◄ Genesis 22:21 ►
Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram),
Study Bible
Uz the firstborn
The name "Uz" is significant in biblical history, often associated with the land where Job lived (Job 1:1). The Hebrew root of "Uz" (עוּץ) can mean "counsel" or "plan," suggesting a person of wisdom or strategic importance. As the firstborn, Uz would traditionally hold a place of prominence and responsibility within the family structure, reflecting the cultural norms of inheritance and leadership in ancient Semitic societies.

Buz his brother
"Buz" (בּוּז) is a name that carries the connotation of "contempt" or "despise" in Hebrew, which might reflect a narrative or character trait not fully explored in the text. The mention of Buz as Uz's brother highlights the familial connections that are crucial in understanding the lineage and tribal affiliations in the biblical narrative. This connection is important for tracing the genealogical and covenantal promises that are central to the Abrahamic narrative.

Kemuel the father of Aram
"Kemuel" (קְמוּאֵל) means "raised by God" or "congregation of God" in Hebrew, indicating a person of divine favor or a leader among people. The phrase "the father of Aram" is significant as it connects Kemuel to the Arameans, a group that plays a vital role in the history of Israel and its surrounding nations. Aram is often associated with the region of Syria, and this connection provides insight into the broader geopolitical and cultural interactions in the ancient Near East. The mention of Kemuel as the father of Aram underscores the importance of lineage and the fulfillment of God's promises through specific family lines, which is a recurring theme in the biblical narrative.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Uz
The firstborn son of Nahor, Abraham's brother. Uz is also the name of a land mentioned in the Bible, possibly indicating a connection to a region or people group.

2. Buz
The brother of Uz and another son of Nahor. Buz is also mentioned in other parts of the Bible, suggesting a lineage or tribe associated with his name.

3. Kemuel
Another son of Nahor, identified as the father of Aram. This connection to Aram is significant as it ties to the Arameans, a group frequently mentioned in the Old Testament.

4. Nahor
The brother of Abraham and father of the sons listed in this verse. Nahor's lineage is important in understanding the broader family context of the patriarchs.

5. Aram
While not a person in this verse, Aram is a significant region and people group in the Bible, often associated with the Arameans. Kemuel being the father of Aram suggests a foundational role in this lineage.
Teaching Points
Understanding Lineage and Heritage
This verse highlights the importance of family lineage in the Bible. It reminds us of the interconnectedness of biblical characters and how God’s plans often unfold through family lines.

The Significance of Names
Each name in the Bible often carries meaning and significance. Studying these names can provide deeper insights into the biblical account and God's purposes.

God’s Sovereignty in History
The mention of these individuals and their descendants shows how God orchestrates history through families and nations, fulfilling His promises and purposes.

The Role of Family in Faith
Just as Nahor's family played a role in the biblical account, our families can be instrumental in God's work today. We should consider how our family heritage and relationships can be used for God's glory.
Bible Study Questions
1. What can we learn about the importance of family and lineage from the mention of Nahor's sons in Genesis 22:21?

2. How does the mention of Uz and Buz in this verse connect to other parts of the Bible, and what significance do these connections have?

3. In what ways does understanding the historical and geographical context of Aram enhance our comprehension of biblical events?

4. How can we apply the concept of God working through family lines to our own lives and families today?

5. What insights can we gain from studying the meanings of biblical names, and how might this deepen our understanding of God's Word?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Job 1:1
The land of Uz is mentioned as the home of Job, suggesting a possible connection or origin for the character of Job within the broader biblical account.

Jeremiah 25:23
Buz is mentioned among the nations that will drink the cup of God's wrath, indicating its significance as a people group or region.

Numbers 23:7
Aram is referenced as the homeland of Balaam, showing its importance as a region in biblical history.
Sermons
The Great Trial and the Great RevelationR.A. Redford
People
Abraham, Aram, Bethuel, Buz, Chesed, Gaham, Hazo, Huz, Isaac, Jidlaph, Kemuel, Maacah, Maachah, Milcah, Nahor, Pildash, Rebekah, Reumah, Tebah, Thahash
Places
Beersheba, Mount Moriah
Topics
Aram, Brother, Buz, Firstborn, First-born, Huz, Kemuel, Kemu'el, Oldest, Uz
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Genesis 22:21

     5688   firstborn

Library
Faith Tested and Crowned
'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. 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. 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 …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

If, Therefore, Even they who are United in Marriage Only for the Purpose Of...
22. If, therefore, even they who are united in marriage only for the purpose of begetting, for which purpose marriage was instituted, are not compared with the Fathers, seeking their very sons in a way far other than do these; forasmuch as Abraham, being bidden to slay his son, fearless and devoted, spared not his only son, whom from out of great despair he had received [1997] save that he laid down his hand, when He forbade him, at Whose command he had lifted it up; it remains that we consider, …
St. Augustine—On the Good of Marriage

