Category: Jeff’s translation

Genesis 37

Genesis 37:1 Jacob lived in the land his father wandered, in the land of Canaan.

Genesis 37:2 This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was tending the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father.

Genesis 37:3 Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a tunic with long sleeves.

Genesis 37:4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

Genesis 37:5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more.

Genesis 37:6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream that I have dreamed:

Genesis 37:7 Notice, we were binding up sheaves in the field, and see, my sheaf got up and stood upright. And notice, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed themselves down to my sheaf.”

Genesis 37:8 His brothers asked him, “Are you really going to rule over us? Or are you really going to have control over us?” So, they hated him even more because of his dreams and because of his words.

Genesis 37:9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Notice, I have dreamed another dream. Notice, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

Genesis 37:10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and asked him, “Why have you dreamed a dream like this? Will I and your mother and your brothers really come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?”

Genesis 37:11 And his brothers were envious of him, but his father monitored the situation.

Genesis 37:12 His brothers went to tend their father’s flock near Shechem.

Genesis 37:13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers tending the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Notice me.”

Genesis 37:14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if there is peace with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So, he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

Genesis 37:15 And a man found him, noticing him wandering there in the fields. And the man asked him, and this is what he said, “What are you looking for?”

Genesis 37:16 “I am looking for my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are tending the flock.”

Genesis 37:17 And the man said, “They have gone away, because I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.'” So, Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

Genesis 37:18 They saw him from a distance, and before he came near them, they conspired against him to murder him.

Genesis 37:19 They said to one another, “Notice the dreamer coming.

Genesis 37:20 Come now, we should murder him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce living thing has eaten him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.”

Genesis 37:21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his throat.”

Genesis 37:22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the open country, but do not lay a hand on him”- so that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father.

Genesis 37:23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his tunic, the long-sleeved tunic that he wore.

Genesis 37:24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there being no water in it.

Genesis 37:25 Then they sat down to eat. When they looked up, they noticed a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt.

Genesis 37:26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What gain is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?

Genesis 37:27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, because he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him.

Genesis 37:28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty silver shekels. They took Joseph to Egypt.

Genesis 37:29 When Reuben returned to the pit and noticed that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes

Genesis 37:30 and he came back to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone, and I, where can I go?”

Genesis 37:31 Then they took Joseph’s tunic and slaughtered a goat and dipped the tunic in the blood.

Genesis 37:32 And they sent the sleeved tunic and brought it to their father and said, “We have found this; please identify whether it is your son’s tunic or not.”

Genesis 37:33 And he identified it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A ferocious living thing has eaten him. without doubt, Joseph is torn to pieces.”

Genesis 37:34 Then Jacob tore his clothing and put sackcloth around him and mourned over his son for many days.

Genesis 37:35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I will go down to Sheol[1] to my son, mourning.” Thus, his father wept for him.

Genesis 37:36 Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the prison warden.[2]

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[1] שְׁאוֹל = Sheol (the death state). Genesis 37:35; 42:38; 44:29, 31.

[2] ‎ שַׂ֖ר הַטַּבָּחִֽים = prison warden, Genesis 37:36; 39:1; 40:3, 4; 41:10, 12.

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Genesis 37 quotes:

“In the first 10 verses of Genesis 37, we learn that Joseph was a confident, bold young man, much loved by his father-and envied by his brothers. Nei¬ ther Joseph nor Jacob understood the depths of the brothers’ hatred. That jealousy, and the strange blindness of Joseph and Jacob to it, changed the family’s destiny.”

McFarland, Alex. Stand : Seeking the Way of God. Tyndale House, 2009. p. 17.

“Old Jacob, in order to show how much he loved Joseph, did what he thought was a good thing. He made Joseph a coat of many colors “…a richly ornamented robe” (Genesis 37:3 Niv). But Jacob did Joseph no favor in doing this. Worse than making it though, was wearing it. Perhaps Joseph should have gone to his father and fallen down before him and said, “Please don’t make me wear this.” But Joseph was quite happy to put it on. He was a spoiled, arrogant teenager who was utterly insensitive to his brothers’ feelings. When his brothers saw that his father loved him the most, “…they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him” (Genesis 37:4). That was a predictable reaction, and Jacob should have thought of that. It did not mean they hated their father — they hated Joseph. Jacob did this to the son that he loved so much, turning his other sons against Joseph. It is another caution to parents that it is harmful to show any kind of favoritism to a particular child. We are doing the child no favor at all. We are not even thinking of the child, but only of ourselves. Joseph’s coat of many colors did more for Jacob than it did for Joseph. Being partial is not a sign of love but a demonstration of our own weakness, which we are also passing on to a child.”

