Reading for August 8th

 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 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 each other Egyptians proves to be advantageous, since the people of Israel are untouched any the plagues that terrorize Egypt 99.4, 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 Egyptians homes (11.7; 12.23). In verse 26: The sacrifices probably involved sheep (12.1-10) and 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 August 7th

 Read Exodus 8.16-19. In 8.16-19: The Third plague: dust turns to 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 August 6th

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 the 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 of 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 hardened heart, see comment on 4.21. Comments or Questions.. 

Reading for August 5th

 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 one 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 this series of ecological disasters. In effect, the plagues undo the life-giving order and structure of creation in Gen 1. In verses 22: A progression is evident in the experience of the magicians or Egypt throughout the ten plagues. They were 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 August 4th

 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 was hardened. See Comment on 4.21. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 3rd

 Read Exodus 6.26-7.7. 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 Mises' prophets or spokesperson. In verse 3 Harden Pharaoh's heart See comment on 4.21, In verse 5: Stretch out my hand: see comment of 6.6. In verse 7: Contrary to  expectations, the younger brother Moses is superior tot he older brother Aaron. This is a frequent motif in biblical narratives (Gen 25,23; 37.5-11). Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 2nd

 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 Eliezer (vv. the priestly line through Aaron to his son Eliezer, and to trace the priestly line through Aaron to his so Elsasser (vv. 23-24) and his grandson Phinehas (v. 25). Eliezer 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 August 1st

 The Lord reaffirms the mission of Moses and Aaron. 

Read Exodus 6.1-13. In 6.1-7.7: The Lord responds to the complaints of Israel (5.21) and of Moses (5.22-23. God reaffirms the role of Moses and Aaron as leaders of Israel and the driving 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 6.1: By a mighty hand refers to Pharaoh's power and authority. In verses 2-3: On the significance of the divine name God Almighty (El Shaddai) literally means "God on the Mountain" which is an appropriate name for this deity who appears on Mount Horeb/Sinai. The name the Lord ('Yahweh") contradicts as alternate 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 plot of land that has been taken over by another person or owner (Lev 25.25-28, 47-49). With an out stretched arm refers to the extension of God's power against the Egyptians. The promise is literally fulfilled when Moses "stretched out his hand" and God parted the red Sea (14.21) and then allowed the water to rush back upon the Egyptians (14.26-28). In verse 7: For you shall know continues the import theme concerning the purpose of the Exodus out of Egypt:  the knowledge of God by both Egyptians and Israelites. In verse 8: God swore or made a promise to each of the ancestors in Genesis: Abraham (Gen 13.14-15), Isaac (Gen 26. 3), and Jacob (Gen. 13). Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 31st

 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, introducea major theme of knowing the Lord, which plays a role throughout this section of Exodus (7.5, 17; 8.10; 9.14; 14.18). In verse 3: The threat of pestilence or sword points indirectly to the 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 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 odor that will accompany the first two plagues (7.21; 8.13-14). In verses 22-23: This 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 July 30th

Read Exodus 4.18-31. In verse 21: The theme of God's hardening the heart of Pharaoh 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 or 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 Pharaoh hardens his own heart or will (7.13-14; 9.7, 34-35). Thus Pharaoh can also beheld morally responsible for his own willful actions. Pharaoh even confesses 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 firstborn 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 verse 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 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 houses cause the Lord to pass over their houses and not kill the Israelites firstborn (12.12, 22-23). In the same way, the protective blood of the circumcision here protects either Moses or his son (the pronoun "him" in 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 ritual. Moses' feet is probably 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; Josh 5.13-15; Judg 2.1-5). In verse 27: The mountain of God is Mount Horeb, also known as Mount Sinai (3.1). Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 29th

 Ex 4.1-17. In 4.1-31: Moses raises a 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 into 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 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 July 28th

 Read Exodus: 3.13-22. 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. His name is a wordplay on the divine name "yhwh," usually pronounced "Yahweh." The name "Yahweh" derives from the verb "to be" ("hayah") and may be translated "he causes to be" or "he creates." Ancient Jewish practice considered the divine name "Yahweh" so holy and special that it should never be pronounced. Wherever that name occurred, the reader used instead the Hebrew word for "the Lord" ("adonai"). This NRSV translation follows this 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 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 whose 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 Egyptians 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 a victory in the battle with Pharaoh and the Egyptians. The promise is fulfilled in 12.33-26. Comments or Questions...

