Genesis
Genesis 1-3
Well, let's see... the creation of the universe and the fall of man all in one day's reading, eh? Just another bland day! I'll see if I can find something to write about!
It seems that the first thing God created out of nothing was water, as we see the Spirit of God hovering over the waters even before light hits the scene. And that light has no apparent source until Day 4. Yet there is day and night,evening and morning. On Day 2, God spearates the waters and inserts the sky in the midst of it. That means above the sky was a whole bunch of water. That will come into play when we hit the Great Flood. Plants and trees come in on Day 3 once dry land appears. Light, sky and sea, land and plants so far.
The sun and the moon show up in Day 4, although the moon isn't referred to by name. The purpose of these two are to separate day from night, to serve as markers for seasons, days and years and to give light. On Day 5 we get sea creatures and birds. The sea animals are instructed to be fruitful and multiply. Then on Day 6 the land animals appear just before man is made. Sun and moon, sea animals, land animals. A bit of symmetry between Days 1-3 and Days 4-6.
Man is created in God's image. Not a physical image, obviously as God is spirit. And both male and female are in His image. Man is also told to befruitful and multiply and all green plants are given as food to man and animals.
Day 7 is holy, not because God rested His tired bones, but because He stopped His creating.
Chapter 2 gives us more detail about man's creation and the Garden of Eden. It's rather amusing that we are told that God had planted a garden "in the east"like we would try to figure out where exactly east is. New York? Jerusalem? Tokyo? Obviously it's east of the setting for much of the Bible, and with the Tigris and Euphrates running out of it, Eden must have been somewhere around Northern Iraq.
The two trees mentioned in the garden are special trees. The tree of life gives some kind of life-sustaining fruit because the possibility of sinful man eating from this tree and never dying is the reasoning behind Adam and Eve's banishment and the guarded entrance to the garden mentioned at the end of chapter three. The tree of knowledge was the one with the tasty-looking fruit.
It is striking that Eve wasn't made like every other animal -- from dust. Perhaps she was taken from Adam's side (or rib) is so that Adam would seeher as an equal, not simply another animal, albeit a special one. It's pretty evident that God has a one woman - one man arrangement based on 2:24.
Chapter three reads like a bizarre story. Talking snakes will do that.
Eve exaggerates what God told them about the fruit of the tree of knowledge. God didn't ban them touching the fruit, although it would have been a good idea based on what happened. Satan's lie is a contemporary one. We all want to be like God. How different our life would be if we didn't have to worry about good vs. evil!
The first thing the couple realized when their eyes were opened was their nakedness. They felt shame, apparently about their differences physically? Why do we have an inherent shame over our bodies? For Adam and Eve it wouldn't have been lust, I wouldn't think. What is immediately shameful about a naked body in that context?
I wonder what the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day sounded like.
Adam, then Eve play the blame game.
Adam: Well it was that woman you put here with me.
Eve: Well, it was that serpent.
The serpent didn't have anyone to blame it on.
Man's punishment is the curse of the ground. Woman's punishment is the pain of childbirth and being "ruled over" by the husband. The snake's punishment is interesting. Did the snake have legs originally? Or just the talking ones?
The protoevangel in 3:15 is the reminder of Jesus' eventual victory. It was the scene in The Passion of the Christ preview where we see Jesus' foot crush the snake when I began to take that movie seriously. That's what it's all about and here we see just a whisper of the plot of salvation.
Adam and Eve's clothes were provided by God, assumedly from the skins of animals which gave their lives at this point. Death has entered the picture.
Genesis 4-7
Another meaty section. We always assume Cain is the first baby ever born and Abel is the second, but nothing really suggests that except the absence of recording any other births. "With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a son," which is said to be the reason for the name "Cain" seems like it might be a new experience for Eve, but it really doesn't have to be. Of course we never get to read about the birth of any daughters, nor do we hear another female named until 4:19 when he read about Lamech's wives. Cain's wife would be his sister or niece -- one of the unmentioned children we see in 5:6 and 5:8.
Abel's sacrifice was the fat of some of the firstborn, while Cain's sacrifice was simply some of the fruits of the soil. It seems that Abel put God's portion first while Cain gave "leftovers". Abel put God first while Cain thought of himself and his interests first.
Seth is a "replacement" child to Eve. The genealogy of chapter five is interesting in the details given and the details omitted. The math tells you that Methuselah died the same year as the flood (although not necessarily IN the flood). Besides the long life spans of these people, it looks odd that these men were still producing children at age 90, 105, 162, etc. Not to say that these were their first children, but one wonders how many children these people had, how early they started having them and how long they continued conceiving children. All this and we're not even thinking about Noah being 500 when he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japeth. Were these the only three righteous sons or were they his only children?
The Nephilim, the heroes of old. Legends in their own time. I don't think they were angels because angels are not reproducing beings. Nowhere else is anyone thought to be the child of an angel. The NT tells us that angels don't marry, etc. The Nephilim must have been heroic people. They are not mentioned post-flood (that I'm aware of), so the thought of 9 foot, 9 inch Goliath being descended from Nephilim doesn't make sense.
Every inclination of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil all the time. That's evil, friends. Is that worse than today? Hard to say.
Noah builds the ark, but God brings the animals to him and it's God who shuts the door. Many claim it didn't rain at all before the Big One. It's possible, although what really makes the flood is not simply rain, but the springs of the great deep and the floodgates of heaven opening up.
Seven of every kind of clean animal, two of every unclean. Gotta have food on the voyage. Seven of every kind of bird also. No allowances for sea creatures. They are never mentioned. Some have argued with me that the sea creatures would have died in the polluted waters. I'm sure many did, but not all (obviously).
Forty days and nights of rain. 150 days of flood. Five months.
Genesis 8-11
Noah and the family spent a whole lot of time on that ark. The boat hit Ararat on 7/17, but they didn't get out until 2/27. That's over 6 months just sitting there landed, most of that time with no waves or water even touching the ark. Understanding that they didn't get out until all areas of the earth were available to be inhabited.
The first animal sent out of the ark was a raven which kept flying back and forth. I assume it lit on top of the ark or something for a while and didn't remain flying for weeks. The dove which finally brought back an olive branch showed that not only was the earth drying, but vegetation had started growing once again.
Some of the clean animals who rode the ark for just over a year (The ark was closed on 2/17) were offered as a sacrifice after the landing. The springs of the deep were closed as were the floodgates of the heavens. And God's sign of the covenant, the rainbow, must have been a new sight for the humans -- again giving credence to the idea that rain hadn't happened before the flood.
Meat with blood is prohibited in chapter nine. No rare steak. Although everything is given to the hands of man.
The account of the drunken, naked, passed out Noah is odd. Had the boys really never seen Noah naked before? Shem and Japeth went through dramatic means to be sure they didn't see anything embarrassing. And Noah didn't curse Ham, but his son Canaan. Why? Was Canaan the only child at this point? Was he conceived on the ark or are we talking years later? Certainly Noah was around for 350 years, so there's no real timetable here.
The geneaologies of chapter ten seem rather edited for length. The Japheth line is remarkably short. Only two sets of grandkids are mentioned. The mention of "Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord" is quite odd. I wonder what the Hebrew looks like there at 10:9. The Canaanite clans were the people conquered later in Genesis.
In 10:25, we see mention of Peleg (meaning "division") so named because "in his time the earth was divided." I wonder what this refers to. Continental drift? Civil war?
A short mention in 10:31 that these are "the sons of Shem by their clans and languages..." -- this occurs right before the whole Babel narrative in chapter 11.
Genesis 12-14
Abram is called from Haran where he, Sarai, Lot and his father Terah had been living. In chapter eleven they tried moving to Canaan, but stopped at Haran, coincidentally the name of Lot's father who had passed away in Ur. Abram receives God's call and must have wondered about becoming a great nation even at that point, having no children. Now at the age of 75, Abram is off to wherever the Lord is telling him to go. After a brief stop at Shechem, he moved on to somewhere between Bethel and Ai. He had built an altar at Shechem, then again at Bethel. Then he took off for Egypt. I wonder what was spurring him onward. The Lord had appeared to him already, but Abram keeps going.
The sister/wife lie in Egypt eventually catches up to Abram, although it doesn't turn out as poorly as it could have. Pharaoh could have easily just had Abram killed, but the diseases probably convinced Pharaoh to letAbram and Sarai live. Hard to believe that a pillar of faith like Abram could let his wife be taken and used by another just to ease his fears of being killed.
Lot takes the greener pastures in chpater 13. Greener pastures, but lousy neighbors! Abram goes to Hebron and builds yet another altar. Lot's neighbors get him into trouble, as Sodom is sacked by a bunch of kings under Kedorlaomer. Abram becomes a mighty warrior -- something that doesn't usually come to mind when thinking of Abram. In 14:14 we are given an exact count of Abram's make shift army -- 318. Odd bit of detail.
The mysterious Melchizedek, King of Salem/Jerusalem makes his quick apprearance at this point, blessing Abram and honoring God. Abram gives the priest a tithe -- the first tithe mentioned in Scripture. I wonder what possessed Abram to do this. The part where Abram refuses help from the king of Sodom seems logical though.
Chapter fifteen features a recounting of God's call upon Abram and this time it is in the form of a covenant. "Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness" at 15:6, which of course pops up again in Romans 4. The Lord confirmed the covenant with an elaborate scene of birds and carcasses cut in half. This was a normal setting for a human covenant with the two parties walking through together. This time the only one to pass through was God, indicating that God alone could keep such a covenant.
Genesis 16-18
"OK. I get it, God. You need us to help You out in this whole "father of a great nation" business, eh? So let's get another woman involved in all this. What could go wrong?"
Hagar. A maidservant of Sarai who was thrust into a tough situation. She's not exactly blameless here though. By 16:4, she was getting nasty to her mistress -- apparently holding her pregnancy over Sarai's head, as it were. She probably didn't begin all the bitterness, but she gave it its first voice. From there, the roof begins to cave in. Sarai complains to Abraham, Abe washes his hands of the whole problem and Sarai mistreats Hagar until she runs off. I found it interesting that in 18:3 it says that Sarai gave Hagar "to her husband to be his wife." Bigamy. Not just an out-of-wedlock birth. I'd like to look in the the translation of that verse.
