God tells Jacob to go make an altar where he appeared to him when he fled Esau. Jacob does so and anoints it Bethel.
Jacob collects all the foreign gods and earring from his company. Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, dies and is buried.
A different version of God changing Jacob's name to Israel is told. God gives him all the land he gave Abraham and Isaac.
Rachel dies in childbirth, bearing Benjamin. Jacob buries her and constructs a pillar that remains to this day.
Reuben, Jacob's first born, lies with Israel's concubine. Isaac dies at 180 and Jacob and Esau bury him.
Monday, October 2, 2017
Genesis 34
Dinah, daughter of Leah, is abducted and raped by Shechen the son of Hamor. He confesses to Jacob who holds his tounge as his sons are out in the field. The sons come in and are pissed.
Shechem wants Dinah, so Hamor proposes an intermingling of the families. Jacob's sons lie by saying they'll accept if all the men of Hamar's tribe are circumcised. The men of Hamar agree.
While they are recovering, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's full brothers, took swords and kill off all the men of Hamor, who are still sore from the circumcision, including Hamor and Shechem.
Jacob's son take Dinah back and sack the city of Hamor. Jacob is pissed at Simeon and Levi, fearing they've provoked a blood feud with the rest of the Canaanites.
Shechem wants Dinah, so Hamor proposes an intermingling of the families. Jacob's sons lie by saying they'll accept if all the men of Hamar's tribe are circumcised. The men of Hamar agree.
While they are recovering, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's full brothers, took swords and kill off all the men of Hamor, who are still sore from the circumcision, including Hamor and Shechem.
Jacob's son take Dinah back and sack the city of Hamor. Jacob is pissed at Simeon and Levi, fearing they've provoked a blood feud with the rest of the Canaanites.
Genesis 33
Jacob see Esau coming with his men, so he puts the mistresses and their children in front, then Leah and her children and Rachel and Joseph in the last group, in that order. Jacob then goes to the front to meet Esau and bows to Esau seven times.
Esau approaches and embraces Jacob by the neck and they both weep. All the women and children bow to Esau. Jacob offers his gift but Esau won't take it. Jacob insists and Esau finally accepts the gift.
Jacob travels south and builds a house.
Esau approaches and embraces Jacob by the neck and they both weep. All the women and children bow to Esau. Jacob offers his gift but Esau won't take it. Jacob insists and Esau finally accepts the gift.
Jacob travels south and builds a house.
Genesis 32
Jacob continues and meets angels, who he calls "God's Army". He sends word to Esau who says he is coming to meet Jacob with four hundred men. Jacob divides his company in case Esau is hostile and attacks, so half of the company may flee and survive. Jacob also sends word to Esau offering a generous gift. That way, either Esau accepts the gift or Jacob saves half of his household.
Jacob waits for Esau and wrestles all night with a man. The man wants to be let go but Jacob won't until the man blesses Jacob. The man does, and changes Jacob's name to Israel, which means "God rules". The man tells Jacob he has met God face to face.
Jacob waits for Esau and wrestles all night with a man. The man wants to be let go but Jacob won't until the man blesses Jacob. The man does, and changes Jacob's name to Israel, which means "God rules". The man tells Jacob he has met God face to face.
Monday, September 25, 2017
Genesis 31
Laban's sons are pissed at Jacob's selective breeding of the flock and complain. Jacob tells Leah and Rachel their father cheated him since they are still technically property of their father, so they need to know what's going to happen next. They agree.
Jacob and family flee with their flock and property. On the way out, Rachel steals Laban's household gods, which by tradition confer head of household on the possessor. Laban's not going to like this.
Laban and kinsmen pursue. God comes to Laban and tells him not to say a word to Jacob, either good or bad.
Laban catches up with Jacob and tells him he won't kill him, but only because God cam to him. He is pissed about the household gods and demands them. Jacob does not know Rachel took them. As such, Jacob says to search and take what is his.
Laban searches everyone's tents. Rachel puts them in a camel saddle and sits on it. When Laban is searching her tent, he tells her to get off the saddle so he can search it. Rachel, who as we remember, had to have God "open her womb", says she's menstruating. As such, she cannot rise.
Now it's Jacob's turn to be pissed. He says he gave Laban twenty years of labor and Laban cheated him at every opportunity and would not have been rewarded at all but for God interceding on Jacob's behalf. He refers to God as "God of Abraham and Fear of Isaac". I like that "Fear of Isaac" part, implies a threat.
Having cleared the air, Jacob and Laban agree to peace. They build a pillar, witnessed by God, to this. Jacob agrees to take no more wives and both agree to never pass the pillar with the intention of harming the other.
They celebrate with their entourages into the night. In the morning, Laban kisses his daughters and grandchildren and goes home.
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 31:24 - Laban is not to say a word to Jacob, either good or bad. Since Jacob's dead, this should be an easy one to comply with today.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Jacob and family flee with their flock and property. On the way out, Rachel steals Laban's household gods, which by tradition confer head of household on the possessor. Laban's not going to like this.
Laban and kinsmen pursue. God comes to Laban and tells him not to say a word to Jacob, either good or bad.
Laban catches up with Jacob and tells him he won't kill him, but only because God cam to him. He is pissed about the household gods and demands them. Jacob does not know Rachel took them. As such, Jacob says to search and take what is his.
Laban searches everyone's tents. Rachel puts them in a camel saddle and sits on it. When Laban is searching her tent, he tells her to get off the saddle so he can search it. Rachel, who as we remember, had to have God "open her womb", says she's menstruating. As such, she cannot rise.
Now it's Jacob's turn to be pissed. He says he gave Laban twenty years of labor and Laban cheated him at every opportunity and would not have been rewarded at all but for God interceding on Jacob's behalf. He refers to God as "God of Abraham and Fear of Isaac". I like that "Fear of Isaac" part, implies a threat.
Having cleared the air, Jacob and Laban agree to peace. They build a pillar, witnessed by God, to this. Jacob agrees to take no more wives and both agree to never pass the pillar with the intention of harming the other.
They celebrate with their entourages into the night. In the morning, Laban kisses his daughters and grandchildren and goes home.
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 31:24 - Laban is not to say a word to Jacob, either good or bad. Since Jacob's dead, this should be an easy one to comply with today.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Saturday, September 23, 2017
Genesis 30
Rachel is barren, so she gives her servant to Jacob. The servant, after being raped by Jacob, conceives a son. Bonus points for her being on Rachel's knees as Jacob rapes her, so that makes her just as guilty of rape under today's laws. Nothing like the good ol' days!
Anyway, Rachel's servant bears Jacob two sons.
Now Leah appears to be post-menopausal and can't conceive. Those twenty years Jacob spent laboring for Laban didn't stop the clock. So she gives her maid to Jacob for more rape and Leah has two more sons through her maid.
One of Leah's sons gathers some mandrake and Rachel would like some. She makes a deal with Leah that she'll allow Leah to lie with Jacob for some of the mandrake. Pimpin' ain't easy. This appears to be a good deal because Leah bears two more sons and a daughter.
God "remembers" (again, a weird way to describe something that shouldn't happen to an omnipotent being) Rachel and "opens her womb". So Rachel appears to be getting up there, too. She bears Joseph.
Joseph will be important later. Stay tuned.
Jacob wants to leave and Laban asks his price for his years of labor. Jacob says he'll take the speckled and striped, which are less valuable than the solid colored, from Laban's flock. Laban then takes all of those out and sends them away with his other son's with a three day headstart.
It is not explained why Jacob didn't question what was going on for three days when all the speckled and striped disappeared.
Jacob responds by selectively breeding the remaining stock, ensuring the strongest are born speckled and striped and the solid colored are less healthy. Jacob's flock is better and he becomes rich.
Anyway, Rachel's servant bears Jacob two sons.
Now Leah appears to be post-menopausal and can't conceive. Those twenty years Jacob spent laboring for Laban didn't stop the clock. So she gives her maid to Jacob for more rape and Leah has two more sons through her maid.
One of Leah's sons gathers some mandrake and Rachel would like some. She makes a deal with Leah that she'll allow Leah to lie with Jacob for some of the mandrake. Pimpin' ain't easy. This appears to be a good deal because Leah bears two more sons and a daughter.
God "remembers" (again, a weird way to describe something that shouldn't happen to an omnipotent being) Rachel and "opens her womb". So Rachel appears to be getting up there, too. She bears Joseph.
Joseph will be important later. Stay tuned.
Jacob wants to leave and Laban asks his price for his years of labor. Jacob says he'll take the speckled and striped, which are less valuable than the solid colored, from Laban's flock. Laban then takes all of those out and sends them away with his other son's with a three day headstart.
It is not explained why Jacob didn't question what was going on for three days when all the speckled and striped disappeared.
Jacob responds by selectively breeding the remaining stock, ensuring the strongest are born speckled and striped and the solid colored are less healthy. Jacob's flock is better and he becomes rich.
Friday, September 22, 2017
Genesis 29
Jacob falls for Rachel, his cousin, who is tending the sheep of Laban, Jacob's uncle. Jacob kisses her after watering the sheep she is tending and tells her he's her cousing.
Laban wants Jacob to work for him. Jacob agrees to seven years of labor if he can marry the beautiful Rachel. Leah, Rachel's older sister, had "weak" eyes. Not sure what that tidbit means, though the commentary says it means they lacked "luster". Doesn't mean she wasn't attractive.
Anyway, at the end of Jacob's seven years of service to Laban, Laban gives Leah (and her servant) to Jacob as a bride. He explains it is the custom among his people to marry off the oldest first. However, he will also give Rachel to Jacob for another seven years of service.
Jacob agrees. Laban must have some smokin' hot daughters if Jacob will work fourteen years for them, even after he's been lied to and cheated. Anyway, he does so, and Laban gives Rachel and her servant to Jacob for a wife. Success, 100%!
For some weird reason, Leah feels hated, so calls to God to give her a son, which God does X3. Let's see if that works in chapter 30!
Laban wants Jacob to work for him. Jacob agrees to seven years of labor if he can marry the beautiful Rachel. Leah, Rachel's older sister, had "weak" eyes. Not sure what that tidbit means, though the commentary says it means they lacked "luster". Doesn't mean she wasn't attractive.
Anyway, at the end of Jacob's seven years of service to Laban, Laban gives Leah (and her servant) to Jacob as a bride. He explains it is the custom among his people to marry off the oldest first. However, he will also give Rachel to Jacob for another seven years of service.
Jacob agrees. Laban must have some smokin' hot daughters if Jacob will work fourteen years for them, even after he's been lied to and cheated. Anyway, he does so, and Laban gives Rachel and her servant to Jacob for a wife. Success, 100%!
For some weird reason, Leah feels hated, so calls to God to give her a son, which God does X3. Let's see if that works in chapter 30!
Thursday, September 21, 2017
Channel 28
Isaac blesses Jacob again and forbids him from marrying a Canaanite woman, but to take a daughter of Laban, his mother's brother (cousin). Jacob will be fruitful and multiply and passes along God's blessing and lands of Abraham to Jacob.
Esau sees that Canaanite women don't please Isaac, so he goes to take a wife a daughter of Ishmael (half uncle's daughter, another cousin).
