2 Peter part three

We are at chapter two verse seven. We have read about god's power to destroy the ungodly, which uses language similar to Jude 6 and 7. Now the author tells us god knows how to rescue the godly, like Lot. He says, "Lot was a righteous man who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men." Go back and read the story of Lot in Genesis 19. This is the Lot who offered his daughter to be raped by an angry mob to save the virtue of a couple of angels. This same Lot got filthy stinking drunk and was raped by his own daughters. Lovely story. Not.

The author continues on, talking of arrogant men who are not afraid to slander celestial beings. Good for them. Why should they be afraid? Well, the author says that not even very powerful angels will slander celestial beings in the presence of the lord. Maybe because none of them exist. Or is it because the slanderers are "brute beasts...born only to be caught and destroyed."

The next verses, from 13-22, are pure vitriol. They malign and slander the author's opposition in a particularly nasty way. He calls them blots and blemishes, carousers, adulterers, seducers, unstable, greedy, accursed, wicked, boastful,  and lustful. He also uses some pretty descriptive metaphors like springs without water, mists driven by a storm, slaves to depravity, dogs returning to vomit (Proverbs 26:11 quote), and sows wallowing in mud. Were they actually that bad? What is the other side of the story? Also,  I urge you to read through the book of Jude, which is quite short. So much of this passage is similar to the language found there.

What was the point of all that hatred? It was this, "If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our lord and savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning." This is a subtle threat  to those christians  who would dare to leave the group, dare to say anything against it,  and go back into the world. "Blackest darkness is reserved for them." This is cult language, calculated to make people fear and quake at the mere thought of leaving, questioning,  or complaining.

We have come to chapter three. The author says, "Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you." That is interesting because many scholars don't believe 1st and 2nd Peter were written by the same person. The language, the format, and the subject matter differ. The author of first Peter wrote in a very Jewish way, referring to the Old Testament with quotations. So far, the author of second Peter Has referred to various parts of the old Testament and to Matthew, but he has drawn significant amounts of  text directly from Jude. What's even more interesting, he used all the bits he got from Jude in the order that they appear in that book, interspersed with his own words. According to my study bible he clearly uses, in order, phrases from Jude 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, and 18. He is a plagiarist.

The author goes on to say he wrote both his letters to "stimulate the reader to wholesome thinking." He wants them to recall the words of the prophets and the command Jesus gave the apostles, but he doesn't say which words and which command. They also need to realize that in the last days scoffers will scoff. (Haters will hate.)They will question the whereabouts of Jesus, as well they should. He supposedly promised he would come back. He hadn't then, and he hasn't yet. The author accuses the scoffers of deliberately forgetting that god's word has the power to create and destroy. Then he explains Jesus's tardy return. "With the lord, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day. The lord is not slow in keeping his promis as some understand slowness." In other words, time means nothing to god, whenever he decides to do something will be the right time.

Till next time.

Hebrews part fifteen

We are now at Hebrews 11:17. It's time to read more about Abraham's faith. Abraham's faith was so great that he offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice when god tested him. God was being a sadistic bastard. He had previously  told Abraham that the promise of numerous offspring would be fulfilled through Isaac. The Hebrews author claims Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac because he "reasoned" that god could raise the dead. Baloney. The author of Hebrews is trying to use the old testament story to prove that belief in resurrection has always been part of Hebrew beliefs. There is actually no indication in most of the old testament that anyone of the ancient Abrahamic tradition believed in a resurrection of the dead. Sheol was the fate of every dead person. The author of Hebrews goes on to say that "figuratively speaking, he (Abraham) did receive Isaac back from the dead." Just so you know, figurative speech doesn't have any more substance than faith.

Next, the author says, that by faith Isaac blessed Jacob's and Esau's future. In other words, he said magical words at them that were supposed to have some mystical power over their lives. By faith, Jacob also "blessed" Joseph's sons. By faith, Joseph spoke of the exodus from egypt and what he wanted done with his bones. Joseph did speak of the Israelites leaving Egypt, going to the promised land, and taking his bones with them, in Genesis 50,  but there were no other specifics. We are not going to go into the fact that none of the stuff we are reading about actually happened. So, it doesn't matter what these supposed patriarchs supposedly said or did and why they did it. It's the same as if we would take the Iliad and the Odyssey seriously.

