A Manual for Teaching Biblical History
by Eugene Kohn · English · Gutenberg #44754 · 345,109 chars · public domain (US)
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Title: A Manual for Teaching Biblical History
Author: Eugene Kohn
Release date: January 26, 2014 [eBook #44754]
Most recently updated: October 24, 2024
Language: English
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A MANUAL FOR TEACHING BIBLICAL HISTORY ***
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* * * * *
A MANUAL
FOR TEACHING
BIBLICAL HISTORY
BY
EUGENE KOHN
_Rabbi of Congregation Chizzuk Emunah_
_Baltimore, Md._
NEW YORK
THE UNITED SYNAGOGUE OF AMERICA
5677--1917
COPYRIGHT, 1917
BY
THE UNITED SYNAGOGUE OF AMERICA
_To the memory of_
_SOLOMON SCHECHTER_
ז״צ״ל
_this book is reverently inscribed_
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author cannot permit this book to go to press without
acknowledging his indebtedness to the Education Committee of the
United Synagogue for their encouragement and assistance. He is
especially grateful to Dr. Julius H. Greenstone for his many helpful
suggestions and his careful reading of the text, both in manuscript
and in proof. To Dr. Cyrus Adler and Professor Mordecai M. Kaplan
his thanks are also due in large measure for their aid in removing
crudities and improving the form and content of the work.
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
Jewish pedagogic literature is still in its infancy. While
text-books for children, more or less satisfactory, have been
produced by many authors during the past century, the effort to
provide the teacher with proper material for his guidance in
instruction is of very recent origin and the supply has thus far
been very slight. The students in our several normal schools, and
especially the large army of teachers, scattered throughout the
country, who have not had the advantage of a normal school training,
are often obliged to resort to works by Christian authors for
information and guidance. While these may supply them with the facts
and with the most approved method of presentation, they cannot give
them the Jewish point of view which is so essential to the Jewish
teacher. As the late Dr. Schechter once remarked, "We cannot have
our love letters written for us. We must write them ourselves, even
at the risk of bad grammar." We must place in the hands of our
teachers books which will inspire them with loyalty and devotion to
Judaism, which will give them the proper attitude to the Bible and
to Jewish tradition, and which will provide them with an adequate
understanding of Jewish strivings and ideals.
It is with this object in view that the Committee on Education
of the United Synagogue requested Rabbi Eugene Kohn to prepare
the work which is now given to the Jewish public. The author has
succeeded admirably in his undertaking and has produced a work
which contains valuable aids to the earnest teacher who is anxious
to become more proficient in his calling. This volume, which is the
result of considerable class-room experience, intimate knowledge
of the sources of Jewish history, and arduous labor, gives correct
and adequate data of the lessons treated, stimulating suggestions
as to the manner of imparting each individual lesson to the average
child, and, what is perhaps of greatest importance, an exalted
attitude that the teacher should assume towards his work. While
the responsibility of the work rests entirely upon the author, the
Committee feels gratified in being able to present, as its first
publication, a work that so fully responds to an urgent need. It is
hoped that this book will be followed by many other volumes which
may help in the better equipment of the Jewish teaching profession.
JULIUS H. GREENSTONE, Chairman,
_Committee on Education of the
United Synagogue of America_.
PHILADELPHIA, June 11, 1917.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Introduction 13
PART I
FROM THE CREATION TO THE DEATH OF JOSEPH
CHAPTER
I. Creation 35
II. Adam and Eve 38
III. Cain and Abel 41
IV. Noah 44
V. The Tower of Babel 47
VI. The Choice of Abram and the Choice of Canaan 49
VII. Beginning of Abram's Greatness 53
VIII. Hagar and the Birth of Ishmael 56
IX. Abraham Entertains the Angels 62
X. The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah 67
XI. The Divorce of Hagar 70
XII. The Sacrifice of Isaac 73
XIII. The Death of Sarah and the Marriage of
Isaac and Rebekah 78
XIV. The Sale of the Birthright 80
XV. Jacob Secures the Blessing 89
XVI. Jacob's Dream 93
XVII. Jacob in Aramea 96
XVIII. Jacob Returns to Canaan 99
XIX. Joseph Sold into Slavery 104
XX. From Slave to Viceroy 109
XXI. Joseph Meets His Brothers 113
XXII. Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers 117
XXIII. The Death of Jacob and of Joseph 120
PART II
ISRAEL UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF MOSES
CHAPTER PAGE
I. The Birth of Moses 127
II. Moses, the Friend of the Weak and the Oppressed 133
III. God Sends Moses to Save His People 135
IV. Moses' First Appearance before Pharaoh 140
V. The Plagues 145
VI. The Exodus 149
VII. Israel at the Red Sea 156
VIII. From the Red Sea to Sinai 160
IX. The Revelation 164
X. The Golden Calf 173
XI. The Tabernacle and its Service 183
XII. Trials of Moses and Israel in the Wilderness 190
XIII. The Spies 197
XIV. More Trials of Moses 201
XV. Israel Arrives at the Border of the Promised
Land 209
XVI. The Death of Moses 216
INTRODUCTION
=Purpose of Manual.= In recent years some attention has been
given to the improvement of Jewish educational method so far as
instruction in the Hebrew language is concerned, but the teaching
of Biblical history, although it holds an important place in the
curricula of our religious schools, has received relatively little
attention from our educators, at least from those of orthodox and
conservative tendencies. From the reform point of view some recent
publications, though exhibiting the faults which all early efforts
in any direction necessarily show, do mark a decided pedagogic
advance on the older unmethodical way in which the subject was
taught. But from the point of view of traditional Judaism they are
inadequate, however helpful some of their pedagogic suggestions
may be, since they are guided by a different ideal. This manual
attempts to assist the teacher of Biblical history from the point
of view of Traditional Judaism. For whoever considers from this
point of view the way in which Biblical history is taught must come
to the conclusion that not only are we not realizing to the full
the educational values which the study of Biblical history affords,
but we are often giving our children very false notions of the
Bible characters and of the lessons which the story of their lives
is intended to teach Israel. To develop a good course of study in
Biblical history cannot be the work of one man nor can it be done
at one time. It is hoped however that the suggestions contained in
this book may assist the earnest teacher to make his instruction
more fruitful of good results for Judaism.
=Three factors determining method of instruction.= Every discussion
of pedagogic method as applied to a particular branch of study must
take three factors into consideration: the aim of instruction, the
subject to be taught, and the child--his mode of thought, interests
and capacity.
THE AIM. The first thing that we must bear in mind is that the aim
of all Jewish education must be a Jewish life; that the aim of each
branch of Jewish study must be formulated not primarily in terms
of information to be conveyed, but of Jewish habits of thought and
action to be cultivated. It follows that Biblical history as taught
by a Jew who believes in the authority of the Torah and the mitzvoth
over our lives must be very different from the same subject as
taught by one to whom Judaism is merely a number of moral maxims
and the dogma of the unity. This book, attempting as it does to
treat the problem from the point of view of traditional Judaism,
considers that the main object of instruction in Biblical history is
to inspire the child with an appreciation of the religious ideals
that have moulded Israel's life in the past, with an understanding
of how these same ideals express themselves in the religious
institutions of the present day, and with the desire to further the
historic aims of Israel's existence through identification with the
institutional life of Israel, that is through the observance of the
mitzvoth, affiliation with the synagogue, etc. Particularly must
we create in the child the sense of his personal identity with his
people, for this is the lever by which the events of the Biblical
narrative can move the Jew to active interest in Judaism. He must
feel that God's choice of Israel means that God has chosen him to
live a certain life, the life of the Torah, and that if he fails
to live this life, he sins against God and betrays his people. He
should feel proud of the heroes of his nation and inspired with a
sense of the obligations that his noble descent imposes. He must be
made to discover the spiritual kinship that links him with the rest
of Israel in the past, present and future. Unless we can accomplish
this we have not succeeded in our teaching of Biblical history.
=Wrong and right conception of aim illustrated.= A lack of
appreciation of these aims has often led to the treatment of the
Biblical narrative as if it were merely a series of moral stories
or, at any rate, of stories into which a moral can be read.
According to this method the connection of the Jewish people today
with the people of the Bible is almost wholly ignored and there is
no appreciable difference in the way the events of the Biblical
narrative are taught and, let us say, the incidents of some highly
moral fairy tale or folk-lore of other peoples. To give an example I
quote the following summary of a lesson on "Moses' Return to Egypt":
"So then we can learn these two noble things from our lesson;
modesty adorns everybody even the greatest people, yes very often
the greatest people are the most modest. And further, when we have
begun to do something, let us do it with all our might and stick
to it till it is finished, no matter what it is, whether a school
lesson or setting a people free; whatever is worth doing at all is
worth doing well."
One could imagine the same moral attached to the story of George
Washington or of Cincinnatus and brought home as effectively by it.
The difference between the right and the wrong method of treating
the Biblical narrative from the point of view of the aim of such
instruction can be seen if we contrast the above with the simple
summary of the same lesson in the Passover Haggadah:
"Slaves were we unto Pharaoh in Egypt and the Lord our God brought
us forth thence with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm. And
if the Holy One, Blessed be He, had not brought forth our fathers
from Egypt behold we and our children and our children's children
might still be bondmen to Pharaoh in Egypt." And again: "In every
generation one is obliged to regard himself as if he in person had
come forth from Egypt, as it is said, 'And thou shalt tell thy son
in that day saying, It is because of that which the Lord did for me
when I went forth from Egypt.' Not our fathers alone did the Holy
One, Blessed be He, redeem but us also did He redeem with them, as
it is said, 'And us did He bring forth thence in order to bring us
hither to give us the land which He had sworn to our fathers.'"
According to the method of the former quotation Biblical history is
no more related to the child than the story of the Iliad, according
to the latter it is his own history, the study of which helps him to
self knowledge, to the knowledge of his Jewish self, the knowledge
of the ties that bind him to his fellow Jews and the Jewish people
to its God. Much more might be said of the effect upon the method
of instruction of a clear conception of the aim of instruction in
Biblical history when thus conceived in terms of Jewish life, but a
study of the lessons given in this book will suffice to explain this
without the need of further amplification, so we may pass to the
consideration of the subject-matter to be taught as a determining
factor in the method of instruction.
=The subject-matter: Biblical history.= I have throughout referred
to the subject-matter under the name not of Jewish history but of
Biblical history and I have done so advisedly. For the term Jewish
history does not commit one to that interpretation of the early
history of our people which is to be found in the Bible. From the
Jewish point of view the Bible, in its narrative portions as well
as in its laws, is Torah, that is authoritative teaching. It does
not merely recall the early events of Jewish history but it takes
a distinct attitude to these events, seeing in them the revelation
of a divine purpose; it not only tells the deeds of Biblical
heroes but it passes judgment upon them, here approving and there
disapproving; and it is precisely this attitude to Jewish history,
this interpretation of the significance of historic events, which
must be made an influence in the life of the child. If we were
merely teaching Jewish history as such and looked upon the Bible
merely as the source book of this history we might tell the story of
the Exodus somewhat in this fashion:
"The children of Israel who had at the beginning of their sojourn in
Egypt been well treated by the Egyptian rulers, owing to a change
of dynasty were subjected to oppression and forced to do servile
labor for the Pharaohs. They took advantage however of a series of
calamities that visited Egypt, which their leaders Moses and Aaron
interpreted to the Egyptians as signs of the divine wrath incurred
by her because of her oppression of the Israelites, and so left
Egypt in a body."
The above account is Jewish history but it is not Biblical history
for it has nothing to say about the significance of these events
as the Bible regards them. It does not tell us that Moses was sent
by God, it does not know anything of the covenant with Abraham of
which these events are the fulfillment, it does not therefore see
in the Exodus one link in a chain of events having its beginning in
the election of Abraham and its consummation in the revelation at
Sinai. In the Biblical narrative what is most conspicuous is the
_Eẓba' Elohim_, "the finger of God," in the merely historic account
this may altogether be omitted.
=Must give Biblical moral to Jewish history.= Very few teachers
in our Jewish schools, if any, would make the mistake of teaching
the events narrated in the Bible merely as cold facts without any
attempt at giving them religious significance, though frequent
efforts at rationalization tend in this direction. For the most
part, the aim in teaching the early history of our people is felt to
be a religious one and to call for a religious interpretation of the
events recorded. We are not loath to attach a moral to the stories
we tell our children, but where we fail is that we imagine any moral
which we can read into the story is satisfactory. We have already
shown how the consideration of the aim of instruction in Biblical
history, from the point of view of traditional Judaism, opposes this
method and limits the moral which should be taught in connection
with any given story, but the consideration of the subject-matter
to be taught limits it still further. We must not only give a
Jewish moral to each episode in the Biblical narrative but we must
give the child the specific moral that the Bible itself attaches
to that episode. If we take our Bible seriously, if we regard its
interpretation of the events of our history as essentially true,
as indeed part of the Torah, a divine revelation, then it becomes
our duty to give this interpretation of events and not another to
our children. We sometimes excuse to ourselves the perversion of
the Biblical moral on the ground that because children are children
they frequently cannot grasp what is really the Biblical lesson. If
in any given instance this is the case, it is better not to teach
that story at all to the child than to falsify it. But usually the
ideas of the Bible can be brought home to the child if we but take
the trouble to translate them into the language of childhood and
illustrate them out of the child's own experience. It is largely
due to indolence on the part of the teacher that we so frequently
sin against the Biblical sense of a story. I have heard the story
of Abraham's divorce of Hagar told as if it were a mere family
squabble in which Sarah, by shrewish persistence finally prevails
upon the meek and submissive Abraham somewhat reluctantly to send
away Hagar, who had aroused her jealousy. Abraham was made a rather
doubtful hero who represented the virtue of loving peace--peace
at any price as the narrative showed--and Sarah was regarded as
acting in a mean and ungodly capacity. Had that teacher read her
Bible carefully and intelligently before coming to class she could
not have been guilty of such grotesque distortion of the Biblical
story, by which it is made not only trivial but ludicrous. She would
then have realized that Ishmael had to be separated from Isaac for
the same reason that Lot had to be separated from Abraham and Esau
from Jacob, because they were not of the seed from which Israel was
destined to spring; that even before the birth of Ishmael we have
the prophecy told to Hagar, "And he shall be a wild ass of a man;
his hand shall be against every man and every man's hand against
him" (Genesis 16. 12). She would have observed that in the words
of the Rabbis "Abraham was subordinate to Sarah in prophecy", that
just as Isaac showed a mistaken preference for Esau so Abraham when
the birth of Isaac is predicted to him pleaded, "Oh that Ishmael
might live before thee!", and that the Bible recognizes the superior
prophetic insight of Sarah by telling us that God commanded Abraham
explicitly, "Let it not be grievous in thy eyes because of the
lad and because of thy bond-woman; in all that Sarah may say unto
thee, hearken to her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called."
Surely, though the story undoubtedly presents difficulties of a
pedagogic nature, it is not impossible to teach a child that God
foresaw that Ishmael would be a "_pere adam_" (a wild ass of a man),
that he did not wish the chosen people, who were to inherit the
promised land, to be possessed of such traits, and that therefore
Ishmael had to be sent away so that Isaac and his descendants might
become the great people he had promised Abraham they would become.
In this way the Bible speaks for itself and tells a story that is
quite as intelligible to the child as the one that the teacher I
have mentioned told, quite as intelligible and infinitely more
edifying. I have given this instance at some length because it seems
to me typical of the mischief that can be done by reading into the
Biblical narrative any moral that may come to hand instead of the
moral that the Bible itself intended.
=Need of Bible study for teacher.= This manual will endeavor in each
lesson to point out to the best of its author's understanding what
the Biblical moral of the lesson is. But, as interpretations are
always subject to differences of opinion, a study of the suggestions
contained in its chapters cannot relieve the teacher of the
responsibility of a careful independent study, before entering the
class-room, of the Biblical passages whose story he wishes to teach.
=The child as determining method.= And after he has mastered for
himself the meaning of the Biblical narrative, he must study how
to impart this to the child in a way that shall make it not only
comprehensible but interesting, and all this without sacrifice
of the aim of instruction. An adequate treatment of method in
teaching Biblical history from the point of view of the interests
and capacities of the Jewish child is at present impossible. We
need years of study and experimentation in this direction before
we can do it complete justice, but a few universally recognized
pedagogic principles may briefly be considered here in their bearing
upon our subject. We have spoken of the need of effort on the part
of the teacher to make the lesson comprehensible and interesting,
and we shall therefore give some attention to two questions: (1)
How can the lesson be made comprehensible? (2) How can it be made
interesting? We shall treat the questions separately for the sake
of convenience, though, as a matter of fact, they are inseparable;
for neither can a child be expected to interest himself in what
he cannot understand nor can he be made to understand anything
that involves the least difficulty without giving that sustained
attention which only interest can elicit from him.
=How to make lesson comprehensible. Proceed from known to unknown.=
The most important rule to bear in mind in order to make the
teaching comprehensible is the familiar truism that one must
proceed from the known to the unknown and keep constantly defining
the unknown in terms of what is already known to the child. As is
the case with most truisms, the truth of this statement is more
frequently recognized than applied. Take for instance the very first
sentence in one of the Biblical histories intended for the use of
children. It reads, "In the beginning God created the heaven and
the earth, that is the whole visible world." Was there ever a human
being who did not know what heaven and earth meant and yet knew what
the whole visible world meant? Contrast with this the following from
another text-book:
"Once a long, long time ago there was no one living on this earth
that is now so full of people.
"There were no living things at all here: no cattle, no wild beasts,
no birds, no butterflies or insects of any kind and no fishes in the
sea.
"Before that there were no green growing things here; no grass, no
trees, no flowers.
"In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth.
"In the beginning was a time so long ago that no one knows when it
was."
How much better is this way of beginning the story of creation from
what the child has experienced of created objects than to begin with
non existence and chaos. Few of us realize how many terms that are
commonplaces with us mean nothing to the child. Particularly is this
true of terms used in the Bible and descriptive of things familiar
in the primitive orient but little known in the modern occident,
such as altar, sacrifice, tabernacle, caravan, to name but a few.
=Avoid formal definition.= But at this point a word of caution is
necessary against a too pedantic application of this principle of
defining the terms that are used in the child's instruction. For
example one book of Bible stories for young children prefixes to
the story of creation a vocabulary which includes explanations of
such words as ground, dark, light, sky, under, above, good, rest.
But it must be apparent that a child who cannot without previous
explanations understand such simple words as these is not in a
position to profit by instruction in Biblical history at all. It
is possible so to overload a story with definitions that the whole
thread of the narrative is lost. We must be cautious lest our pupils
fail to see the forest by very reason of the trees. Ample allowance
must be made for the constructive imagination of the child, which
builds up its own definitions out of the material of the narrative
itself. Children have always had an understanding of fairy tales
without ever having had the terms fairy, witch, king and princess
defined for them. When you tell a child that the king sat on a high
throne with his crown on his head, his sceptre in his hand, while
all the people bowed down to him, the child, though he has never
seen a throne, will recognize that it is something on which kings
sit, that a crown is something that a king wears on his head, a
sceptre something that a king holds in his hand, and that a king is
a man who is distinguished from other men and to whom they bow,
a very good working definition of a king which would make quite
unnecessary any elaborate attempt to define for a child the concept
of royalty. In fact, formal definition should be avoided wherever
possible, and the skilful teacher will know how to make a story
define its own terms in the same way as the sentence that we just
gave as an instance defined for the child the four unknown terms:
king, throne, crown, and sceptre. Indeed the most important idea of
all, that we have to give to the child cannot be defined otherwise
even to ourselves, namely the idea of God. The general rule to be
followed may be laid down in these words: Never define for the child
any term that the story itself can be made to define but do define
every necessary term that the story itself cannot be made to define.
