DEUTERONOMY: Chapter 13

Chapter 13
Summary:	Moses continues his speech: "If there amongst you emerges a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams*, that gives you a sign or a wonder which becomes true, and subsequently suggests to serve other gods, you shall not follow the words of that prophet or dreamer of dreams, for the the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all of your heart and soul. You follow the Lord your God, fear him, obey his commandments, hear his words, and serve him. That prophet, or dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; for he has spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God - the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt, redeemed you out of your slavery - to thrust you out of the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk in. So shall you extinguish this evil amongst you. "If your brother - the son of your mother - or your son, daughter, wife, or a close friend whispers to you, trying to entice you to serve other gods - namely the gods of the heathens around you, near or far to from you, from one end of the earth to the other - you shall not consent to that person, nor listen to them, nor shall you show them any pity or mercy, nor shall you protect them; but you shall surely kill them, with your hand being the first upon them, and afterward the hands of all the people of Israel. You shall stone them with stones until they die, because they had sought to thrust you away from the Lord your God, which brought you out of your Egyptian slavery. All of Israel shall hear, fear, and shall do no more such wickedness as this is amongst you. "If you hear it said in any one of your cities which the Lord you God has given you to dwell in, that certain men - the children of Belial* - have gone out from among you, and have suggested to the inhabitants of the city to worship other gods, then you shall inquire, and diligently determine if this is true. If behold, it is the truth that such an abomination has been wrought among you, you shall surely smite the residents of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and everything contained within it, including the cattle, with the edge of the sword. You shall then gather the spoils of the city into the middle of the street, and burn it along with the city to the ground as a burnt offering to the Lord your God. The city shall remain a lifeless heap forever, and shall never be rebuilt again. You are not to take any of the spoils from the city for they are cursed. "The Lord will turn from his fierce anger and then show mercy and compassion to you, allowing you to multiply as he had promised your forefathers, when you hear the voice of the Lord your God, keep all of his commandments which I command you on this day, and do what is right in the eyes of the Lord your God."
Notes:	1.) A person who claims to fortell the future via their dreams, like Jacob's/Israel's son Joseph. 2.) "Belial" roughly translates as "waste" in Hebrew, meaning that the "children of Belial" are the "children of waste".
Thoughts:	In yet another brief but violent chapter, Moses warns the Israelites about "prophets" or "dreamers of dreams" who might see their prophecy or prediction come true, tempting the Israelites to pursue serving and worshiping other gods. Moses claims that this would actually be God "testing you" (probably to account for why a "false prophet" or a "dreamer of dreams" could accurately predict the future). I have serious ethical problems with these kinds of "tests" as found in the bible - such as the story of God "testing" Abraham's faith by commanding him to sacrifice his son Isaac only to stop Abraham at the very last minute before he plunges a knife into the boy. As I mentioned in my thoughts about the previous chapter, it would certainly appear that the Israelites seem to be pretty easily manipulated and coerced into worshiping other gods as we've seen in Exodus: Chapter 32 - with it's story of the Israelites worshiping Aaron's golden calf, and in Numbers: Chapter 25 - in which the Israelites "commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab" (or is the Midianites?). With this in mind, it seems that God's behavior falls a bit too close to that of entrapment. An ethical person wouldn't take an alcoholic to a bar just to "test" him, nor could a police officer sit on a street corner offering drugs or sexual services to anyone and everyone passing by and legally make an arrest. The reason being is that we as human beings have lapses in judgment and most of us under some enticing circumstance or another may do something unethical, unlawful, or simply something we might not normally do if not presented with certain conditions. While both of the following situations may be wrong, still there is a difference between a person who pulls a prank on someone after being offered $20, versus a person who pulls a prank on someone else deliberately on their on volition. Whether God is either causing someone's prophecy to become true, or is allowing a prophet to foresee an event, in order to give them credibility so that they may deceive others into committing a "sin", neither can be considered ethical or just. This is only made worse when Moses tells us what the predictable punishment is for the prophet or the "dreamer of dreams" who tries to lead people into worshiping other gods - they are to be put to death. Not stopping there, Moses tells us that just about anybody - your brother (specifying your mother's son), your son or daughter, or even a good close friend - who tries to entice you to worship other gods, especially the gods of the "heathens" that used to live in the land, and