ARTICLES

Moses and Elijah – The Earthquake Wind & Fire

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If we were to ask, ‘where in the Bible are the characters of Moses and Elijah linked?’, I guess most of us would say ‘at the Mount of Transfiguration’. Of course, it is the obvious one. But are there other places? Who were the only two humans ever to be recorded having a conversation with God on Mt Horeb? Moses and Elijah. Who are the two witnesses of Revelation 11? Moses and Elijah. There is so much more to their story. Moses and Elijah are linked forever.

Firstly, why were Elijah and Moses brought to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration? Many have suggested that they represent the ‘Law and the Prophets’ which foretold  Jesus. It is certain that the Law of Moses and the wilderness journey did foreshadow Jesus in many types, and that the coming of Elijah would herald the coming Messiah (Mal 4:5). Yet Elijah, unlike Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel etc never prophesied of Jesus. No, there is more to it than just ‘the Law and the Prophets’.

Firstly, let us look at the birds associated with Moses and Elijah. If we were to say – tell me one bird connected to Moses and another to Elijah, what would we say? Surely a quail for Moses (Numbers 11:31-32) and a raven for Elijah (1 Kings 17:6). The quail was a clean bird under the Law of Moses and allowed to be eaten. The raven on the other hand, was a bird of carrion and forbidden as unclean. Are they significant? I think so. Moses was of the tribe of Levi, an Israelite and ‘clean’ under the Law, Elijah was a Gentile [see Elijah was a Gentile] and unclean under the Law but cleansed by faith and grace [Acts 10:15].

MT HOREB

The first connection we get between Moses and Elijah is at Mt Horeb, the Mount of God. It is here that Moses talked with God (Exodus 33:11). It was in this place that Elijah also spoke with God.

Elijah was taken at God’s direction to Mt Horeb – the mount of God where Moses was given the Law (Torah).

‘Then he was afraid, and he arose and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, ……and sat down under a broom tree; and he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am no better than my fathers.” And …an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat“…… And he arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. And there he came to a cave, and lodged there; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Eli’jah’?” [1Kings 19:3-9]

Why did God lead Elijah to the Mount of Moses?

The answer lies in what happened next – It was all about earthquake wind and fire.

“And he said, “Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.” [1Kings 19:11-12]

Had God ever been in an earthquake, wind and fire?

Yes he had!!

And Mount Sinai (Horeb) was wrapped in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.    And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder [Exodus 19:18-19].

You cannot have trumpets without wind.

The covenant with Israel was given in earthquake wind and fire. And God was in it then – but not now.

On Horeb, God revealed to Elijah, that he was no longer in the Earthquake, Wind and Fire. No longer in the Sinai covenant with Israel – because of Israel’s constant rejection of Him. As Jeremiah put it in Jeremiah 3:8

“I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries.”

God was announcing the fact that he was not in the earthquake wind and fire and that the old marriage with Israel was over – annulled. God now turns to a remnant – just those of faith

“Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him.” [1Kings 19:18]

The national covenant was replaced with a personal covenant of faith.

It is from this era that the message of God goes to the Gentiles.

Jesus drew the same point –

“I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time….yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed, only Naaman the Syrian.” [Luke 4:26-28]

The crowd were furious with Jesus – and took him to a hill to throw him over to his death, but God saved him. The Jews were furious that the covenant of faith had replaced the Law.

God appoints Gentile Kings –

“The LORD said to him (Elijah), ‘Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram’.” [1 Kings 19:15].

Why was a prophet of Israel sent to crown a gentile King of Syria? Because God’s salvation was spreading to those who could come by faith, not race. Elijah never did get to anoint Hazael, that was left to Elisha who verbally anointed him (2Kings 8:13).

At Mt. Horeb, God gave Elijah three jobs to do, anoint Hazael, Jehu and Elisha. Elijah only got to do one – he anointed Elisha. God took him in the whirlwind of fire before he could complete the rest. Why did God give him three tasks and yet took him before he could complete them? That’s a question for another time.

God revealed himself to Nebuchadnezzar and sought him vigorously.

‘”This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me what it means, for none of the wise men in my kingdom can interpret it for me. But you can, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.” Then Daniel …was greatly perplexed’. [Daniel 4:18]

Isaiah 45:13 tells of God in the life of Cyrus.

“I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward, says the LORD Almighty.”

The gentile Cyrus receives God’s message.

God sends prophets to the gentiles. Jonah – to Nineveh, Nahum – to Nineveh, Obadiah – to Edom. The ‘gospel’ spreads. We may think that this was not the first time gentiles were accepted. Rahab was welcomed into God’s salvation, as was Ruth and Uriah the Hittite etc. The difference was that they all had to become Israelites. Rahab, Ruth and Uriah all immigrated to Israel. Rahab married Salmon and moved in with Israel, Ruth married Boaz and moved to Israel and Uriah married Bathsheba and moved to Jerusalem.  After Elijah the new babes of faith did not have to come to Israel. The widow of Zarephath stayed in Zarephath, Naaman returned to Syria, Hazael, Nebuchadnezzar etc all styed ‘at home’ and were Israelites by faith.

” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father… 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.” [John 4]

God wanted salvation spread to Gentiles –

Isaiah 49:6 “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

Isaiah 56:7 “These I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

Jews made laws to be exclusive. God was now opening salvation to all races –

Acts 10:27-28 “While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people.  He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile.”

Verse 34 “Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favouritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.

This had always been God’s law.

                                                                                            “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.  He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing.  Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” [Deut. 10:17]

This exclusive Jewish law was a man-made law and never God’s intention.

One more comment. The new covenant to both Jew and gentile came in earthquake, wind and fire –

Acts 2 2 And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them.

Acts 4 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.

This time God was in the earthquake, wind and fire.

THE TRANSFIGURATION

After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. [Matthew 17:1]  Here, we see a representation of the coming Kingdom [Matthew 16:27-28], with Jesus as   King in glory, and the saints symbolised by two people.

Moses – has always symbolised the people of Israel – those within the national covenant.

Elijah – representing those of faith, outside the national covenant with Israel, those of the nations (Gentiles) who come to God.

So, the Kingdom of heaven is made of the faithful of Israel under the old covenant, and the Christians of the new covenant.

Revelation 11

3 And I will grant my two witnesses power to prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which stand before the Lord of the earth….  6 They have power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.[Rev 11].  

Who had the power to stop the rain – for exactly 3 ½ years (3.5 x 360 =1260 days)?

Only Elijah.

‘Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years’ [James 5:17].

Who had the power to “turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want”?

Only Moses.

The witnesses are symbolically Moses and Elijah.

But what do they represent? They are Jews who had their lampstand removed and Christians who took their light to the world.

They are the two lampstands (Revelation 11:4).

Revelation 1:11-12.  Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches …And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands

Matthew 5:15  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before men….

Revelation 2:5  “If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place “

The light from the lamps are true Christians and their assemblies.

The two witnesses are also two olive trees (verse 4).

Romans 11:17  But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the richness of the olive tree,… 19 You will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast only through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you…  23 And even the others, if they do not persist in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you have been cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree.

The olive tree is natural Israel under the national covenant.

So, the two witnesses are natural Israel, who witness to God’s existence [Isaiah 43:10], and Christians (spiritual Israel, the grafted-in olive tree) who witness to the way to God [Acts 3:15].

Again, Moses represents the covenant of Law – the national covenant with Israel.

Elijah represents those saved in Jesus Christ – the covenant of Grace.

 

Hebrews 11 and Elijah

Heb 11:13   “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”

  “Elijah the foreigner who was of the strangers of Gilead” …

We are all strangers, with no home as yet. God is not ashamed to be called their God… Elijah’s name means “my God is Yah”

God was pleased to be called the God of Elijah:

“Where is the Lord, the God of Eli′jah?” [2 Kings 2 14 ].

