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Genesis 27:41-30:24
Jacob in Exile: God’s Mercy and Justice

Last week’s lesson focused on the rivalry between Esau and Jacob, twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah. When the two were young; Jacob bought the birthright of his older brother Esau with a meal of lentil stew! The young Esau didn’t care about his inheritance; but as he approached the age of 80, he realized what a mistake he made. Nevertheless, helped by his mother Rebekah, Jacob stole Esau’s blessing by lying to his father Isaac. This gave Jacob all rights and privileges of the firstborn and made Esau livid – as was Isaac, who intended the blessing for Esau. But the blessing stands. This is the family God has blessed and chosen to mediate His blessing to the world – but the story sounds like something out of the old Dallas TV show. The discussion last week brought out the multiple fractured relationships: father against the son who lied to him – and the wife who made it happen . . . cheated son against his lying brother and his scheming mother.

Tonight’s lesson opens with Esau plotting to kill Jacob – just like the story of Cain and Abel. But fortunately for Jacob, Esau plans to wait until his father dies – expected soon. This allows the well-honed gossip network of the family matriarch to avert this tragedy: Rebekah learns of Esau’s plot and tells Jacob to flee to Haran and seek refuge with her brother Laban . . . and “stay with him for a while until your brother’s fury subsides.” She promises to send for Jacob “when your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him” (27:44-45) – which she expects will be quickly, because Rebekah knows Esau’s meteoric personality. Little does she know Isaac will live another 40 years; she will die before he does, and she will never see Jacob again!

Rebekah presents her plan to Isaac with a clever spin . . . not a murder plot, but a demand that Jacob marry a proper wife to fulfill God’s offspring promise to Abraham –since Jacob is now blessed as heir to Abraham’s promise. We learned last week that Esau’s two Canaanite wives was “a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah” (26:35); and in the intervening 35 or so years, Esau’s family has apparently assimilated into Canaanite culture, as his parents feared. Rebekah says she’ll just die if Jacob marries a local Canaanite woman (27:46). Jacob is almost 80 and unmarried – perhaps because he has been obedient to his parents and unable to find a proper wife; and Rebekah says that’s got to be fixed!

As usual, Rebekah plays Isaac like a fiddle. He calls in Jacob and sternly “commands” him: “Do not marry a Canaanite woman. Go at once to Paddan Aram, to . . . take a wife . . . from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother” (28:1-2). And Isaac blesses Jacob – this time knowing who he is – and again transmits God’s blessing to Abraham: “May God Almighty . . . give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of . . . the land God gave to Abraham” (28:3-4). Isaac seems to be trying to play family peacemaker . . . not happy with the way things turned out, but willing to make the best of it. Yet although he commands Jacob to take a wife, he doesn’t provide the necessary bride price . . . and whereas Abraham would not allow Isaac to leave Canaan – even to find a bride – Isaac sends Jacob out of Canaan! Why? The bible doesn’t say, but perhaps Isaac is telling Jacob: “OK, you stole God’s promise from your brother; now you’re on your own to prove you’re worthy of it!”

How does Esau react? After almost 40 years, it now dawns on him “how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father” (28:8), so he takes a 3rd wife: a “daughter of Ishmael” – granddaughter of Abraham through Sarah’s Egyptian slave (28:9). Good try . . . but poor Esau still doesn’t get it! He has become marginalized in the family, and must stay home and mourn his losses – hoping his younger brother Jacob will fail in his quest for a “proper” bride in Paddan Aram, and the birthright and blessing will default to him.

It’s about 450 miles from Beersheba to Haran – taking just less than a month. A few days into the trip, Jacob stops for the night – apparently at no particular place, but just “because the sun had set” (28:11) and he could go no further that day; he doesn’t seem to know the place is Bethel – very near where Abraham built his 2nd altar to God (12:8). Here Jacob has a dream. He sees a stairway to heaven, with angels “ascending and descending on it,” and with God Himself at the top (28:12). Scholars compare this to the Tower of Babel (cf Gen 11) and the Ziggurats of Mesopotamia – man’s attempts to build stairways to heaven; perhaps the point in this context is that man can’t get to heaven by his efforts, but God can build a stairway down; man can’t approach God in His holiness, so God must come to man – as He did in the person of Jesus the Messiah. When Jesus refers to seeing “heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1:51), He is approbating the imagery of Jacob’s dream.

