The Chapter-A-Day thread.

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Jimmy P

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Jacob, 130 yrs old and makes the trek to Egypt...my Dad, 86, has a time trekkin' to the bathroom...big difference in the men then and now...

So now a fifth of the crops belong to Pharoah...that's good though...I think that would help against future famines...

And what is this thing about swearing with the hand under the thigh?
 
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bcmom

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Jacob, 130 yrs old and makes the trek to Egypt...my Dad, 86, has a time trekkin' to the bathroom...big difference in the men then and now...

So now a fifth of the crops belong to Pharoah...that's good though...I think that would help against future famines...

And what is this thing about swearing with the hand under the thigh?

Jimmy I was curious about the hand under the thigh thing to go and, being me, I went looking for an answer, here's an article that's interesting and might shed some light on it...

By S. Michael Houdmann
"In our culture, taking an oath usually involves raising the right hand or placing a hand over the heart or on a Bible. In ancient Hebrew culture, we find something a little different. Genesis 24:9 describes an odd practice that involved Abraham's servant swearing to obey his master's command to find a wife for Isaac: "So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter." In Genesis 47:29, Jacob makes his son Joseph swear to bury him in Canaan, not Egypt. The same ritual is observed: Joseph is required to put his hand under Jacob's thigh as he makes the promise. It seems strange to us, but placing one's hand under someone else's thigh had a symbolic purpose.

In both cases, the request is made by a patriarch nearing death. Also, both oaths deal with family matters. In the case of Abraham and Jacob, the family was blessed by God Himself (Genesis 15:5; 28:14).

The thigh was considered the source of posterity in the ancient world. Or, more properly, the "loins" or the testicles. The phrase "under the thigh" could be a euphemism for "on the loins." There are two reasons why someone would take an oath in this manner: 1) Abraham had been promised a "seed" by God, and this covenantal blessing was passed on to his son and grandson. Abraham made his trusted servant swear "on the seed of Abraham" that he would find a wife for Isaac. 2) Abraham had received circumcision as the sign of the covenant (Genesis 17:10). Our custom is to swear on a Bible; the Hebrew custom was to swear on circumcision, the mark of God's covenant. The idea of swearing on one's loins is found in other cultures, as well. The English wordtestifyis directly related to the wordtesticles.

Jewish tradition also offers a different interpretation. According to Rabbi Ibn Ezra, the phrase "under the thigh" means literally that. For someone to allow his hand to be sat on was a sign of submission to authority. If this is the symbolism, then Joseph was showing his obedience to his father by placing his hand under Jacob's thigh.

Abraham's servant kept his oath. He not only obeyed Abraham's instructions, but he also prayed to Abraham's God for help. In the end, God miraculously provided Rebekah as the choice for Isaac's wife (Genesis 24).

In the New Testament, believers are taught not to make oaths, but rather to let their "yes" mean "yes" and "no" mean "no" (James 5:12). That is, we should consider all our words to have the weight of an oath. Others should be able to trust our words without requiring an oath."
 
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Jimmy P

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Oh how weird...so their way of making an oath...but some swore on testies? Ewwww lol...man, am I glad THAT practice is gone now...

Now under the thigh itself and not testies, well, that's better and I can see the symbolism in that...but the other way *shudders*...
 
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brinny

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Jimmy I was curious about the hand under the thigh thing to go and, being me, I went looking for an answer, here's an article that's interesting and might shed some light on it...

By S. Michael Houdmann
"In our culture, taking an oath usually involves raising the right hand or placing a hand over the heart or on a Bible. In ancient Hebrew culture, we find something a little different. Genesis 24:9 describes an odd practice that involved Abraham's servant swearing to obey his master's command to find a wife for Isaac: "So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter." In Genesis 47:29, Jacob makes his son Joseph swear to bury him in Canaan, not Egypt. The same ritual is observed: Joseph is required to put his hand under Jacob's thigh as he makes the promise. It seems strange to us, but placing one's hand under someone else's thigh had a symbolic purpose.

