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It is one thing to follow a leader like Moses, especially when God is present either in a cloud of smoke during the day or a pillar of fire at night. But what about the Israelites’ religious practice when neither Moses nor God is present to tell them what to do? Leviticus is God’s answer.

Author

Most scholars accept Moses as the author of Leviticus, the third book of the Torah. There are several instances of God dictating the worship and moral instructions which Moses recorded and pronounced to the Israelites. Even so, some students focus on the differences in subject and writing style to argue that the book is a compilation of practices that was edited together after Israel became a nation. However, there is a definite flow from the events described in Exodus leading to the building of the tabernacle to the detailed instructions for worship and sacrifice in Leviticus. Further, because many of the commandments are counter to the prevailing practices of the ancient near east, it would have been very important for the Israelites to learn the procedures and begin practicing them from the beginning.

Context

The Israelites are camped at Mount Sinai, where God has given them the Ten Commandments. Through Moses, God has guided the construction of the tabernacle to contain the tablets of the commandments and to serve as the center of the peoples’ worship [Exodus 35-40]. The tabernacle was an elaborate tent with several different spaces and altars. Most authorities believe this is two years after the Israelites left Egypt.

There is no narrative for this book. It begins with God summoning Moses to the tabernacle (also called the “Tent of Meeting”) and beginning the dictation of the rules of worship.

Structure

Leviticus is one of the hardest reads in the Bible. It seems like one long, very detailed instruction manual for practices and rituals which are foreign to a modern reader. And it jumps around from subject to subject.

A closer look reveals two primary parts:

• The basic procedures and rituals for sacrifice and worship – the peoples’ relationship with God.
• The laws (and their consequences) for establishing and maintaining the Israelites as a separate and holy people of God.

And, yes, within these two sections the commandments deal with multiple areas of worship and personal conduct.

Major Themes

As a worship handbook Leviticus provides instruction on three major doctrines of our faith: 

• Sacrifice reminds us of our covenant with God and our relationship with him.
• God is holy and the people of his covenant must be holy as well.
• Because of sin the people must atone for their broken relationship with God.

These doctrines expand our understanding of who God is, who we are, and the nature of the relationship God wants with us.

DOCTRINE NOTES . . .

GET INTO THE WORD

1.   Who wrote this book? Why do some believe a different theory about authorship? What evidence supports Moses as the author?

2.   Why is a book like this necessary for the Israelites at this time? What purpose does it fulfill in their religious life? In their life as a nation?

Note . . .
The priests of the Israelites came from the tribe of Levi – or Levites – which gives us the title of this book

3.   Where are the Israelites when Moses writes this book? What major events have happened to them recently? How do you suppose they felt about all these instructions? How might you have felt if you had been there?

4.   What are the major parts of the book? What relationships does the book deal with? Why would these directions be important for the people? What does God want to achieve with these commandments?

5.   What doctrines are covered in this book? What is the primary teaching in each area? Why was it important that the Israelites understand these things? Why is it important that we understand them?

6.   What are the different types of sacrifice? Why do you think God wanted so many kinds of offerings?

11: Day of Atonement — Leviticus 16:2-34

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How do you deal with an instruction manual? Do you read it through before starting the project? Or do you scan it looking for the first step, then start? Or do you just start the way it seems right to you and open the manual only when something doesn’t work?

THE WORD

16 ² The Lord said to Moses:
Tell your brother Aaron not to come just at any time into sanctuary inside the curtain before the mercy seat that is upon the ark, or he will die; for I appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. 

³ Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. ⁴ He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and shall have the linen undergarments next to his body, fasten the linen sash, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy vestments. He shall bathe his body in water, and then put them on. 
⁵ He shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. 

⁶ Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. ⁷He shall take the two goats and set them before the Lordat the entrance of the tent of meeting; ⁸ and Aaron shall cast lots on the two goats, one lot for the Lordand the other lot for Azazel.  ⁹ Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord, and offer it as a sin offering; ¹⁰but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel. 

¹¹Aaron shall present the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house; he shall slaughter the bull as a sin offering for himself. ¹²He shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, and two handfuls of crushed sweet incense, and he shall bring it inside the curtain ¹³and put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the covenant, or he will die. ¹⁴He shall take some of the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle the blood with his finger seven times. 

¹⁵He shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the curtain, and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it upon the mercy seat and before the mercy seat.  ¹⁶Thus he shall make atonement for the sanctuary, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel, and because of their transgressions, all their sins; and so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which remains with them in the midst of their uncleannesses. . . .

²⁰When he has finished atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. ²¹Then Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and sending it away into the wilderness by means of someone designated for the task.  ²²The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a barren region; and the goat shall be set free in the wilderness. . . .

²⁹This shall be a statute to you forever: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall deny yourselves, and shall do no work, neither the citizen nor the alien who resides among you. ³⁰For on this day atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the Lord. ³¹It is a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall deny yourselves; it is a statute forever. ³²The priest who is anointed and consecrated as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement, wearing the linen vestments, the holy vestments. ³³He shall make atonement for the sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. ³⁴This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the people of Israel once in the year for all their sins. And Moses did as the Lordhad commanded him.  NRSV

GET INTO THE WORD

1.   What is God talking about with Moses? Who is he talking about? Why [see Notes]? What instructions does God provide about entering the tabernacle?

