主爱堂 ACCC

  • 你的灵魂需要聚集敬拜，而不是仅仅参加“线上教会”

    Originally posted on 9Marks.org. Used with permission.

    新冠疫情仍在继续蔓延，许多教会的实际出席者仍然稀少，或者至少比以前少。由于各种原因，一些人可

    能需要继续呆在家里。但也有一些处于低风险地区或已经完成疫苗接种的基督徒仍然留在家里，他们似乎比我们以为的更喜欢参加“线上教会”。

    因着这些超出预期的情况和各种不确定因素，我们需要很好地带领我们的教会。而这带领工作中的一部分意味着我们需要提醒我们的会众：当我们没有亲身聚集在一起敬拜的时候，我们失去了什么。下面，我写下了15个当我们选择在沙发上而不是在教会的椅子上敬拜时所失去的东西。

    第一， 正如朋霍费尔在《团契生活》一书中所说：“其他基督徒的亲身临在是信徒无比喜悦和力量的来源。”其他基督徒仅仅亲身同在，就能给我们的灵魂带来力量，甚至多过我们能够有意识地认识到的力量。这也是《圣经》教导我们要共同聚集的原因之一。我们是基督的身体，在敬拜中彼此有机地建立联结，基督的生命和力量借着彼此流入我们体内。

    第二，线上的网络敬拜是单向地参与，而不是双向的互动。你在接受，但你不能给予。你看到那些带领敬拜、讲道、祷告的人，但他们看不到你。他们看不到你的眼睛、你的身体、你的全人，在数字世界里你充其量只是一个数位，是直播的一个接收终端。

    第三，在日常生活中，我们用屏幕来工作和娱乐，但集体敬拜两者都不是。在屏幕上观看敬拜会巧妙地淡化共同敬拜的特殊性，因为这种媒介往往会把它与其他更平凡的生活现实（比如工作和娱乐）混为一谈。

    第四，去参加一场主日的集体敬拜需要更多的努力。你必须脱掉睡衣、穿上牛仔裤，你必须坐进车里；如果你有孩子，你必须通过例行公事把他们打扮得漂漂亮亮，然后全家上路。在北方，你还要面对冰雪与寒冷。这很好，我们可以在路上教导我们的孩子，也训练我们自己的灵魂，好一起重视集体敬拜。前往敬拜路上的努力以一种健康的方式训练了我们，加强了与其他基督徒面对面聚集不可替代的价值。

    第五，不仅是敬拜程序本身，还有所有聚会后、走廊上的谈话，敬拜时的投入、停车场的微笑、厕所里洗手时的点头……所有这些都在沙发上的网络敬拜中不复存在。你不再是9:10上车去参加9:30的礼拜，在9:25到达，并有几分钟与路遇弟兄姊妹的团契，以及礼拜后不紧不慢的聊天和彼此鼓励，而是在9:29打开你的笔记本电脑，在祝祷后一秒钟里迅速关闭它。长时间的网上崇拜会削弱我们的关系。

    第六，还有一些更难表达的东西，尽管它与上述几个要点有关。从属灵和心理的角度而言，当你开车去聚会的地方、停车、走进会场、坐到你的座位上时，会有某种“上升”的坡度。而当你离开教会、开车回家，回想刚刚发生的事情时，会有某种反思性“下降”的坡度。当“上升”和“下降”被打开你的电脑、关闭你的电脑所取代时，所有这些都会消失。共同敬拜需要你做好准备，然后吸收，亲身前往有助于促进这种敬拜，而沙发几乎肯定会冲淡这种敬拜。

    第七，祷告。如果我们呆在家里，我们可以和谁一起祷告？也许和配偶一起。但我们需要其他基督徒一起祷告。我们需要其他基督徒为我们祷告。我们需要不断在祷告中学习如何在生活中成长，因为神真的在共同祷告中有特别的同在，但长期的孤立、不实体聚会会拦阻这种成长。

    第八，鼓励。我们严重低估了鼓励的属灵力量——无论是对鼓励者还是对被鼓励者而言。我们聚会的原因之一就是为了鼓励，也就是说，建立彼此的信心和勇气。比如，在实体聚会后，我可以和一个朋友打招呼。他会问我这周过得怎么样，我会提到我正在经历的一个挑战，他说：“要坚持住，神与你同在。”30秒的交流就这样过去了，而我的灵魂得到了帮助。

    第九，如果你在家参加网络聚会，你的牧师也很难牧养你。他看不到你。他知道你们在那里、在网络上，他试图从讲台上看你们，因为他会不时地瞥一眼现场直播的摄像机。但他不知道你们是在点头还是在打瞌睡，他从你那里得到的反馈是零。你可以听的兴奋地跳起来，他却无从得知这一幕。健康的讲道是对话式的——你的传道人在讲道时以你的眼睛、你的点头、你的注意力为食，他需要看到你。

    第十，如果你是在家参加上网聚会，听道对你来说也更难。坐在沙发上看你的传道人在屏幕上的头像，根本不如坐在20英尺外，在一个音响效果更好的大厅里，周围有几十个也在听讲道的基督徒那样感受良好。对三维传道人的关注度必然要弱于对二维传道人的关注。

    十一，在教会的亲身集体敬拜中，不是所有的事情都有剧本。你会和你没想到的人打招呼，某个陌生访客可能坐在你附近，你会有机会欢迎他们。你甚至可能在引导某人归向基督方面扮演一个重要角色。但这些在你的沙发上都不会发生，网络聚会中所有的事情都有脚本，几乎不可能有一个偶然的互动。

    十二，当你亲身参加集体敬拜时，你不能静音整个敬拜，你也不能暂停它好去拿一杯咖啡，你不能调高或调低音量，你更不会想掏出手机，看看谁刚给你发了消息。在亲身参加集体敬拜时，你会被这个环境奇妙地捕获，你和其他基督徒一起被“困”在了上帝面前。这很好！

    十三，歌唱。也许你在家里可以通过喇叭听到会众唱诗，但我们都知道这和听到你周围的真实声音是不一样的。集体诵读经文，或一起祷告认罪的过程也是如此，哪怕带着口罩的亲身同在也比网络好。当只有你和你的家人在你的客厅里完成这些事情时，有一种无法避免的做作感。你的天国同袍需要听到你的歌声，当他们听到你的声音时，你就在增强他们的信心。哪怕你唱歌走掉也没关系，无论他们知道与否，你都在用你的声音加强他们的神学。

    十四，主餐。如果我们在家聚会，就会失去分享主的晚餐的机会，但我们相信这是加强属灵生命的一个重要来源，而不仅仅是一种纪念。

    十五，时间。时间越长，我们在家里做礼拜的时候就越会让自己舒服，我们也就越“走样”。我们没有操练我们共同敬拜的“肌肉”。我们等在家里不去共同敬拜的时间越长，我们就越容易对在家敬拜感到正常。由于上述原因，这会让我们的基督徒生活越来越不理想。

    这对我们任何一个人来说都不容易。让我们对彼此有耐心，让我们彼此相爱、彼此理解、彼此恩待，但是在必要的安全预防措施到位的情况下，让我们大胆地鼓励对方来一起共同敬拜。

    这种病毒很糟糕。我明白。让我们保护我们的身体。但不要以牺牲我们的灵魂为代价。

    译：DeepL；校：JFX。原文刊载于九标志英文网站：15 Reasons Your Soul Needs Gathered Worship, Not Just a Livestream.