The author goes on to say, "by faith Moses's parents hid him for three months after he was born because they saw that he was no ordinary child, and they were afraid of the king's edict." Any parent worth being called a parent would try to do anything they could to save their child from death. Faith has nothing to do with it.

 We are also told that "by faith, Moses refused to be called the son of Pharoah's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of god rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time." Again, this never actually happened, but let's look at what Exodus says. Did Moses refuse to be called the son of Pharoah's daughter? Nope, can't find that. Did Moses choose to be mistreated along with the people of god? Nope, can't find that either. In fact, Exodus 2:11 says Moses went out and watched his people doing hard labor.

In Hebrews 11:26, the author says, Moses "regarded disgrace for the sake of christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt because he was looking ahead to his reward." This is blatant nonsense. Go back and read Exodus 2. Moses killed a man and became a fugitive, eventually going incognito as a shepherd. He had no eternal reward in mind only saving his own skin. Moses had no christ in mind.

Next, the author says, "By faith (Moses) left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger, because he saw him who is invisible." At least that part is true to the Exodus story. The reader is also told,"By faith (Moses) kept the passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel." That also happened in the story. Plus, Moses never pleaded on behalf of all the innocent children that would die that night. Nice guy.

Some more things that supposedly happened by faith: the people walked through the Red Sea on dry land, the walls of Jericho fell, Rahab welcomed spies and was not killed. These are all stories that most likely never happened, so faith had nothing to do with them. Besides, if faith was a factor, it wasn't faith in Jesus or a resurrection, was it?

Till next time.

Hebrews part fourteen

We are now at Hebrews chapter eleven, verse 4. Will the famous faith chapter convince us to have faith in Jesus our heavenly high priest? We shall see. The reader is now going to be told about various old testament characters who had faith. First up is Abel. According to the author, faith made Able give a better sacrifice than Cain did. What was different about Abel's sacrifice? It was a Blood sacrifice. The Hebrews author has already told us blood needs to be shed for god to keep his promises. Cain didn't get the blood sacrifice thing so he offered grain. God liked Abel's sacrifice better. As we all know, Cain killed Abel. Now Abel is dead. (Genesis 4)However, according to Hebrews, Abel still speaks by faith. I can't hear him. Can you?

The next faithful person mentioned is Enoch. Enoch didn't die. The old testament tells us god took him away. (Genesis 5) Enoch pleased god because he had faith. "Without faith it is impossible to please god....Anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." You gotta believe, or you get nutthin'. And sometimes you get nothing even when you believe.

Next up: Noah. He built the ark by faith when he was warned about the future flood. By faith he saved his family and condemned the rest of the world. That way he became one of the heirs of righteousness. Great job Noah! It's so righteous to watch everyone die while you float away to safety.

Abraham is fourth on the faithful list. Abraham went to a far away land because a voice in his head told him that the land would eventually be his. He believed it. Abraham lived in the foreign land. So did his son Isaac and grandson Jacob. They were also supposed to be  heirs of the promise that had been given to Abraham. I don't remember if they  heard the voice in their heads too. Abraham's faith made him believe the voice in his head when it told him he would have descendants that were as numerous as stars or grains of sand. Even though his wife was barren and Abraham was no spring chicken, his faith in the voice enabled him to become a father. Is that how babies are made, through faith?

Each of the faithful people mentioned are said to have remained faithful till they died. (Let that be a lesson to you.) They never actually got what the voice in their heads promised them. They just "saw and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted they were aliens and strangers on earth." Except, the Old testament never says that those faithful people  saw and welcomed a promise from a distance. And the only time any of them said they were aliens and strangers was in Genesis 23:4, when Abraham told the Hittites that he was a stranger among them.

Even though those people never said those things, the Hebrews author says that people who do say those things are "looking for a country of their own." (Or one that they can take away from someone else?) Otherwise, they would have taken the opportunity to return to the country they had left. He must be talking just  about Abraham, because this doesn't apply to all the others. The author goes on to say "They (Who's they?) were looking for a better country-- a heavenly one." Of course they were. That's why they never actually mentioned it. Must have slipped their minds.Nevertheless, that''s why god has prepared a (heavenly) city for them. Lucky dogs.

Till next time.

Heaven

I've already covered the topic of hell, so I thought we would do a survey of heaven in the bible. According to Bible Gateway, there are 622 times heaven/ heavens is used in the NIV, 691 in the KJV. It's important to note that it is probable that most of the instances are referring to the area above the earth, the atmosphere, or space. Sometimes that is indistinguishable from the residence of Yahweh.

Strong's concordance shows that through most of the old testament one single Hebrew word is translated into the English word heaven, most of the time. It is the word Shameh, which is defined as pertaining to the sky or the invisible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher "ether" where the celestial bodies (planets) revolve.

This same heaven is the one created by god in Genesis, the one that contains the stars. This is the same heaven that let loose the flood waters that carried the ark. This same heaven is the one that rained fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah. This is the same heaven from which god spoke to Abraham. This is the same heaven to which Jacob's dream ladder reached. This is the same heaven that holds the stars and the dew. It's all the same word. There is no differentiation between the sky/upper atmosphere and the realm of god in the whole book of Genesis.

In Exodus, god talks to Moses from heaven. He sends manna to the Israelites from heaven. In Deuteronomy, god lives in heaven (the sky) and on earth. He speaks from heaven. Smoke and fire goes up to heaven. Rain comes down from heaven, etc. It's all one and the same heaven.

In Joshua, the lord threw stones down from heaven and the sun stood still in heaven. In Samuel, the lord thunders from the same heaven.

More to come.

Malachi, wrap up

After reading Malachi, we can see that it is a very general book admonishing the Israelites to keep the law of Moses and to not slack off when it comes to sacrifices and offerings. It seems to encourage them to think of themselves as specially loved by Yahweh, above the other people groups in the area. They are also told to be faithful to him. Those who get the message, will be favored in the future, when the Lord comes. Those who don't are doomed to destruction. The day of the lord's coming will be foretold by Elijah. Elijah should have been long dead at this time, so  his name must be symbolic.

This book does not specifically mention heaven, hell, angels, Satan, or demons. It does not anchor itself in time by mentioning any kings or other historic figures living at the time of the writing. It also does not mention any secular historic events. In 1:10, temple doors are mentioned, so it was most likely written after the construction of the second temple. It claims to be a message or oracle from Yahweh, yet often shifts between the first and third person points of view.

A book like this would have been applicable as a sermon across many hundreds of years, to pull the Israelites back into compliance whenever they began to look upon their neighbors, and their neighbor's gods,  as not so bad. It would also give the priests leverage when the people would loosen the standards of their sacrifices and offerings. After all, the priests relied on those for their livelihood. The oracle is telling the people to shape up.

Malachi mentions the Old testament names Jacob and Esau, Israel,  Moses, Judah, Levi, and Elijah, that's it. No specific Old Testament events are mentioned except the giving of the law to Moses. However, verse 2:11, which says Judah has desecrated the sanctuary by marrying the daughter of a foreign god, is an oblique symbolic reference to Genesis 38. There, the original Judah, son of Jacob, and who the Jews are named after, married a Canaanite woman. Malachi suggests that such a man will be excommunicated by Yahweh, even if he brings offerings to the lord.

The past portion of Malachi, verses 4:5-6, are viewed by some Christians as prophetic of John the Baptist (symbolized by Elijah) and Jesus (representing Yahweh). It is my contention that you only get there if you already believe Jesus is god in the flesh. Otherwise, it really doesn't make sense, especially since the Israelites had just been told in the verses just before to remember the laws and decrees of Moses. Elijah is there because he was the prophet who supposedly didn't die, but rode a fiery chariot up to heaven. The other prophets are probably all dead by the time of this writing. This author apparently thought a new word from Yahweh was needed to keep the Jews in the proper traditional mindset.

Shepherds part 6

Let's take another look at the article Shepherd's Status. We have seen that Mr. Alcorn offers no evidence for his statement, in paragraph four that shepherds were on the bottom of the Palestinian social ladder in the first century.

Paragraph five goes on to show that Genesis and Exodus imply shepherding is a noble occupation because many of the so called patriarchs were shepherds. I would add Abel, Abraham, And Moses to the list of notable Bible shepherds.