Kendall, R. T. God Meant It for Good. MorningStar Publications, 1988. p. 16.

“His elderly father loved him dearly, but his brothers really hated him. They never seemed to have a kind word to say to him; in fact, they “could not speak peaceably unto him” (Genesis 37:46). It seems safe to assume they treated him as an enemy and were very jealous. I don’t want to paint a detailed picture of his childhood because the Scriptures say very little about that time of his life. Considering the complicated household he lived in, and the fact that his mother was not there to protect him, it doesn’t seem as though his life could have been very joyful. We frequently hear that the damage that occurs in the life of a young child can affect them for years and years to come. Physical damage is bad enough, but the emotional damage caused by verbal abuse can linger well past childhood. If Joseph’s brothers never spoke kind or even peaceable words to him, can you imagine some of the painful events of his childhood?”

Mouliert, Gwen. Overcoming Bitterness : Get Away from Me Satan! Fire Wind, 2000. p. 167.

Genesis 37 links:

Excursus- Sheol- The Old Testament Consensus
IN A DREAM #4 – jeffersonvann
Israel- losing the favorite son
rough paths
Sheol in the Bible- The Old Testament Consensus
the courage to dream
THE PROMISE TO DAVID – jeffersonvann
three hells
three ruined outfits

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Maranatha Daily Devotional – Friday, January 22, 2021
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Monday, January 23, 2023

GENESIS in Jeff’s library

Genesis 36

Genesis 36:1 This is the history of Esau (also known as Edom).

Genesis 36:2 Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite,

Genesis 36:3 and Basemath, the daughter of Ishmael, the sister of Nebaioth.

Genesis 36:4 And Adah gave birth to Eliphaz for Esau; Basemath gave birth to Reuel;

Genesis 36:5 and Oholibamah gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were given birth to for him in the land of Canaan.

Genesis 36:6 Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the throats in his household, his livestock, all his living things, and all his property that he had acquired in the land of Canaan. He went into a land some distance from his brother Jacob.

Genesis 36:7 This was because their property was too much for them to live together. The land of their wandering could not support them because of their livestock.

Genesis 36:8 So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. (Esau is Edom.)

Genesis 36:9 This is the history of Esau, the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.

Genesis 36:10 These are the names of the sons of Esau: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau.

Genesis 36:11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

Genesis 36:12 (Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s son; she gave birth to Amalek for Eliphaz.) These are the sons of Adah, Esau’s wife.

Genesis 36:13 These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Sham-mah, and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife.

Genesis 36:14 These are the sons of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau’s wife: she gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah for Esau.

Genesis 36:15 These are the leaders of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: the leaders Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz,

Genesis 36:16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek; these are the leaders of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah.

Genesis 36:17 These are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: the leaders Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these are the leaders of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife.

Genesis 36:18 These are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau’s wife: the leaders Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the leaders born of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife.

Genesis 36:19 These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their leaders.

Genesis 36:20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,

Genesis 36:21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the leaders of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom.

Genesis 36:22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna.

Genesis 36:23 These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

Genesis 36:24 These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the open country, as he pastured the donkeys of Zibeon his father.

Genesis 36:25 These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah.

Genesis 36:26 These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.

Genesis 36:27 These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

Genesis 36:28 These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.

Genesis 36:29 These are the leaders of the Horites: the leaders Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,

Genesis 36:30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the leaders of the Horites, leader by leader in the land of Seir.

Genesis 36:31 These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites.

Genesis 36:32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Dinhabah.

Genesis 36:33 Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place.

Genesis 36:34 Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.

Genesis 36:35 Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, reigned in his place, the name of his city being Avith.

Genesis 36:36 Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place.

Genesis 36:37 Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates reigned in his place.

Genesis 36:38 Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place.

Genesis 36:39 Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place, the name of his city being Pau; his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab.

Genesis 36:40 These are the names of the leaders of Esau, according to their clans and their dwelling places, by their names: the leaders Timna, Alvah, Jetheth,

Genesis 36:41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon,

Genesis 36:42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar,

Genesis 36:43 Magdiel, and Iram; these are the leaders of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of Edom), according to the places where they lived in the land of their possession.

Genesis 36 quotes:

“Genesis 36:12 tells us of the origin of Amalek. Later in Israel’s history, the Amalekites would be among the most bitter foes of the Jews (Exodus 17:8-16). The nation would earn the Lord’s special condemnation, as seen in his command to Saul in 1 Samuel 15:1-3. Haman, a bitter persecutor of Israel described in the book of Esther, was also a descendant of these enemies, the Amalekites (Esther 3:1).”

