Reading for July 8th

Read Exodus 12.29-51

In 12.29-51: Egypt's firstborn die and Israel departs from Egypt.

In verse 34: The haste to leave Egypt provides a rationale for the haste in eating the Passover meal (vv. 8, 11) and for celebrating the festival of Unleavened Bread (v. 39; 13.3-10).

In verses 35-36: The people of Israel plundered Egypt as they received silver and gold from their former oppressors.

The plundered jewelry is Israel's war booty and implies the victory of Israel's God over Pharaoh.

In verse 37: Six hundred thousand men apart from women, children, and elderly would mean an amazing total population of about two million Israelites.

This large number appears again in the census list in Num 1.46 (603, 550 Israelite warriors).

A Typical large army in this ancient period would be 15,000-20,000 warriors.

In verse 38: A mixed crowd suggests an ethnically mixed group that joins the Israelites in fleeing Egypt (see Num 11.4).

In verse 41: Gen 15.13 predicted 400 hundred years of slavery in Egypt.

Gen 15.16 predicted four generations or about 160 years (assuming 40 years per generation).

In verses 43-49: The Lord provides further instruction about the Passover as it applies to an alien who resides with you. 

The instruction follow appropriately the earlier mention of the "mixed crowd" that joined Israel's exodus (v.38).

Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 7th

Read Exodus 12.14-28

In verse 22: Hyssop is an aromatic plant or bush that is used for ritual purification (Lev 14.4; Num 19.6).

In verse 23: The destroyer is an agent that brings death and is here distinguished from the Lord.

Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 6th

Read Exodus 12.1-13

In 12.1-28: The Lord provides instructions for the annual festivals of Passover and Unleavened Bread.

The flow of the exodus story is interrupted by instructions for celebrating the two festivals of Passover and Unleavened Bread.

The immediate purpose of the Passover is to mark every Israelite home with blood so that it will be protected from the effects of the tenth plague, the death of all Egyptian firstborn.

After Israel leaves Egypt, the annual festivals of Passover and Unleavened Bread will enable future generations to remember and identity the story of the Exodus as their own (vv. 14-17).

In verse 2: This month begins the new year.

It occurs in the springtime (March-April) and is called either Abib (13.4; Duet 16.1) or Nisan (Esth 3.7) in later biblical traditions.

Older biblical traditions begin the new year in the fall (23.16; 34.22).

In verse 7: The smearing of the lamb's blood on the door posts and lintel or upper door frame will mark the house as Israelite and thus protect it from the plague, which will kill all the Egyptian firstborn (vv. 12-13, 21-33).

In verse 8: Unleavened bread, or biscuits without yeast, is quickly baked bread.

Verses 33-34 provide the connection with the Exodus.

The Israelites had to hurry out of Egypt and so could not wait for their bread dough to rise.

The bitter herbs recall the bitterness of Israel's slavery.

In verse 9: The lamb is to be roasted rather than eaten raw or boiled to ensure all of its blood is drained.

The blood is the essence of life and must be return to the deity and not eaten in recognition that life belongs to God (Gen 9.4: Lev 17.101-4).

In verse 13: The verb pass over ("pasah," also in vv. 23, 27) is the basis for the festival's name, Passover ("pesah," v. 11).

Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 5th

Read Exodus 11.1-10

In 11.1-10: Moses warns Pharaoh about the tenth and final plague.

In verses 1-2: The horror of the final plague will cause Pharaoh and other Egyptians to plead with Israel to leave their land.

The Egyptians will voluntarily surrender objects of silver and gold (v. 2) as predicted in 3.22 and fulfilled in 12.35-36.

This plundering of the Egyptians signifies Egypt's defeat in the battle with Israel's God.

Israel will carry away the spoils of war.

In verse 5:  The coming death of every firstborn in the land of Egypt expands the earlier judgment of 4.22-23, which predicted the death only of Pharaoh's firstborn son.

