jchandle writes

One book of the bible is behind us, so I want to talk about the themes that stood out to me in the book of Genesis.  I’ve been using this post as a way to synthesize my learning, to struggle with the scriptures in writing, and to share my thoughts in case anyone wants to read them. I admit that it’s a messy blog full of half-baked exegesis (and probably some poorly crafted isegesis), but I do hope that if you read my posts, you find something insightful. If you do–or want to correct, discuss, or deny anything–please tell me.  God changes Some of the differences is God’s behavior in different parts of Genesis has to do with different source texts that are combined into a single narrative in what we now know as the Pentateuch (for a brief description of what I mean,  see this blog post  and for an example with a little more depth,  read here ). But it seems like even within what is considered the same text, as the story progresses, the God of Israel changes in...

An ambiguous sex story In Genesis 34:2 it’s clear that Shechem, son of Hamor has sex with Dinah, daughter of Israel.  What isn’t clear is whether the sex was consensual. The NRSV reads “he seized her and lay with her by force,” But the “by force” part of the verse is actually a third Hebrew verb, which the KJV translates “and defiled her,” which only implies that Shechem’s act brought uncleanliness upon Dinah, not that he raped her. It’s an important question, since if Dinah has been raped, Jacob has a strong family obligation to act swiftly in protection of his daughter. But if the act is consensual, he has an obligation to act with compassion in the situation. Perhaps that’s why Jacob “held his piece” in verse 5.”  Theologian Lyn M. Bechtel, writing in the Dictionary of Women in Scripture , sees two primary pieces of evidence that the sex was consensual. First, unlike the majority of other cases of rape in scripture, this instance is not coupled with other acts of violence p...

  Women shape the narrative (and the nations) Last week, I was impressed with the premier role that Rebekah played in the narrative. She is the only one in the narrative of Isaac who receives direct, specific, significant revelation, and she makes it happen by constructing the ruse through which Jacob receives the birthright blessing from his father.  In this week’s reading, the women of the text continue this pattern of shaping the story. In the description of the birth of each Israelite tribe’s namesake, Jacob is so marginalized by the strength of the female characters that it almost seems like an abusive matriarchy at work. In Genesis 30:1, Rachel tells Jacob, “Give me children or I shall die!” This is a manipulative tactic, a brash demand. Anyone who says that Rachel patiently waited upon the Lord has severely undercut what is written here. She turns to her handmaid–another marginalized person in the story–to provide heirs.  But don’t get me wrong. While it seems like...

  The danger of a little information I used to be really prideful about knowing a lot about the world. In high school, I competed in Policy Debate, which meant I maintained tubs-full of article and book snippets on every conceivable topic linked to an annual debate topic. I also competed in an event that required me to speak extemporaneously on one of three international topics with just 30 minutes of prep time. As an adult, I’ve consistently taken the time to be updated about current events, to use the tools of analysis I picked up in college poli-sci to figure out what makes the world tick in all it’s various ways, and to try to promote good public policy by voting, contacting officials, and writing into the void about my political opinions.  By “used to be” I mean that I was like this until about 6 months into the Biden administration.  The election of Donald Trump in 2017 and the way the Republican Party seemed to conform around him with cult-like passion around the m...

  God the Absurd Then we come to the Akedah–the story of the binding of Isaac by his father, Abraham, in which God commands Abraham to “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:2). At this point, the LORD has told Abraham so many times he’ll have innumerable posterity through Isaac so many time it’s almost annoying to a reader. Like, WE KNOW. Abraham is going to have posterity outnumbering the sand of the seashore and the stars of the sky. We know they’ll possess the land of Canaan. We know they’ll bless the earth. And we’ve been through quite a bit of fuss over the right bloodline generating this ever-expanding family tree. We also know that shedding human blood is strictly and universally forbidden (Genesis 9:6). In fact the prohibition of human sacrifice is one of the things that the Pentateuch writers seem to claim sets God’s chosen people apart from other ancient near-east civilization...