Genesis 32: 22-31 The background to today’s reading includes Jacob’s supplanting his older brother, Esau, by tricking Isaac into giving him the blessing that properly belonged to Esau. Many years passed, and Jacob was very wealthy. He learned that Esau was coming to meet him with an army of 400 men. To protect his wealth, […]
2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c The Book of Kings is part of the “Deuteronomic History” that includes the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings. These books are a didactic history of Ancient Israel from the time in the Wilderness (c. 1250 BCE) to the Babylonian Captivity in 587 BCE. The books all emphasize that […]
Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4 After the death of the good King Josiah in 609 BCE, Judea went into a sharp decline, culminating with the Babylonian Exile, the first part of which began in 597 BCE and the second part of which began in 586 and lasted until 539 BCE. Josiah emphasized the Torah, but in the […]
Amos 6:1a, 4-7 After Solomon died in 930 BCE, the Kingdom of Israel split into two parts, the North (called Israel with 10 tribes) and the South (called Judea with two tribes). The reign of King Jeroboam II of Israel (788-747 BCE) was very prosperous and a time of great inequality between rich and poor. […]
Amos 8:4-7 After Solomon died in 930 BCE, the Kingdom of Israel split into two parts, the North (called Israel) and the South (called Judea). The reign of King Jeroboam II of Israel (788-747 BCE) was very prosperous and was a time of great inequality between rich and poor. Amos was a cattle herder and […]
Exodus 32: 7-14 Exodus, the second book of the Bible, covers the period from the slavery in Egypt under Pharaoh (around 1250 BCE, if the account is historical), the call(s) of Moses, Exodus itself, and the early months in the Wilderness. At Mount Sinai (the holy mountain is “Horeb” in some other books), Moses received […]
Deuteronomy 30: 15-20 Deuteronomy is the fifth (and last) book of the Torah. It is structured as Moses’ final speech to the Israelites just before they enter the Promised Land (which, if the events are historical, would have been around 1225 BCE). “Deuteronomy” comes from Greek words meaning “Second Law.” The book is presented as […]
Sirach 10:12-18 The Book of Sirach is not included in the Jewish version of the Hebrew Bible, but is included in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox versions of the Hebrew Bible. Protestants place Sirach in a separate section of the Bible called the “Apocrypha” (which means “hidden books”). The book is known by the name […]
Isaiah 58:9b-14 The Book of Isaiah is a composite of writings from three distinct periods in Israel’s history. Chapters 1-39 are called “First Isaiah” and were written in the 20 years before Jerusalem was under direct siege by the Assyrians in 701 BCE. “Second Isaiah” is Chapters 40 to 55 and brings hope to the […]
Jeremiah 23:23-29 After the righteous King Josiah was killed in battle in 609 BCE, the fortunes of Judea took a sharp downward turn. Babylon threatened Judea’s existence, and Judea had a series of hapless kings from 609 until 586 BCE when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and exiled the Judean leaders to Babylon. Jeremiah’s prophesy (i.e. […]