    作者：Dane Ortlund

    2021-10-16

  • 马太 14:1–12

    以下是有关马太 14:1–12 这段经文。提问是为什么马太要把施洗约翰被杀的这段放在这儿。

    14:1–2 说希律王听见耶稣的名声（耶稣所行的神迹，所讲的道，等），就以为是施洗约翰从死里复活（希律王对复活的概念是不对的，可是我们先不要管这个）。 跟着马太就告诉我们施洗约翰被杀的故事。之前马太提到施洗约翰是在马太福音 11 章的开始。那时候施洗约翰排门徒去确定耶稣是否他们在等待的弥赛亚。那时候施洗约翰已经被关在监狱里了（从马太 4:12 就知道，当施洗约翰被关起来的时候，耶稣就开始他的事工）。马太第 14 章的开始大概是耶稣传福音的第二年。施洗约翰被杀已经有一段时间了。

    为什么把这个故事放在这里？我想马太是要让我们看到反对或抵挡天国的力量开始强大起来。在第 13 章的结束，耶稣说一位先知不会得到本地本家的人的尊敬；施洗约翰就是一个例子。耶稣自己也是一样不会受欢迎，最后被钉在十字架上。

    14:13 说“耶稣听见了”。这好像是接着 14:12 说的：“就去告诉耶稣”。可是我们知道那时候施洗约翰的死大概已经是几个月前的事了。14:3–12 可以看为一个附录，告诉我们施洗约翰怎么死的。所以 14:13 应该是接着 14:2，耶稣听见希律王的反应，所以离开加利利区（耶稣自己的地方的人不接受他的教导）。

    Gaebelein, Frank E., D. A. Carson, Walter W. Wessel, and Walter L. Liefeld. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke. Vol. 8. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984.

    Wilkins, Michael J. Matthew. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2004.

  • 使徒行传 5:12–16

    观察性问题

    4月26日2022年

    第 12 节：

    1. 神迹是谁做的？彼得，约翰，还是…？
    2. “同心合意” 是什么意思？这让我们学到什么？
    3. “他们同心合意” 的 “他们” 是指谁？
    4. “所罗门的廊下” 到底是什么地方？
    5. 为什么他们在所罗门廊下？

    第 13 节：

    1. 为什么人不敢贴近他们？“贴近” 在希腊语的意思是 “成为他们的一部分”，或 “加入他们这群人”。他们是怕什么？
    2. “其余的人” 是指谁？看看另外一个圣经译本，《新译本》这节的翻译是：“虽然一般民众尊重他们，但是信徒以外的人都不敢接近他们。”

    第 14 节：

    1. 谁让更多的人归主？从这里可以学到什么？
    2. 为什么要特别提到 “连男带女” ？
    3. 从第 13 与 14 节，我们看到对福音有两种不同的回应。是哪两种回应？其实还有第三种反应，这是什么？看看使徒行传 4:6 开始，还有使徒行传 5:17–18。

    第 15 节：

    1. 为什么把病人抬到街上，希望医治，可是不把病人带去所罗门廊下（就是到使徒们讲道地方）呢？
    2. 彼得的影子落在病人身上就会怎样？
    3. 为什么路加把这段经文放在这个地方？这与之前的那段有什么关系？与之后的记载有什么关系？

    第 16 节：

    1. 得到医治的人，全都归主吗？有没有只想得到医治，可是对天国的福音不感兴趣？
    2. 我们今天有没有看到这样的神迹？
    3. 这段的记载像不像今天我们有时候听到的《治病特会》？今天这种特会与使徒行传记载的有什么不同？
    4. 假设你看到这样的神迹，或听到朋友说某某人可以治病，你会怎么做？
    5. 行神迹的，必须是圣灵的工作吗？不信靠耶稣人的有没有可能行神迹？（看看马太福音 7:22–23）

    应用

    1. 这段的主题是什么？
    2. 亚拿尼亚夫妻的事情过了，使徒们继续传讲天国的福音。这让我们学到什么？
    3. 路加记载这段经文，放在亚拿尼亚夫妻的事情后，可能让我们知道神赞同彼得所行的教会纪律（彼得行了纪律，上帝增添归主的人，第 13 节）。这让我们学到什么？
    4. 第 13 节告诉我们其他人（“其余的人”）都不敢加入彼得与使徒这群人。加入教会是有代价的（看路加福音 9:23）。若进来教会只是为了治病，或得到什么祝福，迟早就会得到惩罚（像亚拿尼亚夫妻）。
    5. 使徒们传福音，听众有三种反应：(1) 不敢接近他们，害怕；(2) 抵挡福音；(3) 信靠耶稣，悔改，不再过以前的生活。今天我们传福音也是会遇到同样的反应。
    6. 基督徒（就是说门徒）或教会传福音的时候必须传全备的福音，不能只说众人喜欢听的东西（像平安，祝福，天堂，主给你力量，等），也要传讲神的公义，人的罪性，神的愤怒，耶稣的审判，地狱，等。像彼得一样（责备亚拿尼亚夫妻），我们不能与世界妥协。
    7. 今天你加入教会有没有付什么代价？为了做主的门徒，你放弃了什么？

