The title of
this book is from the Greek Septuagint translation, meaning “origins.”
The Hebrew title is derived from the first phrase of the scroll: “In the Beginning.”
There is a substantial amount of evidence proving that Moses authored the first five books (DEU 27:3; 31:9; JOS 8:31-35), a point even substantiated by Jesus when He said that Moses was the one who wrote the Law—the first division of the three part division of the Old Testament (LUK 24:27,44; JOH 1:17; 5:46; 7:19).
Since some of the material in this book predates the time Moses recorded it by more than 2500 years, either God directly gave Moses all of the information, or Moses used material which had been passed down for centuries and approved by God. The latter seems the most likely due to the differences in style found in the material. According to Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, p. 671, there was "nothing like uniformity of style till we come to the history of Joseph." The vast majority of the book seems to have been quoted from various family records:
1. generations of Adam (5:1-6:8)
2. generations of Noah (6:9-9:28)
3. generations of the sons of Noah (10:1-11:9)
4. generations of Shem (11:10-26)
5. generations of Terah (11:27-25:11)
6. generations of Ishmael (25:12-18)
7. generations of Issac (25:19-35:29)
8. generations of Esau (36:1-43)
9. generations of Jacob (37:2-50:26)
The creation account of chapter 1 appears to have a poetic framework, giving evidence that at least some of the material was passed along through songs and poems. There is even a historical record called "the generations of the heavens and earth" in 2:4-4:26, which supplements the previous account.
Archaeology has proven that writing existed before the Flood, and the Bible provides examples of records that were kept at an early time. NUM 21:14 mentions the "book of the wars of the LORD,” and JOS 10:13 speaks of the “book of Jasher”.
History in the Bible is different from ordinary history. Instead of focusing on military, political, social and economic forces, the events recorded are emphasized in their relationship to God's Plan and God's Law. Genesis begins with a universal history, but rapidly narrows down to the one chosen people. One by one, all others are eliminated from the record, leaving only the family of Jacob at the end of the book. The two major parts of the book are:
1. Chapters 1-11 which give a general history of man: describing how he came to be, how he became cut off from God and his hopeless state apart from God.
2. Chapters 12-50 which give a specific history of one man, Abraham, and his descendants: showing that God would rescue man from his hopeless situation through a process of grace by showing favor to select ones.
1:1 In the beginning God [Hebrew: “Elohim” (plural)]created [Hebrew: “barah” = “to bring into being”]the heavens and the earth.
“In the beginning…”
Since God inhabits eternity (ISA 57:15), He has no beginning and no end. Therefore, this reference to the beginning must be to the start of the physical creation. After completing their planning and design, the God Family [God, who became the Father, and the Word, who became Jesus Christ] initiated physical laws, matter, and life, by converting spirit from their eternal existence into the physical, three dimensional universe. Paul proves this in several passages:
· HEB 11:3–the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
· 2CO 4:18–for the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
· ROM 1:20–for the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead. (KJV)
“Heavens”
"Heavens" refers to the areas we have termed atmosphere and space. The third heaven (2CO 12:2) is the spirit dimension where God has always existed, and therefore cannot be included with the other two heavens as being created at this time, since the third heaven has, like God, always been.
Duality of Scripture
The passage from chapter 1:2 through 2:3 holds a dual meaning. The first is at the surface level—the account of the restoration of life on earth. The second is cloaked within the symbolism contained within the actions God takes on each of the seven days. It is the overview of the plan of God and how man will ultimately be restored to God and enter into a family relationship in the family of God.
1:2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face [NIV: “surface”] of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Satan’s Rebellion & Re-Creation
The NIV margin states that the first "was" can also be translated “became,” and is rendered as such in 2:7 and 19:26. Since God is not the author of confusion (1CO 14:33), and since we are told that He "created it not in vain [tohu], He formed it to be inhabited" (ISA 45:18), we understand that the earth was not originally formless and empty [tohu va bohu], but became that way.
We find in ISA 14:12-17 and EZE 28:15-18 that a being called Heylel [later known as Satan] attempted to overthrow God but was thrown to the earth where he defiled the planet, destroying the life God had established upon it.
After this rebellion and its aftermath, God renewed the surface of the earth (PSA 104:30) so that life could once again thrive. This account focuses on this renewal process—showing how God undoes the damage created by Satan.
“The Deep”
"Darkness over the surface of the deep" not only describes the physical condition of the planet [flooded by water and enveloped by the thick cloud of dust, ash and smoke left from Satan's rage], but also details the condition of mankind after his overthrow by Satan in the Garden. "The deep" represents humanity (DAN 7:2,17; REV 17:15). In his state of severance from God, man is totally lacking the understanding of why he is (PSA 82:5; PRO 4:19) and is therefore in darkness and blind to God’s plan.
"The Spirit of God" refers to the power God is about to use for the restoration of life, as well as the power of God that is not yet in the "waters" of humanity.
1:3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.
God used His power to clear the cloud of debris preventing the light of the sun from reaching the surface of the planet. In like manner, God has reached down into humanity and commanded the light to shine out of darkness in the lives of a few, so that they can comprehend His truth (2CO 4:6; 1PE 2:9).
1:4 God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. (NIV)
Light was good for two reasons. Physical life without light is impossible. Man can only be restored to God through the Light of God. As ACT 26:18 shows, the darkness of this world is compared to the "power of Satan,” while the light represents the power of God, the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit of God which separates those upon whom the Light shines and those who are still in darkness.
1:5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. (NIV)
The First Day
This was not the first day of the physical creation—not the first time the earth made a revolution. It was the first day of the first week which God delineated to be the model of the timetable He would use for the reproduction of Himself.
The day is separated into two parts—evening and morning. The darkness comes first, then the light. This is the same sequence of conditions that occurs to man: he is first in darkness, then the light of God's truth dawns in his mind. Likewise, God separates those He calls from those He has yet to enlighten by designating His begotten as belonging to the day, and those still under the sway of Satan as belonging to the night. 1TH 5:5 (KJV): “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.”
1:6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." (NIV)
The implication is a thick fog was settled upon the waters, covering the earth so that it was difficult to distinguish where the one ended and the other began. God cleared the atmosphere of the planet by separating the fog from the seas. Just as God put a distinction between the two types of water by pulling them apart, so He puts a distinction between the people upon whom the light has shined and the people who are still in darkness.
1:7 So God made [Hebrew: “asah” = “to put in order”] the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. (NIV)
Proportionately, there is an enormous difference in the amount of water in the seas and in the clouds. Likewise, there is an enormous difference in the number of people God has called out of darkness and those He has not. Just as the waters of the clouds are above the other waters and of a different composition, the people God has begotten [those given His Spirit] are to be different in thoughts and in actions (2CO 6:14,17; EPH 5:8,11).
1:8 God called the expanse "sky" [KJV: “heaven” – first “heaven”] And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day. (NIV)
The second day, or stage, of God's plan has now been defined.
1:9 And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. (NIV)
At this point God caused the flood waters to recede so that the continents could be prepared for new life.
1:10-11 God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters He called "seas." And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. (NIV)
Once God gathered the waters together into one place, He created trees to produce fruit. The people of God, the children of light, are called to come out of the world and are gathered into one body [the Church] where they are expected to be producers of fruit (GAL 5:22-23), and are even compared to trees that produce fruit in season (PSA 1:1-3).
1:12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. (NIV)
Tree Rings
The study of dendrochronology [dating by tree rings] applied to dead bristlecone pines, has produced an unbroken record of tree rings dating back 8200 years. Does this mean some trees lived through the devil's rebellion and survived the destruction pictured in vs 2? We must note here that God created mature, fruit-bearing trees on the third day. Mature trees would have been created with growth rings.
1:13-14 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day. And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, (NIV)
Signs and Seasons
The KJV says "let them be for signs, and for seasons..." Use of the KJV rendering can refer to signs as the events such as the sun and moon standing still in the days of Joshua (JOS 10:12), the sun going backward in the days of Hezekiah (2KI 20:8), and the heavenly signs at the end of the age (MAT 24:29).
The duality of the scriptures also leads to the conclusion that the holydays, instituted by God and based on a measurement of time, are signs that show how His plan would develop.
1:15-16 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. God made [Hebrew: “asah”] two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. (NIV)
God simply appointed the order of the lights. Night would not be a time of total darkness, but would be illuminated by the moon, reflecting the light of the sun.
1:17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, (NIV)
Christ, the sun of righteousness (MAL 4:2), will govern the earth at His return. In the meantime, He governs His Church, which reflects His light (MAT 5:14-16) [just as the moon reflects the light of the sun] in the darkness of this world (EPH 6:12).
Just as the stars were appointed to help govern the night, angels have been sent to assist those with whom God is now working (HEB 1:14).
1:18-20 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day. And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." (NIV)
Until this time, life could not be found in the seas or the air. In the same manner, the world today is devoid of real life; that is, life without death. The devil, who is now allowed to reign as the prince of the power of the air (EPH 2:2), envelops this world in darkness and death. Therefore, as long as man is in the darkness of this world, he is separated from real life (EPH 4:17-18).
1:21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. (NIV)
When Satan is removed from his position on earth, life will spring forth to all (ISA 32:10,15; 11:9).
1:22-27 God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day. And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. Then God [Hebrew: “Elohim” (plural)] said, "Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created [Hebrew: “barah”]man [Hebrew: “adam” = “human beings”
(REB)]in His own image [“outward shape and form”], in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (NIV)
Created in His Image
Although having the same likeness, or features which God has, physical man was only created a temporary being, yet has the capacity to become permanent like God.
1:28-29 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. (NIV)
Meatless
God does not mention that man could eat animal flesh at this point. However, when He created the animals, He distinguished a certain group as cattle or livestock (vs 24), showing that certain animals might be added to the plants at a later time. These animals were added after the first sin was committed because animal blood was required for sin offerings. At the time God added animal flesh to man’s diet, it became necessary to show that not all animals had been created with flesh that man could safely eat. Therefore, He revealed which were appropriate [1TI 4:3—“meats which God has created to be received”] and had that understanding recorded later in LEV 11 and DEU 14.
1:30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so. (NIV)
Harmony
This was the condition at recreation: all of the animals were herbivorous, living in harmony. During the Flood of Noah, animals were herbivorous, living on the ark as they will in the Kingdom. God states that after Christ returns all animals will once again be herbivorous (ISA 11:7). However, fossil evidence shows that prior to recreation, during the time of Satan’s rule, there were carnivores. Therefore, since the nature of man was under Satan's influence after being evicted from Eden, it seems logical that the nature of the animals would be influenced as well, being carniverous during the period of time from Adam to Noah.
1:31 God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. (NIV)
2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth and everything in them were completed. (REB)
Spiritual Revelation
All of the physical creating was now accomplished, but one more thing needed to be created in order for God's plan to be clearly revealed.
2:2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. (KJV)
God never tires (ISA 40:28), so it was by resting that He put His presence into the seventh day of the week.
2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and [REB “made it holy”] because that in it He had rested [Hebrew: “shawbath” = “to put away”] from all His work which God created and made. (KJV)
Sabbath Fulfillment
The word "Sabbath" is translated from the Hebrew “shawbawth,” meaning “an intermission,” while the Greek “sabbaton” means “complete cessation.”
There is to be complete cessation of physical labor and mental toiling regarding physical needs on the seventh day. This day requires thoughts to focus on God and reflect on His accomplishments.
The Sabbath pictures the time when God's plan for man is completed. A time when the need for the physical dimension ceases and all physical things revert to the spirit, which is pictured by the time of the New Heaven and New Earth (REV 21:1; HEB 1:10-12).
2:4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. (NIV)
Supplemental Account of the Creation of Man
The KJV begins this verse: “These are the generations of the heavens...” Much of the material from here through 4:26, contains a secondary account used by Moses to fill in details that were not addressed in the main account of the Creation of man.
2:5 When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up (NIV)
This verse contains the first use of "LORD God" [YHWH Elohim]. Until this point, the reference was simply to "God" [Elohim], showing that Moses probably relied on a different document at this time.
The time setting of this passage is prior to the third day because plant life was not yet visible. This is additional material not found in 1:6-10.
2:6 For the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.
Weather Patterns
Until this point in recreating life, God had not reset the weather patterns established prior to Satan's rebellion. The “mist that went up” could refer to the "water above" the expanse, or the formation of clouds on the second day. On day three, the weather patterns were now established and the rain arrived, which was needed for the continued development of plant life.
2:7 And the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being [ Hebrew: “nephesh” = KJV: “soul”; REB: “creature”]. (NIV)
“A Living Being”
God emphasizes that man is made in His image (1:26-27). The Bible goes on to stress that even though the image is that of God, man is still mortal. The breath of life is necessary for physical life, as brought out in 7:21-22, and man cannot live without it (ISA 2:22). The Hebrew word “nephesh” refers only to a physical body. In fact it is translated “dead body” in NUM 19:11.
2:8
The LORD God planted a garden eastward in
Garden of Eden
The Hebrew “eden” means "delight.” God’s desire for man's environment was that of a place of great beauty—a place where man could be positively influenced.
Studies have shown that the most likely location of the Garden of Eden was just
north of the
2:9 And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (NIV)
The Two Trees
All of the trees were well shaped and adorned with edible fruits and nuts. While the trees were good for food, we must understand that the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was edible—it was not physically poisonous. The fruit was not evil, it was the taking the fruit against God's orders that was evil.
The placement of the two trees suggests that they were the focal point of the garden. In the same way, they were the focal point of humanity. Each represented a way of life. The way revealed by the Tree of Life represented the way of Jesus Christ (JOH 1:4). On the contrary, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil represented the way of trial and error, exemplified by the statement, "There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (PRO 14:12).
2:10 Now a river went out of
This river was symbolic of the river that will flow from the temple of God during the Millennial reign of Christ (EZE 47), and from the throne of God through and out of New Jerusalem during the period of the New Heaven and New Earth (REV 22:1-2; ZEC 14:8).
The riverheads were actually streams—not major rivers. The names of the four streams were taken by Adam's children and were then given to the four major rivers of the areas where civilization was concentrated in early history. Moses goes on at this point with the names of the streams and pointing out the great rivers that were anciently known by the same names.
2:11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the
entire
The Pishon was the name given to the
2:12-13
(The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) The
name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire
The Gihon refers to the Nile in the west, located in the
2:14 The name of the third river is the
The Tigris and
2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (NIV)
Mankind’s Responsibility
God employed the man to keep the garden in its beautiful state, showing that a life of ease and lack of responsibility is not God's way—man must be productive.
2:16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." (NIV)
“You Will Surely Die”
God decreed that at the time man disobeyed and sinned, he would make physical death necessary (HEB 9:27).
2:18 Then the LORD God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone; I shall make a partner suited to him.' (REB)
Creation of Woman
This account parallels 1:26-27 when God “created them male and female.” The NIV says "helper suitable for," and TAN states "fitting helper for."
2:19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. (NIV)
Adam would certainly not have enough time in the day to name all of the many species and sub-species in existence—probably naming only the major kinds of animals. The point of this exercise was for the man to understand he lacked a female counterpart—something the animals had—and comprehend that he was not complete in his present state.
2:20-23 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper [REB: “partner”] was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, He took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib He had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man. The man [Hebrew: “ish”] said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman [Hebrew: “ishshah” = “female man”], ' for she was taken out of man." (NIV)
God could have created the woman from dust just like the man, but He chose to make her out of a part of the man that was close to his heart. She would be his partner, and stand by his side.
2:24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. (NIV)
The REB states: "and the two become one," which is ultimately what occurs between the second Adam (1CO 15:47) and His wife (JOH 17:21).
2:25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. (NIV)
State
of
At this point, Adam and Eve were in harmony with God. Their consciences were clean and they had encountered no disruptions to the peace they enjoyed with God and each other. The stage is now set for the next chapter which deals with the foundation of the present world.
3:1 The serpent, which was the most cunning of all the creatures the LORD God had made, asked the woman, "Is it true that God has forbidden you to eat from any tree in the garden?" (REB)
Serpent
The term "serpent" comes from a Hebrew root word meaning “to hiss”: applicable to almost any reptile—snakes, lizards and dragons. God made not only the physical creatures of the physical creation, but creatures of spirit before the physical universe was made—the serpent being just one of many. The serpent referred to here is the devil. From its creation, this being was, now is and continues to be a dragon. JOB 41 describes this "serpent" as a smoking-nostrilled, fire-breathing, heavily-scaled, long-necked dragon with clawed feet and a long, whip-like tail. This was the being in the garden—not the tree snake portrayed in Christian artwork.
Confrontation
The devil approached the woman instead of the man. The reason, according to 1PE 3:7 was that the woman was created as the weaker vessel. She was designed by God to be more sympathetic and emotional than the man. The serpent could more easily sway her emotionally than it could the man.
The devil immediately plants the thought that God is holding something back from the man and woman.
3:2-3 She replied, "We may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, except for the tree in the middle of the garden. God has forbidden us to eat the fruit of that tree or even to touch it; if we do, we shall die." (REB)
3:4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. (NIV)
In answer to her statement, the devil partially quotes God by using the term "surely die," just as God did while speaking to Adam in 2:17. This is the first contradiction to the teaching God had given them.
3:5 "for God knows that, as soon as you eat it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God himself, knowing both good and evil." (REB)
God's intent was for man to eventually become like Himself. However, the change had to occur after man had proven that he was willing to be like God in thought and action—not just in knowledge. Demonstrating godly character and behavior is unimportant to Satan, who places knowledge above all else. He uses his incredible knowledge to try and mask God’s truth from the world. Satan was attempting to convince the woman that whatever she needed to know was attainable without God.
3:6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom [REB: “for the knowledge it could give”], she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (NIV)
1JO 2:15-16 states: "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." The woman gave in to the devil, manifesting the state of mind of the world.
According to Paul in 1TI 2:14, Adam was not deceived by the devil, but Eve was. The wording of vs 6 seems to indicate Adam was present when she ate the fruit.
*** TIME OF THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD ***
This event was literally the founding of the present condition of the world, shutting off the privilege of access to the Holy Spirit and beginning Satan's rule over man. Man's decision made it necessary for Christ to shed His blood (REV 13:8), paying the penalty for man's disobedience (GEN 2:17). As Jesus stated in LUK 11:50-51, "that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel."
3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (NIV)
God created Adam and made Eve each with a neutral mind, receptive to God’s instructions. God had not allowed the devil access to the man and woman until the one-on-one confrontation between the devil and the woman. Even then, the devil was only allowed access through intellect, not through spiritual influence. Once Satan had achieved deception through intellectual arguments, God allowed him to resume the position of prince of this world. He then began his spiritual influence over the physical creation. His thoughts began permeating the minds of humanity.
Result of Disobedience
There was also knowledge that came with their disobedience; guilt filled the minds of Adam and Eve. This was a new experience, unlike anything they had previously encountered. Not being able to hide the terrible sensation, they tried to hide their bodies. Paul sums up this incident in TIT 1:15 (NIV), "To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted."
3:8 They heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the garden at the breezy time of day; and the man and his wife hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. (TAN)
Man hid from God; God did not hide from man.
3:9-10 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?" He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." (NIV)
Adam hid because he knew he had disobeyed. Shame and guilt filled his mind.
3:11-12 And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?" The man said, "The woman You put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." (NIV)
Assigning Blame
Adam would not confess his guilt, passing the blame to his wife while implying that the ultimate fault was with God since He was responsible for her existence.
