Welcome to the Pauline Family's "Year of the Bible"! I'm reading the Bible clear through this year, and I invite you to read along with me. But first, let us pray:
I praise you, my God, with all people.
May they thank and adore you!
You have written your greatness in creation,
your Law in consciences,
your eternal promises in the Bible.
You are eternally faithful and always lovable!
As I read Sacred Scripture today, open my mind to hear your voice and understand your loving message.
Amen.
Today's three chapters are Genesis 37-39.
The plot thickens. You know, and I know, that the big story in the first part of the Bible is the rescue of the Chosen People from slavery in Egypt. But how did the family get from the land of Canaan, the "land flowing with milk and honey," the land promised by the Lord to Abraham and to his progeny as their eternal inheritance, to Egypt? Here we get one of the most popular Bible stories of all times, unique in serving also as the backbone of a runaway hit on Broadway. Not only do we find the story of Joseph (and his famous coat) in the Bible: Joseph was such a popular character that additional details of his life feature in other ancient Jewish tales.
The patriarch Joseph, sold as a slave by his brothers for a sum of silver, is a type (a prophetic foreshadowing) of Christ, betrayed by his chosen disciple Judas for thirty silver pieces.
In the middle of the Joseph narrative, we have the story of Judah's daughter-in-law, Tamar. As a childless widow, Tamar is at risk of being a non-entity for the rest of her life. She manages to assert her prerogatives, thus becoming the first woman named in the genealogy of Jesus Christ (see Matthew 1:3).
When twentieth century anthropologists encountered a "new" people in some remote area no one was surprised at the cultural differences between this tribe and the nearest modern metropolis. We should not be taken aback when we encounter similar things reflected in the Bible's retelling of ancient cultural realities. Such practices were not even in line with later Jewish customs: This is an indication to us of an authentic family history that is not whitewashing shameful behavior on the part of its most illustrious ancestors.
If you are looking for a solid but approachable companion to the Bible, I can wholeheartedly recommend A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament by Brant Pitre and John Bergsma. Although the authors are top-level Scripture scholars, they write for "real" readers. Notes include recent findings from archaeology and ancient manuscripts.
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