- Book: [[Genesis]] - Next chapter: [[Genesis 36]] > [!summary] Summary > - [[God]] defends [[Jacob]], putting fear into the cities around them so that they can reach [[Bethel]] safely > - [[Jacob]]'s family affirm their commitment to his [[God]] > - [[God]] affirms his promises to [[Jacob]] > - [[Jacob]] receives one last son [[Benjamin]] > - [[Isaac]] dies > [!info] Why is this here? > - Putting a cap on [[Jacob]]'s story before getting to [[Joseph]]'s > - Commit the entirety of [[Jacob]]'s family to [[God]], not just himself. And vice versa # Overview ## v. 1-7 Return to [[Bethel]] & household purification - God commands [[Jacob]]: “Arise, go up to [[Bethel]] and make an altar to the [[God]] who answered you” (cf. Gen 28). - [[Jacob]] orders everyone to **give up foreign gods** and change clothes; he buries the idols under the oak near [[Shechem]] - A symbolic grave for the family’s old ways? - A “terror of [[God]]” falls on surrounding towns, so no one pursues them, and they arrive safely at [[Bethel]]. - [[Jacob]] builds the altar and names the place **El-Bethel** (“[[God]] of [[Bethel]]”). > [!note] Why bury the idols? > The rest of [[Jacob]]'s household wasn't devoted to the one [[God]] like he was until now. [[Jacob]] wants to make that explicit ## v. 8 Death of [[Deborah]] ([[Rebekah]]’s nurse) - [[Deborah]] dies and is buried under “the oak of weeping” (**Allon-bacuth**) ## v. 9-15 [[God]] appears & renames [[Jacob]] **again** - [[God]] reiterates the new name **[[Israel]]** (“He struggles with [[God]]”), blesses him again to become “a nation and a company of nations,” and re-affirms the **land promise** of [[Abraham]] and [[Isaac]]. - [[Jacob]] sets up a stone pillar, pours a drink offering and oil (echoing his first Bethel vision) ## v. 16-20 Birth of [[Benjamin]] & death of [[Rachel]] - On the road toward Ephrath (later **[[Bethlehem]]**), [[Rachel]]’s hard labor yields a son she calls **Ben-oni** (“son of my sorrow”); Jacob renames him [[Benjamin]] (“son of the right hand”). - [[Rachel]] dies and is buried on the way; [[Jacob]] erects a pillar over her tomb. ## v. 21-22 [[Reuben]] with [[Bilhah]] - [[Israel]] pitches his tent beyond **Migdal-Eder**. - Firstborn [[Reuben]] sleeps with [[Bilhah]] ([[Rachel]]’s maid and [[Jacob]]’s concubine) - [[Jacob]] hears, setting the stage for Reuben’s loss of primogeniture (cf. [[Genesis 49]]:3-4). ## v. 23-26 The twelve sons of [[Israel]] | Mother | Sons | | ---------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [[Leah]] | [[Reuben]], [[Simeon]], [[Levi]], [[Judah]], [[Issachar]], [[Zebulun]] | | [[Rachel]] | [[Joseph]], [[Benjamin]] | | [[Bilhah]] | [[Dan]], [[Naphtali]] | | [[Zilpah]] | [[Gad]], [[Asher]] | ## v. 27-29 Death of [[Isaac]] - [[Jacob]] comes to his father at [[Mamre]] - [[Isaac]] dies at 180 years; [[Esau]] and [[Jacob]] bury him # Details - First and last appearance of [[Deborah]], nurse of [[Rebekah]] in verse 8 - [[Rachel]] dies giving birth in verse 18; ironic considering [[Genesis 30]]:1 "Give me children or I'll die" - Second raming from [[Jacob]] to [[Israel]] - Idol purge: recalls the stolen household gods of [[Laban]] ([[Genesis 31]]) and anticipates [[Israel]]’s later struggle with idolatry. - [[Rachel]]’s tomb becomes a landmark ([[1 Samuel 10]]:2; [[Matthew 2]]:18). - **Migdal-Eder** (“tower