Genesis 1:22-24

I am now learning verse 22 of Genesis 1. This is the first blessing in the Bible.

And God blessed them saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas and let fowl multiply in the earth.


Or, I've learnt it. I was saying 'on the land' but otherwise had it right. Verse 23 is just "And the evening and the morning were the fifth day."

So, now on to verse 24.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth, after his kind; and it was so.

Genesis 1:21 - Done

I now have the rest of verse 21 down pat, and, as you know, am doing my best with that whole "And the Egyptians made the Children of Israel to serve with rigour" in Exodus. I've also picked verse 1 of Leviticus back up. Change of scenery, cue the tent and vast uninhabited desert scenery. "And God called unto Moses out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying". I have to remember to keep things simple and easy. I add in words that aren't there. When I feel confident with verse 1 of Leviticus I can move on to verse 2. God gives Moses instructions for how sacrifices should be made. The nitty gritty details of life. You can think of it as religion, in a way it is, but mostly I just think of it like the Health Department. Have you any idea how many rules and policies those people have? God seems a little less picky when you put it in perspective.

I love the Exodus story. It is so moving and inspirational. And even in Leviticus, I think, see, Moses didn't give up on God even when he droned on and on about how to properly cut up a sheep. He paid attention, took notes, briefed everybody. Threw up his hands, certainly. He got pissed. But, he stuck with it.

And those are the bare facts folks. A lot of the inspiration we need in life is not how to mount an insurmountable obstacle. It's how to keep on with the tedium of life and still want to keep at it. Maybe not when you're 25. Nothing is tedious at 25. It's only somewhat tedious at 30. But trust me. You'll get there. Unless you have a hormone disorder or something, it will get tedious.

Open Exodus, Leviticus, and end with Genesis. Nothing like "And God said, Let there be light, and there was light" to make things seem better.

Genesis 1:21 Continued

I have managed to get that first part of verse 21 memorized:

And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth which the waters brought forth abundantly


But, though I started memorizing the next bit today, I lost most of it! I left, for one thing, the wings off the birds, and that just will not do. Let's go with the King James Version (decidedly, by the way, the most eloquent one):

after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

I am resolved, also, to move forward with my memorization of the other books of the Bible. I've been hovering myself, over verse 12 for a while now. Exodus 1:12. I've been messing up the first phrase there:

But the more they afflicted them

That's correct. I was just saying "But the more they were afflicted"

It makes a difference. One version makes you think a bit more about who is doing the afflicting. And therefore the consequence of their action, since what follows says how the direct object of the sentence (them, or the people of the children of Israel) responds to the bad behavior of the subject (the Egyptians and afflicting). The other version makes you simply think of a people who is bearing a difficult burden, they are mistreated and abused. It does keep their response, to multiply and grow. In the end what you think about the situation is at least slightly affected, or mine is. It says 'hey Egyptians, wake up, this isn't working! Think outside the box already'.

Instead, of course, the Egyptians just keep it up. "And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour".

It's not like your trainer at the gym or your math teacher or coach. They want them controlled, unable to prosper, to not be any sort of threat or concern or worry for them. It's a national security issue, plain and simple, and basic economics. Keeping order, etc. Still. It's sad to think how many lives opened and closed and no one saw a better way to live with their fears and dangers and enemies. They didn't have a lot of the luxuries we have today to help them be better people. So, it does seem we could do a bit better the world over. Even countries that are so poor have more than people had then.

Like the lady who fed Elijah

my store of never-before-seen-nor-heard names never runs out


GIRLS


Dorka - I think it is probably a nickname for Dorcas or a misspelling or wrongly transcribed (not looking at the original record)

Kimbra - perhaps this is a modern invention based on names like Kimberley and Cambria.

Louirinda - I'm trying to guess at how to pronounce this! "loo ee rin dah" or "loo rin dah" or "lah rin dah" or "lur ine dah". Got any suggestions?

Tempy - It seems like it should be a nickname for Temperance. Kind of cute, huh?

Veneda - Not sure if this is an invented name or bonafide. I want to say it 'vuh nay dah' or maybe it's 'vuh nee duh'. But it might be misspelled. "van uh duh"?



BOYS


Clabote - ideas on what this might actually be and how it's said? I want to say it's Clampitt, like the hillbilly in the Beverly Hillbillies tv show. But, I haven't researched it yet.

Gold

Goldson

Henderson

Isham

Leis - maybe just missing a w, like an abbreviation for Lewis?

Nelson - Yes, I suppose this isn't SO new as a first name. But it is still fairly unusual I think, to name a kid this.

An Assortment of Names from Today

As per usual, these names are courtesy of my genealogy hobby.


GIRLS


Jehosheba

Orminella




BOYS


Laycosh

No Name Goes Unnoticed

I came across these names roaming through graveyards and thumbing through court records:



GIRLS


Argretta

Delina

Delma

Elma

Mosella



BOYS


Chapleigh

Ornold

Apparitions

That's what I'm calling them anyhow. These are names that 'appear' on the bottom of the list of names at the Social Security Administration puts out each year. I don't mean the bottom of the top 1000 names but the bottom of the whole list. They look at applications for social security cards and present the information on all except those names given to fewer than 5 children, in an effort to protect privacy.

So, on THE Bottom, you find names like:

Zyriyah

Violetrose

Rus

Nubian

Justin

Fatoumatta

Betsey

Galiyah

Leonardo