those that surround the "promised land", is to be put to death by stoning. You also are not to allow your family member or close friend any pity or mercy while you are mandated to strike the first blow upon them. Moses then justifies this with the ridiculously flawed logic that this capital punishment will somehow prevent others from committing the same "wickedness"(?) While this argument is still used today to justify capital punishment, it is even more laughable here in the bible. We've already seen that the massive plagues and gutting thousands of people with swords when they worshiped other gods hasn't stopped people from committing the same "wickedness" already. Moses saves the most brutal law for last, in which hes states that if it is heard that "the children of Belial" (meaning "the children of waste") have coaxed the inhabitants of a city into worshiping other gods, and upon verifying such as story as true - which as we've seen at several points throughout the Old Testament the standards of evidence are extremely lax - then Moses states that the residents of the entire city, and everything it contains including their cattle, are to be killed by the sword, and then the entire city is to be burned to the ground and the smoldering mound that used to be a city is never again to be rebuilt again. Much like the story of the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, once again we need to adhere to strict absolutes in where 100% of the population has committed a "sin" to deserve such a sever punishment where an entire city is leveled. However, we realize that in the real world there are never 100% absolutes, and therefore responding with sentencing an entire town to death, there will yet be innocent lives at stake - whether they be people who didn't worship other gods, or infants and children unable to even grasp the concept of theism to begin with. Moses continues stating that once you've leveled an offending city, God will then be "merciful" and "compassionate" enough not to turn his anger upon you, and will fulfill his promise of allowing you to grow into a might nation - if you obey and do exactly as he says.

GENESIS: Chapters 41 & 42

Chapter 41
Summary:	One night two years later, the Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing on the Nile when suddenly seven sleek, fat cows emerged from the river and began grazing on the grass nearby. A second set of seven cows, these being skinny and emaciated, emerged from the river and ate the seven fat cows. The Pharaoh woke up, but he drifted back to sleep having a second dream. This time he dreamed of seven heads of grain on one stalk, with every kernel being well formed and plump. Suddenly seven more kernels appeared on the stalk, but these were shriveled by the eastern winds. Finally the shriveled kernels swallowed the plump kernels before the Pharaoh once again woke up. The next morning, as the Pharaoh pondered about the dreams meaning he summoned all the magicians and sages of Egypt to interpret his dreams to no avail. Finally the Pharaoh's wine taster spoke up about Joseph and told him about the dreams that he and the baker had, and how Joseph had predicted their futures with perfect accuracy. The Pharaoh sent for Joseph at once, who was rushed out of prison, washed, shaved, and given a fresh set of clothes before appearing before the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh asks Joseph if he can interpret the dreams that his sages and magicians could not, and Joseph tells him that although he alone cannot, God can interpret his dreams. The Pharaoh then repeats his dreams to Joseph. Joseph tells him that both dreams meant the same thing: that God was telling him what he is planning to do in the land of Egypt. He explains that the seven fat cows and well-formed heads of grain meant that seven years of prosperity lay ahead, and that the seven skinny cows and withered heads of grain signified a famine would follow for the next seven years. He further explains that the double dream gives double impact and will surely happen as God decreed it. Joseph then suggests to the Pharaoh that he find the wisest man in Egypt and place him in charge of administration of Egypt's farming, and to appoint officials to collect a fifth of all the crops to store away for the seven years of famine. Pharaoh was impressed by his interpretation and his suggestions, and noted that since God has revealed the meaning of these dreams to Joseph, that he must be the wisest man in Egypt. He then appoints Joseph to become the administrator of the land, only to be outranked by the Pharaoh himself. The Pharaoh placed his own signet ring on Joseph's finger and dressed him in lavish clothing to signify his authority. He also gives to Joseph a chariot and a wife - a girl named Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis - making Joseph famous throughout Egypt at the age of 30. Just as Joseph had predicted, the next seven years yielded a crop surplus that Joseph stored in the granaries over various cities throughout Egypt. Over the next seven years the granaries were either full overflowing. Before the arrival of the first year of the famine, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath. He named his oldest son Manasseh (meaning "Made to Forget*") and the youngest was named Ephraim (meaning "Fruitful"). As the years of famine began, just as Joseph had predicted, people began to starve. They pleaded with the Pharaoh for food, and the Pharaoh sent them to Joseph, who sold grain to the Egyptians and to travelers from other lands who came to Egypt in search of food.
Notes:	1.) Alluding to God making up to him the anguish suffered in his youth.