What a comment to make about a person: "He will be a wild donkey of a man," said the angel of the Lord to Hagar about Ishmael. The Bible doesn't tell us a lot about Ishmael, but his story is probably very interesting. The Westerner in me wonders if the Middle Eastern trouble isn't rooted in a conflict between a stiff-necked people (Jews) and the descendants of a man whose "hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers." Doesn't sound like a promising situation, does it?
Chapter 17 screams one question: Why circumcision? Of all the signs God could have come up with, why would the removal of penile foreskin be the chosen sign? Does this speak to male pride and sexual dominance? Maybe God taking men down a peg? I get the image of a slave being purchased by Abraham, then being told what had to happen to him to be a part of Abraham's household!
Abraham laughed, Sarai laughed... names were changed. When God changes your name, watch out! Abraham had Ishmael at the age of 86, yet he thought that being 100 was over the hill? How long had it been since the days of Genesis 5, when people lived to be 900 and were having children into their 600s? The perspective on Sarai/Sarah I can understand though.
At chapter 18, the three visitors arrive. The text announces them as "the LORD" and Abraham hurredly is making preparations to feed them. Part of this could be the culture to take care of travelers, but somewhere early on Abraham realizes he is speaking with God. I'd be tempted to call the three "men" Father, Son and Holy Spirit except that chapter 19 begins by talking about "the two angels" who go to Sodom. The angel of the Lord is usually agreed to be a reference to the Second Person of the Trinity -- a pre-incarnate Jesus. I'm not sure exactly why the Second Person is singled out rather than the Third or First. In any case, Abraham addresses the angel of the Lord as deity.
The "bargaining session" looking for a few good men in Sodom is fascinating. Abraham realizes that there aren't many good folk in that town. The Lord knows it too. Abraham doesn't go down to four people which would have covered Lot, his wife and two daughters.
Genesis 19
What a strange chapter! On so many different levels this passage is disturbing. First we see the two angels headed to Sodom, only to be spotted by Lot at the city gate. Lot knew there was something special about these two -- just as Abraham sensed something about his visitors a chapter earlier. The angels said they were planning on spending the night in the town square -- what a scene that would have been! Odd enough the way it turned out. Lot strongly persuaded the two to spend the night at his house. He fed them, but before bedtime, a crowd gathers outside the house. I get weird flashbacks to watching "Night of the Living Dead" when I was younger from this passage. The text says that "All the men from every part of Sodom -- both young and old -- surrounded the house." They called on Lot to send the two men (angels) out to be raped -- technically sodomized.
Lot knew there was something about these two, as I doubt he would have gone to such lengths to protect two ordinary visitors. Still it's surprising what he offered the mob outside. Two virgin daughters were not a good enough trade for the crowd. 1) What an offer! and 2) How disturbed were these Sodomites, anyway?
It was the angels who pull Lot to safety in the house, then they struck the mob blind. When the mob broke up (apparently) Lot went to recruit his "sons-in-law" to flee with the family while the city would be destroyed. The two who laughed him off. So Lot, his wife and two daughters head for Zoar after convincing the angels that Lot couldn't handle the trip up to the mountains. The next morning the fire and brimstone fell, not only on Sodom, but on Gomorrah and in the entire plain region. A large meteor? Perhaps. Whatever it was, it did the job.
Job's wife looks back on the city as she runs and "she became a pillar of salt." Here's another place I'd love to study the Hebrew. Whatever the exact context, Lot's wife hesitated, looked back in identification with that city. When she did so, she disobeyed the instructions given by the angels in 19:17. Oddly, the instructions were given just after Lot hesitated to leave in 19:16. Now, with the plain charred and smoking, Lot and his two daughters are the only survivors. Lot's wife was dead, perhaps buried by falling debris and buried -- thus causing the pillar of salt reference.
Lot and his daughters left Zoar because Lot was afraid to live in that city. We're not told why. Perhaps he was identified as a Sodomite and the people of Zoar wanted to get rid of him. In any case, Lot takes his daughters and lives in a cave in the mountains -- hermit style. The daughters then devise a plan to keep the family line going. On sucessive nights, the girls get Dad drunk and each sleep with him, conceiving a son. It's hard to get past the "ick-factor" on this one. Comparisons to Abraham and Sarah's plan with Hagar spring to mind. Each plan worked. Ishmael became the father of the arabic peoples. Lot's new children were the fathers of the Moabites and the Ammonites.
Genesis 20-23
The account of Abraham and Abimelech is a rerun of Abraham's mistake with Pharoah years earlier. Interesting that Abraham feared that king taking Sarah from him. With Pharoah, it was that Pharoah would see Sarah's beauty and take her for himself. With Abimelech, Sarah is 74 years old -- hardly the picture of a beauty queen! Yet the same thing happens, only God keeps Abimelech from sleeping with Sarah -- thus saving his family.
The admission that Abraham and Sarah are really half-sisters shocks us in today's culture, especially with all the birth defects from close marriage these days. But those laws weren't given until Exodus, a good 400-500 years later. When a spouse was needed, the family was the first place to look at that point. (Although the bit with Lot's daughters and Lot is still a bit much.)
Isaac finally comes and Hagar and Ishmael are sent away. The boys were having a real sibling rivalry. Ishmael will become the father of a nation also. The reason Ishmael will be a nation is because of Abraham according to 21:13.
Chapter 22 is often read and seen as a precursor to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The emotions of Abraham are hard to gauge. Certainly he must have been overwhelmed at the hearing of God's instructions of 22:2, yet by 22:5 he tells his servants that "we" will go worship and "we" will come back. The faith of Abraham. Isaac must have shared that faith, or at least had a strong confidence in his father.
Abraham's obedience is given as the reason why all nationss on earth would be blessed through Isaac in 22:18.
At Sarah's death, Abraham finally buys some land. He has been, since leaving Ur, a nomad living in tents, even though he became "like a prince" to the surrounding peoples. Ephron tries to give Abraham a grave for Sarah, but Abraham insists on paying the price. His time is almost over.
Genesis 24-27
We read precious little about Isaac in the Scriptures. This passage contains almost all of the details of his life, aside from the time on Mt. Moriah in chapter 22, and the report of his death in chapter 35. What we find out is hardly impressive.
Chapter 24 deals with the finding and bringing back of Rebekah to be Isaac's wife. A nameless servant of Abraham is given the duty, and his specific prayer request is answered as asked. Abraham has apparently heard from God about where to obtain a wife. Either that or he has great confidence that God will approve of finding a wife for Isaac among Abraham's family rather than among the Canaanites.
One of the more interesting characters in chapter 24 is Rebekah's brother, Laban. Of course we know he'll pop up again, but he's already displaying a need to be in charge of the situation.
The servant gave costly gifts to Rebekah, her mother, and to her brother Laban, but not to her father?
It's interesting that we assume the servant is traveling alone until verse 32 when the other men are mentioned, as well as the number of camels.
Abraham's third wife is mentioned briefly in chapter 25. Six more children, but the entire estate went to Isaac. The other children were packed off and sent away from Isaac. At 25:6, the text mentions "concubines." Hagar was a "wife" according the to earlier text, but could it just have been "marital relations"? Keturah is described as a "wife", so I wonder who we're missing. It is possible that Keturah and Hagar are who is meant, but the text as translated is vague.
The twins are born in chapter 25 as well. It's apparent they aren't identical! It's also apparent they won't be getting along well. The account of the birthright seems so odd. How hungry can a person be? If a bowl of stew means that much, then Esau truly did despise his birthright. Of course I wonder what made Jacob think to ask for the birthright in the first place.
In chapter 26, we see Isaac getting the Promise directly from God, as his father had also. Sadly, we read also that Isaac didn't learn from his father's mistakes. Again a patriarch tries the "she's my sister" line to avoid danger, only to narrowly avoid horrible consequences. We also see that Isaac has his father's financial skills, eventually becoming so powerful that he is sent away as too
big of a threat.
At 26:34-35, we read of Esau's two Hittite wives and that "They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah." Certainly an in-law situation is tough, but it seems that these two women really rubbed Isaac and Rebekah the wrong way -- so much so that Rebekah is the one to be sure that Jacob's wife is from the family.
The thievery of the blessing is a well-told story. The deception of Rebekah foreshadows the trickery of her brother, Laban in the next passage. "Let the curse fall on me," says Rebekah when Jacob fears a curse if Isaac discovers the deception. When Jacob brings in the "tasty food" he lies to his father directly three times: "I am Esau, your firstborn," "The Lord your God gave me success," and "I am [really Esau]." The trick is well thought-out, taking into account Esau's hairiness and his scent -- two things a sightless man would instantly recognize. Only the voice is a giveaway, but still Isaac believes his hands and his nose instead of his ears.
The blessing itself seems irrevokable. Isaac cannot take it back, as he admits in 27:33. The cry to "Bless me -- me too, my father!" is heartbreaking in a way, as Esau has nothing left to hope for. Except revenge. The idea of a blessing or a curse seems so foreign to me... especially one that is irrevokable.
Genesis 28-31
We resume Jacob's story as he is sent off to find a wife by his parents, although Rebekah's reason to send Jacob away is to save his life from his brother, Esau. Jacob is sent back to Laban, his uncle, to find a wife from his daughters. Of course Jacob winds up with two of Laban's daughters, but that comes later. Even Esau buys the story of looking for a "family" wife, as he takes another -- this one from the family of his relative Ishmael. On the tip to Paddan Aram, Jacob stops for the night and is given a vision of a staircase or ladder reaching from earth to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it. Then above it was the Lord, who affirmed the covenant with Abraham and designated it to Jacob, promising him to watch over him and bring him back to the land he is to inherit. Jacob thinks this is the gate of heaven itself and calls it Bethel -- house of God. He vows to make God his God since he has been promised safety and care. He also promises a tithe, although I have no idea how he is planning to offer this tithe to God.
When Jacob finally arrives in chapter 29, he is immediately taken with Rachel. Laban comes out to greet Jacob and welcomes him. After a month, Laban tells Jacob to stop working for free and to name his wages. Jacob then asks for Rachel in exchange for seven years' work. It seems like Laban is taking advantage of Jacob at this point, and probably is. He gets seven years worth of labor for his daughter. Meanwhile at the wedding feast, Daddy Laban pulls the old switcheroo and instead sneaks in the daughter with the "weak eyes" without Jacob's knowledge. How it was that Jacob didn't figure out it was the wrong sister until after a honeymoon night with her is mysterious. However there was some poetic justice in that Jacob was deceived just as Jacob had deceived his own father. Jacob could only be partly outraged. He had reaped as he had sown.