Paragraph six says that the Egyptians despised shepherds because they were agriculturalists. Mr. Alcorn gives no resource for that information. It is true that in Genesis 43 we are told the Egyptians would not eat with the Hebrew because it was detestable for them, but it does not say that it was because they were Shepherds. In chapter 46, we are told that shepherds were detestable to the Egyptians but it doesn't say why. Nevertheless, in chapter 47, Paroah allow the Hebrews to settle in the land of Goshen and tells Joseph that some of them can take care of the Pharoah's own livestock. Here is proof that the Egyptians of the Bible were not solely agriculturalists. Perhaps Philo was correct in saying that it was the rich ruling class of Egyptians that considered shepherds beneath them in social value.

Here is a very interesting article, "Shepherds and Eating with Hebrews: An Abomination to the Egyptians?" Its authors are Jewish and have expertise in Jewish and Egyptian history. They explain that the kind of purity of the table mentioned in Gen. 43 did not happen until later in Egypt's history than when Joseph would have been alive, if he lived. The authors then describe what form these purity rules took.

Mr. Alcorn also implies that a historical enmity between shepherds and farmers goes back to Cain's murder of Abel. I am not disputing that there have been grievances between farmers, or land owners, and shepherds. We will encounter that prejudice in other forms as we continue. However, I would like us to remember that the Cain and Abel story is mythology. Plus, the historicity of the Genesis account is dubious at best, and was written hundreds of years after the supposed events, probably by Israelite religious leaders. Could those religious leaders have had a reason for portraying Egyptians as despising shepherds, the main occupation of the Israelites' legendary patriarchcal leaders? Could the story of Cain the farmer murdering Abel the shepherd have been symbolic of how the Israelites, who saw themselves as historically nomadic shepherding people, felt about those who were farmers and land owners. In other words, a classic case of projection. We do have only one side of the story in the bible. It has often been assumed the biblical account  is the right/true side and the only side that matters. Life is more complicated than that.

To be continued.

Numbers chapter 34

After reading chapter 34:

*This chapter delineates the borders of the land Yahweh is giving the Israelites. The wikipedia article on the promised land has maps that show where these borders would have been. Notice that the area of the promised land differs from that which yahweh promised to Abraham's descendants at the end of Genesis chater 15. There, the the northern border was the Euphrates and the southern border "the river of Egypt."

*After that, Moses says this land will be divided up among the remaining  nine and a half tribes, after the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh get the land they requested on the east side of the Jordan. A leader was to be chosen from each of the nine and a half tribes, for the purpose of portioning out the "inheritance" of the Israelites.

Biblical marriage

Since this has been a hot topic in recent years, I thought we could cover marriage a la Genesis before we move on.

* Adam and Eve are never formally married. After them, marriage is called "taking a wife" which implies that it is a man's decision.

*Cain had to have married either his sister or a supernatural being, if we are to believe that Adam and Eve were the first male and female humans ever. Seth would have had the same choices as Cain. Anyone in the second generation would have had to marry a sibling or the child of two siblings. A third generation person might have had three generations to choose from: the second, third, and fourth, depending on how many children each generation produced.

*Abraham married his half-sister. Nahor married his niece. Isaac, Esau, and Jacob married cousins. Jacob's first two wives were sisters.  I don't suppose we should count the relationship of Lot and his daughters. The children of Shem, Ham, and Japheth would have had extremely limited choices in spouses.

*A bride was purchased with material goods in the case of Rebekah, and seven years of labor in the cases of Rachel and Leah. Jacob was given two more wives by Rachel and Leah. These women had been slaves. Sarah also gave her slave to Abraham.

*We have examples of love and consent with Rebekah and Isaac, and Rachel and Jacob. Abraham loved Sarah. Jacob did not consent to marry Leah and did not love her. I don't imagine he loved his wives' slaves either since he was willing to sacrifice them first if there was an attack. The slave wives don't appear to have had any choice in matter.

*Abraham, Esau, and Jacob, each had more than one wife or partner  at a time.

*Isaac and Esau did not marry their wives until the age of forty. Jacob was around fifty..

*When Tamar's husband Er died, she was expected to marry the next unmarried brother and produce an heir for her dead husband. When the second one died, she was expected to wait for the next unmarried brother, a child, to grow up so she could marry him and produce an heir for her dead husband.

*Many of Abraham's descendants married Canaanites, which was generally frowned upon.  For some reason, relatives back in Haran were more acceptable, even though they were not Yahweh worshippers. Joseph married the daughter of an Egyptian priest of Ra, and that appears to have been okay.