In both cases, the request is made by a patriarch nearing death. Also, both oaths deal with family matters. In the case of Abraham and Jacob, the family was blessed by God Himself (Genesis 15:5; 28:14).

The thigh was considered the source of posterity in the ancient world. Or, more properly, the "loins" or the testicles. The phrase "under the thigh" could be a euphemism for "on the loins." There are two reasons why someone would take an oath in this manner: 1) Abraham had been promised a "seed" by God, and this covenantal blessing was passed on to his son and grandson. Abraham made his trusted servant swear "on the seed of Abraham" that he would find a wife for Isaac. 2) Abraham had received circumcision as the sign of the covenant (Genesis 17:10). Our custom is to swear on a Bible; the Hebrew custom was to swear on circumcision, the mark of God's covenant. The idea of swearing on one's loins is found in other cultures, as well. The English wordtestifyis directly related to the wordtesticles.

Jewish tradition also offers a different interpretation. According to Rabbi Ibn Ezra, the phrase "under the thigh" means literally that. For someone to allow his hand to be sat on was a sign of submission to authority. If this is the symbolism, then Joseph was showing his obedience to his father by placing his hand under Jacob's thigh.

Abraham's servant kept his oath. He not only obeyed Abraham's instructions, but he also prayed to Abraham's God for help. In the end, God miraculously provided Rebekah as the choice for Isaac's wife (Genesis 24).

In the New Testament, believers are taught not to make oaths, but rather to let their "yes" mean "yes" and "no" mean "no" (James 5:12). That is, we should consider all our words to have the weight of an oath. Others should be able to trust our words without requiring an oath."

Thank you for shedding some light on something that kind'a baffled me. It's a blessing to be going through the Bible together and learning insights into the Old Testament. :)
 
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bcmom

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Until I read a commentary on this chapter, I overlooked the fact that Jacob was actually adopting Joseph's sons as his own on his deathbed. Here's a portion of that article..
"2. (Genesis 48:5-6) Jacob adopts Joseph’s sons as his own.
“And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. Your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance.”
a. As Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine: Reuben and Simeon were the first and second born of Israel. Jacob receives the two sons of Joseph as adopted into the family at the highest level (as if they were the first and second born).
i. And, perhaps, they are “replacements” for Reuben and Simeon, who were in a sense disqualified from positions of status and leadership in Israel’s family because of their sin (Genesis 34:25; Gen_35:22)."
By David Guzik
The entire article is here Genesis 48:1 - David Guzik's Commentary on the Bible - Commentaries - StudyLight.org
Would that then make Reuben and Simeon Joseph's adopted sons? Your brothers becoming your adopted sons that would be interesting.
 
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GuusVA

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So when I read this, I was like, well he does his best to make the other brothers jealous :p I mean he's even granting Joseph's sons a part of the tribes of Isreal, Eventually its all God's plan...but oke I just noticed :)

Wonderful though how God works in mysterious ways :)

I really find this very educative, I mean I get to know all sorts of views and learn new things about the bible this way :)
 
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GuusVA

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around verse 10 Jacob talks about Judah, Right there already you can see the start of the generation of Jesus, "The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his." Both David and Jesus are from the tribe of Judah.

Also this scripture brought to my attention that Jacob does either speak good or bad about his sons, So he either prophecies happiness or bad stuff, I wonder why?
 
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brinny

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Jacob was about ready to die.....the blessings are what God directed him to do, and, as Jacob was obedient to God, He did so.

Interesting....here again, Jacob is called "Jacob" in some verses and other verses he's called "Israel"
 
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Jimmy P

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Oh brother...some of the stuff he said about his kids...

And how could he hang on long enough to do this? After he said his peace, boom, he was gone...

Have any of these people's grave areas been found? Like Abraham, Leah, Jacob, etc?
 
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Jimmy P

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Felt bad for Joseph...great guy...had went through so much but thankfully got to see his Dad again for a bit...and what a service they had for Jacob...

And Joseph dying at 110...anybody else noticing that the life spans since Abraham are gettin' shorter?
 
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