He will be pleased to be called our God too, if we become strangers in this land.

For another interpretation of Rev. 11 See: 2 Witnesses – Revelation 11

משה ואליהו רעידת אדמה רוח ואש

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elijah was a Gentile אליהו היה גוי

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Only four or five out of all the prophets of Israel and Judah have no revealed genealogy and no identifiable hometown. They seem to ‘come from nowhere’.

Those such as Jeremiah, are identified by their lineage –

            “The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of                   Benjamin” [Jeremiah 1:1].

Or, Elisha , identified by the words

          “ Eli′sha the son of Shaphat of A′bel-meho′lah” [1 Kings 19:16].

But then we find the likes of Malachi, of whom we know nothing. Malachi may be a proper name, or just a generic ‘messenger’ of God,

     “The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Mal′achi (messenger)”.

Who was he/she, where did they come from?

Elijah was one of these. We do not know where he came from, or his parentage. Elijah was one of the four or five with no heritage, no identifiable town. But immediately, you may say: didn’t he come from Tishbe, a town in Gilead, east of the Jordan?

      “Now Eli′jah the Tishbite, of Tishbe[a] in Gilead.” [1 Kings 17:1].

Well, actually, no he didn’t. This quote is from the RSV, and you will notice a little superscript over the word Tishbe. The accompanying note says ‘Gk: Heb of the settlers’. So, how do we understand Tishbe, a town or ‘of the settlers’? Let’s track the town down, if it exists. The fact is that no one knows if there ever was a Tishbe.

The apocryphal book of Tobit says Tishbe was a place in Upper Galilee ? (Book of Tobit, Tobit 1:2) Or, was it a place in the land of Gilead as suggested by Josephus (Josephus, the Jewish historian Ant. 8:13, 2)?  Or is it El-Ishtib, a place due south of the Sea of Galilee, among the mountains of Gilead? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tishbite). All of these references are guesses 700/800 years after the events of 1 Kings. We will see in a moment it is far more reasonable and consistent to go with the meaning of the Hebrew word.

Tishbite (תִּשְׁבִּי) means Captive, stranger, sojourner, immigrant or non-indigenous. So, as Wiki has it: “The word is sometimes interpreted as “stranger,” so that the verse might read “Elijah the stranger from among the strangers in Gilead.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tishbite?oldid=0). Strongs says the word is locative, so it maybe interpreted –

     ‘from the place of strangers or the non-indigenous’.

There’s more. 1Kings 17:1 with Strongs’ links reads

            “And Elijah H452 the Tishbite, H8664 who was of the inhabitants H8453 of Gilead,”.

We have already discussed what Tishbite means, but how about the word ‘inhabitants’?

Hebrew  תּוֹשָׁב (towshab) means sojourner, stranger (non – indigenous) and in Gesenius’s Lexicon it appears as:

Of the 14 times this word ‘towshab’ is used in the OT, it is always translated sojourner, or stranger except with Elijah where it is translated as ‘inhabitant’.

In all the other places, it is always applied to gentiles. Elijah is the only exception.

Here is an example: Lev 25:6

          “And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for you, and for your servant, and for             your maid, and for your hired servant, and for your stranger8453 that sojourns with                 you”

So, 1 Kings 17:1 “And Elijah the Tishbite , [who was] of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab” should read “And Elijah of the captives or immigrants, [who was] of the foreigners or sojourners of Gilead, said unto Ahab.”

If you google “1 Kings 17:1 Bible Hub”, you get this verse in 25 different versions. Of the 25 versions on Bible Hub only one gets it right – International Standard Version

            “Elijah the foreigner, who was an alien resident from Gilead, told Ahab, “As the LORD                 God of Israel lives, in whose presence I’m standing, there will be neither dew nor rain                   these next several years, except when I say so.”

One last proof that Elijah was a gentile-

1 Kings 17  6 “And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook.”

God sent ravens to feed Elijah. Ravens (crows) are birds of carrion. They eat road-kill. They eat rotten meat. They were unclean in the Jewish law. No law-abiding Jew would eat food from a raven’s mouth. Just imagine if an orthodox Jew was hungry and a pig walked in with a sandwich in its mouth. Would the Jew take the sandwich and eat it? I think not. Elijah saw past the ‘letter of the Law’ to the spirit and gladly ate from the unclean bird at God’s direction. God gave the raven as a sign of the ‘unclean’ Elijah, the gentile who was now cleansed by faith.

One last rather delightful irony. At Passover, for centuries, the Jewish family has reserved an empty seat for the prophet Elijah. The reason for this, as wiki puts it

        “Is in honour of Elijah, who, according to tradition, will arrive one day as an unknown guest to herald the advent of the Messiah.” (Malachi 4:5)

Just imagine the reaction to realise that Elijah was a gentile.

See also: Moses and Elijah – Earthquake Wind & Fire 

Why We Believe – Part 2 – Internal Consistencies

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To the believer, the Bible is a book written by many authors, over about a 1500 year period. An unbeliever may not agree with this but will have to accept that it was written over at least a 300 year period, from nearly 200BC for the earliest Septuagint translations and Dead Sea Scroll documents to the later first century. All scholars accept a multitude of authors. I hope to show here that the internal consistency between different authors, at different times, would be almost impossible to achieve by human means. We will look at four examples, but there are many many more.

Deuteronomy 3 tells of the battle between Og the King of Bashan, and Israel. Bashan is all that area east of the Jordan river between the Dead sea and Galilee, even up toward Mt Hermon. This territory was allotted to the tribes of Gad and Manasseh.

Deuteronomy 3:8-9    So we took the land at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the  Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon  (the  Sido′nians call Hermon Si′rion, while the Amorites call it Senir).

The aside here, that Mt. Hermon has two names, seems innocuous enough. Looking at a map, it is plain to see why it would have an Amorite name, as it is in their territory.

The red dot under the word Hivites is Mt. Hermon. It Lies within the Amorite territory, hence it has an Amorite name.

The green dot on the sea coast is Sidon. It is nowhere near Mt Hermon – so why mention Mt Hermon’s Sidon name? In fact, we may expect a Hivite name maybe, as it is close to the Hivite border. But, why a Tyre/Sidon name? It’s a bit like saying that Ularu is called Seni by the Alice Springs people (close by), and Sirion by the Port Macquarie people (who live hundreds of kilometers away). Why?

The answer lies in the history recorded many decades later. Judges 18 records a story of a group of five Danites who travelled north to find better land as they could not displace the inhabitants of the land alloted to them. This exploratory team, after an iteraction with a young Levite at the house of Micah, came to the foot of Mt. Hermon. “ 7 So the five men left and came to Laish, (ancient name of Mt. Hermon), where they saw that the people were living in safety, like the Sidonians, at peace and secure. And since their land lacked nothing, they were prosperous. Also, they lived a long way from the Sidonians and had no relationship with anyone else.”

A different author, at a different time, tells us that a group of Sidonians lived at the foot of Mt Hermon – hence the record of the Sidon name for Hermon in Deuteronomy. Both comments in Deuteronomy and judges seems to be inconsequential asides – but they show that the records, by different authors, at different times, are consistent.

Another strange apparent contradiction.

We have two seemingly contradictory descriptions of the same person in the books of Kings and Chronicles. 1 Kings 7 13 And King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre. 14 He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naph′tali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze.

2 Chronicles 2  13 “Now I have sent a skilled man, endued with understanding, Huram-abi, 14 the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre. He is trained to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron.

