A Manual for Teaching Biblical History

=Purpose of Manual.= In recent years some attention has been given to the improvement of Jewish educational method so far as instruction in the Hebrew language is concerned, but...

=Interpretation.= The people of Israel could not at once rise to the height of that conception of God, which had been revealed to them at Sinai. So long as Moses was with them t...

=Interpretation.= The event which is the subject of this lesson is without exception the most important event in Jewish history, and from the point of view of Judaism, in the hi...

The story of Jacob and Esau in their contention for the birthright and the blessing is one that is frequently misunderstood. The tendency to idealize the forefathers of the race...

=Interpretation.= The central idea that runs through all the important episodes of these chapters is the immensity of the problem of leadership that confronted Moses, and the co...

=Interpretation.= These chapters relate the climax toward which the narrative from the birth of Moses until this point has been leading, the exodus from Egypt. They also contain...

=Interpretation.= We have grouped in this chapter a number of episodes in the wandering of the children of Israel, because any one of them is too small to occupy a single lesson...

=Interpretation.= The Biblical passages dealing with the construction of the Tabernacle and the nature of its appointments and the services conducted therein are scattered throu...

=Interpretation.= In these chapters the center of interest once more shifts from personal biography to the destiny of Israel as a people. One is conscious throughout that his at...

=Interpretation.= The wandering through the wilderness, which in this chapter draws to a close, has had its desired effect in producing a race capable of giving battle. Its powe...

=Interpretation.= The children of Israel, settled in the rich pasture land of Goshen, had become a numerous people. At first they prospered, but then there came a change with th...

=Interpretation.= In chapter 15 the faith of Abram is once more given emphasis. God promises Abram great reward, but, being childless, he is indifferent to a reward which must u...

=Interpretation.= Note the significant contrast between Jacob's leaving Canaan and his return. When he left, he was nominally and in his own esteem the possessor of the birthrig...

=Interpretation.= The first step that Moses takes seems to contain a promise of success. He and Aaron succeed in interesting the elders of Israel in the prospect of deliverance,...

=Interpretation.= In the narratives dealing with the history of the patriarchs, we have constantly emphasized that the point of view of the Biblical author regarded their lives...

=Interpretation.= The story of the _'Akedah_, that is the intended sacrifice of Isaac, represents the supreme test to which Abraham's faith was put. After Ishmael has been sent...

=Interpretation.= These verses have given no little difficulty to the ancient Hebrew commentators. The first verse contains a statement of God's appearing to Abraham but does no...

=Interpretation.= The time now being ripe for God's fulfilling His covenant to redeem Israel from the bondage of Egypt, He makes His purpose known to Moses and entrusts him with...

=Interpretation.= The Biblical account of the death of Moses in its impressive simplicity scarcely needs comment. It brings to a fitting end the story of the life-struggle of th...

=Interpretation.= In this chapter of the Joseph narrative we find that Providence has put Joseph's brothers completely in his hand; their physical sustenance is dependent on his...

=Interpretation.= In the first part of this lesson which deals with the life of Isaac, Genesis 26.3 is significant as emphasizing the idea of Palestine as a chosen land, an idea...

=Interpretation.= Little need be said by way of interpretation of this episode, as the Biblical narrative makes its point very clear. It shows us the consequences of a lack of f...

=Interpretation.= With this chapter a new period in Jewish history begins, the formative period, during which the unorganized horde of refugees from Egyptian bondage is given th...

=Interpretation.= There are no surer tests of character than transplantation to a strange country without hope of return and degradation to a lower social stratum without hope o...

=Interpretation.= The significance of the events which took place at Marah, in the wilderness of Sin, and at Rephidim is the same as of those recorded in the preceding chapter....

=Interpretation.= With this lesson the history of our people begins. The Bible wishes us to see in the separation of Abram and his clan from the parent tribe, and their migratio...

=Interpretation.= The story of Jacob's dream, in order to be clearly understood, should be considered in connection with the rest of Jacob's life. His life may be divided into t...

=Interpretation.= Abram's blessing begins to become manifest through his military success in the campaign to rescue Lot and his family. He is accorded recognition by Melchizedek...

=Interpretation.= The general significance of this period in Jacob's life has already been discussed. Note that when, after completing his term of service for Leah and Rachel, h...

=Interpretation.= The story of Cain and Abel is a study of sin, remorse and repentance. There is a suggestion in verse 7, of evil passions existing in Cain's heart even before t...

=Interpretation.= The meaning of these chapters is plain. They contain the narrative of that contest between Pharaoh and his court with all their magic devices on the one hand a...

=Interpretation.= The incident of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, like that of the destruction of the generation of the deluge, is meant as an assertion of God's justice....

=Interpretation.= The incident recorded in Chapter 20 is intended to show the care exercised by God in preserving the purity of the chosen seed, but it cannot be taught to child...

=Interpretation.= The story of Noah is so simple as scarcely to need interpretation. The world had become corrupt, and, as God cannot abide moral corruption, it seemed better to...

=Interpretation.= This is one of the narratives of the Bible whose real meaning in its entirety it is impossible to teach the child. To understand it, would require an experienc...

=Interpretation.= Little need be said in interpretation of this story. Its lesson of the beauty of forgiveness and reconciliation is brought out so clearly as to need no further...

Note.--The lessons in this book are necessarily divided somewhat arbitrarily, that is without exact reference to the amount that can be taught at a single session of the school....

=Interpretation.= The chief interest in the narrative contained in these verses lies in the light they cast on the character of Moses and the traits that made him the ideal eman...

=Interpretation.= The incident of the purchase of the Cave of Machpelah need be mentioned only casually in connection with the death of Sarah as the political questions involved...

=Interpretation.= These verses tell how the descendants of Noah in the pride of a new civilization and the acquisition of the new art of building with bricks endeavor to defeat...