Genesis 35:22-29

2009.Oct.15 14:45

Isaac’s Death

Read Genesis 35:22-29 | Full Chapter

While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father's concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it. Jacob had twelve sons:
(Genesis 35:22, NIV)

Here we see one of those quick asides that must have represented a quite dramatic episode at la casa Israel. Reuben sleeps with Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant. It’s reasonable to speculate that this comes just before or just after Rachel’s death. One can imagine that Jacob is no happy camper. However, if he takes any action, it’s not here noted (and if it’s mentioned elsewhere in the Bible, I apparently have not noticed). This situation is one of many soap-opera moments in this family. One may choose to be reminded of Yahweh’s grace.

The sons of Leah: Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun. The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. The sons of Rachel's maidservant Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali. The sons of Leah's maidservant Zilpah: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram. Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years. Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
(Genesis 35:23-29, NIV)

There’s yet another list of Jacob’s sons (and, hence, the tribes of Israel, depending on which list of tribes you want to use to get the twelve). The only thing I have to add about that here is that Benjamin is lumped with those born in Paddan Aram, rather than near Bethlehem. I doubt that noting that has any value.

Aside from that, Isaac dies. On a happy note, he gets to see Jacob again, and on fairly good terms with Esau. His family turned out pretty well, despite some of his efforts. The history of people whom Yahweh blesses, loves, and chooses is a sordid history. How did Ishmael not decide to one day show up at Isaac’s doorstep and challenge him to a duel? How did Isaac and Rebekah stay married despite their dueling favoritisms? How did neither Jacob nor Esau commit fatricide? How did…well, you get the picture.

That Esau and Jacob bury their father together, after he has had a full life, is one of the best illustrations of Yahweh’s mercy. The theory that there is only an angry, vengeful God in the Old Testament does not stand to examination.

And now, it’s time for the next generation to play their games. Soon enough, we’ll return to Egypt. And that’s where a family, it seems, becomes a nation.

Genesis 35:1-8

2009.Jun.17 15:00

Trip to Bethel, Etc.

Read Genesis 35:1-8 | Full Chapter

Chapter 35 of Genesis comes off as a bit confusing, at least to me. It seems to be something of a mish-mash, recording important facts that don’t fit easily in with the rest of the narrative, plus what appears to be not exactly a flashback to Genesis 32, when Yahweh renames Jacob to Israel. So, in this first bit, they’re heading to Bethel, site of the Jacob’s Ladder incident. This particular part of the story seems to be mostly about idols and such that are still hanging around the family Israel.

Then God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel and live there, and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau." So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves and change your garments; and let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone." So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods which they had and the rings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak which was near Shechem.
(Genesis 35:1-4, NASB)

Yahweh, in this recording, does not mention the idols that are within Jacob’s camp. He merely tells Jacob to go to Bethel, make an altar to him, and live there for a time. It apparently occurs to Jacob that all these foreign gods they have hanging around might not be pleasing to Yahweh. Especially since Jacob seems to consider Bethel a holy place. So, he’s not quite committed to "have no other gods before [Yahweh]" (Exodus 20:3, NASB) . Indeed, he doesn’t even get rid of them in any permanent sense, just hides them away. Perhaps Yahweh did not mention the idols because Jacob’s family shouldn’t have had them in the first place.

Ah, it’s easier to give up a sin temporarily, knowing you could maybe come back later. How often, when convicted of a behavior–even if not a sin, even if “just” something that’s not good for us–do we change our behavior, but make sure not to burn all the bridges? Permanent change is scary. Especially when it means giving up something I enjoy, no matter how bad that thing is for me.

As they journeyed, there was a great terror upon the cities which were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. He built an altar there, and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled from his brother.
(Genesis 35:5-7, NASB)

Yahweh is, of course, a God of grace. We’re in the Old Testament here, where we like to typify him as a God of judgment. The two are really inseparable in Yahweh’s case, two sides of the same coin, and both are evidenced in the Old and New Testaments. So, because Yahweh has adopted Jacob and his family, he protects them in this journey, despite the failure of that family to appropriately reciprocate. This is unmerited favor. After the slaughter at Shechem, the whole group should be on the hit list of all the cities and tribes they pass. But Yahweh puts “a great terror upon” them (the voice is passive, at least in the NASB, but I think it’s reasonable to assume Yahweh as the actor).

