DAY 0 – THE VERY FIRST STEP 🌞 50 DAYS OF GENESIS 🌞 VIDEO EPISODES

DAY 0 – THE VERY FIRST STEP
🌞 50 DAYS OF GENESIS 🌞
VIDEO EPISODES

In our short video episodes of 50 Days of Genesis we will delve into one verse of each chapter of Genesis. Join and explore less-known ways of reading the Bible

You’re invited to …

JOIN THE
🌞 50 DAYS OF GENESIS 🌞
JOURNEY!

Get a deeper understanding of the familiar stories of Genesis. 

Once a week you’ll receive a BRAND NEW 5 – 10 minutes video in which we will delve and look at less familiar ways of reading and understanding the Bible verses. 50 days, each for one of the 50 chapters of Genesis.

Hebrew Bible Lessons Insights from researching the Original Scripture.

IF YOU WANT …

to look into the Bible with fresh eyes, this course is for you. Join me and the other Bible followers around the globe for this free Bible Adventure and let’s do 5 – 10 minutes of Bible reading together once a week for 50 weeks.

HI, I AM RAN.

I grew up in Jerusalem absorbed by history, the Bible, and the connection between them. Years of teaching Biblical Hebrew and discussing the Bible with people of all cultures and religions made me realise the value of understanding it in its original language. I am looking forward to sharing this value with you and other Bible followers.

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This πƒπ€π˜ 𝟎 π•πˆπƒπ„πŽ is an introduction to the video series:

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

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You’ll get access to the first video as soon as you sign up!

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Our lessons are not affiliated with any formal religious or church, and are 100% free. Hebrew language skills are not necessary.

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All videos will be available on YouTube. No expiration date, no catch.

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For 50 weeks you’ll get one email a week from me with the link to a video that will give you inspiration to contemplate and find your interpretation and truth of the verse.

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10 minutes of reading the Bible regularly can change your life. Seriously!

βœ… SUBSCRIBE AND JOIN OUR 🌞 50 DAYS OF GENESIS 🌞 JOURNEY HERE:
πŸ‘‰ https://hebrew-bible.net/50-days-of-genesis-video-series/

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Share your insights and comments on YouTube or on our blog.

Thanks for watching,
πŸ™πŸΌ Ran

πŸŽ“ Study with us in our Online Hebrew Bible Academy! New lessons in June 2022
HEBREW BIBLE ACADEMY ➑️ https://www.academy.hebrew-bible.net

You can see here the text of the Bible both in Hebrew and in English: https://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0101.htm

The Story of Sodom: Morality is it Absolute or Relative?

Sodom and Gomorrah #18 (Genesis 19:13)

I have now returned from the Italian Alps. So, this time the photo for this post is from there – for your enjoyment – and not, as normal, related to the story of the chapter. I hope you are ready to go back to the Bible and discuss morality in our story, the story of Sodom.

We will continue with verse 13 in chapter 19.  As we have seen in verse 12, the angels are warning Lot and asking him to leave the city. We know that they did not have to give Lot any explanation. After all, Lot already knows they are God’s angels, and he will obey them with or without a reason. Still, they explain. They know that if a person understands the reason for an order, they will obey faster and better. This is a simple secret that many in command nowadays have forgotten. God’s angels remembered.

The angels explain to Lot why they are destroying Sodom. Translation and transliteration of Genesis 19:13. We learn that morality is absolute, not relative.

Is Morality absolute or relative?

During my years of travels, I have met different people from various cultures. Each culture has its own morals, habits, and customs.  Some habits and customs acceptable in one culture can be unacceptable or even considered abomination by another. For example, while in some cultures telling lies is an acceptable behaviour (and when you are caught you simply shrug your shoulders and laugh) in other cultures it is a big shame to be caught lying. In some cultures, killing for the honour of the family is not only acceptable, but demanded; other places will consider it like any other murder.

Every time I encounter such a discrepancy, or when I see behaviours that deeply bother me – like the way women are treated by some cultures – I cannot help but ask myself if I am sure I am right, and whether morality should be judged relative to the culture, or whether it absolute and universal.  The story of Sodom clearly gives us an answer. At least some morals are absolute.

The people of Sodom will be punished, even though they are not familiar with the laws of the Bible, maybe not even with the morals and behaviour code of the desert. Ignorance of morality will not save them.

The angels do not ask if the people of Sodom abide by the laws of their country or the laws of their city – the city of Sodom. It does not matter. The cry coming from the city is sufficient justification for the severe punishment they are going to face – the destruction of their city. In the words of the angels:

Because their cry has grown in the face of God, they will be punished, and Sodom will be destroyed. 

