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.

Introduction to the book of Jonah

Read about the book of Jonah here.

Read about the character Jonah in religion, tradition, and literature here.

Both articles have lots of interesting information. I almost feel like I don't need to cover the story myself. I will anyway, to see if anything particular strikes my attention.

Some facts to consider: The character Jonah is supposed to have lived in the 700's BCE. The story of Jonah is not likely to have been written before the 5th century BCE, after the Jews returned from exile in Persia. No manuscripts of Jonah older than that exist.  That is a gap of a few hundred years. The author is unknown. The book does not claim to be divine, inspired, or the word of a god or gods. There is no extrabiblical evidence that the events depicted therein actually happened and no reason to believe that they did.

In the Bible, outside of the book of Jonah, Jonah is found in 2 Kings 14:25. One sentence mentions that Jonah was  a prophet of Yahweh. He was the son of Amitai (which means truth) and he was from Gath Hepher. Jonah had told Jeroboam II, who was king of Samaria/Israel at the time, that Yahweh wanted him to restore the boundaries of Israel, and he did. I'm assuming this had to do with physical fortifications and protecting the land from invaders. This one passage is used to date the existance of Jonah.

Jereboam II definitely existed, according to archaeological evidence, and his reign was characterized by wealth and luxury, promoting trade with Egypt and Assyria. His kingdom had as many as 350,000 inhabitants. However, not much good is said about him in the bible. 2nd Kings says he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. This "evil " was in the nature of the sins of the first Jereboam, found in 1 Kings 12: building sanctuaries for Yahweh and representing him with golden calves, to which sacrifices were offered. The book of Amos condemns Jeroboam II and prophesies he will die by the sword. It appears to have been a figurative sword.

One thing to remember is that the Israelite tribes (or the Yahweh worshippers) in Canaan were divided into two competing kingdoms. The kingdom in the north was Israel/Samaria. The kingdom in the south was Judah. They each worshipped the same god, but Judah claimed sole possession of Yahweh's authorized temple, which also would have meant his presence, and his favor. The people of the northern kingdom would have had to travel inconvenient distances in order to worship Yahweh.

Because I do not believe Yahweh ever existed, I conclude that this religious competition was purely a bid for power over people and territory. Judah claimed ownership of the high ground, Israel ignored that claim and worshipped Yahweh their own way. This was the reason for the condemnation. Let us remember that it is usually the victors, or at least those left at the end, who get to write the histories. These stories were probably written by those who sided with the lower kingdom, and show their prejudices. The upper kingdom was eventually conquered and its former citizens disappeared into historical oblivion. The lower kingdom was later conquered but was kept alive in a somewhat cohesive culture while exiled. After the return of the Jews to Judah is when  much of the Old Testament was written or redacted. The former Israelite territory in the north became known as Samaria and its remaining inhabitants Samaritans, who were despised by the Jews, not least because they did not worship Yahweh in Jerusalem. Some things never change.

In spite of the condemnation of this Jeroboam as evil in the sight of Yahweh, 2 Kings admits that Jereboam achieved some great things for his people the Israelites.

Judges chapter 20, part 1

After reading chapter 20:

*Unfortunately, we are not done with the story of the Levite and the concubine. After the
Levite sent the pieces of the concubine to all the tribes of Israel, "all" the Israelites assembled before Yahweh in Mizpah. There were 400,000 soldiers armed with swords, another nice round number. Except it wasn't ALL the Israelites; the Benjaminites were not there. And surely the surrounding lands were not completely emptied of Israelites for the time it took the gathering to take place. Remember, these people mostly travelled on foot. Not only that, wasn't assembling before Yahweh supposed to be done in Shiloh?

*At the assembly, the Israelites asked the Levite to tell his story. (The bible calls him a husband but calls the woman a concubine, which is not the same thing as a wife.) The Levite tells the story slightly differently than we read in the last chapter. Now, he says the men of Gibeah were wanting to kill him, instead of have sex with him, but maybe to him that was equivalent to death. He skips over the part where he hands his concubine over to the men and goes straight to the rape. He also neglects to tell how he found her and how he had expected her to just get up off the ground and go home. Instead he says he cut her up and sent the pieces to the tribes of Israel, because of the "lewd and disgraceful" act that had been committed. No mention of how he had allowed it to happen.

*Apparently the assembly cast lots to determine what the will of Yahweh was in this situation. (Verse 9) The men, um Yahweh, decided that ten percent of the soldiers would be responsible for getting provisions for the army. (Which usually meant taking what they needed from the people of the surrounding countryside.) Then the whole army would march on the Benjaminites in Gibeah and give them what they deserved. First, however,  they sent men through the tribe of Benjamin, asking them to hand over the perpetrators. They refused. Then the Benjaminites gathered 26,000 swordsman of their own, 700 of them from Gibeah. There were also 700 left handed, stone slinging experts. They could "sling a stone at a hair and not miss."

*Next, before the battle,  the Israelites (All 400,000?)went to Bethel to ask God a question. Why couldn't they have asked him the question in Mizpah? It makes more sense when you know that Beth-el means "house of God." This is the place Jacob supposedly had his vision of God on top of a ladder to heaven. Apparently, the ark of the covenant was now in Bethel (verse 27), along with an altar for burnt offerings, which I find confusing. Then what is at Shiloh? And why was such a big deal made of Shiloh earlier in the book of Joshua? Shiloh is where lots were cast "in the presence of Yahweh" to determine the distribution of the promised land. The presence of Yahweh appears to be mobile.

*We are also, told in verse 28, that Phineas, the son of Eleazar, the grandson of Aaron, was the high priest ministering in front of the ark. Either this story takes place out of historical sequence in the book of Judges, or Phineas is a couple of hundred years old. Phineas was alive when Moses was still around back in Numbers 25.

*For what question  did the Israelites go to Bethel to ask Yahweh? Why, which tribe gets to fight first, of course. Yahweh picked Judah. Lots again? Or priestly declaration? We will never know. The next morning, positions were taken and the battle began. 22,000 Israelites were mowed down. Next, they simultaneously took up their positions of the day before and went to weep before Yahweh in Bethel. They asked Yahweh if they should keep fighting. He said yes. The next day, the Benjaminites cut down 18,000 Israelites with the sword. The Israelites went crying back to Yahweh. They fasted, made burnt offerings and groveled. They again asked Yahweh if they should keep fighting. He said yes.

Judges chapter 1

After reading chapter 1:

*After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked Yahweh which tribe should continue the fighting. Yahweh chose the tribe of Judah. Who was Yahweh speaking through now? We are not told, but presumably it was the current high priest, Phineas. The men of Judah invited the Simeonites to accompany them.  Together they killed ten thousand men. They captured the king of Bezek and cut off his thumbs and big toes. The king viewed this as a kind of divine Karma, because he had done the same thing to 70 other kings.

*Next, they attacked Jerusalem, slaughtered its inhabitants, and burned the city to the ground. Then we are told they attacked Canaanites living in Hebron and Debir, which had already been totally conquered in Joshua chapter 10! We are also retold the story of Caleb's daughter marrying Othniel, the conqueror of Debir. We are also retold the story of her asking for land with springs of water from Joshua chapter 15. Only this time it all happens after the death of Joshua, not before!

*The Judahites and Simeonites, with the help of Yahweh, went on conquering Canaanites and took Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron. (History says these Canaanite cities were actually conquered by the Philistines or the sea people.) They also took possession of the hill country, which appears redundant because Joshua is said to have done the same thing in Joshua chapter 11. Again, we are told they could not conquer the people of the plains because they had iron chariots. Foiled again, Yahweh!

*Caleb was given Hebron and drove three sons of Anak from it.The sons of Anak, or Anakim, are interesting fellows. They are considered to be Giants. Also, Numbers 13 says they are descendants of the Nephilim, introduced in Genesis 6. The big question is how did they survive the flood?

