Bible In One Year Day 27 (Exodus 1-2, Leviticus 1, Psalms 44)

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The Finding of Moses (Cornelis de Vos)

Day 27 The Birth of Moses

Finding of Moses (Giovani Tiepolo)

From a Study I did in 2010 on the connection between Passover the the Eucharist

The Passover story of the exodus from Egypt is a commandment that must be performed on the eve of Passover. (Exodus13:8-10) And so we begin….Pharaoh looked around Egypt and thought, there are too many Jews. If they continue to reproduce at this rate, they will outnumber us and overtake us. ”Look how numerous and powerful the Israelite people are growing, more so than we ourselves! Come, let us deal shrewdly with them to stop their increase; otherwise in time of war they too may join our enemies to fight against us.” (Ex 1:9-10)

Pharaoh decided that every Jewish boy that was born was to be put to death. He commanded that all midwifes and nurses kill any males they delivered. Infanticide had begun. “When you act as midwives for the Hebrew women and see them giving birth, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she may live.” (Ex 1:16)

Moses was born and his mother hid him for three months after which fearing for his safety, she “took a papyrus basket, daubed it with bitumen and pitch, and putting the child in it, placed it among the reeds on the river bank.” (Ex 2:3) She left his sister to watch what would happen to him.

As providence would have it, the Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the Nile to bathe and discovered the basket with Moses and took pity on him. She asked for a Hebrew woman to nurse the child, and unknown to the Pharaoh’s daughter, Moses’ own mother was summoned, to nurse him. Eventually the Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him as her own and he was named Moses, “for she said, I drew him out of the water.” (Ex 2:10)

Now Moses grows into a man and witnesses an Egyptian striking a Hebrew laborer. This did not sit well with Moses and he killed the Egyptian man and hid him. In guilt and fear for his own life he fled to the land of Midian where he defended some women drawing water for their father’s flock. The women returned to their father and recounted the story leading to him to invite Moses to live with them. “Moses agreed to live with him, and the man gave him his daughter Zipporah in marriage.” (Ex 2:21)

“A long time passed, during which the king of Egypt died. Still the Israelites groaned and cried out because of slavery. As their cry for release went up to God, he heard their groaning and was mindful of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” (Ex 2:23-24)

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A Commentary 
Understanding the Scriptures The Didache Series
 (Chapter Chapter 7, page 128 - 130; Chapter 8, page 156)

The book of Exodus begins where Genesis leaves off.  It tells us that, after Joseph died, his family and is brothers' families, starting with the symbolically perfect number of seventy souls, "multiplied and grew exceedingly strong."  They formed  big part of the population of northern Egypt.  They were rich, too: they owned much of the best land.  But the prosperity wouldn't last forever.  It was not God's plan that they should remain guests in Egypt, with no homeland of their own.  And as the people of Israel moved toward the land God had promised them, God would establish a new covenant, not with one man, or with one family, or with one tribe, but with an entire nation. 

The new Pharaoh decided to treat the Israelites different than the Pharaoh during Joseph.  The new Pharaoh enslaved the Israelites, making them work on his buildings projects.  But the people of Israel still multiplied.  

As part of the program of "dealing shrewdly," with the Israelites, Pharaoh decided to kill all the male children of Israel at birth.  Why not the females?  When the females grew up, they would have to marry Egyptians.  Then all the good land that the people of Israel owned would go right back to Egypt.  But the Hebrew midwives did not cooperate and the people of Israel still multiplied.  Some of the children were killed but some were hidden.  

Moses, which in Hebrew means "brought up out of the water," was rescued by Pharaoh's daughter who found him floating in the river.  Then the Hebrew nurse that was brought to Moses was in fact his own mother.  Moses was raised with all the advantages Pharaoh's palace could offer him.  And his own Hebrew mother was there to teach him the faith of his ancestors.  

One day Moses witnessed the mistreatment of a Hebrew slave by an Egyptian and Moses killed the Egyptian. Eventually Moses ran away to Midian and found refuge with a priest named Jethro and he married the priests daughter Zipporah.  He then settled down in Midian and raised the livestock of his father-in-law. 

After the book of Exodus comes the book of Leviticus, a Latin word meaning "having to do with the Levites."  In Hebrew tradition it was known as the Manual for Priests.  The Levites who were going to be the mediators between God and Israel, needed an instruction book.  God gave the instructions they needed to Moses in the Tabernacle.  

There are many different kinds of laws in Leviticus, but the reason for all of them is the same:  to teach Israel how to be a holy people.  The book starts with the people's relationship with God, instructions for sacrifices and the consecration of priests.  

Raymond Campbell

Leviticus 1 The Burnt Offering 

This is the highest aspect of the work of Christ where He is seen offering Himself up entirely to God to do His will even unto death.  The whole offering, except the skin of the animal, was burnt upon the altar and all went up to God as a sweet savor.  It pictures Christ who gave Himself as "a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor" (Eph 5:2)  

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A Daily Defense 
Day 27 The Language of the Deuterocanonicals 

CHALLENGE: “The deuterocanonical books don’t belong in Scripture. They are not written in Hebrew, the language of the Old Testament.” 

DEFENSE: The language that a book was written in doesn't determine whether it's Scripture. Hebrew was the national language of the Israelites for much of their history, and many Old Testament books were written in it, but the Israelites’ language changed over time. Sometimes it changed through the incorporation of loanwords from other languages. Thus we find Egyptian, Akkadian, and Persian loanwords in books of Scripture written when these cultures had influence in Israel.

During the Babylonian exile (sixth century B.C.), when Jews were ruled by Aramaic-speakers, Hebrew fell out of popular use and Aramaic came into use; following the conquests of Alexander the Great (fourth century B.C.), Greek came into use by Jews—particularly among those living among Greek-speakers. 

These developments led to the translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, first orally into Aramaic, and later in written form, in works known as the targums. They were also translated into Greek with the appearance of the Septuagint. Scripture also began to be written in these languages.

Ezra contains extensive passages from letters in Aramaic (Ezra 4:8–6:18, 7:12–26), much of Daniel is written in Aramaic (Dan. 2:4b 7:28), and the New Testament is in Greek. The deuterocanonicals were written during this time of linguistic transition, and they reflect that.

Deuterocanonicals written in Hebrew include Sirach (see the translator’s prologue; also, versions in that language have been found), Baruch, and 1 Maccabees (noted by Origen and Jerome). Judith and Tobit were both written either in Hebrew or Aramaic (fragments of Tobit in both survive, and Jerome used an Aramaic version in composing the Vulgate). 

The deuterocanonical portions of Daniel were originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic, and the deuterocanonical portions of Esther were partly written in Hebrew or Aramaic and partly in Greek. 2 Maccabees was written in Greek, though it includes two prefatory letters that were likely originally in Aramaic.

Finally, Wisdom was written in Greek. Ultimately, it is divine inspiration, not original language, that determines whether a book is Scripture. If Hebrew was required, all the New Testament and even some parts of protocanonical Old Testament books would have to be struck 

 Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist