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    • Genesis
      • Gen 12-25 (Abraham)
      • Gen 25-36 (Isaac & Jacob)
      • Gen 37-50 (Joseph)
    • Exodus
      • Exodus 1-4 (Moses’ life and call)
      • Exodus 5-15 (Plagues and exodus)
      • Exodus 15-19 (Wilderness and Sinai)
      • Exodus 20 (Ten Commandments)
      • Exodus 20-24 (Book of the Covenant)
    • Judges
      • Gideon
      • Abimelech
      • Jephthah
      • Samson
    • 1 Samuel
      • 1 Samuel 1-8 (Road to monarchy)
      • 1 Samuel 9-15 (Saul)
      • 1 Sam 16-31 (David)
    • 2 Samuel
      • 2 Samuel 1-8
      • 2 Samuel 9-20
      • 2 Samuel 21-24
    • Ezra-Nehemiah
      • Ezra 1-6 (temple building)
      • Ezra 7-10 (Ezra in Jerusalem)
      • Neh 1-7 (wall building)
      • Neh 8-13 (covenant renewal)
    • Psalms
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    • Jeremiah
      • Jeremiah 1-25
      • Jeremiah 26-45
    • Amos
    • Obadiah
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    • Micah
    • Nahum
    • Habakkuk
    • Haggai
    • Zechariah
      • Zechariah 1-8
      • Zechariah 9-14
    • Matthew
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  • Introductory notes
    • Gen 12-50 intro
    • Exodus 1-24 intro
    • Judges intro
    • 1 Samuel intro
    • 2 Samuel intro
    • Ezra-Nehemiah intro
    • Intro to the Prophets
    • Jeremiah intro
    • Amos intro
    • Jonah intro
    • Micah intro
    • Habakkuk intro
    • Haggai intro
    • Zechariah intro
  • Seasonal
    • Advent 2019
    • Advent 2020
    • Advent 2022
    • Christmas
    • Easter
    • New Year
  • Topical
    • An eye for an eye (lex talionis)
    • Can a righteous person save a city?
    • Child sacrifice and a loving God
    • Discerning true prophecy from false
    • Destruction of the Amalekites
    • Disasters and God’s judgment
    • Does God change His mind?
    • God’s justice in this world
    • Gospels
    • Evaluating biblical characters
    • Hardening of Pharaoh’s heart
    • How did David meet Saul?
    • Intergenerational punishment
    • Jephthah’s vow
    • Jonah and historicity
    • Jesus the Nazarene? (Matt 2:23)
    • Justice and forgiveness
    • Light and God’s salvation plan in Isaiah
    • Melchizedek’s significance
    • Messianic prophecies
    • Natural or supernatural event?
    • Numbers leaving Egypt
    • Passover lamb’s bones
    • Prophecy and multiple fulfilments
    • Prosperity gospel
    • Racial purity in Ezra 9?
    • Reading OT Law
    • Reckoning Abraham righteousness (Gen 15:6)
    • Significance of genealogies
    • The art of telling a story
    • Un-chosen: Is God unfair?
    • Were the exiles racist?
  • About Me
  • Contact Me
  • Home
  • Bible reading notes
    • Genesis
      • Gen 12-25 (Abraham)
      • Gen 25-36 (Isaac & Jacob)
      • Gen 37-50 (Joseph)
    • Exodus
      • Exodus 1-4 (Moses’ life and call)
      • Exodus 5-15 (Plagues and exodus)
      • Exodus 15-19 (Wilderness and Sinai)
      • Exodus 20 (Ten Commandments)
      • Exodus 20-24 (Book of the Covenant)
    • Judges
      • Gideon
      • Abimelech
      • Jephthah
      • Samson
    • 1 Samuel
      • 1 Samuel 1-8 (Road to monarchy)
      • 1 Samuel 9-15 (Saul)
      • 1 Sam 16-31 (David)
    • 2 Samuel
      • 2 Samuel 1-8
      • 2 Samuel 9-20
      • 2 Samuel 21-24
    • Ezra-Nehemiah
      • Ezra 1-6 (temple building)
      • Ezra 7-10 (Ezra in Jerusalem)
      • Neh 1-7 (wall building)
      • Neh 8-13 (covenant renewal)
    • Psalms
    • Isaiah
    • Jeremiah
      • Jeremiah 1-25
      • Jeremiah 26-45
    • Amos
    • Obadiah
    • Jonah
    • Micah
    • Nahum
    • Habakkuk
    • Haggai
    • Zechariah
      • Zechariah 1-8
      • Zechariah 9-14
    • Matthew
    • Luke
    • John
  • Introductory notes
    • Gen 12-50 intro
    • Exodus 1-24 intro
    • Judges intro
    • 1 Samuel intro
    • 2 Samuel intro
    • Ezra-Nehemiah intro
    • Intro to the Prophets
    • Jeremiah intro
    • Amos intro
    • Jonah intro
    • Micah intro
    • Habakkuk intro
    • Haggai intro
    • Zechariah intro
  • Seasonal
    • Advent 2019
    • Advent 2020
    • Advent 2022
    • Christmas
    • Easter
    • New Year
  • Topical
    • An eye for an eye (lex talionis)
    • Can a righteous person save a city?
    • Child sacrifice and a loving God
    • Discerning true prophecy from false
    • Destruction of the Amalekites
    • Disasters and God’s judgment
    • Does God change His mind?
    • God’s justice in this world
    • Gospels
    • Evaluating biblical characters
    • Hardening of Pharaoh’s heart
    • How did David meet Saul?
    • Intergenerational punishment
    • Jephthah’s vow
    • Jonah and historicity
    • Jesus the Nazarene? (Matt 2:23)
    • Justice and forgiveness
    • Light and God’s salvation plan in Isaiah
    • Melchizedek’s significance
    • Messianic prophecies
    • Natural or supernatural event?
    • Numbers leaving Egypt
    • Passover lamb’s bones
    • Prophecy and multiple fulfilments
    • Prosperity gospel
    • Racial purity in Ezra 9?
    • Reading OT Law
    • Reckoning Abraham righteousness (Gen 15:6)
    • Significance of genealogies
    • The art of telling a story
    • Un-chosen: Is God unfair?
    • Were the exiles racist?
  • About Me
  • Contact Me
  • Bible reading notes,  Gen 37-50 (Joseph),  Genesis