It is worth while noting in this connection that the best definition
for a concrete object is the object itself or a picture of it.
=How to make the lesson interesting. Oral instruction preferable.=
So much for the question how to make the lesson comprehensible to
the child. As has already been said, this in itself goes a great
way toward answering as well our second question, how to make it
interesting, but other considerations must also be taken into
account. The art of teaching history is in great part the art of
story telling. Children love stories and particularly true stories
if they are well told, but this love of a child for a good story is
limited, especially in earlier years, to a story that is told. The
mere technical difficulties of reading, the physical inconvenience
of the posture demanded, the absence of that commentary which voice
and gesture supply to the story, the impossibility of asking
a book questions, and a number of other similar considerations
make it undesirable that the first acquaintance of a child with a
lesson shall come from a text-book. Text-books have their uses,
particularly in the higher grades, for purposes of review, to aid
the memory in retaining what has already been taught by word of
mouth, but the practice that obtains in some schools of expecting
the child to learn the lesson from the book before he comes to class
is bad and should be avoided.
=Some suggestions as to story telling.= If then the first
presentation of a lesson must be given orally by the teacher, it
follows that the teacher has to perfect himself in the art of story
telling. Like all other arts, the art of story telling cannot be
imparted by rule and particularly not within the small scope of
this introduction. A few suggestions however may be helpful. Lewis
Carrol, whose Alice in Wonderland shows a rare insight into the
childish mind, makes his Alice express a preference for books with
plenty of illustrations and conversation. There are two hints here
that are of value to the teacher of Biblical history, the first
is to use pictures to illustrate a story and the second always to
prefer direct discourse to indirect. To take up the second of these
suggestions first, compare the following accounts of the same event
and ask yourself which appeals more to you:
1. Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that
stood by him and he ordered every man to leave him. And there
stood no man with him while Joseph made himself known to his
brethren. And he wept aloud and the Egyptians heard and the
house of Pharaoh heard. And Joseph told his brethren who he was
and asked whether his father was yet alive. And his brethren
could not answer him, for they were affrighted at his presence.
Joseph told them to come near, and they came near, and he told
them that he was Joseph whom they had sold into Egypt and that
they should not be grieved nor angry with themselves for having
sold him thither, for it was in order to preserve life that God
had sent him before them. For the famine had been in the land
for two years and there yet remained five years during which
there would be neither plowing nor harvest, and so God had sent
him before them to give them a remnant on the earth and to keep
them alive for a great deliverance.
2. Then could Joseph not refrain himself before all them that
stood by him; and he cried, "Cause every man to go out from
me." And there stood no man with him when Joseph made himself
known unto his brethren. And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians
heard and the house of Pharaoh heard. And Joseph said unto
his brethren, "I am Joseph; doth my father yet live?" And his
brethren could not answer him for they were affrighted at his
presence. And Joseph said unto his brethren, "Come near to me,
I pray you." And they came near. And he said: "I am Joseph your
brother whom ye sold into Egypt. And now be not grieved, nor
angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither; for God did send
me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the
famine been in the land; and there are yet five years in which
there shall be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me
before you to give you a remnant on the earth and to save you
alive for a great deliverance."
The reader will at once recognize in the second citation the exact
language of the Bible. The first is the same passage turned into
indirect discourse with no other change in its wording, yet how much
it loses in force even for us adults and even in print; for children
and in actual narration the story would lose even more.
=The advantage of using illustrations.= As for the advantage
of using illustrations whether in the form of pictures that
are distributed and passed around the class or in the form of
stereoptican views, we have already suggested one advantage in
that they help define for the child the meaning of some of the
concrete terms not yet in his vocabulary, but they perform a still
more important function in helping him to visualize the narrative.
For what we see seems always a more intimate part of our experience
than what we have merely heard. When Job wants to express the deeper
intimacy of his new knowledge of God after God had appeared to him
he declares, "I had heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear, but now
mine eye seeth Thee." (Job 42. 5.)
=When to use illustrations and what illustrations to use.= Though
the use of illustrations, particularly of stereoptican views, which
have the advantage of focusing the attention of the class on one
thing, are a decided help, they should be used only in reviewing the
lesson. The reasons for this are: 1. that the picture distracts the
attention of the class from what the teacher is saying, 2. that it
prevents the smooth flow of narrative by the necessity of explaining
details of the picture that are often irrelevant, 3. that the
interest in the dramatic dialogue of the characters which reveals
their motives and, in most cases, the actual moral of the story is
sacrificed to the interest in picturesque details of dress, scenery,
etc., 4. that the teacher is at the mercy of the artist's conception
of the Biblical narrative which rarely does it justice from a
Jewish or from an artistic point of view, and often does violence
to the nobler conception of the story that the unaided imagination,
stimulated by the teacher's narrative, would have constructed.
Pictures that represent God in human form should of course not be
allowed in a Jewish school. Nor should the school use such pictures
as represent anything of a mystical character in images so definite
and familiar that they dispel the whole mystical atmosphere. When,
for instance, the revelation on Mount Sinai is represented by two
tablets of stone falling from heaven into the waiting hands of
Moses, as in one familiar picture, it is hardly likely to instil
the highest form of reverence. Or when, as in another picture, the
ascension of Elijah is represented by a chariot drawn by horses of
a brilliant red, meant to suggest fire but too definite in outline
to permit of such suggestion, the child will in all probability
merely be amused at the peculiar color of the horses and the picture
will not have illustrated the story for him at all. It is therefore
apparent that the teacher must exercise some sort of censorship over
the illustrations used in teaching.
=Self activity of child.= We have several times referred to the
activity of the child's own imagination in working over in his mind
the material supplied by the teacher, and the recognition of the
fact that the child's mind is not passive but active leads us to the
acceptance of a principle of the most far reaching importance in all
education, namely, that the teacher cannot impart a lesson unless
he can get the child's mind of its own accord to seek that very
knowledge that he wishes to impart. This is the wisdom of the homely
proverb, "You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him
drink." We must stimulate an appetite for the mental food we wish to
give the pupil even before we give it. How can this be done?
=Jewish symbols and ceremonies a stimulus to self activity.= When
discussing the aim of instruction in Biblical history we took a
hint from the Haggadah for Passover, the reading of which was
mainly intended for pedagogic purpose since it is in fulfillment
of the commandment, "And thou shalt tell to thy son in that day";
we may take another hint from it in this connection. The child
at table on Passover eve sees before him a number of curious
objects and ceremonials to which he is not accustomed. He sees the
_maẓẓot_, the _maror_, and other symbols, he also notices the
reclining attitude instead of the usual erect posture, and so
he very naturally exclaims _mah nishtannah_! "How different is
this night from other nights!" Then when his own curiosity has
been stimulated he is given the answer to his questions and the
lesson has been impressed upon him. The symbols and ceremonies
of Jewish life which have their origin or explanation in the
Biblical narrative are excellently adapted for this stimulation
of intellectual curiosity which should precede the telling of the
story. A reference to the Sabbath and how it is observed might
well precede the story of creation which explains its origin and
significance; a reference to the Passover observances might well
precede an account of the Exodus; a reference to the synagogue might
precede an account of the construction of the tabernacle, etc. These
serve the double function of interesting the child in the narrative
and of interesting him in those things in Jewish life which the
narrative helps to explain. Where an object of Jewish ceremonial
life cannot be found with which to stimulate his curiosity, some
other fact of his experience may be taken instead. Thus the story
of Noah might well be introduced by reference to the rainbow, the
meaning of which the teacher will then undertake to explain to the
child by the story.
=The teacher's question as a stimulus to self activity.= Inasmuch as
there are in every class those of the type mentioned in the Haggadah
"who know not how to question", it often becomes advisable for the
teacher himself to put to the class the question that he wishes to
have answered. And indeed an occasional question from the teacher
in the very midst of the story may go a great way toward arousing
interest and securing a clearer comprehension. Thus it may be that
the teacher is telling the story of Joseph. He reaches the point
where Joseph's brothers come to him to buy corn and explains how
Joseph, having recognized them without their having recognized him,
had them wholly in his power. He then asks, "Now what do you think
you would do if you were Joseph and your brothers had treated you so
cruelly and then they come to you for food and you have them in your
power?" At once he has the class interested in the question of what
Joseph actually did and their interest in the rest of the story as
well as their better comprehension of the motives that underlie it
is secured.
=The pupil's recitation.= So much for the teacher's original
presentation of the lesson. This completed, the child must be
called upon to recite it, not primarily, as most teachers seem to
think, in order to give the teacher a chance to find out whether
the child had learned the lesson, but because the necessity of
telling it over to the teacher forces the child to think about the
subject of the lesson and once more appeals to his self activity.
The questions asked by the teacher should not be merely such as
call for items of information but such as require the exercise of
intelligence on the pupil's part and give evidence not only of his
remembering the story but of his understanding it. If for example
the teacher wishes to question the child on the story of creation,
such formal questions as "In how many days did God make the world?
What did he make on the first day? What did he make on the second
day?" etc., are not enough, as they test the memory only. He should
ask such questions as these: "Why do we rest on the seventh day of
each week? What was the last thing God made? Why did God make man
last?" For these test not only the memory but the understanding as
well. The story that the children tell when thus asked to repeat the
lesson will give the teacher an idea of what points have impressed
themselves on them and what have not, and on the basis of these he
must question further. In general there ought to be fewer questions
beginning with "what" and more beginning with "why".
=Dramatization of lesson.= Beside the repetition of the lesson
by the child in the form of a recitation and the answering of
questions, there are many stories, in which the interest centers
chiefly in the dramatic dialogue, that children might be encouraged
to dramatize in class. The dramatization must be made by the
children themselves in the spirit of free play, the teacher merely
offering general suggestions but the dialogue being the spontaneous
creation of the children. The natural imitative instinct of children
which makes so much of their play the mimicry of the activities
and occupations of their adult environment, takes very kindly to
this sort of make-believe. At the same time this exercise enables
them to enter into the motives of the Biblical characters and to
understand and remember the incidents of the Biblical narrative
as few exercises can. Nor need the teacher be discouraged by the
lack of accessories to dramatization such as scenery and costume.
The child's imagination, which can convert a rocking chair into a
boat or a table into a mountain, can easily dispense with those
accessories which the sophisticated mind of the adult requires.
Stories that lend themselves to such treatment are Esau's sale of
the birthright, Isaac's blessing of Jacob and Esau and the various
episodes of the Joseph narrative.
=The teacher's preparation.= It follows from the above discussion
that the teacher of Biblical history who wishes to do justice to
his subject must give careful preparation to each lesson, not only,
as we have already suggested, with a view to understanding the
significance of the Biblical passages that he wishes to teach, but
also with a view to teaching them effectively to the child. This
preparation must include 1. inquiry as to object in teaching that
particular lesson to the child, 2. the effort to find some point of
contact between the theme of the lesson and the previous knowledge
and experience of the child such as would appeal to his interest,
3. the study of the subject from the point of view of literary and
oratorical effectiveness in the presentation, 4. the attempt to find
the best possible illustrations and applications of the lesson to
the life of the child, 5. preparation of questions and other devices
by which the child is made to work over the lesson in his own mind
and give proof of having assimilated it. In the chapters of this
manual the object of each lesson according to the author's opinion
will be pointed out and suggestions will, from time to time, be
given as to the other points that have been here enumerated. This
book refrains, however, from giving a detailed plan of each lesson
as it is deemed important not to put restraints on the originality
and initiative of the teacher but on the contrary, to encourage
free and spontaneous expression of personality both on the part of
teacher and of pupil.
=Summary.= Much more might be said about the method of teaching
Biblical history, but this will have to suffice by way of
introduction to the more concrete suggestions that are to follow in
the chapters of this book. It may be well, however, before closing
to summarize the more important conclusions reached:
1. That the aim in instructing the child in Biblical history is not
merely to teach him a moral such as he might learn from any edifying
story but to influence his life through the consciousness of his
spiritual identity with the Israel of the Bible;
2. That the events narrated must be given the same significance that
the Bible itself gives them and not any convenient moral that we may
wish to append to them;
3. That teaching shall be so adapted to the child as to make the
lesson (a) comprehensible, (b) interesting;
(a) That in order to be comprehensible it must proceed from the
known to the unknown and must define the unknown in terms of the
known, avoiding however, so far as possible, all formal definition,
and leaving large scope for the exercise of the child's imagination;
(b) That in order to be interesting the lesson should first be
presented by the teacher orally in a style made vivid by plenty of
conversation quoted directly, and that this may well be followed up
by illustrations such as the showing of pictures or stereoptican
views; that the teacher stimulate the curiosity of the child before
beginning the lesson preferably by the introduction of some relevant
object of Jewish ceremonial, but, in the absence of that, by some
other appeal to the child's experience; and finally, that the
teacher encourage self activity and self expression on the part of
the child by tactful questions both in the course of presenting the
lesson and when the child is asked, as he should be, to recite the
lesson he has learned.
These suggestions it is hoped may prove of some help to the
earnest teacher of Biblical history. In the chapters which
follow, an attempt is made to give them more concrete and
definite illustration. Each chapter will therefore contain 1.
the interpretation of the subject-matter of the lesson, 2. a
brief discussion of the aim in teaching it, and 3. miscellaneous
suggestions as to the way it can best be made to appeal to the
child.
PART I
FROM CREATION TO THE DEATH OF JOSEPH
CHAPTER I
CREATION Genesis 1.1 to 2.3
Note.--The lessons in this book are necessarily divided somewhat
arbitrarily, that is without exact reference to the amount
that can be taught at a single session of the school. This is
unavoidable at present as periods vary in length in different
schools, and classes vary in age and in the mental development
of their pupils. The division therefore has been purely on the
basis of the subject-matter and not of the time to be spent in
instruction. Some lessons may require two or even three hours
for their complete presentation.
=Interpretation.= The early narratives of Genesis serve as an
introduction to Biblical history by giving the Jewish view of the
origin of the world in general and the human race in particular,
preparatory to discussing the role that Israel was destined to play
in the world. The following are some of the most significant ideas
that the narrative of the creation has to tell us with regard to the
world and man's place in it:
1. That God is the creator and consequently supreme over matter,
nature and the world;
2. That man is the highest being in the order of creation by reason
of his being possessed of the divine attributes of reason and
conscience as intimated in the words "in our image according to our
likeness";
3. That God loves His creatures הָרַחֲמִים בְּמִדַּת שֶׁבָּרָא "whom
he hath created in accordance with the attribute of mercy;"
4. That God in return desires man's love and his recognition in
worship as is implied in the institution of the Sabbath.
=Aim.= In teaching this lesson to the child the aim should be to
inspire him with the sense of reverence and worship, particularly in
connection with Sabbath observance. The message of this as of all
the earlier chapters of Genesis is a universal one, but, like most
other universal aspects of Judaism, it has found concrete expression
in a specifically Jewish institution, namely the Sabbath, and, as
our aim is to affect the Jewish life of the child it is through
association of the ideas of the lesson with the institution of the
Sabbath that we must endeavor to make them effective.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= In accordance with the principle
which demands that we proceed from what is known to what is not yet
known, it at once becomes apparent that we cannot begin this lesson
with an account of primal darkness out of which chaos and then the
world was formed. In the introduction (page 22) we quoted an account
of creation which began by a reference to created objects in the
child's experience. In consideration however of the desirability
of stimulating the child's intellectual curiosity before beginning
the lesson, it would be well to introduce the lesson with a few
questions regarding the distinction of the Sabbath from the other
days of the week, culminating in the question, "Why do we act so
differently on the Sabbath than on other days?" Then proceed to
answer by telling the story of creation in the way suggested in the
introduction. When the narrative is completed, again discuss the
Sabbath and how it is to be observed, as in this way the moral of
the narrative can best be enforced.
It is a well known fact that children are attracted by the exact
repetition of certain phrases somewhat in the nature of a refrain.
It is well therefore to utilize the refrain, "And there was evening
and there was morning" with each of the successive days of creation.
CHAPTER II
ADAM AND EVE Genesis 2.4 to 3.24
=Interpretation.= This is one of the narratives of the Bible whose
real meaning in its entirety it is impossible to teach the child. To
understand it, would require an experience that in the very nature
of the case the child cannot have had. A partial understanding of
its moral can, however, be imparted to him and the significant facts
of the story be so impressed on his mind that he will remember them
and, in later years, perceive their deeper meaning in the light
of acquired experience. The story of Adam and Eve is the story
of man and woman as exemplified in the progenitors of the human
race. The Eden of blissful innocence is lost when there awakens in
man the appetite for a forbidden knowledge, for an experience of
evil as well as of good, an experience which in the end leaves him
conscious of his nakedness, conscious of having sinned, and of being
disillusioned, conscious of being altogether in a worse plight than
if he had never sought after the forbidden knowledge. Obviously this
deeper meaning cannot be realized by the child, but certain elements
of it can be brought home to him; he can be made to feel that the
enjoyment of the good things in life is dependent upon an implicit
obedience to the laws that God has laid down as conditioning their
enjoyment, so that disobedience means the loss of these joys.
=Aim.= The aim of the story of Adam and Eve must then be, from
the point of view of the child, the recognition of the duty of
implicit, unquestioning obedience to legitimate authority. So far
the moral is universal and not specifically Jewish. Were we to rest
here, we would not be realizing to the full the aim of instruction
in Biblical history that we had set before us in the introduction.
But, though the moral of the story of Adam and Eve is a universal
one, it can be associated, as was done in the case of the story of
creation, with certain aspects of Jewish life. Thus the legitimate
authority for which we claim implicit obedience from the child can
and should be made the Torah, and particular emphasis should in this
connection be laid on the dietary laws because of their analogy to
the divine commandment in the lesson, "of every tree of the garden
thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, thou shalt not eat of it." In this way the moral of the lesson
is, so to speak, dramatized in the daily life of the child and is
made to increase his loyalty to Judaism as a whole.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= After what has been said with regard
to the aim of this chapter, little remains to be noted by way of
suggestions regarding method, as the story in its Biblical form
is already admirably adapted to satisfy the child's love of a
good story. The moral, as we have suggested it, while it should
receive due emphasis at the end of the story particularly when it
is being repeated by the children and so has become the subject
of class discussion, should not be made too obtrusive in telling
the story itself. The words of the serpent in tempting Eve and
the conversation in which God rebukes Adam, Eve and the serpent
should be quoted as nearly as possible in the Biblical language.
In pointing out the connection between the story and its moral as
given above, do so by questioning the child rather than by simply
stating it yourself. Questions that may be suggestive are the
following:
When God gave Adam and Eve so many trees to eat from and everything
else that they needed, was it right that they should eat the fruit
of the one tree that God had told them not to eat of, just because
they wanted to know how it tasted?
If your parents, who give you so many things, your food and your
clothes and your toys, sometimes tell you to do this or that which
at the time you don't feel like doing, how ought you to act?
Do you know of any things that we Jews don't eat because God, who
has made everything we eat, told us not to eat them?
CHAPTER III
CAIN AND ABEL
Genesis 4.1 to 15
=Interpretation.= The story of Cain and Abel is a study of sin,
remorse and repentance. There is a suggestion in verse 7, of evil
passions existing in Cain's heart even before the murder of his
brother, and, though the verse is obscure, it may be interpreted
as giving a reason for God's not accepting Cain's offering. Not
until after the deed is done is Cain made fully to realize the
significance of his act and then he is stirred by remorse and fear
until God reassures him of his protection. The sign that God gives
Cain is sometimes construed as part of his punishment but in the
Bible it is mentioned rather as evidence of God's acceptance of his
repentance.