  • 使徒行传 5:1–11

    4月19日2022年

    观察性问题

    1. 这段与前面 4:36–37 有什么关系呢？【这就是为什么上周我说 4:36–37 应该是与今天这段一起看。分开了，就没有看到这个关系】
    2. 亚拿尼亚把一部分的钱带给使徒们，这有什么不对呢？为什么彼得要责备他？【“私自留下” 是翻译一个希腊语动词，这动词的意思是 “挪用资金为自己谋取利益”。在整本新约里只出现在今天这段与提多书 2:10，就是偷东西的意思。像约书亚记 7:1 的记载，“亚干取了当灭的物”，这个 “取” 动词在希腊语就是 “挪用资金为自己谋取利益” 的意思】
    3. 他们两夫妻是教会的弟兄姊妹吗？
    4. 他们两夫妻骗了使徒们，为什么彼得说他们 “欺哄圣灵” 呢？
    5. 欺哄圣灵到底是什么意思？可以给些例子吗？
    6. 今天有人欺哄圣灵吗？
    7. 彼得说撒旦充满了亚拿尼亚的心（第 3 节）。那亚拿尼亚所做的是他自己的错，还是撒旦的错？亚拿尼亚有没有责任？今天我们犯罪，我们能否说 “不是我的错啊！是撒旦逼我去做的！” ？
    8. 两夫妻到底在什么地方做错了？他们这样做的原因是什么？
    9. 今天欺哄圣灵的直接后果是什么？会不会像亚拿尼亚与撒非喇一样？为什么呢？
    10. 两夫妻都断了气，是什么原因？为什么那么严厉的惩罚？看看约书亚记 7:1。
    11. 第 11 节说 “全教会”。这是使徒行传里面第一次用 “教会” 这个名称。之前只出现在马太福音（16:18; 18:17）。在马太福音的 “教会” 与使徒行传的 “教会” 有没有不同？
    12. 第 11 节说 “全教会”，跟着说 “和听见这事的人”。不属于教会的人是谁呢？
    13. 第 5 节与第 11 节都有提到 “都甚惧怕”。为什么他们惧怕呢？惧怕什么（或谁）？有些希腊语词典（像 Louw-Nida）把这个词归在 “对上帝深深的敬意” 的意思，像箴言 1:7a，“敬畏耶和华是知识的开端”，这个 “敬畏” 与 “惧怕” 是同一个希腊语单词。
    14. 这是不是教导我们奉献的时候不能保留一些给自己？
    15. 这段经文教导我们什么？

    应用

    1. 这段的主题是什么？
    2. 保罗逼迫教会的时候，就是逼迫耶稣基督（看使徒行传 9:4）。保罗也说教会是耶稣的身体（看哥林多前书 12:27；以弗所书 4:12；5:23）。所以，欺骗教会（像这两夫妻做的）就是欺骗圣灵，就是欺骗主耶稣。
    3. 这两夫妻想得到教会给巴拿巴的尊重，所以他们欺骗使徒（欺骗教会）。我们有没有使用不恰当的方式来得到他人的尊重，教会、弟兄姊妹们的尊重？
    4. 我们看到初期教会对上帝的敬畏，他们不敢得罪上帝。我们呢？
    5. 我今天有什么地方或行为有得罪了上帝？
    6. 今天的教会有许多问题，可是初期教会也一样有问题（像今天这段）。我们也看到彼得马上处理问题，今天的教会也可以学习（教会纪律）。
    7. 今天神可能不会立刻惩罚像亚拿尼亚夫妻这样的人，可是从旧约与新约，我们已经知道上帝对欺骗的看法。在教会的开始，神让我们知道他不喜悦欺骗。同样，在以色列开始生活在应许之地的时候，神也一样让以色列知道他不允许欺骗（约书亚记 7:1）。

  • 旧约时代的人有祷告吗？

    Following was sent to Fri Bible Study Group on 05 Feb 2022 18:53

    上周五提到祷告的话题。有些地方我觉得需要解释一下。

    很多人以为在旧约时代，普通人不能向上帝祷告，必须经过祭司才能祷告。这个概念不对的。他们需要祭司来献祭，可是祷告可以随时直接向神祷告，不需要祭司。看看旧约约圣经一些例子（除了这些，还有许多其他的例子）：

    1. 哈拿在撒母耳记上 1:10–11『哈拿心里愁苦，就痛痛哭泣，祈祷耶和华…』
    2. 大卫王感谢神与他所立的约，撒母耳记下 7:18–29。
    3. 列王纪上 8:22–53，所罗门献圣殿的时候的祷告。
    4. 先知以利亚的祷告（他与巴力的先知们在战斗的时候），列王纪上 18:36–37。
    5. 当亚述人威胁南国犹大的时候，希西家王向神祈求，列王纪下 19:14–19。
    6. 在尼希米记 9:5–37，几个利未人做了认罪的祷告。要注意这些是利未人，可是他们不是祭司（所有祭司必须是利未支派的，可是一个利未支派的人不一定是祭司，虽然在以色列的崇拜中他们有事奉）。
    7. 但以理，在但以理书 6 章与 9 章（我们都查考过），但以理直接向神祷告。
    8. 约拿，在大鱼的肚子里，求告上帝（约拿书 2 章）。
    9. 约伯记记载了许多的祷告。
    10. 还有其他先知们，像以赛亚，耶利米，等，都有祷告。

    在新约时代，就更明显告诉我们可以直接与上帝说话。耶稣教导门徒怎么祷告（施洗约翰也一样教导自己的门徒怎么祷告。我们也知道施洗约翰教导门徒祷告是耶稣公开传福音之前，所以施洗的做法可以算是旧约时代的做法），也设了一些比喻告诉我们怎么祷告，要有什么态度，等。我们也知道耶稣责备一些假冒为善的人，他们故意让人看到他们在十字路口上的祷告（马太 6:5）。还有彼得与其他使徒的祷告（使徒行传），司提反的祷告（使徒行传 7 章），保罗的祷告，等。

  • Jacob’s Strange Breeding Method

    This question came up when reading the Jacob/Laban story:

    In Genesis 30, why does Jacob put sticks in front of the sheeps and why does that change the color of the breeding?

    Short Answer

    Jacob made an agreement with Laban to care for the latter’s flocks. The payment to Jacob will be any unusually-coloured sheep and goat from the flock; any white sheep and black goats (the usual colour for sheep and goats) will be Laban’s. Laban thought he was getting a bargain (cheap and good labour from Jacob), but instead, the majority of the offsprings from his flock turned out to be speckled or spotted, making Jacob rich at the expense of Laban.

    Jacob used some very unusual methods to make sure the flocks produce offsprings that will go to himself. He made striped sticks and put them in front of the flock, and somehow, the flock produced lots of speckled and spotted offsprings. This isn’t, of course, how breeding or genetics work, so how do we explain Jacob’s success?

    Here are the most popular explanations[1]A few commentaries are listed in the References section below.:

    1. Jacob believed in folklore or sympathetic magic (what the mother sheep saw when she got pregnant will cause her lambs to turn out that way). In the Middle Ages, many people in Europe also believed this. This view is popular with people who take a low view of the Bible. They believe that the Bible is full of errors and myths, is unscientific, and has no place in today’s scientific age.
    2. Jacob might (or might not) believe in folklore, but it was God who made sure that things turned out in Jacob’s favour. That is, even though the folklore doesn’t make sense, God stepped in to ensure that most of the lambs turned out to be speckled or spotted.
    3. There are actually scientific (or genetic) principles involved, some of which we now know, others we still don’t know about, and Jacob used these principles to produce majority speckled and spotted lambs.

