Old Testament

The Ten Commandments do not form a good basis for civil law.

• The first three commandments are essentially different ways of saying to worship no other god, rules which are outside the scope of civil law.
• The next commandment says to do no work on the Sabbath, nor to require or request others to do so or even allow an animal to do so, and is almost never honoured. In any case, there is no good reason for civil law to mandate how we should spend Saturdays or Sundays.
• The fifth commandment is to honour your father and your mother, a useful social rule usually observed out of filial love rather than by bringing to mind a commandment. In any case, whether we honour our parents is not something that can usefully be enforced by civil law.
• The sixth commandment, do not kill, is too general to be the foundation for criminal law, and not relevant to civil law.
• The seventh commandment,do not commit adultery, is too ill-defined to be useful for civil law, and not relevant to criminal law. For example, in Old Testament times it was adultery for a man to have sex with the wife of another Jew, but not with a single woman, widow or prostitute. The commandment was not intended to protect the property rights of non-Jews.
• The eighth commandment, do not steal, is too general to be the foundation for criminal law, and not relevant to civil law.
• The ninth commandment, do not bear false witness against your neighbour, would have originally been intended for some situations now seen as perjury, but has not formed the basis of our criminal law in respect to perjury. It is also commonly seen as a commandment against telling lies, but this has never been incorporated in our civil law.
• The tenth commandment, do not covet that which belongs to your neighbour, including his wife and slaves, would be difficult to enforce in civil law. How do you pass laws against thinking enviously. In any case, wives are no longer thought of as property in Western society, and slaves are no longer permitted.

The modern civil law and criminal law codes are too complex and broad in scope to be compared to a simple list of religious rules.

Another thought:

The one you may be thinking of is Artaxerxes Longimanus, (the successor of Xerxes), who is remembered for authorizing Ezra's return to Jerusalem around 468 BCE. (Ezra 7:1-26 / Ezra 8:24-36)

Additonal Answer:

A historical mention here is that 'Judaism' did not exist in the days of Solomon. The House of Israel was 'whole' in that all 12 tribes communed as one Nation - where Joseph's 2 sons had been adopted by Jacob as sons. They all had the same religious bond as the Congregation of Israel.

Surely Solomon, who asked for and received the gift of wisdom and pondered many things, would have considered Genesis 3:15. In that he would of called him the 'devil' is a good point. But 'adversary' or even 'ha satan' is pausible.

Most importantly, the House of Israel celebrated God's 7 Annual Feasts which included the 'Day of Atonement.' In this Feast we see a ceremony where the High Priest places the sins of Israel upon a goat and let into the Wilderness. The goat was called 'Azazel.' It represented the evil one who would be bound in the start of the Millennial rule as depicted in another Feast of Trumpets.

Only in the Book of Isaiah and in the post-Exilic period do we see the stance of the Old Testament authors soften against the gentiles. Isaiah 45:1 goes as far as to say that God called Cyrus, king of Persia, his anointed. Cyrus had freed the Jews from their captivity.

As far as the Old Testament authors were concerned, God cared only for the Hebrew people and was prepared to have the gentiles persecuted or slaughtered if they got in the way of his Chosen People.

Firstly, the 7 Annual Feast Days are God's Holy Day Plan for mankind. If you know and understand these events, you will know and understand God's plan to save mankind.

The PASSOVER is a memorial of Christ's sacrifice for our sins. He was scourged and crucified on that day in 31 AD. However, on the night before his capture, He gave the Apostles and all in His Church the NEW PASSOVER for us to keep annually in remembrance of Him which can be read in the Gospels.

The FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD pictures our putting sin away and our constant need to obey God.

The PENTECOST pictures the spiritual 'begettal' and the maturing of the 1st fruits of God's plan of Salvation. It was the start of the Church of God in 31 AD.

The FEAST OF TRUMPETS pictures the return of Jesus Christ to raise the 1st fruits to immortality and to setup God's government on Earth.