=Aim.= The teacher should endeavor through this lesson to impress
on the child the danger of yielding to envy and anger and the
desirability of repentance and of confession of our sins to God
whenever we have done wrong.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= Sentimentalists sometimes object to
teaching this story to young children because of the sordid crime
that it relates. This objection however is not valid, because the
very ignorance and innocence of childhood rob the story of most
of its horror. Indeed, the teacher must rather guard against the
child's utterly losing the sense of the tragedy of the crime, the
universal tragedy by which passion leads men to commit acts which
they would later gladly retrieve if they could. In order to impress
this on the child the teacher must describe what the narrative of
the Bible but barely suggests, the wayward character of Cain before
the sacrifice which made it unacceptable. Devote some time to
characterizing Cain and Abel in such a way that the child pictures
the former as a sullen, discontented, envious man, who showed no
true appreciation of God's goodness to him and whose offering
was therefore not acceptable to God, while that of Abel, who was
sincerely grateful to God, was accepted. As this is the first time
that sacrifice is mentioned, explain the meaning of sacrifice as a
way in which men long ago used to show God that they were thankful
for his goodness in giving them their food, by not using all that
he gave them but burning some on a heap of stones called an altar.
Use some illustration from the child's life of how a gift is more
or less acceptable according to the motive which prompts it. You
might ask the children, "Which would please you more; if somebody
would give you a present on your birthday because he loves you, or,
because he thinks that when his birthday will come you will give
him one also?" and continue, "Now when Cain and Abel brought their
offering to God, God knew that Abel loved Him and always obeyed Him
and gave his offering because he was really grateful to God in his
heart, but Cain, who was always discontented and not very obedient,
God knew brought his offering only because he thought that if he did
so God might be pleased and so send him the rain necessary to make
his corn grow, that he would have plenty to eat during the year.
Therefore God accepted Abel's offering but did not accept Cain's".
Lay stress on God's warning to Cain, "Sin croucheth at the door",
which is to be explained as meaning that Cain must be very careful
how he acts and that if he feels like doing wrong to Abel, he must
keep back the feeling and not do it, or he might be doing something
which he would later feel very sorry for, after he could no longer
undo it. Remember that the very young child has no concept of death
and so relate the climax of the story somewhat in this manner; "Now
when Cain saw that Abel lay on the ground bleeding and could not
move or speak to him he knew that he had committed a great sin and
was afraid". The dialogue between God and Cain after Abel's death
should be quoted as nearly as possible in the language of the Bible,
particularly Cain's attempt at first to evade responsibility in the
words "Am I my brother's keeper?" followed later by his complete
confession, "My guilt is greater than I can bear". In enforcing the
aim of the lesson as we have given it, guard against merely making
didactic statements and rather bring out the point by questions,
after having concluded the narrative. The following are suggestive
questions:
Why did God accept Abel's offering and did not accept Cain's?
How did Cain feel when he saw that God did not accept his offering?
What did God say to Cain to warn him not give way to anger?
When Cain saw that he had killed Abel how did he feel?
Did God forgive Cain? How did God show that He forgave him?
CHAPTER IV
NOAH
Genesis 6.5 to 9.1
=Interpretation.= The story of Noah is so simple as scarcely to need
interpretation. The world had become corrupt, and, as God cannot
abide moral corruption, it seemed better to destroy what he had
created. Out of the universal destruction, however, God's providence
singled out Noah, because of his moral superiority, to be saved
and to start human life on a higher plane. He therefore bids Noah
take with him into the ark his family and enough of the animals to
assure the preservation of the different species, taking more of the
clean animals which are fit for food, and, when Noah finally leaves
the ark, He makes a covenant with him, the terms of which are that
Noah, is to observe certain moral laws, including the prohibition
of murder, and that God would never again destroy all life with a
deluge and would guarantee the orderly succession of the seasons as
necessary to man's existence. As a token of this covenant God shows
Noah the rainbow.
=Aim.= The aim in teaching this lesson to the child should be to
give him the idea of God's control over all the forces of nature and
of His special providence exercised over each individual, rewarding
the good and punishing the evil. As it is our purpose, wherever
possible, to find some distinctively Jewish way in which the child
can give expression to the ideals taught this lesson should be made
the occasion for teaching the child the _berakah_ (blessing) on
seeing a rainbow which is associated with the Noah story.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= To connect this story with the child's
own life begin with a reference to the rainbow. Let children tell
what colors they have seen in the rainbow, call their attention to
the fact that it appears always after a storm, and then tell them
that you are going to relate a story which will explain to them why
God makes a rainbow in the heavens after it rains. And when you have
finished the story, again connect the moral of it with the rainbow
somewhat as follows:
"And so, children, whenever we see a rainbow it should remind us of this
story of how God saved Noah from the flood because of his goodness, and
how God promised never to destroy the whole world again by a terrible
flood. And whenever we see a rainbow we should all of us say this little
prayer or <i>berakah</i> which I will teach you, מֶלֶךְ אֱלֹהֵינו יְהֹוָה אַתָּה בָּרוּךְ
בְּמַאֲמָרוֹ וְקַיָם בִּבְרִיתוֹ וֱנֶאֶמָן הַבְּרִית זוֹכֵר הָעוֹלָם, which means, "Blessed be
thou, O Lord our God, King of the world, who remembers His covenant and
is faithful to His covenant and keeps his promise".
The term covenant must be explained to the child in this chapter as
an exchange of promises.
The story of Noah contains many appeals to the child's interest
which the skillful teacher will know how to make the most of. A
Noah's ark with all manner of queer little wooden animals that could
be put in and taken out again has been a favorite toy with many
a child now grown to manhood. A child is naturally interested in
animals and, when you tell of how the animals came into the ark,
ask the children to tell you the names of animals they have seen in
the zoo or circus.
To emphasize the moral of the story use the _haggadic_ elaboration
of it according to which the period that the ark was in process of
construction gave the sinners an opportunity to repent, of which
however they did not avail themselves but instead merely mocked
Noah for trusting in God and obeying him. This _haggada_ is in full
accord with the spirit of the Biblical narrative and gives content
to the statement: "Noah was in his generation a righteous and
whole-hearted man; Noah walked with God."[1]
[1] whenever a _haggadah_ is useful as explaining a biblical
passage, it may be taught as part of the biblical lesson. but the
teacher should avoid teaching such legends as may misrepresent the
biblical meaning and even such as are merely extraneous to the
subject, as, for example, the legend of abraham's persecution by
nimrod, for we must be careful that these legends do not usurp the
unique place which the bible as torah must hold in jewish life and
thought. the _haggadah_ is not authoritative; the bible is.
The episode narrated in Genesis 9.21 to 29 had better be omitted as
not adapted for children.
CHAPTER V
THE TOWER OF BABEL
Genesis 11.1 to 9
=Interpretation.= These verses tell how the descendants of Noah in
the pride of a new civilization and the acquisition of the new art
of building with bricks endeavor to defeat the divine purpose of
scattering them over the world and are frustrated in their plans
through God's confusing their language. Its moral is the vanity of
any attempt on the part of man to defeat God's purpose.
=Aim.= This lesson is not one that yields a moral which the child
is able to apply immediately in his own life. Its moral is rather
for society than for the individual in its exposure of the vanity
of reliance on the mere material elements in civilization. Inasmuch
however as it can be made interesting to the child and appealing to
his imagination it is well to teach it that it may become a part of
his store of Jewish information which will receive added meaning as
his experience grows.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= This lesson should be introduced by a
reference to the different languages with which the child has come
in contact. He can then have his attention called to the fact that,
as all men are descended from Noah, they must all originally have
spoken one language. This at once raises the question how it came
about that there are now many languages, and, when the child is
interested in this question, he has the proper mental attitude for
hearing the story.
The motive for the building of the tower is not given very clearly
in the Bible and, in the form in which it is given, is hardly
calculated to impress the story on a child's mind. It is well,
therefore, to amplify the story in accordance with the _haggadah_
that suggests as motive the attempt to avoid the consequences of
another such flood as at the time of Noah. The sin, therefore, of
the generation of the dispersion lies in the fact that instead of
trying to avoid God's displeasure they tried to render themselves
immune to its consequences, a moral that carries out the idea of the
Biblical narrative only stating it in more explicit terms.
CHAPTER VI
THE CHOICE OF ABRAM AND THE CHOICE OF CANAAN
Genesis 12.1 to 10 and 13.1 to 18
=Interpretation.= With this lesson the history of our people
begins. The Bible wishes us to see in the separation of Abram and
his clan from the parent tribe, and their migration to Canaan, not
a fortuitous circumstance, but the fulfilment of a divine plan
according to which God was to make of the descendants of Abram the
chosen people and of the land of Canaan the chosen land. Why Abram
was selected of all people is not clearly stated, but one trait of
his character is made very conspicuous here and in all subsequent
chapters, his implicit faith and obedience. The Rabbis emphasize
that, in bidding him to leave his land, God tells him merely to go
"to the land that I will show unto thee", without indicating what
land was meant. Again He promises him, "To thy seed will I give this
land", though Abram is childless. Nor was Abram permitted to believe
that his nephew Lot might have been intended by the promise, for,
when Abram's herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen quarrel, Lot chooses the
land of Sodom and not the promised land. In a word, God seems to
have selected Abram to be the father of the chosen people because
of his faith, his unquestioning willingness to submit to divine
guidance. A second trait of character that is made conspicuous is
his love of peace as illustrated in his relations with Lot.
=Aim.= The primary aim in teaching this lesson to the child should
be to inspire him with the thought that he is one of God's chosen
people, a descendant of Abram, and should prove himself worthy
of his descent by emulating Abram's obedience to God through his
obedience to Jewish law. The whole point of this narrative is lost
if the teacher fails to emphasize the fact that Abram is the father
of the Jewish people.
The secondary aim may well be to stimulate interest in Palestine as
the chosen land.
A third lesson that can be taught in this connection is the lesson
of the desirability of peace.
The last two aims however must be brought in incidentally, the
former as an indication of God's love for Abram and his descendants,
the latter as showing wherein Abram was worthy of being chosen.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= As the whole point of the narrative is
lost if the child is not made to feel the connection of the Jewish
people with Abram, take pains to explain what is meant by descent
and how a whole people can be descended from one man, by showing how
a man's grandchildren are usually more numerous than his children,
etc. It might be of advantage to use the blackboard for a graphic
illustration of this idea. Then, after having explained how God
expected to make a great nation of Abram's descendants, ask, "Do
any of you know what people today are the descendants of Abram?
Well, I will tell you. You and I and all who call themselves Jews
are descended from Abram. That is why we always speak of him as
our father Abram. Now don't you want me to tell you more about our
father Abram and about the great people that came from him and to
which we belong?"
Hereafter always call Abram "our father Abram", as he is almost
invariably called in Jewish literature אָנִינוּ אַבְרָהָם. This will
keep the child conscious of his descent from Abram, increase his
interest in him and make him feel that Biblical history is the
history of his own people.
As the motives for God's choice of Abram are but vaguely suggested
in the Bible, the teacher must make them more explicit. Call
attention to the fact that the world had again become corrupt, that
idolatry prevailed--and here it becomes necessary to explain what
idolatry means--in the House of Terah as elsewhere (see Joshua 24.
2), but that there was one man, Abram, who always obeyed God and
who, God knew, would instruct his children to do so. And therefore
God told him to leave his family and his people because he wanted to
make of him a great people that would always do as he told them and
not a foolish and wicked people like those among whom he lived.
The various _haggadic_ tales of the persecutions to which Abram was
subjected by Nimrod and even by his own father, while beautiful in
themselves and interesting to children should not be taught as part
of the lesson. (See foot-note to page 46.)
In order to make the narrative more vivid and impressive, God's call
to Abram and his promise (Genesis 12. 1 to 3) should be quoted in
the language of the Bible, as also Abram's words to Lot (Genesis 13.
9) and God's promise when Abram settled in Canaan (Genesis 13. 14 to
18).
When speaking of God's promise to give Abram the land of Canaan,
the teacher may digress somewhat to describe the main geographical
features of Palestine, showing children on the map where it is
situated and pointing out its main topographical characteristics, if
the children are of an age when they know how to interpret maps. The
description of the land should be such as to create an attachment
to it, dwelling on the variety of its climate, the beauty of its
scenery, and its fertility. Pictures of Palestine particularly of
the places associated with the life of Abram, should be shown.
CHAPTER VII
BEGINNING OF ABRAM'S GREATNESS
Genesis 14
=Interpretation.= Abram's blessing begins to become manifest through
his military success in the campaign to rescue Lot and his family.
He is accorded recognition by Melchizedek, king of Salem (to be
identified with Jerusalem), and "priest of God the Most High", who
gives him bread and wine and to whom he gives a tithe of the booty.
The king of Sodom also recognizes his greatness and the value of his
services, which he wishes to reward, but Abram rejects the proffered
reward in order to be able to maintain his independence and assert
his reliance on the divine promise.
=Aim.= The aim in teaching this lesson should be to awaken an
appreciation of the heroic virtues of courage, loyalty and
independence, and, by associating them with the founder of the
Jewish people and the Jewish faith to arouse the Jewish self respect
of the child.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= It is very important in telling such
stories the moral of which is to be enforced through the child's
imitation of the virtues of the characters whose deeds it narrates,
not to tag on a moral at the end of the tale. If the child is
impressed by the story, imitation is sure to result, and, by adding
a moral stated in abstract terms, one only gives the child the
feeling that the events of the story did not really happen but were
"made up" to point the moral. But the child must be impressed by the
story, and the skillful teacher will know how to make the details
of the story itself so impressive as to bring home their moral. For
instance, instead of saying at the end of the story, "This teaches
us what a brave man Abram was since he was willing to risk his life
for Lot and his family", the teacher might begin the story somewhat
as follows:
"Now when Abram was sitting one day at the door of his tent, a man
came running to him all out of breath and, as soon as he had gained
breath enough to speak, he said, 'There has been a terrible battle
in Sodom. I and a few others have escaped but your nephew Lot and
his family have all been taken away captive and no one can say what
will be done to them.' Thereupon Abram called together his few
followers to the number of 318 and, together with his friends and
neighbors, Aner, and Eshcol and Mamre and their soldiers, followed
after the enemy, trusting that God would help him, though he knew
the enemy had many more men than he."
The interesting detail of how the enemy fell into the slime pits
in the valley of Siddim should not be omitted as it gives greater
vividness and reality to the narrative.
The child can be depended upon to respond to the appeal for his
appreciation of Abram's martial virtues, but the full significance
of Abram's refusal of a share of the spoils and his statement "Thou
shalt not say I have made Abram rich" he will not grasp without
the teacher's help. Bring out his point by asking, "Why did not
Abram want to let the king of Sodom make him rich?" and if, as will
probably be the case, the child will have no answer ready, explain
as follows:
"The reason is this. Abram had joined the war not to get money or
other riches from the enemy, for that would have been mere robbery.
He had fought to save Lot and his family, and, when they were safe,
he was satisfied. But the people of Sodom were, as you know from our
last lesson, very wicked and their kings were all the time making
war, even when there was no good reason, in order that they might
become rich by what they took from the enemy. And Abram thought, if
I take money now from the king of Sodom, some time later he may say,
'Abram, it is I who made you a rich man; now you must help me fight
against my enemies and rob them'. Therefore Abram would have nothing
to do with him and would not even take a shoestring from him. He
knew, moreover, that if he obeyed God, God would give him all that
he needed, and therefore he did not have to take presents from one
whom he could not respect and honor."
Be sure to make clear that Melchizedek's tribute to Abram was
in recognition of the fact that his victory was a sign of God's
favor, and that Abram's giving the tithe was an expression of his
recognition of God's help in the battle.
The lesson might be concluded by some such summary as the following:
So our father Abram became great and famous in the new land to which
he had come, because God blessed him in all that he did so that he
came to be called by the people about him a "prince of God".
CHAPTER VIII
HAGAR AND THE BIRTH OF ISHMAEL
Genesis 15.16.17
=Interpretation.= In chapter 15 the faith of Abram is once more
given emphasis. God promises Abram great reward, but, being
childless, he is indifferent to a reward which must ultimately
pass to strangers, the descendants of Eliezer, but God explains to
him that he is to have a child of his own to whom the reward is to
descend, and he has faith in God's promise though for many years it
remains unfulfilled.
The vision of Abram, recorded in verses 12 to 16 is significant as
showing the providential character of the Egyptian bondage. We need
not, however, discuss it here in detail, since its significance
is only apparent in the light of later lessons and it is not
intrinsically interesting to the child.
For the interpretation of the main theme of this lesson, the reader
is referred to the introduction of this book, pages 19-20. It is to
be noted that in giving to Abram her servant Hagar as wife, Sarai
is doing an unselfish act in the hope that she may thereby help
realize the promise made to Abram, and it is little wonder that she
resents the arrogant attitude of Hagar, who is the chief beneficiary
of her unselfish act and yet vaunts it over her as though Sarai's
barrenness were a mark of inferiority and perhaps even of the divine
disfavor.
The fact that, when Hagar flees from Sarai before the birth of
Ishmael, she is asked by the angel to return, and that after the
birth of Isaac, God not only sanctions but commands the separation,
shows distinctly that the motive for the separation was that
expressed in the words, "In Isaac shall seed be called to thee", and
that, meanwhile, Abram was to have his faith put to the test through
his attachment to Ishmael, as later through his attachment to Isaac.
It is also to be noted, here as elsewhere, that the patriarchs and
their wives themselves had only a dim and often incorrect idea of
God's purpose in his dealings with them. Thus Sarai, realizing
that she is barren, at first reasons that God's promise to Abram
was intended to apply to him alone and not to her and therefore
necessitated his taking another wife. When Ishmael is born, Abram
thinks that he is to be the child of destiny and it is one of the
tests to which his faith is put when, after the birth of Ishmael,
God tells him that not this son but another, who is to be born to
Sarai, is to be his heir. The point of all this is that the history
of the patriarchs is not merely personal biography but that its
real significance is to be understood as showing the care that
God exercised in selecting the material out of which the chosen
people was to be moulded. Not all of Abram's descendants were to be
deemed fit for this election, but he was to become the "father of a
multitude of nations" of which only one was to be chosen.
In teaching of the covenant that is recorded in Genesis 17, the
ceremony of circumcision cannot for obvious reasons be dwelt on in
class, but the change of Abram's and Sarai's names should be, and
therefore its significance needs to be interpreted. To give a new
name is a sign of ownership and interest. God shows his love for
Abram and Sarai and his intention to enter into closer relations
with them by giving them new names. It is to be noted that God also
gives Isaac his name (Genesis 18.21) and changes that of Jacob to
Israel after he shows himself worthy of the title.
=Aim.= This lesson is one of a series of incidents which should
impress on the child faith in the truth of God's words, which in
the end are verified, though at first they often seem impossible of
realization and more particularly, faith in God's election of Israel.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= There are two main difficulties to
overcome in teaching this chapter; first, that the moral is such
an abstract one, the whole story as we have interpreted it being
conceived as a glimpse into the workings of providence in the
history of Israel and the world, and second, that the incidents
hinge upon family relations of a sort that a child with his
ignorance of the facts of sex cannot easily comprehend.
