What Joseph's Brothers Meant for Evil Against Him...

My chronological Bible study now takes me to Genesis 37.

(Genesis 37:1) And Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.

After a ten-year detour after God told him to leave Laban and Padan Aram and return to the land of his father, Jacob finally made it back there and now dwelled in the land of Canaan, "where his father was a stranger".  Canaan was the land of promise to his father Isaac and Isaac's father Abraham before him, but at this time they were still "sojourners" in this land.

(2a) These are the generations of Jacob.

Rather than a mere genealogy of names, this begins a history of events of the children of Jacob.

(2b) Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought to his father their evil report.

Joseph, Jacob's son by Rachel, was now 17 years old and was feeding the flock with his brothers.  It appears he was specifically with Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher, the sons of Jacob's concubines Bilhah and Zilpah.  Joseph brought to his father his brothers' "evil report".  The original word "ra" that was transcribed as "evil" can mean a whole range of bad from disagreeable to mischievous to downright evil.  The word transcribed as "report" is "dibbah" and means "whispering, slander, defamation, evil report".  I believe boys may have just been boys and said things in the fields that they would not have said in the presence of their father, but Joseph told on them.  It appears that this was an ongoing practice and not just one isolated event.

(3) Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a coat of many colors.

Israel, or Jacob, loved Joseph more than all his children.  The scripture tells us it was because he was the son of his old age, and so was Benjamin special we are later told for the same reason (Gen. 44:20).  At this stage, Joseph may have been the favorite because he was the firstborn son of his beloved Rachel.  Also Joseph confided "secrets" to his father, as we were told in verse 2, so they probably had a closer relationship than the others did.  For whatever reasons, Joseph was Jacob's favorite and the father evidently treated this son specially and made him a coat of many colors.

(4) And when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.

When Joseph's brothers saw that their father loved Joseph more than he did the rest of them and was so open and visible about it, they hated their brother and couldn't even speak amicably to him.  It's really no wonder.  Perhaps Jacob couldn't help his feelings for Joseph, but he certainly could have been less transparent about the lopsided love he had for one over the others.  I suppose Jacob learned this parenting trick honestly as his parents also played favorites, but remember the trouble that caused!

(5) And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. (6) And he said to them, "Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: (7) For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about and bowed down to my sheaf."

Joseph dreamed a dream which he told his brothers and they apparently hated him even more because of it.  Again it's no wonder; I believe this is a dream he could have kept to himself.  He told his brothers that he had dreamed that they were all binding sheaves in the field, when Joseph's sheaf stood upright and all his brothers' sheaves stood around his sheaf and even bowed down to it.  Telling them that dream certainly should have endeared his brothers to him!

(8) And his brothers said to him, "Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?" And they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

Obviously, his brothers were not happy with Joseph's dream in which it appeared they would come to bow down to him.  They hated him even more for his dreams, but I believe it was mostly because of his words.  He could have kept his dreams to himself and they couldn't have hated him for that reason, but because he told his dreams to his brothers, that really fueled their hate for him.

(9) And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, "Behold, I have dreamed another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars bowed down to me." (10) And he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow down ourselves to the earth before you?"

Joseph had another dream that he told his brothers and his father.  Even his father rebuked him as it seemed the dream meant that he and Joseph's mother and Joseph's eleven brothers were indicated by the sun, moon, and stars in Joseph's dream.  That might be, but it also may be, since Joseph referred to "the eleven stars", that Joseph was one of the twelve stars of the zodiac (not an unnatural thought for the times) and all the other heavenly bodies, the sun, moon, and the other eleven stars, bowed down to him.  After all, his mother was dead by this time, but then again, any remaining wife of Jacob could have been indicated by this dream.  The dream was prophetic and representative of a time when Joseph would have dominion over not only his family but a whole people.

(11) And his brothers envied him, but his father observed the saying.

His brothers hated Joseph all the more because of the dreams and were jealous of him.  Even though his father had rebuked him, he kept the matter in mind.  He may have rebuked Joseph for his own good, not so much because he found the dream to be a silly idle dream, but because Joseph might appear to be boasting of it to his brothers.  It appears that Jacob felt in his heart that there might be something to these dreams.

(12) And his brothers went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.

I found it interesting that they were still going to Shechem.  I guess Jacob had bought a parcel of land there (Gen. 33:19), and I suppose they might have full reign of the place since they killed all the men off there, but I would think it might be a hostile environment in the midst of the surrounding cities, considering what they had done to Shechem and his father.  Anyway, it seems it was a usual custom back then to move flocks from place to place for good pasturage, and Jacob apparently still owned a perfectly good field in Shechem, so that is where his flocks were at this present time.

