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6A. Genesis and Exodus Households
Genesis
"For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner, those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant."(1)
"On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him."(2)
"And every male in Abraham's household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him." (3)
"When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father's household gods."(4)
"Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them inside her camel's saddle and was sitting on them. Laban searched through everything in the tent but found nothing."(5)
"Now that you have searched through all my goods, what have you found that belongs to your household? Put it here in front of your relatives and mine, and let them judge between the two of us."(6)
"It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times." (7)
"Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the members of his household, as well as his livestock and all his other animals and all the goods he had acquired in Canaan, and moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob."(8)
Exodus
"Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat."(9)
"An alien living among you who wants to celebrate the Lord's Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land. No uncircumcised male may eat of it."(10)
Questions for Discussion
1. What role did circumcision have in the Tribal Household?
2. How important was loyalty in the Tribal Household?
Notes
(1) Genesis 17:1 (2) Genesis 17:23 (3) Genesis 17:27 (4) Genesis 31:19 (5) Genesis 31:34-35 (6) Genesis 31:37 (7) Genesis 31:41 (8) Genesis 36:6 (9) Exodus 12:3-4 (10) Exodus 12:48
"You are fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household."