The first of these difficulties can be largely overcome by giving
much more emphasis than is usually given to the human and personal
aspect of the story particularly to Abram's desire for a son and
his repeated disappointments before the final realization of God's
promise to him; and a little tact can overcome the second difficulty
as well. To show how these two difficulties may be met, it will be
necessary here to tell a great part of the story as it may be told
to a class of children between the ages of seven and eight. After
telling of God's promise to Abram to make of his seed a great nation
as numerous as the stars in heaven and of Abram's rejoicing that
he would have a son who would become after him the father of this
great people, the teacher might continue somewhat as follows:
But year after year passed and Abram and Sarai were already growing
old, and yet God had not fulfilled His promise to Abram to give him
a son out of whose children and children's children He would make
a great and good nation. And Oh! how Abram did want to have a son.
When he would see the children of his neighbors at play with their
bright eyes and laughing faces, he would think, "_If only I had a
little child like that how happy I should be and what delight it
would be to watch him grow big and strong! How I would thank God
for such a son and how I would teach my little boy to thank God and
to love and obey Him and to be kind and good to all people as God
wants us to be so that through him and his children and children's
children all the nations of the earth would be blessed._" And he
would often tell his wishes to Sarai and they would try to comfort
each other and one would remind the other of God's promise and
would say, "_We must be patient. God has promised us a son and in
His time He will send us one._" But one day an idea came to Sarai.
She thought to herself, "Maybe it is my fault that Abram has no
children. God promised a son to Abram but he did not make any
promise to me. Maybe if Abram married someone else, God would let
Abram have a son from this other wife." Now Sarai had a servant
whose name was Hagar, and she told Abram to marry Hagar too, for in
those days men often had more than one wife. And Abram did as Sarai
suggested and, surely enough, not long after they were married it
was told to Hagar that in a few months she would bear a child to
Abram. Now you would think children, would you not, that after
Sarai had been so kind to her servant Hagar and had let her marry
Abram that Hagar would love Sarai for it and show kindness to her in
return. But Hagar showed herself at this time very mean. She felt a
foolish pride because God was going to give her a son and had given
none to Sarai and she used to say to her, "See, you are married to
Abram these many years and yet God has not given him any children
from you, but I have been but recently married to him and now I
shall soon bear him a son. Doesn't this show that God loves me more
than you? Doesn't this show that I am better than you? Do you think
I will be your servant any more? No indeed, I am not only as good
as you but better." When Sarai heard these words day after day she
was deeply grieved and angry and she complained to Abram, and Abram
told Hagar that she must continue to serve Sarai as before. But when
Sarai wanted to make Hagar do her work, she ran away and fled into
the wilderness.
The above will suffice to show how the difficulties which we mention
can be overcome. The passages that have been italicized suggest how
the child can be given the feeling that the birth of Isaac was part
of a divine plan for the good of the world. This can be still more
clearly brought home by the latter part of the narrative in which
God rejects Ishmael as a "Wild ass of a man." The teacher must make
this quite clear to the class by asking, "Do you think that this boy
Ishmael of whom God knew that he would be wild and wicked was the
one whom God meant when He told Abram he would have a son who was
going to be a blessing to all the world?" He must also emphasize
Abram's affection for Ishmael, which made him mistake him for the
son of promise, for Abram presumably did not know of the prophecy
with regard to Ishmael's future. This will give the child the idea
contained in the narrative that "There are many devices in a man's
heart, but the counsel of the Lord that shall stand".
CHAPTER IX
ABRAHAM ENTERTAINS THE ANGELS
Genesis 18.1 to 16
=Interpretation.= These verses have given no little difficulty
to the ancient Hebrew commentators. The first verse contains a
statement of God's appearing to Abraham but does not give any
content to this revelation, and then the three angels are introduced
into the narrative as if another revelation were here intended.
Moreover the number of angels that appeared to Abraham when one
might have served the purpose as well also presented its difficulty,
since Christian theologians, connecting this verse with the
preceding, tried to employ it as an argument for the trinity. There
are furthermore in these verses frequent changes of number which
are difficult to account for. Thus in verse 3, Abraham addresses
the angels in the singular, in verse 4 in the plural. In verse 9,
we read _va-yomeru_ "And they said" while verse 10 which seems a
continuation of this conversation begins _va-yomar_ "And he said".
In verse 13 God himself suddenly breaks into the conversation. A
comparison with other parts of the Bible in which angels appear
shows that they too exhibit similar peculiarities of style.[2]
[2] See for instance Genesis 19. 16, 17; 31. 11 to 13; 32. 25 to 31;
48. 15 to 16. Exodus 3. 2, etc.; 23. 20 to 22. Judges 2. 1 to 2; 4.
12 to 14; 13. 17 to 18, 21 to 22.
The study of these passages shows the following characteristic
features of the Biblical conception of angels which will help to
clear up the difficulties of our text. The angel, as the name both
in Hebrew and English implies, is the messenger of God. Inasmuch
as he exists only to do God's bidding his words are the words
of God and may be introduced by the words "God said" as well as
by "the angel (or angels) said". This accounts for the apparent
inconsistency in the use of singular and plural in our passage. The
angel has no discretionary power, as appears from the statement in
Exodus 23. 21, that the angel cannot forgive sin. Inasmuch as he
has no individual personality or will of his own but is merely a
manifestation of God's will, he has no name of his own, the name
being a mark of individuality, but bears the name of God, which
being a mystery, he may not reveal.[3] (Genesis 32. 3. Exodus 23.
21. Judges 13. 18.) This idea of the impersonality of the angels is
carried a step further by the Rabbis, who insist that no angel ever
executes more than one message and account for the number of angels
that appeared to Abraham by assigning to each a separate mission;
one to predict to Abraham the birth of Isaac, another to rescue Lot,
and a third to destroy Sodom. But such an explanation is scarcely
necessary as there are other passages in the Bible where a number of
angels are mentioned for no clear reason, as for instance in Jacob's
dream. As for the difficulty that we found in verses one and two, it
can now be made clear by understanding the appearance of the angels
in verse two as the explanation of the revelation referred to in
verse one.
[3] The significance of this cannot be gone into here. An
interesting treatment of it is to be found in Wiener's Essays in
Pentateuchal Criticism. Pages 47-53.
Regarding the significance of angels in general, we may consider the
accounts of their appearances as intended by the Biblical author to
convey his appreciation of the mystery of how God can communicate
with mortals without loss to His divine majesty. They certainly
do convey something of this appreciation to the child, for the
imagination of children notwithstanding their natural tendency to
conceive of God in anthropomorphic terms, is impressed by these
mysterious heralds of an invisible kingdom with a sense of the
majesty of God's rule.
=Aim.= This episode has always been made use of, and rightly so, to
impress the pupil with an appreciation of that courteous interest
in the stranger and deferential attention to his wants and desires
which constitute the true grace of hospitality, but an equally
important educational value, perhaps from the point of view of the
child an even more important one, is its power of impressing him
with a sense of the mysterious possibilities of this world, in which
any passing stranger that we entertain may turn out to be an angel
in disguise, who will reveal himself to us and bless us if we do
not turn him from our door. The story should leave the child with
the feeling expressed in the exclamation, "Is anything too hard for
the Lord". The teacher must of course not lose sight nor permit the
child to lose sight of the story's connection with the main theme
of the birth of Isaac, the significance of which we have already
pointed out in the previous lesson.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= This is a story whose educational
value would only be lost by analyzing its moral as the beauty of a
flower is destroyed by pulling it apart to show its structure. Tell
the story simply and, as nearly as possible, in the language of
the Bible itself. Be careful to give the story its characteristic
picturesque setting, and begin therefore by contrasting modern
conditions of housing and travel with those of Abraham's days, thus
establishing a point of contact with the child's present experience.
The following facts should be impressed on the child:
1. That Abraham's nomadic life, which was also the life led by many
of his contemporaries, necessitated his dwelling in a tent which
could be pitched wherever he wanted to make his home,
2. That traveling was to a large extent on foot over hot sand or
stones,
3. That travelers were not sure of obtaining food at regular
intervals, and
4. That it was consequently a great kindness to offer them rest and
refreshment.
After this introduction, tell the story of how Abraham one day saw
three tired travelers on the road approaching in the direction of
his tent and invited them to rest, refresh themselves and partake of
food. Then, in a manner which would suggest that you are confiding
to the class a great secret, tell them that these men whom Abraham
had invited were not really men at all but angels of God.
The incident of Sarah's laughing when the angel delivers his message
and then denying that she had laughed should not be omitted as it
affords an interesting human touch to the story and still more as it
gives the occasion for the angel's reply which contains the moral
of the story, "Can anything be too wonderful for God?" There is no
need of glossing over Sarah's prevarication and certainly no need
of giving it undue emphasis, but the incident should be told in
such a way that her motive is made clear. Say, for instance; "Now
as you know, Sarah was very old, so old that she thought herself
too old to have a little baby, and when she heard, from behind the
curtain of the tent, the angel telling Abraham that in a year's time
she should have a son she laughed, just as you would laugh if I told
you that a rose bush would have roses in mid-winter. But the angel
said to Abraham, 'Why does Sarah laugh? Is there anything that God
cannot do?' Then Sarah was ashamed and said, 'I did not laugh'. But
the angel said, 'Nay but thou didst laugh and Sarah was more ashamed
than ever, for she knew that she had not told the truth, and she
said no more."
CHAPTER X
THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH
Genesis 18.7 to 19.29
=Interpretation.= The incident of the destruction of Sodom and
Gomorrah, like that of the destruction of the generation of the
deluge, is meant as an assertion of God's justice. The insistence on
the justice of God is made the more emphatic by the recognition of
the fact that His dispensations are such as may lead us at times to
call His justice into question. When, therefore, Abraham exclaims,
"Shall not the judge of all the world do justice?" he is not rebuked
for his presumption, but, on the contrary, God seems to prefer his
attitude to one that would accept apparent injustice with complacent
resignation, and God does not disdain to justify Himself to Abraham
in very much the same spirit as the Book of Job represents Him
as preferring the blasphemous accusations of Job to the pious
apologetics of his friends. (Job 42. 7.)
The particular crime assigned as an instance of the wickedness
of Sodom was a form of immorality of which strangers were the
especial victims. Lot's offer to surrender to the men of Sodom his
daughters instead of the strangers was not only prompted by a sense
of the obligation of hospitality but by the consideration of the
different degree of immorality involved in the two acts. It goes
without saying that the specific crime of the men of Sodom cannot
be explained to the children otherwise than as a disposition to
abuse strangers, the antithesis to the attitude of Abraham and Lot
towards them, and, inasmuch as the nature of the crime cannot be
taught, Lot's offer to substitute his daughters for the strangers
cannot be taught since this act would then appear as an attempt to
remedy one injustice by perpetrating another.
=Aim.= This lesson yields more than one moral for the child. The
style of Abraham's plea for Sodom and Gomorrah is a very fine
example of devotion in prayer and should affect the child's attitude
in prayer. The lesson of hospitality taught in the story that
preceded is given further emphasis by the contrast between the
reception of the strangers by Abraham and by Lot, who was reared in
Abraham's household, on the one hand, and by the people of Sodom on
the other. This contrast between the character of Abraham and that
of the people of Sodom should appeal to the Jewish pride of the
child as a descendant of Abraham, the value of which pride we have
had occasion to point out before. The transformation of Lot's wife
into a pillar of salt is an excellent lesson in the value of prompt
obedience and the danger of hesitation and inordinate curiosity.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= In teaching of Abraham's plea for
Sodom and Gomorrah, do not merely give the substance of Abraham's
prayer but thoroughly assimilate and impart the reverential spirit
contained in such introductory phrases as "Behold now I have
taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, who am but dust and ashes,
peradventure, etc." "Oh, let not the Lord be angry and I will
speak", and again, "Let not the Lord be angry and I will speak but
this once". In order that this part of the lesson shall affect the
child's attitude in prayer, speak of Abraham's plea as a prayer
by saying "Then Abraham prayed, etc.", rather than simply "Then
Abraham said", but do not, of course, go into a dissertation on
prayer; let the child draw his own moral.
In telling of the reception of the angels in Sodom it is well to
emphasize the contrast between the way the men of Sodom treated
strangers and the way that Abraham and Lot treated them. The
accusation of the men of Sodom, "This one fellow came in to sojourn
and he will needs play the judge" is a fine involuntary tribute to
Lot's moral superiority and should be quoted. The final picture in
verse 28 should not be omitted as it emphasizes the connection of
Abraham with these events and furnishes, so to speak, a concluding
tableau to the story.
A description of the Dead Sea region of Palestine, accompanied by a
good picture showing its present desolation, might furnish a good
conclusion to the lesson. The following questions will test the
child's comprehension of the story's moral:
1. How did our Father Abraham treat strangers? How did Lot? Where
did Lot learn always to be kind to strangers? How did the people of
Sodom treat strangers?
Why did God want to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? When God told
Abraham that he would destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, was Abraham glad
or sorry? What did he do? Can you repeat his prayer?
What did the angels tell Lot and his family not to do? Did they all
obey? Why did Lot's wife look back? What happened to her because she
did not obey?
CHAPTER XI
THE DIVORCE OF HAGAR
Genesis 20 and 21
=Interpretation.= The incident recorded in Chapter 20 is intended
to show the care exercised by God in preserving the purity of the
chosen seed, but it cannot be taught to children because of their
ignorance of the facts of sex. Chapter 21 verses 21 to the end of
the chapter may be omitted since they offer nothing of interest to
the child.
For the interpretation of the main theme of this chapter see
introduction pages 19-20 and Chapter VIII. It is to be noted that
God's choice of Isaac does not mean that His providence does not
extend over Ishmael as well. Not only is Ishmael's life saved but
God's promise to Abraham regarding Ishmael is kept as well as His
promise regarding Isaac.
=Aim.= The aim in this lesson is practically the same as in Chapter
VIII, to inspire faith in God's providential interest in human
affairs in general and in Israel's destiny in particular. The child
need not understand all the implications of the narrative at the
time it is taught him but if it be taught properly the story will
make its impression and he will understand them more completely
later. God's hearing the voice of Ishmael should suggest to the
child the value of prayer and thus influence his immediate life.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= Before beginning the narrative of
this story recall to the children, by well directed questions,
the previous history of the relations of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar and
Ishmael, as we have explained them in Chapter VIII. Then point out
the complications which the birth of Isaac introduced since God
had promised that Isaac was to be the son to inherit the blessing
of Abraham together with the possession of the promised land, and
Ishmael, who was now beginning to grow up into the "wild ass of a
man" according to the prophecy that had preceded his birth, would
dispute this with him. It therefore became necessary for Hagar
and Ishmael to be sent away after the birth of Isaac. Inasmuch
as the idea of inheritance and the idea of national destiny are
too abstract for children, the story must be adapted to their
comprehension by putting it on a more personal plane somewhat as
follows:
"Now when Hagar saw that God had given a son to Sarah also as the
angel had promised and that this son Isaac and not her own Ishmael
was the one to whom God told Abraham he would give the land of
Canaan and whose children would be the great Jewish people, she
became jealous and hated Sarah very much and even Sarah's little
baby Isaac. And Ishmael too, who was now grown up into a big wild
boy--you remember the angel had said he would be a wild man when
he grew up--also was jealous of Isaac. And Hagar tried to persuade
Abraham to give her son part of this land of Canaan that God had
promised to Isaac. Now Sarah saw all this and she knew that it would
not be good for Isaac to grow up together with this wild and wicked
Ishmael and so she told Abraham to send Hagar and her son away to
some other country where they could not do any mischief to Isaac
whom God had chosen to be the father of the Jewish people."[4]
[4] To speak of our race as the Jewish people at any time before
the exile of the ten tribes is, to be sure, an anachronism, but we
employ it because the child knows that he and his friends are Jews
before he knows that they are Israelites or Hebrews.
In concluding the story one might interest the child by telling
him that there are descendants of Ishmael alive today who like us
feel proud to be descended from Abraham, and describing some of the
habits of the Bedouin Arabs, their nomadic life, their pastoral
occupation similar to that of the patriarchs and also their tribal
feuds and not infrequent raids for pillage which still would justify
the prophecy, "His hand shall be against every man and every man's
hand against him", but one should in justice say that this is
not true of the large number of Arabs who have settled in more
civilized communities. A picture of Bedouins in modern times would
be of interest to the class and help give a sense of reality to the
Biblical story.
CHAPTER XII
THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC
Genesis 22.1 to 19
=Interpretation.= The story of the _'Akedah_, that is the intended
sacrifice of Isaac, represents the supreme test to which Abraham's
faith was put. After Ishmael has been sent away and Isaac has been
definitely declared to be the son of promise, Abraham is commanded
by God to sacrifice Isaac. The test to Abraham's faith is not merely
of the willingness to sacrifice sentiment and affection in obedience
to God, but this latest command is a direct contradiction of God's
previous words to him and yet he obeys.
The story can only be understood fully in the light of the religious
customs of Abraham's day, according to which human sacrifice was not
uncommon. (See II Kings 3. 27, also 21. 6, 23. 10 and Jeremiah 32.
35.) Viewed in this light God's asking Abraham to sacrifice his son
meant nothing which to a contemporary of Abraham would have seemed
essentially inconsistent with the divine character. It is God's
forbidding the consummation of this act which is the innovation, so
that this lesson teaches in a narrative form the same idea which
later received its legal formulation in Leviticus 18. 21 and 20.
2-5. The chapter has therefore a twofold message; (1) that to be
the elect of God requires of us the willingness to sacrifice any
personal desire and even natural affection in obedience to him, and
(2) that God's will, to which He claims obedience, is a benevolent
one and does not demand or desire human sacrifice.
The idea that God does not desire human sacrifice was a great moral
discovery and this narrative in our Bible gives us an interesting
illustration of how such new spiritual insights in general are born;
namely through the willingness to commit ourselves completely to
whatever vision of truth is ours at the time. It was because Abraham
was willing to sacrifice Isaac in accordance with his previous
sense of what duty demanded of him, that this new revelation of
God's will as opposed to human sacrifice was granted him. Had he,
while sharing with his contemporaries the belief in the legitimacy
of human sacrifice, hesitated to live up to this idea when it
involved suffering for himself, he would never have been given
the understanding that God does not desire human sacrifice. Our
standards of morality are at all times imperfect, but it is only
those who commit themselves without reservation to whatever standard
they really hold that are the discoverers of new moral truths.
The part that Isaac played in the incident is but vaguely suggested
in the Biblical narrative. The _agadic_ elaborations of the story
frequently represent Isaac as knowing what fate was intended for
him and fully acquiescing in it. That Isaac probably had his
misgivings is suggested by the question, "Behold the fire and the
wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?" At all events
he must have known what Abraham's purpose with regard to him was
when he was being bound to the altar and, as the narrative records
no protest, the Rabbinic conception of the part Isaac played is
not contradictory to the Biblical story. The teacher is therefore
justified in imparting the story in a way which would imply that
Isaac lent himself willingly to Abraham's designs regarding him.
In the substitution of the ram for Isaac one gets a glimpse into the
significance of animal sacrifice. It probably meant to the ancients
a symbolic expression of the recognition that God had the right
to demand the sacrifice of human life in his service and that it
was a sign of his love and grace that no such demand was made. It
suggests the important role that animal sacrifice played in history
in weaning mankind from the habit of human sacrifice.