Reading for July 27th

 Read Exodus 3.1-12. In verse 1: Jethro is an alternative name for Moses' father-in-law,  who is otherwise known 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 specific dwelling places of the divine. In verse 2: Fire is a frequent biblical image of 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).This list of peoples--the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites-- is the 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 Sinai (19.11). Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 26th

 Read Exodus 2.11-25. In 2.11-25: Moses kills an Egyptian and flees to Midian. In verse 11; The story Moses immediately from Moses as a baby (2.1-10) to Moses as an adult. In verse 13: The Hebrew verb to strike ("nakah") is the same verb used in v. 12 when Moses killed the Egyptian, On v. 11 when the Egyptian is beating the Hebrew, and the word 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 east 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 some times Jethro (3.1; 18.1) or Hobab (Num 10,29, Judg 4.11). In verse 22; Moses gives his sons the name Gershom as a wordplay on the word for alien (ger") in a sense, Moses is an alien or stranger in every land. The Midianites consider him as "Egyptian" (2.19). The Egyptians seek to kill him as a Hebrew sympathizer (2.15). The Hebrews reject him as not 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 July 25th

 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 on Akkad (8th century BCE). In verse 1: Moses is born of parents from the Israelite tribe of Levi. The Levite tribe became a tribe of priests or servants dedicated to the 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 is Aaron. In verse 3: The Bible uses this rare 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 (vv. 15-20) and to Moses (Num 26.59). Micah 6.4 lists these 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 July 24th

 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 theirs 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 Rameses II (13th century BCE) in light of 1.11 and the building of a city called Rameses. The new ruler did not have the same big regard for Joseph and his family as had 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 shows the paranoia of the Egyptian ruler. In verse 15: It is not clear whether these two midwives are Hebrew women. The names of thee 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 the male lines of descent and thus eventually kill off the whole people. In verse 19: The midwives deceptive claim that Hebrew woman 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 July 23rd

 Read 2 Thessalonians 3.16-18. In 3.16-18: Epistolary closing. Peace and grace for all you suggests a desire to draw in the erring members. In verse 17: With my own hand, in light of 2.2, suggests that he writer feels a need to authenticate his letter. Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 22nd

 Read 2 Thessalonians 3.1-15. In 3.1-15: Commands and exhortations. two sets of commands and encouragements to virtue (vv. 1-4 and 6-15) surround a prayer (v. 5).  In verse 1; Finally, the last section of the letter. In verses 6-15: Commands and exhortations to the entire community (vv. 6-10) and to the offending figures in the congregation (vv. 11-12) precede a command on how to deal with disobedient (vv. 13-15). In verse 6: In idleness could also mean "in disorder lines." Apparently expecting the lord to r e turn very soon., some in the congregation stopped working. Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 21st

 Read 2 Thessalonians 2.16-17. In 2.16-17: Another prayer. As in 1.11-12, this prayer anticipates subsequent concerns, in this case God's role in strengthening the community (3.3) and "world" (3.8-12). In verse 17: Comfort your hearts; see Isa 51.12; 61.1. Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 20th

 Read 2 Thessalonians 2.1-15. In 2.1-15: A refutation. False teaching about the day of Lord is stated (vv. 1-2) and refuted (3.12) in contrast is thanksgiving for the different fate of believers (vv. 13-15), who hold on to the truth (v. 13), the proclamation, and the traditions (vv. 14-15). In verse 3: Lawless one, perhaps a false prophet or one of the emperors. In verses 6-7: The identity of the unknown one restraining the lawless one is impossible to determine, but the conflict between the two belongs to what must occur before the day of the Lord. In verse 13: We must always give thanks; see 1.3. In verse 15: Stand firm, see 1 Thess 3.8. Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 19th