Jacob journeys to Haran and sleeps on the ground, using a stone for a pillow. He dreams of a ladder reaching to heaven with angels going up and down it. This leaves the question as to why angels need a ladder, especially since they're conventionally depicted as having wings. Somebody's got the wrong idea about the characteristics of angels.
God is at the top of the ladder and reaffirms his promise of Abraham and Isaac to Jacob.
Message: deceiving your enfeebled father to screw your brother out of his inheritance in rewarded by God. Take note, you schemers.
Jacob takes the stone used as a pillow, anoints it as a pillar to God, founding Beth-el.
Esau sees that Canaanite women don't please Isaac, so he goes to take a wife a daughter of Ishmael (half uncle's daughter, another cousin).
Jacob journeys to Haran and sleeps on the ground, using a stone for a pillow. He dreams of a ladder reaching to heaven with angels going up and down it. This leaves the question as to why angels need a ladder, especially since they're conventionally depicted as having wings. Somebody's got the wrong idea about the characteristics of angels.
God is at the top of the ladder and reaffirms his promise of Abraham and Isaac to Jacob.
Message: deceiving your enfeebled father to screw your brother out of his inheritance in rewarded by God. Take note, you schemers.
Jacob takes the stone used as a pillow, anoints it as a pillar to God, founding Beth-el.
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Genesis 27
Isaac gets old and his eyes dim. Knowing that the end is near, he calls for Esau to go hunt and prepare some food for him Isaac will then eat and bless Esau before he dies.
Rebekah is listening and tells Jacob to get get a couple of kids, the immature goat kind, not the immature human kind, from the flock. She will then prepare the food for Isaac and Jacob will get the blessing. She does so and dresses Jacob in Esau's finest clothes. She puts the skins of the kids on Jacob's hands and neck so he will be hairy like Esau.
Isaac realizes something is wrong because the food came so quickly and Jacob's voice. However, he believes the lie after feeling Jacob's hands and neck and smelling Esau on the clothes Jacob is wearing. It's not said how pungent Esau's clothes are. Isaac blesses Jacob.
As Jacob is leaving, Esau comes in with his food and tells Isaac what has happened. The blessing cannot be reverse, so Jacob becomes Esau's master.
Isaac blesses Esau and says he will break Jacob's yoke after serving him. Esau vows to kill Jacob once Isaac dies, so Rebekah sends Jacob to wive with Laban, her father, until Esau cools off. She does this despite fearing Jacob will marry a Hittite woman there.
Rebekah is listening and tells Jacob to get get a couple of kids, the immature goat kind, not the immature human kind, from the flock. She will then prepare the food for Isaac and Jacob will get the blessing. She does so and dresses Jacob in Esau's finest clothes. She puts the skins of the kids on Jacob's hands and neck so he will be hairy like Esau.
Isaac realizes something is wrong because the food came so quickly and Jacob's voice. However, he believes the lie after feeling Jacob's hands and neck and smelling Esau on the clothes Jacob is wearing. It's not said how pungent Esau's clothes are. Isaac blesses Jacob.
As Jacob is leaving, Esau comes in with his food and tells Isaac what has happened. The blessing cannot be reverse, so Jacob becomes Esau's master.
Isaac blesses Esau and says he will break Jacob's yoke after serving him. Esau vows to kill Jacob once Isaac dies, so Rebekah sends Jacob to wive with Laban, her father, until Esau cools off. She does this despite fearing Jacob will marry a Hittite woman there.
Two and a Half Men, Ashton Version
Never watched this 2.5 Men before tonight and based on this outing, no
reason to break the streak. Canned laughter drives me up the wall,
anyway, but they are crazily overusing it. You would think Sam Kinison
and Richard Pryor are exchanging riffs based on the "laughs" the POS is
getting.
Genesis 26
There is a famine in the land and Isaac goes to dwell in the land of the Philistines, heeding God's warning not to go down to Egypt. God reafirms to Isaac his promise to Abraham and gives to Isaac's descendants all of the lands of Abraham and promise to multiply them because Abraham obeys and kept God's charges, statutes and laws.
Taking a page from Abraham's book, he tells the men that Rebekah is is sister. The king catches Isaac fondling Rebekah for lying to him and possibly bringing guilt upon his people.
Isaac is very successful, so the king of the Philistines throws him out. The Philistines fill the wells Abraham's men dug, instead of using them for some reason. Isaac digs new wells, is successful again, so the king goes to him and they make peace.
When Esau is forty, he takes two wives and makes life better for Isaac and Rebekah.
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 26:2 - To Isaac: don't go to Egypt.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
If you're not Isaac, seems a pretty easy one to do.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Taking a page from Abraham's book, he tells the men that Rebekah is is sister. The king catches Isaac fondling Rebekah for lying to him and possibly bringing guilt upon his people.
Isaac is very successful, so the king of the Philistines throws him out. The Philistines fill the wells Abraham's men dug, instead of using them for some reason. Isaac digs new wells, is successful again, so the king goes to him and they make peace.
When Esau is forty, he takes two wives and makes life better for Isaac and Rebekah.
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 26:2 - To Isaac: don't go to Egypt.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
If you're not Isaac, seems a pretty easy one to do.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
God's Commandments and Kills: In 3D - Isaac and Jacob
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Genesis 26:
Genesis 27:
Genesis 28:
Genesis 29:
Genesis 30:
Genesis 31:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 31:24 - Laban is not to say a word to Jacob, either good or bad. Since Jacob's dead, this should be an easy one to comply with today.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Genesis 26:
Genesis 27:
Genesis 28:
Genesis 29:
Genesis 30:
Genesis 31:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 31:24 - Laban is not to say a word to Jacob, either good or bad. Since Jacob's dead, this should be an easy one to comply with today.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Monday, September 18, 2017
Advice For Youngsters: It Gets Better
If
I were asked to give advice to a young person, I would say that at some
point in my life I lived in an apartment where the sole decoration was a
Cindy Crawford poster where she was wearing an American flag bikini.
Why that poster?
Well, among me an my three roommates, we couldn't afford a Nagel print and didn't know how to get a knockoff.
This is the kind of decision that is made when you put the four best minds of their generation together in 1990. Needless to say, there was an unending stream of women in and out of that apartment.
That last sentence is a lie. But, young person, it can get better!
Why that poster?
Well, among me an my three roommates, we couldn't afford a Nagel print and didn't know how to get a knockoff.
This is the kind of decision that is made when you put the four best minds of their generation together in 1990. Needless to say, there was an unending stream of women in and out of that apartment.
That last sentence is a lie. But, young person, it can get better!
Thursday, September 14, 2017
The Important Part of the Ole Miss/Texas Game
I have received reports of Matthew McCaghnehey running around Oxford for
the big Texas invasion of North Mississippi tomorrow. I suspect that
rumor just might create some brand new female Rebels fans.
Sunday, September 10, 2017
How Not to Quip
How not to quip:
Context, chatting with a guy in charge of a crew that is laying a fiber-optic cable from Nashville to Dallas. He is grousing a bit because he has very little say over the composition of his crew and tells a story of some guy getting on the radio on the job to say, "I can't find the hole!"
Your humble narrator immediately in a knee jerk fashion, "That's what she said!"
Context, chatting with a guy in charge of a crew that is laying a fiber-optic cable from Nashville to Dallas. He is grousing a bit because he has very little say over the composition of his crew and tells a story of some guy getting on the radio on the job to say, "I can't find the hole!"
Your humble narrator immediately in a knee jerk fashion, "That's what she said!"
The confused look on his face means:
1. Not everyone watched The Office or knows who Michael Scott is.
2. From #1 above, that means no one knows that that character had a very corny sense of humor.
3. So when one makes a Michael Scott reference, it looks like the one making the joke is the one that's corny.
In any event, animal update. No chickens for the last two days. Kitty was missing earlier and was briefly afraid the snake got her. However, she was here when I got home. She's helping me watch tv now. I hope it's a good SNL or she's going to want to be put outside and that requires getting up.
1. Not everyone watched The Office or knows who Michael Scott is.
2. From #1 above, that means no one knows that that character had a very corny sense of humor.
3. So when one makes a Michael Scott reference, it looks like the one making the joke is the one that's corny.
In any event, animal update. No chickens for the last two days. Kitty was missing earlier and was briefly afraid the snake got her. However, she was here when I got home. She's helping me watch tv now. I hope it's a good SNL or she's going to want to be put outside and that requires getting up.
Nero
Nero, per Suetonius:
1. May have invented the mullet. He's described as keeping the front of his hair fashioned into ringlets and grew his hair long in the back.
2. Suetonius either didn't get into the persecution of the Christians or did it so briefly I missed it while I was doing a slow boil on I-40. However, they didn't appear to be special. His outrages against the citizens and army reached a degree where everyone turned on him. His final plan was to burn the city to the ground and release wild animals to attack the survivors. The army got to him before he could execute it.
1. May have invented the mullet. He's described as keeping the front of his hair fashioned into ringlets and grew his hair long in the back.
2. Suetonius either didn't get into the persecution of the Christians or did it so briefly I missed it while I was doing a slow boil on I-40. However, they didn't appear to be special. His outrages against the citizens and army reached a degree where everyone turned on him. His final plan was to burn the city to the ground and release wild animals to attack the survivors. The army got to him before he could execute it.
3. A fan of wrestling, hatched a plan to get the people back on his
side before coming up with the above burn it to the ground strategy. He
would appear completely nude in an ampitheatre before all of Rome and
kill a lion either by wrestling it and breaking its neck or clubbing it
to death. Hard to argue with the solidness of this strategy.
Friday, September 8, 2017
Sunday Night Football
Did Cris Collinsworth really just say, "When the tight end releases, you get movement."? Let's keep the NFL a family show, NBC!
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
Genesis 11
Men repopulate the world and the whole earth has one language but few words. I didn't pick up on the significance of "but few words". Does that mean man is in such harmony, nuanced speech is unnecessary? Anyway, men come from the east and settle in the plain of Shinor. They baked brick and built a city. Within the city, they started to build a tower to reach to the heavens.
God comes down (again, he doesn't seem omnipresent yet) to the city and tower. God is worried that if they complete the tower, "nothing" will be impossible for "them" (man). He then calls on "us" to go down and confuse their language and confuse them. Again, the reference to "us" indicates there is more than one divine being. More interesting, though, is that if man were able to work together, nothing is impossible. Including, it seems, becoming a threat to God. And since God just wiped out almost the entire human race a couple of chapters back, it would seem that he would have a problem on his hands if this were so. Better get to confusing that language!
The men abandon the city, called Babel. Also interesting is that in the immediately preceding chapter states that the sons of Ham, Shem and Japeth already have different languages. Is this story out of place in the chronology, or does this reflect sloppy editing?
The rest of the chapter describes the genealogy of Shem to Abraham. Terah is the father of Abram and Nahor, who is the father of Lot. Nahor dies in Ur and Abram and his wife Sarai take in Lot.