Leah was put in a no-win situation. She was immediately the unwanted wife. She was likely put up to it by her father. Had she not done so, she would have been shamed in Paddan Aram and wound up an old maid. But she was now married to a man who would take good care of her. And she had children -- six boys and a girl. However in the naming of the boys, Leah reveals that she is still seeking her husband's favor, which she never really gets.
A week after the first wedding comes the second and Jacob finally has his Rachel. The first seven years worked to get her seemed like only a few days. In 29:30 we are explicitly told that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. From his actions throughout his lifetime, it is obvious that Rachel is the ONE for him.
The fight over the children in chapter 30 seems so bizarre to a monogamous man like myself. Bartering for who gets to sleep with the husband is strange. So is the practice of giving a woman's maidservant to be her husband's concubine. In today's culture, that's almost instant divorce! But this is a blended family. Four birth mothers, two wives who are sisters to one another, two servants who have slept with the master, and children everywhere. Only Dinah is mentioned, but it seems that there are some unmentioned daughters in the household as well.
Eleven of the sons are there with only Benjamin yet to come as Rachel dies in childbirth in chapter 35.
After Jacob's fourteen years of service to Laban are up, Laban manipulates him into staying in Paddan Aram, as Laban has gotten richer with God blessing Jacob's efforts. So Jacob outfoxes the fox and through some mystery of animal breeding, builds his own flocks while Laban's power is diminished. Jacob found (or is told) a way to insure that flocks would have streaked, speckled or spotted offspring by using tree branches cut in a certain way. The stronger animals he would
breed to produce offspring for himself and the weaker animals would be bred to produce offspring for Laban. Jacob became rich and powerful and Laban and his servants were resentful.
In 31:3, God tells Jacob to get back home, so Jacob calls the wives to the fields and explains the situation. Here we see that Laban has been trying to get the best of the deal for years, but only Jacob knows the secrets. This is payback for Laban's dirty dealing. The more he tries to manipulate, the more he fails.
Jacob and family and their entourage while Laban is off shearing sheep. Rachel also, for some unknown reason, steals a "household idol" from her father. By the time Laban gets back home, Jacob and company have been gone for three days. Laban goes off in pursuit for seven days until he catches up to Jacob. But on the night before he met with the family, Laban was given a dream telling him to behave himself, essentially.
At the meeting, Laban pleaded for the folks to return. He complained that they sneaked off without notice and didn't allow him to kiss the kids or have a big sendoff party. Certainly Laban was lying about his intentions, as he would have never willingly let anybody get away. He had tried hard to get his sister, Rebekah, to not go with Isaac. In 31:29, Laban says that he has the power to harm Jacob but is only holding off because of his dream from God. But there is one thing Laban thinks he can be indignant about -- his missing "god". Jacob is sure no one stole it, not knowing that his beloved had done it -- and swears to kill anyone who took it.
Laban searches everywhere. Everywhere except the camel's saddle which Rachel was sitting on. Rachel had hidden the idol there and claimed not to be able to get up to let Laban search because she was on her period! It actually worked!
Now Jacob is tired of Laban's excuses and recounts all the injustices he has suffered at the hands of Laban. Laban still doesn't get it, calling the wives, the children and the flocks belonging to Jacob as "mine" in 31:43. However, he does get the fact that he is without any power and offers to draw up a covenant to keep the two families from hostilities. Jacob's oath is in the name of the
Fear (capitalized) of his father Isaac. Back in 31:42, Jacob referred to "the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac" as well. I need to do a word study on the Fear of Isaac.
The two families depart in peace concluding chapter 31.
Genesis 32-35
Jacob now departs as well, headed for a meeting with Esau. Jacob is scared to death of the brother he had cheated and prepares to "soften him up" a bit with a stream of gifts. Interesting that in his prayer of 32:11-12, Jacob feared for not only himself, but for the mothers and children also. Yet Jacob remembers the promise God made to him. in 32:10, he remembers how much more he has than the last time he made this trip, some twenty years earlier.
The night before the big meeting, Jacob wrestles with "a man" who is later known to be God. Jacob wants to know the wrestler's name -- it is to be a hollow victory for Jacob if he could find out his opponent's name. Instead, Jacob receives a new name, Israel. Instead of being "the deceiver", he is to be known as the one who "wrestles with God". It is interesting how the narrator uses this new name sparingly for Jacob. After all, his old instincts as a deceiver continue to play out in his life.
Jacob now has a limp because of a damaged hip tendon. I wonder the significance of God doing this. The Jews saw something almost deserving of respect for this tendon in other animals as well... another weird reaction.
By chapter 33, Jacob sees Esau coming, so he divided up the family into groups with the most expendible put in the most vulnerable position. The concubines and their children were placed first. Leah and her children were behind them, then Rachel and Joseph (Jacob's greatest treasures) as far away from harm as possible. But the preparations prove unnecessary as Esau comes in friendship, accepting Jacob's gifts only at his brother's insistence.
Jacob still is deceiving Esau as he sends him back home, promising to come. Instead Jacob travels to Succoth instead of to Seir. Eventually he settles near Shechem, where he buys a plot of ground.
The story of Dinah in chapter 34 is ugly no matter how you look at it. When Shechem violates Dinah, it is considered tanamount to rape by her brothers. The Bible is silent on Dinah's willingness in all of this, but that could be nothing. In any case, Shechem falls in love with the woman he has violated and now has his father try to broker a deal for her. The brothers take after Dad and trick the men of Shechem (the city) to be circumcised. While they are still sore from the procedure, Dinah's brothers exact their revenge by killing all the men in the town and plundering all that is left. Soon, God tells Jacob to go back to Bethel, and the family left for that place. According to 35:5, God prevented anyone from the surrounding towns to go after Jacob's family because of the whole affair with Dinah and Shechem.
Jacob's response to the brother's revenge is odd. His fear is for himself and his household, not for the honor of his daughter. His sons obviously disagree with Jacob's sentiments.
God appeared to Jacob again at Bethel in 35:9-12. He again pronounces the name change from Jacob to Israel and speaks the promise which was given to Abraham.
The death of Rachel in 35:19 also marked the birth of Jacob's last son. The boy Rachel had called Ben-Oni, meaning "son of my trouble", his father renamed Benjamin, or son of my right hand. A marker was set up to mark Rachel's grave on the road to Bethlehem. How horrible it must have been for Jacob to see his beloved die, especially in childbirth. The other women of the promise lived to old age, but Rachel would not.
Jacob is finally called Israel by the narrator in 35:21. Has Rachel's death changed the deceiver?
A strange story of Reuben sleeping with his father's concubine, assumedly either Zilpah or Bilhah, is mentioned in passing at 35:22. Jacob mentions it again at the time of his blessings to the family in 49:4.
Finally Isaac dies at the age of 180 and is buried by both Esau and Jacob. In the passage where Jacob steals his father's blessing, Isaac is portrayed as old and feeble (and indeed blind) at that time. Yet he lives at least another twenty years more -- probably many more years than 20.
Genesis 36-39
Chapter 36 is a genealogy of Esau, along with a note that Esau had to move away from Jacob as each were too rich and powerful to be too close together. Sounds like the sibling rivalry never went away.
The account of Jacob beginning in 37:2 is actually the account of Joseph, who is so often presented as a precursor to Christ. Right off the bat, we read about Joseph bringing back a bad report about his brothers. As the baby of the family, the only (at that time) son of Jacob's beloved wife, Joseph had to have annoyed his brothers. Apparently it went far beyond that, with most of the young men willing to kill their kid brother at one point. Joseph's recounting of his dreams were putting the brothers off, as well as even his father. 37:11 says that the brothers were jealous, but "his father kept the matter in mind." It's likely that Jacob didn't know what to do about the whole matter, especially in light of his "most favored child" status already.
Joseph has to look in an unexpected place for the brothers and the flocks. They moved on without unexpectedly. Was it this type of behavior which the "bad report" dealt with earlier on? Were the brothers doing something that they knew Joseph would take back to his father to get them into trouble? Something was up, because they had already planned Joseph's murder between the time they saw him walking on the horizon and the time he actually arrived. Rueben seems to be the voice of reason, but in reality it looks like he wanted a special notice from his father. In 37:22 we see that Rueben wanted to take Joseph back to his father. Somehow I read an ulterior motive into that sentence -- perhaps I'm wrong.
Instead of murder, the boys decide to make a little money for their brother. So they sell him to a band of Midianite merchants -- Ishmaelites -- distant relatives. The price is 20 shekels of silver. Not exactly 30 coins, but strikingly similar. Reuben isn't around to keep his brothers from selling Joseph. It is doubtful he could have even convinced them. So the cover story is concocted, and Joseph's fancy coat is covered in goat's blood and given to Jacob to give him the impression that Joseph has been eaten by wild animals. Note the careful words of verse 32. They don't come out and lie, but they present their father with only the facts they want him to see.
The passage with Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar is an interesting insertion into the narrative. Judah is caught acting in an unhonorable way regarding the giving of his youngest son in marriage to his oldest son's widow. Again, this seems to be a story with no "good guys" and only people of questionable virtue.
Noteworthy is that God put to death Er, who was wicked in the Lord's sight, and his brother Onan, who practiced contraception with his wife to avoid the very reason he was married to her in the first place -- to provide children in the name of his brother. Since this was wicked, God killed Onan also. This is the kind of justice we all dream about until we realize the effect it would have on our lives!
Judah sends Tamar away, thinking his youngest son, Shelah, would probably end up the same as his brothers. Years later, after Shelah had grown and become eligible for marriage, Tamar was forgotten and plotted revenge, of sorts. Posing as a prostitute, she seduced her father-in-law and became pregnant. Judah's efforts to pay for her service came up empty, as Tamar disappeared back into her widow's clothing. Finally, when it was found that Tamar was pregnant, she was to be executed. But she sent a message to Judah -- showing him the staff, seal and cord he left with the "prosititute", signifying that he was the father of the babies.
She gave birth to twins, and the odd story of one hand coming out, then the other twin being born first is shared.
I wonder why finding out that the father was Judah stayed the execution of Tamar. What status did he have to prevent it (and his own execution as well).
We return to Joseph in chapter 39. Twice in this chapter he is put in charge of everything so that his master doesn't even have to worry about anything. Joseph is a very trustworthy person. Of course, Potiphar didn't think so, but that story was false. It is rather amazing how Joseph was able to avoid the attempts at seduction from Potiphar's wife, even leaving his cloak behind to avoid the temptation of being with her. The reason Joseph gives the woman is that it would be a wicked thing to do a sin against God. It would have been especially wicked because Potiphar trusted Joseph so much.
