Consider some of the people we've met in our reading so far: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Reuben and Judah. One of the things that gives the biblical account its credibility is the realness of its characters. We see them with all their failings intact, seldom if ever edited out. Abraham passed off his wife as his sister to save his own neck. Ditto for Isaac. People watched out for Jacob the deceiver. Reuben slept with his father's concubine. Judah slept with his daughter-in-law. You might say, But he thought she was a prostitute. Oh, right - that makes it all okay. (Can you say sarcasm?) Or as they say on Monty Python: Oh, yes; very nice!Enter Joseph. Once we get past his early years, in which he was a spoiled daddy's boy tattletale, he emerges larger than life, with no character flaws whatsoever. The only other similar character I can think of is Daniel... and maybe his three friends. Even Jesus got tired, and occasionally said some things we would think of as a little harsh. But not Joseph. Not Daniel.
Hmmm...
Do twins always try to be the first. Here once again we have a second born stealing the birth rite of the first born. i cannot believe how many times we have seen the same themes over and over again. Until this time through I don't think that I noticed or realized how much of that was recorded. I know this isn't the main thrust of this passage, but it sure shows us that there is nothing new under the sun. Just repeats of things that have been done before.
ReplyDeleteAside from the very familiar tale of Joseph, what struck me in this particular section was Judah's story and the passage of time - in the space of a few verses, Judah marries, has kids, his son Er is grown and in need of a wife - then *blam* the sons are gone and Tamar is waiting for the youngest to grow up then *pow* he's grown and she's still waiting. I kept thinking of what was happening with Joseph while these maybe 20 years went by concurrently.
ReplyDeleteGood thing she kept those pledges... he who is without sin throw the first stone/burning hunk of wood... and again, God manages to take the squashed play-doh of human missteps and make something good out of it all anyway, as Perez is listed in the genealogy for Jesus.