2.   What does Aaron take with him into the tabernacle? What will they be used for? Why are so many animals required for this ceremony?

3.   What is Aaron supposed to do with the bull? With the ram? With the goats? How does he decide between the two goats? What will happen to each goat?

4.   How does Aaron sacrifice the bull? Who is this sacrifice for? What does he take inside the curtain? What does he do with it? Why is this necessary [see Notes]? What does he do with the blood?

5.   What is Aaron supposed to do next? What is the purpose of this sacrifice? Why is this necessary? Who benefits from this sacrifice?

6.   What is the next part of the ceremony? What does Aaron do with the goat? Why is this part of the Day of Atonement [see Notes]? Who benefits from this ritual?

7.   How does God finish his directions for this ceremony? How should the Israelites prepare for it in the future? How did Moses respond?

GET PERSONAL

How has God helped you understand the role of sin in your life? How does he give you confidence in Christ’s atonement on your behalf?

NOTES . . .

Memory Verse
You shall love your neighbor as yourself, [Lev 19:18]

Lesson 12
Numbers 14: Rebellion, intercession, punishment

Comment . . .

Many folks have noted that the scapegoat in this passage is a preview of Jesus, who took the sins of all the people on his own head to the cross. Others have pointed out that Jesus is both goats — he takes the sins on himself as the scapegoat, but he is crucified like the sacrificial goat.

The treatment of the scapegoat is also a preview of what every human does regularly: we all seek something or someone to blame for our faults and failures. We want to see ourselves (and be seen by others) as “good” people. We don’t want to acknowledge — to ourselves and certainly not to God (who already knows) — that our “goodness” is mixed with any shortcomings or “sins,” so we work hard to deny our wholeness (or holy-ness). But God knows and loves all of each of us. If God accepts our both/and natures, why don’t we? Rich

GET READY

When you were growing up, what were some of the rules in your family? Were some more important than others? Were they mostly “do’s” or mostly “don’ts”? Who was the primary enforcer for the rules? What were the consequences of not following the rules?

THE WORD

20 Then God spoke all these words: 

²I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; ³ you shall have no other gods before me. 

⁴ You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, ⁶ but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. 

⁷ You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. 

⁸ Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work. ¹⁰But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work — you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. ¹¹For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. 

¹²Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 

¹³You shall not murder. 

¹⁴You shall not commit adultery. 

¹⁵You shall not steal. 

¹⁶You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 

¹⁷You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

¹⁸When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance, ¹⁹and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die.” ²⁰Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin.” ²¹Then the people stood at a distance, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. NRSV

GET INTO THE WORD

1.   How does God begin the Ten Commandments? Why is this significant for the Israelites? For us?

2.   What does God say about idols? Why does he prohibit them? Why does he prohibit “wrongful use” of his name?

3.   What does God say about the sabbath day? Why is it important to keep it different [See Notes]? How do you suppose the people felt about this commandment? How do you respond?

4.   What does God say about family relationships? What is the promise regarding this commandment?

5.   What does God say about relationships in community? Why do you think he singled out these actions? What is different about “coveting?” Why does God include it in this list of prohibitions?

GET PERSONAL

How often do you “test” or measure yourself regarding God’s covenant and promises? How does God help you understand your relationship with him?

NOTES . . .

MEMORY VERSE
I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other Gods before me, [20:2-3].

LESSON 11
Leviticus 16: The Day of Atonement

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How do you prepare for an extended trip? Do you make a list of all the things you’ll need and start putting them in a designated place? Do you make sure you have all your tickets and reservations well in advance? Or do you wait until the day before and pack every thing you can think of?

THE WORD

12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: 

² This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. ³ Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. ⁴ If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. ⁵ Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. ⁶ You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. ⁷ They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. ⁸ They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ⁹ Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. ¹⁰You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. ¹¹This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the Lord. ¹²For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord.¹³The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. [See Notes for vv 14-20]         

²¹Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go, select lambs for your families, and slaughter the passover lamb. ²²Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood in the basin. None of you shall go outside the door of your house until morning. ²³For the Lord will pass through to strike down the Egyptians; when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over that door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you down. ²⁴You shall observe this rite as a perpetual ordinance for you and your children. ²⁵When you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this observance. ²⁶And when your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this observance?’ ²⁷you shall say, ‘It is the passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt, when he struck down the Egyptians but spared our houses.'” And the people bowed down and worshiped. 

²⁸The Israelites went and did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. 

²⁹At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. ³⁰Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his officials and all the Egyptians; and there was a loud cry in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead. ³¹Then he summoned Moses and Aaron in the night, and said, “Rise up, go away from my people, both you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord, as you said. ³²Take your flocks and your herds, as you said, and be gone. And bring a blessing on me too!” [See Notes for vv. 36-37]  NRSV 

GET INTO THE WORD

1.   Who is involved in the conversation at the beginning? What are they discussing? Why do you suppose God changes the calendar?

2.   What does God talk about next? What direction does he give regarding the lamb? Regarding the blood? Regarding the meat and menu? Regarding clothing? Why do you think he is so specific here?

