After reading chapter 18:
*Apparently, Moses had sent his wife and two sons back to Zipporah's father, Jethro, the priest of Midian. Jethro had received the news of the Israelites' exit from Egypt and was pleased. He took his daughter and grandsons back to Moses. When he arrived at the camp, Moses told him about everything that had happened. Jethro praised Yahweh and said that now he knew Yahweh was greater than all the other gods. A funny thing about the Hebrew word ha-elohim, translated as " other gods" in this passage. In almost every other passage in the Old Testament, it is translated as the singular God with a capital G. What if all those other passages should have been translated as gods, plural, instead? At any rate, it is obvious from verse 11 that other gods were believed to exist.
*Jethro, being a priest, brings a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God. Wait! This God is the hebrew word Elohim, a plural word usually translated as singular. Was Jethro sacrificing to "the gods" or to "God?" It doesn't say he was sacrificing to "the lord" which is how Yahweh is translated into English. Even more telling is the next line that says Jethro, Moses, Aaron, and the elders ate bread in the presence of God. God here is the same Hebrew word, ha-elohim, that was translated as "other gods" in verse 11. You can see this for yourself if you look up the text in an online interlinear version. I usually use Bible Hub. First do a search for the verse, then click on INT in the version selection bar.
*Why would translators choose to make the word mean gods in one instance and God in another? Is there any chance they were not willing to show that the early Hebrews believed in other gods as well as Yahweh?
*The next day, Moses began to act as a judge for the Israelites. He was bombarded with cases of disputes from morning to night. Jethro asked him why he was doing this. Moses replied that the people came to him to seek God's will. ( Elohim, not Yahweh.) Moses would judge the cases and inform the people of God's laws. (Ha-Elohim, not Yahweh.) Whose laws was Moses dispensing?
*Anyway, Jethro told Moses he was working too hard and micromanaging over a million people. He needed to delegate authority. He explained how to go about it and Moses took his advice. Capable men were made leaders over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Moses only got the hard cases. Then Jethro returned to his own country.
Edited.
Showing posts with label Jethro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jethro. Show all posts
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Exodus chapter 4 part 1
After reading chapter 4:
*Moses very practically asks what he should do if the Israelites don't believe him. So, Yahweh shows him how to magically turn his staff into a snake and back again. Then he learned how to turn his hand leprous and back again, as well as turning water into blood. These magic tricks were supposed to convince the people Moses had talked to God.
*Moses's next big objection was his lack of public speaking skills. God says he is personally responsible for whether people can speak, hear and see! (Don't complain if you are deaf, mute, or blind. God did it, no matter what the doctor says.) Moses really doesn't want to speak to the Israelites and tries to beg off. God suggests Aaron, Moses's brother, do the speaking. God will tell Moses what to say and Moses will tell Aaron. Gee, why couldn't God speak straight to Aaron?
*So, Moses, asked his father- in- law for permission to go back to Egypt. Then he loaded his wife and sons on a donkey. He also took the magical staff, which is now called "the staff of God" but had once been just a plain old staff.
*Yahweh tells Moses to perform the miracles for Pharoah. However, Pharoah will not let the people go because God will harden his heart! This heart hardening is the subject of lots of speculation and theological debate. We will not philosophize, but assume that it means what it says: God was responsible for Pharoah's heart being hardened and everything else that followed. Nevertheless, Pharoah is to be held responsible for not letting the Israelites, God's metaphorical "firstborn son," go to worship him. So, God will kill Pharoah's literal first born son. Harsh.
*Moses very practically asks what he should do if the Israelites don't believe him. So, Yahweh shows him how to magically turn his staff into a snake and back again. Then he learned how to turn his hand leprous and back again, as well as turning water into blood. These magic tricks were supposed to convince the people Moses had talked to God.
*Moses's next big objection was his lack of public speaking skills. God says he is personally responsible for whether people can speak, hear and see! (Don't complain if you are deaf, mute, or blind. God did it, no matter what the doctor says.) Moses really doesn't want to speak to the Israelites and tries to beg off. God suggests Aaron, Moses's brother, do the speaking. God will tell Moses what to say and Moses will tell Aaron. Gee, why couldn't God speak straight to Aaron?
*So, Moses, asked his father- in- law for permission to go back to Egypt. Then he loaded his wife and sons on a donkey. He also took the magical staff, which is now called "the staff of God" but had once been just a plain old staff.