Asimov says the names of the descendant's of Noah's sons represent tribes or nations. The descendants of Shem occupy the Arabian peninsula. "Semetic", the name of the languages these people speak derive from the Greek/Latin name for Shem. Ham's people settle in the corner of Africa nearest Asia and speak Hamatic languages. Japeth's people settle to the northeast of the Tigris/Euphrates.
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 11:6-7: Don't get above your pay grade and try to complete a tower because that will make nothing impossible. And God don't want that. Punishment, confusement of the language and you end up scattering.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Sounds like a lot of work and I'm comfortable with English. I'll pass on the tower building.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Nothing, yet.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
God comes down (again, he doesn't seem omnipresent yet) to the city and tower. God is worried that if they complete the tower, "nothing" will be impossible for "them" (man). He then calls on "us" to go down and confuse their language and confuse them. Again, the reference to "us" indicates there is more than one divine being. More interesting, though, is that if man were able to work together, nothing is impossible. Including, it seems, becoming a threat to God. And since God just wiped out almost the entire human race a couple of chapters back, it would seem that he would have a problem on his hands if this were so. Better get to confusing that language!
The men abandon the city, called Babel. Also interesting is that in the immediately preceding chapter states that the sons of Ham, Shem and Japeth already have different languages. Is this story out of place in the chronology, or does this reflect sloppy editing?
The rest of the chapter describes the genealogy of Shem to Abraham. Terah is the father of Abram and Nahor, who is the father of Lot. Nahor dies in Ur and Abram and his wife Sarai take in Lot.
Asimov says the names of the descendant's of Noah's sons represent tribes or nations. The descendants of Shem occupy the Arabian peninsula. "Semetic", the name of the languages these people speak derive from the Greek/Latin name for Shem. Ham's people settle in the corner of Africa nearest Asia and speak Hamatic languages. Japeth's people settle to the northeast of the Tigris/Euphrates.
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 11:6-7: Don't get above your pay grade and try to complete a tower because that will make nothing impossible. And God don't want that. Punishment, confusement of the language and you end up scattering.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Sounds like a lot of work and I'm comfortable with English. I'll pass on the tower building.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Nothing, yet.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
God's Commandments and Kills: Genesis 2, The Next Day: Abraham and Isaac
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Genesis 10:
Genesis 11:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 11:6-7: Don't get above your pay grade and try to complete a tower because that will make nothing impossible. And God don't want that. Punishment, confusement of the language and you end up scattering.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Sounds like a lot of work and I'm comfortable with English. I'll pass on the tower building.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Nothing, yet.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Genesis 12:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 12:5 - Don't curse Abram. If you do, God will curse you.
Genesis 12:17 - Don't believe Abram when he tells you his wife is his sister. Because if you take Abram's "sister" into your harem innocently, God punishes you with plagues. Because that makes sense somehow.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
I don't know Abram and don't believe I've ever cursed anyone, so think that one's pretty easy to comply with.
Believing a lie to stock my harem with a beautiful woman? Can't say I've ever come across that problem. Reason one would be the "not having a harem" thing. I'm feeling good about the ease of complying with these laws.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Genesis 13:
Genesis 14:
Genesis 15:
Genesis 16:
Genesis 17:
Genesis 18:
Genesis 19:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 19:5-9 - Not an explicit commandment, but threatening homosexual gang rape and attempted breaking and entering gets you blinded and later destroyed by fire and brimstone (Genesis 5:24).
Genesis 19:26 - Looking at a burning city after being instructed not to yields turned into salt.
Genesis 19:33 - Getting your father drunk and raping him is unpunished, except that your weirdness is retold in the most popular book in the world for the next three to five thousand years at the least.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Most of us are not tempted by threatening gang rape, much less breaking into an abode to do. Should be pretty simple to avoid this one.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
The entire population of Sodom and Gomorrah, save Lot and his two daughters.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
The entire population of Sodom and Gomorrah, save Lot and his two daughters.
Genesis 20:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 20:2-4 - Don't take a married woman into your harem, even if she and her husband tell the half lie that she's not married. Luckily, if you do not touch her, even after believing the lie, you don't offend God (Genesis 20:6).
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Seems pretty simple to me.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
The entire population of Sodom and Gomorrah, except Lot and his daughters.
Genesis 21:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
The entire population of Sodom and Gomorrah, except Lot and his daughters.
Genesis 22:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Sacrifice your son if God tells you to.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
I would hope this would be impossible for you to do.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
One ram.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
The entire population of Sodom and Gomorrah, except Lot and his daughters. One ram.
Genesis 23:
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Genesis 10:
Genesis 11:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 11:6-7: Don't get above your pay grade and try to complete a tower because that will make nothing impossible. And God don't want that. Punishment, confusement of the language and you end up scattering.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Sounds like a lot of work and I'm comfortable with English. I'll pass on the tower building.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Nothing, yet.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Genesis 12:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 12:5 - Don't curse Abram. If you do, God will curse you.
Genesis 12:17 - Don't believe Abram when he tells you his wife is his sister. Because if you take Abram's "sister" into your harem innocently, God punishes you with plagues. Because that makes sense somehow.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
I don't know Abram and don't believe I've ever cursed anyone, so think that one's pretty easy to comply with.
Believing a lie to stock my harem with a beautiful woman? Can't say I've ever come across that problem. Reason one would be the "not having a harem" thing. I'm feeling good about the ease of complying with these laws.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Genesis 13:
Genesis 14:
Genesis 15:
Genesis 16:
Genesis 17:
Genesis 18:
Genesis 19:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 19:5-9 - Not an explicit commandment, but threatening homosexual gang rape and attempted breaking and entering gets you blinded and later destroyed by fire and brimstone (Genesis 5:24).
Genesis 19:26 - Looking at a burning city after being instructed not to yields turned into salt.
Genesis 19:33 - Getting your father drunk and raping him is unpunished, except that your weirdness is retold in the most popular book in the world for the next three to five thousand years at the least.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Most of us are not tempted by threatening gang rape, much less breaking into an abode to do. Should be pretty simple to avoid this one.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
The entire population of Sodom and Gomorrah, save Lot and his two daughters.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
The entire population of Sodom and Gomorrah, save Lot and his two daughters.
Genesis 20:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 20:2-4 - Don't take a married woman into your harem, even if she and her husband tell the half lie that she's not married. Luckily, if you do not touch her, even after believing the lie, you don't offend God (Genesis 20:6).
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Seems pretty simple to me.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
The entire population of Sodom and Gomorrah, except Lot and his daughters.
Genesis 21:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
The entire population of Sodom and Gomorrah, except Lot and his daughters.
Genesis 22:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Sacrifice your son if God tells you to.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
I would hope this would be impossible for you to do.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
One ram.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
The entire population of Sodom and Gomorrah, except Lot and his daughters. One ram.
Genesis 23:
Genesis 10
This chapter is a recitation of the genealogy of Shem, Ham and Japeth. One of Japeth's sons is Magog, which I know we'll be hearing about later when we get to the apocalyptic prophecies. Japeth's sons reside in what is now Asia Minor/Turkey. Ham's sons inhabit Canaan and Cush, or the Egyptian empire as it stood at the time of the writing of this chapter. Cush is the father of Nimrod, a hunter and the first of the "mighty men". Shem is the father of the Semetic people, including all "Hebrews" who would become Israel.
Asimov discusses Ararat and extensive flooding that would seem to cover the entire world to the ancient people along the Nile, Tigris and Euphrates. He thinks the reference to the "fountains of the deep" might indicate a tidal wave, which combined with heavy rains and flooding, would be catastrophic to ancients living in the flood plain .
Sumerian legend tells of the great hero Gilgamesh who also saved his family and samples of animals on a boat from a bad flood in Sumerian legend. Noah's story shares other plot points with the Gilgamesh legend, indicating it is a much older tale.
The ark settled in the "mountains of Ararat", not a specific mountain.
No laws or kills in this chapter, just an ancestry record and setting the stage of the world from which Abraham will soon emerge.
Asimov discusses Ararat and extensive flooding that would seem to cover the entire world to the ancient people along the Nile, Tigris and Euphrates. He thinks the reference to the "fountains of the deep" might indicate a tidal wave, which combined with heavy rains and flooding, would be catastrophic to ancients living in the flood plain .
Sumerian legend tells of the great hero Gilgamesh who also saved his family and samples of animals on a boat from a bad flood in Sumerian legend. Noah's story shares other plot points with the Gilgamesh legend, indicating it is a much older tale.
The ark settled in the "mountains of Ararat", not a specific mountain.
No laws or kills in this chapter, just an ancestry record and setting the stage of the world from which Abraham will soon emerge.
Monday, September 4, 2017
Genesis 9
God blesses Noah and his sons, tells them to be fruitful and multiply. Further, God will put the dread of men in all beasts, birds and fish and gives all plants and animals to man to eat. However, a few rules go along with this gift:
* May not eat something that is alive or its blood
* Requires a reckoning of the blood of every beast and man; and
* If man sheds blood, his blood shall be shed.
God then again promises to never destroy earth by flood again and gives the rainbow as a symbol and to remind Him of this covenant. Again, for an omnipresent God, it seems odd that He needs mementos to remind him to not recreate the off the scales carnage He just unleashed on His creations.
Noah's sons leave the ark and become the fathers of all of earth's peoples. Noah plants a vineyard, makes wine, gets drunk and passes out naked in his tent. So the father and sons are going in different directions after the trauma of enduring the death of almost all life on earth. Anyway, Ham, who in verse 22 is referred to as Noah's youngest, becomes father of Canaan, who in verse 24 is referred to as Noah's youngest, (unclear if "Canaan" is a person or a general description of the peoples that lived in Canaan) discovers a drunk, naked, passed out Noah and goes out to tell his brothers.
Shem and Japeth get a garment and enter Noah's tent walking backwards so as to not see Noah's nakedness and cover him with the garment. Noah comes to and is enraged. He curses Canaan (again, unclear if this is Ham's/his son or the land) as the slave of the other two brothers. Seems a slight overreaction to these modern eyes, but this seems sanctioned by God, so who am I to argue.
Asimov discusses the enigmatic character of Enoch, the one that walked with God. Asimov notes that the genealogical chains of Cain and Enoch are very similar. Also, the extreme ages of the patriarchs appear to be borrowed from Sumerian legend, where many heroes would live up to 65,000 years. Enoch lives for 365 years before walking with God, coincidentally the same number of days in a year, while his father lives 965 years and his son 969.
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesi 9:4 - May not anything alive or its blood.
Genesis 9:6 - Requires a reckoning of the blood of every beast and man. Not sure really what this means. I think it may mean that every death must be accounted for, such as a murderer brought to justice or thanks given to God for meat. Not sure, though.
Genesis 9:6 - If man sheds blood, his blood shall be shed.
Genesis 9:7 - Go forth, be fruitful and multiply.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
A rib eye served anything but rare is a crime, so we've blown past the not eating blood thing for the most of us.
Verse 6 is the first mention of capital punishment for murder. Cain got off light with his mark and wandering. I support capital punishment, and vote for politicians that also support it, although I've never directly participated in an execution personally. I think I pass.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Nobody, but Ham and his descendants are cursed to be slaves by Noah. Thanks, dad.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Still beyond count. Going to have to reset the running total for the next section.