*The Benjaminites could not drive out the Jebusites. Manasseh could not drive out four tribes that were determined to live in that land. Ephraim could not completely drive out Canaanites living in Gezer. Zebulon could not drive out Canaanites living in Kitron nor Nahalol. Asher could not drive out 7 tribes of Canaanites living in "his" land, so he just had to live with them. Naphtali could not drive out two tribes. The Amorites  confined the tribe of Dan to the hill country and wouldn't let them come down into the plain. Sounds like Yahweh's powers either waned or experienced limitations. It is quite clear that the Israelites did not completely control the land of Cannan, no matter how you look at it. Nevertheless, this chapter insists that the Israelite tribes grew stronger and eventually subjected these pesky leftover Canaanites to forced labor. Yeah, right.

Joshua chapter 20 and 21

After reading chapter 20:

*Here we are told which cities are assigned to be cities of refuge for those who kill by accident, as described back in Numbers 35. The person who is responsible for avenging the death cannot harm a person who has fled to one one of these cities. The designated cities were: Kadesh in the land of Naphtali, Shechem in the land of Ephraim, Hebron in the land of Judah, Bezer in the land of Reuben, Ramoth in the land of Gad, and Golan in the land of Manasseh.

After reading chapter 21:

*Now the tribe of Levites come to Joshua and ask for their allotted towns with pastureland, prime real estate, as promised by Moses. Yahweh, through Joshua, gave the Kohathite levites who were descended from Aaron 13 towns in the lands of Judah, Bejamin, and Simeon. The rest of the Kohathite Levites were given 10 towns in the lands of Ephraim, Dan, and Manasseh. The Gershon Levites were given 13 towns in the lands of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Manasseh. The Merari Levites were given 12 towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. So, all twelve non-Levite tribes had Levites living among them to keep an eye on things and make sure they, um Yahweh,  was obeyed.

*The second half of the chapter seems to repeat the first half but with more detail. The Levites were apparently given the cities of refuge as part of their allotments. This could be very convenient. Imagine the opportunities for exploitation of the law and of those who were seeking refuge.

*Last we are told that Yahweh gave the Israelites rest and not one of their enemies withstood them. This is an odd statement, considering it was admitted in previous chapters that they could not control certain parts of the land. However, it is an opportunity to claim that all of Yahweh's promises have been fulfilled, if you overlook a few pesky details.

Joshua chapter 15 and 16

After reading chapter 15:

*Here we are told which portion of the land was alloted to the tribe of Judah. Caleb got a portion of Judah's land in Hebron. Caleb's daughter was married to Caleb's nephew Othniel as a reward for Othniel's capture of Debir, whose destruction we've already read about in chapter 10 verses 38-39. Caleb's daughter asked for springs of water and was granted them. All together, the tribe of Judah supposedly acquired at least 113 towns and villages. We are also told that Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites who continued to live among them up to the time of the writing of this passage. Those Jebusites must have been mighty strong to be able to resists Yahweh's plans of total annhiliation. In spite of that, there seems to be some doubt that they ever existed.

After reading chapter 16:

*Here we are told the boundaries of the land allotted to the tribe of Ephraim. Apparently, the Ephraimites could not dislodge the Canaanites living in Gezer, but they forced the people of Gezer to do manual labor. This seems like a silly statement. They can't get rid of them but they can enslave them? Even stranger, we were told back in chapter 10 verse 33, that the entire army and the King of Gezer had been wiped out by the Israelites.

Numbers chapter 26

After reading chapter 26

*This chapter contains the numbers of a second census of men twenty years and older who are able to serve in the army, taken after the plague in chapter 25. Remember, this is approximately 40 years after the first census. It does not include women, children, and Levites. The tribe of Rueben was down by 2,770. The tribe of Simeon was down by 27,100! The tribe of Gad was down by 5,150. The tribe of Judah was increased by 1,900. The tribe of Issachar increased by 9,900. The tribe of Zebulon increased by3,100. The tribe of Manasseh increased by 20,500! The tribe of Ephraim decreased by 12,000. The tribe of Benjamin increased by 10,200. The tribe of Dan increased by 1,700. The tribe of Asher increased by 11,900. The tribe of Naphtali decreased by 8,000.

*According to verse 51, there was a net loss of 1,820 fighting men.  Not bad for 40 years in the wilderness. The above numbers were nice and even again. They were also very suggestive. The large number lost to the tribe of Simeon might be accounted for  by the various punishments Yahweh meted out to those that were disobedient.