(13) And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them." And he said to him, "Here I am." (14) And he said to him, "Please go see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me." So he sent him out of the valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.

I have read that it could have been sixty miles from the valley of Hebron to Shechem, so Joseph's brothers could have been gone a long time, and Jacob may have sincerely been concerned about their well-being, especially at Shechem which may have been considered the center of hostile territory for them.  However, if that is the case, it seems odd that he would send his beloved Joseph there all alone, but it appears that is what he did.

(15) And a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field; and the man asked him, saying, "What are you seeking?"

It appears that Joseph made it to the field at Shechem and was wandering around in it looking for his brothers when a man saw him and asked what he was seeking.  I have read that the early Jewish writers supposed this was an angel.  I don't doubt that Joseph may have been protected on this journey, especially if it was dangerous territory, but then again, it is perfectly reasonable to think a mortal man saw him if he was just wandering around a field because he thought his brothers would be there.

(16) And he said, "I seek my brothers; please tell me where they are feeding their flocks." (17) And the man said, "They have departed from here, for I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" And Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.

Joseph asked the man where he might find his brothers, if he should know, and the man indeed told him that he had heard them say they were going to Dothan, and that is where Joseph found them.

(18) And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him. (19) And they said one to another, "Look, this dreamer is coming! (20) Come now therefore, and let us kill him and cast him into some pit; and we will say, 'Some evil beast has devoured him,' and we shall see what will become of his dreams!"

I can't help but notice how the fact is written in two different ways--"when they saw him afar off" and "even before he came near to them".  It is obvious that Joseph's brothers sought to kill him in cold blood by premeditated murder.  They would murder him and then lie about it, but then I guess lying is what murderers always have to do.  I also find their statement that they will see what will become of his dreams interesting, because in fact, they will indeed see that in the future.

(21) And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, "Let us not kill him." (22) And Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him", that he might rid him out of their hands to deliver him to his father again.

When Reuben heard the plan of his other brothers, he saved Joseph from their schemes.  He told them not to kill him, but to just throw him into a pit that was there in the wilderness.  He planned to go back and retrieve him from the pit and return him to their father. 

(23) And it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colors that was on him. (24) And they took him and cast him into a pit, and the pit was empty; there was no water in it.

What a reception Joseph received when he came up to his brothers!  Again we have redundancy in the words that they stripped Joseph of "his coat, his coat of many colors".  While it might be the second part more fully explained the first, Biblical scholars say it meant they stripped off more than his outer coat of many colors, but also his other clothing.  They stripped him naked or nearly so and threw him into the pit.  It is pointed out that there was no water in it.  This might be mentioned for different reasons.  Perhaps it was purposely a dry pit so that he would not drown and Reuben would be able to retrieve him later.  It also may be that the brothers were content to have no water in it so that Joseph would thirst and starve to death.  Chilling thought that brothers could do such a cruel thing!

(25) And they sat down to eat bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and there a company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, carrying it down to Egypt.

Wow, they have just purposely left their brother to die, and obviously felt no remorse, as they sat down to eat.  While they were eating, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites bearing spices from Gilead and taking them to Egypt.

(26) And Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? (27) Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh." And his brothers were content.

I don't know if Judah literally meant there was no monetary profit in merely killing their brother and hiding the fact, or if he meant "what good is it" because it would be difficult to hide and surely they would be found out and would have trouble to pay if and when Joseph was discovered.  I can't believe that he suddenly had an attack of conscience and didn't want to kill his own flesh and blood.  Maybe if there was another way, he'd just as soon not have to kill him, but was happy to get rid of him just the same.  Perhaps seeing that they could profit from getting rid of him, he used a pretense of conscience to justify why they should do it this way.  The brothers agreed to this plan.

(28) Then Midianite merchantmen passed by, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver; and they took Joseph to Egypt.

The Midianites and Ishmaelites were considered one and the same; they were neighbors and often intermingled and the names are interchanged by the author (Moses) to mean the same group of people.  John Wesley points out something interesting about this event.  It was Judah's idea to sell Joseph for twenty pieces of silver just as Judas would betray our Lord for thirty; even the betrayers' names are almost the same.  I think there will be many more similarities between Joseph and Jesus as I know Joseph will come to save his people.

(29) And Reuben returned to the pit, and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit, and he tore his clothes.  (30) And he returned to his brothers and said, "The child is no more; and I, where shall I go?"

