Book Discussion
8th November
One of the long-standing members of the Oxford Society of Belgium, Mary Phil Korsak (LMH, 1954-57), proposes a literary evening based on readings from her translation of The Book of Genesis: The Celebration of Creation (Gen 1-2, 4a) and Isaac’s Family (Gen 27). Translator and Bible scholar, Mary Phil has written a fresh translation of the Hebrew text of Genesis, entitled At the start… Genesis made new (Louvain cahiers, 1992; Doubleday, NY 1993).
She will introduce each chapter and invite the group to interact with comments and questions. If time allows and participants are willing, this might also include some role-playing.
Familiarity with the texts would greatly facilitate feed-back. The author has her own web-site, and you can read here.... http://www.maryphilkorsak.com/1extracts.html
The meeting will take place in the conference room at the Dominican Priory, Avenue de la Renaissance 40, 1000 Brussels with which most of you are familiar, on Thursday November 8th, and the normal formula will prevail: drinks and refreshments from 7.00 p.m., talk and discussion for about an hour from about 7.45 p.m. followed by dinner at the ‘Pré aux Clercs’ restaurant next door for those who wish to prolong the evening. Attendance at the meeting is as usual, free, and guests are welcome, the dinner will cost €35 per head, to be paid on the night. Menu choices for the dinner are: first course - shrimp croquettes or pâté terrine, main course - loup de mer or duck, dessert is apple strudel and ice cream. Wine is included.
This promises to be a most interesting evening, and we are very grateful to Mary-Phil for having agreed to do it. Please reply to me by 5th November if you hope to come, indicating whether you wish to stay for dinner and if so, what your choice of food is.
Carol de Lusignan,
Secretary, Oxford Society of Belgium,
Avenue Herbert Hoover 149,
1030 Brussels,
02 732 33 28
Here follows an extract pertinent to the reading and discussion.
At the start…
CHAPTER 1
1At the start Elohim created the skies and the earth
2– the earth was tohu-bohu
darkness on the face of the deep
and the breath of Elohim
hovering on the face of the waters-
3Elohim said
Let light be
Light was
4Elohim saw the light How good!
Elohim separated the light from the darkness
5Elohim called to the light “Day”
To the darkness he called “Night”
It was evening, it was morning
One day
6Elohim said
Let a vault be in the middle of the waters
it shall separate waters from waters
7Elohim made the vault
It separated the waters from under the vault
from the waters above the vault
It was so
8Elohim called to the vault “Skies”
It was evening, it was morning
A second day
9Elohim said
Let the waters under the skies be massed to one place
Let the dry be seen
It was so
10Elohim called to the dry “Earth”
To the massing of the waters he called “Seas”
Elohim saw How good!
11Elohim said “Let the earth grow grass
plants seeding seed
fruit-tree making fruit of its kind
with its seed in it on the earth
It was so
12The earth brought forth grass
plants seeding seed of their kind
and tree making fruit with its seed in it of its kind
Elohim saw How good!
It was evening, it was morning
A third day
14Elohim said
Let lights be in the vault of the skies
to separate the day from the night
They shall be signs for set times, for days and years
15They shall be lights in the vault of the skies
to light upon the earth
It was so
16Elohim made the two great lights
the great light for ruling the day
the small light for ruling the night
and the stars
17Elohim gave them to the vault of the skies
to light upon the earth
18to rule the day and the night
and to separate the light from the darkness
Elohim saw How good!
19It was evening, it was morning
A fourth day
20Elohim said
Let the waters swarm with a swarm of living souls
and let fowl fly above the earth
upon the face of the vault of the skies
21Elohim created the great monsters
all living souls that creep
with which the waters swarm of their kind
and every winged fowl of its kind
Elohim saw How good!
22Elohim blessed them, saying
Be fruitful, increase, fill the waters in the seas
Let the fowl increase on the earth
23It was evening, it was morning
A fifth day
24Elohim said
Let the earth bring forth living souls of their kind
cattle, creeper and beast of the earth of its kind
It was so
25Elohim made the beast of the earth of its kind
the cattle of their kind
and every creeper of the ground of its kind
Elohim saw How good!
26Elohim said
We will make a groundling (adam)
in our image, after our likeness
Let them govern the fish of the sea
the fowl of the skies, the cattle, all the earth
every creeper that creeps on the earth
27Elohim created the groundling in his image
created it in the image of Elohim
male and female created them
28Elohim blessed them
Elohim said to them
Be fruitful, increase, fill the earth, subject it
Govern the fish of the sea, the fowl of the skies
every beast that creeps on the earth
29Elohim said, Here I give you
all plants seeding seed upon the face of all the earth
and every tree with tree-fruit in it seeding seed
It shall be for you for eating
30And for every beast of the earth
for every fowl of the skies
for all that creeps on the earth with living soul in it
all green of plants for eating
It was so
31Elohim saw all that he had made Here, it was very good
It was evening, it was morning
The sixth day
21They were finished, the skies, the earth
and all their company
2Elohim had finished on the seventh day
his work that he had done
He ceased on the seventh day
from all his work that he had done
3Elohim blessed the seventh day and made it holy
for on it he ceased from all his work
that Elohim had created and done
4These are the breedings of the skies and the earth
at their creation
CHAPTER 27
1When Isaac was old
and his eyes were dim to see with
he called his elder son Esau and said to him
My son!