    How to live with the mystery of God’s election? (Gen 49:1-7)

    Gen 49:1-7 Randolph Churchill, the son of the war-time Prime Minister Winston Churchill, was a gifted communicator, bright, handsome, and well-connected. His father indulged him and allowed him at a young age to participate in dinner conversations with politicians of…

    By Csilla Saysell January 12, 2024
  • Bible reading notes,  Gen 37-50 (Joseph),  Genesis

    Depending on God’s mercy (Genesis 48)

    Gen 48:1-22 When I ponder my life and the opportunities I have been given compared to my parents’ generation, I feel humbled. They spent most of their lives under a Communist system that restricted travel and isolated people from the…

    By Csilla Saysell January 9, 2024
  • Bible reading notes,  Gen 37-50 (Joseph),  Genesis

    Is Joseph exploitative with the Egyptians? (Gen 47:13-31)

    Gen 47:13-31 Our reading continues the story of God’s provision that focused earlier on Jacob’s family and hinted at God’s larger concern for His entire world. However, Joseph’s measures to provide sustenance for the Egyptians may seem rather harsh and…

    By Csilla Saysell January 5, 2024
  • Bible reading notes,  New Year,  Psalms,  Seasonal

    The secret to renewing our walk with God (Psalm 103)

    Ps 103:1-22 The New Year is traditionally a time of stocktaking and making resolutions, but so often these peter out within a few weeks. Our determination for a renewed walk with God (more Bible reading, prayer, becoming more loving, humble,…

    By Csilla Saysell January 2, 2024
  • Uncategorized

    Happy Christmas and New Year!

    Wishing you all a peaceful and joyful Christmas and God’s presence with you in the New Year! Thank you for reading along this year. I shall be back next week with the usual schedule.

    By Csilla Saysell December 25, 2023
  • Christmas,  Seasonal

    Christmas: The King whose power can be trusted

    Dan 7:13-14; Mk 10:32-45 Western secular culture seems obsessed with the question of power today. Young people are often suspicious of authority and refuse to submit to it and want to make their own way, irrespective of authority figures and…

    By Csilla Saysell December 22, 2023
  • Christmas,  Seasonal

    Advent: Waiting for the King (Dan 7:1-12)

    Dan 7:1-12 As Christmas is approaching, the world is in turmoil. Wars and fighting have always been with us, but the war in Ukraine and the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza feel more acute and closer to home to…

    By Csilla Saysell December 19, 2023
  • Bible reading notes,  Gen 37-50 (Joseph),  Genesis,  Significance of genealogies,  Topical

    The significance of genealogies and Jacob’s family tree (Gen 46:8-27)

    Gen 46:8-27 Genealogies are possibly the most boring parts of the Bible for us, modern readers, but they have an essential function for ancient people. We tend to think of family trees as purely information about who relates to whom,…

    By Csilla Saysell December 15, 2023
  • Bible reading notes,  Gen 37-50 (Joseph),  Genesis

    Can it be God’s plan, if things go wrong later? (Gen 46:1-47:12)

    Gen 46:1-34; 47:1-12 An Old Testament lecturer of mine once suggested that Jacob should have returned to Canaan after the famine and never have settled in Egypt. While I felt that this interpretation was mistaken, it does touch on an…

    By Csilla Saysell December 12, 2023
  • Bible reading notes,  Gen 37-50 (Joseph),  Genesis

    Trust in the overruling providence of God (Gen 45:1-28)

    Gen 45:1-23 Few narratives in the Old Testament have the same emotional appeal for modern readers as that of Joseph and his brothers. Although the story is well known, it can still move us as it explains a tragic, even…

    By Csilla Saysell December 8, 2023
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About Me

Hi, I’m Csilla!

Labradorite is a gemstone that, like Scripture to some, looks grey and lifeless until the light is diffracted from its internal layers to show a beautiful iridescence. As an Old Testament scholar, I write to help draw out Scripture’s colours by sharing practical insights and a deeper knowledge of God’s Word.

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