Apparently Reuben was not with his brothers when the others saw the Ishmaelite caravan and decided to sell their brother.  He had probably purposely separated from them so he would not arouse suspicion when he went back to get Joseph out of the pit.  Reuben tore his clothes which was a sign of distress and anguish.  He went back to his brothers very distraught exclaiming that the child was "no more" and wondered where he could go then.  Usually "no more" was a phrase meaning "dead"; how could he possibly return to his father to tell him Joseph was gone?  Maybe he meant the child was gone from the pit and where would he go to look for him?  Either way, he was greatly distressed over it.

(31) And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood. (32) And they sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, "We have found this; do you know whether it is your son's coat or not?"

I would assume all the brothers, Reuben included, jumped into action to cover their cruel deed.  They killed a kid and dipped the coat in its blood; they obviously wanted their father to believe Joseph was dead so that it would end the matter and he wouldn't be looking for him.  It appears they couldn't even face their father and they sent the coat by messenger to him.

(33) And he knew it and said, "It is my son's coat; an evil beast has devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces." (34) And Jacob tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.

Of course, Jacob knew the coat and he assumed, as his other sons had planned, that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal.  He tore his clothes and also put on sackcloth, which was not only a sign of distress, but also mourning, and he mourned for his son for many days.

(35) And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted, and he said, "For I will go down into the grave to my son mourning." Thus his father wept for him.

Jacob only had one daughter that we know of, unless she was the only one mentioned because of the note-worthy events in her life, and there were others we don't know about.  Perhaps daughters-in-law were included, although I believe there was only one of those at this time.  The sense is that all his family tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted.  How hypocritical of his sons to try to comfort their father when they were the ones who unnecessarily put him through this!  Jacob mourned and cried for his son, saying surely he would die of grief and join his son in death.

(36) And the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.

Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph to Potiphar in Egypt, whom this scripture says was an officer and captain of the guard of Pharaoh.  The word translated as "officer" is "saris" which usually meant "eunuch".  Quite often officers were eunuchs, so perhaps the meanings came to be interchangeable, as later scriptures tell that Potiphar had a wife.  But then again, I have read that eunuchs often had wives; they just obviously didn't have children, and that that might be the reason for Potiphar's wife's discontent with her husband.  Wow, "captain of the guard" appears to mean "chief of the butchers"!  Have I seen that phrase before now in scripture and not seen its meaning?  "Tabbach", the word translated as "guard" means "butcher" or "executioner".  Strong's extrapolates that because a guard would be called upon to execute, the word naturally means "guard", as well.  Come to find out, it is also translated as "cook", a butcher of animals to be cooked, in other places in scripture.  It's interesting to me that the image of an officer and captain of the guard of Pharaoh paints a different picture than does a eunuch butcher, but then again, a frustrated eunuch butcher of men sounds pretty terrible!  And that is where 17-year-old Joseph finds himself, in the hands of Potiphar.

Getting Back on the Right Track

Continuing my chronological Bible study:

(Genesis 35:1) And God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother."

In the last chapter, Jacob's sons Simeon and Levi had just deceived and killed Shechem and his father Hamor and all the men in their city because of Shechem's rape of their sister, Dinah.  Once again, Jacob found himself in a place where he was not safe where someone might want to kill him, so God told him to go to Bethel.  God reminded Jacob that that is where He appeared to Jacob when he fled for his life from Esau.  In sending Jacob back there, God was sending Jacob back to the place where he made a vow to God; God was reminding Jacob of his vow from Genesis 28:20-22, that if God was with him, protected him, gave his provisions, and allowed him to go back to his father's land in peace, then Jacob would recognize that the Lord was his God and he would tithe a tenth to him.  Jacob had declared that the pillar he had set at Bethel would be God's house.  God had certainly done His part in protecting and blessing Jacob; now it was time for Jacob to return to God and remember his vow.

(2) Then Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments. (3) And let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make there an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and was with me in the way which I went."

After God spoke to him, Jacob then told his wives and children and all the servants and those of his household to put away all their strange gods and cleanse and purify themselves.  The word translated as "strange" is as a stranger or a foreigner, so should be thought of as "foreign" gods.  His family had obviously picked up foreign idols living in this pagan land.  Rachel herself had stolen gods from her father's house if she still had them at this time.  Dinah had wanted to be worldly and see what those other young women experienced and may have picked up some of their idols.  It could be the servants who had the strange gods, Cannanite servants who came into service later, like the ones Jacob's family acquired through the plundering of Shechem's city.  Jacob announced that it was now time to put away all those foreign idols and get cleansed and go to Bethel where Jacob would make an altar to God, and he stressed that this is the God who has been with him when he was in distress and wherever he went.

(4) And they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and all their earrings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.