Thoughts:	Joseph's dream interpretations come to his own rescue from prison when the wine taster finally remembers about Joseph in the Pharaoh's time of need. Much like I wrote about in my thoughts about Chapter 40 the fortune telling aspect of dreams makes little sense in regards to what we know about dream states today. Even with our knowledge aside and for the sake of argument allowing supernatural elements to explain things, the notion that dreams can or are predicting the future - or God's will - still makes little sense at all. What is actually being implied here in this chapter? That all dreams are prophetic (which we know is not true), that God can choose to reveal prophecies through dreams, that God feels the need to reveal prophecies to select people or to everyone? Why does God need to communicate messages in the forms of riddled symbolism and metaphor (recall that this is not limited to just the Egyptians, Joseph had these riddled dreams as a child as well), when at other times he appears to people in dreams giving clear and concise messages (such as to Laban in Chapter 31)? Also, quite frankly, these riddled dreams aren't very impressive in their terms of difficulty to discern, which makes it very hard to swallow that no-one in Egypt could have guessed the same - or at least similar - answer that Joseph provided. Nowadays we have all sorts of unqualified "professional psychics", mystics, and mentalists who literally have boatloads of guesses and hunches to what people's dreams may mean and often try their hands predicting the future with comical results. I find it difficult to believe that with the tendency of human nature to clamor towards fame that nobody in Egypt could take a stab as to what the Pharaoh's dream meant. So, Joseph becomes a wealthy celebrity around Egypt and immediately becomes the Pharaoh's second in command (even before waiting around to see if Joseph's prophecies come true or not) and is entrusted with the country's agriculture stock. He's given a wife and a fancy ride and manages to have two sons before the famine comes, only to now become richer from selling the grain he stocked to not only the citizens of Egypt, but to those traveling from other nearby countries.
Chapter 42
Summary:	When Jacob*/Israel heard that there was grain available in Egypt he sends his ten oldest sons there to buy some. Jacob however, wouldn't let his youngest son Benjamin join his brothers out of fear that something might happen to him, as like had happened to Benjamin's older brother Joseph. As Joseph was governor of all Egypt, and in charge of selling the grain, it was to him that his brothers came and bowed low before him. Joseph recognized them immediately but pretended as though he didn't. As Joseph asks them where they are from he remembers the dreams from his childhood, but he accuses his brothers before him of being spies, charging that they came to judge how destitute the land of Egypt had become during the famine. The brothers swore their innocence, further explaining that they were of 12 brothers from Canaan, that their youngest brother was staying behind with their father, and that another of their brothers had died. Joseph continued to feign disbelief in their story and told them that he needed proof to verify their story. He told the brothers that they could confirm their story by bringing their younger brother before him, but that he would allow only one of them to retrieve him while the other nine brothers would be kept in prison. Before a choice was to be made, he threw all ten of them into prison for three days. After three days in prison, Joseph tells them that he will take a chance on assuming them as honorable, by allowing them all to leave except one, and that the rest may go home with grain for their families. However, he insists that they must still bring their youngest brother before him if they wish to be spared. Speaking amongst themselves the brothers began blaming themselves for their situation on account for what they had done to Joseph years ago. Reuben chimed in claiming that he had insisted all along that killing Joseph was a bad idea, believing that they were now all going to die on account of it. The brothers were unaware that Joseph was able to understand them as they spoke as he had been speaking to them through an interpreter. Joseph left the room to weep in private, and upon his return he selected Simeon to remain in prison while he released the rest of his brothers. Joseph then ordered his servants to fill the men's grain sacks with grain and secretly told his servants to also put each brother's payment at the top of his sack. The brothers loaded up their donkeys with the grain sacks and headed back home. When they stopped for the night, one of the brothers* opened his sack to get some grain to feed the donkeys and spotted his money at the top of the sack. Trembling they wondered aloud what was it that God was doing to them. When they returned to Canaan they told their story to their father Jacob, and as they emptied their sacks they all discovered their money at the top of each bag. Fear engulfed them as well as their father. Jacob cried that he had been bereaved of his children, stating the loss of Joseph, Simeon not coming back, and now losing Benjamin too. Reuben offered to Jacob permission to kill his two sons if he doesn't bring Benjamin back, but Jacob refuses to let Benjamin go, stating that without Joseph, Benjamin alone is the only child left from his mother (Rachel), and that if anything should happen to Benjamin, Jacob would die.
