Tag: nations

Two Nations

Posted on by jovial_cynic

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֜ה לָ֗הּ שְׁנֵ֤י (גיים) [גוֹיִם֙] בְּבִטְנֵ֔ךְ וּשְׁנֵ֣י לְאֻמִּ֔ים מִמֵּעַ֖יִךְ יִפָּרֵ֑דוּ וּלְאֹם֙ מִלְאֹ֣ם יֶֽאֱמָ֔ץ וְרַ֖ב יַעֲבֹ֥ד צָעִֽיר׃

And יהוה answered her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
Two separate peoples shall issue from your body;
One people shall be mightier than the other,
And the older shall serve the younger.”
Genesis 25:23 (The Contemporary Torah, JPS 2006)

Genesis 25 mentions two “nations,” but the word is written in a strange way. Notice the Hebrew spelling in the highlighted section of the image.

It’s [גוֹיִם֙] and (גיים). גוֹיִם֙ is the normal spelling.

The rabbis say the normal spelling (גוֹיִם֙) means “nation.” When you spell it with no vav, two yods, and a final mem, it means “noble or powerful individuals.” It’s very different.

In paleo-Hebrew (pictograph form), the “vav” is a nail or hook, and it symbolizes binding together. The “yod” is a hand, denoting action or power. The final version of “mem” means final and established.

Symbolically, if you remove the “vav,” you’ve removed the binding-together element. It’s not people – it’s two distinct elements. Add a second “yod” and we’re talking about greater power and influence. Change the “mem” and we have something concrete and established.

I believe Rebekah is being told about the struggle of good and evil, spirit and flesh, within her. In all of us – all of humanity. This is our existential battle that’s rooted in our hearts; our actions give birth to both.

But the older (flesh) will one day serve the younger (spirit)

Nimrod

Posted on by jovial_cynic

Cush was the father of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.”
Genesis 10:8-10 (NIV)

In Genesis 10, the generations after Noah are listed as nations – whole people groups, rather than individuals. But in the Table of Nations, Nimrod is singled out.

He is the builder the of empires who stand against God.

להיות גבור TO BE A MIGHTY ONE — Mighty in causing the whole world to rebel against the Holy One, blessed be He, by the plan he devised for the generation that witnessed the separation of the races (דור הפלגה) to build the Tower of Babel (Genesis Rabbah 23:7).
Rashi on Genesis 10:8:1

For the Christian, there is an echo of this story in Revelation, as a certain individual gathers the nations in rebellion against God and God’s people.

Nations and Kingdoms

Posted on by jovial_cynic
If Genesis 10 was written and/or edited during the Babylonian exile, it should be understood a reminder. Everyone who read it would have looked back to how God weaved history to bring us to the present.

The text suggests God doesn’t merely follow individual lives, but also Nations.

This isn’t some new revelation. It’s just that “nations” and “kingdoms” are statements about human achievement. They’re the largest things humans can construct. The only thing bigger than a kingdom is a bigger kingdom.

And as the text goes on, nations and kingdoms become a central theme in Scripture.

Be Fruitful and Multiply

Posted on by jovial_cynic
Genesis 10 is the “Table of Nations.” It outlines the descendants of the three sons of Noah.

While there isn’t much narrative in this text (though there is some!), what you should notice is that all of Genesis 10 is a fulfillment of God’s 3x blessing to Noah:

Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you, birds and animals and every crawling thing that crawls on the earth, that they may breed abundantly on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”
Genesis 8:17 (NASB)

Then God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.
Genesis 9:1 (NASB)

As for you, be fruitful and multiply; Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it.
Genesis 9:7 (NASB)