* May not eat something that is alive or its blood
* Requires a reckoning of the blood of every beast and man; and
* If man sheds blood, his blood shall be shed.
God then again promises to never destroy earth by flood again and gives the rainbow as a symbol and to remind Him of this covenant. Again, for an omnipresent God, it seems odd that He needs mementos to remind him to not recreate the off the scales carnage He just unleashed on His creations.
Noah's sons leave the ark and become the fathers of all of earth's peoples. Noah plants a vineyard, makes wine, gets drunk and passes out naked in his tent. So the father and sons are going in different directions after the trauma of enduring the death of almost all life on earth. Anyway, Ham, who in verse 22 is referred to as Noah's youngest, becomes father of Canaan, who in verse 24 is referred to as Noah's youngest, (unclear if "Canaan" is a person or a general description of the peoples that lived in Canaan) discovers a drunk, naked, passed out Noah and goes out to tell his brothers.
Shem and Japeth get a garment and enter Noah's tent walking backwards so as to not see Noah's nakedness and cover him with the garment. Noah comes to and is enraged. He curses Canaan (again, unclear if this is Ham's/his son or the land) as the slave of the other two brothers. Seems a slight overreaction to these modern eyes, but this seems sanctioned by God, so who am I to argue.
Asimov discusses the enigmatic character of Enoch, the one that walked with God. Asimov notes that the genealogical chains of Cain and Enoch are very similar. Also, the extreme ages of the patriarchs appear to be borrowed from Sumerian legend, where many heroes would live up to 65,000 years. Enoch lives for 365 years before walking with God, coincidentally the same number of days in a year, while his father lives 965 years and his son 969.
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesi 9:4 - May not anything alive or its blood.
Genesis 9:6 - Requires a reckoning of the blood of every beast and man. Not sure really what this means. I think it may mean that every death must be accounted for, such as a murderer brought to justice or thanks given to God for meat. Not sure, though.
Genesis 9:6 - If man sheds blood, his blood shall be shed.
Genesis 9:7 - Go forth, be fruitful and multiply.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
A rib eye served anything but rare is a crime, so we've blown past the not eating blood thing for the most of us.
Verse 6 is the first mention of capital punishment for murder. Cain got off light with his mark and wandering. I support capital punishment, and vote for politicians that also support it, although I've never directly participated in an execution personally. I think I pass.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Nobody, but Ham and his descendants are cursed to be slaves by Noah. Thanks, dad.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Still beyond count. Going to have to reset the running total for the next section.
Sunday, September 3, 2017
Genesis 8
God "remembers" Noah and recedes the waters after 150 days. Again, it seems God is not omnipotent nor omnipresent as it seems the last living things on his creation appear to have slipped his mind. The fountains of the deep and the firmament are closed and the rains stop, the first mention of rain as part of the disaster. In any event, on the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark comes to rest in the mountains of Ararat, which Asimov tells us lies in eastern Turkey. Then the Bible says on the tenth day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains could be seen. However, the ark has already come to a rest in Ararat, but only now the mountains can be seen? I'm missing something.
Noah sends out a raven, which does not return. He then sends out a dove, which does. Seven days later he sends out the dove again, which returns with an olive branch. Seven days later he sends out the dove again and it does not return. Lots of sevens in this chapter.
Noah opens the ark to find dry land. Noah, his wife and sons and their wives depart, as do the animals who go forth to be fruitful and multiply. God says he will not destroy the earth in the same way again.
Noah then makes an offering of the clean animals and the smell is pleasing to God. God makes a covenant that he will never again curse the ground because of man or destroy every living thing as he had done. This appears to lift the curse on the ground he made in response to Adam's disobedience way back in Genesis 3:17.
No new laws from God and it appears God is done killing this go around. I wonder where the raven went.
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Uncounted
Noah sends out a raven, which does not return. He then sends out a dove, which does. Seven days later he sends out the dove again, which returns with an olive branch. Seven days later he sends out the dove again and it does not return. Lots of sevens in this chapter.
Noah opens the ark to find dry land. Noah, his wife and sons and their wives depart, as do the animals who go forth to be fruitful and multiply. God says he will not destroy the earth in the same way again.
Noah then makes an offering of the clean animals and the smell is pleasing to God. God makes a covenant that he will never again curse the ground because of man or destroy every living thing as he had done. This appears to lift the curse on the ground he made in response to Adam's disobedience way back in Genesis 3:17.
No new laws from God and it appears God is done killing this go around. I wonder where the raven went.
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Uncounted
Genesis 7
Now God changes his instructions to Noah to take aboard seven pairs of each clean animal and birds and one pair of each unclean animals. What follows is forty days and nights of deluge. Interestingly, despite what you've been told your entire life, the Bible doesn't say it rained.
Instead, it says the fountains of the earth opened up and that the "windows of the heavens" opened. This doesn't necessarily say rain and may refer to the firmament being a type of dome that separated the waters of the deep and the waters above. See the discussion in Genesis 1 of the concept of a "firmament". Asimov thinks this reference to waters other than rain may refer to a tidal wave. The flood covers the mountains and prevailed for 150 days.
Instead, it says the fountains of the earth opened up and that the "windows of the heavens" opened. This doesn't necessarily say rain and may refer to the firmament being a type of dome that separated the waters of the deep and the waters above. See the discussion in Genesis 1 of the concept of a "firmament". Asimov thinks this reference to waters other than rain may refer to a tidal wave. The flood covers the mountains and prevailed for 150 days.
Saturday, September 2, 2017
Genesis 6
Men begin to multiply and take wives. The "sons of God" marry the "daughters of men", but this does not make the resulting men from these unions divine. Now this is weird, who are these "sons of God"? The resulting men are the "Nephilian", the mighty men of old. This seems to be remnants of an older myth, like perhaps the Enoch story of being taken to walk with God.
Man's wretchedness makes God sorry he created man and decides to blot him out, except for Noah, who is righteous and walked with God. This parallels the other version of man's wickedness, seeming editing of two traditions into one. God commands Noah to build an ark and take his family and two of every creature into it.
Asimov underscores that the tale of Cain and Abel may be an account of friction between nomads (Abel) and city dwellers (Cain). In ancient Hebrew, a cognate of Cain means "smith". And indeed, one of Cain's descendants, Tabul-Cain, literally means the smith of Tabul.
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 6:5 - Wickedness of men is great and men have evil thoughts continuously in their hearts. God's solution in Genesis 6:7 is a determination to kill all men except Noah.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Don't know. I'm capable of whole minutes of time during the day when I don't have evil in my heart. Might be different for others. YMMV.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
No new laws, but God seems quite peeved at man's wickedness. Don't like where this is going.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero.
Man's wretchedness makes God sorry he created man and decides to blot him out, except for Noah, who is righteous and walked with God. This parallels the other version of man's wickedness, seeming editing of two traditions into one. God commands Noah to build an ark and take his family and two of every creature into it.
Asimov underscores that the tale of Cain and Abel may be an account of friction between nomads (Abel) and city dwellers (Cain). In ancient Hebrew, a cognate of Cain means "smith". And indeed, one of Cain's descendants, Tabul-Cain, literally means the smith of Tabul.
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 6:5 - Wickedness of men is great and men have evil thoughts continuously in their hearts. God's solution in Genesis 6:7 is a determination to kill all men except Noah.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Don't know. I'm capable of whole minutes of time during the day when I don't have evil in my heart. Might be different for others. YMMV.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
No new laws, but God seems quite peeved at man's wickedness. Don't like where this is going.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero.
Friday, September 1, 2017
Genesis 5
A short chapter detailing the genealogy of Adam. Adam has many sons and daughters, dies at the ages of 930. The genealogy is a list the of ten generations between Adam and Noah, through the line of Seth, Adam's third son. Enoch, representing the seventh generation does not die, but walks with God and God "takes" him. At 500, Noah has his three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Short entry, but that's all that happens.
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Nope
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Nothing
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Nada
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Not this time
Short entry, but that's all that happens.
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Nope
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Nothing
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Nada
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Not this time
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Genesis 4
Cain and Abel are the first offspring of Adam and Eve. Cain is a tiller of soil and Abel is a shepherd. They both make offerings to God of the fruits of their labors. God accepts Cain's offering of lamb, but rejects Cain's offering of fruit. God does not understand why Cain is upset at His rejection of Cain's offering, since God still accepts Cain. Commentary suggest this reflects tension between farmers and nomads.
Cain kills Abel and Abel's blood cries from the earth to God, reflecting perhaps that God considers blood to be sacred. God gives Cain a mark so that no one takes revenge on Cain to avenge Abel's murder. Cain goes east of Eden and founds a city.
Adam and Eve have a third son, Seth, whose son the Bible says is the first to worship the "Lord".
Reflecting on the expulsion from Eden, Asimov speculates it might reflect a nostalgia for nomadic times that are no more once agriculture is developed, which required settling in one place.
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 4:10-12 - God doesn't come right out and say it, but it appears He has a problem with murder, particularly one borne of jealously, as appears to be the case here. Penalty is, interestingly at this point, not death but banishment. Cain is a fugitive and "wanderer of the earth". Further, he will not be able to grow from the earth any more.
Genesis 4:15 - Murdering Cain is strictly prohibited. God places a mark on Cain to give the heads up to any potential Cain murderer. The penalty is "sevenfold", but doesn't explain what that means. Killed seven times? Be made a fugitive seven times?
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Murdering my brother due to jealousy because God liked his sacrifice more than mine hasn't been a problem so far. First, I don't have a brother. Second, I don't do old school sacrifices. Spoiler alert, God doesn't want them, either.
As for murdering Cain, the Bible says he's been gone a long time. So, even if you wanted to murder him, it's impossible. So, what exactly this "sevenfold" punishment is will remain a mystery.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Zero
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero
Cain kills Abel and Abel's blood cries from the earth to God, reflecting perhaps that God considers blood to be sacred. God gives Cain a mark so that no one takes revenge on Cain to avenge Abel's murder. Cain goes east of Eden and founds a city.
Adam and Eve have a third son, Seth, whose son the Bible says is the first to worship the "Lord".
Reflecting on the expulsion from Eden, Asimov speculates it might reflect a nostalgia for nomadic times that are no more once agriculture is developed, which required settling in one place.
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 4:10-12 - God doesn't come right out and say it, but it appears He has a problem with murder, particularly one borne of jealously, as appears to be the case here. Penalty is, interestingly at this point, not death but banishment. Cain is a fugitive and "wanderer of the earth". Further, he will not be able to grow from the earth any more.
Genesis 4:15 - Murdering Cain is strictly prohibited. God places a mark on Cain to give the heads up to any potential Cain murderer. The penalty is "sevenfold", but doesn't explain what that means. Killed seven times? Be made a fugitive seven times?
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Murdering my brother due to jealousy because God liked his sacrifice more than mine hasn't been a problem so far. First, I don't have a brother. Second, I don't do old school sacrifices. Spoiler alert, God doesn't want them, either.