Notes:	1.) Israel is inexplicably referred to again by his former name of Jacob in this chapter. 2.) It is not specified as to which brother.
Thoughts:	We begin chapter 42 with a strange reversion back to Israel's birth name of Jacob for reasons that aren't clear. As the famine affects Jacob's family, he sends his sons to Egypt where there is a surplus of grain to purchase. Out of fear of losing him, Jacob does not allow Benjamin to accompany his brothers to Egypt. When the brothers arrive, they're unaware that they're attempting to buy grain from their long lost and forgotten brother Joseph, however Joseph recalls them instantly. Joseph then begins messing with his brothers' heads by accusing them of being spies, locking them in jail for three days, insisting that they bring up Benjamin from Canaan to prove(?) that their story about being brothers is true(?), and by secretly giving their money back to them - filling them with terror that they may now be accused of being thieves as well as spies if they return. It's difficult to understand how - for the sake of logic - that bringing Benjamin up from Canaan would prove anything, and why the brothers didn't think of possibly bringing one of their sons to pose as Benjamin. In the context of the story we know why Joseph wants them to bring Benjamin and why the brothers are frightened at the prospect of having to do so, but the whole plot doesn't seem to make sense out of just using a bit of logic and common sense. How would they suspect that Joseph would be able to see past the rouse of bringing up one of Jacob's grandsons instead of Benjamin, or how Benjamin's presence proves that they aren't spies. Anyways, upon freaking his whole family out by placing their money into their grain sacks, Jacob doesn't seem to be willing to budge on letting Benjamin travel out to Egypt, so I guess Simeon can rot in jail for all Jacob cares.

GENESIS: Chapters 39 & 40

Chapter 39
Summary:	(As explained already in Chapter 37) when Joseph arrived in Egypt as a captive of the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, a officer of the Pharaoh. Potiphar was the captain of the Pharoah's bodyguards and his chief executioner. God greatly blessed Joseph in the home of his master so that everything he did, he succeeded. Potiphar took notice of this and realized that God was with Joseph, so Joseph gained favoritism with him. Soon Joseph was put in charge of the administration of the household and all of Potiphar's business affairs. God now began to bless Potiphar for the sake of Joseph. As the household ran smoothly, the crops and flocks flourished and multiplied, and Joseph was give complete responsibility over everything that Potiphar owned. Potiphar's wife began trying to seduce Joseph, but he refused her advances reminding her of his loyalty to Potiphar and that what she was suggesting was a great sin against God. However she kept on trying, and Joseph attempted to keep out of her way as much as possible. One day she catches Joseph alone, grabs his sleeve, and begs him to sleep with her. As he struggles to flee from her, Potiphar's wife is left with Joseph's jacket still in her hands and she decides to scream rape. When Potiphar arrived home his wife tells him that Joseph had tried to rape her and that she was saved only by her screams, while clutching his jacket. None too amused, Potiphar throws Joseph in prison. God blessed Joseph in his prison as well, and granted him favor with the chief jailer. Soon the jailer entrusted Joseph with the administration of the prison, and due to God's blessings, the prison ran smooth and efficiently.
Thoughts:	Joseph, apparently being God's chosen one now - ahead of his father Israel/Jacob - is (much like his father, his grandfather Isaac, and great-grandfather Abraham before him) blessed with a King Midas-like touch, where everything he does excels to the maximum. Even as a slave (and later a model prisoner) Joseph makes the best of the situation by being the best slave he can be, while upholding his loyalty and moral standards by refusing to be seduced by the lady of the house. However, when Mrs. Potiphar, being the sexually frustrated wife that she is, can't get Joseph to mess around she finds herself accusing Joseph of trying to rape her in order to get him thrown into prison. Much like his life as a slave, Joseph also excels at being a model prisoner and is soon running the prison (with God's help of course). Nothing is said about whether Potiphar's home-life goes to shambles or not, but I can only assume if he's visited the jail anytime while at work, that he's probably headed for Egyptian Divorce Court soon enough.
