1. Seeing Eve’s new potential for giving
life, Adam names her Eve. In Hebrew, Eve means “to live.”
2. From Abraham 3 and facsimile 3 we learn
that while Abram was in Egypt he taught the Egyptians astronomy and the gospel.
3. In Genesis 48:20, Jacob prophesies that
all Israel will say blessings, asking to make people like Ephraim and Manasseh.
Because of this verse, Jewish fathers still pronounce a blessing upon their
sons ever Sabbath saying “may God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.”
4. The name manna comes from the Hebrew mah
hu, which literally means “what is it?”
5. Many have correctly identified that the
Ten Commandments can be divided in a way similar to the two great commandments.
The first several are about our relationship with God and loving Him. Beginning
with the command to honor our parents, the focus shifts to our relationship
with our neighbor, or loving our fellow man.
6. The account of Moses’s face shining has
led to an interesting artistic practice. Because the Hebrew word for shining is
close to the word for horns, there has historically been both confusion and
intentional playing on words when painters and sculptors have made images of
Moses. Thus Moses is often depicted with horns—sometimes out of confusion but
sometimes in a playful way as a kind of symbolic code for informing viewers
that the person depicted is Moses.
7. Naomi’s closest relative who refuses to
redeem them is looked upon with such ill favor that the authors will not even
mention his name. Instead, they have Boaz use the ancient Hebrew equivalent of
“what’s his name” when he says “such a one” (Ruth 4:1).
8. The baptismal fonts in our temples today,
placed on the backs of twelve oxen, are modeled on the one that Solomon built
when he made his temple.
9. Esther is the only book of the Bible that
does not mention the name of God. This is probably intentional as it helps
convey one of the main themes of Esther. It is just one device the author uses
in order to highlight that while we may not always see the hand of God, nor
understand His plans or timing, He is present and directing affairs to work of
the good of His people.
10. The almond tree is the first to flower in
Israel, so it becomes a symbol of doing things quickly. This is why the Lord
uses it as a symbol of how quickly He will make His prophecies come to pass.
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