Jacob does build an altar to God, in remembrance of Yahweh’s appearance to him when fleeing from Esau so many years before. Given how things have worked out, Jacob’s gratefulness and faith should have increased. So Jacob’s sorta’ kinda’ getting it about Yahweh. Like most of us Christians do. It’s a start, but he could be receiving and doing so much more.

Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak; it was named Allon-bacuth.
(Genesis 35:8, NASB)

Like I said, this chapter is full of miscellany. Here is a note that Rebekah’s nurse, Deborah, dies while Jacob’s family is in Bethel. I’m not sure if she’s even mentioned anywhere else.

Genesis 34:5-12

2009.May.22 09:00

Negotiating the Priceless

Read Genesis 34:5-12 | Full Chapter

Meanwhile, Jacob heard what had happened. But his sons were out in the fields with the cattle, so he did not do anything at the time.
(Genesis 34:5, CEV)

As a father, I can’t imagine Jacob’s willingness to wait to react to the news that his daughter has been raped. Pragmatically, there are some points to consider:

1. Customs. The preceding passage definitely reads like rape to me, but maybe there is some courtship ritual going on. As I mentioned last article, I’m disinclined to that opinion.
2. Wait for his sons and servants to be around. If Jacob wants to attack, it’s wise to wait until he has some fellow attackers. It’s worth remembering that were his primary goal the rescue of his daughter and not purely vengeance, Jacob ought to be able to trust that the same God who has so recently rescued him will come through again. The question of why then Yahweh had not stopped the rape to begin with is one of those wonderfully perplexing problems that I’m going to ignore.
3. Fear of overreacting. Again, it’s hard to think of what would qualify as a parent overreacting to such news.

Always a bit difficult trying to assess actions that occur in a very different culture; there’s certainly the potential for misinterpretting them.

Hamor arrived at Jacob's home just as Jacob's sons were coming in from work. When they learned that their sister had been raped, they became furiously angry. Nothing is more disgraceful than rape, and it should not be tolerated in Israel.
(Genesis 34:6-7, CEV)

The CEV uses the word “rape” where some other versions are less direct. I’ll leave the word study to someone who could actually give an informed opinion thereupon. Anyway, Dinah’s brothers, upon learning of the situation, are understandably incensed. The narrator breaks out of the story for a moment to note that rape is unacceptable. It amazes me that this needs to be said, but as a species we are rather stupid sometimes. Or that is, we are selfish enough to be willfully unaware.

Hamor said to Jacob and his sons: My son Shechem really loves Dinah. Please let him marry her. Why don't you start letting your families marry into our families and ours marry into yours? You can share this land with us. Move freely about until you find the property you want; then buy it and settle down here. Shechem added, "Do this favor for me, and I'll give whatever you want. Ask anything, no matter how expensive. I'll do anything, just let me marry Dinah."
(Genesis 34:8-12, CEV)

Hamor, Shechem’s father, tries some diplomacy. He can probably see, at least more or less, what is coming. His offer is basically that if Jacob’s family will overlook the “disgrace,” then the two families could form something of a political and economic alliance (how formal this would be is not clear) with particular benefits to Jacob and group. The alliance would be cemented by marriages, beginning with Shechem to Dinah. Or, the bride price for Dinah would be good relations with the powers that be in Succoth. Shechem, now smitten, appears rather emotional in supporting his father’s proposal.

“Just overlook this one thing?”

There are things we value such that they have a price, and there are things we value such that there is no acceptable price (at least not a realistic one; armchair philosophers inventing absurdist scenarios can be ignored).

Genesis 33:12-20

2009.May.08 17:00

Good to See You…Bye, Now.