Part of the background to this judgment is the deity's claim to all firstborn among humans and animals as God's rightful possession (13.1-2).

In verse 10: On Pharaoh's hardened heart, see comment on 4.21.

Comments or Questions.. 

Reading for July 4th

Read Exodus 10.21-29

In 10.21-29: The ninth plague: A dense darkness sweeps over all Egypt.

In verse 23: The Israelites again are separated and thus do not suffer the effects of the plagues on the Egyptians.

See comment on 8.22.

In verse 27: On Pharaoh's hardened heart, see comment on 4.21.

In verses 28-29 Moses pledges not to seek an audience with Pharaoh again, but in fact Pharaoh summon Moses one more time during the tenth plague and final plague (12.31).

Moses' words may also hint at the death of Pharaoh and his army at the Red Sea crossing (14.33, 26-29).

Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 3rd

Read Exodus 10.1-20

In 10.1-20: The eighth plague: An east wind brings swarms of locust.

In verse 7: This is the first time Pharaoh's own officials seek to persuade him to let the people go.

In verse 13: The blowing of the east wind and the duration all that  night anticipates the parallel events when "a strong east wind blows back the waters of the Red Sea "all night" (14.21) to expose dry land so that the Israelites can cross safely.

In verse 15: The land black with locusts anticipates the next plague of darkness (vv. 21-22).

In verse 19: The mention of the wind and the Red Sea foreshadows the Red Sea crossing (4.21, 28).

In verse 20: On Pharaoh's hardened heart, see comment on 4.21.

Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 2nd

Read Exodus 9.13-35

In 9.13-35: The seventh plague: Thunder, hail, and fire pour out from the skies.

In verses 21-22: The story acknowledges for the first time a distinction between some Egyptians who feared the word of the Lord and those who did not regard the word of the Lord.

In verse 22: The plagues' disruption of the order established by God at creation now extends to the plants as well as animals and humans (Gen 1.11-12, 2.5).

In verse 26: On the separation of Israelites in the land of Goshen, see comment on 8.22.

In verse 27: This is the first time Pharaoh confesses, "I have sinned."

He will do so one more time in 10.16.

In verse 32: Some  plants survive, only to be devoured in the next plague (10.12, 15).

In verses 34-35: On Pharaoh's hardened heart, see comment on 4.21.

Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 1st

Read Exodus 9.8-12

In 9.8-12: The sixth plague: Soot and ashes cause boils on humans and animals.

In verse 10: This is the first plague in which humans are directly affected along with the animals.

In verse 11: On the magicians see comment on 7.22.

In verse 12: On Pharaoh's hardened heart, see comment on 4.21.

This is the first time the Lord explicitly hardened his heart.

Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 30th

Read Exodus 9.1-7

In 9.1-7: The fifth plague: Disease kills Egyptian but not Israelite animals.

In verse 6: The claim that all the livestock of the Egyptians died is in some tension with the later plagues, when more Egyptians livestock are repeatedly involved (9.10, 19-21; 11.5; 12.5; 12.29).

In verse 7: On Pharaoh's harden heart, see comment on 4.21.

Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 29th

Read Exodus 8.20-32

In 8.20-32: The fourth plague: Swarms of flies invade Egyptian but not Israelite houses.

In verse 22: Israel had lived apart from the Egyptians in the land of Goshen, a fertile  area in the delta region of the Nile River, since the days of Joseph (Gen 45.10).

Israelite shepherds offended  the Egyptians (Gen 43.32;46.34).

This offense  and subsequent separation from other Egyptians proves to be advantageous, since the people of Israel are untouched by the plagues that terrorize Egypt (9.4, 26; 10.23).

The tenth plague, with its blood on the doorpost of each individual Israelite house, seems to reflect another tradition in which the Israelites lived not apart from but among the other Egyptian homes (11/7; 12.230.

In verse 26: The sacrifices probably involved sheep (12.1-10), the Egyptians found shepherds and sheep offensive (Gen 46.34).

In verse 28: See v.32 and the comment on 8.8.

