RE: Atheist Bible Study 1: Genesis
November 24, 2018 at 3:34 am
(This post was last modified: November 24, 2018 at 3:35 am by GrandizerII.)
Abram Impregnates Another Woman
Genesis 16
Abram had an Egyptian slave by the name of Hagar (perhaps acquired while in Egypt back two chapters ago). Sarai, his wife, was getting tired of not being able to bear children, so she did to Abram what Eve did to her own man Adam: lead man to defy the will of God. In this case, Sarai requested that Abram forfeit his trust in God and make a baby with their slave Hagar. That way, Sarai could have children by proxy. Abram, of course, agreed. So Abram and Hagar had sex, and Hagar became pregnant after a while.
When Hagar found out she was pregnant, she began to feel nothing but contempt towards Sarai. It's not clear to me exactly why that is, but nevertheless, this pissed Sarai off and Sarai put the blame on poor Abram ... even though Sarai was the one who suggested all this in the first place. Human beings can be rather irrational, and this was no secret to the ancient Jews.
Now Abram, showing his douchey side again, told Sarai that she could do whatever she wanted with Hagar. And jealous Sarai did exactly that. Hagar did not like the way Sarai was treating her, and so she fled.
While near a spring in the desert, the angel of the Lord appears to Hagar and urges her to go back to her mistress, promising her that she will have plenty of offspring. The angel also said the following:
"You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers."
Not exactly the most cheerful of prophecies, but this gives Hagar enough reason to want to head back to Abram and raise her child there. When Ishmael was born, Abram was already 86 years old. Yeah ... that's some very healthy sperm for an old guy like him.
Nice story, revealing the imperfections that come with being human.
Genesis 16
Abram had an Egyptian slave by the name of Hagar (perhaps acquired while in Egypt back two chapters ago). Sarai, his wife, was getting tired of not being able to bear children, so she did to Abram what Eve did to her own man Adam: lead man to defy the will of God. In this case, Sarai requested that Abram forfeit his trust in God and make a baby with their slave Hagar. That way, Sarai could have children by proxy. Abram, of course, agreed. So Abram and Hagar had sex, and Hagar became pregnant after a while.
When Hagar found out she was pregnant, she began to feel nothing but contempt towards Sarai. It's not clear to me exactly why that is, but nevertheless, this pissed Sarai off and Sarai put the blame on poor Abram ... even though Sarai was the one who suggested all this in the first place. Human beings can be rather irrational, and this was no secret to the ancient Jews.
Now Abram, showing his douchey side again, told Sarai that she could do whatever she wanted with Hagar. And jealous Sarai did exactly that. Hagar did not like the way Sarai was treating her, and so she fled.
While near a spring in the desert, the angel of the Lord appears to Hagar and urges her to go back to her mistress, promising her that she will have plenty of offspring. The angel also said the following:
"You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers."
Not exactly the most cheerful of prophecies, but this gives Hagar enough reason to want to head back to Abram and raise her child there. When Ishmael was born, Abram was already 86 years old. Yeah ... that's some very healthy sperm for an old guy like him.
Nice story, revealing the imperfections that come with being human.