The Promise to the Patriarchs.
A great epoch is, in Genesis, ushered in with the history of the time of the Patriarchs. Luther says: "This is the third period in which Holy Scripture begins the history of the Church with a new family." In a befitting manner, the representation is opened in Gen. xii. 1-3 by an account of the first revelation of God, given to Abraham at Haran, in which the way is opened up for all that follows, and in which the dispensations of God are brought before us in a rapid survey. Abraham is to forsake …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Genealogy of Jesus According to Matthew.
^A Matt. I. 1-17. ^a 1 The book of the generation [or genealogy] of Jesus Christ, the son of David [the Messiah was promised to David--II. Sam. vii. 16; John vii. 42], the son of Abraham. [Messiah was also promised to Abraham--Gen. xxii. 18; Gal. iii. 16.] 2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judah and his brethren [mentioned here because they were the heads of the tribes for whom especially Matthew wrote his Gospel]; 3 and Judah begat Perez and Zerah [these two were twins] …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Jehovah. The "I Am. "
WHEN Moses in the desert beheld the burning bush God answered his question by the revelation of His name as the "I Am." "And God said unto Moses, I am, that I am: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you" (Exod. iii:14). He who spake thus out of the bush to Moses was the same who in the fullness of time appeared upon the earth in the form of man. Our Lord Jesus Christ is no less person, than the I AM. If we turn to the fourth Gospel in which the Holy …
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

The Fulfilled Prophecies of the Bible Bespeak the Omniscience of Its Author
In Isaiah 41:21-23 we have what is probably the most remarkable challenge to be found in the Bible. "Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and show us what shall happen; let them show the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods." This Scripture has both a negative …
Arthur W. Pink—The Divine Inspiration of the Bible

Difficulties and Objections
"Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not My way equal? are not your ways unequal?" (Ezek. 18:25). A convenient point has been reached when we may now examine, more definitely, some of the difficulties encountered and the objections which might be advanced against what we have written in previous pages. The author deemed it better to reserve these for a separate consideration rather than deal with them as he went along, requiring as that would have done the …
Arthur W. Pink—The Sovereignty of God

Covenanting Performed in Former Ages with Approbation from Above.
That the Lord gave special token of his approbation of the exercise of Covenanting, it belongs to this place to show. His approval of the duty was seen when he unfolded the promises of the Everlasting Covenant to his people, while they endeavoured to perform it; and his approval thereof is continually seen in his fulfilment to them of these promises. The special manifestations of his regard, made to them while attending to the service before him, belonged to one or other, or both, of those exhibitions …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

The Power of Assyria at Its Zenith; Esarhaddon and Assur-Bani-Pal
The Medes and Cimmerians: Lydia--The conquest of Egypt, of Arabia, and of Elam. As we have already seen, Sennacherib reigned for eight years after his triumph; eight years of tranquillity at home, and of peace with all his neighbours abroad. If we examine the contemporary monuments or the documents of a later period, and attempt to glean from them some details concerning the close of his career, we find that there is a complete absence of any record of national movement on the part of either Elam, …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 8

Conflict.
"Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him that hath endured such gainsaying of sinners against themselves, that ye …
Thomas Charles Edwards—The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews

The Gospel of the Kingdom.
"This is He whom Seers in old time Chanted of with one accord; Whom the voices of the Prophets Promised in their faithful word." We have seen that, in the providence of God, John the Baptist was sent to proclaim to the world that "The Kingdom of Heaven" was at hand, and to point out the King. And as soon as the Herald had raised the expectation of men by the proclamation of the coming Kingdom, our Lord began His public ministry, the great object of which was the founding of His Kingdom for the salvation …
Edward Burbidge—The Kingdom of Heaven; What is it?

The Faith of Abraham.
"By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out unto a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he became a sojourner in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he looked for the city which hath the foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God. By faith even Sarah herself received power to conceive seed when she was past age, since she …
Thomas Charles Edwards—The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews

The Secret of Its Greatness
[Illustration: (drop cap G) The Great Pyramid] God always chooses the right kind of people to do His work. Not only so, He always gives to those whom He chooses just the sort of life which will best prepare them for the work He will one day call them to do. That is why God put it into the heart of Pharaoh's daughter to bring up Moses as her own son in the Egyptian palace. The most important part of Moses' training was that his heart should be right with God, and therefore he was allowed to remain …
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making

Motives to Holy Mourning
Let me exhort Christians to holy mourning. I now persuade to such a mourning as will prepare the soul for blessedness. Oh that our hearts were spiritual limbecs, distilling the water of holy tears! Christ's doves weep. They that escape shall be like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity' (Ezekiel 7:16). There are several divine motives to holy mourning: 1 Tears cannot be put to a better use. If you weep for outward losses, you lose your tears. It is like a shower …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Of Love to God
I proceed to the second general branch of the text. The persons interested in this privilege. They are lovers of God. "All things work together for good, to them that love God." Despisers and haters of God have no lot or part in this privilege. It is children's bread, it belongs only to them that love God. Because love is the very heart and spirit of religion, I shall the more fully treat upon this; and for the further discussion of it, let us notice these five things concerning love to God. 1. The …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

Genesis
The Old Testament opens very impressively. In measured and dignified language it introduces the story of Israel's origin and settlement upon the land of Canaan (Gen.--Josh.) by the story of creation, i.-ii. 4a, and thus suggests, at the very beginning, the far-reaching purpose and the world-wide significance of the people and religion of Israel. The narrative has not travelled far till it becomes apparent that its dominant interests are to be religious and moral; for, after a pictorial sketch of …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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