The DAY OF ATONEMENT pictures deposing, removing, and binding of Satan for 1,000 years.

The FEAST OF TABERNACLES pictures a millennial rest with Satan bound and Christ and His 1st fruits ruling the Earth with God's Law written on their hearts and peace and happiness in God's way of life.

The LAST GREAT DAY pictures the judgement when the vast majority of humanity will be resurrected to mortal life again and GIVEN their opportunity for Salvation like those who are called in their lifetimes (John 6:44;65) and those living in the Millennium.

These are God's Feasts and were kept by Jesus and the Apostles and are to be kept forever (Leviticus 23).

Two daughters, who along with Lot, survived the destruction of the town.

As the above Answer states, there were at least 2, but the exact number and sex can be known exactly.

Lot was a righteous man:-

2Pet 2 (v.7) and if He [ithat is, God] rescued righteous Lot, distressed by the unrestrained behavior of the immoral

He was greatly worried by the behaviour of his fellow inhabitant of Sodom:-

2Pet 2 (v.8) (for as he lived among them, that righteous man [that is, Lot] tormented himself day by day with the lawless deeds he saw and heard) -

And if Lot was worried, it follows that his uncle Abraham was also greatly worried about his nephew Lot and his family who were living in this city. So, when the LORD told Abraham He was going to destroy Sodom and all it's inhabitants, Abraham would immediately have thought of Lot and his family :-

Gen 18 (v.23) Abraham stepped forward and said, "Will You really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

The LORD then said if there were 50 righteous people there He wouldn't destroy it:-

Gen 18 (v.24) What if there are 50 righteous people in the city? Will You really sweep it away instead of sparing the place for the sake of the 50 righteous [that is, Lot and other righteous] people who are in it? Gen 18 (v.23) Abraham stepped forward and said, "Will You really sweep away the righteous[that is, Lot ] with the wicked? ..... ...Gen 18 (v.26) The LORD said, "If I find 50 righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."

Abraham then bargained God down from 50 down to 10 righteous people:-

Gen 18 (v.32) Then he said, "Let the Lord not be angry, and I will speak one more time. Suppose 10 are found there? " He[that is, the LORD] answered, "I will not destroy it on account of 10." Gen 18 (v.33) When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, He departed, and Abraham returned to his place.

Because Abraham stopped at '10', not 4 or 8 or whatever, this means that Abraham knew Lot would now be safe, so there were no more than 10 people in Lot's family.

Genesis 19 shows Lot's known family:-

. Gen 19 (v.12) And the men [ie angels] said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: Gen 19 (v.13) For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it. Gen 19 (v.14) And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law[plural,so there were at least 2], which married his daughters, [plural,so there were at least 2] , and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law. Gen 19 (v.15) And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

Lot's family therefore consisted of:-

• 1 - Lot
• 1 - His wife ( who was turned into pillar of salt)
• 2 - sons-in-law (Gen 19 v.14) ie plural - [this means he had at least 2 married daughters]
• 2 - married daughters
• 2 unmarried daughters (Gen 19 v.15) -1 became mother of Moabites

• 2 sons (Gen 19v.12) ie plural so at least 2

Total: 10

This brings a Total of 10 known members in Lot's family, and since there can't be more than 10, this means that Lot's wife had 6 children (4 daughters [2 Married and 2 single] and 2 sons)

All the plagues were designed to discredit the pagan God's of Egypt.

The first plague was the turning of the Nile into blood. This disgraced Egypt's Nile god 'Hapi', and destroyed the fish, some of which were worshiped and even mummified by the Egyptians. (Exodus 7:19-21)

There is another version of the same passage that comes from the Septuagint, a flawed, early Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures. In this version, Isaiah 7:14 says, "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." This has been read to be a prophecy of Jesus, although it does not actually mention him. In this case, we should remember that Isaiah never wrote 'virgin' in this passage.