily work? Why is
there a need for a Bible like this? Some would say that it isnt necessary. The job of the church
is to make disciples, not to try to change the culture, they say. I agree with the former, but we need
to be clear about what we mean by the church and by make disciples.
First, what is the church? Theologians and church leaders distinguish between the gathered
church and the scattered church. The gathered church comes together, especially on the Lords Day,
for corporate worship and instruction, and to enjoy the communion of the saints. It is organized
and led by its officers and ministers, and is called to preach the gospel, baptize, and make disciples.
The scattered church is the body of believers any time they are not gathered together in a singular
place, which is undoubtedly most of the time.
Second, what does it mean to make disciples? Does it mean we simply equip Christians to be
Christians within the walls and programs of the gathered church? Or are we, for example, to walk
them through the book of Proverbs and show them how the wisdom of Gods Word can shape
their business practices, civic relationships, use of money, relationships with people of other races
and classes, and with other believers? To make disciples in the gathered church is, then, to make
disciples who also know how to live as the scattered church outside of the Christian community.
Christians do not cease to be the church when the public gatherings are over. They are called to be
the church and to represent their Lord throughout the
week in every area of life, including the workplace. We
The church must help
should not think of Christians out in the world as mereChristians think out the
ly distinct and detached individuals. They are the body
implications of their faith
of Christthinking and working together, banding tofor a host of places and
gether in creative forms, being the scattered church that
relationships in which
the gathered church has discipled them to be.
ordinary Christian beliefs
This distinction between the gathered and scattered
and ethics are now seen as
church is critical for understanding how the church
irrelevant, inexplicable, or
should engage culture. American church history reveals
even dangerous... Normal
the opposing mistakes that can be made. On one hand,
in the 19th century, the particular teachings led many
Christian behavior is now
Southern U.S. churches to support slavery. These churchtruly counter-cultural.
es taught that the church should not get involved in politics nor try to change the culture, but rather should just build up the church. But in this disastrous
move, they failed to disciple people as Christian citizens who could understand Biblical justice and
apply it in society. On the other hand, in the 20th century, many mainline Protestant denominations
became so deeply and institutionally involved in politics that they discarded evangelism and calling
people to conversion and faith in Christ.
The gathered-scattered church distinction helps us maintain Biblical discipleship. A church that
educates and disciples people to act justly in the public sphere has to be sensitive to social issues in
vi |FOREWORD
its teaching and preaching. Yet it cannot make the fatal mistake of becoming a lobbying group and
losing sight of its main mission of preaching the gospel and making disciples. The gathered church
is called to disciple Christians to integrate their faith with their public life, and that makes believers
salt and light in society (see Mt 5:1316).
The gathered-scattered church distinction also helps us answer the question What does it mean
to be in the world but not of it (see Jn 17:1418)? Most Christians know this phrase and that it
should be true of them. But they usually dont know what it means for day-to-day Christian life.
Generally, they think it means evangelismsharing ones faith with neighbors and colleagues. The
phrase certainly includes that, but it means so much more. When we think out the implications
the gospel bears on our workhow it changes our motivations for work, relationships at work,
and the way we imagine the work itselfwe are better enabled to live distinctively Christian lives
in the world.
Some people think that we should not put so much emphasis on being Christian in our vocation
that this blunts or de-emphasizes the importance of directly evangelizing and sharing the gospel.
But learning how to be a Christian in our workthat is, learning to work in a Christian manner
by creating more humane workplaces, being more generous in our transactions, treating people as
persons rather than as cogs in a machine, and acting with integrity even when to our personal disadvantage, for examplesubstantiates our personal evangelism. Our coworkers and clientswhoever
we encounter in our workwill be more willing to listen to us and will think us more credible
when we share what we believe. Not only that, they will want to know what we believe.
And so the concepts of the gathered and scattered church help us impress on Christians that they
are always on mission in every area of their lives, not only when they are sharing their faith. It helps
us to overcome clericalism and lay passivity, and to recover the Reformation doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. To be on mission requires that lay Christians be discipled by their churches to
do three things: (1) be a verbal witness to their friends and colleagues; (2) serve the needs of their
neighbors, and especially the poor, whether they believe as we do or not; (3) integrate their faith
with their work and engage culture through their vocations.
While I believe the distinction between the gathered and scattered church has always been valid
and important, it has never been more crucial than it is today. We live in a politically polarized
society. Christians who are committed both to fearless calls to repentance and belief in Jesus as the
only Savior as well as to social justice and the common good do not fit the contemporary categories.
Such Christians are profoundly counterintuitive to American observers, for they do not appear to
be either truly liberal or conservative. I believe that only this kind of church has any chance in
the post-Christian West today. Only this kind of Christianity will get a hearingand it is Biblical
Christianity.
The kind of in-depth discipling that this vision requires is critical. Previously, churches in the
West could function as loose fellowships within a wider semi-Christian culture. Discipling
meant learning some basic doctrine, how to study the Bible, how to pray, and how to serve in the
church. Today, becoming a Christian involves a much more radical break with the surrounding
non-Christian culture. The church must help Christians think out the implications of their faith
for a host of places and relationships in which ordinary Christian beliefs and ethics are now seen as
irrelevant, inexplicable, or even dangerous. Most vocational fields are dominated now by the values
and narratives of therapy, bureaucracy, and consumerism. Normal Christian behavior is now truly
counter-cultural. Navigating a Christian life with integrity in such settings takes a lot of instruction,
reflection, training, and support. Sex and family, wealth and possessions, racial identity and power
must all be conducted and used in ways that fit Biblical themes and values rather than baseline
cultural narratives.
FOREWORD | vii
And yet, despite how differently they live, and how weird they will look to many people, Christians must constitute a servant society, sacrificially pouring out their time and wealth for the common good. The sacrificial service of the church will then show the world a third way between
the individualistic self-absorption that secularism can breed on the one hand and the tribal self-
righteousness that religion can breed on the other.
This study Bible is a great step in this direction. Most Christians have not learned to read the
Scriptures while always asking How does this text inform my public life and vocation? Over the
years, some Christians have complained that the Bible doesnt really give much help for how to be
a believer on the job. Within these pages, your eyes will be opened to how Gods Word does give
everything we need for a godly life (2 Pe 1:3). n
t is easy to say the gospel changes everything. But what does this really mean, especially when it
comes to work?
As the Director for the Center for Faith and Work, I am asked one question time and again by both
Christians and non-Christians alike: How do you integrate your faith with your work? Sometimes I
respond by asking them the same question. It is tough for some to answer, especially those who do not
have an explicit religious commitment. But I try to signal to them that everyone brings faith into their
workwhether they have faith in the work of Christ or faith in their own abilities. We all integrate
faith into our work, but most of the time were completely unaware of what faith underlies our work.
Faith is an indispensable part of work, whether that work is paid or unpaid. All work flows from
some system of belief, and the content of that faith dramatically changes the way we approach work.
For example, philosopher Gary Gutting, in a New York Times article titled What Work Is Really
For, argued a position he attributed to Aristotle: We work to have leisure, on which happiness
depends.1 2 He later stated, Leisure, not work, should be our primary goal.3 Countless people
share his belief: that work has no greater meaning than the paycheck it provides. One ramification
of this thinking is that even mediocre work helps you enjoy your true passions. On the flip side,
if you believe the gospel changes everything, you must wrestle through the implications of what it
means for the gospel to change everything about work.
GODS RESPONSE TO OUR BROKEN WORLD
For many Christians, the practical reality of bringing ones faith into the workplace means that
the emphasis funnels into two main categories: evangelism and ethics. Being a faithful Christian
at work involves looking for opportunities to tell non-Christians about the saving work of Jesus,
and also being a good example of a morally upright person in our daily tasks and decisions. This
approach to work often leaves Christians feeling under pressure, as if they might be labeled a failure
or a hypocrite if they fail to do either well. While Christians should certainly be eager to share their
faith with anyone who asks about it, and while we hope that we as Christians will be known as
trustworthy, ethical people, are there other ways in which the gospel transforms our work?
To answer this question, we need to consider Gods response to the brokenness of our world. As
he unfolded his strategy to renew creation, God chose one seemingly average man, Abram, and
pledged to him a series of promises. Genesis 12:23 outlines Gods three-fold covenant to Abram:
1) to bless him, 2) to make him into a great nation and 3) to bless all the families of the earth
through him. The rest of the Biblical narrative, then, can be viewed as the unfolding fulfillment of
Gods promises to Abraham, which are ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Because of Christ, Gods
grace and power are dynamically at work in transforming individuals, communities and everything
1 Gary Gutting. What Work Is Really For, The New York Times, 8 Sept. 2012: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/08/work-good-or-bad/; last accessed
9/22/2015.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
Starting with our motivations, the gospel challenges the reasons why we work. For most people, the
surface-level answer to the question of why we work is to make a living. But in todays Western society, many of us have ability to choose which job to take or which career path to pursue. Our choices,
therefore, reveal our deeper motivations for work. What do we want our work to give us? What do
we believe it must give us? A sense of financial security? A sense of meaning and purpose? Status and
fame? The answer varies from person to person, but each of us has an answer if we dig deep enough.
We were created to work, and this work was meant to be an expression of our bearing Gods image. The work of our hands was intended to display Gods glory. Yet because of the fall (Ge 3:120),
humans were separated from God, the source of our identity. In this alienated state, many of us
now look to work as the source of our identity instead of the expression of it. In our brokenness, we
are motivated to work in order to regain what we lost in the fallthat instinct toward building
meaning and purpose that without Gods direction can only turn inward. Instead of trusting Gods
call upon our lives, in our rebellion we are driven by deep pride and insecurity. In this state, we
attempt to navigate the dizzying choices of life, desperately trying to establish a sense of self-worth
and stability through our own efforts and accomplishments.
The fundamental problem with us is not our abilities or the opportunities we have or dont have. It
is how we have turned away from God to trust in ourselves and not in him. Deep within our hearts,
we fashion our own gods as an expression of our rebellious autonomy and self-sovereignty. But we
have deceived ourselves: We are never really autonomous or sovereign over own lives, and the gospel
exposes our idolatry and false assumptions. Idols such as money, success, power and sex can never
satisfy our deeper hunger for status and security. These idols, and our attempts to feed and keep
them, slowly dehumanize us and often hurt others. We were made in Gods image, which means
we were made to find our deepest contentment and expression in him alone, not in created things.
The good news is that Christ has reconciled humanity to God, and this renewed relationship can
utterly transform our deepest motivations for work. In the gospel, work again becomes an expression of our identity as Gods children. Instead of us trying to earn a sense of worth, security, and
meaning from our work, our work becomes the opportunity for us to demonstrate in big and small
ways the beauty and wonder of what it means to be created in Gods image. To borrow a phrase
from John Calvin, the world is a dazzling theater of Gods glory.4 Work is a stage on which we
can act out the wonder and great privilege of being created in the image of God.
This reality has a profound effect upon our motivations for work. Martin Luther King Jr. expressed the fruit of this transformation when he said, If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he
should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare
wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth will pause to say,
4 John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1559 translation edition (Louisville, Westminster John Knox Press, 1960), 1.5.8.
Second, the gospel transforms our relationships in such a way that we can begin to honor everyone
we encounter, knowing that they too are created in Gods image. Many people often feel dehumanized at work, as they are treated as simply a means to an end. We often dont see our colleagues or
co-workers through the lens of the gospel, which reveals Gods immense love for all people, even
though they and we have all rebelled against him.
In his classic work Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer highlights the revolutionary importance of
seeing our relationships mediated through Christ and his love: Human love constructs its own image of the other person, of what he is and what he should become. It takes the life of the other person
into its own hands. Spiritual love recognizes the true image of the other person which he has received
from Jesus Christ; the image that Jesus Christ himself embodied and would stamp upon all men.6
Renewing our relationships at work begins with a transformation of how we view and love those
with whom we work. While we might pause at the notion of expressing Christian love to our coworkers, this transformed perspective is influenced and sourced by Gods love and the profound
wisdom and discernment his loving Spirit brings. The gospel reveals to us the depths of Gods love
even as it exposes how limited our own love is. Christs love compels us to push the boundaries
of what it means to love the people with whom we work, even while respecting the appropriate
boundaries of a workplace relationship. Christs love challenges us to consider what it means to care
for others, seeking their good as well as our own.
As Christians, we are called to see others through Christs eyes and not our own. How unfortunate
that we so often have to remind ourselves that the individuals with whom we work are not a means to
an end. They are not merely fellow employees paid to do work or resources that we can exploit in order
to climb the corporate ladder. Rather, they are fellow image-bearers. Work provides a significant arena
for people to experience what it means to be created in Gods imageto experience the value, dignity,
worth, creativity and imagination inherent in this immense privilege of mirroring who God is.
When people are treated as wonder-filled expressions of God and his immense creativity and
handiwork, then workwhere people spend most of their waking hourscan be transformed to
provide a meaningful context for people to flourish.
THE REDEMPTION OF OUR WORLD
This leads us to the third and final perspective of the work. Of the three perspectives, renewal of
our world is often the most difficult for people to grasp. How does the gospel transform the world
through work?
5 Martin Luther King, Jr. What Is Your Lifes Blueprint? lecture at Barratt Junior High School, Philadelphia, (26 Oct. 1967). Seattle Times: http://old.seattletimes.com/
special/mlk/king/words/blueprint.html. Last accessed 9/24/2015.
6 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (New York: HarperOne, 2009), 23.
INTRODUCTION TO THE
FAITH AND WORK BIBLE
n n n
he NIV Faith and Work Bible is a unique and exciting combination of doctrine, application, and
community experience. It is the product of decades of research and development undertaken with
the goal of equipping Christians to meaningfully engage their work with a renewed sense of the power and relevance of the gospel of Jesus Christ. These pages are the fruit of real communities that have
wrestled and experimented with the profound question, How does my faith relate to my work?
As you open the pages of this Bible, it may appear similar to other specialty Bibles you may have
seen, but we believe these pages reveal a novel approach to the growing question of faith and work
that takes both doctrine and application seriously.
What you will learn in these pages is not a list of dos and donts for your work; rather, you will
learn theology that will hopefully rewire the way you understand the gospel and how it has everything to do with your work. Once your eyes are open to understanding the connection between
faith and work, the work of Christ will become all the more beautiful and necessary to you.
For Biblical truth to be meaningfully understood, it has to be applied; however, theology is often
presented in a way that makes application challenging. Theological truths are frequently delivered
without a real sense of how they are relevant. A robust yet simple framework is needed to help users
apply the doctrines presented in the Bible. We will explore how Biblical doctrines affect our (1)
motivations, (2) relationships and (3) world.
Another important premise of this Bible is that the gospel is central to all of Scripture. Each
book, each narrative, each verse points us to the person and work of Jesus Christ, and it is this
gospel that alone has the power to transform all of life and all of creation, including our work. The
gospel therefore deeply transforms our motivations for work, our relationships at work, and how
we engage with the world of our work.
Motivation. The gospel changes individuals, and at the core of this change is a new heart motivated by what Christ has done in giving us a new identity. Out of this new identity flows new
desires, the greatest of which are loving God and loving our neighbor. Yet, this profound work of
the gospel can be completely overlooked in the work context. The motivations and reasons behind
why we work can be devoid of the gospels power. We can work to secure a sense of our own identity, worth, security, belonging, and comfort; yet work was never designed to ultimately provide
these things. It is only in Christ that we as individuals can be rightly motivated to work in a manner
that brings full glory to God. This Bible will make its readers more aware of the critical role of our
motivations and desires and how the gospel is able to renew and reorder our desires, freeing us to
work in a manner that releases the power of the gospel.
Relationships. The gospel has profoundly reconciled relationships among human beings because
of the restored relationship between humanity and God. The work of Christ in our lives through
the Holy Spirit enables us to relate differently with all people. Co-workers, bosses, managers and
colleagues are not just people who help us get our work done or who evaluate our work. They are
The Centrality of the Gospel. Grasping the gospel of Jesus Christ is the main point of this Bible.
Every page of Scripture points to the significance of the person and work of Christ and how this
gospel renews everything. Yet, we can lose sight of this amazing news if we fail to understand the
overarching narrative of the Bible. It is easy to get lost in the details of each story and each book,
and to lose the big picture that God is faithfully at work to fulfill the covenant he has made with
his people.
Calling and Work: Definitions. This Bible will address both the concepts of calling and work.
It is important to differentiate these concepts because they are often used interchangeably; however,
there is an important distinction to be made. Calling (and its Latin-derived synonym, vocation) is
a larger category describing Gods purposes for humanity. As the Caller, God has given to us a new
identity and a new purpose in the gospel, which is the foundation of our calling. God has called a
people, his church, as people called to follow him. One of the fundamental premises of this book is
that God has in a sense called his people out of this worlda world characterized by sin, disbelief,
pride, self-preservation and other illsso that he can call them back into the world to seek its peace
and prosperity.
This larger call includes but is not limited to the daily work that we do. This work is what we
might call our occupation or jobit is the thing we spend most of our day doing. Maintaining this
distinction between calling and work allows us to understand how our larger calling can powerfully
inform and shape how we approach our work. Our daily work has been significantly impacted by
the fall and its far-reaching effects on our world. This larger calling gives us reason to pursue work
with redemptive hope and meaning. This Bible addresses both the larger concepts of calling and the
more mundane aspects of our daily work.
KEY FEATURES
Storylines
This Bible features a 31-day journey through the Biblical narrative so that those who have never
read the Bible in its entirety can begin to grasp this incredible story line that ties together these
seemingly disconnected 66 books. The Bible will, therefore, no longer seem to be a mere manual
The end goal of this Bible is to help users deepen their understanding and experience of the gospel,
and to make them excited to engage their work in a new way. It is the work of Christ alone that has
the power to renew our motivations, our relationships and the world.
As we begin to understand the message of the gospel, there still remains the challenge of connecting this ancient story to our daily lives today. There is a significant cultural and historical gap
between the context of the Bible and our modern world that makes meaningful application challenging. Theology embodied in particular doctrines becomes essential to bridging this gap. What
does the death, resurrection and glorification of Christ have to do with my work today?
There are two possible approaches to answering this question. One can start with specific work
situations and try to find verses or passages that seem to apply to the situation. While this approach
can be useful, it is often difficult to find the right passages that seem applicable to the complex
situations in which we find ourselves. The other approach begins with Scripture and seeks to understand significant doctrines that can lead to a growing spiritual discernment. Given the complexities
of our increasingly globalized world, there is a need for rich and robust theology to guide us in
understanding how we might apply the Bible to specific workplace situations.
This Bible features historic doctrines that help connect the Bible to our current work context.
These doctrines are further divided into subtopics that are applied to the areas of motivation, relationships and world. By focusing on these doctrines, you will learn significant theological truths
that provide a framework for deeper understanding rather than simply finding the right Christian
answer. Studying these core doctrines will equip you to meaningfully apply, in a nuanced way, the
gospel to various workplace situations and contexts.
For a complete listing of the historic doctrines that covered in this study Bible, please turn to
page XXXX.
This major feature is designed to guide your study. Each of these 45 features has the following
aspects:
Deeper in Truth. One of the goals of this Bible is to expose its readers to historic and influential
writings that have shaped key doctrines of the evangelical faith. To that end, the editors of this
Bible have curated a list of excerpts from the works of various writers to elaborate on each doctrine.
Though some of the readings can be a bit challenging, we believe that primary source materials
help clarify the depth of these doctrines. Whats more, the excerpts from these works are meant to
point readers to the larger works themselves, which provide much deeper instruction in each of the
doctrines. Most of these works have withstood the test of time, and their value warrants repeated
reading.
Connecting. This brief section helps you connect the excerpt to your life today by highlighting
key ideas and presenting questions that will illuminate its relevance in your workplace.
Deeper at Work. The Bible provides wisdom for all ages and all work. Throughout this study
Bible you will encounter applications that present real stories of people from various vocations and
demographics who have wrestled with the implications of a given doctrine in their work. These
stories are not meant to give you the right answer or model what the ideal Christian looks like;
rather, they highlight real people wrestling with what it means to live faithfully, day by day, in their
Weve also included more of the Deeper at Work articles outside of the Core Doctrine features
throughout this Bible so that you can see how real-life individuals apply the truths of the Bible to
your life. These Deeper at Work articles will inspire you to see the full range of how the gospel
can be applied, and how it is at work in your work. Here you will be encouraged and challenged to
see the modern-day implications of the Scripture text and to consider how timeless Biblical truths
can be applied in diverse work settings. For a complete index of these additional Deeper at Work
articles, see p. XXXX.