 Read 2 Thessalonians 1.3-12. In verses 3-10: Perseverance and future vindication. This long sentence includes a thanksgiving (vv.  3-4) and a commentary on affliction (vv. 5-10). In verses 3-4: The thanksgiving report relates the community's progress and steadfastness. In verse 4: Persecutions ... afflictions, both mean suffering, but the first, external suffering, is more specific. They may mean the woes of the end time; see Dan 12.1. In verses 5-10: These verses teach that suffering is a sign of being chosen and that those who suffer  will be vindicated at the judgment. That day anticipates 2.1-12, which refutes those who think their recent afflictions mean the: "day of the Lord" has already appeared. In verses 7-10: descriptions of God in the Hebrew Scripturas and other Jewish writings now apply to Jesus (see angels in Zech 14.5; 1 Enoch 1.9;flaming fire in Isa 66.15-16; glorified in Ps 89.7). In verses 11-12: A prayer. These verses are the letter's main teaching. Resolve, work of faith anticipates the refutations in 2.1-12 and 3.1-15. In verse 12: See Isaiah 66.5, but it is Jesus who will be glorified. Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 18th

 Read 2 Thessalonians 1.1-2. In 1.1-2: Epistolary opening. The greeting is similar to 1 Thessalonians but longer. On Silvanus and Timothy; see 1 Thess1.1. Comments or Questions.. 

Reading for July 17th

Read Genesis  50.15-26. In 50.15-26: Joseph once again forgives his brothers. The brothers' words, we are here as your slaves, unintentionally anticipate the slavery of the Israelites in Egypt in Ex 1.8-14. In verses 19-21: Joseph's words sound the overriding theme of the Joseph story: the divine ability to guide events and to turn evil into good. In verse 25: The book of Genesis ends with the promise to Joseph that his body would be buried in the land of Canaan. The Israelites fulfill the promise in Ex 13.19 and Josh 24.32. Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 16th

 Read Genesis 50.1-14. In 50.1-14: Jacob is embalmed and buried. In verse 2: To embalm the dead body of Jacob was an Egyptian custom of treating the corpse so that it would be preserved. The preservation would allow Joseph to return the body to Canaan and bury it there as Jacob had requested. Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 15th

 Read Genesis 49.1- 33. In 49.1-33: Jacob's last words to his sons. Jacob's deathbed blessing of his sons is ancient Hebrew poetry, although the varied blessings and condemnations may reflect later historic fortunes and condemnations may reflect later historic fortunes (v. 28). In verses 3-4: Reuben should be exalted as Jacob's firstborn son, but he will be demoted in status because he defiled his father's bed. Reuben had a sexual relations with one of Jacob's concubines (35.22). In verses 5-7: Jacob's condemnation of Simeon and Levi stems from their leadership in the violent killing of the men of Shechem (34.25-26, 30). Jacob's pledge to divide and scatter them points to Simeon's absorption into the tribe of Judah (Josh 19.9) and Levi becoming a landless priestly tribe (Num 18.6-7, 20). In verses 8-12: The name Judah puns on the phrase shall praise you ("yoduka"). These verses anticipate the preeminence and prosperity of the royal line of King David who arose out out of the tribe of Judah. In verse 16: The name Dan plays on the verb judge ("yadin'). In verse 19; The name Gad plays on the words raided, raiders, and raid ("god"). In verses 22-26: This large section celebrates the future fertility and strength of the tribe of Joseph. In verses 29-30: Abraham's purchase of the burial cave is recounted in 23.1-20. Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 14th

 Read Genesis 48.1-22. In 48.1-22: Jacob blesses Joseph's two sons. In verse 3: Jacob refers to God's first blessing given to him at Bethel (also known as Luz) in 28.10-22. In verses 5-6: Jacob adopts his two grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh, as his own sons on a par with the oldest sons, Rueben and Simeon. This action explains why Manasseh and Ephraim will be listed in place of Joseph in later lists of the twelve tribes of Israel (Num 1.32-35; Josh 17.17). These tribes were dominant in certain periods of Israel's history. In verses 13-14: The blessing by Jacob (also known as Israel) with the right hand would imply a more favored status than a blessing with the left hand. The first born son would normally receive the right-hand blessing, but Jacob lays his right hand on Ephraim, who was the the younger (v. 14). In verse 19: Old blind Jacob (v. 10) refuses Joseph's request to give the favored right-hand blessing to the elder Manasseh. The scene is a replay of the elderly and blind Isaac blessing the younger Jacob in place of Esau (27.1-40). In verse 22: Jacob gives to Joseph the portion that i took from the hand of the Amorites in battle. This word word for portion ("shekem") is a wordplay on the Canaanite or Amorite town of Shechem, which Jacob and his sons captured in a violent raid (34.25-29). Shechem was located on the border between Ephraim and Manasseh, the two Joseph tribes. Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 13th

