Book of Zechariah is another one that's set during the time of Darius. Zechariah himself is the grandson of Iddo, one of the last figures of the Bible. His is another book filled with prophecy. Notably, it takes the foreshadowing of Revelation's Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse more literally than the last time we saw such a thing, by including actual horsemen.
"Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for lo, I come and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the Lord!" Hmm, perhaps as Jesus?
Satan is referenced directly. But it amounts to a more or less throwaway reference.
Greece is referenced directly for the first time, even though there have been constant allusions to close Jewish contact with its various nation states.
There's a payment of 30 pieces of silver, which is not as well-received as it first seems.
"When they look on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn."
Book of Malachi, meanwhile, is another book concerned with the doings of the house of Esau. It's a little odd that so many later books in the Bible do this while so many of the former ones completely ignore Jacob's brother. It's a book mostly in the form of a screed against bad priests. It also includes a prophecy concerning Elijah's return.
First Book of Maccabees begins somewhat curiously with a warped portrait of Alexander the Great. I happen to know a bit about the famed Macedonian conqueror, so the summary provided here runs afoul quite notably in a few places, not the least in how it presents his final days. He most certainly did not appoint successors. That's how his empire crumbled so spectacularly. But here, he's said to have done exactly that. In fact, that's common for the Bible. Basic human fallibility is routinely reduced to character judgments, both on individuals and nations, usually predicated on their religious observance. But then, the Bible is a book primarily concerned with religious observance...Still long story short, and maybe this is simply a matter of how historic views change or don't always line up together, but don't take Alexander the Great's legacy strictly from what can be found in First Maccabees.
Anyway, after Alexander departs this mortal realm, things don't go so well for his successors, who are none of them half the man he was. One of the men who was definitely not half the man was Antiochus, the main villain of this piece, the instigator and religious persecutor who riles up Mattahias and his five sons, including Judas Maccabeus. Mattahias begins a full-scale revolt of Jews against tyranny, bringing back the fervor and battle success of the holy warriors of old, until he dies and Judas succeeds him. Judas has among his allies a group known as the Hasideans.
A couple notes worth including:
Antiochus, as part of his rampage sacks Egypt (whose fortunes were never again quite at Exodus levels). He plunders the temple. (I'm not clear on this because of the wording, but I think Judas later repairs it.) The temple at this time features "the bread of the Presence," which certainly sounds like a precursor to Catholicism's Holy Communion (which is quite literally the bread of the Presence). Jerusalem becomes occupied.
Oh, and Rome is referenced for the first time in the Bible...
Phinehas is fairly important in the theology here. Also invoked: Abraham, Joseph, Caleb, Joshua, David, Elijah, and Daniel.
The descendants of Esau are once again prominent, naturally, fighting against Judas and his warriors. And to think, way back in Genesis, Esau sounded like he was going to have such a good legacy.
Showing posts with label Esau. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Esau. Show all posts
Friday, January 31, 2014
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Book of Obadiah 1, Book of Jonah 1-4, Book of Micah 1-7, Book of Nahum 1-3, Book of Habakkuk 1-3, Book of Zephaniah 1-3, Book of Haggai 1-2
More tales of Incredibly Short Books!
We begin our adventures with Book of Obadiah. The most important and perhaps only real notable thing about this one is that it's another source of information on just whatever became of the house of Esau. It ended, basically.
Book of Jonah, easily the most famous of this collection, is exactly as you probably know. The interesting thing, however, is that I somehow managed to construe even this one as one of the Old Testament's many foreshadowings of Jesus. This time, the parallel is with Gethsemane. I never even considered that before. Has anyone else?
Book of Micah is set during the days of the Bad Kings. But there are some choice quotes to share: "If a man should go about and utter wind and lies, saying 'I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,' he would be the preacher for this people!' That's a biblical insult for you!
The other one, predictably for this particular commentary, ties in with Jesus: "But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days."
