2 Chronicles 30:1 through 31:21
30:1
Wikipedia thinks that Ephraim and Manasseh are imaginery metaphors, not actually men who fathered actual tribes, as referenced in this passage.
Ephraim was, according to the Book of Genesis, the second son of Joseph and Asenath, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Ephraim; however Biblical scholars view this as What is “post diction?”, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation[1]. The text of the Torah argues that the name of Ephraim, which means double fruitfulness, refers to the Joseph's ability to produce children, specifically while in Egypt (termed by the Torah as the land of his affliction)[2]. [rest of this article].
This article is about postdiction in the criticism of parapsychology, not about the scientific technique also called retrodiction.
According to critics of paranormal beliefs, postdiction (or post-shadowing, retroactive clairvoyance, or prediction after the fact) is an effect of hindsight bias that explains claimed predictions of significant events, such as plane crashes and natural disasters. In religious contexts it is frequently referred to by the Latin term vaticinium ex eventu, or prophesy after the event. Through this term, critics claim that many biblical prophecies (and similar prophecies in other religions) that may appear to have come true were in fact written after the events supposedly predicted, or that their text or interpretation were modified after the event to fit the facts as they occurred.
It is typically skeptics who use these terms in response to claims made by psychics, astrologers and other paranormalists to have predicted an event, when the original prediction was vague, catch-all, or otherwise non-obvious. [rest of this article].
Easton’s Bible Dictionary disagrees:
Double fruitfulness ("for God had made him fruitful in the land of his affliction"). The second son of Joseph, born in
30:2
Interesting that in light of all the strict regulations of the law, the priests just resort to “gitterdun” mentality. It seems like they’re saying, “under the circumstances, let’s make the best of things” and God—the God of the Old Testament—apparently approves of it. This helps make the case that the God of the OT and NT is the same God, not temperamentally different. Holiness via both justice, mercy and patience is his character in both OT and NT.
30:10
Wow, the people scorned the king’s initiative. Only men from Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun came. Apparently, Ephraim sat this one out, even though it was their father who inherited Jacob’s blessing in Genesis 48:10. What does this portend for Ephraim? I wonder if this has something to do with Ephraim’s relatively ephemeral existence? Today, lefty scholars doubt his real existence, relegating his legacy to an eponymous goof.
30:15
The Levites were “ashamed.” Wow, that’s not something you read about in the bible very often. If only Pharisees and Saducees were recorded as demonstrating this more often. In fact, for all of us.
30:16
Interesting that the writer occasionally dips back into Moses’ title, “the man of God.” Like this is a formal historical account, like I would reference not just Colin Powell, but General Colin Powel, or Dr. Chris Ricketts.
30:20
“And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.” Amazing, in that God seems to suspend the rules for the sake of accepting what his wounded people are able to bring to him at the moment. It’s an act of justice and mercy in one moment, kind of like my child bringing me a hand full of freshly picked dandelions and being proud and eager to bless me with these “flowers.”
30:21
“…accompanied by the Lord’s instruments of praise.” A repudiation of those who believe that acapella worship is God’s ordained method of worship.
30:27
“heaven, his holy dwelling place.” I’m not sure I remember that descriptor for heaven appearing elsewhere in the bible.
30:21
“…he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.”
Wonderful calling and legacy for me and my family.