In this dream God confirms Isaac’s transmission to Jacob of God’s promise to Abraham: the land, the offspring, and the blessing (28:13-15). God restated His promise to Abraham here when he was almost 80 and childless, returning from near-tragedy in Egypt after he lied to pharaoh (13:17); now Jacob is almost 80 and not married, fleeing from home after lying to his father . . . yet God promises His blessing and countless descendants to both. Jacob’s promise also contains the assurance God will bring him back to the promised land (12:16). Is there now any doubt God intended Jacob to have Isaac’s blessing – even though he received it so deceitfully? And we will soon see Jacob punished for his deceit!

When Jacob wakes up the next morning, he is “afraid” (28:17). Perhaps we shouldn’t read too much into this, but the bible doesn’t record Noah or Abraham or Isaac are “afraid” in their encounters with God, yet Adam is “afraid” of God after he sinned (3:10) and Jacob is “afraid” of God now after he has cheated his brother. Jacob must feel guilty – especially so when he realizes he has had a special dream, and this is a special place: “the house of God . . . the gate of heaven” (28:17). He doesn’t build an altar as his grandfather did, but raises as a pillar the stone he used as a pillow the night before, pours oil on it, and names the place Bethel: the House of God (28:18-19). He makes a promise to God: “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey . . . so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God and this stone . . . will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth” (28:20-22). This is the first record that God’s promise receives promise in return, and Jacob’s promise that YHWH will be his God and he will give a tithe seems driven by guilt and indicates he has not followed God in the past. God’s promise hence shows grace and forgiveness, and Jacob’s return promise shows how utterly dependent he now is upon God. Not long ago Jacob callously manipulated his father and brother to gain the birthright and the blessing – but now he is alone, without wealth or family or friends, totally dependent on God: the one being he cannot manipulate. What a faith-building experience that must be!

Jacob reaches his destination as chapter 29 opens. He goes to a well where he meets some shepherds – apparently hireling shepherds, loitering instead of working. He learns he has reached Haran and his uncle Laban still lives there and is well – important information, because it’s been almost 100 years since his mother Rebekah left. And as they talk, Laban’s daughter Rachel approaches with a flock of sheep; she is a shepherd – which secular documents show was historically and culturally permissible (29:6, 9).

Wells and cisterns were often covered by a large stone; several men were needed to remove it to water the flocks. At the sight of Rachel, Jacob puts on a macho show of strength and rolls the stone away all by himself. He waters his uncle’s sheep . . . then weeps, kisses Rachel, and tells her who he is. Commentators debate this scene; some claim Jacob received superhuman strength as a result of God’s blessing at Bethel . . . but his strength, emotion, and kiss may just reflect release and relief at the end of this arduous, uncertain journey. He left Beersheba with nothing but God’s promise of guidance and protection – unable to return home and not knowing what he would find in Haran – yet God has protected him and guided him to just the right place!

In a scene reminiscent of Abraham’s servant’s arrival in nearby Nahor, Rachel runs home to tell her family, and Laban runs out to greet Jacob effusively (29:12-13). But there’s a big difference. Abraham’s servant arrived with a caravan of luxuries to purchase a bride for Isaac, and the bible relates what he said to Laban and his family; Jacob arrives with nothing, and the bible does not detail what he tells the family. Does he tell the truth about the reason he is in Haran? The whole truth? We don’t know.

Apparently he makes clear he plans to stay for an extended period of time, because after a month – during which Jacob is working rather than mooching – Laban asks him to name a wage for his continued labor. Some scholars read the text as implying Laban adopts Jacob, since there is no reference to Laban’s sons until 14 years later (30:35). Whatever . . . Jacob falls in love with Rachel during the month. He has nothing with which to pay the bride price, so he offers: “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel” (29:18). This is agreed, and Rachel becomes his wife (29:21), subject to a long, 7 year betrothal contract.

