Lynne's Old Testament Study Notes

3/31/2022 – Exodus 11 The Lords speaks to Moses, saying: ”Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharoah, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether.”(v 1) In v 2, the Lord tells the Israelites to “borrow of hie neighbors…jewels, silver, and jewels of gold”. Adam Clarke, a Bible scholar, speaks of the Hebrew word ‘sha’al’, which has been translated as “borrow”. He says it is more like ‘to ask’ or ‘demand’. His feeling is that “God commanded the Israelites to ask or demand a certain recompense for their past services, and he inclined the hearts of the Egyptians to give liberally…for it was no more than a very partial recompense for the long and painful services which we may say six hundred thousand Israelites had rendered to Egypt…for the Israelites had been permitted to accumulate no kind of property, as all their gains went to their oppressors.” It’s interesting that the Egyptians seem to have been less...

 3/30/2022 – Exodus 10 Moses and Aaron are in front of Pharaoh yet again. They don’t complain to the Lord that Pharoah is never going to let them go, instead they go again and this time they tell Pharaoh that if he refuses once again, the next plague will be on of locusts “that will cover the face of the earth; and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which growth for you out of the field. And they shall fill thy houses…. (v’s 5-6) And after leaving him that warning, Moses and Aaron left his presence.   In v 7 Pharaoh’s servants pleaded with him to let the Israelites go, “that they may serve the Lord their God; knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed? “(v 7) In v 8 when Moses and Aaron are brought before Pharaoh again, and he tells them to go, but he finishes his statement in v 10 with “for evil is before you”. The footnotes tell us that this is a Hebrew idiom meaning ‘you are bent on mi...

 3/29/2022 – Exodus 8 & 9 Exodus 8 It’s interesting to note that during Moses’ time, Egypt was the greatest nation on earth in areas such as wealth, education, technology, mathematics and astronomy. The Egyptians worshiped many gods—they even considered the pharaoh to be a god. There was a stark contrast between the Egyptians and the Israelites, because for so many generations the Israelites were the ones who did all the menial labor. At this time Moses had been absent from Egypt for 40 years, and he had spent those 40 years as a herdsman in the desert. He had no followers, no position, and no power, but he had the Lord with him as a tutor. And as they went through all these plagues, Moses was shown again and again the power of God over all things, and that brought Moses to develop an absolute trust in the power of God over all things. The first plagues the Lord sent were:  Water changed to blood—The Egyptians considered the waters of the Nile to be sacred, and life giving...

 3/28/2022 – Exodus 7 In v 1, the Lord reminds Moses that He has made him a spokesman to Pharaoh, and Moses is to tell Pharaoh ALL that the Lord has commanded. Then in v 2, He tells Aaron that he is to ask Pharaoh to “send the children if Israel out of his land.” And then the Lord explains just to them that Pharaohs heart will be hardened, for that will enable the Lord to show His “signs and wonders” until finally “the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.” The scriptures are always reminding us that if we act in faith and obey the Lord, THEN He will bless us to be able to do what He asks of us. Moses and Aaron are excellent examples of how the Lord helps and tutors us.  I believe that Satan was also involved in these efforts to keep the Israelites in Egypt. From the book Answers to Gospel Questions I found this statement: “It should be remembered that Satan has great knowledge ...

 3/26/2022 – Exodus 6 I read this chapter thinking  mostly of  how it applied to me, instead of seeing it only as a story from ancient history. As I’ve noted before, the promise of the Lord to bring the Israelites to a place of ‘milk and honey’, took over 40 years, and included lots of difficult times within those years. But as we look at the entire time from getting out of Egypt to getting into Canaan, we also see that many of the Israelites were not only NOT fully following the Lord, and at times they were not happy, even in the midst of a miracle. While Moses was with the Lord on the mountain, the Israelites were making a golden calf to worship. When the poisonous snakes appeared and Moses told them if they came to look at the Iron Snake, they would live. But so many did not even bother to leave their tent to look—and instead they died. After the Lord had miraculously provided them manna, instead of being thankful for their daily food, they began to complain that they ...

3/25/2022 – Exodus 5 Moses and Aaron do as they were commanded by getting an audience with Pharoah: “The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we prey thee” (v 3) Pharoah told them that they had, by coming to him, made things worse for the Hebrews. He went on to say that many of the Hebrews had not done their slave work today, and so Pharoah said NO to letting them leave, and he order that even more work be given to Hebrews. Here they are, following the Lord’s commandments, and not only were they not able to leave, but even more work was put upon their backs, making their original tasks much more difficult, plus they were beaten when they were unable to do the impossible.  In the scriptures it is not unusual for opposition to occur even when the Lord’s commands were followed. The thing we forget is that the Lord sees the full picture. It may be that the Lord gave Pharaoh a chance to let Israel go, of his own free will, to worship Godm but through his refusal Pharoah could...

