By Gen.16 Abram and Sarai are already antiques– very old indeed. And clearly Sarai hears the clock ticking for God’s promise to come true, though it is not her biological clock. So she is handing over her slave girl, Hagar, and telling Abram to lay with her, in the hopes of producing some kind of offspring. In a patrilineal, patrilocal, and patriarchal culture, having children, and in particular having males was everything. One has to remember, the only form of... Read more
Richard Hays and I were friends for more than a Biblical generation— 40 years. We were both chosen to be John Wesley Fellows in the early years of that Scholarship Program. From the start, we had many things in common beyond being orthodox Methodists who felt called to study the NT at the graduate and post-graduate level. We loved baseball, in particular those teams which were both in Boston when I was born— namely the Red Sox and the Braves.... Read more
Without question, Gen. 15 is one of the most important and pivotal chapters, not merely in the Abraham saga, but in the whole Pentateuch, and it’s importance was not lost on Paul, who twice cites this chapter in Gal. 3 and Rom. 4 as defining the nature of genuine Biblical faith. It will behoove us then to pay close attention to this chapter. For instance, it is the first time Abram speaks up and has a crucial dialogue with the... Read more
On the surface, Gen. 14 seems to be a hodge-podge of several sources, with Abram having to undertake a Seal Team 6 rescue mission when Lot and his lot are taken captive by rulers trying to take over the territory that involved Sodom and Gomorrah among other areas. Abram is able to get some of his new friends in Hebron to help him in this mission, which seems to have a surprise ending, with the mysterious figure of Melchizedek, whose... Read more
Coeur Incurvatus in Se (as Luther said) Self-absorbed in the garden He became Narcissus The heart inverted He’ll never miss us. Realized he was naked Fig leaves won’t do, Hide from your maker, Who must remake you. Mirrors and selfies Self-focus supreme Who cares about others If I’m my own dream? The three persons I love Me, myself, I I’m always distant From others who try To win my attention To woo me again To... Read more
The second half of Gen. 13 deserves separate treatment, and as Robert Alter says, the Hebrew verbage indicates that this discussion between Abram and God took place after Lot and his tribe had headed down to the plains of Jordan. This means that the promise is given solely to Abram and his direct line, not to his nephew and his line. And vs. 13 makes a declaratory statement about the residents of where Lot was going, namely to Sodom, that... Read more
You’ve heard the saying– curiosity killed the cat. Well it’s a very good thing that train wasn’t real. My cat Minny is now 16, which in cat years is 70+42, and she sleeps wherever she wants. In a box, on the card table, in Ann’s computer chair, and at night right next to my wife. Ann is the only mom Minny has really ever had, as she was rescued from a horrible animal abuse situation in a house full of... Read more
Gen. 13 continues the theme of Abram and his kin being nomads, living in tents. At some point, Lot will shift to living in a town or village, namely Sodom, and from the view of the narrator, this almost always spells trouble, living with people who do not honor the Biblical God. Notice that we are told at the outset of the chapter that Abram and kin leave Egypt heavily laden with cattle, silver, and gold. You should not picture... Read more
When last we left Abram at the end of Gen. 11, he and his father and extended family had journey from Ur of the Chaldees to Haran, which today stands in Turkey on the border with Syria. We’ve already been told they are headed for Canaan, but unfortunately, Abram’s father Terah died in Haran. It is here at the beginning of Gen. 12 of a story that will last into Gen. 25— the longest single saga that focus’ on one... Read more
Actually, what Saul wrote was a song (to the tune of the classic ‘Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah’) Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah, Here I am at Camp Masada, It is very inspiring, And they say we’ll have good fun after perspiring. The food here isn’t manna Every breakfast a banana Or we can have a sandwich sand made or mud, I can’t tell which. We’ve memorized So many laws And practiced stoning, I need some gauze. Do... Read more
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