These clearly represent the same person, as can be seen from the context. But one says that the mother was from the tribe of Naphtali and the other says she was from Dan. A contradiction? Many critics have jumped on these verses supposing that they represent a conflict. But, again, the problem is solved from Judges 18.

The red spot on the map represents the city of Dan (formerly Laish) which the Danites took from the Sidonians which was in the territory allotted to Naphtali. So, any woman who was a widow from Naphtali may well live in the Danite city and so be both ‘from Naphtali and Dan’.

Not only that, but the city of Laish (Dan) was formerly a colony of Trye and Sidon, so the Nathtali / Dan woman may well have married a Trye man. Conflict resolved. Again, two different authors write a self-consistent story.

Yet another story:

The Bible records that a couple of Israel cities fell to the invading armies of The Philistines and the Syrians.

1 Kings 15:27   Baasha son of Ahijah from the tribe of Issachar plotted against him, and he struck him down at Gibbethon, a Philistine town, while Nadab and all Israel were besieging it.

1 Kings 22  3 And the king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you know that Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, and we keep quiet and do not take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?” 4 And he said to Jehosh′aphat, “Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?”

Again … a simple story of ancient battles. Both the cities of Gibbethon and Ramoth were cities of Israel, but they had fallen to the Philistines and the Syrians. In fact, both were special cities. Even though they were in tribal allotments (Dan and Manasseh), they were given to the Levites as Levite Cities. The Levite cities were equally scattered throughout Israel to ensure that the people had access to God’s representatives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, what went wrong? A completely unrelated verse puts it all into context. After the death of King Solomon of Israel, the Kingdom of Israel split in two. The northern most 10 tribes separated under King Jeroboam and kept the name Israel, but the southern tribes of Benjamin and Judah united under king Rehoboam as the Kingdom of Judah. The southern Kingdom had Jerusalem and the Temple. Afraid that his people would go south to worship, Jeroboam instituted golden calf gods for the people to worship. Later, King Ahab instituted Baal worship. This caused the Levites in the northern Kingdom to flood south to worship the true God.

2 Chronicles 11: 13-17  The priests and Levites from all their districts throughout Israel sided with him. The Levites even abandoned their pasturelands and property and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them as priests of the Lord when he appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat and calf idols he had made. Those from every tribe of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the Lord, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the Lord, the God of their ancestors.  They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon three years, following the ways of David and Solomon during this time.

So, suddenly, the Levite cities were abandoned. No garrisons, no defense.  This is why the Levite cities of Gibbethon and Ramoth fell. Again, an unrelated story adds veracity to other narratives.

One last undesigned co-incidence

This takes a little concentration –

Exodus 12  The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you.  

The plagues on Egypt were in the first month of the Jewish calendar.
Exodus 9   31 (The flax and the barley were ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bloom. 32 But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined, for they are late in coming up.)  

So, at this time, in the first month, barley and flax were ready for harvest, but not wheat or spelt.
Joshua 3  15 and when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), 16 the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap far off… When the people of Israel arrived at the Jordan, it was harvest time, and the Jordan was in flood.
Joshua 4  19 The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. So, it was the time of harvest in the first month i.e. the time of harvest of barley and flax

 
Joshua 2 6 But she had brought them up to the roof, and hid them with the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof. A different author at a different time matched the record in Exodus. It was flax that was harvested – not wheat or spelt.

Just imagine if the record in Joshua had said that Rahab hid the spies under wheat. We could say…wrong!  Wheat was not harvested in the first month. But, no, the record says flax, exactly matching the record of the other writer at another time.

Proof of Bible truth?

No – but just added weight that the record we have is true.

 

THE MUMMY: Imhotep and Joseph

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If Joseph was such an important figure in Egypt, why is there no mention of him in Egyptian history?

Possibility No 1

Maybe there is.

The movie “The Mummy” followed a tale of Imhotep, the chancellor to the Egyptian Pharaoh Djoser, who comes back to life, to terrify those entering the pyramids.

 

 

Imhotep was a real chancellor and second in charge to Pharaoh Djoser. Imhotep’s legend bears a striking resemblance to the Bible Joseph. They were both commoners who rose to second in command by conquering a seven year famine through interpretation of dreams from God. Both married into Egyptian ‘royalty’.

Pharaoh Djoser

Djoser, was the second king of the 3rd dynasty (c. 2650–c. 2575 BC) of ancient Egypt, who undertook the construction of the earliest important stone building in Egypt. His reign, which probably lasted about 19 years, was marked by great technological innovation in the use of stone architecture. He died 2649 BC or 2611 BC (uncertain). This image is from his ‘step pyramid’, the first pyramid ever built in Egypt.  Djoser’s step pyramid

This painted limestone statue of Djoser, is the oldest known life-sized Egyptian statue.

 

 

Statue of Djoser

 

This great respect he commanded is most notably expressed in this famous Step Pyramid. Originally, the Pyramid grew under the guidance and design of Imhotep to become the tallest structure of its time and a tourist attraction which drew people from all parts of the land.

Once he assumed the throne, he almost instantly began commissioning his building projects. He ruled during an age of advances in civilization on the Nile such as the construction of architectural monuments, agricultural developments, trade, and the rise of the cities. Although not new, under Djoser’s reign cities became more numerous and the architecture more ornate. Djoser’s pyramid complex alone is the best example. Ornamentation was taken to a much higher level and symbols used to remind people of the blessings of the gods.

The Famine Stele

The Famine Stele is an inscription from the Ptolemaic Dynasty (332-30 BCE), over 2000 years after Djoser’s rule, which tells the story of how the king saved his country. Boldface highlights parallels to the Joseph story. A shortage of the Nile flood in 2,700 BC led to a seven-year famine, leaving Egypt in a state of extreme distress.                                                                                      The Famine Stele

The king was perplexed as grains were insufficient,  seeds dried up, people robbed each other, and temples and shrines closed. Looking for an end to his people’s suffering, the king consulted his architect and prime minister, Imhotep, commanding him to dig for a solution in the old sacred texts. Obeying the king’s order, Imhotep headed to a temple where he discovered the solution. He visited the Temple of Khnum and saw the granite, precious stones, minerals, and building stones in disrepair. Khnum, the god of fertility, was believed to have created mankind from clay. On the day following his meeting with Imhotep, the god Khnum, came to the king in his dream, promising to end the famine and to allow the Nile to flow again if Djoser restores the temple of Khnum. Consequently, Djoser executed Khnum’s wishes. Once the new temple of Khnum was completed after 7 years, the famine ended. Djoser and Imhotep were hailed as heroes.

The modern-day ruins of the Khnum Temple date from Djoser’s reign and so the Famine Stele has been accepted by some as history but interpreted by others as legend. As the stone dates from over 2,000 years after Djoser’s reign, the actual significance of the inscription lies in how Djoser was remembered by his people; whether the event actually happened as described or not. The Famine Stele attests to the honor and high esteem with which Djoser was regarded thousands of years after his reign.

Imhotep

Imhotep was commissioned to build the King’s pyramid. In Djoser’s time, Imhotep was of such importance and fame that he was honoured by being mentioned on statues of king Djoser in his necropolis. Djoser was so impressed with the resulting pyramid that he allowed Imhotep’s name to be inscribed within the tomb—something incredibly rare in Egyptian history.

Many years after his death, he was considered to be high priest of the sun god Ra. Very little is known of Imhotep as a historical figure, but in the 2,000 years following his death, he was gradually glorified and then deified.      Statue of Imhotep in the Louvre

Traditions from long after Imhotep’s death treated him as a great author of wisdom texts and especially as a physician. No text from his lifetime mentions these capacities and no text mentions his name in the first 1,200 years following his death. Apart from the three short contemporary inscriptions that establish him as chancellor to the Pharaoh, the first text to reference Imhotep dates 1000 years after his life, and addressed to the owner of a tomb, and reads: “The wab-priest may give offerings to your ka. The wab-priests may stretch to you their arms with libations on the soil, as it is done for Imhotep with the remains of the water bowl.” It appears that this libation to Imhotep was done regularly, as attested on papyri associated with statues of Imhotep until about 664–332 BC.