3.   What is God going to do the night the people eat the lamb? What will happen to the Egyptians? How will the Israelites be safe?

4.   How does Moses respond to God’s directions? What does he tell the people? What does he say about the blood? What does he tell them about the preparations in the future? How will this process start? How should the people answer? How did the people respond to Moses’ instructions? 

5.   When did the Lord act that night? Who was affected? How did the people respond? How did Pharaoh react? What did he tell Moses and Aaron? What did he ask of Moses?

GET PERSONAL

The lamb’s blood on the doorway ensured the Israelites’ physical safety just as Christ’s blood on the cross ensures our spiritual safety. How has God helped you understand Jesus’ sacrifice is for you?

NOTES . . .

MEMORY VERSE
By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, 
[Exodus 13:14].

LESSON 10
Exodus 20: The Ten Commandments

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Genesis describes the creation of the heavens and the earth and lays out the beginning of the family that God called to be his presence in the world. Exodus tells of the next two major events in this family – the escape from slavery in Egypt and the delivery of God’s laws for the nation of Israel.

Author

Exodus is the second book of the Torah and most scholars accept Moses as the author. In fact when God delivers the law to Moses he tells him: Write these words; in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel, [Exodus 34:27]. The author clearly was closely involved in the events of this history and the several conversations with God; since he was raised as a prince of Egypt he would have the education and qualifications to record the story.

As with Genesis, some scholars point to the different writing styles and differences in the story lines as evidence that more than one person wrote parts of Exodus. Whether it was Moses or someone else (most likely a secretary or group of aides), the writer(s) relied on the Hebrew oral tradition for the stories about the exodus and formation of Israel as a nation.

Context

Exodus begins 400 years after Israel (Jacob) and his sons moved to Egypt to avoid the region-wide famine. A “new king” rules the land and he “does not know Joseph,” [1:8]. In fact, Jacob’s descendants have greatly multiplied, but they are now slaves and their lives are “bitter with hard service,” [1:14].

Most scholars date the exodus around 1440 BCE (although some put it around 1280 BCE). The book opens with the birth of Moses and his early life as an adopted member of Pharaoh’s family, followed by his killing of an Egyptian and subsequent escape to Midian. There he becomes a shepherd, marries and has a family. God calls him back to Egypt to confront pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of slavery to the land God had promised Abraham. The book then follows the Israelites on their journey to Sinai where God delivers the law to the people through Moses. 

It should not be surprising that the exodus occurred during a period of relative peace throughout the region, largely because Egypt and the other major countries were less powerful. God was protecting his people in large, geo-political ways as well as small, personal ways.

Structure

There are three major sections in the Exodus narrative:

• Moses’ early life and Israel’s slavery in Egypt [1:1-12:36] – includes Moses in Midian, the burning bush and God’s call to Moses, Moses at Pharaoh’s court and the ten plagues, and preparation for the Passover.
• Israel’s departure from Egypt into the wilderness [12:37-18:27] – includes the Israelites’ miraculous escape through the “Red Sea,” God’s destruction of the Egyptian army, and manna, quail and water from God to feed the Israelites.
• Mt. Sinai and the Ten Commandments [19:1-40:38] – includes giving the commandments, the Israelites’ sin of the golden calf, and construction of the tabernacle and its furnishings.

Major Themes

Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other God’s before me, [Exodus 20:1-3].

Exodus is first the story of God’s relationship with people – with us. It continues the story of his relationship with the family of Abraham that began in Genesis.

Exodus also is the story of slavery and redemption, of God’s love and care for his people and their sin and disobedience:

• God is powerful and uses his power on behalf of people.
• God displays his power so people will understand who he is.
• God works through individuals to achieve his purposes.
• Humans are stuck because they ignore God (and they ignore God because they are stuck).

Jesus will complete the Exodus story by redeeming all people from their slavery to sin and giving them a life of fellowship with God through his death and resurrection.

Exodus also describes the beginning of Israel’s transformation from a group slaves with no hope and no power into a nation that can carry out God’s plan for his creation.

There are three very significant events in Exodus that influence Jewish life and worship today:

• Passover is the remembrance of God’s deliverance of the Hebrews from Egypt [Lesson 9].
• God separated the waters and led his people through the “Red Sea” to escape from the Egyptian army.
• God delivered his law for the Israelites through Moses and confirmed his covenant with his people at Mt. Sinai [Lesson 10].

GET INTO THE WORD

1.   Who wrote Exodus? What evidence points to the author? What are other possibilities the writer?

2.   What is the primary subject of this book? Why would these events be so important to Israel? To the author? What is their effect on Jewish people today? On Christians? On people of other faiths?

3.   What time period does Exodus cover? What is the situation at the beginning of this book? How does this relate to the events in Genesis?

4.   Who is the main character in this book? Where is he? What is his occupation? Why is he in this situation? What happens to him here?

5.   What does God call Moses to do? How do you suppose he reacted to this task? How might you have reacted?

6.   What are the major parts of Exodus? What are some of the events in each part? How does the people’s status change in each part? 

7.   What is the primary theme of Exodus? What attributes of God does the book present? What attributes of humans are portrayed? Who will “finish” the work begun in Exodus?