=Aim.= The aim of this lesson is to make the child feel that as a
son of Abraham his love for God should be such that, like Abraham,
he should be willing to make any sacrifice that his religion may
demand of him. The traditional association of the _shofar_ on Rosh
ha-Shanah with the Ram of the Akedah suggests that this story may be
used to give meaning to the New Year celebration.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= The pathos of this narrative is so
deep and intense that many teachers, laboring under the notion so
common in our day that children should be reared only on what is
cheerful and bright and be kept far from a knowledge of any of the
more tragic aspects of life, would like to omit teaching it to
children all together. When therefore the curriculum of the school
requires them to teach it, they tell the story in as matter of
fact a manner as possible and seem anxious to get over it. This
is a mistake however, for children have always had a fondness for
stories containing something of the tragic, even of the weird and
uncanny, as witness the popularity of Little Red Riding Hood, and
the story of the Akedah is one which can, by very reason of what
to our modern mind appeals as weird, impress its lesson on the
child's imagination. To pass over it slightingly is to spoil what
is undoubtedly the climax of the whole Abraham story and ignore one
of the best opportunities of deeply impressing the child with the
lesson of faith, obedience and self sacrifice.
Begin the lesson by speaking of Abraham's love for Isaac, now
the only son that was left him and of the hopes he cherished of
seeing him grow up to be a great man according to God's promise.
Then tell how God resolved to test Abraham's obedience by seeing
whether he would be willing to give up that which he loved most if
so commanded. Before telling of God's command to sacrifice Isaac
remind the child of the prevalent custom of animal sacrifice which
he had heard of in connection with Cain and Noah. The fact of the
general prevalence of human sacrifice at that time should not be
taught the child as it will be impossible for him to comprehend
such a practice and as the story only gains in force for him by
making God's demand of Abraham appear extraordinary. We need not
scruple that we are violating the Biblical moral in this instance,
since the Bible's denunciation of human sacrifice is not a moral
that the child has need of. A reference to animal sacrifice will
therefore suffice to make comprehensible the command to sacrifice
Isaac. All the conversation in this story should be quoted in the
language of the Bible, not omitting Isaac's pathetic query, "Behold
the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?"
And Abraham's evasive answer, "God will provide Himself the lamb
for a burnt-offering, my son". In telling how Isaac was bound to
the altar emphasize the fact that he did not rebel although he knew
now that he was to be the sacrifice, because of his obedience to
God and his father and his confidence in them. When telling how the
ram was found caught by its horns in the bushes, ask, "How many
of you have ever seen a ram's horn?" There will probably be no
response. Then show the class a _shofar_ or a picture of one and
ask, "What is this?" The answer will be "a _shofar_". Then continue;
"Well, a _shofar_ is the horn of a ram. When we hear the _shofar_
blown on Rosh ha-Shanah it should remind us of this ram and of how
Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac and Isaac was willing to be
sacrificed when God commanded, and we should think of how we, who
are sons of Abraham and Isaac, must be willing also to obey God and
our parents in everything even if it should be very hard to do so,
even if it should cost us our life." In order to make sure that
the child has understood the motives of the story the following
questions may be asked in reviewing it: 1. When God asked Abraham
to sacrifice Isaac, did he really want him to kill his son? 2. Why
did God ask Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? 3. When Abraham tied Isaac
to the altar did Isaac rebel against his father? When we hear the
_shofar_ blown on Rosh ha-Shanah what should we think of?
CHAPTER XIII
DEATH OF SARAH AND THE MARRIAGE OF ISAAC AND REBEKAH
Genesis 23 and 24
=Interpretation.= The incident of the purchase of the Cave of
Machpelah need be mentioned only casually in connection with
the death of Sarah as the political questions involved in the
dialogue between the _Bene Heth_ and Abraham are beyond the child's
comprehension.[5]
[5] The teacher who is interested will find them discussed in
Sulzberger's Am Haaretz.
The care exercised in the selection of a wife for Isaac from his own
kindred rather than from the daughters of Canaan emphasizes again
the interest of Providence in selecting the stock out of which the
Chosen People was to come. Abraham's servant--presumably Eliezer,
who is mentioned in Genesis 15.2--was not permitted to take Isaac
out of Canaan as that would have been equivalent to a desertion of
his historic mission which was connected with the Promised Land.
Significant are the qualifications of the ideal wife for Isaac
suggested in the prayer of Eliezer--kindness and hospitality.
=Aim.= The value of this lesson to the child, apart from its
connection with the more general theme of God's selection of the
seed from which the Chosen People is to spring, lies in the example
of faith in God and fidelity to his trust exhibited by Abraham's
servant, and of the kindness and consideration shown by Rebekah,
which the child's sympathy with the characters of the story would
naturally lead him to imitate.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= By following the Biblical narrative
closely, you will have little difficulty in imparting it to the
child. When telling of the death of Sarah, dwell on her virtues a
while and then explain Abraham's concern that his son Isaac should
have just such a wife as Sarah had been, one that would be worthy
to be the mother of the great nation God had promised would be
descended from Isaac. Then relate how, not finding such a wife among
his neighbors, Abraham sent to the land from which he and Sarah
had come. Explain Abraham's refusal to let Isaac go to Mesopotamia
because God had told Abraham to leave that place and had promised
that in Canaan he would make of his seed a great nation. Emphasize
the length and difficulty of the journey, pointing out the route on
the map if the children are old enough to interpret a map.
CHAPTER XIV
THE SALE OF THE BIRTHRIGHT
Genesis 25.1 to 34
=Interpretation.= (Chapter 25. 1 to 10 may be omitted as containing
nothing of interest to children, except that Abraham's death and
burial should be mentioned.)
The story of Jacob and Esau in their contention for the birthright
and the blessing is one that is frequently misunderstood. The
tendency to idealize the forefathers of the race has lead many
teachers to attempt to justify the conduct of Jacob in his efforts
to secure the birthright and the blessing, totally ignoring the fact
that all the wretched consequences which followed naturally upon
his attempt would seem to indicate that God did not approve. What
these consequences were will be discussed in subsequent chapters.
Other teachers sin in the opposite direction and make out Esau to
be the innocent victim of Jacob's cunning and avarice. How they can
reconcile this with the choice of Jacob to be the patriarch rather
than Esau, how they can conceive that God's will could confirm the
act of Jacob and the hand of Providence be, so to speak, forced
into blessing Jacob though Esau was the more worthy of blessing, is
difficult to understand. The mistake common to both these versions
of the Biblical meaning of the story is that they look at it mainly
as a character study of two contrasting types, whereas the moral of
the story lies not so much in the characters as in the incidents,
which, when given closer attention, reveal the fact that the motive
underlying the whole story is not the personal contest between
Jacob and Esau but the carrying out of God's plan, contained in
his promise to Abraham, the plan of bringing into existence the
people to whom He was to reveal Himself. And this idea is brought
out, as in the story of Abraham's relation to Ishmael and Isaac,
by contrasting the purposes of the human agents with God's purpose
and showing how God's purpose is made to triumph by His so shaping
the incidents of Jacob's life that they correct Jacob's original
misconception of his mission.
Let us see how the incidents in this chapter cast light on our
theme. Note in the first instance the prophecy contained in
Genesis 25.23 which indicates in advance that Jacob and not Esau
was intended from the beginning to be the heir of the blessing of
Abraham. Note also that the prophecy speaks of "two nations" and
"two peoples", showing distinctly that the events of the narrative
were shaped by God with a view to subsequent history not merely to
the lives of Jacob and Esau as individuals. The very fact that "the
elder shall serve the younger" is to give emphasis to the divine
election of Jacob, for, according to the law and custom of those
days, the elder was entitled to the obedience and service of the
younger. Had Jacob been the older of the two brothers his subsequent
preeminence and that of his descendants would have seemed but part
of the natural course of events and would not have argued divine
election, but with Esau the first born the subsequent elevation of
Jacob does so argue.
This, as well as much else in the story, becomes clearer to us if
we understand what was meant by the birthright. In patriarchal
times, the father was absolute ruler over his descendants. At
his death, the oldest son took his place and inherited as even in
later times, twice as large a portion of the estate as any of his
other sons. (See Deuteronomy 21.17.) But this is not all that was
involved in the birthright. If it were all, Jacob's desire for it
would have been mere avarice and ambition and would have justified
that total condemnation which many a teacher has given him. But we
must remember that the first born was also the religious head of the
tribe. (See Numbers 3.45.) It was therefore most natural for Jacob
to assume that God's promise to Abraham, with all its spiritual
implications, naturally went with the birthright.
Now let us examine the characters as they appear in this chapter.
Esau is not the consummate villain that he is so frequently depicted
as being in later Jewish _agada_. But on the other hand, he is not
the injured hero. The story characterizes him as a skilful hunter,
interested in his woodcraft, and caring little about either the
privileges or the responsibilities of his birthright. To Jacob
however the inheritance of the blessing of Abraham was important,
perhaps a knowledge of the prophecy that had preceded his birth
making it even more so. Esau had forfeited his moral right to the
blessing through his failure to appreciate it. Not too much stress
must be laid on Esau's words "Behold I am at the point to die and
what profit shall the birthright do to me?" as these are to be
regarded not as a statement of sober fact but as the exaggeration of
a hungry man, for the Bible takes pains to explain Esau's attitude
in the words, "And he did eat and drink and rose up and went his
way. So Esau _despised his birthright_", showing that he was at the
time perfectly satisfied with the bargain he had made. This takes
from Jacob the stigma of having forced the bargain on Esau when the
latter could not help himself. He merely took advantage of Esau's
contempt for the birthright, which was sufficient evidence that he
was not worthy to possess it. At the same time, Jacob's employing
these means to secure the birthright does not seem, as will appear
more clearly in later chapters, to meet the divine approval, because
(1) this attempt to wrest the birthright from Esau through taking
advantage of Esau's weakness in itself argues a lack of complete
confidence in the realization of God's promise, in other words, a
lack of that quality of _temimut_, of naive acceptance of God's
will, which was so conspicuous a trait of Abraham's character, and
(2) because he does not fully understand the spiritual character of
his mission inasmuch as he regards its realization as dependent upon
the legal status of the birthright, which he could, so he thought,
secure by purchase.
=Aim.= The aim of this lesson is to teach the general truth that
a privilege which is not appreciated becomes forfeit, and the
particular truth that to be a Jew is to possess such a privilege,
which we must learn to appreciate.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= Before beginning the narrative of this
chapter itself, prepare the way by questions that will bring out the
fact of the election of Abraham and his descendants and the choice
that God exercised in selecting from among his descendants only
those properly qualified. Such questions are the following; "Do you
remember, when we were learning about Abraham and about how God told
him to leave his land and go to the land that He would show him,
that God made Abraham a promise? What was that promise? (Note: The
answer must include the idea that his descendants would be a great
nation, a blessing to all the world, and would inherit Canaan.) When
our father Abraham died, did this blessing go to both his children,
to Ishmael and to Isaac? To whom did the blessing belong?"
After having thus prepared the way proceed as follows:
"Now Isaac and Rebekah also had two children. The first born or
older was called Esau and the younger Jacob, and it was known that
only one of the two was to inherit the blessing, but for a long time
it was not known which one."
Then contrast the two characters emphasizing the physical prowess of
Esau, which won him the more universal admiration and the preference
of his father with the quiet thoughtfulness of Jacob. In order to
impress the child, the contrast must be given largely in terms of
their physical appearance. We continue the narrative as a teacher
might tell it in class:
"These two sons, Esau and Jacob, were very different one from the
other. Esau was a big strong man, rough and hairy in appearance, who
delighted in all sorts of sport and exercise, especially in hunting.
People admired him for his great strength and skill and most of
them thought that surely this big, strong man was the one whom God
had chosen to be the father of His people. And Isaac himself loved
Esau more than he did Jacob, because, now that Isaac was growing
old, Esau used to hunt food for him in the forest and would tell him
wonderful stories of his strength and skill in catching the deer and
other game that he prepared for him for food. But Jacob was very
different. He was not above the average man in strength and he had
no particular skill in hunting as had Esau. He was a quiet man, who
used to sit for hours in his tent, while his flocks were pasturing
nearby and think about the things he had learned from his father and
mother and from his grandfather Abraham, about how God had made the
world, and about how he had told Abraham to leave his country and go
to a new land, and, above all, about the promise that God had given
to Abraham to make of his descendants a great people. Which of these
two sons of Isaac and Rebekah had God chosen to become the father of
the Jewish people? Most people, no doubt, thought at the time that
Esau was meant, because he was the stronger and more successful in
the hunt, but there was one person who thought differently, and that
was the mother of these two young men, Rebekah. For she remembered
a prophecy that God had told her before either of the two children
were born, and this prophecy said, 'Two nations will come from thee
and two peoples will be born of thee and one will be stronger than
the other, but the elder will serve the younger'."
The prophecy is introduced here rather than at the beginning of the
story because it is well to stimulate the child's curiosity as to
which of the two is to receive the blessing of Abraham before giving
him any hint as to the answer. By thus beginning with a statement
of the question, the child's attention is at once directed to the
central theme of the narrative without which the incident of the
sale of the birthright is not comprehensible. But now one comes
face to face with the subject of the birthright itself. Explain,
that beside Esau's strength and skill, there was another reason why
people thought that Esau was to be the chosen son, and that is
because he was the older, for it was the custom in those days that
the oldest son enjoyed what was known as the birthright. The idea of
the birthright can be explained by saying that in the days of which
we are speaking the father used to be the king over all his children
and their families and servants, that he used to lead them in war
and judge all their disputes in time of peace, and that he was also
their priest, who used to perform the sacrifices for them and lead
them in their prayers and hymns to God, but that, when the father
died, the oldest son got all these rights and this right of the
oldest son to become priest and king after the death of the father
is known as the birthright.
After the child has a clear idea of the meaning of the birthright,
tell how Jacob thought that the one who had the birthright was he
whom God meant to make the head of the great nation he had told
Abraham about, since whoever had the birthright would be king and
priest over all the others after Isaac's death. I continue the
narrative as the teacher might tell it:
"So Jacob kept thinking to himself, 'If only I had the birthright!
If only I had the birthright!' but Esau, who had the birthright,
seemed to care very little about it. So long as there was game
enough in the forest to keep him busy hunting, he bothered his head
very little about what he would do when, on Isaac's death, he would
have to rule the people and lead them in the service of God, and the
promise made to Abraham that some day his descendants would become
a great nation concerned him even less, for he thought only of the
affairs of the day and to the future he gave no thought at all."
This brings us to the climax of the narrative, the actual sale
of the birthright. It must be told in such a way that the child
understands the point that Esau lost his birthright because he did
not know how to appreciate it, and that, as a universal proposition,
a privilege not appreciated is lost. This can best be done if,
before telling the story of the sale of the birthright, one presents
a hypothetical case somewhat as follows:
"Suppose, children, that a man owned a very valuable book which he
wanted to leave when he died to one of his two children, and suppose
that one of his children was a great lover of books and the other
did not care even to look at a book or to take the trouble to learn
to read, which of the two children do you think ought to have had
the book after the father's death? Of course, the one who knew the
value of the book and how to appreciate it, because we only deserve
what we know how to appreciate. Now who do you think should have had
the birthright, Esau, who did not care about being the father of the
great people God had promised to make of Abraham's descendants, or
Jacob who did care? (Answer: Jacob.) Well, Jacob thought so too and
so he began planning how he might get Esau to give up the birthright
to him."
In quoting the dialogue between Esau and Jacob, paraphrase Esau's
words in verse 32 so as to make it perfectly clear that they are an
expression of contempt for the birthright, "I am so hungry I could
die. What do I care for the birthright!"
After having told the story question the children with a view to
seeing whether they understand its leading ideas. The following are
suggestive questions:
What promise did God make to Abraham and to Isaac?
Was this promise meant for both of Isaac's children?
Which of Isaac's children do you think God wanted to have the
promised blessing? Why? (Note: If the child gives the wrong answer,
the teacher must ask a number of leading questions until the right
answer is secured.)
What does birthright mean? Who had the birthright at the beginning
of our story? Did Esau care very much for the birthright? Did
Jacob want it? Why did Jacob want it? What did Jacob do to get the
birthright?
This lesson lends itself easily to dramatization by the children.
(See Introduction, page 31.)
CHAPTER XV
JACOB SECURES THE BLESSING
Genesis 26.1 to 28.9
=Interpretation.= In the first part of this lesson which deals
with the life of Isaac, Genesis 26.3 is significant as emphasizing
the idea of Palestine as a chosen land, an idea which is the more
significant because it suggests that Jacob's flight from the land
implied that he had somehow forfeited God's favor and that his
flight was in reality a form of exile imposed on him as a punishment
and discipline. Verses 7 to 12 must necessarily be omitted. Their
general significance is the same as that of Genesis 20. Isaac's
patience and forbearance in the matter of the wells suggests
comparison with Abraham in his relations to Lot.
With regard to the incident of Jacob's securing the blessing, we
have already in the last chapter discussed the significance of the
main theme of this story. A few new elements, however, enter into
it here. One of these is the blindness of Isaac, which, by making
him more dependent upon Esau, keeps him from realizing Jacob's
superior qualifications for becoming heir to the blessing of
Abraham. Another new element that enters into the story is Esau's
marrying the two Hittite women "who were a bitterness of spirit to
Isaac and Rebekah". This gives an additional motive for Rebekah's
action in trying to secure the birthright to Jacob, since Rebekah
would otherwise, at the death of Isaac, become subject to Esau and
his wives. It moreover gives emphasis to the fact that Esau was
not to be the father of the chosen seed, since, in the case of all
of the patriarchs care is exercised that their wives shall likewise
be of chosen seed, of the same stock which produced the patriarchs
themselves. Genesis 27.33 is significant, particularly the words,
"yea, and he shall be blessed", as implying Isaac's recognition
that, though the blessing was secured to Jacob by a deception, it
was still an indication of God's purpose, and that he had hitherto
been mistaken in wanting to confer the blessing on Esau. The same
thought is implied in his assenting to Rebekah's suggestion that
Jacob seek a wife from her kindred and in his repeating on that
occasion the blessing, "May he give thee the blessing of Abraham",
etc. As we have already explained, this does not mean that the Bible
approves of the deception practiced by Rebekah and Jacob. Quite
the contrary. The one immediate effect is that Rebekah has to lose
Jacob; that Jacob, instead of entering immediately into possession
of the land and the birthright, is a fugitive and an exile; that,
as we shall see in subsequent chapters, Rebekah's hope for Jacob's
speedy return is not fulfilled; and that as will likewise appear
later, there is great danger of Jacob's remaining in Aramea and
totally forgetting his destiny until Providence forces him to
remember.
The circumstances related in this narrative as we have explained
them are significant by reason of what they have to teach us with
regard to Israel's mission as the chosen people. In the first place,
there is implied the idea, which we have frequently pointed out
before, that God's purpose with regard to his people is not fully
realized by them. This is shown in our lesson by the fact that the
patriarchs are represented as acting in a way which would tend to
defeat God's purpose regarding them, as, for instance, when Isaac
almost gives the blessing to Esau and when Jacob, through the means
he chooses to secure the blessing, is compelled to flee from the
Promised Land which he was to inherit. This is a very important
corrective to that arrogance which faith in divine election is
likely to bring with it, for it contradicts the assumption that
the Jewish people is infallible. There is, moreover, implied in
this story the idea that when Israel does not rightly conceive
its mission, it must be taught through the discipline of hardship
and suffering, as in the case of Jacob, that election does not
mean immunity from punishment but, on the contrary, stricter
accountability, as expressed by Amos, "You only have I known of all
the families of the earth; therefore I will visit upon you all your
iniquities". (Amos 3.2.)
