Studies in Old Testament HistoryHurlbut, Jesse Lyman
Religion
Studies in Old Testament History
Hurlbut, Jesse Lyman
Bible. Old Testament -- History of Biblical events
1. =Preservation.= The frequent famines in Palestine (Gen. 12. 10; 26.
1;42. 1-3) showed that as shepherds the Israelites could not be
supported in the land. On the fertile soil of Egypt, with three crops
each year, they would find food in abundance.
2. =Growth.= At the end of the stay in Canaan the Israelites counted
only seventy souls (Gen. 46. 27); but at the close of the sojourn in
Egypt they had increased to nearly two millions (Exod. 12. 37; Num. 1.
45, 46). The hot climate and cheap food of Egypt has always caused an
abundant population. In Egypt Israel grew from a family to a nation.
3. =Isolation.= There was great danger to the morals and religion of the
Israelites in the land of Canaan. Abraham had sent to his own relatives
at Haran for a wife for Isaac (Gen. 24. 3, 4) in order to keep both the
race and the faith pure. One of Isaac's sons married Canaanite wives,
and as a result his descendants, the Edomites, lost the faith and became
idolaters (Gen. 26. 34, 35). Jacob sought his wives among his own
relatives (Gen. 28. 1, 2). We note a dangerous tendency in Jacob's
family to ally themselves with the Canaanites (Gen. 34. 8-10; 38. 1, 2).
If they had stayed in Canaan the chosen family would have become lost
among the heathen. But in Egypt they lived apart, and were kept by the
caste system from union with the people (Gen. 46. 34; 43. 32). It was a
necessary element in the divine plan that Israel should dwell apart from
other nations (Num. 23. 9).
4. =Civilization.= The Egyptians were far in advance of all other
nations of that age in intelligence, in the organization of society, and
in government. Though the Israelites lived apart from them, they were
among them, and learned much of their knowledge. Whatever may have been
their condition at the beginning of the sojourn, at the end of it they
had a written language (Exod. 24. 7), a system of worship (Exod. 19. 22;
33. 7), and a leader who had received the highest culture of his age
(Acts 7. 22). As one result of the sojourn the Israelites were
transformed from shepherds and herdsmen to tillers of the soil--a higher
manner of living.
Blackboard Outline.
=Six Ev.= =I. Del.= 1. Fac. Scrip. Trad. 2. Dat. 2348? 3. Cau. Wick.
rac. 4. Ext. par. 5. Pur. 1.) Des. ev. 2.) New ep.
=II. Disp. Rac.= 1. Inst. mig. 2. Evid. Bib. Trad. Lang.
=III. Rise Emp.= 1. Eg. 2. Chal. 3. Ass. 4. Sid. and Tyr.
=IV. Mig. Abr.= Causes. 1. Mig. inst. 2. Pol. cau. 3. Rel. mot.
=V. Jour. Patr.= Str. in Pal. Shep. Hom. Relat.
=VI. Soj. in Eg.= Obj. 1. Pres. 2. Gro. 3. Isol. 4. Civ.
QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW.
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