Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

BROTHER

A designation for social relationships, sometimes familial, sometimes political. Cain and Abel are familial brothers, but the term (Heb. ʾāḥ/ʾaḥîm) also relates to their economic roles as farmer and shepherd within agrarian society (Gen. 4). The story of Esau and Jacob is one of family, but it also establishes the political dominance of Israel over Edom.

Biblical storytellers used the language and structure of family to weave together the disparate elements that constituted Israel. The Israelite God was both king and father of this heterogeneous nation. The tribes within the nation related themselves to this God as sons to a father, subjects to a ruler; and the covenant arrangement bound the tribes to each other through clearly defined obligations and responsibilities as brother to brother.

In narratives, brotherly relationships are often contentious as male siblings compete for divine approval (Gen. 4), paternal blessing (Gen. 27), and succession (1 Kgs. 1–2). Joseph’s brothers, jealous because he is Jacob’s favorite, plot to kill their arrogant sibling (Gen. 37), and Amnon rapes his half-sister Tamar, while her brother Absalom exploits her anguish to remove his brother as a rival (2 Sam. 13). Yet brothers sometimes band together against common enemies, as Dinah’s brothers did (Gen. 34), or willingly support their sibling, as Jonathan did with David (1 Sam. 18, 20).

In the NT, doing the will of the Father in heaven makes one a brother or sister to Jesus of Nazareth (Mark 3:35) and to other members of the Christian community.

Kathleen S. Nash

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

BROTHER

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)