Read Genesis Jacob steals Esau's blessing.
Jacob deceives his old and blind father Isaac.
Jacob pretends to be his older brother Esau so that he can receive the blessing and
inheritance that belong to the firstborn son.
In verses 26.34-35 Esau marries two Hittite or native Canaanite women who bring
trouble to the family.
This comment places Esau in a negative light.
In verses 27.34-38 the grief and anger of Isaac and Esau presuppose that the words
and power of a blessing cannot be taken back once they have been spoken.
In verse 39 Esau can only receive the opposite of what Jacob already received.
Jacob will recive of (the Hebrew preposition "min") the fatness of the earth (v. 28)
while Esau will live away from (the same preposition "min") the fatness of the earth.
The land of Edom was not an agriculturally rich area.
In verse 41 I will kill my brother Jacob: these are the last words we hear from Esau
concerning Jacob until they meet many years later in ch. 33.
In verse 46 Rebekah's excuse to Isaac for sending Jacob away is to avoid Jacob's
marrying one of the Hittite or Canaanite women of the land as Esau had done (26.34-35).
Her real reason is to stop Esau from murdering his brother Jacob (vv. 42-45).
In verses 28.1-5 Isaac instructs Jacob to return to the original homeland of Abraham and of his mother Rebekah in Mesopotamia to obtain a wife as Isaac had done (ch. 24; 25.20).
Comments or Questions...
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Reading for March 7th
Read Genesis 26.1-33 Stories about Isaac and Abimelech.
Several incidents in Isaac's life repeat similar events in the life of his father Abraham.
Examples include divine promises of land and descendants (12.1-3; 26.1-5, 24), the building of altars (12.7-8; 13.18; 26.25), a wife-sister incident with Abimelech (20.1-18; 26.6-11), conflicts over the ownership of wells (21.25-34; 26.17-25), and a covenant of peace with Amibelech
(21.22-24; 26.26-31).
In verse 8 the writer again puns on the name Isaac: the king saw Isaac ("yitshaq") fondling ("metsaheq") his wife.
In verse 33 Shibah is a wordplay on the Hebrew verb "to exchange an oath" ("shb," v. 31).
Shibah is an alternate place name for Beer-sheba ("Well of the oath," 21.31).
Comments or Questions...
Several incidents in Isaac's life repeat similar events in the life of his father Abraham.
Examples include divine promises of land and descendants (12.1-3; 26.1-5, 24), the building of altars (12.7-8; 13.18; 26.25), a wife-sister incident with Abimelech (20.1-18; 26.6-11), conflicts over the ownership of wells (21.25-34; 26.17-25), and a covenant of peace with Amibelech
(21.22-24; 26.26-31).
In verse 8 the writer again puns on the name Isaac: the king saw Isaac ("yitshaq") fondling ("metsaheq") his wife.
In verse 33 Shibah is a wordplay on the Hebrew verb "to exchange an oath" ("shb," v. 31).
Shibah is an alternate place name for Beer-sheba ("Well of the oath," 21.31).
Comments or Questions...
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Reading for March 6th
Read Genesis 25.19-34 The birth and rivalry of Jacob and Esau.
The twin boys in Rebekah's womb represent the two nations of Israel (Jacob; 32.28)
and Edom (Esau; 36.1).
Esau is the elder son.
Thus, according to the LORD'S prediction, the nation of Edom will be less powerful and serve Israel.
In verse 25 the first baby born is Esau, whose body is red (Hebrew "admoni").
This is a wordplay on the name "Edom" (v. 30).
In verse 26 the name Jacob may have two meanings, both of which describe Jacob's character throughout his life.
The name may mean "he takes by the heel" in line with Jacob's tendency to take advantage
of others for his own self-interest.
The other meaning is "he supplants"; Jacob the younger brother will supplant or take over the privileged position of his elder brother Esau by stealing his birthright and blessing.
In verse 30 a famished Esau asks for Jacob's stew, that red stuff ("adom"),
a pun on Esau's other name, Edom.
Comments or Questions...
The twin boys in Rebekah's womb represent the two nations of Israel (Jacob; 32.28)
and Edom (Esau; 36.1).
Esau is the elder son.
Thus, according to the LORD'S prediction, the nation of Edom will be less powerful and serve Israel.
In verse 25 the first baby born is Esau, whose body is red (Hebrew "admoni").
This is a wordplay on the name "Edom" (v. 30).
In verse 26 the name Jacob may have two meanings, both of which describe Jacob's character throughout his life.
The name may mean "he takes by the heel" in line with Jacob's tendency to take advantage
of others for his own self-interest.
The other meaning is "he supplants"; Jacob the younger brother will supplant or take over the privileged position of his elder brother Esau by stealing his birthright and blessing.
In verse 30 a famished Esau asks for Jacob's stew, that red stuff ("adom"),
a pun on Esau's other name, Edom.
Comments or Questions...
Monday, February 25, 2019
Reading for March 5th
Read Genesis 25.1-18 Abraham's death and the family he leaves behind.
In verses 1-6 Abraham takes another wife, Keturah.
She is a concubine (v. 6), a woman servant with whom he has additional children.
However, Isaac remains the favored son (v. 5).
The sons of Midian are associated with nomadic tribes call Midianites who live eastward from Canaan (vv. 4, 6).