Genesis wrap up

What have we learned from the book of Genesis?

*We don't know who wrote this book or exactly when. Historians place its origin long after Moses would have lived. Nowhere does the book of Genesis claim it is God's word, or is inspired by God. Nor does it claim to be the words of Moses. The Hebrew language  in which Genesis is written comes from approximately the 6th  century B.C.E., about a thousand years after the last events recorded in the book. There are few place name anachronisms.

*We are not told anything about an afterlife, Hell, Satan, or demons. Everybody died and stayed dead, except Enoch.

*The God of Genesis is very powerful but not  omnicient or omnipresent. He is able to do human activities like walking, talking, seeing, smelling, wrestling, and eating. He comes down to earth from some unknown place in the sky where he lives with some unknown others and angels. He likes dead animals, and the smell of roasting meat. He doesn't like grain sacrifices, tall towers, or clueless Pharoah's and kings. He doesn't seem to mind deceit, slavery, or the mistreatment of women. He needs to be reminded of his promises. His powers seem to be limited to being able to manipulate people and nature. He can be overpowered by a man. (Jacob) After God wrestles with Jacob, he no longer appears in physical form as a man. For the rest of the book, he is only seen in visions.

*Nothing derogatory is said about other gods. There are no prohibitions against worshiping other gods. Yahweh ( the lord) is said to be "Abraham's God, " not the only God.

*Angels look and act like regular people. They have a few powers. Sometimes they speak for God. We aren't told why he can't speak for himself.

*Circumcision is an everlasting covenant with all of Abraham's descendants who want to be part of the family and in on the promise of owning the land of Canaan. I underlined everlasting because about 2,000 years in the future a person named Paul will claim it is no longer necessary, and that it was actually just a metaphor. There is no indication in Genesis that circumcision is a metaphor for a spiritual state. It is an act of obedience, pure and simple.

*Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are all enriched, with God's support, at the expense of others, by deceit.

*We are given the supposed names of dozens of rulers of petty Canaanite kingdoms, who lack any proof of their existence.  We are not given any of the names of the at least three Pharoah's of Egypt mentioned in Genesis. This is in spite of the fact that Hebrew writing would not have existed in the time frame of Genesis and that Egypt is a rich source of recorded ancient history.

*The first few chapters are obviously mythological, containing completely unrealistic and magical creation events.

*There are no concrete extra biblical evidences for any of the main characters in the stories contained in Genesis. Many of the place names and people groups are also unknown to history, with a few notable exceptions. The events themselves are also impossible to verify. In fact, it is very reasonable to accept Genesis as an etiological story, written as folk lore for a people (Israelites) trying to forge an identity and explain how their world came to be the way it was at the time of the story's writing. Other people groups had their own explanations of the world and humanity. Today, we know that the history of humanity didn't really revolve around the Middle East. It just happened to have very effective propaganda.

Genesis chapter 50

After reading chapter 50:

*Joseph mourned his father Jacob  and embalmed him in the Egyptian way. Then, he asked Pharoah for permission to take his father's body back to Canaan to be buried. Pharoah gave permission. All the dignitaries of Egypt, Joseph's household,  and Joseph's brothers went to bury Jacob. The children and flocks were left behind. I'm guessing the women were too.

*When they got near the Jordan River, they began a period of loud mourning. The locals noticed. Jacob was buried as he had asked to be, in the cave with his other relatives. After the burial, everyone returned to Egypt.

*Joseph's brothers began to worry that Joseph might be holding a grudge for what they did to him. Perhaps he hadn't acted on it because of their father. Now that dad was dead, what was he planning to do? So they sent a message to Joseph asking for forgiveness. Then, they went to Joseph and offered themselves as his slaves. Joseph said he was convinced God had planned everything that way on purpose so they would all live.  He told them not to be afraid, he would continue to take care of them. I wonder how many people who weren't related to Jacob died in the famine. I guess God wasn't as concerned about their welfare.

*Joseph lived 110 years and became a great great grandfather. When he was about to die, he talked to his brothers, most of whom were older than he was. He made them swear an oath and told them that eventually God would come to their aid and help them leave Egypt to go to the land promised to their forefathers. When they did, they were to carry his bones with them. He died, was embalmed and put in a coffin in Egypt. The year would have been approximately 1696 B.C.E.