Translation of Genesis 19:13

According to this verse, a sufficient criteria of moral judgement is that many people suffer in the hands of others, that many people cry and beg for God’s help because no human is going to help them. The prophets kept warning that it is how we treat others that God cares the most about and judges us by. To quote Isaiah (1:17). Justice and compassion is what God is asking of us:

Learn to do good.
Devote yourselves to justice;
Aid the wronged.
Uphold the rights of the orphan;
Defend the cause of the widow.

Is this the morals our society is built upon? Is that how WE see our duty to God?

SHORT VIDEO – Paradoxes in the Bible: Multiply and Fill the Earth | Jesus on the Cross

SHORT VIDEO:

Find out the spiritual power of Bible paradoxes and why habits can stop spiritual growth. What does "Fill the Earth" mean and what reaction does the sign of Jesus on the Cross evoke?

This video is about paradoxes in the Bible and making babies. It is also about how habits can stop your spiritual growth. For example, whenever you see Jesus on the cross, do you mindlessly repeat some ceremony like a prayer or making the cross sign, or do you stop to think what Jesus did for us? We will then look at the very first commandment in Genesis “Make children and fill the earth” and discuss what it can mean, and why it is a paradox.

πŸ” Join me and our numerous followers around the globe at the β˜―οΈπŸ“œ The Zen of the Hebrew Bible πŸ“œβ˜―οΈ to look critically at the details hidden in the Bible stories we thought we were familiar with. Let’s discover the less known aspects and a spiritual way of reading the Bible.

Like in Buddhist Zen Koans, the spiritual power of the Hebrew Bible is often found in its ambiguous language, and paradoxes. It encourages YOU to put yourself into the interpretation. The more you read the more insight you get. Naturally, a lot of it is lost in translation. This deliberate ambiguity ensures the Bible remains relevant to anyone, anywhere. It’s as fresh today as it was 3000 years ago.

Watch the video “Multiply and Fill the Earth | Jesus on the Cross” on Youtube:

 

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We also invite you to discover our new channel 🌞 50 DAYS OF GENESIS🌞 which will be released on 2nd of June (2022):
https://youtu.be/OfY7U0CnqNU

Share your insights and comments on YouTube or on our blog.

Thanks for watching,
πŸ™πŸΌ Ran

TWITTER ➑️ https://twitter.com/TheBibleinHebr1
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πŸŽ“ Study with us in our Online Hebrew Bible Academy:
HEBREW BIBLE ACADEMY ➑️ https://www.academy.hebrew-bible.net

You can see here the text of the Bible both in Hebrew and in English: https://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0101.htm

Lot’s Predicament: Abandoning his Family in Sodom

Sodom and Gomorrah #17 (Genesis 19:12)

Hi everyone. It has been a few weeks since my last β€˜regular’ post that explored the story of Sodom and Lot.  From my other posts you could have guessed that I had been travelling in Israel, mostly in Jerusalem and the desert, including the area around the Dead Sea and Sodom. Luckily my car had a great aircondition, as it was so hot, over 40C (100F) that I could barely survive 20 minutes away from it. The time around Sodom was when the story of Lot became vivid in my mind. I could clearly see why hospitality was a matter of life and death in such conditions. I could imagine how Lot and his wife must have physically felt as they ran away up the mountain in this heat. And I could feel great compassion towards them and their suffering. They were real people suffering a horrendous tragedy.

So now I am ready to go back to the Bible and our story of Lot. We will continue from verse 12 in chapter 19.

God’s angels instruct Lot to save his extended family, the family in Sodom that does not live with him. He must take the horrific decision to abandon them.

Lot and His Family

Lot’s guests have just blinded the people of Sodom with immense light. Their act not only saved Lot’s life, but also ensured he knew they were angels and not just ordinary guests. If until now he treated them because they were guests, now he will follow their instructions.

What is the first thing they do once their identity is revealed? They ask Lot a question: β€œWho else do you have in this city who does not live with you? Sons in law? Sons? Daughters?”

Why do they ask? Don’t they know already? Of course they do. They are angels, after all. So their question must have another meaning. Actually, three I can think of.

The first is the obvious. Lot must still be in shock after his experience outdoors. Giving instructions to a person in shock, a person still confused, there is no guarantee he would follow properly. The angels first need to ease his mind, make him think and tell them about his family, so when he goes out to save them, he will not forget anyone out of confusion.

The second reason is to emphasise, once more, that a single righteous person can make all the difference. Lets count: Lot and his wife and the two daughters living with them – 4, two married daughters (at least) and their husbands – 4, and at least two son make at minimum ten people. But we already know that there were no ten righteous people in Sodom. So at least one of the people to be saved is not righteous. They are to be saved thanks to Lot’s righteousness. Righteousness always benefits and saves others.