It seems there was a slow evolution of the memory of Imhotep among intellectuals from his death onward. This cult is so distinct from the offerings usually made to commoners that the epithet of “demi-god” is likely justified to describe the way Imhotep was venerated well after his time.

The first references to the healing abilities of Imhotep occur some 2,200 years after his death.

Imhotep is among the few non-royal Egyptians who were deified after their death. The location of his tomb remains unknown, despite efforts to find it. Secondary evidence also suggests that Imhotep was an accomplished physician. Mythology of later centuries considered Imhotep a god or demigod of medicine.

As stated, legend also connects Imhotep to Egypt’s rescue from a seven-year famine. Inscriptions, carved many centuries later during the reign of Ptolemy, credit Imhotep with ending a long drought connected to the lack of flooding of the Nile River. Imhotep’s deliverance of Egypt involved his interpreting a dream from one of the Egyptian gods and counseling the Pharaoh on the best way to make amends with the offended deity.

Was Imhotep the Bible Joseph?

We come back to our original question, why is there no monument to Joseph?

The location of Imhotep’s self-constructed tomb remains unknown, despite efforts to find it.

Why?   [Gen 50:25.  And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”   26 So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.“    Exodus 13:19  Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath. He had said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.”]

Is this why Imhotep’s tomb remains a mystery?

After Imhotep’s death, others copied his wise sayings and took credit for them. As these sayings were passed down through several generations, instead of being attributed to Imhotep, they were attributed to Ptahotep, “the voice of” the Egyptian creator, “Ptah”. Thousands of years later, several papyruses are found which purport to be copies of “The Instruction of Ptahotep”.

At the end of these manuscripts, the writer states that he is near death, having lived 110 years and that he received honors from the king exceeding those of the ancestors, in other words, he received the most honors ever given a man by a pharaoh. And we know that Joseph died at the age of 110 years.

Joseph Imhotep
Second in command to Pharaoh [Genesis 41:39-40] Second in command to Pharaoh Djoser
Began as a commoner (slave) Began as a commoner
Lived to be 110 years old. [Gen 50:26] Lived to be 110 years old.
Great architect and builder [Gen 41:56 storehouses] Great architect and builder
Seven years of famine – fed the people Seven years of famine – fed the people
Interpreter of the Kings dreams Interpreter of the Kings dreams
The King consults Joseph over the famine [Gen 41:33-35] The King consults Imhotep over the famine
Joseph takes control [Gen 41:41-43] Imhotep takes control
Noted for wisdom [Gen 41] Noted for wisdom
Zaphnath-paaneah (savior of our age) physician servants [Gen 50:2] Was a physician
Married into the priesthood of On [Gen 41:45] Married into the priesthood of On
Knowledge of astrology [Gen 44:5] Knowledge of astrology
Became an educated man Became an educated man and medical writer
Overseers of works Overseers of works
Tomb site unknown [Gen 50:26 – body taken to Canaan, not his tomb] Tomb site unknown

While history describes Imhotep as a deeply religious man, his devotion was not to the God of Israel, but to Ptah, one of many Egyptian deities. However, no details of Imhotep’s life are recorder until some 2000 years after his death. His worship of Yah may well have been substituted for an Egyptian God Ptah over that time.

The Bible does not mention Joseph’s involvement in architecture, particularly not of a tomb for the Pharaoh, though this does not necessarily mean he had no such duties.

The connection between Imhotep and Joseph, in the seven-year famine is stronger. Imhotep cured the drought by improving the worship of a particular Egyptian deity; Joseph used his God connection to prepare the people for a long famine. But again, 2000 years of folk tale telling may have changed this to support Egyptian deities.

Biggest difficulty: Imhotep and Djoser lived somewhere around. 2650–c. 2575 BC. Joseph lived about 1850 BC. How can we account for this?

However, a new timeline has recently been established:

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-23947820

Previous records suggested the pre-Dynastic period, a time when early groups began to settle along the Nile and farm the land, began in 4000BC. But the new analysis revealed this process started later, between 3700 or 3600BC. The Palermo Stone is inscribed with the names of early Egyptian kings. The team found that just a few hundred years later, by about 3100BC, society had transformed to one ruled by a king.

Dr Dee told the BBC World Service program ‘Science in Action’ : “The time period is shorter than was previously thought – about 300 or 400 years shorter. Egypt was a state that emerged quickly – over that time one has immense social change.

So, if we mover the time of Djoser forward by 400 years:

Imhotep and Joseph are much closer, but still significantly different. Ancient timelines are notoriously unreliable – so it’s possible that they were the same.

Conclusion:
In short, it is likely that folklorists adapted Joseph’s story in order to credit Imhotep with shepherding Egypt through a famine. Two thousand years of ‘Chinese whispers’ could have conflated the stories of Joseph with Imhotep, so that the character that emerged 2000 years later was a mix of the two. Politics of the time make this even more likely, as the inscription mentioning Imhotep, Djoser, and the famine partly establishes a claim for certain territories in the region. So, there ya go!

Possibility No2

See “Why do people believe?”

https://reneweddayafterday.home.blog/2020/12/30/why-do-people-believe/

Why Do People Believe?

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Reasons to Believe – An Introduction

All of us have very different foundations for our faith. In a world of growing abandonment of faith, we remain steadfast for a variety of reasons. You may have many reasons to base your faith upon, but here a few possibilities:

Belief is inbuilt into all humans. God gave us an awareness of Him.

The words of Jesus. The words spoken by Jesus exceeded the grace and wisdom of all others.             John 7:46 “The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this man!”

Creation. The Bible itself says that creation proclaims the existence of God. Romans 1 “20 Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So, they are without excuse.” Psalm 19 “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the sky proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; 4 yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” Stand in a dark and moonless night and be mesmerised by the billions of stars and galaxies you see or sift through the leaf litter of a rainforest floor to see the incredible variety of life.

Prophecy. Many of us believe because of the huge number of fulfilled prophecies. Predictions made thousands of years ago come true in defiance of all probability.

Archaeology. The evidence from the archaeology of the middle east show the stories of the Bible to be true. Those who once pronounced the Old Testament stories to be just Jewish fables have been made to look foolish. King David was just a mythical hero like Robin Hood they proclaimed, until the Tel Dan Stele (discovered 1993 -94) showed that the Assyrians referred to ‘the house of David’.

Love/faith/hope/empathy/loyalty are traits with no evolutionary value. Why are there with us today? Because they are God given.

God in our life. This is the personal conviction of the influence of God directing our life. This feeling is real, but it is difficult to express to others, and so remains a personal conviction.

You may have many other reasons that you could be added to this list.

Example 1

Let us just take one example which ought to make us wonder at the abundant evidence for the truth of the Bible.

In the book of Genesis, we read of Jacob’s sons who, through jealousy, sold their younger brother into slavery in Egypt. This young man Joseph, finally rose to be second in command over all Egypt, where he administered first the storage of abundant food, then its distribution in hard times. Joseph brought his family, his father Jacob and his brothers, down from Canaan to live in Egypt. A grateful Pharaoh granted them the best land in the Nile delta. Joseph married into Egyptian royalty and ensured the best relationship between his family and the Pharaoh of Egypt.

Then how do we explain the following verses?