As for murdering Cain, the Bible says he's been gone a long time. So, even if you wanted to murder him, it's impossible. So, what exactly this "sevenfold" punishment is will remain a mystery.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Zero
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Genesis 3
The Serpent tempts woman by telling her show won't die if she eats the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, but instead become like God, know the difference between good and evil. She then gives the fruit to her husband, who also eats, and they see that they are naked and make aprons of fig leaves to cover themselves.
Gold walks through the garden and cannot find them. Again, God does not appear to be omnipotent and omniscient, as He walks instead of appearing where He wishes and is unable to find those that hide. Yet later, we are told he knows every thought of every person.
Upon finding man and woman and learning what they have done, God curses the Serpent to crawl upon its belly and eternal enmity between it and the offspring of the woman. He then curses the woman to increases pain in childbirth and gives her to her husband to rule over her.
He then curses the ground, interestingly not Adam (who is named in this chapter for the first time) to toil the ground. As Adam had already been laboring at tilling the garden in the last chapter, toil appears to be something different. One type of labor is divine, tilling, but another, toiling, is a curse. The notes and Asimov do not posit on the difference. Further, God curses Adam to no longer be able to eat of the Tree of Life, which eventual death and to return to the dust from which he came.
Finally, God gives Adam and Eve (who has also been named) clothes made of skins and banishes them from the garden. The gate of the garden is guarded by a "cherubin" and a flaming sword so that man may never return. There is another reference by God to Himself as "us", leading to the question of where the other gods are.
Asimov notes there is only one other talking animal in the Bible and there aren't many human like animals in other Jewish traditions. Perhaps the story of temptation is also borrowed?
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 3:6 - Since eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge will make Adam and Eve "wise" (meaning perhaps freedom from God), God has forbidden them from eating it. But a talking snake talks Eve into it, who talks Adam into it. The fact that Eve is talking to a snake that talks back indicates there are "magic" mushrooms in Eden. Interesting God does not forbid them from eating that.
In any event, they eat, Adam must toil the soil and Eve must endure pain in childbirth, and incidentally be sexually reduced to mush at the sight of Adam. The snake loses its legs.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Nobody knows where the Tree of Knowledge is or if its even still around, so pretty easy to comply.
It seems to me that God is playing a head game with his creations and eating of the Tree of Knowledge would be a way to refuse to play. As one wiser than I once said, if you know the game is fixed, you cannot lose if you refuse to play.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Still zero, don't worry, the big one is right around the corner. Spoiler alert, there's the drunk called Noah that God has plans for.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero
Gold walks through the garden and cannot find them. Again, God does not appear to be omnipotent and omniscient, as He walks instead of appearing where He wishes and is unable to find those that hide. Yet later, we are told he knows every thought of every person.
Upon finding man and woman and learning what they have done, God curses the Serpent to crawl upon its belly and eternal enmity between it and the offspring of the woman. He then curses the woman to increases pain in childbirth and gives her to her husband to rule over her.
He then curses the ground, interestingly not Adam (who is named in this chapter for the first time) to toil the ground. As Adam had already been laboring at tilling the garden in the last chapter, toil appears to be something different. One type of labor is divine, tilling, but another, toiling, is a curse. The notes and Asimov do not posit on the difference. Further, God curses Adam to no longer be able to eat of the Tree of Life, which eventual death and to return to the dust from which he came.
Finally, God gives Adam and Eve (who has also been named) clothes made of skins and banishes them from the garden. The gate of the garden is guarded by a "cherubin" and a flaming sword so that man may never return. There is another reference by God to Himself as "us", leading to the question of where the other gods are.
Asimov notes there is only one other talking animal in the Bible and there aren't many human like animals in other Jewish traditions. Perhaps the story of temptation is also borrowed?
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 3:6 - Since eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge will make Adam and Eve "wise" (meaning perhaps freedom from God), God has forbidden them from eating it. But a talking snake talks Eve into it, who talks Adam into it. The fact that Eve is talking to a snake that talks back indicates there are "magic" mushrooms in Eden. Interesting God does not forbid them from eating that.
In any event, they eat, Adam must toil the soil and Eve must endure pain in childbirth, and incidentally be sexually reduced to mush at the sight of Adam. The snake loses its legs.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Nobody knows where the Tree of Knowledge is or if its even still around, so pretty easy to comply.
It seems to me that God is playing a head game with his creations and eating of the Tree of Knowledge would be a way to refuse to play. As one wiser than I once said, if you know the game is fixed, you cannot lose if you refuse to play.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Still zero, don't worry, the big one is right around the corner. Spoiler alert, there's the drunk called Noah that God has plans for.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero
Genesis 2
God rests on the seventh day of creation from all of his work and blesses the day, creating the Sabbath, which is Saturday for Jews and Sunday for Christians. I assume the reason why Christians have a different holy day will be explained in the New Testament, but we are quite far from that. The biggest question that springs to my mind is, God needs rest? The omnipotent being that I was taught about in Sunday School did not seem to need rest.
The Bible then notes there was no rain in those days, but that a mist came up from the ground to water everything. The notes in this version say this may be a throwback to other creation myths in which the Earth was on top of primordial waters.
God creates man, and the order of creation is different than the one just outlined in the previous chapter. Man is created before vegetation, animals and woman. For those that believe every word of the Bible is literally true, one of the accounts of the order of creation must be wrong. Which is it and how do you reconcile that with the belief that every word is literally true?
God creates a garden from which a river flows, which become four rivers, including the Tigris and Euphrates. Asimov has a long discussion about the four rivers in an attempt to place the garden. In short, the four rivers do not split from a common source today. Asimov says that is because we are working downstream and the author of Genesis 2 may have been working upstream, so that in ancient times, the four rivers may have converged at some point. He gets pretty inside baseball with this, but makes a good case that the delta between the Tigris and Euphrates was not as extensive then as it is now and they may have indeed converged in the area that we place Sumeria.
God then tells man to till the Garden of Eden, but to not eat of the Tree of Knowledge, as it will cause man's death. This is the first directive of God to man. He then thinks it is not good for man to be alone, so creates and gives man dominion over all beasts and birds and allows him to name them all.
God also sees that man needs a helper, so puts man to sleep and takes a rib and creates woman. In the previous chapter, both man and woman were created from dust at the same time, so why the rib? The notes say this probably reflects the importance of marriage in this tradition, the creation of a family becomes of one flesh. Man and woman are naked and unashamed, due to their guiltlessness.
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 2:7 - Seventh day is "hallowed".
Genesis 2: 16-17 - Man may eat from every tree, except the Tree of Knowledge.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
God doesn't really lay out any rules at this point on how to respect the seventh day. So sure, probably an easy one.
There's lots of foods I've eaten once or had no interest in eating in the first place, so this is probably an easy one, too. That is, unless a smooth talking snake and naked lady get in my ear. Let's hope that doesn't happen!
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Zero.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero.
The Bible then notes there was no rain in those days, but that a mist came up from the ground to water everything. The notes in this version say this may be a throwback to other creation myths in which the Earth was on top of primordial waters.
God creates man, and the order of creation is different than the one just outlined in the previous chapter. Man is created before vegetation, animals and woman. For those that believe every word of the Bible is literally true, one of the accounts of the order of creation must be wrong. Which is it and how do you reconcile that with the belief that every word is literally true?
God creates a garden from which a river flows, which become four rivers, including the Tigris and Euphrates. Asimov has a long discussion about the four rivers in an attempt to place the garden. In short, the four rivers do not split from a common source today. Asimov says that is because we are working downstream and the author of Genesis 2 may have been working upstream, so that in ancient times, the four rivers may have converged at some point. He gets pretty inside baseball with this, but makes a good case that the delta between the Tigris and Euphrates was not as extensive then as it is now and they may have indeed converged in the area that we place Sumeria.
God then tells man to till the Garden of Eden, but to not eat of the Tree of Knowledge, as it will cause man's death. This is the first directive of God to man. He then thinks it is not good for man to be alone, so creates and gives man dominion over all beasts and birds and allows him to name them all.
God also sees that man needs a helper, so puts man to sleep and takes a rib and creates woman. In the previous chapter, both man and woman were created from dust at the same time, so why the rib? The notes say this probably reflects the importance of marriage in this tradition, the creation of a family becomes of one flesh. Man and woman are naked and unashamed, due to their guiltlessness.
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 2:7 - Seventh day is "hallowed".
Genesis 2: 16-17 - Man may eat from every tree, except the Tree of Knowledge.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
God doesn't really lay out any rules at this point on how to respect the seventh day. So sure, probably an easy one.
There's lots of foods I've eaten once or had no interest in eating in the first place, so this is probably an easy one, too. That is, unless a smooth talking snake and naked lady get in my ear. Let's hope that doesn't happen!
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Zero.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero.
Genesis 1
Day one: God creates the heavens and earth and light. From the light he separates day and night, but no mention of dark being created. Hmmm, sounds like someone has an issue with night.
Day two: God separates the "firmament" (which the notes tell me is a solid dome) or Heaven from the upper and lower waters. So if I'm reading that right, Heaven is a physical place that divides water. Now the old story about the Tower of Babel makes a bit more sense, since it appears it is a place man can indeed travel to. They taught us in my Sunday School that Heaven was more of an ethereal concept, had no substance, but a kind of merging of our souls with God. That does not appear to be the case here, though. I don't see anything in this chapter about the waters above, but the waters below:
Day three: God gathers the waters under Heaven to one place and dry land appears. God calls forth vegetation.
Day four: God creates light in the firmament (like a lightbulb?). He separates day and night and the seasons and the years. He gives light to the earth. So does that mean the light created on day one had nothing to do with the lower waters and the earth until now? Or is the author reminding us that the light and day and night extended to the earth? The two lights in the firmament consist of a greater and a lesser, which rule the day and the night (like a dimmer switch?)
Day five: God creates the sea creatures and birds.
Day six: God creates land creatures and man "in our image" and "after our likeness". There's the polytheism Asimov identified that might be a remnant of a polytheistic past by the Hebrews. God gives man dominion over all creatures and creates male and female. God give the vegetation to man and the creatures for food, but does not give the creatures to man for food. Take note, PETA!
Asimov tackles the physical location of the Garden of Eden. This is another one that I remember from Sunday School was supposed to be a mystery. I recall seeing books and documentary programs about the actual location of it, some placing it in such odd spots as Atlantis or Mars. Asimov posits the radical theory that the Garden was exactly where the Bible says it was, Eden, which is the name for the Valley of the Euphrates River, which is how it was referred to at the time Genesis was believed to have been written. Coincidentally or not, this is the same area that one of the earliest civilizations came forth, the Sumerians. Perhaps the location of the beginning of man was the result of oral histories of the Sumerians that have since been lost?
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 1:29- God's first law/commandment: Eat all the plants you want, leave the animals alone, man. Well, He doesn't explicitly say man is to be vegetarian. Instead, he says man may eat all the plants without mentioning the animals. There's a concept in law similar to this, the name of which escapes me. In short, if a sign says "Parking Permitted from 7pm-6am", the implication is that parking is not allowed 6am-7pm. Anyway, it appears only eating plants gets God's permission at this point.