In verse 10 the story of the field purchased from the Hittites is told in 23.1-20.
In verse 16 Ishmael's descendants form twelve tribes, a grouping similar to the twelve tribes of Israel.
They dwell in Arabia (v. 18).
Comments of Questions...
In verses 1-6 Abraham takes another wife, Keturah.
She is a concubine (v. 6), a woman servant with whom he has additional children.
However, Isaac remains the favored son (v. 5).
The sons of Midian are associated with nomadic tribes call Midianites who live eastward from Canaan (vv. 4, 6).
In verse 10 the story of the field purchased from the Hittites is told in 23.1-20.
In verse 16 Ishmael's descendants form twelve tribes, a grouping similar to the twelve tribes of Israel.
They dwell in Arabia (v. 18).
Comments of Questions...
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Reading for March 4th
Read Genesis 24.1-67 Isaac secures a wife, Rebekah.
In verse 2 Abraham's command to the servant to put your hand under my thigh,
near his reproductive organs, was a customary way of taking an intimate and solemn oath.
In verse 10 Aramnaharaim and Nahor are part of Abraham's original home territory in
Mesopotamia where he and his family lived before migrating to Canaan (11.31).
Most of his extended family apparently remained there.
In verses 12-14 the servant asks the LORD to guide the selection process for Isaac's wife.
Rebekah fulfills the conditions perfectly (vv. 15-21).
In verse 62 Isaac comes from Beer-lahai-roi, the place where the LORD had guided
and comforted Hagar (16.14).
Comments or Questions...
In verse 2 Abraham's command to the servant to put your hand under my thigh,
near his reproductive organs, was a customary way of taking an intimate and solemn oath.
In verse 10 Aramnaharaim and Nahor are part of Abraham's original home territory in
Mesopotamia where he and his family lived before migrating to Canaan (11.31).
Most of his extended family apparently remained there.
In verses 12-14 the servant asks the LORD to guide the selection process for Isaac's wife.
Rebekah fulfills the conditions perfectly (vv. 15-21).
In verse 62 Isaac comes from Beer-lahai-roi, the place where the LORD had guided
and comforted Hagar (16.14).
Comments or Questions...
Friday, February 22, 2019
Reading for March 3rd
Read Genesis 23.1-20 Abraham buys a piece of the promised land.
Sarah dies and Abraham buys a cave and field in Canaan as a burial place for her.
In the indirect style of Near Eastern bargaining, the Hittites' extravagant offers of generosity
(vv. 6, 11, 15) mean that the price Abraham will have to pay for the land will be very high.
But, in the end, Abraham does hold title to at least a small piece of the land God
had promised (15.18-21).
In verse 15 four hundred shekels of silver is a very high price for the field.
The prophet Jeremiah bought a field for only seventeen shekels (Jer 32.9).
In verse 19 the land becomes the burial place for Sarah.
It will also be the burial place for Abraham (25.8-10), Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah (49.29-31).
Comments or Questions...
Sarah dies and Abraham buys a cave and field in Canaan as a burial place for her.
In the indirect style of Near Eastern bargaining, the Hittites' extravagant offers of generosity
(vv. 6, 11, 15) mean that the price Abraham will have to pay for the land will be very high.
But, in the end, Abraham does hold title to at least a small piece of the land God
had promised (15.18-21).
In verse 15 four hundred shekels of silver is a very high price for the field.
The prophet Jeremiah bought a field for only seventeen shekels (Jer 32.9).
In verse 19 the land becomes the burial place for Sarah.
It will also be the burial place for Abraham (25.8-10), Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah (49.29-31).
Comments or Questions...
Reading for March 2nd
Read Genesis 22.1-24 God commands Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.
God puts Abraham through a remarkable test of his obedience and trust in God.
God commands Abraham to sacrifice his only remaining son, an act that seems to deny
everything God had promised concerning a great nation and many descendants (12.2; 15.5).
The location of Mount Moriah is not known.
A later tradition identified Moriah with the mountain on which the Temple in the
city of Jerusalem stood (2 Chr 3.1).
In verse 14 the phrase the LORD will provide plays on the verb "to see" and may be translated
"the LORD will see to it" or "the LORD will be seen."
In verses 15-18 God reaffirms the earlier promises of many descendants because of Abraham's extraordinary obedience and trust in God.
In verses 20-24 the list of children born to Abraham's extended family includes Rebekah (v. 23),
who will eventually become the wife of his son Isaac (24.1-67),
Comments or Questions...
God puts Abraham through a remarkable test of his obedience and trust in God.
God commands Abraham to sacrifice his only remaining son, an act that seems to deny
everything God had promised concerning a great nation and many descendants (12.2; 15.5).
The location of Mount Moriah is not known.
A later tradition identified Moriah with the mountain on which the Temple in the
city of Jerusalem stood (2 Chr 3.1).
In verse 14 the phrase the LORD will provide plays on the verb "to see" and may be translated
"the LORD will see to it" or "the LORD will be seen."
In verses 15-18 God reaffirms the earlier promises of many descendants because of Abraham's extraordinary obedience and trust in God.
In verses 20-24 the list of children born to Abraham's extended family includes Rebekah (v. 23),
who will eventually become the wife of his son Isaac (24.1-67),
Comments or Questions...
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