Exodus 1

Thus begins the account of the great exodus from Egypt: A new Pharaoh, who fears the strength of the Israelites and the threat they could become, orders that all their male children be killed. Hmm, that sounds familiar - I suspect I'll run into another king with similar paranoia in the early parts of the Gospels.

Other than that, not much to tell here. I do wonder, though, how long it was between Joseph saving the Egyptians and a king rising there who didn't know of him, and in trade for his great help in the past enslaved his family's descendants?

Genesis 37

Ah, the coming few days should make for very good reading! Here we have the start of the saga of Joseph, Israel's favorite son - how he flaunted his dreams in front of his brothers (bad idea - they outnumbered him), badmouthed them to their father (did they deserve it?) and then got sold into slavery.

It is interesting to note that Reuben, the eldest brother, was able to keep the others from killing Joseph; whats more, he seems to have had plans to return him to their father. I wonder if that was an attempt to repair his relationship with Issac, which was presumably strained when he slept with one of his father's concubines (a fact I failed to mention in my post on Genesis 35).

Anyways, the following chapters tell a story that is quite familiar to me - and probably to most that grew up in a church. I will do my best not to just recount the events, but instead to comment on them. Perhaps I will notice something new that I managed to miss in the past, which is always a joy and wonder :)