-
Garden of Eden
Eden means “pleasure, delight”. God planted a garden east in Eden including every tree pleasing to sight and good for food. God also planted two particular trees in the garden: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. A river went out of Eden to water the Garden and…
-
Aaron
Aaron was the older brother of Moses. Aaron was in the lineage of Abraham, Issac, Jacob and Levi. He was recognized by God to be articulate, and God called Aaron to be the public voice and assistant to Moses. Aaron served during Moses’ confrontations with the Egyptian Pharaoh. After the Exodus, Aaron became the temporary…
-
Sarah
Sarah means “princess”. Sarah was called Sarai before her name was changed by God. Sarai was Abram’s half-sister and she married Abram when they lived in Ur. Sarai was a beautiful woman and on two occasions as their household was traveling, Abram passed her off as his sister in fear of being murdered by kings…
-
Esau
Esau means “hairy”. Esau is also descriptively called “Edom” meaning “red”. He was the older twin brother of Jacob. Esau was in the lineage of Abraham. He was the firstborn of twins to his 60 year-old father Isaac and his mother Rebekah. Esau grew to be a skillful hunter and “man of the field,” gaining…
-
Baal
Baal was a false God worshipped by many ancient cultures including the ancient Egyptians, Mesopotamians, Babylonians, Greeks and Romans. Baal was worshipped as one of the mythologic givers of life having power over the weather to determine agricultural productivity. Within the Bible narrative, Baal was the main pagan god of the Canaanites whose worship included…
-
YHWH
YHWH means “I AM WHO I AM” or “I AM THAT I AM” or “I AM THE GOD WHO IS” YHWH is the personal name of God written with four Hebrew language consonants Yod, Heh, Waw, and Heh. While the original vowels used for pronunciation are unknown, the traditional pronunciation was Jehovah, but more modern…
-
Ur
Ur was an ancient city located on the Euphrates River in the current southeastern region of Iraq inland near the Persian Gulf. Abram and Sarai, Terah (Abram’s father), Nahor and Haran (Abram’s brothers), Lot (Abram’s nephew) and their households lived in Ur of the Chaldeans during the early Middle Bronze Age (approx. 2,000 BC). Abram’s…