Read Genesis 33:12-20 | Full Chapter

Then Esau said, "Let us take our journey and go, and I will go before you." But he said to him, "My lord knows that the children are frail and that the flocks and herds which are nursing are a care to me. And if they are driven hard one day, all the flocks will die. "Please let my lord pass on before his servant, and I will proceed at my leisure, according to the pace of the cattle that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come to my lord at Seir." Esau said, "Please let me leave with you some of the people who are with me." But he said, "What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord."
(Genesis 33:12-15, NASB)

As best I can gather, the main point of this whole passage is that Esau invites Jacob to join him in Seir (Edom, I believe), where Esau has taken up residence and whose later occupants will be oft referred to as descendents of Esau. What I gather is that Jacob has no intention of heading to Seir, south of Canaan, whence he left, to which he is returning.

I guess.

Anyway, there’s this back and forth with Jacob saying Esau should go on and Esau saying they should travel together. This could just be some sort of diplomatic/politeness ritual. Eventually, Esau agrees to hit the road.

So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built for himself a house and made booths for his livestock; therefore the place is named Succoth. Now Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-aram, and camped before the city. He bought the piece of land where he had pitched his tent from the hand of the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, for one hundred pieces of money. Then he erected there an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.
(Genesis 33:16-20, NASB)

So, Jacob has survived, perhaps to his surprise, encounters with both Laban and Esau. And life is good. He’s returned to Canaan and for maybe the first time in his life isn’t at odds with anyone. He’s not perhaps “settled”, but he could certainly be very comfortable at this point. What a journey!

Now, we’re going to start seeing his kids more, especially his sons, the at least nominal patriarchs of the tribes of Israel. And we’ll also get to see what’s not apparent at this moment of relative ease, how Jacob’s playing favorites and allowing the growth of jealousies within his family has affected those children and their future. Ultimately, Yahweh’s going to jump in and work out a lot of this stuff, but the road is going to be much more painful than is immediately apparent at this point.

Genesis 32:24-32

2009.Apr.17 17:00

And You Shall Be Israel

Read Genesis 32:24-32 | Full Chapter

Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob's thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking." But he said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." He said, "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed."
(Genesis 32:24-28, NASB)

This is not Jacob’s first strange night, but it is in some ways the most important. This is when Yahweh (whether directly or via some messenger), changes Jacob’s name. His new name, Israel, is that which will borne by his descendants and their compatriots throughout history. It seems reasonable that the name could have been given to Jacob by the later Israelites as an explanation for their contemporary name and the story of Yahweh’s giving that name as yet another connection added to cement their theocratic community. But I’m willing to take the story at face value; I’m not sure that it matters much.

Anyway, Jacob spends the night wrestling with some sort of divine representative. All told, this is probably a welcome relief from worrying about the morrow’s encounter with his estranged brother, Esau. So, anyway, they wrestle until daybreak, at which point the “being” dislocates Jacob’s thigh with a touch. ‘Ha, ha, Jacob, you have fought well, but…now we’re done here.’

Jacob, however, pushes for a blessing before letting go. I like that. It also shows a perceptiveness on his part about with whom he’s wrestling. The other asks Jacob’s name which then leads into the renaming.

Anyway, Yahweh’s comment (again, possibly indirect) is that Jacob’s new name is a result of him having striven with both men (such as Laban) and with God (that is, Yahweh, I assume), and having “prevailed”. I can’t even begin to understand what all that word must mean, but it is powerful. Whatever meaning, it need not be construed as a question against Yahweh’s omnipotence (although that’s a bit of a goofy word of limited use). The major point I want to make is that Yahweh values Jacob.

Then Jacob asked him and said, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And he blessed him there. So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, "I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved." Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh. Therefore, to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because he touched the socket of Jacob's thigh in the sinew of the hip.
(Genesis 32:29-32, NASB)

Jacob now requests the name of his, er, guest, who does not reveal his name, but rather now gives Jacob the blessing (what that blessing consists of not being noted). Jacob, now Israel, surmises that this is Yahweh, or some such representative, and thus names the place “Peniel”, a word which apparently has something to do with wrestling with God and not being smited on the spot. And thus, blessed, renamed and gimpy, Jacob sets off to meet his brother.