Flint, V. Paul. Strangers & Pilgrims: A Study of Genesis. 1st ed., Loizeaux Bros, 1988. p. 204.

“The names in the chapter are tied to people off the line of the patriarchs and, with the exceptions of Sodom, Gomorrah, Zoar, and Kadesh, do not occur elsewhere as references for patriarchal travel. Finally, seven places are mentioned in the Edomite genealogical segment of Genesis 36:3 1-39. 3 Three of these are introduced by the formula “the name of his city was …” and thus locate seats of Edomite authority in Seir. The three cities fit in a broad pattern created by the major place references in the narratives and hence are of greater interest than most of the other minor designations in Genesis.”

Prewitt, Terry J. The Elusive Covenant: A Structural-Semiotic Reading of Genesis. Indiana University Press, 1990. p. 37.

“Further study is needed in order to understand better the social function of the placement of women’s names in the Genesis 36 genealogy. The appearance of these names in this genealogy suggests the importance of women and marriage for analyzing the formation of kinship groupings.”

Steinberg, Naomi A. Kinship and Marriage in Genesis : A Household Economics Perspective. Fortress Press, 1993. p. 118.

Genesis 36 links:

another life
Esau- blessed, but not the blessed
true blessing

GENESIS in Jeff’s library

Genesis 35

Genesis 35:1 And God said to Jacob, “Get up, go up to Bethel and live there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you had escaped from your brother Esau.”

Genesis 35:2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “throw away the foreign gods that you are keeping and purify yourselves and change your clothes.

Genesis 35:3 Then we must get up and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my stress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”

Genesis 35:4 So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob buried them under the oak tree that was near Shechem.

Genesis 35:5 And as they set out, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not attack the sons of Jacob.

Genesis 35:6 And Jacob arrived at Luz (also known as Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him,

Genesis 35:7 so he built an altar there and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed himself to him when he had escaped from his brother.

Genesis 35:8 And Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So, he called its name Allon-bacuth.

Genesis 35:9 Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-Aram, and blessed him.

Genesis 35:10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; but your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel will be your name.” So, he called his name Israel.

Genesis 35:11 And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations will come from you, and kings will come out of your own loins.

Genesis 35:12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your seed after you.”

Genesis 35:13 Then God ascended from him in the place where he had spoken with him.

Genesis 35:14 And Jacob set up a memorial in the place where he had spoken with him, a memorial of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it.

Genesis 35:15 So Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

Genesis 35:16 Then they traveled from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor.

Genesis 35:17 And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, because you have another son.”

Genesis 35:18 And her throat was giving out (because she was dying), so she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin.

Genesis 35:19 So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (also known as Bethlehem),

Genesis 35:20 and Jacob set up a monument over her tomb. It is the monument of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day.

Genesis 35:21 Israel traveled on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.

Genesis 35:22 While Israel was still living in that land, Reuben went and had sexual relations with Bilhah his father’s concubine. And Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.

Genesis 35:23 The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

Genesis 35:24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.

Genesis 35:25 The sons of Bilhah (Rachel’s slave): Dan and Naphtali.

Genesis 35:26 The sons of Zilpah (Leah’s slave): Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-Aram.

Genesis 35:27 And Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kiriath-Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed as a guest.

Genesis 35:28 Now the days of Isaac were 180 years.

Genesis 35:29 And Isaac stopped breathing and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And those who buried him were Esau and Jacob, his sons.

Genesis 35 quotes:

“Reuben had enjoyed all the advantages of the firstborn, and in him were centred all his father’s hopes and aspirations. But he proved a great disappointment. The expression ‘turbulent as the waters’ suggests instability, indecisiveness and weakness, making him unfit for leadership. He showed this by committing incest with one of his father’s wives (Genesis 35:22). In later history no great leader ever emerged from the tribe of Reuben.”

Williams, Peter. From Eden to Egypt : Exploring the Genesis Themes. DayOne, 2001. p. 54.

“Genesis 35 has been called the chapter of sorrows, because of the deaths of three individuals—Deborah, Rachel, and Isaac—which are recorded there.”

Flint, V. Paul. Strangers & Pilgrims : A Study of Genesis. 1st ed., Loizeaux Bros, 1988. p. 198.

