Recap: (For Genesis chapters 1-18 see Genesis 18 recap).
So far in the second section of Genesis, we have looked at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham’s move to the area between Gerar and Beersheba, the birth of Isaac and the driving out of Ishmael, the offering of Isaac, Esau’s attitude to his birthright and Isaac’s deceit in taking the blessing intended for Esau, and Isaac’s swift departure to Paddan Aram. We have seen Isaac’s marriage to Leah and Rachel, the birth of his children and his growth in prosperity. We also witnessed his escape from Laban, and his journey home. During this he wrestled with God, received the name Israel, and met with Esau. Finally there was the rape of Dinah and the destruction of Shechem, and subsequent reconsecration of Jacob’s whole family, and their arrival at Bethel.
In this study we are starting to tie up loose ends before we conclude this section. We will also look at chapter 36 which tells us some more about Esau.
Read Genesis 35:16-29
16 Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty.
17 And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, ‘Don’t despair, for you have another son.’ 18 As she breathed her last – for she was dying – she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.
(Ben-Oni means son of my trouble, Benjamin means son of my right hand.)
19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day that pillar marks Rachel’s tomb.
Another sad episode which took from Jacob the one wife he truly loved and left him with one last son whom he particularly treasured.
There is confusion today concerning the location of Rachel’s tomb. There is a ‘Rachel’s tomb’ in Bethlehem (originally called Ephrath), and some have translated verse 16 to read ‘but a little distance’. But most translators agree that ‘still some distance’ is more accurate.
There are two more references in the Bible: 1Samuel 10:2 ‘When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel’s tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin.’ (But the location of Zelzah is unknown today).
And:
Jeremiah 31:15 ‘This is what the Lord says: ‘A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.’
Ramah is on the road about 5 miles south from Bethel and is a likely candidate, where there are a group of tombs which include Qabr Umm beni Isra'in, that is, ‘tomb of the mother of the descendants of Israel’. (Jerusalem is 5 miles south from Ramah, and Bethlehem 4 miles further south from there).
21 Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder.
Again, no-one knows where this is but it can be guessed that it is on the road to Hebron where Jacob was heading
22 While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it.
The Bible makes no further comment here, and it is hard to comprehend why Reuben, the firstborn should have done this. If he thought in some way to emphasize that he was in line to inherit all of his father’s possessions, then he was sadly mistaken: later, when Jacob called his sons to his deathbed to give his final blessing, he said:
‘Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honour, excelling in power. Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it.’ (Genesis 49:3-4)
And in 1 Chronicles 5:1-2 in parenthesis we read of Reuben: ‘(he was the firstborn, but when he defiled his father’s marriage bed, his rights as firstborn were given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel; so he could not be listed in the genealogical record in accordance with his birthright, 2 and though Judah was the strongest of his brothers and a ruler came from him, the rights of the firstborn belonged to Joseph)’
Leah’s firstborn (Reuben), joined her second and third (Simeon and Levi), in loosing future recognition. The tribe of Reuben were allocated land on the east side of the Jordan but by the time of David this has been reclaimed by the Ammonites, and only the name Judah (Leah’s fourth son) remained, as a title for the Southern Kingdom
We now come to the summary. This is assumed by some to close the original document that started in Genesis 25:19 and contained ‘the account of Abraham’s son Isaac’
Jacob had twelve sons:
23 The sons of Leah:
Reuben the firstborn of Jacob,
Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.
24 The sons of Rachel:
Joseph and Benjamin.
25 The sons of Rachel’s servant Bilhah:
Dan and Naphtali.
26 The sons of Leah’s servant Zilpah:
Gad and Asher.
These were the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
Benjamin is included for completeness even though his actual birth was on the road to Bethlehem.
27 Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.
Finally they reached the Mamre / Kiriath Arba / Hebron area and settled there with Isaac (and Rebekah – there is no record of when she died, but Genesis 37:10 suggests she was still alive then).
28 Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years. 29 Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
This occurred many years later – while Joseph was in prison in Egypt, believed by all except his brothers, to be dead.
Isaac was 60 when Jacob and Esau were born (Genesis 25:26) and 180 when he died (35:28). Jacob was 130 when he was presented by Joseph to Pharaoh (47:9). So Isaac died 10 years before that, while Joseph was still in prison in Egypt.
Joseph was 17 when he was sold into captivity (37:2) and 30 when he entered Pharaoh’s service (41:46). There were then seven years of plenty and two years of famine (45:6) before Jacob was presented to Pharaoh.
Esau is not forgotten, read Genesis 36:6-8. Not only does this chapter contain Esau’s family tree, but it also explains that the tribes of Jacob and Esau were so numerous, and their animals required such a large area for grazing, that Esau moved further south and settled in the area south of the Dead Sea, bordering the ‘King’s Highway’ trading route. This area would be called Seir or Edom, both alternative names for Esau. Esau and Jacob were reconciled, and came together again for the funeral of their father.
Reading through the rest of chapter 36, Not many names are recognizable, but we should notice that Job was from the land of Uz (Job 1:1), and one of his friends was Eliphaz the Temanite (Job 2:11) – see Genesis 36:11, 28 and 34.
Before we launch into the last section of Genesis relating to Joseph (chapters 37, 39-50) we need to recap on what has happened so far.
We have been looking at a family of ordinary people. They have had joys and disappointments, they have been noble, but they have also cheated and lied.
Then what made them so special to God?
Even Abraham, (and us, and Paul), would have to admit ‘I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do’ (Romans 7:15). He was not perfect. He let himself down, and he let God down, but we read in Genesis 15:6
Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness
God did not select the Patriarchs because they were sinless, but because he knew they would respond to him in faith – just as he also chose us! (Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God)
Sometimes we would have to admit that our faith is very weak, but God will nurture and grow the faith that is in us, just as he did in the Patriarchs.
In conclusion, read Hebrews 11:8-22, 39-40
8 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. 9 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. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11 By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.
40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
