Study Desk

The earth was barren, with no form of life; it was under a roaring ocean covered with darkness. But the Spirit of God was moving over the water.

God gave them his blessing and said: Have a lot of children! Fill the earth with people and bring it under your control. Rule over the fish in the ocean, the birds in the sky, and every animal on the earth.

The woman stared at the fruit. It looked beautiful and tasty. She wanted the wisdom that it would give her, and she ate some of the fruit. Her husband was there with her, so she gave some to him, and he ate it too.

"It was the woman you put here with me," the man said. "She gave me some of the fruit, and I ate it."

Adam and Eve had a son. Then Eve said, "I'll name him Cain because I got him with the help of the Lord ."

and Abel also gave an offering to the Lord . He killed the first-born lamb from one of his sheep and gave the Lord the best parts of it. The Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering,

but not with Cain and his offering. This made Cain so angry that he could not hide his feelings.

The Lord said to Cain: What's wrong with you? Why do you have such an angry look on your face?

Anyone who tries to get even with me will be punished ten times more than anyone who tries to get even with Cain."

But the Lord was pleased with Noah,

Get some good lumber and build a boat. Put rooms in it and cover it with tar inside and out.

Bring into the boat with you a male and a female of every kind of animal and bird, as well as a male and a female of every reptile. I don't want them to be destroyed.

The Lord told Noah: Take your whole family with you into the boat, because you are the only one on this earth who pleases me.

Also take seven pairs of every kind of bird with you. Do this so there will always be animals and birds on the earth.

Noah was six hundred years old when he went into the boat to escape the flood, and he did everything the Lord had told him to do. His wife, his sons, and his daughters-in-law all went inside with him.

He obeyed God and took a male and a female of each kind of animal and bird into the boat with him.

On that day Noah and his wife went into the boat with their three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives.

Noah took a male and a female of every living creature with him,

God did not forget about Noah and the animals with him in the boat. So God made a wind blow, and the water started going down.

Ham's descendants had their own languages, tribes, and land. They were Ethiopia, Egypt, Put, and Canaan. Cush was the ancestor of Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. Raamah was the ancestor of Sheba and Dedan. Cush was also the ancestor of Nimrod, a mighty warrior whose strength came from the Lord . Nimrod is the reason for the saying, "You hunt like Nimrod with the strength of the Lord !" Nimrod first ruled in Babylon, Erech, and Accad, all of which were in Babylonia. From there Nimrod went to Assyria and built the great city of Nineveh. He also built Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, as well as Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah. Egypt was the ancestor of Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, Pathrusim, Casluhim, and Caphtorim, the ancestor of the Philistines. Canaan's sons were Sidon and Heth. He was also the ancestor of the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Later the Canaanites spread from the territory of Sidon and went as far as Gaza in the direction of Gerar. They also went as far as Lasha in the direction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim.