HarperCollins Study Bible

by Harold W. Attridge

  27.27–29 Like…a field…blessed. Jacob goes from smelling as though he had been blessed to actually being blessed by the words of vv. 28–29, as the patriarchal blessing invokes the glorious fertility of the land (cf. the poetry of Jacob’s blessing on Joseph in 49.25). The blessing of rule over other nations, in particular over your brothers, corresponds closely to God’s prediction in 25.23. Brothers, mother’s sons. The plural is probably a poetic formula; cf. 49.8. The invocation of curses and blessings echoes the promises to Abraham (12.3).

  27.31–38 The dialogue between Isaac and Esau in vv. 31–33 almost exactly repeats the exchange between Jacob and Isaac in vv. 18–19, but now the sequence in v. 32 has a radically different tone as the truth begins to sink in. Isaac’s violent trembling and Esau’s exceedingly great and bitter cry (v. 34) bring pathos to this tragic scene, turning our sympathy toward the defeated father and son. Esau’s speech, including his repeated desperate plea for a blessing (vv. 34, 38), highlights Jacob’s duplicity and Esau’s dawning understanding. Esau observes astutely, Is he not rightly named Jacob (i.e., supplanter) ? (v. 36). In defeat, Esau gains a new awareness, which perhaps foreshadows his dignity and eloquence when he meets Jacob in ch. 33.

  27.39–40 Isaac’s equivocal pronouncement is more a curse than a blessing, locating Esau away from fertility and under Jacob’s rule, the inverse of Jacob’s blessing. Like Ishmael (16.12), his life will be violent. You shall break his yoke from your neck. This ray of hope probably refers to Edom’s successful revolt against Judah in the mid-ninth century BCE after a period of Judean hegemony (2 Kings 8.20–22).

  27.41–45 Esau’s plan to kill Jacob (cf. Cain and Abel, 4.1–16) is foiled by Rebekah’s superior intelligence. She commands Jacob once again (v. 43; cf. v. 8) to flee to the patriarchal homeland until Esau’s wrath abates. Her plan is once again successful, but Jacob’s absence will last for twenty years (31.38). Her plan, moreover, saves the lives of both sons, since Esau would have been executed as a murderer, and she does not want to lose both…in one day (v. 45).

  27.46–28.9 This P section continues from 26.34–35 about Esau’s marriages to Hittite (i.e., Canaanite) women. Here Rebekah gives voice to her bitterness over these marriages and fears that Jacob will also marry a Hittite woman. In response, Isaac sends Jacob to the patriarchal homeland to marry a proper wife (cf. 24.3–4). Isaac also takes this opportunity to grant Jacob the patriarchal blessing, the blessing of Abraham (28.3–4). This P account is an alternative to the J story of ch. 27, providing Jacob with Isaac’s blessing without any duplicity or conflict. Esau has apparently forfeited the blessing because of his marriages with the Hittite women. This text also serves well as a frame to the J story. When read after Rebekah’s speech to Jacob in 27.42–45, Rebekah’s lament to Isaac serves as an effective cover story, a way to make Isaac assent to Jacob’s flight to Haran.

  GENESIS 28

  1Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, “You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women. 2Go at once to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father; and take as wife from there one of the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. 3May God Almightya bless you and make you fruitful and numerous, that you may become a company of peoples. 4May he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien—land that God gave to Abraham.” 5Thus Isaac sent Jacob away; and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.

  Esau Marries Ishmael’s Daughter

  6Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he charged him, “You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women,” 7and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram. 8So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please his father Isaac, 9Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, and sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.

  Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

  10Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. 12And he dreamed that there was a ladderb set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13And the LORD stood beside himc and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; 14and your off-spring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessedd in you and in your offspring. 15Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place—and I did not know it!” 17And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

  18So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19He called that place Bethel;e but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God, 22and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that you give me I will surely give one-tenth to you.”

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  a Traditional rendering of Heb El Shaddai

  b Or stairway or ramp

  c Or stood above it

  d Or shall bless themselves

  e That is House of God

  28.3 On God Almighty (El Shaddai) and the patriarchal blessing in the P narrative, see 17.1–8.

  28.6–9 Esau responds by marrying a daughter of Ishmael, who is within the patriarchal lineage. But Ishmael, like Esau, has an equivocal status, since he is the father of a foreign people. Moreover, Esau marries this woman in addition to his other wives, so he remains guilty for his marriages to the Hittite women. This is a weak response to the larger problem of Isaac blessing Jacob. Note how the P story reconfigures the rivalry over the patriarchal blessing: Esau is the guilty party, Isaac’s dignity is intact, and Jacob and Rebekah are wholly innocent.

