Ichthus77

Genesis 50:22-26

Bible Narrative Project

This passage says Joseph bore his great grand children on his knees (as in adopted them) but couldn’t it mean he lived so long he was able to bounce his great grand children on his knees? Like his father, he wants his bones to be brought to Canaan, but that has to wait centuries (Moses will fulfill it, Joseph will be buried in Shechem…and don’t forget ‘why’ when it comes time).

Genesis 50:1-21, Job 42:10-17

Bible Narrative Project

Genesis: Israel/Jacob dies and Joseph uses his influence to have a great funeral for him, and honors his father’s wishes to be buried in Canaan. They really go all-out.

Job: Job’s fortunes are restored (though, he can never get his dead back; he didn’t believe in much of an after-life) “when he prayed for his friends”. Love your enemies :) Although in the beginning it says Satan brought adversities on Job, and that God only allowed it–here, at the end, it says the Lord brought it on him. That’s interesting. God takes responsibility for all the suffering in the world, which makes sense, because he is the one ultimately in control. That does not release Satan from his part in it. “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and not accept adversity?” Remember–Aunt Jemimah was named after one of Job’s sons. Great ending: “And Job died, an old man and full of days.”

Note: As Job prays for his friends, Joseph is good to his brothers–neither Job nor Joseph has feelings of revenge :)

Genesis 49, Job 42:1-9

Bible Narrative Project

Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and now Jacob all deliver prophecies about their sons’ descendants, based on the behavior of their sons. Not that their descendants would be punished/rewarded for their sons’ behavior–but … generational cycles are hard to break. “Like father, like son.” Early psychologists.

Job: Job uses words recommended by Elihu, who is not rebuked w/ the rest of Job’s friends, who spoke wrongly and God now has Job pray for ‘them’.

Genesis 48, Job 40:3-41:34

Bible Narrative Project

Because Reuben slept with his father’s concubine, he lost the birthright to Joseph, which would go to his two sons, which Jacob/Israel now adopts. Instead of there being a tribe of Joseph, there will instead be two half-tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (for now Joseph will receive a double portion…possibly referring to the Hebrew for Shechem, after what happened in chapter 34). For what Levi and Simeon did in chapter 34, they would not receive land allotments…Simeon would eventually be absorbed into Judah, and Levi would be set apart for priestly duty and given 48 towns scattered throughout Israel. As Jacob, the younger brother, received the blessing and preferred Rachel, the younger daughter, he now shows preference to the younger son, Ephraim.

Job: So, Job says “Behold, I am insignificant ; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth. Once I have spoken, and I will not answer ; Even twice, and I will add nothing more” But God doesn’t let up. It’s as if he only asked Job a question and let him stutter out the answer as ‘part’ of His long reply.

Genesis 46-47, Job 38-40:2

Bible Narrative Project

Genesis: Something I forgot to mention previously is that when someone from back then says “Here I am” in response to God, it is the way a servant would respond.

I like the way the story is switching emphasis from Jacob’s great son Joseph, back to Jacob–God is addressing Jacob the way he did when Jacob was fleeing Esau and Laban…every time Jacob is scared and has to move, God reassures him. As my friend Jonathan said in home group on Sunday…”This is no tribal God”…he is not confined to one locality, but is with us everywhere. Regarding the genealogy–I’m wondering why Tamar’s children are considered Judah’s, rather than Er’s? Because that custom was not Judah’s intention?

It’s crazy how this is all the set-up for the Israelites enslavement in Egypt, and God’s rescuing them away back to the Promised Land through Moses and the plagues, and the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. All the talk about Jacob’s/Israel’s bones eventually returning to Canaan feels like foreshadowing…the tool of a good writer.

Job: After Job’s great, wise speech, God actually replies to him (out of the whirlwind, which is something that hits home for me). I would summarize it thus: You have completely misjudged my motives, because your view of me is too limited. Perhaps there are greater motives for my allowing your suffering that do not have to do with your being my enemy–motives of which you cannot even conceive.

Genesis 39-45, Job 31-37

Bible Narrative Project

Genesis: Weird–Joseph’s boss: Potifar. Joseph’s father-in-law: Potiphera.

