Dr Paul Allen

English: The ark of Noah and the cosmic covenant / L'arche de Noé et l'alliance cosmique / 04 CATACOMBES NOE ET LA COLOMBE SAINTS PIERRE (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The last of the ten antediluvian Patriarchs and hero of the *FLOOD. He was the son of Lamech, who was 182 (Samaritan Pentateuch, 53; LXX, 188) years old when Noah was born (Gn. 5:28–29; Lk. 3:36). a. Name The etymology of the name, nōaḥ, is uncertain, though many commentators connect it with the root nwḥ, ‘to rest’. In Genesis (5:29) it is associated with the verb nḥm (translated ‘comfort’ in AV and RV; ‘bring relief’ in RSV), with which it is perhaps etymologically connected; though this is not necessarily required by the text. The element nḥm occurs in Amorite personal names and in the name Nah̬mizuli which figures in a Hurrian fragment of the Gilgamesh epic found at Boǧazköy, the Hittite capital in Asia Minor. The LXX gives the name as Nōe, in which form it appears in the NT (AV). b. Life and character Noah ...

Book of Genesis, Fall of Man. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) God created human beings in his image so they can be friends—intimate, love-filled companions—with him and one another. But soon they learn to live as enemies. To all the wonders that God has created, human beings add an invention of their own: revenge. You hurt me, and I’ll hurt you back. A kind of Newtonian law becomes as inevitable as the law of gravity: For every infliction of pain there must be an equal and opposite act of vengeance. A character in the book of Genesis named Lamech takes this concept to its ultimate extreme. He kills a man for wounding him; he says he will seek revenge seventy-seven times over against anyone who hurts him.  This is the Law of Lamech: If anyone inflicts pain on me, I must make them pay. One of the most poignant statements in Scripture comes shortly after the episode of Lamech as God views the violence and corruption that has spread like an epidemic through the creatures he love...

King David in Prayer (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Unto the woman he said, . . . in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children. . . . And unto Adam he said . . . cursed is the ground for thy sake. . . . Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee. . . . In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." ( Genesis 3:16-19 ) These verses detail how God frustrated the blessings ( Genesis 1:28 ) of childbearing and rule, yet they contain a silver lining of mercy, which the rest of Scripture reveals. The curse applied to all of Adam's descendants: It was felt by Lamech long after Adam has died--"Lamech . . . begat a son: And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed" ( Genesis 5:28-29 ). But another one of Adam's descendants, King David , praised God as though the Curse had been lifted: "thou hast put all things under his feet" ( Psalm 8:...

Revelations (Fields of the Nephilim album) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Oil painting of a young John Calvin. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) GENESIS 6:3 –4  “Then the LORD said, ‘My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years’ ” In Genesis 5 , the piety of some in Seth ’s line alludes to what will become clearer in later portions of Scripture, namely, that his family, not Cain’s, will be the one through which the Lord bruises the head of the serpent (3:15). Yet though men like Enoch (5:21–24) and Lamech (vv. 28–31) were faithful, Genesis 6:1–2 tells us not every descendant of Seth kept the covenant entirely. Physical attraction alone motivated many in his line to marry godless Cainites . This is a warning for us to seek God first in all of our relationships. We too can fall into idolatry if, as John Calvin comments, “those things which are chief are not taken into the account.” Moses describes the offspring of these forbidden marriages in t...

Christ Leading the Patriarchs to Paradise. Institute of Hispanic Art, Barcelona/ Methuselah, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, and Adam and Eve lead the procession of the righteous behind Christ. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Masaccio, Brancacci Chapel, Adam and Eve, detail. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." ( Genesis 3:15 )   When Adam and Eve rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden , God pronounced the dreadful curse on all of His creation, from mankind to the animal and plant kingdoms and even the earth itself ( Genesis 3:14-19 ). From that point on, everything began to die, but at the same time God predicted the coming Redeemer who would set things right.   There are several hints of the coming Redeemer in these early chapters of Genesis. Dr. A. T. Pierson, a Bible scholar of the late 1800s and early 1900s, mentioned an unnamed Hebrew...

Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia "But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark." ( Genesis 8:9 )   Unlike the raven, which Noah had sent out first, the dove could not live on the carrion floating on the flood waters. After nine months cooped up in the Ark, she had reveled in her freedom when Noah first released her from the window of the Ark. Unaware of the outside perils while safe with Noah, she flew gaily off into the open spaces beyond, just like many a professing Christian , eager to cast off the constraints of his or her parental religion. "And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest. Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness" ( Psalm 55:6-7 ).   But the dove could find no rest away from Noah, whose very name ...