19 In the sweat of your face you shall eatbread

Till you return to the ground,For out of it you were taken;For dust you are,And to dust you shall return.”

20And Adam called his wife’s name Eve,because she was the mother of all living.

21Also for Adam and his wife the LORD

God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.22Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the

man has become like one of Us, to know goodand evil. And now, lest he put out his handand take also of the tree of life, and eat, andlive forever”— 23therefore the LORD God senthim out of the garden of Eden to till theground from which he was taken. 24So Hedrove out the man; and He placed cherubimat the east of the garden of Eden, and a flam-ing sword which turned every way, to guardthe way to the tree of life.

Cain Murders Abel

4Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and sheconceived and bore Cain, and said, “I

have acquired a man from the LORD.” 2Thenshe bore again, this time his brother Abel.

Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cainwas a tiller of the ground. 3And in the processof time it came to pass that Cain brought anoffering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD.4Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flockand of their fat. And the LORD respected Abeland his offering, 5but He did not respect Cainand his offering. And Cain was very angry,and his countenance fell.

6So the LORD said to Cain, “Why are youangry? And why has your countenance fall-en? 7If you do well, will you not be accepted?And if you do not do well, sin lies at thedoor. And its desire is for you, but youshould rule over it.”

8Now Cain talked with Abel his brother;and it came to pass, when they were in thefield, that Cain rose up against Abel hisbrother and killed him.

9Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where isAbel your brother?”

He said, “I do not know. Am I my broth-er’s keeper?”

10And He said, “What have you done?The voice of your brother’s blood cries outto Me from the ground. 11So now you arecursed from the earth, which has opened itsmouth to receive your brother’s blood from

6

GENESIS 3:19What Adam and Eve Learned

At first Adam and Eve were too heartbroken to understand all that happened.They had been so happy in the garden where God visited them every day. Thenit was all over. The sky was filled with dark clouds, and the sunshine of theirFather’s love was hidden.

If only they had listened to their Friend, the Lord, how different everythingwould have been then. Instead, they obeyed Satan, their enemy. They could notgo back to those good times with God as before.

Afterward, they were really sorry for what happened, and their Father for-gave them. Then they believed His promise to give them a new beginning, andthat’s what they learned!

From then on they talked to God about everything they planned to do withtheir lives.

BI B L E T R E A S U R E S

>>> W O R D D E C O D E R S3:24 Cherubim Pronounced CHER-uh-bim. Plural of cherub. These are specialangels who are always in the presence of God and continually praise Him.

your hand. 12When you till the ground, itshall no longer yield its strength to you. Afugitive and a vagabond you shall be on theearth.”

13And Cain said to the LORD, “My punish-ment is greater than I can bear! 14Surely Youhave driven me out this day from the face ofthe ground; I shall be hidden from Yourface; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond onthe earth, and it will happen that anyonewho finds me will kill me.”

15And the LORD said to him, “Therefore,whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall betaken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD set amark on Cain, lest anyone finding himshould kill him.

The Family of Cain16Then Cain went out from the presence

of the LORD and dwelt in the land of Nod onthe east of Eden. 17And Cain knew his wife,and she conceived and bore Enoch. And hebuilt a city, and called the name of the cityafter the name of his son—Enoch. 18ToEnoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehu-jael, and Mehujael begot Methushael, andMethushael begot Lamech.

19Then Lamech took for himself twowives: the name of one was Adah, and thename of the second was Zillah. 20And Adahbore Jabal. He was the father of those whodwell in tents and have livestock. 21Hisbrother’s name was Jubal. He was the fatherof all those who play the harp and flute.22And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in

bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.

23Then Lamech said to his wives:

“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;Wives of Lamech, listen to my

speech!For I have killed a man for wounding

me,Even a young man for hurting me.

24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

A New Son25And Adam knew his wife again, and

she bore a son and named him Seth, “ForGod has appointed another seed for meinstead of Abel, whom Cain killed.” 26Andas for Seth, to him also a son was born; andhe named him Enosh. Then men began tocall on the name of the LORD.