Later, Micah seems to elevate Miriam to the same level as Moses and Aaron. Balaam is referenced, too. And positively! Just as I've been saying all along! Unless I misinterpreted Micah. In which he is still, nonetheless, referenced. And not outright dismissed. For a change.
One more quote: "He has showed you, O men, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"
Needless to say, but Book of Micah quickly became a standout for me.
Book of Nahum is also about Nineveh, much like Book of Jonah. Except otherwise it's nothing at all like Jonah.
Book of Habakkuk's most notable feature is its call to keep the faith.
Book of Zephaniah is set in the times of Josiah, which as we know (or should know) is one of the few times in the era of the Bad Kings where there was actually a good king (Josiah, to be clear). Still, it's a classic book of doomsaying.
Book of Haggai is from the days of Darius. It's a rare narrative in this section, basically Haggai presenting himself as the man God calls upon to rebuild the temple. If there's anything peculiar about that, it's that earlier God was not very keen on the idea of a temple in the first place...
We begin our adventures with Book of Obadiah. The most important and perhaps only real notable thing about this one is that it's another source of information on just whatever became of the house of Esau. It ended, basically.
Book of Jonah, easily the most famous of this collection, is exactly as you probably know. The interesting thing, however, is that I somehow managed to construe even this one as one of the Old Testament's many foreshadowings of Jesus. This time, the parallel is with Gethsemane. I never even considered that before. Has anyone else?
Book of Micah is set during the days of the Bad Kings. But there are some choice quotes to share: "If a man should go about and utter wind and lies, saying 'I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,' he would be the preacher for this people!' That's a biblical insult for you!
The other one, predictably for this particular commentary, ties in with Jesus: "But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days."
Later, Micah seems to elevate Miriam to the same level as Moses and Aaron. Balaam is referenced, too. And positively! Just as I've been saying all along! Unless I misinterpreted Micah. In which he is still, nonetheless, referenced. And not outright dismissed. For a change.
One more quote: "He has showed you, O men, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"
Needless to say, but Book of Micah quickly became a standout for me.
Book of Nahum is also about Nineveh, much like Book of Jonah. Except otherwise it's nothing at all like Jonah.
Book of Habakkuk's most notable feature is its call to keep the faith.
Book of Zephaniah is set in the times of Josiah, which as we know (or should know) is one of the few times in the era of the Bad Kings where there was actually a good king (Josiah, to be clear). Still, it's a classic book of doomsaying.
Book of Haggai is from the days of Darius. It's a rare narrative in this section, basically Haggai presenting himself as the man God calls upon to rebuild the temple. If there's anything peculiar about that, it's that earlier God was not very keen on the idea of a temple in the first place...
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Book of Jeremiah 36-52, Lamentations 1-5
Baruch shows up again and starts to do actual things. Such as act very much like Aaron to Jeremiah's Moses.
Jeremiah utters, "What wrong have I done to you or your servants, or the people, that you have put me in prison?" Then a little later, it's said of him, "Let this man be put to death, for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in the city, and the hands of all the people by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm." Sounds a lot like Jesus foreshadowing to me.
Jeremiah is then thrown into the pit. It's Ebedmelech the Ethiopian who gets him out.
The further Jesus analogy in this scenario is Nebuchadnezzar in the Pontius Pilate role. In fact, the whole depiction of Pilate could very well have been drawn from Book of Jeremiah. As historians are increasingly quick to note, the real Pilate would never even have thought twice about executing Jesus.
I have a correction to make about the earlier reference to "queen of heaven." Now I'm interpreting to have always been an Egyptian reference, likely to Isis. Egypt is prominent in Jeremiah.
In the litany of terrors against nations that helps comprise Book of Jeremiah (it seems obvious that several separate works were at some point combined), there's the suggestion that the conclusion of the Esau legacy is finally reached. You'll remember that although Jacob's brother did actually get to enjoy prosperity through the generations his adventures disappear from the Bible soon after.