Spoiler alert, there's a certain tree man is not allowed to eat from. Let's just say, let's hope there aren't any talking serpents around.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Luckily for those of us that enjoy a rare rib eye, the notes say God gave us permission to eat animals in the time of Noah, so I think we're ok on this one.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
No deaths, yet.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
0
Tomorrow, the second telling of the story of Creation!
Day two: God separates the "firmament" (which the notes tell me is a solid dome) or Heaven from the upper and lower waters. So if I'm reading that right, Heaven is a physical place that divides water. Now the old story about the Tower of Babel makes a bit more sense, since it appears it is a place man can indeed travel to. They taught us in my Sunday School that Heaven was more of an ethereal concept, had no substance, but a kind of merging of our souls with God. That does not appear to be the case here, though. I don't see anything in this chapter about the waters above, but the waters below:
Day three: God gathers the waters under Heaven to one place and dry land appears. God calls forth vegetation.
Day four: God creates light in the firmament (like a lightbulb?). He separates day and night and the seasons and the years. He gives light to the earth. So does that mean the light created on day one had nothing to do with the lower waters and the earth until now? Or is the author reminding us that the light and day and night extended to the earth? The two lights in the firmament consist of a greater and a lesser, which rule the day and the night (like a dimmer switch?)
Day five: God creates the sea creatures and birds.
Day six: God creates land creatures and man "in our image" and "after our likeness". There's the polytheism Asimov identified that might be a remnant of a polytheistic past by the Hebrews. God gives man dominion over all creatures and creates male and female. God give the vegetation to man and the creatures for food, but does not give the creatures to man for food. Take note, PETA!
Asimov tackles the physical location of the Garden of Eden. This is another one that I remember from Sunday School was supposed to be a mystery. I recall seeing books and documentary programs about the actual location of it, some placing it in such odd spots as Atlantis or Mars. Asimov posits the radical theory that the Garden was exactly where the Bible says it was, Eden, which is the name for the Valley of the Euphrates River, which is how it was referred to at the time Genesis was believed to have been written. Coincidentally or not, this is the same area that one of the earliest civilizations came forth, the Sumerians. Perhaps the location of the beginning of man was the result of oral histories of the Sumerians that have since been lost?
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 1:29- God's first law/commandment: Eat all the plants you want, leave the animals alone, man. Well, He doesn't explicitly say man is to be vegetarian. Instead, he says man may eat all the plants without mentioning the animals. There's a concept in law similar to this, the name of which escapes me. In short, if a sign says "Parking Permitted from 7pm-6am", the implication is that parking is not allowed 6am-7pm. Anyway, it appears only eating plants gets God's permission at this point.
Spoiler alert, there's a certain tree man is not allowed to eat from. Let's just say, let's hope there aren't any talking serpents around.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Luckily for those of us that enjoy a rare rib eye, the notes say God gave us permission to eat animals in the time of Noah, so I think we're ok on this one.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
No deaths, yet.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
0
Tomorrow, the second telling of the story of Creation!
Sunday, August 27, 2017
Introduction to Genesis
The editors tell us the Book of Genesis' purpose is to narrate God's dealings with man in general and his special purpose with Israel in particular. Sounds interesting.
Like Asimov, the editors say the book is the work of an editor working from Judean, Ephraimite and Priestly traditions and documents. This frankly doesn't interest me that much, other than as a riposte to fundamentalists that believe every word of the Bible is the literal word of God. I'm sorry to keep bringing it up, but I just report the facts, ma'am. Further, the work of the editor also reflects centuries of oral tradition.
Asimov discusses "man". The creation of man as told in Genesis 2 is made of clay and not simply called into existence by spoken command, as in the Priestly tradition told in Genesis 1. He further says that "man" is a translation of the Hebrew "adam", which has the same meaning as the English "mankind". Now this is something I didn't already know, the first in this read through for me. So the creation story is that of Mankind (similar to the WWE wrestler?) and Eve. Hmmm. Adam only becomes a proper name only in the fifth chapter of Genesis, although the KJ uses it as a proper name in Genesis 2:19, "every beast...and brought them unto Adam."
Tomorrow, God creates the universe, stay tuned.
Like Asimov, the editors say the book is the work of an editor working from Judean, Ephraimite and Priestly traditions and documents. This frankly doesn't interest me that much, other than as a riposte to fundamentalists that believe every word of the Bible is the literal word of God. I'm sorry to keep bringing it up, but I just report the facts, ma'am. Further, the work of the editor also reflects centuries of oral tradition.
Asimov discusses "man". The creation of man as told in Genesis 2 is made of clay and not simply called into existence by spoken command, as in the Priestly tradition told in Genesis 1. He further says that "man" is a translation of the Hebrew "adam", which has the same meaning as the English "mankind". Now this is something I didn't already know, the first in this read through for me. So the creation story is that of Mankind (similar to the WWE wrestler?) and Eve. Hmmm. Adam only becomes a proper name only in the fifth chapter of Genesis, although the KJ uses it as a proper name in Genesis 2:19, "every beast...and brought them unto Adam."
Tomorrow, God creates the universe, stay tuned.
Introduction to the Old Testament
I know, I know, this seems like a lot of introductory material. Don't worry, Asimov has a little meat to chew on towards the end of this installment. In any event, when we last left you, we were still introducing this book, perhaps the most famous and influential one in the history of mankind, as if it were some obscure document you never heard of. This is more of the same.
This section is an overview of the contents of the OT: the history, law, lives of the rich and poor, poetry and prose literature. It's all in there. More discussion of the various versions of the OT over time and again, it bored me. Take a class if you would like more information.
Asimov talks about the term "Lord God", which first appears in Genesis 2, which is a second version of the creation. In there first version in Genesis 1, the Creator was referred to as "God", now why "Lord God"? The Creator in Genesis is "YHVH", which many pronounce as "Yahweh", who is the specific Deity name in Genesis 2. The ancients considered the ability to pronounce a name as giving one power over the one name, so the Jews may have avoided ever referringdirectly to the Creator as YHVH.
As Genesis appears to be an edited work from several sources, the difference in how the Creator is named in Genesis 1 and 2 may reflect how different groups of Jews may have referred to the Creator. Since the editor could have reasonably assumed that his reader would know to who he is referring to, he did not see a need to use one consistent term for YHVH when compiling Genesis. Sounds reasonable to me.
This section is an overview of the contents of the OT: the history, law, lives of the rich and poor, poetry and prose literature. It's all in there. More discussion of the various versions of the OT over time and again, it bored me. Take a class if you would like more information.
Asimov talks about the term "Lord God", which first appears in Genesis 2, which is a second version of the creation. In there first version in Genesis 1, the Creator was referred to as "God", now why "Lord God"? The Creator in Genesis is "YHVH", which many pronounce as "Yahweh", who is the specific Deity name in Genesis 2. The ancients considered the ability to pronounce a name as giving one power over the one name, so the Jews may have avoided ever referringdirectly to the Creator as YHVH.
As Genesis appears to be an edited work from several sources, the difference in how the Creator is named in Genesis 1 and 2 may reflect how different groups of Jews may have referred to the Creator. Since the editor could have reasonably assumed that his reader would know to who he is referring to, he did not see a need to use one consistent term for YHVH when compiling Genesis. Sounds reasonable to me.
Saturday, August 19, 2017
Preface to the Revised Standard Edition
This edition is a revision of the American Standard Edition of 1901, itself a revision of the King James Version (KJ) of 1611. A history of English translations of the Bible up to and after the KJ is given. Subsequent versions since KJ have been necessary to correct defects in the KJ that were not revealed until after it was published and also to reflect changes in English usage. In many cases, subsequent research and discoveries of other sources make a superior English translation possible due to those sources not being available to the committee King James assembled.
A discussion of the various words for God and how and why they are translated as they are ensues to explain why this text uses "God", "Lord", and "Jehovah" when it does, instead of using one consistent term throughout. I found it interesting, but beyond the scope of my purposes with this blog.
Asimov continues with an entry on the Seventh Day. I realize my discussion from Asimov is ahead of all the preface material in the actual book, but this is the way I decided to do it, one entry/chapter from each at a time. Don't worry, it all catches up. In any event, the creation has a seventh day and God declares it the Sabbath. Prior to the Babylonian exile of the Jews, the Sabbath's importance was quite small but gained great importance during and after it. Since Genesis was written after the exile, the Sabbath has great importance in the story of creation.
Interesting stuff, but I'm getting antsy to go ahead and get on with it.
A discussion of the various words for God and how and why they are translated as they are ensues to explain why this text uses "God", "Lord", and "Jehovah" when it does, instead of using one consistent term throughout. I found it interesting, but beyond the scope of my purposes with this blog.
Asimov continues with an entry on the Seventh Day. I realize my discussion from Asimov is ahead of all the preface material in the actual book, but this is the way I decided to do it, one entry/chapter from each at a time. Don't worry, it all catches up. In any event, the creation has a seventh day and God declares it the Sabbath. Prior to the Babylonian exile of the Jews, the Sabbath's importance was quite small but gained great importance during and after it. Since Genesis was written after the exile, the Sabbath has great importance in the story of creation.
Interesting stuff, but I'm getting antsy to go ahead and get on with it.
Friday, August 18, 2017
Duluth, Minnesota plus bonus Holiday Inn Review
I had to do quite a bit of travel on business a few years ago. After an assignment in Indiana, I got sent to Duluth, Minnesota for an assignment meant to be one day but turned into a week. Here's an oldie but goldie review I wrote back then:
Well, this is the third day of being trapped, er I mean "stay" in Duluth, Minnesota. As I have nothing better to do, I thought I would share my cultural observations of the denizens of the Far North.
This is a very white place - I was downtown the last two days and only saw a handful of black people and one Indian couple. That in of itself is not interesting. However, when compared to West Lafayette, Indiana, there are a couple of interesting differences. First of all, Indiana radio seemed to be dominated by country stations and conservative talk radio. Here, the radio is dominated by actual rock stations (not pop) and sports talk. I think this is positive. Don't get me wrong, this is a God forsaken Hellhole, but I'd rather drive around here with the radio on scan than Indiana.
Second, these people are serious sports fans. I was in a sports bar for game 6 of the Avalanche/Wild playoffs and these people were really freaking out. They also have a kind of fatalistic outlook on the prospects for their teams. The Twins got killed by the Yankees and the sportscaster's lead was hilarious: "The bad news is that Twins hitting got only one run against Yankees pitching. The worse news is that Twins pitching gave up 15 runs to Yankees hitting. The worst news is that the Twins are 0-13 against the Yankees over the past two seasons. The good news is that the Twins don't play the Yankees again until 2004!"
Third, I think they are boozers. I'm pretty sure that this town is smaller than Little Rock, but there is almost literally a bar on every block. I have not seen this many bars per capita outside of New Orleans. They have a Skywalk that connects a lot of the buildings downtown. Almost all of these buildings have bars in them. I checked into the downtown Holiday Inn, and they gave me drink coupons for, I'm not kidding, FIVE bars. Who is checking into this hotel??? If you ain't a member of AA before coming here, you will be when you leave!
Well, this is the third day of being trapped, er I mean "stay" in Duluth, Minnesota. As I have nothing better to do, I thought I would share my cultural observations of the denizens of the Far North.
