Bible stories that leave unanswered questions.

[yungjah]

I do not know if it is just me or others do have the same thought. As pointed out in my first post, I began reading the bible from the beginning and I'd come across stories or circumstances that leave me to question myself.

I tend to wonder why I have few unanswered questions in my head, yet those are not important matters towards the real purpose as to what God expect of me.

To get to the bottom of it, one of the question is, how did we multiply? Starting from Adam and Eve story. If they were the first couple, am I wrong to think that maybe their kids got together to multiply?

Who was Adam's daughter-in-law? Seeing that Seth became a father to many kids also, according to Genesis 5:6.

 

[freezerman2000]

Good question!
Here's another,in line with yours..If A&E were the first humans,where did the people of Nod come from?Why were they not included in the Creation narrative?

 

[classicalhero]

Every simgle human being is a descendant of Adam and Eve, so that means any children would have marred their own sisters. But at that stage God hadn't made it a sin because of the genetics wouldn't have made it as dangerous as it is now. Incest was made immoral at the time of Moses, which is thousands of years after Adam and Eve.

 

[yungjah]

@ freezerman, since I am new, I am not able to see the link/images you shared until I have 10 post. I will comment after.

@ classicalhero, don't you think that's somewhat strange? Because as we reach the book of Leviticus, chapter 18, there are laws that pertains to what members of a family should not do, yet people today still practice to have a relationship with their own family, even as Christians. I am not "for" this practice, but I am against. I could never marry my brother's wife or have intercourse with my sister-in-law, similar to Genesis 38 regards the story with Onan. I could not marry my aunt, just like the story of Moses' parents Amram and Jochebed. Abraham married and fathered a son with his sister, Sarah.

Several stories in the OT tend to leave an opened eyes.

 

[yungjah]

I am sure others think like us while reading the bible @ freezerman2000.

 

[Avid]

... I could never marry my brother's wife or have intercourse with my sister-in-law, similar to Genesis 38 regards the story with Onan. I could not marry my aunt...

It is just a guess, but you are not Jewish, are you? No guess on the next thing, but you did not live more than 3,500 years ago, did you? These things were different then, as explained above, and for the reasons that were explained.

In the first century, AD, it was explained:

II Peter 3
3 ¶ Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
​

As you can see, things were not always as they are now. Before the Great Flood, and before the law, things were different than they are now.

... just like the story of Moses' parents Amram and Jochebed. Abraham married and fathered a son with his sister, Sarah...

If you think you should do EVERYTHING commanded of EVERYONE as recorded in the whole Bible, you will get very frustrated, and soon be arrested. If you think this, you should go marry a harlot, as God commanded unto Hosea, the prophet (Hosea 1:2-3.) Maybe you should find some descendant of the enemies of Israel, and marry one of their daughters, as Samson was led to do:

Judges 14
1 ¶ And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
​

Do you see that God telling someone to do something 3 to 6 thousand years ago is not necessarily a command that you do that? It may be that some lessons in scripture and history are what will clarify these issues. It does not need to cause a deep concern, but we cannot help being confused at first.

Exactly WHY did God command the armies of Israel to KILL every man, woman, child and BEAST of CERTAIN of their enemies, specifically as they entered the promised land of Canaan? Why was no mercy afforded even the smallest and "most innocent" of these beings? There is a reason, but we are not seeing the whole picture if we only read a few passages.

Why, on the other hand, did God send a prophet to one of Israel's worst and most hated enemies, and NOT kill them? Jonah was willing to be drowned in the sea rather than perform a simple task for God on behalf of Nineveh. The shortest sermon, preached by someone who hated the recipients, had the largest response I find recorded. WHY?

As we learn the truth of the scriptures, we find out so much that is not included in "Sunday School" lessons we got as children. If you desire to have a deeper knowledge and understanding of these things, you have to find a place or person who is not sold-out to this worldly religion that passes for Church these days. Pray to God that He lead you to where you can have ALL these and other concerns answered, and you might have the truth of God in your heart.
.

 

[Avid]

Good question!
Here's another,in line with yours..If A&E were the first humans,where did the people of Nod come from?Why were they not included in the Creation narrative?