 Read Genesis 47.1-31. In verse 11: The land of Rameses is another name for Goshen. Rameses was the name of the pharaoh in Egypt (Ex 1.11). In verse 13-26: The severity of the famine in Egypt forces the population gradually to give up their money, livestock, land, and freedom to the authority of Pharaoh. The program is managed by Joseph. Joseph's role in making slaves of the Egyptians (v.25) will be reverse in Ex 1.8-14. when a new pharaoh will enslave the Israelites. In verse 29: Jacob's instruction to Joseph to put your hand under my thigh, near the male reproductive organs, is a ritual of making an intimate and solemn oath or promise (24.2). In verse 30: Their burial place is a cave at Machpelah, which Abraham had purchased from the Hittites (23.1-20). Comments and Questions...

Reading for July 12th

Read Genesis 46.1-34. In 46.1-47.31: Jacob moves his family to live Joseph in Egypt. In 46.1-4: Jacob had once before received a vision at night in which God spoke words of assurance and blessing when he had left Canaan (28.10-22),Then as now, God promised Jacob, "I myself will go down with you and bring you up again (v. 4; 28.15). In verse 27: The seventy members of the house of Jacob are a partial fulfillment of the promise of many descendants repeated throughout Genesis (15.5; 28.14). In verse 34: Goshen is a pasture land in he Nile River delta isolated from the rest of Egypt. Shepherds are abhorrent to the Egyptians. Egyptian agriculture was based more on crops and field agriculture that would be endangered by wandering herds of grazing animals. Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 11th

 Read Genesis 45.1-28. In 45.1-28: Joseph reveals his true identity to his brothers, In verse 5: Joseph recognizes that his slavery and coming to Egypt were part of a larger divine plan to preserve life for both his own family and "all the families of the earth" (12,3). In verse 10: Goshen is a fertile pasture land in the delta region of the Nile river in northeast Egypt (47.1-6). Comments nor Questions..

Reading for July 10th

 Read Genesis 44.14-34. In verse 14: The story places Judah in the foreground as the leader of his brothers. He is about to play key role as the hero in this scene, Joseph's earlier dreams in 37.5-11 are again fulfilled as the brothers all bow to the ground before him. In verse 16: Here we are then, my Lord's slaves. Those who once sold Joseph as a slave (37.28) offer themselves as slaves to Joseph. In verse 17: Joseph offers the other brothers the temptation to save themselves by sacrificing Benjamin. The test is a replay of the brother's earlier decision to sacrifice their brother Joseph for their own benefit (37.28). In verses 29, 31: Sheol is the place of the dead. In verses 33-34:Judah offers himself in place of the boy, Benjamin. Judah's willingness to sacrifice himself to save Benjamin redeems his earlier involvement in the plot to sell Joseph as a slave (37.26). Comments or Questions..

Reading for July 9th

 Read Genesis 44.1-13. In 44,1-34: Joseph puts his brothers to the test. In verse 4: Why have you returned evil for good? This question sounds a theme central to the Joseph story. as a whole. Joseph's words to his brothers in 50.20 summarize the theme of the interplay of good and evil. In verse 5: Divination  is the skill of determining the divine will or plan for the future.  This was apparently done by observing the effects created by certain objects placed in the water contained in the sacred silver cup.(v. 4). In verse 9: The brothers' words unknowingly put Benjamin under the threat of death since the silver cup was planted in his sack (vv. 2, 12). In n verse 13: They tore their clothes a sign of intense anguish and grief. Comments or Questions..