I find it odd that Potiphar's wife referred to Joseph as "this Hebrew" in 39:14, and "that Hebrew in 39:17. There weren't many Hebrews at that time, so I wonder where she would have learned the term to use it, especially perjoritively.
In prison, Joseph became the inmate in charge. Why was Joseph so trustworthy? His integrity for one thing, but the text specifically says that when Joseph was in charge, everything went right for his master. First with Potiphar, then with the prison warden. God gave Joseph success.
Genesis 40- 43
Joseph is still in prison, seemingly lost and wasting away. Although he has some authority, he is stuck in prison with no foreseeable release. When he interprets the dreams of two of Pharoah's servants (check that -- as Joseph points out it was God doing the interpretation), Joseph seemingly has a ray of hope. Sure the baker is going to be executed, but the cupbearer has promised to remember him upon regaining his position with the ruler. Despair slowly reenters Joseph's life as he is literally forgotten, as is the promise the cupbearer made to him.
It was more than two years before Joseph is remembered. It takes the occasion of Pharoah's dream to jog the memory of the cupbearer. Again, when called to interpret, Joseph is careful to note that he cannot interpret dreams but that God can. It must have seemed like a minute distinction to Pharoah and his staff.
Joseph was allowed to shave and change clothes before being presented to Pharaoh. How much "shaving" was necessary for a Hebrew? Did all still wear beards at that point?
God gave Pharoah parallel dreams. He was repeating Himself. Joseph states that the dream came in two forms because "the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon." (41:32) Many commentators point out that when God repeats Himself in Scripture, we should pay even closer attention than normally.
The dream is interpreted and Joseph is the one to come up with a plan of action. Pharoah is taken with the Hebrew and puts him in charge of everything. At 41:40 we see a telling verse: "Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you." That's quite a comment from one with that kind of power.
Pharoah renames Joseph and gives him all the authority in the realm. All this at the age of 30. During the next seven years, Joseph puts his skills to work. Egypt is well prepared for the coming seven years of famine. The storehouses are not even opened to Egyptians until the famine had spread and was being felt all over Egypt. Then Joseph provided relief. He sold the grain -- he didn't give it away.
Word of the presence of food in Egypt reaches Jacob, so he sends ten of his remaining eleven sons off to buy food. He was afraid of something happening to Benjamin, the last remaining son of his beloved Rachel. The loss of Simeon would be bad, but the loss of Benjamin would probably mark the loss of Jacob.
Jacob's treatment of his family is curious. Is he exacting a little revenge? Is he thinking that the brothers will reject him and keep him from his father? His questioning of the brothers seems like he is putting on a front, but certainly if he had revealed himself at the outset, the brothers would have been happy to have brought the rest of the family to Egypt, wouldn't they?
The brothers take the rough treatment and Joseph's insistence upon seeing Benjamin as punishment for what they did to Joseph years earlier. Reuben is even using the "I told you so" approach with the others. Joseph, who had been speaking through an interpreter could hear the "private" conversations and what he was hearing was enough to bring him to tears, but not to reveal himself.
Simeon is bound and jailed while Joseph tells the servants to plant the silver back in the bags of grain, rather than to take them into the treasury. Mind games once again. The nine brothers who return to Jacob are scared to death at finding their payment returned to them in such a way as to suggest they had stolen what they had received. Jacob refuses to let Benjamin go to return, counting Simeon as good as dead, apparently. Finally when the food runs out, Jacob is forced to allow his youngest to accompany his brothers back to Egypt, as Joseph had told them he would not see them again without Benjamin. First Reuben, then Judah promises his father that Benjamin would be safe. Reuben even tells his father to kill Reuben's own two sons if Benjamin doesn't come back safely, in an effort to reassure Jacob of the brother's true intentions.
A double portion of silver is packed along with some gifts and the boys head back to Egypt to buy more grain. Joseph sends instructions to take the family to his own private residence for a meal. The brothers are reassured that the silver they found in their sacks is not stolen, but that God has blessed them.
The brothers bowed low to Joseph -- just as in his boyhood dream -- upon his arrival at home. The meal was served to Joseph by himself in one room, to the brothers as a group in another room, and to the Egyptians in a third location. For some reason, Benjamin got five portions to his brothers' one.
Genesis 44-47
The brothers are sent back to Jacob, but along with their silver, Joseph instructs his men to hide his silver cup in Benjamin's sack. After they have been gone a short time, he sends his men after them, accusing them of stealing the cup. It's odd that Joseph talks about using that cup for "divination" since I would assume that to be forbidden, even back in those times for the patriarchs. Again in 44:15, Joseph leads the brothers to believe that he found out the cup was gone by means of divination. (How he divined that without his cup, he doesn't say.) Was this simply a ruse, playing into the brothers' stereotypes about Egyptians? For that matter, why was Joseph going through all this trickery anyway? Why does he continue the act up until chapter 45? He seems to have found out all that he wanted to know before this latest ruse.
Judah is adament about taking Benjamin's place rather than going back to Israel without his beloved son. It is at this point that Joseph can keep up the act no longer. He sends out all the Egyptians from the room and tells the brothers his true identity. His question is if Jacob is still alive, but his brothers have almost literally seen a ghost. They can't speak.
Joseph reassures them that he is not angry, and encourages them not to be angry with themselves. Much more forgiving than most of us would be in those circumstances. But in 45:5 we see Joseph's mindset -- it was God who sent him ahead of the family. And Joseph knows why: to save not only himself, but his family, and in fact, all of Egypt. Joseph was the savior in God's hands.
Joseph sends the brothers back to fetch Jacob amid lots of tears. The family will settle in Goshen to ride out the famine (and years to come as well). Pharoah goes one better and tells the family to take empty carts back to Canaan to haul their belongings back to Egypt. But the Pharoah tells them they shouldn't bring everything, for they will have everything they need in Egypt! A great promise from the leader of a country deep in famine.
Jacob is beside himself when he finds out that not only is Joseph still alive, but that he will get to see him before he dies. On the way to Egypt, God gives him reassurance again in a vision at Beersheba, after Jacob had offered sacrifices to God there. Jacob was indeed a thankful man. Judah is sent ahead to get directions to Goshen. Joseph is ready to see his father again, and again the tears flow.
Including Joseph's sons in Egypt, the Israelites now numbered 70 direct descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as they settle in the land of Goshen.
Five of the brothers are sent to Pharoah to insure that the Hebrews will be able to live in the prime portion of Goshen. Joseph tells the brothers to be sure to tell Pharoah that they are shepherds and have been all their lives. Egyptians wanted nothing to do with shepherds, so this must have been the best way to get the best land. Pharoah even asks Joseph to find one trustworthy to be in charge of Pharoah's own livestock. I wonder whom Joseph thought to be the most trustworthy.
Finally Jacob meets Pharoah. The NIV text says that he "blessed" Pharoah at meeting him and leaving him, but the footnotes make me think it wasn't so much a blessing as a polite greeting like, "May the Lord be with you," or something to that effect.
Beginning at 47:13, we see Joseph dealing with the hungry Egyptians in the midst of famine. He sells them reserved food in exchange for their livestock, then finally in exchange for their freedom. By selling them this food, the Egyptians have been sold into slavery to Pharoah, and Pharoah owns all the land except for that which was owned by the priests.
It was a benevolent slavery as the people could still work the land and keep 4/5 of what they grew, with the other 1/5 going to Pharoah -- a 20% tax bracket.
Finally Jacob is turning 147 and is preparing to die. He makes Joseph promise that his bones will go back to Canaan to be buried along with his family.
Genesis 48-50
Jacob is nearing death and Joseph and his two sons are summoned. Word of Joseph's arrival strengthens Jacob to actually sit up. It probably took all he had to do it. His announcement that Ephraim and Manasseh would be equal to his own sons is confusing. Why would Jacob make such a move? Certainly the two each became fathers of "half-tribes" so the number 12 is unchanged. And Jacob switches the first born and the second born, to Joseph's displeasure. We aren't told why, except that in the blessing Jacob declares that Ephraim will be the greater of the two. Is it that Jacob still has to have some sense of control? Was he working through God?
Interesting that Jacob makes a big deal of seeing Ephraim and Manasseh in 48:11, as if he has never seen them. Could it be that Joseph never brought the boys to meet their grandfather before this time?
I hadn't really thought about it before, but Jacob tells Joseph to be sure he is buried in the tomb with Abraham and Sarah, and Isaac and Rebekah and with Leah. Rachel was buried along the road, but Jacob chooses to be buried with the "other" wife -- probably simply because his parents and grandparents were there and because of the historical significance.
Jacob's blessing of his sons begins with three bad blessings -- Reuben will no longer excel because of his sin with his step-mother in Genesis 35:22. Simeon and Levi will be scattered and dispersed because of their murderous revenging of Dinah in Genesis 34. Judah's exploits with Tamar (Genesis 38) are not mentioned by the patriarch. In fact the best blessing of all is saved for Judah. His tribe is to be the ruling tribe, in the person of the Messiah. Zebulun will be on the sea, Issachar will get good land, but will become slaves. Dan and Gad are each described as biting and striking heels. Asher will make rich food. (?!) Naphtali is set free? Joseph became strong because of God, who blesses him. He inherits all Jacob's blessings and is called the prince among his brothers. That dream of everyone bowing down to Joseph makes even more sense now. Benjamin is a wolf and a scavenger.
Then Jacob dies some time after telling Pharoah he is 130. We're not given his exact age. Joseph has his father embalmed and petitions Pharoah to allow him to take Jacob back to Canaan for burial. The Egyptians mourned for 70 days. Joseph observed a seven day mourning while near the Jordan. The burial party looked to be mostly Egyptian to the locals, calling the spot where Joseph and company stayed in mourning, "mourning of the Egyptians."
After Dad was gone, the brothers feared Joseph's retribution, but Joseph reassures them once again in 50:20, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good..." One might think that the brothers would realize their family line was safe after Jacob's blessing, but fear can make a person believe most anything.
Finally Joseph dies, after getting his brothers to swear that his bones would be buried in the promised land. Joseph was the first of the twelve brothers to die, at the age of 110. That would have to have put Reuben somewhere near 130 at that time.