Genesis 46 31 Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me; 32 and the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.’ 33 When Pharaoh calls you, and says, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 you shall say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of cattle from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,’ in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”

This seems to make no sense. Why would Joseph deliberately instruct his family to loudly proclaim they are shepherds when he knows the Egyptians hate shepherds? Why would telling the King of the Egyptians curry his favour if he hates shepherds? Why would Pharaoh want to give the best land (Goshen – the rich delta flood plains) to people he hates?

The paradox does not stop there.

When Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, he did it at a meal. The attending Egyptians refused to eat with them. Genesis 43 32 “They (the Egyptians) served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians.”

Again, we see that the Egyptians hated the shepherd Hebrews. So why make a point of telling Pharaoh that they were Hebrew shepherds. Why should that get them the best land?

The Hyksos.

The Egyptians were already in contact with the Canaanites (people of the Levant) well before Joseph. Groups of Canaanites had migrated to Egypt and lived in the Nile delta region. Eventually a people called the Hyksos (Semitic) came down from Canaan to occupy North Egypt, and eventually defeated the Egyptians and established a dynasty of ‘Shepherd Kings’. Although dates are somewhat unreliable, we can say that Joseph ruled in about 1870BC. The Semites arrived in the Nile delta about the same time. Hyksos military invasion is generally dated to roughly 1630BC. However, recent findings by British archaeologists have shown the dates to be wrong by some 300-400 years in early Egyptian history [https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-23947820], which puts the Hyksos in control of upper Egypt when Joseph arrived.

Even on the traditional timeline, the events of Joseph and the Hyksos are about the same. The first wave of Hyksos (Canaanites) enter country – settle in Nile delta in 1870BC

Joseph is made Prime Minister, second wave of Hyksos (Israelites), Title to all land acquired by Pharaoh, People become slaves, 20% tax on all produce imposed, Best land allotted to Hyksos (Israelites) 1765 BC

Another Hyksos (Babylonians) invasion set up headquarters at Avaris and retained Hyksos (Israelites) administration. 1684BC

Egyptians revolt, Hyksos (called the Babylonian) army driven out, Israelites made slaves 1536BC

Israelites flee the country – MOSES 1430-1446BC

The Egyptians hated the shepherd Hyksos Kings and their controlling of Egypt. Hence, Joseph would have been accepted by the rulers of Egypt but hated by the common Egyptians. For this reason, Joseph told his family to claim to be shepherds – to gain favour of the Semitic rulers of Egypt. It also explains why the Israelites were given the best land, and why the Egyptians and refused to eat with them.

The Bible is again shown to be self-consistent with history.

Another Curious set of facts.

Gen 47 15 And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt …. all the Egyptians came to Joseph, and said, “Give us food…..our money is gone.” 16 And Joseph answered, “Give your cattle, and I will give you food in exchange for your cattle…..” 17 So they brought their cattle to Joseph; and Joseph gave them food in exchange ….. 18 then they said…..Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be slaves to Pharaoh; and give us seed, that we may live, and not die.” 20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for all the Egyptians sold their fields….. The land became Pharaoh’s; 21 and as for the people, he made slaves of them from one end of Egypt to the other…… 23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh…. 25 And they said, “You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be slaves to Pharaoh.”

Joseph gave the Egyptians food in exchange for money, cattle, land and eventually the people themselves. The sold themselves as slaves to Pharaoh.

Why would a King take his subject’s land and eventually enslave his own people? He would if the King were a Semitic Hyksos and the slaves were Egyptians. The whole story fits together.

This also gives meaning to Exodus 1:8 “8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.” In 1536BC the Egyptian overthrew their Hyksos overlords, and a new Egyptian dynasty was established. The Semite rulers of Egypt were expelled. It logically follows that the Egyptians would in turn enslave their hated Semite oppressors. Hence the beginning of the Exodus story with the Israelites enslaved.

One last fact.

When Joseph died, he was embalmed and entombed in Egypt. Genesis 50” 26 So Joseph died, being a hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.” One would have expected some record of Joseph, so monument to his achievements. His bones were carried out some 400 years later, to the land of Canaan Ex 13: . 19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him; for Joseph had solemnly sworn the people of Israel, saying, “God will visit you; then you must carry my bones with you from here.” But we would have expected some inscription, some record of his feats to remain in Egypt. There are none. Why? Many people have used this as a reason to say that the story of Joseph is fictional. However, it is logical that, when the Egyptian retook their land, that they would expunge all records of the hated Semite Hyksos rulers – hence any record of Joseph would be expected to be destroyed by the Egyptians

Nimrod – Good Guy or Bad Guy?

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Nimrod only gets three mentions in the Bible.

Genesis 10:8 “ Cush became the father of Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.” 10 The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, and Accad, all of them in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went into Assyria, and built Nin′eveh, Reho′both-Ir, Calah, and 12 Resen between Nin′eveh and Calah; that is the great city.”

1 Chronicles 1:10 Cush was the father of Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one in the earth.

Micah 5:5 And this shall be peace, when the Assyrian comes into our land and treads upon our soil, that we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men; 6 they shall rule the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod with the drawn sword; and they shall deliver us from the Assyrian when he comes into our land and treads within our border.

So, what can we make of these?

Well, we can say that Nimrod must have been a person of great reputation and a great and athletic hunter. So great, that a proverb was constructed in his honour. He seems to have first lived in the lower Tigris Euphrates valley and founded some of the original cities of the Sumerian and Akkadian Empires, then moved north-east along the Tigris river to settle the earliest cities of the Assyrian Empire. Micah 5 seems to suggest that the ‘land of Nimrod’ was an alternative name for the Assyrian Empire.

So, apparently, Nimrod was the founder of what was later to become the Babylonian and Assyrian Empires.

Some have assumed, that since Babylon has a Bible history of representing those opposed to God (Genesis 11, Revelation 14, 16,17,18), Nimrod himself must have been the original opponent of God. They have suggested that ‘a mighty hunter before the Lord’ actually means ‘a mighty hunter in the face of or opposed to the Lord’.

Is this assumption justified?

Bible Hub has 27 translations and only two of the 27 suggest ‘against God’, neither of which are reputable translations. International Standard Version He became a fearless hunter in defiance of the LORD. That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a fearless hunter in defiance of the LORD.” A Faithful Version He was a mighty hunter against the LORD. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod–the mighty hunter against the LORD.”

The more reputable translations (e.g. RSV, NET etc) suggest no such thing.

Revised Standard Version

9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore, it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.”

New English Translation 9 He was a mighty hunter[ag] before the LORD.[ah] (That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD.”)

Some translations go as far as to add an explanation to the phrase. New Living Translation Since he was the greatest hunter in the world, his name became proverbial. People would say, “This man is like Nimrod, the greatest hunter in the world.” Good News Translation By the LORD’s help he was a great hunter, and that is why people say, “May the LORD make you as great a hunter as Nimrod!” GOD’S WORD® Translation He was a mighty hunter whom the LORD blessed. That’s why people used to say, “[He’s] like Nimrod, a mighty hunter whom the LORD blessed.”

So, we are left with either accepting two versions and rejecting the other 25 or accepting the 25.

What does the Septuagint say? This was how the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek in the years BC. Brenton Septuagint Translation He was a giant hunter before the Lord God; therefore they say, As Nebrod the giant hunter before the Lord.

Or the Jewish Tanakh, JPS Tanakh 1917 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; wherefore it is said: ‘Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.’

So, it seems, the Jewish Tanakh, the Septuagint and the Christian Bible have no suggestion of ‘before the Lord’ meaning ‘against the Lord”.

So, what does ‘before the Lord’ mean in other passages? ‘Before the Lord’ is a very common saying, with some five or six hundred occurrences in the KJV Bible. And of the five or six hundred times it occurs, only one time it may (or may not) mean ‘against the Lord’.

