day 25: December 27, 2012

GENESIS 36-37

Esau’s Descendants

36 These are the descendants of Esau (that is, Edom). ² Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholiba′mah the daughter of Anah the son^[a] of Zib′eon the Hivite, ³ and Bas′emath, Ish′mael’s daughter, the sister of Neba′ioth. ⁴ And Adah bore to Esau, El′iphaz; Bas′emath bore Reu′el; ⁵ and Oholiba′mah bore Je′ush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

⁶ Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his cattle, all his beasts, and all his property which he had acquired in the land of Canaan; and he went into a land away from his brother Jacob.⁷ For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together; the land of their sojournings could not support them because of their cattle. ⁸ So Esau dwelt in the hill country of Se′ir; Esau is Edom.

⁹ These are the descendants of Esau the father of the E′domites in the hill country of Se′ir. ¹⁰ These are the names of Esau’s sons: El′iphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reu′el the son of Bas′emath the wife of Esau. ¹¹ The sons of El′iphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. ¹² (Timna was a concubine of El′iphaz, Esau’s son; she bore Am′alek to El′iphaz.) These are the sons of Adah, Esau’s wife. ¹³ These are the sons of Reu′el: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the sons of Bas′emath, Esau’s wife. ¹⁴ These are the sons of Oholiba′mah the daughter of Anah the son^[b] of Zib′eon, Esau’s wife: she bore to Esau Je′ush, Jalam, and Korah.

Clans and Kings of Edom

¹⁵ These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of El′iphaz the first-born of Esau: the chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, ¹⁶ Korah, Gatam, and Am′alek; these are the chiefs of El′iphaz in the land of Edom; they are the sons of Adah. ¹⁷ These are the sons of Reu′el, Esau’s son: the chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these are the chiefs of Reu′el in the land of Edom; they are the sons of Bas′emath, Esau’s wife. ¹⁸ These are the sons of Oholiba′mah, Esau’s wife: the chiefs Je′ush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the chiefs born of Oholiba′mah the daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife. ¹⁹ These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.

²⁰ These are the sons of Se′ir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zib′eon, Anah, ²¹ Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Se′ir in the land of Edom. ²² The sons of Lotan were Hori and Heman; and Lotan’s sister was Timna. ²³ These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Man′ahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. ²⁴ These are the sons of Zib′eon: A′iah and Anah; he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he pastured the asses of Zib′eon his father. ²⁵ These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholiba′mah the daughter of Anah. ²⁶ These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. ²⁷ These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Za′avan, and Akan. ²⁸ These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. ²⁹ These are the chiefs of the Horites: the chiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zib′eon, Anah, ³⁰ Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, according to their clans in the land of Se′ir.

³¹ These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites. ³² Bela the son of Be′or reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Din′habah. ³³ Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead. ³⁴ Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Te′manites reigned in his stead. ³⁵ Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Mid′ian in the country of Moab, reigned in his stead, the name of his city being Avith. ³⁶ Hadad died, and Samlah of Masre′kah reigned in his stead. ³⁷ Samlah died, and Shaul of Reho′both on the Euphra′tes reigned in his stead. ³⁸ Shaul died, and Ba′al-ha′nan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead. ³⁹ Ba′al-ha′nan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his stead, the name of his city being Pau; his wife’s name was Mehet′abel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Me′zahab.

⁴⁰ These are the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their families and their dwelling places, by their names: the chiefs Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, ⁴¹ Oholiba′mah, Elah, Pinon, ⁴² Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, ⁴³ Mag′diel, and Iram; these are the chiefs of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of Edom), according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession.

Joseph Dreams of Greatness

37 Jacob dwelt in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan. ² This is the history of the family of Jacob.

^[c]Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a lad with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought an ill report of them to their father. ³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a long robe with sleeves. ⁴ But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.

⁵ Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they only hated him the more. ⁶ He said to them, “Hear this dream which I have dreamed: ⁷ behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf arose and stood upright; and behold, your sheaves gathered round it, and bowed down to my sheaf.” ⁸ His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to have dominion over us?” So they hated him yet more for his dreams and for his words. ⁹ Then he dreamed another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream; and behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” ¹⁰ But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him, and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” ¹¹ And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

Joseph Is Sold by His Brothers

¹² Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. ¹³ And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” ¹⁴ So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers, and with the flock; and bring me word again.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. ¹⁵ And a man found him wandering in the fields; and the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” ¹⁶ “I am seeking my brothers,” he said, “tell me, I pray you, where they are pasturing the flock.” ¹⁷ And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. ¹⁸ They saw him afar off, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. ¹⁹ They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. ²⁰ Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild beast has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.” ²¹ But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” ²² And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; cast him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand, to restore him to his father. ²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; ²⁴ and they took him and cast him into a pit. The pit was empty, there was no water in it.