Essays
In the front of this Bible is included a thoughtful essay by Dr. David Kim, the General Editor of the
study materials in this Bible (see p. XXXX). Youll also find three more insightful essays that apply
the concepts within the study notes to your daily life in the end matter. The essays in the back of
this Bible begin on page XXXX.
Book Introductions
Introductions for each book of the Bible speak to the many ways that each book is applicable to
the daily work that you engage in. Reading these will give you the perspective that is needed as you
approach each book of the Bible with a view toward the sometimes-daunting task of living for God
in the midst of your workplace.
Summary
Our hope and desire is that as you engage with the study materials in this book, you will come to a
deeper understanding of and appreciation for a doctrinal approach that will bring a new perspective
to the way the gospel impacts your daily life. Again, our hope is that once your eyes are open to
understanding the connection between faith and work, the gospel will come alive for you in brand
new ways. We hope that this Bible will make you excited to engage not only your work, but also the
world around you with a renewed sense of purpose, grounded in the unique hope of the gospel. n
David H. Kim
and the editors at Christianity Today
STORYLINE INTRODUCTION
n n n
he Bible reveals the story of this world as seen through the eyes of our Creator. This grand
narrative provides an essential and invaluable context to help us address lifes big questions
perennial issues such as personal identity and the meaning of life. But the Bible is a big book. Many
of us who try to read through the entire Bible often struggle to get through the first five books.
Those who manage to read beyond these books can easily lose sight of the bigger picture or get
distracted by the strange-sounding names and places.
The Story Line feature in this Bible is designed to help you comprehend the whole narrative of
Scripture while keeping you engaged in the Biblical text. By reading these 31 landmark features,
you will journey through the story of the entire Bible. Youll see how familiar Biblical texts take on
heightened meaning as you begin to grasp the overall flow of Gods redemptive plan as it unfolded
in history.
How you approach this feature is up to you. You can read one per day for a month or one per
week, depending on how much time you have and how much of the Biblical text you want to read.
Each is anchored to the surrounding Scripture text and provides an overview to help you understand the context and significance of the chapters at hand, tying together significant themessuch
as covenant, for examplethat run throughout the Biblical narrative.
The Bible has been and continues to be the guiding light for the Christian life. Below each
Story Line you will see either a map or a piece of art that correlates with the events highlighted in
the feature. The maps serve to provide a geographical context for the Biblical narrative, while the
visual depictions offer a sense of how Christians throughout history have understood and interpreted these Biblical passages. These images are intended to stretch your imagination in relation
to these texts.
Behind this grand narrative is a God who wants to reveal not only his purposes but also himself.
The Author of this story has written himself into the narrative, and each page of Scripture points to
the culmination of Gods self-revelation in Jesus Christ. As you read each Story Line, my hope and
prayer is that you become increasingly enamored with the beauty of Scripture and come to realize
more every day how your life fits within Gods story. n
David H. Kim
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
PREFACE
n n n
he goal of the New International Version (NIV) is to enable English-speaking people from around
the world to read and hear Gods eternal Word in their own language. Our work as translators is
motivated by our conviction that the Bible is Gods Word in written form. We believe that the Bible
contains the divine answer to the deepest needs of humanity, sheds unique light on our path in a dark
world and sets forth the way to our eternal well-being. Out of these deep convictions, we have sought
to recreate as far as possible the experience of the original audienceblending transparency to the
original text with accessibility for the millions of English speakers around the world. We have prioritized accuracy, clarity and literary quality with the goal of creating a translation suitable for public and
private reading, evangelism, teaching, preaching, memorizing and liturgical use. We have also sought
to preserve a measure of continuity with the long tradition of translating the Scriptures into English.
The complete NIV Bible was first published in 1978. It was a completely new translation made
by over a hundred scholars working directly from the best available Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek
texts. The translators came from the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New
Zealand, giving the translation an international scope. They were from many denominations and
churchesincluding Anglican, Assemblies of God, Baptist, Brethren, Christian Reformed, Church
of Christ, Evangelical Covenant, Evangelical Free, Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, Nazarene,
Presbyterian, Wesleyan and others. This breadth of denominational and theological perspective
helped to safeguard the translation from sectarian bias. For these reasons, and by the grace of God,
the NIV has gained a wide readership in all parts of the English-speaking world.
The work of translating the Bible is never finished. As good as they are, English translations must
be regularly updated so that they will continue to communicate accurately the meaning of Gods
Word. Updates are needed in order to reflect the latest developments in our understanding of the
biblical world and its languages and to keep pace with changes in English usage. Recognizing,
then, that the NIV would retain its ability to communicate Gods Word accurately only if it were
regularly updated, the original translators established the Committee on Bible Translation (CBT).
The Committee is a self-perpetuating group of biblical scholars charged with keeping abreast of
advances in biblical scholarship and changes in English and issuing periodic updates to the NIV.
The CBT is an independent, self-governing body and has sole responsibility for the NIV text. The
Committee mirrors the original group of translators in its diverse international and denominational
makeup and in its unifying commitment to the Bible as Gods inspired Word.
In obedience to its mandate, the Committee has issued periodic updates to the NIV. An initial
revision was released in 1984. A more thorough revision process was completed in 2005, resulting
in the separately published TNIV. The updated NIV you now have in your hands builds on both
the original NIV and the TNIV and represents the latest effort of the Committee to articulate
Gods unchanging Word in the way the original authors might have said it had they been speaking
in English to the global English-speaking audience today.
TRANSLATION PHILOSOPHY
The Committees translating work has been governed by three widely accepted principles about the
way people use words and about the way we understand them.
PREFACE | xix
First, the meaning of words is determined by the way that users of the language actually use them
at any given time. For the biblical languages, therefore, the Committee utilizes the best and most
recent scholarship on the way Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek words were being used in biblical times.
At the same time, the Committee carefully studies the state of modern English. Good translation
is like good communication: one must know the target audience so that the appropriate choices
can be made about which English words to use to represent the original words of Scripture. From
its inception, the NIV has had as its target the general English-speaking population all over the
world, the International in its title reflecting this concern. The aim of the Committee is to put
the Scriptures into natural English that will communicate effectively with the broadest possible
audience of English speakers.
Modern technology has enhanced the Committees ability to choose the right English words to
convey the meaning of the original text. The field of computational linguistics harnesses the power
of computers to provide broadly applicable and current data about the state of the language. Translators can now access huge databases of modern English to better understand the current meaning
and usage of key words. The Committee utilized this resource in preparing the 2011 edition of
the NIV. An area of especially rapid and significant change in English is the way certain nouns
and pronouns are used to refer to human beings. The Committee therefore requested experts in
computational linguistics at Collins Dictionaries to pose some key questions about this usage to its
database of Englishthe largest in the world, with over 4.4 billion words, gathered from several
English-speaking countries and including both spoken and written English. (The Collins Study,
called The Development and Use of Gender Language in Contemporary English, can be accessed
at http://www.thenivbible.com/about-the-niv/about-the-2011-edition/.) The study revealed that the
most popular words to describe the human race in modern U.S. English were humanity, man
and mankind. The Committee then used this data in the updated NIV, choosing from among
these three words (and occasionally others also) depending on the context.
A related issue creates a larger problem for modern translations: the move away from using the
third-person masculine singular pronounshe/him/histo refer to men and women equally.
This usage does persist in some forms of English, and this revision therefore occasionally uses these
pronouns in a generic sense. But the tendency, recognized in day-to-day usage and confirmed by
the Collins study, is away from the generic use of he, him and his. In recognition of this shift
in language and in an effort to translate into the natural English that people are actually using, this
revision of the NIV generally uses other constructions when the biblical text is plainly addressed
to men and women equally. The reader will encounter especially frequently a they, their or
them to express a generic singular idea. Thus, for instance, Mark 8:36 reads: What good is it for
someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? This generic use of the distributive or
singular they/them/their has been used for many centuries by respected writers of English and
has now become established as standard English, spoken and written, all over the world.
A second linguistic principle that feeds into the Committees translation work is that meaning is
found not in individual words, as vital as they are, but in larger clusters: phrases, clauses, sentences,
discourses. Translation is not, as many people think, a matter of word substitution: English word x
in place of Hebrew word y. Translators must first determine the meaning of the words of the biblical
languages in the context of the passage and then select English words that accurately communicate
that meaning to modern listeners and readers. This means that accurate translation will not always
reflect the exact structure of the original language. To be sure, there is debate over the degree to
which translators should try to preserve the form of the original text in English. From the beginning, the NIV has taken a mediating position on this issue. The manual produced when the translation that became the NIV was first being planned states: If the Greek or Hebrew syntax has a good
xx |PREFACE
parallel in modern English, it should be used. But if there is no good parallel, the English syntax
appropriate to the meaning of the original is to be chosen. It is fine, in other words, to carry over
the form of the biblical languages into Englishbut not at the expense of natural expression. The
principle that meaning resides in larger clusters of words means that the Committee has not insisted
on a word-for-word approach to translation. We certainly believe that every word of Scripture is
inspired by God and therefore to be carefully studied to determine what God is saying to us. It is
for this reason that the Committee labors over every single word of the original texts, working hard
to determine how each of those words contributes to what the text is saying. Ultimately, however, it
is how these individual words function in combination with other words that determines meaning.
A third linguistic principle guiding the Committee in its translation work is the recognition that
words have a spectrum of meaning. It is popular to define a word by using another word, or gloss,
to substitute for it. This substitute word is then sometimes called the literal meaning of a word.
In fact, however, words have a range of possible meanings. Those meanings will vary depending on
the context, and words in one language will usually not occupy the same semantic range as words in
another language. The Committee therefore studies each original word of Scripture in its context to
identify its meaning in a particular verse and then chooses an appropriate English word (or phrase)
to represent it. It is impossible, then, to translate any given Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek word with
the same English word all the time. The Committee does try to translate related occurrences of a
word in the original languages with the same English word in order to preserve the connection for
the English reader. But the Committee generally privileges clear natural meaning over a concern
with consistency in rendering particular words.
TEXTUAL BASIS
For the Old Testament the standard Hebrew text, the Masoretic Text as published in the latest
edition of Biblia Hebraica, has been used throughout. The Masoretic Text tradition contains marginal notations that offer variant readings. These have sometimes been followed instead of the text
itself. Because such instances involve variants within the Masoretic tradition, they have not been
indicated in the textual notes. In a few cases, words in the basic consonantal text have been divided
differently than in the Masoretic Text. Such cases are usually indicated in the textual footnotes. The
Dead Sea Scrolls contain biblical texts that represent an earlier stage of the transmission of the Hebrew text. They have been consulted, as have been the Samaritan Pentateuch and the ancient scribal
traditions concerning deliberate textual changes. The translators also consulted the more important
early versions. Readings from these versions, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the scribal traditions were
occasionally followed where the Masoretic Text seemed doubtful and where accepted principles of
textual criticism showed that one or more of these textual witnesses appeared to provide the correct reading. In rare cases, the translators have emended the Hebrew text where it appears to have
become corrupted at an even earlier stage of its transmission. These departures from the Masoretic
Text are also indicated in the textual footnotes. Sometimes the vowel indicators (which are later
additions to the basic consonantal text) found in the Masoretic Text did not, in the judgment of
the translators, represent the correct vowels for the original text. Accordingly, some words have
been read with a different set of vowels. These instances are usually not indicated in the footnotes.
The Greek text used in translating the New Testament has been an eclectic one, based on the
latest editions of the Nestle-Aland/United Bible Societies Greek New Testament. The translators
have made their choices among the variant readings in accordance with widely accepted principles
of New Testament textual criticism. Footnotes call attention to places where uncertainty remains.
The New Testament authors, writing in Greek, often quote the Old Testament from its ancient
Greek version, the Septuagint. This is one reason why some of the Old Testament quotations in the
PREFACE | xxi
NIV New Testament are not identical to the corresponding passages in the NIV Old Testament.
Such quotations in the New Testament are indicated with the footnote (see Septuagint).
FOOTNOTES AND FORMATTING
Footnotes in this version are of several kinds, most of which need no explanation. Those giving
alternative translations begin with Or and generally introduce the alternative with the last word
preceding it in the text, except when it is a single-word alternative. When poetry is quoted in a
footnote a slash mark indicates a line division.
It should be noted that references to diseases, minerals, flora and fauna, architectural details,
clothing, jewelry, musical instruments and other articles cannot always be identified with precision.
Also, linear measurements and measures of capacity can only be approximated (see the Table of
Weights and Measures). Although Selah, used mainly in the Psalms, is probably a musical term, its
meaning is uncertain. Since it may interrupt reading and distract the reader, this word has not been
kept in the English text, but every occurrence has been signaled by a footnote.
As an aid to the reader, sectional headings have been inserted. They are not to be regarded as
part of the biblical text and are not intended for oral reading. It is the Committees hope that these
headings may prove more helpful to the reader than the traditional chapter divisions, which were
introduced long after the Bible was written.
Sometimes the chapter and/or verse numbering in English translations of the Old Testament differs from that found in published Hebrew texts. This is particularly the case in the Psalms, where the
traditional titles are included in the Hebrew verse numbering. Such differences are indicated in the
footnotes at the bottom of the page. In the New Testament, verse numbers that marked off portions
of the traditional English text not supported by the best Greek manuscripts now appear in brackets,
with a footnote indicating the text that has been omitted (see, for example, Matthew 17:[21]).
Mark 16:920 and John 7:538:11, although long accorded virtually equal status with the rest
of the Gospels in which they stand, have a questionable standing in the textual history of the New
Testament, as noted in the bracketed annotations with which they are set off. A different typeface
has been chosen for these passages to indicate their uncertain status.
Basic formatting of the text, such as lining the poetry, paragraphing (both prose and poetry), setting up of (administrative-like) lists, indenting letters and lengthy prayers within narratives and the
insertion of sectional headings, has been the work of the Committee. However, the choice between
single-column and double-column formats has been left to the publishers. Also the issuing of red-
letter editions is a publishers choiceone that the Committee does not endorse.
The Committee has again been reminded that every human effort is flawedincluding this
revision of the NIV. We trust, however, that many will find in it an improved representation of the
Word of God, through which they hear his call to faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and to service in
his kingdom. We offer this version of the Bible to him in whose name and for whose glory it has
been made. n
The Committee on Bible Translation
the Old
Testament
Introduction to
GENESIS
enesis, a Greek word meaning origin or beginning, was the title given to this
book by the translators of the third-century BC Greek Old Testament known
as the Septuagint. The first word in the Hebrew text, bereshith, means in [the]
beginning and is the Hebrew name for this book. This book is about many
beginningsthe beginning of the universe, of man and woman, of human sin, of Gods
promises and plans for salvation, and of a special relationship between God and Abraham.
Although this book begins with the creation of the universe, the focal point is the
creation of human beings. As the human race multiplies, the account narrows to specific
individuals and families. The contents of Genesis, divided on this basis, are: the creation
of the heavens and the earth (2:4), the story of the generations of Adam (5:1), of Noah
(6:9), of the sons of Noah (10:1), of Shem (11:10), of Terah (11:27), of Ishmael (25:12),
of Isaac (25:19), of Esau (36:1), and of Jacob (37:2).
The book of Genesis introduces Gods progressive self-revelation to humanity. It is
quoted or referred to more than sixty times in the New Testament, where Gods revelation
culminates in the person of Jesus Christ. In this way, Genesis provides the history of the
beginning of Gods relationship with humankind, and thus the book is essential for a
proper understanding of Gods subsequent dealings with his people.
Genesis is resolutely monotheistic, telling the acts of one sovereign God who created
all that exists. It also begins telling the story of Gods judgment against sin and his plan
to save humanswho he made in his imagefrom the consequences of their rebellion
against him. Finally, Genesis introduces us to the way God initiates a relationship with
humankind and how he remains faithful to his promises.
The major themes in Genesis that we can apply to our work are creation, fall, sin and
faith. As Gods image bearers, we were made to work alongside him in bringing continued
order to creation. However, as a result of the fall, sin has disrupted our relationship with
God, with others and with all creation. Our work to develop and rule over the earth is now
frustrated. Yet in Genesis we also learn about Gods grace and how faith in him is a doorway
to experiencing redemption and peace in every area of our livesincluding our work.
Genesis
The Beginning
1:1 aJn1:1-2
bJob38:4; Ps90:2;
In the beg inn ing a God created Isa42:5; 44:24;
the heavens and the e arth.b 2Now 45:12,18; Ac17:24;
Heb11:3; Rev4:11
the e arth was formless and emp 1:2 cJer4:23
c
ty, darkness was over the surface dPs104:30
e
of the deep, and the Spirit of Godd 1:3 Ps33:6,9;
148:5; Heb11:3
was hovering over the waters.
f2Co4:6*
g
3 A nd God said,e Let t here be l ight, 1:5 Ps74:16
1:6 hJer10:12
and there was light.f 4God saw 1:7 iJob38:8Ps148:4
that the light was good, and he 11,16;
1:9 jJob38:8-11;
separ ate d the l ight from the Ps104:6-9; Pr8:29;
dark ness. 5God c alled the light Jer5:22; 2Pe3:5
k
day, and the darkness he c alled 1:11 Ps65:9-13;
104:14
g
1:14 lPs74:16
mJer10:2
nPs104:19
1:16 oPs136:8
pPs136:9
qJob38:7,31-32;
Ps8:3; Isa40:26
1:18 rJer33:20,25
1:21 sPs104:2526
1:22 tver28;
Ge8:17
DOCTRINE OF GOD
CREATOR
(GENESIS 1:1)
he first thing we learn about God when we open the Bible is that he is
Creator. As Creator, he is eternal, all-powerful and all-present. Yet the focus
of Genesis 1 is his work of creating through words. And we see that he reveals himself through his action, for everything he creates is good. Creation
is a reflection of his very being, as Paul writes in Romans 1:20: For since the creation of the world
Gods invisible qualitieshis eternal power and divine naturehave been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made. All of creation reveals something about who God is, and at
the climax we learn that humans especially reflect Godwe were made in his image (see 1:27).
DEEPER IN
TRUTH
In his monumental Reformed Dogmatics, Herman Bavinck highlights how all of nature is a tangible
revelation of Gods power and majesty. Creation not only reveals who God is but also finds its goal
in his glory.1 And human beingsGods image bearerswere created to especially reflect Gods
glory. Bavinck explains:
God created man after his image and for his glory (Ge 1:26; Isa. 43:7). He glorified
himself in the Pharaoh of the Exodus (Ex 14:17) and in the man born blind (Jn 9:3),
and made the wicked for the day of trouble (Pr 16:4; Ro 9:22). Christ came to glorify
God (Jn 17:4), and he bestows all the benefits of grace for his names sake: redemption, forgiveness, sanctification, and so forth (Ps 105:8; 78:9ff.; Isa 43:25; 48:11;
60:21; 61:3; Ro 9:23; Eph 1:6ff.).2
According to Bavinck, the final goal of all creation is to give glory to God. Yes, we enjoy Gods
good creation as a gracious gift from him, and he created the world to supply our needs. But that
is not an end in itself. All creatures were made to point to
him and display his goodness. To be sure, God is already Gods creativity has profound
given glory by his people (see Ps 115:1). But, as Bavinck implications for human work.
explains, someday God alone will be great (Isa. 2:222)
and receive glory from all his creatures (Rev 4:11; 19:6). He is the First and the Last, the Alpha and
the Omega (Isa 44:6; 48:12; Rev 1:8; 22:13). Of him, through him, and to him are all things (Ro
11:36).3
Connecting
Gods creativity has profound implications for human work. Scripture tells us that humans are
a unique expression of Gods glory, being his unique image bearers. Part of bearing the image of
God is reflected in our working. Our God is a working God, and he made us his workers. When
we work, we reflect who God is. Not only that, but our work is also an expression of who we are.
Just as Gods work visibly expresses his nature, so also our work reflects who he made us to be. And
the end goal, of course, is that God will be glorified. For he intended that everything we do will
ultimately point to him. Thus, Gods creativityhis being the Creatoris the starting point for
understanding the dignity and grandeur of human work.
How does seeing yourself as Gods image bearer shape the way you think about work? Do you see
your work as an expression of your identity?