*Yahweh tells Moses that the promised land is to be portioned out according to the size of the tribe. The bigger the tribe, the more land. Within the tribes, the land was to be distributed by lot, essentially drawing straws. The largest tribe was Judah, of course.

*The Levites, males a month old or more, were counted last. They had increased by exactly 1,000. Amazing. Supposedly, not one of the current population of Israelites was of the group counted by Moses and Aaron, except Caleb and Joshua. (And Moses) Which would have to mean there were no men over the age of 60 at this time.

Numbers chapter 10

After reading chapter 10:

*The first part of this chapter is about the creation of two silver trumpets to be used by Aaron and his sons.
-Both trumpets blown at the same time signal a community assembly at the entrance to the tabernacle. Though how you get a million or so people to hear two trumpets, plus gather together and assemble in one spot, is a mystery.
-One trumpet means only the heads of the clans are to assemble.
-One trumpet blast, of a different signal, means the eastern camps start moving. A second blast after that and the southern camps start moving. The text doesn't mention the western and northern camps
-A trumpet blast before a battle will ensure they are remembered by God and are rescued from their enemies. God needs reminding.
-The trumpets will also be sounded at feasts, festivals, and over burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. So, I'm guessing the trumpets would have been sounded fairly often. This reminds me of a scene in the Sound of Music.

*On the twentieth day of the second month, of the second year, the cloud over the tabernacle lifted. The Israelites broke camp and followed the cloud from the desert of Sinai to the desert of Paran.
The divisions of clans set out in a particular order, Judah's camp divisions left first. Again, the tribe of Judah is being given priority, even though Reuben was the oldest of Israel's sons. I wonder if this is another case of the younger brother symbolism found so often throughout the bible narrative. It looks ahead to a time when the  of tribe of Judah  becomes the leading tribe in the kingdom of Judah. If so, that clearly means this narrative was not written till after that time, which was not till at least the 9th century B.C.E., a few hundred years after these events would have taken place.

*The Gershonites and Merarites were to leave with the first Israelite clans so they could set up the tabernacle in the new spot before the Kohathites arrived with the holy accoutrements.

*Moses invited his brother-in-law Hobab to come with them. He declined and said he was going back to his own people. Moses begged him to stay and help them out. He promised Hobab a share of the spoils. So they travelled for three days. (A standard journey for those times.) Every day they set out, and every time they camped, Moses repeated some magical words to get Yahweh to stay with them.

Numbers chapter 7

After reading chapter 7:

*Now, we read about the gifts that each of the twelve tribes gave to the service of the tabernacle, after it was consecrated and anointed.

- First, the tribal leaders donated a total of six covered carts and twelve oxen. These were given to the Levite clans to transport the tabernacle equipment. The Gershonites got 2 carts and 4 oxen, the Merarites got four carts and eight oxen. The Kohanites didn't get any. They had to carry all the most holy stuff themselves, on their shoulders.

-Then, for the dedication of the altar, the twelve tribal leaders each brought offerings, one tribe a day for twelve days. The tribe of Judah was first. I'm guessing that is significant, since we will find that tribe taking a lead role later in the bible narrative. Each tribe brought the exact same offering and we are given 11 word for word, repetitious descriptions of it. It amounted to a quantity of silver and gold dishes, a grain offering, and a number of sacrificial animals. I still wonder why they needed manna if they had that many animals and the means to feed them, not to mention the grain offerings.

*Not only are we told the exact offering of each tribe, but we are also given the total amount of all the offerings at the end of the chapter. This really is a book of numbers.

*The last verses tell us that Moses entered the tabernacle to speak to Yahweh and he heard a voice come from between the cherubim above the cover of the ark. At least that is what we are told, there were no actual witnesses. We don't get to hear what Yaweh said til chapter 8.

Edited.

Exodus chapter 6 part 3

*In the clan section we see that:

-Each of Moses's direct ancestors supposedly lived well past 100 years

-Moses and Aaron were from the tribe of Levi. Their mother was their paternal grandfather's sister, therefore also from the tribe of Levi. Levi was the father of Kohath, Moses's grandfather, and Jochebed, Moses's mother. Kohath was the father of Amram, Moses's father. In other words, Moses's father married his own aunt.