²⁵ Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ish′maelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. ²⁶ Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood? ²⁷ Come, let us sell him to the Ish′maelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers heeded him. ²⁸ Then Mid′ianite traders passed by; and they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ish′maelites for twenty shekels of silver; and they took Joseph to Egypt.

²⁹ When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he rent his clothes ³⁰ and returned to his brothers, and said, “The lad is gone; and I, where shall I go?” ³¹ Then they took Joseph’s robe, and killed a goat, and dipped the robe in the blood; ³² and they sent the long robe with sleeves and brought it to their father, and said, “This we have found; see now whether it is your son’s robe or not.” ³³ And he recognized it, and said, “It is my son’s robe; a wild beast has devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” ³⁴ Then Jacob rent his garments, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. ³⁵ All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. ³⁶ Meanwhile the Mid′ianites had sold him in Egypt to Pot′i-phar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.

PSALM 24

Entrance into the Temple

A Psalm of David.

24 The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof,
    the world and those who dwell therein;
² for he has founded it upon the seas,
    and established it upon the rivers.

³ Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
    And who shall stand in his holy place?
⁴ He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
    who does not lift up his soul to what is false,
    and does not swear deceitfully.
⁵ He will receive blessing from the Lord,
    and vindication from the God of his salvation.
⁶ Such is the generation of those who seek him,
    who seek the face of the God of Jacob.^[a]Selah

⁷ Lift up your heads, O gates!
    and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
    that the King of glory may come in.
⁸ Who is the King of glory?
    The Lord, strong and mighty,
    the Lord, mighty in battle!
⁹ Lift up your heads, O gates!
    and be lifted up,^[b] O ancient doors!
    that the King of glory may come in.
¹⁰ Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord of hosts,
    he is the King of glory!Selah

MATTHEW 13:44-58

Three Parables

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, ⁴⁶ who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

⁴⁷ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; ⁴⁸ when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad. ⁴⁹ So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, ⁵⁰ and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.

Treasures New and Old

⁵¹ “Have you understood all this?” They said to him, “Yes.” ⁵² And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”^[a]

The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth

⁵³ And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, ⁵⁴ and coming to his own country he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? ⁵⁵ Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brethren^[b] James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶ And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all this?” ⁵⁷ And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.” ⁵⁸ And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

CATECHISM 203-209

II. GOD REVEALS HIS NAME

203 God revealed himself to his people Israel by making his name known to them. A name expresses a person's essence and identity and the meaning of this person's life. God has a name; he is not an anonymous force. To disclose one's name is to make oneself known to others; in a way it is to hand oneself over by becoming accessible, capable of being known more intimately and addressed personally.

204 God revealed himself progressively and under different names to his people, but the revelation that proved to be the fundamental one for both the Old and the New Covenants was the revelation of the divine name to Moses in the theophany of the burning bush, on the threshold of the Exodus and of the covenant on Sinai.

The living God

205 God calls Moses from the midst of a bush that bums without being consumed: "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."⁹ God is the God of the fathers, the One who had called and guided the patriarchs in their wanderings. He is the faithful and compassionate God who remembers them and his promises; he comes to free their descendants from slavery. He is the God who, from beyond space and time, can do this and wills to do it, the God who will put his almighty power to work for this plan.

"I Am who I Am"

Moses said to God, "If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you', and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." and he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you'. . . this is my name for ever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations."¹⁰

206 In revealing his mysterious name, YHWH ("I AM HE WHO IS", "I AM WHO AM" or "I AM WHO I AM"), God says who he is and by what name he is to be called. This divine name is mysterious just as God is mystery. It is at once a name revealed and something like the refusal of a name, and hence it better expresses God as what he is - infinitely above everything that we can understand or say: he is the "hidden God", his name is ineffable, and he is the God who makes himself close to men.¹¹

207 By revealing his name God at the same time reveals his faithfulness which is from everlasting to everlasting, valid for the past ("I am the God of your father"), as for the future ("I will be with you").¹² God, who reveals his name as "I AM", reveals himself as the God who is always there, present to his people in order to save them.

208 Faced with God's fascinating and mysterious presence, man discovers his own insignificance. Before the burning bush, Moses takes off his sandals and veils his face in the presence of God's holiness.¹³ Before the glory of the thrice-holy God, Isaiah cries out: "Woe is me! I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips."¹⁴ Before the divine signs wrought by Jesus, Peter exclaims: "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord."¹⁵ But because God is holy, he can forgive the man who realizes that he is a sinner before him: "I will not execute my fierce anger. . . for I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst."¹⁶ The apostle John says likewise: "We shall. . . reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything."¹⁷

209 Out of respect for the holiness of God, the people of Israel do not pronounce his name. In the reading of Sacred Scripture, the revealed name (YHWH) is replaced by the divine title "LORD" (in Hebrew Adonai, in Greek Kyrios). It is under this title that the divinity of Jesus will be acclaimed: "Jesus is LORD."