3:13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." (NIV)
Eve, in turn, passes the blame to the devil. Neither Eve nor Adam admitted fault. They did not display repentance for their disobedience.
3:14 So the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go [TAN: “on your belly shall you crawl], and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.
Curse upon the Devil
The curse was not a loss of legs, but rather a loss of his previous position. He had ruled above every creature on the earth until now. He would lose this position and ultimately be degraded to the lowest of positions. Paul states to the Church in ROM 16:20 that "God will shortly bruise Satan under your feet." The devil will be forced to eat dirt by virtue of man [when elevated to the God plane] walking over him. The extent of the curse was greater than any suffered by any of the physical creatures made by God. The reason was due to the very limited lifespan of the physical creatures, but the thousands of years which the devil would live with the knowledge of his ultimate demise, followed by its fulfillment at the time of the resurrection.
3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel [Judas’ betrayal: JOH 13:27; PSA 41:9]." (NIV)
Enmity
God states that He would cause a level of distaste to develop between the two. The woman would come to detest the devil for what it cost humanity.
“Your Offspring”
The offspring of the devil are all who follow the devil's directions:
§ Jesus called the Pharisees who rejected Him a "brood of vipers" (MAT 3:7; 23:33) and the "children of the wicked one" (MAT 13:38).
§ Paul called Elymas the sorcerer the "child of the devil" (ACT 13:10).
§ John says that all who sin are "the children of the devil" (1JO 3:8-10).
§ Jesus claimed the Jews who wanted to kill him had the devil for their father (JOH 8:40-44).
“Her Seed”
The KJV says "her seed"—implying a virgin birth. The offspring is singular and translated "he" in the NIV. This offspring was to be the Christ, who destroyed the works of the devil through His death (HEB 2:14). Jesus showed by His life and through His death that He retained power over the devil, crushing his head—destroying his position of rulership.
This is the first recorded prophecy of a coming Messiah—one who was able to undo the damage created by the devil.
3:16 Unto the woman He said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Curse upon the Woman
The reason for the increase in sorrow was because humanity was condemned to be cut off from God and placed under the authority of the devil—reaping the resulting grief.
Corruption of Marriage
The REB states "You will desire your husband, but he will be your master." The initial marital arrangement became corrupted, just as did the marriage arrangements of all their descendants. By making the decision to self-discover good and evil, man forfeited God’s guidance in the marital contract. The physically-stronger male began to degrade the woman, and the marital relationship became that of a master and slave, rather than one of equal partners. God is forewarning them about the consequences of their decision to disobey.
3:17 To Adam He said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,…' (NIV)
Persuading Adam
Adam knew better. Yet, he allowed himself to be persuaded by his wife to eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Some have interpreted this verse to mean that a man should never take the advice of a woman. Yet, there are other examples in the Bible to show the value of a woman’s advice (1SA 25; The Book of Esther). What this verse does show us is, at this time, Adam should have refused her persuasion.
3:17 (cont.) "…Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. (NIV)
Curse upon the Man
Until this time, man had been given a garden where all of his food needs could be met without much physical labor. All he was required to do was keep the vegetation under control. This level of prosperity would have allowed man more time to pursue deepening his relationship with God. Now, however, the earth would be firmly under the devil's control again, and the result would be what follows.
3:18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,… (NIV)
God's way would have yielded the knowledge of how to keep the environment unpolluted and productive. Man would now need to experiment on his own, and with the influence of the devil in his mind, would eventually pollute the environment and destroy the soil until it would yield vegetation greatly lacking in wholesome nutrition.
3:18 (cont.)-19 …and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." (NIV)
God had ordained that disobedience would result in death. Now He indicates that the the lifespan of man would be limited.
3:20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. (NIV)
Naming Eve
Adam had already called her "woman" (2:23) indicating her origin "out of man." Now he gives her a proper name, signifying her unique position.
3:21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed [Hebrew: “labash” = “to put on apparel”] them. (NIV)
Bloodshed
Now that sin had been committed, it was necessary for blood to be shed. From this point on, man was allowed to eat the flesh of certain animals as well as the vegetation God had earlier appointed as food (1:29).
Clothing
Clothing was not given to them because their bodies were sinful and needed to be hidden. Instead, without God’s protection in the garden, they would now require clothing to protect their bodies from the elements, and as children were born, to maintain proper bodily privacy. God was not hiding their bodies; the Hebrew word for hiding or concealing is "kasah" (9:23), which is not used here.
3:22 And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." (NIV)
Requirement of Grace
This does not mean that if man had quickly eaten the fruit of the Tree of Life after disobeying God, that he would live forever in the flesh, or as a spirit. Once the choice was made for all mankind, God's plan required access to Him and His spirit to be limited to those that He would specifically choose. To allow man access to the Tree of Life would go against the principle defined by Paul in ROM 9:15-16, "...I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy...It does not therefore depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy." God's plan now required mercy and grace in order to comprehend His plan and learn how to receive the spirit necessary for entry into His family.
3:23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. (NIV)
Cut off from God
God had to close off mankind’s access to His spirit, symbolized by the Tree of Life.
3:24 After He drove the man out, He placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. (NIV)
Cherubim
These guardians are most likely responsible for the ever-present guardians of treasures found in mythology worldwide.
4:1 Now Adam knew [Hebrew: “yada” = “knew in a sexual sense”]Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I have gotten a man from the LORD."
Prophesied Messiah
Eve's statement could also be translated "I have gotten a man, the LORD". She assumed that her firstborn son was the prophesied offspring who would undo what the devil had done (3:15). This false conclusion would drastically affect the way Cain was reared, as the following events show.
4:2 Then she bore again [Hebrew: “she added in bearing”], this time his brother Abel…
Cain & Abel
Adam Clarke states that the use of the Hebrew, “she added in bearing,” means that the boys were twins, which may have been the case.
4:2 (cont.) …Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Tiller of the Ground
While neither vocation was better than the other, Cain [whose name means “get”] is assumed to have used farming methods that destroyed the soil, helping to bring on the curse pronounced in 3:17.
4:3 And in the process of time [Hebrew: “at the end of days” – possibly implying the Sabbath] it came to pass that Cain brought an offering [Hebrew: “minchah”]of the fruit of the ground to the LORD.
Cain’s Offering
Cain's offering was that of a meal or grain offering (LEV 2:1), meaning this was a thank offering.
4:4 Abel also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected [NIV: “looked with favor on”] Abel and his offering,
Abel’s Offering
The “also” indicates that Abel brought a thank offering, but also a lamb for a sin offering. This showed that Abel was thankful to God for what he had, as well as for what he would have through the Lamb of God, which his lamb only typified. It was both an acknowledgement of his sin and an affirmation of the faith that God had granted to him [HEB 11:4–“by faith Abel offered...”]. As a result of his attitude and obedience to God, Abel came under God’s grace.
4:5 but on Cain and his offering He did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. (NIV)
Cain’s Problem
Cain refused to bring a sin offering, he did not understand that he needed God’s forgiveness which is only possible through the shedding of blood (HEB 9:22). His mother’s misconception (vs 1) negatively affected his upbringing, causing him to think that he was the Messiah.
Since Cain was unwilling to yield himself to God, grace was not offered to him. The REB better defines the result: “Cain was furious and he glowered!”
4:6 The LORD said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? Why are you scowling? (REB)
God’s Presence
We are not told how long God continued to have direct contact with Adam’s family. Since both Cain and Abel brought Him offerings, it is clear He was acting as the priest to the Most High God, just as He later did with Abraham as Melchizedek (14:18). This conversation He had with Cain must have occurred at the same time Adam’s sons brought their offerings.
4:7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." (NIV)
Treatment by God
God is not a respecter of persons (ROM 2:11), everyone is treated the same. If Cain would follow God's instruction, as Abel did, Cain would be treated just like his brother. If he yielded to the influence of the devil however, his actions would be counted as sin. He had to choose his master, and sin should not be the master of those under grace (ROM 6:14-16).
We are shown early in humanity’s history that we have personal obligation and responsibility in resisting the influence of the devil.
4:8 Cain said to his brother Abel... (TAN)
Missing Quotes
What Cain said is missing from the Masoretic Text. However, the LXX, Samaritan Pentateuch, Vulgate and Syriac all have something similar to "Let's go out to the field." The Jerusalem Targum and Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel contain a lengthy conversation between the two brothers. They say Cain stated that God was playing favorites, to which Abel countered that God was merciful to the obedient. Cain’s response was to murder Abel by striking him across his forehead with a stone.
4:8 (cont.) …and when they were in the field, Cain set upon his brother Abel and killed him. (TAN)
Abel’s Murder
According to 1JO 3:12, Cain murdered Abel because Cain's works were evil and Abel's were righteous.
4:9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?" (NIV)
Cain’s Character
God tested Cain to see if he would tell the truth. Instead of confessing the truth however, Cain showed his true character by asking whether he had responsibility toward his brother. His concern was only for himself; he was filled with self-pity.
4:10 The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground. (NIV)
Cain’s Sin
The implication was that Cain buried Abel’s body to hide the murder. God uses the metaphor of blood speaking to show Cain that he could not conceal sin from God.
4:11-12 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth." (NIV)
Nomadic Cain
Cain would always be looking over his shoulder for an avenger of Abel's blood. Although he might plant crops, he oftentimes would need to flee the area before harvest time.
4:13-14 Cain said to the LORD, 'My punishment is too great to bear! [Hebrew: “Is my crime too great to be forgiven?”] Since You have banished me this day from the soil, and I must avoid Your presence [REB: “I must hide myself from Your presence”] and become a restless wanderer on earth—anyone who meets me may kill me!' (TAN)
Origin of Mythological “gods”
The REB “hide" is from the Hebrew “sathur,” from which we derive the name “Saturn,” the "hidden god" of mythology. “Saturn” or “Cronus” [the god of seed-sowing] was said to have come from the first male and female.
4:15 But the LORD said to him, "Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over."… (NIV)
God did not forbid Cain to be put to death, but the high cost for doing so would discourage most from attempting it.
4:15 (cont.) …Then the LORD put a mark [Hebrew: “owth” = “sign,” “token,” “mark”]on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. (NIV)
Cain’s Mark
The mark placed on Cain could have been some type of token worn on his person so that others would know he was to be avoided.
Prolific Man
We must not assume that there were only four people alive on the earth at this time. Since Seth was born 130 years after creation [the implication being that he was born shortly after Abel’s death], it is logical that both Cain and Abel, as well as Adam had many other offspring, who also had many offspring by this time. Depending upon when the child-bearing age was reached, by the 128th year from creation there would have been a minimum of 1200 human beings. Keeping this in mind, Abel could have had dozens or hundreds of descendants who had the capacity to avenge his death.
4:16-17
So Cain went out from the LORD's presence and lived in the
Cain’s City
This does not say Enoch was Cain's firstborn, but that he was born at the time Cain was building the first city. Josephus wrote, "And when Cain had travelled over many countries, he, with his wife, built a city...he only aimed to procure everything that was for his own bodily pleasure, though it obliged him to be injurious to his neighbours. He augmented his household substance with much wealth, by rapine and violence; he excited his acquaintance to procure pleasures and spoils by robbery, and became a great leader of men into wicked courses. He also introduced a change in that way of simplicity wherein men lived before; and was the author of measures and weights...he changed the world into cunning craftiness. He first of all set boundaries about lands; he built a city, and fortified it with walls..."(Antiquities, I.II.2).
Antediluvian Genealogy: Cain
Moses now moves on to outline the most important of Cain's descendants—those who had great influence on pre-Flood society.
4:18-21 To Enoch was born Irad [“fugitive”], and Irad was the father of Mehujael [“smitten of God”
– possibly attempted to re-enter
4:22 As for Zillah, she bore Tubal-cain, who forged all implements of copper and iron… (TAN)
Tubal-Cain
Tubal-cain’s primary production was weapons, not plows. Josephus says he "exceeded all men in strength, and was very expert and famous in martial (military) performances. He procured what tended to the pleasures of the body by that method..." (I.II.2) Here was the man from which the mythical Roman god Vulcan and Greek god Hephaestus were derived. [For more information about Tubal-cain, refer to Diodorus of Sicily who gives an account of Tubal-cain’s great military campaign which he launched over all the inhabited world.]
Mythological Parallels
In Greek mythology, Zeus was the father of Hephaestus and Athena; in Roman mythology, Jupiter was the father of Vulcan and Minerva. The correlation to true personalities is that of Lamech [Zeus/Jupiter] being the father of Tubalcain [Hephaestus/Vulcan] and Naamah [Athena/Minerva]. Tubalcain's wife became the model of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, the Roman goddess Venus.
4:22 (cont.) …And the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah [“beauty”]. (TAN)
Naamah
Jewish tradition holds that Naamah was famous as a weaver of cloth and was probably the wife of Ham [Plutarch records that Ham’s wife was Namaus], although some traditions hold that she was the wife of Noah.
4:23 Lamech said to his wives, "Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me,… (NIV)
Threat of Cain
“A man for wounding me” represented Cain. Lamech saw Cain as the major threat to his attempt to become world dictator. In Greek mythology, Zeus [Lamech] crushed Cronus [Cain].
4:23 (cont.) …a young man for injuring me. (NIV)
Threat of Tubal-cain
“A young man for injuring me” represented Tubal-cain because he became so powerful he challenged his father Lamech for world leadership.
4:24 If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times." (NIV)
Lamech’s Boasting
According to Josephus, Lamech "was so skillful in matters of divine revelation, that he knew he was to be punished for Cain's murder of his brother..." (I.II.2) Jewish tradition states that Lamech, heavily influenced by demonic spirits, felt he was prophesied to slay his great, great, great grandfather Cain. The arrogance of Lamech is personified with the “curse” he pronounced on anyone who sought to take his life. This action was an affront to God, but then Lamech considered himself at least an equal to God, and much more important than Cain. He felt his greatness deserved to be avenged more harshly.
Duality of Scripture
This verse can also have a dual meaning; the one wounding and injuring could have been the same individual. During this period of world history, Enoch (JUD 14-15) was preaching against the perversion of God's way, which would have caused Lamech problems. As a result, Lamech murdered Enoch, cutting short his life (5:23).
4:25 Adam lay with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, "God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him." (NIV)
Seth
This verse picks up chronologically after vs 15. Seth apparently was more similar to Abel than to Cain because the name Seth means "Appointed" or "Compensation."
4:26 Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh [“mortal man”]. At that time men began to call on the name of the LORD. (NIV)
Call on the Name of the Lord
Several possible meanings can be attached to the latter part of this verse:
1. After the death of Abel and until some of Seth's children were grown, all men were going the way of Cain and refused to acknowledge God.
2. To “call on” can mean “to write” or “publish about,” implying this was the time written records were begun.
3. Because Seth named his son "mortal man," it would seem Cain's descendants were calling themselves gods. The Hebrew can be translated “call themselves gods.” As we have seen, this is the time that gave birth to the gods and goddesses of the ancient world.
Chapter 5
5:1 This
is the book of the genealogy of Adam [REB: “This is the list of Adam’s
descendents”]. In the day that God created man, He made him in
the likeness of God.
This record restates that God
made man as a physical representation of Himself.
5:2 He created them male and
female and blessed them. And when they were created, He called them
"man." [KJV: “called their name Adam” = “of the ground”] (NIV)
This is a brief synopsis of
1:26-28.
5:3 When
Adam had lived 130 years [3854 B.C.], he had a son in his own
likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. (NIV)
The same term is used here about
Adam reproducing himself as in verse 1 where God
created man. These two verses, when combined, show that God's intent is to
reproduce Himself.
Antediluvian Genealogy
According to 4:25, Seth was the
"appointed” replacement or "compensation" for Abel in the mind
of Eve. His name literally means “appointed”.
5:4 After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. (NIV)
Adam lived 800 more years after
Seth was born, and had more children with Eve than just the three sons
mentioned by name. All of these children were born after Cain and Abel, and
some before Seth.
5:5 Altogether, Adam lived 930
years, and then he died. (NIV)
God told Adam and Eve that in the
day they sinned they would die. Moses comprehended that God was
speaking of a day of 1000 years (PSA 90:4). God has never allowed any man
to reach that age. To gain a perspective of the influence Adam had prior
to the Flood, we should realize that Methuselah was 243 years old when Adam
died in 3054 B.C., and Noah would be born 125 years after Adam's death.
5:6-8 When Seth had lived 105
years, he became the father of Enosh. And after he became the father of Enosh,
Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Seth lived
912 years, and then he died. (NIV)
The only descendant of Seth
mentioned is Enosh [meaning “mortal”], because it was through his line that
Noah descended. Noah was 13 years old when Seth died in 2942 B.C., and
one-sixth of human history had elapsed by the time of his death.
5:9-11 When
Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan [meaning
“sorrow”]. And after he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had
other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enosh lived 905 years, and then he died. (NIV)
Noah was 85 years old when Enosh
died.
5:12-14 When Kenan had lived 70
years, he became the father of Mahalalel [“blessed of
God”]. And after he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and
had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Kenan lived 910 years, and then he
died. (NIV)
Noah was 180 when Kenan died in 2749
B.C.
5:15-17 When Mahalalel had lived
65 years, he became the father of Jared [“descend”]. And
after he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other
sons and daughters. Altogether, Mahalalel lived 895 years, and then he died. (NIV)
Noah was 235 when Mahalalel died
in 2694 B.C.
5:18-20 When
Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch [“teaching”]. And
after he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons
and daughters. Altogether, Jared lived 962 years, and then he died.
Noah was 367 when Jared died in
2562 B.C.
5:21-23 When Enoch had lived 65
years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of
Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters.
Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years.
Short Life
Enoch was put to death 68 years
before the birth of Noah, when his son Methuselah was 300. The record
shows that Enoch’s lifespan was cut short. His death came in 2997 B.C.
5:24 Enoch walked with God; then
he was no more, because God took him away. (NIV)
Enoch was living by faith, a
witness against the sins of the world in his time. "Enoch, the seventh
from Adam, prophesied about these men: 'See, the Lord is coming with thousands
upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the
ungodly of the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the
harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." (JUD 14-15,
NIV).
Enoch directed much of his
message, as a preacher of righteousness, against the activity of Lamech, the
father of Tubal-cain. As we saw earlier in 4:23, Lamech's gloating may have
been in reference to Enoch’s early death. HEB 11:5, 13–-“By faith, Enoch was
translated [removed] that he should not see death [2nd death: JOH
8:51 – “he that keeps My sayings shall never see death”]; and was not found,
because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this
testimony, that he pleased God...These all were still living by faith when
they died, not having received the promises…." (NIV)
God later took Moses and buried
him (DEU 34:6), therefore, “translated” or “removed” may be a reference to a
removal of Enoch's body so that it would not be mutilated, or a possible
reference to God moving him to another location before Enoch died, as He would
later do with Elijah in the days of Jehoram (2KI 2:11; 2CO 21:12).
5:25-27 When Methuselah had lived
187 years, he became the father of Lamech. And after he became the father of
Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters.
Altogether, Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died. (NIV)
Methuselah’s Death & The
Flood
Methuselah was the 8th generation
from Adam through Seth. According to Josephus, "this
posterity of Seth continued to esteem God as the Lord of the universe, and to
have an entire regard to virtue, for seven generations; but in process
of time they were perverted, and forsook the practices of their forefathers,
and did neither pay those honours to God which were appointed them, nor had
they any concern to do justice towards men. But for what degree of zeal they
had formerly shewn for virtue, they now shewed by their actions a double
degree of wickedness, whereby they made God to be their
enemy..." (Antiquities, I.III.1).