The variations of this book from earlier biblical record continue: the end of the Babylonian exile is far less mutual and more like rats fleeing a sinking ship, with Babylon meeting the same sorry fate as other nations in the litany of doom and woe. I'd suggest that it seems obvious some or all of this was written well after the fact, even there's at least one line ("Thus far are the words of Jeremiah") that would try and suggest otherwise. Most of the books of the Bible probably didn't exist in direct awareness of each other much less reflect a lot of direct record. It's hard enough to authenticate such things in the New Testament.
Sodom and Gomorrah, however, are clearly part of the tradition everyone knows at least by name (some suggestions made here indicate varying reasons never actually given as to why they were so famously smited), as they are referenced several times in Book of Jeremiah.
I imagine one way or another that this is not a favorite book of Iraqis. Although funny enough, and maybe I said this already, but Abraham's ziggurat is in Iraq.
It ends funny, though. Jeremiah abruptly disappears (to say nothing of an earlier and random sequence involving a bloody warrior named Ishmael). It rewinds back to the very start of the Babylonian saga, right after having apparently closed the book of Babylon itself.
Lamentations, traditionally ascribed to Jeremiah but clearly not by him, is a, well, poetic lament about the destruction of Jerusalem, and even a moment of religious doubt (which suggests people generally did believe what they were supposed to believe with or without Jeremiah), some lines of general woe concerning the exile era.
Jeremiah utters, "What wrong have I done to you or your servants, or the people, that you have put me in prison?" Then a little later, it's said of him, "Let this man be put to death, for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in the city, and the hands of all the people by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm." Sounds a lot like Jesus foreshadowing to me.
Jeremiah is then thrown into the pit. It's Ebedmelech the Ethiopian who gets him out.
The further Jesus analogy in this scenario is Nebuchadnezzar in the Pontius Pilate role. In fact, the whole depiction of Pilate could very well have been drawn from Book of Jeremiah. As historians are increasingly quick to note, the real Pilate would never even have thought twice about executing Jesus.
I have a correction to make about the earlier reference to "queen of heaven." Now I'm interpreting to have always been an Egyptian reference, likely to Isis. Egypt is prominent in Jeremiah.
In the litany of terrors against nations that helps comprise Book of Jeremiah (it seems obvious that several separate works were at some point combined), there's the suggestion that the conclusion of the Esau legacy is finally reached. You'll remember that although Jacob's brother did actually get to enjoy prosperity through the generations his adventures disappear from the Bible soon after.
The variations of this book from earlier biblical record continue: the end of the Babylonian exile is far less mutual and more like rats fleeing a sinking ship, with Babylon meeting the same sorry fate as other nations in the litany of doom and woe. I'd suggest that it seems obvious some or all of this was written well after the fact, even there's at least one line ("Thus far are the words of Jeremiah") that would try and suggest otherwise. Most of the books of the Bible probably didn't exist in direct awareness of each other much less reflect a lot of direct record. It's hard enough to authenticate such things in the New Testament.
Sodom and Gomorrah, however, are clearly part of the tradition everyone knows at least by name (some suggestions made here indicate varying reasons never actually given as to why they were so famously smited), as they are referenced several times in Book of Jeremiah.
I imagine one way or another that this is not a favorite book of Iraqis. Although funny enough, and maybe I said this already, but Abraham's ziggurat is in Iraq.
It ends funny, though. Jeremiah abruptly disappears (to say nothing of an earlier and random sequence involving a bloody warrior named Ishmael). It rewinds back to the very start of the Babylonian saga, right after having apparently closed the book of Babylon itself.
Lamentations, traditionally ascribed to Jeremiah but clearly not by him, is a, well, poetic lament about the destruction of Jerusalem, and even a moment of religious doubt (which suggests people generally did believe what they were supposed to believe with or without Jeremiah), some lines of general woe concerning the exile era.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Book of Judith 1-16, Book of Esther 1-11, Book of Job 1-5
Book of Judith may have a few facts wrong about its period setting, or I was simply confused, because it's set during the Nebuchadnezzar era but seems to have his associations all wrong, including references to Assyrians rather than Babylon, and set after the period of exile. Either way, the key figures in the story are Judith, naturally, and Holofernes. I learned this story originally from a painting in college, likely a Caravaggio, but we'll get to the reason why one specific image might be appropriate a little later.