All of the household of Jacob did indeed give up their foreign gods.  The earrings they handed over were surely not regular jewelry worn by women but were the kind that were worn as amulets or charms decorated with magical characters and images of some pagan god, as was the practice back then.  When you think about it that way, Dinah could have easily picked up that fashion statement when she went out into the world to see what the other young women were doing.  Think about how many bad symbols and images and customs a young girl could pick up in our present culture!  These earrings were symbols of pagan gods and had no place in Jacob's family.  I'm not sure why he hid them in a particular place.  I am assuming he buried them to hide them from anyone who might return to retrieve them, and he purposely left them in (or by) Shechem and away from his household and Bethel and their altar to God.

(5) And they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.

Despite Jacob's fear that what his sons had done to the Shechemites would make him despised by the other Canaanite cities and make his family easy prey to their enemies, God protected Jacob and his company as they traveled.  For whatever reason God projected to them, the people of these cities greatly feared what Jacob and his God might do to them, and they let his family be.

(6) So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people who were with him.

The place was formerly called Luz, but Jacob had named it Bethel.  He and his family and all who were with him came safely to Bethel.

(7) And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.

As instructed by God, there Jacob built an altar in the place where God had appeared to him when he had fled from Esau.  He now called the place El Bethel, which meant "God of Bethel" or "the God of the House of God".

(8) But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak, and the name of it was called Allon Bachuth.

There is much speculation among Biblical scholars as to how Rebekah's nurse came to be with Jacob and his family, but the passage doesn't say that the nurse was specifically with them when she died.  I believe this may have been merely an explanation of another name by which this place was also known, something the early reader would have understood better than we do now.  Because a beloved nurse also died and was buried at Bethel, the place was also known as Allon Bachuth, which literally meant "oak of weeping".

(9) And God appeared to Jacob again, when he came out of Padan Aram, and blessed him. (10) And God said to him, "Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name." And He called his name Israel.

It seems to me that verse 9 is a continuation of the thought started in verse 7--Jacob built the altar because that is where God appeared to him when he fled from Esau and he also appeared to him when he came out of Padan Aram, and that is when He told him he would be called Israel.  It seems to me that this is a retelling of how Jacob first came to call this place Bethel.  God had brought Jacob back to this place so that Jacob would remember all that God had done for him.

(11) And God said to him, "I am God Almighty; be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be from you, and kings shall come out of your loins. (12) And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and to your descendants after you will I give the land." (13) And God went up from him in the place where He talked with him. (14) And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone, and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it. (15) And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.

I still believe this is a retelling of the original meeting with God when he named this place Bethel, which meant "House of God".  However, most of the Biblical scholars I have read believe God is renewing His covenant with Jacob.  It is certain that God wanted Jacob to return here so that he would remember his vow to God, and to remember God's promise to him, even if He did not speak to him again, but He probably did; who am I to argue with those scholars?  It doesn't change the essence of this passage; God either told Jacob again or made sure it was all clear in his mind and his heart again.  He renewed the Abrahamic covenant and promised Jacob that he and his descendants would inherit this land and that nations and kings would come from him.

As I am following a chronological Bible study designed by Skip Andrews, I am now going to Genesis 38:

(Genesis 38:1) And it came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah.

There is some discrepancy among Biblical scholars as to when Judah started his own family, but it is of Mr. Andrews's opinion that it happened after, or maybe about the time of the rape of Dinah, and before the birth of Benjamin.  As I am already in the midst of this chronological order, I don't want to change now and risk missing anything, so I will continue with this assumption.  As Dinah wanted to go explore the customs of the other young women in the world, so it looks as if Judah desired to meet and make friends with new people--he departed from his brothers.

(2) And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shuah, and he took her, and went in to her.

Shuah was the name of the Canaanite, not the daughter.  It appears that Judah took the daughter of Shuah to be his wife, with hers and her father's consent, and not by force, but we can be sure that Judah did not consult his father, as the marriage to a Canaanite woman would have been greatly discouraged.

(3) And she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er.

Judah's firstborn son was Er, a name that literally meant "watchful". 

(4) And she conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan.

The daughter of Shuah bore Judah another son, and called his name Onan, which literally meant "strong".  I don't know if there is any significance to this, but the scripture said that Er was named by his father Judah, and Onan was named by his mother.

(5) And she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name Shelah, and he was at Chezib when she bore him.