Chapter 40
Summary:	Sometime later the Pharaoh got upset with his chief baker and his wine taster and threw them into jail. They remained in prison for a while and Potiphar assigns Joseph to wait on them. One night both the baker and the wine taster had strange dreams, but couldn't find anyone to help figure them out. When Joseph hears about their dreams he tells them that interpreting dreams is God's business and asks them what they had dreamed. The wine taster went first and told Joseph that in his dream he saw a vine with three branches that began to blossom, soon providing clusters of ripe grapes. The wine taster finishes his dream, explaining that he had squeezed the grapes into the Pharaoh's wine cup and then gave it to him to drink. Joseph tells him that the dream means that in three days the Pharaoh will release him from prison and give him his job back. He then tells the wine taster to have pity on him and put in a good word to the Pharaoh on his behalf. The baker went next, telling Joseph that in his dream that he was carrying three baskets of pastries on his head, the topmost being filled with all sorts of baked goods for the Pharaoh, but that the birds swept by and ate them. Joseph explained to the baker that his dream signified that in three days the Pharaoh would decapitate him and impale his body on a stake, leaving the remains for the birds to pick at. The Pharaoh's birthday came three days later and preparing for his party he summoned both the baker and the wine taster from prison. As Jacob predicted, the wine taster was given back his job and the baker was executed. However, the wine taster forgot all about Joseph and never mentioned his plight to the Pharaoh.
Thoughts:	Dreams can be fascinating experiences, but they are not by any means some sort of magic fortune telling experience. Our dreams are a reflection of our subconscious, which means that the things we dream about are not predicting the unknown, but tapping into what we already do know. Dreams can seem magical where we can often do the impossible, but they are not telling us things we don't already know. To the ancients of the Bronze Age, who out of ignorance and superstition believed a lot of crazy things - like seamonsters dwelling in the oceans, the sun revolving around a flat earth, and mythical beings like giants - dreams must have seemed like a pathway to the gods to them. However fascinating dreams may be and the things they might tell us about ourselves, dreams do not tell the future any more so than a fortune cookie at a Chinese restaurant. I'm sure for the sake of our story we could assume that perhaps the supernatural, in the form of God, could have possibly guided these dreams, but it isn't stated and is presumptuous at best. The problem with taking the angle of a biblical apologist is that while trying to assert that the bible is in fact "truth" or the "word of God", it takes a lot of human interjection, guesses, and theory to explain things. If we're to assume truth in the biblical text, then shouldn't we just work with the information we have and not inject far fetched theories to explain the gaps? What I'm getting at is that the miraculous defies credibility, and if the miraculous did, or could happen, then the bible should be our only source of when and where that could have occurred. Inventing miraculous explanations of your own accord shouldn't be an option when there's no basis for making such a wild claim. Anyways, Joseph's story is meant to further enforce his connection and alliance with God - as he states that interpreting dreams is God's work - and sure enough his psychic predictions for both the baker and the wine taster come to fruition just as Joseph had said they would. We close off the chapter once again with a dig at how villainous the Egyptians can be when the wine taster forgets all about poor Joseph rotting away in prison.

GENESIS: Chapters 37 & 38

Chapter 37
Summary:	Jacob/Israel settled once again in the land of Canaan when his son Joseph was seventeen years old. Joseph's job, like his half-brothers, was to shepherd his father's flocks, but he often would tattle-tale on the bad things his brothers were doing. Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons, due to the fact that Joseph was born to him in his old age, and gave Jacob a special gift of a brightly colored coat. His brothers of course noticed their father's partiality and thus hated Joseph for it. One night Joseph had a dream that he couldn't wait to share with his brothers. He told them that in the dream, they were out binding sheaves when his sheaf stood up and his brothers sheaves bowed low before it. His brothers scoffed at Joseph's dream and his arrogance for apparently desiring to become a king over them. Shortly after, Joseph reported another dream he had, this time being that the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowed down before him. This time he also told his father along with his brothers, but his father was having none of it. While Joseph's brothers began to hate him even more for his seemingly arrogant dreams, his father pondered what Joseph's dreams might mean. One day when Joseph's brothers had gone off and taken their father's sheep to graze in Shechem, he asked Joseph to follow them out there to check on them. When Joseph arrived however, he didn't find his brothers. A man who noticed him wandering about tells Joseph that his brothers had left, but that he overheard that they were headed to Dothan. Joseph travels to Dothan, but when his brothers notice him coming in the distance they hatch a plan to kill him. They planned to kill Joseph and toss his body into a well, and that they'd tell their father that he was attacked and eaten by a wild animal. But Reuben, hoping to spare Joseph's life, persuades his brothers not to kill Joseph, but to simply throw him down into the well alive, so that he would die without leaving his blood on their hands. When Joseph arrived, his brothers pulled off his brightly colored coat and tossed Joseph into an empty well. When the brothers sat down for supper that evening, they noticed a caravan of camels coming towards them in the distance. Judah tells his brothers that instead of leaving Joseph to die, that they should sell him off to these Ishmaelite traders passing through. After they pulled Joseph out of the well, they sold him to the traders for twenty pieces of silver. Reuben, who's idea it was to spare Joseph's life, had been away when the traders passed through, and when he returned to the well later that night to rescue his brother. When he found the empty well without his brother, Reuben tore at his clothes out of anguish and frustration. The brothers then killed a goat and splattered it's blood upon Joseph's coat. When they returned home they showed the coat to their father Israel, telling them that they had found it out in the fields, and asked their father if this was Joseph's coat. Israel broke down in sobs and mourned his son for many weeks. Meanwhile, in Egypt, the traders had sold Joseph to Potiphar, an officer to the Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Potiphar was captain of the palace guard, and chief executioner.
