Bible Study The First Book of Moses Called Genesis

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Re: Genesis

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†. Gen 25:23b . . One people shall be mightier than the other, and the older shall serve the younger.

Esau will come out first; hence he's the "older". However, the right of primogeniture was taken from him and given to Jacob. That was God's sovereign prerogative as the paterfamilias of Yhvh's people. Later on down the line, Jacob will exercise the same prerogative by taking the right of primogeniture from Manasseh and giving it to Ephraim. So then, biblically, the firstborn son's birthright isn't inalienable; but rather quite transferable to a younger sibling; e.g. Rueben and Joseph. (1Chrn 5:1)

†. Rom 9:7-12 . . Rebecca's children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad-- in order that God's purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls --she was told: "The older will serve the younger."

There was certainly nothing in Jacob's infant character that earned him the firstborn position, and it was just as assuredly not his eventual craftiness that got it for him either. It was simply Divine prerogative. In some things, God is sovereign and there is not one single thing Man can do about it.

†. Gen 25:24 . .When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb.

Multiple births in human beings arise either from the simultaneous impregnation of more than one ovum or from the impregnation of a single ovum that divides into two or more parts, each of which develops into a distinct embryo. Plural offspring developing from a single egg are known as "identical"-- they are always of the same gender, resemble one another very closely, and have similar fingerprints and blood types. Offspring produced from separate ova are "fraternal"-- not necessarily of the same gender; they have the usual family resemblance of brothers and sisters.

Precisely of which type Jacob and Esau were, is difficult to tell. However, they are definitely not identical; either in physical appearance nor in personality, nor in speech.

†. Gen 25:25a . .The first one emerged red, like a hairy mantle all over;

The word for "red" is 'admoniy (ad-mo-nee') which can refer to either red hair or to a reddish, rosy complexion. In Esau's case, it's difficult to know for certain which applied. That he was a hairy kid right from birth is uncontested. However, to avoid the association with red hair; some feel that the conjunction "and" should be inserted just after the comma, so that the verse would read: The first one emerged red, and hairy all over like a mantle.

Jacob looked like most babies do at birth: a little cherub; bald and smooth skinned. Esau, in contrast, was not only hairy, but because of his fur, he was rough to the touch; sort of like a woolen G.I. blanket. Esau wasn't your typical cuddly little tykester. When Rebecca held him, it wasn't like holding a little boy, it was more like holding a grizzly bear cub. Maybe that was a contributing factor in Rebecca's favoritism of Jacob? How many mothers can really warm up to a baby who doesn't look like the pictures on a Gerber container?

You know who else besides Esau was 'admoniy? David.

†. 1Sam 16:10-13a . .Thus Jesse presented seven of his sons before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse: The Lord has not chosen any of these. Then Samuel asked Jesse: Are these all the boys you have? He replied: There is still the youngest; he is tending the flock. And Samuel said to Jesse: Send someone to bring him, for we will not sit down to eat until he gets here. So they sent and brought him. He was ruddy-cheeked, bright-eyed, and handsome.

David's looks were a combination of handsomeness blended with an outdoor-guy appeal enhanced by his rosy cheeks. He was in fact a very cute kid.

†. 1Sam 17:41-42 . .The Philistine, meanwhile, was coming closer to David, preceded by his shield-bearer. When the Philistine caught sight of David, he scorned him, for he was but a boy, ruddy and handsome.

David wasn't bristly all over like a G.I. blanket, so he had a lot more going for him in the looks department than Esau-- who must have looked a bit like he'd morph into a werewolf any second.

†. Gen 25:25b . . they named him Esau.

The Hebrew word for Esau is from 'Esav (ay-sawv'); the meaning of which isn't known for certain. Some say it means rough-- like rough to the touch. Others think it might mean to cover, or envelop --a distinct possibility given Esau's appearance as one covered with hair all over his body. (maybe even on his little tush too.)

†. Gen 25:26a …Then his brother emerged, holding on to the heel of Esau;

Sibling rivalry between the two baby brothers was very intense. Jacob undoubtedly held on to Esau's heel to slow him down so he wouldn't get too far ahead-- and also an aggressive attempt to stop him from going first even though Esau was legitimately first in line to be born.

†. Gen 25:26b . . so they named him Jacob.

The Hebrew word for Jacob is from Ya' aqob (yah-ak-obe') which means: heel-catcher.

Esau defined a heel-catcher like this:

"[Esau] said: Was he, then, named Jacob that he might supplant me these two times? First he took away my birthright and now he has taken away my blessing!"

Supplanters take things by coup, usurping, or treachery. Right from the womb, Jacob desired supremacy over his brother Esau and struggled to get out ahead of him. How male infants can be so competitive at such an early age is a total mystery; but not impossible. Boys are competitive by nature, and don't like to come in second place; especially against a brother. For some strange reason, it is much easier for a boy to suffer defeat by a non-kin male opponent than by his own sibling.

Jacob is one very tricky Dicky who knows how to trip people up, and how to keep them from getting ahead, and how to cleverly separate them from what is rightfully theirs. That boy was born way too soon. He should have been on Wall Street; manipulating stocks, marketing derivatives, and raiding corporations. Jacob isn't usually portrayed in Scripture as a man of muscle and brute strength, but as a man of cunning and determination, a man who gets what he wants by patience, stealth, intelligence, and/or trickery rather than by brute force. Maybe he should have been a lawyer?

Buen Camino
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Re: Genesis

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†. Gen 25:26c . . Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

Isaac married Rebecca at forty (Gen 25:20) . If Becky was 18 at her wedding, she would have been 38. Imagine waiting twenty years to have your first child? Quite a few modern marriages end long before then.

†. Gen 25:27a . .When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the outdoors;

Esau was the macho kind of boy dads are usually very proud of. He was a rugged, athletic man who preferred to sleep on the ground, under the stars, rather than between sheets. A real he-man; who, in our own day, would very likely own several guns; some of which would be brutal calibers like a .44 magnum revolver or a 10 ga. shotgun. But Esau was totally physical. The poor lad had no brain at all. He was brave, adventurous, and a natural at hunting, but that is about all you could say for him-- kind of like professional sports stars making the big bucks only because of their athletic ability, not especially for any degree of mental superiority.

Esau pegged the mark in virility; but at the same time rated a big fat zero in sense and sensibility-- a Neanderthal knuckle-dragger kind of guy. There was really no need for Esau to kill wildlife for fresh meat: as if the family were desperate for food; after all, Isaac was very wealthy in livestock. No. Esau hunted for sport, and his goal was not to help support the family, but to show-off his prowess, and to impress himself, and those around him.

Esau excelled in outdoor survival skills: he was very definitely one-up on Jacob in that sphere; plus it gained him a level of admiration from his dad that exceeded the esteem Isaac held for Jacob. But for all his natural athletic ability, Esau placed no importance whatsoever upon things of eternal value. He was the classic man under the sun; viz: earthly, secular to the bone, and his so-called "needs" took the highest priority over everything. (cf. 1Cor 2:14)

†. Heb 12:15-16 . . See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.

†. Gen 25:27b . . but Jacob was a mild man

What's Genesis saying? That Jacob was a wimp; some kind of a mommy's boy? No. Far from it. The word for "mild" is from tam (tawm) which means: gentle; viz: temperate.

The Bible's God holds gentleness in very high regard.

†. Ps 37:10-11 . . For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

†. Mtt 5:5 . . Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

The koiné Greek word for "meek" in the third beatitude is praus (prah-ooce') which means essentially the very same thing as tam; viz: temperate; mild.

Moses was meek (Num 12:3) and the Lord was meek. (Mtt 11:29, Mtt 21:5)

Webster's defines mild as: gentle in nature or behavior; viz: temperate; in other words: agreeable, objective, approachable, reasonable, calm, mellow, and self-controlled. Non-temperate people could be characterized as irrational, emotional, and reactive.

A temperate person, though mellow in demeanor, should never be assumed lacking in strength, courage, conviction, or self confidence. Anybody who's studied the lives of Moses and Jesus can easily testify that neither of those men were either timid, wimpy, or vacillating; no, they walked softly and carried a big stick.

Jacob and his dad Isaac were temperate men; but could be assertive when the situation called for it. Temperate people like Jacob and Isaac pick their battles carefully, and avoid getting all riled up over trifles.

What that's all saying is that Jacob was mature and sensible; in contrast to his brother Esau who was carnal, immature, sensuous, and acted more like an adolescent than a grown man. Mature men take their responsibilities seriously, and their priorities are far different than a guy like Esau who just wants to have fun, action, and adventure all the time.

So anyway, in the economy of God, a person with tam is to be admired way over and above a rugged athletic he-man. It's okay to be a rugged athletic he-man. There's nothing eo ipso wrong in that. After all, David was a rugged he-man himself. But it's not okay to be one without tam. Well, that was Esau-- the picture of health and male virility, but he lacked tam. Esau was a rude, lewd, crude bag of pre-chewed food dude.

Jacob was very different. It's true he was crafty, and maybe a bit dishonest at times; but he was no wimp I can assure you; and, on the whole, a very good man.

Jacob was mellow: he didn't need to be the center of attention, nor show off and win the applause of the crowd to feel good about himself. He was the strong silent type who enjoyed home life and ranching. He was productive, and that's where he found the most contentment in life. Jacob had the qualities that many good women look for in a husband. He was stable, enjoyed being at home with his family, worked an honest day's work, loved his mom, had no issues with women, and appreciated the value of religion.

Jacob wasn't a grand-stander; nor the kind of guy to run off on adventures all the time or constantly move to where the grass was greener. He didn't leave home till he was 75, and even then it was only because he was on the lamb. Jacob was the kind of man who buys a home and stays in the same neighborhood until his kids are out of school.

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Re: Genesis

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†. Gen 25:27c . . who stayed in camp.

Does that mean Jacob never ventured outdoors? No. After all, his family was pastoral; they lived in tents and spent their whole lives working outdoors. Staying in camp only means Jacob would rather come on home when the day was over, take a hot shower, eat dinner with his family, brush his teeth, and sleep between clean sheets rather than needing a bath out under the stars on the ground with creepy-crawlies.

Esau wasn't dependable; and probably off away from home on one safari after another. But Jacob was always nearby, ready to lend a hand with the chores, shear the sheep, mend the fences, and help his mom get in a load of wood and water. He was like the ranchers in the movie Shane-- hard working and dependable --very unlike his wild and wooly brother who very likely scorned animal husbandry and thought of it as a life for losers.

Jacob was a lot like his mom Rebecca. Although she too came from a family with servants, it wasn't below her to bring in the evening water when it was time. Jacob could have kicked back and lived the life of a spoiled rich kid and never lifted a finger to help out around the ranch, leaving it all up to the servants. But he didn't do that. No. Jacob was a working rancher: he pitched in wherever he could because it was his nature to make himself useful and productive.

†. Gen 25:28a . . Isaac favored Esau because he had a taste for game;

The Hebrew word for "favored" is from 'ahab (aw-hab') or possibly 'aheb (aw-habe') which mean: to have affection for.

Family counselors will tell you that favoritism is harmful: and who from a large family doesn't already know that. But nevertheless it's just about near impossible to prevent favoritism. People are only human after all.

Up to this point, Esau seems an okay kind of guy. No really serious faults are readily apparent. And he seems affable enough. On the pages of Old Testament Scripture, he isn't said to be a friendless loner, or an angry sociopath; nor into bad habits like drinking, gambling, murder, robbery, lies, laziness, fighting, disrespect for his parents, blasphemy, selfishness, foul language, or anything else like that. The only apparent difference between Esau and Jacob-- up to this point --is Esau's preference for roaming the great outdoors instead of putting in a day's work around the ranch. Jewish folklore lays some pretty heavy sins upon Esau. but none of them are listed here in chapter 25.