In verse 32: See comment on 4.21.

Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 28th

Read Exodus 8.16-19

In 8.16-19 The third plague: Dust turns into gnats.

Dust turns into gnats.

In verse 18: For the first time, the Egyptian magicians are unable to duplicate the plague.

See comment on 7.22.

In verse 19: On Pharaoh's hardened heart, see comment on 4.21.

Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 27th

Read Exodus 8.1-15

In 8.1-15: The second plague: Swarms of frogs invade the land.

The second plague involves the rupture of created boundary that separates creatures of the water (frogs) and the dry land of Egypt.

In verse 3: The same word, swarm, occurs in the creation story in Gen 1.20 to describe the creatures in the waters.

In verse 7: on the magicians, see comment on 7.22.

In verse 8: This is the first of several times when Pharaoh will seem to surrender but then quickly harden his heart and refuse to let the Israelites go (v. 15; see 8.28, 32; 9.27-28, 34-35; 10.16-17, 20, 24, 27).

In verse 15: On Pharaoh's harden heart see comment on 4.21.

Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 26th

Read Exodus 7.14-25
In 7.14-25: The first plague: The Nile turns to blood.
The Nile River was the primary source of water and life for Egypt.
However, the Egyptians had earlier used the Nile as an instrument of death when Pharaoh ordered every Hebrew baby boy to be thrown into the river (1.22).
This first plague, the river's turning to blood, recalls that previous atrocity.
The plague also recalls on of the first miraculous signs God gave to Moses to convince the Israelites of God's power (4.9).
In verse 14: Pharaoh's heart is hardened. See comment on 4.21. See also 7.22.
In verse 19: The same phrase, pools of water, appears in the creation story in Gen 1.10 translated, "waters that were gathered together."
Pharaoh's unjust enslavement of Israel prompts their series of ecological disasters.
In effect, the plagues undo the life-giving order and structure of creation in Gen 1.
In verse 22: A progression is evident in the experience of the magicians of Egypt throughout the ten plagues.
they are able to duplicate the first and second plagues (7.14; 8.7).
However, they cannot duplicate the third plague (8.18-19).
In the fifth plague, not only do the magicians fail to duplicate the plague of boils, they themselves suffer its effects (9.11)
The Egyptian magicians disappear entirely during the last five plagues.
Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 25th

Read Exodus 7.8-13

In 7.8-13: Aaron's staff turns into a snake before Pharaoh.

Aaron uses the same miraculous sign to try to convince Pharaoh of God's power that he had earlier used to convince the Israelites (4.1-5; 30).

In verse 12: The word snake is the same word translated as "dragon" in Ezek 29.3, where it describes the Egyptian Pharaoh: "Thus says the lord God: I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon."

Aaron's snake swallowing the Egyptian's snakes foreshadows the future victory of Israel's God over Pharaoh.

In verse 13: Pharaoh's heart is hardened: see comments on 4.21.

Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 24th

Read Exodus 6.26-7.7

In verse 1: The relationship between Moses and Aaron as his mouthpiece will be similar to the relationship between God and Moses.

Just as Moses is god's prophet or messenger, so Aaron will be Moses' prophet or spokesperson.

In verse 3: Harden Pharaoh's heart: see comment on 4.21.

In verse 5; Stretch out my hand: see comment on 6.6.

In verse 7: Contrary to expectations, the younger brother Moses is superior to the older brother Aaron.

This is a frequent motif int he biblical narratives (Gen 25.23; 37.5-11).

Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 23rd

Read Exodus 6.14-25

This genealogy or family  tree traces the family line of Jacob's three oldest sons: Reuben (v. 14), Simeon (v. 15), and Levi (vv. 16-25).

The focus is clearly on the descendants of Levi, a family of priests.

The family tree of Levi has two functions: to identify Moses and Aaron as Levites and brothers, and to trace the priestly line through Aaron to his son Eleazar (vv. 23-24) and his grandson Phinehas (v. 25).

