Genesis is where the Bible’s story (and a lot of its problems) begins. Over 23 episodes, we worked through all 50 chapters of Genesis from a skeptical, secular point of view: two different creation stories, a worldwide flood, the Tower of Babel, Abraham and his family, Jacob and Esau, and Joseph’s rise in Egypt. Below you’ll find every episode in order, the chapters each one covers, and links to specific contradictions we ran into along the way.
23 episodes • Chapters 1–50 (complete) • Recorded 2020
Topics: Creation & Eden · The Flood & Noah · The Tower of Babel · Abraham & Isaac · Jacob & Esau · Joseph in Egypt
Every Episode, In Order
- Genesis Chapters 1–3: Creation, Eden, and the Fall
- Genesis Chapters 4–7: Cain and Abel, the build-up to the Flood
- Genesis Chapters 8–9: The Flood ends, Noah’s covenant
- Genesis Chapters 10–11: The Table of Nations, the Tower of Babel
- Genesis Chapters 12–13: Abram’s call and journey to Canaan
- Genesis Chapters 14–15: The war of the kings, God’s covenant with Abram
- Genesis Chapters 16–17: Hagar and Ishmael, the covenant of circumcision
- Genesis Chapters 18–19: Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot’s escape
- Genesis Chapters 20–21: Abraham and Abimelech, the birth of Isaac
- Genesis Chapters 22–23: The binding of Isaac, the death of Sarah
- Genesis Chapters 24–25: A wife for Isaac, the death of Abraham
- Genesis Chapters 26–27: Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob’s stolen blessing
- Genesis Chapters 28–29: Jacob’s ladder, Jacob meets Laban and Rachel
- Genesis Chapters 30–31: Jacob’s growing family, his break from Laban
- Genesis Chapters 32–33: Jacob wrestles with God, reunion with Esau
- Genesis Chapters 34–35: The Shechem incident, Jacob renamed Israel
- Genesis Chapters 36–37: Esau’s lineage, Joseph sold into slavery
- Genesis Chapters 38–39: Judah and Tamar, Joseph in Potiphar’s house
- Genesis Chapters 40–41: Joseph interprets dreams, rises to power in Egypt
- Genesis Chapters 42–43: Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt for grain
- Genesis Chapters 44–45: Joseph reveals himself to his brothers
- Genesis Chapters 46–47: Jacob’s family settles in Egypt
- Genesis Chapters 48–50: Jacob’s blessings and death, Joseph’s death: the book ends
Contradictions We Found in Genesis
Genesis is one of the most internally inconsistent books in the Bible: two creation accounts that don’t agree, genealogies that don’t line up, and stories that contradict each other and the rest of scripture. Here are a few of the contradictions we dug into:
- Did everyone die in the flood?
- Did God call Abraham before or after he moved to Haran?
- Can God be seen?
- Did Enoch die?
- Did Lot’s daughters think God had killed every man except Lot?
- Did Sarah have faith that she would conceive?
- Are we punished for the sins of others?
- Did Abraham know God’s name?
Browse everything we’ve covered on Genesis →
Keep Exploring
- Biblical Studies & Early Christianity: background and scholarship on the books we cover
- Science & Source Library: the sources behind our commentary
- Browse all Books of the Bible →
New episodes drop regularly. Find out where to listen and subscribe →