For now, neither Isaac nor Rebecca have voiced any gripes against either one of their boys. Isaac does favor Esau more, but only because of the venison that he prepared for his dad on occasion-- which of course would appeal to Isaac because it was wild game rather than the meat of domestic animals. Guys sometimes feel more manly when they eat meat taken in hunting rather than from a local super market. Isaac is one of those men for whom this proverb rings true: The way to a man's heart is through this stomach.

†. Gen 25:28b . . but Rebecca favored Jacob.

Well, that's understandable. Jacob was religious, temperate, conscientious, and helpful: attributes Rebecca would certainly value; whereas Esau was secular, out hunting, and saw no value in his dad's religion whatsoever (Heb 12:15-17). And Jacob was very likely home a whole lot more than Esau; and made good company too. Guys like Esau tend to be center-of-attention addicts; and eclipse everyone else in the room to the point where you get the feeling they believe themselves the only ones in the whole wide world that count and the only justification for your existence is to be their audience.

Rebecca was a no-nonsense kind of girl. I think she was very impressed by Abraham's chief steward because he was serious about his business and got right to it with no fooling around; plus he was a man of prayer too. I think all of that had a great deal of influence on Rebecca's decision to leave home with him.

I suspect Rebecca saw that very same kind of character in Jacob; and it had more appeal to her than the swash buckling, great white hunter attitude that compelled Esau to go off on safari so often. Not that an adventurer's nature is bad or anything like that. But Rebecca preferred the company of disciplined, level headed, temperate men who take care of their families and put them first. The kind who take their responsibilities seriously and don't shirk.

†. Gen 25:29 . . Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the open, famished.

I guess Esau never heard of the Boy Scouts' motto: Be prepared. Well . . next time, maybe he'll be a little more careful to fill his ALICE pack with some LRRP rations before going out in the boonies.

The word for "stew" is from naziyd (naw-zeed') which means: something boiled, e.g. soup.

But it doesn't necessarily mean that Jacob was actually making what we think of as a soup. He may very well have been simmering a sauce; kind of like a spaghetti sauce (the Sopranos call it gravy). And not just a small portion for that day's lunch; but a kettle of it for the whole week. Once all made up; then the family could take what they wanted with their meals and pour it on their meat dishes and pastas and dip bread in it too whenever they felt like it.

†. Gen 25:30a . . And Esau said to Jacob: Give me some of that red stuff to gulp down, for I am famished

The word for "red" (stuff) is from 'adom (aw-dome') which means: rosy.

†. Gen 25:30b . . which is why he was named Edom.

Edom is from 'Edom (ed-ome') or possibly 'Edowm (ed-ome') which mean: red. 'Edom and 'Edowm are derived from 'adom; the word for rosy.

I actually knew a man when I was a kid whose nick-name was Rose; and who hasn't heard of the pro footballer Rosey Grier?

†. Gen 25:31 . . Jacob said: First sell me your birthright.

The birthright consists of two distinct components. One is material, and the other is spiritual. If Moses' covenanted law can be used as a guideline in this instance, then the holder of the birthright (which is transferable) is entitled to twice the amount of material inheritance given to his siblings. (Deut 21:15-17)

But Jacob isn't asking for Esau's material birthright; it's the spiritual one that he's after. Jacob wanted very much to be the family's next patriarch; and no doubt Rebecca wanted him too.

The position of patriarch carries heavy responsibilities. If Esau was to rule over the family, then he would be responsible to provide for them both materially and spiritually. Abraham was a very successful patriarch in both respects, but most especially in the spiritual.

It was the patriarch's duty to build, and officiate at, the family's altar; just as Abraham had done all those years (cf. Job 1:5). It was also the patriarch's duty to dispense the knowledge God and make sure it was carried forward in the family so as to prevent its loss to future generations (cf. Gen 18:19). I think what Jacob was really after was the inspiration that came with being the spiritual patriarch. (cf. Gen 20:7)

As far as Esau was concerned, the material aspect of his birthright was all that mattered. He was totally secular and cared nothing at all for his spiritual birthright. On the other hand, Jacob dearly longed for the spiritual aspect-- the material part being only incidental. No doubt the two brothers had discussed these very things over the years so that Jacob already knew exactly how Esau felt about it. So that, half in jest, and probably half in disgust, he proposed that Esau barter his spiritual birthright for food. Being a secular man entirely dominated by carnal appetites: Esau accepted.

Buen Camino
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Re: Genesis

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†. Gen 25:32-33 . . And Esau said: I am at the point of death, so of what use is my birthright to me? But Jacob said: Swear to me first. So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.

It just amazes me how much faith the people of long ago put in oaths. Nowadays nobody trusts an oath. You've got to sign your name on the dotted line of a legal contract because it would be totally foolish to take anybody's word on anything; even if they swore to it.

Even if Isaac now gave the birthright to Esau, which he fully intended to do, at least Jacob had the assurance that his brother wouldn't retain the spiritual aspect. Isaac would never interfere with a contract between the two brothers sealed by an oath. He would have to honor it. The spiritual birthright would now go to Jacob, which, according to Gen 25:23, is exactly what the supreme paterfamilias of Abraham's clan mandated in the first place.

I think that had Esau passed on his birthright in a conscientious manner; no one would have held it against him. It is after all, a very serious responsibility. But no, it was of no more value to him to him than an item to barter. That's pretty low.

†. Gen 25:34 . . Jacob then gave Esau bread and lentil stew; he ate and drank, and he rose and went away. Thus did Esau spurn the birthright.

The sale of a secular birthright in and of itself is really not all that evil a thing to do; after all: it is a right, not a must. So you can choose to exercise that right, or let it pass to someone else. But when it's a sacred right, then it becomes serious to spurn it. Can you imagine donating your wedding ring (while still married to a spouse who loves you) to Good Will just to be rid of it? That's not only thoughtless; it's unthinkable.

Esau had a position in one of the holiest families that ever lived on this planet. He was blood kin to Abraham, and the son of Isaac's God-given wife Rebecca. Can you imagine what a privilege that is? And to be the firstborn of their union to boot? Unfathomable.

Ironically, the birthright wasn't Esau's to sell in the first place since God pre-destined it to Jacob before the boys were born. I can't help but wonder what happened to the information that God passed on to Rebecca back when. Did she keep it under her hat all those years? If so; why?

Jacob and Rebecca no doubt both appreciated their association with Isaac, and were grateful Yhvh was their god. But Esau did appreciate it? No, he didn't; nor did he see any advantage to it. He was truly a secular man: a carnal, earthly dude through and through. He wasn't a heavenly man in any sense of the word; no, far from it. And he was crude and insensitive. If the man had any sensibilities at all, he would have understood just how insulting it was to mock an opportunity to honor and serve God in the office of a patriarch. Does God have feelings? Yes, I think He does. And I believe God felt very hurt by Esau's lack of regard. I mean; who really wants to come in second best to a snack?

Buen Camino
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Re: Genesis

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†. Gen 26:1a . .There was a famine in the land-- aside from the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham

That particular famine occurred in chapter 12 before Isaac was born; even before Ishmael was born. So many good, prosperous years have gone by since the last famine. This may in fact have been the very first famine that Isaac ever witnessed, and probably his last too.

The Hebrew word for "famine" is from ra' ab (raw-awb') which means: hunger (more or less extensive)

People go hungry either because they can't buy the foods they need, or can't grow it for lack of soil or water. In Isaac's case it was probably a lack of water that made the difference. He had lots of money. But cattle can't live on legal tender. Down in the lowlands there would very likely be plenty of water in wells and springs that could be used for irrigation. So it's off to the lowlands they go; herds and all.

†. Gen 26:1b . . and Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, in Gerar.

This was very likely another Abimelech-- not the same man in chapter 20 whom Abraham knew. That Abimelech was very likely dead by now. The name "Abimelech" is more like a title than a moniker; sort of like Czar, Pharaoh, or Caesar.

Gerar hasn't been fully identified, but the site might be in one of the branches of Wady Sheri'a, at a place called Um Jerrar, near the coast southwest of Gaza and 9 miles from it. The site answers fairly well to the statements of Eusebius and Jerome, that it was 25 (Roman) miles south of Eleutheropolis (Beit Jibrin). It's actually 30 English miles, but distances weren't very accurately determined in early times. Gerar was known in the first 5th century CE, when it was the seat of a bishopric; and its bishop, Marcian, attended the Council of Chalcedon 451 CE.

According to ERETZ Magazine, issue 64, Abimelech's land is an ample valley with fertile land and numerous springs; a perfect place for a man with cattle to weather out the drought.

Isaac's decision to investigate the possibility of living amongst Abimelech's people was quite possibly influenced by Abraham's pact with them back in chapter 20. Hopefully they would be inclined to honor his dad's relationship with the previous Abimelech and let Isaac's community live down there at least until it started raining again up in the highlands.

†. Gen 26:2a . .The Lord had appeared to him

This is the very first recorded incident where God appeared especially for Isaac. When he was offered as a burnt offering back in chapter 22, God appeared to his dad while Isaac was with him. But God was not said to appear to Isaac. This is the first time.

You know, probably nobody alive today will ever be honored by a divine close encounter of a third kind. We will live out our pathetically boring little lives always never quite sure if maybe we were hoodwinked-- hoping against hope that the Bible is true. And wouldn't the joke be on us if it isn't? What a bunch of gullible morons Christians would be if there is no Bible's God after all.

†. Gen 26:2b . . and said: Do not go down to Egypt;

Isaac may have been considering Egypt as plan B if Gerar didn't work out.

†. Gen 26:2c . . stay in the land which I point out to you.

That had to be encouraging. Even if things looked bad in Gerar when Isaac arrived, he could rest upon the fact that he was going in the right direction.

†. Gen 26:3a . . Reside in this land, and I will be with you and bless you;

Suppose it turned out Isaac didn't like the land God selected for him and moved to another one? Well he could just forget about the promise: "I will be with you and bless you" That promise was conditional. He had to live where God directed him to live.

†. Gen 26:3b-4 . . I will assign all these lands to you and to your heirs, fulfilling the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your heirs as numerous as the stars of heaven, and assign to your heirs all these lands, so that all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your heirs--

Although some translations render the word "heirs" plural, the word zera' is one of those Hebrew words that can just as accurately be translated in the singular as well the plural: like the words sheep, fish, and deer. In this case, it's probably best to understand zera' in the singular because it most certainly refers to Jacob rather than to both he and his brother Esau.

†. Gen 26:5 . . inasmuch as Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge: My commandments, My laws, and My teachings.

That statement has led some people to believe that Abraham's progeny would inherit the land of Cannan as a reward for his belief and faithfulness. But the promises themselves weren't Abraham's reward; no; his reward was the oath that notarized the promises. Here's how the promises are worded in their original language.

†. Gen 12:1-3 . . Now Yhvh had said to Abram: Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

†. Gen 15:4-5 . . And behold, the word of Yhvh came to him, saying: This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir. Then He brought him outside and said: Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them. And He said to him: So shall your progeny be.

What's missing in the original language? Answer: an oath. Does that mean the promises as per Gen 12:1-3 and Gen 15:4-5 were incomplete? No; they were good as gold as-is. But this next version of the promises contains an added benefit.

†. Gen 22:16-18 . . By Myself I have sworn--testifies Yhvh --because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son: in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your progeny as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your progeny shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your progeny all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.

Clearly then; Abraham didn't earn the promises by offering Isaac, no, he earned the oath.