  3/24/2022 – Exodus 4 Moses, although a former prince of Egypt, was deeply worried about his ability to do what the Lord had asked. I can certainly see that as he has been called to deliver an entire population from a terrible oppressor, and take them safely to another place…a place that at this time is unknown to him. This is how the Lord patiently taught Moses:  3:11: Who am I to be able to do what you have asked? 3:12 I, the Lord, will be with you. 3:13: Who should I tell them sent me? 3:14-17, Tell them I Am sent you unto them.  4:1:  But they will not believe me or listen to me. They will say I am lying. 4:2-9, Perform the three signs that I will give you (turn a rod into a snake, display a hand  bearing leprosy, and turn water into blood). 4:10: I have never been a good speaker. I am slow of speech.  4:11-12:  I made you mouth, and I will be with you and teach you what to say. 4:13 Please, Lord, send someone else. 4:14-17: I will make ...

 3/23/2022 – Exodus 3 I think I’ll start with the student manual comments on this chapter: “The Lord called Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt. Moses expressed concern about his inadequacies and his ability to deliver Israel. [That sounds familiar to me as I think back to how I have felt when church, or family, or work situations needed help from me. But for Moses, the difficulties of life happen on a national level! So in my case, I simply need to remind myself when the worries start to surface, that if I work to stay close to the Lord, He will be right there.] The Lord reassured Moses that He would be with him and give him power to deliver Israel. As a wife, a mother, a nurse…. I often asked for, and received, either comfort, or guidance, or the feeling of just “keep on, keeping on” coming from my Father to me.  Moses must have been a poor public speaker, for the Lord called Aaron to be a spokesman for Moses. Aaron and Moses traveled to Egypt and spoke to the elders of Israel...

  3/22/2022 - Exodus 2 Moses’ parents were both Levites, and thus were under the edict from the Pharoah that all male children would to be killed at birth. But when Moses was born, his mother defied the law and hid him for 3 months. V 3 tells us that “when she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink.” She had her daughter stood far off and followed Moses little boat (the scriptures call it an ark).   The Pharoah’s daughter had come down to the river with her maidens, when she saw the ark and had one of her maidens bring it to the edge of the water. “And when she had opened it, she saw the child; and behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrew’ children.” (v 6) And that’s when Moses’ watchful sister came to Pharoah’s daughter, saying that she could get one of the Hebrew women who could nu...

 3/21/2022 – Exodus 1  Today is the very beginning of the Israelites leaving Egypt. After 430 years in Egypt, things changed for the descendants Jacob and Joseph. They are now enslaved, and terrorized by a new pharaoh “who knew not Joseph”.  (v8)   Moses, who was taken from his mother as an infant, had grown up in the palace and learned much—much that would help him as he moved his people across the deserts.  In Acts 3:22 it says that Christ was called a prophet like unto Moses—what greater introduction can there be than that as we read through this book in the Old Testament.  Elder Mark E. Petersen: “The true Moses was one of the mightiest men of God in all time. …He walked and talked with God, received of divine glory while yet in mortality, was called a son of God, and was in the similitude of the Only Begotten. He saw the mysteries of the heavens and much of creation, and received laws from God beyond any other ancient man of whom we have record.” ...

3/18/2022 – Genesis 49 & 50 Chapter 49: Jacob calls his sons and their children together “that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days”. (v 1) He also takes time to bless each of his children. We learn in v’s 3-4 that Reuben, though he has had great possibilities before him he is “unstable as water, thou shalt not excel”.  I would hope that this patriarchal blessing would certainly get his full attention, and that he would change the ways of his thoughts and his actions. That can be one of the blessings of our patriarchal blessings—sometimes it helps us work with greater effort through our hard times, sometimes it encourages us in certain traits, but it always has the power to bring us closer to Heavenly Father. Simeon and Levi were warned of their being ”instruments of cruelty…in their habitations”  and “cursed by their anger…and their wrath, for it was cruel” (v’s 5-6) Judah’s blessing was to contemplate “the coming of Shiloh [Christ] who would gathe...

 3/17/2022 – Genesis 47 & 48 Genesis 47 Pharaoh so values Joseph, that he not only welcomes Joseph’s large family, but he gives them some of the best land in Egypt. He has such great faith in Joseph’s entire family that he suggests Jacob’s family could also manage some of Pharaoh’s cattle herds—for he knows they will expand more quickly as Joseph’s herds do. (v 6)  I think it is interesting and touching that when Joseph introduces his father Jacob to Pharaoh, that Jacob gives Pharaoh a blessing. (v’s 9-10)  We also learn that Joseph takes good care of his family: “And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father’s household, with bread…And there was no bread in all the land.” (v’s 12-13) Joseph continued to administer the affairs of Egypt, and in the middle of this great famine over all the lands. As he saved the lives of the people, and he gathered great wealth for Pharaoh. When the famine began, people came from everywhere for food which they pu...