The seven years seem “like only a few days to (Jacob) because of his love for (Rachel)” (29:20), but everything changes at the wedding feast. In a scene reminiscent of Jacob’s deception of his father Isaac (when he stole Esau’s blessing) Laban substitutes Rachel’s less attractive older sister Leah in the bridal bed. Jacob doesn’t detect the switch, and the two have sex. . . . commentators suggest a combination of the bride’s heavy veils, the darkness of the bridal chamber, and the wine of the wedding feast. Jacob is furious the next morning; he demands of Laban: “What . . . have done to me? I served you for Rachel . . . why have you deceived me?” (29:25). Jacob the deceiver has met his match; Laban answers: “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work” (29:26-27). Jacob will get Rachel as promised . . . but as his 2nd wife, in return for 7 more years of work. But what can he say? . . . at least his credit is good with Laban: he gets Rachel in a week, rather than in 7 years. Laban probably knows Jacob has no other place to go; he has not received word from Rebekah that it’s OK to come home.

Genesis has related three stories of brothers in conflict, and the rest of this lesson (the balance of chapter 29 and up through 30:24) is a story of two sisters in conflict . . . competing for the affection of the same husband. It’s easy to see from their example why later Jewish law prohibits a man from marrying two sisters (Lev 18:18).

The bible now shows what might be an unexpected side of Jacob: perhaps best described as an 80-year-old “horny stud.” The bible says “Jacob . . . loved Rachel more than Leah” (29:30) and “Leah was not loved” (29:30-31) – in the Hebrew it says Leah was hated. It begs the point to say Jacob could legally divorce Leah . . . he’s on the front end of a 7-year contract with Leah’s dad! But this doesn’t keep Leah out of Jacob’s bed, because “when the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren” (29:31). God apparently expects Jacob – the deceiver who is now the deceived – to make the best of a bad thing, as Jacob expects Esau to do. This is not unusual with God: He expected Abraham to accept Isaac over Ishmael, whom he arguably preferred; he expected Isaac to accept Jacob over Esau, whom he clearly preferred; and now he expects Jacob to accept Leah over Rachel . . . God burdens Rachel with infertility problems like her aunt Rebekah and her great-great aunt Sarah.

The balance of the lesson deals with Jacob’s first 12 children – and it’s a challenge to explain how he can have 11 sons in 7 years. Bishop Ussher’s chronology in the 17th century assumed Jacob’s marriage to Leah and Rachel extends over the 14 years Jacob works for Laban – but this is wrong because the bible clearly says the marriages were not consummated until after the first 7 years. My calculations assume Moses (the author) deviates slightly from a chronological account because he groups the birth of Jacob’s sons with their mothers to emphasize genealogy and distinguish the children of wives from the children of slaves. This allows overlapping pregnancies. To elaborate . . .

Leah has 4 sons in prompt succession: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. Let’s assume Reuben is conceived on the wedding night, and Simeon, Levi, and Judah occur 10-11 months apart. This takes Jacob 39-42 months into his marriage. “Then,” the bible says, “(Leah) stopped having children” (29:35). Why did she stop having children? It could have been natural, or perhaps Rachel harassed Jacob until he stopped having intercourse with her . . . something implied in the mandrake incident later (30:14-16).

It’s noteworthy that the Jewish line of priests is descended from Levi, and the Jewish kingly line – the line of the Messiah, which God promised Abraham – from Judah. Priestly and kingly lines both come through Leah the unloved – not Rachel the favorite.

Chapter 30 opens with the story of Rachel and her barrenness: “When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children she became jealous of her sister (and) said to Jacob, ‘Give me children, or I’ll die!’” (30:1). When does this scene occur? . . . after Leah’s 4th son, 39-42 months into the marriage? I think not; the bible makes clear this is an intense sisterly rivalry! Because of Leah’s quick pregnancy, Rachel will become concerned a month or two into the marriage . . . and frantic like this no later than after Leah’s 2nd pregnancy in less than a year. She grasps at straws and accuses Jacob . . . who observes with typical male logic: if I were the problem, why is Leah pregnant? (30:2). So Rachel follows the culturally acceptable way to solve an infertility problem in those days; she says to Jacob: “Here is Bilhah, my maidservant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and . . . Jacob slept with her” (30:3-4).