Yhvh would have made good on the promises He made to Abraham at Gen 12:1-3 and Gen 15:4-5 without having to swear to it. I mean: after all God's word is His bond. The oath was icing on the cake. It was done for Abraham's and his progeny's sake (in this case Isaac) to assure them the promises were in the bag no matter what.

†. Heb 6:16-17 . . For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath.

Yes; and that oath was hard-won. It required nothing less than the sacrifice of Isaac's life. Don't ever forget that; and in point of fact, you might even wish to take advantage of it; viz: "in your progeny all the nations of the earth shall be blessed" refers to Christ.

Isaac had some pretty big boots to fill; but he needn't ever worry about losing the blessings-- his dad Abraham had those all locked in before he was born.

Buen Camino
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Re: Genesis

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†. Gen 26:6 . . So Isaac stayed in Gerar. When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said "She is my sister" for he was afraid to say "my wife" thinking: The men of the place might kill me on account of Rebecca, for she is beautiful.

The Hebrew word for "sister" is 'achowth (aw-khoth') and has very wide application. It can mean an actual genetic sister of the same parents as the brother, or it can just mean kin, either near or far. It's a word very much like the New Testament Greek word suggenes (soong-ghen-ace'). An example of suggenes is Luke 1:36 "Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month."

The King James Bible translates suggenes as "cousin" rather than relative. Suggenes and 'achowth are ambiguous words, and unless there is some additional clarification in the surrounding text, it is just about impossible to know precisely in what manner the kin is related.

Isaac is really a chip off the old block. His dad told the very same half-truth to another Abimelech about a hundred years previously. It's true that Rebecca was Isaac's sister, but certainly not a true sister; not even a half sister. She was actually his kissin' cuzzin.

I just have to wonder sometimes about the IQ of some of the patriarchs. God had just reaffirmed Abraham's covenant with Isaac; guaranteeing He would bless him on account of his father Abraham's righteousness (not Isaac's righteousness). Yet now he's worried about being murdered in Gerar? That is just a blatant insinuation that God is somehow a person of marginal integrity who can't be trusted to keep their word.

†. Gen 26:8 . . When some time had passed, Abimelech king of the Philistines, looking out of the window, saw Isaac sporting with his wife Rebecca.

Sporting with one's wife is far and away different than sporting with one's sister. The way those two were horsing around was unmistakably the way lovers do.

†. Gen 26:9-10 . . Abimelech sent for Isaac and said: So she is your wife! Why then did you say "She is my sister". Isaac said to him: Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her. Abimelech said: What have you done to us! One of the people might have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.

I'm not surprised that Abimelech was frightened. It hadn't been all that long ago when his predecessor had a run-in with Isaac's god, That incident involving Abraham undoubtedly went down in the castle records. And to top it off, out there grazing on Gerar pastures was a special breed of sheep that bore a witness for Abraham too (Gen 21:27-32) and their story was very likely woven into Gerar folklore. Oh yes. They knew about Yhvh alright; and they all knew what could happen to them if any of the local men messed around with Rebecca, the wife of Abraham's son.

†. Gen 26:11 . . Abimelech then charged all the people, saying: Anyone who molests this man or his wife shall be put to death.

It is most encouraging to note that God is disposed to protect his own from the perils they bring upon themselves by the stupid blunders of their own self reliance. That's a tremendous advantage to have in life.

The Hebrew word for "molest" is from naga' (naw-gah') which means: to touch, i.e. lay the hand upon (for any purpose; euphemistically, to lie with a woman); by implication, to reach (figuratively, to arrive, acquire); violently, to strike (punish, defeat, destroy, etc.)

So Abimelech was not just talking about sexual molesting; but mandated that his people not even so much as lay a finger upon Isaac and Rebecca in any way at all. Isaac, of course, is getting by on his dad's influence. But what the hey, it doesn't hurt to be connected.

†. Gen 26:12-14a . . Isaac sowed in that land and reaped a hundredfold the same year. The Lord blessed him, and the man grew richer and richer until he was very wealthy: he acquired flocks and herds, and a large household,

Quite a bit of the land down around Gerar was public, sort of like our own American frontier in the days of Lewis and Clark; and was up for grabs by whoever had the wherewithal and the moxie to take it. In fact, the Philistines really weren't even a country of their own at this time, but more like a colony clinging to the sea coast of Palestine, with the majority of them still living on the isle of Crete. They would migrate and settle en masse centuries later.

Farming may seem like a switch from animal husbandry, but the combination was common among pastoral peoples those days for two good reasons. For one; Isaac's herds needed pasture. And two; man can't live on meat alone; he needs fruits and vegetables too. And Isaac needed bushels and bushels of those items to feed his immense community. He inherited at least a thousand people from his dad. By now, those have multiplied well beyond that. I think if you'd have encountered Isaac's outfit in those days it would have resembled an Iowa town rather than a simple camp of Bedouins.

Rates of increase varied from thirty to a hundred (cf. Mtt 13:8, Mtt 19:29). Sixtyfold is very good, and wasn't unusual in Palestine back in those days. A hundredfold was rare, and occurred only in spots of extraordinary fertility. The region of Babylonia, however, yielded two-hundred and even three-hundredfold, according to Herodotus (I.193) and all without genetically modified seeds. Just exactly what those fold numbers indicate is uncertain. Perhaps they were similar to a modern term relative to bushels per acre.

Buen Camino
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[Webers_Home]

Re: Genesis

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†. Gen 26:14b . . so that the Philistines envied him.

Some feel that the Philistines' envy was rooted in anti-Semitism. Well . . . there are always those seeking to enhance their own image as a victim; and this chapter would certainly seem a good source of propaganda for that purpose.

Envy is a normal human emotion that is typically blind to racial and ethnic identities. Envy isn't restricted to anti-Semitism, nor does it serve to identify it. Envy is one of the chief emotions relied upon by the advertising campaigns created on Madison Avenue. Just watch the ads on TV, and the ones in magazines and you'll see. They constantly provoke us to compete with our peers in clothing, cars, physical appearance, business success, and popularity. Envy is a powerful, negative feeling that overwhelms us whenever we resent others doing better than ourselves.

†. Prv 14:30 . . A tender heart [brings] healing of the flesh, but envy [brings] rotting of the bones.

†. Titus 3:1-3 . . Remind the people… to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men. At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

Envy is a powerful passion; destroying friendships, fueling fierce rivalries, generating strong desires for revenge, and fracturing solidarity.

†. Gen 26:15 . . And the Philistines stopped up all the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham, filling them with earth.

You would think the Philistines would value those wells and put the water to use for themselves. But actually, there weren't really all that many Philistines in the Gerar area at the time. They didn't need the water; and they sure didn't want any squatters to discover the wells and thus be encouraged to settle down in their region.

Abimelech forbade his citizens to harm Isaac; but that didn't preclude harassing and annoying him. Cutting off his water supplies was very serious because Isaac needed them to irrigate crops and water the livestock. Without adequate water supplies, Isaac Enterprises was doomed. He had a right to file a complaint. But Abimelech felt it best for all concerned to run Isaac out of the country.

†. Gen 26:16 . . And Abimelech said to Isaac: Go away from us, for you have become far too big for us.

Just exactly what Abimelech meant by "you have become far too big for us" is hard to know for sure. But it looks suspiciously like a cowardly act of favoritism; pure and simple. Instead of being fair and equitable with Isaac, Abimelech, like a cheap politician, ignored the vandalism his citizens had done against him and made it look like this whole nasty business was Isaac's fault: he was just getting too greedy and beginning to crowd everybody else out. Was this maybe the first antitrust suit in history? Antitrust laws, in reality, put a limit on prosperity. They say that the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are okay as long as you don't pursue them to an extreme. People often believe in a free enterprise system; but typically only up until somebody else's enterprise is having much better success at it than theirs.

†. Gen 26:17 . . So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the wadi of Gerar, where he settled.

A wadi named Nahal Gerar is on modern maps of the Gaza region. Whether or not that was Isaac's wadi I don't know. Wadis are basins in which brooks flow, and therefore, were the well-watered and fertile parts of the country. In times of scant rain up in the highlands, the brooks in many wadis dry up, and then it becomes necessary to dig wells down into the subterranean water table.

According to ERETZ magazine, issue 64, the Gerar river draws its waters from tributaries that run along the slopes of the rain-swept Hebron mountains. Enormous amounts of water flow through it in winter, flooding the channel an average of seven times a year.

†. Gen 26:18 . . Isaac dug anew the wells which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham and which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham's death; and he gave them the same names that his father had given them.

Those wells were dug nearly a hundred years prior to this event; and makes one wonder how Isaac knew where they were and how he knew the names his dad had named them. The Gerarians probably waited until Abraham was dead to plug them up because they feared him. He had a reputation as a military leader and he also had a pact with the king Abimelech of Abraham's period.

†. Gen 26:19-20 . . But when Isaac's servants, digging in the wadi, found there a well of spring water, the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying: The water is ours. He named that well Esek, because they contended with him.

Isaac was much too affable. He didn't have to let those guys buffalo him; after all, Isaac had a pretty good sized army of his own; left to him by his dad. He could easily have posted an armed platoon by the well to keep the local cowboys away from it. But no, he chose rather to condescend and let them have their own way. Isaac was truly a "turn the other cheek" kind of man who was willing (maybe a bit too willing) to bend over backward to accommodate people and prevent violence and ill will.

That well was a new one; not one of Abraham's. The herdsmen were motivated by envy so they were reluctant to share the regions resources with the likes of Isaac because they hated his success. They didn't contest Isaac's access to the water in Abraham's wells. They probably felt he had a right to use those; but the men would not tolerate Isaac taking any more water than that; and most especially water of this quality. It was literally living water-- viz: artesian.

City slickers really don't appreciate their water and typically haven't a clue where it comes from nor how it gets into their homes. But in Isaac's day, people couldn't live too far from a natural source of water. Many of the ancient cities and communities were located adjacent to rivers for that very reason.

Along with the advent of pumps and pipelines, came the advent of urban sprawl. Where remote sites in America were once safe from congestion and overpopulation for lack of easy water, now they're cities. Poway California is a good example. When I was a kid in the 1940's and 50's, Poway property was dirt cheap because nobody wanted to live out there. It was remote, and it was expensive to put in a well. Septic tanks and outhouses were the only means for disposing waste water and human offal. Now Poway is a bulging community because of access to San Diego City services like municipal water and sewage.

The County of San Diego's requirements long ago exceeded it's own local water resources and now imports the lion's share of it's water needs via aqueducts conveying water from the Colorado River by tapping into the Colorado River Aqueduct to the north, which is connected to the river at Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Any city dependant upon imported water is very vulnerable to collapse: same as any country dependent upon imported oil.

Buen Camino
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[Webers_Home]

Re: Genesis

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†. Gen 26:21 . . And when they dug another well, they disputed over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.

The Hebrew word for "Sitnah" is from sitnan (sit-naw') which is the very same as sitnah (sit-naw') which means: opposition (by letter).

Apparently the herdsmen were filing formal complaints against Isaac like the enemies of Ezra did when he was attempting to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. (Ezr 4:6-7)

Gerar County's Water Board must have ruled in favor of the herdsmen because Isaac had to keep moving around until they finally left him alone.

†. Gen 26:22 . . He moved from there and dug yet another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he called it Rehoboth, saying: Now at last the Lord has granted us ample space to increase in the land.

The herdsmen had, by this time, probably pushed Isaac way out to land that nobody wanted. But God was with Isaac. Even the deserts produce when His hands are in it. (cf. Isa 35:1-4)

With those pesky herdsmen out of the way, the road, or rather, roads ahead were wide and clear; and Isaac could put the pedal to the metal and go full speed ahead and not worry about hitting an iceberg; viz: the sky was the limit.

