Genesis 11-28

My comments on Genesis 11-28 are just random thoughts, no specific or deep meaning, just questions or connections that popped into my mind as I read.

During the first verse of Chapter 11 it says that "The whole earth was of one language, and of one speech". When were there more languages or speeches? Was the reproduction of men so quick that before the flood there were already different ethnicg groups and cultures?

In Chapter 12 God gives Abraham the promised land, Canaan. I wonder if He would´ve still given it if He had known all of the trouble it was going to cause in the distant future.

Chapter 16 Verse 11: Abram's first son was named Ishmael, which made me zoom back to our summer reading, "Ishmael". Because this book is related to religion, mythology and tales about our existance, I wonder if the author got the name from this chapter. It would be interesting to find out.

Chapter 17 Verse 5: God changed Abram's name to Abraham, telling him that he was now father of many lands. Why was this change necessary? Does the suffix -ham mean lord or owner or father or anything of this sort?

Chapter 18: I was unaware of the fact that God payed private visits, just like a common person. I thought he always sent angels to deliver messages for him, it just never occured to me that he had could walk like a normal person or anything of that kind. I always pictured him like a HUGE being, someone who floated around checking on you. Apparently, I was wrong.

Chapter 25 Verse 2: Why was Abraham shocked when God told him that he would have a son (Isaac) before but wasn't surprised when his second wife gave him a lot more children and at an older age?

Chapter 26 Verse 7: Abraham says that his wife is his sister. This is the third time he has done it, and I still don't understand why. Hopefully I will be able to clarify this point, either by suggestions from readers or by asking in class.