It is not stated that Cain's wife was in the land of Nod before Cain went there. The passage you read was penned by Moses. The story is that Cain left his own people, being the first murderer, and dwelt elsewhere with his wife. He "knew" her there, and had a family from that relationship. It is no surprise that, 2,500 years later, this was commonly known as the land of Nod.
.

 

[Avid]

... Who was Adam's daughter-in-law? Seeing that Seth became a father to many kids also, according to Genesis 5:6.

The first scriptural mention of the term, daughter-in-law, was in reference to Abram and Sarai, who were later called Abraham and Sarah. This was about 1,800 years after the time dealt with by your question.

I do not remember any mention of the names of any daughters of Adam and Eve, though we should not assume there were no daughters born to them. Instead, we SHOULD assume that ALL people on Earth came from them, and from the continued multiplication of their family. We should NOT think that Adam and Eve had just two son's, and, 130 years later, had a third one.

A very short experiment with numbers will show how quickly numbers multiply when using simple math. Adam lived 930 years. There was a completely different situation before the Great Flood. With people living so much longer, there was a longer time for them to be "productive," and the result was great. The same happened with Noah's family, as they were commanded to multiply.

Culturally, we are better off if we multiply, but the multiplication of humans in these two specific occasions, when man was COMMANDED to do so, has taken place. Man's continued existence on the Earth is not in jeopardy because we are not having dozens of children in each family for each generation.

The command against intermarrying with close relatives came with the law in about 1,500 BC. The 2,500 years prior were very different, and should not be considered a model for our behavior, though certain religions do try to make it that...
.

 

[Avid]

Adam and Eve had sons and daughters, and this was in multiplicity!

Genesis 6
1 ¶ And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
​

This passage begins a completely different issue, but states a clear principle of human existence on this Earth. God commanded man to multiply, and the scriptures say man multiplied. It was a command, and it gave permission to man as well.
.

 

[freezerman2000]

It is not stated that Cain's wife was in the land of Nod before Cain went there. The passage you read was penned by Moses. The story is that Cain left his own people, being the first murderer, and dwelt elsewhere with his wife. He "knew" her there, and had a family from that relationship. It is no surprise that, 2,500 years later, this was commonly known as the land of Nod.
.

there is no mention of Cain having a wife before he left A&E.
If there were no people in Nod,why build a city?
He was also afraid that others would kill him because of his mark...
Unanswered questions.
And the Bible clearly states that the land where he went was called Nod,not that he named it Nod.

 

[Avid]

Simply trying to help here...

If our way of reading scripture defies logic and reason, our conclusions will likely defy logic and reason. If we recognize that ALL people came from Adam and Eve, and INSIST that (contrary to what is stated,) that Cain went to a place where other people who wanted to kill him had already settled, we will conclude simply that the people there were other descendents of Adam and Eve who migrated there before Cain did.

Further, if we insist on holding to something NOT stated, and that Cain's wife was born in the land of Nod, then we must conclude that she was born to other relatives from Adam's extended family. These people went there as humans multiplied in the Earth.

It is not unusual for the scriptures to depict events, and not cover every possible cause for confusion. If there were other people there, why would they have not built a city?

The very passage that caused the confusion states that Cain built a city there, and called by a certain name for a certain reason. The multiplying of people in the Earth means that Cain's family grew. He likely lived a long while, though his line is not what is described in scripture. (Adam lived 930 years - not sure exactly how long Cain lived.) Jacob and Esau both left alone, and eventually met each other with hundreds in a relatively short period of time.

If there were other people who were NOT born of Adam and Eve, you may tell us (in defiance of the clear scriptures we have on the subject,) what was the genesis of those people?

Romans 5
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
​

All people came from the line of Adam and Eve. Even to the time of our LORD, family lineage was traced back to Abraham. Is there confusion as to whether Abraham was from the line of Noah, and thus from the line of Adam? If that is not believed by faith, then confusion will reign in the hearts of men.

This confusion comes in the form of THEORIES of how else these things came to be. One such theory is evolution, but the way it is presented, it will not explain what you suppose the Bible is saying, but only casts a doubt upon the truth of scripture.

EVOLUTION is a godless theory that defies the truth of scripture. There is no evidence for it, there are may HOLES in this theory, and until they are dealt with, this simply will remain theory, and nothing more.