“Jacob turns to the past to explain Reuben’s future. Though granted all the benefits of a firstborn son, Reuben slept with his father’s concubine and thus forfeited his rights (see the comments on Genesis 35:22). Reuben’s tribe settled east of the Jordan River and was eventually absorbed into Moab.”

Hinton, Linda B. Genesis. Abingdon Press, 1994. p. 136.

Genesis 35 links:

“all live to him!”
“To be gathered to his people”
ACST 15. The Immortal One
another new start
death not a gateway
Excursus- “To Be Gathered”
expire
Israel- assuming the mantle
The consequences of separation

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Maranatha Daily Devotional – Friday, January 20, 2023
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Monday, January 21, 2019

GENESIS in Jeff’s library

Genesis 34

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

Genesis 34:2 But when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, a leader of the land, saw her, he seized her and forced himself on her and humiliated her.

Genesis 34:3 Then his throat held fast to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke from the heart to her.

Genesis 34:4 So Shechem appealed to his father Hamor, and this is what he said, “Get me this girl for my wife.”

Genesis 34:5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came.

Genesis 34:6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him.

Genesis 34:7 The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, because such a thing must not be done.

Genesis 34:8 But Hamor appealed to them, and this is what he said, “The throat of my son Shechem is attached to your daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife.

Genesis 34:9 Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves.

Genesis 34:10 You will live among us, and the land will be open to you. Dwell and trade in it and get property in it.”

Genesis 34:11 Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give.

Genesis 34:12 Ask me for as great a bride price and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman to be my wife.”

Genesis 34:13 But sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor treacherously, because he had defiled Dinah, their sister.

Genesis 34:14 They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to a person who is uncircumcised, because that would bring shame on us.

Genesis 34:15 We will agree with you on this condition – that you will become like we are by every male among you becoming circumcised.

Genesis 34:16 Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people.

Genesis 34:17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will go away.”

Genesis 34:18 Their words seemed good to Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem.

Genesis 34:19 And the young man did not delay doing the thing, because he wanted Jacob’s daughter. Now he was the most privileged of all in his father’s house.

Genesis 34:20 So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and appealed to the men of their city, and this is what they said,

Genesis 34:21 “These men are at peace with us; let them live in the land and trade in it, because I noticed the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives and let us give them our daughters.

Genesis 34:22 The men will agree to live with us to become one people on this condition – that every male among us is circumcised like they are circumcised.

Genesis 34:23 Will not their livestock, their property and all their living things be ours? let us agree with them, and then they will live among us.”

Genesis 34:24 And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

Genesis 34:25 On the third day, when they were still sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males.

Genesis 34:26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and went away.

Genesis 34:27 Those sons of Jacob went to the place of the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister.

Genesis 34:28 They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field.

Genesis 34:29 All their property, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered.

Genesis 34:30 But Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have cut me off by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I will be exterminated,[1] both I and my household.”

Genesis 34:31 But they said, “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?”[2]

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[1]שׁמד = be exterminated.

[2] זָנָה = be a prostitute. Genesis 34:31; 38:15, 24.

Genesis 34 quotes:

“Now, we turn to the story of Dinah in Genesis 34, the narrative that has invited the most controversy in biblical scholarship over whether or not she is a rape victim. As our four-part definition will show, not only is Dinah indeed raped, her rape scene is situated in Genesis to offer criticism of Israel’s early relationships with her foreign neighbors.”

Schulte, Leah Rediger.  The Absence of God in Biblical Rape Narratives. Fortress Press, 2017. p. 101.

“Genesis 34 explicitly and emphatically rejects the possibility that the circumcision of the Canaanites would result in their becoming part of Jacob’s family.”

Thiessen, Matthew. Contesting Conversion : Genealogy, Circumcision, and Identity in Ancient Judaism and Christianity. Oxford University Press, 2011. p. 63.

“If only Jacob had remained a short time in Shechem, and then continued his journey to Bethel where God had first met with him and where he had taken his vow, then things would not have turned out in the tragic way they did. But, as so often happens in this life, it is only with hindsight that we see our mistakes, and that impresses upon us our need to be sensitive to the leading of God’s spirit in the decisions we make. What happened at Shechem suggests that Jacob must have stayed there for several years, for during that time his children were growing up, and Dinah — the only daughter — was now a young woman. The crime of rape with its fateful consequences is all too common in today’s society, and if only for that reason alone this story has certain lessons to teach us.”

Williams, Peter. From Eden to Egypt : Exploring the Genesis Themes. DayOne, 2001. p. 186.

consequences of avenging a rape
exterminate!
Jacob- tragedy at Shechem
life after a rape
LUSTFUL LOOKING – jeffersonvann

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Maranatha Daily Devotional – Thursday, January 21, 2021

GENESIS in Jeff’s library

Genesis 32

Genesis 32:1 Jacob started traveling on his way, and the agents of God met him.