DEEPER AT
WORK
MOTIVATION
WORLD
Cabinetmaker
Im a lawyer by trade, but I love working with my hands. I grew up helping my dad on the farm
and in his cabinet shop. Building cabinets and remodeling kitchens and bathrooms taught me how
to use my hands to construct objects and to use my mind to overcome obstacles. Over the years, I
have used these skills in many ways and in different contexts.
My wife of over forty years has come to realize that I will always have a project to work on
whether its adding a feature to our home or buying another house that needs renovating. My latest
project: remodeling our utility room.
I wanted to design and construct a laundry table. My initial concept was simple. I was going
make a basic table on which to fold clothes. My wife, however, would have been satisfied if I had
purchased a plastic fold-up table. Instead, after many hours in the garage, I crafted a piece of fine
furniture with soft-closing drawers for cat food, pull-out laundry racks and a solid-surface countertop. She loves it.
I enjoyed every aspect of designing and building the table. I didnt even mind the hours I spent
on it when I couldve been playing golf. I now find myself turning the lights on as I walk past the
laundry room so I can admire my work, which leaves me wondering, Why does this make me feel
so good?
I realized that this creation, as well as my other projects, is a visible expression of my nature
much like Gods work reflects his nature. Unlike God, however, my resources are limited, and so is
my imagination.
Still, the process of transforming an idea into something concrete that is more beautiful and
useful than I initially imagined, is rewarding beyond measure, especially when its for someone else.
The table is not just an object made from wood, metal and plastic. Its my creation and an expression of my love for my wife. Just as the universe is a revelation of Gods immense love for us, so also
our work can be an expression of our love for God and others.
1. Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics: God and Creation, Vol. 2, ed. John Bolt, trans. John Vriend, (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004), 407.
3.Ibid.
2. Ibid., 433.
5 | Genesis 1:25
Genesis 2:14 | 5
1:25 uJer27:5
1:26 vPs100:3
wGe9:6; Jas3:9
xPs8:68
1:27 y1Co11:7
zGe5:2; Mt19:4*;
Mk10:6*
1:28 aGe9:1,7;
Lev26:9
1:29 bPs104:14
1:30 cPs104:14,27;
145:15
1:31 dPs104:24
e1Ti4:4
a26 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text (see Syriac); Masoretic Text the earth b5Orland; also in
verse6 c6Ormist d7 TheHebrew for man (adam) sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for ground
(adamah); it is also the name Adam (see verse20). e12Orgood; pearls f13 Possibly southeast Mesopotamia
STORYLINE
Genesis 1:1
he Bible is fundamentally the narrative of Gods redeeming work in the world. It begins with
creation, revealing the eternal God who existed before anything was made. He is the sovereign
King and Lord of all that exists, and creation displays his glorious character.
Genesis 1 tells the paramount truth that In the beginning God... God created with his words,
and he is dynamically and intimately involved in his creation. Through creation he reveals himself
to be both transcendent (beyond physical human experience) and immanent (operating within
our world), holy and intimate. Although the act of creation is ultimately a mystery we cannot fully
comprehendand discussions of its details often raise controversial questionsGenesis 1 presents
a God who is sovereign over all creation.
At the pinnacle of creation, God created Adam and Eve. Unlike creation accounts from other
religions and cultures, Genesis 1 presents humans not as slaves subject to whimsical gods, but
as bearers of Gods divine image who have inherent dignity. Human beings are called to care for
creation as Gods vice-regents in the world. As a result of this great privilege, humans fulfill their
call when they steward, nurture, protect and cultivate Gods awe-inspiring creation and when they
worship him for his power, wonder, wisdom and love.
The Story continues: Genesis 3, p. 0.
Photodisk
7 | Genesis 2:15
Genesis 3:14 | 7
2:14 rDa10:4
2:17 sDt30:15,19;
Ro5:12; 6:23;
Jas1:15
2:18 t1Co11:9
2:19 uPs8:7
vGe1:24
2:22 w1Co11:8,
9,12
2:23 xGe29:14;
Eph5:2830
2:24 yMal2:15
zMt19:5*; Mk10:78*; 1Co6:16*;
Eph5:31*
2:25 aGe3:7,1011
3:1 b2Co11:3;
Rev12:9; 20:2
The Fall
3:4 cJn8:44;
2Co11:3
3:5 dIsa14:14;
Eze28:2
3:6 eJas1:14-15;
1Jn2:16 f1Ti2:14
3:8 gDt23:14
hJob31:33;
Ps139:7-12;
Jer23:24
3:13 i2Co11:3;
1Ti2:14
3:14 jDt28:15-20
kIsa65:25; Mic7:17
2The wom
a n said to the serpent,
We may eat f ruit from the t rees in the
garden, 3but God did say, You must
not eat f ruit from the tree that is in the
midd le of the garden, and you must
not t ouch it, or you will die.
4You will not cer
t ainly die, the
serpent said to the woman.c 5For God
k nows that when you eat from it your
eyes will be opened, and you will be
like God,d knowing good and evil.
6When the wom
a n saw that the
fruit of the tree was good for food
and pleasi ng to the eye, and also de
sirable e for gaini ng wisdom, she took
some and ate it. She also gave some to
her husband, who was with her, and
he ate it.f 7Then the eyes of both of
them were opened, and they rea li zed
they were naked; so they sewed fig
leaves together and made coveri ngs
for themselves.
8Then the man and his wife heard
the s ound of the Lord God as he was
walk i ng g in the garden in the cool of
the day, and they hidh from the Lord
God a mong the trees of the garden.
9But the Lord God c
alled to the man,
Where are you?
10He ans wered, I heard you in the
garden, and I was a fraid because I was
naked; so I hid.
11And he said, Who told you that
you were naked? Have you eaten from
the tree that I commanded you not to
eat from?
12The man said, The woma n you
put here with meshe gave me some
f ruit from the tree, and I ateit.
13Then the Lord God said to the
woman, What is this you have done?
The woma n said, The serpent de
ceived me,i and I ate.
14So the Lord God said to the ser
pent, Because you have done this,
DOCTRINE OF HUMANITY
CULTURAL MANDATE
(GENESIS 1:28)
fter God created humanity, he gave them a series of commands: be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth, subdue it and have dominion over other
living things. This call to cultivate the world and exercise dominion is
often called the cultural mandate. As Gods image bearers, our vocation is
to reflect his natureas modeled for us in his work of creatingby bringing increased order, structure, vibrancy and flourishing to this world thats so full of potential. God wants us to steward what
he has lovingly given to us as a gift, to responsibly harness natures power and innovate for his glory
and the good of all creation.
DEEPER IN
TRUTH
When we read that God rested on the seventh day, we shouldnt take this to mean that creation was
entirely finished or no longer in need of development. Rather, he made humans in his image to
continue his work and bring creation to its God-given potential. Albert Wolters explains this in his
book Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview:
Although God has withdrawn from the work of creation, he has put an image of himself
on the earth with a mandate to continue. The earth had been completely unformed and
empty; in the six-day process of development God had formed it and filled itbut not
completely. People must now carry on the work of development: by being fruitful they
must fill it even more; by subduing it they must form it even more. Mankind, as Gods
representatives on earth, carry on where God left off. But this is now to be a human
development of the earth. The human race will fill the earth with its own kind, and it
will form the earth for its own kind. From now on the development of the created earth
will be societal and cultural in nature. In a single word, the task ahead is civilization.1
Creation is not a static quantity. Rather, there is a growing up... an unfolding of creation,2
Wolters explains. This takes place through the task that
people have been given of bringing to fruition the possibilThe Bible says that work is
ities of development implicit in the work of Gods hands.3
good, and the cultural manThis mandate is not reserved for elitespoliticians, pastors, entrepreneurs and so on. No, we allno matter our date reminds us that the work
rank, ethnicity, age or vocationare called to continue we participate in points to
Gods work in bringing order and vibrancy to our world. something far greater than
God has entrusted humans with the inordinate privilege ourselves, even if we cant see
of continuing his work of creation to be Gods helper in the bigger picture.
executing to the end the blueprint for his masterpiece.4
Connecting
This cultural mandate gives our work incredible significance, since it is meant to be an extension
of Gods work in creation. Still, many of us do not sense that the work we perform each day has a
significant meaning or purpose. Some of us even see work as torment and a curse, an obstacle to
whats really important: whether it be friends, family, hobbiesyou name it. But the Bible says that
work is good, and the cultural mandate reminds us that the work we participate in points to something far greater than ourselves, even if we cant see the bigger picture. Sure, work is tainted now
because of the fall, and we are incredibly limited. But as Gods image bearers, we work to contribute
to human flourishing and the development of the earth.
How does your work bring order and flourishing to your company or community? How does it
contribute to the common good, the well-being of others and the improvement of the world?
DEEPER AT
WORK
WORLD
City Planner
Im a city planner for New York City. When a developer wants to build something that is not currently allowed, he or she has to submit a proposal to the city. My job is to understand the project,
review the application and sign off on the proposal when its complete.
At a deeper level, though, I want to make good decisions that contribute to the shaloma Hebrew word meaning peace, harmony, wholeness and welfareof the city, which means I need to
understand Gods original vision for human flourishing. The cultural mandate in Genesis affirms the
importance of cultivating the earth and subduing it for Gods glory. Realizing that Gods vision for
human flourishing includes development, cultivation and order has brought excitement to my work.
In order to determine whether a particular proposal contributes to the welfare of a particular
place, I must look closely at the surrounding communityits people, personality and passions.
Only then can I judge how to best support new investment and development. In theory, my job is
quite simple. Yet in reality I face many competing goals and values that sometimes contradict my
faith. For example, New York City real estate development usually favors people with deep pockets
and impressive platforms. Wealthy neighborhoods have clout and, therefore, the ability to frame
the conversation in their favor. Yet my faith calls me to care for the poor and vulnerable. Working
with this tension frequently challenges me.
I get lost in a world that measures flourishing differently than Christianity does. I cringe on the
inside when I see backroom dealings or bad projects that harm neighborhoods. I know the stakes for
these communities, and most of the time I am powerless to act justly without jeopardizing my job.
At other times, however, my work gives me a glimpse of the coming redemption of place. Recently, for example, after I presented a plan for a large rezoning project, a woman approached me
at a community board meeting. She passionately accused me of being the single most destructive
force in her neighborhood, the harbinger of gentrification and the developer who will cut down
her trees. I then explained the complicated and counterintuitive zoning proposal and reassured her
that I was there to protect, not harm, her neighborhood. We eventually came to a mutual understanding, and then she hugged me.
Im comforted when I remember my individual limitations in altering the landscape of development in the city, yet I realize that this is my role in Gods plan for redeeming creationin which the
cultural mandate plays a critical part. While I cant right every wrong, I can try my hardest, trusting
in Gods gracious involvement in my work.
1. Albert M. Wolters. Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005), 4142. 4344.
2. Ibid., 44.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid
10 | Genesis 3:15
Genesis 4:12 | 10
3:15 lJn8:44;
Ac13:10; 1Jn3:8
mIsa7:14;
Mt1:23; Rev12:17
nRo16:20; Heb2:14
3:16 o1Co11:3;
Eph5:22
3:17 pGe5:29;
Ro8:20-22
qJob5:7; 14:1;
Ecc2:23
3:18 rPs104:14
3:19 s2Th3:10
tGe2:7; Ps90:3;
104:29; Ecc12:7
3:22 uRev22:14
3:23 vGe2:8
wGe4:2
17To
3:24 xEx25:18-22
yPs104:4 zGe2:9
4:2 aLk11:51
4:3 bNu18:12
4:4 cLev3:16
dEx13:2,12
eHeb11:4
4:7 fNu32:23
gRo6:16
4:8 hMt23:35;
1Jn3:12
4:10 iGe9:5;
Nu35:33;
Heb12:24;
Rev6:910
from w
hich he had been taken. 24After
he d
rove the man out, he p
laced on the
east sidee of the Garden of Eden cher
ubim x and a flami ng swordy flashi ng
back and forth to g uard the way to the
tree of life.z
STORYLINE
A Cataclysmic Rebellion
Read Gods Story: Genesis 3 4
Key Verse: ...your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing
Genesis 3:5
od intended to share intimate and eternal fellowship with humanity. This plan was traumatically disrupted when Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation to be like God. Their act of
disobedience inflicted unimaginable consequences on all of humanity and the rest of creation. The
wily serpent deceived Adam and Eve into thinking they could prioritize their prideful desires above
Gods commands. As a result theyand all of humanitylost their intimate relationship with
God. Sin settled into Gods created order and eventually led to murder (see Ge 4).
Ever since the fall, sin has distorted and perverted every part of our existence. But God had mercy
on humanity. Despite Adam and Eves rejection of God, he mercifully clothed them through the
sacrifice of an animal. Thus, Genesis 3 establishes the themes of judgment and mercy that reverberate throughout the rest of Scripture.
The Story continues: Genesis 6, p. 0.
deemac/www.istock.com
12 | Genesis 4:13
Genesis 5:17 | 12
4:14 j2Ki17:18;
Ps51:11; 139:712; Jer7:15;
52:3 kGe9:6;
Nu35:19,21,27,33
4:15 lEze9:4,6
mver24; Ps79:12
4:16 nGe2:8
4:17 oPs49:11
4:23 pEx20:13;
Lev19:18
4:24 qDt32:35
rver15
Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew Very well b16 Nod means wandering (see verses 12 and 14).
Seth probably means granted. e26Orto proclaim
f2Hebrewadam g6 Father may mean ancestor; also in verses 7-26.
c22Orwho instructed all who work in d25
DOCTRINE OF HUMANITY
THE FALL
(GENESIS 3:6)
hen Adam and Eve deliberately disobeyed God, they severed their
relationship with him. As a result, their sense of identity, security and
purpose was confused. Their rebellion negatively impacted their relationships and, as a result, creation itself was changed. They no longer
loved God first and foremost. Rather, other desires began to rule over and enslave them. Instead of
loving and serving others, they exploited others, intensifying alienation and estrangement. This is
the case not just for Adam and Eve, but for all humans. Paul tells us that, as descendants of Adam,
we have all sinned in him (see Ro 5:12). We all have forfeited our rightful place as Gods viceregents and have subjected creation to frustration and bondage. Even work, which was originally
intended to give humans purpose and nobility, is marked by toil and pain. The fall of humanity has
corrupted every aspect of our lives and our world.
DEEPER IN
TRUTH
The Bible teaches that Adam and Eves fall into sin was not an isolated act of disobedience. Rather,
it was an event of catastrophic significance, impacting all of creationboth the human and nonhuman world. The corrosive effects of the fall are inescapable at every levelsocietal, familial, cultural
and individual. As Albert Wolters explains, We discover that the good handiwork of God has been
drawn into the sphere of human mutiny against God.1
Wolters says this distortion of Gods good creation is most obvious in our personal lives, where
the effects of the fall are most readily recognized by Christians. Murder, adultery, theft, blasphemy,
and many other vices are obvious and widespread infringements on Gods creational design for
human life.2 Perhaps less obvious are violations at the emotional and mental levels. [T]hese too,
says Wolters, are distortions of creaturely human functions and participate in the groaning of
creation. The Bible even ties bodily sickness, the causes
of which so often lie outside the sphere of our personal Sin has a remarkable ripple
responsibility, to the root cause of human sinfulness (see, effect, touching those around
for example, 1Co 11:30).3
us and everything we do. That
Humanitys dire situation and all the evil and perversity means sin affects our work.
in the world is ultimately the result of our sinour refusal to live according to Gods good ordinances. Sin and death entered through one man, says Paul
(see Ro 5:12), and all creation groans for redemption (see Ro 8:22).
Connecting
Many of us tend to think our sin affects only us as individuals. But the Bible teaches that the fall
has vast implications: Adam and Eves sin led to a broken relationship with God and to brokenness
throughout society. No one and no place in our world is unaffected. Even the secret sins we commit are not isolated. Sin has a remarkable ripple effect, touching those around us and everything
we do. That means sin affects our work. Not only is our work marked by toil and frustration as a
result of the fall, it is also tainted by our particular personal sins. Yet because of Christs work, work
will not always be taxing and stressful, corrupted by sin. We still live with the effects of sin, but one
day well be free of them.
How might your sin affect your coworkers, and even the quality of your work? In what ways do you
see Christs redemption in your work, despite the frustrations you experience as a result of the fall?
DEEPER AT
WORK
MOTIVATION
RELATIONSHIPS
WORLD
I work for the federal government on issues concerning threat finance. That means I develop, manage and oversee initiatives that make the government better at combating illicit activities like drug
trafficking and weapons proliferation. In my work, I try to include decision-makers from both the
private and public sectors, who have an in-depth understanding of the threats facing our nation and
possible resolutions to those threats.
I see my work as one way in which God brings justice to the world and provides security for his people. With this perspective, I find my work exhilarating. Yet on a daily basis my work does not always
feel lofty and important. I spend most of the time reading e-mails and talking on conference calls.
I cant tell many stories from my work in great detail, since theyre confidential, but I can say my
work feels most meaningful when the papers and insights I provide produce tangible resultsan
illegal activity thwarted, money for violent activities frozen or a policy changed. At these times, I
feel like Im carrying out Gods will to care for his creation.
Yet I am keenly aware that my job exists only because sinpervasive, predatory and intentional sinexists in the world. The depth of depravity, the unbelievable dehumanization of Gods
image-bearers and the enslavement of those most vulnerable, have grieved me.
While my line of work attempts to find solutions to these enormous problems, no human resolution can ultimately solve our worlds deepest problemsin. We need Christ, for he himself is our
peace (Eph 2:14). Only Christ can break down the dividing wall of hostility that exists between
people groups, because only he can destroy the barrier between us and God.
In one sense, Christ has already done this through the cross (see Eph 2:16). Yet we await the
fullness of Gods kingdom, when nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train
for war anymore (Isa 2:4). This already-but-not-yet tension instills in me a greater passion to see
Christ glorified in my work so that hearts, institutions and nations can find true peacea peace
that points to the redemption of creation.
1. Albert M. Wolters. Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005), 44.
3. Ibid., 4546.
2. Ibid., 45.
15 | Genesis 5:18
Genesis 6:16 | 15
5:18 zJude1:14
5:22 aver24;
Ge6:9; 17:1; 48:15;
Mic6:8; Mal2:6
5:24 bver22
c2Ki2:1,11;
Heb11:5
5:29 dGe3:17;
Ro8:20
6:1 eGe1:28
6:3 fIsa57:16
6:3 gPs78:39
6:4 hNu13:33
6:5 iGe8:21;
Ps14:13
6:6 j1Sa15:11,35;
Isa63:10
6:8 kGe19:19;
Ex33:12,13,17;
Lk1:30; Ac7:46
6:9 lGe7:1;
Wickedness in theWorld
Eze14:14,20;
When human beings began to in Heb11:7; 2Pe2:5
crease in number on the earthe mGe5:22
n
and daughters were born to them, 2the 6:10 oGe5:32
6:11 Eze7:23;
sons of God saw that the daughters of 8:17
humans were beaut if ul, and they mar 6:12 pPs14:13
q
ried any of them they chose. 3Then 6:13 ver17;
Eze7:23
the Lord said, My Spirit will not con 6:14 rHeb11:7;
tend withb humans forever, f for they 1Pe3:20 sEx2:3
a29
family.
Noah sounds like the Hebrew for comfort. b3OrMy spirit will not remain in c3Orcorrupt
Themeaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain. e15 That is, about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45
feet high or about 135 meters long, 23 meters wide and 14 meters high
d14
STORYLINE
Genesis 6:5
t this point in history, humanitys sinful nature had become increasingly apparent and destructive. God was so grieved by sin that he decided to exercise his judgment on all of creationwith
the exception of one righteous man, Noah, and his family. In what is perhaps one of the Bibles
most well-known stories, one family was shielded from Gods judgment. Noah and his family were
spared so that they could start a new creation, as it were. Noahs faithful obedience to Godeven
when those who thought he was crazy ridiculed himsaved himself, his family and all the creatures
God placed on the ark that Noah had built at Gods command. When the floodwaters receded, God
made a covenant with this new first family, promisingwith the sign of a rainbowto preserve the
earth from total destruction.
However, the flood was not enough to change peoples sinful hearts. Soon humanitys prideful
nature reemerged, as was seen at Babel (see Ge 11:19). This monumental tower represented humanitys short-sighted desire for glory and independence from God. Yet God responded by once
again bringing judgment on humanitys foolish arrogancethis time by confusing their language
and scattering them across the earth.
