2.  When Isaac was 40, he got married to Rebekah. While pregnant, she was told:  Two nations are in your womb, two separate peoples shall issue from your body; one people shall be mightier than the other, and the older shall serve the younger. Genesis 25:23

3.  The differences in the twins is noted in how Esau traded his birthright (the double inheritance and power due him because he was born first) for a bowl of lentil stew (Genesis 25:27-34). Esau was the outdoorsman, active, physical and impetuous. Jacob was a shepherd, stayed closer to home and was his mother’s favorite. According to the text of Genesis, Esau got what he deserved because of his impetuosity and the fact that momentary hunger pangs weighed more on him than his status as elder son.

4.  An old English translation calls the red lentil stew for which Esau trades his birthright a mess of pottage. Mess originally meant “a meal” and is still used in this sense in military and camp settings ( mess hall). Pottage is a thick stew. The phrase has come to mean anything of trivial or temporary value for which one trades away a lasting treasure – in short, a “bad deal.”

5.  According to Genesis, Esau despised his birthright because of the responsibility associated with being the elder son initially, and later because of the way it was essentially stolen from him. When an aged and dim-sighted Isaac decided to carry out the ceremonial blessing and inheritance to Esau, Rebekah moved quickly to claim the blessing through outright deception.

6.  Despite the deception, however, it was once again the younger man whom God marked for special destiny, foreshadowing the bitter family feud to come. Both Esau and Isaac reacted to the deception in very human ways. Despite Isaac’s sadness and Esau’s pleas, Isaac had given his blessing and had to abide by his actions. Jacob went off to live with Rebekah’s brother Laban because he could not bear the torment after Abraham’s death.

7.  Genesis affirms that Jacob’s inheritance and blessing were part of God’s plan. An angel visited Jacob in Genesis 28:12 : And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to the heaven: and behold, the angels of God ascending and descending it.  The angels went up and down it much like a Jacob’s ladder toy or the waterfall works today. A Jacob’s ladder is also the name given to rope ladders on ships.

8.  Jacob’s dream occurred while he was in the wilderness alone. In his dream, Jacob renewed the covenant with God that had been made with Abraham (Jacob’s grandfather). God also pronounced a blessing on Jacob’s descendents.  When Jacob awoke from the dream, he said, “Surely the Lord is in this place…This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven” (Genesis 28:16-17). He renamed the spot, Bethel, meaning “house of God.”

9.  If you are looking for literary allusions, you may want to read: Go Down, Moses by William Faulkner. He uses biblical allusions, humor and insights to tell these stories set in the south. Billy Buddy and Moby Dick by Herman Melville East of Eden by John Steinbeck The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy

10.  I looked through the Gideon Bible in my motel room for tales of great destruction…so it goes. Those were vile people in both those cities, as is well known. The world was better off without them. And Lot’s wife, of course was told not to look back where all those people and their homes had been. But she did look back and I love her for that because it was so human. So she turned into a pillar of salt. So it goes. -Slaughterhouse Five pg 22, Kurt Vonnegut

11.  Joseph’s brothers attempt to kill him because he is the favorite and they are jealous (plus, Joseph tends to have dreams and premonitions which he gladly shares with his brothers)  They throw him down an empty well  They leave him to die, not knowing he has been rescued.

12. Joseph Joseph comes into favor with the Pharaoh’s family. The wife of Potiphar (an officer of the Pharaoh) becomes jealous of his success, and attempts to seduce Joseph, but he repeatedly resists. As a result, a Josephite was often considered to be a man who could resist the temptations of a female. Once when alone, however, Joseph rejects her again and she grabs his coat and begins screaming that he attempted to seduce her.

13. Joseph As a result of Potiphar’s wife’s testimony, Joseph is sent to prison. While in prison, Joseph meets a baker and butler who offended the king of Egypt. They tell him their dreams, and Joseph interprets them (the butler will be reinstated to power in 3 days; the baker will be hanged in 3 days). In three days time, Joseph’s premonitions come true, but Joseph is forgotten about.

