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Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Community Volume 19, No. 2 May 2003 Christina's Corner....Christina Flores answered these questions from our study of Exodus. IIn reference to Exodus 4:18-31, why does God want to kill Moses because he is not circumcised? How does just being touched by blood render circumcision? Verses 24 - 26 emphasized the belief that the first-born son is owed to Yahweh and represents the fulfillment of the covenant between God and Abraham that every male child shall be circumcised. These verses also point toward the tenth and the final plague when the Israelites' first-born were spared. Like the mother and sister of Moses, Zipporah saves him by her wit. She daubs her sleeping husband's penis with blood from the circumcision of her first-born and spares Moses. St. Jerome in his commentary reflects on the origin of this story. He surmises that there is an old story of a night demon fooled by the blood from someone other than the intended victim.
An essential part of the Middle Eastern diet was and still is flat, rounded bread baked only of water and flour. The Feast of Unleavened Bread became associated with Passover even though they were once separate observances. Passover required the use of unleavened bread which was a symbol of purity. According to the Israelites, the leavening process symbolized corruption. Exposing a piece of dough to the air was a method of fermenting. This was combined with new dough to cause bread to rise. Mixing in a decayed product was viewed as emblematic of corruption. Hence, the avoidance of the use of leaven during the Passover ritual. The hosts do not contain leaven. The Eastern rites in the Catholic Church as well as the Orthodox Churches use leavened bread, but the Roman rite stipulates that unleavened bread be used. The Eastern rites follow the history presented in the Gospel of John, whereas the Roman rite follows the history presented in the synoptic Gospels. The synoptics say that Jesus was celebrating the Passover meal for his last supper. John says this meal was on the Preparation Day, the day before Passover, when leavened bread would have been eaten.
Jesus is a common name among the Israelites. It is the Greek form of the name Joshua, which in Hebrew means Yahweh will save. Emmanuel first appears in Isaiah and is used in Matthew's Old Testament fulfillment quotations. Matthew uses Isaiah in his birth narrative because it supports his belief in the Davidic and divine aspects of Jesus' identity. Matthew's interest is in the significance of the name to underscore that in Jesus God is present with his people.
This consecration was a reflection of the Passover during the final plague when the first-born males of Israel were spared. Eerdman's Dictionary of the Bible lists the following information regarding what it means to be the first born. Neither firstborn humans nor animals were to be released for secular purposes without redemption. There was to be a substitution. Firstborn impure and blemished animals were to be redeemed by paying the assessed value of the animals plus one-fifth. Firstborn sacrificial animals were to be sanctified as either a burnt offering or a peace offering. The firstborn of humans were assigned a double portion of the father's inheritance. This birthright could be lost by an act of God or by selling it. The firstborn is presented first in genealogies and the family line is maintained through the firstborn, who becomes the base of reference for the rest of the family. This right was never extended to firstborn daughters."
First let us define covenant. Covenant type relationships were common in ancient times when two or more parties mutually agreed upon how they would conduct themselves toward each or one another under oath. These parties are accountable to one another and not to some overseer so that almost all covenants had a spiritual dimension as they depend on such abstractions as honesty, trust, love. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew translation of the word did not have the same meaning as the English word. The Hebrew reference was to pacts, alliances, treaties, compacts between private persons, compacts between a king and private persons, between kings, between political states with forcible extraction as a common trait of these commitments With reference to certain individuals (Abraham, David) with whom God makes a covenant, the relationship is not mutually agreed upon but more of a "charter" with the character of an imposed obligation. As for the covenant that we have been reading about in Exodus, biblical scholars agree that some evidence suggests that this "covenant" may have referred to "statements (of obligation)" or "terms (of an agreement)." As Mosaic Law became more dominant the Mosaic "covenant" came to be regarded as obligations God imposed upon the Israelites. During the 5th century BCE combined with the injunctions against intermarriage this covenant became associated with Judean ethnicity. During the Hellenistic period, the association was viewed as a sign of their being God's chosen people. With Jesus and the New Testament, accumulated religious traditions take a back seat to the idea of interrelatedness and a relationship with God which is dynamic. Jesus talks about the kingdom of God and a "new covenant." As we read Paul's captivity letters, we will begin to understand more of this term and how it applies to all peoples.
The women acted morally. A truthful report to Pharaoh would have contributed to the murder of the babies as well as themselves. The Catechism of the Catholic Church "requires us in concrete situations to judge whether or not it is appropriate to reveal the truth to someone who asks for it." Furthermore, "the good and safety of others, respect for privacy, and the common good are sufficient reasons for being silent about what ought not to be known or for making use of a discreet language." (2488-2489) Download this Bible Study Digest as a .pdf file Last Updated on 5/20/03 |