Judah's wife bore him a third son, and his name was called Shelah, which literally meant "request" or "petition", according to my sources, Strong's and Brown-Driver-Briggs.  However, Dr. John Gill, in his commentary, said it signified "tranquil, quiet, peaceable and prosperous, and is a word that comes from the same root as Shiloh, that famous son of Judah that should spring from him".  I saw that Albert Barnes wrote that it meant either "request" or "rest".  I then did a little more digging and saw that there is another word "shelah", perhaps pronounced a little differently, but spelled the same way, which did mean "at rest" or "at ease".  I really don't know which meaning was meant by the parents of Shelah, other than Dr. Gill's opinion, but at least I know why there could have been such discrepancy in the meaning of the name.  Shelah was born at Chezib, which I read in one old commentary, would have been important to the early reader and descendants of Shelah.  The birthplace of the other two sons was not mentioned because they did not have any children. 

In my chronological study, it is assumed that Judah married a Canaanite woman and had children about the same time as the rape of Dinah, and may be one of the reasons that Jacob saw "sin in the camp" and recognized his family's need to return to Bethel and remember their Lord.  Now the study returns to Jacob and his family leaving Bethel.

(Genesis 35:16) And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to go to Ephrath, and Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor.

Jacob and his family now left Bethel after they had returned for Jacob to build an altar and remember his vow to the Lord.  There was just a little way to go to Ephrath, which we learn in a later verse is the same as Bethlehem.  I will reflect on the meaning of the name when it is mentioned again in that verse.  Meanwhile, they were almost to Ephrath, or Bethlehem, when Rachel went into hard labor.

(17) And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said to her, "Do not fear; you will have this son also."

The midwife may have just been trying to comfort Rachel with these words, but she was surely aware of Rachel's words at the birth of Joseph, that "the Lord shall add to me another son", especially since the meaning of the name Joseph was "Jehovah has added" or "let Him add".  Now the midwife comforted Rachel with the words that she would indeed have another son.

(18) And it came to pass, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni, but his father called him Benjamin.

Rachel died in childbirth, but she did give birth to another son she called Ben-Oni, which literally meant "son of my sorrow".  She probably named him this because of the pain and sorrow with which she brought him into the world, or maybe because of her sorrow when she realized she was going to leave him and this world as she was dying.  I can't help but think of how Rachel had so desperately wanted children that she had told Jacob to give her children or else she would die (Gen. 30:1), and now she died giving birth to one.  I can certainly understand why Jacob would rename the child, so that the name was not a constant reminder of the pain and sorrow with which the boy's mother died.  He renamed the child Benjamin which literally meant "son of the right hand", which meant someone very dear and much loved.  The child would be as his right hand or maybe he literally meant the child was the son of his right hand, the son of someone very dear to him.

There is something else, something rather amazing when I think about it, in this scripture.  The verse did not merely say that Rachel died; it said her soul "was departing".  The soul departed from the body "for she died".  Her body obviously didn't depart or go anywhere, but her soul is said to have departed.  Is this not beautiful proof that there is an immortal spirit in man that exists separately from the body?  Indeed Ecclesiastes 12:7 says, "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return to God who gave it."

(19) And Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem.

So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath, a name which literally meant "fruitfulness".  Brown-Driver-Briggs' Hebrew Definitions defines it as "ash-heap: place of fruitfulness".  I don't know whether the name of the place was always Ephrath, or if Jacob called it that because out of the ash heap of pain and sorrow came fruitfulness, but it came to be better known as Bethlehem, which literally meant "house of bread", and it was the birthplace of our savior, Jesus Christ, the bread of life.

My chronological study now takes me to Genesis 48:

(Genesis 48:7) And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little way to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem.

This was Jacob's retelling of the event of Rachel's death to his son Joseph when he was an adult with children of his own.  I do find it interesting that Jacob recalled the time as "when I came from Padan", even though he had already left Padan, journeyed to Succoth where he built a house and booths (though this must have been a brief stay), went to Shalem, a city of Shechem, where he bought land and had to have lived for awhile before the rape of Dinah because she couldn't have been more than a little girl when they first left Padan.  I had read that Demetrius the Chronographer, a chronicler of Jewish history who lived in the third century B.C., seemed to have written with preciseness as he gave the date of every incident in Jacob's life, even giving a birth month and year for each of his children.  He reported that Jacob had lived with Rachel for 23 years when she died.  Jacob worked the second seven years for Rachel after she became his wife and then worked an additional six years for Laban for the speckled cattle; therefore it was ten years after he left Padan Aram that Rachel died.  I guess a little 10-year detour away from where God would have him is unimportant at the end of Jacob's life.  However, if this is the way that this time is thought of, as when Jacob "came from Padan", then I can see why scholars believe that God appeared to Jacob "again, when he came out of Padan Aram" (Genesis 35:9), and renewed his covenant with him.

Now back to Genesis 35:

(Genesis 35:20) And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel's grave to this day.

The monument or pillar on Rachel's grave continued to stand to the day of the writing of this book in Genesis, and it is mentioned even later as a landmark in the book of 1 Samuel, the tenth chapter.