=Aim.= The child will not be expected to grasp all the implications
of this narrative, but neither will they all escape him, and if the
story is well told, without any undue idealization of the characters
or distortion of the narrative for the sake of reading a moral
into it, the story will impress itself on him sufficiently to gain
added meaning as he reverts to it in later years. It is a mistake
to imagine that a moral which is not formulated is of necessity not
learned.
For the child's immediate benefit, however, it is well to emphasize
the punishment of Jacob's deception in order to inculcate the ideal
of truthfulness. But great care must be exercised in order not
to make Jacob so unsympathetic that Esau becomes the hero of the
story, for this would distort the Biblical moral and give rise to a
misunderstanding of it which the pupil is not likely to correct in
later life. It must always be made plain that Jacob had a right to
want and expect the blessing, but that he should have trusted God to
give it to him and should not have tried to get it through deception.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= Inasmuch as the moral of this story is
dependent on an understanding of the motives on which the characters
act, take particular pains to make your dramatic impersonation
of the characters as realistic as possible and not to delay the
movement of the plot by lengthy moralizing. This story, like the
preceding one of the sale of the birthright, lends itself very well
to dramatization by the class, and the success of the children in
assuming the roles of the different characters will be an excellent
test of your success in imparting the story.
Though one should avoid moralizing in such a way as would interrupt
the thread of the narrative, the very complexity of the motives of
the characters gives a good opportunity to ask such questions as
would necessitate the exercise of moral judgment on the part of
the class, as for instance: Was Jacob right in trying to get the
blessing from his father by taking advantage of his blindness? Was
Jacob punished for having deceived his father? How? etc. But though
the teacher may raise these questions, they must not be left open
questions. The Biblical moral must be kept clearly in mind and
convincingly presented; otherwise such questions merely develop a
casuistical attitude on the part of the class, which is morally bad.
CHAPTER XVI
JACOB'S DREAM
Genesis 28.10-22
=Interpretation.= The story of Jacob's dream, in order to be clearly
understood, should be considered in connection with the rest of
Jacob's life. His life may be divided into three periods. During the
first period, spent in his father's home, he endeavors by his own
efforts, partly through unscrupulous means, to secure the birthright
and blessing, with the result that instead of having the preeminence
over Esau he must flee before him, instead of inheriting the
Promised Land he is an exile from it, and instead of becoming the
father of a great people he becomes subject to the tribe which his
grandfather Abraham had been commanded to leave.
The second period of Jacob's life embraces his abode in Aramea.
During this period, his early ambitions become more and more
remote and unreal. First love, then the raising of his family and
hard labor in the service of Laban draw his mind from his earlier
ambitions, and it is with reference to this period that we are told,
"A wandering Aramean was my father". (Deuteronomy 26.5.) But just
when it would seem that the hope with regard to his future, which he
had tried at first in vain to realize and had then almost abandoned,
was wholly lost, God intervenes to send him once more to his land.
The third period of his life finds him in undisputed possession of
the land, the prophecy of his youth fulfilled, though in a way very
different from his youthful anticipations of its fulfillment.
Now Jacob's dream at Beth El is significant by reason of its
position at the beginning of the second period in his life, during
which he increasingly forgets his mission. It is intended to inform
the reader that, though Jacob might forget, God would not and
that, though Jacob's blundering devices could not secure him the
birthright and blessing, God could secure them to him even when he
despaired of them.
=Aim.= The aim of this story should be to impress the child with a
sense of the watchful providence of God over our forefathers and
us, and with the desire to express appreciation of this divine
guardianship in worship. This story affords an excellent occasion
for urging upon children the saying of a prayer on going to bed
and on rising, in this way showing an opportunity for the child's
application of the lesson in his daily life.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= Begin by contrasting the comfortable
feeling of the child when he goes to bed in his own room, in his
own bed, with his mother to pull the blanket over him and all the
family nearby, with the way he would feel if night overtook him in a
lonely wilderness with no one near except perhaps wild beasts, and
he had to lie down on the ground with a stone for a pillow. After
this description, give the point of the story you wish to teach,
as follows: "And yet even if you would have to sleep alone in the
wilderness, you would not be really alone, for God is always with us
and sees us even though we do not see Him, and takes care of us, as
the story I am going to tell you will show."
Then proceed with the story of Jacob, emphasizing his despairing
mood when he leaves Beer Sheba, his fear of Esau, his grief at
parting from his parents and home, his disappointment at having to
leave the land God had promised to Abraham and Isaac and the sense
of having failed after all to secure the birthright, together with
the physical dangers and terrors of the wilderness. Then tell how
Jacob lay down in the wilderness to sleep, and how God, who had been
watching him all the time and took pity on him, sent him a beautiful
dream to comfort him. God's promise in verses 13, 14, 15 should be
quoted in Biblical language, as should also Jacob's exclamation
"Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not ... this is
none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven".
Jacob's conduct in setting the place aside for worship and his vow
should also receive notice. The significance of the name Beth El
should be taught the children and its location pointed out on the
map.
When the story has been told and repeated by the class, ask, "How
many of you, when you go to bed or when you get up in the morning
think of how, while you are asleep, God watches over you and takes
care that nothing bad should happen to you? Do you say any prayer to
God when you go to bed or when you get up to show that you know He
takes care of you and thank Him for it? What do you say when you go
to bed? When you get up?" Several children should be questioned on
this as each child who does say his prayers will want to be given
a hearing and should be encouraged. The children might be asked to
memorize in Hebrew and English the verse שׁוֹמֵר יִישָׁן וְלֹא יָנוּם לֹא הִנֵּה
יִשְׂרָאֵל "Behold, He that keepeth Israel doth neither slumber nor
sleep" and be asked to make it a part of their night prayer.
CHAPTER XVII
JACOB IN ARAMEA
Genesis 29.1 to 31.54
=Interpretation.= The general significance of this period in Jacob's
life has already been discussed. Note that when, after completing
his term of service for Leah and Rachel, he thinks of returning to
his home, the suggestion of a new contract with Laban satisfies him
and he remains, so remote is now the thought of the birthright to
him. And yet through persistent, persevering labor he does attain to
a certain measure of power and influence and to patriarchal dignity.
It is interesting to note the poetic justice which makes him during
this period of his life the victim of just that sort of deceit
which he had himself practised. Nevertheless in spite of the deceit
practised upon him by Laban, Jacob remains scrupulously true to
his side of the contract and serves the additional seven years for
Rachel although he might have been tempted to shirk, as he had been
paid in advance. (See Genesis 29.27 to 30.) To be sure he has no
scruples about taking the full advantage of his superior mastery of
the shepherd's art in his dealings with Laban, but he was certainly
under no obligations to him after the treatment he had received
from him. One naturally omits in teaching this lesson to children,
Genesis 29.31 to 30.24, except that the pupils should be taught the
names of Jacob's children because of their significance as heads of
the tribes. The incident of the theft of the _teraphim_ may also be
omitted because the absence of positive knowledge as to what the
_teraphim_ were and what part they played in the religious life of
our ancestors prevents us from doing justice to this episode.
=Aim.= This lesson, together with the ones that precede and follow
it, is well calculated to impress on the child the superior
advantage of honest, faithful labor over craftiness and deceit. This
was already taught negatively in the preceding lessons through the
failure of Jacob to attain his ends by deception. It is taught in
this lesson both negatively and positively; negatively by Jacob's
being made to feel what it means to be deceived, and positively
by the fact that when Jacob, notwithstanding the deceit practiced
on him, continues to render faithful service, he is finally given
the opportunity to return and claim the birthright. The idea of
truthfulness is further enforced by God's example in redeeming His
promise to Jacob at Beth El.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= Before beginning this lesson review
briefly the preceding, emphasizing the change in Jacob's attitude
since his dream at Beth El, particularly his resolution not to
attempt to secure the birthright through his own cunning but to
rely on God's promise and to try to live aright in the present,
trusting God as to the future. The incident of Jacob's lifting the
stone from the well to assist Rachel in watering the flock should
be given due emphasis as children of this age are interested in
feats of strength. The romantic aspect of Jacob's love for Rachel
need not be emphasized as this is lost on the child. In telling of
Jacob's service as shepherd to Laban, attempt to give the child an
idea of what a shepherd's work actually was, how it exposed him to
all kinds of weather, how he had to protect his sheep against wild
beasts, how he had to draw water for them, to shear them, etc.,
so that Jacob's serving Laban for all these years shall have some
meaning to them. As children have very peculiar ideas of the length
of time, try to give some conception of how long a time seven years
is by asking one of the children how old he is and then explaining
that seven years is probably longer than all the time that he can
remember. Explain also how the time seemed shorter to Jacob because
of his happiness in being with Rachel by a reference to the child's
own experience of how quickly time flies when he is enjoying
himself at play. To emphasize Jacob's perseverance tell of Laban's
deception, then ask, "Now if you had worked hard for a thing for
seven long years and then were cheated out of it, how would you feel
about it?" Then point out the moral somewhat as follows:
"Jacob too felt very angry and did not at all like to work seven
more years for what should rightly have been given him then. But
no doubt the thought came to him, after all, was I any better than
Laban? Did I not deceive my father Isaac into giving me the blessing
when he wanted to give it to Esau, just as Laban has deceived me?
Maybe this is God's way of punishing me. I must be patient and work
another seven years as I have promised Laban even though it will be
hard and unpleasant, and then maybe God will let me go back home and
bless me as He has promised."
CHAPTER XVIII
JACOB RETURNS TO CANAAN
Genesis 32 to 35
=Interpretation.= Note the significant contrast between Jacob's
leaving Canaan and his return. When he left, he was nominally and
in his own esteem the possessor of the birthright and the blessing,
which he had secured through his own effort and which he thought
entitled him to possession of Canaan and the preeminence over
Esau. Actually, however, he had gained nothing, and was a fugitive
before Esau and an exile from the land. On his return, he makes no
demands whatever, acknowledges Esau as sovereign, is ready to pay
him tribute and to placate him with gifts, and prays to God only for
deliverance from Esau's vengeance. And yet we find him at the end of
this episode, by reason of his victory over Shechem and of Esau's
departure to Seir, in actual possession of the Promised Land and a
recognized ruler of a now important clan.
Before entering on his more illustrious destiny, however, he must
be put to the test and atone for the desertion of his mission in
his flight from the land in consequence of his efforts to wrest
the birthright and the blessing from Esau. This test is indicated
by his struggle with the angel on the very border of the Promised
Land, a struggle from which he does not escape unscathed. Just what
the Biblical author wished to express by this struggle of Jacob
with the angel it is difficult to say. It is sometimes interpreted
by teachers and preachers as an allegorical representation of a
purely subjective struggle in Jacob's heart, but such an explanation
is extremely far-fetched. The episode suggests comparison with
the incident recorded in Exodus 4. 24-26 and seems to imply that
consecration to any high task involves exposing oneself to danger,
if, in any way, one is not thoroughly qualified for the task.
So long as Moses has not taken upon himself the task of leading
the children of Israel from Egypt his failure to circumcize his
children can be overlooked, but once he has assumed that task, he
is threatened with death for his failure to do so. Similarly, when
Jacob is about to enter into the land promised in his father's
blessing and confirmed in the vision at Beth El, he too finds
himself face to face with a divinely commissioned opponent. His
victory over the angel is symbolic of his success in finally
qualifying for his mission as is implied in the change of his name
to Israel with the explanation of its significance, "For thou
hast striven with God and with men and hast prevailed". Inasmuch
as there is not mentioned here any struggle with "men", the
thought is suggested that this victory is an omen of the future
success of the chosen people, while the shrinking of Jacob's
thigh sinew suggests that this success is not to be won without
suffering and sacrifice, an interpretation frequently found in
the Midrash. This representation of the experience of a nation
in terms of that of an individual who is the nation's founder is
much more in keeping with the spirit of Biblical literature than
the allegorical representation of abstract truths in terms of
historic or biographical events. Note in this connection Hosea
12. 3-5; "The Lord hath also a controversy with Judah, and will
punish Jacob according to his ways, according to his doings will
He recompense him. In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and
by his strength he strove with a god-like being; so he strove with
an angel, and prevailed; he wept, and made supplication unto him:
At Beth El he would find him and there he would speak with us".
The meaning of these verses is obscure but it is evident that the
prophet makes Jacob's experience typical of Israel's as a people.
=Aim.= There is in this lesson, as in almost all those that deal
with the patriarchs, a remote aim and an immediate one. The remote
aim is the impression which the incidents recorded will make upon
the pupil when they are brought back to his mind in later years.
The moral of the story in this connection is that the election of
Israel is not determined by the inherent superiority of our people,
but by God's purpose with regard to them and mankind, which purpose
He accomplishes by so shaping their history that it instructs and
disciplines them through struggle and achievement and reveals His
will with regard to them and their place in the world. But this
moral is too abstract and complex for the child and must only be
kept in mind by the teacher in order that he should not teach the
lesson in such a way as would later becloud the true meaning of
the story, as, for example, would be the case if he made Jacob
throughout his whole life the ideal religious hero. The immediate
lesson that the child can be taught to derive from the story is that
humble trust in God and obedience to His will can achieve for us
what a cunning that does not scruple at deceit cannot achieve.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= Begin this lesson by reminding the
class of the promise God had made to Jacob at Beth El. Then announce
that you are going to tell how God kept this promise. But before
doing so, question the children further as to why Jacob had to flee
from Canaan if God wanted him to return and rule over it. Question
until you bring out the point that Jacob had not used the proper
means to get the birthright and blessing. Illustrate by analogy
with the child's own experience the idea that, because Jacob had
attempted to secure the birthright and blessing by wrong means,
he had to be deprived of them until he finally learned the proper
means on which to rely, namely faith in God. This thought might be
illustrated as follows:
Suppose a teacher promised a reward to a child if he would write a
composition about something the class had been taught in its lesson,
and this child copied his composition from a book, thinking that in
this way he would get the reward without having to work for it. What
would the teacher do, accept the composition? No, she would make him
write it again in his own words, and then, perhaps, if he had done
it _in the right way_, the teacher might give the reward to him. So
God had indeed promised that Isaac's son would one day become the
father of a great people in the land of Canaan, and he meant Jacob
to become such, but because Jacob tried to bring this about _in the
wrong way_, by deceiving his father and Esau, he could not at once
be made the head of this people in Canaan. So Jacob had to leave the
land that had been promised to him and work hard those twenty years
that he was with Laban, and suffer from Laban's meanness to him in
order that he might learn that if he wanted God's blessing he must
be patient and obedient and work honestly and then God would give
him His blessing.
Then tell the story, emphasizing Jacob's submission to Esau and the
humility of his prayer to God. The latter can best be brought out by
quoting the prayer in the language of the Bible. (Genesis 32. 10 to
13.) In describing Jacob's wrestling with the angel do not read a
far-fetched moral into it. Merely explain that God sent an angel to
wrestle with Jacob and that if Jacob could make the angel bless him
that would be the sign that he was strong enough and great enough
and good enough to be the father of the Jewish people. The blessing
of the angel should be given in direct discourse. In teaching the
change of name from Jacob to Israel, call attention to the fact
that we Jews are sometimes called Children of Israel or Israelites
because we are all descended from Israel.
Do not fail to record Esau's departure to Mount Seir, leaving Jacob
in possession of the promised land, and Jacob's fulfillment of his
vow at Beth El. Whenever recalling anything from a previous lesson
as in this instance Jacob's vow, try to get the children to tell it
to you rather than tell it yourself. Say for example, "So we have
seen how God kept His promise to Jacob to be with him when he was
away from his land, and to bring him back home in safety, and to
give to him and to his descendants the land of Canaan, but do any of
you remember the promise that Jacob made when he awoke after that
wonderful dream?" etc.
CHAPTER XIX
JOSEPH SOLD INTO SLAVERY
Genesis 37
=Interpretation.= In the narratives dealing with the history of the
patriarchs, we have constantly emphasized that the point of view
of the Biblical author regarded their lives as significant not so
much as personal history, but rather as a preparation for Israel's
national existence. In the story of Joseph this point of view is
still discernible, though the chief interest has been transferred to
the personal history of Joseph. It is discernible in that Joseph's
being sold into Egypt and the settling of his father and brothers
in Goshen are conceived not as fortuitous circumstances but as
part of a divine plan which had already been revealed to Abraham.
(Genesis 15. 13.) Still the main interest is, as we have said, in
the personal career of Joseph. This narrative is preeminently a
story. It is not a story with a moral, but a story abounding in
morals. Perhaps the most important from the point of view of the
child is that which might be summed up in the words of the psalmist,
"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell
together in unity!" (Psalms 133. 1.) This is taught negatively in
the first part of the story and affirmatively in the last. But such
ideas as the danger of unjust discrimination on the part of parents,
the evil of tale-bearing and boastfulness, the value of honest,
faithful service, the nobility of resistance to temptation under
the most trying circumstances, and the beauty of forgiveness and
reconciliation are only a few of the many other morals taught by
this story. The portion of Joseph's life that is covered by this
chapter shows how Jacob's partiality to Joseph created hostility
between him and his brothers by arousing in them envy and in him
a certain vanity and sense of superiority. These characteristics
of Joseph at this period of his life are not given any attention
by most Jewish school teachers because of the tendency to idealize
all Biblical heroes, thus overlooking the obvious significance of
Genesis 37. 2, but the story only gains in meaning when we see at
the end how completely Joseph had outlived all such pettiness as is
here ascribed to him.
There is some ambiguity in the Hebrew text as to one essential point
of the story, namely as to who sold Joseph. The verses in question
read:
25. And they sat down to eat bread; and they lifted up their
eyes and looked, and, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites came from
Gilead....
26. And Judah said unto his brethren: What profit is it if we slay
our brother....
27. Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites.... And his brethren
hearkened unto him.
28. And there passed by Midianites, merchantmen, and they drew and
lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites
for twenty shekels of silver. And they brought Joseph into Egypt....
36. And the Midianites[6] sold him to Egypt.
[6] The Hebrew has Medanites.
From verse 28, taken by itself, it would seem that not Joseph's
brothers but the Midianites drew Joseph from the pit and sold him
to the Ishmaelites, and this theory is actually maintained by some,
who point out that not only would the traditional interpretation
require a change of subject in the middle of the verse, which is
not otherwise indicated, but it would imply the identification of
Ishmaelites and Midianites, which is untenable inasmuch as Midian
was a son of Abraham and Keturah and Ishmael the son of Abraham and
Hagar. (Genesis 25. 1 and 2.)
But this view is also not without its difficulties, and, in my
opinion, the traditional interpretation of the verses is to be
preferred. For verses 26 to 27 indicate clearly that Judah's plan
to sell Joseph met with the approval of his brothers and we should
surely expect some expression of disappointment on their part if
in the end their plan had miscarried. The change of subject in
verse 28 which the traditional interpretation would require need
not trouble us as such change of subject is not very unusual in the
Bible. (See for instance Genesis 14. 19 to 20, 15. 13, 22. 7.) As
for the identification of Midianites with Ishmaelites the fact is
that racial names sometimes are extended to include other related
races whom history has brought into close contact. The descendants
of Hagar and Keturah are thus classed together in Genesis 25.6. Ibn
Ezra, in his commentary to our passage, calls attention furthermore
to the fact that this same identification of Midianites and
Ishmaelites is made in Judges 8.24 where Gideon, after a victory
over the Midianites, says, "'I would make a request of you, that ye
would give me every man the ear-rings of his spoil.' For they had
had golden ear-rings, _because they were Ishmaelites_." The reading
Medanites in verse 36 may be a scribal error for Midianites or vice
versa, as the only difference is in the omission or insertion of a
_ od_.
