Genesis 15 starts off with another account of God's promise to Abram of many descendants and Abram points out that he and Sarai are childless and thus his belongings will pass to a slave. In verse 7, the promise or covenant is cemented through a ceremony and sacrifice.
v12-16: God speaks to Abram in a dream, and foretells of a long time that his descendants will be slaves in a foreign land, but ultimately will be delivered and with many possessions while judgment will be visited upon their oppressors, ie the story of Moses.
Chapter 16: As noted in my last post, a running theme of the Bible is the relationships of women and their roles in society as well as God's will and plans. In this case, Sarai decides to help God along with his covenant and has her Egyptian slave-girl Hagar sleep with Abram to bear him a son. However, this does not solve things as the relationship between Hagar and Sarai become tense. The Bible is not specific as to the offense Hagar commits against Sarai but it's not hard to imagine. Hagar has provided to Abram something Sarai has not but Hagar is still a slave to Sarai. Abram tells Sarai that Hagar is her slave and to do what she wishes. Again the Bible is not specific beyond that Sarai treated her harshly and Hagar runs away. There in the desert, the angel of the Lord appears to Hagar, comforts her and tells her to return to Sarai. He makes a similar promise to Hagar that he did to Abram, that through her son Ishmael (for "God Hears") will have many descendants, though it's an odd promise as he says "with his hand against everyone, and everyone's hand against him; and he shall live at odds with all his kin".
An interesting story in several regards. Like the story of Adam, the patriarch listens to his wife over God and with little complaint. He also defers to his wife in the treatment of the slave. Unlike the Eden story, God does not punish them for this. It's a lesson for our times as we often try to seek to impose our will over God's, possibly even justifying to ourselves that we are in truth working God's will. God's timetable is not necessarily the same as ours. And, it does not work well. How often do we make decisions that seem right in the moment, have unforeseen consequences later? What's also striking is that the angel of God appears to a FOREIGN woman, not the woman that is matriarch of the Hebrew people, and makes a similar promise to her as he did to Abram.
Chapter 17: Another version of the covenant between Abram and God. The study Bible I use talks about how the previous version is the Yahwist account, this one is the Priestly account. Two important additions, this is where Abram's name is changed to Abraham and Sarai's name to Sarah and the practice of circumcision is introduced. A interesting aspect, here Abram laughs at the idea that Sarai, an old woman, will give birth to a child. In the next chapter as the promise is again reiterated, Sarah is the one who laughs.
Chapter 18: This is a separate but connected story. Three men stop by Abraham's tent and Abraham meets them and invites them in. Their identities are ambiguous but they make the pronouncement that when they pass that way again, Abraham and Sarah will have had a son and this is where she laughs.
The three men are only passing through, though as it turns out. For the Lord (implying he to be one of the three) are on their way to Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities that are so wicked that the Lord has heard the outcry against them and is investigating the situation and will bring about judgment and destruction.
Abraham then approaches God and challenges him, will he wash away the righteous with the wicked? God accedes if fifty can be found, the city will be spared. Abraham continues to argue, slowly whittling the number down to ten. This illustrates Abraham as being compassionate for his neighbors and kin, but also sets him up in a way as a high priest for the people as he strives to be an intercessory for them with God. It also illustrates the dual nature of God, one who judges but also one who shows compassion. And, in the end, for those of us who struggle and doubt, it also shows us a God who listens to us, and does not punish us for merely questioning or challenging him when the world seems capricious and cruel.
Chapter 19: Sodom and Gamorrah are not spared their fate, alas, but Lot and his family are as they receive the two angels who come in the night (again appearing as men). He receives them as guests into his home as per ancient tradition of hospitality and as Abraham had likewise done. However, when word gets out, the people of Sodom surround his house and demand the two visitors be handed over to them. Jarringly to us in modern day, Lot offers his virginal daughters instead for them to have their way with them. Lot is less concerned with the homosexuality aspect of their intentions as he is with violating the rules of hospitality, that these men were now under his tent. It also says a lot for the status of women in the time.
Of course we know what happens next. The angels strike blind those attempting to violate Lot's hospitality and arrange for him to flee with his wife, two daughters and their prospective sons-in-law. However, he lingers and the angels seize him, his wife and two daughters and tell them to flee to the hills. However, Lot pleads for the sake of Zoar, a small nearby town as they'd never make it to the hills in time. The angels listen and agree with the provision they don't look back. Of course, Lot's wife does and is turned into a pillar of salt.