Thoughts:	This chapter basically serves to set up the story of Joseph, who through his boastful dreams, tattle-tales, and being his father's favorite has earned the ire of his brothers who decide to kill him. Reuben is made to appear as the only remorseful brother of the bunch, by convincing his brothers to not kill Joseph right away, but to leave him to die alone in the well - under the guise that Joseph's blood wouldn't be on their hands. However, Reuben's real intentions were to free Joseph from the well late that night, a plan that was thrown askew by brother Judah who noticed some traders passing by and opted to sell Joseph into slavery. The brothers then slay a goat and splatter its blood onto Joseph's coat, bringing it to Israel for a positive identification. Israel goes into mourning, while Joseph has been sold off in Egypt to a palace guard and executioner.
Chapter 38
Summary:	Around this time Judah left home and moved to Adullam, and lived there with a man named Hirah. There he met and married a Canaanite girl - the daughter of Shua. They lived at Chezib and had three sons: Er, Onan, and Shelah. They were named by their mother except for Er, who was named by Judah. When his oldest son Er grew up, Judah had arranged for him to marry a girl named Tamar. However, God deemed Er a wicked man and killed him. Judah then tells Onan that according to their laws, Onan is now required to marry Tamar so that her sons could with him would be Er's heirs. However Onan was not very keen on the idea of fathering any children that would not be counted as his own, so whenever he slept with Tamar he refused to ejaculate inside of her* and in turn angered God enough to kill him also. Judah then told his daughter-in-law Tamar not to remarry, but to return home to her parents as to wait until Shelah was old enough to marry her. Judah however had no intentions of letting his now only son Shelah marry Tamar, fearful that God would kill him too. After some time, Judah's wife died, and after the period of mourning was over, Judah and his friend Hirah went to Timnah to supervise the shearing of his sheep. Tamar realizing by now that she was not going to be permitted to marry Shelah, as he was fully grown by now, she laid aside her widow's clothing and covered herself in a veil and sat beside the road at the entrance of Enaim, which was on the way to Timnah. Judah noticed her as he went by, thinking she was a prostitute, and propositioned her. He offered to pay her with a goat from his flock up in Timnah, but she asked Judah to leave behind his walking stick and identification seal as collateral for his payment. He gave them to her and proceeded to sleep with her, in turn impregnating her. When Judah later asked Hirah to bring the goat back to her and collect his collateral, Hirah was unable to find the prostitute. Hirah asked the men of the city about the prostitute and was told that the city didn't have any prostitutes. Hirah returned to Judah and explained to him what he had been told. About three months later, word got out that his daughter-in-law Tamar was pregnant, and was obviously the result of prostitution. Judah upon hearing this exclaimed, "Bring her out and burn her!" As she was being taken out to be killed she sent a message to her father-in-law Judah explaining that the man who owns the identification seal and walking stick that she possessed, was the father of her child. Judah admitted that these were his and realized that he was now more in the wrong than she was for not keeping his promise to allow her to marry Shelah. Judah however, did not marry Tamar. When Tamar gave birth it was to twin sons. As they were being born, the midwife tied a scarlet thread around the wrist of the child who appeared first, but he drew back his hand and the other child was born first instead. The first born was named Perez (meaning "Bursting out"), while the baby with the scarlet thread around his wrist was named Zerah.
Notes:	1.) The bible specifically says that Onan "spilled his seed upon the bed".