    I prefer a combination of #2 and #3 explanations. There are some genetic principles that Jacob used, and I think God also helped him by pointing out certain things to him. With his knowledge and experience of caring for sheep and goats, genetic principles, and God’s help, Jacob was able to get rich at the expense of his uncle Laban.

    More Detailed Answer

    Right after his son Joseph was born (finally, Jacob’s favourite wife Rachel gave birth herself to a son, this son will become Jacob’s favourite son), Jacob decided to leave his uncle Laban and return to Canaan. Laban wanted to keep him on, because Laban is getting cheap labour, and Jacob has made Laban rich (because of God’s blessing, Gen 30:27–30). So they negotiated an agreement:

    Genesis 30:31–34 ESV

    He said, “What shall I give you?” Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this for me, I will again pasture your flock and keep it: let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and they shall be my wages. So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come to look into my wages with you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, shall be counted stolen.” Laban said, “Good! Let it be as you have said.”

    In the Near East, sheep and goats are almost always a solid colour, usually white for sheep, and black for goats. Any speckled or spotted animals are a minority. Jacob is proposing that he gets to keep all the uncommonly patterened sheep and goats, and Laban gets to keep the rest. Laban is, of course, delighted, because he knows with this agreement, Jacob will get a very small minority of the flocks, and Laban will continue to get cheap (and good) labour out of Jacob. So Laban agreed immediately.

    Laban isn’t stupid, he knows that if a solid-coloured sheep mates with another sold-coloured sheep, the offspring will almost always be solid coloured. However, if a solid-coloured sheep mates with a speckled sheep, for example, then there’s a good chance that the offspring might be speckled. Being the cheater that he is, Laban made sure that his flock will produce as few unusually coloured offsprings as possible. He took out all the “male goats that were streaked or spotted, all the female goats that were speckled or spotted (all that had any white on them), and all the dark-colored lambs.” (Gen 30:35–36) He had his sons care for these uncommonly coloured animals, keeping them away (a distance of three-days travel) from the rest of the flock. This will minimise any chance of the flock producing spotted, striped, or dark-coloured offspring; i.e., Laban is making sure that Jacob gets as few animals as possible.

    From archeological and historical sources, we know that a contract between an owner and a shepherd usually provides for the shepherd to be paid 10% to 20% of the flock (and also some percentage of the wool and milk from the flock). Animals with unusual colours usually comprise less than 10%–20% of the flock, so Laban is definitely getting the better end of the deal.

    So what do we have so far? Laban took out all the unsually coloured animals from his flock, and handed these over to his sons to care for. For the rest of the flock (all normally coloured animals), Laban asked Jacob to care for them. Laban also asked his sons to go a distance of three days distance from Jacob; this will make sure none of the unsually coloured animals might accidentaly mate with the normally coloured anmials.

    Genetics

    Why are some sheep white, and others are spotted? Why are the spotted ones in the minority? To find out, we need to look at genetics.

    Let’s make things really simple and assume we’re looking at white and spotted sheep only[2]And even then, it’s probably still overly simplified.. Sheep have a gene for colour, the dominant variation[3]The variation in a gene, like W or w, is called an allele. of the gene, call it W, codes for white. There’s a variation of this gene that codes for spotted, call this w. Each sheep gets two sets of DNA[4]Sheep, like humans, have cells that are called diploid, i.e., with two sets of DNA., one each from its parents. So for the “colour gene”, there will be two alleles, one from the mother, one from the father. It’s the combination of the two alleles that determines what the sheep’s coat will look like. W is “dominant”, i.e., if it’s found in the sheep’s DNA, the sheep will have a white coat. The other allele, w, is called “recessive” in the sense that if only one parent has it, the sheep will still show white. The following table is probably easier to understand:

    Fig. 1 Possible combinations of alleles when both parents have Ww. The grey-row across the top are the alleles for one parent; the grey-column down the left are the alleles for the other parent. The white squares inside are the possible alleles of the offspring. As you can see, there’s only one chance in four (25%) that the offspring will come out spotted.

    Imagine a male and female sheep, both with the colour gene of Ww. This means the male received a W from one of its parents, and a w from the other; same for the female. When they mate, the offspring will have one of the possible combinations shown in figure 1 above. Note that both parents have Ww, and since W is dominant, both parents will have white coats, even though they both carry the w allele. The offspring will have 75% (3/4) chance of being white (either WW or Ww), and 25% (1/4) of being spotted (ww). The spotted characteristic is recessive, and the offspring will show spotted only if it received w from both parents[5]The genetic makeup of an animal is called its genotype, but what we see as the animal’s appearance is called its phenotype (pheno is from the Greek word meaning “showing”). So in … Continue reading.

    Fig. 2 This drawing shows the same information as Figure 1, but here we’re showing the appearance (phenotype) of the offspring. The four sheep correspond to the four squares in Figure 1. As you can see, if there are four offsprings, only one of them would be spotted (ww allele), while the rest will have white coats, even though they all have the recessive w allele.

    Jacob’s Problem

    Enough genetics. Back to Jacob’s situation. If we continue with our limited example, we can see that Laban took away all the spotted sheep and handed them to his sons to keep, leaving Jacob with a flock of entirely white sheep. In terms of genotypes, it means Laban took all the sheep with ww for colour, leaving Jacob with WW or Ww sheep. Can Jacob get spotted sheep from this all-white flock? Yes, he can. All he has to do is let a Ww mate with another Ww, then there will be a 25% of having a spotted offspring. The problem then is how would he know which sheep are Ww? Remember there are no DNA tests back then (at least not that we know of).

    The Bible describes what Jacob did:

    Genesis 30:37–39 ESV

    Then Jacob took fresh sticks of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the sticks. He set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink, the flocks bred in front of the sticks and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted.

    It seems that by setting up the peeled sticks (the peeled sticks would look like striped or spotted animals), Jacob is able to cause the flock to breed striped and spotted offsprings. This certainly sounds like folklore or magic, and if Laban (or his sons) saw what Jacob is doing, they would not think it’s weird, because they most likely know of the same tradition. When Laban sees that this magic seems to work (because Jacob keeps getting more and more spotted animals), he’d think Jacob is particularly lucky. But I think the Bible provided another explanation.