THE END

Genesis chapter 48

After reading chapter 48:

* Later, Jacob became ill. So, Joseph took his two sons to visit Jacob. Jacob told Joseph how God had appeared to him in the past and told him the land of Canaan would be given to his descendants. He claims Joseph's sons as his own, so that they will inherit part of the territory promised. Then Jacob does something strange and asks who Joseph's sons are, which historians  think is because of the meshing of two traditional stories into one, which also accounts for the names Jacob and Israel not being consistently used.

*Israel can hardly see,like Isaac of old.  So, Joseph brings his children to his father and he kisses and hugs them. Joseph led Manasseh, the oldest,   to Israel's right hand. He put Ephraim at Israel's left. These were the proper birth order blessing places. (These things don't work right unless you do them properly.) However, Israel crossed his arms, putting his hands on the opposite heads, the younger brother receiving the blessing of the first born. Joseph was displeased and tried to correct his father, but Israel said the younger would be greater than the older. In this manner, he continued the younger brother theme that we will see again. Why can't we still give our children prophetic blessings with our hands that will come true?

*Israel says God will be with Joseph  and will take him back to Canaan. The ridge of land that Jacob took from the Amorites would belong to Joseph.

Genesis chapter 47

After reading chapter 47:

*So, Joseph tells Pharoah his brothers are shepherds and they will be staying in Goshen. Pharoah repeats this like it is his idea. Joseph presents his father to the Pharoah who asks how old he is. Jacob says he is 130 short and difficult years old. (Since Joseph would have been about 39, Jacob was 91 when he was born. ) Then Jacob blesses Pharoah and leaves. Joseph gives his family property in the best part of the land, plus all the food they need. The property was said to be in the "district of Rameses" which is an anachronism. No Rameses had been Pharoah yet, and would not be for a few hundred years. This would have been approximately 1767 B.C.E., if we follow biblical chronology.

*Here I have to say a word about chronology. I have departed from Bishop Ussher since Abraham was born and am doing my own calculations based solely on the information given in the text of Genesis. While researching, I found that many adjustments to the chronology were made based on traditions and other books of the bible, even from the New Testament. There was an assumption that this is the chronology of the lineage of the messiah, and that all the scriptures must not contradict each other. I make no such assumptions.

*The famine raged on. People from all over Egypt and Canaan gave their money to Joseph for food, til there was no money left. They begged for food, so Joseph began to take livestock in payment until there was no livestock left. They begged for food again, so Joseph began to take land in payment, until Pharoah owned all the land in Egypt. Joseph reduced the people to servitude. (Nice guy.) The priests were the only ones left with land because they received an allotment of food from Pharoah and did not need to sell their land.

*After Pharoah owned all the land, Joseph gave the people seed and said from whatever they harvested, one-fifth would belong to Pharoah and four-fifths to them. This became a permanent law. You may have heard the phrase " the king's fifth." The priests were exempt. Apparently, so were the Israelites. They had plenty to eat, acquired property, and increased in numbers.

*When Jacob was 147, he called Joseph to him to swear that he would not be buried in Egypt when he died. Joseph swore as his father asked with his hand under Jacob's "thigh." (Read: genitals. )

Genesis chapter 46

Afte reading chapter 46:

*So, Jacob and his descendants living in Canaan, sixty-four males and two females, plus the wives of the males, packed up all their belongings and began the trek  to Egypt. If  Judah's two dead sons plus Joseph's sons in Egypt  are counted, Jacob had 70 direct descendants, only two of them female. What are the odds?

*The daughters were apparently not married. Remember what happened when a Canaanite wanted to marry Dinah? One wonders where the wives of all the sons came from. Only Judah and Simeon are said to have had Canaanite wives.

*They stopped at Beersheba, where Jacob made a sacrifice to the God of his father Isaac. God appeared to him in a vision at night (a dream) and told him not to be afraid of going to Egypt. Then Jacob sent Judah ahead to ask Joseph for directions to Goshen. Joseph went to Goshen in his chariot to meet his father. When they saw each other, they had a very tearful reunion.

*Joseph said Pharoah would be told that they were shepherds which were detestable to the Egyptians. For some reason this would guarantee them a place to settle in Goshen. If we count all the wives and the unmentioned slaves, there must have been well over a hundred people in the group.

