be troubled at one's presence

[ziawj2]

l[FONT=&#23435]And Joseph['d[/FONT][FONT=&#23435]ʒə[/FONT][FONT=&#23435]uzif] said unto his [/FONT][FONT=&#23435]brethren[[/FONT]‘[FONT=&#23435]br[/FONT][FONT=&#23435]ə[/FONT][FONT=&#23435]ðr[/FONT][FONT=&#23435]ə[/FONT][FONT=&#23435]n], I am Joseph; doth[/FONT][FONT=&#23435]my father yet live? And his brethren [/FONT][FONT=&#23435]could not answer him; for they were troubled at [/FONT][FONT=&#23435]his presence. [/FONT]
[FONT=&#23435][/FONT]
[FONT=&#23435]Why Joseph's brothers were troubled at his presence?[/FONT]

 

[Raymott]

l[FONT=&#23435]And Joseph['d[/FONT][FONT=&#23435]ʒə[/FONT][FONT=&#23435]uzif] said unto his [/FONT][FONT=&#23435]brethren[[/FONT]‘[FONT=&#23435]br[/FONT][FONT=&#23435]ə[/FONT][FONT=&#23435]ðr[/FONT][FONT=&#23435]ə[/FONT][FONT=&#23435]n] - I would thought /‘[FONT=&#23435]br[/FONT][FONT=&#23435]e[/FONT][FONT=&#23435]ðr[/FONT][FONT=&#23435]ə[/FONT][FONT=&#23435]n/. It's rare that English words have all schwas for vowels.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&#23435]I am Joseph; doth [/FONT][FONT=&#23435]my father yet live? And his brethren [/FONT][FONT=&#23435]could not answer him; for they were troubled at [/FONT][FONT=&#23435]his presence. [/FONT]

[FONT=&#23435]Why Joseph's brothers were troubled at his presence?[/FONT]

What's the source?

 

[ziawj2]

What's the source?

It's from Genesis 45:3, the Old Testament, the Bible.

I guess that Joseph's brothers may have done something wrong to their father. Is that right? If it's right, What had Joseph's brothers done to their father?

 

[5jj]

They had done something wrong to Joseph - sold him into slavery.

 

[Barb_D]

Joseph's brothers were upset being with Joseph. It was Joseph's presence that bothered them.

Jed - not bad for an atheist!

 

[5jj]

I did say that the Bible was on my bookshelf. Even a born-again atheist has to accept the enormous influence that that book has had on English language, literature, art and culture.

Besides, I saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'.;-)

 

[birdeen's call]

I guess that Joseph's brothers may have done something wrong to their father. Is that right? If it's right, What had Joseph's brothers done to their father?

As others have said, it wasn't their father to whom they had done something wrong. You might have confused this with another story - the story of Lot's daughters.

Barb, it's quite popular among atheists to know the Bible well.

 

[riquecohen]

Barb, it's quite popular among atheists to know the Bible well.

A recent survey on Americans' knowledge of religion, reported in the New York Times, revealed that atheists and agnostics were the most knowledgeable, followed by Jews and Mormons. May we conclude that the more you know about religion, the less likely you are to believe?

 

[birdeen's call]

May we conclude that the more you know about religion, the less likely you are to believe?

Unless you're a Jew or a Mormon? ;-)

 

[riquecohen]

Unless you're a Jew or a Mormon? ;-)

Good point, but they weren't at the top of the list.

 

[Barb_D]

I was trying to make a joking reference to his other post on the "how do atheists swear" thread. I didn't really mean to start a discussion on whether I really thought atheists were knowledgeable. It was just supposed to be humorous.

 

[5jj]

I thought it was funny, Barb.:lol:

 

[Raymott]

A recent survey on Americans' knowledge of religion, reported in the New York Times, revealed that atheists and agnostics were the most knowledgeable, followed by Jews and Mormons. May we conclude that the more you know about religion, the less likely you are to believe?

There are various postulated causes for this phenomenon.
1. Atheists might be generally more intelligent than religious people, and thus would tend to be more knowledgable about most things.
2. Your point, that learning the truth about religion turns you off it.
3. Atheists and agnostics are more likely than Christians to be skeptical, and base their beliefs on evidence. To do that about religion, you have to understand religious claims and look at them critically.
4. Theists (at least Christians) are generally anti-intellectual, because they are told to be (to be like little children; not to worry about tomorrow, have faith that God will fix things)
5. Finally, many atheists in America are ex-theists. If one is going to reject something important, one is more likely to put some effort into understanding exactly what one is rejecting, while those who are happy with the status quo tend not to make such an effort.

[None of this is meant to be an endorsement of any religious or non-religious view. They are all just hypotheses.]

 

[5jj]

Interesting points, Ray. However, I suspect we are in grave danger of veering off into a religious discussion rather than a language one.