Genesis: Chapters 11 and 12 --Reading between the Lines

Written by Mark Biskeborn

We can read the various stories of the Bible from the surface like most people do. Mostly this leads to a literal, less flexible and less insightful awareness. If we dig deeper into the meanings of the stories, we can learn other, less obvious meanings, making the Bible much richer in our daily spirituality.

If we look up the meanings of the names of people and places, we can begin to glimpse into a wealth of higher messages and greater understandings for us, the readers.

One simple way to learn the meaning of various places and persons' names is to look them up in the Metaphysical Bible Dictionary by Charles Fillmore. Many names of people and places are real and commonly known while other names of people and places are packed with figurative meaning and obscured by the lack of proper explanations. For example, the word "Sodom" as in the well-known story of Sodom and Gomorrah, is not necessarily the name for any real town. In ancient Hebrew, "Sodom" means: burning, consuming with fire, secret intrigues, hidden wiles, covered conspiracies. In the context Sodom represents a "concealed or obscure thought or habit of man." Sodom symbolizes "a low form of sense desire in the procreative center." As a note, when translations of ancient languages, like ancient Greek or Hebrew, several related meanings appear partly because, over centuries, the meanings are used in different ways.

Let’s consider this passage in Genesis: Chapters 11 and 12: Abram/Abraham. From Shem to Abram begins this longer story with a patriarchy genealogy in which many of the persons’ names mentioned evoke various aspects to faith and a higher consciousness--one of the main themes here.

Only two years after the flood, an unknown narrator tells us that the descendants from Shem were several. Noteworthy of these were Shelah whose name in ancient Hebrew means calm and quiet, the state needed to mediate and pray. It’s a time to hear and reflect on God’s voice from within ourselves.

In this mood God reveals to us new creative ideas and inspirations. In ancient Hebrew Eber represents a next generation; his name means ‘beyond’ or ‘overcoming’ as in challenges. ‘Beyond’ signifies ‘coming over’ to a new way of understanding of faith as a step forward in consciousness.

Likewise, a son of Eber, Peleg shows yet another generation’s step further in mankind’s spiritual journey. Peleg’s name means ‘cleaving’ and ‘moral distinction’, calling on the awareness of a separation between man’s material matter and his inner spiritual life. As I mentioned above these chapters cover patriarchal genealogy and the story, however slow, nevertheless draws a evolution in human awareness.

Terah is the father of Abram. Terah’s name in ancient Hebrew means ‘lagging behind’ and a laggard in his spiritual journey. Like many other such allegorical names, Terah’s name can reflect a quality in any one’s own life today. In this way these early Biblical stories can help us to understand ourselves even by reading the Bible in this figurative manner. This ancient text remains relevant and useful in profound ways even after a couple thousand years.

In contrast to Terah, we can look up the name of Abram's brother, Haran, in the Metaphysical Bible Dictionary and find that Haran’s name evokes ‘strong’ or ‘mountaineering’ or a movement in spiritual life and determined to climb to a fuller awareness. So the underlying theme here provides a strong sense of improvements from one generation to the next in terms of consciousness and awareness--one of the main themes in this passage.

Abram’s name, too, signifies strength and ‘father of height’ and a quality of faith in the invisible. Abram’s wife, Sarai, before God changed her name, means ‘contentious’ or ‘quarrelsome’. Sarai’s soul contends for its higher understanding.

Later, when God creates a covenant with Abram and Sarai, they change their names and so signifying a new identity, one of a clearer awareness about their spirit. Sarai’s names turns to Sarah, expanding her claim to higher faith—and a more healthy physical state e.g. from barren to fecund or from a lower to a higher level of fruitful understanding.

Abram’s name changes to Abraham, his identity expands to ‘source’ or ‘founder’ and also through the faithful obedience to our highest potentials and dreams for accomplishments, the inner urge of spirit. We learn to carefully nurture our thoughts in positive views. In this way, for all of us, not just for Abraham, we learn to expand our abilities and awareness. Abraham’s journey is a spiritual and a psychological climb in faith and spirit. Abraham follows the higher potential, as if same aspect in himself—God—propels him onward with forces to grow as a human being. This is a continuous theme throughout much of Genesis and Exodus.

Abram travels as his inner spirit (or God) urges him and passes the tree of Moreh, meaning ‘teaching’ or ‘sage’ or, to extrapolate, a teachable state of mind, a mind opened to new ideas, and mind protection and strength. He passes between Bethel (place of God) and Ai (wasteland). A famine forces Abram to enter Egypt. In order to save his life and those of his tribe, he presents his wife, Sarai, as his sister. Pharaoh married Sarai and gave Abram material goods. This brings up a moral message, and rises this story to a higher level of thought as it deals with the morality of lying, trading a wife, and bending to fear. Like us mere mortals, Abram is learning, developing his faith as a means to avoid worse troubles.