by admin | Mar 26, 2013 | Exodus, Section Two, The Fear of the Lord
“Why have you done this and let the boys live?”1 the king of Egypt accused the midwives. Hebrew women are vigorous, they answered, they give birth before the midwife gets to them!2 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “All sons that are born you must throw into...
by admin | Feb 24, 2013 | Exodus, Section Two, The Fear of the Lord
In Egypt the Israelites were fruitful, increased greatly, multiplied, and became extremely strong, so that the land was filled with them. Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power over Egypt.1 The new king feared that the Israelite people might...
by admin | Feb 20, 2013 | Forgiveness, Genesis, Section Two, The Fear of the Lord
So Judah and his brothers came back to Joseph’s house.1 Suddenly Judah, though not the eldest, has taken the lead in the narrative. He and his brothers threw themselves to the ground before2 Joseph. We are now my lord’s slaves, we and the one in whose possession...
by admin | Feb 16, 2013 | Genesis, Section Two, The Fear of the Lord
The grain Joseph’s brothers brought back from Egypt didn’t outlast the famine. “Return, buy us a little more food,” their father said. But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ If you send our...
by admin | Jan 30, 2013 | Genesis, Section Two, The Fear of the Lord
After Jacob and his family spent some time in Bethel they moved on to Ephrath (Bethlehem). On the way Rachel went into labor – and her labor was hard. When her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid (yārē’ , תִּירְאִי), for you are...
by admin | Jan 23, 2013 | Genesis, Section Two, The Fear of the Lord
I think I am safe using the word fear to describe Jacob’s prognostication that Simeon and Levi…had brought ruin on him by making him a foul odor among the inhabitants of the land, that the Canaanites and the Perizzites…would join forces against him and attack...