Note . . .
Scholars trace “Hebrew” to an earlier word meaning “pass over” or “land beyond.” Abraham came from “beyond” the Euphrates River, which he “passed over.”

Bible Trivia:
God inflicted ten plagues on Egypt to convince Pharaoh to let the Hebrews leave:
1.   The Nile River turns to blood – killing a food source.
2.   Frogs infest the land – escaping the polluted river.
3.   Lice infest the land – or fleas, gnats or sand flies.
4.   Flies infest the land – some could spread disease.
5.   Livestock are infested – but not the Israelites’ cattle.
6.   Boils on people and animals, probably from the flies.
7.   Hail storms – destroy most of the crops.
8.   Locusts destroy the rest of Egypt’s agriculture.
9.   Intense darkness for 3 days – except in the region where the Israelites lived.
10. Egyptian first-born children die, including Pharaoh’s son – but the angel of death passes over Israelite homes. [Details: Exodus 7:14-12:30]

8: God calls Moses at the Burning Bush — Exodus 3:1-22

GET READY

What is your first response to something that seems like magic or an impossibility? Do you just ignore it as “magic” or “fake” and walk away, or do you investigate and try to find a logical or scientific explanation for what you observed? Or do you get involved to see what will happen next?

THE WORD

3Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ²There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. ³ Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” ⁴ When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” ⁵ Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.  

⁷ Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, ⁸ and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ⁹ The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. ¹⁰So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” ¹¹But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” ¹²He said, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.” 

The Divine Name Revealed
¹³But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” ¹⁴God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” ¹⁵God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’: 

This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations. 

¹⁶Go and assemble the elders of Israel, and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying: I have given heed to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt. ¹⁷I declare that I will bring you up out of the misery of Egypt, to the land of the Canaanites, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ ¹⁸They will listen to your voice; and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; let us now go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ 
¹⁹I know, however, that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. ²⁰So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will perform in it; after that he will let you go. ²¹I will bring this people into such favor with the Egyptians that, when you go, you will not go empty-handed; ²²each woman shall ask her neighbor and any woman living in the neighbor’s house for jewelry of silver and of gold, and clothing, and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters; and so you shall plunder the Egyptians.”  NRSV

GET INTO THE WORD

1.   Where is Moses as this chapter begins? What is he doing? What does he notice happening? What does he do about it?

2.   Who calls to Moses? How does Moses react? What happens next? How does the caller identify himself? What does Moses do in response?

3.   What does God tell Moses? What does he plan to do about this situation? Who does he want to take on this task? How does Moses answer God? What does God say in response?

4.   What does Moses do next? Why might this be important? How does God answer Moses’ question? What does God say about his name? Do you think this satisfied Moses? 

5.   How does God propose Moses begins his work? What should he tell the people? What should he say to Pharaoh? How will Pharaoh respond to Moses’ request? 

6.   What will God do to change Pharaoh’s mind? How will the people of Egypt respond to the Israelites’?

GET PERSONAL

How has God rescued you from a situation of “misery and suffering?” How did God “bring you up out” of the situation? How has this affected your walk with Christ?

NOTES . . .

MEMORY VERSE
I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will perform in it; after that he will let you go, [Exodus 3:20].

LESSON 9
Exodus 12: the Passover and departure from Egypt.

GET READY

We are taking a brief pause here. I encourage you to ready the story in Genesis (yes, it’s fairly long, but it reads like the first soap opera). This is a family as real and as dysfunctional as any you know today. And it confirms that God loves every one of us and wants to work with and through us, regardless of our family situation.

The twelve tribes of Israel

After the move to Egypt the Israelites were organized into twelve tribes according to Israel’s sons. Interestingly there are several lists of the tribes in the Bible and they are not consistent [other lists are in Exodus 1, Deut 33, 1 Chron 4-8 and Ezekiel 48].

*Levi is not listed in the division of the land because, as priests, the tribe received no allotment [Joshua 13:14].
**Ephraim and Manasseh are Joseph’s two sons, born in Egypt, who Israel blessed and included with his sons. Reuben, Gad and part of Manasseh took their allotment of land on the east side of the Jordan River [Numbers 32].
***Most scholars believe this is a symbolic list because Levi is included in this list of “sealed” Israelites, as is the tribe of “Joseph,” but Dan and Manasseh are omitted to keep the numbers at “12” and “144,000.”

Next week: Exodus

GET READY

How many times have you moved from one location to another? What is the greatest distance you have moved? What caused you to make this move? When did you make it? How did you prepare for the move? How long did it take? How long was it before you felt “at home” in the new location?

THE WORD

12 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. ² I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 

⁴ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. ⁵ Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, ⁶ Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. ⁷ Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. ⁸ From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and invoked the name of the Lord. ⁹ And Abram journeyed on by stages toward the Negeb.

15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” ² But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”  ³And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” ⁴ But the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” ⁵He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” ⁶ And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.  

⁷ Then he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.” ⁸ But he said, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” ⁹He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” ¹⁰He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. ¹¹And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 

¹²As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him. ¹³Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know this for certain, that your offspring shall be aliens in a land that is not theirs, and shall be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years; ¹⁴but I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. ¹⁵As for yourself, you shall go to your ancestors in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. ¹⁶And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” 

¹⁷When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. ¹⁸On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land.”  NRSV

GET INTO THE WORD

1.   Who is God talking to in this passage? What does he tell the person to do? What does he promise in return? How do you think the person felt about this at first? 

