December 21, 2024
When we left Jacob last week, he and Esau had reconciled and he had purchased some land from Hamor, not far from the city of Shechem, and had settled his family there.
Maybe Jacob would finally get some rest……
-Dinah-
Genesis 34:1 - Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land.
The Bible tells us that Shechem, the son of Hamor, saw Dinah, liked what he saw and “violated” her. It goes on to say that his heart was drawn to her, that he loved her and spoke tenderly to her.
So taken was he that he told his father to make marriage arrangements.
Jacob was told about what happened but kept it to himself – he exhibited no anger – he did nothing. As a matter of fact, Jacob seems to be completely MIA throughout most of this story. Makes me wonder what he would have done if it had been a daughter from Rachel……..
Her brothers, however responded completely differently. When they found out what happened they were filled with fury and thoughts of revenge.
Really hoping to smooth things over, Hamor insisted that Shechem loved Dinah and really hoped to marry her. He invited the brothers to intermarry with the local women, acquire some land and settle in the area. Then Shechem added, “I will give you whatever you ask. Set the bride price as high as you like – I will pay it.”
The theme of deceit and betrayal that we have seen throughout Jacob’s story continues in the lives of his sons. The brothers had a plan, but it could only be implemented successfully if Shechem was incapacitated, so when Shechem opened the door, the brothers were ready:
Genesis 34:13-17 - … "Sorry, no can do. We cannot give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. However, we will give our consent on one condition: you and all your men must be circumcised. At that point we will have no problem intermarrying with you. We will settle among you and become one people with you. If you decline, we will take our sister and go."
Clearly the sons of Jacob had a distorted understanding of the sacred covenant between Yahweh and the descendants of Abraham.
Shechem wasted no time. He went to the city gate to convince the men that being circumcised was a great idea. He emphasized that circumcision would lead to them joining together with Jacob and sharing in his wealth. At no point did he reveal the real reason for the request (stipulation to marrying Dinah). Deceit was being employed on two fronts ---- Shechem was both deceived and a deceiver. As the result of his carefully crafted argument, all the men of the city consented to be circumcised.
3 days later, while the men were still in pain, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s older brothers, took their swords, went to Shechem and killed every male in the city. Then they went to Hamor’s home killed him and his son, Shechem, took Dinah and left. When the sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies, they looted the city – taking flocks, herds, donkeys and anything else they could carry – along with all the women and children.
It is only now that Jacob seems to care about what has been going on:
Genesis 34:30 - Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought trouble on me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed."
Jacob’s fear is palpable. What his sons have done could lead to the total annihilation of Jacob’s clan. But what is also glaringly obvious is that Jacob cares little for Dinah. He is afraid of the impact his son’s choices will have on him, but no reference was made to her trauma. Jacob is only upset because he has been dragged into someone else’s mess. He is in danger and now he’s mad. It would seem that Simeon and Levi understood that to be case as well:
“What were we supposed to do? Let our sister be treated like a prostitute?” They replied.
Notice that they did not say, “your daughter,” but “our sister.” The lack of respect that Simeon and Levi showed Jacob and Jacob’s obvious lack of care for Dinah, gives the reader a glimpse into the family dynamic and anticipates future conflict.
Yahweh told Jacob to go to Bethel.
Jacob told his family they needed to get rid of all their idols, purify themselves and change their clothes because they were moving to Bethel where he would build an altar to God.
All the idols and earrings were given to Jacob and he buried them under an oak tree, then the family set out for Bethel. A great terror came upon the cities of the area and no one pursued them.
They family settled in Bethel.
Yahweh appeared to Jacob again and reiterated that he was no longer Jacob, but Israel.
Genesis 35:11-12 - And God said to him, "I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you."
There seems to be 2 Jacobs:
• The Jacob of the Covenant who wrestled with God and had received forgiveness and reconciliation.
• The other Jacob who allowed family idols, couldn’t or wouldn’t control his children, barely engaged with the family yet demonstrated clear favoritism.
Due to his own choices and neglect the moral fiber of his family is slowly deteriorating. Surely there are lessons to be learned……….
-Rachel-
The family moved on from Bethel. They were still a distance from Ephrath (Bethlehem) when Rachel went into labor. It was a difficult birth, but finally son #12 was born. As Rachel lay dying, she named the baby Ben-oni, “Son of sorrow,” but Jacob named him Benjamin, “Son of my right hand.”
Rachel died and was buried at Ephrath. Jacob placed a grave marker and the family moved on to just beyond the Tower of Eder (Flock tower).