Well, let's see... the creation of the universe and the fall of man all in one day's reading, eh? Just another bland day! I'll see if I can find something to write about!
It seems that the first thing God created out of nothing was water, as we see the Spirit of God hovering over the waters even before light hits the scene. And that light has no apparent source until Day 4. Yet there is day and night,evening and morning. On Day 2, God spearates the waters and inserts the sky in the midst of it. That means above the sky was a whole bunch of water. That will come into play when we hit the Great Flood. Plants and trees come in on Day 3 once dry land appears. Light, sky and sea, land and plants so far.
The sun and the moon show up in Day 4, although the moon isn't referred to by name. The purpose of these two are to separate day from night, to serve as markers for seasons, days and years and to give light. On Day 5 we get sea creatures and birds. The sea animals are instructed to be fruitful and multiply. Then on Day 6 the land animals appear just before man is made. Sun and moon, sea animals, land animals. A bit of symmetry between Days 1-3 and Days 4-6.
Man is created in God's image. Not a physical image, obviously as God is spirit. And both male and female are in His image. Man is also told to befruitful and multiply and all green plants are given as food to man and animals.
Day 7 is holy, not because God rested His tired bones, but because He stopped His creating.
Chapter 2 gives us more detail about man's creation and the Garden of Eden. It's rather amusing that we are told that God had planted a garden "in the east"like we would try to figure out where exactly east is. New York? Jerusalem? Tokyo? Obviously it's east of the setting for much of the Bible, and with the Tigris and Euphrates running out of it, Eden must have been somewhere around Northern Iraq.
The two trees mentioned in the garden are special trees. The tree of life gives some kind of life-sustaining fruit because the possibility of sinful man eating from this tree and never dying is the reasoning behind Adam and Eve's banishment and the guarded entrance to the garden mentioned at the end of chapter three. The tree of knowledge was the one with the tasty-looking fruit.
It is striking that Eve wasn't made like every other animal -- from dust. Perhaps she was taken from Adam's side (or rib) is so that Adam would seeher as an equal, not simply another animal, albeit a special one. It's pretty evident that God has a one woman - one man arrangement based on 2:24.
Chapter three reads like a bizarre story. Talking snakes will do that.
Eve exaggerates what God told them about the fruit of the tree of knowledge. God didn't ban them touching the fruit, although it would have been a good idea based on what happened. Satan's lie is a contemporary one. We all want to be like God. How different our life would be if we didn't have to worry about good vs. evil!
The first thing the couple realized when their eyes were opened was their nakedness. They felt shame, apparently about their differences physically? Why do we have an inherent shame over our bodies? For Adam and Eve it wouldn't have been lust, I wouldn't think. What is immediately shameful about a naked body in that context?
I wonder what the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day sounded like.
Adam, then Eve play the blame game.
Adam: Well it was that woman you put here with me.
Eve: Well, it was that serpent.
The serpent didn't have anyone to blame it on.
Man's punishment is the curse of the ground. Woman's punishment is the pain of childbirth and being "ruled over" by the husband. The snake's punishment is interesting. Did the snake have legs originally? Or just the talking ones?
The protoevangel in 3:15 is the reminder of Jesus' eventual victory. It was the scene in The Passion of the Christ preview where we see Jesus' foot crush the snake when I began to take that movie seriously. That's what it's all about and here we see just a whisper of the plot of salvation.
Adam and Eve's clothes were provided by God, assumedly from the skins of animals which gave their lives at this point. Death has entered the picture.
Genesis 4-7
Another meaty section. We always assume Cain is the first baby ever born and Abel is the second, but nothing really suggests that except the absence of recording any other births. "With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a son," which is said to be the reason for the name "Cain" seems like it might be a new experience for Eve, but it really doesn't have to be. Of course we never get to read about the birth of any daughters, nor do we hear another female named until 4:19 when he read about Lamech's wives. Cain's wife would be his sister or niece -- one of the unmentioned children we see in 5:6 and 5:8.
Abel's sacrifice was the fat of some of the firstborn, while Cain's sacrifice was simply some of the fruits of the soil. It seems that Abel put God's portion first while Cain gave "leftovers". Abel put God first while Cain thought of himself and his interests first.
Seth is a "replacement" child to Eve. The genealogy of chapter five is interesting in the details given and the details omitted. The math tells you that Methuselah died the same year as the flood (although not necessarily IN the flood). Besides the long life spans of these people, it looks odd that these men were still producing children at age 90, 105, 162, etc. Not to say that these were their first children, but one wonders how many children these people had, how early they started having them and how long they continued conceiving children. All this and we're not even thinking about Noah being 500 when he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japeth. Were these the only three righteous sons or were they his only children?
The Nephilim, the heroes of old. Legends in their own time. I don't think they were angels because angels are not reproducing beings. Nowhere else is anyone thought to be the child of an angel. The NT tells us that angels don't marry, etc. The Nephilim must have been heroic people. They are not mentioned post-flood (that I'm aware of), so the thought of 9 foot, 9 inch Goliath being descended from Nephilim doesn't make sense.
Every inclination of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil all the time. That's evil, friends. Is that worse than today? Hard to say.
Noah builds the ark, but God brings the animals to him and it's God who shuts the door. Many claim it didn't rain at all before the Big One. It's possible, although what really makes the flood is not simply rain, but the springs of the great deep and the floodgates of heaven opening up.
Seven of every kind of clean animal, two of every unclean. Gotta have food on the voyage. Seven of every kind of bird also. No allowances for sea creatures. They are never mentioned. Some have argued with me that the sea creatures would have died in the polluted waters. I'm sure many did, but not all (obviously).
Forty days and nights of rain. 150 days of flood. Five months.
Genesis 8-11
Noah and the family spent a whole lot of time on that ark. The boat hit Ararat on 7/17, but they didn't get out until 2/27. That's over 6 months just sitting there landed, most of that time with no waves or water even touching the ark. Understanding that they didn't get out until all areas of the earth were available to be inhabited.
The first animal sent out of the ark was a raven which kept flying back and forth. I assume it lit on top of the ark or something for a while and didn't remain flying for weeks. The dove which finally brought back an olive branch showed that not only was the earth drying, but vegetation had started growing once again.
Some of the clean animals who rode the ark for just over a year (The ark was closed on 2/17) were offered as a sacrifice after the landing. The springs of the deep were closed as were the floodgates of the heavens. And God's sign of the covenant, the rainbow, must have been a new sight for the humans -- again giving credence to the idea that rain hadn't happened before the flood.
Meat with blood is prohibited in chapter nine. No rare steak. Although everything is given to the hands of man.
The account of the drunken, naked, passed out Noah is odd. Had the boys really never seen Noah naked before? Shem and Japeth went through dramatic means to be sure they didn't see anything embarrassing. And Noah didn't curse Ham, but his son Canaan. Why? Was Canaan the only child at this point? Was he conceived on the ark or are we talking years later? Certainly Noah was around for 350 years, so there's no real timetable here.
The geneaologies of chapter ten seem rather edited for length. The Japheth line is remarkably short. Only two sets of grandkids are mentioned. The mention of "Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord" is quite odd. I wonder what the Hebrew looks like there at 10:9. The Canaanite clans were the people conquered later in Genesis.
In 10:25, we see mention of Peleg (meaning "division") so named because "in his time the earth was divided." I wonder what this refers to. Continental drift? Civil war?
A short mention in 10:31 that these are "the sons of Shem by their clans and languages..." -- this occurs right before the whole Babel narrative in chapter 11.
Genesis 12-14
Abram is called from Haran where he, Sarai, Lot and his father Terah had been living. In chapter eleven they tried moving to Canaan, but stopped at Haran, coincidentally the name of Lot's father who had passed away in Ur. Abram receives God's call and must have wondered about becoming a great nation even at that point, having no children. Now at the age of 75, Abram is off to wherever the Lord is telling him to go. After a brief stop at Shechem, he moved on to somewhere between Bethel and Ai. He had built an altar at Shechem, then again at Bethel. Then he took off for Egypt. I wonder what was spurring him onward. The Lord had appeared to him already, but Abram keeps going.
The sister/wife lie in Egypt eventually catches up to Abram, although it doesn't turn out as poorly as it could have. Pharaoh could have easily just had Abram killed, but the diseases probably convinced Pharaoh to letAbram and Sarai live. Hard to believe that a pillar of faith like Abram could let his wife be taken and used by another just to ease his fears of being killed.
Lot takes the greener pastures in chpater 13. Greener pastures, but lousy neighbors! Abram goes to Hebron and builds yet another altar. Lot's neighbors get him into trouble, as Sodom is sacked by a bunch of kings under Kedorlaomer. Abram becomes a mighty warrior -- something that doesn't usually come to mind when thinking of Abram. In 14:14 we are given an exact count of Abram's make shift army -- 318. Odd bit of detail.
The mysterious Melchizedek, King of Salem/Jerusalem makes his quick apprearance at this point, blessing Abram and honoring God. Abram gives the priest a tithe -- the first tithe mentioned in Scripture. I wonder what possessed Abram to do this. The part where Abram refuses help from the king of Sodom seems logical though.
Chapter fifteen features a recounting of God's call upon Abram and this time it is in the form of a covenant. "Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness" at 15:6, which of course pops up again in Romans 4. The Lord confirmed the covenant with an elaborate scene of birds and carcasses cut in half. This was a normal setting for a human covenant with the two parties walking through together. This time the only one to pass through was God, indicating that God alone could keep such a covenant.
Genesis 16-18
"OK. I get it, God. You need us to help You out in this whole "father of a great nation" business, eh? So let's get another woman involved in all this. What could go wrong?"
Hagar. A maidservant of Sarai who was thrust into a tough situation. She's not exactly blameless here though. By 16:4, she was getting nasty to her mistress -- apparently holding her pregnancy over Sarai's head, as it were. She probably didn't begin all the bitterness, but she gave it its first voice. From there, the roof begins to cave in. Sarai complains to Abraham, Abe washes his hands of the whole problem and Sarai mistreats Hagar until she runs off. I found it interesting that in 18:3 it says that Sarai gave Hagar "to her husband to be his wife." Bigamy. Not just an out-of-wedlock birth. I'd like to look in the the translation of that verse.
What a comment to make about a person: "He will be a wild donkey of a man," said the angel of the Lord to Hagar about Ishmael. The Bible doesn't tell us a lot about Ishmael, but his story is probably very interesting. The Westerner in me wonders if the Middle Eastern trouble isn't rooted in a conflict between a stiff-necked people (Jews) and the descendants of a man whose "hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers." Doesn't sound like a promising situation, does it?