    God’s Solution

    Further along in Chapter 31, Jacob was telling his wives:

    Genesis 31:10–12 ESV

    In the breeding season of the flock I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream that the goats that mated with the flock were striped, spotted, and mottled. Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am!’ And he said, ‘Lift up your eyes and see, all the goats that mate with the flock are striped, spotted, and mottled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. (I added the bold)

    I think the key sentence is in Gen 31:12a: God was telling Jacob which of the animals are striped, spotted, and mottled (have the Ww alleles). Jacob only need to follow God’s indication, and mate the Ww animals with each other, and not allowing any of the WW animals to participate. The offspring of a Ww will have one in four chance of being spotted (ww alleles), in which case Jacob would remove these spotted animals away from the rest of the flock (that’s exactly what he did in Gen 30:40). He’d continue breeding the ww animals with each other[6]Two parents both with ww alleles would have all offsprings coming out 100% ww., while keeping the WW apart. This way, in a few years[7]Sheep breed about once a year, sometimes less. The lambs are mature enough to breed the next generation when it’s only 5 months old, but probably 8 months or so is better. See for example, … Continue reading, most of Laban’s flock would be spotted, with only a minority of whites.

    Conclusions

    I don’t think Jacob followed any superstitious folk traditions or used any sympathetic magic to outsmart his uncle Laban. Jacob did set up the sticks to pretend he’s following superstition, but it was only a ruse to hide what he’s doing from Laban. Everything he did had good scientific explanations, the only exception was he got help from God telling him which of the animals carry the recessive gene.

    So in conclusion:

    1. No magic involved.
    2. What happened is perfectly in line with the scientific principles of genetics.
    3. Jacob did get help from God in order to identify the proper animals to breed.

    Other Things

    Stronger and Weaker Animals

    In Gen 30:41, we read that Jacob is able to separate the stronger animals from the weaker ones. Since Jacob wanted to have spotted sheep, this would imply that the stronger animals are Ww. One possibility is that heterozygotes (an animal having different alleles for a gene, like Ww; those with the same allele, like WW or ww, are called homozygotes) are stronger, or at least breeds faster or earlier. But I wasn’t able to find definitive answers for this.

    Laban the Cheater

    In Gen 31, when Jacob was discussing with his wives about leaving Laban, it was six years after Gen 30 (where the supposedly magic with the sticks was described). During these six years, Laban changed his agreement with Jacob ten times (Gen 31:41). Why? Because Laban is a cheater. When he saw his nephew getting all spotted sheep, he’d change the agreement (“Oh, did I say that? No, no, no, my bad, I actually meant all the spotted sheep should belong to me!”) Of course, as soon as Laban made the change, Jacob would work with God (and genetics) to ensure the next generations of the flock turn out in favour of Jacob. We can imagine the frustration of Laban and his sons. Also, keeping Jacob at a distance of three days travel made it easier for Jacob to carry out the genetic manipulation without Laban figuring things out (setting up the peeled sticks, etc., also helped to hide what’s really happening).

    Jacob’s Sheep

    In recent news (2016), there’s a Jewish couple in Abbotsford, British Columbia, who raised a breed of spotted sheep named Jacob’s Sheep. The genetic markers of this breed can be traced back for thousands of years to the Middle East, starting in Syria (the home of Laban!) From Syria, it went down to Africa, then into Spain, Europe, and the UK, finally ending up in North America. The breed is named after Jacob and the story that we’re reading about in Gen 30–31. The couple wanted to bring the flock to Israel, because this breed has disappeared from Israel since biblical times. You can read about this on the CBC page, as well as many other news sites (just look up “Jacob’s sheep”).

    Epigenetics

    In recent years, there’s been much interest in something called epigenetics. Here’s a definition from the CDC [8]See also Epigenetics (nih.gov), as well as many other similar sites. The NIH page is considering epigenetics from the angle of being able to surpress genes that cause diseases like cancer.:

    Epigenetics is the study of how your behaviors and environment can cause changes that affect the way your genes work. Unlike genetic changes, epigenetic changes are reversible and do not change your DNA sequence, but they can change how your body reads a DNA sequence.

    What is Epigenetics? | CDC

    Maybe Jacob’s peeled sticks might have an effect on the breeding, as described by epigenetics. If so, then maybe the sympathetic magic that’s common folklore and tradition also have a grain of truth.

    References

    Duguid, Iain M. 2002. Living in the Grip of Relentless Grace: The Gospel in the Lives of Isaac and Jacob. Edited by Tremper Longman III and J. Alan Groves. The Gospel according to the Old Testament. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.

    Mathews, K. A. 2005. Genesis 11:27–50:26. Vol. 1B. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

    Strassner, Kurt. 2009. Opening up Genesis. Opening Up Commentary. Leominster: Day One Publications.

    Walton, John H. 2001. Genesis. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

    Notes

    Notes
    ↑1 A few commentaries are listed in the References section below.
    ↑2 And even then, it’s probably still overly simplified.
    ↑3 The variation in a gene, like W or w, is called an allele.
    ↑4 Sheep, like humans, have cells that are called diploid, i.e., with two sets of DNA.
    ↑5 The genetic makeup of an animal is called its genotype, but what we see as the animal’s appearance is called its phenotype (pheno is from the Greek word meaning “showing”). So in our example, WW, Ww, or ww is part of the sheep’s genotype, while the sheep being white or spotted is its phenotype.
    ↑6 Two parents both with ww alleles would have all offsprings coming out 100% ww.
    ↑7 Sheep breed about once a year, sometimes less. The lambs are mature enough to breed the next generation when it’s only 5 months old, but probably 8 months or so is better. See for example, Sheep 201: Reproduction in the ram (sheep101.info), and many other similar sites.
    ↑8 See also Epigenetics (nih.gov), as well as many other similar sites. The NIH page is considering epigenetics from the angle of being able to surpress genes that cause diseases like cancer.

  • Amalekites

    A question from the reading of Exo 17:

    Why does God want to blot out the remembrance of Amelek from under the heavens?

    The quick answer is seen in Deut 25:17–29:

    Deuteronomy 25:17–19 ESV

    “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.

    I think the key reason to wipe out the Amalekites is that they attacked Israel when she was “faint and weary”, and they “did not fear God.” This attack on Israel is recorded in Exo 17:8–16. Moses said, “The LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” (Exo 17:16) This certainly turned out to be the case, as seen in the background on the Amalekites below.

    Some quick background on the Amalekites

    The Amelekites are the descendants of Amalek, the grandson of Jacob’s elder brother Esau. Amalek’s father was Eliphaz, and his mother was Timna, a concubine of Eliphaz (Gen 36:12, 16). However, in Gen 14:7, in the story of the four kings who raided the region of Sodom and Gomorrah, there is mention of the Amalekites and Amorites. Gen 14 describe events before Esau’s time, though it might have been a latter editorial note added afterwards. After Genesis, Amalek (and Amalekites) is used as a collective noun for the descendants of Amalek.