2.   What does Abram do? Who else is involved? Where do they start from [see Notes]? Where do they go? What do they do when they arrive? What does God promise here?

3.   What does God say to Abram in chapter 15? How does Abram respond? Why is Abram afraid? How does God reply to Abram’s fear? What does God show Abram? What does he say about Abram’s descendents? How does Abram respond to this?

4.   How does God identify himself next? What does he promise here? What does Abram say in response? What does God tell him to do next? Why does God direct this [see Notes]?

5.   What happens to Abram next? What does God tell him? Why do you think God gives him this look at his future and the future of Israel? How does God “sign” his covenant with Abram?

GET PERSONAL

Are there times when you wonder about some of God’s promises? How does God help you to know he is good for every promise he makes?

NOTES . . .

MEMORY VERSE
And he believed the Lord and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness, [Gen 15:6].

LESSON 8
Exodus 3: God calls Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt.

GET READY

We all have had projects or tasks that weren’t going well, when we wish we could go back to square one and just start over. How do you deal with that kind of task? Do you scrap what you have done and begin again? Do you keep working through the difficulty? Or do you try to hand it to someone else?

THE WORD

6⁹ These are the descendants of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God. ¹⁰And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 

¹¹Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. ¹²And God saw that the earth was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth. ¹³And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence because of them; now I am going to destroy them along with the earth. ¹⁴Make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. ¹⁵This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. ¹⁶Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above; and put the door of the ark in its side; make it with lower, second, and third decks. ¹⁷For my part, I am going to bring a flood of waters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. ¹⁸But I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁹And of every living thing, of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. ²⁰Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground according to its kind, two of every kind shall come in to you, to keep them alive. ²¹Also take with you every kind of food that is eaten, and store it up; and it shall serve as food for you and for them.” ²²Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

7Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before me in this generation. ² Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and its mate; and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and its mate; ³ and seven pairs of the birds of the air also, male and female, to keep their kind alive on the face of all the earth. ⁴ For in seven days I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights; and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.” ⁵ And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.

⁶ Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came on the earth. ⁷ And Noah with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood. ⁸ Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, ⁹ two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah. ¹⁰And after seven days the waters of the flood came on the earth.

9The Covenant with Noah
God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. ² The fear and dread of you shall rest on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the air, on everything that creeps on the ground, and on all the fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered. ³Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and just as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. ⁴ Only, you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. ⁵ For your own lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning: from every animal I will require it and from human beings, each one for the blood of another, I will require a reckoning for human life. 

¹¹I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” ¹²God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: ¹³I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.  NRSV

GET INTO THE WORD

1.   Who are the people in this incident? What distinguishes them from others?

2.   What is the situation at the beginning. What does God plan to do about it? How do you suppose Noah felt about God’s plan? 

3.   What does God want Noah to do? How big was this project to be? What was Noah supposed to do when he finished? How do you think he felt about that? How do you think his sons felt when he told them?

4.   How many of each species was Noah to take with him? How about the “clean” animals? Why is there a difference between the two types [see Notes]?

5.   How many people were in the ark? How old was Noah when the Earth flooded? How long was the flood [see Notes]?

6.   What did God do with Noah after the flood? What was the relationship with the animals he had saved? What was different about the food for humans? What restriction did God put on eating? Why do you think he did that?

7.   What did God promise Noah? Who else was involved in this promise? What sign did God give about his promise?

GET PERSONAL

What is your overall image of God in this situation? What aspects of his character seem important here? How has he helped you see the need to “wash out” your old habits and attitudes and start over with your new life and new relationship with him?

NOTES

Memory Verse
It’s the last verse in this passage: Genesis 9:13.

Lesson 7
Genesis 12 and 15: God’s Call and covenant with Abram.

GET READY

You were speeding and got stopped. While the police officer is approaching, what is going through your mind? Are you worried about the cost of the fine? About how the police officer is going to deal with you? About the points on your record? About the increase in your auto insurance premium?

THE WORD

3Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” ²The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; ³ but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.'”
⁴ But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; ⁵ for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
⁸ They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” ¹⁰He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” ¹¹He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” ¹²The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” ¹³Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”
¹⁴The Lord God said to the serpent,
      “Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animals
            and among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go,
            and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
      ¹⁵I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between 
            your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike
his heel.” 
¹⁶To the woman he said, 
“I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you 
      shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your
            husband, and he shall rule over you.” 
¹⁷And to the man he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife,
         and have eaten of the tree about which I commanded you,
      ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you;
            in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; ¹⁸thorns and
            thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the 
            plants of the field. 
       ¹⁹By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return
            to the ground,
²⁰The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living. ²¹And the Lord God made garments of skins for the man and for his wife, and clothed them.
²²Then the Lord God said, “See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” —  ²³therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life.  NRSV

GET INTO THE WORD

1.   Who is the new character in the garden? How is he described? What does he ask the woman? How does she answer? What does he say in response to her answer?

2.   How did the woman respond to the serpent’s statement? What did she do? What happened as a result? How did the man and woman deal with the new situation?

