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Abraham -> Issac -> Jacob and Esau
Text
Genesis 25:19–34 (LEB)
19Now these are the generations of Isaac, the son of Abraham. Abraham fathered Isaac,
20And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-Aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, as his wife.
21And Isaac prayed to Yahweh on behalf of his wife, for she was barren. And Yahweh responded to his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22And the children in her womb jostled each other, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, why be pregnant?” And she went to inquire of Yahweh.
23And Yahweh said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from birth shall be divided. And one people shall be stronger than the other. And the elder shall serve the younger.”
24And when her days to give birth were completed, then—behold—twins were in her womb.
25And the first came out red, all his body was like a hairy coat, so they called his name Esau.
26And afterward his brother came out, and his hand grasped the heel of Esau, so his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old at their birth.
27And the boys grew up. And Esau was a skilled hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a peaceful man, living in tents.
28And Isaac loved Esau because he could eat of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
29Once Jacob cooked a thick stew, and Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted.
30And Esau said to Jacob, “Give me some of that red stuff to gulp down, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom).
31Then Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright first.”
32And Esau said, “Look, I am going to die; now what is this birthright to me?”
33Then Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” And he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.
34Then Jacob gave Esau bread, and thick lentil stew, and he ate and drank. Then he got up and went away. So Esau despised his birthright.
Notes
- Name literally means heel grabber
- Esau is the behor - firstborn son
- He has the responsibility to carry on the legacy of his father
- The firstborn gets a double portion
- Not just about blessing
- He has a double portion of responsibility
- Promises of Abraham were being realized in Issac in the previous stories
- This story is supposed to now follow through into Esau
- Jacob appears to wish to be the first-born
- Esau apparently doesn't care about the privilege of the first-born shown in him forsaking his double portion
Text
Genesis 27
Notes
- Story of Rebekah setting up the the situation for Jacob to receive Esau's blessing
- Multiple possibilities to how and why Rebekah set this up
- Did God tell Rebekah how the story was to go and she then took it into her own hands (like Abraham with Lot?)
- Is this story illustrating that Rebekah is just as deceitful as her son?
- Q: Why does Isaac just "take it back" (the blessing crafted for Esau that he preaches over Jacob)
- Eastern culture, "word is power" (Genesis 1)
- Once the blessing is out of Isaac's mouth, the words have gone forth and they have power over their subject
Text
Genesis 28
Notes
- Jacob has to flee, so he goes back to Terah's house meaning that he goes to Nahor
- This is the only bedav that he can be apart of if he leaves Jacob's (Isaac's -> Abraham's bedav)
- Looking ahead we know that Jacovb will go toe to toe with Laban - the grandson of Abraham and the grandson of Nahor trying to out-deceive one another.
Genesis 28:11 ESV
And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep.
- Jacob is in the "middle of nowhere's nowhere" and the dream he has (Jacob's ladder) teaches us that God is present, his holiness is with us, no matter where we go.
Text
Genesis 29
Notes
- Leah is Laban's first daughter
- Described as having "weak eyes" (means that she's not very attractive)
- Jacob falls in love with Rachel
- Rachel is said to be "beautiful in form and appearance"
- Nic: So it's somewhat clear that Jacob goes after what he finds attractive, not necessarily what God finds attractive
- Jacob meets his match with Laban
- Deceived out of 7 years of work and is given Leah
Genesis 30
Notes
- A usurping competition kind of kicks off between Jacob and Laban
- Jacob eventually amasses his own house and has to leave Laban's be-dav (end of Genesis 30)
- Jacob somehow swindles Laban out of much of his flock
- Looks as though God is behind it though - somehow God sees this as a fit method to bless Jacob
- Parallel between this story and Joseph's story that we'll get to later on
- Otherwise we don't have a ton of details about how and why Jacob carries out this sticks and watering thing
- Jacob claims he had a dream about this from God (Genesis 31:10) but we have no way to confirm Jacob's claim
Problems
- I have no idea what's going on with the first part of Genesis 30 - Rachel and Leah giving Abraham their servants and the thing with the mandrakes... I see how it explains the size of Jacob's household, and why he must leave Laban (Genesis 30:25) but the entire structure and the responses of the characters is just very strange.
Genesis 31
Notes
- Jacob and Laban eat a meal together at a heap of stones (Genesis 31:46) which sort of indicates that they are seeking reconciliation... Meals in the ANE were only shared, you only broke bread with someone, who was in right relationship with you - never with an enemy (according to Marty)
- They argue a bit over what to name the place and scripture settles on Mizpah
- Laban sets up a second pillar becuase he wants to honor his god (Yahweh isn't good enough - Laban has his own household, own idols, own god(s))
- Laban is swearing by Terah's gods? (31:53)
Genesis 31:53 (ESV)
53The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac,
- Jacob and Nahor eat another meal after this...
Genesis 31:54 (ESV)
54and Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hill country and called his kinsmen to eat bread. They ate bread and spent the night in the hill country.
- This is somewhat indicative that they really do not have a solid reconciled relationship....
Big Question: Why does God choose to work with this guy?
God has to choose between 2 guys - Jacob and Esau. One is motivated, the other is a rule follower who is safe, clean, etc. but just doesn't care (gives up the birthright). God can help steer a moving target, and correct methods, but God's partner need to be able to do something. It's easier to move the moving target then get a stale target moving.
The motivation of Jacob, in general, is called chutz-pah
: supreme self-confidence : nerve, gall It took a lot of chutzpah to stand up to him the way she did.