In the Beginning: The Bible Stories

God says, "Let there be light". Then there is light. God creates order in the formless chaotic universe. God separates the sky from the ground, the land from the sea, and creates l...

Adam and Eve are expelled from Eden, and are given work and painful labor as punishment. Adam is forced to get food by the sweat of his brow, while Eve has to suffer tremendous pai...

Humans abound on the earth. As their numbers increase, however, they begin to speak blasphemy against God and become corrupted. God decides to cleanse the ground with a deluge as p...

Humans begin to build a tower, hoping to reach God. At that time, humans were conceited enough to think that they could accomplish such a feat. So God, as punishment, collapses the...

Sarah, who has not had a chance to bear a child, is getting on in her years, but keeps praying to God to let her have a child. Her husband Abraham laughs at her, saying "Even God c...

As vice spread over the two cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, people are corrupted. God's anger gradually leads to the destruction of these cities, which are full of decadence and blas...

God tells Abraham "Sarah's son Isaac will carry on your family line." God also says that Ishmael, who was born between Abraham and another woman, Hagar, would be the father of a na...

God orders Abraham to sacrifice his son to God. Abraham is terrified to do such thing, but he cannot disobey the God. He decides to be faithful to God even if he has to sacrifice h...

Joseph has dreams about God. His brothers become jealous of him because God seems to love Joseph most. So they plan to kill Joseph...

Joseph reconciles with his brothers because they realize that jealousy is useless. His brothers begin to listen attentively to Jacob's dialogue with God. The ties between the broth...

Pharaoh is terrified to hear that a new king has been born to kill him and rule the world. So he orders his people to "kill all newborn baby boys." One boy, however, escapes the gu...

Moses grows up and becomes a pious man who looks to God in awe. When he goes deep into the wild land with a flock of sheep, he hears the voice of an angel, God's messenger, coming...

Pharaoh believes that he is the only god king to reign over his country. But his people believe and worship the celestial god as a being greater than the Pharaoh. Aaron says to Pha...

Moses becomes the leader of Israel by listening to God's voice. But then Pharaoh's army comes to attack. Moses leads his people out of Egypt, following God's order. They face Phara...

Moses and the people of Israel arrive at the foot of Mt. Sinai. Moses climbs the mountain to hear more of God's voice. At the top of the mountain, he receives the ten commandments...

Moses does not come back from the mountain, so people set up an altar and pray to God for Moses' safety. They need a statue for prayer, so they make a bull as a statue of God. God...

God says to Moses, "This is the land I promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for the people of Israel. Now I have shown it to you, but you will not be able to set foot on i...

When the people of Israel approach the Promised Land of Jericho, they see a fortress city surrounded by impregnable walls. It is impossible for anyone to enter the city, thinks Jos...

God gives a land to the people of Israel as promised, and continues to protect Israel from every enemy. However, attacks on Israel, the country enjoying God's protection, become fi...

Other countries persistently start wars against Israel to defeat Saul's army. As Saul claims one after another victory, he gains respect from his people, but he eventually becomes...

God regrets having made Saul the king of Israel, so he decides to make David, a beautiful boy shepherd who lives in Bethlehem, the new king. David used to play the harp beautifully...

Solomon, son of David, is a man of matchless intelligence, and he has keen insight into human nature. So he becomes a wise ruler who wins a great deal of public confidence. But as...

Solomon's kingdom Jerusalem falls to the attack of enemies. The people of Israel are expelled from their country and again become wandering tribes with no place to go. The Hebrews,...

The kings of Babylonia are worried about the fact that Hebrews place their faith only in the god of Israel. The kings order Hebrews to worship Marduk, the god of Babylonia. However...

There is a prophet who wanders through the desert. He is very worried about the Hebrews becoming corrupted and acting against God. But he also feels that everything will change soo...

Mary is traveling from Nazareth to Bethlehem because Herod the Great has decided to collect taxes from the Jews, and demands that all the people register as residents. It is a diff...