 3/16/2022 – Genesis 46  This chapter tells us just how Jacob and his family are able to get from Canaan to Egypt, where Jacob is reunited with Joseph, the son he thought dead for 20 years.  V 1 Jacob “took his journey with all that he had…and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.” Then in v 2 “…God spake unto Israel (the second name the Lord had given to Jacob) in the visions of the night, and said Jacob, Jacob.” And Jacob--who had been praying to the Lord along their journey, AND listening to the Lord--immediately answered: “Here am I.” Then the Lord, in v 3 & 4, speaks: “I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation. I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again; and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.” With 12 sons and all their wives and all their children (many of whom had grown and married and had children were) made this a large amount of peo...

3/15/2022 – Genesis 44 & 45 All 11 of the brothers of Joseph are back in Egypt to show Benjamin to Joseph in order to get Simeon out of jail, but Joseph devised a plan that would prevent the brothers from heading home to Canaan. The plan is to send Joseph’s steward after them and accuse them, once again, of thievery. The brothers explained they were not thieves last time nor thieves this time, and they told the steward that if any one of them was to be found with Joseph’s silver cup, then that person should be put to death and the rest of the brothers would serve as bondsmen. (v9)  The steward had placed Joseph’s cup in Benjamin’s bags, and once found they were taken back to Joseph as thieves. Judah felt they were being punished for selling Joseph. Judah is feeling great guilt and said: ”God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants…” Judah pleads with Joseph to allow him to take Benjamin’s place as the main thief, and let Benjamin return to his father, for their father would...

 3/14/2022 – Genesis 42 & 43 The 7 years of plenty have come…and gone, for now the entire area has been through two years of famine. Joseph’s brothers journey to Egypt, for it is the only country that had built up a 7 years food supply that was ample for them and more. This is because they had faith in Joseph’s ability to speak to the Lord, and to hear the Lord.  Somewhere in the 7 years of plenty, the Egyptians might have become placid and stopped working for the food came so easily, but they DID walk by faith in Joseph, and thus were able to survive the long famine. Joseph recognized his brothers as soon as he saw them, but after 22 years with Joseph now in Egyptian dress and speaking Egyptian, they did not recognize him. Joseph could have shown vengeance for the things they had done to him, but instead he gave them food, and then arranged their return to Egypt a second time with ALL the brothers. It was during this episode that Joseph remembers his dreams of many years ...

 Genesis 41 Joseph remained imprisoned for another two years, and then the Pharaoh dreamed two odd dreams which he vividly remembered, and was very troubled by them. None of the magicians of Egypt nor any of the wise men could come up with an interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams.  That’s when the chief butler finally remembered the time when Joseph translated his dream. He told his story to the Pharoah who immediately called for Joseph to be brought to him. (v 14) They pulled him out of the dungeon and allowed him to shave himself and put on clean clothes, and then they brought him into the Pharaoh.  V 15: “…Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it.” Joseph’s humble and very true answer: “It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.” (v16) Joseph listened to Pharaoh’s description of his dreams, and then answered: “The dream of Pha...

 3/9/2022 – Genesis 39 The Ishmaelites who had purchased Joseph brought him to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guard. And yet as a slave in a foreign land, “the Lord was with Joseph and he was a prosperous man” (v 2) in the house of Potiphar.  Potiphar was so pleased with Joseph and his abilities, that he made Joseph the overseer “over his house, and all that Potiphar had he put into his  (Joseph’s) hand.” (v 5) And then we are told that “the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.” (v 5) The key to all this is that no matter where he was, or what he was doing, Joseph kept focused on the covenants he had made with the Lord. He stayed faithful and obedient to the Lord’s commandments, and he prospered.  Then in these good times, Potiphar’s wife did her best to seduce Joseph each day, and Joseph told her why he would not follow her wishes: “Behold,...

 3/8/2022 – Genesis 38 This seems to be a chapter about bad decisions. It helps quite a bit if we know the ancient customs of the Middle East: To my understanding, the brother of a deceased man should marry his widow—in order to produce a male heir for the dead man. This would perpetuate the dead man’s name and memory, but also a man’s property is involved, and it can become the property that is passed down through the eldest son.  After the brothers sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites, Judah (one of the older brothers) married a Canaanite woman, named Shuah. They had 3 sons: Er, Onan and Shelah. Er, the oldest, married Tamar, but was not a good man. He died before they had children. According to the law at the time, a widow who had no children had claim on her husband’s next oldest brother or his closest living male relative. This man, if asked by the widow, was obligated to marry her and help her to have a son. Onan went into her, but he “spilled it (semen) on the ground, lest th...