Thoughts:	A quite colorful chapter detailing Israel's son Judah, his sons, and the "daughter-in-law of death". Er seems to be doomed right from the get go by his wickedness that causes God to kill him before he can have children with Tamar. Onan now has to step up to the plate to impregnate Tamar, however the offspring according to customs would in fact be Er's descendants and not Onan's own. Onan, not too happy with that arrangement opts to employ messing the sheets as a form of birth control and is killed by the wrath of God as well. It's really difficult to figure what the whole motive and point for God's killings are here. First we kill off Er, as God deems him wicked, but he kills him before he can have any heirs. Now Onan, as little as he is described, doesn't appear to be doing anything wicked, but more over just being defiant and self-centered. Now God's official reason for killing Onan in this chapter is because he feels it is very wrong of Onan to deny his brother Er a descendant...however isn't this whole mess partially God's fault to begin with? Why is God so concerned with these bizarre man-made customs (there is nothing that states that this is God's mandate) of marriage and descendants that are obviously now obsolete to the majority of Abrahamic religions nowadays that he feels death is an appropriate punishment to serve. Essentially God strikes down Onan for practicing birth control as he's unwilling to clean up a mess that God helped make in the first place. Now with two sons down and one not quite old enough to go, Judah has Tamar go back home to her family and play the widow for a while. Judah's wife's death is very casually mixed into the story, which to me appears to serve only to absolve Judah from being guilty of adultery in the next part of our story. Apparently realizing that Judah had no intentions of letting her marry his last surviving son, Tamar pretends to be a prostitute along the road that Judah is traveling. Judah hasn't got any money to pay for hookers, so he gives his I.D. and his walking staff to his lady-in-waiting as collateral until he can pay her for her services. Tamar returns gets back into her widow clothes leaving Judah's buddy unable to find the town hooker to pay her and get Judah's stuff back. When Tamar turns up pregnant, and the rumor going around town is that it was from prostitution, Judah declares that she should be (and apparently will be) set on fire. Set on fire! Fire... I'm thinking that might be a bit too extreme for having a child out of wedlock from prostitution, and is also a bit hypocritical and sexist of a man who is apparently okay with bedding prostitutes himself. I repeat, he wants to set his daughter-in-law on fire...that is until she tells him that she's got his I.D. badge and his cane. Judah apparently doesn't marry her - which I'm still having trouble figuring out how and when people are actually considered married back then, as all that had to be done with Judah's dad Jacob was a simple bride-swap in the bedroom in Chapter 29, and once the deed was done, Jacob was stuck with Leah. Anyways, Tamar gives birth to twin boys while a mid-wife manages to tie a scarlet thread around the arm of the first baby poking out, but instead his brother beats him to the punch to be born first. They name the first born Perez, as he "burst out" of the womb, and his brother got stuck with the name Zerah.

GENESIS: Chapters 20 & 21

Chapter 20
Summary:	Abraham moved south to Negeb and settled between Kadesh and Shur. One day while visiting the city of Gerar he remarked that Sarah was his sister, and again once the king (King Ambimelech, in this case) caught word of this and of her beauty, he had Sarah brought to his palace*. God visited the king in his dream and told him that he was doomed to die, as Sarah was a married woman. Ambimelech pointed out to God that he had yet to sleep with Sarah, and questioned whether God would slay an innocent man. He added that both Abraham and Sarah had told him that they were siblings and not husband and wife, and that he had no intentions of wrong doing. 20:12 "And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife." God replied that he already knew that, and explained that it was why he prevented the king from sinning; why he prevented the king from touching Sarah. God demands that Ambimelech release Sarah to her husband at once, and states that Abraham will pray for the king in return - threatening the king with death - to not only himself but his household as well - if he does not comply. The king woke up early the next morning and summoned Abraham. He asks Abraham why he has perpetuated this deception which could have made his kingdom guilty of a terrible sin. Abraham explains that he figured the kingdom to be a godless place* which would leave himself for dead in order to get to his wife. He adds that technically Sarah is his sister - his half sister - and that when God sends him traveling far from home, he has instructed Sarah to tell others that she is his sister. The king then gave Abraham some sheep, oxen, and slaves upon returning Sarah to Abraham along with 1,000 pieces of silver as restitution for any embarrassment he may have caused them. He tops it off with offering Abraham his choice of any land in the kingdom to live in. Abraham prayed to God to remove the curse that God had placed amongst the kingdom, as he had made the women of the kingdom barren to punish them for taking Abraham's wife.