Isaac was a very patient man, and affable too. But push him too far, and he might show his teeth. In a bit, Abimelech is coming calling and Isaac is going to confront the obtuse monarch about the way he was treated by the County Water Board. Yes, Isaac Enterprises was a huge, going concern that spread over many acres of land. But he didn't obtain his wealth by dishonest means. All of Isaac's business was conducted legally and above board. And he complied with all of the Gerar County rulings concerning disputes over the water rights even though their rulings were undoubtedly biased in favor of Gerar citizens. Isaac didn't deserve to be treated so unfairly.

†. Gen 26:23 . . From there he went up to Beer-sheba.

Exactly where the boys Jacob and Esau were during this era in Isaac's life isn't stated. They may have remained in the highlands to protect Isaac's interests while he was out of town, but then again, they may have been with him in Gerar: it's impossible to tell.

Genesis doesn't say exactly how long Isaac and Rebecca lived around Gaza. Isaac's usual haunts were Beer-lahai-roi, about 50 miles further south. Beer-sheba was Abraham's zone on oath between him and an earlier Abimelech. The Gerarians could be expected to leave Isaac alone there. The first night, God showed up.

†. Gen 26:24a . .That night the Lord appeared to him and said: I am the god of your father Abraham.

In what manner, or by what method, God appeared to Isaac isn't stated. It could have been in a dream, it could have been as a traveling man, or a close encounter of a third kind: nobody knows for sure.

†. Gen 26:24b . . Fear not, for I am with you,

It's reasonable to assume it was unnecessary for God to reassure Isaac, but Abimelech is on the way. He won't come alone either. He was a king; and kings travel with an armed retinue. So when news of this comes to Isaac, he would have good cause to become alarmed. I think God is just giving him a pep talk to prepare him for the meeting. Like they say: one with God is a majority; and a man who fears God, has no man to fear.

†. Gen 26:24c . . and I will bless you

Isn't that what He promised earlier, when Isaac moved down into Gerar? Yes. And just in case Isaac thought that was a one time deal, and he would never be blessed again, God reaffirms his commitment to blessing Abraham's progeny.

NOTE : the Bible's readers aren't all that privy to what went on in the minds of the patriarchs. It could be-- and this is only a guess --that Isaac was feeling a bit guilty about his attempt to deceive Abimelech regarding the nature of his relationship with Rebecca. Because of that; his humanistic sense of justice may have suggested that his mistake cost him the previous blessing: or possibly future ones.

†. Gen 26:24d . . and increase your progeny for the sake of My servant Abraham.

If I were a Hebrew man-- not a pseudo Jew like Gentiles who become Jews by conversion --but a real Hebrew man by blood, I would make a point of remembering that God will honor His commitment to Abraham. He hasn't preserved the people of Israel because they are Jews nor because they are so faithful to God. No, far from it. It's solely because of His personal commitment to Abraham-- period. (cf. Ex 32:9-14)

†. Gen 25:25 . . So he built an altar there and invoked the Lord by name. Isaac pitched his tent there and his servants started digging a well.

Speaking to God by name is different than addressing Him officially as a deity or a monarch. Not that there's anything wrong with addressing the Bible's God officially as a deity or a monarch; but speaking to Him by name implies familiarity; which is a lots cozier than official protocol. In other words: If I were to meet with America's President Obama, I would address him as Sir or Mr. President. It would be very presumptuous and disrespectful of me to address him by his name Barry because we have never associated on that level; nor do I expect to.

Buen Camino
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[Webers_Home]

Re: Genesis

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†. Gen 26:26 . . And Abimelech came to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his councilor and Phicol chief of his troops.

Well, well, well; look what the cat dragged in. There were a whole lot more than just those three men; you can bet on that. Phicol is the Army chief of staff. There is no way he escorted the king of Gerar without bringing along a fair-sized contingent of Gerar's trained fighting men as body guards.

But who is Ahuzzath?

The Hebrew word for "councilor" is from merea' (may-ray'-ah) which, in the sense of companionship, means: a friend

An earlier Abimelech, back in Abraham's days, practically kidnapped Sarah for his harem. But this one showed no interest at all in Rebecca, who was just as much a stunning ten as Sarah. In point of fact, when Abimelech complained that one of the people might have slept with Rebecca (Gen 26:9-10) he didn't complain that he himself might have. Just between you and me: I suspect Mr. Ahussath was Abimelech's boy toy, if you know what I mean. It really wasn't unusual for ancient monarchs to have male lovers; and nobody thought too much of it at the time.

†. Gen 26:27 . . Isaac said to them: Why have you come to me, seeing that you have been hostile to me and have driven me away from you?

Normally, kings in that day did not call on people. If they wanted to see somebody, they sent a summons to appear and an escort to make sure you didn't refuse. Isaac knew something was up because 'ol Abimelech was treating him as an equal; if not a superior. Isaac had by this time become strong enough to crush Abimilech's community, and the old boy very well knew it too.

I can't help but like a man like Isaac. He was so direct. Not really what I would call an in-your-face kind of guy; but transparent and unequivocal.

†. Gen 26:28a . . And they said: We now see plainly that Yhvh has been with you,

Oh, I get it. As long as they thought Isaac was a nomadic farmer it was okay to dump on him? And now that they know he's connected with a supernatural being, they want to be his friend? But our man is cool. He won't let that get to him. You know what's going on here? Abimelech is holding his hat in his hand. And he is going to eat that hat too before it's over.

†. Gen 26:28b-29a . . and we thought: Let there be a sworn treaty between our two parties, between you and us. Let us make a pact with you that you will not do us harm,

You know, it is just amazing how nice people can be when they realize they've bitten off more than they can chew. The Gerarians had sorely underestimated Isaac and thought they could push him around because he was an affable immigrant. Big mistake. As time went by, they perceived that his prosperity could only be explained in a supernatural way. If it came to a fight, Isaac was allied with a powerful spirit being whom they all knew for a certainty from past experiences could not be defeated. Yes. Isaac was well able to totally clean their clocks and nail their hides to the barn door. (Isaac was only just recently visited by that Being back in verse 24 who encouraged Isaac to be brave, and also promised Divine assistance.)

Isaac was holding all the aces and didn't have to make a pact with anybody. He could have stood right up, lectured their butts soundly for the way he was treated in their country, and ordered them out of the house. They really had some chutzpah coming to him with a proposition like that. But Isaac was indeed a peaceable man; well in control of his tongue, and of his passions. If those crumbs were ready now to promise to leave him alone, well, then, okay, he was for it.

†. Gen 26:29b . . just as we have not molested you but have always dealt kindly with you and sent you away in peace.

Was that true? Some of it. It's true the Federales didn't raid his camps, nor plunder his goods, nor rough anybody up. He wasn't subjected to unreasonable searches and seizures. And he wasn't forcibly deported like an undesirable, or an enemy of the state, or a criminal. But still; they didn't deal fairly with Isaac. He never trespassed on private property, but dug his wells and settled on open range managed by the BLM; viz: public lands. Yet the county water commission always ruled against him even though his men dug those productive wells fair and square.

†. Gen 26:29c . . From now on, be you blessed of Yhvh!

Haw-Haw-Haw-Haw-Haw! I just love it when the bad guys wish me the best from my god. "God bless you" they say. Oh sure; God bless me. As if they really give a hoot how the Bible's God feels about anybody.

†. Gen 26:30 . .Then he made for them a feast, and they ate and drank.

The wicked often feel they won because their opponents are so civil and so agreeable. Isaac had plenty of good reason to be indignant. But he held his peace. That could be construed as weakness. Mistake! (on their part) You think Isaac consented to their crappy defense? No way.

Isaac is a shrewd statesman. He picks his battles. Some things merit contention. But this incident didn't. Those guys were in his home with hat in hand and he took advantage of it to wangle a non-aggression pact out of them that would benefit both communities: Isaac's and Abimelech's. If Isaac were to let his passions dictate the terms, then he might jeopardize his family and his servants. Isaac had his weak points, but political strategy wasn't one of them.

There are those in life whom we appropriately label thin skinned, reactive, and defensive. You know who they are. They sit still for nothing, take nothing lying down: they're stand up fighters; always ready to give others a piece of their mind. These contentious folk suck all the enjoyment out of social contact. Everybody has to walk on egg shells and be careful what's said around them so they don't explode. Too easily provoked, indignant and quarrelsome, these people will be excluded from Messiah's kingdom because his domain is characterized as a place of peace rather than strife.

†. Ps 37:8-11 . . Give up anger, abandon fury, do not be vexed; it can only do harm. For evil men will be cut off, but those who look to the Lord-- they shall inherit the land. A little longer and there will be no wicked man; you will look at where he was-- he will be gone. But the lowly shall inherit the land, and delight in abundant well-being.

†. Matt 5:9 . . Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Buen Camino
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[Webers_Home]

Re: Genesis

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†. Gen 26:31-32 . . Early in the morning, they exchanged oaths. Isaac then bade them farewell, and they departed from him in peace. That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well they had dug, and said to him: We have found water!

Ah, yes. It is always so pleasant to cap a victory with a good ending. Isaac had a perfect day.

†. Gen 26:33 . . He named it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day.

The word for Shibah is from Shib' ah (shib-aw') which means: seven(th)

The new well is sister to a well Abraham dug many years previously in an unspecified region of Gerar. He, and the then Abimelech, settled ownership of that one with those seven ewes in chapter 21. So this is puzzling-- shib' ah is not the same word as sheba'whichmeans oath. Shib' ah means seven. Seven what? I don't know; Genesis doesn't say.

But the number 7 is often used in the Bible like we use the number 10 today. If we want to say something is perfect, we give it a ten. Isaac gave it a seven; so I think it's safe to assume that the water in the new well was really exceptional. (compare Rev 13:17-18 where the number of a man is given as 666, which is imperfection three times over. In other words: man is not only imperfect; but he's really imperfect.)

†. Gen 26:34 . .When Esau was forty years old, he took to wife Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite;

There seems to be some confusion concerning the names, and the number, of Esau's wives. Here are their names according to Gen 36:2-3.

" Esau took his wives from among the Canaanite women-- Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah daughter of Anah daughter of Zibeon the Hivite --and also Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth."

There were two girls named Basemath-- Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite, was also known as Basemath. Adah may have been surnamed to avoid confusing her with the other Basemath: Ishmael's daughter. The Oholibamah of 36:2 is the Judith of 26:34. She was the offspring of a mixed marriage between Beeri and Anah. She too may have been surnamed to avoid confusion.

†. Gen 26:35 . .And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebecca.

In other words, those two girls made life miserable for Isaac and Rebecca and caused them a great deal of mental, and emotional anguish. Some feel that they were also a source of spiritual friction because they were infidels who worshipped the gods of the Canaanites. No doubt they did. But how would that come into play? Well; their religions permitted the practice of some vile social customs.

Canaanite religions didn't forbid such things as wife swapping, promiscuity, adultery, sex with women in their period, burning children to death in sacrificial ceremonies, sleeping with close blood relatives, gay and lesbian love, bestiality, astrology, divination, voodoo, magic, communication with the spirit world, witchcraft, drunkenness, and wild parties; including cult prostitution where women devotees sold themselves to support their "church" (cf. Gen 38:13-23)

So you can easily see just how vexing that women like that would be. How could Esau even trust them while he was away on safari? Lacking his companionship, they would either turn to each other for sensual comforts or seek out lovers among the servants. They might even hit on Rebecca and Isaac; and maybe even hit on their co-husband's third wife; Ishmael's Basemath. And the girls would have no qualms about walking around the house scantily clad or even in the nude; so you never knew what to expect when they invited you over.