Eleazar takes over Aaron's role as high priest in Num 20.22-29.

God commissions Phinehas and his descendants as priests in Num 25.6-13. 

Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 22nd

Read Exodus 6.1-13
The Lord reaffirms the mission of Moses and Aaron.
In 6.1-7.7: The Lord responds to the complaints of Israel (5.21) and Moses (5.22-23).
God reaffirms the role of Moses and Aaron as leaders of Israel and the divine intention to rescue Israel as God's chosen people from slavery.
This section provides an alternative version to chs. 3-4 and is often attributed to the later priestly tradition.
In verse 1: By a mighty hand refers to Pharaoh's power and authority.
In verses 2-3: On the significance of the divine name of the Lord, see comments on 3.13-15.
The name God Almighty (El Shaddai) literally means "God of the Mountain" which is the appropriate name for the deity who appears on Mount Horeb/Sinai.
The claim here that the ancestors in genesis did not know the name the Lord ("Yahweh") contradicts an alternative tradition that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did know and use the name the Lord (Gen 12.8; 26.22; 32.9).
In verse 6: To redeem means to pay a ransom in order to set free and regain possession of a  family member or a plot of land that has been taken over by another person or owner (Lev 25.25-28, 47-49).
With an outstretched arm refers to the extension of God's power against the Egyptians.
The promise is literally fulfilled when Moses "stretched out his hand" and parted the red Sea (14.21) and then allowed the water to rush back upon the Egyptians(14.26-28).
In verse 7: You shall know continues the important theme concerning the purpose of the exodus out of Egypt: the knowledge of God by both Egyptians and Israelites (see comment on 5.2).
In verse 8.2: God swore or made a promise to each of the ancestors in Genesis; Abraham (gen 13.11-14), Isaac (Gen 26.3), and Jacob (Gen 28.13).
Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 21st

Read Exodus 5.1-23

In 5.1-23: Moses and Aaron confront Pharaoh for the first time.

In verse 2: Pharaoh's words, I do not know the Lord, introduce a major theme of knowing the Lord, which plays a role throughout this section of exodus (7.5, 17; 8.109.14; 14.18).

In verse 3: The threat of pestilence or sword point directly tot he plagues that will begin soon.

In verse 5: The claim that the number of Israelites exceeds that of the Egyptians is probably an exaggeration of a paranoid Pharaoh (1.9).

The need to stop working in order to worship the Lord will be become a defining practice. of the Israelite community with the commandment concerning the sabbath (20.8-11; Deut 5.12-15).

In verse 21: Bad odor with Pharaoh foreshadows the bad odors that will accompany the first two plagues (7.21;8.13-14).

In verses 22-23: This is another example of Moses' boldness to speak words of resistance, correction, or complaint to God (chs. 3-4; 32.11-14; 33.12-23).

Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 20th

Read Exodus 4.18-31

In verse 21: The theme of God's hardening Pharaoh's heart plays an important role throughout the story of Israel's exodus out of Egypt.

Ancient Israel understood the heart as the intersecting point of human intellect and the human will.

God repeatedly stiffens or hardens the heart of will of Pharaoh against letting Israel go (9.12; 14.8).

This  emphasis on God's control of Pharaoh ensures that Egypt will finally come to acknowledge God's power.

On the other hand, the texts also repeatedly declare that the Pharaoh hardens his own heart or will (7.13-14; 9.7, 34-35).

Thus, Pharaoh can also be held morally responsible for his own willful actions.

Pharaoh even confesses his own sin and responsibility for wrongdoing (9.27-28).

The story holds together affirmations of divine guidance and control along with human freedom and responsibility.

In verse 23: The threat to Pharaoh to kill your first born son will be accomplished in the tenth and final plague (12.29-32).

In this way , God will reclaim Israel as God's firstborn son (v.22).

In verses 24-26: This story of the deity's attack and circumcision's role as a defense against the deity is difficult to understand.

We have lost some of the historical context that underlies the original story.