Notes:	1.) Much like Abraham (then Abrahm) had done during his stay in Egypt. 2.) Unlike what is implied, theism and morality are wholly separate concepts.
Thoughts:	This is mostly a rehash of chapter 12 with a different spin placed upon it. We can now surmise that God may have visited the Egyptian Pharaoh in a similar manner to King Ambimelech, yet where as the Pharaoh simply threw Abraham (then named Abram) out of Egypt with some bribe offerings, King Ambimelech seems more remorseful and even tries to persuade Abraham to live amongst him in his kingdom. The other point of contention I have with this chapter is the need to link morality with theism. It's one of the most perpetuated myths that one's belief in gods is linked with morality. There are many immoral people who profess religious belief or affiliation, just the same as there are similar numbers of atheists that have high moral ethics without the need for god beliefs. The belief in gods and being morally ethical are two separate concepts.
Chapter 21
Summary:	At the age of 100, Abraham became the father of Isaac, just as God had promised. Eight days later Abraham circumcised Isaac as God had commanded. Time went by and Isaac grew and was weaned, and Abraham threw a party to celebrate the occasion. But when Sarah noticed Ishmael teasing Isaac, she turned to Abraham and demanded that he get rid of Hagar and her son, stating that she refused to let Ishmael share Abraham's property with her son Isaac. This upset Abraham, as Ishmael was his son as well. But God sided with Sarah telling Abraham not to be upset over Ishmael nor his slave-girl wife Hagar, and reaffirming that it is Isaac is the child whom God will fulfill his promise through. So Abraham packed some food and a canteen for Ishmael and Hagar and sent them both away. 21:14 "And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba." Hagar journeyed into the wilderness of Beersheba wandering aimlessly, and when her canteen ran dry she left her son underneath a bush and sat down off in the distance, not wanting to see him die, and began to sob. God called to Hagar from the sky to comfort her and remind her that Ishmael is still blessed to become a great nation. God then leads her to a well to fill her canteen for her self and the boy, and blessed Ishmael. Ishmael would grow up in the wilderness of Paran to become an expert archer, and later Hagar would arrange his marriage to an Egyptian girl. Around this time King Ambimelech came to Abraham admitting that he is aware that God is on Abraham's side and asks for peace between the people of Abraham and his kingdom. Abraham agrees, but also complains about a well that was taken violently away from his people by the king's servants. The King claims he was unaware of this incident until this moment, while Abraham gave sheep and oxen to the king as a sacrifice. Abraham put aside seven ewe and proclaimed them as a gift to the king serving as a public confirmation that the disputed well now belonged to the people of Abraham. From that point on, the well was known as Beer-sheba (meaning 'Well of the Oath'). As King Ambimelech returned home, Abraham planted a tamarisk tree beside the well and prayed to God. Abraham continued to live in the Philistine country for a long time.
Thoughts:	It's really tough to remain sympathetic towards Abraham, like I'm guessing the authors want the reader to be. God never condemned Abraham (then Abram) for sleeping with Hagar and seemed to be all for it initially, forcing a beaten pregnant Hagar to return to her "rightful place" serving her mistress (despite the fact that she dealt out the beating), and even naming Ishmael. However, now that Sarah has a jealousy complex and can't tolerate Ishmael - a child - teasing Isaac, she casts both Ishmael and Hagar out into the street and God tells a torn Abraham that Sarah is in the right(?) and that he shouldn't feel any sympathy for Ishmael (or Hagar) because Isaac is "better than him". It's even harder to empathize with Sarah, as it was her idea in the first place for Abraham to father a child with Hagar. So Hagar is left to die out in the wilderness until God lends a hand to refill her canteen and her hopes for Ishmael's future. The chapter leads out with our good pal King Ambimelech "seeing the light" that Abraham's god is powerful and with him - on his side - and that it's probably best to make sure that he himself, as well as his kingdom, aren't pissing off Abraham's god in any way. He gives away one of his wells (that Abraham claims was forcefully taken from him) and Abraham gives him some sheep so that he isn't to be looked at as a thief or and extortionist himself. Basically it's meant to show a stark contrast with how the Egyptian Pharaoh handled the same wife/sister situation. Although it is a bit strange how even at age 90 (and implied that she's probably at the expected age of menopause - even with the supposed advanced ages of the day) that Sarah still manages to be picked up by kings that want her in their harems.