Holofernes is the chief general of the army (whose army exactly we'll leave as a matter for some other time). Nebuchadnezzar (or whoever) has become angry with nation states who refused to help him in his time of need, even though he succeeded perfectly well without them in his military campaign, so he undertakes to teach them all a lesson. The Israelites learn that they're along this warpath, and dawn (for the first time in the Bible), ashes and sackcloth. During the course of this prelude material, the whole history of the Hebrews is recapped, minus any significant figures. Nebuchadnezzar wants to be worshiped as a god (like Egyptian, Roman, and Japanese rulers, for instance), and doesn't take kindly to any peoples who won't play along. The God of the Hebrews is described as the god of iniquity (in polytheistic cultures, it was common for individual gods to be associated with a particular attribute; the Hebrew God is said to have derived from a whole pantheon, and was originally a god of war, which would be hugely appropriate).
The "people of Esau" are referenced, which would once again indicate diverging traditions that once introduced in early books are no longer considered part of the Jewish record. They tell Holofernes how to defeat the Israelites, which namely is to make God angry with them.
Judith finally appears. She's a widow. She's extremely beautiful. She's also extremely faithful. She tells the rest of the Israelites that she has a plan. She takes offense when it's suggested that you can put God to the test. She says he's incomprehensible.
It occurred to me that Tolkien's dwarves in Middle Earth are a lot like the Jews of this period. Probably deliberate on his part.
She invokes God's testing, rather, of Abraham and Jacob. She prays for strength. In a lot of ways, she is a Jesus figure, although I would have to significantly digress to fully explore that assertion. More simply, she might be considered a Mary figure. She's declared "blessed among women," much like Mary, for instance.
Judith sets out to seduce, trick, and assassinate Holofernes. She cuts off his head. This part of the story evokes the Medusa myth. It also makes for a distinctive painting. It makes for an unusually funny line in the Bible, too: "For look, here is Holofernes lying on the ground, and his head is not on him!"
She sings a song, which includes the lines, "the sons of the Titans," making it all the more clear that whoever composed this book definitely knew their Greek myths. Actually, the extant translation is a Greek one, so perhaps some of these things were simply grafted on after the fact.
"Thou didst send forth thy Spirit." Christians will recognize the third member of the Holy Trinity in that line.
Book of Esther features another heroic woman from the general exile era. It's a story featured in the recent movie One Night with the King, and I've also seen high school one-act stage productions of it, so you don't really need to be religious to know it.
This is the era of Artaxerxes. The Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, exile era is stated, so that much is clearer in this book. Our story concerns the faithful Jew Mordecai and his cousin Esther, whom he adopted as a daughter. Both of them end up tangled in the life of a king whose name I won't bother to record, because it isn't nearly as well-known as either of theirs, or the wicked Haman, who is the Iago of this piece.
Basically, Mordecai saves the king's life, and Esther ends up becoming the new queen. The two events are unrelated, but they become fortuitous when Haman seeks to assert his own power as the king's right-hand man by having revenge on Mordecai for showing him disrespect that the Jew could not have avoided and still be faithful to God. Haman eventually decides that all Jews must die. Esther must reveal her previously hidden faith as she moves to spare Mordecai's life, and in turn saves all of her people. It's also a story Jews of the modern era might recognize in the story of Oskar Schindler during the Holocaust.
The book seems a little cobbled together, different from the repetition of a story from oral tradition in that when things are restated it's not really in the sense of emphasis. Like Kings and Chronicles, the repeated statements don't always seem aware that they aren't being completely accurate with one another.
Hades is referenced. Hades is the God of the underworld in Greek mythology. The name has also been used as synonymous with Hell.