The story ends with the origins of the Moabite and Ammonite people. Lot fears to enter the city and so lives with his two daughters in a cave. With zero prospects, the daughters arrange to get him drunk and sleep with him in turn, and bear him sons Moab and Benammi. This story thus gives a dual and conflicted nature of the Moabite and Ammonite people with the Israelites. On one hand, they are close kin, directly descended from Lot, kin of Abraham. However, their beginnings are dubious, from incestuous relations. Thus, a shorthand for illustrating both the bonds and conflicts between neighboring groups of people in ancient times.
Showing posts with label Abram. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Abram. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Noah, Abram, and Melchizedek
Sloshing through the Book of Exodus right now, getting bogged down where Moses is on the mountain receiving instructions on building the temple, the vessel to carry the Ark of the Covenant (how many out there thought the first Raiders movie was going to be about Noah's Ark?), and the design of the robes that Aaron and the priests would wear. Little wonder that the movies, our memories and churches all skip right over these passages. So back to talking about Genesis and the Old Testament..
Back to Noah: A few more interesting tidbits. I noted above that the Eden story suggests that the ideal state is vegetarianism. It is here where Man is given dominion over the animals and the first set of rules governing what animals can and cannot be eaten as well as how they are to be prepared. We also get the first spelled out rules governing sacrifices. God makes a covenant or promise to Noah and to the succeeding generations. This will occur as we progress through Genesis and the Old Testament, from his promises to Abraham and Jacob.
Many world myths do have flood stories and for good reason. Catastrophic storms and floods are common in all parts of the world and even moreso for ancient cultures, many who have to live near a water source for survival and trade. Flooding is a common occurrence and fear as is drought (hence the years of famine in the Joseph story). What sets the Noah story apart though is that as always, this is a story of a people and their relationship with God. It's not simply a disaster epic of gods battling or destruction by petty, fearful or arbitrary gods. Instead it's a warning tale of what God wants and doesn't want from us. Our dominion over animals is a right and responsibility given to us, not innate. This is how the Old Testament/Bible is not in the same category as Myth that some scholars want to cast it. Greek, Roman, Norse myths, the gods are very much in human mold. They war with themselves, their actions are as noble, brave, and hypocritical and cowardly as those they lord over. Even before getting to the Ten Commandments, God has expectations of right behavior, of a right relationship with him and with other people. His judgment may be immediate but is also one of compassion.
As we move past Noah, another theme emerges, God's will being not the same as man's will or sense of fairness and culture. Despite the time period of when women are seen as little better than cattle, God acts through them and elevates them. The stories celebrate their ingenuity though the attitudes seem sexist and actions extreme today. We also see the second born or younger sons elevated over the older, again a subversion of the way culture sees and celebrates things.
Tower of Babel: I suppose one take can look at this as a "Just So" story about the scattering of people and languages, as at this point, everyone is related through Noah and his sons. It has been also interpreted as a story of human pride and endeavor, elevating themselves to be godlike without looking to God.
Abram: The next man to receive the promises of the Lord, for he and all his generations. Here, God promises the land of Canaan as being the land of his people. But, it's not a simple promise, Abram has to act, in effect to show his faith in God and his promises. He leaves home and becomes essentially a wanderer, a foreigner in foreign lands. Before you feel too bad for him, he does not leave alone. He has his wife, his nephew Lot and all their possessions and slaves.
If the Bible seems to repeat itself here, it's important to keep in mind there are several different traditions and writers the Book is drawing on as its relating the story. The reader is essentially getting one story told several different ways simultaneously.
Gen 12:13-20: This is a recurring scene and may strike several different chords with modern readers: comical, sexist, horror, distaste. Basically, due to a famine, Abram travels to Egypt. As a foreigner with no rights and a beautiful wife, he fears that he'll be killed and his wife taken. However, if the natives think she's his sister and unmarried, then they don't have to kill him to take her. She ends up as part of Pharaoh's harem but because she is married, God afflicts Pharaoh. When he finds out why he rebukes Abram, restores Sarai to him and all the possessions that Abram has and sends them out of Egypt. This tactic pops up several times.
His stay in Egypt proved successful to the point that when looking to settle elsewhere, he and Lot separate as their cattle and people have grown too numerous to settle in one place. In fairness, Abram lets Lot choose his path, and God reinforces his promise of the land and his offspring.
The story shifts now as it relates various kings in the area, their alliances and their wars. Lot finds himself in the middle and captured and Abram and his men rescue Lot, giving an idea just how large this contingent of Abram and his household has become.