However, the mention of Pharaoh's "firstborn son" in the preceding verse (v. 23) suggests a connection to the final plague when the deity killed all the Egyptian firstborn.

The protective power of the blood on the door posts of the Israelites' house caused the Lord to pas over their houses and not kill the Israelites' firstborn (12.12, 22-23).

In the same way, the protective blood or circumcision here protects either Moses or his son (the pronoun "him" in vv. 24-26 is ambiguous).

Circumcision is a ritual involving cutting off the foreskin of the male penis.

A flint is a sharpened stone used in the ritual.

Moses' feet is probably an alternative way of saying his genitals.

A bridegroom of blood may reflect the practice of some cultures that called the circumcised male "a bridegroom."

The theme of the deity's attack against those whom the deity has chosen for a special mission occurs elsewhere in the Bible (Gen 32.22-32; Num 22.22-35; Jos 5.13-15; Judg 2.1-15)..

In verse 27: the mountain of God is Mount Horeb, also know as Mount Sinai (3.1).

Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 19th

Read Exodus 4.1-17

In verse 1: Moses raises his third objection.

God responds by offering three signs to be performed to bolster the people's confidence in Moses (vv. 2-9).

Moses and his brother Aaron perform the signs in 4.30.

Moses' brother Aaron will use the sign of the staff's turning into a serpent (vv. 2-5) as a means to try to convince Pharaoh (7.8-13).

The third sign, the Nile River's turning to blood (v. 9), will become the first plague against Egypt (7.14-25).

In verse 10: Moses' fourth objection is his inability as a speaker: slow of speech and slow of tongue.

In verse 13: In a final desperate objection, Moses asks that God send someone else.

In verse 14: For the first time, the anger of the Lord appears after much patience with Moses.

God promises to send Moses' brother Aaron as his mouthpiece. (vv. 14-17).

Comments or Questions...

Reading for June 18th

God calls Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt
In 3.1-4.31: Moses encounters God veiled in a burning bush at Mount Horeb, otherwise known as Mount Sinai.
God calls Moses to leave Midian and return to Egypt to lead Israel out of slavery to freedom.
Moses responds with five objections or reasons why he should not lead Israel (3.11. 13; 4.1, 10, 13).
However, God patiently responds to each objection and insists that Moses go.
Finally, Moses obeys (4.18-20).

Read Exodus 3.1-22

In verse 1: Jethro is an alternative name for Moses' father-in-law, who is otherwise know as Reuel (2.18) or Hobab (Num 10.29.

Mount Horeb is an alternative name for Mount Sinai (19.11).

The mountain of God reflects a common notion in the ancient Near east that mountain tops were the special dwelling places of the divine.

In verse 2: Fire is a frequent biblical image for the deity's presence (Gen 15.17).

In verse 4: The lord is considered interchangeable with the angel of the Lord in v. 2.

In verse 6: To look at God was a fearful thing because it could mean instant death (33.20: Isa 6.5).

In verse 8: This is the first of many biblical examples in which the phrase a land flowing with milk and honey describes the goodness and fertility of the promised land of Canaan (13.5; Num 13.27).

The list of peoples- the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites- is a traditional listing of the native inhabitants of the land of Canaan (Gen 15.19-21; Deut 7.1).

In verses 11-12: This is the first of a series of five objections which Moses raises to God's call to lead Israel out of Egypt.

Moses feels inadequate for the mission, but God assures him that God will be with him.

As a sign God promises that Moses and the Israelites will return to worship on this mountain of Horeb or Mount Sinai (19.11).

In verse 13-15: Moses' second objection is a request for God's name.

God reveals the new divine name as I am who I am ("ehyeh asher ehyeh") or I will be who I will be.

This name is a wordplay on the divine name "yhwh" derives from the verb "to be" or "he creates."

Ancient Jewish practice considered the divine name "Yahweh" so holy and special that is should never be pronounced.

Wherever the name occurred , the reader used instead the Hebrew word for "the Lord" ("adonai").