Sackcloth and ashes appear again.
The story is also an excellent way to explore a melting pot population and the conflicting results from trying to reconcile cultural differences.
"All-seeing God and Savior," which is an interesting description. God is described as changing the mood of the king, to make him more willing to listen to Esther. Previously in the Bible, whenever God interfered like that, he made the recipient more "hard-hearted."
The changing fortunes of Mordecai might also be interpreted through the lens of Jesus, especially during the Passion. Again, this would cause a considerable digression to more fully explain. Parallels of this kind would have been excellent selling points to intellectuals interested in embracing Christianity as the new state religion, as the Romans did. The poetry and romanticism even in the midst of tragedy would help explain how Jesus could be interpreted as the Greatest Story Ever Told, something far more resonant than the regional faith of a wandering people. It would be naive to assume Constantine at that point in Christian development adopted the emerging religion for anything more than strategic worth. The story of Esther would certainly illuminate the advantages of such a move.
This whole book also establishes the holiday of Purim.
It's interesting that Mordecai begins the book with a vision, and then at the end of it interprets it. The Bible would be easier to read today if all such visions had been explained like that. The very last part of the book also references Ptolemy and Cleopatra, among the last significant remnants of the once-great Egyptian race, following the conquests of Alexander the Great.
Book of Job is famous, too, although the way it's told may be different than most people would expect. "Sons of God," Satan among them, consult with him about the figure of Job, who is good and faithful in the midst of having every earthly advantage. What if they are taken away? Will he curse God?
Leviathan is referenced.
This is the first of the philosophical works in the Bible. It's strong that such things exist and no one really thinks of that, much as they don't think of all the war that happens in it. It also seems to be a theological study.
Holofernes is the chief general of the army (whose army exactly we'll leave as a matter for some other time). Nebuchadnezzar (or whoever) has become angry with nation states who refused to help him in his time of need, even though he succeeded perfectly well without them in his military campaign, so he undertakes to teach them all a lesson. The Israelites learn that they're along this warpath, and dawn (for the first time in the Bible), ashes and sackcloth. During the course of this prelude material, the whole history of the Hebrews is recapped, minus any significant figures. Nebuchadnezzar wants to be worshiped as a god (like Egyptian, Roman, and Japanese rulers, for instance), and doesn't take kindly to any peoples who won't play along. The God of the Hebrews is described as the god of iniquity (in polytheistic cultures, it was common for individual gods to be associated with a particular attribute; the Hebrew God is said to have derived from a whole pantheon, and was originally a god of war, which would be hugely appropriate).
The "people of Esau" are referenced, which would once again indicate diverging traditions that once introduced in early books are no longer considered part of the Jewish record. They tell Holofernes how to defeat the Israelites, which namely is to make God angry with them.
Judith finally appears. She's a widow. She's extremely beautiful. She's also extremely faithful. She tells the rest of the Israelites that she has a plan. She takes offense when it's suggested that you can put God to the test. She says he's incomprehensible.
It occurred to me that Tolkien's dwarves in Middle Earth are a lot like the Jews of this period. Probably deliberate on his part.
She invokes God's testing, rather, of Abraham and Jacob. She prays for strength. In a lot of ways, she is a Jesus figure, although I would have to significantly digress to fully explore that assertion. More simply, she might be considered a Mary figure. She's declared "blessed among women," much like Mary, for instance.
Judith sets out to seduce, trick, and assassinate Holofernes. She cuts off his head. This part of the story evokes the Medusa myth. It also makes for a distinctive painting. It makes for an unusually funny line in the Bible, too: "For look, here is Holofernes lying on the ground, and his head is not on him!"
She sings a song, which includes the lines, "the sons of the Titans," making it all the more clear that whoever composed this book definitely knew their Greek myths. Actually, the extant translation is a Greek one, so perhaps some of these things were simply grafted on after the fact.
"Thou didst send forth thy Spirit." Christians will recognize the third member of the Holy Trinity in that line.
