Exodus 1:8-2:10 A favorite pastime among readers is to list the best first lines of novels – sentences that are so good they hook the reader instantly. Think of the opening line from Anna Karenina: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Or Moby Dick: “Call me Ishmael.” “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” from A Tale of Two Cities, and my personal favorite: “124 was spiteful,” from Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved. And chapter 1, verse 8 from the book of Exodus, is also one of the best: “Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.” Now, you might say it doesn’t count because it’s not the first line – it’s the eighth line of the book. Technically you are right – but I think verses 1-7 are more like a prologue to the story. The real […]
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