Here are just a few typical examples: Gen 27:7 Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death Exo 6:12 And Moses spoke before the LORD, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips? Exo 16:9 And Moses spoke unto Aaron, say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings. Exo 23:17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the LORD God. Exo 27:21 In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: Exo 29:23 And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD:

…and 600 other examples.

Only one can possibly mean ‘against’ the Lord.

Gen 13:13 “13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners before/against the LORD.”

Why should we pick one doubtful example over 600 clear examples? Why, in face of all this evidence do we pick ‘against the Lord’ to apply to poor old Nimrod?

Because we associate Nimrod with Babel and the tower and Revelation. But Nimrod was dead and gone well before the tower was conceived. The last mention of Nimrod associated him with Assyria, not Babylon.

But Micah 5 “6 they shall rule the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod with the drawn sword;[e] and they[f] shall deliver us from the Assyrian when he comes into our land…”

So, Nimrod needs a rethink. We are given absolutely no information about Nimrod’s relationship with God; so let’s not try to make one up.

Take-Away Ribs

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Almost every Christian remembers the Sunday School stories of God creating Adam, putting him into a deep sleep and extracting a rib from his side from which Eve was made. Even into adulthood, people perpetuate this story.

It is not true.

There is no Hebrew word for rib.

The Hebrews simply used the word ‘bone’ [Hebrew etsem] for all bones of animal and man. So, what then is to be made of Gen 2:22  “and the rib which the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man”.

The word for ‘rib’ here is ‘Tsela’ which is never translated rib, except in Genesis 2. It is far more frequently translated ‘side’ or ‘chamber’. The KJV translates Strong’s H6763 (Tsela) in the following manner: side (19x), chamber (11x), boards (2x), corners (2x), rib (2x), another (1x), beams (1x), halting (1x), leaves (1x), planks (1x).

The only two times it is translated ‘rib’ are in Genesis 2.

Where else does this word ‘tsela’ occur? Here are a few examples:

Some Examples:

Exodus 25:12 (RSV) 12 “And you shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side (tsela) of it, and two rings on the other side of it.”

Exodus 26:20 20 “and for the second side (tsela) of the tabernacle, on the north side twenty frames,” Etc.

It is pretty clear the word does not mean rib.

How about other places where the word ‘rib’ appears. Doesn’t that mean that the Hebrews had a word for rib? Well – actually, no!

The word ‘rib’ appears in only 4 other cases – all describing the ‘5th rib’

eg 2Samuel 3:27 KJV “And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there under the fifth rib, that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.”

You will notice that the word ‘rib’ is in italics in the JKV translation. That means that the word does not occur in Hebrew – it has been added in English.

The verse literally reads:

“And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there under the fifth, that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.”

Notice how the RSV translates it.

“27 And when Abner returned to Hebron, Jo′ab took him aside into the midst of the gate to speak with him privately, and there he smote him in the belly, so that he died, for the blood of As′ahel his brother.”

There is one other place where the word ‘ribs’ occurs.

Daniel 7:5 “And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.”

The prophecy of Daniel was written partly in Hebrew, but mostly in Aramaic (Chaldean). The word for ribs here is not a Hebrew word, but an Aramaic word; ‘ala’. So, we are still left with Hebrew having no word for ribs.

Most versions use the word rib in Genesis 2, out of tradition, I guess. It is interesting that, putting Genesis 2:22 into Bible Hub on the web, we get 28 versions of the verse. Only one gets it right. The New English Translation:

“Then the LORD God made a woman from the part he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.”

Abba Father – What Does it Mean?

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God’s title of “Abba Father” is only found in the Bible three separate times, in the passages of Romans 8:15, Mark 14:36, and Galatians 4:6, which are all in the New Testament.

What does it mean? Abba is the Aramaic (Chaldean) word for father, and as the NT was written in Greek, each reference to ‘abba’ is followed by ‘father’ which is the Greek equivalent, pater.

So why use both? The Aramaic word ‘abba’ can only apply to the blood father i.e. your actual biological father, whereas the Greek ‘pater’ can have a multitude of meanings – any male ancestor, or nearest ancestor, natural fathers, both parents; founders of a nation or one advanced in years, a senior person.

If you wanted to say Karl Marx was the father of Communism, you could use ‘pater’, but not ‘abba’.

In the Gospel of Mark, ‘abba’ is used at the most intimate communication with God. Jesus is begging to be saved from the terrible ordeal to come. The intimate father-son relation was expressed, but as the readers could only speak Greek, the writer adds the Greek translation. In Paul’s letters, both times ‘abba’ is used, it again relates to an intimate relationship with our father God. Although we are adopted, we gain the status of biological sons/daughters.

But it is simply not true that Jesus’ use of the word abba means something a small child would utter in reference to his father. It does not mean “daddy” or “papa.”

This origin of this understanding is generally traced a German Lutheran New Testament scholar Joachim Jeremias who in his 1971 text New Testament Theology explained that abba was “the chatter of a small child. . . . a children’s word, used in everyday talk” and seemingly “disrespectful, indeed unthinkable to the sensibilities of Jesus’ contemporaries to address God with this familiar word” (p. 67). Jeremias did not use the word “daddy” or “papa” … but the implication was strong and others came along to make that connection.

But other Hebrew and New Testament scholars have taken exception with this understanding.

University of Fribourg’s Georg Schelbert critiqued Jeremias’ assertion in a 1981 essay and then later in a 2011 book-length treatment entitled ABBA Vater. He contends that Jeremias’ interpretation is in “error” and “unwarranted.” He elaborates, “In the Aramaic language of the time of Jesus, there was absolutely no other word [than Abba] available if Jesus wished to speak of or address God as father. Naturally, such speaking of and addressing thereby would lose its special character, for it is then indeed the only possible form!” https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/factchecker-does-abba-mean-daddy/

Let us turn to an on-line dictionary:

Abba: a title of reverence for bishops and patriarchs in the Coptic, Ethiopian Christian, and Syriac churches. New Testament. an Aramaic word for father, used by Jesus and Paul to address God in a relation of personal intimacy. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/abba

Beware Christian web sites. They don’t mean to lie, but often embellish a point to get their idea across.

Here is another quote from a Christian web site. “Because we have been adopted into God’s family, we are privileged to call him “Abba, Father.” The word abba is an Aramaic word, one that was used by Jesus himself and echoed in the earliest Christian community, which spoke Aramaic (a language close to Hebrew). Abba was a word used by children for their father, something like “daddy” or “papa” today. But it was also a term of respect used by adult children for their fathers. Thus the word abba richly expresses our relationship with God. We are dependent upon him like little children. We are free to run to him as children run to their daddies. Yet we also offer God the highest respect and adult love.” This sort of sits on the fence. https://www.theologyofwork.org/the-high-calling/daily-reflection/calling-god-abba-father-1

We are far better to accept a secular web site.

Some Christian literature translates abba to “daddy”, suggesting that it is a childlike, intimate term for one’s father. This has been rejected by most scholars because abba, unlike “daddy”, is used by adult children as well as young children. In the time of Jesus, it was neither markedly a term of endearment nor a formal word, but the word normally used by sons and daughters, throughout their lives, in the family context…… The name Barabbas in the New Testament comes from the Aramaic phrase Bar Abba meaning “son of the father”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ab_(Semitic)

Finally: Strongs Concordance

Abba

Part of Speech

Aramaism

Root Word (Etymology)

Of Aramaic origin אַב (H2)

Greek Inflections of ἀββα [?]

KJV Translation Count — Total: 3x The KJV translates Strong’s G5 in the following manner: Abba (3x).

Outline of Biblical Usage [?]