=Aim.= The aim in teaching this lesson should be to create in the
child, through his sympathetic understanding of the motives that
underly the action of the story, an appreciation of those moral
ideals which we have shown to be contained in it.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= The story of Joseph is one which no
teacher ought have any great difficulty in imparting to children,
for it is a natural favorite with them. They like it because its
ideas are simple and come, for the most part, within the range of
a child's experience. The attitude of Joseph's brothers to him
is not dissimilar to the resentment that children display at any
indication of favoritism on the part of a teacher, a resentment
which is invariably visited on "teacher's pet". The story appeals
to them also because of the rapidity of its movement, the constant
shifting of scenes and incidents, each making a new bid for their
attention, and the heroic nature of the action, in which the motives
of the characters whether good or evil reveal themselves not in mere
thoughts and words but in deeds.
There could be no greater mistake, therefore, than to deprive
the story of all its force through interrupting the flow of the
narrative by tedious moralizing. The Biblical story does not stop
to moralize, yet the moral is clear enough, and so it will be to
the class if the teacher tells his tale with the proper feeling and
spirit.
But the teacher must be cautioned, on the other hand, not to take
for granted the child's comprehension unaided of even so simple a
story as this. Any addition of details inserted into the narrative
with a view to helping the child visualize the incidents told is
always in order. In telling of how Joseph was lowered into the pit,
speak of his ineffectual cries and struggles to escape, for, though
children have good imaginations, they have not had enough experience
out of which their imagination could reconstruct the whole situation
from a mere hint or two. Similarly such words as pit or caravan need
descriptive epithets or phrases to bring them before the child's
eye. Moreover, the motives of the characters must be made clear by
a casual reference to analogous experiences of the child, as for
instance:
"Now, when his brothers saw that Joseph was better loved by his
father than the rest of them they became very angry at him and
instead of trying to win their father's love for themselves also,
they tried to get even with Joseph, just as I have sometimes seen
boys at school get angry at a classmate of theirs and do all sorts
of mischief to him just because the teacher gave him higher marks
than the others who were not so successful with their lessons."
But all such comparisons must be made only in a casual way and in as
few words as possible lest they divert the mind of the child from
the main trend of the narrative. One should not forget for this
lesson the usefulness of pictures as helping to visualize the story,
and there are many good illustrations of this story to be had. A
still greater assistance in impressing this lesson is that obtained
by permitting the children to dramatize it and act it, for this
necessitates their comprehension of the motives of the characters.
CHAPTER XX
FROM SLAVE TO VICEROY
Genesis 39.1 to 41.46
=Interpretation.= There are no surer tests of character than
transplantation to a strange country without hope of return and
degradation to a lower social stratum without hope of rising. For a
great part of our moral strength comes from the consciousness that
the eyes of others interested in our life are on us, that we dare
not disappoint their expectations of us, and that our acts affect
their happiness and honor. The person who finds himself alone in
a strange land from which he does not expect to return and from
which he does not expect rumors of his deeds to reach his former
associates must have an iron character to maintain his loyalty to
the moral standards of his earlier environment in the face of new
temptations. And particularly is this true if, at the same time as
he is transplanted into a strange land, he finds his social status
also reduced. For the ambition to rise in his new environment,
to achieve success and recognition there, might be sufficient
incentive for some "to scorn delights and live laborious days",
but for the enslaved in a new land this incentive also is lacking.
Both these tests of character Joseph had to meet and he met them
successfully. Arrived in Egypt, he wastes no time brooding over his
wrongs but sets to work diligently at his tasks in such a way as
to win him the confidence of his master. This confidence he will
not abuse even under the most seductive of temptations and even
though his fidelity to principle results in the very loss of his
master's confidence in him and in his consequent confinement in
the royal prison. Note that what keeps Joseph pure is the sense of
responsibility not only to Potiphar, but, in the first instance, to
God, so that the very fact which might lead others to sin, namely
the fact that Potiphar could not know of his misdeeds, fortifies him
against sin. "He refused and said unto his master's wife, 'Behold,
my master, having me, knoweth not what is in the house and he hath
put all that he hath into my hand; he is not greater in this house
than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee,
because thou art his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness,
_and sin against God_?'" In prison he shows the same qualities with
the same result of winning the confidence of people.
=Aim.= The aim of this lesson is to inspire the child with the
example of Joseph's patience, cheerfulness and faithfulness under
difficulties, all of which qualities were influenced by his trust in
God.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= The suggestions made in the preceding
chapter apply to this one as well. Help the child to visualize the
narrative and to make more explicit the feelings and motives of the
characters. Discuss, for instance, the loneliness of Joseph in this
strange land, far from his home and all that he loved, and contrast
with his early dreams of rulership his present status as a slave.
Try to give the child some idea of what slavery means, not by a
definition but by telling the different kinds of work that Joseph
had to do for his master in field and home without any pay or fixed
hours of rest and labor, and subject to unreasonable demands of
task masters, etc. Then point out that, though many people under
such circumstances would waste their time grumbling, Joseph trusted
that God would help him and made up his mind to do the best work
that he could.
The incident of Joseph's temptation by Potiphar's wife can, of
course, be told only in general terms, the teacher relating how
Potiphar's wife, who was a very wicked woman, wanted Joseph to
help her do something that was wrong, and he refused. His refusal
should be given in direct discourse and follow the general line
of thought of Genesis 39.8 to 9, keeping as much of the Biblical
language as possible. When Joseph is cast into prison the teacher
must again help the child realize emotionally what it meant for
Joseph, after all his faithful service of Potiphar, to be thrown
into prison as the very result of his fidelity and teach the pupil
to admire Joseph's resolution to make the best of this situation
too by patient and cheerful bearing and sympathetic interest in
the other prisoners. It is also well to make the child realize the
sharp contrasts of which there are so many in this story and which
greatly enhance its interest. When the king's butler, released from
prison, also forgets Joseph and Joseph's one hope of escape seems
doomed to complete disappointment, God provides the opportunity
not only for his escape but for his elevation to the vice-royalty.
This can be further emphasized by suggesting something of the pomp
and circumstance of Pharaoh's court. I say suggesting, because the
teacher should never indulge in pure description, which is always
a bore to children. An occasional descriptive adjective or phrase
can do the work quite as well. The narration of such incidents as
the removal of Joseph's prison clothes and his being attired in
fine linen before gaining admittance into the royal presence goes
far to emphasize the desired contrast between prison and palace.
So too the new dignity conferred on Joseph is made clearer to the
child by telling him how the king gave Joseph his ring and necklace
and made him ride in the chariot next his own while all the people
bowed before him than by the description of his new official duties.
The story might be summarized and the moral pointed out in a brief
statement such as "So the Hebrew slave boy, through his faithfulness
and trust in God, became the highest in rank of all of Pharaoh's
subjects".
CHAPTER XXI
JOSEPH MEETS HIS BROTHERS
Genesis 41.47 to 42.38
=Interpretation.= In this chapter of the Joseph narrative we find
that Providence has put Joseph's brothers completely in his hand;
their physical sustenance is dependent on his providing them with
corn, they are strangers in Egypt while he is the prime minister
of Pharaoh's court, and, moreover, by reason of his Egyptian dress
and speech and the change which the twenty years have made in his
appearance--he was but seventeen when he was sold--they cannot
recognize him and are therefore thrown altogether off their guard
as to any designs of vengeance that he may cherish. The interest
therefore centers on the attitude that Joseph would assume toward
them.
As the Bible merely tells us what Joseph said or did but not what
he thought, we are left to construe his motives from his deeds
and words. Accordingly, it would seem that Joseph is at first in
doubt, so he plans to detain his brothers in prison for a time on
the charge of being spies, feeling that their actions under such an
accusation might give some clue as to how he should treat them, and
hoping perhaps that the evil of their lot might possibly suggest
the evil that they had done him. His first proposition is that one
of them go back and bring Benjamin, whom he is particularly anxious
to see, but he finally decides to let all but one return. He is not
disappointed in the thought that their affliction might suggest
their sin, as is seen from the dialogue in Genesis 42.21,22, which
also gives him the information that Reuben had espoused his cause.
He therefore selects as his hostage not Reuben the eldest but
Simeon the next eldest. Meanwhile, he shows his real benevolent
intent by giving them the corn and secretly returning the money. But
even this gives alarm to Jacob and his other sons as seeming to be
but a pretext for further charges.
=Aim.= The main object of this lesson is to prepare a way for the
next with its moral of the beauty of forgiveness. It contains
however also a fine study of conscience in that the misfortune of
Joseph's brothers revives at once the memory of their sin and brings
it to their minds in its proper colors.
=Suggestions.= Begin by recalling Joseph's dreams to see whether the
class remembers them and their significance. Then call attention
to the thought of Joseph's brothers that they were putting an end
to his dreams in selling him to the Ishmaelites. "And yet", you
continue, "today's lesson will show how God really brought about
the realization of Joseph's dreams." This will excite the curiosity
of the children and you can then proceed with the story of the
famine and its effect. Make the famine appear as a providential
circumstance and explain its meaning by saying that God, after the
seven years of plenty did not let enough rain fall to water the
corn and wheat, which shriveled up so that the people had no flour
to bake bread, and there was not enough grass to feed the cattle so
that they had not enough meat, etc. The term famine will then not be
a mere abstraction to the child.
At the point where Joseph meets his brothers and they do not
recognize him but he recognizes them, show how the dream has been
already in part fulfilled although Joseph's brothers did not realize
it. The chief difficulty of the teacher will be to make the children
clearly understand the motives of Joseph's conduct towards his
brothers, which is the most important thing in the lesson. This
can be facilitated by questioning the children in a way that would
necessitate their imagining themselves in Joseph's situation. For
instance, one might speak to them as follows:
"Now when Joseph saw his brothers bowing down before him, he
remembered how cruel they had been to him, and he thought of how
wonderfully God had brought about the fulfillment of his dreams so
that now he had his brothers in his power and could punish them
in whatever way he would, for no one would question the acts of a
viceroy of Pharaoh toward a band of strangers whom nobody in Egypt
cared about. If he wanted to, he could have ordered them all to be
killed, as they had thought of doing to him; or he could have sold
them all as slaves, as they had actually sold him; or he could have
put them all in prison, as he had been kept in prison in Egypt for
so long a time; or he could have simply refused to sell them grain
and they would have died of starvation. Now what do you think you
would have done, had you been in Joseph's place?"
Get a number of different answers from the class. In all likelihood,
the answers will propose some severe punishment. Then give a number
of reasons why Joseph rejected these severer penalties, such as, 1.
because his brothers were, after all, his brothers and we should
love our brothers, 2. because their punishment would hurt his father
Jacob and his younger brother Benjamin who were innocent, 3. because
it would affect the families of his brothers as well as themselves,
4. because they might have changed since then and become better and
felt sorry for their treatment of him, 5. because, if he could find
some way of showing them how wickedly they had acted and how good
he nevertheless was to them, it might make them feel ashamed and
resolve to be better. "But," continue your narrative, "though Joseph
did not want to hurt his brothers, he did want them to feel sorry
for what they had done to him, so that they would never do such a
thing again. So he thought 'I am not going to tell them at once that
I am Joseph their brother and that I forgive them, but, without
doing them any harm, I am going to frighten them with threats and
see whether, when they themselves are in trouble, they won't think
of the sin they did and feel sorry for it'". It is necessary to
explain the motive for Simeon's detention as being to insure the
return of the brothers with Benjamin.
In questioning the class about the lesson, try to find out whether
the children understand its underlying ideas by such questions as
these: How was it that Joseph recognized his brothers and they could
not recognize him? Why did not Joseph at once make himself known to
his brothers? Why did Joseph speak harshly to them and accuse them
of being spies? Did Joseph's brothers know that he understood them
when they spoke to each other? Why not? What is a spy? When Joseph's
brothers thought that they would be treated as spies, for what
deed did they think this a punishment? Why did Joseph keep Simeon
prisoner? Why did Joseph return the money of his brothers? What did
his brothers think was his reason for returning it? Why did not
Jacob want to let Benjamin go with his brothers to Egypt? It goes
without saying that one must tell the story in such a way that it
shall contain a clear answer to each of the above questions.
This episode has a great dramatic interest and should be acted by
the children.
CHAPTER XII
JOSEPH REVEALS HIMSELF TO HIS BROTHERS
Genesis 43.1 to 45.28
=Interpretation.= Little need be said in interpretation of this
story. Its lesson of the beauty of forgiveness and reconciliation
is brought out so clearly as to need no further comment. In the
attitude of his brothers to Benjamin, Joseph is able to put to the
test any possible change of heart toward himself. The favor which
he shows Benjamin at the meal that he had prepared for them may
be considered as a test of whether the spirit of envy is still
rife among them, and, inasmuch as they do not seem to manifest any
jealousy on this occasion, they may be considered to have passed
this first test. But the real test came when Joseph proposed to
retain Benjamin as his slave. On this occasion Judah, the very one
who had proposed selling Joseph, makes his eloquent plea in behalf
of Benjamin, a speech which reveals his deep sympathy with his
father's grief, and appreciation of what the loss of Joseph meant
to his father, and the willingness to sacrifice his own liberty for
Joseph's brother Benjamin, who had, as the son of Rachel, taken
Joseph's place in the heart of Jacob. Joseph could wish no further
evidence of his brothers' change of heart and it is no wonder that
he "could not refrain himself" any longer.
=Aim.= The aim of this lesson is to provide a noble example of the
magnanimity of forgiveness and the beauty of filial and fraternal
love.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= The story of Joseph as told in the
Bible is so wonderfully impressive in its simplicity for the child
as well as for the adult that the only advice one feels inclined
to give to the teacher of this story is that he should model his
narrative as closely as possible upon the lines of the Biblical
story itself. Read and reread these chapters of the Bible and try to
discover the means by which the Biblical author produces his effects
on the reader's emotions. Do not permit to escape you the pathos
of such situations as when Jacob reproaches his sons for having
told of their brother Benjamin's existence as though they could
have foreseen what would follow this disclosure; or when Joseph,
brought face to face with Benjamin, cannot control his feelings and
withdraws to another room to weep; or when his brothers, conscious
of their innocence, offer to give their lives if the divining cup
be found in their sacks and then to their consternation find it
in the sack of Benjamin; or when Judah, in pleading with Joseph,
mentions the effect of the loss of Joseph upon Jacob; or when the
brothers bring the news to Jacob of Joseph's glory and he refuses to
believe it until he is given incontrovertible proof; and a number of
similar situations to which it might be possible to call attention.
After the preparation for this climax which the preceding lessons
afforded, the teacher who has made himself fully at home with his
subject will have no difficulty in impressing the child. In this
story, it is particularly important to report all conversation in
direct discourse.
Suggestive questions to ask the children are the following: Why did
not Jacob want to let Benjamin go with his brothers? Why did they
refuse to go without him? Why did Jacob finally let them go? Why
did Joseph give Benjamin a larger portion than the others at the
banquet? Why did Joseph put his cup in the sack of Benjamin? Why
was it Judah in particular of all Joseph's brothers who pleaded for
Benjamin? Why do you think Joseph sent all the Egyptians from the
room when he made himself known to his brothers? When his brothers
were afraid that Joseph would punish them for their sin against
him and were ashamed of what they had done, what did Joseph say to
console them? What did Jacob say when they told him that Joseph was
alive and ruler of all Egypt under Pharaoh?
This story too lends itself to dramatization by the children.
CHAPTER XIII
THE DEATH OF JACOB AND OF JOSEPH
Genesis 46.1 to 50.26
=Interpretation.= In these chapters the center of interest once
more shifts from personal biography to the destiny of Israel as a
people. One is conscious throughout that his attention is being
called to the close of one period and the beginning of another. The
patriarchal period now draws to an end and the period of national
existence commences. God's purpose is no more to be shown in the
choice of individuals, but in his dealings with the people as a
whole. It is not accident that Israel's national life is to begin in
Egypt rather than in its own land; for just as Abraham, the father
of the race, was tested by his willingness to leave his home in
obedience to God, so the nation as a whole was to have a similar
experience. It had to be made to realize its election by being
taken as "a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by
signs and by wonders and by war and by a mighty hand, and by an
outstretched arm and by great terrors". (Deuteronomy 4. 34.) In
these chapters we see the beginning of the fulfillment of Abraham's
prophetic vision recorded in Genesis 15. 12-16.
Let us see how the ideas stated in the above paragraph are conveyed
in the chapters under our consideration. Observe first Jacob's
apprehensive reluctance about going to Egypt, which needs the
assurance from God, "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." (Genesis
46.3, 4.) Jacob before he dies reminds Joseph of God's promise
given to him at Beth El in anticipation of the exodus from Egypt,
"God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and
blessed me, and said unto me: Behold, I will make thee fruitful,
and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a company of peoples;
and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting
possession." (Genesis 48.3,4.) We may regard Jacob's insistence on
being buried in Canaan as implying the same idea. His blessing to
his children and grandchildren further bears out this thought and
Joseph's instructions with regard to the disposal of his own body
show most clearly that the sojourn in Egypt was not intended to be
permanent, though, as is seen from Joseph's words to his brothers
(Genesis 50.19, 20), it was divinely appointed.
But though, as we have just shown, the main interest of these
chapters is from the point of view of Israel's destiny, they are not
lacking in the personal interest as well. There is a sublime pathos
in Jacob's humble acceptance of the divine decree which makes him,
after life long struggle, end his days in a strange land, with those
ambitions that he had cherished throughout life still depending
on a remote future after his death for their realization. In his
meeting with Pharaoh, he maintains well his patriarchal dignity.
But he shows no sense of triumph in the honors accorded him and his
retrospective glance over his life reveals to him little that is
not disappointing; "Few and evil have been the days of the years of
my life and they have not attained unto the days of the years of
the life of my fathers in the days of their sojournings." (Genesis
47.9.) Pathetic also is the reference of Jacob, when about to bless
the sons of Joseph, to the death of Rachel, which had taken place so
many years ago, as if the thought of Joseph's prosperity awakened
anew his grief that Rachel had not lived to see it: "And as for me,
when I came from Paddan, Rachel died unto me in the land of Canaan
in the way when there was still some way to come unto Ephrath; and
I buried her there in the way to Ephrath--the same is Beth-lehem."
(Genesis 48.7.) Yet he preserves his patriarchal authority over
his children and grandchildren to the last, blessing Ephraim above
Menassah, and not failing in his blessings to his children to
recall their past sins as warnings for the future. The devotion
of his children to him and the renewed relations of affection
between Joseph and his brothers complete the picture of the ideal
patriarchal family where love and reverence and a common faith are
the ties that bind the units together.
Genesis 47.13 to 26 is interesting in the light of what we know of
Egyptian history from other sources than the Bible. The Pharaoh at
the time of Joseph was, it is generally agreed, one of the Hyksos
dynasty, which belonged to a Semitic tribe that had conquered
Egypt. The land before that time had been held in a sort of
feudal tenure by some of the old nobility. These gave constant
trouble, particularly in the south, to the Hyksos rulers. Joseph's
policy therefore was aimed at securing a centralization of power
in the hands of Pharaoh through his obtaining all the land and
reducing all others except the priests to the status of tenants.