The Family of Adam

5This is the book of the genealogy ofAdam. In the day that God created man,

He made him in the likeness of God. 2He cre-ated them male and female, and blessedthem and called them Mankind in the daythey were created. 3And Adam lived onehundred and thirty years, and begot a son inhis own likeness, after his image, andnamed him Seth. 4After he begot Seth, thedays of Adam were eight hundred years;and he had sons and daughters. 5So all thedays that Adam lived were nine hundredand thirty years; and he died.

7GENESIS 5:5

What Cain LearnedCain envied his younger brother Abel. Abel always seemed to do everythingright. But no matter what Cain did, it seemed to go wrong. When God accept-ed Abel’s offering instead of Cain’s, that was the end! Cain wondered what wasso special about Abel’s offering.

So one day Cain just picked up a rock and knocked Abel down. Cain hadnever seen anybody die before, and when Abel didn’t move, Cain was scared.Abel never did move again.

That was when God spoke to Cain. Cain was shattered with grief and guilt.Then he realized that all his life Abel had given God the best he had. But Cainhad given the Lord only his leftovers.

BI B L E T R E A S U R E S

6Seth lived one hundred and five years,and begot Enosh. 7After he begot Enosh,Seth lived eight hundred and seven years,and had sons and daughters. 8So all thedays of Seth were nine hundred and twelveyears; and he died.

9Enosh lived ninety years, and begotCainan. 10After he begot Cainan, Enoshlived eight hundred and fifteen years, andhad sons and daughters. 11So all the days ofEnosh were nine hundred and five years;and he died.

12Cainan lived seventy years, and begotMahalalel. 13After he begot Mahalalel,Cainan lived eight hundred and forty years,and had sons and daughters. 14So all thedays of Cainan were nine hundred and tenyears; and he died.

15Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, andbegot Jared. 16After he begot Jared, Maha-lalel lived eight hundred and thirty years,and had sons and daughters. 17So all thedays of Mahalalel were eight hundred andninety-five years; and he died.

18Jared lived one hundred and sixty-twoyears, and begot Enoch. 19After he begotEnoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, andhad sons and daughters. 20So all the days ofJared were nine hundred and sixty-twoyears; and he died.

21Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begotMethuselah. 22After he begot Methuselah,Enoch walked with God three hundredyears, and had sons and daughters. 23So all

the days of Enoch were three hundred andsixty-five years. 24And Enoch walked withGod; and he was not, for God took him.

25Methuselah lived one hundred andeighty-seven years, and begot Lamech.26After he begot Lamech, Methuselah livedseven hundred and eighty-two years, andhad sons and daughters. 27So all the days ofMethuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died.

28Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. 29And he calledhis name Noah, saying, “This one will com-fort us concerning our work and the toil ofour hands, because of the ground which theLORD has cursed.” 30After he begot Noah,Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-fiveyears, and had sons and daughters. 31So allthe days of Lamech were seven hundred andseventy-seven years; and he died.

32And Noah was five hundred years old,and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

The Wickedness and Judgment of Man

6Now it came to pass, when men beganto multiply on the face of the earth, and

daughters were born to them, 2that the sonsof God saw the daughters of men, that theywere beautiful; and they took wives forthemselves of all whom they chose.

3And the LORD said, “My Spirit shall notstrive with man forever, for he is indeedflesh; yet his days shall be one hundred andtwenty years.” 4There were giants on theearth in those days, and also afterward,when the sons of God came in to the daugh-ters of men and they bore children to them.Those were the mighty men who were ofold, men of renown.

5Then the LORD saw that the wickednessof man was great in the earth, and that everyintent of the thoughts of his heart was onlyevil continually. 6And the LORD was sorrythat He had made man on the earth, and Hewas grieved in His heart. 7So the LORD said,“I will destroy man whom I have createdfrom the face of the earth, both man andbeast, creeping thing and birds of the air, forI am sorry that I have made them.” 8ButNoah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

Noah Pleases God9This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was

a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah

8

GENESIS 5:6

Why Was Methuselah So Old?Methuselah (pronounced meh-THOO-suh-luh) is the oldest person you meetin the Bible. How could anybody liveso long? Most of us don’t even live ahundred years. You have alreadyseen that sin is the real cause ofdeath (see Genesis 2:17). As timewent by, sin brought disease, weak-ness, and earlier death.

walked with God. 10And Noah begot threesons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11The earth also was corrupt before God,and the earth was filled with violence. 12SoGod looked upon the earth, and indeed itwas corrupt; for all flesh had corruptedtheir way on the earth.