This means that Methuselah went bad, probably after the death of Enoch, when Methuselah was
300 years old. His was the longest recorded life, but it ended in the year of
the Flood, possibly in the Flood! The name “Methuselah” means “his
death will bring,” which indicates that God had revealed to Enoch He would
destroy that world upon the death of his son.
5:28 When Lamech [“lamenting” or
“despairing”] had lived 182 years, he had a son. (NIV)
Lamech’s Namesake
It is interesting that Lamech was
named the same as Cain's descendant; it would almost seem that the evil Lamech
was idolized by Methuselah. Lamech was 113 years old when his grandfather,
Enoch, was killed.
5:29-31 He named him Noah [“rest,”
“comfort,” or “consolation”] and said, "He will comfort
us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has
cursed." After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons
and daughters. Altogether, Lamech lived 777 years, and then he died. (NIV)
Lamech died 4 years before the
Flood in 2333 B.C.
5:32 After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth. (NIV)
Birth Order of Noah’s Sons
This verse simply states that
Noah did not father these three sons until he reached the age of 500; and it
does not say he fathered them all at the same time. It seems that Japheth was
born when Noah was 500, since he is called “Japheth the elder” in 10:21. The
Flood came when Noah was 600; Shem was 100 when he fathered Arphaxad two years
after the Flood, which means he was 3 years younger than Japheth. The Bible
does not indicate whether Ham was born before or after Shem, unless the names
are given in an ascending order.
Names Announce How Man’s Salvation Is Made Possible
God revealed through the creation
of the first week the steps He would take in reproducing Himself. He
prophesied of a coming Messiah in 3:15, and emphasized the need for the
shedding of blood to gain forgiveness of sin in 4:4.
Names
Meaning of the Names
|
Adam |
Man |
|
Seth |
Appointed |
|
Enosh |
Mortal |
|
Kenan (Cainan) |
Sorrow |
|
Mahalaleel |
Blessed of God |
|
Jared |
Descend |
|
Enoch |
Teaching |
|
Methuselah |
His Death Will Bring |
|
Lamech |
Despairing |
|
Noah |
Rest |
In this chapter God uses the names contained within
the genealogy to show the connection between the Messiah, the shedding of blood
and salvation. The meanings of the names are taken from the root Hebrew
words of which they are composed. In order the meanings of the names say:
Man [is] Appointed Mortal Sorrow (death). [The] Blessed
of God [shall] Descend Teaching [that] His
death will bring [the] Despairing Rest (salvation).
6:1-2 The human race began to increase and to spread over the earth and daughters were born to them. The sons of the gods [descendants of Cain who called themselves gods, 4:26] saw how beautiful these daughters [the descendents of Seth]were, so they took for themselves such women as they chose. (REB)
Corruption of Seth’s Line
During the time of Methuselah, the line of Seth became corrupted and no longer followed God. These two verses explain how that corruption started—through intermarriage with the wicked line of Cain.
6:3 Consequently the EVER-LIVING said, "My spirit shall not call to man forever, for he is sinful flesh; but they shall have a hundred and twenty years." (FEN)
For seven generations, God had designated preachers of righteousness through the line of Seth. Now, with the corruption of that line, God showed that He would not allow civilization to continue in that condition. Humanity is now given 120 years before its destruction.
6:4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. (NIV)
Nephilim
The KJV translates the Hebrew “Nephilim” as “giants.” The Hebrew is literally translated "one who fells," this would be a being of great power, not necessarily one of giant stature [which would be the Hebrew: “Rephaim”]. These were the prominent men of Cain's line whose power and renown led to them becoming the "gods" of mythology—Lamech, Tubalcain, etc.
6:5 The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. (NIV)
6:6 And the EVER-LIVING sighed for the doings of man upon earth, and it grieved His heart. (FEN)
6:7 So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them." (NIV)
Consequences of Wickedness
Josephus writes, "...Adam's prediction that the world was to be destroyed at one time by the force of fire, and at another time by the violence and quantity of water..." (Antiquities, I.II.3). God perpetually warned humanity about the result of their sin. God's intention was to destroy the sinful world and start over with a pre-tested seed, which meant He would need to choose one and work with it before terminating that wicked civilization.
6:8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (NIV)
Finding Favor
The KJV uses “grace,” the New Testament term for undeserved kindness. Noah was either attempting to follow God to the best of his ability or God called him out of the wickedness of that time.
6:9 This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. (NIV)
Noah reached this state of being without blame after God called him and extended His grace. To be righteous and blameless, one must be forgiven of sin—under the blood of Christ–-and live God's way by the help of His spirit.
6:10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. (NIV)
Noah’s Sons
These are the sons Noah fathered after he was 500 years old (5:32). It is highly unlikely that these were Noah’s only children. It is reasonable to believe that Noah’s earlier children were so deeply rooted in the wickedness of the world that God gave him these three sons. Noah was able to instruct them in God’s way, and demonstrated enough influence in their lives that they would live in harmony aboard the ark.
6:11-12 Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence [TAN: “filled with lawlessness”; FEN: “crime”]. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. (NIV)
Corrupted His Way
The KJV states "corrupted his way." This can be interpreted that man had corrupted the natural way of man by perversions, or could also imply the corruption of God's way.
6:13 So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. (NIV)
The Capacity of Noah
Noah had been a man of wealth and power before God called him, Josephus even mentions "Noah's government.” In order to be a “preacher of righteousness” (2PE 2:5) in the pre-Flood world, it was necessary for Noah to reach the people of that time with God's warning. He also had to possess the financial means that would enable him to build the largest floating vessel ever made until this present age.
Confronting Wickedness
By this time, Noah had proven to God that he would remain faithful to His way both in word and deed. Josephus tells how Noah reacted to the society of that day: "and, being displeased at their conduct, persuaded them to change their dispositions and their acts for the better; but, seeing that they did not yield to him, but were slaves to their wicked pleasures, he was afraid they would kill him, together with his wife and children, and those they had married; so he departed out of that land." (Antiquities, I.III.1) It is possible that Noah returned to this area after Lamech’s [of Cain's line] death.
6:14 Make yourself an ark of gopher [NIV,REB: “cypress”; FEN: “pitch-pine”]wood; make it an ark with compartments [NIV: “rooms”; FEN: “decks”], and cover it inside and out with pitch. (TAN)
Deck Space
If the larger animals were very young, such as the elephants and giraffes, they wouldn’t need the same amount of ceiling height as ones which were fully grown.
6:15-16 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. Make a roof [KJV: “window”; TAN: “an opening for daylight”] for it [REB: “giving it a fall of one cubit when complete”] and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. (NIV)
Cubit
The NIV uses the 18-inch cubit. If this were the 25-inch cubit, the dimensions would have been 625 x 104 x 62 feet, and the ark would have had almost 3 million cubic feet storage capacity. The KJV describes the commanded dimensions of the ark as being 300 x 50 x 30 cubits. “Cubit” is derived from the Latin “cubitus”–-“the lower arm"–-used to denote the distance between the elbow and the extremity of the middle finger.
Structural Differences
There were great ocean-going ships built before 2200 B.C. The biggest design difference between these ships and Noah’s ark was the solid cover God instructed Noah to build over the top deck to prevent the ark from being swamped by huge waves. In this way, the other ships, undoubtedly used by other humans to escape the Flood, could be sunk, ensuring only Noah and his family’s survival.
6:17-18 I am going to bring floodwaters [Hebrew: “mabbul”–-specific to this worldwide flood, not the same word used to describe a local flood] on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens [signifying worldwide destruction], every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you. (NIV)
Covenant
This is the first occurrence of the word “covenant” in the scriptures.
6:19-20 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. (NIV)
The Animals
God brought “kinds” aboard the ark, not two [or more] of every species. Even then, God specified land-dwelling creatures; there was no need to bring aboard animals that lived in or on the water—such as ducks, seals, and sea turtles.
6:21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them." (NIV)
Type of Kingdom
During this period, the ark was a type of the
believe that prior to boarding the ark, God altered them to
become herbivorous–-just as they will be in the
6:22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him. (NIV)
Noah’s Obedience
HEB 11:7: "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith." Noah had a role to fulfill before he could receive God's promise of physical salvation from the Flood.
7:1 The LORD said to Noah, 'Go into the ark, you and all your household; for you alone in this generation have I found to be righteous. (REB)
7:2-3 Of every clean animal you shall take seven pairs [NIV: “seven of every kind”; KJV: “by sevens”], males and their mates, and of every animal that is not clean, two, a male and its mate; of the birds of the sky also, seven pairs, male and female, to keep seed alive upon all the earth [NIV: “to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth”]. (TAN)
Clean and Unclean Animals
God had already differentiated the clean and unclean animals, probably in the days when Adam was shown the kind of sacrifices that God required. How else would Abel have known what kind of animals to bring for his offerings?
7:4 Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made." (NIV)
God never specified the time of the Flood’s arrival until one week prior.
7:5 And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him. (NIV)
Noah’s Obedience
We are again reminded that Noah's salvation was by the grace of God, but hinged upon his obedience to God’s directions.
7:6-7 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. (KJV)
During the time the Flood was on the earth Noah turned 600 years old. [see “Noah’s age, vs 11]
Type of Salvation
Entering the ark pictured entering the
7:8-11 Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah. And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep [reference to underground rivers]burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. (NIV)
Time Frame
The Flood began in 2329 B.C. At that time the year began in the fall, on
the first day of what is now termed the 7th month. It was not until
God brought
the spring (EXO 12:2). The 2nd month would have been late October/early November. This would be the most logical time to bring on the Flood because, occuring just after the fall harvest, filling the storage bins on the ark would have been more convenient.
Beginning of the Flood & Pagan Practice
The approximate date of the beginning of the Flood has been preserved through pagan celebrations in cultures all over the world. Unknowingly, people continue to mourn the deaths of the wicked who made it necessary for God to destroy the world through a universal flood. From the book The Worship of the Dead by Colonel J. Garnier, 1909:“…the mythologies of all the ancient nations are interwoven with the events of the Deluge…proving that they are all based on a common principle, and must have been derived from a common source. The force of this argument is illustrated by the fact of the observance of a great festival of the dead in commemoration of the event, not only by nations more or less in communication with each other, but by others widely separated, both by the ocean and by centuries of time. This festival is, moreover, held by all on or about the very day on which, according to the Mosaic account, the Deluge took place, viz., the seventeenth day of the second month—the month nearly corresponding with our November…The festival of the dead, or feast of ancestors, is now, or was, formerly observed at or near the beginning of November by the Peruvians, the Hindus, the Pacific Islanders, the people of the Tonga Islands, the Australians, the ancient Persians, the ancient Egyptians and the northern nations of Europe, and continued for three days among the Japanese, the Hindus, the Australians, the ancient Romans and the ancient Egyptians. Wherever the Roman Catholic Church exists, solemn Mass for All Souls is said on the 2nd November…on the very same day that savages in far-distant quarters of the globe observe, in a similar manner, their festival of the dead…The month of November was formerly called in Persia ‘the month of the angel of death’…The Egyptians began their year at the same time as the Jews, and on the seventeenth day of their second month commenced their solemn mourning for Osiris, the Lord of Tombs, who was fabled to have been shut up in the deep for one year like Noah…” (pp.4-5)
“Finally, the observance of this festival at, or about, the seventeenth day of the second month of the recognised year in exact accordance with the Mosaic account, by almost every race and nation of the earth, in commemoration of a world-wide cataclysm in which a few survivors saw all their friends and relations swept away by a mighty flood of waters, is overpowering evidence of the reality of the Flood and of the truth of the Bible; although for that very reason, in accordance with the spirit of the present day, modern criticism and modern science have done what they can to discredit it.” (pp.7-8)
This information confirms that the event celebrated on the last day of October, Halloween, is the continuation of the world mourning for the wicked who were destroyed in the Flood.
Noah’s Age
At the time the Flood began—in the last few months of 2329 B.C.—Noah was 599 years of age. He turned 600 sometime in 2328 B.C. His 600th year was figured from the first day of the first month in the fall of 2329 B.C. until the first day of the first month in the fall of 2328 B.C.
7:12-16 And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark. They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings. Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark.The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in. (NIV)
Supernatural Intervention
It was at this point that God supernaturally intervened for Noah–-after Noah had done all that he could on his own.
The Flood was not a normal, natural course of events, it was a combination of natural law and supernatural intrusion. Skeptics of a universal Flood are doubtful because they discount anything supernatural.
7:17-18 For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. (NIV)
Not only did the rain persist, but God caused the vast underground reservoirs of water to continue erupting to the surface of the ground.
7:19-20 They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains [NKJ: “high hills”] under the entire heavens were covered. The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet [most translations: “fifteen cubits”]. (NIV)
The Extent of the Flood
While this would appear to be evidence of a worldwide flood, skeptics use this verse to prove that the Flood was a localized event. Their argument is that universal terms are often used to signify only a very large amount in number or quantity [i.e. DEU 2:25: “This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the nations under the whole heaven.”].
Obviously, the majority of the water did not come in the form of rain. It is estimated that it would require eight times the amount of water existing on the surface of the globe in order to have enough water to cover the tops of the mountains. This is one of the reasons why many refuse to believe that the Flood was worldwide. We simply do not know for certain what lies beneath the first few miles of the earth's crust. Several statements about the creation of the earth allude to the vast amounts of subterranean waters which do exist:
§ PSA 24:1-2—The earth is the LORD'S...for He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.
§ PSA 136:6—To Him who laid out the earth above the waters.
§ PSA 33:7—He heaps up the ocean waters like a mound, stores the deep in vaults. (TAN)
§ PRO 28:8—When He...fixed securely the fountains of the deep. (NIV)
Some have theorized that there are vast stores of water under the crust of the earth, possibly hundreds of miles below the surface. In the early 19th century, Sir Henry Englefield proposed that God caused the internal heat of the earth to increase only a few degrees, which caused expansion of the subterranean waters, forcing them to the surface, supplying more than sufficient water to inundate the mountains. After accomplishing the task, God lowered the temperature again, causing the waters to return to their former volume.
Another explanation which has been proposed regarding the “fountains of the deep” is called the hydroplate theory. This theory attempts to use the time of the Flood to explain all major geological formations today. The first assumption used in this theory is that a large shell of salty water existed about ten miles below the interconnected continents. The second assumption states there was a major
increase in the pressure on the shell of water at the time God brought on the Flood. The area where that pressure was released as the “fountains of the deep” was along a 46,000 mile-long rupture which circled the earth, and today is known as the Mid-Oceanic Ridge.
A news release from National Geographic on March 7, 2002 stated that research done by scientists at the Tokyo Institute of Technology indicates as much as five times more water than on the earth’s surface exists within the mantle. It also noted that other research shows the possibility of a water-rich zone between the crust and the mantle, which means as much as ten times the amount of water is inside the planet as on the surface.
7:21-23 Every living thing that moved on the earth perished--birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. (NIV)
God says all land animals, as well as man, perished in the Flood. Dating techniques of archeological finds have proven that mankind had spread to every area of the globe by the time of the Flood. Therefore, the only way all of mankind could have been destroyed was through a universal Flood.
7:24 The waters flooded [NKJ: “prevailed on”]the earth for a hundred and fifty days. (NIV)
The Flood remained at its greatest depth for five months before beginning to recede.
8:1 But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and He sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded [REB: “the water began to subside”]. (NIV)
God’s Faithfulness
God is always completely faithful in fulfilling His promises. He never forgets to finish what He starts. In EXO 2:24, “God remembered His covenant with Abraham...” which He had made almost four centuries earlier.
8:2 Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. (NIV)
This apparently occurred at the same time, after 40 days.
8:3 The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, (NIV)
For the waters to have taken so long to dissipate shows that the Flood was worldwide, otherwise gravity would have carried local floodwaters away much faster.
8:4 and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. (NIV)
Length of Time
This was exactly five months from the start of the Flood. In order to begin on the seventeenth day and end on the seventeenth day 5 months later, one month must have been 29 days in length.
8:5 The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible. (NIV)
It took almost two and one-half months from the time the ark ran aground on the mountains of Ararat until mountaintops could be seen from the ark.
8:6-7 After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth [Hebrew: “fly away, return, and repeat the cycle”] until the water had dried up from the earth. (NIV)
Releasing the Birds: The Raven
The raven is unclean (LEV 11:15), a scavenger. It could pluck floating, decaying flesh from the water and perch on the ark to eat it, thereby proving to be of little use to Noah in determining the state of the ground.
8:8-9 Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. But the dove could find no place to set its feet because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. (NIV)
Releasing the Birds: The Dove
The dove is a clean bird, a seed eater. It was forced to come back to Noah in order to be fed, and had a homing instinct, unlike the unclean raven.
8:10-17 He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him. By the first day of the first month of Noah's six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry. Then God said to Noah, "Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number upon it." (NIV)
Preservation of Life
Skeptics argue that not all of the animals would have survived since some were from tropical areas, others from arctic regions, etc. Likewise, due to the mixing of the salt and fresh waters, many kinds of fish would have died.
We must never forget the awesome power of God. He changed the nature and digestive systems of the animals during the Flood, and will change them again during Christ’s millennial reign. He could have also changed the ability of the aquatic creatures to survive in mixed waters. Another possibility is that, just as God caused the animals to come to Noah to board the ark, could He not have caused the fish to congregate in certain areas where He prevented the mixing of the fresh and salt waters?
8:18-19 So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons' wives. All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds—everything that moves on the earth—came out of the ark, one kind after another. (NIV)
Mythological Parallels
There are numerous secular traditions regarding the Flood:
§ “The Chaldean tradition states: ’The God Chronus appeared to Xisuthrus in a vision, and warned him, that...there would occur an inundation, by the which the race of man would be destroyed. He therefore ordered him to build a vessel...After the flood had been upon the earth, and was in time abated, Xisuthrus sent out birds from the vessel...made an opening in the vessel, and on looking out, found that it was stranded upon a mountain, which he afterwards ascertained to be in the land of Armenia. Berosus, a Chaldean priest, who lived two hundred and seventy years before Christ, gathered from traditions existing in his region: There was one among the giants who reverenced the gods, and was more wise and prudent than all the rest; his name was Noa; he dwelt in Syria, with his three sons, Sem, Japet, Cham, and their wives, the great Tidea, Pandora, Noea and Noegla...the whole human race was buried in the waters, except Noa and his family, who were saved by means of the ship.’
§ Among the Persians is the tradition of a general deluge which destroyed all. Although it does not include the preservation of any family in an ark, it does state that after the flood there was a new creation of men and animals.
§ The Egyptian historian Manetho speaks of certain inscribed pillars, which were set up by the Thoth, the first Hermes, and the inscriptions on which were after the deluge transcribed into books. Plato also states in his Timaeus, that having questioned a certain Egyptian priest on the subject, he was informed that the gods, wishing to purify the earth by water, overwhelmed it by a deluge.
§ Greek tradition preserves the story of Deucalion's deluge. Philo, the Alexandrian Jew affirms that Deucalion was Noah: The Grecians call him Deucalion, but the Chaldeans style him as Noah; in whose time there happened the great eruption of waters. Another Greek account by Lucian: The present race of mankind is different from those who first existed; for those of the antediluvian world were all destroyed. The present world is peopled from the sons of Deucalion...Deucalion alone was preserved to re-people the world. Plutarch even mentions that Deucalion sent out a dove from the ark.