Genesis chapter 45

After reading chapter 45:

*After Judah pleads with Joseph, Joseph orders all his attendants to leave the room. He emotionally reveals himself to his brothers and they are terrified. He tells them not to worry about what they did to him in the past, God planned it that way so Joseph could save them from the famine that God created. (Gen. 21:28-32) God's ultimate goal was to "preserve a remnant" of this family, a theme that is echoed in other bible books.

*Joseph tells them that he is  ruler over all of Egypt. The brothers must go get their father and bring him back, along with all their family members and possessions. They will live in the land of Goshen and Joseph will  take care of them because there are still five years of famine left. He charges them to tell their father everything about his high position. Then everyone weeps and hugs and kisses each other.

*Pharoah is told of these events and is pleased. He offers the brothers help traveling to Canaan to get their father,  and promises them everything they need and more. Everyone was loaded with gifts and sent on their way with an admonition not to quarrel along the way. When they got back to Canaan and told Jacob everything, he was stunned. At first he didn't believe them, but the rich gifts convinced him. He agreed to go to Egypt.

*This continues the pattern of each of the patriarchs of this family spending time in Egypt during famines, first Abraham, then Isaac, now Jacob (Israel). Abraham and Isaac were asked to leave. Joseph has been asked to stay.

Genesis chapter 44

After reading chapter 44:

*After the feast, Joseph's steward filled the brothers' sacks with food and put back their silver. Joseph told the steward to also put his personal silver cup in Benjamin's sack. After they had left in the morning, the steward was sent after them to accuse them of stealing the cup Joseph used for "divination." I wonder which  school of witchcraft and wizardry Joseph attended.

*The brothers were confused and protested their innocence. They said that anyone who possessed the cup would become a slave. The steward agreed. The cup was found in Benjamin's sack and the brothers were horrified. They all went back to the city. ( Which Egyptian city was it, by the way?) The brothers told Joseph they could not prove their innocence, so they would all become his slaves. He said that wasn't necessary, only Benjamin would be his slave.

*Judah went up to Joseph and explained what Benjamin's capture would do to their father. They told him the story of how upset his father had been at the loss of Joseph. Judah told Joseph his father's life was at stake and offered to remain in Benjamin's stead, in order to prevent such misery.

Genesis chapter 43

After reading chapter 43:

* When Jacob's family ran out of grain, he told them to go back to Egypt and get some more. Judah reminded him that they had to bring Benjamin with them or they wouldn't be given any more grain. Jacob was against it, but they would starve otherwise. Judah offered to bear the responsibility for Bejamin's safety. Jacob relented and told them to take gifts with them and double the silver, in case getting the silver back last time was a mistake.

* So the brothers hurried back to Egypt with Benjamin. When Joseph saw them, he ordered a meal prepared for them at his house. The brothers were afraid this was a trick to capture and enslave them for non- payment. They explained their situation to the steward, who told them not to be afraid. He had received payment for the last load of grain.

*The brothers went to Joseph's house with the gifts they had brought and bowed down to Joseph. He asked them about their father. When he saw Benjamin, he had to leave the room to hide his tears. When he came back the food was served but Joseph did not eat at the same table. The Egyptians also ate at separate tables because eating with Hebrews was detestable to them. The brothers were seated in order from oldest to youngest and Benjamin was given five times as much food as every one else.

*Exactly what a Hebrew was at that time is unclear. Abraham was called a Hebrew back in chapter 14, so he can't have been the first, if we take the story as fact. It is possible that it just meant a class of shepherding nomads.

Genesis chapter 42

After reading chapter 42:

*The famine reached Canaan. Jacob told ten of his sons to go to Egypt to buy grain. Benjamin, the youngest son of Rachel, was left behind. When Joseph's brothers arrived in Egypt, they went to Joseph and bowed down to ask for grain, without knowing who he was. He knew them and remembered his dreams that he would one day rule over them. He accused them of being spies even though he knew they were not. They explained who they were and why they were there, but Joseph continued to act suspicious. He put them in custody for three days and told them that one of them needed to go back and get the youngest brother to prove they were not lying. After the three days, he changed that to one remaining and the others going back.

