-
†. Gen 37:18a . .They saw him from afar,
Just how far isn't said; though it was probably the youngest among Joseph's
brothers who saw and recognized him first. A few of the men were getting
up in years at this time and were well past young adulthood.
Optical science is relatively recent. For millennia, people got by on just their
natural eyesight without the aid of lenses. Prior to the invention of
eyeglasses, Solomon rued that one of the curses of old age is failing
eyesight. (Ecc 12:1-2)
The first recorded use of a "corrective" lens was by the emperor Nero (ce
37-68) who was known to watch the gladiatorial games through an emerald,
presumably to correct for myopia. The gem probably wasn't ground to any
specific prescription, nor even any particular shape. Nero probably
discovered, like any kid does with a water glass, that the shape of the stone
somehow modified light; and as luck would have it, Nero's emerald worked
pretty well for him.
The Arabs had some understanding of lenses sometime around ce 1200, and
eyeglasses began to come into common use in Italy around ce 1300.
Practically all advances in the science of optics have taken place within just
the last thousand years, so when the Bible says people like Isaac had "dim"
eyes, it probably just means they could have used a pair of glasses.
†. Gen 37:18b-20 . . and before he came close to them they
conspired to kill him. They said to one another: Here comes that
dreamer! Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the
pits; and we can say a savage beast devoured him. We shall see
what comes of his dreams!
The brothers' display of intended cruelty to their own kid brother Joseph is
shocking coming from the sacred patriarchs of the people of Israel.
I seriously doubt the brothers were intent upon ending Joseph's life only so
his dreams wouldn't come true. That was just bombastic rhetoric. Truth is:
they just hated him; simple as that.
Isn't it odd that when people hate someone they want them dead? How
about maybe a beating instead? Why not throw hot coffee or scalding water
in their face, or maybe singe their back with a hot steam iron while they're
sleeping? Why death? Because death is all that will truly satisfy the human
heart's hatred. Maybe nobody reading this will ever actually murder
anybody; but that doesn't mean you aren't a murder. Wishing somebody
would die, is the wish of a murderer's heart; and that's the plain truth of it.
"Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer" (1John 3:15)
The koiné Greek word for "brother" in that passage is adelphos (ad-el-fos')
which refers to one's kin rather than to one's neighbor.
Hatred for one's kin doesn't make the hater guilty of murder; it's only saying
that someone harboring hatred for their kin has the nature of a murderer.
For example: if a lion never ate meat even once in it's life, it would still be a
carnivore because lions have the nature of a carnivore. In like manner, if
kin-haters never get around to killing the objects of their hate; they would
still be murderers because they have the nature of a murderer.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
†. Gen 37:18a . .They saw him from afar,
Just how far isn't said; though it was probably the youngest among Joseph's
brothers who saw and recognized him first. A few of the men were getting
up in years at this time and were well past young adulthood.
Optical science is relatively recent. For millennia, people got by on just their
natural eyesight without the aid of lenses. Prior to the invention of
eyeglasses, Solomon rued that one of the curses of old age is failing
eyesight. (Ecc 12:1-2)
The first recorded use of a "corrective" lens was by the emperor Nero (ce
37-68) who was known to watch the gladiatorial games through an emerald,
presumably to correct for myopia. The gem probably wasn't ground to any
specific prescription, nor even any particular shape. Nero probably
discovered, like any kid does with a water glass, that the shape of the stone
somehow modified light; and as luck would have it, Nero's emerald worked
pretty well for him.
The Arabs had some understanding of lenses sometime around ce 1200, and
eyeglasses began to come into common use in Italy around ce 1300.
Practically all advances in the science of optics have taken place within just
the last thousand years, so when the Bible says people like Isaac had "dim"
eyes, it probably just means they could have used a pair of glasses.
†. Gen 37:18b-20 . . and before he came close to them they
conspired to kill him. They said to one another: Here comes that
dreamer! Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the
pits; and we can say a savage beast devoured him. We shall see
what comes of his dreams!
The brothers' display of intended cruelty to their own kid brother Joseph is
shocking coming from the sacred patriarchs of the people of Israel.
I seriously doubt the brothers were intent upon ending Joseph's life only so
his dreams wouldn't come true. That was just bombastic rhetoric. Truth is:
they just hated him; simple as that.
Isn't it odd that when people hate someone they want them dead? How
about maybe a beating instead? Why not throw hot coffee or scalding water
in their face, or maybe singe their back with a hot steam iron while they're
sleeping? Why death? Because death is all that will truly satisfy the human
heart's hatred. Maybe nobody reading this will ever actually murder
anybody; but that doesn't mean you aren't a murder. Wishing somebody
would die, is the wish of a murderer's heart; and that's the plain truth of it.
"Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer" (1John 3:15)
The koiné Greek word for "brother" in that passage is adelphos (ad-el-fos')
which refers to one's kin rather than to one's neighbor.
Hatred for one's kin doesn't make the hater guilty of murder; it's only saying
that someone harboring hatred for their kin has the nature of a murderer.
For example: if a lion never ate meat even once in it's life, it would still be a
carnivore because lions have the nature of a carnivore. In like manner, if
kin-haters never get around to killing the objects of their hate; they would
still be murderers because they have the nature of a murderer.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=