The Story continues: Genesis 12, p. 000.
Aerial view of Mount Ararat, the location where Noahs ark settled (Ge 8:4).
Lingbeek/www.istock.com
17 | Genesis 6:17
Genesis 7:23 | 17
6:17 tGe7:4,21-23;
2Pe2:5
6:18 uGe9:9-16
vGe7:1,7,13
6:20 wGe7:15
6:22 xGe7:5,9,16
7:1 yMt24:38
zGe6:9; Eze14:14
7:2 aver8; Ge8:20;
Lev10:10; 11:147
7:5 bGe6:22
a16
c20
7:11 cEze26:19
dGe8:2
7:12 ever4
7:15 fGe6:19
7:17 gver4
7:19 hPs104:6
7:21 iGe6:7,13
7:22 jGe1:30
7:23 kMt24:39;
Lk17:27; 1Pe3:20;
2Pe2:5 lHeb11:7
That is, about 18inches or about 45 centimeters b16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
That is, about 23feet or about 6.8 meters d20Orrose more than fifteen cubits, and the mountains were covered
18 | Genesis 7:24
Genesis 9:5 | 18
Ex2:24; 1Sa1:11,19
oEx14:21
8:2 pGe7:11
DOCTRINE OF HUMANITY
IMAGE
OF
GOD
(GENESIS 9:6)
he Bible has a lot to say about humanity. It tells us we were made male and
female (Ge 1:27), that we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Ps 139:14),
are frail (see Ps 103:1416), that we are sinful (Ps 143:2)the list goes on.
Perhaps the most profound thing it says about humanity is that we all have
been given the unfathomable honor of bearing the image of God (imago dei). When we view another human being, we see God reflected in them. Even after the fall, despite the sin that resides in all
people, humans continue to bear Gods image (see Ge 9:6). And Christthe perfect image of God
(see Col 1:15)came to redeem us so that we might reflect in greater fullness Gods glory.
As divine image bearers, we have a deep sense of purpose in this world: we are called to reflect Gods character and continue his work. This also shapes how we view and treat others. Each
personwhether a stranger, neighbor or co-workermust be given the dignity, respect and love
due them as Gods image bearer.
DEEPER IN
TRUTH
One way to think about imaging God is to think about a mirror. In his book Created in Gods Image,
Anthony A. Hoekema explains:
As a mirror reflects, so man should reflect God. When one looks at a human being, one
ought to see in him or her a certain reflection of God. Another way of putting this is to
say that in man God is to become visible on earth. To be sure, other creatures, and even
the heavens, declare the glory of God, but only in man does God become visible. [Theologians] speak of Gods general revelation, in which he reveals his presence, power, and
divinity through the works of his hands. But in the creation of man God revealed himself in a unique way, by making someone who was a kind of mirror image of himself.1
But this discussion is only one side to the coin. Humans not only reflect God but also represent
him. Ancient rulers often erected images of themselves in various parts of their realms, to represent
their authority to their subordinates. Thats what we see in Daniel 3, where King Nebuchadnezzar
sets up an imagelikely of himselfand commands his subjects to fall down before it and worship.
We were created in Gods image so we could represent him here on earth, much like an ambassador represents a foreign country. Hoekema further explains:
As an ambassador represents his countrys authority, so man (both male and female)
must represent the authority of God. As an ambassador is concerned to advance the
best interests of his country, so man must seek to advance Gods program for this
world. As Gods representatives, we should support and defend what God stands for,
and should promote what God promotes.2
What a great honor and privilege this is. Through us God works out his purposes on earth. Yet
it is also a great responsibility. When others look at us, they should be able to encounter God, to
hear his word and to experience his love.3 We were created to represent who God is and what he
stands for.
Connecting
While we all were created to mirror God, not all of us represent God well. In fact, we all do it imperfectly. This is an important distinction that helps us in two ways. First, it helps us understand
how we should view all peopleas divine image bearers,
loved by God. Second, it highlights the challenge we have How does the truth of the gospel and the grace of God help
of representing God in the world.
When you think of your coworkers, do you see them you better represent God to
as people created in the divine imageworthy of digni- those with whom you interact
ty and worth that this reality brings with it? Or do you each day?
see them as merely a pathway to your own personal gain,
even sometimes treating them as sub-human? And how does the truth of the gospel and the grace
of God help you better represent God to those with whom you interact each day?
DEEPER AT
WORK
RELATIONSHIPS
I arrive at the hospital to begin my work day and enter the room of my first patient. She weighs less
than three pounds, and the tubes, wires and hoses connected to her outnumber the days since she
was born. I observe her and notice her rib cage retracting, straining for each breath. She is premature, fragile, not equipped for life outside the womb. I use my hands to provide containment and
flexion. I tenderly reposition and massage her.
I move to my next patient: a teenage girl who is recovering from brain surgery. Part of her brain
was removed in hopes that it would stop, or at least reduce, her epileptic seizures. Her surgery has left
her hemiplegic, unable to use her left side. She is disheartened that simple tasks now take immense
focus and time. I want to make her feel like a normal teenager, so I get several bottles of nail polish,
and we practice coordination tasks by doing something that is both familiar and important to her.
In my work, I arrange brain pathways, promote healing in bones, stretch muscles and calm fears.
And mostly, I play. I am a pediatric occupational therapist, and I play for the glory of God.
Often the world of medical billing and reimbursement favors patients who heal quickly. I see every
child as having been made in the image of God and, therefore, valuable and worthy of respect and
dignity. God did not equate human worth with giftedness. He loved us while we were still sinners
and provided redemption for us, even though we did notand do notdeserve it. Jesus frequently
healed those who were chronically ill. He saw their needs and heard their stories. He gave them
healing and hope. In him, I can follow his example and treat all my patients with respectno matter what their rehab potential may be.
So when I arrive at the end of my day to stretch my little frienda sweet nine-year-old girl who
cant talk, will always be wheelchair bound and has intense difficulty controlling her movementsI
stretch her lovingly. Biomechanically, I am preventing contractures. But theologically, I am affirming her status as Gods image bearer, showing her that she is worthy of my best work.
1. Anthony A. Hoekema, Created in Gods Image (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1986), 67.
2. Ibid., 6768.
3. Ibid., 68.
21 | Genesis 9:6
Genesis 10:1 | 21
9:5 dEx21:28-32
eGe4:10
9:6 fGe4:14;
Ex21:12,14;
Lev24:17; Mt26:52
gGe1:26
9:7 hGe1:22
9:9 iGe6:18
9:11 jver16;
Isa24:5 kGe8:21;
Isa54:9
9:12 lver17;
Ge17:11
9:15 mEx2:24;
Lev26:42,45;
Dt7:9; Eze16:60
9:16 nver11;
Ge17:7,13,19;
2Sa7:13; 23:5
9:17 over12;
Ge17:11
9:18 pver25-27;
Ge10:6,15
9:19 qGe10:32
9:25 rver18
sGe25:23; Jos9:23
10:1 tGe2:4
10
22 | Genesis 10:2
The Japhethites
10:2-5pp 1Ch1:5-7
Cush, Egypt, Put and Canaan.a
7 The sons of Cush:
Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah
and Sabteka.
The sons of Raamah:
Sheba and Dedan.
8Cush
Genesis 10:30 | 22
10:2 uEze38:6
15 Canaan g was the fat herof
vEze38:2; Rev20:8
Si
don h his firstborn,g and of the
wIsa66:19
Hitt ites, i 16Jebusites, j Amorites,
10:3 xJer51:27
yEze27:14; 38:6
Girgashites, 17Hiv ites, Ark ites,
10:4 zEze27:12,25;
Sin ites, 18Arvadites, Zema r ites
Jnh1:3
a
and Hamathites.
10:6 ver15;
Ge9:18
Later the Canaanite k clans scattered
10:10 bGe11:9
cGe11:2
19and the borders of Canaanl reached
10:11 dPs83:8;
from Sidon m tow ard Gerar as far as
Mic5:6 eJnh1:2;
Gaza, and then tow ard Sodom, Go
4:11; Na1:1
10:14 fGe21:32,
morrah, Admah and Zeboyim, as far
34; 26:1,8
as Lasha.
20These are the sons of Ham by t heir
clans and lang uages, in t heir ter r ito
ries and nat ions.
The Semites
10:21-31pp Ge11:10-27; 1Ch1:17-27
21Sons
10:15 gver6;
Ge9:18 hEze28:21
iGe23:3,20
10:16 j1Ch11:4
10:18 kGe12:6;
Ex13:11
10:19 lGe11:31;
13:12; 17:8 mver15
10:21 nver24;
Nu24:24
30The re
10:22 oJer49:34
g ion w
here they lived
pLk3:36
s
tretched
from
Me
sha toward Sephar,
q
10:23 Job1:1
10:24 rver21
in the eastern hill count ry.
a2 Sons may mean descendants or successors or nations; also in verses 3, 4, 6, 7, 20-23, 29 and 31. b4Some
manuscripts of the Masoretic Text and Samaritan Pentateuch (see also Septuagint and 1Chron. 1:7); most
manuscripts of the Masoretic Text Dodanites c8 Father may mean ancestor or predecessor or founder;
also in verses 13, 15, 24 and 26. d10OrUruk and Akkadall of them in e10That is, Babylonia
f11OrNineveh with its city squares g15Orof the Sidonians, the foremost h21OrShem, the older brother of
i23 SeeSeptuagint and 1Chron. 1:17; Hebrew Mash. j24 Hebrew; Septuagint father of Cainan, and Cainan was
the father of k25 Peleg means division.
23 | Genesis 10:31
Genesis 11:26 | 23
31These
10:32 sver1
tGe9:19
11:2 uGe10:10
11:3 vEx1:14
wGe14:10
32These are the c
lans of Noa hs 11:4 xDt1:28; 9:1
zDt4:27
sons,s according to t heir lines of de yGe6:4
aver7;
11:5
scent, within t heir nat ions. From t hese Ge18:21; Ex3:8;
the nat ions spread out over the eartht 19:11,18,20
11:7 bGe1:26
after the flood.
cGe42:23
11:8 dGe9:19;
The Tower of Babel
Lk1:51
Now the
w hole
w orld had 11:9 eGe10:10
11
11:12 fLk3:35
11:20 gLk3:35
11:24 hLk3:34
11:26 iLk3:34
jJos24:2
24 | Genesis 11:27
Abrams Family
27This is the account of Terahs fam
ily line.
Genesis 12:20 | 24
6Abram traveled t hrough the landy
11:27 kver31;
Ge12:4; 14:12; 19:1;
as
far as the site of the g reat tree of Mo
2Pe2:7
rehz at Shechem. At that time the Ca
11:28 lver31;
Ge15:7
naanites a were in the land. 7The Lord
11:29 mGe17:15
appeared to A bram b and said, To
nGe22:20
o
your offspring c I will give this land.c
11:30 Ge16:1;
18:11
So he b
uilt an altar t here to the Lord,d
11:31 pGe15:7;
who
had
appeared to him.
Ne9:7; Ac7:4
8From t here he went on toward the
qGe10:19
12:1 rAc7:3*;
h ills east of Bethele and pitched his
Heb11:8
tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on
12:2 sGe15:5;
here he b
uilt an altar to the
17:2,4; 18:18; 22:17; the east. T
Dt26:5 tGe24:1,35 Lord and c
alled
on
the name of the
12:3 uGe27:29;
Lord.
Ex23:22; Nu24:9
9Then A
vGe18:18; 22:18;
bram set out and cont inued
26:4; Ac3:25;
toward the Negev. f
Gal3:8*
12:4 wGe11:31
Abram in Egypt
12:5 xGe14:14;
17:23
12:10-20Ref Ge20:1-18; 26:1-11
12
12:6 yHeb11:9
zGe35:4; Dt11:30
aGe10:18
12:7 bGe17:1;
18:1; Ex6:3
cGe13:15,17; 15:18;
17:8; Ps105:9-11
dGe13:4
12:8 eGe13:3
12:9 fGe13:1,3
12:13 gGe20:2;
26:7
12:17 h1Ch16:21
12:18 iGe20:9;
26:10
a2Orbe seen as blessed b3Orearth / will use your name in blessings (see48:20) c7Orseed
STORYLINE
Genesis 12:3
he story of Abram reveals Gods desire to bless the world through a nation, and ultimately
through one personthe Messiah, Jesus Christ. God called Abram to be the recipient of his
blessings, with the intention that these blessings would flow to the surrounding nations and, in
time, to all the earth. Abram demonstrated remarkable faith in Gods promises: He obeyed when
God told him to leave his homeland; he trusted God despite having doubts and fears regarding the
future; he was even willing to make an unthinkable sacrificegiving his only son, Isaac, as an offering to God. God commended Abrams faith and made a covenant with Abram (whose name means
father of nations), promising to bless the entire world through him. As part of this covenant,
God changed his name to Abraham (father of many nations). As Gods plan unfolded, Abraham
became the father of a great nation: Israel.
The Story continues: Exodus 1, p. 0.
ABRAMS JOURNEY
Ti
ra
n
Se ean
a
ph
ra
Eu
gr
sR
Harran
tes
R.
ed
it
er
AKKAD
Shechem
Ai
Bethel
CANAA
0
0
g
To E
200 km.
200 miles
Red
Sea
yp
SUMER
THE
N E GEV
Ur of the
Chaldeans
Possible routes of
Abrams journey
Map by International Mapping. Copyright by Zondervan. All rights reserved.
26 | Genesis 13:1
Genesis 14:8 | 26
13
So A
bram went up from Egypt
to the Negev,j with his wife
and everyt hing he had, and Lot went
with him. 2Abram had become very
wealthy in livestock and in silver and
gold.
3From the Negev he went from place
to place unt il he came to Bethel,k to the
place bet ween Bethel and Ai where his
tent had been earlier 4and where he
had f irst built an altar.l T here Abram
called on the name of the Lord.
5Now Lot, who was moving a
bout
with A
bram, also had f locks and h
erds
and tents. 6But the land c ould not sup
port them w
hile they s tayed together,
for their possessions were so g reat
that they were not able to stay togeth
er.m 7And quar reli ng n a rose bet ween
Abrams herders and Lots. The Ca
naanites and Peri zzites were also liv
ing in the lando at that time.
8So
Abram said to Lot, Lets not
have any quarreling bet ween you and
me,p or between your herders and
mine, for we are c lose relat ives.q 9Is
not the w
hole land before you? L
ets
part company. If you go to the left, Ill
go to the r ight; if you go to the r ight, Ill
go to the left.
10Lot looked a
round and saw that
the whole plain of the Jordan toward
Zoarr was well watered, like the gar
den of the Lord,s like the land of
Egypt. (This was before the Lord de
stroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) t 11So
Lot chose for himself the w
hole p
lain
of the Jordan and set out toward the
east. The two men parted company:
12Abram l ived in the land of Canaan,
w hile Lot lived a mong the cities of
itched his tents near
the plain u and p
Sodom. v 13Now the people of Sodom
were wicked and were sinning greatly
against the Lord.w
a15Orseed; also in verse16 b1
13:1 jGe12:9
13:3 kGe12:8
13:4 lGe12:7
13:6 mGe36:7
13:7 nGe26:20,21
oGe12:6
13:8 pPr15:18;
20:3 qPs133:1
13:10 rGe19:22,30
sGe2:8-10; Isa51:3
tGe14:8; 19:1729
13:12 uGe19:17,
25,29 vGe14:12
13:13 wGe18:20;
Eze16:49-50;
2Pe2:8
14
13:14 xGe28:14;
Dt3:27
13:15 yGe12:7;
Gal3:16*
13:17 zver15;
Nu13:1725
13:18 aGe14:13,24;
18:1 bGe35:27
cGe8:20
14:1 dGe10:10
14:2 eGe10:19
fGe13:10
14:3 gNu34:3,12;
Dt3:17; Jos3:16;
15:2,5
14:5 hGe15:20;
Dt2:11,20 iDt2:10
14:6 jDt2:12,22
kDt2:1,5,22
lGe21:21; Nu10:12
14:7 m2Ch20:2
14:8 nGe13:10;
19:17-29 oDt29:23
27 | Genesis 14:9
Genesis 15:8 | 27
14:10 pGe19:17,30
14:13 qver24;
Ge13:18
14:14 rGe15:3
sDt34:1; Jdg18:29
14:17 t2Sa18:18
14:18 uPs110:4;
Heb5:6 vPs76:2;
Heb7:2
14:19 wHeb7:6
xver22
14:20 yGe24:27
zGe28:22; Dt26:12;
Heb7:4
15
14:22 aEx6:8;
Da12:7; Rev10:5-6
bver19
14:23 c2Ki5:16
15:1 dDa10:1
eGe21:17;
26:24; 46:3;
2Ki6:16; Ps27:1;
Isa41:10,13-14
fDt33:29;
2Sa22:3,31; Ps3:3
15:2 gAc7:5
15:3 hGe24:2,34
15:4 iGal4:28
15:5 jPs147:4;
Jer33:22 kGe12:2;
22:17; Ex32:13;
Ro4:18*; Heb11:12
15:6 lPs106:31;
Ro4:3*,20-24*;
Gal3:6*; Jas2:23*
15:8 mLk1:18
a13Ora relative; or an ally b1Orsovereign c1Orshield; / your reward will be very great d2Themeaning
of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain. e5Orseed
28 | Genesis 15:9
Genesis 16:14 | 28
Jer34:18 oLev1:17
15:12 pGe2:21
15:13 qver16;
Ex12:40; Ac7:6,17
rEx1:11
15:14 sAc7:7*
tEx12:3238
15:15 uGe25:8
15:16 v1Ki21:26
15:17 wver10
15:18 xGe12:7
yNu34:5
16:1 zGe11:30;
Gal4:24-25
aGe21:9
16:2 bGe30:34,910
16
16:3 cGe12:5
16:5 dGe31:53
16:7 eGe21:17;
22:11,15; 31:11
fGe20:1
16:10 gGe13:16;
17:20
16:11 hEx2:24;
3:7,9
16:12 iGe25:18
16:13 jGe32:30
Ishmael means God hears. c12Orlive to the east / of d13Orseen the back of
Beer Lahai Roi means well of the Living One who sees me.
29 | Genesis 16:15
Genesis 17:27 | 29
16:15 kGal4:22
17:1 lGe28:3;
Ex6:3 mDt18:13
17:2 nGe15:18
17:4 oGe15:18
pver16; Ge12:2;
35:11; 48:19
17:5 qver15;
The Covenant ofCircumcision
Ne9:7 rRo4:17*
17:6 sGe35:11
When A
bram was ninet y-nine tMt1:6
years old, the Lord appeared to 17:7 uEx29:45,46
v
Gal3:16
him and said, I am God Alm ightya;l Ro9:8;
17:8 wPs105:9,11
walk before me faithfully and be xGe23:4; 28:4;
blameless.m 2Then I will make my cov Ex6:4 yGe12:7
17:10 zver23;
enant bet ween me and youn and will Ge21:4;
Jn7:22;
greatly increase your numbers.