-Aaron's wife Elisheba was the daughter of Aminidab and the sister of Nashon. This is very interesting because, if we look ahead to the book of Ruth 4:18-22, which supposedly would have been written hundreds of years later, we see that Aminidab was the great grandson of Perez, the son of Judah by Tamar back in Genesis chapter 38. Nashon was supposedly the great, great, great grandfather of David. The text is anticipating David, surely not a coincidence.

-In 400 years of captivity, there were only four or five generations born, from the children of Jacob to the children of Moses and Aaron.

-My study bible's footnotes say that the ages and generations don't quite work in real time, so there must be an explanation for the discrepancy. Maybe the text doesn't mean what it says and the word father needs to be interpreted loosely. Maybe it really means "ancestor." Except that doesn't quite work either.

Genesis chapter 49

After reading chapter 49:

*Jacob gathers his sons around to predict their futures, and the futures of their descendants.  Reuben will not excel because he slept with his father's slave wife, Bilhah. Simeon and Levi, who killed all the men in Shechem, will be cursed and scattered in Israel. Judah will be a ruler, and is blessed. Zebulon will live by the sea. Issachar will be forced to labor. Dan will provide justice for the tribes of Israel. Gad will be attacked. Asher will be a gourmet. Naphtali will have beautiful offspring. Joseph is given many blessings and called the prince among his brothers. Benjamin is described as a ravenous wolf.

*Here is the first time we encounter symbolic references to the lion of Judah and God as a shepherd and a rock.

*For people, like me, who do not belive in being able to see the future, passages like this are assumed to have been written with hindsight, with knowledge of certain events having already happened. Therefore, it had to have been written some time after the first king of Israel in the lineage of Judah, David. That would be a good 700 years or so after these events.

*Jacob asks his sons to have him buried in the same place as Abrahaham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, and Leah, in the cave on land bought from the Hittites. Then he dies.

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 38

After reading chapter 38:

*In which we interrupt the story of Joseph to learn about Judah and Tamar. The story will be important later, so it had to be stuck into the narrative of the Israelites somewhere.

*Judah went off and married a Canaanite woman. They had three sons, Er, Onan, and Shela. Er grew up and married Tamar. Er was wicked so Yahweh killed him. Judah told Onan to get Er's wife pregnant so Er would have an heir. (Tamar's opinion on this matter didn't matter) Onan didn't want to produce a son that would not be his, so he practiced primitive natural birth control. Yahweh thought Onan's behavior in this regard was wicked,  so he killed Onan. These verses have been the cause of much consternation for people of the bible for centuries. Is using birth control worthy of death? Does God hate birth control? As usual, the opinions on this topic are many and varied. We will not go into them, other than to say that for thousands, from Catholics to fundamentalists, the answer is yes. Plus, they would prefer the whole world refrained from using birth control, so they attempt to affect public policy and the medical profession.

*Judah sent Tamar back to her father's house to wait for Shela to grow up, presumably so he could impregnate her. Meanwhile, Judah's wife died. Shela had grown up, but Tamar had not been married to him. Tamar got tired of waiting around with no husband and no child so she took matters into her own hands. She heard that her father-in-law would be passing by a certain spot and went to sit by the road dressed like a prostitue. When Judah passed by, he offered to give her a young goat in exchange for her services. She requested his seal and staff as proof of his pledge. He complied and so did she.

*Later, Judah sent the goat, expecting to get his staff and seal back, but Tamar was nowhere to be found. He didn't pursue the matter because he didn't want to look like a fool. Three months later, Tamar was discovered to be pregnant and was accused of prostitution, which was apparently considered wicked, even though we haven't seen God make  any rules about it yet. We saw earlier, in the case of Shechem and Dinah, that treating a woman like a prostitute was also considered wicked.(Maybe it was only Israelite women that mattered. )  In spite of this fact, when he heard the news, Judah condemned Tamar to death by burning,  exhibiting the double standard that men all over the world have operated under for as long as recorded history.