14. Joseph After 2 years, the Pharaoh has a dream, and the butler remembers Joseph. Joseph is called to interpret the Pharaoh’s dream, and he tells the Pharaoh what his dream means: there will be seven years of feast followed by seven years of famine. Joseph is appointed a member of the Pharaoh’s staff and is put in charge of managing the stores of food so that Egypt will survive the famine in seven years.

15.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51f 9uEYGeKw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51f 9uEYGeKw

17. Joseph During the time of famine, Josephs’ brothers are sent by Jacob to buy grain for the family. When Joseph sees them, he recognizes them as his brothers. Rather than admit what he realizes, however, he decides to persecute them. He tells them that they must leave one of the brothers behind, and return with their youngest brother, Benjamin, in order to get the grain.

18. Joseph Not knowing the secret of their connection, Joseph’s brothers return with Benjamin. They return with gifts, fruits and money. After planting a silver cup on his brother, the men come back crying. Joseph, unable to contain himself any longer, reveals his identity.

20.  In Genesis 49:9, Judah, from whom Judaism derived its name, is referred to by his father (Jacob/Israel) as a “young lion”. The lion of Judah came to symbolize his tribe.  In the 20 th century, this title was claimed as a royal epithet by Haile Selassie I, emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. Selassie (who was originally known as Ras Tafari), a proponent of African independence from colonialism, has become the focus of devotion by members of a Jamaican religious movemetn known as Rastafarianism. Reggae and ska music, both influenced by the Rastafarian movement, employ “lion of Judah” as a song title and band name.

21.  The word Exodus is from the Greek and literally means “the road out.” It is now used to describe any mass departure or emigration.  The land that was to be the destination for Moses and the Israelites was referred to as a land of milk and honey. That phrase is now common for any vision of Utopia or for any situation for which living is easy.

22.  Exodus 3:13 -15: Ehyeh: This is not a noun, but a verb. It means “I am that I am” or “I will be what I will be.”  One common interpretation is that humans cannot fully understand the essence of God, and only understand Him by his actions and attributes. In fact, Jewish tradition forbids speaking God’s name which is denoted in the Bible as YHVH (Yaweh)

23.  Songs known as Negro spirituals grew out of the experience of the slaves in the American South. Meeting in small, secret groups, slaves set the Bible to music. No account had more of an impact than the book of Exodus. The call-and-response song “Let My People Go” is one of the most popular spiritual songs.

24. When Israel was in Egypt’s land “Let My People Go” Oppressed so hard, they could not stand “Let My People Go” Go down, Moses, way down in Egypt’s land Tell ol’ Pharoh to let my people go! Thus said the Lord, bold Moses said “Let My People Go”

25.  From the time of his birth, Moses was blessed by God. Near Horeb, “the mountain of God,” and angel appeared to him in a flam of fire. Turning around, Moses realized that God was calling on him personally. This indicated that Moses was one of the great prophets of the Hebrew Scripture.  Prophet: One who speaks for God

26.  One Jewish commentary on Exodus said that God chose to appear to Moses as a flame in a scrubby desert thorn bush, “to teach you that no place on earth, even a thorn bush, is devoid of God’s presence.” Many western writers explore the theme of encountering God in nature, as did Elizabeth Barrett Browning in Aurora Leigh: “Earth’s crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God, And only he who sees, takes off his shoes – The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.”

27. 1. Rivers ran with blood 2. Frogs infested the land 3. Gnats swarm over Egypt 4. Flies swarm over Egypt 5. A deadly disease struck the Egyptian livestock 6. Festering boils torture people & animals 7. Hail kills beasts and people 8. Locusts devour the crops 9. Thick darkness descends on Egypt 10. The firstborn of all Egyptians die

29.  All of the plagues seemed to thwart one of the popular Egyptian deities, the greatest of these being Ra, the god of the sun.  Repeatedly, Moses demanded, “Let my people go.” After each plague began, Pharaoh at first agreed, but as the plague subsided, Pharaoh hardened his heart and changed his mind.

30.  For the final plague that would allow Moses to lead the Israelites (Jacob’s descendants) out of Egypt, we gain the Jewish practice of Passover. God spoke to Moses: “You shall observe this rite as a perpetual ordinance for you and your children…And when your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this observance?’ you 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.” (Exodus 12:24-27)