The NRSV translation follows the ancient practice, substituting "the Lord" for every occurrence of "Yahweh" in the Hebrew text.

The divine name, I am who I am reveals God's intention to be present with Israel.

At the same time, the name hides some of God's character until a later time of disclosure (33.19; 34.6-7).

Moreover, the text underscores the identification of the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob from the book of Genesis with the same God who new name is revealed as the Lord ("Yahweh").

In verse 18: Sacrifice involves the killing of an animal and offering part of it to the deity as an act of worship and devotion.

In verse 22: God's pressure on the Egyptian to release the Israelites will eventually become so strong that the Egyptians will be anxious to send them away with gold, silver, and fine clothing.

In this way, Israel will plunder the Egyptians and take their war booty as a sign that God has won the victory in the battle with Pharaoh and the Egyptians.

The promise is fulfilled in 12.33-36.

Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 17th

Read Exodus 2.11-25

In 2.11-25: Moses kills an Egyptian and flees to Midian.

In verse 11: The story of Moses immediately from Moses as a baby (2.1-10) to Moses as an adult.

In verse 13: The Hebrew verb for strike ("nakah") is the same verb used in v. 12 when Moses kills the Egyptian, in v. 11 when the Egyptian was beating the Hebrew, and the word is used as god "strikes" Egypt with the plagues later in the story (3.20; 12.12-13).

In verse 15: Genesis 25.2 portrays the people of Midian as descended from Abraham and Keturah.

They are a wandering people associated with the Sinai Peninsula south of Canaan and with northern Arabia, which lies eats and north of Canaan.

In verse 18: The name Moses' father-in-law is Reuel here but the name varies in other biblical traditions.

His name is sometimes Jethro (3.1:18.1) or Hobad (Num 10.29; Judg 4.11).

In verse 22: Moses gives his son the name Gershom as a word play on the word alien ("ger").

In a sense Moses is an alien or a stranger in every land/

The Midianites consider him an "Egyptian" (2.19).

The Egyptians seek to kill him as a Hebrew sympathizer (2.15).

The Hebrews reject him as one of their own (2.14).

In verse 23-24: God heard Israel's cry of distress and God remembered his covenant or promise made to Israel's ancestors in Genesis (Abraham- Gen 15.12-16; Isaac- 26.24; Jacob- 35.11-12).

Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 16th

Read Exodus 2.1-10

In 2.1-10: Moses is born and saved from the Nile River.

This story of Moses' birth and rescue from the river includes parallels to other birth stories of heroes, especially the Legend of King Sargon of Akkad (8th century BCE).

In verse 1; Moses is born of parent from Israelite tribe of Levi.

The Levite tribes became a tribe of priests or servants dedicated tot he worship of God (32.25-29).

The family tree for the tribe of Levi in 6.14-27 names Moses' parents as Amran and Jochebed (6.20).

Moses' brother Aaron.

In verse 3: The Bible uses this rae word for basket only one other time.

It is the same word used for Noah's "ark" in gen 6.14, another story of dramatic rescue from water.

In verse 4: Moses' sister is not named here.

Later we will discover that she is Miriam, a sister to Aaron (15.20) and Moses (Num 26.59.

Micah 6.4 list three siblings- Moses, Aaron and Miriam- as the leaders of Israel in their wilderness trek from Egypt to the promised land of Canaan.

In verse 9: Pharaoh's own daughter conspires with Hebrew women to resist her father's vicious program against Israelite children.

In a satisfying twist of fate, Pharaoh's daughter will pay wages to Moses' mother for nursing the mother's own child.

In verse 10: The name Moses ("Mosheh") plays on the verb "to draw out" ("mashah").

Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 15th

Read Exodus 1.1-22

In 1.1-22: A new king arises in Egypt and forces the Israelites to become slaves.

Exodus continues the story of the family of Jacob in Egypt which concluded the book of Genesis.