§
The Chinese believe the
earth to have been wholly covered with water. The divisions of time, from which
their poetical history begins, just preceded the appearance of Fohi [their
first king] in the mountains of
§
In the Hindu tradition of India,
Vishnu appeared in the form of a small fish to a man named Satyavrata and told
him, ‘In seven days all creatures
who have offended me shall be destroyed by a deluge; but you shall be secured
in a capacious vessel miraculously formed. Take...herbs and...grain for food...together with the seven holy men, your
respective wives, and pairs of all animals, enter the ark.’ According to
the Pauranias and the followers of Buddha, the ark rested on the
§
In
§
Tribes in
§ Traditions of the Crees, a tribe of Arctic Indians, all spoke of a universal deluge from which one family alone escaped with all kinds of birds and beasts, on a huge raft.
§
In
§
The inhabitants of
§
Throughout the
§ The great Greek warrior Dionusos went with an army over the face of the whole earth and taught mankind, as he passed along, the method of planting the vine, how to press out the juice and receive it in proper vessels.”
In many of the ceremonies of ancient pagan religions, the ark was a very conspicuous object.
§ “The Egyptians used a boat called Baris which was used in the worship of Osiris; the ceremony “Ogdoas” consisted of eight persons sailing together in the sacred Baris.
§ The Romans used a ship called Iris and sacred cups in the form of boats called Cymbia and Scyphi.
§ Possibly the famous Greek Argonautic Expedition was derived from the Flood of Noah.” (Noah and His Times, J.M. Olmstead, 1853.)
8:20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. (NIV)
Mythological parallels throughout humanity are only part of the Flood’s lasting impression. The incorporation of sacrifices in some form or fashion in all cultures must have originated from Noah.
8:21 The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground [TAN: “doom the earth”; REB: “put the earth under a curse”] because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood [KJV: “youth”]. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done. (NIV)
Satan’s Influence
According to EPH 2:2, though man is born neutral, Satan causes rebellious attitudes to quickly form in children.
8:22 "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." (NIV)
Cessation of Variation
Since vast volumes of water greatly influence temperatures, it is obvious that “cold and heat, summer and winter” had ceased during the Flood. Also, with the surface of the earth covered with water, there was no way sowing seed was possible, therefore, there could be no harvesting.
God’s Promise
God’s promise is yet another proof that this Flood was universal in scope.
9:1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number [KJV: “replenish”] and fill the earth. (NIV)
Establishment of the Covenant
This blessing of Noah is similar to the later blessing of Abraham: God promised Abraham that his descendants would become a great nation as recipients of the covenant, Noah's descendants would also multiply, becoming recipients of a covenant made by God (vs 9).
9:2 Fear and dread of you will come on all the animals on earth, on all the birds of the air, on everything that moves on the ground, and on all fish in the sea; they are made subject to you. (REB)
9:3 Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. (NIV)
Noah, a man of God, was well aware of which animals God had deemed clean and which were unclean. In giving man plants to eat, God did not elaborate on which ones were to be avoided, simply stating "every seed-bearing plant."
9:4 "But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. (NIV)
God specifies that animals should be properly bled before the meat was eaten.
9:5 But for your own life-blood I will require a reckoning: I will require it of every beast; of man, too, will I require a reckoning for human life, of every man for that of his fellow man! (TAN)
God now emphasizes the sanctity of human life, punishing those who have violated that sanctity, whether animal (EXO 21:28-29), or man (EXO 21:12, 14).
9:6 "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man. (NIV)
God authorizes capital punishment.
9:7-11 As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it [REB: “people the earth and rule over it”]." Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: "I now establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish My covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth." (NIV)
Worldwide Flood
Here again the worldwide extent of the Flood is indicated: There have been many floods which have taken numerous human and animal lives, but never another that literally destroyed all life.
9:12-13 And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between Me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign [Hebrew: “nathatti” = “appointing”] of [TAN: “this is the sign that I set for”] the covenant between Me and the earth. (NIV)
Appointing of a Sign
God now appointed a well-known sight as the sign representing His promise.
9:14-17 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember My covenant between Me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth." So God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant I have established between Me and all life on the earth." (NIV)
A bow of colors encircles God's throne in heaven (REV 4:3). He symbolically shows that He is fulfilling His promise to man by the fact that wherever the bow is, God is close at hand.
9:18-19
Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were
Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of
Worldwide Flood
Another statement showing the worldwide scope of the Flood. All of mankind is descended from these three men.
9:20 Noah, a man of the soil [REB: “who was the first tiller of the soil”], proceeded to plant a vineyard. (NIV)
9:21 He drank so much of the wine [Hebrew: “yayin”] that he became drunk and lay naked inside his tent. (REB)
Noah’s drunkenness
We are not told in the narrative if this was the first alcohol Noah had since
before the Flood, or whether this was a mistake he made later in the winery’s
operation. We do know that this event occurred years after the Flood, probably
20-30 years since
9:22-23
Ham, the father of
By walking backward, they did not notice what had been done to their father.
9:24 When Noah awoke from his wine [REB: “from his drunkenness”] and found out what his youngest son had done to him, (NIV)
“Youngest” Reference
In order to properly understand the next verse, we need to understand that “his
youngest” refers to Ham’s youngest son,
9:25
he said, "Cursed be
9:26-27
And he said: "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem [indicates that
the knowledge of God would be preserved among Shem’s descendants] , and
may
Blessings to Shem and Japheth
Noah prophesied about Japheth's future greatness (10:2-5), while living under the influence of Shem.
9:28-29 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. Altogether, Noah lived 950 years, and then he died. (NIV)
Noah’s Death
According to tradition, Noah died in
11:1 In the days when the whole earth had one language and one vocabulary, (MOF)
Time Frame
This was true immediately after the Flood. Because prior to the Flood, God had divided the sons of Adam (DEU 32:8) by language, as archeological evidence demonstrates.
11:2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east [NIV: “moved
eastward”; REB: “in the east”], that they
found a plain in the
Nimrod’s Followers
“They” refers only to those who followed Nimrod in rebellion against God’s plan of colonizing the world, not to all of mankind.
11:3 They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. (NIV)
James Pritchard quotes the Akkadian Creation Epic in his book Ancient Near Eastern Texts: “Let us build a shrine...Let its brickwork be fashioned. You shall name it ‘The Sanctuary.’ For one whole year they molded the bricks. When the second year arrived, they raised high the shrine equaling a great height...” (p.68-69).
11:4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." (NIV)
One question is: how many people were alive by this point? The Babylonian historian Berossus wrote, “they knew their wives, who, on the very day expected, regularly brought forth twins of different sexes; afterwards, when these twins had grown to years of puberty, and married, they also had twins at each birth." Although this could be an exaggeration, a conservative estimate would put the number between ten and twenty thousand human beings.
As we saw in 10:8-9, Nimrod had great influence in the world about 100 years after the Flood. With this great influence, God’s plan to colonize the world did not appeal to Nimrod because he could not continue to control everyone. Josephus gives us more of the story: “God also commanded them to send colonies abroad, for the thorough peopling of the earth, that they might...cultivate a great part of the earth...but they...did not obey God; for which reason they fell into calamities...for when they flourished with a numerous youth, God admonished them again to send out colonies; but they, imagining the prosperity they enjoyed was not derived from favour of God, but supposing that their own power was the proper cause of the plentiful condition they were in, did not obey Him. Nay, they added to this their disobedience to the Divine will, the suspicion that they were therefore ordered to send out separate colonies, that, being divided asunder, they might the more easily be oppressed. Now it was Nimrod who excited them to such...contempt of God...He also said he would be revenged on God, if He should have a mind to drown the world again; for that he would build a tower too high for the waters to be able to reach! and that he would avenge himself on God for destroying their forefathers! Now the multitude were very ready to follow the determination of Nimrod, and to esteem it a piece of cowardice to submit to
God; and they built a tower...It was built of burnt brick, cemented together with mortar, made of bitumen, that it might not be liable to admit water...” (Antiquities, I.IV.1-3)
11:5-6 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. (NIV)
The Targums of both Jonathan ben Uzziel and
11:7-8 Come, let Us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other." So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. (NIV)
Scattering Rebellious Mankind
Josephus adds: “After this they were dispersed abroad, on account of their languages, and went out by colonies everywhere; and each colony took possession of that land which they light upon, and unto which God led them; so that the whole continent was filled with them, both the inland and maritime countries. There were some also who passed over the sea in ships, and inhabited the islands...” (I.V.1)
Although the Bible does not give us any way to know the exact date of this event, Berossus does mention that a major event of some kind occurred 131 years after the Flood in 2197 B.C.
11:9 That is why it was called
Some traditions indicate this occurred 131 years after the Flood. Although Noah had already established some colonies by those willing to cooperate, God had to force the remainder of humanity to colonize.
As they dispersed, those who had participated in Nimrod's system took with them the idolatrous religion they had learned from him. Paul states in ROM 1:21-23, “Although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things.” This is no doubt a reference to this time in man's history.
All defilied religions, both western and eastern, sprang from the Babylonian system concept of Nimrod. John writes in REV 17:15,5: “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues...on her forehead a name...MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”
Josephus quotes the historian Hestius: “Such of the priests as were saved
[from the destruction of the
Shem’s Line
Up to this point, Moses has presented to us a world permeated with idolatry and outright rejection of God. Now he directs us toward the other branch of Shem's descendants.
11:10 This is the account of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad [2326 B.C.]. (NIV)
In 10:22 Shem had two sons,
11:11 And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters. (NIV)
Genealogical Significances
Shem died in 1826 B.C. It is important to take note of the number of years the lives of individuals in the genealogical records overlapped. Although Abraham was born 352 years after the Flood, he was not far removed from the deluge which destroyed the world because Shem, who lived 98 years in the pre-Flood world, overlapped his life for 150 years. Since they were related, and Shem’s fame was obviously known by his descendants, not only did Abraham know the truth of the Flood, it is very possible he met and communicated with Shem during that time.
11:12-19 When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters. When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber. And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters. When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg. And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters. When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu. And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters. (NIV)
Peleg died in 1988 B.C. The division of nations God achieved by Noah had been completed.
11:20-25 When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug. And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters. When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters. When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah. And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters. (NIV)
Terah was born in 2106 B.C. when Noah was 823 years old.
11:26
After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father
of Abram, Nahor and
11:27 This is the account of Terah [REB, NRS: “These are the
descendants of”]. Terah
became the father of Abram, Nahor and
11:28
The Midrash records that Terah was responsible for the death of
11:29
Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name
of Nahor's wife was Milcah; she was the daughter of
Sarai was born in 1967 B.C., 9 years after Abram (17:17), from a different mother (20:12). Nahor was father of Bethuel, grandfather of Rebekah and Laban, great-grandfather of Leah and Rachel.
11:30-32
Now Sarai was barren; she had no children. Terah took
his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai,
the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans
to go to Canaan. But when they came to
Abram & the Patriarchal System
In 15:7 and NEH 9:7, we are told that God brought Abram out of
The Patriarchal system was the family form in that time. The patriarch was father to the whole family. His sons lived in the area with him, along with their wives, their children and all their servants, slaves and their children. Everything the sons owned was the legal property of the patriarch. He remained the patriarch until his death, at which time the oldest surviving son usually became patriarch unless another son had been designated. The patriarch made all decisions affecting his family—when and who his children married, what vocation the family would have and where the family would live.
Although God had called Abram, he was not free to leave until his obligation to the family government was fulfilled, which did not occur until Terah died.
Nahor
There is no mention of what happened to Nahor, but Terah obviously left him
behind to become a patriarch in his own right since Abram was to succeed Terah.
However, after Terah died and Abram moved on to Canaan, Nahor relocated to
Since
12:1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. (NIV)
Leaving His Country
Prior to being stoned to death, the deacon Stephen recounted the manner of Abram’s calling in ACT 7:2-4, “The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran...So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land...”
12:2-3 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
Promises to Abram
God promises Abram that he will become great nationally, as well as being the key to mankind’s reconciliation with God. God promised to reward those who showed Abram favor, as well as punish those who treated Abram disrespectfully.
12:4 So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and
Since Abram was 75 at the time he left, which was immediately after his father died at the age of 205 (11:32), he would have been born when Terah was 130.
This was 1901 B.C. We are not told if
12:5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. (NIV)
Travelling
to
Abram travelled the caravan road, “
12:6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree [NIV: “great tree”; NRS: “oak”] of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.
Shechem
Shechem was located in the valley between
Terebinth Tree
The terebinth tree, or the area around it, plays an important role for almost 500 years:
§ Jacob buried his family's idols under the oak tree at Shechem (35:4).
§ Joshua set up a great stone under the oak which was by the sanctuary of the LORD at Shechem in about 1378 B.C. (JOS 24:25-27)
12:7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
Altars
Throughout the land, the Canaanites had built cult centers, which consisted of stones representing their various gods; this location in Shechem housed many of these stones. Abram added his altar of worship to the many already located there.
12:8 From there he went on toward the hills east of
12:9 So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South [NIV: “
Parallels
This is the third and final site mentioned as Abram enters the land, the same
three locations visited by Jacob upon returning from
12:10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to
Abram entering
12:11-13
As he was about to enter
Family Relationship
Sarai and Abram were both children of Terah, but had different mothers (20:12).
12:14-16
When Abram came to
Pharaoh
of
Abram was recognized as a dignitary. Only a man of importance, or the family of
a prince would receive this kind of reception, or be taken into the
palace. The Pharaoh ruling
12:17 But the LORD inflicted serious diseases [TAN: “mighty plagues”] on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai. (NIV)
God afflicted all of
12:18-20 So Pharaoh summoned Abram. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!" Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had. (NIV)
A later Pharaoh sent Abram's descendants out of
13:1-2
So Abram went up from
Wealth
No doubt Abram traded many of the goods he had brought down into
13:3-4 From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the LORD. (NIV)
Calling upon God
We find no evidence that Abram built an altar and attempted to approach God until he came back to this area.
13:5-7
Now
13:8-11
So Abram said to
Abram treated
13:12-13
Abram lived in the
Sinning Greatly
They were practicing homosexuality, a sin of perversion (LEV 18:22).
13:14-15 The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, "Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever [“ad olam” = “to the end of the present order”]. (NIV)
Expansion of the Promise
God now expands the territory earlier defined (12:7).
13:16-18
I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could
count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go walk through the
length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you." So Abram moved
his tents [a reference to going throughout the land, as commanded by God] and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at
Mamre
Mamre was an Amorite who became a friend of Abram (14:13).
14:1 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel [Son of Horus, grandson of Semiramis] king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations [NIV: “Goiim” – Asia Minor was populated by a variety of people at this time]
14:2-12
went to war against Bera king of
Blessed by Association
God promised that all who rightly associated with Abram would be blessed and
all who separated themselves would be cursed. Lot separated himself from Abram
and, as a result, suffered the same fate as
14:13-15
One who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was
living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner,
all of whom were allied with Abram. When Abram heard that his relative had been
taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went
in pursuit as far as Dan. During the night Abram divided his men to attack them
and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of
Pursuit
of
The account of this battle parallels some of the instruction God later gave to
If Abram used the same tactics that God had Gideon and his army of 300 use
several centuries later (JUD 7:7,16-23), once Abram
startled the enemy, numerous other Canaanite tribes would have joined in the
pursuit. It was a good 130 mile pursuit from
14:16-18
He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative
Melchizedek
§ HEB 7:2-3—"...first being translated King of righteousness, and then also King of Salem, meaning, King of Peace; without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually." Christ is called Prince of Peace (ISA 9:6).
§ PSA 110:1,4—“The LORD (YHVH) says to my Lord (Adonai)...You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek."
§
PSA 76:2—"In
14:19-20 and He blessed him and said: "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand." And he gave Him a tithe of all.
Victory with God
Melchizedek emphasized Abram had been victorious due to the blessing God had
given him. Centuries later God commanded the high priest to remind the
army of
Tithing
This is the first place tithing is mentioned in the Scriptures. Abram is not instructed here to give God anything, yet he freely offers ten percent of all the increase he received from the four kings. This indicates that tithing was an ongoing practice of Abram. Since God was recognized as the Possessor of heaven and earth, everything ultimately belongs to Him. All He requires is a tenth of the increase a man receives.
14:21-24
Now the king of
Making an Oath
At this time when a man made an oath, he raised his hand. For Abram, the method of making an oath would change after the introduction of circumcision.
Spoils of War
Abram neither asked for, nor wanted, anything from the rulers of this world. It
was probably after this event that the city of
15:1 After this the word of the LORD came to Abram [called a prophet in 20:7] in a vision. He said, 'Do not be afraid, Abram; I am your shield. Your reward will be very great.' (REB)
Promise of God
God promised Abram that He would be his protector.
15:2-3
Abram replied, 'Lord GOD, what can you give me, seeing
that I am childless [TAN: “I shall die childless”]? The heir to my household is Eliezer of
This is the first recorded time that Abram spoke to God, and involves questioning how God's promise would be fulfilled.
Heir Presumption
According to the custom in that time, a slave born in the household was considered a closer relative than a blood relative who was not born in the household. Since Abram mentions Eliezer, it is clear he had already chosen him as his heir over the other servants born in his house.
15:4-6 Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." He took him outside and said, "Look at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then He said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness. (NIV)
Count the Stars
It was clearly night time when Abram went outside to view the stars. His discussion with God would continue after the night was over.
Belief and Righteousness
This is the definition of justification by faith, the pivotal text used by Paul in ROM 4.
15:7
Then He said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of
God Initiated the Inheritance
Just as God brought Abram out before confirming his inheritance by a covenant, so God later brought Israel out of Egypt before confirming the covenant with them at Sinai (EXO 20:2) which guaranteed their inheritance of the promised land.
15:8 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?" (NIV)
Questioning God
The second recorded time that Abram speaks to God, he again questions God. Abram’s words give evidence of doubt, but his actions demonstrate faith.
15:9-10 So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon." Abram brought all these to Him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. (NIV)
Covenantal Sacrifice
Before a covenant can be pronounced binding it must be sealed by blood. The animals were all killed, their blood shed and their carcasses cut in two.
15:11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. (NIV)
Birds of Prey
This event reveals that Abram’s conversation with God was continued during the daylight portion of the day which began at sunset the prior evening. Abram here symbolizes faith which will overcome all interferences and disruptions [symbolized by the birds of prey] to the fulfillment of the covenant.
15:12-13 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own (and they will be enslaved and mistreated) four hundred years. (NIV)
Sunset
The day when Abram killed the animals for sacrifice was ending and a new day beginning.
Prophecy
of
This verse says that after Abram died [1801 B.C. at 175 years of age], his descendants would not have their own land until 400 years had passed; and that at some point during those 400 years, they would be enslaved and mistreated. It was only after the division of the land by Joshua (1402-1401 B.C.) that Abram's descendants finally inherited their own land.
15:14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. (NIV)
In order for Moses to write these intimate details about
15:15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. (NIV)
Death of Abram
God now tells Abram that he will not live to see his descendants become great.
15:16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure." (NIV)
Fourth Generation
The “fourth generation” is a reference to the number of generations that lived
away from Abram’s location at that time, and which generation would return.