Those two women were very definitely not the PowerPuff Girls-- the wholesome little kindergartners who make the world safe before bedtime. No; they were the PantyHose Girls who seanced, Tarot carded, and Ouija boarded their way to new excitements.

As bad as all that stuff was, it doesn't hold a candle to the danger of those women influencing Isaac's grandchildren. And that is a very real threat of mixed marriages. Men especially are susceptible to letting their wives guide the home's religious training. I've seen it often enough to know what I'm saying. And with a man like Esau, a secular man who had no interest in religion to begin with, the kids had no hope at all of turning out right. They would grow up to scorn and ridicule Abraham's religion; and his god too. They would pick up the most abominable habits, and see nothing wrong in them.

There is one thing our kids can do for us that is unquestionably the most important thing they will ever do-- pass on our religious beliefs on to our progeny. No one else is going to do that for us. And we can't stay behind and make sure it happens. So if we leave our kids without a solid religious heritage; then their own kids-- our grandchildren --are doomed to return to secular concepts. And maybe worse.

Esau's side of the family went bad, that's for sure, just like Cain's did. And I believe it started on it's downhill slide right with his union to those two impious women. At Esau's age, and in that kind of home and upbringing; he should have known better. But in spite of his parents' protests; in spite of his parents' fears regarding their grandchildren; in spite of his parents' feelings about those women coming into their home; in spite of God's feelings regarding His religion; and in spite of his birthright; Esau forged ahead and married those two filthy women. You know why? Because it was his life; and nobody was going to tell him how to live it. Some people, like the pharaoh that resisted Moses; are just defiant to the bone and they'll do things wrong just to stand up to you and assert their independence.

Buen Camino
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[Webers_Home]

Re: Genesis

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†. Gen 27:1a . .When Isaac was old

Just precisely how old Isaac was at this time, is difficult to tell. But I think we can come close enough for government work.

Jacob spent 20 years with Laban. (Gen 31:41a)

Joseph was born during that time. (Gen 30:22-24)

At just about the time Joseph was born, Jacob and Laban worked out an arrangement concerning shares of the livestock to compensate Jacob's labors. (Gen 30:25-34)

That deal with the livestock went on for six of the twenty years Jacob served Laban. (Gen 31:41b)

Joseph was 30 when he became prime minister of Egypt. (Gen 41:46a)

When Joseph went to work for Pharaoh; a 14 year period began, consisting of two divisions-- seven years of plenty, and seven years of famine. After the seven years of plenty, and two of the years of famine, when he was about 39, Joseph brought his dad down into Egypt. (Gen 45:6-9)

When Jacob arrived, he stood before Pharaoh and told him he was 130 years old. (Gen 47:7-9a)

Now we can do some arithmetic.

Jacob arrived in Egypt at 130. Subtracting Joseph's age of 39, we get 91; which was Jacob's age when Joseph was born. After subtracting 14-- the years Jacob worked for Laban up to the deal they made concerning the livestock --we're left with 77; which is Jacob's approximate age when he indentured himself to Laban.

Allowing for a generous intermission of 2 years-- encompassing Rebecca's scheme, Jacob's flight to Haran, and his eventual indenture to Laban --Jacob's age in the section of Genesis we're in today, can very reasonably be put at 75.

Isaac was 60 when Jacob was born. (Gen 25:26)

So adding 75 to 60, puts Isaac somewhere in the neighborhood of 135 years old at the beginning of chapter 27.

Everyone involved in this next episode was getting up in years and thus quite mature. Jacob and Esau, though 75 years old, were, nonetheless, vigorous men and, gerontologically speaking, relatively young in terms of the aging process as it existed in those days. Even Isaac wasn't as near death as he feared since he lived another 45 years to be 180 when he died. (Gen 35:28)

†. Gen 27:1b . . and his eyes were too dim to see,

The word for "dim" is from kahah (kaw-haw') which means: to be weak; viz: to despond and/or grow dull.

So Isaac wasn't actually blind, as some have proposed. It's far more likely he was stricken with cataracts, or some other disorder very common among people his age even today.

†. Gen 27:1c-2 . . he called his older son Esau and said to him; My son. He answered; Here I am. And he said; I am old now, and I do not know how soon I may die.

Die from what? Was he having a bad day or something? Isaac went on to live another 45 years. Maybe he was just depressed because of his eyesight. People often lose interest in life when they become handicapped. It's really not unusual; and to be expected.

†. Gen 27:3-4 . .Take your gear, your quiver and bow, and go out into the open and hunt me some game. Then prepare a dish for me such as I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my innermost blessing before I die.

The word for "innermost" is napshiy, which is from nephesh (neh'-fesh). That word is rendered in several ways. It can mean a living being, a living creature, the heart, the mind, the feelings, and the soul. Nephesh is a pretty useful word. In this case, I think Isaac is saying that the blessing he is going to bestow upon Esau comes from the bottom of his heart. That boy was his favorite and I don't think Isaac ever did care too much for Jacob. If he had purposed to bless Jacob, I think it would have been done with a very grudging spirit.

This particular blessing regards Esau's inheritance. He already sold the patriarchy to Jacob for a bowl of lentil stew. Whether or not Isaac was aware of the deal the brothers struck, is not said.

What takes place next in chapter 27 is difficult to believe. To think that two grown-ups, one at least 75 and the other very likely 115 years old, took part in this incredibly clownish deception. I could understand young, inexperienced kids doing something so stupid. But it is difficult to understand how supposedly mature adults like Rebecca and Jacob could ever seriously ponder such a silly scheme. It is simply moronic that Rebecca would even remotely consider that her crafty little plan had even the remotest chance of success. Conducted under false pretenses, and a fake ID; it would only be a matter of hours before the scam was uncovered, the ill gotten blessing of course annulled, and the perpetrators soundly excoriated . . unless . . unless there is more to this incident than meets the eye; and there most certainly is.

Ninety-five years prior to this point in time, God personally selected a spunky water girl up in Haran to be Isaac's spouse. The wisdom of that selection is now going to become apparent as we begin to realize who actually wore the spiritual pants in Isaac's house. If spirituality were a martial art, Rebecca would be a black belt. Her discernment regarding matters of Heaven is just incredible. Was she really a silly female? Far from it.

In spite of God's mandate in chapter 25 concerning Jacob, and in spite of the plainly obvious superiority of Jacob's character, and his spiritual discernment, and his convictions, and in spite of Esau's blatant indifference to his birthright, and to his spiritual heritage, and to the mind of God; Isaac was nevertheless apparently determined to give both the patriarchy and the inheritance to Esau-- clearly the wrong choice; not to mention a direct affront to God. The inheritance was one thing, but the patriarchy was a whole other matter altogether.

Esau even married impious women from among the pagan Canaanites. A horrible choice considering the repercussions of such spouses upon the future of Abraham's covenant. And Esau no doubt made that choice against the counsel and consent of his parents; proving all the more just how head-strong and self-willed the man really was. Motivated by the gain of temporal advantage, and the gratification of carnal appetites; Esau had no spiritual vision at all. Well; Rebecca is fixin' to give Mr. Isaac, and his secular son Mr. Esau, the wake-up call of their lives!

Esau was a man's man. I think if any of us met him, we would be instantly drawn by his charisma and virility. And I think that Isaac saw in him the kind of man he always wished he was himself. But in the coin of heaven, Esau had no more worth than a dilapidated old shoe.

It's difficult to comprehend how favoritism, on the part of such a presumably spiritual man as Isaac, could be based upon such a carnal motive as the taste of venison. But it wasn't just the meal, but rather the way it was obtained.

We get runs of Salmon up here in Oregon's rivers at various times of the year. Last time I checked; you could buy fresh Coho Salmon in local supermarkets for about $12 a pound. But no; guys prefer instead to spend all day on a river in the freezing cold just to catch one Salmon in the wild. But the river fish means something that the supermarket fish can never mean. Yes, both are edible and both make great eating and honestly you can't tell the difference. But one is obtained with a shopping cart. The other by a man's own bare hands: with fishing tackle, by personal energy combined with risk, skill, and cunning. All those are important to a real man's feelings of personal worth.

It was customary in Jacob's day to mark solemn occasions with a feast; like the one Isaac prepared for Abimelech when they swore an oath together in chapter 26. And since the blessing Isaac resolved to bestow upon Esau was such an important one, it seemed appropriate that the solemnities should be marked by a feast of wild meat provided by Esau's own personal hunting skills. However, father and son didn't reckon on the God factor, and they surely didn't reckon on black-belt Rebecca. Their little party is not going to happen because this sharp gal from up north anticipated this very day and is all set to implement a little fiesta of her own.

Buen Camino
/

 

[Webers_Home]

Re: Genesis

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†. Gen 27:5a . . Rebecca had been listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau.

There is no way Isaac and Esau caught this woman by surprise. Uh-uh. I believe Rebecca had a contingency plan all well thought out in advance long before now. She didn't go nuts wondering what to do. No siree Billy Bob. Rebecca instantly escalated to DefCon 1; pulled out her operation plan, and followed it right by the numbers.

We might ask: Why was Rebecca so concerned anyway? Didn't God decree the firstborn's rights to Jacob? Then Jacob will get them anyway; won't he?

Yes. Jacob would eventually end up with the firstborn's rights anyway; but the problem was: the outgoing patriarch had to impart the blessing and obviously Mr. Isaac wasn't inclined to do so. It appears to me that Isaac was actually going to attempt to circumvent God's wishes and I honestly think it was because he was afraid of alienating his favorite son.

Rebecca wasn't stupid, nor inclined to superstition. I seriously doubt she was silly enough to believe the words of the blessing themselves held sufficient magic to confer the firstborn's rights upon Jacob just because he happened to be in the room and hear them as they were spoken in his direction. After all, it was all done under false pretenses and a fake ID. No court in the land would uphold anything obtained by a fraud like that. But her scheme was designed to do something else entirely. I believe her intent was to wake Isaac up and make him return to his senses. The man did fear God. That much is beyond question. But he was lax in his patriarchal duties. Before this is over, he will regret his laxity very, very much.

†. Gen 27:5b-7 . .When Esau had gone out into the open to hunt game to bring home, Rebecca said to her son Jacob: I overheard your father speaking to your brother Esau, saying: Bring me some game and prepare a dish for me to eat, that I may bless you, with the Lord's approval, before I die.

That's not really what Isaac said. It appears that Rebecca embellished a little and added "with the Lord's approval." Compare Gen 3:3 where Eve embellished God's testimony in Gen 2:17 where He didn't forbid them to "touch" the fruit; no, only to eat it.

†. Gen 27:8 . . Now, my son, listen carefully as I instruct you.

I tell you this woman scares me. Cool as a vice cop, Rebecca executes Plan A with the step by step precision of a well arranged sting. I can just visualize her grip upon Jacob's arm, gazing up into his face with a most intense look, as she gears him up to get started on his part of the scheme.

†. Gen 27:9a . . Go to the flock and fetch me two choice kids,

Why two? Well, deer produce a much larger quantity of meat than a little bitty kid. It's true Isaac couldn't possibly eat the whole thing, but she can only use parts of the kids that best resemble the venison cuts Isaac prefers. And Esau more than likely cooked up a whole lot more than just one serving. I think he typically brought his dad a heaping buffet and let him pick out what he wanted. Rebecca is going to have to duplicate that setting as best as she can. And she will too. After all, who was it taught those two boys how to cook in the first place? None other than Becky Crocker.

