The tension: Genesis 9:25-27 has Noah — explicitly called a just and righteous man — pronouncing a divine curse condemning Canaan to be 'a servant of servants,' and the Tor…
The tension: The Priestly and Deuteronomic Torah absolutely forbids eating blood as a perpetual statute (Gen 9:4; Lev 3:17; 7:26-27; 17:10-14; 19:26; Deut 12:16, 23), and t…
The tension: Leviticus 18 and 20 and Deuteronomy 27 explicitly criminalize sex between half-siblings who share a father — it's called "a wicked thing" and draws a curse.
The tension: Genesis 29:24-28 has Jacob married to Leah and Rachel simultaneously, and the narrative treats it as legitimate — these two sister-wives become the mothers of…
The tension: The Decalogue and its echoes across the Torah, Gospels, and Epistles absolutize the prohibition on stealing, yet Genesis 31:19 reports without condemnation tha…
The tension: Deuteronomy 7:3-4 bans intermarriage with the Canaanite nations on pain of God's anger destroying the offender "suddenly." Genesis 46:20 records Joseph's marri…
The tension: The Decalogue and a long chorus of prophetic, wisdom, and epistolary texts prohibit lying absolutely — false witness, false reports, deception are abominations.
The tension: Exodus 32:19-28 has Moses kill 3,000 Israelites after catching them dancing around the golden calf, treating the dancing as part of the capital offense.
The tension: The Second Commandment in Exodus 20:4 and Deuteronomy 5:8 prohibits making "any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is i…
The tension: The Torah (Exod 20:14, Deut 5:18) and the New Testament (Acts 15:20, 1 Cor 5:1, 6:13, 6:18, 10:8, 2 Cor 12:21, Gal 5:19-21, Eph 5:3, Col 3:5-6, 1 Thess 4:3, He…
The tension: The Tenth Commandment as quoted by Paul in Romans 7:7 and 13:9 prohibits coveting, and Ephesians 5:3 and Colossians 3:5 reinforce that covetousness is idolatry…
The tension: Leviticus 19:34 and Deuteronomy 10:19 command Israel to love the stranger (ger) as themselves, remembering that they were strangers in Egypt.
The tension: Exodus 30 and Numbers 1, 3, and 26 have YHWH explicitly commanding Moses to take multiple censuses of Israel — the Sinai census, the Levite census, the firstbo…