Chapter 17 screams one question: Why circumcision? Of all the signs God could have come up with, why would the removal of penile foreskin be the chosen sign? Does this speak to male pride and sexual dominance? Maybe God taking men down a peg? I get the image of a slave being purchased by Abraham, then being told what had to happen to him to be a part of Abraham's household!
Abraham laughed, Sarai laughed... names were changed. When God changes your name, watch out! Abraham had Ishmael at the age of 86, yet he thought that being 100 was over the hill? How long had it been since the days of Genesis 5, when people lived to be 900 and were having children into their 600s? The perspective on Sarai/Sarah I can understand though.
At chapter 18, the three visitors arrive. The text announces them as "the LORD" and Abraham hurredly is making preparations to feed them. Part of this could be the culture to take care of travelers, but somewhere early on Abraham realizes he is speaking with God. I'd be tempted to call the three "men" Father, Son and Holy Spirit except that chapter 19 begins by talking about "the two angels" who go to Sodom. The angel of the Lord is usually agreed to be a reference to the Second Person of the Trinity -- a pre-incarnate Jesus. I'm not sure exactly why the Second Person is singled out rather than the Third or First. In any case, Abraham addresses the angel of the Lord as deity.
The "bargaining session" looking for a few good men in Sodom is fascinating. Abraham realizes that there aren't many good folk in that town. The Lord knows it too. Abraham doesn't go down to four people which would have covered Lot, his wife and two daughters.
Genesis 19
What a strange chapter! On so many different levels this passage is disturbing. First we see the two angels headed to Sodom, only to be spotted by Lot at the city gate. Lot knew there was something special about these two -- just as Abraham sensed something about his visitors a chapter earlier. The angels said they were planning on spending the night in the town square -- what a scene that would have been! Odd enough the way it turned out. Lot strongly persuaded the two to spend the night at his house. He fed them, but before bedtime, a crowd gathers outside the house. I get weird flashbacks to watching "Night of the Living Dead" when I was younger from this passage. The text says that "All the men from every part of Sodom -- both young and old -- surrounded the house." They called on Lot to send the two men (angels) out to be raped -- technically sodomized.
Lot knew there was something about these two, as I doubt he would have gone to such lengths to protect two ordinary visitors. Still it's surprising what he offered the mob outside. Two virgin daughters were not a good enough trade for the crowd. 1) What an offer! and 2) How disturbed were these Sodomites, anyway?
It was the angels who pull Lot to safety in the house, then they struck the mob blind. When the mob broke up (apparently) Lot went to recruit his "sons-in-law" to flee with the family while the city would be destroyed. The two who laughed him off. So Lot, his wife and two daughters head for Zoar after convincing the angels that Lot couldn't handle the trip up to the mountains. The next morning the fire and brimstone fell, not only on Sodom, but on Gomorrah and in the entire plain region. A large meteor? Perhaps. Whatever it was, it did the job.
Job's wife looks back on the city as she runs and "she became a pillar of salt." Here's another place I'd love to study the Hebrew. Whatever the exact context, Lot's wife hesitated, looked back in identification with that city. When she did so, she disobeyed the instructions given by the angels in 19:17. Oddly, the instructions were given just after Lot hesitated to leave in 19:16. Now, with the plain charred and smoking, Lot and his two daughters are the only survivors. Lot's wife was dead, perhaps buried by falling debris and buried -- thus causing the pillar of salt reference.
Lot and his daughters left Zoar because Lot was afraid to live in that city. We're not told why. Perhaps he was identified as a Sodomite and the people of Zoar wanted to get rid of him. In any case, Lot takes his daughters and lives in a cave in the mountains -- hermit style. The daughters then devise a plan to keep the family line going. On sucessive nights, the girls get Dad drunk and each sleep with him, conceiving a son. It's hard to get past the "ick-factor" on this one. Comparisons to Abraham and Sarah's plan with Hagar spring to mind. Each plan worked. Ishmael became the father of the arabic peoples. Lot's new children were the fathers of the Moabites and the Ammonites.
Genesis 20-23
The account of Abraham and Abimelech is a rerun of Abraham's mistake with Pharoah years earlier. Interesting that Abraham feared that king taking Sarah from him. With Pharoah, it was that Pharoah would see Sarah's beauty and take her for himself. With Abimelech, Sarah is 74 years old -- hardly the picture of a beauty queen! Yet the same thing happens, only God keeps Abimelech from sleeping with Sarah -- thus saving his family.
The admission that Abraham and Sarah are really half-sisters shocks us in today's culture, especially with all the birth defects from close marriage these days. But those laws weren't given until Exodus, a good 400-500 years later. When a spouse was needed, the family was the first place to look at that point. (Although the bit with Lot's daughters and Lot is still a bit much.)
Isaac finally comes and Hagar and Ishmael are sent away. The boys were having a real sibling rivalry. Ishmael will become the father of a nation also. The reason Ishmael will be a nation is because of Abraham according to 21:13.
Chapter 22 is often read and seen as a precursor to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The emotions of Abraham are hard to gauge. Certainly he must have been overwhelmed at the hearing of God's instructions of 22:2, yet by 22:5 he tells his servants that "we" will go worship and "we" will come back. The faith of Abraham. Isaac must have shared that faith, or at least had a strong confidence in his father.
Abraham's obedience is given as the reason why all nationss on earth would be blessed through Isaac in 22:18.
At Sarah's death, Abraham finally buys some land. He has been, since leaving Ur, a nomad living in tents, even though he became "like a prince" to the surrounding peoples. Ephron tries to give Abraham a grave for Sarah, but Abraham insists on paying the price. His time is almost over.
Genesis 24-27
We read precious little about Isaac in the Scriptures. This passage contains almost all of the details of his life, aside from the time on Mt. Moriah in chapter 22, and the report of his death in chapter 35. What we find out is hardly impressive.
Chapter 24 deals with the finding and bringing back of Rebekah to be Isaac's wife. A nameless servant of Abraham is given the duty, and his specific prayer request is answered as asked. Abraham has apparently heard from God about where to obtain a wife. Either that or he has great confidence that God will approve of finding a wife for Isaac among Abraham's family rather than among the Canaanites.
One of the more interesting characters in chapter 24 is Rebekah's brother, Laban. Of course we know he'll pop up again, but he's already displaying a need to be in charge of the situation.
The servant gave costly gifts to Rebekah, her mother, and to her brother Laban, but not to her father?
It's interesting that we assume the servant is traveling alone until verse 32 when the other men are mentioned, as well as the number of camels.
Abraham's third wife is mentioned briefly in chapter 25. Six more children, but the entire estate went to Isaac. The other children were packed off and sent away from Isaac. At 25:6, the text mentions "concubines." Hagar was a "wife" according the to earlier text, but could it just have been "marital relations"? Keturah is described as a "wife", so I wonder who we're missing. It is possible that Keturah and Hagar are who is meant, but the text as translated is vague.
The twins are born in chapter 25 as well. It's apparent they aren't identical! It's also apparent they won't be getting along well. The account of the birthright seems so odd. How hungry can a person be? If a bowl of stew means that much, then Esau truly did despise his birthright. Of course I wonder what made Jacob think to ask for the birthright in the first place.
In chapter 26, we see Isaac getting the Promise directly from God, as his father had also. Sadly, we read also that Isaac didn't learn from his father's mistakes. Again a patriarch tries the "she's my sister" line to avoid danger, only to narrowly avoid horrible consequences. We also see that Isaac has his father's financial skills, eventually becoming so powerful that he is sent away as too
big of a threat.
At 26:34-35, we read of Esau's two Hittite wives and that "They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah." Certainly an in-law situation is tough, but it seems that these two women really rubbed Isaac and Rebekah the wrong way -- so much so that Rebekah is the one to be sure that Jacob's wife is from the family.
The thievery of the blessing is a well-told story. The deception of Rebekah foreshadows the trickery of her brother, Laban in the next passage. "Let the curse fall on me," says Rebekah when Jacob fears a curse if Isaac discovers the deception. When Jacob brings in the "tasty food" he lies to his father directly three times: "I am Esau, your firstborn," "The Lord your God gave me success," and "I am [really Esau]." The trick is well thought-out, taking into account Esau's hairiness and his scent -- two things a sightless man would instantly recognize. Only the voice is a giveaway, but still Isaac believes his hands and his nose instead of his ears.
The blessing itself seems irrevokable. Isaac cannot take it back, as he admits in 27:33. The cry to "Bless me -- me too, my father!" is heartbreaking in a way, as Esau has nothing left to hope for. Except revenge. The idea of a blessing or a curse seems so foreign to me... especially one that is irrevokable.
Genesis 28-31
We resume Jacob's story as he is sent off to find a wife by his parents, although Rebekah's reason to send Jacob away is to save his life from his brother, Esau. Jacob is sent back to Laban, his uncle, to find a wife from his daughters. Of course Jacob winds up with two of Laban's daughters, but that comes later. Even Esau buys the story of looking for a "family" wife, as he takes another -- this one from the family of his relative Ishmael. On the tip to Paddan Aram, Jacob stops for the night and is given a vision of a staircase or ladder reaching from earth to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it. Then above it was the Lord, who affirmed the covenant with Abraham and designated it to Jacob, promising him to watch over him and bring him back to the land he is to inherit. Jacob thinks this is the gate of heaven itself and calls it Bethel -- house of God. He vows to make God his God since he has been promised safety and care. He also promises a tithe, although I have no idea how he is planning to offer this tithe to God.
When Jacob finally arrives in chapter 29, he is immediately taken with Rachel. Laban comes out to greet Jacob and welcomes him. After a month, Laban tells Jacob to stop working for free and to name his wages. Jacob then asks for Rachel in exchange for seven years' work. It seems like Laban is taking advantage of Jacob at this point, and probably is. He gets seven years worth of labor for his daughter. Meanwhile at the wedding feast, Daddy Laban pulls the old switcheroo and instead sneaks in the daughter with the "weak eyes" without Jacob's knowledge. How it was that Jacob didn't figure out it was the wrong sister until after a honeymoon night with her is mysterious. However there was some poetic justice in that Jacob was deceived just as Jacob had deceived his own father. Jacob could only be partly outraged. He had reaped as he had sown.