(21) And Israel journeyed and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar.

After he buried Rachel, Jacob, or Israel, as he was now called by God, moved on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Edar, the name which literally means "tower of the flock", and was said to be a shepherd's watchtower about a mile from Bethlehem.  Some scholars have written that this was the place where the angel came to the shepherds and reported the birth of Christ.

(22a) And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine; and Israel heard about it.

During the time Jacob dwelled in that land, his oldest son Reuben lay with Rachel's maid, Bilhah, who had become Jacob's concubine and the mother of some of his children.  I purposely divided this one verse into two parts because it is said that there was a great blank pause here in the original text.  I don't know why it would have been transcribed as one verse.  The early commentaries look at the pause as there was nothing else that could be said about this despicable act.  Jacob heard about it and surely received the news with great grief of heart and was not able to speak of it.  However, he did remember the incident when he blessed his sons when he was old (Gen. 49:4).  The 1599 Geneva Bible Translation Notes points out that this shows "that the fathers were not chosen for their merits, but only by God's mercies, whose election was not changed by their faults."

(22b) Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: (23) The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; (24) The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin; (25) And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali; (26) And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's maidservant, were Gad and Asher; these were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram.

The twelve sons of Jacob, who became the twelve patriarchs, heads of twelve tribes, are named.  A general statement is made that they were all born in Padan Aram, but of course, we know that Benjamin was born on the road, thought of as "on the way" when Jacob "came from Padan" (Gen. 48:7).

(27) And Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, to the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.

Finally Jacob made it "from Padan Aram" back to his father's land.  Most scholars assume he must have surely visited his father before this time as he had been in the land for ten years, and he was now returning, either because of the death of his mother or because his father was getting very old.  However, as this is the first mention in scripture, and the fact I have found the whole ten-year trip "from Padan Aram" sort of suspect, I am taking scripture literally here and assuming he is just now getting back "from Padan Aram" and to the land of his father.  It certainly appears that Jacob thought of it that way when he referred back to it (Genesis 48:7).  Mamre was a plain that belonged to a man probably of the same name as gathered from another scripture (Gen. 13:18), and where we were told that Abraham once lived.  The plain was near the city called Kirjath Arba (Gen. 23:2) or just Arbah here, and the city was also called Hebron.

I haven't seen any indication that the early scholars saw this as I did.  Oh sure, they all saw that Jacob had seen his need to get back to God and remember his vow to Him, but I see a little more.  I believe that perhaps Jacob was lax and took his time in getting back to his father's land which was what God had told him to do.  That may be why he had so many problems with his children in the land--Dinah going off to see the other girls in the land and subsequently being raped, Judah associating with the Canaanites and marrying a Canaanite woman, and Reuben sleeping with his concubine--all these things occurring before Jacob finally made it to his father in Mamre.  Perhaps if Jacob had just gone straight back to his father as God had told him to do and when He said He would be with him (Gen. 31:3), maybe none of these things would have happened.  Perhaps they dawdled in the Canaanite land too long.  Not only did Jacob need to remember his vow to God, but he had to be reminded to do as God had told him.  He needed to remember what God had done for him and of God's promise to be with him and of his promise to make God his Lord.  God did His part and was always with Jacob, but Jacob had forgotten his vow and let his family get involved with foreign gods and they had to be spiritually cleansed.  I believe the point of this chapter is that Jacob sort of got off track for about ten years.  I believe that he saw it that way and that is why when he spoke of this time later in life, it was just a detour on the way from Padan Aram back to the land of his father.  It must be pointed out that God was still with Jacob during that ten years and protected him from being killed by the Canaanites after the Shechem ordeal, just as God may help us through some stupid mistakes.  God is still with us, but things would be easier and a lot less messy if we would just do it His way the first time.  And thankfully, God will mercifully remind us of that fact and prompt us to get back to Him!

We Have Hope and Confidence Because of the Messy Lives Recorded in the Bible

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Genesis 34:1) And Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.

In the last chapter, Jacob had bought a parcel of land near Shechem.  At least a few years have passed, because when Jacob first settled in the land, Dinah couldn't have been more than a little girl, as she was the eleventh child born in the 13 years he lived with his wives after he served the first seven years for them.  Now Dinah was surely a young woman in her teens.  It looks like she had some curiosity about the other girls of the land, and went out to see for herself.  I suppose something could be said here about the "wisdom" of youth, and why Jacob's young daughter should have been more supervised and protected and not allowed to venture out by herself.

(2) And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.

Shechem was the person for whom the land of Shechem was named.  It would seem that his father Hamor was king of the country and named the place after his son, who was prince.  Shechem saw Dinah on the occasion that she ventured out in the land.  It looks as if he may have taken her forcibly and lay with her.