†. Gen 27:9b . . and I will make of them a dish for your father, such as he likes.

This is additional evidence that it wasn't merely the flavor of Esau's cooking that made Isaac love him. Rebecca could duplicate the taste of venison with goat meat so that you couldn't tell the one from the other.

†. Gen 27:10a-11a . .Then take it to your father to eat, in order that he may bless you before he dies. Jacob answered his mother Rebecca: But . .

Jacob straight away sees where his mom is going with this and likes it. However . . there's just one problem: Rebecca can duplicate Esau's cooking; but how will Jacob duplicate Esau? They didn't have the benefit of slick Hollywood make-up artists in those days so how are they going to make Jacob look (or rather, feel) like his brother? Well, they have Isaac's poor eyesight to their advantage; so Jacob's appearance won't have to be all that accurate. But they will need at least one prosthetic: body hair.

†. Gen 27:11b-12 . . my brother Esau is a hairy man and I am smooth-skinned. If my father touches me, I shall appear to him as a trickster and bring upon myself a curse, not a blessing.

Isaac might get the wrong idea and think that Jacob is poking fun at his bad eyesight by playing a dumb trick on him. That would hurt the old boy's feelings a great deal to think that his 75 year-old son thought so little of him as to perpetrate such a cruel prank; which of course would warrant a curse; because it is not only cruel to play tricks on the blind, but, even worse, to be cruel to one's parents.

†. Gen 27:13 . . But his mother said to him: Your curse, my son, be upon me! Just do as I say and go fetch them for me.

That's the oldest ploy in the book. It's the very same reasoning the German military guards used to justify their duties at Auschwitz and Dachau. "You can't blame us" they said; "We only did what we were told." That seems reasonable enough. After all, the ones in charge are really responsible; right? Wrong. The midwives of Ex 1:15-17 could have used the very same excuse; but didn't. And God commended them for fearing Him. If they had obeyed Pharaoh, they would have received condemnation instead. Everyone bears their own personal responsibility and has a duty to raise conscientious objections. In other words: it is a sin to violate your conscience. Yes, minor children are to obey their parents-- but to the point of sin? Never! Besides, Jacob was no minor child. He was a grown man.

But Rebecca needed some leverage to keep Jacob in the game. By playing the "filial authority" card, she persuaded Jacob to stay on track. Luckily, he wasn't too bright at the time and failed to appreciate his own personal accountability. After all, the man was at least 75 years old; not just a little kid. But then again, I think Jacob the supplanter really wanted to pull this thing off and just needed a way to appease his own misgivings about it; so it wasn't too difficult to win him over.

Buen Camino
/

 

[reba]

Re: Genesis

I tell you this woman scares
me. Cool as a vice cop, Rebecca executes Plan A with the step by
step precision of a well arranged sting.

Good keep it that way reba

 

[Webers_Home]

Re: Genesis

.
Somebody should nominate Rebecca for Women's History month.

Buen Camino
/

 

[Webers_Home]

Re: Genesis

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†. Gen 27:14-15 . . He got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared a dish such as his father liked. Rebecca then took the best clothes of her older son Esau, which were there in the house, and had her younger son Jacob put them on;

The word for "house" is from bayith (bah'-yith) which means: a dwelling (in the greatest variation of applications), including family.

Does that mean Rebecca lived in a permanent structure? I don't think so. Bayith doesn't always mean what we think. In Gen 6:14 it implicates the interior of the ark. At Gen 7:1 it implicates Noah's family, and quite possibly even all their belongings-- a regular Noah's Family Robinson. At Gen 15:2, bayith implicates Abraham's entire estate: his tents, his livestock, and his servants.

Some have proposed that Esau's best clothes were special-- for religious observances --like the garments that priests might wear. But that certainly doesn't fit Esau's character. I think it was just a nice outfit of some sort, maybe even the one he got married in. But anyway, they sure didn't get washed often because his clothes usually smelled like the outdoors-- and that could mean anything from plain old dirt to wild flowers and meadow grass.

But why were those clothes (viz: his cleanest dirty shirts) in Rebecca's home? I believe it was because Rebecca anticipated this very day and kept them right there handy so she could put them on Jacob when the time came. And that is why she never washed the smell out of them. Jacob of course was very likely a tidy sort of guy and kept his clothes clean. But Esau was a rugged outdoor type who's clothes you would expect to have an odor.

†. Gen 27:16 . . and she covered his hands and the hairless part of his neck with the skins of the kids.

Those hides would still be raw and untreated. So Rebecca had to scrub and scrape to get all the fat and blood off so they wouldn't have a visceral smell to them. Yuck! That's reminiscent of scenes from Silence Of The Lambs.

†. Gen 27:17 . .Then she put in the hands of her son Jacob the dish and the bread that she had prepared.

Yummy. From the kitchen of Becky Crocker; with biscuits and gravy too. Well, this is as far as Rebecca can go. Now it's all up to Mr. Jacob to pull this off. Good luck dude. Don't chicken out now. HWUAH! (Navy SEAL cheer)

†. Gen 27:18-19a . . He went to his father and said: Father. And he said: Yes, which of my sons are you? Jacob said to his father: I am Esau, your first-born; I have done as you told me.

That boy makes me proud. No mumbling, no stuttering, no hesitation-- right to it. Yes; he is a big fat liar. But I love it. You watch. Any day now he'll get a letter in the mail from CIA recruiters praising his moral flexibility.

NOTE : when Jacob called out to his dad; he used what is known as a "vocative" which Webster's defines as: of, relating to, or being a grammatical case marking out the one addressed. In other words: a vocative is intended to get the attention of a specific person in a room rather than everybody in the room. This may seem superfluous, and I guess it isn't germane to the study of Genesis; but the principle has an important application in Christianity. Compare Rom 8:15 and Gal 4:6 where the Aramaic vocative Abba indicates that the Father's children don't call out to Him as merely a clan's paterfamilias, but rather, like Jacob did with Isaac: as one's very own papa.

†. Gen 27:19b-20 . . Pray sit up and eat of my game, that you may give me your innermost blessing. Isaac said to his son: How did you succeed so quickly, my son? And he said: Because the Lord your God granted me good fortune.

What did he say!? My golly that man had chutzpah! He actually dragged the name of God into the lie. Now Jacob will be condemned to the lower regions for sure; or will he?

†. Mtt 8:11 . . I say unto you: that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.

†. Gen 27:21-23 . . Isaac said to Jacob: Come closer that I may feel you, my son-- whether you are really my son Esau or not. So Jacob drew close to his father Isaac, who felt him and wondered: The voice is the voice of Jacob, yet the hands are the hands of Esau. He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; and so he blessed him.

So then, in spite of their twin-ness, there was enough of a difference in the brothers' voices to be discernable. However, Rebecca somehow attached size-cut pieces of young goat skin on the backs of Jacob's hands and fingers with some sort of toupee adhesive so it would feel to Isaac as if it were a man's natural hairs. That was a pretty good trick; and would probably land her a job as a Hollywood make-up artist.

†. Gen 27:24 . . He asked: Are you truly my son Esau? And when he said: I am,

Some people are of the opinion that Jacob was a mama's boy. Well, maybe he was. But one thing he had that most mama's boys don't; and it's a level head under stress. Jacob was as calm and calculating as a test pilot all during this incident.

I tell you, that man amazes me. I bet Rebecca was just outside the door sweating bullets while all this was going on; hoping and praying that Jacob not lose his cool and bolt out of the room in a panic. This is just the kind of cool under fire that the Secret Service looks for; but then, you need a pretty high IQ to work with those guys.

†. Gen 27:25 . . he said: Serve me and let me eat of my son's game that I may give you my innermost blessing. So he served him and he ate, and he brought him wine and he drank.

The wine was probably out in the kitchen. When Jacob went back to get it, don't you think Rebecca hugged him and gave him a great big thumbs up? I do. Those two were a team! The original Mission Impossible task force.

While Isaac was eating, he and Jacob probably chatted. About what; I don't have a clue. But Jacob managed to pull it off like a pro. Isaac really thought he was talking with Esau.

†. Gen 27:26-27 . .Then his father Isaac said to him: Come close and kiss me, my son. And he went up and kissed him. And he smelled his clothes and he blessed him, saying, Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of the fields that the Lord has blessed.

Esau probably always smelled like that and Rebecca took full advantage of it. He should have washed his clothes once in a while. Good grief the man had two wives. What the heck did they do all day? Neglect their chores to watch Oprah, Dr. Phil, Judge Judy, and the Soaps? I bet if you visited Esau's home the kids were running around in dirty underwear and snotty noses all the time. You probably had to kick a path to walk and wouldn't dare sit down because something might stick. Poor Rebecca. What a pair of daughters-in-law. I bet when they all got together on holidays, Judith and Basemath sat around on their tushes and gossiped while Rebecca and Jacob did all the dishes.

Buen Camino
/

 

[Webers_Home]

Re: Genesis

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†. Gen 27:28 . . May God give you of the dew of heaven and the fat of the earth, abundance of new grain and wine.

The benediction, first of all, regards things in nature necessary for prosperity in an agrarian economy-- rain, fertile soil, and abundant yields. Rain is an especially precious resource in the country of Israel where today it's confined to just one season a year lasting only three months. In the old days, they had two rainy seasons; the early rains and the latter rains.

City slickers hate rain. It's so inconvenient. It gets their hair wet; they have to run the wipers; it floods their streets and storm drains, their gutters overflow from clogged downspouts, they can't wear flip-flops-- caring little that the foods available in the supermarkets and convenience stores are utterly dependant upon adequate rain. I think that some people actually think their foods are manufactured in sweat shops rather than grown in the dirt. They just can't make the connection.

†. Gen 27:29a . . Let peoples serve you, And nations bow to you;

Jacob's progeny has exercised dominance over many nations in the past, most especially during Solomon's period. Today they're in a slump. But that benediction isn't dead yet; no, not by a long sea mile. In the future, Israel will be the seat of world power and the center for religious studies. You'd never know it to look at Jacob's condition today; but it's going to happen.

†. Gen 27:29b . . Be master over your brothers, and let your mother's sons bow to you.

The magic words! --and the very ones I'm sure Rebecca was anxiously waiting to hear. His "mother's sons" right then only amounted (in Isaac's mind) to just one: Mr. Jacob. But Rebecca became a grandma and today her sons can't even be numbered. Every one of them are supposed to honor Jacob and bow in respect because he, along with Isaac and Abraham, is a member of the elite league of senior patriarchs.

The bestowal of the patriarchy upon Jacob was done with God as a witness, who has, so far, neither interfered nor intervened; nor has He seen fit to alert Isaac to Jacob's deception, nor said a single word about the whole fraudulent business. In short, the Almighty God, of all people, is apparently condoning Jacob's funny business. It seems to me, that the only way to understand this situation is to conclude that, whatever may be wrong with the stratagem and deception of Jacob and Rebecca, the sin of Esau and Isaac was infinitely more grievous.

Yes, it's true that God doesn't usually condone lies; and I'm sure Jacob and his mom well knew it. They were spiritual people; both of them. But I really think that as bad as deception might be in God's sight, it had become a desperate necessity in this case to prevent a much worse sin: that of blasphemously presuming to impart the most holy of God's offices to a man who neither appreciated its depth, nor would honor it-- and to do so directly in the face of God's commandment against it. Such an eventuality surely would have incurred God's most severe judgment upon both Isaac and Esau; and I am convinced that Rebecca felt she must prevent that occurrence at all costs, even if it meant alienating her husband and infuriating Esau to the point of seeking Jacob's death.