This theory was abandoned by the author of it in his later life, but that is not taught with the thesis that made the man famous! Charles Darwin actually told someone that his theory was only the conjecture of a youth seeking answers, and that people have taken it, and made a religion out of it.
.

 

[yungjah]

It is just a guess, but you are not Jewish, are you? No guess on the next thing, but you did not live more than 3,500 years ago, did you? These things were different then, as explained above, and for the reasons that were explained.

In the first century, AD, it was explained:

II Peter 3
3 ¶ Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
​

As you can see, things were not always as they are now. Before the Great Flood, and before the law, things were different than they are now.


If you think you should do EVERYTHING commanded of EVERYONE as recorded in the whole Bible, you will get very frustrated, and soon be arrested. If you think this, you should go marry a harlot, as God commanded unto Hosea, the prophet (Hosea 1:2-3.) Maybe you should find some descendant of the enemies of Israel, and marry one of their daughters, as Samson was led to do:

Judges 14
1 ¶ And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
​

Do you see that God telling someone to do something 3 to 6 thousand years ago is not necessarily a command that you do that? It may be that some lessons in scripture and history are what will clarify these issues. It does not need to cause a deep concern, but we cannot help being confused at first.

Exactly WHY did God command the armies of Israel to KILL every man, woman, child and BEAST of CERTAIN of their enemies, specifically as they entered the promised land of Canaan? Why was no mercy afforded even the smallest and "most innocent" of these beings? There is a reason, but we are not seeing the whole picture if we only read a few passages.

Why, on the other hand, did God send a prophet to one of Israel's worst and most hated enemies, and NOT kill them? Jonah was willing to be drowned in the sea rather than perform a simple task for God on behalf of Nineveh. The shortest sermon, preached by someone who hated the recipients, had the largest response I find recorded. WHY?

As we learn the truth of the scriptures, we find out so much that is not included in "Sunday School" lessons we got as children. If you desire to have a deeper knowledge and understanding of these things, you have to find a place or person who is not sold-out to this worldly religion that passes for Church these days. Pray to God that He lead you to where you can have ALL these and other concerns answered, and you might have the truth of God in your heart.
.

Thanks for the response Avid. I must agree that there are alot of things we aren't taught at Sunday School. And also during a sermon. I tend to hear stuff that seems like its a repeat, which gave me the notion to read the bible. The hardest thing is to find someone who is not sold out, at the same time I've tried praying, seeking God's guidance to understand the scriptures. I guess, I am not listening.

It's amazing to know that there are scriptures to backup things of the past. Though the bible itself contains details of the past, present and future. I appreciate the scriptures you highlighted.

I would not say it was a major concern on my part, but needed rectification on the matter. Meaning, if XYZ happened then, why is it that we aren't allowed to do so. If you get where I was thinking. But again, the highlighted scripture from II Peter answered that.

How many years would you say from the creation of the earth to now? lol. All these stories of dinosaurs roaming the earth a million years ago. Dogs being on earth for 14,000 years. All these details left me to wonder, how scientist gather their findings.

 

[Avid]

... All these stories of dinosaurs roaming the earth a million years ago. Dogs being on earth for 14,000 years. All these details left me to wonder, how scientist gather their findings.

This will not answer your question specifically, but is intended to put you on the right track:

An elderly Deacon at my Church (in his late eighties,) told of seeing people coming down his street. They approached him and asked if he could help them with some history of the area. "What do you want to know?" They said they were investigating, "...these 300 year old trees, like this one, that line this road."

The old man said, "...well this one, I planted it here when I first moved out here with my wife."

.

 

[freezerman2000]

..Through the omission of information,if Genesis was read literally word for word,other people existed with A&E(Nod)..just because there was no prior mention of the land of Nod does not mean that it was not already inhabited when Cain got there.
Adam's daughters were mentioned only AFTER Cain "knew"his wife..and his city was built.

 

[yungjah]

The first scriptural mention of the term, daughter-in-law, was in reference to Abram and Sarai, who were later called Abraham and Sarah. This was about 1,800 years after the time dealt with by your question.

I do not remember any mention of the names of any daughters of Adam and Eve, though we should not assume there were no daughters born to them. Instead, we SHOULD assume that ALL people on Earth came from them, and from the continued multiplication of their family. We should NOT think that Adam and Eve had just two son's, and, 130 years later, had a third one.