-Reuben-
Reuben Slept with Bilhah. That’s all we’re told, but it reveals the further unraveling of Jacob’s family. Bilhah had been Rachel’s maidservant, but she had also been Jacob’s 4th wife and the mother of Dan and Naphtali – Reuben’s brothers. By sleeping with her (which was probably not done with her consent) Reuben, Leah’s oldest son, was showing his disdain for his father at the treatment of his mother, the memory of Rachel as well as demonstrating his superiority over his ½ brothers (So offensive was this act that centuries later, it was forbidden to read the account in Synagogue).
Jacob responded in the exact same way as when he had been told about Dinah ---- He did nothing.
-Isaac-
Jacob came to Hebron where Isaac lived. Eventually Isaac died at 180 and Esau and Jacob reunited to bury him.
Note: Genesis 35:28-29 is out of sequential order – Esau and Jacob would have been 120 years old at the time of Isaac’s death. Joseph would have been in Egypt approximately 12 years by that point.
-Genealogy of Esau- Genesis 36
-Joseph- Genesis 37:1-22
Joseph was now 17. He was working the flocks along with his brothers - but he was not a team player. He didn’t approve of something they were doing and tattled to Jacob.
Jacob loved Joseph more than all his sons and made him a coat of many colors. As a result of this obvious favoritism Joseph’s brothers hated him and could not even have a pleasant conversation with him.
Joseph had a dream and told his brothers about it – “we were all in the fields binding the sheaves. Suddenly my sheaf stood up. All your sheaves gathered around my sheaf and bowed down to it.”
They hated him even more.
Joseph had another dream and dared to share it with his brothers and parents. “This time I saw the Sun, moon and 11 stars bowing down to me.”
Jacob, a little taken aback, scolded Joseph: “Do you really expect me, your mother and brothers to bow down to you?”
The brothers went to Shechem to graze the flocks. Jacob sent Joseph to check on them. They had moved on to Dothan, so Joseph headed there. When his brothers saw him coming down the road, they growled, “Here comes that dreamer,” and plotted to kill him.
They decided that the best way to be rid of Joseph was to throw him down an old cistern and then tell their father that he had been killed and eaten by wild animals, “Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams…..”
Reuben, maybe hoping to gain back some favor with Jacob, opposed killing Joseph. “Let’s not be too hasty. Don’t kill him. We’ll just throw him in a cistern for now.” Reuben intended to free Joseph and send him back to his father.
That’s where we’ll leave Joseph for now – down a well, future unknown.
-Judah- Genesis 38
Here’s what know about Judah:
• He was the 4th son born to Jacob and Leah.
• It was his idea to sell Joseph (37:26-27).
• He moved from his father’s tents and married a Canaanite woman, Shua, and had 3 sons: Er, Onan and Shelah
When Er was of age, Judah found him a wife – a Canaanite woman named Tamar. The Bible says that Er was wicked, so Yahweh put him to death.
As was expected in that culture, Onan, Judah’s 2nd son, was tasked with producing children with Tamar to keep his brother’s name alive. Knowing that the children would not be considered his, Onan did not fulfill his obligation, so Yahweh put him to death too.
Tamar was entitled to marry the 3rd son, Shelah, but Judah was afraid, so he sent Tamar home, “promising” that when Shelah was old enough she would marry him. Judah had no intention of allowing this to happen.
Some time went by and Shua died. After the grieving period was over, Judah went to Timnah to shear sheep.
Tamar was told that Judah was in the area, so she concealed her identity, pretended to be a local temple prostitute, and waited for him by the side of the road. She seduced Jacob and he gave her his signet, cord and staff as a pledge for payment. When payment was sent, however, the “prostitute” was nowhere to be found.
Tamar became pregnant and Judah found out about it. She was guilty of prostitution and Judah ordered that she should be burned to death. As she was being brought out, she sent a message to Judah, “I am pregnant by the man who owns these…. See if you recognize this seal, cord and staff.”
Judah recognized them, and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I would not give her my son Shelah." (he did not sleep with her again.)
Tamar had twin boys: Perez (in the genealogy of Jesus – Matthew 1:1-3) and Zerah.
Judah was not much different from his brothers. He instigated the selling of his own brother into slavery. He married a Canaanite woman and raised sons who were just as rebellious as he was. He deceived Tamar and when she took matters into her own hands, he was quick to condemn her death.
But this is not the end of his story. After his experience with Tamar, something began to happen in the heart of Judah.
Until Next Time….
