So I started reading Genesis (part 2)?

Question

(cont.)
8Why did God create humans in the first place?
9Why does God refer to himself as 'us'?
10Why did Abram believe God when He said that Abram would have as many descendants as there were stars in the sky, but Abram asked for proof when God told him he would own that land?15:5-8
11Why did Abraham keep asking God 'if you kill x number of good people, will you destroy the city?' and keep lowering x? Why didn't he just ask 'How many good people do there have to be for you to spare the city?'? 18:24-32
12Why did Lot offer up his daughters? Why didn't he protect both the visitors AND his daughters? 19:8
13Why did Lot's wife turn into a pillar of salt? Why weren't they allowed to look back?
14 20:18 Why did God punish the women of Abimelech's house when they commited no crime? And Abimelech wasn't even aware that he had commited a crime?
15Why does God say "I am the God of (Abraham for ex)"? and Jacob say "He will be my God"? What does that mean exactly?
More to follow as I read

Answer 1

Most mythology-based religions have a story where someone looks back and suffers because of one little glance. Lot's wife is like Orpheus:

Persephone, as Queen of Hades, only showed mercy once, because the music of Orpheus was so hauntingly sad. She allowed Orpheus to bring his wife Eurydice back to the land of the living as long as she walked behind him and he never tried to look at her face until they reached the surface. Orpheus agreed but failed, looking back at the very end to make sure his wife was following, and lost Eurydice forever.

Answer 2

8Why did God create humans in the first place?

Theologians have all sorts of speculations on the matter, but the Bible itself never tells us.

9Why does God refer to himself as 'us'?

It is what Semitic language scholars call "a plural of majesty," and can be seen in other places as well (including non-biblical documents from the period).
It works very much like the "royal we" in English -- implying that the speaker is a person of great importance.
Some scholars think that it comes from the image of a king speaking with and on behalf of his royal court -- applied to God the image we should take from it is God speaking with and for his angels as well as himself, thus God speaking as a king.

10Why did Abram believe God when He said that Abram would have as many descendants as there were stars in the sky, but Abram asked for proof when God told him he would own that land?15:5-8

Apparently the first promise was easier for Abram to believe (why that is I don't know -- you will have to ask Abram).

11Why did Abraham keep asking God 'if you kill x number of good people, will you destroy the city?' and keep lowering x? Why didn't he just ask 'How many good people do there have to be for you to spare the city?'? 18:24-32

Either because he didn't think of that or because he wanted to make a rhetorical point.

12Why did Lot offer up his daughters?
Why didn't he protect both the visitors AND his daughters? 19:8

Because he was a cowardly sleazebag (and/or a typical man of his culture).

13Why did Lot's wife turn into a pillar of salt? Why weren't they allowed to look back?

Theories abound. It could be anything from a natural side effect of whatever it means to rain fire and sulfur, to a specific command God made in order to make a point (followed by a miraculous judgment when she didn't obey).

14 20:18 Why did God punish the women of Abimelech's house when they commited no crime? And Abimelech wasn't even aware that he had commited a crime?

One of the hardest things for modern Westerners to grasp when reading something that doesn't come from Western culture (like the Bible) is the notion of collective guilt.

In our modern Western culture we focus very much on the individual and the notion that only the individual can be judged for his or her own actions, and we treat sin as just an individual thing, but in most cultures (and in the Bible) people pay the price for the sins of their communities and nations, and not just for things that they as individuals have done.

15Why does God say "I am the God of (Abraham for ex)"? and Jacob say "He will be my God"? What does that mean exactly?

It speaks of the sort of personal covenantal relationship between God and [insert name here], and in cases where God is saying that he is the God of [ancestor of person he is speaking to] it is a way of recalling the things he has done for [person named] as a sign of his character.

Answer 3

gee a lot of questions.

OK I will try.
8. That one is something man will never know. Maybe some sort of companionship.
9. Its a reference to the angles, it is supposed to be a lesson in consulting others, even if they are lower than you, before making an important decision.
10. Good question I dont know
11. In Biblical theology the number 10 represents a community of people. Sodom was part of five cities. So by going down he was saying if their were 10 in each city will you save them. Then it became four cities etc. (Rashi)
12. What he did was wrong, Maybe he felt he could spare their lives if just his daughters were raped.

will finish latter

Answer 4

a million) think of of a type between 2 and 9....ok? ok then 2 2) Multiply via 9...ok? ok then, 18 3) you have now have been given a 2 digit type (like 26) real?...upload the two digits mutually...ok? a million+8=9 4) Subtract 5 from this single digit answer...ok? 4 bear in mind this final answer..... 5) If A=a million B=2 C=3 D=4 E=5 F=6 G=7 H=8 I=9. What letter is going including your very final answer? ok? d 6)think of of a us of a (no longer city) that starts off with that letter...ok? dominican republic 7) Take the 2d letter of that us of a....think of of an animal/mammal that starts off with that letter.ok o so orangutan 8) think of of the same old shade of that mammal..ok? ok then, i think of they are orange NOW... definite Say OUT LOUD, the colour, the animal and the country.. eg purple fox from Belgium... orange orangutan from the dominican republic how many have been given the comparable answer as i'm attempting to implant into your minds????..>>>> what replaced into it back gray Elephant from Denmark!! nope. EDIT: nicely i knew it, yet while people do no longer know that, theres dominica, djibouti...

Answer 5

8 - he wanted to make something special , with a soul
9- He is referred to as us because it's father , son and holy ghost , The trinity 3 aspects of God
10- Who knew what was going through his mind on that one .
11- He wish to barter and test God , also because he knew he wouldn't be able to find one decent soul
12- In his strange way , He knew his daughters would be in heaven if fatally harmed , but the strangers ( he thought ) would surely not go to heaven
13- Because When God tells you not too , don't do it ( remember this is the god of the old testament before he made one of his aspects ( Jesus ) to feel what we feel ) therefore a not so nice God at times
14 - See my answer for number 13
15- another way of saying he is father of all races and is exalting said people for their absolute loyalty

Answer 6

Get Beth Moores bible study "The Patriarchs". It will answer a lot of your questions. It is an awesome study.

Answer 7

One question per post please....