Ac7:8; Ro4:11
3Abram fell facedown, and God said 17:11 aEx12:48;
bRo4:11
to him, 4As for me, this is my cov Dt10:16
cLev12:3;
17:12
enant with you:o You will be the fat her Lk2:21
17
17:14 dEx4:2426
17:16 eGe18:10
fGe35:11; Gal4:31
17:17 gGe18:12;
21:6
17:19 hGe18:14;
21:2 iGe26:3
17:20 jGe16:10
kGe25:12-16
lGe21:18
17:21 mGe21:2
17:24 nRo4:11
30 | Genesis 18:1
18
Genesis 18:25 | 30
18:1 oGe13:18;
14:13
18:2 pver16,22;
Ge32:24; Jos5:13;
Jdg13:6-11;
Heb13:2
18:4 qGe19:2;
43:24
18:5 rJdg13:15
18:8 sGe19:3
18:10 tRo9:9*
18:11 uGe17:17
vRo4:19
18:12 wGe17:17;
21:6
18:12 x1Pe3:6
18:14 yJer32:17,27;
Zec8:6; Mt19:26;
Lk1:37; Ro4:21
18:17 zAm3:7
aGe19:24
18:18 bGal3:8*
18:19 cDt4:9-10;
6:7 dJos24:15;
Eph6:4
18:21 eGe11:5
18:22 fGe19:1
18:23 gNu16:22
18:24 hJer5:1
18:25 iJob8:3,20;
Ps58:11; 94:2;
Isa3:10-11; Ro3:6
That is, probably about 36pounds or about 16kilograms c18Orwill use his name in
blessings (see48:20) d22 Masoretic Text; an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition but the Lord remained standing
before Abraham e24Orforgive; also in verse26
31 | Genesis 18:26
26The
Genesis 19:15 | 31
18:26 jJer5:1
18:27 kGe2:7; 3:19;
Job30:19; 42:6
18:32 lJdg6:39
mJer5:1
19:1 nGe18:22
oGe18:1
19:2 pGe18:4;
Lk7:44
19
19:3 qGe18:6
19:5 rJdg19:22;
Isa3:9; Ro1:2427
19:6 sJdg19:23
19:8 tJdg19:24
19:9 uEx2:14;
Ac7:27
19:11 vDt28:2829; 2Ki6:18;
Ac13:11
19:12 wGe7:1
19:13 x1Ch21:15
19:14 yNu16:21
zEx9:21; Lk17:28
3But he in
sisted so strongly that
they did go with him and entered his
house. He prepared a meal for them,
baki ng bread without yeast, and they
ate.q 4Before they had gone to bed, all
the men from every part of the city of
Sodomboth young and oldsur
rounded the house. 5They c alled to
Lot, Where are the men who came to
you ton ight? Bring them out to us so
that we can have sex with them.r
6Lot went outside to meet thems and
shut the door beh ind him 7and said,
No, my friends. Dont do this wick
ed t hing. 8Look, I have two daughters
who have never slept with a man. Let
me bring them out to you, and you can
do what you like with them. But dont
do anything to these men, for they
have come under the protect ion of my
roof.t
9Get out of our way, they replied.
This fellow came here as a foreigner,
and now he w
ants to play the judge!u
Well treat you w
orse than them.
They kept bringing pressure on Lot
and moved forward to break down the
door.
10But the men ins ide r
eached out
and p
ulled Lot back into the h
ouse
and shut the door. 11Then they struck
the men who were at the door of the
house, y oung and old, with blindnessv
so that they c ould not find the door.
12The two men said to Lot, Do you
have anyone else heresons-in-law,
sons or daughters, or anyone else in
the city who belongs to you?w Get
them out of here, 13because we are go
ing to destroy this place. The outcry to
the Lord against its people is so g reat
that he has sent us to destroyit.x
14So Lot went out and s
poke to his
sons-in-law, who were pledged to mar
rya his daughters. He said, Hurr y and
get out of this place, because the Lord
is a bout to destroy the city!y But his
sons-in-law t hought he was joking.z
15With the comi ng of dawn, the an
gels u rged Lot, saying, Hurr y! Take
32 | Genesis 19:16
Genesis 20:2 | 32
19:15 aNu16:26
bRev18:4
19:17 cJer48:6
dver26
19:24 eDt29:23;
Isa1:9; 13:19
fLk17:29; 2Pe2:6;
Jude7
19:25 gPs107:34;
Eze16:48
19:26 hver17
iLk17:32
19:27 jGe18:22
19:28 kRev9:2;
18:9
and he b
rought Lot out of the catast ro
here
phel that overt hrew the cities w
Lot had lived.
20
Now Abraham m
oved on from
t here p into the reg ion of the
Negev and l ived bet ween Kadesh and
Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar,q
2and t here Abraham said of his wife
a18OrNo, Lord; or No, my lord b19TheHebrew is singular. c22 Zoar means small. d37 Moab sounds
like the Hebrew for from father. e38 Ben-Ammi means son of my fathers people. f38Hebrew Bene-Ammon
33 | Genesis 20:3
Genesis 21:11 | 33
20:2 rver12;
Ge12:13; 26:7
sGe12:15
20:3 tJob33:15;
Mt27:19 uPs105:14
20:4 vGe18:25
20:6 w1Sa25:26,
34
20:7 xver17;
1Sa7:5; Job42:8
20:9 yGe12:18;
26:10; 34:7
20:11 zGe42:18;
Ps36:1 aGe12:12;
26:7
21
20:14 bGe12:16
20:15 cGe13:9
Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away
20:17 dJob42:9
20:18 eGe12:17
8The c
hild grew and was w
eaned,
21:1 f1Sa2:21
gGe8:1; 17:16,21;
and on the day I saac was weaned Abra
Gal4:23
ham held a g reat feast. 9But Sarah saw
21:2 hGe17:19
iGal4:22; Heb11:11 that the son whom Hagar the Egypt ian
had borne to Abrahamm was mocking,n
21:3 jGe17:19
21:4 kGe17:10,12; 10and she said to Abraham, Get rid of
Ac7:8
that slave woman and her son, for that
21:6 lGe17:17;
Isa54:1
womans son will never share in the in
21:9 mGe16:15
heritance with my son Isaac.o
nGal4:29
11The mat ter dist ressed Abra ham
o
21:10 Gal4:30*
21:11 pGe17:18
greatly because it concerned his son.p
34 | Genesis 21:12
12But
Genesis 22:5 | 34
21:12 qRo9:7*;
Heb11:18*
21:13 rver18
21:14 sver31,32
21:17 tEx3:7
21:18 uver13
21:19 vNu22:31
21:20 wGe26:3,24;
28:15; 39:2,21,23
21:21 xGe24:4,38
21:23 yver31;
Jos2:12
Abraham Tested
22
21:25 zGe26:15,
18,2022
21:27 aGe26:28,31
21:30 bGe31:44,
47,48,50,52
21:31 cGe26:33
21:33 dGe4:26
eDt33:27
22:1 fDt8:2,16;
Heb11:17;
Jas1:1213
22:2 gver12,16;
Jn3:16; Heb11:17;
1Jn4:9 h2Ch3:1
Hebrew; Septuagint the child c31 Beersheba can mean well of seven and well of the oath.
35 | Genesis 22:6
6Abra
ham
Genesis 23:9 | 35
22:6 iJn19:17
22:7 jLev1:10
22:9 kHeb11:1719; Jas2:21
22:12 l1Sa15:22;
Jas2:21-22 mver2;
Jn3:16
22:13 nRo8:32
22:14 over8
22:16 pLk1:73;
Heb6:13
22:17 qHeb6:14*
rGe15:5 sGe26:24;
32:12 tGe24:60
Nahors Sons
20Some time lat
er Abrah am was
told, Milkah is also a mother; she has
borne sons to your brother Nahor:w
21Uz the first
born, Buz his brother,
Kemuel (the fat her of Aram), 22Kesed,
Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bet huel.
23Bet huel became the fat her of Rebek
ah.x Milk ah bore t hese eight sons to
Abra hams brother Na hor. 24His con
cubine, w hose name was Reum ah,
also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash
and Maakah.
23
22:18 uGe12:2,3;
Ac3:25*; Gal3:8*
vver10
22:20 wGe11:29
22:23 xGe24:15
23:2 yJos14:15
zver19; Ge13:18
23:4 aGe17:8;
1Ch29:15;
Ps105:12;
Heb11:9,13
23:6 bGe14:14-16;
24:35
23:8 cGe25:9
a13 Many manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint and Syriac; most manuscripts of
the Masoretic Text a ram behind him b18Orseed c18Orand all nations on earth will use the name of your
offspring in blessings (see48:20) d3Orthe descendants of Heth; also in verses 5, 7, 10, 16, 18 and 20
36 | Genesis 23:10
24
a11Orsell b15
Mesopotamia
Genesis 24:14 | 36
23:10 dGe34:2024; Ru4:4
23:11 e2Sa24:23
23:15 fEze45:12
23:16 gJer32:9;
Zec11:12
23:17 hGe25:9;
49:30-32; 50:13;
Ac7:16
23:20 iJer32:10
24:1 jver35
24:2 kGe39:4-6
24:2 lver9;
Ge47:29
24:3 mGe14:19
nGe28:1; Dt7:3
oGe10:1519
24:4 pGe12:1; 28:2
24:7 qGal3:16*
rGe12:7; 13:15
sEx23:20,23
24:9 tver2
24:11 uEx2:15
vver13; 1Sa9:11
24:12 wver27,
42,48; Ge26:24;
Ex3:6,15,16
That is, about 10 pounds or about 4.6 kilograms c7Orseed d10 That is, Northwest
37 | Genesis 24:15
Genesis 24:41 | 37
24:14 xJdg6:17,37
24:15 yver45
zGe22:23
aGe22:20
bGe11:29
24:16 cGe26:7
24:18 dver14
24:19 ever14
24:21 fver12
24:22 gver47
24:24 hver15
24:26 iver48,52;
Ex4:31
24:27 jEx18:10;
Ru4:14; 1Sa25:32
kver49; Ge32:10;
Ps98:3 lver21
mver12,48
24:29 nver4;
Ge29:5,12,13
24:31 oGe26:29;
Ru3:10; Ps115:15
24:32 pGe43:24;
Jdg19:21
24:35 qver1
rGe13:2
24:36 sGe21:2,10
tGe25:5
24:37 uver3
24:38 vver4
24:39 wver5
24:40 xver7
24:41 yver8
That is, about 1/5ounce or about 5.7 grams b22 That is, about 4 ounces or about 115 grams
38 | Genesis 24:42
42When
Genesis 24:67 | 38
24:42 zver12
24:43 aver13
bver14
24:45 c1Sa1:13
dver15 ever17
24:46 fver1819
24:47 gver23
hver24
iEze16:1112
24:48 jver26
kver27
24:49 lGe47:29;
Jos2:14
24:50 mPs118:23
nGe31:7,24,29,42
24:52 over26
24:53 pver10,22
24:54 qver56,59
24:59 rGe35:8
24:60 sGe17:16
tGe22:17
24:62 uGe16:14;
25:11 vGe20:1
24:63 wPs1:2;
77:12; 119:15,27,
48,97,148; 143:5;
145:5
24:67 xGe25:20
yGe29:18,20
zGe23:12
39 | Genesis 25:1
Genesis 25:28 | 39
25:2 a1Ch1:32,33
25:5 bGe24:36
25:1-4pp 1Ch1:32-33
25:6 cGe22:24
dGe21:10,14
Abra ham had taken another 25:8 eGe15:15
wife, w
hose name was Ketu fver17; Ge35:29;
rah. 2She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, 49:29,33
25:9 gGe35:29
Medan, Midia n, Ishbak and Shua h. a hGe50:13
3Jokshan was the fat her of Sheba and
25:10 iGe23:16
j
Ded an; the des cend ants of Ded an 25:11 kGe16:14
25:12 Ge16:1
were the Ashurites, the Let ushites and lGe16:15
the Leu mm ites. 4The sons of Midia n 25:16 mGe17:20
25
were E
phah, E
pher, Hanok, Abida and
Eldaa h. All t hese were descendants of
Ket urah.
5Abraham left everyt hing he owned
hile he was s till living,
to Isaac. b 6But w
he gave g ifts to the sons of his concu
binesc and sent them away from his
son Isaac d to the land of the east.
7Abra
h am lived a hund red and
sevent y-five years. 8Then Abraham
breathed his last and died at a good
old age,e an old man and full of years;
and he was gathered to his people.f
9His sons Isaac and Ishm ael buried
himg in the cave of Machpelah near
Mamre, in the f ield of Ephron son of
Zohar the Hit t ite, h 10the field Abra
ham had bought from the Hitt ites.ai
T here Abraham was buried with his
wife Sara h. 11Af ter Abra hams death,
God blessed his son Isaac, who then
lived near Beer Lahai Roi.j
Ishmaels Sons
25:12-16pp 1Ch1:29-31
12This is the account of the fami ly
line of Abrahams son Ishmael, whom
Sara hs slave, Hagar k the Egyptian,
bore to Abraham.l
13These
are the n
ames of the sons
of Ishmael, listed in the order of t heir
birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishma
el, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14Mishma,
Dumah, Massa, 15Hadad, Tema, Je
tur, Naphish and Kedemah. 16These
were the sons of Ishmael, and these
are the n
ames of the t welve tribal rul
ersm according to their settlements and
25:17 nver8
give b
irth, t here were twin boys in her
25:18 oGe16:12
womb. 25The first to come out was red,
25:20 pver26;
Ge26:34 qGe24:67 and his w
hole body was like a h
airy gar
rGe24:29
w so they n
d 26Af
ment;
amed
him
Esau.
25:21 s1Ch5:20;
2Ch33:13; Ezr8:23; ter this, his brother came out, with his
Ps127:3; Ro9:10
hand grasping Esaus heel;x so he was
25:22 t1Sa9:9;
named Jacob. ey Isaac was sixty years
10:22
u
old when Rebekah gave birth to them.
25:23 Ge17:4
vGe27:29,40;
27The boys grew up, and Esau be
Mal1:3; Ro9:1112*
came a skillful hunter, a man of the
25:25 wGe27:11
open count ry, z while Jacob was con
25:26 xHos12:3
yGe27:36
tent
to stay at home a mong the tents.
25:27 zGe27:3,5 28
Isaac,
who had a taste for wild game,a
a
25:28 Ge27:19
bGe27:6
loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. b
a10Orthe descendants of Heth b18Orlived to the east of c20That is, Northwest Mesopotamia d25
may mean hairy. e26 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he deceives.
Esau
40 | Genesis 25:29
29Once
Genesis 26:20 | 40
25:33 cGe27:36;
Heb12:16
26:1 dGe12:10
eGe20:1
26:2 fGe12:7; 17:1;
18:1 gGe12:1
26:3 hGe20:1;
28:15 iGe12:2;
22:16-18 jGe12:7;
13:15; 15:18
26:4 kGe15:5;
22:17; Ex32:13
lGe12:3; 22:18;
Gal3:8
26:5 mGe22:16
26:7 nGe12:13;
20:2,12; Pr29:25
26
26:10 oGe20:9
26:11 pPs105:15
26:12 qver3;
Job42:12
26:13 rPr10:22
26:14 sGe24:36
tGe37:11
26:15 uGe21:30
vGe21:25
26:16 wEx1:9
26:18 xGe21:30
26:20 yGe21:25
a30 Edom means red. b4Orseed c4Orand all nations on earth will use the name of your offspring in
blessings (see48:20) d20 Esek means dispute.
41 | Genesis 26:21
d33
Genesis 27:14 | 41
26:22 zGe17:6;
Ex1:7
26:24 aGe24:12;
Ex3:6 bGe15:1
cver4 dGe17:7
26:25 eGe12:7,8;
13:4,18; Ps116:17
26:26 fGe21:22
26:27 gver16
26:28 hGe21:22
26:29 iGe24:31;
Ps115:15
26:30 jGe19:3
26:31 kGe21:31
26:33 lGe21:14
26:34 mGe25:20
nGe28:9; 36:2
26:35 oGe27:46
27:1 pGe48:10;
1Sa3:2 qGe25:25
27:2 rGe47:29
27:3 sGe25:27
27:4 tver10,25,31;
Ge49:28; Dt33:1;
Heb11:20
27:6 uGe25:28
27:8 vver13,43
27:11 wGe25:25
27:12 xver22
27:13 yMt27:25
zver8
27
Sitnah means opposition. b22 Rehoboth means room. c33 Shibah can mean oath or seven.
Beersheba can mean well of the oath and well of seven.
42 | Genesis 27:15
Genesis 27:38 | 42
27:15 aver27
27:19 bver4
27:20 cGe24:12
27:21 dver12
27:23 ever16
27:25 fver4
27:27 gHeb11:20
hSS4:11
iPs65:913
27:28 jDt33:13
kver39 lGe45:18;
Nu18:12; Dt33:28
27:29 mIsa45:14,
23; 49:7,23
nGe9:25; 25:23;
37:7 oGe12:3;
Nu24:9; Zep2:8
27:31 pver4
27:32 qver18
27:33 rver29;
Ge28:3,4; Ro11:29
27:34 sHeb12:17
27:35 tJer9:4; 12:6
27:36 uGe25:26
vGe25:33
27:37 wver28
Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he takes advantage of or he deceives.
43 | Genesis 27:39
Genesis 28:15 | 43
27:38 xHeb12:17
27:39 yver28
27:40 z2Sa8:14
aGe25:23
b2Ki8:2022
Your dwelling will be
27:41 cGe37:4
dGe32:11
away from the earths richness,
eGe50:4,10
y
away from the dew of heaven
fOb1:10
above.
27:43 gver8
hGe24:29 iGe11:31
40 You will live by the sword
27:44 jGe31:38,41
z
a
and you will serve your brother. 27:45 kver35
27:46 lGe26:35
But when you grow restless,
28:1 mGe24:3
you will throw his yoke
28:2 nGe25:20
from off your neck.b
28:3 oGe17:1
p
41
c
d Ge17:6
28
a2
28:4 qGe12:2,3
rGe17:8
28:5 sHos12:12
tGe24:29
28:6 uver1
28:8 vGe24:3
wGe26:35
28:9 xGe25:13
yGe26:34
28:10 zGe11:31
28:12 aGe20:3
bJn1:51
28:13 cGe12:7;
35:7,9; 48:3
dGe26:24
eGe13:15; 35:12
28:14 fGe26:4
gGe13:14 hGe12:3;
18:18; 22:18; Gal3:8
28:15 iGe26:3;
48:21 jNu6:24;
Ps121:5,7-8
That is, Northwest Mesopotamia; also in verses 5, 6 and 7 b3Hebrew El-Shaddai c13OrThere beside him
d14Orwill use your name and the name of your offspring in blessings (see48:20)
44 | Genesis 28:16
and I will b
ring you back to this land.
I will not leave youk unt il I have done
what I have promised you.l
16When Jacob awoke from his sleep,
he t hought, Surely the Lord is in this
place, and I was not a ware of it. 17He
was a fraid and said, How awesome
is this p
lace!m This is none other than
the h
ouse of God; this is the gate of
heaven.
18Early the next morni ng Jacob took
the s tone he had placed under his head
and set it up as a pillarn and poured
oil on top of it.o 19He c alled that place
Bethel, a though the city used to be
called Luz. p
20Then Ja
c ob made a vow,q say
ing, If God will be with me and will
watch over mer on this journey I am
taking and will give me food to eat
and clothes to wear 21so that I ret urn
safely s to my fat hers household, then
the Lordb will be my Godt 22andc this
stone that I have set up as a pillar will
be Gods house, u and of all that you
give me I will give you a tenth.v
Genesis 29:19 | 44
28:15 kDt31:6,8
lNu23:19
28:17 mEx3:5;
Jos5:15
28:18 nGe35:14
oLev8:11
28:19 pJdg1:23,26
28:20 qGe31:13;
Jdg11:30; 2Sa15:8
rver15
28:21 sJdg11:31
tDt26:17
28:22 uGe35:7,14
vGe14:20;
Lev27:30
29:1 wJdg6:3,33
29:4 xGe28:10
29
29:9 yEx2:16
29:10 zEx2:17
29:11 aGe33:4
29:12 bGe13:8;
14:14,16 cGe24:28
29:13 dGe24:29
29:14 eGe2:23;
Jdg9:2;
2Sa19:1213
29:18 fHos12:12
a19 Bethel means house of God. b20,21OrSince God... fathers household, the Lord c21,22Orhousehold,
and the Lord will be my God, 22then d17Ordelicate
45 | Genesis 29:20
Genesis 30:13 | 45
29:20 gSS8:7;
Hos12:12
29:21 hJdg15:1
29:22 iJdg14:10;
Jn2:12
29:25 jGe12:18
kGe27:36
29:27 lJdg14:12
29:29 mGe30:3
nGe16:1
29:30 over16
pGe31:41
29:31 qDt21:15-17
rGe11:30; 30:1;
Ps127:3
29:32 sGe16:11;
31:42; Ex4:31;
Dt26:7; Ps25:18
29:33 tGe34:25;
49:5
29:34 uGe30:20;
1Sa1:2-4
vGe49:57
29:35 wGe49:8;
Mt1:23
30:1 xGe29:31;
1Sa1:5-6
yLev18:18
Jacobs Children
z
31When the Lord saw that Leah was 30:2 Ge16:2;
20:18;
29:31
not loved,q he enabled her to conceive,r 30:3 aGe16:2
b
but Rachel remained childless. 32Leah c30:4 ver9,18
Ge16:34
became pregnant and gave b
irth to a 30:6
dPs35:24;
a
son. She n
amed him Reuben, for she 43:1; La3:59
said, It is because the Lord has seen eGe49:1617
fHos12:3-4
my misery. s Surely my husband will 30:8
gGe49:21
love me now.