1. Abba = “father”

1. father, customary title used of God in prayer. Whenever it occurs in the New Testament it has the Greek interpretation joined to it, that is apparently to be explained by the fact that the Chaldee “ABBA” through frequent use in prayer, gradually acquired the nature of a most sacred proper name, to which the Greek speaking Jews added the name from their own tongue.

Concluding thoughts:

Bar-abbas – son of a father (master). Can anyone seriously suggest the name means ‘son of daddy’?

Mahmoud Abbas (Palestinian President), surely doesn’t mean Mahmoud Daddy.

Hard Sayings of Jesus

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Some of the words of Jesus are hard for us to understand.

Number 1

Luke 18:29 29 And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not get back very much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Is this saying that we’ll be rewarded in this life? We’ll be given even more that we have left. Is this the prosperity gospel?

Evidence suggests this cannot be true. The greatest person who ever lived was nailed to a cross and died in agony at age 33. John the Baptist was beheaded at about the same age. The righteous, it seems, are not rewarded in this life. Hebrews 11  36 Others suffered mocking and scourging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two,[b] they were killed with the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, ill-treated— 38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering over deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.”

I believe that the concept of ‘much more’ from Jesus here, does not mean more of the same…more wives, more houses, etc, but ‘the more’ means something of greater value. Jesus is saying, that even in this life you’ll receive something of greater value, greater purpose that what we have left behind. WE find that we have a purpose beyond and greater than our own lives. So many people find their greatest purpose in family, or their profession, or career, or business, or health or hobby. But we may lose all of these. We may lose our family through tragedy or deceit. We may lose our wealth or career. But the Christian has a greater purpose which can never be taken away. “ 38 For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” Romans 8.

We also received a greater family – all our brothers and sister in Christ. We have a common bond, a common family. Acts 2 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common; 45 and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need.”

There are some great examples of people who lost all for Christ – but gained a greater blessing in this life. Jephthah lost the most precious possession a man in Israel could have: a line and lineage to come after him, to be the patriarch of his own family. He was willing to sacrifice his only child because he had made a vow that he would not break. He lost his family in Israel – but gained the greater family of all those in Gilead.

Jesus, cut off from the living, yet gained a family innumerable

Number 2

Parables: Jesus spoke to the crowd so that they will not learn…does God not want people to come to him?

Matt 13:13 13 The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.’ Quote from Isaiah 6:9-10

It was their initial seeing and hearing of John the Baptist which became the basis of their subsequent total blindness and deafness to Jesus. John spoke plainly – behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Matt 3:11. It was up to people to follow Jesus, and then they would have the message clearly.

Jesus didn’t always speak in parables. The sermon on mount was spoken clearly, giving a chance for all to come to the message. The parables start at about Matt 7:13. Everyone had a chance to become one of his disciples and to hear the message clearly. It was to the disciples that he spoke clearly and explained the parables: Matthew 13:10 “10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given”. The disciples were any willing to follow Jesus – open to all, male or female, not just the twelve. So, everyone had a chance to hear the gospel, just as they do today.

Number 3

Pearls Before Swine 

Matt 7:6  “Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.

Just as an aside, it seems this may be written as a ‘proverb’ or a four-line poem

6 “Do not give what is holy to dogs;

and do not throw your pearls before swine,

or they will trample them under foot

and turn and maul you.

 

Now, pigs trample underfoot, and dogs turn and maul you, so the pattern is

6 “Do not give what is holy to dogs;                       dogs

and do not throw your pearls before swine,         pigs

or they will trample them under foot                     pigs

and turn and maul you.                                            dogs

This is quite different to the typical pattern in English poetry. WE would say

6 “Do not give what is holy to dogs;                       dogs

and do not throw your pearls before swine,         pigs

or they’ll  turn and maul you.                                  dogs

and they will trample them under foot                  pigs

So, it sets the Jewishness of this proverb.

It’s also worth noticing that both dogs/swine unclean. This sets the scene for the explanation.

Since I was a teenager, I’ve heard the explanation that this means that we should not preach the gospel to those who will abuse it – and blaspheme. This is the explanation given in the NIV study Bible. I’ve never been comfortable with that. What right do we have to ever decide for God who can be invited into His Kingdom?

Paul preached to all – Acts 20   “26 Therefore I declare to you this day that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you, 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.” Paul preached to everyone – even when it earned abuse and torture for him.

Do we have the right to decide who is ‘worthy’ to hear God’s message? Who would we decide were the least worthy to hear the Gospel? The publicans and harlots will enter the Kingdom before the scribes and Pharisees. So, it seems these self-righteous hypocrites were the least worthy to be preached to – yet even many of them believed (Acts 6:7, Acts 15:5).

Look at the context.

Matt 7 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.  6 “Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn to attack you.

It’s all about you seeing a fault with your brother (sister), when you to have greater faults. By God’s grace, you have been forgiven – don’t deny that grace and forgiveness to others. Don’t throw the holy gift, the costly pearl, which God has given you, to the dogs and pigs by denying it to others.

Or , another way to look at it is this. What is holy and God’s pearls are the saints – don’t find fault and exclude your brothers/sisters. Don’t cast them to the dogs and pigs. Don’t deny them God’s grace.

Number 4

You’ll do greater miracles than these?

John 14:12  Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Duncan Heaster puts it “the works” of the Lord refer not only to His miracles but to all that He was. His going to the Father on the cross would release the gift of the Spirit (John 7:37 – 39). This was and is fundamentally a gift of internal strengthening in the heart, although it had issue in miraculous works for the disciples in the first century context.

The disciples were able to spread the miracles abroad, all over the world. In this manner, the works were greater. See Paul in Colossians 1:24 -25     24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the divine office which was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,

What was lacking of Christ’s sacrifice? Just that is was done in a dusty corner of the Roman Empire, and none save those in Judea knew of it. Paul (and other apostles) took Christ’s sacrifice in their own bodies, to the Roman world – then to India etc.

1 Cor 4 9 For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men. 10 We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute.

Number 5

Matt 27

46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, la′ma sabach-tha′ni?” that is, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

What did Jesus mean by these words? Was he quoting Psalm 22, or was Psalm 22 quoting Jesus?

Why did those around mistake his words? Why did they think he was calling Elijah?

Matt 27  47 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “This man is calling Eli′jah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Eli′jah will come to save him.” 50 And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

Because “Eli, Eli, la′ma sabach-tha′ni?” is Aramaic – not Judean Hebrew. At the foot of the cross we know there were a group of women, some Roman soldiers and some scoffers (he saved others – let him save himself). The men nearby were Jews from Judea, and very likely didn’t understand Aramaic. Jesus had dropped back to his Galilee boyhood roots – Aramaic.

To the best of my knowledge, this is the only prayer Jesus where He refers to God as “God’, not ‘father’. A lack of intimacy?

For the moment, let’s assume Psalm 22 is quoting Jesus last words. Was Jesus in so much distress that he was feeling lost from God? Was Jesus in such pain/despair that he asked to come down from the cross? And nothing happened. Is that why he cried in his abandonment?

Did God answer? Immediately after this Jesus died – was that God’s answer? Yes – I have heard you – your pain will stop now.

Another possibility – was Jesus in fact quoting Psalm 22. He knew the words he was to utter – not to show His desperation, but to direct people to read the rest of the Psalm. Was Jesus still preaching? If anyone was to read the rest of Psalm, they would see that this was indeed the Christ – and this death was planned all along.

Number 6

Let the Dead Bury the Dead (Matthew 8:22; Luke 9:60)

Matthew 8  Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.” 21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.

It’s interesting to note that the person asking to bury his father is referred to as “another of his disciples”. This implies that the first speaker was a disciple – as well as being a scribe. It seems some scribes followed Jesus.

