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.

Esau and Jacob are reunited....and there is no bloodshed

Genesis 33

Jacob prepares for a violent meeting with his brother Esau, but is pleasantly surprised.

Gensis 33: 4-5, NIV But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children.

Esau is genuinely happy to see his brother, and does not hold on to any bitterness or resentment. He forgives Jacob, and it really makes you wonder why Esau is the one that God (and Rebekah) loathes.

From there, Esau goes back to Seir, and Jacob settles in Succoth, also in Canaan, in what turns out to only be a surface reconciliation on Jacob’s part. Jacob continued to mistrust Esau, and did not want Esau to accompany him, nor did he want Esau to leave some of his men for protection. Jacob let his brother think he was on his way to Esau’s home in Seir, but then turned north to Succoth as soon as Esau was out of sight.

Why does Jacob continue to be God’s favorite when Esau is clearly the better guy?

Here is an answer to that question according to the commentary in my NIV Student Bible:

“God couldn’t choose everyone—moreover, those individuals God did choose were not always the ones we admire. God makes his own judgments, Paul says, and God’s people must bow before him even when they do not understand.”

Blind faith.

Genesis 30

Genesis 30

Genesis 30 begins with a feud between Rachel and Leah to see who can produce the most sons. Rebekah resorts to giving Jacob her maidservant Bilhah, with the plan to claim any children Bilhah bears as her own.

Genesis 30:1-2, JPS When Rachel saw that she had borne Jacob no children, she became envious of her sister; and Rachel said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” Jacob was incensed at Rachel, and said, “Can I take the place of God, who has denied you fruit of the womb?”

Both Rachel and Leah only feel loved when they are producing babies, it is a sad discourse on their culture, and is a mentality that has persisted in areas of the world up to the present day. The God of the Old Testament is influenced by the culture of the time, why else wouldn’t he say anything about this scenario, or what is wrong with this lifestyle? Too only be loved and feel wanted if you become a mother does not sound like the grace of God.

The question is still unanswered in mind, as to why God would punish Rachel by not allowing her to have children. There is no mention of her acting in any way ‘sinful’, and she has not done anything to deserve such treatment.

However, here is a Chassidic interpretation from chabad.org:

Rachel was jealous of her sister’s good deeds (the good deeds being bearing children). Petty jealousy, born of the egocentric fear that the other person’s successes will somehow diminish our self-worth, is destructive and reprehensible. In contrast, the sort of jealousy Rachel felt toward Leah is constructive, since it spurs us on to improve our deeds. Our sages similarly state that “jealousy among [Torah] scholars increases wisdom.”

I’m not sure how Rachel’s next step, giving her maidservant to Jacob in her place, can be seen as a good deed?

This feud further disintegrates the family’s state of affairs when Leah is suddenly no longer able to have children, and gives Jacob her maidservant Zilpah with the purpose of bearing more children. This story is now not only annoying, but disgusting. The two maidservants are slaves, they don’t have a say in the matter. Possibly raped, and certainly the victims of having their newborn child torn from them to be raised by another.

Genesis 30:14-16, JPS Once, at the time of the wheat harvest, Reuben came upon some mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” But she said to her, “Was it not enough for you to take away my husband, that you would also take my son’s mandrakes?” Rachel replied, “I promise, he shall lie with you tonight, in return for your son’s mandrakes.” When Jacob came home from the field in the evening, Lean went out to meet him and said, “You are to sleep with me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” And he lay with her that night.

Wow. Where to begin?

First of all, that’s look at the uses for mandrakes. Mandrakes have never been used for food. The mandrake is most famous for its root, which takes on unusual shapes that in history have compared to the human form. The earliest reference to mandrake is from ancient Babylon, in the cuneiform script of the Assyrians, as well as here in the Old Testament. They were prized as aphrodisiacs during ancient times. Hmmm…

Mandrake root.

 Jacob’s willingness to go along with the above story seems a bit atypical for the standard man of the time. Of course, the whole idea that a spouse can be traded amongst his multiple wives, and “hired out”, is as equally disturbing for men as well as women. This dual marriage seems to be destroying all parties involved. Yet, what does God do? He rewards Leah, for what reason I have no idea, and she continues to bear children. Then, finally, he allows Rebekah to have one child. This whole chapter seems like cruel and unusual punishment, rather than the way you would expect God to treat his Chosen People.

I am growing weary of the Genesis story.

Out of all the birthing of sons, one daughter is mentioned. Hoorah! Dinah is the lucky daughter to have her name actually mentioned.

Jacob and Laban at it again

The end of the chapter has Jacob and Laban trying to out-scheme each other. The ignorance of ancient tribesmen in regards to genetics is quite apparent here: Jacob thinks that having the sheep copulate while looking at streaked rods in a watering hole will result specifically in streaked, speckled, and spotted babies. It’s quite hilarious, to be honest…much like this whole chapter, until I remind myself that there are many, many people that take these stories literally and as complete and absolute truth.

Most apologists explain the end of this chapter as a miraculous intervention by God, after he sees the ways that Laban is attempting to mistreat Jacob.