This concentration of power in the hands of a single monarch,
intolerable as it would be in a modern state, was often in ancient
times the very best means of securing that measure of peace from
constant strife between petty principalities which was an absolute
prerequisite of progress and civilization. Of course the child is
not interested in such problems and this whole incident should be
omitted, but it is well for the teacher to bear these truths in
mind lest his modern political and economic theories prejudice him
against the character of Joseph.
=Aim.= There are two aims which the teacher should bear in mind in
this lesson, one relating to the historic interest we have shown
it to contain and the other to the personal interest. In accord
with the former the teacher must give to the child those historical
and religious ideas contained in this chapter which summarize the
significance of the patriarchal period and prepare the way for their
next year's work, namely the idea of how God was making a great
nation of Jews in accordance with his promise to the patriarchs by
permitting them to multiply in Egypt, at the same time reminding
them that they were not to become Egyptians but would one day be
brought back to their land. But the aspect of the lesson that can
impress itself most readily on the children is the more personal one
with its picture of the ideal family life as a sort of final tableau
to the drama of Joseph that they have been learning. Of particular
value is the example of reverence for parents which it holds before
them.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= The most valuable help that the
teacher can get in teaching this lesson also comes from the study
of the Biblical story itself. Note that in the Bible although it
is made clear that the settlement in Egypt was brought about in
accordance with a divine plan for the development of the chosen
people, this is nowhere stated in abstract terms but we are allowed
to infer it from the words and acts of the characters and the events
as they shape themselves. In teaching children, who have no power
of forming abstract notions, no other method is possible. It is
necessary, however, for this very reason to take more pains to make
the meaning of the words and acts of the characters clear to the
child. Thus in speaking of God's appearing to Jacob at Beer-sheba
with his reassuring message, one must first state what the Bible
leaves to our own power of inference, Jacob's reluctance to go to
Egypt and the reason for his reluctance. One might say for example:
"So Jacob made ready to leave Canaan and go to meet his son Joseph,
whom he so longed to see once more. And yet, in spite of his anxiety
to meet Joseph, he felt sorry to leave this land of Canaan where
he was born, where his father and mother and his dear wife Rachel
were buried, and where God had promised him that his children
would become a great nation. Perhaps he also felt sorry because
he remembered hearing of a prophecy that God had told to Abraham,
saying that his descendants would become slaves to a strange people
in a strange land, and he thought "Maybe now my children will be
made slaves in Egypt." But that night as he slept God sent a dream
to cheer him. He dreamt he heard God speak to him and say "--etc.
Again, when telling of Joseph's going to meet his father, emphasize
the love that made him hasten to welcome the patriarch and the pride
with which he introduced his aged father to King Pharaoh, as well
as the solicitude for his father's and brothers' comfort implied in
the preparations for their reception in Goshen, the most fertile
part of Egypt, in the delta of the Nile.
In speaking of the desire of Jacob and Joseph to be buried in
Canaan, explain the reason to be their wanting to remind their
descendants of God's promise to bring them out of Egypt to their
own land, Canaan. In telling of Jacob's blessing of Ephraim and
Menassah, it is not necessary to touch upon the preference given to
Ephraim as this is only significant in the light of the subsequent
history of the tribes and, by the time the child gets to that part
of the history, he will have forgotten this incident since there
is nothing in it intrinsically interesting to children, but do
not ignore Genesis 48.20, "And he blessed them that day saying:
'By thee shall Israel bless, saying: God make thee as Ephraim and
as Menassah.'" In this way it is possible to establish a point of
contact between the child's home life and the lesson by pointing out
to him that these very words are part of the blessing with which
his parents bless him on the Sabbath. This will serve to make him
realize that he is one of the people whose history he is learning.
It would also be well to ask how many children say _Ha-mal'ak
ha-go'el_ in their night prayers and to explain that this is part of
Jacob's blessing to Ephraim and Menassah. (Genesis 48.16.)
Help the children visualize the imposing funeral rights in
connection with the burial of Jacob as showing the honor paid to
him by the Egyptians as well as by his own children. They should be
given some idea from the map of the length of the journey and the
route taken. Do not take for granted the children's comprehension
of the renewal of the fear of Joseph's brothers after their father's
death, but explain that they thought perhaps Joseph had failed to
punish them until then merely in order to spare his father, but
that after his father's burial he would have no more scruples, just
as Esau refrained from killing Jacob while his father lived but
threatened to do so after his death.
PART II
ISRAEL UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF MOSES
CHAPTER I
THE BIRTH OF MOSES
Exodus 1.1 to 2.10
=Interpretation.= The children of Israel, settled in the rich
pasture land of Goshen, had become a numerous people. At first
they prospered, but then there came a change with the accession
to the throne of the "Pharaoh who knew not Joseph." This Pharaoh
was, in all probability, not only of a different dynasty, but also
of a different race from the Pharaoh of Joseph's day. The Pharaoh
of Joseph's day was probably a descendant of the Hyksos invaders
of Egypt, a Semitic tribe of shepherds like the Israelites. The
true Egyptians, however, who were an agricultural people, and held
shepherds in abomination, perhaps because many of their practices
conflicted with the religious notions of the Egyptians, which
included the worship of sacred cattle (see Exodus 8.22), finally
overthrew this Semitic dynasty. As a consequence, the Israelites
were looked upon with suspicion and hatred as a dangerous element
in the state. The very services that they had rendered to the old
dynasty would now be held against them by the new, and instead
of being a favored race, they came to be looked upon, in spite
of their long sojourn in Egypt, as alien and hostile, and were
subjected to persecution and oppression. Persecution, at first took
the form of enforced labor in the erection of the public works of
the Pharaohs but when the Israelites seemed to thrive in spite of
this, resort was had to the drastic measure of murdering every male
infant. At this point, the Biblical story shows us how Providence
prepared redemption for Israel by sparing the life of the infant
who was destined to become the liberator. Of the general religious
significance of the Egyptian bondage, as interpreted in the Bible,
we have already spoken in preceding chapters.
=Aim.= The aim of this lesson is three-fold, first, to inculcate in
the child the ideal expressed in the words, "And a stranger shalt
thou not wrong neither shalt thou oppress him; for ye were strangers
in the land of Egypt;" (Exodus 22.20); second, to encourage him to
maintain his national Jewish aspirations in the diaspora, as did his
fathers in Egypt, and, finally, to inspire him with faith in God's
providence, as illustrated by the way in which God saved the infant
Moses.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= Begin by recalling the story of Joseph
to the class; how the Israelites who settled in Goshen--point out
its location on the map--became a numerous people, and enjoyed, for
a long time, the favor of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, in gratitude
for all that Joseph had done for Egypt at the time of the famine.
Then dwell on what the children of Israel, who were, for the most
part, simple shepherds, learned from the Egyptians, who were not
only skillful farmers, but great builders as well. This can best
be done by showing pictures of the Egyptian monuments and pointing
to the skill required in order to erect them in an age before the
use of steam and electricity was known. "But", the teacher should
emphasize, "although the children of Israel learned much from the
Egyptians, they did not copy them in everything. In one respect,
they were far in advance of the Egyptians,--in their religion. They
knew that there was one God, whom they could not see, who made the
heavens and the earth, and all that is in them, but the Egyptians
worshipped many gods. They had sacred bulls and sacred cows and
sacred cats, and even a sacred bug--a kind of beetle. The Israelites
in Egypt understood that they were not to become Egyptians, but
that God would some day lead them out of Egypt to their own land of
Palestine, as He had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So they
continued to speak their own language, Hebrew, and to maintain their
religion."
Explain how the insistence on keeping up their own religious
practices and their own language, and the refusal to join in the
worship of the Egyptian gods, aroused the hatred of many of the
Egyptians, and paved the way for the edicts of the "new Pharaoh",
that "knew not Joseph". This can best be done by reference to modern
instances of similar antagonism, which may have come within the
range of the child's experience or observation. Speak, for instance,
as follows:
"When the Egyptians saw that the children of Israel would not become
like them, but kept up their own religion and language, many of them
came to dislike the Jews, for there are some people who never like
anybody who is very different from themselves. Some of you may know
boys who like to tease and annoy Chinese, because of their strange
appearance, dress and language, or who are unkind to negroes,
merely because they are black, or who like to torment foreign
children that cannot speak the English language. You well know that
there are some people that are unkind to Jews for no better reason.
In this free country nobody would think of doing us any real harm,
nor would our laws permit it, but there are some countries where
the very laws of the land try to make the life of the Jew unhappy,
merely because he is a Jew. Many of you may have heard something
about how Jews used to be treated in Russia not so long ago. And
that is exactly the way the Egyptians began to feel towards our
forefathers, when they saw that they would not worship the gods of
the Egyptians, and that they kept up their own religious practices
and spoke their own language; and when a new Pharaoh arose who had
forgotten all about Joseph and the good he had done to Egypt, a man
from an altogether different family than the Pharaoh of Joseph's
time and from a different part of the country, the Egyptians began
making laws against the Jews. Pharaoh, who particularly hated the
Jews, made a law that they should all have to work as slaves in the
building of his great treasure cities", etc.
The rest of the story is simple and offers no difficulties to the
teacher. The only thing that needs to be emphasized is that, in
telling of the birth and rescue of the infant, Moses, the teacher
must remember that he is preparing the way for the story of the
Exodus and must emphasize that Moses was saved because God meant
him to redeem His people, not that his rescue was a lucky accident.
He can do this by speaking of God as suggesting the ideas upon
which the characters act. For instance, in telling how Miriam saw
Pharaoh's daughter take up the basket, one might say, "Then God put
a wise thought into the heart of Miriam and she ran up to Pharaoh's
daughter and asked", etc. Again, one might say, "Now when Pharaoh's
daughter saw the little crying baby God filled her heart with pity
for the helpless little infant," and one might conclude the lesson
by saying, "In this way God saved the baby, who, when he was grown
up into a man, was to deliver his people from the oppression of
Pharaoh."
So much for the presentation of the lesson. In discussing it with
the class afterwards, do not fail to suggest by suitable questions
the duty of maintaining our Jewish practices even in the face of
the ridicule and opposition that they sometimes call forth. The
application of the story's moral should be given in terms of the
child's own experience. For instance, one might say: "When our
fathers in Egypt sacrificed to their God and would not sacrifice
to the Egyptian animal gods, did the Egyptians like this? Did the
Israelites, when they saw that the Egyptians hated them, because
they were different in race, language and religion, give up their
language and religion in order to appear like the Egyptians? Do you
think the Jewish child today ought to feel ashamed and give up his
Jewish religious practices, because his Christian friends may think
them strange or may not like them, or may not treat him with as
much kindness if he shows that he is a Jew? Sometimes Jewish boys
go to school on Jewish holidays, because their Christian friends do
not stay at home. Do you think this right? Do you think it right to
sing Christian songs in school, because you are afraid not to do
so? No teacher will ever force you to sing a song that is Christian
if you explain politely that you do not want to do so because your
religion forbids it. If you were asked to take part in a Christmas
celebration at school, what would you do? If a Christian boy offered
you some of his luncheon to eat and you were not sure that what he
gave you was _kosher_, what would you do? In those countries where
the Jews are treated badly today, merely because they are Jews,
as their fathers were treated in Egypt, have they given up their
Judaism on that account, or do they still keep it up? What would you
do if you lived in one of those countries?"
Do not, however, dwell too much on anti-Semitism, as it is not
morally helpful to the child to feel resentment too keenly. It
would be producing the very opposite effect to the one desired if
we were to arouse in our pupils a feeling of animosity towards the
Gentile. The emphasis must be put wholly on the positive virtue of
maintaining religious loyalty in spite of the hostility which it
may, at times, arouse.
CHAPTER II
MOSES, THE FRIEND OF THE WEAK AND OPPRESSED
Exodus 2.11 to 23
=Interpretation.= The chief interest in the narrative contained in
these verses lies in the light they cast on the character of Moses
and the traits that made him the ideal emancipator, leader and
legislator of his people. The first of these is his sympathy with
their suffering and his sense of kinship with them, which leads him,
though a prince of Egypt by rank and education, to go out among his
brethren and look upon their burdens. The second, is his indignation
at anything in the nature of injustice, whether perpetrated by
an Egyptian or an Israelite; and, finally, there is shown his
chivalrous zeal in the service of the weak and oppressed, which
sends him on a mission like that of the ideal knight-errant, "to
ride abroad redressing human wrongs", and which even in a strange
land, leads him to interfere in the cause of the shepherdesses of
Midian against the rude shepherds.
=Aim.= The aim of this lesson is to cultivate in the child, through
his admiration of Moses, those traits in Moses' character which we
have shown the narrative in these chapters to illustrate.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= Try to bring out the nobility of the
course of action that Moses took by calling the attention of the
children to other possible courses that he might have taken. Moses,
having had wealth and luxury at his disposal, might have given up
his life to enjoyment; because of his superior education, he might
have looked down with contempt upon his more ignorant brethren and
held aloof from associating with them; fearing the reproach of his
Hebrew origin, he might have avoided such association for prudential
reasons. But he did none of these things. He felt that if he had
been so wonderfully saved, and he alone been given advantages that
the rest had not received, it was because God intended him to use
these for the good of all his people. It is well, in pointing out
the courses of conduct open to Moses, to use illustrations from
modern life, thus:
"How many children who receive all they need from their parents
and spending-money in addition, think only of spending it on sport
and amusement, and never stop to consider the needs of the poor
children who have not even food or clothing or a warm room and to
share their money with them. But Moses was not like that; although,
being brought up as the son of Pharaoh, he might have lived a life
of ease, idleness and pleasure, he preferred to go about among his
poor brethren and help them with their burdens. Moreover, though
Moses had received the best education that an Egyptian could receive
in those days, he did not let that make him conceited. No matter
how educated or how noble one may be by birth, one should not keep
aloof from the lowly and common people. So Moses, though a learned
prince, was never too proud to associate with the ignorant slaves,
his people."
In teaching of how Moses slew the Egyptian, do not fail to bring
out the heroic character of the action by emphasis on the motive of
Moses, namely, his violated sense of justice, and on the perils to
which he must have known in advance that this act would expose him.
CHAPTER III
GOD SENDS MOSES TO SAVE HIS PEOPLE
Exodus 3.1-4.31
=Interpretation.= The time now being ripe for God's fulfilling
His covenant to redeem Israel from the bondage of Egypt, He makes
His purpose known to Moses and entrusts him with the mission of
announcing the redemption to the elders of Israel and demanding
it of Pharaoh. But Moses hesitates. He doubts his qualifications
for the task, asking, "Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh and
that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?"
And God's answer is, "Certainly I will be with thee." But this
does not yet satisfy Moses, he wants a guarantee of Divine aid in
God's statement, "I am יהוה." For in asking God for his name, Moses
was not merely seeking information. There is no space in this
book to take up a discussion of the critical questions raised by
these verses. The interpretation given by Wiener[7] seems the most
reasonable. He calls attention to the fact that among primitive
people--and the narratives of the Pentateuch had to be made
comprehensible to a primitive people--the name of a person, and,
more especially, of a god, was regarded as having certain powers
which were conferred upon anyone to whom he revealed his name.
When Moses asked for the name of God, it was, therefore, as a sort
of positive irrevocable guarantee of success, but God, at this
juncture, refuses to say directly, "I am יהוה" and gives the evasive
reply, "I am that I am." Then Moses, dissatisfied, declares that
the people will not believe him, and God replies by showing him
the miracle of the staff turning into a serpent, etc. Still Moses
hesitates, pleading lack of eloquence as an excuse for not going,
and God promises to inspire his utterances and to commission, also,
his brother Aaron, who was eloquent, to assist as his spokesman. The
significance of this dialogue of Moses with God is usually explained
as contained in what it reveals to us of the characteristic meekness
of Moses. It does, indeed, illustrate this conspicuous trait of his
character, but if it were the chief aim of the Biblical author to
commend the meekness of Moses we should scarcely be prepared for
the statement (Exodus 4.14), "And the anger of the Lord was kindled
against Moses." The main purpose of the Biblical author seems rather
to be to emphasize the apparent impossibility of the task which
Moses was asked to accomplish in order that the miraculous character
of the deliverance be the more evident. It is significant that
before Moses goes to speak to Pharaoh, God refuses the revelation of
His name, but after he has gone on his mission God does reveal it
(Exodus 6.2). It would seem that He resented Moses' refusal to go
without a special guarantee. The moral of the narrative is perhaps
most clearly brought out in God's rejoinder to Moses, "Who maketh a
man dumb or deaf, or seeing or blind? is it not I, the Lord?" Exodus
4.11.
[7] Essays in Pentateuchal Criticism pages 47-53.
=Aim.= The aim of this lesson should be to inculcate in the child
faith in God's power and providence as revealed in Jewish history.
The teacher should endeavor to make the child, through admiration
of the heroism of Moses in attempting the apparently impossible in
the service of God, feel with deep conviction that in His service,
there can be no failure. He should try to get not only the child's
intellectual assent to the idea that God can accomplish anything
that He purposes, but he should arouse an emotional appreciation of
that heroism begotten of faith which leads great men to undertake
what would, to others, seem impossible.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= Inasmuch as we wish to inspire in
the child by means of this lesson, a faith in divine providence,
we must guard against any attempt at rationalizing the miracles
recorded in this and subsequent chapters. It is faith in God's
power over nature and His use of this power in the interests of
justice and righteousness that this lesson should teach, and no
philosophic explanation can bring home this truth to the child so
well as the simple, impressive narration of the miracle. A belief
in the supernatural and transcendent power of God is essential in
Judaism, and the miracle tale is the best means for emphasizing
this doctrine. To be sure, it may be necessary at an older age, to
modify and deepen one's conception of the miraculous, but the only
means by which the child can conceive of God's transcendent power,
providentially exercised, is through the simple, straight-forward
narrative of miracles He performed. No attempt, for instance, should
be made to identify the voice that addressed Moses from the burning
bush with the voice of conscience. It must remain an objective
voice. God's reply to Moses' inquiry as to His name, "I am that I
am," is sometimes made the occasion for the teacher to indulge in an
attempt at a philosophical discussion of the nature of God. We have
already suggested in our interpretation of the passage that these
words were probably never intended to convey such meaning. They are
not an answer to the question, "What is Thy name?" but a refusal to
answer it, and, therefore, it is not in place to interpret their
significance as revealing anything of the nature of God. Apart from
this consideration, however, such abstract theological discussion is
above the mental power of the child and should always be avoided. It
is, therefore, best to teach the verse without any comment, as this
by itself tends to preserve the atmosphere of mystery and awe which
envelopes the whole episode.
In telling of the dialogue of God and Moses, the Biblical language
can be used almost throughout, and, at any rate, the speeches should
be given in direct discourse. Be careful to aid the child to an
appreciation of the reason for Moses' hesitation, both because this
is necessary to a proper understanding of the character of Moses,
and because it prepares the way for a better appreciation of the
miracle of the Exodus. For instance, in telling of the call of God
to Moses, one might continue somewhat in this wise: "When Moses
heard God say, 'Go and I will send thee to Pharaoh, and do thou
bring my people, the children of Israel out of Egypt', his heart
sank. How could he, one man, and a stranger, go before this cruel
and powerful king of a mighty nation, surrounded by courtiers,
guards and soldiers, and say to him, 'Let these thousands of slaves
who are building your cities go free?' Would Pharaoh pay any
attention to him? So Moses said to God, 'Who am I that I should
go to Pharaoh, that I should bring forth the children of Israel
out of Egypt?'" The teacher can also make the emphasis of the
narrative clearer by the questions he asks after the presentation
of the lesson, as, for instance: "What did God ask Moses to say to
Pharaoh? Do you think Pharaoh wo
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