Genesis 32:2 And when Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp!” So, he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

Genesis 32:3 And Jacob sent agents ahead of him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom,

Genesis 32:4 instructing them, “This is what you will say to my lord Esau: Thus says your slave Jacob, ‘I have lived with Laban as a guest and stayed until now.

Genesis 32:5 I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male slaves, and female slaves. I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may find favor in your sight.'”

Genesis 32:6 And the agents returned to Jacob, and this is what they said, “We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are also four hundred men with him.”

Genesis 32:7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and upset. He split the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps,

Genesis 32:8 thinking, “If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape.”

Genesis 32:9 And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Yahveh who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your relatives, that I may do you good,’

Genesis 32:10 I am least worthy of all the deeds of covenant faithfulness and all the firmness that you have shown to your slave, because with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.

Genesis 32:11 Please rescue me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, because I fear him, apart from that he may come and attack me, as well as the mothers with the children.

Genesis 32:12 But you promised, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.'”

Genesis 32:13 So he stayed there that night, and from what he had with him he took a gift for his brother Esau,

Genesis 32:14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,

Genesis 32:15 thirty milking camels and their calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.

Genesis 32:16 These he entrusted to his slaves, every drove separately, and said to his slaves, “Pass on ahead of me and put a space between one drove and the next drove.”

Genesis 32:17 He instructed the first, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, ‘To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose property are these ahead of you?’

Genesis 32:18 then you will say, ‘They belong to your slave Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau. And notice, he is behind us.'”

Genesis 32:19 He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, “You will say the same thing to Esau when you meet up with him,

Genesis 32:20 and you will say, “Notice, your slave Jacob is behind us.'” Because he thought, “I may appease him with the gift that goes ahead of me, and afterward I will see his face. Perhaps he will accept me.”

Genesis 32:21 So the gift passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp.

Genesis 32:22 The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two female slaves, and his eleven children, and crossed the pass of the Jabbok.

Genesis 32:23 He took them and sent them on across the stream, and everything else that he had.

Genesis 32:24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the dawn ascended.

Genesis 32:25 The man saw that he was not able to dissuade Jacob, he hit his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.

Genesis 32:26 Then he said, “Let me go, because the dawn has ascended.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

Genesis 32:27 And he asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.”

Genesis 32:28 Then he said, “Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, because you have persisted in your struggle with God and with men and have proved yourself able.”

Genesis 32:29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he asked, “Why is it that you ask for my name?” And there he blessed him.

Genesis 32:30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “Because I have seen God face to face, but my throat has survived.”

Genesis 32:31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, and he limped on his hip.

Genesis 32:32 Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the thigh muscle that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the thigh muscle.

Genesis 32 quotes:

“There was a time in Jacob’s life when, having stepped out in faith, he found that his faith was put to the test. God had called Jacob to go home—to face his brother, claim his inheritance and play his part in the great purposes of God. As we have seen, Jacob obeyed God and headed home. In chapter five we saw how, on arriving in Canaan, he had first taken steps which would lead to the reconciliation with his brother. What we find in Genesis 32:22-32 is that God tested Jacob in this step of faith, before the reconciliation itself took place.”

Griffiths, Paul. God and the Troubles of Life. Terra Nova Publications, 2000. p. 77.

“Jacob began and ended his plea by reminding God of His promise: “You said!” (Genesis 32:9, 12).”

Roper, David. Jacob, the Fools God Chooses. Discovery House, 2002. p. 78.

“The popular explanation of the name of Israel: “you have striven with God” (Genesis 32:28) also affirms the purpose of the story to express the vocation and experience, not just of Jacob, but of the people of God — its combat, and struggles and striving to know God. The entire history of the people of God is presented, almost prophetically, as a wrestling with God. There is something in the agonizing search of every soul to know God which unavoidably takes on the shape of Jacob’s struggle with this unknown person. The story is clearly illustrative of what every believer must experience in his relationship with God.”

McCaffrey, James. Thirsting for God in Scripture. Living Flame Press, 1984. p. 47.

Genesis 32 links:

ACST 17. The Holy One
Jacob- Peniel
surviving the struggle
wise caution

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Maranatha Daily Devotional – Friday, January 18, 2019
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Thursday, January 19, 2023
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Wednesday, January 20, 2021

GENESIS in Jeff’s library