Isaac, because of the solemn nature of what he was doing, (conveying holy covenant promises and blessings to a son, who in turn would be responsible for their transmission and implementation in his own family) was no doubt under the influence of the power of God that day and was carried along in the scheme even though he half suspected the son in the room with him wasn't Esau. No. Jacob was getting that blessing, and there was nothing short of Heaven and Hell themselves that could prevent it.

The Almighty Himself, who had made His solemn covenant with Abraham, and renewed it with Isaac, certainly was present in that room during the whole affair. What would have happened if Esau was instead standing there that day we can only surmise. But it seems highly probable that the consequences would have been tragic for both father and son. The Almighty God's holy promises and covenants are never to be dispensed as trifles, subject to the whim and preference of self centered mortals who are swayed to make important decisions simply upon the taste of their favorite foods.

†. Gen 27:29c . . Cursed be they who curse you, blessed they who bless you.

That the blessing upon Jacob was definitely the same as the blessing given to Abraham and Isaac is clear from the words spoken here in the final part. First, Isaac conferred the material aspects of patriarchal life: prosperity. I am sure that Esau would have loved that part of it. However, there is nothing in the wording of the blessing to suggest that it included an actual bequeathal of Isaac's assets. Isaac's closing statement echoes God's own words to Abraham in Gen 12:3

Some have wondered why Isaac didn't include the balance of the Gen 12:2-3 blessing at this time; which goes like this:

"I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you shall be a blessing . . and all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you."

Sad to say, I think Isaac knew very well it would be like blessing a dead pig. There is no way Esau would ever become a great nation, and especially ever become a blessing to all the families of the Earth; nor that they would bless themselves by him. Yet even knowing that, Isaac was, for all intents and purposes, still determined to confer the patriarchy upon Esau, the unholy son with no future. I hate to say it, but I strongly suspect Isaac was becoming somewhat deranged; especially because of the feelings he entertained about his supposedly imminent death.

Anyway, he did pronounce the blessing upon Jacob; and did so under the very inspiration of God, though Isaac himself was trying to thwart the will of God all the while he was speaking. Just so, many years later, the infamous prophet for profit, Balaam, in Numbers 22, 23, and 24, was forced to bless Israel even against his own will. And in the days of Jesus of Nazareth (John 11:49-52) the high priest spoke prophetically of the meaning of Jesus' death; though the priest himself did not understand the real import of what he was saying; nor even put any stock at all in his own words.

The blessing which, by God's edict, should have gone to Jacob in the first place, was indeed finally pronounced upon him by his father in spite of Isaac's lack of willingness to do so. He was tricked into it, yes; but by thunder that shouldn't have been necessary.

Buen Camino
/

 

[Webers_Home]

Re: Genesis

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†. Gen 27:30-33a . . No sooner had Jacob left the presence of his father Isaac-- after Isaac had finished blessing Jacob --than his brother Esau came back from his hunt. He too prepared a dish and brought it to his father. And he said to his father: Let my father sit up and eat of his son's game, so that you may give me your innermost blessing. His father Isaac said to him: Who are you? And he said: I am your son, Esau, your first-born! Isaac was seized with very violent trembling.

According to Jewish folklore, Isaac's first impulse, upon realizing he blessed the wrong son, was to retract the benediction from Jacob and give it to the son for whom it was intended; and would have except at that moment he saw Hell open beneath his feet, thus signifying that God was very displeased with his intentions; and if he persisted any longer to bless the wrong boy, he would suffer dire consequences. I would not be one bit surprised if that were true.

It began to dawn on Isaac what had happened. The truth suddenly came home to him like a frigid blast of icy wind. In spite of all his intentions, God overruled Isaac, and he blessed the younger instead of the elder; like he was supposed to do in the first place.

Furthermore, he realized he had been deceived by his true love Rebecca, and by his faithful son Jacob, whom he really hadn't appreciated very much up until now. I think he realized, that they, level-headed and sensible people that they were, deceived him in order to prevent the head of the house from doing what he very well knew he had no right to do. And God was in on the whole scheme, and had blessed Jacob through Isaac in spite of himself to the contrary. Jacob would indeed be blessed, just as he should have been all along.

†. Gen 27:33b . .Who was it then-- he demanded --that hunted game and brought it to me? Moreover, I ate of it before you came, and I blessed him; now he must remain blessed!

This was clearly the will of God and there was nothing Isaac could do to change it. He had tried to, but God stopped him. As the impact of these thoughts came over him, Isaac became very shaken. Emotions of all sorts must have overwhelmed him-- anger with Jacob, concern for Esau's future, heartbreak over Rebecca's treachery, resentment at having his own plans thwarted, and shame for having played the fool in such an important spiritual matter. All those feelings surely contributed to his trembling, not to mention the very sight of Hell maybe opening at his feet.

Isaac quickly realized God had spoken to him in judgment, and that he had incurred great peril to himself in so ignoring the will of God. He had betrayed the trust of his father Abraham and had practically destroyed his own home; all because of a carnal appetite and parental adulation of a favorite son's physical exploits. No wonder the poor man was shaking so badly.

†. Gen 27:34a . .When Esau heard his father's words, he burst into wild and bitter sobbing,

The word for "sobbing" is wayits'aq which is from tsa' aq (tsaw-ak') and means: to shriek.

I have a feeling the shriek that wrenched up out of Esau's lungs is the very same hysterical emotion that millions of damned will feel at The Great White Throne judgment of Rev 20:11-15 when the grim reality of their fate finally sinks in that they have lost Heaven forever. It's beyond words.

At the first, Esau entered his dad's room with cheerful anticipation. Then quite bluntly, Isaac blurts out that someone beat him to it. Watching his dad shivering, and seeing the look of fear wash over the patriarch's face, the awful truth became only too apparent and Esau gave vent to his disappointment with a dreadful scream.

†. Gen 27:34b . . and said to his father: Bless me too, Father!

In Esau's mind, his dad really hadn't intended to bless Jacob; and was actually hoodwinked into it; so surely God couldn't possibly honor the fraudulent blessing. Isaac could just simply retract his words and bless the older son like he wanted to. But no. It was far more serious than either Esau or his dad imagined; which by now, via God's Spirit, Isaac was fully aware.

†. Gen 27:34c . . But he answered: Your brother came with guile and took away your blessing.

That was really only a half truth; no doubt told with the intent to prevent alienating his eldest son. The fact of the matter is: Isaac couldn't change anything now even if he wanted to; and he knew it too because by now he was fully reminded of God's original mandate regarding the two boys even before they were born. Hardly knowing how to explain his wanton error to Esau, he simply blamed Jacob for it. But it was Isaac's fault all along. He should never have led Esau to believe he would get the blessing. So many dads cannot admit they made a mistake in the way they raised their kids. Isaac was certainly no better.

†. Gen 27:36a . . [Esau] said: Was he, then, named Jacob that he might supplant me these two times? First he took away my birthright and now he has taken away my blessing!

Esau bitterly recalled that Jacob had taken away his birthright-- of course conveniently forgetting that he saw no value in it and traded his privilege for a measly bowl of porridge.

†. Gen 27:36b-38 . . And he added: Have you not reserved a blessing for me? Isaac answered, saying to Esau: But I have made him master over you: I have given him all his brothers for servants, and sustained him with grain and wine. What, then, can I still do for you, my son? And Esau said to his father: Have you but one blessing, Father? Bless me too, Father! And Esau wept aloud.

It must have been a strange sight to see such a virile, strong, athletic he-man screaming like a woman and bawling like a little girl. Agonizingly, he begged his dad for a blessing of some kind for himself, probably hoping that somehow God, through his father's intercession, could be persuaded to change His mind. The portion of the blessing, which no doubt appealed to Esau the most-- that of political superiority and material security-- had been irrevocably given to Jacob; and all the blubbering in the world couldn't change the situation now.

Esau's fate went on to become the model and example of people who fail to appreciate the value of Christ's crucifixion.

†. Heb 12:15-17 . . looking diligently lest anyone fall short of the grace of God . . lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

The unfortunate situation with irreverent people is that they never seem able to appreciate their blessings until they're lost without hope of recovery.

Buen Camino
/

 

[Webers_Home]

Re: Genesis

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†. Gen 27:39-40 . . And his father Isaac answered, saying to him: See, your abode shall be [away from] the fat of the earth and [from] the dew of heaven above. Yet by your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you grow restive, you shall break his yoke from your neck.

The words in the brackets don't actually appear in the English text. But according to a foot note in the 1985 JPS Tanakh; the meaning of the Hebrew is just what you see. Jacob's side of the family was granted the best water, fertile soils, and abundant yields. In contrast, Esau's side of the family would live in regions plagued with geological shortages of water, arable land, and natural pastures.

Isaac's prediction was fulfilled by the very nature of the rugged region that came to be known as the land of Edom. The Edomites, in general, lived in violence and subjection to Israel; remaining essentially independent until David's time, but then were subjugated permanently after that in spite of frequent rebellions and temporary partial freedom. Finally, Edom disappeared as a nation by that name.

Esau's life of indifference to spiritual matters-- in spite of being born to one of the most privileged heritages possible --had finally caught up with him and it was too late even for regrets.

†. Gen 27:41 . . Now Esau harbored a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing which his father had given him, and Esau said to himself: Let but the mourning period of my father come, and I will kill my brother Jacob.

Well, he had a long wait ahead of him. Isaac lived another 45 years.

But isn't it odd how the human spirit desires to kill-- not just desire for harm and misfortune; but to the gravest extreme?

A few years ago, out here on a highway in Oregon, traffic was slowed. So a man tried to get ahead of it by driving on the shoulder to pass everyone up. As he went by a pick-up truck with some men in it, one of them threw a paper cup at him. He dropped back and fired a gun into the pick-up, killing one of the passengers.

That is so typical of the feelings that overwhelm human beings when they're angry. They want blood, and no other form of revenge will satisfy. Is it possible that there is anybody out there who has never wished that somebody would die?

Esau's personality changed dramatically. He went from an indifferent, carefree outdoor sportsman to a bitter, vindictive neurotic. The thought of his sissy brother ruling over him-- the superior son who was always admired and idolized for his strength and prowess --was just too much for Esau to bear.

†. Gen 27:42a . . When the words of her older son Esau were reported to Rebecca,

You know, if criminals would just keep their mouths shut they might get away with a whole lot more crimes. But no, they just have to tell somebody about it. Esau must have vented his bitterness to others who, in turn, went and leaked it to Rebecca.

†. Gen 27:42b-43a . . she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him: Your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you. Now, my son, listen to me.

Again showing herself to be a woman of quick decision, Rebecca called Jacob and told him exactly what to do. Not wishing for a war between her sons, she thought it best to send Jacob away for a while.

†. Gen 27:43b-45 . . Flee at once to Haran, to my brother Laban. Stay with him a while, until your brother's fury subsides-- until your brother's anger against you subsides --and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will fetch you from there. Let me not lose you both in one day!

The word for "fury" is from chemah (khay-maw') and/or chema' (khay-maw') which means: heat. The word for "anger" is from 'aph (af) which means: the nose or nostril; hence, the face, and occasionally a person; also (from the rapid breathing in passion) ire.

(chuckle) Ol' Esau was indeed a passionate man. But his was not the lingering passion of a scented candle, or of a Yule log, which burn slowly for a long time. His rage burned more like a tumbleweed; a flashing, momentary flame that would soon pass. Esau might hold a grudge, but he wouldn't go on red faced and breathing heavy about it for very long.

Moody, introspective people, often stay upset for long periods of time; which really exasperates the Esau types who usually get over things quickly. The Esau types are happy to let personal conflicts blow over and then move on. But the moody types are always wanting to dredge up unresolved grievances and argue about them again and again for the Nth time until someone finally listens.