    Amalekites lived in the land of Edom, an area south of the Dead Sea, extending to more or less the Gulf of Aqabah. After the description of Esau’s descendants in Gen 36, Amalekites don’t show up again until Exo 17. In Exo 17:8, the Amalekites attacked Israel at Rephidim (Rephidim is most likely located near the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, but there are lots of opinions on its location). This attack was unprovoked, and Joshua defeated them (Exo 17:8–13, with the help of God, of course). This is the first military encounter for the Israelites. It’s like a foreshadow of the conquest of Canaan, which will be led by Joshua some forty years later.

    Speaking of wondering in the wilderness for forty years (actually thirty-eight, as they could have conquered Canaan two years after they left Egypt), the Amalekites, along with other residents of Canaan, discouraged the Israelites from taking the land. Amalekites next appears in Num 24:20, when Balaam uttered an oracle against them.

    Even after Israel crossed the Jordan and entered Canaan, the Amalekites continue to hound them. In Judges 3:13, we learned that Eglon formed alliances with the Ammonites and Amalekites and defeated Israel. They appeared again in Judges 6:3–5, 33; and 7:12.

    Samuel commanded king Saul to destroy the Amalekites, but Saul didn’t follow orders and spared the Amalekite king Agag, as well as “test best of the flock, the cattle, the fatlings, and the lambs, as well as everything else that was of value.” (1 Sam 15:9)

    King David also fought the Amalekites (1 Sam 27:6; 30:1–20), and it was an Amalekite to told David of the death of Saul and Jonathan (2 Sam 2:1–16). After their defeat by David, the Amalekites more or less disappeared.

    In the book of Esther, the evil Haman the Agagite (Esther 3:1) is probably an Amalekite descendant. So even after all these years, there’s still an Amalekite trying to destroy the Jews.

    References

    Elwell, Walter A., and Philip Wesley Comfort. 2001. In Tyndale Bible Dictionary. Tyndale Reference Library. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

    Arthur Thompson, J. 1979–1988. “Amalek; Amalekites.” In The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised, edited by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Wm. B. Eerdmans.

    White, William, Jr. 1988. “Amalek, Amalekites.” In Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, 1:64. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

  • The Wrestling Match

    Question

    What does Jacob wrestling with God mean?

    The Text

    The wrestling match is recorded in Gen 32:22–32:

    The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.

    Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

    Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.”

    The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the sinew of the thigh.

    Short Answer

    The wrestling match with God is sort of like an illustration to Jacob of what Jacob had been doing all his life: instead of trusting God for blessings, he had been using his own cheating and cunning methods to receive blessings. God changed Jacob’s name to “Israel” to let Jacob know that God will fight for him, no need to cheat.

    More Detailed Answer

    Observations

    1. Jacob should be around 97 years old now, so he’s not a strong young man anymore.
    2. Jacob took his family across the Jabbok (a tributary of the Jordan, flowing into the Jordan from the east), then he returned back across the Jabbok afterwards. He was then all alone in the night (32:23–24).
    3. A man came to wrestle with him. From this description, we don’t know who this man is. But later (32:30), Jacob said he has seen God face to face and his life was delivered. So it seems this “man” was God, or at least a supernatural representative, like an angel. In fact, in Hosea 12:4, Hosea tells us Jacob wrestled with an angel.
    4. It sounded like Jacob was able (despite his age) to wrestle an angel all night; but in Gen 32:25, we read that the man just touched his hip socket, and Jacob was disabled. This shows that the man could have defeated Jacob anytime, and he’s just letting Jacob continue with the wrestling (sort of like playing with Jacob).
    5. As dawn was breaking, the man asked Jacob to let him go, but Jacob hangs on and won’t let the man go unless he blesses Jacob.
    6. The man asked Jacob his name. It’s not that he doesn’t know Jacob’s name, but he wants Jacob to acknowledge it out loud. The man then changed Jacob’s name to Israel. See below for what this new name might mean.
    7. Jacob in turn asks the man’s name, but the latter doesn’t answer. He blesses Jacob, and leaves.
    8. Jacob named the place Peniel. (Gen 32:30).
    9. The Israelites don’t eat “the sinew which is attached to the socket of the hip” (Gen 32:32) as a memorial to Jacob’s injury. Even today, observant Jews “still refuse to eat the tendons of the hindquarters of animals.”[1]Allen Ross and John N. Oswalt, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: Genesis, Exodus,Vol. 1 (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers., 2008), 190. However, this observance is not made part of the dietary laws in Exodus. We also don’t know if this injury was temporary or permenant, or even what part of the anatomy it refers to (there are various opinions on this).

    There’s not much detail given about the wrestling match; all the details seem to be with the name-change from Jacob to Israel. So it seems this passage’s focus is on Jacob’s new name.

    In Gen 32:28, the new name is exlained as, “for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” But I like the explanation given by Ross: “Israel” means “God fights.”[2]Ross and Oswalt, 191. When he was born, Jacob’s name meant something like “heal grabber,” since he came out grabbing onto the heal of his elder brother Esau. However, Esau (in Gen 27:36) gave a new meaning to “Jacob”, implying that “Jacob” means deceiver.

    All his life, Jacob had been using his own cunning and cheating to get blessings. He cheated his brother Esau to get the birthright of first-born (Gen 25:29–34), then tricked his father to get the blessing destined for Esau (Gen 27:35; read the entire story starting at the beginning of Gen 27). At his uncle Laban’s place, he himself met his match (Laban was just as big a cheater as Jacob), but he also did some things to make his own flocks prosper at the expense of Laban’s flocks.

    At the wrestling match, it seems the man is pointing out to Jacob that this sort of wrestling was what Jacob had been doing all his life. He asked Jacob to acknowledge his own name, which can be taken to mean he’s forcing Jacob to acknowledging his own character: someone who depends on his own strength and cunning to get blessings from others (or from God). With the name-change to “Israel”, it is now God who will do the fighting, and Jacob just has to trust God. If Jacob just trust in God, God will bring him blessings; there’s no need to cheat or fight deceitfully.

    All this happened as Jacob was about to meet Esau. Jacob still greatly feared that Esau is sending the large party of four hundred men to wipe out Jacob in revenge (you can see this by how he arranged his family to meet Esau). However, some of that fear might have dissipated because the wrestling man told him, “you have … prevailed.” (Gen 32:28) Jacob actually went ahead of his entire family to greet Esau (i.e., if there’s any danger, Jacob would be the first one killed!) God assured Jacob that he will be successful in everything he did, including his meeting with Esau.

    Jacob still has lots to learn about trusting God. He still kept many of his old “Jacob” characteristics, while learning to become “Israel”. I think that’s why even after the name-change, the Bible often goes back to using “Jacob”, and only once in a while uses “Israel”. You can compare this to Abraham and Sarah; they both had their names changed by God (Gen 17), and the Bible never went back to using their old names.