30:9 hver4
iGe49:19
33She conc eived a
30:11
gain, and when
30:13 jPs127:3
she gave b
irth to a son she said, Be kPr31:28; Lk1:48
cause the Lord heard that I am not lGe49:20
a32
30
Reuben sounds like the Hebrew for he has seen my misery; the name means see, a son. b33 Simeon
probably means one who hears. c34 Levi sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for attached.
d35 Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise. e6 Dan here means he has vindicated.
f8 Naphtali means my struggle. g11OrA troop is coming! h11 Gad can mean good fortune or a troop.
i13 Asher means happy.
46 | Genesis 30:14
14Dur i ng
Genesis 30:38 | 46
27But Laban said to him, If I have
30:14 mSS7:13
30:15 nNu16:9,13
f
ound
favor in your eyes, please stay.
30:17 oGe25:21
p
I
have
learned by divinat ion that the
30:18 Ge49:14
30:20 qGe35:23; Lord has blessed me because of you.z
49:13; Mt4:13
28He added, Name your wages,a and I
30:22 rGe8:1;
will pay them.
1Sa1:19-20
sGe29:31
29Jacob said to him, You know how
30:23 tver6
I have worked for youb and how your
uIsa4:1; Lk1:25
v
livestock has fared under my care.c
30:24 Ge35:24;
37:2; 39:1; 49:22-26 30The litt le you had before I came has
wGe35:17
increased greatly, and the Lord has
30:25 xGe24:54
y
30:26 Ge29:20, blessed you wherever I have been. But
30; Hos12:12
now, when may I do somet hing for my
Rachel gave b
irth to Joseph,
Jac ob said to Laban, Send me on
my wayx so I can go back to my own
homeland. 26Give me my w ives and
children, for whom I have served you,y
and I will be on my way. You know how
much work Ive done for you.
30:27 zGe26:24;
39:3,5
30:28 aGe29:15
30:29 bGe31:6
cGe31:3840
30:30 d1Ti5:8
30:32 eGe31:8,12
30:35 fGe31:1
own household? d
31What shall I give you? he asked.
Dont give me anyt hing, Jacob re
plied. But if you will do this one t hing
for me, I will go on tending your f locks
and watchi ng over them: 32Let me go
t hrough all your f locks today and re
move from them every speckled or
spot t ed s heep, every dark-colored
lamb and every spotted or speckled
goat.e They will be my wages. 33And
my honest y will test if y for me in the
future, whene ver you c heck on the
wages you have paid me. Any goat in
my possession that is not speckled or
spotted, or any lamb that is not darkcolored, will be considered stolen.
34Agreed, said Laban. Let it be
as you have said. 35That same day he
removed all the male goats that were
streaked or spotted, and all the speck
led or spotted female g oats (all that
had white on them) and all the darkcolored lambs, and he placed them in
the care of his sons.f 36Then he put a
t hree-day journey bet ween himself
and Jacob, while Jacob cont inued to
tend the rest of Labans flocks.
37Jac ob, howe ve r, took f resh-cut
branches from poplar, almond and
plane trees and made w hite stripes
on them by peeling the bark and ex
posing the w
hite inner wood of the
branches. 38Then he placed the peeled
branches in all the wateri ng t roughs,
so that they w
ould be directly in f ront
a18 Issachar sounds like the Hebrew for reward. b20 Zebulun probably means honor. c24 Joseph means may
he add.
47 | Genesis 30:39
Genesis 31:24 | 47
30:43 gver30;
Ge12:16; 13:2;
24:35; 26:1314
31:3 hver13;
Ge32:9 iGe21:22;
26:3; 28:15
31:5 jGe21:22;
26:3
31:6 kGe30:29
31:7 lver41;
Job19:3 mver52;
Ps37:28; 105:14
31:8 nGe30:32
31
Jacob h
eard that Labans sons
were saying, Jacob has taken
everyt hing our fat her owned and has
gained all this wealth from what be
longed to our fat her. 2And Jacob no
ticed that Labans att it ude toward him
was not what it had been.
3Then the Lord said to Jacob, Go
backh to the land of your fat hers and to
your relat ives, and I will be with you.i
4So Jacob sent word to Rachel and
Leah to come out to the f ields w
here
his f locks were. 5He said to them, I see
that your fat hers att it ude toward me
is not what it was before, but the God
of my fat her has been with me.j 6You
know that Ive w
orked for your fat her
with all my strength,k 7yet your fat her
has cheated me by changing my wag
es ten times.l However, God has not
allowed him to harm me.m 8If he said,
The speckled ones will be your wages,
then all the f locks gave birth to speck
led young; and if he said, The streaked
ones will be your wages,n then all the
a18That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
31:9 over1,16;
Ge30:42
31:11 pGe16:7;
48:16
31:12 qEx3:7
31:13 rGe28:10-22
sver3; Ge32:9
31:15 tGe29:20
31:18 uGe35:27
vGe10:19
31:19 wver30,32,
34-35; Ge35:2;
Jdg17:5; 1Sa19:13;
Hos3:4
31:20 xGe27:36
yver27
31:21 zGe37:25
31:24 aGe20:3;
Job33:15
48 | Genesis 31:25
Genesis 31:49 | 48
31:24 bGe24:50
31:26 cGe27:36
d1Sa30:23
31:27 eEx15:20
fGe4:21
31:28 gver55
31:29 hver7
iver53
31:30 jver19;
Jdg18:24
31:32 kGe44:9
31:34 lver37;
Ge44:12
31:35 mEx20:12;
Lev19:3,32
31:37 nver23
31:39 oEx22:13
31:41 pGe29:30
qver7
31:42 rver5;
Ex3:15; 1Ch12:17
sver53; Isa8:13
tPs124:1-2
uGe29:32
31:44 vGe21:27;
26:28 wJos24:27
31:45 xGe28:18
31:49 yJdg11:29;
1Sa7:56
a47TheAramaic Jegar Sahadutha and the Hebrew Galeed both mean witness heap. b49 Mizpah means
watchtower.
49 | Genesis 31:50
c hil
d ren and his
lessed them. Then
daughters h and b
he left and ret urned home.ai
Genesis 32:19 | 49
31:50 zJer29:23; meet you, and four hund red men are
42:5
with him.q
31:51 aGe28:18
7In g reat fearr and dist ress Jacob di
31:52 bGe21:30
cver7; Ge26:29
vided the people who were with him
31:53 dGe28:13
into two g roups,d and the f locks and
eGe16:5
fGe21:23,27
herds and camels as well. 8He t hought,
gver42
If Esau comes and attacks one g roup,e
31:55 hver28
the g roup e that is left may escape.
iGe18:33; 30:25
9Then Jacob prayed, OGod of my
j
32:1 Ge16:11;
2Ki6:16-17; Ps34:7; fa
t her Abrah am, God of my father
91:11; Heb1:14
Isaac, s Lord, you who said to me, Go
32:2 kGe28:17
l2Sa2:8,29
back to your country and your rela
32:3 mGe27:41-42 tives, and I will make you prosper,t
nGe25:30; 36:8,9
10I am unwort hy of all the kindness
32:5 oGe12:16;
30:43
and faith f ul ness u you have shown
pGe33:8,10,15
your servant. I had only my staff when
32
32:6 qGe33:1
32:7 rver11
32:9 sGe28:13;
31:42 tGe31:13
32:10 uGe24:27
32:11 vPs59:2
wGe27:41
32:12 xGe22:17
yGe28:13-15;
Hos1:10; Ro9:27
32:13 zGe43:11,
15,25,26; Pr18:16
32:18 aGe18:3
In Hebrew texts this verse (31:55) is numbered 32:1. bIn Hebrew texts 32:1-32 is numbered 32:2-33.
Mahanaim means two camps. d7Orcamps e8Orcamp
50 | Genesis 32:20
Genesis 33:13 | 50
32:20 bGe33:10;
Pr21:14
32:22 cDt2:37;
3:16; Jos12:2
32:24 dGe18:2
32:25 ever32
32:26 fHos12:4
32:28 gGe17:5;
35:10; 1Ki18:31
32:29 hJdg13:17
iJdg13:18 jGe35:9
32:30 kGe16:13;
Ex24:11; Nu12:8;
Jdg6:22; 13:22
33:1 lGe32:6
33:3 mGe18:2;
42:6
33:4 nGe45:1415
33:5 oGe48:9;
Ps127:3; Isa8:18
33:8 pGe32:14-16
qGe24:9; 32:5
33:10 rGe16:13
sGe32:20
33:11 t1Sa25:27
uGe30:43
33
Israel probably means he struggles with God. b30 Peniel means face of God. c31Hebrew Penuel, a
variant of Peniel
51 | Genesis 33:14
Genesis 34:21 | 51
33:14 vGe32:3
33:15 wGe34:11;
47:25; Ru2:13
33:17 xJos13:27;
Jdg8:5,6,8,14-16;
Ps60:6
33:18 yGe25:20;
28:2 zJos24:1;
Jdg9:1
33:19 aJos24:32
bJn4:5
34:1 cGe30:21
34:6 dJdg14:25
34
34:7 eDt22:21;
Jdg20:6; 2Sa13:12
fJos7:15
34:10 gGe47:6,27
hGe13:9; 20:15
iGe42:34
34:12 jEx22:16;
Dt22:29; 1Sa18:25
34:14 kGe17:14;
Jdg14:3
34:15 lEx12:48
34:19 mver3
34:20 nRu4:1;
2Sa15:2
Sukkoth means shelters. b18That is, Northwest Mesopotamia c19Hebrew hundred kesitahs; a kesitah
was a unit of money of unknown weight and value. d20 El Elohe Israel can mean El is the God of Israel or mighty
is the God of Israel. e7Oragainst f10Ormove about freely; also in verse21
52 | Genesis 34:22
35
a27Orbecause b7
Genesis 35:15 | 52
34:24 oGe23:10
34:25 pGe49:5
qGe49:7
34:30 rEx5:21;
1Sa13:4 sGe13:7
tGe46:27;
1Ch16:19; Ps105:12
35:1 uGe28:19
vGe27:43
35:2 wGe18:19;
Jos24:15 xGe31:19
yEx19:10,14
35:3 zGe32:7
aGe28:15,20-22;
31:3,42
35:4 bJos24:2526
35:5 cEx15:16;
23:27; Jos2:9
35:6 dGe28:19;
48:3
35:7 eGe28:13
35:8 fGe24:59
35:9 gGe32:29
35:10 hGe17:5
35:11 iGe17:1;
Ex6:3 jGe28:3;
48:4 kGe17:6
35:12 lGe13:15;
28:13 mGe12:7;
26:3
35:13 nGe17:22
35:14 oGe28:18
35:15 pGe28:19
2So Ja
cob said to his householdw
and to all who were with him, Get
rid of the foreign godsx you have with
you, and purif y yourselves and change
your clothes.y 3Then come, let us go up
to Bethel, w
here I will b
uild an altar to
God, who answered me in the day of
my dist ress z and who has been with
me wherever I have gone.a 4So they
gave Jacob all the foreign gods they
had and the r ings in t heir ears, and Ja
cob buried them under the oak at She
chem.b 5Then they set out, and the ter
ror of Godc fell on the towns all around
them so that no one pursued them.
6Jacob and all the people with him
came to Luzd (that is, Bethel) in the
land of Canaan. 7There he built an al
tar, and he c alled the p
lace El Bethel,b
because it was t here that God revealed
himself to hime when he was fleeing
from his brother.
8Now Debor ah, Reb ek a hs nurse, f
died and was buried under the oak
outside Bethel. So it was n
amed Allon
Bakuth. c
9Af ter Jacob ret urned from Paddan
Aram,d God appeared to him again
and b
lessed him.g 10God said to him,
Your name is Jacob,e but you will no
longer be c alled Jacob; your name will
be Israel. fh So he named him Israel.
11And God said to him, I am God
Almightyg;i be fruitf ul and increase in
number. A nationj and a communit y of
nations will come from you, and k ings
will be a mong your descendants.k
12The land I gave to Abraham and I saac
I also give to you, and I will give this
land to your descendants after you.lm
13Then God went up from himn at the
place where he had t alked with him.
14Jac ob set up a stone pillar at the
place where God had talked with him,
and he p
oured out a d
rink offering on
it; he also poured oil on it.o 15Jacob
called the place where God had t alked
with him Bethel.hp
El Bethel means God of Bethel. c8 Allon Bakuth means oak of weeping. d9 That is,
Northwest Mesopotamia; also in verse26 e10 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he deceives.
f10 Israel probably means he struggles with God. g11Hebrew El-Shaddai h15 Bethel means house of God.
53 | Genesis 35:16
Genesis 36:12 | 53
35:17 qGe30:24
35:19 rGe48:7;
Ru1:1,19; Mic5:2;
Mt2:16
35:20 s1Sa10:2
35:22 tGe49:4;
1Ch5:1 uGe29:29;
Lev18:8
35:23 vGe46:8
wGe29:35
xGe30:20
35:24 yGe30:24
zver18
35:25 aGe30:8
35:26 bGe30:11
cGe30:13
35:27 dGe13:18;
18:1 eJos14:15
35:28 fGe25:7,20
35:29 gGe25:8;
49:33 hGe15:15
iGe25:9
36:1 jGe25:30
36:2 kGe28:8-9
lGe26:34 mver25
27Ja
c ob came home to his father 36:4 no1Ch1:35
36:6 Ge12:5
Isaac in Mamre, d near Kiriath Arbae 36:7
pGe13:6;
(that is, Hebron), w
here Abrah am 17:8; 28:4
and I saac had s tayed. 28Isaac lived a r36:8 qDt2:4
Ge32:3
hund red and eighty years. f 29Then 36:11
sver15-16;
he b
reathed his last and died and was Job2:11 tAm1:12;
gathered to his people,g old and full of Hab3:3u
36:12 Ex17:8,16;
years. h And his sons Esau and Jacob Nu24:20; 1Sa15:2
vver16
buried him. i
a18
Esaus Descendants
36:10-14pp 1Ch1:35-37
36:20-28pp 1Ch1:38-42
36
2Esau
Ben-Oni means son of my trouble. b18 Benjamin means son of my right hand.
54 | Genesis 36:13
Genesis 36:38 | 54
36:15 wEx15:15
springs c in the desert while he
xJob2:11
was grazing the donkeys of his
36:16 yver12
fat her Zibeon.
36:17 z1Ch1:37
25 T he child ren of Anah:
36:19 aGe25:30
36:20 bGe14:6;
Dt2:12,22; 1Ch1:38 Dis hon and Ohol ib a m ah
daughter of Anah.
26 The sons of Dishond:
Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran and
Keran.
27 The sons of Ezer:
Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan.
28 The sons of Dishan:
Uz and Aran.
29 These were the Horite chiefs:
Lot an, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,
30Di
s hon, Ezer and Dishan.
T hese were the Hor ite c hiefs,
according to t heir div isions, in
the land of Seir.
20These
36:31 cGe17:6;
1Ch1:43
36:33
dJer49:13,22
36:34 eEze25:13
36:35 fGe19:37;
Nu22:1; Dt1:5;
Ru1:1,6
Masoretic Text; Samaritan Pentateuch (also verse11 and 1Chron. 1:36) does not have Korah. b22Hebrew
Hemam, a variant of Homam (see 1Chron. 1:39) c24 Vulgate; Syriac discovered water; the meaning of the
Hebrew for this word is uncertain. d26Hebrew Dishan, a variant of Dishon
55 | Genesis 36:39
Genesis 37:20 | 55
37:1 gGe17:8
hGe10:19
37:2 iPs78:71
jGe35:25 kGe35:26
l1Sa2:24
37:3 mGe25:28
nGe44:20
o2Sa13:1819
37:4 pGe27:41;
49:22-23; Ac7:9
37:5 qGe20:3;
28:12
37:7 rGe42:6,9;
43:26,28; 44:14;
50:18
Josephs Dreams
12Now
37
ily line.
37:8 sGe49:26
37:10 tver5 uver7;
Ge27:29
37:11 vAc7:9
wLk2:19,51
37:14 xGe13:18;
35:27
37:17 y2Ki6:13
37:18 z1Sa19:1;
Mk14:1; Ac23:12
a39 Many manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Samaritan Pentateuch and Syriac (see also 1Chron. 1:50); most
manuscripts of the Masoretic Text Hadar b3 Themeaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain; also in
verses 23 and32.
56 | Genesis 37:21
Genesis 38:11 | 56
37:20 aJer38:6,9
bGe50:20
37:21 cGe42:22
37:24 dJer41:7
37:25 eGe43:11
fver28
37:26 gver20;
Ge4:10
37:27 hGe42:21
37:28 iGe25:2;
Jdg6:1-3 jGe45:45; Ps105:17; Ac7:9
37:29 kver34;
Ge44:13; Job1:20
37:30 lver22;
Ge42:13,36
37:31 mver3,23
37:33 nver20
38
37:33 oGe44:20,28
37:34 pver29
q2Sa3:31
rGe50:3,10,11
37:35 sGe42:38;
44:22,29,31
37:36 tGe39:1
38:2 u1Ch2:3
38:3 vver6;
Ge46:12; Nu26:19
38:7 wver10;
Ge46:12; 1Ch2:3
38:8 xDt25:5-6;
Mt22:2428
38:10 yGe46:12;
Dt25:710
38:11 zRu1:13
a28 That is, about 8ounces or about 230 grams b36 Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac (see
also verse28); Masoretic Text Medanites
57 | Genesis 38:12
Genesis 39:4 | 57
38:12 aver14;
Jos15:10,57
38:14 bver11
38:16 cLev18:15;
20:12
38:17 dEze16:33
ever20
38:18 fver25
38:19 gver14
38:21 hLev19:29;
Hos4:14
38:24 iLev21:9;
Dt22:21,22
38:25 jver18
38:26 k1Sa24:17
lver11
38:27 mGe25:24
38:29 nGe46:12;
Nu26:20,21;
Ru4:12,18; 1Ch2:4;
Mt1:3
38:30 o1Ch2:4
39:1 pGe37:36
qGe37:25;
Ps105:17
39:2 rGe21:20,22;
Ac7:9
39:3 sGe21:22;
26:28 tPs1:3
39
Perez means breaking out. b30 Zerah can mean scarlet or brightness.
58 | Genesis 39:5
Genesis 40:8 | 58
39:4 uver8,22;
Ge24:2
39:5 vGe26:24;
30:27
39:6 w1Sa16:12
39:7 x2Sa13:11;
Pr7:1518
39:8 yPr6:2324
39:9 zGe41:33,40
aGe20:6; 42:18;
2Sa12:13
39:12 bPr7:13
39:14 cDt22:24,27
39:17 dEx23:1,7;
Ps101:5
40
39:19 ePr6:34
39:20 fGe40:3;
Ps105:18
39:21 gEx3:21
39:22 hver4
39:23 iver3
40:1 jNe1:11
40:2 kPr16:14,15
40:3 lGe39:20
40:4 mGe39:4
40:5 nGe41:11
40:7 oNe2:2
40:8 pGe41:8,15
qGe41:16;
Da2:22,28,47
59 | Genesis 40:9
9So
Genesis 41:15 | 59
40:12 rGe41:12,
15,25; Da2:36; 4:19
40:14 sLk23:42
tJos2:12;
1Sa20:14,42;
1Ki2:7
40:15 uGe37:2628
40:18 vver12
40:19 wver13
40:20 xMt14:6-10
yMk6:21
40:21 zver13
40:22 aver19
bPs105:19
40:23 cJob19:14;
Ecc9:15
41:1 dGe20:3
41:2 ever26
fIsa19:6
41:8 gDa2:1,3;
4:5,19 hEx7:11,22;
Da1:20; 2:2,27; 4:7
41:10 iGe40:2
jGe39:20
41:11 kGe40:5
41:12 lGe40:12
41:13 mGe40:22
41:14 nPs105:20;
Da2:25
Pharaohs Dreams
41
60 | Genesis 41:16
Genesis 41:44 | 60
41:15 oDa5:16
41:16 pGe40:8;
Da2:30; Ac3:12;
2Co3:5
41:24 qver8
41:25 rDa2:45
41:26 sver2
41:27 tGe12:10;
2Ki8:1
41:29 uver47
41:30 vver54;
Ge47:13 wver56
41:32 xNu23:19;
Isa46:1011
41:33 yver39
41:34 z1Sa8:15
aver48
41:35 bver48
41:36 cver56
41:37 dGe45:16
41:38 eNu27:18;
Job32:8; Da4:89,18; 5:11,14
41:40 fPs105:2122; Ac7:10
41:41 gGe42:6;
Da6:3
41:42 hEst3:10
iDa5:7,16,29
41:43 jEst6:9
a38Orof the gods b43Orin the chariot of his second-in-command; or in his second chariot c43OrBow down
61 | Genesis 41:45
Genesis 42:15 | 61
41:44 kPs105:22 Josephs Brothers Go toEgypt
41:45 lver50;
When Jacob l earned that t here
Ge46:20,27
41:46 mGe37:2
was
g rain in Egypt,x he said to
n1Sa16:21; Da1:19
41:50 oGe46:20; his sons, Why do you just keep look
ing at each other? 2He cont inued, I
48:5
41:51 pGe48:14, have heard that t here is g rain in Egypt.