Israel's turn in fortunes from a people of honor to a people of slavery fulfills God's words to Abraham in Gen 15.12-16: Israel will go to a land not their and become slaves for four hundred years.

In verse 7: the growing number and strength of the Israelites fulfills the promises of many descendants made to the ancestors in Genesis (gen 13.16; 32.12).

In verse 8: The new king of Egypt is not named, but some identify him as Ramses II (13 century BCE) in light of 1.11 and the building of the city call Ramses.

The new ruler did not have the same regard for Joseph and his family as had the previous ruler (Gen 47.1-12).

In verse 9: The claim that the Israelites are more numerous and more powerful than the Egyptians may well be an exaggeration that show the paranoia of the Egyptian ruler.

In verse 15: it is not clear whether these two midwives are Hebrew women or Egyptians who act as midwives for the Hebrew women.

The names of these heroic women, Shiphrah and Puah, suggest they may be Hebrew in origin.

On the other hand, the information in vv. 17 and 21 that they feared God can refer to non-Israelites who acknowledge or obey Israel's God (Gen 20.1-11).

In verse 16: Killing all the baby boys would cut off all male lines of descent and thus eventually kill of the whole people.

In verse 19: The midwives deceptive claim that the Hebrew women give birth more quickly is a way to cover up their refusal to obey the ruler's command to kill the Israelite babies.

In verse 22: The Egyptian ruler or Pharaoh expands the command to kill Israelite boys to all his people, not just the midwives.

All Egyptians are now guilty and will be subject to God's judgment.

Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 14th

Read Acts 28.16-31

In 28.16-31: Paul in Rome.

In verse 16: Chained (v. 20) to a soldier, Paul lives in Rome under house arrest for two years (v. 30).

In verse 17: Paul takes the initiative to consult with local leaders of the Jews (vv. 17-22), identifying with them a brothers (2.37; 15.13; 22.2; 23.6; 28.21) of our people and our ancestors (22.3; 24.14; 26.6).

In verse 18: On the Roman desire to release Paul, see the comment on 26.31.

In verse 19: The objections of the Jews have been recounted in detail (20.27-29; 22.21-22; 23.1-10; 24.2-9; 25.2, 7, 15, 18-19, 24; 26.2-3).

Paul's appeal to the emperor (25.11-12) is as a defendant, not bringing a charge or a case against Israel.

In verse 20: Paul is not only defending himself but the hope of Israel for God's restoration (see.1.6; 3.21), inaugurated through the resurrection of the messiah, Jesus (24.15, 21; 26.6-7, 16-18, 21-23).

In verse 21: Letters often accompanied visits as official means of communication (9.2; 15-22-23).

In verse 22: On the Way as a Jewish sect or "party," see 5.17; 15.5; 24.5, 14; 26.5.

In verse 23: Paul's explanation is another extended interpretation of Israel's scriptures (17.1-4; 18.4, 28: 19.8-9), that is, Moses and the prophets (see Lk 24.27, 44; Acts 3.22-24; 26.22).

In verse 24: The divided response is characteristic of both gentile and Jewish audiences (2.12-13; 14.2, 4; 17.32-34; 18.6-8; 21.20, 25), but to say they refused to believe is to make a prophetic judgment (compare 18.270.

In verse 25: Isa 6.9-10 is cited as a reproof of the Holy Spirit, where God's promises are cited against Israel or a portion of Israel to call for repentance, never as a final verdict (see also Jesus in Lk 8.10; Acts 13.40-41; Rom 11.8).

In verse 28: For a third time (13.46-47; 18.6), the gentile mission is a warning to those in Israel who do not believe (Rom 9-11), Paul's mission does not display undivided listening among gentiles either.

In verse 29: This verse is not recorded in the best manuscripts but echoes the divided response of verse 24. 

In verse 30: To live at his own expense may suggest enough freedom (v. 16) to practice his trade (18.3).

All who came to him probably means both Jews and gentiles (v. 24, 28).