  28.10–22 Jacob’s first encounter with God confirms his status as the chosen patriarch. It occurs during his journey away from home and is the origin of the sanctuary at Bethel (Hebrew, “house of God”). On his return journey home, Jacob has a corresponding encounter with God that is the origin of the sanctuary at Penuel (“presence of God” see 32.22–32). The encounter at Bethel is mostly from the E source (vv. 11–12, 17–18, 20–22) with some portions from a parallel story in the J source (vv. 10, 13–16, 19). Note that both versions are concerned with God’s protection of Jacob during his journey—in J as part of God’s promise (v. 15) and in E as part of Jacob’s vow (vv. 20–21).

  28.11 Place (Hebrew maqom, repeated three times) can also mean “shrine,” a fruitful ambiguity here. The setting at night has an aura of mystery and corresponds to the later divine encounter in 32.22–33. The odd detail of Jacob laying his head on one of the stones of the place becomes clearer in retrospect—the stone signifies sacred space (v. 22), and sleeping on it induces a revelatory dream.

  28.12 Ladder (or “stairway”), a cosmic passageway between heaven and earth whose earthly terminus is sacred space. A similar “stairway of heaven” that the gods traverse is known from Mesopotamian texts. Mesopotamian temple towers (ziggurats) are also described as linking heaven and earth (cf. 11.4), showing that earthly shrines could be conceived of as a
cosmic axis, like Bethel.

  28.13–15 The dream vision is expanded by a divine revelation from the J source. God appears to Jacob while he is sleeping and grants him the patriarchal promises (see 12.2; 13.14). This gives God’s confirmation to the blessing that Isaac had previously given him. I am…you go. God’s assurance adds a key dimension to the story: at Jacob’s most vulnerable moment, fleeing from home to a foreign land, he gains a divine protector and discovers his destiny.

  28.16–17 These verses are a mixture of J (v. 16) and E (v. 17), giving Jacob’s parallel responses to the divine encounter. In both versions, Jacob is astonished and awed. His recognition that the place is the house of God (bet ’elohim) motivates the name of the place as Bethel (bet ’el, “house of God”). Jacob names the place in each source: v. 19 (J); 35.7 (E); 35.15 (P).

  28.18–22 Jacob ritually marks the sacred place by setting up and anointing a sacred pillar. Such pillars are symbols at many Israelite shrines, such as Shechem (Josh 24.26), Gilgal (Josh 4.20), and Sinai (Ex 24.4). Vows are typically made at shrines (e.g., Hannah in 1 Sam 1.11), and Jacob makes a vow to God, promising worship, establishment of a shrine at Bethel, and tithing if God will be with him and keep him (note the similar wording to God’s promise in v. 15). Jacob’s hope that God will protect him will be fulfilled, and Jacob will return to Bethel in 35.1–7 (E).

  GENESIS 29

  Jacob Meets Rachel

  1Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the people of the east. 2As he looked, he saw a well in the field and three flocks of sheep lying there beside it; for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well’s mouth was large, 3and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well, and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well.

  4Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where do you come from?” They said, “We are from Haran.” 5He said to them, “Do you know Laban son of Nahor?” They said, “We do.” 6He said to them, “Is it well with him?” “Yes,” they replied, “and here is his daughter Rachel, coming with the sheep.” 7He said, “Look, it is still broad daylight; it is not time for the animals to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go, pasture them.” 8But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.”

  9While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep; for she kept them. 10Now when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, and the sheep of his mother’s brother Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of his mother’s brother Laban. 11Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and wept aloud. 12And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s kinsman, and that he was Rebekah’s son; and she ran and told her father.

  13When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him; he embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. Jacoba told Laban all these things, 14and Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh!” And he stayed with him a month.

  Jacob Marries Laban’s Daughters

  15Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” 16Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17Leah’s eyes were lovely,b and Rachel was graceful and beautiful. 18Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” 19Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” 20So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.

  21Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” 22So Laban gathered together all the people of the place, and made a feast. 23But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. 24(Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid.) 25When morning came, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” 26Laban said, “This is not done in our country—giving the younger before the firstborn. 27Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.” 28Jacob did so, and completed her week; then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife. 29(Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her maid.) 30So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. He served Labanc for another seven years.