Leah was put in a no-win situation. She was immediately the unwanted wife. She was likely put up to it by her father. Had she not done so, she would have been shamed in Paddan Aram and wound up an old maid. But she was now married to a man who would take good care of her. And she had children -- six boys and a girl. However in the naming of the boys, Leah reveals that she is still seeking her husband's favor, which she never really gets.
A week after the first wedding comes the second and Jacob finally has his Rachel. The first seven years worked to get her seemed like only a few days. In 29:30 we are explicitly told that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. From his actions throughout his lifetime, it is obvious that Rachel is the ONE for him.
The fight over the children in chapter 30 seems so bizarre to a monogamous man like myself. Bartering for who gets to sleep with the husband is strange. So is the practice of giving a woman's maidservant to be her husband's concubine. In today's culture, that's almost instant divorce! But this is a blended family. Four birth mothers, two wives who are sisters to one another, two servants who have slept with the master, and children everywhere. Only Dinah is mentioned, but it seems that there are some unmentioned daughters in the household as well.
Eleven of the sons are there with only Benjamin yet to come as Rachel dies in childbirth in chapter 35.
After Jacob's fourteen years of service to Laban are up, Laban manipulates him into staying in Paddan Aram, as Laban has gotten richer with God blessing Jacob's efforts. So Jacob outfoxes the fox and through some mystery of animal breeding, builds his own flocks while Laban's power is diminished. Jacob found (or is told) a way to insure that flocks would have streaked, speckled or spotted offspring by using tree branches cut in a certain way. The stronger animals he would
breed to produce offspring for himself and the weaker animals would be bred to produce offspring for Laban. Jacob became rich and powerful and Laban and his servants were resentful.
In 31:3, God tells Jacob to get back home, so Jacob calls the wives to the fields and explains the situation. Here we see that Laban has been trying to get the best of the deal for years, but only Jacob knows the secrets. This is payback for Laban's dirty dealing. The more he tries to manipulate, the more he fails.
Jacob and family and their entourage while Laban is off shearing sheep. Rachel also, for some unknown reason, steals a "household idol" from her father. By the time Laban gets back home, Jacob and company have been gone for three days. Laban goes off in pursuit for seven days until he catches up to Jacob. But on the night before he met with the family, Laban was given a dream telling him to behave himself, essentially.
At the meeting, Laban pleaded for the folks to return. He complained that they sneaked off without notice and didn't allow him to kiss the kids or have a big sendoff party. Certainly Laban was lying about his intentions, as he would have never willingly let anybody get away. He had tried hard to get his sister, Rebekah, to not go with Isaac. In 31:29, Laban says that he has the power to harm Jacob but is only holding off because of his dream from God. But there is one thing Laban thinks he can be indignant about -- his missing "god". Jacob is sure no one stole it, not knowing that his beloved had done it -- and swears to kill anyone who took it.
Laban searches everywhere. Everywhere except the camel's saddle which Rachel was sitting on. Rachel had hidden the idol there and claimed not to be able to get up to let Laban search because she was on her period! It actually worked!
Now Jacob is tired of Laban's excuses and recounts all the injustices he has suffered at the hands of Laban. Laban still doesn't get it, calling the wives, the children and the flocks belonging to Jacob as "mine" in 31:43. However, he does get the fact that he is without any power and offers to draw up a covenant to keep the two families from hostilities. Jacob's oath is in the name of the
Fear (capitalized) of his father Isaac. Back in 31:42, Jacob referred to "the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac" as well. I need to do a word study on the Fear of Isaac.
The two families depart in peace concluding chapter 31.
Genesis 32-35
Jacob now departs as well, headed for a meeting with Esau. Jacob is scared to death of the brother he had cheated and prepares to "soften him up" a bit with a stream of gifts. Interesting that in his prayer of 32:11-12, Jacob feared for not only himself, but for the mothers and children also. Yet Jacob remembers the promise God made to him. in 32:10, he remembers how much more he has than the last time he made this trip, some twenty years earlier.
The night before the big meeting, Jacob wrestles with "a man" who is later known to be God. Jacob wants to know the wrestler's name -- it is to be a hollow victory for Jacob if he could find out his opponent's name. Instead, Jacob receives a new name, Israel. Instead of being "the deceiver", he is to be known as the one who "wrestles with God". It is interesting how the narrator uses this new name sparingly for Jacob. After all, his old instincts as a deceiver continue to play out in his life.
Jacob now has a limp because of a damaged hip tendon. I wonder the significance of God doing this. The Jews saw something almost deserving of respect for this tendon in other animals as well... another weird reaction.
By chapter 33, Jacob sees Esau coming, so he divided up the family into groups with the most expendible put in the most vulnerable position. The concubines and their children were placed first. Leah and her children were behind them, then Rachel and Joseph (Jacob's greatest treasures) as far away from harm as possible. But the preparations prove unnecessary as Esau comes in friendship, accepting Jacob's gifts only at his brother's insistence.
Jacob still is deceiving Esau as he sends him back home, promising to come. Instead Jacob travels to Succoth instead of to Seir. Eventually he settles near Shechem, where he buys a plot of ground.
The story of Dinah in chapter 34 is ugly no matter how you look at it. When Shechem violates Dinah, it is considered tanamount to rape by her brothers. The Bible is silent on Dinah's willingness in all of this, but that could be nothing. In any case, Shechem falls in love with the woman he has violated and now has his father try to broker a deal for her. The brothers take after Dad and trick the men of Shechem (the city) to be circumcised. While they are still sore from the procedure, Dinah's brothers exact their revenge by killing all the men in the town and plundering all that is left. Soon, God tells Jacob to go back to Bethel, and the family left for that place. According to 35:5, God prevented anyone from the surrounding towns to go after Jacob's family because of the whole affair with Dinah and Shechem.
Jacob's response to the brother's revenge is odd. His fear is for himself and his household, not for the honor of his daughter. His sons obviously disagree with Jacob's sentiments.
God appeared to Jacob again at Bethel in 35:9-12. He again pronounces the name change from Jacob to Israel and speaks the promise which was given to Abraham.
The death of Rachel in 35:19 also marked the birth of Jacob's last son. The boy Rachel had called Ben-Oni, meaning "son of my trouble", his father renamed Benjamin, or son of my right hand. A marker was set up to mark Rachel's grave on the road to Bethlehem. How horrible it must have been for Jacob to see his beloved die, especially in childbirth. The other women of the promise lived to old age, but Rachel would not.
Jacob is finally called Israel by the narrator in 35:21. Has Rachel's death changed the deceiver?
A strange story of Reuben sleeping with his father's concubine, assumedly either Zilpah or Bilhah, is mentioned in passing at 35:22. Jacob mentions it again at the time of his blessings to the family in 49:4.
Finally Isaac dies at the age of 180 and is buried by both Esau and Jacob. In the passage where Jacob steals his father's blessing, Isaac is portrayed as old and feeble (and indeed blind) at that time. Yet he lives at least another twenty years more -- probably many more years than 20.
Genesis 36-39
Chapter 36 is a genealogy of Esau, along with a note that Esau had to move away from Jacob as each were too rich and powerful to be too close together. Sounds like the sibling rivalry never went away.
The account of Jacob beginning in 37:2 is actually the account of Joseph, who is so often presented as a precursor to Christ. Right off the bat, we read about Joseph bringing back a bad report about his brothers. As the baby of the family, the only (at that time) son of Jacob's beloved wife, Joseph had to have annoyed his brothers. Apparently it went far beyond that, with most of the young men willing to kill their kid brother at one point. Joseph's recounting of his dreams were putting the brothers off, as well as even his father. 37:11 says that the brothers were jealous, but "his father kept the matter in mind." It's likely that Jacob didn't know what to do about the whole matter, especially in light of his "most favored child" status already.
Joseph has to look in an unexpected place for the brothers and the flocks. They moved on without unexpectedly. Was it this type of behavior which the "bad report" dealt with earlier on? Were the brothers doing something that they knew Joseph would take back to his father to get them into trouble? Something was up, because they had already planned Joseph's murder between the time they saw him walking on the horizon and the time he actually arrived. Rueben seems to be the voice of reason, but in reality it looks like he wanted a special notice from his father. In 37:22 we see that Rueben wanted to take Joseph back to his father. Somehow I read an ulterior motive into that sentence -- perhaps I'm wrong.
Instead of murder, the boys decide to make a little money for their brother. So they sell him to a band of Midianite merchants -- Ishmaelites -- distant relatives. The price is 20 shekels of silver. Not exactly 30 coins, but strikingly similar. Reuben isn't around to keep his brothers from selling Joseph. It is doubtful he could have even convinced them. So the cover story is concocted, and Joseph's fancy coat is covered in goat's blood and given to Jacob to give him the impression that Joseph has been eaten by wild animals. Note the careful words of verse 32. They don't come out and lie, but they present their father with only the facts they want him to see.
The passage with Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar is an interesting insertion into the narrative. Judah is caught acting in an unhonorable way regarding the giving of his youngest son in marriage to his oldest son's widow. Again, this seems to be a story with no "good guys" and only people of questionable virtue.
Noteworthy is that God put to death Er, who was wicked in the Lord's sight, and his brother Onan, who practiced contraception with his wife to avoid the very reason he was married to her in the first place -- to provide children in the name of his brother. Since this was wicked, God killed Onan also. This is the kind of justice we all dream about until we realize the effect it would have on our lives!
Judah sends Tamar away, thinking his youngest son, Shelah, would probably end up the same as his brothers. Years later, after Shelah had grown and become eligible for marriage, Tamar was forgotten and plotted revenge, of sorts. Posing as a prostitute, she seduced her father-in-law and became pregnant. Judah's efforts to pay for her service came up empty, as Tamar disappeared back into her widow's clothing. Finally, when it was found that Tamar was pregnant, she was to be executed. But she sent a message to Judah -- showing him the staff, seal and cord he left with the "prosititute", signifying that he was the father of the babies.
She gave birth to twins, and the odd story of one hand coming out, then the other twin being born first is shared.
I wonder why finding out that the father was Judah stayed the execution of Tamar. What status did he have to prevent it (and his own execution as well).
We return to Joseph in chapter 39. Twice in this chapter he is put in charge of everything so that his master doesn't even have to worry about anything. Joseph is a very trustworthy person. Of course, Potiphar didn't think so, but that story was false. It is rather amazing how Joseph was able to avoid the attempts at seduction from Potiphar's wife, even leaving his cloak behind to avoid the temptation of being with her. The reason Joseph gives the woman is that it would be a wicked thing to do a sin against God. It would have been especially wicked because Potiphar trusted Joseph so much.