3.   How did the man and woman react to God’s presence? How did the man answer God’s questions? How does the woman respond when God questions her?

4.   What does God say to the serpent? What is the punishment? What does God say about the woman and the serpent [see Notes]?

5.   What does God say to the woman about her consequences? What does God say about the woman’s relationship with the man?

6.   What is the man’s fate in all this? How do you think he responded to God’s punishment? How do you respond?

7.   What does the man do next? What does God do for them? What does God do to them next? Why does he take this action?

GET PERSONAL

What kinds of Obey or Trust choices have you experienced recently? How did God help you realize the potential consequences of your choices? How did he help you trust or obey him?

NOTES . . .

Memory Verse
Just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s
act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all,
[Romans 5:18].

Lesson 6:
Genesis 6-9: The Great Flood (but also check out the first murder in chapter 4).

GET READY

“Genesis” means beginning. In Hebrew this book is called “bereshith,” which is usually translated “in the beginning” – which is, in fact, how the Bible opens. Genesis and the next four books are often called the Pentateuch (“Five Teachings).

THE WORD

Author

Scripture itself, as well as Jewish and Christian tradition, holds that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible [check Lev 1:1-2, Neh 13:1, Matt 8:4 or Acts 26:22]. In fact the first five books are called the “Law of Moses,” or Torah. Moses is certainly at the center of events during the exodus from Egypt and would have a definite interest in recording the early history of the Jewish people as they prepare to start life in their new and “promised” land.           

Some scholars, however, point to the different writing styles and differences in the story lines as evidence that more than one “source” wrote parts of Genesis. Whether it was Moses or someone else, the writer relied on the Hebrew oral tradition for the stories about creation, the early humans and the original Israelite families. 

Context

Throughout their history Jews have been a nation of families, and the history of those families has been very important to their identity as God’s chosen people. When they escaped from Egypt the Jews were nothing but a group of former slaves. They needed to know who their ancestors were and, more importantly, how God had chosen those ancestors and worked with them, if they were going to be successful as God’s people. Genesis is that story.

Structure

Genesis has three major sections. The first section tells the story of God’s creation of the world and humanity, and humans’ “first” sin and separation from God [1:1-3:24]. The second section is the story of early humans: the first birth, the first death, Noah and the great flood, [4:1-11:26]. The last section is the story of Abraham and his descendants: Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, [4:27-50:26].

Major Themes

Genesis introduces three basic doctrines (or teachings) of our Christian faith:

• God, who is the creator of the universe and humanity, wants a relationship with his creation – with us.
• Humans are created in God’s image.
• Humans are incapable of loving God and maintaining a relationship with him.

We will expand on each these great teachings below.

      Genesis is also the story of a family – in fact it reads like one of our contemporary soap operas. There is love and marriage, infidelity, lying, trickery, deception, attempted murder, kidnapping – all the characteristics and dysfunctions we see around us today.

GET INTO THE WORD

1.   According to tradition who wrote the book of Genesis? What else did he write? What is this work sometimes called? What makes this person qualified to write such a work?

2.   Why do some people believe more than one person wrote Genesis? What evidence do they have? What is the source of information for Genesis?

Note . . .The “sources” are identified by letters: “J” is the “Jehovah” source because it uses that name (or “YHWH”) for God; “E” is the “Elohim” source, referring to God as “Lord”; “P” is the “Priestly source for its focus on the role of priests.

3.   What is the primary characteristic of the Jewish nation? Why is this important to them? What were they before they became a nation? 

4.   What are the major parts of the book of Genesis? Which is the longest? What role does each part play in helping the Jews understand who they are?

5.   What are the major themes of Genesis? Why are they called doctrines? What else is included in the book of Genesis? How different is this from our life today? Why do you think this is part of the Bible?

DOCTRINE NOTES . . .

God: Our faith starts with the belief that God created the universe and all that is in it, including us. Genesis opens: In the beginning God, created the heavens and the earth [Gen 1:1]. The first things we learn about God are that he existed “in the beginning” and that he created everything else that exists. Other attributes of God include:

• Spirit: According to Jesus, God is spirit, [John 4:24]. He has no physical form or body.
• Changeless: even though part of creation may change, God is the same, and your years will never end, [Heb 1:12]. God is perfect; he is not different from one time to another or to one group or another.
• All Powerful: God created the universe out of nothing; for God all things are possible,[Mark 10:27].
• All knowing: if God created everything he knows everything about every thing. In fact he has put wisdom in the inward parts [and] given understanding to the mind, [Job 38:36].
• Everywhere: in Psalms the poet asks where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? [139:7]. God is present throughout his creation.
• Eternal: God does not exist in our time frame; he is present in all time: he is the one who is and who was and who is to come, [Rev 1:8].

Humanity: Our faith continues with the belief that God created us and wants a relationship with us.

• We are like God: Genesis teaches that God created us in his “image” and according to his “likeness,” [Gen 1:26]. 
• We are alive: In the second creation story (yes, there are two; and, yes, they are different), Genesis says God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being, [Gen 2:7].
• We are created for a relationship with God: from the beginning God wants a relationship with us. Paul calls this a “mystery” for the fullness of time to gather up all things in him, [Eph 1:10].