The third point is to make us, the readers aware, that Lot and his wife will be leaving a first-degree family behind when they escape the incineration of Sodom. This understanding alone may give us some sympathy with the mental burden he and his wife must be carrying during the escape. Hopefully it will make us think about them as people in unbearable pain, and not just Biblical characters with no feelings or emotions that appear in the story for our quick judgement and condemnation.

The Bible gives us many opportunities to learn that compassion, not judgement, is, the mindset of the righteous. Does the fact that they left family behind change anything in the way you see Lot and his wife? Can you feel any compassion towards them?  

SHORT VIDEO – Why Did Lot’s Wife Have to Die?

In this short video we try to answer the disturbing question:

Why did Lot’s wife has to die?

Is it, as many believe, because she disobeyed God? But why would God go to all the trouble of saving her from the destruction of the sinful city of Sodom just to kill her for such a minor offence?

In this video we will delve into the relevant sections in the Hebrew Bible and try to view this horrifying situation from a different perspective.

 

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Share your insights and comments on YouTube or on our blog.

Thanks for watching,
πŸ™πŸΌ Ran

 

TWITTER ➑️ https://twitter.com/TheBibleinHebr1
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πŸŽ“ Study with us in our Online Hebrew Bible Academy:
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New courses in May 2022: 
https://hebrew-bible.net/academy-new-lessons-sodom-and-gomorrah/

Sodom and Gomorrah: New Lessons in Our Hebrew Bible Academy in May 2022 – Come and Join


We have now added lessons about the story of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18 and 19) in our Hebrew Bible Academy www.academy.hebrew-bible.net.

In our Hebrew Bible Academy lessons you will get to know the original Hebrew text so that you can seek YOUR truth, completely unrelated to any religion.
Course overview May 2022 DAY 0,50 days of Genesis

On the surface, or at least the way most of us have learned it, it is a simple story: God decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for the sins of their people and save Lot, the only righteous person in the city. But delving into the original Hebrew text nothing is simple: What were the sins they were punished for? Why Did Lot’s wife had to die?

You might be surprised to learn that the common interpretation that the sin was sexual abomination is only one of many interpretations. The sins of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah may be more subtle, even though not less horrific.

It is a story divided into 3 episodes.

Lesson #1: Let the Fair Trial Begin

πŸ—“οΈ 15 May 2022

We will start with the first episode, the story of a trial, in which Abraham, the defence, is doing all in his power to stop the unavoidable destruction of the two cities. 

The three messengers that visited Abraham are now leaving the court to investigate the situation down in Sodom. Once they have left, Abraham, representing the cities, approaches the bench. Whether it is a human acting as a judge or God Himself, justice and proper trials must come first. 

Hebrew Bible Academy New Courses May 2022 Sodom and Gomorrah

Lesson #2: The Outraged People of Sodom and Gomorrah Demand to Know the Angels. What does KNOW mean?

πŸ—“οΈ 22 May 2022

The second episode of the story takes place in a different setting. Now we see Lot inviting two strangers to his home in Sodom. Did he recognize them as angels?

What were the angels doing in Sodom? Were they testing Lot to see if he deserves rescuing, or were they in the city to confirm, firsthand, if there is a way to save the city? 

Why did the people of Sodom come to Lot’s house in a rage when they found that Lot was harbouring strangers? What were the real intentions of the people of Sodom when they demanded to know the strangers? Could it have been anything but Sodomy? 

How did Lot act? Did he deserve to be saved? 

Hebrew Bible Academy New Courses May 2022 Sodom and Gomorrah

Before the lessons, please feel free to send me any questions or insight you may have and want me to raise during the discussion. After all, we are all in this journey together.

I am excited and looking forward to be sharing this amazing journey with you.

Ran

The Mortal Sin of Sodom – What Was It?

Sodom and Gomorrah recap (Genesis 19:1-11)

So far, chapter 19 has been telling us the story of Lot and the Angels in Sodom. It introduces to us the people of Sodom and their customs.  Verse 11, which we covered in our last post, is the end of the first part of Lot’s story. It is a natural place for us to stop and ask ourselves what do we know about the mortal sin of the people of Sodom, a sin so grave that condemned all the citizens to a horrible death and to a complete destruction of their city.

Those who have been following this blog already know that I believe that everything in the Bible has numerous meanings, and that the β€˜on-the-surface’ interpretation is only one out of many. In the story of Sodom, the common interpretation is that their sin was sodomy and rape.

Continue reading