Isaac and Jacob dwelt in that area, making Levi the 1st generation
to live most of his life [137 yrs] and die outside the area. His son Kohath,
the 2nd generation, lived most, if not all, of his
life [133 yrs] and died in
15:17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. (NIV)
Making a Covenant
God put His presence in the covenant with Abram as well as in the covenant made
with
15:18-19
On that day the LORD made [Hebrew:
“kawrath” = “to cut”] a covenant [Hebrew: “berith”
= “pieces”] with Abram and said, "To
your descendants I give this land, from the
“Kawrath” is used in the same context in 21:27 and EXO 24:8. “Made a covenant” literally means "cut pieces," referring to an agreement having separate parts, or pieces that each party is responsible to fulfill.
Expansion of Territory
God now expands the territory both to the west and to the east.
Chapter 16
16:1-2 Now Sarai, Abram's wife,
had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar [“flight”]; so she
said to Abram, "The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with
my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her [TAN: “I shall
have a son”]." Abram agreed to what Sarai said. (NIV)
Sarai’s Actions
Sarai was doing what was expected
of a barren wife in that culture. A similar situation would occur later
with Rachel and her maid Bilhah. Since this was a normal practice, Abram
apparently did not question whether or not he should do what Sarai encouraged.
16:3-4 So after Abram had been
living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar
and gave her to her husband to be his wife [TAN: “concubine”]. He
slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began
to despise her mistress. (NIV)
Hagar’s Position
The social custom of that time
gave the surrogate mother the right to remain in the household with a very high
status, since the heir of the patriarch was her physical child [although it
legally belonged to her mistress]. With this high status, Hagar undoubtably
would not perform the menial tasks Sarai demanded of her.
16:5-6 Then Sarai said to Abram,
"You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in
your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the
LORD judge between you and me." "Your
servant is in your hands," Abram said. "Do with her whatever you
think best." Then Sarai mistreated [TAN: “treated
her harshly”] Hagar; so she fled from her. (NIV)
By this action Hagar fulfilled
the meaning of her name; she took “flight” from her mistress.
16:7-10 The
angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring
that is beside the road to Shur [which led back to
Conditional Blessing
The blessing of Hagar's son was
based on Hagar’s obedience to Sarai. Ishmael would become the fourth patriarch
with at least 12 peoples springing from him (25:16). Japheth and Nahor
each had 12, and Joktan had 13.
16:11-12 The
angel of the LORD also said to her: "You are now with child and you will
have a son. You shall name him Ishmael [“God does hear”], for the
LORD has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will
be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in
hostility toward [NKJ: “in the presence of”]all his
brothers [Isaac, Hagar’s other children (the Hagarenes), Lot’s sons
(Moab and Ammon), Esau, and the six sons of Keturah: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan,
Midian, Ishbak, Shuah (25:2)]." (NIV)
Ishmael’s Descendants
The descendants of Ishmael would
be like a wild horse: roaming everywhere and finding it difficult to settle
down. They are not a people with whom it is easy to reason or get along.
16:13-16 She gave this name to
the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she
said, "I have now seen the One who sees me."
That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi ; it is
still there, between Kadesh and Bered. So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram
gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. Abram was eighty-six years old
when Hagar bore him Ishmael. (NIV)
Ishmael
was born in 1890 B.C.
17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD [Hebrew: “YHWH”]…appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty [Hebrew: “El Shaddai]; walk before me [TAN: “Walk in My ways”] and be blameless [Hebrew: “tamim”]. (NIV)
99 Years Old
The Hebrew literally means “son of ninety-nine years”, meaning Abram was in his 99th year, which places this event in the year 1877 B.C.
El Shaddai
God told Moses that He had never revealed Himself to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as YHWH, but only as El Shaddai (EXO 6:3).
Establishment of the Covenant
This was the establishment of the covenant mentioned by Paul in GAL 3:16-17:
“The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ. What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later [the giving of the law from Sinai in 1447 B.C.], does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise.”
Abram’s Responsibilty
God now focuses on the responsibility that Abram has in the covenant which God sealed by His presence in 15:17-18. Abram had to walk in God's ways in order to remain in this blameless state (“tamim”)—to remain under grace [used in 6:9 in reference to Noah]. Both Noah and Abram are pointed out as blameless because of their obedience to God. This obedience proved beyond any doubt that God's grace and resulting sanctification, though unearned, cannot be achieved by those unwilling to obey God, who scoff at the need for works.
17:2 I will confirm [REB: “so that I may make”] My covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers." (NIV)
Abram’s Descendants
The initial covenant proposed by God focused on land rights for Abram's descendants (15:18-19); He now focuses upon Abram’s descendants themselves.
17:3-4 Abram bowed low, and God went on, 'This is My covenant with you: you are to be the father of many nations. (REB)
God's responsibility is to make certain that Abram’s offspring populated nations.
17:5 No longer will you be called Abram [“high father”]; your name will be Abraham [“father of a multitude”], for I have made you a father of many nations. (NIV)
Abram’s Renaming
God added one letter of His name, “YHWH” (Hebrew “he”), to the name Abram, symbolically giving Abram part of Himself.
17:6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. (NIV)
God’s Promises
Ultimately the King of kings would come from him.
17:7 "And I will establish [TAN, REB: “maintain”] My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.
As part of His responsibility in the covenant, God promises to be God to Abraham and his descendants.
17:8 "Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."
God gave the land to Abraham, as well as his descendants, as an everlasting possession. But, as Paul stated in GAL 3:18, God gave Abraham the inheritance by promise; Abraham never received the inheritance in his lifetime.
17:9-10 And God said to Abraham: "As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. "This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised;
Sign of the Covenant
Verse 9 is a summary statement of all that the covenant includes; Verse 10 is a description of the sign of the covenant, a reminder to all of Abraham's descendants about the covenant they can have with God.
17:11 You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. (TAN)
Circumcision was a physical sign which symbolized the state of mind that Abraham already had—circumcision of the heart (ROM 2:25-29). Paul tells us that Abraham received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness of the faith he had even before he was circumcised (ROM 4:11-12). This sign pictured the cutting of the covenant God made with Abraham.
17:12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. (NIV)
Eighth Day in God’s Plan
God required circumcision on the eighth day to symbolize the time in His plan when "all families of the earth would be blessed in Abraham" (12:3). In the annual festivals, God established the eighth day as the Last Great Day, which pictures the future time when anyone who thirsts can come to God (LEV 23:36; JOH 7:37), and the time when Jesus is to raise up all the dead (JOH 6:37-40). The Last Great Day
represents the time when the "covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations" will be removed in the great circumcision at the time of the 2nd resurrection (ISA 25:7).
17:13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. (NIV)
The circumcision of the heart is for everyone, whether a physical descendant of Abraham, or anyone else who is redeemed, because all must eventually be redeemed by the blood of Christ (1PE 1:18-19).
17:14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant." (NIV)
At the introduction of the Passover, God stipulated that only those who had been circumcised could take part (EXO 12:43-48) in eating and drinking the body and blood of the Lamb of God. Those who were circumcised were aware that making a covenant required cutting (15:18) and blood. Unless the lamb’s blood was shed, it was impossible to eat and drink.
Abraham and his descendants were required to walk in God's ways; those who refused circumcision broke their part of the covenant.
17:15 God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai [“my princess” – implying a royal relationship to one] your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah [“princess” – implying a royal relationship to many]. (NIV)
Sarai’s Renaming
Just as in the case of Abraham, God adds the same letter (Heb. “he”) to her name, symbolically imparting part of Himself.
17:16 "And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her."
Promise through Sarah
Although God had previously revealed that Abraham would literally father a son (15:4), He had never revealed that the son would be born from Sarah, which is why Hagar had been used over 13 years earlier as a surrogate.
17:17 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?" (NIV)
Abraham’s Reaction
Abraham's reaction was not the personification of faith. It had been almost 14 years since he fathered Ishmael, and no woman of Sarah's age was bearing children at that stage in man's history.
Paul writes about Abraham's reaction in ROM 4:19 (NIV), "...he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah's womb was also dead." Also, in HEB 11:12 (PHLP), "...from one man, who as a potential father was already considered dead."
17:18 He said to God, 'If only Ishmael might enjoy Your special favour!' (REB)
Abraham’s Assumption
God had not told Abraham that Ishmael would not become Abraham's heir, Abraham had simply assumed that to be the case.
17:19 Then God said: "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac [Hebrew: “yishaq” = “laugh” or “laughter”]; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.
Isaac’s Naming
God named Abraham's son based upon his reaction to God’s statement that Sarah would be the mother of his son.
17:20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. (NIV)
“Twelve Rulers”
Just as the twelve sons of
17:21 "But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year."
Son of Promise
Paul says that this verse is the "word of promise" (ROM 9:9) that made Isaac the son of promise.
17:22-23 When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. (NIV)
Abraham’s Faith
Once again Abraham's obedience to what God told him to do is pointed out, emphasizing the statement about Abraham, "by works was faith made perfect" (JAS 2:22).
17:24-27 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, and his son Ishmael was thirteen; Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that same day. And every male in Abraham's household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him. (NIV)
Time Frame
Some tradition places this event at the time of the Passover in Abraham's 99th year. One year later, to the day, Isaac would be born.
18:1 Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day.
Time Frame
One Jewish tradition states that this was three days after Abraham's
circumcision, while he was still living in the area of
18:2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. (NIV)
Three Men
One of the individuals was the Word, and the other two were angels made in the similitude of God and man (DEU 10:5-6, 13, 18), possibly Gabriel and Michael. This reveals to us that God allows angels to physically appear when His will is being fulfilled.
18:3 and said, "My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant.
Abraham addressed only one of them “My Lord” (Adonai, singular), showing that he recognized Him as God.
18:4-6 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant." "Very well," they answered, "do as you say." So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. "Quick," he said, "get three seahs [NKJ: “measures”] of fine flour and knead it and bake some bread." (NIV)
Bread
This bread would have been unleavened because it was made so quickly. If tradition is correct about Abraham being circumcised on the Passover, this event would have occurred during the Days of Unleavened Bread in 1877 BC.
18:7-8 Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. He then brought some curds [NKJ: “butter”] and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree. (NIV)
They Ate
This example shows that a spirit can materialize and function in the same manner as a human. Both the One who became Jesus as well as the two angels were able to eat food in the normal fashion. Centuries later, after Jesus was resurrected, He appeared to the disciples and ate some broiled fish and honeycomb (LUK 24:42-43).
18:9-11 Then they said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" And he said, "Here, in the tent." And He said, "I will certainly return to you according to the time of life [NIV, REB: “about this time next year”;NRS: “in due season”], and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son." And Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well-advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing [NRS: “it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women].
Sarah’s Circumstances
Sarah was 90 years old (17:17) and no longer ovulating.
18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?" (NIV)
Questioning God
This was the same reaction that Abraham had when God told him, except that Abraham’s reaction was based on surprise. Paul tells us in ROM 4:20-21 (NIV) "Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised."
Sarah, on the other hand, seems to have doubted. Abraham had most likely told her what God had earlier told him, so she had time to think about how outrageous the promise sounded.
18:13-16
Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I
really have a child, now that I am old?' Is anything too hard for the LORD? I
will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a
son." Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh."
But he said, "Yes, you did laugh." When the men got up to leave, they
looked down toward
18:17 The LORD had thought to himself, 'Shall I conceal from Abraham what I am about to do? (REB)
Predetermination
We are given an insight into the mind of God. The Word had not determined if He
would tell Abraham about his plans for
18:18-19 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him." (NIV)
Abraham’s Abilities
God knew Abraham’s character, as well as the help He would supply to him, so God already knew that Abraham would perform whatever was necessary.
18:20-21 Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know." (NIV)
Outcry
The “outcry” would have been the reports of different angels.
18:22 The men turned away and went toward
Scriptural Alteration
Last part of the verse is an "emendation of the Sopherim" [scribal alteration], and should read “but the LORD remained standing before Abraham.”
18:23 And Abraham came near and said, "Would You also destroy [NIV, TAN, REB, NRS: “sweep away”] the righteous with the wicked?
Abraham’s Concern
Abraham is clearly concerned about
18:24-32
"Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also
destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? "Far be it from You to do
such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the
righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of
all the earth do right?" And the LORD said, "If I find in
Abraham probably assumed that since
18:33 When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, He left, and Abraham returned home. (NIV)
“He Left”
We are not told where the Word went after He left. Since He had stated He was
checking on the reports about
19:1-2
The two angels arrived at
19:3 But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
Unleavened Bread
19:4-5
Before they had lain down to sleep, the men of
19:6-8
Lot’s Life
Lot knew how to live to please God, as Peter states in 2PE 2:7-8 (NIV), "...Lot,
a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for
that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his
righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard). "
However, the influence of that society had obviously rubbed off on
19:9
"Get out of our way," they replied. And they said, "This fellow
came here as an alien, and now he wants to play the judge! We'll treat you
worse than them." They kept bringing pressure on
The
homosexual mob grew more frenzied due to
19:10-11
But the men inside reached out and pulled
Angelic Intervention
Angels can work miracles when allowed to by God; even Satan was allowed to strike Job with boils (JOB 2:7).
19:12-13
The two men said to
Impending Calamity
God allowed
19:14 So
Nothing major had occurred to give any indication that calamity was
coming. That sinful society had continued for many years without any sign
of a day of reckoning. Jesus makes reference to this point when referring
to the way society will be operating at the end of the age in LUK 17:28-29,
"It was the same in the days of
19:15-16
When the morning dawned, the angels urged
The wickedness of
19:17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!" (NIV)
There was real danger coming which would overtake them if they did not carefully use the time granted them; the same warning that Jesus gives to His endtime disciples: "When you see...abomination that causes desolation...let those...in Judea flee to the mountains...let no one...go back" (MAT 24:15-18).
19:18-20
But
Fleeing
Climbing the mountains might have been so difficult that
19:21-22 He replied, "Very well, I will grant you this favor too, and I will not annihilate the town of which you have spoken. Hurry, flee there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there." Hence the town came to be called Zoar. (TAN)
The town was called Bela (14:2) until this event; it was one of the five cities
which fought against the Mesopotamian kings. There is no indication if the town
was inhabited or if it had been razed by the kings of
19:23-25
By the time
Annihilation
19:26 But
Obedience
Jesus uses
19:27-29
Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had
stood before the LORD. He looked down toward
Lot’s Rescue
Lot was rescued because of the intercession of Abraham, due to God's compassion
for Abraham—not because of
19:30
19:31 The elder daughter said to the younger, 'Our father is old and there is not a man in the country to come to us in the usual way. (REB)
“Not a Man in the Country”
According to Josephus, they thought all of humanity had been destroyed (Antiquities,
I.XI.5). The Flood was in the 10th generation from Adam, and they were
the 10th generation from the Flood. Adam had also prophesied that the earth
would be destroyed by fire, leading them to their conclusion. For this
conclusion to be reached, Bela was most likely deserted when
19:32-38
Let's get our father to drink wine and then lie with
him and preserve our family line through our father." That night they got
their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and lay with him. He
was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up. The next day the
older daughter said to the younger, "Last night I lay with my father.
Let's get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and lie with him so we
can preserve our family line through our father." So they got their father
to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went and lay with him.
Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up. So both of
Descendents
Later Moses in DEU 2:9,19 calls the Moabites and
Ammonites the “children of
20:1
Abraham journeyed by stages from there into the Negeb [NIV: “
Abraham’s Residence
Abraham left the area of the land of the Amorites and moved into the area of the Philistines.
Gerar had sufficient water for crops and grazing, so Abraham used that city as
his base camp. Yet, Kadesh and Shur, where he lived a large part of the
time, were in a desert wilderness. The only possible reason to spend time in
that area would be to meet the caravans coming out of
20:2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her. (NIV)
Sarah and Abimelech
Abraham had done the same thing 24 years earlier to the Pharaoh of Egypt. Sarah was still a very beautiful woman at age 90.
20:3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night [NKJ,TAN, NRS: “by night”] and said to him, "You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman." (NIV)
20:4 Abimelech, who had not gone near her, protested, 'Lord, will you destroy people who are innocent? (REB)
This is the same argument Abraham made when discussing the destruction of
20:5-6 Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister,' and didn't she also say, 'He is my brother'? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands." Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did not let you touch her. (NIV)
When God told Abimelech He kept him from sinning against Him, we are given the
evidence of a moral code which was known to humanity prior to the giving of the
law at
20:7 Now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all yours will die." (NIV)
This is the first and only mention of Abraham being a prophet. God overlooks Abraham's deceit, and by requiring Abraham to pray for Abimelech, shows that His prophet is without fault before Him.
20:8-11 Early the next morning Abimelech summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. Then Abimelech called Abraham in and said, "What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt [NKJ, REB: “great sin”] upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done." And Abimelech asked Abraham, "What was your reason for doing this?" Abraham replied, "I said to myself, 'There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.' (NIV)
Canaanite gods
The Canaanites thought that the gods they worshipped were confined to certain localities. The term they used for each god was “Baal,” but when they worshipped that god, it was called “Baal of such-and-such a place.” When Abraham came to Gerar, he knew that the Philistines did not know “El Shaddai” and would not have had any fear of the God they did not know.
20:12 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. (NIV)
Abraham’s Defense
Abraham states that he was truthful in what he actually said, even though his intent was obviously deceitful.
20:13 When God set me wandering from my father's house, I said to her, "There is a duty towards me which you must loyally fulfil: wherever we go, you must say that I am your brother." (REB)
Abraham and Sarah
This gives some insight into the relationship that existed between Abraham and Sarah. Peter tells us that Sarah showed respect toward her husband and yielded to his decisions: “Even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord” (1PE 3:5-6).
20:14-15 Then Abimelech brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelech said, "My land is before you; live wherever you like." (NIV)
Abimelech’s Decision
This reaction was quite different than that of Pharaoh, who sent Abraham out of
20:16-17 To Sarah he said, "I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated [MOF: “in the eyes of all men your honour is cleared”]." Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his slave girls so they could have children again, (NIV)
God’s Intervention
Since God healed Abimelech, He must have afflicted him in some way. Since God says it was He who prevented Abimelech from touching Sarah, we can conclude that had God not struck him, Sarah would have been defiled.
20:18 for the LORD had made every woman in Abimelech's household barren on account of Sarah, Abraham's wife. (REB)
21:1-2 Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what He had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. (NIV)
Isaac’s Birth
Tradition places Isaac’s birth at Passover 1876 B.C. The indication is that Isaac was born while Abraham's household was living in the land of the Philistines (20:15).
21:3-4 Abraham gave the name “Isaac” to the son Sarah bore him. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. (NIV)
God had instructed him to give his son this name due to his reaction to God’s promise of Sarah being the mother (17:17-19). Isaac was the first of Abraham's sons to be circumcized on the eighth day. Isaac's birth, due to a miracle by God, is symbolic of the miracle which will allow God’s children to be born into His family.
21:5-7 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." And she added, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age." (NIV)
Though doubting at first, now that Isaac was born, Sarah was beside herself with joy.
21:8-10 The child grew and was weaned [tradition places this at two years of age], and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she said to Abraham, "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac." (NIV)
Hagar’s Position
According to the custom of the time, the surrogate mother and the child which was produced as the heir of the patriarch retained high status, rights and privileges, whether or not the patriarch's wife later gave birth to an heir.
21:11 The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. (NIV)
Abraham & Ishmael
Abraham had grown to greatly love Ishmael during the years he had been his only son and Sarah was asking Abraham to retract Hagar and Ishmael’s family rights.