*Yahweh tells Moses to perform the miracles for Pharoah. However, Pharoah will not let the people go because God will harden his heart! This heart hardening is the subject of lots of speculation and theological debate. We will not philosophize, but assume that it means what it says: God was responsible for Pharoah's heart being hardened and everything else that followed. Nevertheless, Pharoah is to be held responsible for not letting the Israelites, God's metaphorical "firstborn son," go to worship him. So, God will kill Pharoah's literal first born son. Harsh.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Exodus chapter 3
After reading chapter 3:
*In Chapter 2, Moses's father- in-law's name was Reuel, here it is Jethro. There us no Biblical explanation for the name change, it is just assumed to be the same person, because he was the priest of Midian. Anyway, Moses was tending his father- in- law's flocks when he came to Horeb "The mountain of God." Nobody today knows the exact location of Horeb, if it existed. There is only speculation. At the mountain, the angel of the lord ( yahweh) appeared to him in a bush that appeared to be burning, yet didn't burn up.
* God speaks to Moses from the bush. He tells Moses to take off his sandals because he is standing on holy ground. This seems very silly to me. How is ground made holy? What does that mean? And what difference do shoes make? God tells Moses who he is, then Moses is afraid to look at him. He wasn't afraid before that. Then God tells Moses he has seen the plight of the Israelites and he wants to rescue them and give them a bunch of land that currently belongs to other people. God is sending Moses to the Pharoah to take his people, the Israelites, out of Egypt. So here we have it. Out of all the people in the world, the Israelites are God's people. They now have favored nation status. Where was God for the four hundred years before that time?
*Moses is understandably dismayed. God promises to be with him and a special sign will be that when they people are brought out of Egypt, they will worship God on that very mountain. This seems like a very easily manufactured sign. Moses doesn't think the Israelites know who God is! He wants to know how to explain God to them. God says, "Just tell them I am who I am. ' I am ' has sent me to you. " Very convincing. So, God says "I am" is his forever name and how he wants to be remembered. He is rarely called that again in the whole bible. Instead he is called yahweh . My study bible says it mean "he is."
*So, Moses was to go to the elders of the Israelites and explain that the God of their long, long ago ancestors has been watching over them and has promised to help them get out of Egypt and move to the land of Canaan. They will believe him, and will go with him to the Pharoah to ask to be let go for a three day journey into the desert to sacrifice to their God, Yahweh. Because Yahweh can't be worshipped in Egypt? God already knows Pharoah will not agree to this, so he will strike the Egyptians with wonders. Then the Israelites will be let go. When the Israelites leave, the Egyptians, who are their neighbors and members of their households, will be happy to give them all their wealth.
*In Chapter 2, Moses's father- in-law's name was Reuel, here it is Jethro. There us no Biblical explanation for the name change, it is just assumed to be the same person, because he was the priest of Midian. Anyway, Moses was tending his father- in- law's flocks when he came to Horeb "The mountain of God." Nobody today knows the exact location of Horeb, if it existed. There is only speculation. At the mountain, the angel of the lord ( yahweh) appeared to him in a bush that appeared to be burning, yet didn't burn up.
* God speaks to Moses from the bush. He tells Moses to take off his sandals because he is standing on holy ground. This seems very silly to me. How is ground made holy? What does that mean? And what difference do shoes make? God tells Moses who he is, then Moses is afraid to look at him. He wasn't afraid before that. Then God tells Moses he has seen the plight of the Israelites and he wants to rescue them and give them a bunch of land that currently belongs to other people. God is sending Moses to the Pharoah to take his people, the Israelites, out of Egypt. So here we have it. Out of all the people in the world, the Israelites are God's people. They now have favored nation status. Where was God for the four hundred years before that time?
*Moses is understandably dismayed. God promises to be with him and a special sign will be that when they people are brought out of Egypt, they will worship God on that very mountain. This seems like a very easily manufactured sign. Moses doesn't think the Israelites know who God is! He wants to know how to explain God to them. God says, "Just tell them I am who I am. ' I am ' has sent me to you. " Very convincing. So, God says "I am" is his forever name and how he wants to be remembered. He is rarely called that again in the whole bible. Instead he is called yahweh . My study bible says it mean "he is."
*So, Moses was to go to the elders of the Israelites and explain that the God of their long, long ago ancestors has been watching over them and has promised to help them get out of Egypt and move to the land of Canaan. They will believe him, and will go with him to the Pharoah to ask to be let go for a three day journey into the desert to sacrifice to their God, Yahweh. Because Yahweh can't be worshipped in Egypt? God already knows Pharoah will not agree to this, so he will strike the Egyptians with wonders. Then the Israelites will be let go. When the Israelites leave, the Egyptians, who are their neighbors and members of their households, will be happy to give them all their wealth.
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