  31When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. 32Leah conceived and bore a son, and she named him Reuben;d for she said, “Because the LORD has looked on my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” 33She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the LORD has hearde that I am hated, he has given me this son also” and she named him Simeon. 34Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be joinedf to me, because I have borne him three sons” therefore he was named Levi. 35She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praiseg the LORD” therefore she named him Judah; then she ceased bearing.

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  a Heb He

  b Meaning of Heb uncertain

  c Heb him

  d That is See, a son

  e Heb shama

  f Heb lawah

  g Heb hodah

  29.1–14 In this J account Jacob meets his future wife at the well near Haran. This episode echoes similar ones in ch. 24 (Isaac and Rebekah) and Ex 2.15–21 (Moses and Zipporah). Like Moses, Jacob performs a heroic deed for his future wife, rolling away the huge stone over the well’s mouth to water her flocks (v. 10). This act portrays Jacob as physically strong (cf. 32.22–32) and as an agent of fertility, a role he masters at Haran. There is a dense repetition of kinship language in this passage, emphasizing Jacob’s journey to his patriarchal kin and the likelihood of a proper marriage. Kinship words—brothers, son, daughter, father, mother, sister—occur often after v. 4, and his mother’s brother Laban occurs three times in v. 10, when Jacob saw Rachel. The encounters of Jacob with his kin are sealed by kisses, hugs, and weeping (vv. 11, 13). My bone and my flesh stresses the importance of the kinship bond (cf. 2.24).

  29.12 Her father’s kinsman. Jacob and Rachel are related on their father’s side (through Abraham and Nahor). Rebekah’s son. They are also related on his mother’s side. Rebekah, she ran, a combination of terms that recalls Rebekah’s virtuous haste in 24.28.

  29.15–30 As J continues, the happy union of kin is complicated by Jacob’s betrothal to Rachel, the younger of Laban’s two daughters. The issues of the rights of the firstborn, trickery between father and son, divisions in who loves whom, and even the ability to see echo the story of the deception of Isaac in ch. 27. This time the roles are reversed, and Jacob becomes the trickster tricked, paying a price for his previous deeds. Jacob is deceived by his father-in-law into marrying the firstborn daughter, because he cannot see who she is during the night (v. 25). This is poetic justice for Jacob’s deception in ch. 27. This is not done…giving the younger before the firstborn (v. 26). Laban’s resonant reply to Jacob upon his discovery of the deception makes the relationship between the two deceptions clear. Laban prevails by marrying off both daughters to Jacob, the firstborn and then the younger, and receiving fourteen years’ labor for the bride-price, twice what Jacob had bargained for.

  29.16–18 The issue of the rights of the firstborn is introduced by the aside about Laban’s daughters with the contrast of elder and younger. The physical contrast between the two daughters brings up the issue of sight: Leah’s eyes were lovely, or perhaps “weak,” but Rachel was graceful and beautiful, like Sarah (12.11) and Rebekah (24.16; 26.7). Jacob loved Rachel, echoing Isaac’s love for Rebekah (24.67).

>   29.20 The depth of Jacob’s love for Rachel makes the seven years of labor seem but a few days. This is a rare expression of romantic love in the Bible (outside of the Song of Solomon) and its intensity will extend to her children, Joseph and Benjamin, after Rachel’s death.

  29.30 He loved Rachel more than Leah, an ominous statement leading to God’s response in v. 31 and the intense rivalry between the two wives.

  29.31–30.24 The birth of Jacob’s twelve children in Haran (eleven sons and one daughter; another son is born in 35.16–18) is colored by the barrenness of Rachel and the rivalry of the wives, recalling the relationship of Sarah and Hagar (chs. 16, 21). Like Abraham, Jacob is a rather passive figure in this domestic tale (though he is obviously fertile). The women are the major agents, conceiving, naming the children, and even negotiating over Jacob’s services. The names of the sons—the tribes of Israel—are all motivated by the mother’s state of mind, and the naming speeches spin elaborate wordplays to anchor the names. Only the daughter, Dinah (who is not a tribe), does not receive a naming speech. The overall movement is determined by God’s agency in opening wombs (29.31; 30.22). This text is mostly E, with J sections in 29.31–35; 30.24.