21:12 But God said to him, "Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. (NIV)
God’s Intervention
If God had not intervened at this point, it is possible Abraham would have refused to acquiesce to Sarah's wishes. God reminds Abraham in the next verse that Ishmael was the result of a human attempt to accomplish God's stated purpose.
Paul mentions this verse in referring to the
21:13 I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring." (NIV)
God had compassion on Ishmael because he showed Abraham honor, and God promised to bless those who blessed Abraham.
21:14-16
Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a
skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then
sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the
Ishmael was approximately 15 years old at this time.
21:17-18 God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation." (NIV)
Although Ishmael is not mentioned by name in this account, the phrases “God heard” and “God has heard” are used, which mean the same as “Ishmael.” God now shows Hagar His intention to fulfill the promise made to her through Ishmael.
21:19-21
Then God opened her eyes [“gave her understanding”] and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water
and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the
desert and became an archer. While he was living in the
God helped Ishmael learn how to live and prosper in a desert wilderness. This upbringing molded him into an independent, “wild donkey of a man.” If his wife was a full-blooded Egyptian, his descendents were 3/4 Egyptian.
21:22-24 At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his forces said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do. Now swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants. Show to me and the country where you are living as an alien the same kindness I have shown to you." Abraham said, "I swear it." (NIV)
Abraham’s Oath
Abraham is still living in the land under Abimelech’s rule. Not only had Abimelech witnessed the incredible increase in Abraham’s prosperity, but he was also aware of the miraculous birth of Isaac. This proved to him that the God of Abraham, who had afflicted him and his household a few years earlier and had come to him in a dream, was continuing to bless Abraham. He realized the day would come when Abraham would be stronger than he, and he wanted assurances. However, after his experience with Abraham’s “sister” earlier, he now wanted an assurance he could trust—a promise made in the presence of the God of Abraham.
21:25-26 Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech's servants had seized. But Abimelech said, "I don't know who has done this. You did not tell me, and I heard about it only today." (NIV)
Abraham said he would make an oath as requested, but pointed out the occurrence of the seized well.
21:27-31
So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men
made a treaty. Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock, and Abimelech
asked Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs you have set
apart by themselves?" He replied, "Accept these seven lambs from my
hand as a witness that I dug this well." So that place was called
Transferring Ownership
This custom of legalizing a transfer of property was altered by the time of the judges. In the days of Ruth (RUT 4:7), the one securing property gave the original owner one of his shoes.
21:32 After the treaty had been made at
Abimelech’s Return
Since
21:33
Abraham planted a tamarisk tree [KJV: “grove”] in
“Planting a Tamarisk Tree”
He probably also built an altar there. At this time, planting a tree was a religious practice without any idolatrous connection. Later, God forbade the Israelites to plant tamarisk trees because the practice had become associated with idolatry.
21:34 And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time. (NIV)
Inclusion of Information
Moses includes this information to show that Abraham did not live out the remainder of his life in the land of promise, but instead spent a great deal of his life outside of it.
22:1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. (NIV)
Abraham’s Test
We are told at the outset that this was only a test, but Abraham did not know that when the actual event occurred.
22:2-3 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. (NIV)
His Only Son
God stressed the point that Isaac was Abraham’s only son. This was in respect to the fulfillment of the promise He had made that Abraham would father an heir. Ishmael was Abraham’s attempt to produce an heir, which was not what God meant. Isaac was to represent Jesus Christ who was the only Son of His Father (JOH 3:16). The births of both Isaac and Jesus were predetermined and miraculous.
Moriah
The name “Moriah” means “chosen by YHWH”. The “region of Moriah” was the
area of
Abraham’s Location
Abraham was still living in the land of the Philistines at
22:4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. (NIV)
Third Day
Abraham was forced to think about the death of his only son for three full days, the same amount of time the Father would later deal with the absence of His Son, during the time Jesus was in the grave.
22:5 He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you." (NIV)
Abraham now speaks in faith, “we will come back.” This is what Paul has reference to about the faith of Abraham in HEB 11:17-19, “Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice in faith, reasoning that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.” (NIV) This occurred three days after he first set out, so Isaac had been dead for three days in Abraham’s mind.
22:6-8 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together. (NIV)
Burnt Offering
Abraham knew that an offering would be made.
22:9-10 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. (NIV)
Abraham’s Faith
According to JAS 2:22 Abraham’s faith was made complete by his actions.
22:11-12 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son." (NIV)
Once again in JAS 2:21, “Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?” (NIV) As Paul wrote in HEB 11, Abraham knew God could resurrect Isaac, even though there had never been one brought back from death prior to this time.
God places this same requirement upon all the disciples of Christ (LUK 14:26).
22:13-15 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided [MOF: “Yahweh-yireh” – “the LORD will provide”]." The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time (NIV)
Confirmation of the Covenant
The first time the angel spoke was to stop Abraham and acknowledge his total commitment to the covenant he made with God. Now that the burnt offering was complete, God confirms His total commitment to the covenant He made with Abraham.
22:16-18 and said, "I swear by Myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed Me." (NIV)
God made the covenant conditional based upon whether Abraham would walk in all His ways (17:1-2). Now that he had passed the ultimate test God makes the covenant unconditional.
“Your descendants” is plural, referring to the promise of race: the fulfillment of the promise to make great nations of his physical descendants.
“Your offspring” is singular and refers to the promise of grace: the reconciliation of all mankind to God through Jesus Christ. Paul explains this in GAL 3:14,16: “...in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus...The scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ.” (NIV)
Abraham's obedience did not earn him the promise of God, but his faith and trust in God's ability showed his willingness to leave the covenant fulfillment to be worked out in God's due time, unlike what happened when he fathered Ishmael.
22:19-24
Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for
Reason for Nahor’s Genealogy
This passage of genealogy is included to show that God had provided a pool of suitable young women from which a wife for Isaac could be chosen. Moses knew the outcome and included Rebekah's name, although at this point, Abraham was unaware of which of his brother's granddaughters would become his daughter-in-law.
23:1-3
Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. She died at Kiriath
Arba [1839
B.C. when Isaac was 37 years old] (that
is,
23:4 "I am an alien and a stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead." (NIV)
Purchasing the Field
Abraham reminded these people that he was only a temporary resident of the
area, owning no real estate. His subsequent purchase of land is recorded in
great detail, showing how Abraham came to legally own his first, and only,
piece of land in
In a similar example, Jeremiah bought a field while he was imprisoned–-shortly before the Babylonian captivity–-to express his confidence in God's promise that the people of Judah would return and take possession of the land again, at a time when God would establish an everlasting covenant with them (JER 32:6-15,40-44).
23:5-9
The Hittites replied to Abraham, "Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty
prince among us [indicates Abraham was a very powerful and influential man]. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs [NKJ,TAN: “burial places”].
None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead." Then Abraham
rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. He said to
them, "If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and
intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf so he will sell me the
Abraham did not want anything more than a burial place for Sarah.
23:10-11 Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city. "No, my lord," he said. "Listen to me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead." (NIV)
Ephron was not really offering this property for free. He was simply saying that he was willing to sell the cave as long as Abraham bought the field too. According to Hittite land-owning practices, if a man sold any portion of his property, he was still responsible to pay the taxes on the entire property as well as providing military service for the protection of the town. Only if he sold the whole field would his obligations of taxes and military assistance be removed. Abraham probably did not want those obligations himself, and may have been part of the reason he did not originally ask to buy all of the property.
23:12-13 Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land and he said to Ephron in their hearing, "Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there." (NIV)
Abraham agreed to the conditions imposed by Ephron, and asked for a price.
23:14-15 Ephron answered Abraham, "Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, but what is that between me and you? Bury your dead." (NIV)
Ephron asks his price in an off-handed way, which was an exorbitant amount for the property. He expected Abraham to come back with a counter-offer because haggling was always expected between a buyer and seller.
23:16 Abraham agreed to Ephron's terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants [NKJ: “currency of the merchants”]. (NIV)
Abraham did not bargain, Sarah had been dead for some time and her body needed to be buried.
23:17-18 So Ephron's field in Machpelah near Mamre—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. (NIV)
The Hittite practice required that the land contract mention the trees and their locations in order to be valid.
23:19-20
Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in
the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at
The name Machpelah means “double” which might signify the cave had two platforms for bodies, making it a logical place to bury couples. This cave became the burial place for Sarah, Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah (49:30-31) and Jacob (50:13).
Chapter 24
24:1 Abraham was now old and well
advanced in years, and the LORD had blessed him in every way.
Time Frame
Finding a wife for Isaac occurred
shortly after the death of Sarah [1839 B.C.], as seen in Verse 67 when it
states that Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. We also find in 25:20
that Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah [1836 B.C.], which places
this event sometime between 1837 and 1836 B.C. [There was still a direct
connection to the Flood alive at the time in the person of Shem, who did not
die until 1826 B.C.]
24:2 He said to the chief servant
in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, "Put your hand
under my thigh [REB: "Give me your solemn oath”]. (NIV)
“Hand Under My Thigh”
According to the Targums of
Jonathan ben Uzziel and
24:3-4 I want you to swear by the
LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for
my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, but will
go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac." (NIV)
Abraham’s Reasoning
It was the normal custom to marry
within the tribe from which one came, preserving the ethnic makeup of the
family. A more important reason for this request however, was that Abraham did
not want to leave the impression that his descendants received the promised land by marrying into Canaanite tribes. It was
important that all people understand that the land came to his descendants due
to God's gift and blessing.
24:5 And
the servant said to him, "Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow
me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you
came?"
Eliezer’s Commission
Eliezer had to fully understand
what the oath entailed, because once it was made, no editing was allowed.
24:6 Abraham said to him, 'On no
account are you to take my son back there. (REB)
24:7 "The LORD, the God of
heaven, who brought me out of my father's household and my native land and who
spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, 'To your offspring I will give
this land'—He will send His angel before you so that you can get a wife for my
son from there. (NIV)
Abraham points out that God would
work out the details, all Eliezer had to do was escort Isaac's wife back.
24:8 If the woman is unwilling to
come back with you, then you will be released from
this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there." (NIV)
Abraham assures Eliezer that if
he is not successful in finding a woman that will come back, the oath would be
nullified.
24:9-12 So
the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an
oath to him concerning this matter. Then the servant took ten of his master's
camels and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master. He
set out for Aram Naharaim [NKJ: “Mesopotamia”] and made
his way to the town of
Eliezer prayed to God in the name
of Abraham, because all members of the patriarchal household were expected to
worship the god of the patriarch.
24:13-14 See, I am standing
beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw
water. May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I
may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too'—let
her be the one You have chosen for Your servant Isaac. By this I will know that
You have shown kindness to my master." (NIV)
Be Specific
This example shows that we should
be specific in our requests to God.
24:15-16 Before
he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was
the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, who was the wife of Abraham's brother
Nahor. The girl was very beautiful, a virgin [Hebrew: “bethulah” = “virgin”]; no man
had ever lain with her [MOF: “The girl was very beautiful, unmarried, and a
virgin”]. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again. (NIV)
Rebekah
Rebekah was a type of the bride
of Christ (REV 14:4).
24:17-21 The
servant hurried to meet her and said, "Please give me a little water from
your jar." "Drink, my lord," she said, and quickly lowered the
jar to her hands and gave him a drink. After she had given him a drink, she
said, "I'll draw water for your camels too, until they have finished
drinking." So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the
well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. Without saying a
word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the LORD had made his
journey successful. (NIV)
Eliezer observed her character,
finding her industrious and willing to serve.
24:22-27 When the camels had
finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring [worn on the
left nostril] weighing a beka [NKJ: “half a shekel”]and two gold bracelets weighing ten
shekels. Then he asked, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there
room in your father's house for us to spend the night?" She answered him,
"I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milcah bore to Nahor."
And she added, "We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for
you to spend the night." Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD,
saying, "Praise be to the LORD, the God of my
master Abraham, who has not abandoned His kindness and faithfulness to my
master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my
master's relatives." (NIV)
Eliezer’s Example
Eliezer recognized that this was
not just circumstantial; he fully understood that God had guided his journey.
Eliezer then set the right example of quickly giving God thanks for answering a
prayer.
24:28-33 The
girl ran and told her mother's household about these things. Now Rebekah had a
brother named Laban, and he hurried out to the man at the spring. As soon as he
had seen the nose ring, and the bracelets on his
sister's arms, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he went out
to the man and found him standing by the camels near the spring. "Come,
you who are blessed by the LORD," he said. "Why are you standing out
here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels." So the man
went to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and fodder were brought
for the camels, and water for him and his men to wash their feet. Then food was
set before him, but he said, "I will not eat until I have told you what I
have to say." "Then tell us," Laban said. (NIV)
Laban
It was not Rebekah's father,
Bethuel, who came out to meet Eliezer, nor was it Bethuel who encouraged
Eliezer to tell his story, rather it was Rebekah's
brother, Laban, who seemed to be in charge.
From Laban’s statement in vs 31,
it seems evident that Nahor's family worshipped the same God as Abraham. Since
a clan normally worshipped the same god, Terah, Abraham’s father, must have
begun to worship God at some point in time. This could have been due to the
influence of Noah or Shem. Terah was contemporary with Noah for the last 127
years of Noah's life, and Shem died 75 years after Terah.
24:34-49 So
he said, "I am Abraham's servant. The LORD has blessed my master
abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle,
silver and gold, menservants and maidservants, and camels and donkeys. My
master's wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and he has given him
everything he owns. And my master made me swear an oath, and said, 'You must
not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I
live, but go to my father's family and to my own clan, and get a wife for my
son.'"Then I asked my master, 'What if the woman will not come back with
me?'" He
replied, 'The
LORD, before whom I have walked, will send His angel with you and make your
journey a success, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and
from my father's family. Then, when you go to my clan, you will be released
from my oath even if they refuse to give her to you—you will be released from
my oath.' "When I came to the spring today, I said, 'O LORD, God of my
master Abraham, if You will, please grant success to
the journey on which I have come. See, I am standing beside this spring; if a
maiden [NKJ: “virgin”, Hebrew: “haalmah” = “a young woman”] comes out
to draw water and I say to her, "Please let me drink a little water from
your jar," and if she says to me, "Drink, and I'll draw water for
your camels too," let her be the one the LORD has chosen for my master's
son.' "Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her
jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to
her, 'Please give me a drink.' "She quickly lowered her jar from her
shoulder and said, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too.' So I drank, and she
watered the camels also. "I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?' "She
said, 'The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.'
"Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, and I
bowed down and worshiped the LORD. I praised the LORD, the God of my master
Abraham, Who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my
master's brother for his son. Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to
my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know
which way to turn." (NIV)
“Which Way to Turn”
If God had not chosen Rebekah,
then Eliezer still had other members of Nahor's descendants to interview.
24:50 Laban and Bethuel answered,
"This is from the LORD; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. (NIV)
Marriage Negotiations
The social customs of the area of
Bethuel
Some commentaries, such as
Josephus, state that Bethuel, Laban’s father, was probably dead by this time,
and that the Bethuel mentioned here was a brother.
24:51-53 Here
is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master's son,
as the LORD has directed." When Abraham's servant heard what they said, he
bowed down to the ground before the LORD. Then the servant brought out gold and
silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave
costly gifts to her brother and to her mother. (NIV)
Absence of Father
In the presentation of gifts,
Laban is mentioned before Rebekah's mother, and her father received
nothing–-indicating he was not present.
24:54 Then he and the men who
were with him ate and drank and spent the night there. When they got up the
next morning, he said, "Send me on my way to my master." (NIV)
24:55 Her
brother and her mother said, "Let the girl remain with us a while, at
least ten days; after that she may go." (NRS)
24:56-59 But he said to them,
"Do not detain me, now that the LORD has granted success to my journey.
Send me on my way so I may go to my master." Then they said, "Let's
call the girl and ask her about it." So they called Rebekah and asked her,
"Will you go with this man?" "I will go," she said. So they
sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse [Deborah, GEN
35:8] and Abraham's servant and his men. (NIV)
Rebekah’s Consent
It was customary at that time, in
that area, to require the woman’s consent for marriage. Rebekah, a type
of the NT Church, shows she is willing to give everything up–-including her way
of life–-in order to become the wife of a man she had never seen—a man who had
been sacrificed and dead in his father's mind for three days.
24:60-62 And
they blessed Rebekah and said to her, "Our sister [use of this
term indicates it was Laban who pronounced the blessing], may you
increase to thousands upon thousands [NKJ: “become the mother of thousands of
ten thousands”]; may your offspring possess the gates of their
enemies." Then Rebekah and her maids got ready and mounted their camels
and went back with the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left. Now Isaac had
come from Beer Lahai Roi [“well of the Living One who sees me” or “well of
the Living”], for he was living in the
Beer Lahai Roi
This was the well where the angel
had first appeared to Hagar.
24:63-65 One
evening when he had gone out into the open country hoping to meet them, he
looked and saw camels approaching. When Rebecca saw Isaac, she dismounted from
her camel, saying to the servant, 'Who is that man walking across the open
country towards us?' When the servant answered, 'It is my master,' she took her
veil and covered herself. (REB)
24:66-67 Then
the servant told Isaac all he had done. Isaac brought her into the tent of his
mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became
his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. (NIV)
25:1 Abraham again took [NIV,TAN,NRS: “took another”] a wife, and her name was Keturah.
Keturah
Some mistakenly have thought that "Keturah" was another name given to Hagar. Although Keturah was called a concubine in 1CO 1:32, she is referred to here as a wife. The only difference between a wife and concubine was there was no official ceremony nor marriage settlement made with a concubine. Therefore, Keturah could have been a concubine until the death of Sarah, after which Abraham officially married her, making her a legal wife.
25:2-4
She bore him Zimran, Jokshan,
Through Keturah, Abraham became the fourth listed patriarch with at least 12 peoples descended from him.
25:5 And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac.
Isaac as Heir
Isaac was the heir to the position of patriarch.
25:6 But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines [reference to Hagar and Keturah] and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east. (NIV)
“Sent Them Away”
He had to send these sons away for two reasons:
1.
They were not to inherit the
2. Upon the death of Abraham, Isaac would inherit everything, including authority over all his half-brothers, making him legal owner of all that they possessed.
25:7-8 Abraham had lived for a hundred and seventy-five years when he breathed his last. He died at a great age, a full span of years, and was gathered to his forefathers [1801 B.C.]. (REB)
25:9-11 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. After Abraham's death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi. (NIV)
Time Frame
Isaac was 75 years old at this time and had been living in this area for 35 years (24:62).
25:12 Now this is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's maidservant, bore to Abraham.
Descendants
Before giving the story of Isaac, we are given the summary of the descendants of Ishmael.
25:13-17 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth [forefather of the Nabateans] the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish [Jetur and Naphish seem to be the forebearers of the people who resisted the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh (1CO 5:18-22)] and Kedemah. These were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve tribal rulers according to their settlements and camps. Altogether, Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people [1753 B.C.]. (NIV)
Esau is the fifth listed patriarch with at least 12 peoples descending from him.
25:18 They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite
Havilah
Havilah extended from the Euphrates near its junction with the Tigris to the
25:19-20 This is the account of Abraham's son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married [1836 B.C.] Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean [NKJ: “Syrian”]. (NIV)
Focus of Account
This account has more to do with Isaac's sons than with Isaac himself. Except for GEN 26, Isaac plays a secondary role.
25:21 Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. (NIV)
Rebekah’s Circumstances
Rebekah was barren, just like Sarah (11:30), Rachel (29:31), and even Leah for
awhile after the birth of
25:22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, "If all is well, why am I this way?" So she went to inquire of the LORD.
