The Sweeter Than Honey Podcast

We've come to another chapter full of family lines and names. Often these sections can be tough to read through, especially since most of these characters never come up again. Josh, Tori, and Brendan dig through the names of Abraham's other sons to see if there's anything that can be learned about who they were and what their stories might have been like while discussing Abraham's complicated legacy.

Ke...

We've come to another chapter full of family lines and names. Often these sections can be tough to read through, especially since most of these characters never come up again. Josh, Tori, and Brendan dig through the names of Abraham's other sons to see if there's anything that can be learned about who they were and what their stories might have been like while discussing Abraham's complicated legacy.

Ke...

This chapter feels long and repetitive, but it's worth digging into. Josh, Tori, and Brendan seek to understand what the language has to reveal about what may be beneath the surface of this story and how it relates to Genesis 1.

Key Words

• checed (חֵסֵד) - lovingkindness (especially in covenant relationship)
• bethulah (בְּתוּלָה) - a virgin
• almah (עַלְמָה) - a young woman, a virgin
• yarek (יָרֵךְ) - thigh, loin, side, ba...

Chapter 23 of Genesis is pretty straightforward as it centers around Abraham negotiating to buy a plot of land for burying Sarah's lifeless body. Even so, it's a dense chapter worth unpacking. Josh and Brendan aided by Tori's curiosity explore what may be hidden in the language while seeking to understand what's happening in the negotiations.

Key Words

• Kiriath-arba (קִרְיַת אַרְבַּע) - City of the Fo...

This story is tough. It's hard to imagine being in Abraham's shoes and saying yes to God's request, especially considering how out of character the request seems! Why did Abraham say yes? Is there more going on here than we realize? Josh, Tori, and Brendan search the text and its depths to answer these questions and more.

Key Words

• nasah (נָסָה) - to test
• yireh (יִרְאֶה) - from raah (רָאָה) to provide/see
• m...

Josh, Tori, and Brendan explore the culmination of three stories about Abraham in Genesis 21. This exploration focuses on the Hebrew language used in the chapter to tie the events within to other stories previously explored in Genesis in order to shed light on what's happening here.

Key Words

• tsachaq (צְחַק) - to laugh (to make sport, mock, play)
• garash (גָּרַשׁ) - to drive out, cast out
• siach (שִׂיחַ) - a bush, shru...

It really feels like Abraham with never learn. How can this account possibly shed light on Abraham’s prior deception? What does this mean for the child of promise? What’s God doing in all of this? Josh, Brendan, and Tori explore what looks like a replay of Abraham’s journey to Egypt. 

Key Words

• nabi (נָבִיא) - spokesman, speaker, prophet
• palal (פָלַל) - to intervene, interpose
• kesuth (כְּסוּת) - a covering (vindication)
• ya...

We've reached one of the most uncomfortable pairing of narratives in the Tanakh. Buried within are echoes of the stories immediately preceding it, as well as language which clues us into parallels to Genesis 3, and the story of Noah, as well as calling forward to parts of Exodus. Josh, Tori, and Brendan dig in to unearth these allusions, as well as attempting to provide some levity in the midst of such a heavy chapter.

Rounding out Genesis 18, Josh, Tori, and Brendan dig through the so called bargaining scene in which Abraham pleads for Sodom to be spared if 10 righteous men can be found within its walls. While exploring this passage, we discuss Abraham's demeanor, YHWH's response, and what all of this has to do with intercessory prayer and the divine court.

Key Words

• zeaqah (זַעַק) - a cry, outcry
• tseaqah (צַעֲקָה) - a cry, ...

Genesis 18 is a fairly familiar story for church goers. We know the story of the three visitors and Sarah laughing. Is there anything more we can understand or gain from this story? Josh, Tori, and Brendan discuss and dig into what this account may have to tell us about God and his relationship to Abraham.

Sources

• Bible Hub

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In Genesis 17, God establishes a covenant with Abraham in addition to the one already established in chapter 15. This includes new names for Abram and Sarai, a promise of a son through the newly named Sarah despite their ages and her infertility, and a new sign for this covenant. Josh, Tori, and Brendan dig in to understand what this covenant is about and why circumcision is the sign.

Key Words

• meod (מְאֹד) - muchness, ...

Genesis 16 is a chapter full of tragedy for a woman who was already living as someone less than human which is told as a replay of the fall in Genesis 3. It speaks of the state of human sinfulness, even that of God's chosen, but also hope in spite of sin and severe wrongdoing.

Key Words

• shama (שָׁמַע) - to hear (and to act in accordance with what's heard)
• malak (מֲלְאָךְ) - a messenger
• shaphat (שָׁפַט) - to judg...

Genesis 15 is another very strange story. It’s not every day God shows up to talk to someone face to face, much less to do everything else He does in this chapter. Josh and Brendan work through all of the language and concepts present to derive a rich understanding of the process through which God intends to bring about Renewed Creation through Abram and the covenant.

Key Words

• machazeh (מַחֲזֶה) - a vision
• kokab (כּוֹכָ...

Genesis 14 seems fairly straightforward, but it also raises some questions. What’s going on with the nine tribal leaders? Who are they? Who the heck is Melchizedek? Josh, Tori, and Brendan explore the story of what happened to Abram and Lot following their separation. 
 
Key Words

• maaser or maasar or maasrah (מַעֲשֵׂר) - tenth part, tithe
• Rephaim (רָפָא) - giants
• elyown (עֶלְיוֹן) - high, upper

Sources

• Bible Hu...

Genesis 13 tells a relatively normal story nestled between two stranger stories. Is there depth to what’s happening here? Josh, Tori, and Brendan discuss and dig in to see what this passage has to offer beyond an uncle and nephew going their separate ways.

Key Words

• Mamre (מַמְרֵא) - seeing, understanding
• Sodom (סְדֹם) - flaming, burnt
• Gomorrah (עֲמֹרָה) - tyrannical dealings

Sources

• Bible Hub
• Abarim Publicatio...

This week we dig into the strange account of Abram's calling and the failures that occur alongside it. God picked this man the same we he picked Noah, but unlike Noah, Abram doesn't display the level of righteousness we would expect from God's chosen. Did God make a mistake? Is He compromising? Why does Abram receive blessing despite the problems he causes? Josh, Tori, and Brendan explore those questions as well as d...

Is there anything we can learn from the record of Shem's descendants in Genesis 11? Josh, Tori, and Brendan dig into the names and their meanings to answer that question. This discussion also includes conversation regarding divine inspiration, the Septuagint, and the deuterocanonical books.

Key Words

• Abram (אַבְרָם) - Exalted Father
• Sarai (שָׂרַי) - My Princess

Sources

• Bible Hub
• Abarim Publications

What's up with the Tower of Babel? It's a story that's relatively known, but rarely understood as more than, "This is to explain why people speak different languages." What's really going on here? Josh and Brendan, with help from Tori's questions and analogies, dive in to understand why the tower was built, why YHWH responded how he did, and why Babel and Babylon are the same thing, but also not q...

The Table of Nations, as this chapter is sometimes known, is a lot to get through. What was going on in the earth at the time these men were named? What do they have to do with each other? How will they impact God's family later? Josh and Brendan with the aid of Tori's curiosity work to break down the names present in an effort to understand the first half of this genealogical record.

Key Names

• Heth (חֵת) - an...