A very short experiment with numbers will show how quickly numbers multiply when using simple math. Adam lived 930 years. There was a completely different situation before the Great Flood. With people living so much longer, there was a longer time for them to be "productive," and the result was great. The same happened with Noah's family, as they were commanded to multiply.

Culturally, we are better off if we multiply, but the multiplication of humans in these two specific occasions, when man was COMMANDED to do so, has taken place. Man's continued existence on the Earth is not in jeopardy because we are not having dozens of children in each family for each generation.

The command against intermarrying with close relatives came with the law in about 1,500 BC. The 2,500 years prior were very different, and should not be considered a model for our behavior, though certain religions do try to make it that...
.

Would you say Abraham and Sarah was alive before Adam and Eve passed on? If not, I guess Adam referred to his daughter-in-law as "my daughter".

Almost corrected you on Adam's age. lol... You beat me to it.

The bible didnt mention the names of Adam's daughters. Somehow the bible seem to use mostly the names of "sons", than daughters. I guess in those times, the population of men was very large, probably it happened for a reason. The consistent wars, where thousands of men die. Therefore, they needed to replenish with new armed men [soldiers].

Speaking of Noah, would you say the movie itself was off track? The part that got me upset was Noah's intention to kill his grand kids. Yet, the idea was for them to multiply. Also, the bible in Genesis 7:7, outlined that Noah's sons' wives entered the ark. The movie was indeed off track as it was only one female for a son that was onboard. Speaking of the time of the great flood, would you say Noah and his family were the only surviving family seeing that the earth was flooded for a hundred and fifty days?

 

[yungjah]

This will not answer your question specifically, but is intended to put you on the right track:

An elderly Deacon at my Church (in his late eighties,) told of seeing people coming down his street. They approached him and asked if he could help them with some history of the area. "What do you want to know?" They said they were investigating, "...these 300 year old trees, like this one, that line this road."

The old man said, "...well this one, I planted it here when I first moved out here with my wife."

.

People's logic are misleading. That's why the majority of us are confuse, hence the number of different religions.

 

[Avid]

Would you say Abraham and Sarah was alive before Adam and Eve passed on? If not, I guess Adam referred to his daughter-in-law as "my daughter".

Remember, I pointed out that Abraham came about 1800 years after Cain was off to the land of Nod. Adam's time was going along, and if we do not consider any of it being before Cain was born, we still have a few years there. About as much time passed after Adam's death as had passed before it...

It may help you to get a clear timeline of events. Reading in Genesis does not seem to have helped you that way.

The bible didnt mention the names of Adam's daughters. Somehow the bible seem to use mostly the names of "sons", than daughters. I guess in those times, the population of men was very large, probably it happened for a reason. The consistent wars, where thousands of men die. Therefore, they needed to replenish with new armed men [soldiers].

Daughters were not as important, regardless of their number. Only a few wives were mentioned by name. This is another way that things are different these days. It has not been particularly good that so many things have changed. A few are better, and most are worse.

One may say it is better for women to be in the work-a-day world, but it has added to their problems the kinds of things that promoted men dying early.

... Speaking of Noah, would you say the movie itself was off track? The part that got me upset was Noah's intention to kill his grand kids. Yet, the idea was for them to multiply. Also, the bible in Genesis 7:7, outlined that Noah's sons' wives entered the ark.

You absolutely need to beware any movie depiction of these events. The best of them will include things that are not in scriptural accounts. They will also, exclude vital things, and misrepresent spiritual matters. Your question is answered in Gen.7:7.

... Speaking of the time of the great flood, would you say Noah and his family were the only surviving family seeing that the earth was flooded for a hundred and fifty days?

ABSOLUTELY YES. God preserved Noah - WHY? Notice I am trying to prompt the questions that really matter. There is a reason. These happened for a reason, and NOT just because...

Have thought about your questions all day. Reply to a PM I'll send, and we may discuss this a little, off the boards.
.

 

[Avid]

People's logic are misleading. That's why the majority of us are confuse, hence the number of different religions.

Take note that they were off by a factor of 5 or 6. This shows a problem with science falsely so called.
.

 

[yungjah]

Indeed. Some of those who are confuse tend to rely on scientific evidence, which may lead them to either be an atheist or being apart of Scientology.