The Skeptics Annotated Bible

by Wells, Steve

  20 Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.

  21 And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.

  (19.21) “I will not overthrow this city.”

  62 Did Lot’s daughters think God had killed every man except Lot?

  22 Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

  23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.

  24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;

  (19.24) “The LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire.” God kills everyone (men, women, children, infants, newborns) in Sodom and Gomorrah by raining “brimstone and fire” from the Lord out of heaven.” Well, almost everyone—he spares the “just and righteous” Lot and his family.

  61 Who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah?

  God’s 3rd killing

  25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

  26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

  (19.26) “She became a pillar of salt.” Lot’s nameless wife looks back, and God turns her into a pillar of salt.

  God’s 4th killing

  27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:

  28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

  29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.

  30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.

  31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:

  (19.31) “There is not a man in the earth to come in unto us.”

  62 Did Lot’s daughters think God had killed every man except Lot?

  32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.

  33 And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

  34 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.

  35 And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

  36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.

  (19.36) “Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.” Lot and his daughters camp out in a cave for a while. The daughters get their father drunk, have sex with him, and each conceives and bears a son (wouldn’t you know it!). Neither Lot nor his daughters are criticized here or anywhere else in the Bible. It’s just another wholesome family values Bible story.

  60 Was Lot a righteous man?

  37 And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.

  38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Ben-ammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

  GENESIS 20

  20 And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.

  2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.

  (20.2) “Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister.” Honest Abe does the same “she’s my sister” routine again, for the same cowardly reason. And once again, the king just couldn’t resist Sarah—even though by now she is over 90 years old. ( See 12.13-20 for the first, nearly identical, episode, and 26.7 for another repeat with Isaac, Rebekah and the same king Abimelech.)

  3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife.

  (20.3) “God … said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man.” God gets angry with king Abimelech, though the king hasn’t even touched Sarah. He says to the king, “Behold, thou art but a dead man,” and threatens to kill him and all of his people. To compensate for the crime he never committed, Abimelech gives Abraham sheep, oxen, slaves, silver, and land.

  4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?

  5 Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.

  6 And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.

  7 Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.

  8 Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.

  9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.

  10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?

  11 And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake.

  12 And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.

  (20.12) “She is my sister; she is the daughter of my father.” Abraham married his sister, and God blessed their marriage (17.15-16).

  55 Is incest forbidden?

  13 And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.

  14 And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.

  15 And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.

  16 And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved.

  17 So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.

  18 For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife.

  (20.18) “The LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife.” God “closed all the wombs” because Abimelech believed Abe’s lie.

  41 Are we punished for the sins of others?

  GENESIS 21

  21 And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.

  (21.1) “The LORD visited Sarah … and … did unto Sarah as he had spoken.” And “Sarah conceived and bare Abraham a son.” (God-assisted conceptions never result in daughters.) It is strange that the 100 year old Abraham require
d God’s help in fathering Isaac (See Rom 4.19 and Heb 11.12), yet later (Gen 25.1-2) he marries again and has six more children without any help from God.

  53 How many sons did Abraham have?

  2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

  3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.

  4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.

  5 And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.

  6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.

  7 And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.

  8 And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.

  9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.

  10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.

  (21.9-10) “Sarah saw the son of Hagar … mocking … Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son.” What did Sarah see? Was there something sexual going on between Isaac and Ishmael?

  11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son.

  12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

  (21.12) “God said unto Abraham … hearken unto her voice.” Sarah, after giving birth to Isaac, gets angry again at Hagar (16.5-6) and tells Abraham to “cast out this bondwoman and her son.” God commands Abraham to “hearken unto her voice.” So Abraham abandons Hagar and Ishmael, casting them out into the wilderness to die.

  13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.

  14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.

  15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

  (21.15) “She cast the child under one of the shrubs.” This verse suggests that Ishmael was an infant when his father abandoned him, yet according to 17.25 and 21.5-8 he was about 16 years old. It must have been tough for poor Hagar to carry Ishmael on her shoulder and to then “cast him under one of the shrubs.”

  57 How old was Ishmael when he was abandoned by Abraham?

  16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.

  17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.

  18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.

  19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.

  20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.

  21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

  22 And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest:

  23 Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.

  (21.23) “Swear unto me here by God.”

  63 Is it OK to swear?

  24 And Abraham said, I will swear.

  25 And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away.

  26 And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day.

  27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.

  28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.

  29 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?

  30 And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.

  31 Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba; because there they sware both of them.

  (21.31) “He called that place Beersheba.”

  64 Who named Beersheba?

  32 Thus they made a covenant at Beer-sheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.

  (21.32) “They returned into the land of the Philistines.” But the Philistines didn’t arrive in the region of Canaan until around 1200 BCE—800 years after Abraham’s supposed migration from Ur.

  33 And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.

  34 And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines’ land many days.

  GENESIS 22

  22 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

  (22.1) “God did tempt Abraham.”

  65 Has anyone ever been tempted by God?

  2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

  (22.2) “Take now thy sone, thine only son Isaac … and offer him there for a burnt offering.” God orders Abraham to kill Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham shows his love for God by his willingness to murder his son. But finally, just before Isaac’s throat is slit, God provides a goat to kill instead.

  66 Does God approve of human sacrifice?

  53 How many sons did Abraham have?

  3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

  4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

  5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.

  6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

  7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

  8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

  9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

  10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

  (22.10) “Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.” Abraham shows his willingness to kill his son for God. Only an evil God would ask a father to do that; only a bad father would be willing to do it.

  11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

  12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou
any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

  (22.12) “Now I know that thou fearest God.” If God knows the mind and heart of all humans, then why did he have to test Abraham to find out what was in his heart?

  18 Does God know everything?

  13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

  14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.

  (22.14) “Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh.” Abraham names the place where he nearly kills Isaac after Jehovah. But according to Ex 6.3, Abraham couldn’t have known that God’s name was Jehovah.

  67 Did Abraham know God’s name?

  15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

  16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

  (22.16) “By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD.” God swears by and to himself.

  17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

  18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

  19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.

  20 And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor;

  21 Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram,

  22 And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.