Are there any other Biblical dreams repeated twice? Seven, seven years…seen again in Daniel and Revelation. It is so awesome that Joseph had and interpreted dreams and saw their fulfillment throughout his lifetime. Like Job, he lost everything to gain more. I wonder if Joseph messed w/ his brothers to test them, to see if they had learned their lesson about selling the favorite son into slavery (in this case, Benjamin)? Chapter 45: 5 “Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 “For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. 8 “Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God ; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.” Now, that is some positive thinking.

Job: More from Job, then from a new guy…Elihu.

Genesis 38, Job 26-31

Bible Narrative Project

Genesis: This story reminds me of David and Bathsheba, when the prophet made up a story and had a woman tell it to King David so he could judge it, when really it applied methaphorically to David’s sin with Bathsheba. Judah was going to have Tamar killed for the very thing he did to her. It is interesting that with-holding children from a woman was seen as a worse offense than a woman having an illegitimate child. A subtle detail is that they ‘said’ they were looking for a ‘temple’ prostitute (was more socially acceptable) when really they were looking for a regular one (so Judah thought)–hence their fear of becoming a laughing stock. Serious case of plank-eye.

Job: Chapter 26. LOST trivia: Abaddon was the name of a LOST character (who is now a Fringe character…and the word “fringes” appears also in chapter 26, NASB). It’s pretty cool that the turban is mentioned in ch. 29. 30:19–“He has cast me into the mire, And I have become like dust and ashes.”

Genesis 37, Job 25

Bible Narrative Project

Things are really heating up in Job. From my study Bible notes: “Bildad adds nothing new here, and Zophar, who has already admitted how emotionally disturbed he was (see 20:2), doesn’t even comment.” In chapter 26 (jumping ahead a tad) they say “With biting sarcasm, Job responds to Bildad alone (the Hebrew for the word ‘you’ in these verse is singular rather than plural), indicating that Eliphaz and Zophar have already been silenced.” Job is winning this ancient debate, this ancient apologetic. “Why does God allow innocent people to suffer?” is a very old question. Having no definite answer (because it is more about God showing to the Naysayer, through Job, that there is a motivation for loving God that is higher than brute selfishness), it reminds me of one of Plato’s dialogues.

In Genesis, we are again dealing with favoritism. Jacob was his mother’s favorite, and Joseph is Jacob’s favorite. But that isn’t Joseph’s fault, just like Jacob being his mother’s favorite wasn’t Jacob’s fault. So we shouldn’t react to these favorites the way their brothers did. But one wonders if Joseph wasn’t a bratty little brother, bragging about his “I’m going to rule over you, na-na-na-na-na” dreams. If older brothers back then were of the sort who sold young bratty brothers to the Ishmaelites, one would hope younger brothers would learn to keep their mouths shut. But Joseph can’t be that dumb…he goes on to be the governor of Egypt. Must be a God thing :-D Reuben sticks up for Joseph in this instance, maybe because in a different scene he had taken premature liberties w/ Jacob’s concubine and lost his legal status as firstborn…no more screw-ups for him. It’s Judah’s turn for screwin’ up…in the next chapter.

Genesis 36, Job 23-24

Bible Narrative Project

Very interesting: In 36:11 we see Eliphaz with a son named Teman…and one of Job’s friends is named “Eliphaz the Temanite” (Teman is a village in Edom). My study Bible notes say Job probably lived in Edom (the land of Uz included Edom).

“For He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” – Job

Note: Job and Jobab are related words. There is another Jobab in Genesis 6.

Genesis 34:1-35:29, Job 22

Bible Narrative Project

Genesis: Men were far too willing to part with their foreskins in the old days. Very strange. Ben-oni: son of my sorrow. Apparently firstborns inherit their father’s concubine (unless they do so prematurely)? Jacob is back in Bethel where he is supposed to be, so the blessings are reaffirmed, as is his new name Israel.

Job: Now Eliphaz goes beyond Bildad and Zophar and accuses Job of specific sins when his only proof is Job’s suffering. The “counsel” of his friends is its own kind of suffering, adding to all the suffering Job has already gone through.