This is a very white place - I was downtown the last two days and only saw a handful of black people and one Indian couple. That in of itself is not interesting. However, when compared to West Lafayette, Indiana, there are a couple of interesting differences. First of all, Indiana radio seemed to be dominated by country stations and conservative talk radio. Here, the radio is dominated by actual rock stations (not pop) and sports talk. I think this is positive. Don't get me wrong, this is a God forsaken Hellhole, but I'd rather drive around here with the radio on scan than Indiana.
Second, these people are serious sports fans. I was in a sports bar for game 6 of the Avalanche/Wild playoffs and these people were really freaking out. They also have a kind of fatalistic outlook on the prospects for their teams. The Twins got killed by the Yankees and the sportscaster's lead was hilarious: "The bad news is that Twins hitting got only one run against Yankees pitching. The worse news is that Twins pitching gave up 15 runs to Yankees hitting. The worst news is that the Twins are 0-13 against the Yankees over the past two seasons. The good news is that the Twins don't play the Yankees again until 2004!"
Third, I think they are boozers. I'm pretty sure that this town is smaller than Little Rock, but there is almost literally a bar on every block. I have not seen this many bars per capita outside of New Orleans. They have a Skywalk that connects a lot of the buildings downtown. Almost all of these buildings have bars in them. I checked into the downtown Holiday Inn, and they gave me drink coupons for, I'm not kidding, FIVE bars. Who is checking into this hotel??? If you ain't a member of AA before coming here, you will be when you leave!
God's Commandments and Kills: Genesis, Part the First: God Creates and Destroys
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Genesis 1:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 1:29- God's first law/commandment: Eat all the plants you want, leave the animals alone, man. Well, He doesn't explicitly say man is to be vegetarian. Instead, he says man may eat all the plants without mentioning the animals. There's a concept in law similar to this, the name of which escapes me. In short, if a sign says "Parking Permitted from 7pm-6am", the implication is that parking is not allowed 6am-7pm. Anyway, it appears only eating plants gets God's permission at this point.
Spoiler alert, there's a certain tree man is not allowed to eat from. Let's just say, let's hope there aren't any talking serpents around.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Luckily for those of us that enjoy a rare rib eye, the notes say God gave us permission to eat animals in the time of Noah, so I think we're ok on this one.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
No deaths, yet.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
0
Genesis 2:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 2:7 - Seventh day is "hallowed".
Genesis 2: 16-17 - Man may eat from every tree, except the Tree of Knowledge.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
God doesn't really lay out any rules at this point on how to respect the seventh day. So sure, probably an easy one.
There's lots of foods I've eaten once or had no interest in eating in the first place, so this is probably an easy one, too. That is, unless a smooth talking snake and naked lady get in my ear. Let's hope that doesn't happen!
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Zero.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero.
Genesis 3:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 3:6 - Since eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge will make Adam and Eve "wise" (meaning perhaps freedom from God), God has forbidden them from eating it. But a talking snake talks Eve into it, who talks Adam into it. The fact that Eve is talking to a snake that talks back indicates there are "magic" mushrooms in Eden. Interesting God does not forbid them from eating that.
In any event, they eat, Adam must toil the soil and Eve must endure pain in childbirth, and incidentally be sexually reduced to mush at the sight of Adam. The snake loses its legs.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Nobody knows where the Tree of Knowledge is or if its even still around, so pretty easy to comply.
It seems to me that God is playing a head game with his creations and eating of the Tree of Knowledge would be a way to refuse to play. As one wiser than I once said, if you know the game is fixed, you cannot lose if you refuse to play.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Still zero, don't worry, the big one is right around the corner. Spoiler alert, there's the drunk called Noah that God has plans for.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero
Genesis 4:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 4:10-12 - God doesn't come right out and say it, but it appears He has a problem with murder, particularly one borne of jealously, as appears to be the case here. Penalty is, interestingly at this point, not death but banishment. Cain is a fugitive and "wanderer of the earth". Further, he will not be able to grow from the earth any more.
Genesis 4:15 - Murdering Cain is strictly prohibited. God places a mark on Cain to give the heads up to any potential Cain murderer. The penalty is "sevenfold", but doesn't explain what that means. Killed seven times? Be made a fugitive seven times?
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Murdering my brother due to jealousy because God liked his sacrifice more than mine hasn't been a problem so far. First, I don't have a brother. Second, I don't do old school sacrifices. Spoiler alert, God doesn't want them, either.
As for murdering Cain, the Bible says he's been gone a long time. So, even if you wanted to murder him, it's impossible. So, what exactly this "sevenfold" punishment is will remain a mystery.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Zero
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero
Genesis 5:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Nope
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Nothing
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Nada
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Not this time
Genesis 6:
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Don't know. I'm capable of whole minutes of time during the day when I don't have evil in my heart. Might be different for others. YMMV.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
No new laws, but God seems quite peeved at man's wickedness. Don't like where this is going.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero.
Genesis 7:
Genesis 8:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Uncounted
Genesis 9:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesi 9:4 - May not anything alive or its blood.
Genesis 9:6 - Requires a reckoning of the blood of every beast and man. Not sure really what this means. I think it may mean that every death must be accounted for, such as a murderer brought to justice or thanks given to God for meat. Not sure, though.
Genesis 9:6 - If man sheds blood, his blood shall be shed.
Genesis 9:7 - Go forth, be fruitful and multiply.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
A rib eye served anything but rare is a crime, so we've blown past the not eating blood thing for the most of us.
Verse 6 is the first mention of capital punishment for murder. Cain got off light with his mark and wandering. I support capital punishment, and vote for politicians that also support it, although I've never directly participated in an execution personally. I think I pass.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Nobody, but Ham and his descendants are cursed to be slaves by Noah. Thanks, dad.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Still beyond count. Going to have to reset the running total for the next section.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Genesis 1:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 1:29- God's first law/commandment: Eat all the plants you want, leave the animals alone, man. Well, He doesn't explicitly say man is to be vegetarian. Instead, he says man may eat all the plants without mentioning the animals. There's a concept in law similar to this, the name of which escapes me. In short, if a sign says "Parking Permitted from 7pm-6am", the implication is that parking is not allowed 6am-7pm. Anyway, it appears only eating plants gets God's permission at this point.
Spoiler alert, there's a certain tree man is not allowed to eat from. Let's just say, let's hope there aren't any talking serpents around.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Luckily for those of us that enjoy a rare rib eye, the notes say God gave us permission to eat animals in the time of Noah, so I think we're ok on this one.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
No deaths, yet.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
0
Genesis 2:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 2:7 - Seventh day is "hallowed".
Genesis 2: 16-17 - Man may eat from every tree, except the Tree of Knowledge.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
God doesn't really lay out any rules at this point on how to respect the seventh day. So sure, probably an easy one.
There's lots of foods I've eaten once or had no interest in eating in the first place, so this is probably an easy one, too. That is, unless a smooth talking snake and naked lady get in my ear. Let's hope that doesn't happen!
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Zero.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero.
Genesis 3:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 3:6 - Since eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge will make Adam and Eve "wise" (meaning perhaps freedom from God), God has forbidden them from eating it. But a talking snake talks Eve into it, who talks Adam into it. The fact that Eve is talking to a snake that talks back indicates there are "magic" mushrooms in Eden. Interesting God does not forbid them from eating that.
In any event, they eat, Adam must toil the soil and Eve must endure pain in childbirth, and incidentally be sexually reduced to mush at the sight of Adam. The snake loses its legs.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Nobody knows where the Tree of Knowledge is or if its even still around, so pretty easy to comply.
It seems to me that God is playing a head game with his creations and eating of the Tree of Knowledge would be a way to refuse to play. As one wiser than I once said, if you know the game is fixed, you cannot lose if you refuse to play.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Still zero, don't worry, the big one is right around the corner. Spoiler alert, there's the drunk called Noah that God has plans for.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero
Genesis 4:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 4:10-12 - God doesn't come right out and say it, but it appears He has a problem with murder, particularly one borne of jealously, as appears to be the case here. Penalty is, interestingly at this point, not death but banishment. Cain is a fugitive and "wanderer of the earth". Further, he will not be able to grow from the earth any more.
Genesis 4:15 - Murdering Cain is strictly prohibited. God places a mark on Cain to give the heads up to any potential Cain murderer. The penalty is "sevenfold", but doesn't explain what that means. Killed seven times? Be made a fugitive seven times?
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Murdering my brother due to jealousy because God liked his sacrifice more than mine hasn't been a problem so far. First, I don't have a brother. Second, I don't do old school sacrifices. Spoiler alert, God doesn't want them, either.
As for murdering Cain, the Bible says he's been gone a long time. So, even if you wanted to murder him, it's impossible. So, what exactly this "sevenfold" punishment is will remain a mystery.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Zero
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero
Genesis 5:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Nope
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Nothing
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Nada
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Not this time
Genesis 6:
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Don't know. I'm capable of whole minutes of time during the day when I don't have evil in my heart. Might be different for others. YMMV.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
No new laws, but God seems quite peeved at man's wickedness. Don't like where this is going.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero.
Genesis 7:
Genesis 8:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Uncounted
Genesis 9:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesi 9:4 - May not anything alive or its blood.
Genesis 9:6 - Requires a reckoning of the blood of every beast and man. Not sure really what this means. I think it may mean that every death must be accounted for, such as a murderer brought to justice or thanks given to God for meat. Not sure, though.
Genesis 9:6 - If man sheds blood, his blood shall be shed.
Genesis 9:7 - Go forth, be fruitful and multiply.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
A rib eye served anything but rare is a crime, so we've blown past the not eating blood thing for the most of us.
Verse 6 is the first mention of capital punishment for murder. Cain got off light with his mark and wandering. I support capital punishment, and vote for politicians that also support it, although I've never directly participated in an execution personally. I think I pass.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Nobody, but Ham and his descendants are cursed to be slaves by Noah. Thanks, dad.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Still beyond count. Going to have to reset the running total for the next section.
Thursday, August 17, 2017
Saw
This is an update of my first mini-review, first published in late 2004. I had just gotten back from what I was convinced at the time was the worst movie of all time. I was so excited I immediately emailed my fellow nerd the following:
"This is absolutely the worst movie I've ever paid money to see - and I've paid to see Jumpin' Jack Flash and Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion!
The first two acts are bad "Seven" rip off, which is fine, I was bored, but able to entertain myself by tolling up the shots ripped off from better movies. However, the third act is transcendant in how horrible it is. The only, and I mean only, skill the director displayed is that I figured out the killer in the first 30 seconds, then he had me thinking it was someone else for a while. In the end, my initial instincts were correct.
Go see this movie!!!!"
What a rave!
"This is absolutely the worst movie I've ever paid money to see - and I've paid to see Jumpin' Jack Flash and Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion!
The first two acts are bad "Seven" rip off, which is fine, I was bored, but able to entertain myself by tolling up the shots ripped off from better movies. However, the third act is transcendant in how horrible it is. The only, and I mean only, skill the director displayed is that I figured out the killer in the first 30 seconds, then he had me thinking it was someone else for a while. In the end, my initial instincts were correct.
Go see this movie!!!!"
