In the beginning of Genesis, God made humanity in his own image. This is an interesting parallel to the way our image reflects imperfectly who we are. In Genesis God puts his image in humanity. Humanity does not equal God; humanity is an indirect and very imperfect reflection of who God is. Sometimes humans reflect a great example, and other times a very poor representation.
The "sons of God" lusted after the "daughters of men." The sons of God probably refer to certain of the angelic beings who were attracted to women of the earth. Check out the ancient book of Enoch (quoted by the book of Jude) for a fuller description of these angels.
Eve was attracted to the fruit because it looked good.
Sarah was a good looking woman as was Rebeccah and Rachel.
Rachel was good looking, but Leah had weak eyes.
Abraham's family (which includes his wife who was also his step sister and the generations they produced) was generally incredibly good looking, even into old age. In fact, their good looks sometimes posed a problem for them as they traveled into foreign lands. Both Abraham and Isaac felt unable to protect themselves from people who wanted their wives, so they had their wives tell everybody they were sisters and not wives.
Looks are important in the stories of Genesis. In fact, it is not uncommon to see good looks define people such as Joseph, Absolom, King David, King Solomon and Esther. In the Apocrypha, Judith is a beautiful woman like Esther saves the nation by using her good looks.
So why does the bible point out that certain people were good looking? Isn't beauty skin deep? Doesn't God look on the inside of one's heart?
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