WHAT DOES A CATHOLIC BISHOP REALLY DO?♗♝

 

EPISODE 115: WHAT DOES A CATHOLIC BISHOP REALLY DO?

In this episode of The Catholic Talk Show, the guys are joined by His Excellency, Bishop David Toups of the Diocese of Beaumont to discuss the theology and role of Catholic Bishops. Episode 115:  In this episode, we will discuss: • How are Bishops different than Priests? • How does a priest get considered for the role of Bishop? • How do you get told you’re becoming a Bishop? • Should Catholics trust the Bishops? • and much more

WATCH THE FULL EPISODE NOW

HELP SUPPORT THE CATHOLIC TALK SHOW!

Who Is an Arab? By John Tvedtnes

 

Who Is an Arab?

By John Tvedtnes

Who is an Arab? The answer varies according to the person giving the reply. One who considers himself an Arab would say that an Arab is someone who speaks Arabic, but he probably would not mention his historical background. Most Westerners would think of a Muslim as an Arab. Yet the Iranians, Turks, Pakistanis, Indonesians, and many others are Muslims—but don’t speak Arabic. Moreover, some Arabic-speaking peoples are Christian, while others are Druze (an offshoot of Islam).

Perhaps the most historically accurate answer is that most often given by Christians and Jews: the Arabs are descendants of Ishmael, the firstborn son of Abraham. This highly oversimplified definition no doubt stems from the fact that Muhammed was of the Ishmaelite tribe of Quraish. But not all Arabs are Ishmaelites.

The earliest Arabians, according to the Bible, were the descendants of Joktan, who lived five generations after the flood.¹ The Joktanites lived in the fertile regions of southern Arabia, and were the “Arabians that were near the Ethiopians.”² They were traders, some of whom in later years actually crossed the Red Sea to settle in Ethiopia. One of the sons of Joktan was Sheba, ancestor of the Queen of Sheba who visited Solomon.³

The northern Arabian tribes were, for the most part, descended from Abraham through Ishmael, son of his Egyptian wife, Hagar. His descendants inhabited the coastal area of western Arabia.⁴

By his third wife, Keturah, Abraham had six sons, whom he sent to dwell in the east so that Isaac could inherit Canaan.⁵ Because they lived in an essentially desert land, they were nomads, and hence we read of the “travelling companies of Dedanim,”⁶ and of “the Arabian in the wilderness.”⁷ Some of them pitched their tents as far away as Babylon, it would seem.⁸

Perhaps the best-known tribe was the Midianite tribe. Moses’ father-in-law Jethro was a Midianite, and his descendants, the Kenites, settled in Palestine with the Israelites under Joshua.⁹

The Edomites, located in the mountainous region southeast of the Dead Sea, were descendants of Abraham and Isaac through Esau or Edom.¹⁰ They mingled with the Horites or children of Seir,¹¹ but acknowledged their close relationship to Israel as descendants of Jacob’s brother.¹² They often warred with Israel,¹³ and were never included within the Israelite borders.¹⁴ In Maccabean times, their land was called Idumea, and hence, King Herod the Great, an Idumean convert to Judaism, was a descendant of Esau.

The trans-Jordanian Arabs of today are all related to Abraham as well. The Aramaeans, or Syrians, are perhaps descendants of Aram, the great-nephew of Abraham.¹⁵ Or they may be descended from Aram, son of Shem.¹⁶ It was to Syria that the patriarchs traveled to find wives in their own families.¹⁷ Though the early seat of the Aramaeans was beyond the Euphrates, by the time of David they had moved south to Damascus and Beth-Rehob.¹⁸ They became subject to David, but gained independence in Solomon’s time.

The Moabites and Ammonites are descendants of Lot, Abraham’s nephew. When Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, Lot’s two daughters, believing that the world had come to an end, intoxicated their father and deceived him into fathering children by them.¹⁹ The Ammonites lived east of Mount Gilead, from the Jabbok southwards.²⁰ They were subject to King David²¹ and although they later became independent, they nevertheless presented gifts to King Uzziah.²² Their brethren, the Moabites, lived along the eastern bank of the Jordan River and east of the Dead Sea. They warred constantly with Israel.²³ Their language, known from the Moabite Stela, erected by King Mesha in honor of his victories over Israel,²⁴ was almost identical to Hebrew.

Except for those living in the Arabian peninsula, however, none of these peoples spoke Arabic prior to the seventh century A.D., and only those living in Arabia would have termed themselves Arabs. When Muhammed made his famous journey to Medina in 621 as the first step in the establishment of a Muslim Arab state, even the Arabs were far from united. Broken into many factions throughout the peninsula, most were idolators, while those in the north tended to be Christians; there were even numerous Arabic-speaking Jewish tribes.

From Arabia, the Arabs moved outward to conquer most of the Middle East (Asia Minor remained Greek until the Turkish invasion some 850 years later), all of North Africa, and the Iberian Peninsula. Arabic became the new language for all of the conquered lands; and over the years, the natives came to consider themselves Arabs. Thus, the Egyptians, Libyans, and Phoenicians, all descendants of Ham,²⁵ were assimilated with the invading Arabs. So were the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Berbers of North Africa. We can also say that the Arabs of the Gaza Strip are, to a great extent, descendants of the Philistines, after whom the land of Palestine was named. Palestine has perhaps seen more mixing of peoples than most areas of the world, due to its strategic position on trade and military routes. The Israelites took control of the land under Joshua, but were unable to completely destroy the Canaanites.²⁶ Then, subsequent invasions brought the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Medes and Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans, some of whom, in each case, remained and intermarried with the local population. Byzantium inherited the scepter from Rome, and it was against Byzantine Palestine that the Arabs moved in 638. Later invasions by the Crusaders, Mongols, Turks, etc., brought about further mixtures.