of the flock”) is linked in later Jewish tradition with [[Messiah]]nic expectation near [[Bethlehem]]. - [[Reuben]]’s forfeits his inheritance; [[Joseph]]’s line ([[Ephraim]]/[[Manasseh]]) later receives it ([[1 Chronicles 5]]:1-2). - With [[Isaac]]’s death, [[Jacob]] alone carries [[God's promises]] until it disperses to the tribes. # Diagrams ```dot digraph JacobFamily { /* overall look-and-feel */ rankdir=TB; graph [fontname="Helvetica"]; node [fontname="Helvetica", shape=box]; /* root ancestor */ Jacob [shape=ellipse, style=filled, fillcolor=gold, penwidth=2]; /* === Leah === */ subgraph cluster_Leah { label = "Leah"; style = filled; color = lightgrey; node [style=filled, fillcolor=white]; Reuben Simeon Levi Judah Issachar Zebulun Dinah; } /* === Rachel === */ subgraph cluster_Rachel { label = "Rachel"; style = filled; color = lightblue; node [style=filled, fillcolor=white]; Joseph Benjamin; } /* === Bilhah (Rachel’s maid) === */ subgraph cluster_Bilhah { label = "Bilhah"; style = filled; color = lightpink; node [style=filled, fillcolor=white]; Dan Naphtali; } /* === Zilpah (Leah’s maid) === */ subgraph cluster_Zilpah { label = "Zilpah"; style = filled; color = lightgreen; node [style=filled, fillcolor=white]; Gad Asher; } /* edges: Jacob → every child */ Jacob -> { Reuben Simeon Levi Judah Issachar Zebulun Dinah Joseph Benjamin Dan Naphtali Gad Asher }; } ``` ```mermaid flowchart LR %% ── Root ancestor ───────────────────────────────────────── Jacob((Jacob)) style Jacob fill:gold,stroke:black,stroke-width:2px,font-family:Helvetica %% ── Leah ───────────────────────────────────────────────── subgraph Leah["Leah"] direction LR Reuben[Reuben] Simeon[Simeon] Levi[Levi] Judah[Judah] Issachar[Issachar] Zebulun[Zebulun] Dinah[Dinah] end style Leah fill:lightgrey,stroke:#A9A9A9,font-family:Helvetica %% ── Rachel ─────────────────────────────────────────────── subgraph Rachel["Rachel"] direction LR Joseph[Joseph] Benjamin[Benjamin] end style Rachel fill:lightblue,stroke:#6CA6CD,font-family:Helvetica %% ── Bilhah (Rachel’s maid) ─────────────────────────────── subgraph Bilhah["Bilhah"] direction LR Dan[Dan] Naphtali[Naphtali] end style Bilhah fill:lightpink,stroke:#D8BFD8,font-family:Helvetica %% ── Zilpah (Leah’s maid) ──────────────────────────────── subgraph Zilpah["Zilpah"] direction LR Gad[Gad] Asher[Asher] end style Zilpah fill:lightgreen,stroke:#8FBC8F,font-family:Helvetica %% ── Edges: Jacob → every child ─────────────────────────── Jacob --> Reuben Jacob --> Simeon Jacob --> Levi Jacob --> Judah Jacob --> Issachar Jacob --> Zebulun Jacob --> Dinah Jacob --> Joseph Jacob --> Benjamin Jacob --> Dan Jacob --> Naphtali Jacob --> Gad Jacob --> Asher ``` # Questions - What's up with [[Reuben]]’s sleeping with [[Bilhah]]? Another firstborn straying paths causing [[Younger supplanting older]]? - What's with [[God]] telling [[Jacob]] to make an alter to [[God]]? - [[Jacob]] names the alter itself "El [[Bethel]]", aka "God of [[Bethel]]". Is the alter itself "God of the House of God"? - Yet another renaming of [[Jacob]] to [[Israel]] -- compare with narrative from [[Genesis 32]]? Does he still do [[Wrestling with God]]? - Yet another naming of the place [[Bethel]] -- compare with [[Genesis 28]]. Despite naming the alter "El [[Bethel]]" just a few verses earlier...