(3) And his soul cleaved to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spoke kindly to the damsel. (4) And Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, "Get me this damsel as wife."

It looks as if Shechem sincerely loved Dinah, but he had taken her by force.  He spoke kindly to her which may mean he spoke sweet nothings, or maybe he was trying to calm her and gain her affection after he had raped her.  Either way, he loved Dinah and he told his father the king to get her for his wife.

(5) And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter; now his sons were with his cattle in the field, and Jacob held his peace until they came. (6) And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him.

Apparently Jacob heard the news about his daughter, but did not act on it immediately.  His sons were out in the field and he held his peace until they had come.  Meanwhile, Hamor the father of Shechem went to speak to Jacob, surely about the affair with Dinah and to get his consent for his son to marry her.

(7) And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved and they were very angry, because he had done wickedness in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter, a thing which ought not to be done.

The sons of Jacob came out of the field, either because they heard the discussion between Hamor and Jacob, or because they had also heard the news, as Jacob had, about their sister.  They were upset and very angry.  The original translation was that they were angry because Shechem had "wrought folly" in Israel.  "Folly" doesn't seem a strong enough translation of the original word "nebalah".  It means "foolishness" or "senselessness", but when spoken of morally, it means "wickedness" or "villainy".  At this time, Israel is not the name of a place, but the name of Jacob, so this must be translated as "in Israel's land".  However, since Moses is the one who presumably wrote this account later, he may have written "in Israel" as he viewed Israel as not only a place, but a church and a people.

(8) And Hamor spoke with them, saying, "The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; I pray you give her to him as wife. (9) And make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to you. (10) And you will dwell with us, and the land will be before you; dwell and trade in it, and acquire possessions for yourselves in it."

Hamor appears to be very sincere when he spoke with Jacob and his sons.  He told them that his son loved Dinah and he asked their permission that she become his wife.  Not only Dinah, but he asked that they all dwell together and intermarry.  As king, he offered the family of Jacob to dwell and trade and prosper in his land.  Hamor seems very sincere and generous.  He obviously offered these things in an attempt to gain approval for his son to marry Dinah, but he appears upfront, honest, and honorable.

(11) And Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, "Let me find grace in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. (12) Ask me ever so much dowry and gift, and I will give according to what you will say to me; but give me the damsel as a wife."

Now Shechem, who had apparently come with his father to speak to Jacob, spoke for himself.  He also seems sincere in asking for favor, which surely required forgiveness for what he had done to Dinah.  He offered to give Jacob and his sons whatever they asked for dowry and gifts for the hand of Dinah.

(13) And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister.

We are told that what the sons of Jacob were about to say was deceitful.  Once again, we find the people of God acting deceitfully!  Although this looks to be not Jacob himself, but his sons, it appears they may have learned the deceitful ways of their father and of their grandfather, Laban.  They may have felt that they were justified because of what Shechem had done to their sister, but these pagans did not have the same values as Jacob and his family supposedly had.  In this case, the pagans may have been more sincere and honest than Jacob's sons! 

This may be a good place to insert a general synopsis of Jacob's life given by John Nelson Darby in his Synopsis of the Old and New Testaments.  At the time of Jacob's wrestling with the angel of God, I suppose I was giving Jacob a little more benefit of the doubt than does Darby, with regard to the desire of his heart being to follow God.  Again, I will say that I realize these are Jacob's sons and not Jacob himself, but since deceitfulness always seems to be a part of this family, this seems a good time to refect on Darby's opinion of the life of Jacob.  He sees the wrestling with God as the dealings of God with a soul that does not walk with Him.  He contrasts the relationship of God and Abraham with the relationship of God and Jacob.  With Abraham, who was called a friend of God, there was a calm communion with God, where Abraham interceded for others, instead of a wrestling with God for himself.  Even after Jacob wrestled with the angel and received the blessing, he appeared to be deceitful when he said he would go to his brother in Seir, a brother who was most sincere and loving, but there was no evidence that he ever did.  Now his sons acted deceitfully to Hamor and Shechem who appear to be sincere and honest. 

To continue Darby's thought, God was still dealing with Jacob.  Jacob thought about God, but really wasn't in proper communion with Him.  But God was with Jacob anyway.  Jacob constantly had to live with the consequences of his actions, but God blessed him through it all.  What a hope this should give us.  Don't we often do things our way, the hard way, instead of giving it all to God, and doing it His way?  Do we not wrestle with God?  This is a beautiful picture of the love and mercy of God for His imperfect and selfish children.  God does show mercy for us, but if we could learn to live His way and be in communion with Him, our lives would be much more peaceful and calm.