I find it odd that Potiphar's wife referred to Joseph as "this Hebrew" in 39:14, and "that Hebrew in 39:17. There weren't many Hebrews at that time, so I wonder where she would have learned the term to use it, especially perjoritively.
In prison, Joseph became the inmate in charge. Why was Joseph so trustworthy? His integrity for one thing, but the text specifically says that when Joseph was in charge, everything went right for his master. First with Potiphar, then with the prison warden. God gave Joseph success.
Genesis 40- 43
Joseph is still in prison, seemingly lost and wasting away. Although he has some authority, he is stuck in prison with no foreseeable release. When he interprets the dreams of two of Pharoah's servants (check that -- as Joseph points out it was God doing the interpretation), Joseph seemingly has a ray of hope. Sure the baker is going to be executed, but the cupbearer has promised to remember him upon regaining his position with the ruler. Despair slowly reenters Joseph's life as he is literally forgotten, as is the promise the cupbearer made to him.
It was more than two years before Joseph is remembered. It takes the occasion of Pharoah's dream to jog the memory of the cupbearer. Again, when called to interpret, Joseph is careful to note that he cannot interpret dreams but that God can. It must have seemed like a minute distinction to Pharoah and his staff.
Joseph was allowed to shave and change clothes before being presented to Pharaoh. How much "shaving" was necessary for a Hebrew? Did all still wear beards at that point?
God gave Pharoah parallel dreams. He was repeating Himself. Joseph states that the dream came in two forms because "the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon." (41:32) Many commentators point out that when God repeats Himself in Scripture, we should pay even closer attention than normally.
The dream is interpreted and Joseph is the one to come up with a plan of action. Pharoah is taken with the Hebrew and puts him in charge of everything. At 41:40 we see a telling verse: "Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you." That's quite a comment from one with that kind of power.
Pharoah renames Joseph and gives him all the authority in the realm. All this at the age of 30. During the next seven years, Joseph puts his skills to work. Egypt is well prepared for the coming seven years of famine. The storehouses are not even opened to Egyptians until the famine had spread and was being felt all over Egypt. Then Joseph provided relief. He sold the grain -- he didn't give it away.
Word of the presence of food in Egypt reaches Jacob, so he sends ten of his remaining eleven sons off to buy food. He was afraid of something happening to Benjamin, the last remaining son of his beloved Rachel. The loss of Simeon would be bad, but the loss of Benjamin would probably mark the loss of Jacob.
Jacob's treatment of his family is curious. Is he exacting a little revenge? Is he thinking that the brothers will reject him and keep him from his father? His questioning of the brothers seems like he is putting on a front, but certainly if he had revealed himself at the outset, the brothers would have been happy to have brought the rest of the family to Egypt, wouldn't they?
The brothers take the rough treatment and Joseph's insistence upon seeing Benjamin as punishment for what they did to Joseph years earlier. Reuben is even using the "I told you so" approach with the others. Joseph, who had been speaking through an interpreter could hear the "private" conversations and what he was hearing was enough to bring him to tears, but not to reveal himself.
Simeon is bound and jailed while Joseph tells the servants to plant the silver back in the bags of grain, rather than to take them into the treasury. Mind games once again. The nine brothers who return to Jacob are scared to death at finding their payment returned to them in such a way as to suggest they had stolen what they had received. Jacob refuses to let Benjamin go to return, counting Simeon as good as dead, apparently. Finally when the food runs out, Jacob is forced to allow his youngest to accompany his brothers back to Egypt, as Joseph had told them he would not see them again without Benjamin. First Reuben, then Judah promises his father that Benjamin would be safe. Reuben even tells his father to kill Reuben's own two sons if Benjamin doesn't come back safely, in an effort to reassure Jacob of the brother's true intentions.
A double portion of silver is packed along with some gifts and the boys head back to Egypt to buy more grain. Joseph sends instructions to take the family to his own private residence for a meal. The brothers are reassured that the silver they found in their sacks is not stolen, but that God has blessed them.
The brothers bowed low to Joseph -- just as in his boyhood dream -- upon his arrival at home. The meal was served to Joseph by himself in one room, to the brothers as a group in another room, and to the Egyptians in a third location. For some reason, Benjamin got five portions to his brothers' one.
Genesis 44-47
The brothers are sent back to Jacob, but along with their silver, Joseph instructs his men to hide his silver cup in Benjamin's sack. After they have been gone a short time, he sends his men after them, accusing them of stealing the cup. It's odd that Joseph talks about using that cup for "divination" since I would assume that to be forbidden, even back in those times for the patriarchs. Again in 44:15, Joseph leads the brothers to believe that he found out the cup was gone by means of divination. (How he divined that without his cup, he doesn't say.) Was this simply a ruse, playing into the brothers' stereotypes about Egyptians? For that matter, why was Joseph going through all this trickery anyway? Why does he continue the act up until chapter 45? He seems to have found out all that he wanted to know before this latest ruse.
Judah is adament about taking Benjamin's place rather than going back to Israel without his beloved son. It is at this point that Joseph can keep up the act no longer. He sends out all the Egyptians from the room and tells the brothers his true identity. His question is if Jacob is still alive, but his brothers have almost literally seen a ghost. They can't speak.
Joseph reassures them that he is not angry, and encourages them not to be angry with themselves. Much more forgiving than most of us would be in those circumstances. But in 45:5 we see Joseph's mindset -- it was God who sent him ahead of the family. And Joseph knows why: to save not only himself, but his family, and in fact, all of Egypt. Joseph was the savior in God's hands.
Joseph sends the brothers back to fetch Jacob amid lots of tears. The family will settle in Goshen to ride out the famine (and years to come as well). Pharoah goes one better and tells the family to take empty carts back to Canaan to haul their belongings back to Egypt. But the Pharoah tells them they shouldn't bring everything, for they will have everything they need in Egypt! A great promise from the leader of a country deep in famine.
Jacob is beside himself when he finds out that not only is Joseph still alive, but that he will get to see him before he dies. On the way to Egypt, God gives him reassurance again in a vision at Beersheba, after Jacob had offered sacrifices to God there. Jacob was indeed a thankful man. Judah is sent ahead to get directions to Goshen. Joseph is ready to see his father again, and again the tears flow.
Including Joseph's sons in Egypt, the Israelites now numbered 70 direct descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as they settle in the land of Goshen.
Five of the brothers are sent to Pharoah to insure that the Hebrews will be able to live in the prime portion of Goshen. Joseph tells the brothers to be sure to tell Pharoah that they are shepherds and have been all their lives. Egyptians wanted nothing to do with shepherds, so this must have been the best way to get the best land. Pharoah even asks Joseph to find one trustworthy to be in charge of Pharoah's own livestock. I wonder whom Joseph thought to be the most trustworthy.
Finally Jacob meets Pharoah. The NIV text says that he "blessed" Pharoah at meeting him and leaving him, but the footnotes make me think it wasn't so much a blessing as a polite greeting like, "May the Lord be with you," or something to that effect.
Beginning at 47:13, we see Joseph dealing with the hungry Egyptians in the midst of famine. He sells them reserved food in exchange for their livestock, then finally in exchange for their freedom. By selling them this food, the Egyptians have been sold into slavery to Pharoah, and Pharoah owns all the land except for that which was owned by the priests.
It was a benevolent slavery as the people could still work the land and keep 4/5 of what they grew, with the other 1/5 going to Pharoah -- a 20% tax bracket.
Finally Jacob is turning 147 and is preparing to die. He makes Joseph promise that his bones will go back to Canaan to be buried along with his family.
Genesis 48-50
Jacob is nearing death and Joseph and his two sons are summoned. Word of Joseph's arrival strengthens Jacob to actually sit up. It probably took all he had to do it. His announcement that Ephraim and Manasseh would be equal to his own sons is confusing. Why would Jacob make such a move? Certainly the two each became fathers of "half-tribes" so the number 12 is unchanged. And Jacob switches the first born and the second born, to Joseph's displeasure. We aren't told why, except that in the blessing Jacob declares that Ephraim will be the greater of the two. Is it that Jacob still has to have some sense of control? Was he working through God?
Interesting that Jacob makes a big deal of seeing Ephraim and Manasseh in 48:11, as if he has never seen them. Could it be that Joseph never brought the boys to meet their grandfather before this time?
I hadn't really thought about it before, but Jacob tells Joseph to be sure he is buried in the tomb with Abraham and Sarah, and Isaac and Rebekah and with Leah. Rachel was buried along the road, but Jacob chooses to be buried with the "other" wife -- probably simply because his parents and grandparents were there and because of the historical significance.
Jacob's blessing of his sons begins with three bad blessings -- Reuben will no longer excel because of his sin with his step-mother in Genesis 35:22. Simeon and Levi will be scattered and dispersed because of their murderous revenging of Dinah in Genesis 34. Judah's exploits with Tamar (Genesis 38) are not mentioned by the patriarch. In fact the best blessing of all is saved for Judah. His tribe is to be the ruling tribe, in the person of the Messiah. Zebulun will be on the sea, Issachar will get good land, but will become slaves. Dan and Gad are each described as biting and striking heels. Asher will make rich food. (?!) Naphtali is set free? Joseph became strong because of God, who blesses him. He inherits all Jacob's blessings and is called the prince among his brothers. That dream of everyone bowing down to Joseph makes even more sense now. Benjamin is a wolf and a scavenger.
Then Jacob dies some time after telling Pharoah he is 130. We're not given his exact age. Joseph has his father embalmed and petitions Pharoah to allow him to take Jacob back to Canaan for burial. The Egyptians mourned for 70 days. Joseph observed a seven day mourning while near the Jordan. The burial party looked to be mostly Egyptian to the locals, calling the spot where Joseph and company stayed in mourning, "mourning of the Egyptians."
After Dad was gone, the brothers feared Joseph's retribution, but Joseph reassures them once again in 50:20, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good..." One might think that the brothers would realize their family line was safe after Jacob's blessing, but fear can make a person believe most anything.
Finally Joseph dies, after getting his brothers to swear that his bones would be buried in the promised land. Joseph was the first of the twelve brothers to die, at the age of 110. That would have to have put Reuben somewhere near 130 at that time.
posted by rev-ed @ 3:17 PM
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