He said, Here I am
2He said, Look, I am old
I do not know the day of my death
3Now please lift your things
your quiver-belt and your bow
go out into the field and hunt game for me
4Make me the delicacies that I love
Bring them to me and I will eat
so shall my soul bless you
before I die
5Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to his son Esau
Esau went to the field to hunt game to bring in
6Rebekah spoke to her son Jacob, saying
Here, I heard your father
as he spoke to your brother Esau, saying
7Bring me game and make me delicacies
I will eat and bless you before YHWH
before my death
8Now, my son, hear my voice as I command you
9Please go to the flock
Take me two good kids from there
I will make them into delicacies for your father
such as he loves
10You shall bring them to your father and he will eat
so shall he bless you before his death
11Jacob said to his mother Rebekah
Here, my brother Esau is a hairy man
and I a smooth man
12Perhaps my father will feel<me?
In his eyes I will be a mocker
I will bring doom on myself not a blessing
13His mother said to him
Your doom upon me, my son!
Only hear my voice
Go, take them for me
14He went, took and brought them to his mother
His mother made delicacies such as his father loved
15Rebekah took the garments of her elder son Esau
the attractive ones that were with her in the house
She clothed her younger son Jacob
16With the skins of the kids she clothed his hands
and the smoothness of his neck
17She gave the delicacies and the bread she had made
into the hand of her son Jacob
18He came to his father and said, My father!
He said, Here I am
Which one are you, my son?
19Jacob said to his father
I am Esau your first-born
I have done as you spoke to me
Please rise, sit down and eat of my game
so shall your soul bless me!
20Isaac said to his son
How is it you found it so hurriedly, my son!
He said
Because YHWH your Elohim made it happen for me
21Isaac said to Jacob, Draw close and I will feel you, my son
Are you my son Esau or not?
22Jacob drew close to his father Isaac
He felt him and said, The voice is Jacob's voice
but the hands are Esau's hands!
23He did not recognise him
for his hands were like his brother Esau's hands
hairy
He will bless him
24He said, Are you my son Esau?
He said, I am
25He said, Bring it close to me
I will eat of my son's game
so shall my soul bless you
He brought him wine and he drank
26His father Isaac said to him
Draw close please and kiss me, my son!
27He drew close and kissed him
He smelled the smell of his garments
He blessed him and said
See, my son's smell
is like the smell of a field
that YHWH has blessed
28The Elohim shall give you
the dew of the skies
and the fat of the earth
an abundance of corn and new wine
29People shall serve you
folks prostrate themselves before you
Be master to your brothers
They shall prostrates themselves before you
your mother's sons!
Let those who curse you be cursed
Let those who bless you be blessed
30When Isaac had finished blessing Jacob
and when Jacob had just gone out, gone out
from before his father Isaac
His brother Esau came in from his hunt!
31He too made delicacies
and brought them to his father
He said to his father
Let my father rise and eat of his son's game
so shall your soul bless me!
32His father Isaac said to him
Which one are you?
He said, I am your son, your first-born, Esau!
33Isaac trembled with an exceedingly great trembling
He said, Who was it then
that hunted game and brought it to me?
I ate it all before you came and blessed him
So blessed he shall be!
34When Esau heard his father's words
he cried an exceedingly great and bitter cry
He said to his father
Bless me, me too, my father!
35He said, Your brother came with trickery
and took your blessing
36He said, Did they not call his name Heeler (Jacob)?
He has heeled me already two times!
He took my birthright
and here now he has taken my blessing!
He said, Have you not set aside a blessing for me?
37Isaac answered and said to Esau
Here, I have set him up as your master
I have given him all his brothers as servants
With corn and new wine I have sustained him
For you then what shall I do, my son?
38Esau said to his father
Have you only one blessing, my father?
Bless me, me too, my father!
Esau lifted up his voice and wept
39His father Isaac answered and said to him
Here, of the fat of the earth
shall your settlement be
of the dew of the skies above
40By your sword you shall live
Your brother you shall serve
But when you grow restive
you shall rip his yoke from your neck
41Esau bore Jacob malice
on account of the blessing
his father had blessed him with
Esau said in his heart
The days of mourning for my father draw near
I will kill my brother Jacob
42Rebekah was told of her elder son Esau's words
She sent and called for her younger son Jacob
She said to him, Here! Your brother Esau
will find comfort in killing you
43Now, my son, hear my voice
Rise, flee to my brother Laban in Haran
44Stay with him some days
till your brother's heat turns away
45Till your brother's anger turns away from you
and he forgets what you have done to him
I will send and take you from there
Why, shall I be bereft of the two of you in one day?
46Rebekah said to Isaac
I loathe my life because of the daughters of Heth
If Jacob takes a woman
from the daughters of Heth like those
from the daughters of the land
what is life to me?