Book of Esther features another heroic woman from the general exile era. It's a story featured in the recent movie One Night with the King, and I've also seen high school one-act stage productions of it, so you don't really need to be religious to know it.
This is the era of Artaxerxes. The Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, exile era is stated, so that much is clearer in this book. Our story concerns the faithful Jew Mordecai and his cousin Esther, whom he adopted as a daughter. Both of them end up tangled in the life of a king whose name I won't bother to record, because it isn't nearly as well-known as either of theirs, or the wicked Haman, who is the Iago of this piece.
Basically, Mordecai saves the king's life, and Esther ends up becoming the new queen. The two events are unrelated, but they become fortuitous when Haman seeks to assert his own power as the king's right-hand man by having revenge on Mordecai for showing him disrespect that the Jew could not have avoided and still be faithful to God. Haman eventually decides that all Jews must die. Esther must reveal her previously hidden faith as she moves to spare Mordecai's life, and in turn saves all of her people. It's also a story Jews of the modern era might recognize in the story of Oskar Schindler during the Holocaust.
The book seems a little cobbled together, different from the repetition of a story from oral tradition in that when things are restated it's not really in the sense of emphasis. Like Kings and Chronicles, the repeated statements don't always seem aware that they aren't being completely accurate with one another.
Hades is referenced. Hades is the God of the underworld in Greek mythology. The name has also been used as synonymous with Hell.
Sackcloth and ashes appear again.
The story is also an excellent way to explore a melting pot population and the conflicting results from trying to reconcile cultural differences.
"All-seeing God and Savior," which is an interesting description. God is described as changing the mood of the king, to make him more willing to listen to Esther. Previously in the Bible, whenever God interfered like that, he made the recipient more "hard-hearted."
The changing fortunes of Mordecai might also be interpreted through the lens of Jesus, especially during the Passion. Again, this would cause a considerable digression to more fully explain. Parallels of this kind would have been excellent selling points to intellectuals interested in embracing Christianity as the new state religion, as the Romans did. The poetry and romanticism even in the midst of tragedy would help explain how Jesus could be interpreted as the Greatest Story Ever Told, something far more resonant than the regional faith of a wandering people. It would be naive to assume Constantine at that point in Christian development adopted the emerging religion for anything more than strategic worth. The story of Esther would certainly illuminate the advantages of such a move.
This whole book also establishes the holiday of Purim.
It's interesting that Mordecai begins the book with a vision, and then at the end of it interprets it. The Bible would be easier to read today if all such visions had been explained like that. The very last part of the book also references Ptolemy and Cleopatra, among the last significant remnants of the once-great Egyptian race, following the conquests of Alexander the Great.
Book of Job is famous, too, although the way it's told may be different than most people would expect. "Sons of God," Satan among them, consult with him about the figure of Job, who is good and faithful in the midst of having every earthly advantage. What if they are taken away? Will he curse God?
Leviathan is referenced.
This is the first of the philosophical works in the Bible. It's strong that such things exist and no one really thinks of that, much as they don't think of all the war that happens in it. It also seems to be a theological study.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Genesis 21-40
The action picks right back up with Abraham and Sarah, those crazy old founders of the whole Jewish faith, and the birth of Isaac. You'll remember that Abraham has previously had a child with the handmaiden Hagar. Ishmael temporarily reaches a bad end after they're both cast out of paradise, run out of water, and Hagar believes they'll both die, but then God shows up and reiterates that all's well in this family line.
The Philistines enter the picture for the first time, however, as Abraham transports the family to live among them. Then follows one of the most famous episodes in the whole Bible, in which God tests Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his own son Isaac, in what Christians would later suggest is the template for Jesus. Then Sarah dies and makes agreements with the Hittites to use their land for her burial. It's the first time we really get to see how respected Abraham is by others. They quickly acquiesce. Next he barters with Mesopotamians through a proxy for Isaac's future bride, who turns out to be Rebekah. Abraham in turn takes another bride, Keturah. You are probably not familiar with her name because she's not really significant otherwise. And anyway, Abraham is dead himself very soon after in the narrative.