(14) And they said to them, "We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a reproach to us. (15) But in this we will consent to you, if you will be as we are, that every male of you be circumcised, (16) Then will we give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us; and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. (17) But if you will not listen to us to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and we will be gone."

The brothers of Dinah told Hamor and Shechem that they could not intermix with uncircumcised people, but if they agreed to become circumcised, they would agree to become one people.  We have already been told that this was a deceitful statement.  But how reasonable and sincere it sounded!  That makes it all the more terribly deceitful and wrong.  It would be one thing to speak in sarcasm and to be honest about their anger, but these comments appear to come from the heart; they are obviously trying to gain the trust of Shechem and that seems so much more wicked than just laying their honest feelings out for Hamor and Shechem to see.

(18) And their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor's son. (19) And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter, and he was more honorable than all the household of his father.

Indeed, Hamor and Shechem believed and trusted what the sons of Jacob had told them, and Shechem did not delay in getting circumcised and in encouraging the rest of the men to do the same, as revealed in the next verses.  Verse 19 states that Shechem was honorable, at least more honorable than all the others in his father's household.  Even though he had done a terrible thing in raping Jacob's daughter, he sought to marry her, and do anything requested of him to make up for the injury he had caused, and he seems honest and honorable in keeping his side of their covenant by acting on it immediately.

(20) And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying, (21) "These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for indeed the land is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters. (22) Only in this will the men consent to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. (23) Will not their cattle, their possessions, and every animal of theirs be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell with us." (24) And all who went out of the gate of his city heeded Hamor and Shechem his son, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

Shechem and his father encouraged all the men of the city to do as Jacob's sons asked.  They convinced them that they were peaceable and that it would be ultimately to their advantage to become as one people with them.  All the men consented and were circumcised as requested by their king and his son. 

(25) And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males. (26) And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went out.

From what I have read, evidently the third day after circumcision was the worst--the pain was at its worst, the part was most inflamed, and the person was even feverish at this point.  With such pain and inflammation in that area of the body, and even in the entire body as fever would make the person weak and hurt all over, they were not that aware of their surroundings in the first place, and were not able to defend themselves once they were aware of what was going on.  Simeon and Levi came easily into the city and killed all the adult males, as we are told later that they took all the little children captive.  They also killed Shechem and Hamor, and took Dinah from Shechem's house.

(27) The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. (28) They took their sheep, their oxen, and their donkeys, and what was in the city and what was in the field, (29) And all their wealth, and all their little ones and their wives they took captive, and they plundered even all that was in the houses.

Not only did they kill all the men, but they plundered the city, and took all their livestock, all the women and children, and took all their possessions.

(30) And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have troubled me to make me stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and I being few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house."

Jacob was not happy with what Simeon and Levi had done.  He feared he would be considered abominable and hated by all the people round about them.  He and his family, being a small number of people in the land, would be easy prey to the Canaanites who could easily have destroyed them over this thing if it was not for God's promise to protect Jacob.

(31) And they said, "Should he deal with our sister as with a harlot?"

Simeon and Levi felt perfectly justified in their actions because of what Shechem had done to their sister.  They may have even felt that Jacob had not shown the proper regard for his daughter's honor, and they had to take matters into their own hands.  It might have been more easily understood if it had been Jacob who had said that the men must be circumcised and that they could then become one with his people, and then Jacob's sons who would have no part of it, then killed the men.  But this was premeditated murder on the part of Simeon and Levi.  They intentionally gained the trust of Shechem and Hamor and then took advantage of the men in their weakened state, and killed an entire people because of the actions of one.  The act cannot be excused, and in fact, when Jacob blessed his sons near the end of his life, he recalled this event and cursed their anger and their cruel wrath.

As I reflect on this chapter, I am first grateful that I and my entire family do not have to be perfect in order to receive the love, mercy, salvation, and blessings of my Lord!  The Bible is full of imperfect and sinful people; many seem much worse than we could imagine, and yet we see how God could love and forgive and bless those who tried to follow Him.  That should give us hope!

I also think about how some people use incidents like this in the Bible to refute the whole book.  They claim the Bible is full of sex and violence and murder, so why would you want such a God?  But this is exactly the thing that should make the unprejudiced reader realize that the Bible is true.  It is historical fact, no matter how messy and imperfect.  If the Bible were the fabricated book that atheists try to tell us it is, would not the fabricators have used less embarrassing examples of God's people?  It is because these things actually happened, that they are recorded in the Bible, as messy as they are.  Once again, it should give us great hope, and also great confidence that the Bible is true.