Yitzhkak (Isaac) seems to have repeated a number of events from Abraham’s life: a famine and claiming his wife was his sister. Yitzkhak also seems to have been obsessed with digging wells, but what should get our attention are messianic symbols of three days of live and death in the ground.
At first, it’s puzzling why Noach cursed Cana’an for something his father, Ham, did. Is this a generational curse, with the sins of the father being meted out to future generations? Is something else going on here? The answer seems to be in the meaning of the Hebrew words for curse and Cana’an.
The first few chapters of Deuteronomy recount events from Exodus and Numbers. Key lessons for the new generation about to enter the Land were to trust God despite the seemingly invincible adversaries and remember His protection of the first generation out of Egypt and long before.
Numbers 12 shows us the consequences of Miriam and Aaron’s jealously of God’s special relationship with Moses. Since they could not openly complained about God’s special treatment of Moses, they struck out against Moses’s by attacking his Cushite wife. Numbers 13 shows us the story of the first spies who went out into the land of Israel to scout out the land. God told Moses to call out one leader from each tribe to be the spies of the land.
Genesis 11 starts with confusion and ends with the story of the family line which will bring the Messiah into the world and bring God’s order back to earth.