The Ark Prepared13And God said to Noah, “The end of all

flesh has come before Me, for the earth isfilled with violence through them; andbehold, I will destroy them with the earth.14Make yourself an ark of gopherwood;make rooms in the ark, and cover it insideand outside with pitch. 15And this is howyou shall make it: The length of the ark shallbe three hundred cubits, its width fiftycubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16Youshall make a window for the ark, and youshall finish it to a cubit from above; and setthe door of the ark in its side. You shallmake it with lower, second, and third decks.17And behold, I Myself am bringing flood-waters on the earth, to destroy from underheaven all flesh in which is the breath of life;everything that is on the earth shall die.18But I will establish My covenant with you;and you shall go into the ark—you, yoursons, your wife, and your sons’ wives withyou. 19And of every living thing of all fleshyou shall bring two of every sort into theark, to keep them alive with you; they shallbe male and female. 20Of the birds after theirkind, of animals after their kind, and ofevery creeping thing of the earth after its

kind, two of every kind will come to you tokeep them alive. 21And you shall take foryourself of all food that is eaten, and youshall gather it to yourself; and it shall befood for you and for them.”

22Thus Noah did; according to all thatGod commanded him, so he did.

The Great Flood

7Then the LORD said to Noah, “Come intothe ark, you and all your household,

because I have seen that you are righteousbefore Me in this generation. 2You shall takewith you seven each of every clean animal,a male and his female; two each of animalsthat are unclean, a male and his female;3also seven each of birds of the air, male andfemale, to keep the species alive on the faceof all the earth. 4For after seven more days Iwill cause it to rain on the earth forty daysand forty nights, and I will destroy from theface of the earth all living things that I havemade.” 5And Noah did according to all thatthe LORD commanded him. 6Noah was sixhundred years old when the floodwaterswere on the earth.

7So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and hissons’ wives, went into the ark because of thewaters of the flood. 8Of clean animals, ofanimals that are unclean, of birds, and ofeverything that creeps on the earth, 9two bytwo they went into the ark to Noah, maleand female, as God had commanded Noah.10And it came to pass after seven days thatthe waters of the flood were on the earth.11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in

9GENESIS 7:11

Maybe you’ve seen those funny pictures of Noah and the ark. Well, Noah didn’tthink it was very funny at all! He tried to tell everybody that God was going tosend a big flood, but they only laughed and said that Noah was out of his mind.

So Noah built the ark just as God told him, and one day every kind of animalcame pouring into it. After Noah and his family went in, itall started to happen—the frightening rain that fell andthe underground springs that burst upward. You shouldhave heard the pounding of the wind, the swirlingwaters—and Noah would never forget the horrible cries ofthe drowning people!

But Noah’s family was saved, and the ark settled onMount Ararat in Turkey. Then they began again to enjoythe life they had in the world before the Flood.

BIBLE EXPLORERS

the second month, the seventeenth day of themonth, on that day all the fountains of thegreat deep were broken up, and the windowsof heaven were opened. 12And the rain wason the earth forty days and forty nights.

13On the very same day Noah and Noah’ssons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’swife and the three wives of his sons withthem, entered the ark— 14they and everybeast after its kind, all cattle after theirkind, every creeping thing that creeps onthe earth after its kind, and every bird afterits kind, every bird of every sort. 15And theywent into the ark to Noah, two by two, of allflesh in which is the breath of life. 16So thosethat entered, male and female of all flesh,went in as God had commanded him; andthe LORD shut him in.