Sin: humans are not capable of maintaining a relationship with God. Sin is both the situation we are in apart from God and the disobedient actions we take because we are apart from God.

• Sin is disobedience: Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s direct command to not eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, [Gen 2:17]. As a result, God cut off their relationship with him, [Gen 3:23].
• Sin can be a thought, such as hate [1 John 3:15]; something we said, like an insult [Matt 5:22]; or an action, such as murder, theft, or lying about someone, [Matt 15:19].
• Sin is not scalable: there are no “little” sins or “medium-sized” sins (or “really big sins”). James says, whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it, [2:10].

4. God creates the universe and humans — Genesis 1:1 – 2:25

GET READY

Let’s be clear at the outset: if you are looking for a scientific explanation of how God created the universe you are in the wrong book: here all you will get is “God said . . . and there was . .. it was good.” Genesis presents the spiritual story of God’s creative actions.

THE WORD

1In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, ² the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. ³ Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. ⁴ And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. [Verses 6-25 describe the creation of the sky, the oceans and dry land, plants, the sun, moon and stars, and animals.]
         ²⁶Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” 
         ²⁷So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 
         ²⁸God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” ²⁹God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. ³⁰And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 
[Verses 31-2:4 describe God’s rest on the Sabbath.]

2Another Account of the Creation
⁴In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, ⁵ when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up — for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; ⁶ but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground — 7then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. ⁸ And the LordGod planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. ⁹ Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Verses 10-14 describe the rivers flowing out of the garden.]
         ¹⁵The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. ¹⁶And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; ¹⁷but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” 
         ¹⁸Then the LordGod said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” . . . ²¹So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. ²²And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. ²³Then the man said, 
      “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;
      this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken.” 
         ²⁴Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh. ²⁵And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.  NRSV

GET INTO THE WORD

1.   When does the Bible open? What is happening? Who is involved?

2.   What is the first thing that God creates? What does he do with this creation? What is the result? What is the order of the rest of creation [see Notes]?

3.   What does God create after animals? What is different about this creation? What role does it play in God’s world? How did God bless these creatures?

4.   How does the second creation account begin? How is the creation of humans different? What are the two steps in this creation? What is different about the reference to God [see Notes]?

5.   What does God do next? What is in this garden? Why do you think these things are included? What does God say about these items?

6.   What does God create next? What is different about this creation? How does the man respond? What is the outcome?

GET PERSONAL

How do these two creation accounts affect your view of God? How do they affect your view of the world? How do they affect your view of humanity? How do they affect your view of yourself? How does God help you know your value and importance to him?

NOTES . . .

Memory Verse
Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made,
[Romans 1:20].

Lesson 5:
Genesis 3: The first sin

GET READY

When you come across a word in another language, or a word you haven’t seen before, what is your reaction? How do you work to understand the word? Do you try to find someone who can translate it or do you look it up in a dictionary or on the internet?

Translation Approaches

Before we look at the Bible’s journey from Greek to modern English we need to consider the two approaches to translation.

• Word-for-word translation attempts to render each word in the original language in its equivalent word in the new language, and to retain the original word order as much as possible.
• Thought-for-thought translation is a modern approach that attempts to render each thought or expression in the original language in a phrase that expresses the thought as well as the feeling in the new language.

Most translation up until the twentieth century was word-for-word. The New Living Translation, Good News Bible and New English Bible use thought-for-thought translation.

Jerome and the Latin Vulgate

The first major step was translating the Bible into Latin – the language of the church after the fall of Rome. In 382, Pope Damasus I commissioned a priest and scholar, Jerome, to revise and consolidate the older Latin translations of the scriptures. Jerome worked over the next twenty years, translating the Gospels first and then moving to the Old Testament and the rest of the New Testament. The “Vulgate” (common or “not royal”) included the canons of both the Old and New Testaments, plus the ten books Jerome called “apocrypha,” or disputed.            

Even though the pope had commissioned the translation, he died in 384, and the Vulgate had no official support until 1545. Nevertheless, it was the accepted authority in the Roman Catholic Church for more than a thousand years. As such it had significant influence on the translation of the Bible into English and other European languages (which in turn influenced the ongoing evolution of those languages into their modern versions). The Council of Trent in 1545 declared the Vulgate should be “held as authentic; and that no one is to dare, or presume to reject it under any pretext whatever.”

Note . . . Even though there were a number of translations of New Testament material into the common languages of the Roman Empire, the Catholic Church conducted services in Latin, which only trained priests could read.

Old English translations            

Parts of the Bible were translated into Old English (the predecessor of modern English) as early as 700. In almost all cases these translations were made to help priests whose Latin was not good enough to understand the Vulgate. Some examples include:

• A version of John’s Gospel by Bede in 735
• Translations of the Psalms in 850.
• Passages from the Ten Commandments and the Torah around 900 at the direction of King Alfred.
• The four Gospels in 990 (the Wessex Gospels).

Wycliffe’s Bible

John Wycliffe, a scholar at Oxford University, was the first to translate the complete Bible into (Middle) English. He finished the New Testament in 1382 and the Old Testament within the next fifteen years, working exclusively from the Latin Vulgate. He was a reformer who believed – one hundred years before Martin Luther – that every person should have a personal relationship with God and, therefore, every person should study the Bible.

