Genesis 37

Here we have one of the most popular stories in the Bible. Young Josepeh, who is a tad spoiled and clearly his father’s favorite son, does a great job of annoying his older brothers. One day, his father sends Joseph to check on his brothers, who are tending the flock, he chases them for miles and miles until finally catching up with them near Dothan. When his brother’s see him in the distance, they plot to kill him.

Genesis 37: 19-20, JPS, They said to one another, “Here comes that dreamer!” Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we can say, ‘A savage beast devoured him.’ We shall see what comes of his dreams!”

Joseph’s brothers are certainly a nasty lot, with the exception of Reuben, who tried to rescue Joseph. Of course, a few of these are the same brothers who laid waste to the town where Dinah was abducted. And Reuben was the son that slept with his father’s concubine, so this may have been an attempt to regain his father’s favor.

In the end, they decide to sell him to a caravan of Ishmaelites that is passing by, on the way to Egypt. In a trick that resembles one that Jacob pulled on his father Isaac, the brothers return home with Joseph’s richly ornamented robe, which they deceivingly dipped in goat’s blood. Jacob sees the coat and assumes that Joseph has been killed by a wild animal.

This is our first introduction to Joseph, and we find him a wily, spoiled teenager. So far, all of the other patriarchs have not lived up to the saintly stories I heard in my childhood. I look forward to reading Joseph’s stories from an adult perspective, and hopefully coming across at least one patriarch that I can actually like.

Genesis 35

I have to admit, I’m growing weary of Genesis. And it doesn’t seem to be getting any better.

Genesis 35:1, NIV Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.”

When times get tough, Jacob’s response always seems to flee the scene. And here, you see him doing it again. His sons just pillaged an entire town, murdering all of the men and kidnapping the women and children. Instead of rebuking this behavior, God conveniently “commands” Jacob to flee to Bethel.

Genesis 35:5, NIV Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.

So…God is using terrorism to strike fear in the hearts of all the citizens of the towns around Jacob’s family. And this is okay, why?

For the second time, Jacob is re-named Israel. This chapter, like many others, is filled with repeated and/or contradictory information. The naming of Bethel and Jacob, that happens on more than one occasion, would lead you to believe that this is not a book written by one person, but cobbled together from multiple authors, each with their own agenda.

Rachel dies giving birth to Ben. With her last dying breath, she names her son Ben-Oni, which means “son of my sorrow”. However, Jacob—kind, caring Jacob—immediately renames him Benjamin, which means “son of my right hand.”

In keeping with the dysfunctionality of previous chapters, Jacob’s eldest son Reuben sleeps with the concubine Bilhah, and Isaac finally breathes his last breath.

This map is really showing Abraham's early journey, but you can see how Jacob is
back-tracking on a similar path, leaving Canaan to go to Paddan Aarm, near Haran.

Genesis 28

After Jacob’s deceit, Esau is not happy, and at the end of the last chapter he threatens to kill Jacob, just as soon as their father dies. Rebekah asks Isaac to send Jacob away, to keep him alive as well as out of the hands of a Hittite wife (remember the disdain for Esau’s Hittite wives).

Genesis 28: 6-9, NIV Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,” and Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Issac; so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ismael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.

Poor Esau. He doesn’t seem to be the sharpest tool in the shed. He only now realizes that his family did not want him to marry Canaanite women? It strikes me that this is a concept that Rebekah would have drilled into him growing up. Interesting to note, that back in chapter 25, Mahalath is not mentioned in Ishmael’s geneaoloy, presumably because she is a daughter and not a son.

Some rabbis believe that Esau’s marriage to Mahalath reflected his desire to repent of his wayward deeds and act in accordance with Isaac and Rebekah’s wishes. Another view would be that Esau married the daughter of Ishmael, and conspired with his father-in-law (another jilted son in the clan of Abraham) to kill Isaac. This theory is based on the fact that Esau does not divorce his two Hittite wives when he marries Mahalath.

Jacob's Irreverence

Genesis 28:10-12, NIV Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

I found the note to accompany Gen. 28:12 in my NIV Student Bible interesting, and will include it here:

28:12 A Stairway to Heaven

God’s grace: this is what Jacob found while traveling alone in the desert. Through his own greedy scheming he had won the family birthright and then, ironically, had had to run away from the family. Yet God came to him full of promises, not the reproaches he deserved. Jacob had not looked for God, but God looked for him. Jacob’s vision of a stairway to heaven looked forward to Jesus, who himself is the bridge between heaven and earth.

I find it interesting how so many aspects of the Old Testament are tied in to Jesus. And in my opinion, this verse is more a sign that the author held to the belief that the sky was solid, and Heaven was directly above the earth.