17Now the flood was on the earth fortydays. The waters increased and lifted up theark, and it rose high above the earth. 18Thewaters prevailed and greatly increased onthe earth, and the ark moved about on thesurface of the waters. 19And the waters pre-vailed exceedingly on the earth, and all thehigh hills under the whole heaven were cov-ered. 20The waters prevailed fifteen cubitsupward, and the mountains were covered.21And all flesh died that moved on the earth:birds and cattle and beasts and every creep-ing thing that creeps on the earth, and everyman. 22All in whose nostrils was the breathof the spirit of life, all that was on the dryland, died. 23So He destroyed all livingthings which were on the face of the ground:

both man and cattle, creeping thing andbird of the air. They were destroyed fromthe earth. Only Noah and those who werewith him in the ark remained alive. 24Andthe waters prevailed on the earth one hun-dred and fifty days.

Noah’s Deliverance

8Then God remembered Noah, and everyliving thing, and all the animals that were

with him in the ark. And God made a wind topass over the earth, and the waters subsided.2The fountains of the deep and the windows ofheaven were also stopped, and the rain fromheaven was restrained. 3And the waters reced-ed continually from the earth. At the end of thehundred and fifty days the waters decreased.4Then the ark rested in the seventh month, theseventeenth day of the month, on the moun-tains of Ararat. 5And the waters decreasedcontinually until the tenth month. In thetenth month, on the first day of the month,the tops of the mountains were seen.

6So it came to pass, at the end of fortydays, that Noah opened the window of theark which he had made. 7Then he sent out araven, which kept going to and fro until thewaters had dried up from the earth. 8He alsosent out from himself a dove, to see if thewaters had receded from the face of theground. 9But the dove found no restingplace for the sole of her foot, and shereturned into the ark to him, for the waterswere on the face of the whole earth. So heput out his hand and took her, and drew her

10

GENESIS 7:12

7:1–24 The Great FloodYou have read how Noah might have described the great Flood in Genesis 6.Some people wonder if the Flood really happened, but we have lots of proof that

it did. The Flood is described in Genesis 7. Many other peoples of the world, even theEskimos, also tell us about the ancient Flood.

Some people wonder if the Flood covered the whole world. The Bible says all thehigh mountains in Noah’s area were covered. If the water was that high, it would havecovered everything everywhere.

God told Noah to build a boat called an ark to float on top of the water. It wasdesigned to carry Noah, his family, and at least two of every kind of animal God want-ed to save. The ark was 450 feet long, almost as long as a city block, and 45 feet high,as tall as a five-story building.

The Flood lasted for a total of 371 days. The water came from great undergroundsprings as well as from rain.

>>> D I G G I N G I N

into the ark to himself. 10And he waited yetanother seven days, and again he sent thedove out from the ark. 11Then the dove cameto him in the evening, and behold, a freshlyplucked olive leaf was in her mouth; andNoah knew that the waters had recededfrom the earth. 12So he waited yet anotherseven days and sent out the dove, which didnot return again to him anymore.

13And it came to pass in the six hundredand first year, in the first month, the firstday of the month, that the waters were driedup from the earth; and Noah removed thecovering of the ark and looked, and indeedthe surface of the ground was dry. 14And inthe second month, on the twenty-seventhday of the month, the earth was dried.

15Then God spoke to Noah, saying, 16“Goout of the ark, you and your wife, and yoursons and your sons’ wives with you. 17Bringout with you every living thing of all fleshthat is with you: birds and cattle and everycreeping thing that creeps on the earth, sothat they may abound on the earth, and befruitful and multiply on the earth.” 18SoNoah went out, and his sons and his wife

and his sons’ wives with him. 19Every ani-mal, every creeping thing, every bird, andwhatever creeps on the earth, according totheir families, went out of the ark.

God’s Covenant with Creation20Then Noah built an altar to the LORD,

and took of every clean animal and of everyclean bird, and offered burnt offerings onthe altar. 21And the LORD smelled a soothingaroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, “Iwill never again curse the ground for man’ssake, although the imagination of man’sheart is evil from his youth; nor will I againdestroy every living thing as I have done.

22 “While the earth remains,Seedtime and harvest,Cold and heat,Winter and summer,And day and nightShall not cease.”