Things become interesting again when you realize that Isaac's sons Jacob and Esau are basically a new version of Cain and Abel, and although you may be familiar with certain inheritance shenanigans Jacob and his mother pull, it's perhaps more intriguing that these brothers manage to make peace with each other despite everything.
A name that keeps popping up in these passages is the Philistine Abimelech, who first interacts with Abraham and then later Isaac. He is perhaps a representation of significant individuals outside of the people we're really supposed to care about. Around this time, Isaac pulls the same trick his father did, calling Rebekah his sister rather than wife, thinking it'll make things easier. But Abimelech is no fool. He correctly surmises that if he treated Rebekah as Isaac's sister rather than wife (to be fair, the whole idea was that Rebekah, like Sarah before her, is incredibly beautiful, and therefore would make every man jealous and therefore uncooperative), he would be falling into sin, like a trap. So Isaac agrees that it was a bad idea.
Around this time in Genesis, names that are supposed to mean something start being explained better, perhaps because these are known entities to the first recipients of the stories, so they're more reminders than things they were supposed to have learned, such as in the case of the name Eve from earlier.
Abimelech also begins to represent those people outside the line of Abraham who understand what's going on faith-wise. They're outsiders acknowledging God, in other words.
Jacob is set up for his own bride, but first experiences the first prophetic vision of the Bible, the famous Jacob's Ladder episode. He soon meets and falls for Rachel, although her father makes marrying her incredibly difficult, to the point where he accidentally marries her older sister Leah first, and then has to marry Rachel later. Because Jacob clearly prefers Rachel, Leah is rejected, but God intervenes by making her womb far more fertile, leading to plenty of offspring and in fact most of the twelve sons who helped found the twelve tribes, including Judah. Rachel eventually has Joseph, however, as well as Benjamin. Joseph of course is the most significant of these children.
Laban, Rachel and Leah's troublemaking father, causes Jacob great anxiety, and in fact a full-blown crisis in which he undertakes great preparations for an all-out confrontation, or at least to avoid one. Laban, for the record, manages to find peace with Jacob all the same. Jacob has another apparent crisis concerning his brother Esau, but they make peace, too. During this, he wrestles with God. I believe it's traditionally described as wrestling with an angel, but as I read it Jacob literally wrestles with God himself, perhaps the last of the notable face-to-face interactions (and then some!) with the Creator.
Although it might also be notable that this section seems to indicate that not only were these people aware of other gods, worshiped by others, but found no great struggle in knowing they existed alongside God. The real point is that God is God Almighty, or other words the supreme divine being (read the First Commandment again if you're wondering how accurate this interpretation is).
Rachel's daughter experiences a rape, leading to holy vengeance on the part of some of Jacob's sons, although after Jacob has already made peace with the culprits, who don't intend to convert to the faith of Abraham. It's the first time a clear distinction is made between a community that will and a community that won't.
God renames Jacob Israel. He also personally smites a few people dead.
The Joseph-and-his-special-gift-of-the-coat episode occurs, which angers his brothers, leading to their plans to get rid of him. He winds up in Egypt, but not before his brothers convince Jacob that Joseph is in fact dead. I suppose it only figures, because Jacob was himself previously guilty of trickery. It's also worth noting that in Egypt we hear the term Hebrew for the first time, that being what the Jews were known as at that time, so Abraham's faith was now fully established. Joseph winds up in prison after refusing to give in to the Pharaoh's wife's sexual desires, but this leads to his experiences with the same kind of prophetic abilities as his father and thus one of the defining themes of the Old Testament, which is revisited in the New Testament.