Afterwards, Abram is met by the king of Sodom and Melchizedek, described as king of Salem and high priest. Melchizedek's name is invoked elsewhere in the Bible but it's here that he's actually on stage for just a few short verses. He blesses Abram and brings gifts. While he's celebrated as a high priest in later verses, here his standing is less clear as to what god he's priest of is unclear, especially as he's both priest and king, common in some ancient Near Eastern cultures but kept separate in Israel's. The translation of his title is priest of "God Most High" but contextually, the wording could refer to El, the chief god of the Canaanite pantheon as much as it does to the Hebrew God. The fact that this personage should find himself in an almost elevated position as the ideal high priest, would seem to me to indicate there were more stories and traditions that surrounded him that have long since been lost.
Next: Call me Ishmael
Back to Noah: A few more interesting tidbits. I noted above that the Eden story suggests that the ideal state is vegetarianism. It is here where Man is given dominion over the animals and the first set of rules governing what animals can and cannot be eaten as well as how they are to be prepared. We also get the first spelled out rules governing sacrifices. God makes a covenant or promise to Noah and to the succeeding generations. This will occur as we progress through Genesis and the Old Testament, from his promises to Abraham and Jacob.
Many world myths do have flood stories and for good reason. Catastrophic storms and floods are common in all parts of the world and even moreso for ancient cultures, many who have to live near a water source for survival and trade. Flooding is a common occurrence and fear as is drought (hence the years of famine in the Joseph story). What sets the Noah story apart though is that as always, this is a story of a people and their relationship with God. It's not simply a disaster epic of gods battling or destruction by petty, fearful or arbitrary gods. Instead it's a warning tale of what God wants and doesn't want from us. Our dominion over animals is a right and responsibility given to us, not innate. This is how the Old Testament/Bible is not in the same category as Myth that some scholars want to cast it. Greek, Roman, Norse myths, the gods are very much in human mold. They war with themselves, their actions are as noble, brave, and hypocritical and cowardly as those they lord over. Even before getting to the Ten Commandments, God has expectations of right behavior, of a right relationship with him and with other people. His judgment may be immediate but is also one of compassion.
As we move past Noah, another theme emerges, God's will being not the same as man's will or sense of fairness and culture. Despite the time period of when women are seen as little better than cattle, God acts through them and elevates them. The stories celebrate their ingenuity though the attitudes seem sexist and actions extreme today. We also see the second born or younger sons elevated over the older, again a subversion of the way culture sees and celebrates things.
Tower of Babel: I suppose one take can look at this as a "Just So" story about the scattering of people and languages, as at this point, everyone is related through Noah and his sons. It has been also interpreted as a story of human pride and endeavor, elevating themselves to be godlike without looking to God.
Abram: The next man to receive the promises of the Lord, for he and all his generations. Here, God promises the land of Canaan as being the land of his people. But, it's not a simple promise, Abram has to act, in effect to show his faith in God and his promises. He leaves home and becomes essentially a wanderer, a foreigner in foreign lands. Before you feel too bad for him, he does not leave alone. He has his wife, his nephew Lot and all their possessions and slaves.
If the Bible seems to repeat itself here, it's important to keep in mind there are several different traditions and writers the Book is drawing on as its relating the story. The reader is essentially getting one story told several different ways simultaneously.
Gen 12:13-20: This is a recurring scene and may strike several different chords with modern readers: comical, sexist, horror, distaste. Basically, due to a famine, Abram travels to Egypt. As a foreigner with no rights and a beautiful wife, he fears that he'll be killed and his wife taken. However, if the natives think she's his sister and unmarried, then they don't have to kill him to take her. She ends up as part of Pharaoh's harem but because she is married, God afflicts Pharaoh. When he finds out why he rebukes Abram, restores Sarai to him and all the possessions that Abram has and sends them out of Egypt. This tactic pops up several times.
His stay in Egypt proved successful to the point that when looking to settle elsewhere, he and Lot separate as their cattle and people have grown too numerous to settle in one place. In fairness, Abram lets Lot choose his path, and God reinforces his promise of the land and his offspring.
The story shifts now as it relates various kings in the area, their alliances and their wars. Lot finds himself in the middle and captured and Abram and his men rescue Lot, giving an idea just how large this contingent of Abram and his household has become.
Afterwards, Abram is met by the king of Sodom and Melchizedek, described as king of Salem and high priest. Melchizedek's name is invoked elsewhere in the Bible but it's here that he's actually on stage for just a few short verses. He blesses Abram and brings gifts. While he's celebrated as a high priest in later verses, here his standing is less clear as to what god he's priest of is unclear, especially as he's both priest and king, common in some ancient Near Eastern cultures but kept separate in Israel's. The translation of his title is priest of "God Most High" but contextually, the wording could refer to El, the chief god of the Canaanite pantheon as much as it does to the Hebrew God. The fact that this personage should find himself in an almost elevated position as the ideal high priest, would seem to me to indicate there were more stories and traditions that surrounded him that have long since been lost.
Next: Call me Ishmael
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