Wycliffe also spoke against the privileges of the church: land, political office, multiple church positions and indulgences. These reformist ideas ultimately angered the English nobility as well as the church hierarchy. Parliament removed Wycliffe from his post at Oxford and banned his version of the Bible (even though he died in 1384, a church council in 1415 had his bones dug up and burned as a heretic).            

In 1455 Gutenberg printed the Bible (the Latin Vulgate) with moveable type. In 1517 Martin Luther published his “95 Theses,” which ignited the Reformation in Europe.

Tyndale’s Bible

William Tyndale became a priest in England in 1521, the same year the pope named English King Henry VIII “Defender of the Faith.” In 1522 he gained a copy of Martin Luther’s German New Testament and started to produce an English version of the New Testament. The Bishop of London denied permission to produce “heretical text,” so Tyndale went to Hamburg, Germany, to complete his work – which was published in 1525. Even though the English church immediately denounced the book and tried to suppress it, the translation standardized the English language and became the basis for the King James Version of the Bible (more details below).  Tyndale then started work on the Old Testament, but he was burned at the stake as a heretic in before he could finish. Some of the men who worked with him continued, publishing Genesis through Chronicles in 1537.            

While Tyndale and his followers were translating and publishing an English version of the Bible, King Henry began fighting the secular power of the church in England, and, ultimately, its power to prevent his divorce and remarriage to gain a male heir. He broke with the Catholic Church in 1533 and made himself head of the church inEngland. He died in 1547 and his son, Edward VI succeeded him. In 1552 the Anglican (English) Church published the Book of Common Prayer, which standardized worship practices (though still very similar to Catholic worship). Henry’s daughter, Mary Tudor, was raised by her Catholic mother in France; when she succeeded Edward in 1553 she restored the Catholic Church. Six years later, Elizabeth succeeded her sister and took the country back to the Anglican Church, although she practiced religious tolerance in order to build the power of the crown and the military.

Henry had also initiated an English translation of the entire Bible, published in 1539 as the “Great Bible,” (which was primarily based on Tyndale’s work). In 1568 the Church of England revised the Great Bible to better align it with the Anglican view of the nature and role of clergy. The revision was issued as the “Bishops’ Bible;” but it never gained popularity. Finally, exiled Catholic scholars produced the English Douay-Rheims New Testament, which was published in France in 1582.

Bible Trivia
The Bible was not divided into chapters and verses
until 1551 (Greek New Testament) and 1558 (Latin Vulgate).

The King James Bible 

Elizabeth died in 1603 without an heir to the throne. Parliament, which had greatly increased its power during the unsettled time, chose Scotland’s current – and Calvinist (Presbyterian) – king, James to take the English crown. As part of his acceptance he pledged “no changes” in the Anglican Church. The next year James convened a conference of Anglican leaders at Hampton Court to deal with the alleged problems of the earlier translations brought forward by the Puritan group within the English church. 

James wanted to make sure the new version did not promote anti-monarchial positions so he issued a list of instructions to the translators (47 scholars from the Church of England, all but one clergy). The instructions prohibited any interpretive notes and directed the translators to work from the Bishops’ Bible as the primary basis, although the scholars could also consult the Tyndale, Great and Geneva Bibles. The scholars worked in committees which were assigned different parts of the Bible. The initial translation was completed in 1608, and then reviewed and edited for the next three years. The King James Bible (formal title is “Authorized Version”) was published in 1611. Even though the king had initiated this work, it took more than forty years to become widely accepted as the primary Bible of the Church of England.            

The King James Bible was updated in 1881 (New Testament) and 1885 (Old Testament) as the “Revised Version.” American Biblical scholars participated in this revision project and published their own “Revised Version, Standard American Edition” (more familiar as the “American Standard Version”) in 1901.

Revised Standard Version

The Revised Standard Version is a revision of the American Standard Version. It was begun in 1936 with the goal of a readable and literally accurate American English translation (“as literal as possible, as free as necessary”). The translators used the best available Greek texts for the New Testament and the Hebrew Masoretic Text (not the Septuagint) for the Old Testament. The New Testament was published in 1946, and the Old Testament in 1952.

This was the translation that finally eliminated the archaic “thy,” “thee” and “thou,” as well as the verbs with “st” on the end (“hadst”) in favor of the modern “you” and “had.” The RSV also restored the use of “Lord” and “God” for the divine name.

The Revised Standard Version was updated again in 1989 to use gender-neutral language throughout both testaments.

Contemporary Translations

Today there is a wide variety of translations of the Bible, for example: New English Bible (1970), New International Version (1973), and New Living Translation (1996, revised in 2003). There are also many different versions with notes and study guides for specific groups of people, such as Life Application Bible, Women’s Study Bible, the Student’s Bible and the Good News Bible for Teens.

Bible Trivia
Both ancient Hebrew and Greek had singular pronouns
that included both male and female genders, but English does not.
This is why we have to resort to “she or he” or even “s/he.”

NOTES . . .

Lesson 4
Genesis 1-2: Creation of the heavens, the earth and humans.