Incongruous as it may seem in the light of the modern conflict in the Holy Land, many of the Palestinian Arabs of today are descendants of the Jews who inhabited the land some 2,000 years ago. Many important Palestinian families can trace their genealogy back to Judah or another of the tribes of Israel. Christian communities of Palestinian Arabs are mostly descended from the original Jewish inhabitants who were converted to Christianity soon after Christ. Those who are still Christian are not usually converts of the Crusaders, but rather descendants of Christians who resisted conversion to Islam in the seventh century. An example is the Maronite Christian community. They speak Arabic but use Aramaic—the language spoken by the Jews of Jesus’ time—in their liturgy.²⁷

The historical answer to the question, “Who is an Arab?” is therefore very complex. It is easy to see why the Arab himself generally takes a linguistic sidestep to: “An Arab is someone who speaks Arabic.”

Genesis 25:19-28:9 English Standard Version🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌

 

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

19 These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham fathered Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. 21 And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?”[a] So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,
    and two peoples from within you[b] shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
    the older shall serve the younger.”

24 When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob.[c] Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Esau Sells His Birthright

29 Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.[d]) 31 Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” 32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

God's Promise to Isaac

26 Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines. 2 And the Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. 4 I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

Isaac and Abimelech

6 So Isaac settled in Gerar. 7 When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he feared to say, “My wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,” because she was attractive in appearance. 8 When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with[e] Rebekah his wife. 9 So Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, she is your wife. How then could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought, ‘Lest I die because of her.’” 10 Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” 11 So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”

12 And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The Lord blessed him, 13 and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. 14 He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him. 15 (Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father.) 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”

17 So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham. And he gave them the names that his father had given them. 19 But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, 20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek,[f] because they contended with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah.[g] 22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth,[h] saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”

23 From there he went up to Beersheba. 24 And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake.” 25 So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac's servants dug a well.

26 When Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army, 27 Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?” 28 They said, “We see plainly that the Lord has been with you. So we said, let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.” 30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace. 32 That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, “We have found water.” 33 He called it Shibah;[i] therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

34 When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, 35 and they made life bitter[j] for Isaac and Rebekah.

Isaac Blesses Jacob

27 When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, 4 and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”

5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, 7 ‘Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the Lord before I die.’ 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you. 9 Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father, such as he loves. 10 And you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.” 11 But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing.” 13 His mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me.”

14 So he went and took them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared delicious food, such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her older son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16 And the skins of the young goats she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 And she put the delicious food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

18 So he went in to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” 19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.” 20 But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the Lord your God granted me success.” 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands. So he blessed him. 24 He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.” 25 Then he said, “Bring it near to me, that I may eat of my son's game and bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.

26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” 27 So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him and said,

“See, the smell of my son
    is as the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed!
28 May God give you of the dew of heaven
    and of the fatness of the earth
    and plenty of grain and wine.
29 Let peoples serve you,
    and nations bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
    and may your mother's sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you,
    and blessed be everyone who blesses you!”

30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also prepared delicious food and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son's game, that you may bless me.” 32 His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” 33 Then Isaac trembled very violently and said, “Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.” 34 As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” 35 But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.” 36 Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob?[k] For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” 37 Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold, I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?” 38 Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:

“Behold, away from[l] the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be,
    and away from[m] the dew of heaven on high.
40 By your sword you shall live,
    and you shall serve your brother;
but when you grow restless
    you shall break his yoke from your neck.”

41 Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42 But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, “Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself about you by planning to kill you. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban my brother in Haran 44 and stay with him a while, until your brother's fury turns away— 45 until your brother's anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereft of you both in one day?”

46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I loathe my life because of the Hittite women.[n] If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

Jacob Sent to Laban

28 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and directed him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women. 2 Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel your mother's father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother. 3 God Almighty[o] bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. 4 May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!” 5 Thus Isaac sent Jacob away. And he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

Esau Marries an Ishmaelite

6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he directed him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram. 8 So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father, 9 Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the wives he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth.

Footnotes

1. Genesis 25:22 Or why do I live?
2. Genesis 25:23 Or from birth
3. Genesis 25:26 Jacob means He takes by the heel, or He cheats
4. Genesis 25:30 Edom sounds like the Hebrew for red
5. Genesis 26:8 Hebrew may suggest an intimate relationship
6. Genesis 26:20 Esek means contention
7. Genesis 26:21 Sitnah means enmity
8. Genesis 26:22 Rehoboth means broad places, or room
9. Genesis 26:33 Shibah sounds like the Hebrew for oath
10. Genesis 26:35 Hebrew they were bitterness of spirit
11. Genesis 27:36 Jacob means He takes by the heel, or He cheats
12. Genesis 27:39 Or Behold, of
13. Genesis 27:39 Or and of
14. Genesis 27:46 Hebrew daughters of Heth
15. Genesis 28:3 Hebrew El Shaddai