Uttering curses with the desire to inflict pain upon someone is as old as humanity. The Bible calls for the death penalty for cursing parents or dignitaries.

Jabez is a significant place marker in the lineage of David, and may be David himself. Jabez is an emblem of Christ's restoring the relationship between God and man.

As witnesses to the decline and fall of Israel and Judah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Haggai report the conditions that led to their defeat and captivity.

All of the sufferings in the present had their origin in the Garden of Eden when our parents sinned, seemingly in secret. The effects of sins radiate outward.