* The brothers discussed why this had happened and became convinced it was because of the way they had treated Joseph when he was young. Unknown to them, Joseph overheard and began to cry. Then he had Simeon taken and tied up. He had their sacks loaded with grain and their silver put back in the sacks. When they stopped to camp, they discovered the silver and were afraid. They thought God was punishing them 27 years after the fact.

*When they got home, they told Jacob everything that had happened. He was very upset. Reuben offered to have his two sons put to death if Bejamin was not brought back safely. ( nice) Jacob was not going to allow Benjamin, the only surviving child of Rachel, to go to Egypt. He would surely die if Benjamin left.

* Notice that the brother's three days in prison echoes the three days between the interpretation of the cupbearer's and baker's dreams and their release from prison.

Genesis chapter 41

After reading Genesis chapter 41:

*Two years after chapter 40, Pharoah had a dream with seven fat cows and seven skinny cows. The skinny cows ate up the fat cows. The dream woke him up. He managed to get back to sleep and had another dream with seven thin heads of grain swallowing seven fat heads of grain. Then he woke up again. He sent for all the (crackpot) magicians and (pretend) wise men in Egypt. They couldn't tell him what the dreams meant. Then the chief cupbearer remembered Joseph and told Pharoah how he had interpreted dreams in prison.

*Pharoah sent for Joseph and asked him to interpret the dreams. Joseph said God could interpret dreams, not him, but he proceeded to do so anyway. The seven fat things represented seven years of plenty, the seven lean things were seven years of famine that were to come.  God would be the one causing these events. Pharoah should prepare ahead of time for the lean years, following the plan Joseph laid out.

* Pharoah was impressed with Joseph and his relationship with God. He put Joseph in charge of the palace and made him second in command. He gave Joseph all the royal paraphernalia necessary for being in charge of all the land of Egypt: a signet ring, fine linen robes, a gold chain, and a chariot. Joseph was also given the daughter of a priest of Ra to marry. Now Pharoah was free to go fishing and if anything went wrong, it would be Joseph's fault. Joseph was 30 years old by this time.

*Joseph, however, continued to be the go- getter he always was. He made sure that an abundance of grain was stored during the years of plenty in preparation for the coming famine. Before the famine came, he fathered two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. When the famine hit and people ran out of food, Joseph distributed the grain he had stored. The famine spread to the surrounding countries and they also came to Joseph for grain.

Genesis chapter 40

After reading chapter 40:

*While in prison, the warden assigned Joseph to serve the king's chief cupbearer and the king's chief baker. The king  was angry with them and had them imprisoned. One morning Joseph found them both in a dejected state of mind. They had dreamt weird dreams and could not interpret them. (Because weird dreams always mean something, right?)

*Joseph said the interpretation of dreams belongs to God. He must be god, because he proceeded to interpret those dreams himself. The chief cupbearer's dream meant that he would get his old job back. (His head would be lifted up.) Joseph asked him to mention Joseph to Pharoah when he was back in Pharoah's employ. He wanted out of prison. The chief baker's dream meant that he would be hung from a tree and eaten by birds. ( His head would be lifted off.)

*On his birthday, three days later,  Pharoah gave a feast for all his officials and released the cupbearer and baker. Joseph's predictions for them both came true. However, the cupbearer forgot all about Joseph.

* Herod Antipas is the next biblical king  that has a birthday party with all his officials. John the Baptist was in prison at the time and Herod had him beheaded, an interesting coincidence.

Genesis chapter 39:

After reading chapter 39:

*So, after Joseph's second cousins sold him to Potiphar, one of the Pharoah's officials, Yahweh was with him and gave him success. Joseph became a great favorite with Potiphar, who gave him lots of responsibility and privileges.

*Potiphar's wife found Joseph very attractive and actively tried to seduce him. Joseph resisted strenuously. One day Potiphar's wife managed to catch him alone and tried to force herself on him. Joseph ran away, but she was left holding his cloak. She used that cloak to accuse Joseph of attempted assault. Her husband was furious and had Joseph thrown in the king's prison.

*While Joseph was in prison Yahweh was with him again and he became a great favorite of the warden, who gave him responsibilities and privileges.

* The one thing I notice about this passage is that all the good things that happen to Joseph are attributed to Yahweh's favor, not Joseph's abilities and hard work. The bad things are just bad luck. Another thing is that Potiphar is named but the Pharoah is not.