9 So God blessed Noah and his sons, andsaid to them: “Be fruitful and multiply,

and fill the earth. 2And the fear of you and

11GENESIS 9:2

During the 3rd millenium Lower and Upper Egypt were united. Egypt’s Old Kingdom (2700-2160 B.C.)produced the great pyramids, such as those at Giza. In Mesopotamia, the land of Sumer devel-oped a system of independent city-states. Toward the end of the millennium this city-state rulewas replaced by a more extensive territorial rule centered in Accad.

the ANCIENT NEAR EAST 3000 B.C.>>>

the dread of you shall be on every beast ofthe earth, on every bird of the air, on all thatmove on the earth, and on all the fish of thesea. They are given into your hand. 3Everymoving thing that lives shall be food for you.I have given you all things, even as the greenherbs. 4But you shall not eat flesh with itslife, that is, its blood. 5Surely for yourlifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from thehand of every beast I will require it, and fromthe hand of man. From the hand of everyman’s brother I will require the life of man.

6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood,By man his blood shall be shed;For in the image of GodHe made man.

7 And as for you, be fruitful andmultiply;

Bring forth abundantly in the earth

And multiply in it.”

8Then God spoke to Noah and to his sonswith him, saying: 9“And as for Me, behold, Iestablish My covenant with you and withyour descendants after you, 10and withevery living creature that is with you: thebirds, the cattle, and every beast of the earthwith you, of all that go out of the ark, everybeast of the earth. 11Thus I establish Mycovenant with you: Never again shall allflesh be cut off by the waters of the flood;never again shall there be a flood to destroythe earth.”

12And God said: “This is the sign of thecovenant which I make between Me and you,and every living creature that is with you, forperpetual generations: 13I set My rainbow inthe cloud, and it shall be for the sign of thecovenant between Me and the earth. 14It shallbe, when I bring a cloud over the earth, thatthe rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; 15andI will remember My covenant which isbetween Me and you and every living crea-ture of all flesh; the waters shall never againbecome a flood to destroy all flesh. 16Therainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will lookon it to remember the everlasting covenantbetween God and every living creature of allflesh that is on the earth.” 17And God said toNoah, “This is the sign of the covenant whichI have established between Me and all fleshthat is on the earth.”

Noah and His Sons18Now the sons of Noah who went out of

the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. AndHam was the father of Canaan. 19Thesethree were the sons of Noah, and from thesethe whole earth was populated.

20And Noah began to be a farmer, and heplanted a vineyard. 21Then he drank of thewine and was drunk, and became uncoveredin his tent. 22And Ham, the father of Canaan,saw the nakedness of his father, and told histwo brothers outside. 23But Shem andJapheth took a garment, laid it on both theirshoulders, and went backward and coveredthe nakedness of their father. Their faceswere turned away, and they did not see theirfather’s nakedness.

24So Noah awoke from his wine, andknew what his younger son had done tohim. 25Then he said:

“Cursed be Canaan;A servant of servantsHe shall be to his brethren.”

26And he said:

“Blessed be the LORD,The God of Shem,And may Canaan be his servant.

27 May God enlarge Japheth,And may he dwell in the tents of

Shem;And may Canaan be his servant.”

12

GENESIS 9:3

A G R I C U LT U R E & H E R D I N GTo be fruitful, vineyards require con-siderable care. When the grapes arecrushed for their juice, organisms foundon the outside of the peel reach thejuice. The organisms multiply and causethe juice to ferment and become wine(Genesis 9:20, 21). If the juice fermentstoo long, it becomes vinegar. Ancient

farmers had to balancethese different factors.

D I S C O V E R I E S

28And Noah lived after the flood threehundred and fifty years. 29So all the days ofNoah were nine hundred and fifty years;and he died.

Nations Descended from Noah

10Now this is the genealogy of the sonsof Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

And sons were born to them after the flood.2The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog,

Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.3The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz,Riphath, and Togarmah. 4The sons of Javanwere Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Doda -nim. 5From these the coastland peoples ofthe Gentiles were separated into their lands,everyone according to his language, accord-ing to their families, into their nations.

6The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim,Put, and Canaan. 7The sons of Cush wereSeba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, andSabtechah; and the sons of Raamah wereSheba and Dedan.

8Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be amighty one on the earth. 9He was a mightyhunter before the LORD; therefore it is said,“Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before theLORD.” 10And the beginning of his kingdomwas Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in theland of Shinar. 11From that land he went toAssyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir,Calah, 12and Resen between Nineveh andCalah (that is the principal city).

13Mizraim begot Ludim, Anamim,Lehabim, Naphtuhim, 14Pathrusim, andCasluhim (from whom came the Philistinesand Caphtorim).

15Canaan begot Sidon his firstborn, andHeth; 16the Jebusite, the Amorite, and theGirgashite; 17the Hivite, the Arkite, and theSinite; 18the Arvadite, the Zemarite, andthe Hamathite. Afterward the families of theCanaanites were dispersed. 19And the bor-der of the Canaanites was from Sidon as yougo toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; then as yougo toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, andZeboiim, as far as Lasha. 20These were thesons of Ham, according to their families,

according to their languages, in their landsand in their nations.

21And children were born also to Shem,the father of all the children of Eber, thebrother of Japheth the elder. 22The sons ofShem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud,and Aram. 23The sons of Aram were Uz,Hul, Gether, and Mash. 24Arphaxad begotSalah, and Salah begot Eber. 25To Eber wereborn two sons: the name of one was Peleg,for in his days the earth was divided; andhis brother’s name was Joktan. 26Joktanbegot Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth,Jerah, 27Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28Obal, Abim -ael, Sheba, 29Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. Allthese were the sons of Joktan. 30And theirdwelling place was from Mesha as you gotoward Sephar, the mountain of the east.31These were the sons of Shem, according totheir families, according to their languages,in their lands, according to their nations.

32These were the families of the sons ofNoah, according to their generations, intheir nations; and from these the nationswere divided on the earth after the flood.

The Tower of Babel

11Now the whole earth had one lan-guage and one speech. 2And it came to

pass, as they journeyed from the east, thatthey found a plain in the land of Shinar, andthey dwelt there. 3Then they said to oneanother, “Come, let us make bricks and bakethem thoroughly.” They had brick for stone,and they had asphalt for mortar. 4And theysaid, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, anda tower whose top is in the heavens; let usmake a name for ourselves, lest we be scat-tered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

5But the LORD came down to see the cityand the tower which the sons of men hadbuilt. 6And the LORD said, “Indeed the peo-ple are one and they all have one language,and this is what they begin to do; now noth-ing that they propose to do will be withheldfrom them. 7Come, let Us go down and thereconfuse their language, that they may notunderstand one another’s speech.” 8So the

13GENESIS 11:8

>>> W O R D D E C O D E R S10:18 Canaanites Pronounced KAY-nuh-nights. Descendants of Noah’s grand-son, Canaan. Canaanites settled in Palestine long before God told Abraham tomove there. Then Palestine was called Canaan.

LORD scattered them abroad from there overthe face of all the earth, and they ceasedbuilding the city. 9Therefore its name iscalled Babel, because there the LORD con-fused the language of all the earth; and fromthere the LORD scattered them abroad overthe face of all the earth.

Shem’s Descendants10This is the genealogy of Shem: Shem

was one hundred years old, and begotArphaxad two years after the flood. 11Afterhe begot Arphaxad, Shem lived five hun-dred years, and begot sons and daughters.

12Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, andbegot Salah. 13After he begot Salah, Arphax-ad lived four hundred and three years, andbegot sons and daughters.

14Salah lived thirty years, and begot Eber.15After he begot Eber, Salah lived four hun-dred and three years, and begot sons anddaughters.

16Eber lived thirty-four years, and begotPeleg. 17After he begot Peleg, Eber lived fourhundred and thirty years, and begot sonsand daughters.

18Peleg lived thirty years, and begot Reu.19After he begot Reu, Peleg lived two hun-dred and nine years, and begot sons anddaughters.

20Reu lived thirty-two years, and begotSerug. 21After he begot Serug, Reu lived twohundred and seven years, and begot sonsand daughters.

22Serug lived thirty years, and begotNahor. 23After he begot Nahor, Serug livedtwo hundred years, and begot sons anddaughters.

24Nahor lived twenty-nine years, andbegot Terah. 25After he begot Terah, Nahorlived one hundred and nineteen years, andbegot sons and daughters.