Genesis Theme
Now a major theme which runs throughout the remainder of Genesis is introduced—the struggle between brothers. This condition affected the sons of Isaac and the sons of Jacob. The point being made is that the will of God was accomplished in spite of the conflicts between families.
Rebekah’s Inquiry
The manner in which Rebekah went to inquire of God is not explained. She may have gone to an altar where Abraham had spoken with God, or this may have simply been a prayer she prayed inside her tent.
25:23 And the LORD said to her: "Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body [REB: “going their own ways from birth”]; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger."
God’s Blessing
In most cases throughout Genesis, God chose the younger to accomplish His plan.
Abel was chosen over Cain, Seth over Japheth and Ham, Isaac over
25:24-25 When the time came for her to give birth [1816 B.C., when Abraham was 160 years old], there were twin boys in her womb. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. (NIV)
Esau
“Esau,” in Hebrew, is composed of the same three letters as the word “hairy,” but with the first two letters reversed.
25:26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them. (NIV)
Jacob
In Hebrew, “Jacob” is composed of the same three letters in the same order as the word “heel.” However, the word in Hebrew can be extended to "one who trips another by the heel" and can be rendered “supplanter”.
25:27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents. (NIV)
Esau & Jacob
The personality and interests of the two were at opposite extremes. It seems that Jacob was more interested in being a merchant than working with animals, and Esau just the opposite.
25:28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. (NIV)
Favoritism
God reveals that parental favoritism was the cause of the conflict between the siblings. A problem that Jacob perpetuated in his family.
25:29-34
Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in
from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have
some of that red stew [Hebrew: “adom”, contains three of the same letters that
compose “
God’s Choice
This event is recorded to show that God's choice of the younger over the older was not unfair. Esau despised the right of birth (HEB 12:16), but Jacob understood its importance and wanted it desperately.
26:1 Now there was a famine in the land—besides the earlier famine of Abraham's time—and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar. (NIV)
Time Frame
It is likely that part of this account occurred before the birth of the twins, during the 19 years that Rebekah was barren; otherwise it was after the boys were grown. The entire account shows Isaac confronting situations similar to those Abraham experienced before him.
Abimelech
This may have been the same Abimelech with which Abraham dealt, although
unlikely since “Abimelech” was a title used by the kings who ruled in the land
of the Philistines. Hundreds of years later David
feigned madness before an Abimelech—the king of
26:2
The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go
down to
Isaac could not go into
26:3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. (NIV)
God’s Obligation
God had an obligation, and no matter what Isaac wanted to do, God's fulfillment of His promises took precedence.
26:4-5 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My requirements, My commands [NKJ: “commandments”], My decrees and My laws." (NIV)
Requirements of the Covenant
The requirements of the Sinaitic covenant were identical to the actions of Abraham. "Love the LORD your God, and keep His requirements, His decrees, His laws and His commands always" (DEU 11:1, NIV).
26:6-7 So Isaac stayed in Gerar. When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, "She is my sister," because he was afraid to say, "She is my wife." He thought, "The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful." (NIV)
“She is My Sister”
Isaac used the same line as Abraham did (20:2). If the twins had been born by this time, it would have been difficult to hide the relationship between Isaac and Rebekah.
26:8-9 When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing [NKJ: “showing endearment”; TAN,NRS,MOF: “fondling”]his wife Rebekah. So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, "She is really your wife! Why did you say, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac answered him, "Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her."
Abimelech
If this were the same Abimelech, he probably would have referred to Abraham’s example from years before.
26:10-11 Then Abimelech said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us." So Abimelech gave orders to all the people: "Anyone who molests [NKJ,NRS,MOF: “touches”] this man or his wife shall surely be put to death." (NIV)
This was different from the earlier example. Abimelech pronounced a death sentence here while God pronounced a death sentence in the case of Abraham and Sarah.
26:12-13 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him. The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. (NIV)
Blessings for Isaac
This is the second time in the account that Isaac received God's blessing.
26:14-15 He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. So all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth. (NIV)
Well Dispute
Similar contentions existed when Abraham was there (21:25).
26:16-18
Then Abimelech said to Isaac, "Move away from us; you have become too
powerful for us." So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the
Since Isaac was born in the area and helped his father dig the wells originally, he would remember what they had been named.
26:19-20 Isaac's servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen and said, "The water is ours!" So he named the well Esek [“contention”], because they disputed with him. (NIV)
This situation was similar to what happened between the herdsmen of Abraham and
the herdsmen of
26:21-24
Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named
it Sitnah [“hatred”]. He moved on from
there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth [“room”], saying, "Now the LORD has given us room and we
will flourish in the land." From there he went up to
Talking to Isaac
Just as God had spoken to Abraham after he had separated from Lot (13:14-17) and renewed His promise of land and great prosperity, so He now does with Isaac. This is the third time the blessing of Isaac is mentioned.
26:25 Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well. (NIV)
Isaac’s Actions
Just like Abraham, Isaac dug a well and built and altar there (21:30,33).
26:26-29 Meanwhile, Abimelech had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath [“a company”; one Targum translates this: “with a company of his friends”] his personal adviser [NKJ: “one of his friends”] and Phicol the commander of his forces. Isaac asked them, "Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?" They answered, "We saw clearly that the LORD was with you; so we said, 'There ought to be a sworn agreement between us'—between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you that you will do us no harm, just as we did not molest you but always treated you well and sent you away in peace. And now you are blessed by the LORD." (NIV)
Making a Treaty
Just as Abimelech and Phicol had come to Abraham and acknowledged the power of God with him, so these men now do to Isaac, and likewise want to make a covenant.
26:30-31 Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace. (NIV)
Isaac, like Abraham, made a covenant with the leaders of the Philistines.
26:32-33
That day Isaac's servants came and told him about the
well they had dug. They said, "We've found water!" He called it
Shibah [“oath”], and to this day the name of the town has been
Renaming the Well
With the reopening of the well, Isaac renames it with the original name since the name had been abolished after the well had been filled and sealed. On both occasions of the naming of the well, an oath had been made—first with Abraham, then with Isaac.
26:34-35 When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. They were a source of grief [MOF: “which was a bitter disappointment”] to Isaac and Rebekah. (NIV)
Esau’s Wives
The Targums of Jonathan ben Uzziel and
27:1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see,… (NIV)
Weak Eyes
This seemed to be a genetic problem which was passed on to his son Jacob: “Now
the eyes of
27:1 (cont.)-4 …he called for Esau his older son and said to him, "My son." "Here I am," he answered. Isaac said, "I am now an old man and don't know the day of my death. Now then, get your weapons [Hebrew: “keley” = instruments of any kind]—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die." (NIV)
Binding Covenant
Beginning with God's covenant with Noah after the Flood, the indication is that a covenant was not considered binding unless an animal had been killed, cut in two and the parties had shared it.
27:5-10 Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau left for the open country to hunt game and bring it back, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, 'Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the LORD before I die.' Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you: Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies." (NIV)
Jacob over Esau
We are never told if Rebekah told Isaac that God had told her "the elder would serve the younger." If she had, it would seem that Isaac would have discussed this with God earlier to see whether he should pronounce the blessing on Jacob.
27:11-12 Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "But my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I'm a man with smooth skin. What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing." (NIV)
Jacob & Rebekah’s Deception
Jacob did not object to deceiving his father, but did not believe he could actually pass for his brother.
27:13 His mother said to him, "My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me." (NIV)
Rebekah was sure the deception would work, based on the prophecy God had given her before the twins were born.
27:14-17 So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it. Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older son, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins. Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made. (NIV)
According to tradition, the “best clothes of Esau” referred to the "garment of skins" that God had made for Adam, which had been passed down, possessed even by Nimrod, eventually coming into Esau's possession.
The coverings over Jacob's hands must have been tight-fitting gloves in order to pass the scrutiny of Isaac's examination.
27:18-20 He went to his father and said, "My father." "Yes, my son," he answered. "Who is it?" Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may give me your blessing." Isaac asked his son, "How did you find it so quickly, my son?" "The LORD your God gave me success," he replied. (NIV)
At this point, Jacob refers to Isaac's God because:
1. As a son of a patriarch he was obligated to mention the God of the family in reference to the patriarch
2. He had not yet been called to a personal relationship with God.
27:21-29 Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not." Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau." He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him. "Are you really my son Esau?" he asked. "I am," he replied. Then he said, "My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing." Jacob brought it to him and he ate; and he brought some wine and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come here, my son, and kiss me." So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said, "Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed. May God give you of heaven's dew and of earth's richness—an abundance of grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed." (NIV)
The Blessing
Moses is quoting the exact blessing, using “Elohim,” the name by which the patriarchs knew God. Isaac used “Elohim” rather than “El Shaddai” [Heaper of blessings], because “Elohim” [God of justice or judgment] shows that the blessings will ultimately be realized only when his descendants are obedient to the conditions of the covenant. God will judge whether future generations will have these blessings, or
whether they will be withheld. The latter part of the blessing ["Be lord over your brothers…"] was a ritualistic statement that gave the recipient the right to become the new patriarch and have authority over all the other members of the household.
Although Jacob procured the blessing in a deceitful way, God had determined that he would receive it before he was born in order to emphasize His promises were predicated on His will, not on birth order nor human efforts. Paul explains this in ROM 9:8-15, “…They which are the children of the flesh...are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. For this is the word of promise...Sarah shall have a son. And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived...(the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that [NEB] God's selective purpose might stand, based not upon men's deeds but upon the call of God); It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.”
God chose Jacob over Esau because He was showing that His plan was based solely upon what He, as God, chose to do, not what man decided based upon his choices or laws.
27:30-33 After Isaac finished blessing him and Jacob had scarcely left his father's presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, "My father, sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing." His father Isaac asked him, "Who are you?" "I am your son," he answered, "your firstborn, Esau." Isaac trembled violently and said, "Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him—and indeed he will be blessed!" (NIV)
The blessing was irrevocable.
27:34-35 When Esau heard his father's words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, "Bless me—me too, my father!" But he said, "Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing." Esau said, "Isn't he rightly named Jacob ? He has deceived me these two times: He took my birthright, and now he's taken my blessing!" Then he asked, "Haven't you reserved any blessing for me?" (NIV)
Prophetic Statement
According to Joseph's statement in 41:32, the reason the dream of abundance and famine was given to Pharaoh in two forms was because the matter has been firmly decided by God. Esau’s statement was prophetic. God had decided before Jacob’s birth that he would receive the promises made to Abraham, and by the acquisition of both the birthright [bekorah] and the blessing [berakah] the matter was concluded.
27:37 Isaac answered Esau, "I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?" (NIV)
Esau’s Blessing
The birthright was what the firstborn received as his right of being born first—a double portion (DEU 21:17). The birthright automatically came to the firstborn. However, the actual designation of the double portion wasn't carried out until later, toward the end of the father's life. All of the ramifications of the birthright were confirmed at a blessing ceremony, at which time the blessings which came with the
birthright were enumerated. Esau still qualified for 1/3 of Isaac's inheritance. Just like Reuben later lost the birthright, but received a blessing along with the other tribes, so Esau could still receive a blessing. He might have thought he could possibly regain the birthright through a blessing. However, due to the blessing given to Jacob, whatever blessings Isaac would give Esau would automatically become Jacob's.
27:38-39 And Esau said to his father, "Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father!" And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: "Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above.
This is the reference that Paul uses in HEB 12:17. When Esau wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears. Isaac goes on to give him a blessing, even though it would become Jacob’s. The blessing entailed “fatness” which is from a Hebrew root word which can mean oil.
27:40 By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you break loose [NIV: “grow restless”], you shall break his yoke from your neck." (NRS)
Breaking Jacob’s Yoke
Esau's descendants became very restless once
27:41-44
Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given
him. He said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are near;
then I will kill my brother Jacob." When Rebekah was told what her older
son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him,
"Your brother Esau is consoling himself with the thought of killing you.
Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my brother Laban in
Time Frame
Jacob was gone 40 years. Since Rebekah is not mentioned after Jacob returned, it is assumed she died while he was away.
27:45 When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I'll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?" (NIV)
Sending Jacob Away
There is no indication that she ever sent him word. If Esau killed Jacob, the patriarchal law required an avenger of blood to kill him.
27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I'm disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living." (NIV)
Rebekah used this guise to get Isaac to send Jacob away because she did not want to tell him the truth about Esau’s threat. Since the Hittite wives of Esau were a "source of grief" to Isaac (26:35), Rebekah probably figured that Isaac would not hesitate to agree with her proposal.
28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him and commanded him: "Do not marry a Canaanite woman. (NIV)
Isaac’s Approval
Isaac now blessed Jacob with the clear knowledge it was Jacob that he blessed, thereby putting his approval on the transference of the promises.
Time Frame
Jacob was about 58 years old by this point, and had observed the conditions his parents were experiencing with Esau's wives.
28:2-9
Go at once to Paddan
Esau’s Choice
Esau took a wife from the family of their grandfather Abraham, just as Jacob went to take a wife from the family of their mother. This might have been done out of a desire to please his parents, but more likely to have greater claim to the promises of Abraham, since Jacob was only marrying into his mother's side while descendants from Mahalath would have more of Abraham's blood.
Mahalath
Mahalath’s real name was probably "Basemath" [spice, fragrant, pleasing—36:3], yet was called Mahalath [“forgive”] to signify that Esau wanted forgiveness from Isaac for marrying Canaanites.
28:10-11
Jacob left
Jacob’s Stone
This stone has been traditionally viewed as the same one that was taken by
Jeremiah to
28:12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. (NIV)
God’s Throne
This verse gives us the indication that the place of God's residence is not millions of miles or light-years away from earth. Since He resides in a dimension which we cannot see, the area of God's throne in the third heaven can and does easily exist alongside or sharing the same space as the earth.
28:13-15 There above it stood the LORD, and He said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac [God’s name is not normally linked with that of a living person]. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." (NIV)
Promises Confirmed
Abraham also had the promises confirmed to him while he was sleeping (15:12).
Dreams
Abraham’s dream focused on the sojourning of his descendants in
28:16-21 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it." He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven." Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it [dedicated it to worship]. He called that place Bethel [“house of God”], though the city used to be called Luz [name when Abraham first came there—12:8]. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God (NIV)
Conditions
Jacob laid down the conditions that must be met before he officially accepted Isaac's God as his own God.
28:22 and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth." (NIV)
Tithing
This is the second occurrence of tithing, the first being with Abraham (14:20). For Jacob to use the percentage he does shows that he was already aware of the law. However, since he had always lived under the authority of the patriarch, he had never been in the position to tithe. All he had was legally the patriarch's, and the patriarch assumed the responsibilities of tithing for his whole household.
29:1 Then Jacob continued on his journey [Hebrew: “lifted up his feet”] and came to the land of the eastern peoples. (NIV)
Jacob’s Journey
Jacob was in high spirits, hurrying on to his destination. He arrived there in 1758 B.C.
29:2-6
There he saw a well in the field, with three flocks of
sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well. The stone
over the mouth of the well was large. When all the flocks were gathered there,
the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well's mouth and water the
sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the
well. Jacob asked the shepherds, "My brothers, where are you from?"
"We're from
Bethuel
There is no mention of Bethuel, just Nahor, the grand-patriarch of
Shepherdess
It was not normally the duty of daughters to take care of livestock, unless there were no sons.
29:7-8 "Look," he said, "the sun is still high; it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture." "We can't," they replied, "until all the flocks are gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep." (NIV)
The stone was too heavy for them to move. It was necessary for them to wait until all the shepherds arrived so the stone could be more easily moved.
29:9-10 While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess. When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and Laban's sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle's sheep. (NIV)
Jacob single-handedly removed the stone that normally took more than two men. Between this event and the wrestling match with God, we can begin to see that although Jacob had not been interested in livestock and hunting when he was younger, he was not a weakling.
29:11-16 Then Jacob kissed [reference to a customary greeting] Rachel and began to weep aloud. He had told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and a son of Rebekah. So she ran and told her father. As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister's son, he hurried to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, and there Jacob told him all
these things. Then Laban said to him, "You are my own flesh and blood." After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month, Laban said to him, "Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be." Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah [“wearied”], and the name of the younger was Rachel [“ewe” or “sheep”]. (NIV)
29:17 Leah's eyes were lovely [Hebrew: “rakkoth” meaning “soft” in beauty], and Rachel was graceful [TAN: “shapely”] and beautiful. (NRS)
29:18-20 Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, "I'll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel." Laban said, "It's better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me." So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her. (NIV)
Marriage Negotiations
Although the custom during this period was for the brother to negotiate marriage for his sisters, Laban negotiates the marriage of Rachel. The only reason this could happen is if he had no sons. Also, Laban states Jacob would be a better husband than another man: a son-in-law related by blood would be an ideal heir. Custom allowed a man to adopt a son-in-law in order to make him the legal heir.
29:21-24 Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to lie with her." So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast [“mishteh” = a feast of drinking]. But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and Jacob lay with her. And Laban gave his servant girl [personal maid] Zilpah [“a trickling”] to his daughter as her maidservant. (NIV)
End of Seven Years
The period of seven years had come to an end and Jacob wanted the payment for which he had negotiated with Laban. This occurred in 1751 B.C.
Laban’s Deception
The alcohol from the feasting had affected Jacob's perception so much that he did not realize Laban had switched his daughters.
29:25 When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn't I? Why have you deceived me?" (NIV)
Jacob now begins to realize what it feels like to be deceived.
29:26 Laban replied, "It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. (NIV)
Laban had not brought this information to Jacob's attention during the entire seven years of servitude.
29:27-31 Finish this daughter's bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work." And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban
gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. Laban gave his servant girl [personal maid]Bilhah [“timid”]to his daughter Rachel as her maidservant. Jacob lay with Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years. When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved [KJV: “hated”; Hebrew: “sahneh” meaning “loved to a lesser degree”], He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. (NIV)
Leah’s Condition
The use of the term “opened her womb” implies that, by nature, Leah was barren. This means God worked a miracle to allow her to bear children.
Jacob’s Dependence on God
After not getting what he wanted due to Laban's deceit, Jacob is denied offspring from the only wife he wanted. Just as Abraham and Isaac had to depend on God to produce the desired heirs, so Jacob now learns he too must depend on God.
29:32-35 Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben [“see a son”], for she said, "It is because the LORD has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now." She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Because the LORD heard that I am not loved, He gave me this one too." So she named him Simeon [“heard”]. Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." So he was named Levi [“joined”—the tribe that was to join the people to God]. She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "This time I will praise the LORD." So she named him Judah [“praise”—the tribe from which the One to be praised descended]. Then she stopped having children. (NIV)
Leah’s First Four Sons
The first of Leah’s sons, Reuben, was probably born in 1750 B.C. and was then followed about every two years with the next one—Simeon, Levi, and Judah.
30:1-2 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, "Give me children, or I'll die!" Jacob became angry with her and said, "Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?" (NIV)
God’s Intervention
Jacob acknowledged that it was God who was preventing Rachel from conceiving.
30:3 She said, "Here is my maid Bilhah. Consort with her, that she may bear on my knees and that through her I too may have children." (TAN)
Social Custom
This is the same custom that Sarai suggested to Abram when she asked him to go in to Hagar so that she "could obtain children by her" (16:2). When a barren woman gave a surrogate to her husband, the barren woman would support the surrogate while she was giving birth, so that the child would be born on the barren woman's knees. The barren woman would then be considered the legal mother.