 3/7/2022 – Genesis 37 The student manual starts with this sentence: “Time and again, good fortune seemed to abandon Joseph, but the Lord never did.” And that’s because Joseph NEVER abandoned the Lord’s commandments. No matter what happened to him, he was honest and true and helpful to all around him…except for Potiphar’s wife. V 3 tells us outright that “Israel (Jacob) loved Joseph more than all his children.” It also tells us that he made and gave Joseph a coat of many colors. Evidently the children of wealthy families wore coats or tunics that reached to their wrists and their ankles. I had a wonderful institute instructor who said that there is one translation saying that Joseph’s coat of many colors was a sign that Jacob had taken Joseph through the temple experience. For years there had been hard feelings and one-up-manship between Leah and Rachel, so perhaps all the sons were used to this “I’m better than you” way of living. Then again, about the birthright, Reuben, the firs...

3/5/2022 – Genesis 33 President Thomas M Monson told the following story: “Many years ago I read the following Associated Press dispatch which appeared in the newspaper: An elderly man disclosed at the funeral of his brother, with whom he had shared, from early manhood, a small, one-room cabin near Canisteo, New York, that following a quarrel, they had divided the room in half with a chalk line, and neither had crossed the line or spoken a word to the other since that day—62 years before. Just think of the consequence of that anger. What a tragedy!” (“School Thy Feelings, O My Brother,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2009, 68–69) Esau and Jacob DID have serious quarrels (Esau had threatened to kill Jacob in those earlier times), but after 20 years, are ready to put all their earlier problems behind them. Esau still does not have the birthright he thought he would receive by being the first son, and Jacob had been forced to leave his home and family for 20 years, and the situation with Laban d...

3/4/2022 – Genesis 32 Jacob is on his journey home after 20 years. What an amazing blessing he had --to be accompanied by angels. (v 1) Even with that company, he worries about coming back to live near his brother Esau, for there had been so much anger between the two when Jacob left so long ago. V 3 tells us that “Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau…” He told them to tell Esau that for the past 20 years, he has been with Laban, but now he is returning—and he is returning with oxen and asses and flocks and menservants and women servants, AND that he hopes “that I may find grace in thy sight”. (v 5)  These messengers returned to Jacob with the news that Esau was coming, and he was coming with 400 men. (v 6) Jacob thought the worst. He divided his people and his wealth of animals with the thought that “If Esau come to the one company, and smit it, then the other company which is left shall escape.” (v 8). Jacob has been accompanied by angels, and yet he still has worries and dee...

3/3/2022 – Genesis 31 The chapter synopsis says it all: “The Lord commands Jacob to return to Canaan, and he departs secretly—Laban pursues him; they resolve their differences and make a covenant of peace—Laban blesses his descendants, and he and Jacob part company.” But here the story is: blow by blow: Jacob’s work over the twenty years he was will Laban, was responsible for greatly increased herds.  V 1 tells us that there was an ill will at Laban’s home: Jacob“… heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father’s; and of that which was our father’s, hath he gotten all this glory”.   V 2 Then “Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and behold it was not toward him as before.”  This is when the Lord spoke to Jacob, telling him to return to his own father’s home, “and I will be with thee.” (v 3) The very next thing Jacob did was to call Leah and Rachel telling them that Laban was no longer loving or friendly to Jacob. Jacob remind...

3/2/2022 – Genesis 30 Jacob, and his two wives, and Leah’s 4 sons are settling down together, but there are still struggles among them. Leah feels that Jacob loves her less than Rachel. Rachel seems unable to bear children and she becomes envious of Leah, and seems to only be able to focus on the fact that she remains childless.  Rachel decides to give her maid, Bilhah, to Jacob, knowing that any children Bilhah has will belong to Rachel. Rachel names Bilhah’s first Dan, and says “God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son…” (v 6) Rachel has been praying, and her prayers have been answered.” Bilhah had a second son for Jacob and Rachel. He is named Nephtali = “With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister”—and Rachel added “I have prevailed”. (v 8)  Having a competition between sisters is not the best way to form a cohesive family. Yet, the competition continued. “When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave h...

 3/1/2022 – Genesis 29 Rachel is the first of Laban’s family that Jacob meets. He helps her in watering her flock of sheep by removing the large stone that covered the well. He greets her with a kiss and emotion, telling her that they were of the same family. (v11-12) Laban was happy to great Jacob, and was happy to have him for a month. (v 14) Jacob must have been quite helpful to Laban during that month: “And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? Tell me, what shall thy wages be? (v 15). Laban had two daughters: “Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured.” (v 17) Jacob had loved Rachel from the moment he saw her. He now told Laban that he would work for him for “seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.”  V 18 is concise and quite clear, and Laban agreed with that arrangement. After working 7 years, Laban made a feast. I wonder if there was a lot of drinking going on during this celebration...