18,20
Go down t here and buy some for us, so
41:52 qGe48:1,5;
r
that we may live and not die.y
50:23 Ge17:6;
3Then ten of Jo
28:3; 49:22
s ephs broth
e rs
41:54 sver30;
went
down
to
buy
g
rain
from
E
gypt.
Ps105:11; Ac7:11
4But Ja
c ob did not send Benjam in,
41:55 tDt32:24
uver41
Jo
s
ephs
brother, with the others, be
41:56 vGe12:10
cause
he
was a fraid that harm m
ight
w
41:57 Ge42:5;
come to him.z 5So Israels sons were
47:15
42
42:1 xAc7:12
42:2 yGe43:8
42:4 zver38
42:5 aGe41:57
bGe12:10; Ac7:11
42:6 cGe41:41
dGe37:710
42:7 ever30
42:8 fGe37:2
42:9 gGe37:7
42:13 hGe37:30,
33; 44:20
a45 That is, Heliopolis; also in verse50 b51 Manasseh sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for
forget. c52 Ephraim sounds like the Hebrew for twice fruitful.
62 | Genesis 42:16
Genesis 43:2 | 62
42:15 i1Sa17:55
Their hearts sank and they t urned to
42:16 jver11
each
other trembling and said, What
42:17 kGe40:4
is this that God has done tous?x
42:18 lGe20:11;
29When they came to their father
Lev25:43
42:20 mver15,34;
Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told
Ge43:5; 44:23
42:21 nGe37:26- him all that had happened to them.
28 oHos5:15
They said, 30The man who is lord
42:22 pGe37:21over the land s poke harshly to usy
22 qGe9:5
r1Ki2:32;
and treated us as t hough we were spy
2Ch24:22; Ps9:12 ing on the land. 31But we said to him,
42:24 sver13;
We are honest men; we are not s pies.z
Ge43:14,23;
32We were t welve brothers, sons of one
45:1415
42:25 tGe43:2
fat her. One is no more, and the youn
uGe44:1,8
gest is now with our fat her in Canaan.
vRo12:17,2021
33Then the man who is lord over
42:27 wGe43:2122
42:28 xGe43:23
42:30 yver7
42:31 zver11
42:33 aver19,20
42:34 bGe34:10
42:35 cGe43:12,
15,18
42:36 dGe43:14
42:38 eGe37:33
fver4 gGe37:35
hGe44:29,34
43:1 iGe12:10;
41:5657
43
63 | Genesis 43:3
rought from E
b
gypt, t heir fat her said
to them, Go back and buy us a litt le
more food.
3But Judah said to him, The man
warned us solemnly, You will not see
my face a gain unless your brother is
with you.j 4If you will send our broth
er a long with us, we will go down and
buy food for you. 5But if you will not
send him, we will not go down, be
cause the man said to us, You will not
see my face again unless your brother
is with you.k
6Isr ael a
sked, Why did you b
ring
this trouble on me by telli ng the man
you had another brother?
7They replied, The man quest ioned
us closely about ourselves and our
family. Is your fat her still liv i ng? l he
asked us. Do you have another broth
er?m We simply ans wered his ques
tions. How were we to know he would
say, Bring your brother down here?
8Then Judah said to Israel his fat her,
Send the boy a long with me and we
will go at once, so that we and you and
our child ren may live and not die.n 9I
myself will guara ntee his safet y; you
can hold me personally responsible for
him. If I do not b
ring him back to you
and set him here before you, I will bear
the b
lame before you all my life.o 10As
it is, if we had not delayed, we c ould
have gone and ret urned twice.
11Then
t heir father Israel said to
them, If it must be, then do this: Put
some of the best products of the land
in your bags and take them down to
the man as a giftp a lit t le balm q and
a litt le honey, some spicesr and myrrh,
some pistac hio nuts and almonds.
12Take dou
ble the a mount of silver
with you, for you must ret urn the sil
ver that was put back into the m
ouths
of your sacks.s Perhaps it was a mis
take. 13Take your brother also and go
back to the man at once. 14And may
God Alm ighty at g rant you merc y be
fore the man so that he will let your
other brother and Benjam in come
a14Hebrew El-Shaddai
Genesis 43:27 | 63
43:3 jGe42:15;
back with you.u As for me, if I am be
44:23
reaved,
I am bereaved.v
43:5 kGe42:15;
15So the men took the g ifts and dou
2Sa3:13
43:7 lver27
ble the amount of silver, and Benjamin
mGe42:13
gypt
also. They hurriedw down to E
n
43:8 Ge42:2;
and presented themselves x to Joseph.
Ps33:1819
16When Jo
43:9 oGe42:37;
seph saw Benjam in with
44:32; Phm1:1819
them, he said to the stewa rd of his
43:11 pGe32:20;
Pr18:16 qGe37:25; house, y Take t hese men to my house,
Jer8:22 r1Ki10:2
slaughter an animal and prepare a
43:12 sGe42:25
meal;z they are to eat with me at noon.
t
43:14 Ge17:1;
17The man did as Joseph told him
28:3; 35:11
43:14 uGe42:24
vEst4:16
43:15 wGe45:9,13
xGe47:2,7
43:16
yGe44:1,4,12
zver31; Lk15:23
43:18 aGe42:35
43:20 bGe42:3
43:21 cver15;
Ge42:27,35
43:23 dGe42:28
eGe42:24
43:24 fver16
gGe18:4; 24:32
43:26 hMt2:11
iGe37:7,10
64 | Genesis 43:28
Genesis 44:18 | 64
43:27 jver7
43:28 kGe37:7
43:29 lGe42:13
mNu6:25; Ps67:1
43:30 nJn11:33,38
oGe42:24;
45:2,14,15; 46:29
43:31 pGe45:1
43:32 qGal2:12
rGe46:34; Ex8:26
43:34 sGe37:3;
45:22
44:1 tGe42:25
44:4 uPs35:12
44
44:5 vGe30:27;
Dt18:1014
44:8 wGe42:25;
43:21
44:9 xGe31:32
44:12 yver2
44:13 zGe37:29;
Nu14:6; 2Sa1:11
44:14 aGe37:7,10
44:15 bver5;
Ge30:27
44:16 cver9;
Ge43:18 dver2
44:18 eGe18:30;
Ex32:22
65 | Genesis 44:19
Genesis 45:11 | 65
44:19 fGe43:7
44:20 gGe37:3
hGe37:33 iGe42:13
44:21 jGe42:15
44:22 kGe37:35
44:23 lGe43:5
44:25 mGe43:2
44:27 nGe46:19
44:28 oGe37:33
44:29 pGe42:38
44:30 q1Sa18:1
44:32 rGe43:9
44:33 sGe43:18
tJn15:13
44:34 uEst8:6
45:1 vGe43:31
45:2 wGe29:11
xver16; Ge46:29
45:3 yAc7:13
zver15
45:4 aGe37:28
45:5 bGe42:21
cGe42:22 dver7-8;
Ge50:20; Ps105:17
45:7 e2Ki19:4,30,
31; Isa10:20,21;
Mic4:7; Zep2:7
fEx15:2; Est4:14;
Isa25:9
45:8 gJdg17:10
hGe41:41
45:9 iGe43:10
45:10 jGe46:28,34;
47:1
45:11 kGe47:12
45
66 | Genesis 45:12
12You
Genesis 46:11 | 66
45:13 lAc7:14
not believe them.v 27But when they
45:15 mLk15:20
told
him everyt hing Joseph had said
nver3
to them, and when he saw the cartsw
45:16 oAc7:13
45:18 pGe27:28;
Joseph had sent to carr y him back,
46:34; 47:6,11,27;
the spirit of t heir fat her Jacob rev ived.
Nu18:12,29
28And Israel said, Im conv inced! My
qPs37:19
45:19 rGe46:5
son Joseph is s till a live. I will go and
45:21 sGe42:25
see him before I die.
45:22 tGe37:3;
43:34
45:24 uGe42:2122 Jacob Goes to Egypt
46
45:26 vGe44:28
45:27 wver19
46:1 xGe21:14;
28:10 yGe26:24;
28:13; 31:42
46:2 zGe15:1;
Job33:14-15
aGe22:1; 31:11
46:3 bGe28:13
cGe12:2; Dt26:5
dEx1:7
46:4 eGe28:15;
48:21; Ex3:8
fGe50:1,24
46:5 gGe45:19
46:6 hDt26:5;
Jos24:4; Ps105:23;
Isa52:4; Ac7:15
46:7 iGe45:10
46:8 jEx1:1;
Nu26:4
46:9 k1Ch5:3
46:10 lGe29:33;
Nu26:14 mEx6:15
46:11 nGe29:34;
Nu3:17
67 | Genesis 46:12
Genesis 47:2 | 67
46:12 oGe29:35
p1Ch2:5; Mt1:3
46:13 qGe30:18
r1Ch7:1
46:14 sGe30:20
46:16 tGe30:11
uNu26:15
46:17 vGe30:13;
1Ch7:3031
46:18 wGe30:10
xGe29:24
46:19 yGe44:27
46:20 zGe41:51
aGe41:52
46:21 bNu26:3841; 1Ch7:6-12; 8:1
46:25 cGe30:8
dGe29:29
46:26 ever5-7;
Ex1:5; Dt10:22
46:27 fAc7:14
46:28 gGe45:10
46:29 hGe45:1415; Lk15:20
46:31 iGe47:1
46:33 jGe47:3
46:34 kGe45:10
lGe43:32; Ex8:26
47:1 mGe46:31
47
Samaritan Pentateuch and Syriac (see also 1Chron. 7:1); Masoretic Text Puvah b13 Samaritan Pentateuch
and some Septuagint manuscripts (see also Num. 26:24 and 1Chron. 7:1); Masoretic Text Iob c15 That is,
Northwest Mesopotamia d16 Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint (see also Num. 26:15); Masoretic Text
Ziphion e20That is, Heliopolis f27 Hebrew; Septuagint the nine children g27 Hebrew (see also Exodus
1:5 and note); Septuagint (see also Acts 7:14) seventy-five h29Hebrew around him
68 | Genesis 47:3
Genesis 47:24 | 68
Dt26:5 pGe43:1
qGe46:34
47:6 rGe45:18
sEx18:21,25
47:7 tver10;
2Sa14:22
47:9 uGe25:7
vHeb11:9,13
wGe35:28
47:10 xver7
47:11 yEx1:11;
12:37
47:12 zGe45:11
47:13 aGe41:30;
Ac7:11
47:14 bGe41:56
47:15 cver19;
Ex16:3
47:17 dEx14:9
47:22 eDt14:2829; Ezr7:24
47:24 fGe41:34
15When
a7Orgreeted b10Orsaid farewell to c21 Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint (see also Vulgate); Masoretic
Text and he moved the people into the cities
69 | Genesis 47:25
Genesis 48:15 | 69
47:25 gGe32:5
47:26 hver22
47:27 iGe17:6;
46:3; Ex1:7
47:28 jPs105:23
47:29 kDt31:14
lGe24:2 mGe24:49
47:30 nGe49:2932; 50:5,13;
Ac7:1516
47:31 oGe21:23
pGe24:3
qHeb11:21fn;
1Ki1:47
48:1 rGe41:52
48:3 sGe28:19
tGe28:13; 35:912
48:4 uGe17:6
48
48:5 vGe41:50-52;
46:20 w1Ch5:1;
Jos14:4
48:7 xGe35:19
48:9 yGe33:5
zGe27:4
48:10 aGe27:1
bGe27:27
48:11 cGe50:23;
Ps128:6
48:13 dPs110:1
48:14 eGe41:51
48:15 fGe17:1
70 | Genesis 48:16
Genesis 49:11 | 70
48:15 gGe49:24
48:16 hHeb11:21
iGe28:13
48:17 jver14
48:19 kGe17:20
lGe25:23
48:20 mNu2:18
nNu2:20; Ru4:11
48:21 oGe26:3;
46:4 pGe28:13;
50:24
48:22 qJos24:32;
Jn4:5 rGe37:8
49:1 sNu24:14;
Jer23:20
49
49:2 tPs34:11
49:3 uGe29:32
vDt21:17; Ps78:51
49:4 wIsa57:20
xGe35:22; Dt27:20
49:5 yGe34:25;
Pr4:17
49:6 zPr1:15;
Eph5:11 aGe34:26
49:7 bJos19:1,9;
21:142
49:8 cDt33:7;
1Ch5:2
49:9 dNu24:9;
Eze19:5; Mic5:8
eRev5:5
49:10 fNu24:17,19;
Ps60:7 gPs2:9;
Isa42:1,4
a20TheHebrew is singular. b21TheHebrew is plural. c22 TheHebrew for ridge of land is identical with the
place name Shechem. d5 Themeaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain. e8 Judah sounds like and
may be derived from the Hebrew for praise. f10Orfrom his descendants g10Orto whom tribute belongs; the
meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
71 | Genesis 49:12
Genesis 49:31 | 71
49:13 hGe30:20;
Dt33:18-19;
Jos19:1011
49:14 iGe30:18
49:16 jGe30:6;
Dt33:22;
Jdg18:2627
49:17 kJdg18:27
49:18
lPs119:166,174
49:19 mGe30:11;
Dt33:20; 1Ch5:18
49:20 nGe30:13;
Dt33:24
49:21 oGe30:8;
Dt33:23
49:22 pGe30:24;
Dt33:1317
49:23 qGe37:24
28All
a12Orwill be dull from wine, / his teeth white from milk b14Orstrong c14Orthe campfires; or the saddlebags
d16
Dan here means he provides justice. e19 Gad sounds like the Hebrew for attack and also for band of raiders.
f21Orfree; / he utters beautiful words g22OrJoseph is a wild colt, / a wild colt near a spring, / a wild donkey on
a terraced hill h23,24Orarchers will attack... will shoot... will remain... will stay i25Hebrew Shaddai
j26Orof my progenitors, / as great as k26Orof the one separated from
72 | Genesis 49:32
50
Genesis 50:24 | 72
49:33 gver29;
Ge25:8; Ac7:15
50:1 hGe46:4
50:2 iver26;
2Ch16:14
50:3 jGe37:34;
Nu20:29; Dt34:8
50:5 kGe47:31
l2Ch16:14;
Isa22:16 mGe47:31
50:10 n2Sa1:17;
Ac8:2 o1Sa31:13;
Job2:13
50:13 pGe23:20;
Ac7:16
50:15 qGe37:28;
42:2122
50:18 rGe37:7
sGe43:18
50:19 tRo12:19;
Heb10:30
50:20 uGe37:20
vMic4:11-12
wRo8:28 xGe45:5
50:21 yGe45:11;
47:12
50:22 zGe25:7;
Jos24:29
50:23 aJob42:16
bNu32:39,40
73 | Genesis 50:25
Genesis 50:26 | 73
50:24 cGe48:21
dEx3:16-17
eGe15:14 fGe12:7;
26:3; 28:13; 35:12
50:25 gGe47:2930; Ex13:19;
Jos24:32; Heb11:22
50:26 hver2
TABLE OF WEIGHTS
AND MEASURES
Approximate Approximate
Biblical American Metric
Unit
Equivalent Equivalent
Weights
talent (60 minas)
75 pounds
34 kilograms
mina (50 shekels)
1 1/4 pounds
560 grams
2
shekel (2 bekas)
/5 ounce
11.5 grams
2
1
pim ( /3 shekel)
/4 ounce
7.8 grams
1
beka (10 gerahs)
/5 ounce
5.7 grams
gerah 1/50 ounce
0.6 gram
daric 1/3 ounce
8.4 grams
Length
cubit
18 inches
45 centimeters
span
9 inches
23 centimeters
handbreadth
3 inches
7.5 centimeters
stadion (pl. stadia)
600 feet
183 meters
Capacity
Dry Measure
cor [homer] (10 ephahs)
6 bushels
220 liters
lethek (5 ephahs)
3 bushels
110 liters
3
ephah (10 omers)
/5 bushel
22 liters
seah (1/3 ephah)
7 quarts
7.5 liters
omer (1/10 ephah)
2 quarts
2 liters
1
1 quart
1 liter
cab (/18 ephah)
Liquid Measure
bath (1 ephah)
6 gallons
22 liters
hin (1/6 bath)
1 gallon
3.8 liters
1
log (1/72 bath)
/3 quart
0.3 liter
The figures of the table are calculated on the basis of a shekel equaling 11.5 grams, a cubit equaling 18
inches and an ephah equaling 22 liters. The quart referred to is either a dry quart (slightly larger than
a liter) or a liquid quart (slightly smaller than a liter), whichever is applicable. The ton referred to in the
footnotes is the American ton of 2,000 pounds. These weights are calculated relative to the particular
commodity involved. Accordingly, the same measure of capacity in the text may be converted into
different weights in the footnotes.
This table is based upon the best available information, but it is not intended to be mathematically
precise; like the measurement equivalents in the footnotes, it merely gives approximate amounts and
distances. Weights and measures differed somewhat at various times and places in the ancient world.
There is uncertainty particularly about the ephah and the bath; further discoveries may shed more light
on these units of capacity. n
THE GOSPEL
AND WORK
Jon Tyson
n n n
ave you ever arrived at the end of an exhausting week at work and asked yourself what it was all
for? Have you ever neglected your relationships so you could accomplish more at work? Have
you ever let the pressure and pace of life drown out the quiet longings of your soul? Or have you
ever been to church with these questions weighing on your mind only to leave feeling guilty and
confused, with no answers in sight? If so, youre not alone.
Dorothy Sayers famously said, How can anyone remain interested in a religion which seems to
have no concern for nine-tenths of his life?1 Many of us sense a disconnect between the good news
we hear at church and what we do all week. Sure, we hear that our sins are forgiven, and that we anticipate life with God in eternity. But what does the gospel have to do with God in the workplace?
How does the atonement impact office culture? How does regeneration impact the way we think
about revenue? What does it mean to be great in the kingdom by becoming a servant, yet bear the
responsibility of leading a firm?
I felt this tension early in my faith journey. I became a Christian at a Pentecostal revival when I
was 16. I sensed that God was doing something powerful and unique at the time. The church services were electric. I felt Gods presence so tangibly that I did not want to leave. I was transformed
by the gospel and I wanted the whole world to know.
My world, however, did not reciprocate. I had recently dropped out of high school to work as a
butcher in a meat factory, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldnt get any of the other butchers to
come to church. After months of pleading with them, I became deeply discouraged. What was my
value in the world if I wasnt winning souls? Why did I even bother having a job if I couldnt recruit
people to come to church? This kick-started my theological journey to try to understand how the
gospel and work connect with each other.
THE GOSPELS PERVASIVE INFLUENCE
In Colossians, Paul says, God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in [Christ], and through
him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace
through his blood, shed on the cross. (1:1920). What God was doing in Christ impacts, and
draws into redemption, every aspect of human life. Paul Marshall says,
The gospel is for all things, and he makes a threefold statement about the Lordship of Christ. Everything was made by and for Jesus Christ. Everything holds together in Jesus Christ. Everything will
be reconciled by Jesus Christ. The everything that is reconciled is the same everything that was
made. The scope of redemption is the same as the scope of creation. The Creator and Redeemer are
one and the same. Things in heaven, things in earth, things visible and invisible, dominions, and
authorities will be reconciled by the cross of Jesus Christ.2
1 Dorothy Sayers, Creed or Chaos? (Manchester: Sophia Institute Press, 1974), 106.
2 Paul Marshall, Heaven Is Not My Home (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1999), 46.
The gospel also gives us a new, secure identity in Christ. So much of what happens in the workplace
is driven by competitiveness and people trying to prove their worth. Locating our identity in our
performance can get exhausting. People are only as secure as their current results. People living in
this way are following what Richard Rohr calls the winners script.6 The winners script demands
that we raise ourselves up out of nothing and make ourselves into something to which the world
aspires and that it envies. Thus, life becomes as a series of straining for vocational accomplishments
that will move us toward us acceptance and worth in the eyes of those around us.