The Philistines enter the picture for the first time, however, as Abraham transports the family to live among them. Then follows one of the most famous episodes in the whole Bible, in which God tests Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his own son Isaac, in what Christians would later suggest is the template for Jesus. Then Sarah dies and makes agreements with the Hittites to use their land for her burial. It's the first time we really get to see how respected Abraham is by others. They quickly acquiesce. Next he barters with Mesopotamians through a proxy for Isaac's future bride, who turns out to be Rebekah. Abraham in turn takes another bride, Keturah. You are probably not familiar with her name because she's not really significant otherwise. And anyway, Abraham is dead himself very soon after in the narrative.
Things become interesting again when you realize that Isaac's sons Jacob and Esau are basically a new version of Cain and Abel, and although you may be familiar with certain inheritance shenanigans Jacob and his mother pull, it's perhaps more intriguing that these brothers manage to make peace with each other despite everything.
A name that keeps popping up in these passages is the Philistine Abimelech, who first interacts with Abraham and then later Isaac. He is perhaps a representation of significant individuals outside of the people we're really supposed to care about. Around this time, Isaac pulls the same trick his father did, calling Rebekah his sister rather than wife, thinking it'll make things easier. But Abimelech is no fool. He correctly surmises that if he treated Rebekah as Isaac's sister rather than wife (to be fair, the whole idea was that Rebekah, like Sarah before her, is incredibly beautiful, and therefore would make every man jealous and therefore uncooperative), he would be falling into sin, like a trap. So Isaac agrees that it was a bad idea.
Around this time in Genesis, names that are supposed to mean something start being explained better, perhaps because these are known entities to the first recipients of the stories, so they're more reminders than things they were supposed to have learned, such as in the case of the name Eve from earlier.
Abimelech also begins to represent those people outside the line of Abraham who understand what's going on faith-wise. They're outsiders acknowledging God, in other words.
Jacob is set up for his own bride, but first experiences the first prophetic vision of the Bible, the famous Jacob's Ladder episode. He soon meets and falls for Rachel, although her father makes marrying her incredibly difficult, to the point where he accidentally marries her older sister Leah first, and then has to marry Rachel later. Because Jacob clearly prefers Rachel, Leah is rejected, but God intervenes by making her womb far more fertile, leading to plenty of offspring and in fact most of the twelve sons who helped found the twelve tribes, including Judah. Rachel eventually has Joseph, however, as well as Benjamin. Joseph of course is the most significant of these children.
Laban, Rachel and Leah's troublemaking father, causes Jacob great anxiety, and in fact a full-blown crisis in which he undertakes great preparations for an all-out confrontation, or at least to avoid one. Laban, for the record, manages to find peace with Jacob all the same. Jacob has another apparent crisis concerning his brother Esau, but they make peace, too. During this, he wrestles with God. I believe it's traditionally described as wrestling with an angel, but as I read it Jacob literally wrestles with God himself, perhaps the last of the notable face-to-face interactions (and then some!) with the Creator.
Although it might also be notable that this section seems to indicate that not only were these people aware of other gods, worshiped by others, but found no great struggle in knowing they existed alongside God. The real point is that God is God Almighty, or other words the supreme divine being (read the First Commandment again if you're wondering how accurate this interpretation is).
Rachel's daughter experiences a rape, leading to holy vengeance on the part of some of Jacob's sons, although after Jacob has already made peace with the culprits, who don't intend to convert to the faith of Abraham. It's the first time a clear distinction is made between a community that will and a community that won't.
God renames Jacob Israel. He also personally smites a few people dead.
The Joseph-and-his-special-gift-of-the-coat episode occurs, which angers his brothers, leading to their plans to get rid of him. He winds up in Egypt, but not before his brothers convince Jacob that Joseph is in fact dead. I suppose it only figures, because Jacob was himself previously guilty of trickery. It's also worth noting that in Egypt we hear the term Hebrew for the first time, that being what the Jews were known as at that time, so Abraham's faith was now fully established. Joseph winds up in prison after refusing to give in to the Pharaoh's wife's sexual desires, but this leads to his experiences with the same kind of prophetic abilities as his father and thus one of the defining themes of the Old Testament, which is revisited in the New Testament.
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