    Summary

    The wrestling is mainly about the name-change of Jacob to Israel. God wants Jacob to know that instead of depending on his own cunning and deceit, he should trust God for blessings. Remember that Genesis was written for the generation of Israelites going into the promised land. The Israelites would learn that “Israel’s victory would come not by the usual ways by which nations gain power but in the power of the divine blessing.”[3]Allen P. Ross, Creation and Blessing: A Guide to the Study and Exposition of Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998), 558. We can see this in the book of Joshua, where it was God who fought for them (like marching around Jericho for seven days, no fighting involved!)

    This is also a lesson for us, as we also must learn to trust God that he will give us whatever we need in order to be a good disciple or a good witness to God. Sometimes, as disciples, we encounter difficulties and roadblocks that might even require some sort of fight, but we need to trust God that he will do the fighting for us.

    Notes

    Notes
    ↑1 Allen Ross and John N. Oswalt, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: Genesis, Exodus,Vol. 1 (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers., 2008), 190.
    ↑2 Ross and Oswalt, 191.
    ↑3 Allen P. Ross, Creation and Blessing: A Guide to the Study and Exposition of Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998), 558.

  • Circumcision

    Question: Why do the Jews get circumcised?

    Short Answer

    It’s a sign of the covenant between Abraham (and his descendants, the Jews) and God.

    Longer Answer

    First, we have to know that circumcision is a common practice with many people groups in the ancient Near East. Israel’s neighbours also practiced circumcision, as seen in Jer 9:25–26. In this passage from Jeremiah, God makes a distinction between circumcision of the flesh and that of the heart. Circumcision of the flesh, practiced by the Egyptians, Judeans, Edomites, etc., is just an ourward sign; what God is looking for is a “circumcision of the heart” (Jer 9:26b). Anyway, that’s another topic. Back to the question at hand. If other people also get circumcised, what’s so special about circumcision for the Jews?

    God commanded Abraham to be circumcised (Gen 17), as part of the covenant that he made with Abraham and his descendants. God will make Abraham the father of “a multitude of nations,” and changed his name from Abram to Abraham, kings shall come from him (Gen 17:6). This covenant between Abraham and God extends to Abraham’s descendants as well, “throughout their generations” (Gen 17:7a). There’s also the promise of land, “all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession.” (Gen 17:7b–8). What’s Abraham’s part of this covenant? God gave him the requirement of the covenant (Gen 17:10): “Every male among you shall be circumcised.”

    All this is fine, and Abraham obeyed God and circumcised his son Ishmael and every male in his household “this very day.” That is, Abraham didn’t waste any time in his obedience. I’m sure when the adults asked Abraham why they have to do this (they would already know what circumcision is, as it’s not something new to people in the ancient Near East), Abraham would have told them that God made a covenant with him. The question on everyone’s mind is: where will you get descendants when you’re 99 years-old and your wife Sarah is barren? Both of you are well, well, past the age of having children, and Sarah already knew she was barren way back in the early days (25 years ago) when she was married to Abram (Gen 11:30). People would be wondering how this will happen, and why they had to get circumcised when Abraham and Sarah obviously had no chance of having children.

    Then, about a year later, Sarah was pregnant, and then Isaac was born. Everyone now understands: Isaac is a miracle from God. God made a promise to Abraham, and only a miracle can make that promise come true. From Isaac, there will be sons, and so on, until Abraham’s descendants become a multitude of nations. The Israelites is a people born out of a miracle from God. When Isaac was born, everyone would remember that covenant of circumcision. From then on, every Israelite male would have that mark on his body, that he exists because of God’s promise to Abraham. Every wife would be reminded of this miracle whenever she has sexual relations with her husband, and when her son is circumcised on the eighth day.

    So even though circumcision is not something new or unique to the Jews, God used it as a sign of the covenant between himself and Abraham (as well as his descendants). This is similar to the way God used the rainbow as a sign of his covenant (back in Gen 9:13) with Noah. The rainbow was surely something familiar, but God used it as a sign of his promise that he will never again use flood to destroy the earth.

    References

    Heiser, Michael S. I Dare You Not to Bore Me with the Bible. Edited by John D. Barry and Rebecca Van Noord. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press; Bible Study Magazine, 2014.

    There are tons of other books and articles on this subject, but the book above is a good start.

  • The sin of Ham

    Someone asked the question:

    “What was Ham’s sin when he saw Noah naked?”

    This is an interesting question, and over the centuries, there had been various explanations. I’ll share the explanation that I find the most logical and most compatible with all the evidence, but keep in mind that not everyone agrees with this view.

    Short answer

    The short answer is: Ham committed incest, and Canaan (Ham’s son) is also Ham’s younger brother.

    Long anwer

    The question is part of today’s reading (3 Jan 2022), Gen 9, specifically the passage Gen 9:18–27. All Bible verses are quoted from the ESV. The rest of this page will give the more detailed answer.

    Observations

    We start with a few observations from the passage:

    1. This incident happened after the flood.
    2. Gen 9:18 Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, Japheth. Though we should know that this is not necessarily their birth order (as the Bible tells us just a few verses later in Gen 9:24), because quite often, the most important person is named first (Shem, in this case, because Shem’s descendants eventually leads to king David, then Jesus). Also, it seems to be a pattern throughout: the first-born is never chosen by God for carrying out his plan of salvation.
    3. Everyone on earth, from after the flood until today (and beyond), were the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth. This includes us! So in a sense, everyone on earth is related. We really are one big family!
    4. Gen 9:20 Noah planted a vineyard. We should point out that this didn’t happen immediately after leaving the ark. It takes several years to cultivate a vineyard, so this incident happened a minimum of three to five years after the flood, probably longer.
    5. Gen 9:21 From his vineyard, Noah produced wine, drank the wine, and got really drunk.
    6. Gen 9:22 Ham “saw the nakedness of his father,” and told Shem and Japheth.
    7. Gen 9:23 Shem and Japheth walked backwards into their father’s tent and “covered the nakedness of their father.” They didn’t “see their father’s nakedness.”
    8. Gen 9:24 Noah found out “what his youngest son did.” From this, we now know that Ham is Noah’s youngest.
    9. Gen 9:25 Noah placed a curse on Canaan (the son of Ham). Canaan will be “a servant of servants” to his brothers.
    10. Gen 9:26–27 Similarly, Noah blessed his other two sons Shem and Japheth.
    11. The narrator emphasised Ham is the father of Canaan (at Gen 9:18b and Gen 9:22). It’s like he won’t let us forget where Canaan came from. We also should know that the Pentateuch (the five books of Moses, what we have in our Bibles as the first five books from Genesis to Deuteronomy) was written for the generation that left Egypt and eventually settled in Canaan (as described in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua). The people living in Canaan were, of course, Canaanites, who were the descendants of Ham’s son Canaan. So the narrator is telling the Israelites that when you go into Canaan and encounter all thse people, you should know that they are the descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham, the grandson of Noah.