*When she was being brought to her execution, Tamar sent Judah his seal and staff, showing who was the person responsible for her condition. Judah recognized his responsibility in the matter and Tamar was not killed. Tamar had twin sons. One put out a hand first and was marked with a scarlett thread as the first born, then he withdrew and his other brother was born. This is to follow the younger brother theme. The boy with the scarlett thread was Zerah. The other was Perez.

Genesis chapter 37

After reading chapter 37:

*This chapter begins by telling us it is the account of Jacob. When we read it, we see it begins the story of Joseph, Jacob's son by his beloved wife Rachel.

* Joseph,  the youngest son, is seventeen. He is tending the flocks with his brothers by Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's slave wives. He tattles.

*Joseph is Jacob's (The text can't decide whether to call him Jacob or Israel. This may be because it is  a mash up of two different texts and traditions.)  favorite son. Israel personally makes Joseph a fancy robe. The other sons are jealous because they know Joseph is their father's favorite child. They despise him and let him know it. Then Joseph has a dream which makes them hate him even more. His dream obviously means that he will rule over his brothers. Then, he has another similar dream. This time it includes his mother and father. (His mother died back in chapter 35!?) His father publicly rebukes him but privately wonders if there is  any truth in it. His brothers become even more jealous.

*The brothers are grazing their father's flocks near Shechem, which should not exist any more because they destroyed it back in chapter 34. Israel sends Joseph from Hebron to check up on his brothers. When he gets to Shechem, a man tells him they have moved on to Dothan. He goes after them. His brothers see him coming and begin to plot to kill him. When you have killed a whole village of men, what's one more, even if it is your brother. Reuben, the oldest, convinces them just to throw him in a cistern. He plans to come back and rescue Joseph later.

*So they take off his fancy robe and throw him into the empty cistern. They see some Ishmaelite travelling merchants coming along on their way to Egypt. Judah convinces the rest of the brothers to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites. (They are also called Midianites in the next few verses. Ishmael and Midian were both sons of Abraham. That would make the traders their second cousins.) They sell him for twenty shekels of silver. Later, in Leviticus 27, we will see that God sets the value of a male between the ages of 5 and 20 at twenty shekels. Reuben was not present at the time. When he gets back he is in despair. What's he going to do now?

*The brothers kill a goat and paint Joseph's fancy coat with blood to make Jacob think he is dead. It works. Jacob goes into deep mourning. Joseph is sold to Potiphar, Pharoah's captain of the guard.

Genesis chapter 29:

After reading chapter 29:

*Jacob continues on his journey to Haran, where Rebekah's brother Laban lives. He gets to a well and asks some shepherds if they know Laban. They do. As a matter of fact, here comes his daughter Rachel with Laban's sheep. Jacob helps her water the sheep, then he kisses her and begins to cry, after he tells her who he is. She runs home to tell her father. Laban welcomes him with open arms.

*After Jacob was there for a month, Laban offered to pay him for his work.  Jacob said he would work for Laban seven more years, if he would let him marry Rachel. Laban agreed. The seven years went by quickly because Jacob was so much in love with Rachel. I would have thought it would have seemed like seven years of torture, but I guess people back then had things to do to keep their minds off what they couldn't have.

*At the end of seven years Jacob was so ready to get married. By this time he would have been around 50 years old. So Laban gave a wedding feast. When evening came, Laban slipped Leah, his oldest daughter with weak eyes, into Rachel's place. The marriage was consummated and Jacob didn't figure out who he had slept with til the next morning! The deceiver had been deceived.

*One wonders how Leah and Rachel felt about this whole arrangement, but of course their opinions wouldn't have mattered. Laban tells Jacob that in that land the oldest girl marries first, but Jacob can still have Rachel if he agrees to work another seven years. Jacob agrees. He finishes the bridal week with Leah, then gets to have Rachel. Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah.

*The bible tells us Leah was not loved,  but she apparently got enough attention from Jacob to have four sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. God gets all the credit though, for "opening her womb." Whatever that means. Rachel, on the other hand was barren. The barrenness theme tells us to watch out. Any children Rachel manages to have will be special.