In verse 31: The boldness of apostolic witness (2.29; 4.13, 29, 31; 9.27-28; 1346; 14.318.26; 19.8)  continues without hindrance in accord with God's promise (23.11), even is the midst of opposition and chains.

Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 13th

Read Acts 28.7-15
In verses 8-9: Paul's healing of the fever of Publius' father followed by the healing of the people recalls Jesus' healing Peter's mother (Lk 4.38-40)
In verses 12-15: The last phases of the voyage lead from Syracuse on Sicily, to Rhegium on the toe of Italy, to dock at Puteoli, the great port at Naples.
Then the group travels overland through places called the Forum of Appius  and the Three Taverns, with Christian believers coming south from Rome to meet us.
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Reading for June 12th

Read Acts 27.26-28.6
In verse 33:Paul intervenes for the fourth time (vv. 10, 21, 31).
In verse 34: On the assurance that they will not lose a hair from your heads, see Lk 21.18; 12.7.
In verses 43-44: So Paul was saved, and so all were saved (27.24).
In 28.3: A viper (Lk 3.7) could refer to many varieties of snakes, which traditional lore regarded as representing spiritual forces.
In verse 4: Justice is viewed by the locals as a personified power executing vengeance on one who almost escaped (Am 5.19).
In verse 6: His power over snakes (Lk 10.18-19; Mk 16.18) makes them think he is a god (14.11-12).
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Reading for June 11th

Read Acts 27.1-26
In 27.1-28.31: Paul's journey to Rome.
In 27.1-28.15: This journey account is filled with nautical details, but less theological content than the rest of Acts narrative.
In verses 9-11: The Fast, or "Day of Atonement," appears to be a calendar reference for the late season (contrast 20.16).
In verse 17: The sea anchor provided drag but did not arrest the ship's movement.
In verses 21-25: I have faith in God echoes 24.15.
Paul testifies that the safety of the journey depends on God's promise to him (23.11) rather than the ineptitude of their sailing.
In verse 26: Paul predicts the shipwreck on Malta (28.1).
Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 10th

Read Acts 26.24-32

In verse 24: Paul's learning is Jewish scriptural interpretation (Mt 9.13).

In verses 26-27: Like Cornelius (10.28), King Agrippa could be expected to know this much about the prophetic tradition.

In verse 28: The question is whether he can be so quickly persuaded by Christian scriptural interpretation.

In verse 31: Like Jesus, who was declared innocent three times by Pilate with counsel (albeit absurd) from Herod Antipas I (Lk 23.4, 14.22), Paul is exonerated by Lysias (23.9), Festus (23.25), and now by Felix with counsel from Herod Antipas II.

But neither was released.

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Reading for June 9th

Read Acts 26.12-23

In verses 13-14: Several details heighten the earlier accounts: brighter than the sun; we had fallen to the ground; a voice in the Hebrew language.

Kicking against the goads is the action of a stubborn resistance to divine prodding.

In verse 16: To serve and testify corresponds tot he calling of ministers and witnesses (Lk 1.2; Acts 1.22; 2.32; 10.39, 41).

In verses 17-18: Paul's mission is again focused on the gentiles (see 22.21 in contrast to 9.15) to bring them into the promises of Israel.

The text echoes with the promises of light and forgiveness of isa 42.7, 16, and Acts 2.38-39.

Satan is directly mentioned in Lk 10.18; 11.18; 13.16; 22.3, 31; Acts 5.3.

In verse 20: Paul's account focuses on Palestine (1.8) with no mention of his mission in Asia Minor or Greece.

In verse 22: Like Jesus in Luke 22.27, 44 (see also Lk 16.31), Paul claims the fulfillment of the prophets, and Moses.

In verse 23: The necessity of the suffering of the Messiah is a central affirmation in the scriptural interpretation of Luke Acts (see Lk 24.25-27; Acts 3.18).

The promise of light both to our people and to the Gentiles is a thematic allusion to Isa 49.6 ( see also 1.8; 13.47).

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