    There are several other questions that we can ask as well:

    1. What exactly did Ham do that so upset his father (Gen 9:24)?
    2. Ham was the one who sinned, so why didn’t Noah curse Ham, but instead cursed Ham’s son Canaan?
    3. Whatever Ham did, it didn’t seem to be very proper or acceptable. Why did he share that with his brothers?
    4. Why did Ham do what he did? What’s his reason?
    5. Why the repeated reminder that Ham is Canaan’s father?

    Understanding the passage

    Most of this passage is fairly easy to understand, but we need to know what “saw the nakedness” means, because it doesn’t mean what we think it means; the phrase is actually an euphemism for something else.

    Two passages from Leviticus help us understand what “saw the nakedness” means.

    Lev 18:6ff (“ff” means 18:6 and the following verses) The whole of Lev 18 is about unlawful sexual relations. In Lev 18:3, God tells the Israelites that they “must not do as they do in the land of Egypt where you have been living, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan into which I am about to bring you.” What do the people of Egypt and Canaan do? They practice sexual relations that God forbids. These relations are listed starting at Lev 18:6, and there we see a whole pile of “uncover nakedness.” Specifically, “uncovering the nakedness of your father” is refering to the “nakedness of your mother,” etc.

    Lev 20:17 This verse tells us that “seeing someone naked” and “uncovering someone’s nakedness” both mean the same thing. The start of this verse tells us what this thing is: “takes his sister”, i.e., have sexual relations with his sister (whether she’s the daughter of his father or mother).

    Lev 20:20–21 Further down in Lev 20:20, it tells us that if a man has sexual relations with his uncle’s wife, he has “uncovered his uncle’s nakedness.” And similarly in Lev 20:21, if a man takes his brother’s wife, he has “uncovered his brother’s nakedness.” Note that in both cases, it’s not the woman’s nakedness that was uncovered, but the corresponding man’s nakedness (either the uncle or the brother). So this also implies that when a man uncovers another man’s nakedness, it does not mean they had homosexual relationship with each other. Rather, it means the man who did the uncovering had heterosexual relations with the other man’s wife (either aunt or sister in-law, in this case).

    From all these verses, we see that uncovering the nakedness of someone and seeing the nakedness of someone mean the same thing: to have sexual relations. Furthermore, uncovering the nakedness of a close relative (uncle, brother) means having sexual relations with that relative’s wife.

    Ham, Canaan, and the curse

    So from all this, we can deduce that this is what Ham did: he had sexual relations with his mother (he “saw his father’s nakedness”). This is, of course, incest, and forbidden by God.

    We can go one step further, and say that Canaan is the result of this incest. I.e., Ham’s son Canaan is Ham’s younger brother, because Ham and Canaan had the same mother. This explains why Noah cursed Canaan, because Canaan is the product of a very improper relationship between his son Ham and Noah’s wife.

    There might also be another reason for the curse, and this might tie in with why Ham did this thing, and why he shared it with his brothers. In OT days, to take over leadership of a family or a country, you “possess” that person’s wife (or wives). We see this in Gen 35:22 (Jacob’s son Reuben “went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine”), where Reuben wanted to assert his authority as the first-born. Another example is king David’s son Absalom, who publicly had sexual relations with king David’s concubines to show that he is now taking over from David and is in control (2 Sam 16:20–23). King David himself took all of Saul’s concubines when he became king (2 Sam 12:8).

    Maybe Ham wanted to assert himself as the family clan’s leader (remember that Ham is the youngest, so he would likely not become the family’s leader). By sleeping with his father’s wife, he is forcing a takeover of the family’s leadership. This is why he told his brothers, because he wanted them to know that he is now the boss.

    When Noah found out what Ham did, and realised that Canaan (born from his wife) is fathered by Ham, he cursed Canaan, to ensure that Ham, and Ham’s son Canaan, will not take over the family’s leadership.

    When Ham’s brother heard what Ham did, they went backwards into the tent to cover up their mother (“covered the nakedness of their father.”) They didn’t approve of what Ham did. Maybe they even told their father, and that’s how Noah found out about the incident and about Canaan. I.e., Noah realised that his wife is pregnant not by himself, but by his own son Ham.

    One final thing: why the repeated emphasis to say Ham is the father of Canaan? Probably because Ham had four sons: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan (see Gen 10:6). Canaan is likely the youngest, and all the sons were born after the flood. Cush is the ancestor of the country known to the ancient Greeks as Ethiopia (southern Egypt), Egypt is obvious, Put is the ancestor of Libya and neighbouring areas, and finally, Canaan is basically the promised land. The narrator is telling his readers that the place you left (Egypt), and the place where God is bringing you to (Canaan) are both inhabitted by Ham’s descendants, and they both practice sexual relations that are detestable to God. Don’t be like them!

    Things to learn

    There are many strange incidents in the Bible, some of which we cannot really explain. We trust the Bible as the word of God, and since we are not God, it’s not surprising that some of his words might not be understandable to us. It’s the height of pride to say that we must understand everything in the Bible.

    This incident with Ham, especially the curse on Canaan, was (and probably still is) used by many (even many Christians) to justify racism and slavery, especially towards people of African descent. This is because they wilfully misread the Bible. Their rationale is that the Africans are Ham’s descendants (Cush, Egypt, Put, all located in Africa), and since Ham is cursed and is to be servants of Shem and Japheth, it’s perfectly fine to see Africans as servants and slaves (not just servants, but servants of servants as seen in Gen 9:25). What they seem to have conveniently missed is that it was Canaan who was cursed, not Ham. Of course, many racist people just turn a blind eye to this inconvenient fact.

    References

    Here are some books and papers that advocate the view expressed above.

    Bergsma, John Sietze, and Scott Hahn. “Noah’s Nakedness and the Curse on Canaan (Genesis 9:20-27).” Journal of Biblical Literature 124, no. 1 (2005): 25–40.

    Heiser, Michael S. “Uncovering the Curse of Canaan. (I Dare You Not to Bore Me with the Bible).” Bible Study Magazine 11, no. 4 (May 1, 2019): 8–9.

    There are many others, of course, and there are also many that advocate other explanations. An example is the NAC (New American Commentary), which suggested that Ham showed disrespect to his father Noah, not just in seeing Noah literally drunk and naked in the tent, but in Ham’s “outspoken delight at his father’s disgraceful condition.” (p. 419)

    Mathews, K. A. Genesis 1-11:26. Vol. 1A. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996.

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