I have a hazy recollection of the Jacob and Esau storyline from childhood, and I truly thought that when God appeared, at the very least he would chastise Jacob for his deceptions. But there is no punishment, no mention of his behavior. In fact, he is rewarded. Compare that to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and particularly Lot’s wife, who made one tiny mistake. I can’t quite understand the reasoning for this story, as a myth or as “truth”.

At the end of the chapter Jacob anoints a rock (yes, you heard that right) with oil, and proclaims its future purpose as a pillar of God’s house. I’m curious to see if this rock makes a reappearance in future stories.

I will end with one of the craziest verses in an overall crazy chapter.

Genesis 28:20-22, NIV Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

I honestly don’t see how you can take this seriously. Jacob is essentially bribing God. Well, I will only follow you if you give me everything I want. It’s ridiculous and laughable. Jacob sets out requirements that have to be met before he will follow God, but Christians are expected to follow on blind faith?

New Words:

Paddan Aram – an early Aramean kingdom in Mesopotamia. In Aramaic, it means the field of Aram. I could not find any information about Paddan Aram outside of the Bible.

Genesis 27

Jacob lives up to his name as the deceiver in this chapter. With the help of his mother, Rebekah—who plays a pivotal role, Jacob is guaranteed his father’s blessing and inheritance.

We know that Jacob was Rebekah’s favorite, and that she did not love her other son, Esau. But in this chapter she stoops so low as to dupe her husband, Isaac, who becomes an innocent victim in this charade to make Jacob the chosen one.

Brothers do not fare well in Genesis: Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau. The women are either nameless or conniving and cruel. And so far, the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob earn God’s approval despite the schemes, deceptions, and lies. I guess God has a twisted sense of humor! These early stories in the biblical canon contain very little examples of anyone doing something out of the kindness of their heart. There always seem to be hidden motives and second-guessing. The stories and tales of the patriarchs seem to be the equivalent of the modern day soap opera!

As one of the founding fathers of Judaism, is Jacob supposed to be looked up to and admired? Why does stealing seem to be advocated in almost every chapter? Abraham steals from the Pharoah and Abimelech. All of Abraham’s people will eventually be told to steal from all the non-Jews that live in the Promised Land. Jacob steals from his own brother.

Isaac and Abimelech

Genesis 26

This chapter in Isaac’s life holds many parallels to Abraham’s time spent in Gerar, near King Abimelech. Like his father, Isaac lies about his relationship with Rebekah, claiming her as his sister. King Abimelech finds out, and orders that no harm shall come to him, despite his lies. Isaac continues to be blessed by God, and becomes very wealthy (isn’t he already wealthy as the sole heir to Abraham’s wealth?). The Philistines once again fill in all the wells that his father’s servants had dug during the time of Abraham. Isaac is definitely walking in his father’s footsteps. The parallels and dualities are uncanny, and could imply an ancient scholar who split one mythological tale into two separate components.

This chapter mainly consists of:

·      Another famine. However, in this instance, Isaac is specifically requested by God not to go to Egypt, as his father had done during a time of famine.

·      A reiteration of the Abrahamic Covenant from God (Gen 26:3 “For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.”

·      Repetition of Abraham’s wrongdoing (Gen 26:7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.”

·      The Philistines fill the wells that were dug by Abraham’s servants. This also occurred in Genesis 21.

·      King Abimelech asks Isaac to move away, as he has become too powerful.

·      Isaac digs some more wells, and is opposed by other herdsman in the area.

·      Isaac receives a visit from King Abimelech at his new location, near his new well, and they sign a treaty together.

The moral of this passage seen through the eyes of religious Christians is that a person can choose to live by principle or providence. Walking by providence, as Issac did at the beginning, means a person will still arrive where God wants us to be, but without the joy of being an active participant. Living by principle, means walking joyfully, with God….to the same location.

According to the Jewish Midrash (Bereishit Rabba 64:3) this passage explains that an offering to God must stay in the temple courtyard. Thus, because Isaac was an offering to God—remember the whole sacrifice thing back in Genesis 22—he must stay within the boundaries of the Promised Land.

That still sounds quite a bit like pre-destination to me.

Is this the same King Abimelech?

The jury seems to be out on whether or not the King Abimelech in Genesis 26 is the same Abimelech found in Genesis 20 and 21. Judaism is known for its endless amount of midrash, or commentary, on the Bible and Jewish laws. In the case of Abimelech, even early scholars found the Abimelech dilemma compelling.

Esau’s Wives

At the very end of this chapter, we find out that Esau committed the sin of marrying two women. The polygamous relationship does not seem to be the focal point of his sin; rather, it is the ethnicity of his wives. They are both Hittite. And, according to Genesis 26:35, They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

We will be taking a closer look at Esau’s wives shortly.