In V18 Jesus commands to go to the other side – maybe the asking of the disciple to let him bury the dead is to delay this departure.

It could also be that asking to wait until the father died was asking to be given time to take charge of his family and fulfil the duties of a son. The father may very well have been alive, but on his death, a son would have to take charge of the family. So, this disciple was asking to remain with his family, until his father died. Jesus says that those who haven’t followed him (effectively dead to the chance of eternal life), should be left and all should follow Jesus to life.

 Number 7

John 14

25 “These things I have spoken to you, while I am still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I.

Luke 12

49 “I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled! 50 I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am constrained until it is accomplished! 51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; 52 for henceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three; 53 they will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother…..”

Matt 10

34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn

“‘a man against his father,                                                                                        M
a daughter against her mother,                                                                               W
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—                                                   W
36     a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’                        M

These verses may be another Hebrew quartet proverb. Like the pigs and dogs proverb, this has the structure of the first and last lines referring to men, and the second and third lines referring to women.

There seems to be a conflict here. In one statement, Jesus promises peace, but in the next two He promises fire and a sword. The peace is not a protection from suffering, but rather a confidence in the salvation through Jesus. 1 Peter 4:13 ” 13 But rejoice in so far as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed”.  The peace exits within suffering. Christ brought a fire and a sword. The fire of the Spirit which flamed out across the world after Christ’s resurrection, and the sword of persecution followed it.

 

 

Jacob I have loved and Esau I have hated

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What does Paul mean with the statement “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

We really need to have 3 passages in mind:

Romans 9:

  6 But it is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his descendants; but “Through Isaac shall your descendants be named.” 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are reckoned as descendants. 9 For this is what the promise said, “About this time I will return and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad, in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call, 12 she was told, “The elder will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So it depends not upon man’s will or exertion, but upon God’s mercy. 17 For the scripture says to Pharaoh, “I have raised you up for the very purpose of showing my power in you, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy upon whomever he wills, and he hardens the heart of whomever he wills

Malachi 1

2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How hast thou loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” says the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob 3 but I have hated Esau; I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” 4 If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the Lord of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, till they are called the wicked country, the people with whom the Lord is angry for ever.” 5 Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, “Great is the Lord, beyond the border of Israel!

Genesis 25:19-34

21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.  23 The Lord said to her,  “Two nations are in your womb,
    and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other,
    and the older will serve the younger.”  24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau.  26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.  27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. 28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.  29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. 30 He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.)  31 Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”  32 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”  33 But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.  34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.  So Esau despised his birthright.

Firstly – did God ever say, in Genesis, that he loved Jacob and hated Esau. No !

He simply gave a prophecy of fact – with no judgement. Fact: the older brother would serve the younger. There is no moral judgement in this.

God did choose Jacob to be the son to carry on the promise – but that does not imply that Esau was excluded from God’s blessing.

Just as God chose Isaac to be the son of promise, but still blessed Ishmael with a promise of an inheritance, [Genesis 21:18] God’s choosing Jacob to carry the promise did not exclude Esau.

So, if both Ishmael and Esau were blessed with an inheritance [Genesis 36:1-8], what was the special promise that passed through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It was Genesis 22:18, the promise of a seed through whom all nations will be blessed. Galatians 3:28-29 – Jesus the Christ.

So, were there any God-blessed righteous people from Esau? Sure!

The most righteous man on the face of the earth was an Edomite. Job! Job 1: 1, 8 and Ezekiel 14:14, 20. Job came from UZ, a land named after Esau’s tribe [Genesis 36:19, 28], Eliphaz was a Temanite – both names are from Esau’s family [Genesis 36:10-11].

These people had a wonderful relationship with God.

So, why did Malachi say that “Yet I have loved Jacob but I have hated Esau”. Read on a bit:

Malachi 1 I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” 4 If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the Lord of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, till they are called the wicked country, the people with whom the Lord is angry for ever.”

When did God ever lay waste to the man Esau?

When did God ever shatter the man Esau?

Never – He didn’t !!

You’ll notice the name Esau changes to Edom. The Esau (and Edom) referred to here are the nations – not the man.

It was the nation of Esau (Edom) which God condemned because of their evil. They degenerated into an evil nation and rightly earned God’s condemnation [Jeremiah 49:7-10, 17, 20, 22 Lamentations 4:21-22, Ezekiel 25:12-14, Joel 3:19].

So, God always accepted and wanted men to come to Him – Jew or Edomite.

Paul knew all this. The Jacob and Esau Paul refers to here in Romans are the nations of Israel and Edom. Jacob (the man) was blessed with the promise of Messiah, but Esau (the man) was also blessed [Genesis 33:9].

Romans 9 may be better understood as:

11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad, in order that God’s purpose of choice might continue, not because of works but because of his call, 12 she was told, “The elder will serve the younger.” God chose the send the promise of Jesus through Jacob.

So, considering the context, God loving Jacob and hating Esau has nothing to do with the human emotions of love and hate. It has everything to do with God choosing one man and his descendants and not another man and his descendants. God chose Abraham out of all the men in the world. The Bible very well could say, “Abraham I loved, and every other man I hated.” God chose Abraham’s son Isaac instead of Abraham’s son Ishmael. The Bible very well could say, “Isaac I loved, and Ishmael I hated.” Romans chapter 9 makes it abundantly clear that loving Jacob and hating Esau was entirely related to which of them God chose for the Jesus promise.

Romans 9 goes to say: 17 For the scripture says to Pharaoh, “I have raised you up for the very purpose of showing my power in you, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy upon whomever he wills, and he hardens the heart of whomever he wills.

God has the power to raise up any type of person to kingship [Daniel 4:17]. If he chose an arrogant and proud man to rise to be Pharaoh of Egypt, then he was used to show God’s power. The ‘hardening’ of heart was just a boost to strengthening his courage. The man’s intent was always to oppose God – he just needed courage. Verse 18 flows on, and is still the story of Pharaoh. Paul now quotes from Exodus 33:19, but adds the word from Exodus 7:3, 9:12 etc to make the phrase: “So then he has mercy upon whomever he wills, and he hardens the heart of whomever he wills.” Pharaoh’s heart was already set against God – he just needed the courage of his convictions.

Why did God spend so much time winning over Nebuchadnezzar? Even to the point of destroying his pride by driving him to be a beast for 7 years?

Just random?

God liked Nebuchadnezzar, but not Pharaoh?

NO – Nebuchadnezzar had a heart willing to submit to God – but Pharaoh did not. Nebuchadnezzar still needed mercy, and a lot of it, but God extended it to him knowing that he would respond.

Why, out of all the young Pharisees, did God choose Saul to convert? Because God knew he had a heart that would submit. So, God does extend mercy to those He chooses, but knowing they will respond.

Then, in verse 19-21, Paul answers the question: “Well, if God decides who gets mercy, why should He blame us for sin – He set us up?’ Then Paul sort of sets up the Job argument. God is in control – He knows what he is doing [Job 38], why question him, when you don’t know men’s hearts.

The power of God that converted Nebuchadnezzar was shown to Pharaoh and Sennacherib, but they rejected the knowledge of God offered to them.

Paul says in v22. 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the vessels of wrath made for destruction.

God patiently worked with even those who He knew would reject Him and finally suffer wrath.

Paul squarely places the blame for God’s wrath on those who reject him. Even Israel, ‘the apple of His eye’ earned His wrath. Verse 31 “  31 but that Israel who pursued the righteousness which is based on law did not succeed in fulfilling that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it through faith, but as if it were based on works.”

The phrase “20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” is for everyone.

Pharaoh, Sennacherib, Hazael, all shut their ears to the knock – but the likes of Naaman opened the door. Everyone has that chance.