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Adapted from the History of Christianity series by The Irreverent Historian. This is from “Part 1: Sacred Origins” covering the early era of the nation of Israel, the originators of Judaism, published in Gospel Light, vol. 13, June 2009.
Ancient Israel traces its origins to Abraham, who is considered as its Patriarch and the founder of monotheism. Called upon by Yahweh, he left his hometown of Ur (modern-day Iraq) and settled in the land of Canaan.
Abraham adopted a covenant with God, who promised him countless descendants to live in the land of Canaan. As a sign of the covenant, all the male members of Abraham’s household, servants included, were circumcised. This practice remains an important part of Jewish identity to this day.
Abraham begat Isaac and Isaac begat Jacob (renamed Israel after a wrestling about with a divine being) begat twelve children. He favored his second-youngest son Joseph, who was a bit of a dreamer.
Jacob’s favoritism and the beautiful clothes he gifted to Joseph made the older brothers very jealous. At their first chance, they sold him off as a slave to work in Egypt. They told their father that Joseph was probably killed by wild animals.
In a way, this is divine justice. In his day, Jacob pulled a similar stunt on his own father, and stole his twin brother’s inheritance.
Fortunately for everyone involved, God was with 17-year old Joseph. But it wasn’t easy for him, he had a misadventure with the wife of his master, and was jailed after she accused him of attempted rape.
Thanks to his ability to interpret dreams, Joseph went from a jailbird into the right-hand man of Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt. His prophecies allowed his adopted home to prepare for seven years of famine.
Back in Canaan, the famine caught Israel and family flat-footed. They were forced to buy food from Egypt, forcing the brothers into an encounter with the brother they betrayed.
The family reunion was awkward, to say the least. But ultimately, Israel and family chose to immigrate to Egypt, and were settled in the Egyptian province of Goshen.
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