What a rave!
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
The Editor's Preface to the New Edition
This is basically a rundown of what has been updated since the last edition and why. I have not read the previous edition and one more go through this time around will hold me for a while. Perhaps in another twenty-five years I'll be up for another read. If a newer edition to this one has been published, perhaps I'll go that way. Or if not, maybe I'll go back to the previous edition of this one and scoff at how badly in need of revision it is.
Asimov starts off with a discussion of the how "God" is translated in Genesis. The Hebrew word is "Elohim", which is plural. He notes other polytheistic references still in Genesis, such as Genesis 3:22, "the man is become as one of us", and Genesis 11:7, "let us go down". This probably reflects the unnamed editor of the previous sources not quite catching all the references to other Gods from the older documents, perhaps from a time before the Jews had become monotheistic or perhaps reflects some borrowing from other Mesopotamian texts. Asimov notes that more modern interpretations include that the reference to God as including more than one being may be a use of the "royal we" or a reference to the Trinity by Christians. In any event, there it is. I'll leave it to Believers and fervent non-Believers to argue which of those interpretations is correct.
Asimov starts off with a discussion of the how "God" is translated in Genesis. The Hebrew word is "Elohim", which is plural. He notes other polytheistic references still in Genesis, such as Genesis 3:22, "the man is become as one of us", and Genesis 11:7, "let us go down". This probably reflects the unnamed editor of the previous sources not quite catching all the references to other Gods from the older documents, perhaps from a time before the Jews had become monotheistic or perhaps reflects some borrowing from other Mesopotamian texts. Asimov notes that more modern interpretations include that the reference to God as including more than one being may be a use of the "royal we" or a reference to the Trinity by Christians. In any event, there it is. I'll leave it to Believers and fervent non-Believers to argue which of those interpretations is correct.
Sunday, August 13, 2017
The Number and Books of the Bible
The next introductory material is about the number and books of the Bible. In Hebrew tradition, the Old Testament (OT) was divided into twenty-four books, placed in three categories. The first was The Law, consisting of the first five books of Genesis through Deuteronomy, the Prophets, and the Writings. The Christians divided and rearranged the books into thirty-nine. Then the Roman Catholics, the Greek Orthodox and various Protestant sects did more rearranging, as they did for the books of the New Testament (NT). I didn't find it terribly interesting, so head to wikipedia if you want more of the whys and hows. The seven books of the Apocrypha round out both the Catholic and King James versions of the Bible.
The first entry in the Asimov annotations deals with Genesis. In Hebrew, the first volume of the OT is referred to as "bereshith", which literally means "in the beginning". Later Greek translators gave the volume the descriptive name of "Genesis", which means "coming into being". Moses is traditionally regarded as the author of Genesis, but Asimov says it was almost certainly the work of editors working from a number of sources long after Moses.
The first entry in the Asimov annotations deals with Genesis. In Hebrew, the first volume of the OT is referred to as "bereshith", which literally means "in the beginning". Later Greek translators gave the volume the descriptive name of "Genesis", which means "coming into being". Moses is traditionally regarded as the author of Genesis, but Asimov says it was almost certainly the work of editors working from a number of sources long after Moses.
Dry Cleaning Lady
Another repost from late 2004, despite the tag. I think my writing's a bit better now.
She's probably about 5'1", late 50's or early 60's. She's an immigrant from Korea and speaks with an accent. She speaks very deliberately and tends to draw out the last syllable of her sentences and lets them trail.
She's been trying to set me up with her niece ever since I moved next door to the cleaners in 2000. I've never followed up on it, because the situation is a little strange, even for me, and I figure anyone whose aunt is pimping so hard to complete strangers must have some problems. Anyway, I worked at a large corporate law firm and we had to wear suits every day. As such, I used to see her a lot. When we switched to business casual, I only got suits cleaned occasionally. On those times I do go now, she peppers me with questions. What follows is our conversation today when I went to pick up my suit:
Dry Cleaning Lady: "You still lawyer?"
Me: "Unfortunately."
DCL: "My niece need boyfriend. You like Korean girl?" As she says this, she shifts her face a little bit and looks at me up and with her head turned, so she's looking at me by looking up and to the left, like she's studying me.
Me: "I like pretty girls."
DCL: "Oh, she very pretty. She a good cook, too. You like Korean food?"
Me: "I like good food." For some reason, I'm a little nervous right now.
DCL: "She can make any kind of good food. She was born here."
Me: "How do you know she would like me?"
DCL: "She like white man!" That poor niece.
DCL: "Also, you have good job and nice car." I didn't bother to correct her about my "good" job.
Me: "Why doesn't she have a boyfriend?"
DCL: "She don't meet many men in medical school."
So, I'm thinking of giving her a call. I think it will go something like this:
"Hi, your aunt gave me your number because you need a boyfriend. I know you'll like me because I'm white and have what most would consider a good job. The last time I checked, I'm a man.
Also, I know it's tough to find a man in medical school because every doc I know is a headcase. I'm sure you're the exception, though. In any event, what that means to me is that in a few years you can take care of me in the way I've been accustomed.
Anyway, let's get together. Why don't you cook up some Korean food, which I'm told you do well. We'll go eat it in my car, which I know you'll like, because your aunt says you like late model Kraut sedans."
I'll report my success, or lack thereof.
She's probably about 5'1", late 50's or early 60's. She's an immigrant from Korea and speaks with an accent. She speaks very deliberately and tends to draw out the last syllable of her sentences and lets them trail.
She's been trying to set me up with her niece ever since I moved next door to the cleaners in 2000. I've never followed up on it, because the situation is a little strange, even for me, and I figure anyone whose aunt is pimping so hard to complete strangers must have some problems. Anyway, I worked at a large corporate law firm and we had to wear suits every day. As such, I used to see her a lot. When we switched to business casual, I only got suits cleaned occasionally. On those times I do go now, she peppers me with questions. What follows is our conversation today when I went to pick up my suit:
Dry Cleaning Lady: "You still lawyer?"
Me: "Unfortunately."
DCL: "My niece need boyfriend. You like Korean girl?" As she says this, she shifts her face a little bit and looks at me up and with her head turned, so she's looking at me by looking up and to the left, like she's studying me.
Me: "I like pretty girls."
DCL: "Oh, she very pretty. She a good cook, too. You like Korean food?"
Me: "I like good food." For some reason, I'm a little nervous right now.
DCL: "She can make any kind of good food. She was born here."
Me: "How do you know she would like me?"
DCL: "She like white man!" That poor niece.
DCL: "Also, you have good job and nice car." I didn't bother to correct her about my "good" job.
Me: "Why doesn't she have a boyfriend?"
DCL: "She don't meet many men in medical school."
So, I'm thinking of giving her a call. I think it will go something like this:
"Hi, your aunt gave me your number because you need a boyfriend. I know you'll like me because I'm white and have what most would consider a good job. The last time I checked, I'm a man.
Also, I know it's tough to find a man in medical school because every doc I know is a headcase. I'm sure you're the exception, though. In any event, what that means to me is that in a few years you can take care of me in the way I've been accustomed.
Anyway, let's get together. Why don't you cook up some Korean food, which I'm told you do well. We'll go eat it in my car, which I know you'll like, because your aunt says you like late model Kraut sedans."
I'll report my success, or lack thereof.
Friday, August 11, 2017
Introduction and Forward
I guess I've decided to read the Bible all the way through, again, and decided to include you on my journey. The Bible I'm going to use is one I bought undergrad for a class about Middle Eastern Apocalyptic literature. It's a good one, more readable than King James and plenty of annotations.
In addition, I'm going to use a separate comprehensive annotation written for the lay reader by Isaac Asimov. The two volumes are:
The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Expanded Edition, Revised Standard Version, Oxford University Press, New York, 1977.
Asimov's Guide to the Bible, Isaac Asimov, Weathervane, New York, 1981.
Today's entries are the first passages in both volumes. The Forward to the Bible states that this volume includes not only the Old and New Testaments, but also Old Testament Apocrypha volumes that some Christian sects accept and others don't. They are being included in the interests of completeness and because some of them offer insights to the development of prophecies of the Messiah.
The Asimov annotation's Introduction makes the case for putting the Bible in context and its influence, specifically giving the example that millions know who Nebuchadnezzer is than don't know Pericles, based solely on the fact that the former is mentioned in the Bible and the latter isn't. Yet the Athens governed in the time of Pericles was a cornerstone of Western Civilization.
Asimov also breaks up the eras of the Bible as follows:
* 4000 B.C. - 2000 B.C. Primeval period
* 2000 B.C. - 1700 B.C. Patriarchal period
* 1700 B.C. - 1200 B.C. Egyptian period
* 1200 B.C. - 1000 B.C. Tribal period
* 1000 B.C. - 900 B.C. Davidic period
* 900 B.C. - 600 B.C. Assyrian period
* 600 B.C. - 540 B.C. Babylonian period
* 540 B.C. - 330 B.C. Persian period
* 330 B.C. - 90 B.C. Greek period
* 90 B.C. - A.D. 100 Roman period
In addition, I intend to keep a running tally of each of God's and Jesus' commandments, my and our society in general's ability to keep them and a running death toll of those that run afoul of the Old Testament God. Each post will have:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
More introductory material tomorrow. There's quite a bit of it in this version, so we won't get around to creation for a few days. Hold tight, hopefully it will be worth it.
In addition, I'm going to use a separate comprehensive annotation written for the lay reader by Isaac Asimov. The two volumes are:
The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Expanded Edition, Revised Standard Version, Oxford University Press, New York, 1977.
Asimov's Guide to the Bible, Isaac Asimov, Weathervane, New York, 1981.
Today's entries are the first passages in both volumes. The Forward to the Bible states that this volume includes not only the Old and New Testaments, but also Old Testament Apocrypha volumes that some Christian sects accept and others don't. They are being included in the interests of completeness and because some of them offer insights to the development of prophecies of the Messiah.
The Asimov annotation's Introduction makes the case for putting the Bible in context and its influence, specifically giving the example that millions know who Nebuchadnezzer is than don't know Pericles, based solely on the fact that the former is mentioned in the Bible and the latter isn't. Yet the Athens governed in the time of Pericles was a cornerstone of Western Civilization.
Asimov also breaks up the eras of the Bible as follows:
* 4000 B.C. - 2000 B.C. Primeval period
* 2000 B.C. - 1700 B.C. Patriarchal period
* 1700 B.C. - 1200 B.C. Egyptian period
* 1200 B.C. - 1000 B.C. Tribal period
* 1000 B.C. - 900 B.C. Davidic period
* 900 B.C. - 600 B.C. Assyrian period
* 600 B.C. - 540 B.C. Babylonian period
* 540 B.C. - 330 B.C. Persian period
* 330 B.C. - 90 B.C. Greek period
* 90 B.C. - A.D. 100 Roman period
In addition, I intend to keep a running tally of each of God's and Jesus' commandments, my and our society in general's ability to keep them and a running death toll of those that run afoul of the Old Testament God. Each post will have:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
More introductory material tomorrow. There's quite a bit of it in this version, so we won't get around to creation for a few days. Hold tight, hopefully it will be worth it.
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