Some lawsuits, like the one between former President Clinton and Paula Jones, often cannot be settled out of court because personalities like hers want an admission of guilt and an apology. Money is out of the question, and an insult to boot, because people like Paula Jones are never satisfied with anything less than a public hanging.

Knowing Esau's nature, Rebecca figured his rage would pass away quickly and he would soon return to his typical carefree ways. Unfortunately, it was past twenty years before Jacob came back home, and there is no record that he ever saw his mom again. Rebecca's stratagem was indeed costly, but it could have gone much worse if Jacob had stayed home. Surely any attempt by Esau to kill Jacob would have resulted in Esau's death; the Lord protecting Jacob for future use. But I think Rebecca feared Esau might succeed and then become permanently alienated from the family like Cain was after killing his brother Abel. So she would, in effect, lose both boys in one day just as grandma Eve did.

Rebecca-- the bright, discreet lass that she was --no doubt had counted all the costs of her scheme; and believed the issue was vital enough to require her to do what she did. As a matter of fact, later events proved that she was correct. Esau did soon get over his rage, and he prospered quite adequately in a material sense. Jacob never did really lord it over him, which was probably all Esau really cared about anyway. Both boys survived this calamitous event: hubby Isaac too. And Jacob went on to spawn the people of Israel, thus making a line to Messiah; by whom the Serpent's head would be crushed, and the entire world blessed beyond measure.

They say all's well that ends well. Maybe. Rebecca's family was fractured, and she lost the companionship of a really good son. Hers was a sacrifice of the heart. I would really like to see Rebecca compensated for that some day.

Buen Camino
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[Webers_Home]

Re: Genesis

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†. Gen 27:46 . . And Rebecca said to Isaac: I am weary of living because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, I might as well die.

I think Rebecca was becoming very lonely for the company of daughters-in-law of a kindred spirit. Christians considering marriage should really give some serious thought to how their parents feel about a prospective spouse. It's just not fair to force your choice down there throat with the haughty protest: It's MY life!

No man is an island, entire of itself;
Every man is a piece of the continent:
A part of the main.
John Donne, 1624

All that people do, everything they say, every decision they make; has a ripple effect.

You know, Isaac really wasn't a bad man. But something happened to him that made him lose interest in his patriarchal duties. I really do think the man was having problems with depression; which may have been associated somehow with his eyesight.

What if you could never again see Orion and the Milky Way, nor a sunset, nor the colors of the rainbow, nor watch the flight of migrating geese or a buzzing humming bird, nor see the bees busily collecting their pollen, nor the wind shaking the trees, nor the fluorescent colors of Autumn foliage, nor the splendor of the Grand Canyon, nor a spider's web illuminated from behind by morning sunlight, nor the ocean's waves, nor fireworks on the 4th of July? And what about all the things you haven't seen yet? Defective eyesight would prevent you from ever seeing the things that you missed.

There is a well known syndrome that occurs in men called male menopause; and also known by it's other name: andropause. Although male menopause is related to the aging process-- with resultant hormonal reductions --men's problems aren't caused by the very same kinds of changes that occur in women. Women's menopausal difficulties are chiefly chemical. But with men, it's mostly psychological.

One of the primary symptoms of andropause is depression. Not just bouts of depression that come and go, but the chronic kind. Every day, every night: feelings of inadequacy and worthlessness plague men afflicted with chronic depression. They feel useless, they feel expendable; and they feel unnecessary. But worse, they feel unlovable; viz: not only do they feel like no one cares whether they live or die, but they feel it is impossible for anyone to care about them at all.

It isn't unusual for men to rapidly deteriorate and die during the first eighteen months of their retirement years. Why? Because their jobs, and their careers, made their lives worthwhile; and gave them a reason to live. It gave them strong feelings of value, of self worth and self esteem, and feelings of belonging in a man's world. At career's end, they feel expended and expendable; actually losing interest in living and it's almost as if they will themselves to pass away.

When we're young and spry, we look forward to the future with optimism and anticipation. But when we're older, there is nothing in life to look forward to anymore but falling apart and leaving it. All the good stuff is over. And it doesn't help having our bodies deteriorate along the way.

By the time most men reach fifty or fifty-five, they've lost a good deal of hair; plus picked up about twenty-five to forty pounds of belly. Their faces are pouchy, their skin pasty, their breath smells, and most of their teeth are either yellow or false, filled, crowned, or even totally gone; and their gums have receded enough to make their front teeth take on the appearance of pegs. The corners of their mouths turn down so that they wear a perpetual scowl; and their muscles are so atrophied, and their joints have lost so much cartilage, that they can't even run a softball base path, let alone two or three blocks of jogging.

Most guys anticipate an eventual tryst with a very hot babe. Well, the day finally comes when they realize their dream is never going to happen. The season for that has past, that ship has sailed and they missed the boat, and for better or for worse, what they see in their wives is what they've got to work with from now on. Some men sneak around and begin dating younger women to compensate. They buy a nifty car or motorcycle, color their hair with Grecian formula, and shop for smart, youthful-looking couture. But those are silly, desperate measures that close their eyes to the inevitable-- they're old and unattractive; and it only gets worse, not better. I'm approaching 70 as I write this; and every time I see senior citizens in their mid 70's and early 80's, I'm only reminded of my own not-too-distant future; and don't want to go there.

I really think that Isaac's handicap robbed him of all reasonable optimism; and he saw no reason to go on living; especially at his age. Because of that, he had no spirit for patriarchal duties. When the boys brought him food that day, both of them asked their dad to sit up and eat. Sit up!? What the heck was he doing lying down? Well, I think he was lying around all day feeling sorry for himself, that's what. Life had become uninteresting to Isaac, and he was one whipped puppy.

But not so Rebecca. No, No; not that spunky Aquarius girl. She was a fighter, she was a Rocky Balboa. Becky had a head on her shoulders. Ever the strong decisive woman, she put a bug in Isaac's ear to send Jacob away to find a spouse. Yes, she was being cunning again; but in the right of it too: as usual. It was a whole lot better for Jacob to depart with his dad's good will than running away from home without saying good-bye.

Now that the blessing had actually been dispensed, and it was very clear to Isaac that Jacob was God's choice to perpetuate Abraham's covenant, there was no excuse to delay any longer in the matter of finding his son a suitable wife. This fact, combined with the immediate danger of another Cain-and-Abel episode, was more than enough reason for Isaac to send Jacob up to Haran to seek a mate.

Rebecca's personal desire for Jacob to have a wife from her own people, one with whom she could have fellowship rather than the continual friction she experienced with Esau's Hittite wives, compelled her to convince Isaac that her own life wouldn't be worth living anymore if Jacob married the same kinds of impious women as his brother's.

Was Rebecca a good wife? Even though she tricked her husband? And even though she was strong and decisive? I really believe she was because even in the US Navy, sometimes a captain needs his first officer to take over and run the ship till he's better.

†. Gen 2:18 . .The Lord God said; It is not good for man to be alone; I will make a fitting helper for him.

Isaac benefited from his dad Abraham's wisdom; and he had the providence of God to thank in the selection of his wife. Rebecca really saved the day, and got Isaac back up on his patriarchal feet. If it wasn't for her, nothing would have turned out right. She was indeed a "fitting helper".

Buen Camino
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[Webers_Home]

Re: Genesis

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†. Gen 28:1a . . So Isaac sent for Jacob and blessed him. He instructed him:

This is the first time, at least on record, that Isaac has shown any real interest in Jacob's spiritual condition. You just have to wonder if Jacob received any religious instruction at all from his dad. I would not be surprised if Rebecca has been Jacob's only tutor up to this point.

Isaac went through a very traumatic experience. I think he was shaken, and it appears to have succeeded in bringing him back to his senses. Now he renders upon Jacob the full extent of Abraham's blessing; which he really should have done a long time ago.

†. Gen 28:1b-4 . .You shall not take a wife from among the Canaanite women. Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother's father, and take a wife there from among the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. May El Shaddai bless you, make you fertile and numerous, so that you become an assembly of peoples. May He grant the blessing of Abraham to you and your offspring, that you may possess the land where you are sojourning, which God assigned to Abraham.

It would have been much wiser of course, if circumstances had permitted, to keep Jacob at home and dispatch a trusted servant up to Haran to fetch a wife back down to Canaan like Abraham did for Isaac. But at this point, I guess that option was out of the question. Isaac's patriarchal laxity is having quite a domino effect upon Jacob's future. He's going to be tricked into taking two wives, sisters at that, and squander twenty years of his life indentured to a very crafty, dishonest man.

†. Gen 28:5 . .Then Isaac sent Jacob off, and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebecca, mother of Jacob and Esau.

I just have to wonder if Isaac would have thought of Laban at all if not for Rebecca putting a bug in his ear.

Not only was Laban an Aramean, but so were Abraham, Lot, Sarah, and Rebecca. The boys (Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and Esau) were born in Canaan. So of what country were they? Canaan wasn't a united sovereignty like the USA. It was a frontier territory. Along the coast were Philistine colonies; the remainder populated by many communities scattered all over the place much like Native American peoples were in America's early days.

I don't know about Ishmael and Esau, but Isaac and Jacob looked ahead to a future country that they would call home. That country didn't exist just yet in Jacob's day, but it would eventually, and he would be a somebody there-- Abraham's covenant guarantees it. Those men haven't missed out on anything. According to the New Testament's Jesus, they will all return some day and live in that land as citizens in land promised to Abraham.

†. Matt 8:11 . . I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

The writer of Hebrews said, that although those three men were pilgrims in Canaan, they will one day live inside it as citizens in a town of their own.

†. Heb 11:8-10 . . By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

I don't know exactly how much detail those men knew in their day; but that "city with foundations" is going to be some piece of work. (cf. Rev 21:2-27)

†. Gen 28:6-7 . .When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, charging him, as he blessed him "You shall not take a wife from among the Canaanite women" and that Jacob had listened to his father and mother and gone to Paddan-aram,

That had to shake Esau up even more. Up to this point, for many, many years, he had been daddy's little boy. Now, practically overnight, Jacob takes center stage. It must have been very disturbing and I have no doubt it made Esau feel extremely insecure; probably for the first time in his life.

Jacob listened to his parents. The difference between Jacob and Esau really shows in that respect. Esau did pretty much whatever he pleased. But Jacob wasn't like that. Even at 75 years old he took his parents advice. American kids today are famous for ignoring their parents guidance; and they usually end up regretting it too.

I once heard a story about a know-it-all kid who, while living at home and attending college, thought his ol' dad was behind the times and just a big dummy. Well, eventually the boy went off on his own and out into the workaday world. Some years later, he returned home to visit his parents and was heard to remark: Dad sure got smart while I was gone.

His dad was smart all along, but the boy was to immature at the time and didn't know how to recognize true wisdom . He thought smartness came from IPods, rap music, books, education, couture, sitcoms, The Simpsons, social networking, and computer science. But none of those really prepared the boy to pick his friends with care, hold down a job, to select a spouse, nor to keep a marriage from falling apart. His hep-smarts made him wise in culture but not wise in life.

Although Esau was Isaac's favorite, I really don't think he ever disciplined, scolded, nor lectured his eldest son for anything. I think he let Esau run wild so as to avoid stressing their relationship. Even though Esau's wives were a misery to Isaac and Rebecca, apparently no one ever spoke up and said anything about it till now; and as a result; Esau fell for the oldest ruse in the book:

A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong;
Gives it a superficial appearance of being right.
-- Thomas Paine --


Buen Camino
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