The winners script has at times crept into the church. We often desire to win the esteem and
praise of others. But in so doing, we construct fragile identities for ourselves and tire out our souls.
The gospel liberates us from the winners script. We do not have to build our own identity in our
work. Rather, our work stems from our identity in Christ.
Think about the order of the life of Jesus. If our modern society wrote the gospel, it would order
it as follows: Christ would live his life of compassion and love. He would confront the Pharisees,
teach his disciples, cast out demons, heal the sick and then go to the cross. After his victory, he
would rise in glory and restore his disciples. And right at the moment of his ascension, the heavens
would open and the Father would say, This is my son, whom I love. With him I am well pleased.
In other words, Gods approval would come as a result of Jesus work.
But that is not the gospel. Before Jesus does any of these things, the Father announces his love for
him. Jesus is given his baptismal identity before he begins his ministry, not after he accomplishes it.
And in a similar way, in Christ God accepts us as his children, not on the basis of our works but on
the basis of Christs redeeming work on our behalf.
In Christ, every spiritual blessing is ours. We therefore can be freed from the impulse to prove
or impress others, because we know that God has already accepted us. So instead of using our jobs
to prove our worth, we can use our jobs to love, serve and bless others. Our identity does not stem
from the size of our portfolio, the impressiveness of our job description or the quality of our peer
3
4
5
6
Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue, Third Edition (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2007), 201.
Steven Garber, Vocation is Integral, Q Ideas: http://qideas.org/videos/vocation-is-integral/, last accessed 9/2/2015.
Steven Garber, Vocation is Integral, Q Ideas: http://qideas.org/videos/vocation-is-integral/, last accessed 9/2/2015.
See Richard Rohr, Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life (Jossey-Bass, 2001).
The gospel reveals Gods glory. Not only do we come to know Gods gloryhow awesome he is
by being in relationship with him, we are also called to seek Gods gloryhis honorin everything
we do. Paul urges, So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God
(1Co 10:31). But how do we approach this challenge? Are some areas of life more God-glorifying
than others? Are some things sacred while others are secular?
The Jewish Rabbis used to teach that the key to glorifying God in the world was through the
power of holy intent. This practice was called kavanah. Abraham Heschel says, Kavanah is direction to God and requires the involvement and redirection of the whole person. It is the act of
bringing together the scattered forces of the self; it means the participation of heart and soul, not
only of will and mind.7
One of the meanings of the word glory is weight or significance. When we take our ordinary,
everyday work and with holy intent seek to make it an act of worship before God, the mundane
is transformed into something weighty and sacred. We infuse the ordinary stuff of life with holy
intent and so make even the most trivial tasks artifacts and objects of glory.
Martin Buber articulates this vision well. He quotes a Hasidic anecdote and points out the interrelation between direction and redemption:
Enoch was a cobbler, and with every stitch of his awl that drew together the top and bottom of the
leather, he joined God and the Shekinah.... Man exerts influence on the eternal, and this is not
done by any special works, but by the intention with which he does all his works. This is the teaching of the hallowing of the everyday. The issue is not to attain to a new type of acting which, owing
to its object, would be sacred or mystical; the issue is to do the one appointed task, the common,
obvious tasks of daily life, according to their truth and according to their meaning.8
One of the congregants in my church used to work as a barista in a coffee shop. For him, this was
a temporary job that caused him to wrestle to find meaning and joy in his work. But the concept of
redeeming the ordinary through holy intent deeply inspired him. One day, I got a coffee from him,
and instead of my name written on the cup, the word kavanah was written. He smiled and told
me, When I place the cup on the lid, I consciously do it as an act of worship and blessing, and it
has transformed what I do here. Imagine if Christians had this vision of glory in every part of life.
Buildings would be designed with holy intent, food would be cooked with holy intent, children
would be taught with holy intent and court cases would be tried with holy intent. And slowly but
surely, in every sphere of our world, life would take on a new weight and significance as the stuff of
life became the stuff of glory.
REDEEMING WORK
The gospel is also about redemption. Despite our rebellion against him, God has redeemed and restored us. He has liberated us from sin and called us his children. Not only that, but he has also redeployed us into the world as his laborers, who work with him to usher in the redemption of all things.
First, he redeems our hearts. He gives us new life and reorients our desires so that we now seek to
7 Quoted in Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch, The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission fro the 21st-Century Church (Nashville: Hendrickson Publishers,
Kindle Edition, 2009), 129.
8 Quoted in Frost and Hirsch, The Shaping of Things to Come, 130.
9 Henry R. Van Til, The Calvinist Concept of Culture (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001). 42.
10 James K. A. Smith, Discipleship in the Present Tense: Reflections on Faith and Culture (Grand Rapids: Calvin College Press, 2013), 5.
OUR NEED
FOR THEOLOGY
Richard Mouw
n n n
he Imitation of Christ, written by Thomas Kempis in the fifteenth century, is a spiritual classic.
I have read it several times, always to my spiritual profit.
There is one point in the book, however, where the writer makes me uneasy. In arguing that an
intellectual understanding of some basic Christian teaching does you no good unless that teaching
is an integral part of your personal relationship with God, Kempis uses the doctrine of the Trinity
to bring home his point. What use is it to you to argue loftily about the Trinity, he says, if by
your lack of humility you are displeasing to the Trinity? For lofty words make no man holy or just;
but a life of virtue endears a man to God.
Its not that I disagree with the basic point he is making. Kempis is certainly right to impress
upon us the need to live in ways that please the triune God. This means that simply being able to say
some true things about the Trinity doesnt do us any spiritual good unless we also have a heartfelt
personal relationship with God.
My uneasiness has to do with the either/or manner in which he argues his case. It is dangerous,
I think, to pit personal spirituality over against doctrinal formulation. My own view is that a vital
relationship with the triune God has to be grounded in a solid understanding of the doctrine of
the Trinity. Not that every lover of the Trinity must be skilled in theological argumentation. But a
healthy Christian community will want to be sure that our spiritual devotion is supported by sound
thinking.
Actually, it is significant that Kempis uses the Christians relationship to the Trinity as his example
in making his point. The Bible itself never uses the word Trinity. Theologians invented the term to
capture the sense of the Bibles portrayal of the God who calls us to a life of obedience. If you see the
Bible as nothing more than a book of disconnected sayings or laws, you might get the impression
that there are three different gods: one who created the world, one who came into the world to die
on the cross and rise to life again, and one who arrived later as a spirit who empowers believers to
do important spiritual and religious things.
But, as the great theologians of the church throughout the ages have argued, the Bible does not
present us with three different gods, each doing his own thing. Nor does the Bible allow us, on the
other extreme, to conclude that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are simply three different names
for one divine person. We have not understood the overall message of the Scripture, Christian
theologians tell us, unless we see that there is one God in three Personsa blessed Trinity to whom
we direct our worship and service.
THE IMPORTANCE OF DOCTRINES
Doctrines are important. While they are not more important than our lives of spiritual devotion,
they play a vital role in helping us understand not just who we are, but also what truths are necessary to guide us in living lives that please the Lord.
This Bible on faith and work highlights for us many doctrinal emphases and themes that are important for understanding Gods call to us to serve the goals of his kingdom in our daily lives. The
kinds of doctrinal emphases spelled out in these pages have meant much to me in my own journey
of discipleship.
In the kind of evangelicalism in which I was raised, when preachers and Bible teachers used the
word world, they typically were referring to something dangerous. We were warned against worldliness. Out therebeyond the walls of the churchthere were forces at work in the world that
were bent on destroying our faith.
And the folks who spoke in this way could easily find Bible verses to support their point. The
apostle John told the early Christians that they ought not love the world or anything in the world
(1Jn 2:15). Jesus himself is recorded as warning his disciples that since they do not belong to the
world they should not be surprised if the world hates you (Jn 15:19). And in one of the most
poignant asides in his epistles, Paul tells us that his friend Demas had deserted me and has gone to
he Bible is far more than a collection of stories. That may seem obvious, but it is an important
aspect for us to grasp, and it is often overlooked. Weaving together what can seem like a collection of random stories, teachings, propositions and other kinds of literature in an overarching
narrative is critical to understanding Gods revelation of himself in Scripture, as well as our own
sense of calling. And the story of God is the thread that ties all of our stories together.
Sitting cross-legged on a braided rug in Sunday school, I was captivated by the storyand
storiesof Scripture. Whether on a flannelgraph, through a song or simply by the telling of Mr.
Yarborough, these stories enthralled me. And I saw the truths and values conveyed in them being
lived out in the lives of the seventy-some folks who made up Pioneer Baptist Church. Over time,
I began to understand that the stories of Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Moses and Miriam,
Deborah, Samuel, David and so many others all anticipated Jesus. They were the prequel, as it
were.
After Adam and Eve disobeyed God and subjected our world to sin and death, God promised a redeemer (see Ge 3:15). With Abraham, God began to form a nation of people. He gave Abraham the
land of Canaan, the eventual promised land and place where the Savior of the world would be born.
When I went to seminary, I was in danger of thinking that a more doctrinal or systematic framework was what I needed to truly understand Scripture. While I certainly needed those, I quickly
realized that those perspectives served to help me understand the story of Scripture. Taken all
together, the accounts, teachings, propositions and other forms of literature communicate a grand
narrative that many are surprised exists in the Bible.
While in seminary, I found it interesting that three-point and expositional sermons were the
model that my instructors prescribed for us. But when I read and re-read the Gospels, I realized
that the literary tool of story was Jesus consistent go-to for communicating to his listeners about
the kingdom of God.
All of the various forms of literature in the Bible impact us in different ways. But of all of them,
story often does more to capture our imagination. It challenges our mind and touches our heart. It
forces us to integrate the message of God with our lives.
To be sure, the systematic and doctrinal approach to Scripture study helps us to draw critical
elements and principles from the story. But I find it is the overall story of Scripture that connects
most deeply with us in our current situations. Stories tend to linger with us longer, and they shape
and transform us.
I learned many important truths from my grandmother, but what remains with me most was her
story. Similarly, truths about God are important to know and teach. But I feel that truths about
God stick with us and impact us most deeply when we encounter stories of how those truths were
manifested in history, in our world and in our lives.
Gods story starts with the intersection of creativity and work: the creation of all things. And this
story sets into motion the human epic. God creates humanity to participate in his storyto work
alongside him in cultivating the earthwhich is both a gift and a responsibility. It is a way of continuing and developing the story of God that has already begun.
Often when were introduced to new characters in this grand story, we learn about their occupation soon after we learn their name. Time and again Ive heard people say they wish conversations
with people theyve just met didnt begin with the question What do you do? I understand that
these sorts of interactions can quickly devolve to subconscious and comparative assessments of
How important are you? But in fact what we do says a lot about who we are.
Jesus spent 33 years, give or take, on earth to do what he came to do. And he probably spent
all but the last three years under his parents roof, and much of his adulthood working alongside
Joseph as a carpenter. His story means something for our story. In the incarnation, God the Son
embraced all of humanity in order to redeem it. If it was fitting for him to embrace ordinary and
often mundane human work, then its fitting for us, too. He affirmed the goodness of human work.
MY STORY
I started college as a laser-focused pre-med major and kept on that track through my sophomore
year. But as a junior, I changed my major to nursing and picked up a minor in speech communications. I was planning to start my seminary education part-time while I worked as a nurse.
After college, I began working as a nurse at a large Catholic hospital 30 minutes from where I
lived. Since I was new to the profession, I was watched very closely. I was placed in a three-month
apprentice program and was never let out of sight of my mentor. I worked the day shift so they
could watch me even more closely. I had classroom experience, but they wanted to ensure I could
do real work on real peopleand that I didnt accidentally kill someone.
Toward the end of my three-month program, I knew that I would be placed on either the second
or third shift for my permanent position. But that didnt present a problem for me. My then-
boyfriend was still in school, and I wouldnt see him till Christmas break. My biggest dilemma,
however, was asking the director of nursingwho was also a nun, a formidable one who caused the
neurosurgeons to scramble and hide when they saw her walking down the hallwayif I could have
a two-week extension on the day shift so I could spend time with my long-distance boyfriend in
the evenings during his break. I practiced my speech, and it took me several attempts to approach
her, but I finally mustered the courage to intercept her and mutter, Sister Judy, my name is Nancy
Berg, and I work on 3East. You dont know me, but... and then she interrupted me: I know
who you are.
Really? I thought to myself.
She continued, From the reports Ive received, Im guessing we will consider you for a head
nurse position in the next year if you continue learning and working like you are.
I was shocked. And she graciously approved my request. But after all these years, what has stood
out to me most is that phrase: I know who you are. Every day when I showed up to work as a
new and terrified young nurse, learning the ropes from a mentor, the director of nursing was paying
attention. That knowledge deeply impacted my work from then on, and to this day it has shaped
my work ethic and my own leadership.
Can you imagine a phrase more poised to locate you in Gods own story? I know who you are.
God knows who we are, individually, and he wants us to participate in his story.
When I feel alone, even at work, I am reminded by the gospel that I am not actually alone. When
I need help, I know I can turn to the One who knows me much more completely than I know
Four years into my nursing career, I took a position in the hospital emergency department. Late one
night, I was assigned a new patient just before my shift ended at 11:30 p.m. I was tired and I did
not want a new patient. Taking a new patient meant adding 20 to 30 minutes to my shift before
I could hand her over to the nurses coming in. Additionally, the attending physician had ordered
some preliminary lab work, which meant that I would need to stay until those results came back.
I dont think I let my unhappiness leak out, but I was fairly cursory in my questions, not paying
much attention to my new patient. And it seemed to me that she had the flu. I wondered to myself,
Who comes to the ER for the flu? Just wait until the morning and go see your doctor. This is the
ER, where people with serious conditions are treated.
As I recorded her vital signs, she talked to me even though I wasnt asking her many questions.
She had been feeling weak and achy for a few days. Her husband and her two young children had
left the day before for a vacation in Tahoe. She was planning to meet them in a day or two, after
she had finished a work project. But tonight she felt weird. She couldnt pinpoint exactly what
she was feeling, so she thought she had better get examined before she left for Tahoe. I smiled and
nodded at her as she told me this, but inside I thought again, Why couldnt you have waited until
the morning to see your primary doctor? This doesnt seem like an emergency to me.
I quickly recorded her blood pressure, pulse and temperature. I helped her change into a hospital
gown, instructed her to give us a urine sample and then left the room. On my way to hand over her
chart to the nurse who would be taking over, I tore off the incoming lab reports.
I scanned the numbers and remember feeling like I had walked in to a brick wall. Her blood
count results looked like a ridiculous mistake and made no sense at all after my initial read. Then as
my brain frantically started registering what I saw, the doctor, who was reading over my shoulder,
told me, Set up a bone marrow biopsy tray. It appeared that she had Leukemia. In a moment, I
was setting up a tray without telling my patient what the procedure was for or what it would be like.
I then thought to myself, Do I know who she is?
In the next 30 minutes, before the doctor would arrive at her bedside to do the painful biopsy,
I pulled up a chair so I was eye level with her. I then asked her some questionsabout her family,
where she grew up, her job and so on. She was intermittently animated and nervous, but she didnt
have a clue as to what was going on.
Six weeks later she died. She never left the Intensive Care Unit room that we sent her to later
that night.
That night, I stayed at her bedside until 3 a.m., after clocking out much earlier, not getting paid
for this volunteer time. I stayed with her during the procedure and when the doctor explained the
most likely diagnosis. I stayed with her when she asked me to dial a phone number that woke up
her husband in Tahoe.
I stayed with her as we wheeled her on a gurney up to the ICU, with an oxygen tube in her nose,
an IV in her arm and an electrocardiogram monitor beeping away.
I visited her almost daily. I was with her when her husband burst through the curtain to see her,
and later that day I brought their two little girls in, against ICU rules, to see their momma.
I watched her body bloat and turn dusky, and become unresponsive to any treatment. And I
watched as her body began to shut down, system by system, and eventually die. I watched two little
girls and a crushed husband weep over her.
1 Dallas Willard, The Gentle Art of Disciplemaking, The Burner, June 27, 2012, http://theburnerblog.com/dmin/dallas-willard-on-making-disciples-the-gentle-art-of-disciplemaking/.
STORYLINE
INDEXES
n n n
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
CORE
DOCTRINES
n n n
DEEPER
AT WORK
n n n
BIBLIOGRAPHY
n n n
Bacote, Vincent E. The Spirit in Public Theology: Appropriating the Legacy of Abraham Kuyper. Reissued Edition. Eugene: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2010.
Carson, D. A. Christ and Culture Revisited. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 2008.
Crawford, Matthew B. Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work.
New York: Penguin Press, 2009.
Crouch, Andy. Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling. Downers
Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2008.
Garber, Steven. The Fabric of Faithfulness: Weaving Together Belief and Behavior.
Expanded Edition. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2007.
Gibbs, Mark, and T. Ralph Morton. Gods Frozen People: A Book forand
aboutOrdinary Christians. Waukegan: Fontana, 1970.
Goudzwaard, Bob. Capitalism and Progress: A Diagnosis of Western Society. Carlisle: Paternoster Press, 1997.
Guthrie, Steven R. Creator Spirit: The Holy Spirit and the Art of Becoming Human. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011.
Haidt, Jonathan. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics
and Religion. First Edition. New York: Pantheon, 2012.
Hardy, Lee. The Fabric of This World: Inquiries into Calling, Career Choice, and
the Design of Human Work. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Company, 1990.
Heslam, Peter S. Creating a Christian Worldview: Abraham Kuypers Lectures on
Calvinism. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1998.
Hunter, James Davison. To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility
of Christianity in the Late Modern World. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2010.
Keller, Timothy. Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to Gods Work. New
York: Dutton, 2012.
Keller, Timothy. Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in
Your City. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012.
Kraemer, Hendrik. A Theology of the Laity. Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 2005.
Kuyper, Abraham. Abraham Kuyper: Lectures on Calvinism: Six Lectures from the
Stone Foundation Lectures Delivered at Princeton University. CreateSpace,
2009.
Lindsay, D. Michael. Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the
American Elite. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
Miller, David W. God at Work: The History and Promise of the Faith at Work
Movement. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.
BIBLIOGRAPHY | 1377
Mouw, Richard J. Abraham Kuyper: A Short and Personal Introduction. Grand
Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2011.
. He Shines in All Thats Fair: Culture and Common Grace. Grand Rapids:
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002.
. When the Kings Come Marching In: Isaiah and the New Jerusalem. Revised Edition. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,
2002.
Newbigin, Lesslie. Truth to Tell: The Gospel as Public Truth. Grand Rapids: Wm.
B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991.
Niebuhr, H. Richard. Christ and Culture. New York: Harper & Row, 1951.
Pieper, Josef. Only the Lover Sings: Art and Contemplation. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1990.
Schwehn, Mark R. Exiles from Eden: Religion and the Academic Vocation in America. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.
Spykman, Gordon J. Reformational Theology: A New Paradigm for Doing Dogmatics. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1992.
Stackhouse, Max L. Capitalism, Civil Society, Religion, and the Poor. Wilmington: Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2002.
. God and Globalization: Volume 4: Globalization and Grace (Theology for
the 21st Century). London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2009.
Stackhouse, Max L., and Don S. Browning. God and Globalization, Volume 2:
The Spirit and the Modern Authorities (Theology for the 21st Century). London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2009.
Stackhouse, Max L., and Peter J. Paris. God and Globalization: Volume 1: Religion and the Powers of the Common Life. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark,
2000.
Stevens, R. Paul. Work Matters: Lessons from Scripture. Grand Rapids: William B.
Eerdmans Publishing. Co., 2012.
Van Duzer, Jeff. Why Business Matters to God (And What Still Needs to Be Fixed).
Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2010.
Volf, Miroslav. A Public Faith: How Followers of Christ Should Serve the Common
Good. Reprint edition. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2013.
. Work in the Spirit: Toward a Theology of Work. Reprint edition. Eugene:
Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2001.
Wolters, Albert M. Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview. Second Edition. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2005.
Wright, N. T. Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the
Mission of the Church. New York: HarperOne, 2008.