A Journey Through the Bible, Part 24

Old Testament

Genesis 47 and 48

Genesis 47:27—“So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly.” The land of Goshen was a very rich, fertile area on the eastern side of the Nile Delta, the “Lower Nile” region. Egyptian geography is a little confusing. The “Upper Nile” is actually in the south, much of it actually south of Egypt. It’s called the “Upper Nile” because it’s in the highlands. The “Lower Nile” is thus in the northern part of the country, at a lower sea level. The Nile River, which is the longest river in the world, flows from south to north, emptying into the Mediterranean Sea. Over the last 100 miles or so the river fans out into many branches, and looks like an upside down Greek letter, “delta,” from whence it gets its name. As noted, the land of Goshen was in that area. The children of Israel “grew and multiplied exceedingly.” That will become a problem in a few generations.

Genesis 48

Genesis 48:5—“And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.” In this verse, Jacob is talking to Joseph. There will be twelve tribes of Israel in the land of Canaan among whom the land will be divided. These “tribes” will be descended from the twelve sons of Jacob, of course. However, there will not be a “tribe of Joseph.” His portion will be partitioned among his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Thus, Jacob tells Joseph that his two sons “are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.” The reason for this is that Levi will be the priestly tribe, and thus will have no land allotment. In order for their to be 12 divisions of land, Joseph’s sons will be given a share each. There was no especial reason why the land had to be divided into 12 portions rather than 11, except there is a symbolic meaning to the number 12 for the Jews; it stood for the totality of organized religion, thus the complete nation of Israel. The number 12, or its multiples, are very prominent in apocalyptic literature, such as the book of Revelation. Check my articles on “Numerical Symbolism” on my “Book of Revelation” blog for a fuller explanation of this.

New Testament

Matthew 26

Matthew 26:13—“Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her." We don’t know exactly who this woman was, though it appears to have been Mary Magdalene or Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus (John 12:3). Regardless of who it was, she did a noble deed. The oil she used was indeed expensive, 300 denarii (John 12:5), which was almost a year’s wage for an average worker. Yet, Jesus commended her because “she has done what she could” (Mark 14:8). He asks no more than that of any of us.