Bilhah bears two sons, Dan and Naphtali – named by Rachel, to indicate they are her children through a surrogate mother (30:6-8). (As a parenthetic comment . . . this is the basis upon which it’s claimed Sarah did not accept as her own the son Ishmael borne by her slave Hagar: he was named by Abraham (16:15)).

My thesis is that because Rachel must have become jealous of Leah relatively quickly, this story of Bilhah’s children overlaps the story of Leah’s children. This assumption is supported by 30:9: “When Leah saw that she had stopped having children . . .” (30:9), by which Moses (the author) seems to be saying he is now resuming the story of Leah – right where it left off in 29:35.

Although Jacob seems to be living every man’s sexual fantasy, his story emphasizes the old saying: “Be careful what you wish for – it may come true. Let us make an assumption . . . the only way Jacob can possibly handle the demands of these two highly competitive women is to work out a regular schedule of who sleeps with him when. Bilhah took Rachel’s turn earlier . . . and when Leah stops having children – or Jacob stops having sex with her – she sends in her slave Zilpah to take her turn (30:9). How long did it take her to send in Zilpah? I’m suggesting 1 months max if Jacob stops having sex with Leah, and 3 months max if she is just having a brief infertility problem.

Zilpah bears two sons, Gad and Asher – named by Leah to show they are her children through a surrogate mother (30:9-13). And how long after the birth of Judah were these two sons born? I’m suggesting 19-21 months. So Asher is born 58-66 months into Jacob’s marriages.

Next comes the mandrake incident. When does it occur? It seems it must be after Asher is conceived – possibly after he is born, so we fix it 50-66 months into Jacob’s marriages. Leah’s son Reuben is about 4 – old enough to pick and bring some mandrake plants to his mother. Rachel covets these plants – popularly called “love apples” and believed to aid conception. Leah knows how badly Rachel wants the “love apples,” and demands sex with their husband in exchange (30:14-16). The story is reminiscent of the way Jacob bartered the birthright away from Isaac’s favorite, Esau. So as a result, Leah again has sex with Jacob and produces two more sons: Issacar and Zebulun (30:16-20) . . . approximately 69-87 months into Jacob’s marriages.

Now comes the key event in calculating the chronology: the birth of Joseph. The bible says: “Then God remembered Rachel. . . . She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. . . . She named him Joseph” (30:22-24). For the chronology, we must go to next week’s lesson and read: “After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, ‘Send me on my way so that I can go back to my own homeland’” (30:25). It’s fair to assume this occurs precisely 84 months into Jacob’s marriages, so the conception of Joseph occurs 75 months or less into Jacob’s marriages.

When does God remember Rachel? The NIV says “then,” but the Jewish bible reads “And God remembered Rachel . . . ” (30:22 JPS). Note I skipped over 30:21, which relates that “afterward” (30:21 NAS) Leah bore a daughter Dinah. The text does not require that Dinah be born before Joseph, and it seems Moses (the author) focuses less on chronology than on grouping the children with their mothers. All that seems necessary is that Joseph must be born after Zebulun, since Zebulun is named before him in all lists of Jacob’s children (eg, 35:22-26). This suggests Joseph could have been conceived as early as 61 months into Jacob’s marriages . . . and even if the pregnancies of Rachel with Joseph and Leah with Dinah are concurrent – with Dinah slightly older – it is quite plausible that Jacob’s 11 oldest sons are conceived and born within the 84 month period the biblical text allows.

Last week we promised to show Jacob’s punishment for his lying and stealing . . . and this lesson seems to show that is the case. It begins as Jacob runs for his life to escape Esau’s wrath – penniless, but under God’s promised protection. There is joy at reaching Haran, falling in love with his cousin, and agreeing to a marriage contract . . . but then he is cheated by his father-in-law, and forced to endure 7 years with two wives furiously competing for his sexual attention.

We have wanted to shorten our study to 24 lessons instead of 26 . . . so over the next 2 weeks we’ll cover lesson 17 and half of lesson 18 – through chapter 32. The story includes the balance of Jacob’s relationship with Laban: he stays 6 more years and cheats Laban out of much of his property – then tries to steal away with his wives and his property. We’ll follow his escape right up to when he wrestles with God and has his name changed to Israel – just before he meets Esau. Then the following week we’ll do the balance of lesson 18, and all of lesson 19.