26Now Terah lived seventy years, andbegot Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Terah’s Descendants27This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah

begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haranbegot Lot. 28And Haran died before hisfather Terah in his native land, in Ur of theChaldeans. 29Then Abram and Nahor tookwives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai,and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, thedaughter of Haran the father of Milcah andthe father of Iscah. 30But Sarai was barren;she had no child.

31And Terah took his son Abram and hisgrandson Lot, the son of Haran, and hisdaughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’swife, and they went out with them from Ur

14

GENESIS 11:9

11:1–9 The Tower of BabelThere are remains of many ancient towers like the one Genesis calls the Tower of

Babel (pronounced BAY-bull). Such a tower is called a ziggurat (pronounced ZIG-uh-rat). One of those buildings that remains today could be the very tower in Genesis 11.At the time of the Tower of Babel, after the great Flood, there was one race of people

on the earth. Remember that these people still did not know much about astronomy. Thisis why they foolishly imagined they could build a tower all the way up to the heavens.

Also, the people of Babel were sinners just like people today, and they wanted to testGod’s right to rule over their lives. The Tower of Babel was their way of telling God theycould be just as high as He is! Sounds silly, doesn’t it?

But people today still try to test God’s right to rule their lives. When they break God’slaws, they are telling him, “I can do as I please!” Don’t you think that’s a foolish thingto say to God?

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W O R D D E C O D E R S11:28 Chaldeans The people who lived in Chaldea (pronounced kal-DEE-uh), aland found in the region of modern Iran and Iraq. Chaldea later included nearlyall of Babylonia (pronounced bab-ih-LOW-nih-uh).

of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan;and they came to Haran and dwelt there. 32Sothe days of Terah were two hundred and fiveyears, and Terah died in Haran.

Promises to Abram

12Now the LORD had said to Abram:

“Get out of your country,From your familyAnd from your father’s house,To a land that I will show you.

2 I will make you a great nation;I will bless you

And make your name great;And you shall be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you,And I will curse him who curses you;And in you all the families of the earth

shall be blessed.”

4So Abram departed as the LORD had spo-ken to him, and Lot went with him. AndAbram was seventy-five years old when hedeparted from Haran. 5Then Abram tookSarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, andall their possessions that they had gathered,and the people whom they had acquired inHaran, and they departed to go to the landof Canaan. So they came to the land ofCanaan. 6Abram passed through the land tothe place of Shechem, as far as the terebinthtree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were thenin the land.

7Then the LORD appeared to Abram andsaid, “To your descendants I will give thisland.” And there he built an altar to theLORD, who had appeared to him. 8And hemoved from there to the mountain east ofBethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethelon the west and Ai on the east; there he builtan altar to the LORD and called on the nameof the LORD. 9So Abram journeyed, going onstill toward the South.

Abram in Egypt10Now there was a famine in the land, and

Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there,

15GENESIS 12:10

Where Was Ur of the Chaldees?Ur was a city in the country of Bab -ylonia (pronounced bab-ih-LOW-nih-uh). Sometimes in the Bible, Babyloniais called by its old name Chaldea (pro-nounced kal-DEE-uh). This was Abra-ham’s early home. An ancient libraryand many beautiful treasures havebeen found in the city’s ruins. The peo-ple of Ur worshiped the moon god.

12:1–3 God’s Great PromiseSometimes you may make promises you don’t keep. But God can never break

any of His promises.People who have lived a long time in the world learn that God keeps every prom-

ise He ever made. He promises us, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Friendsfail us. Our bodies get sick. And someday we will die. But we can still say, “Surelygoodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the houseof the LORD forever” (Psalm 23:6).

God made a very big promise to Abraham. First, God said He would give Abraham’speople all the land of Palestine. Four thousand years later, Abraham’s people lived oncemore in Israel! Not many nations have histories that long.

Then God made a great promise that all people who trusted in Abraham would beblessed, and his descendants would be a blessing to all nations (see Genesis 22:15–18).The greatest descendant of Abraham is Jesus who was born two thousand years afterAbraham lived. God will bless you forever if you trust in Jesus.

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