30:4-14 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, and she became pregnant and bore him a son. Then Rachel said, "God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son." Because of this she named him Dan [“judged”]. Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, "I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won." So she named him Naphtali [“my wrestling”]. When Leah saw that she had stopped having children [she had become barren again], she took her maidservant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. Then Leah said, "What good fortune!" So she named him Gad [“good fortune” or “a troop”]. Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. Then Leah said, "How happy I am! The women will call me happy." So she named him Asher [“happy”]. During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes." (NIV)
Mandrakes
The wheat harvest for that area would have been around May. Although it is not known for certain what mandrakes were, it seems that they either helped conception, or it was a superstition that they did.
30:15 But she said to her, "Wasn't it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son's mandrakes too?" "Very well," Rachel said, "he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son's mandrakes." (NIV)
Jacob’s Favoritism
From this verse we conclude that Jacob generally slept with Rachel.
30:16-26 So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. "You must sleep with me," she said. "I have hired you with my son's mandrakes." So he slept with her that night. God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. Then Leah said, "God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband." So she named him Issachar [“compensation,” “hire”]. Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. Then Leah said, "God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons." So she named him Zebulun [“cohabitation,” “dwelling”]. Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah [the feminine form of “Dan”, meaning “judgment”]. Then God remembered Rachel; He listened to her and opened her womb. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, "God has taken away my disgrace." She named him Joseph [“adding”], and said, "May the LORD add to me another son." After Rachel gave birth to Joseph [1724 B.C.], Jacob said to Laban, "Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland. Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I've done for you." (NIV)
“Send Me on My Way”
Even though Jacob had worked for Laban for 34 years, he still asks permission to leave.
30:27 And Laban said to him, "Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for I have learned by experience [NIV, TAN: “divination”] that the LORD has blessed me for your sake."
30:28-35 He added, "Name your wages, and I will pay them." Jacob said to him, "You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care. The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?" "What shall I give you?" he asked. "Don't give me anything," Jacob replied. "But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them: Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen." "Agreed," said Laban. "Let it be as you have said." That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons. (NIV)
Laban’s Deceitfulness
Laban removed every animal Jacob described, so that Jacob would not have even one pair of breeding stock that he could use to produce any animals for himself. The sons of Laban must have been born after Jacob had been several years in the land.
30:36-39 Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban's flocks. Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. (NIV)
Jacob’s Reaction
Jacob either built pens around the watering holes, or laid the branches on the ground like a cattle-guard, preventing the animals from intermingling after Jacob separated them.
30:40 Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban's animals. (NIV)
The young of the flock were his animals, so he kept them separate from Laban's.
30:41-42 Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. (NIV)
He practiced selective breeding by separating the weaker animals from the breeding stock, leaving the stronger animals to produce offspring.
30:43 In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys. (NIV)
31:1 Jacob heard that Laban's sons were saying, "Jacob has taken everything our father owned and has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father." (NIV)
Jealousy
Just as Isaac's wealth had made the Philistines jealous, so now Laban and his sons were becoming jealous of Jacob.
31:2 And Jacob noticed that Laban's attitude toward him was not what it had been [NKJ: “favorable toward him as before”]. (NIV)
Time Frame
This event occurred in 1718 B.C. when Jacob was 98 years old. Joseph would have been 6 years old.
31:3 Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you." (NIV)
Fulfillment
God had earlier promised to bring him again into the
31:4-5 So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah to come out to the fields where his flocks were. He said to them, "I see that your father's attitude toward me is not what it was before, but the God of my father has been with me. (NIV)
Time of Shearing
This was the time of shearing, and it was not unusual for the households of the men to come and set up camp at the shearing station. This would aid Jacob in leaving without being suspected too quickly.
31:6-8 You know that I've worked for your father with all my strength, yet your father has cheated me by changing my wages ten times [TAN: “time and again”]. However, God has not allowed him to harm me. If he said, 'The speckled ones will be your wages,' then all the flocks gave birth to speckled young; and if he said, 'The streaked ones will be your wages,' then all the flocks bore streaked young. (NIV)
God’s Intervention
God supernaturally intervened to cause all the newborn animals to have the markings that Laban established as belonging to Jacob. This so frustrated Laban that he was continually changing the marking that belonged to Jacob, and God would reciprocate by causing the newborns to have the newly designated coloration.
31:9 So God has taken away your father's livestock and has given them to me. (NIV)
Jacob's livestock breeding technique insured superior quality animals, but it was God that caused his animals to grow in number.
31:10-12 "In breeding season I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted. The angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob.' I answered, 'Here I am.' And He said, 'Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. (NIV)
God comforted Jacob by showing him that He would supernaturally alter the genetic makeup of the animals so that the offspring produced would always be the wage [coloration] that Laban established at the time.
31:13 I am the God of
Omnipotent God
The Canaanites believed that a god of one particular area could only be reached in that specific area, but El Shaddai was showing the patriarchs that this stationary idea did not apply to Him.
31:14 Then Rachel and Leah replied, "Do we still have any share in the inheritance of our father's estate? (NIV)
Daughters’ Place
Daughters did not inherit unless there were no sons. When Jacob first came to
31:15-16 Does he not regard us as foreigners? Not only has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us. Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you." (NIV)
Laban's daughters did not have much respect for him because of the way he had treated them over the years.
31:17-21
Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels, and he drove all his
livestock ahead of him, along with all the goods he had accumulated in Paddan
Route
to
The route to Canaan required going west from
31:22-26
On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled.
Taking his relatives with him, he pursued Jacob for seven days and caught up
with him in the hill country of
careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad [Hebrew: “from good to evil” = do not verbally and physically attack him]." Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there too. Then Laban said to Jacob, "What have you done? You've deceived me, and you've carried off my daughters like captives in war. (NIV)
Leah and Rachel
Laban's claim on Leah and Rachel as daughters could not be greater than Jacob's claim on them as his wives.
31:27-29 Why did you run off secretly and deceive me? Why didn't you tell me, so I could send you away with joy and singing to the music of tambourines and harps? You didn't even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters good-by. You have done a foolish thing. I have the power to harm you; but last night the God of your father said to me, 'Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.' (NIV)
Laban
Laban once again shows that he did not know the true God.
31:30-32 Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father's house. But why did you steal my gods?" Jacob answered Laban, "I was afraid, because I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force. But if you find anyone who has your gods, he shall not live. In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself whether there is anything of yours here with me; and if so, take it." Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the gods. (NIV)
Due to Laban’s deceptive and selfish practices, Jacob suspected that Laban would even attempt to prevent him from taking his wives with him.
31:33-35 So Laban went into Jacob's tent and into Leah's tent and into the tent of the two maidservants, but he found nothing. After he came out of Leah's tent, he entered Rachel's tent. Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them inside her camel's saddle and was sitting on them. Laban searched through everything in the tent but found nothing. Rachel said to her father, "Don't be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I'm having my period." So he searched but could not find the household gods. (NIV)
Defilement
A menstruating woman was considered defiled, and would not normally touch a sacred object.
31:36-37 Jacob was angry and took Laban to task. "What is my crime?" he asked Laban. "What sin have I committed that you hunt me down? Now that you have searched through all my goods, what have you found that belongs to your household? Put it here in front of your relatives and mine, and let them judge between the two of us. (NIV)
Jacob and Laban
Since the idols were not found, Jacob suspected that the story of the theft was fabricated to give Laban the chance to make a general search of his things.
31:38-39 "I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. I did not bring you animals torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for whatever was stolen by day or night. (NIV)
Jacob worked 20 years for Laban above the amount of time originally agreed upon.
31:40-41 This was my situation: The heat consumed me in the daytime and the cold at night, and sleep fled from my eyes. It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times. (NIV)
Jacob now reflects back that he had worked fourteen years [1758-1744 B.C.] for Leah and Rachel, then twenty years [1744-1724 B.C.] being cheated and earning nothing until the birth of Joseph, and finally six years [1724-1718 B.C.] for the flocks he took with him.
31:42-43 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac [“God of Isaac”, 31:53], had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night He rebuked you." Laban answered Jacob, "The women are my daughters, the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks. All you see is mine. Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine, or about the children they have borne? (NIV)
If what Laban says is true, then Jacob had been legally adopted by Laban. A son could not establish his own household as long as he remained in the same locale as the patriarch, and could not leave unless the patriarch granted permission. That was not true of a son-in-law.
31:44 Come now, let's make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between us." (NIV)
Just as Isaac parted ways with Abimelech by making a covenant, so Jacob and Laban parted ways with a covenant.
31:45-50 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. He said to his relatives, "Gather some stones." So they took stones and piled them in a heap, and they ate there by the heap. Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha [Laban named it in Chaldean], and Jacob called it Galeed [Jacob named it in Hebrew]. Laban said, "This heap is a witness between you and me today." That is why it was called Galeed. It was also called Mizpah [“watchtower”], because he said, "May the LORD keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other. If you mistreat my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me." (NIV)
If Jacob was the adopted son of Laban, then he was bound not to marry women outside the household. This was one reason Laban gave handmaids to his two daughters. Since handmaids were
considered part of the patriarchal family, if Laban's daughters were found to be incapable of bearing children, the handmaids could be used as surrogate mothers. Even though they are now parting ways, Laban reminds him of the vow that had been made at the time Jacob agreed to the terms of adoption.
31:51-53 Laban also said to Jacob, "Here is this heap, and here is this pillar I have set up [Hebrew MS: “you have set up”; Samaritan text: “the pillar which you see”] between you and me. This heap [set up by Laban] is a witness, and this pillar [set up by Jacob] is a witness, that I will not go past this heap to your side to harm you and that you will not go past this heap and pillar to my side to harm me. May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us." So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac [“by Him Whom Isaac feared”]. (NIV)
Swearing by gods
Laban swore by all the gods he felt were pertinent. It is remotely possible that the God of Abraham was the same as the god of Nahor and Terah. Jacob, however, refused to swear except by the God of his father Isaac, Who he had personally encountered.
31:54-55 He offered a sacrifice there in the hill country and invited his relatives to a meal. After they had eaten, they spent the night there. Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then he left and returned home. (NIV)
Laban’s Consent
It was necessary to have a meal in conjunction with a covenant. At this point, Laban gives his consent for Jacob to leave his household and form his own.
32:1 As Jacob continued his journey he was met by angels [Hebrew: “malach” = “messenger”] of God. (REB)
32:2-3
When Jacob saw them, he said, "This is the camp [REB: “company”]of
God!" So he named that place Mahanaim. Jacob sent messengers ahead of him
to his brother Esau in the land of Seir [stretched from south of the Dead Sea to
the Arabian Gulf], the country of
Mahanaim
The name Mahanaim means “two camps” or “two companies” and referred to the company of God’s angels and the company of Jacob’s family.
Jacob’s Return
The last time Jacob and Esau were together, Esau was threatening to to kill Jacob for stealing his blessing (27:41). Jacob now returns under God's direction, and before coming to his father Isaac, notifies his brother.
32:4-5 He instructed them: "This is what you are to say to my master Esau: 'Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, menservants and maidservants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.'" (NIV)
Jacob is asking Esau’s forgiveness for what he had done 40 years ago in 1758 BC.
32:6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, 'We went to your brother Esau and he is already on the way to meet you with four hundred men.' (REB)
32:7-8 In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well. He thought, "If Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that is left may escape." (NIV)
After doing all he could for his family, Jacob now turns to God to do what only He can do.
32:9-10
Then Jacob prayed, "O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O
LORD, who said to me, 'Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will
make you prosper,' I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have
shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this
32:11 Save me, I pray, from my brother Esau, for I am afraid that he may come and destroy me; he will spare neither mother nor child. (REB)
Esau’s Character
Jacob knew that Esau could be ruthless, showing no mercy even to women and children.
32:12 "For You said, 'I will surely treat you well [NIV: “make you prosper”], and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.' "
32:13-15 He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift for his brother Esau: two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. (NIV)
As one last preparation, Jacob hatches a plan to appease Esau by offering him a gift worth a fortune by the standards of that day.
32:16-20 He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, "Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds." He instructed the one in the lead: "When my brother Esau meets you and asks, 'To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?' then you are to say, 'They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.'" He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: "You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. And be sure to say, 'Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.'" For he thought, "I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me." (NIV)
Jacob had learned the importance of doing good to those who hate you (MAT 5:44).
32:21-23 So Jacob's gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp. That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. (NIV)
The place of fording was about 10 miles east of the Jordan River, 35 miles
north of the
32:24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man [God Himself, not an angel] wrestled with him until the breaking of day.
32:25 When the Man saw that He could not get the better of Jacob, He struck [“naga” = anything from a touch to a violent blow] him in the hollow of his thigh, so that Jacob's hip was dislocated as they wrestled. (REB)
Jacob’s Struggle
Apparently God manifested Himself in the human form, limiting His physical power to be equal with Jacob's. The whole purpose of this wrestling match was to complete the needed requirements for renaming Jacob.
32:26 And He said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks." But he said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!"
Since God manifested Himself to Abraham in daylight periods, there must be more significance to the end of the night than God not wanting to appear during the day. There may have been an agreement made before they started wrestling to stop once it became light.
32:27-28
So He said to him, "What is your name?" And
he said, "Jacob." And He said, "Your name shall no longer be
called Jacob, but
Jacob’s Renaming
“
1. sarah [ruled as a prince]...el [God]: "a prince of God.”
2. ish [man]...raah [he saw]...el [God]: "the man who saw God.”
Jacob’s Prevailing
Jacob's entire life had been one of struggle. He struggled with his brother and father to obtain the patriarch's blessing. He struggled with his father-in-law to obtain the wife he wanted and then the livestock he was promised. Now he had struggled with God to receive His blessing.
32:29 Then Jacob asked Him, saying, "Tell me Your name, I pray." And He said, "Why is it that you ask about My name?" And He blessed him there [TAN: “’You must not ask my name!’ And he took leave of him there.”].
God was not yet ready to reveal Himself to Jacob as El Shaddai.
32:30 So Jacob called the place Peniel [or Penuel , derived from “panim…el” meaning “the faces of El”], saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared." (NIV)
32:31-32
The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping on
his hip. That is why the children of
Verse 32 is an editorial comment possibly made after Moses.
33:1-2 Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two maidservants. He put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. (NIV)
Maidservants, Leah, Rachel
The order of placement shows the level of concern Jacob had for each.
33:3 He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother. (NIV)
Bowing Down
Jacob intended to show Esau that he really was sorry for stealing the blessing from him and does what Isaac's blessing said Esau should do to him: "Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you; be master over your brethren, and let your mother's sons bow down to you" (27:29).
33:4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. (NIV)
Esau’s Happiness
God had prepared the way for Jacob by pacifying Esau prior to their meeting.
33:5-7 Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. "Who are these with you?" he asked. Jacob answered, "They are the children God has graciously given your servant." Then the maidservants and their children approached and bowed down. Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down. (NIV)
Respecting Esau
Jacob had likely instructed all of his household to bow, showing Esau respect.
33:8 Esau asked, "What do you mean by all these droves I met?" "To find favor in your eyes, my lord," he said. (NIV)
This act also showed Esau that Jacob was repentant for what he had done, because in presenting all the livestock, Jacob was in effect serving his brother!
33:9-10 But Esau said, "I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself." "No, please!" said Jacob. "If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably. (NIV)
Esau’s Plenty
God had substantially blessed Esau by driving out the Horites and helping him to increase his family and possessions.
33:11-14 Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need." And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it. Then Esau said, "Let us be on our way; I'll accompany you." But Jacob said to him, "My lord knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die. So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the droves before me and that of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir." (NIV)
Visiting Esau
We are never told about Jacob going to Seir to visit Esau, although he could
have done so numerous times before going into
33:15-17 Esau said, "Then let me leave some of my men with you." "But why do that?" Jacob asked. "Just let me find favor in the eyes of my lord." So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir. Jacob, however, went to Succoth, where he built a place [NKJ, REB, TAN: “house”] for himself and made shelters [NKJ: “booths”] for his livestock. That is why the place is called Succoth. (NIV)
Shelters
The indication from this verse is that Jacob built fairly permanent buildings
because he intended to remain there for at least several months. The
location was on the north bank of the
33:18 So having journeyed from Paddan-aram, Jacob arrived safely
at the town of
Succoth and Shechem
We are not told how long Jacob stayed at Succoth before moving into central
33:19 For a hundred pieces of silver, he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent. (NIV)
Purchasing Land
This is only the second time we read of one of the patriarchs purchasing land.
The first instance was when Abraham bought the field and
33:20 There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe
Focus on Jacob’s Family
The children of Jacob now become the focus for the remainder of Genesis. The accompanying theme is that God can achieve what He wants regardless of the self-serving plans of humans.
34:1 Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. (NIV)
Dinah & Shechem
Josephus says Dinah went to see the fine clothing worn by the local women during a special festival celebration [Antiquities, I.XXI.1]. Dinah would have been between 15 and 20 years old.
34:2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and violated her [TAN, NRS: “lay with her by force]. (NIV)
Surely, Shechem, being son of the ruler in that area, had never been denied anything, and thought he could take whatever he wanted.
34:3-5 His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. And Shechem said to his father Hamor, "Get me this girl as my wife." When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he kept quiet about it until they came home. (NIV)
34:6 Meanwhile Shechem's father Hamor came out to Jacob to talk the matter over with him. (REB)
34:7 Now Jacob's sons had come in from the fields as soon as they
heard what had happened. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem
had done a disgraceful thing in Israel [can also be translated: “against
Individual vs. Nation
The sons of Jacob were already considering themselves a people or nation, instead of individuals.
34:8-10 But Hamor said to them, "My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it." (NIV)
Intermarriage
He was offering them the opportunity to be absorbed into the Hivite nation, which would mean losing their identity as a separate people.
34:11-14 Then Shechem said to Dinah's father and brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask. Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as
you like, and I'll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the girl as my wife." Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob's sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. They said to them, "We can't do such a thing; we can't give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us. (NIV)
Marriage Negotiations
Dinah’s brothers were negotiating the conditions of marriage, not Jacob. Hamor had come to negotiate marriage with Dinah's father, as the Canaanite practice was, but found himself negotiating with Dinah's brothers instead, which followed the Mesopotamian custom.
34:15-19 We will give our consent to you on one condition only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males. Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We'll settle among you and become one people with you. But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we'll take our sister and go." Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. The young man, who was the most honored of all his father's household, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob's daughter. (NIV)
Shechem
It becomes clear that Shechem had been spoiled, always getting everything he wanted. His upbringing created his unbridled selfishness which exhibited itself when he raped Dinah.
34:20-23 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city to speak to their fellow townsmen. "These men are friendly toward us," they said. "Let them live in our land and trade in it; the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours. But the men will consent to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised, as they themselves are. Won't their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours? So let us give our consent to them, and they will settle among us." (NIV)
Consent for Circumcision
Hamor and Shechem were being deceitful with Jacob's sons, and at the same time used the greed of their own people to entice them to be circumcised.
34:24-26 All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised. Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male. They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem's house and left. (NIV)
An Avenging Slaughter
Josephus tells us that not only were the men too sore to resist, but this was also during the festival when excessive eating and drinking dulled their awareness.
34:27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled.
Although Simeon and Levi were responsible for the slaughter, all the sons joined in plundering the spoils, with the exception of Joseph, who would have only been six or seven years old. The next oldest brother in the birth order would have been Zebulun, who was at least ten years older than Joseph.
34:28-31 They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields. They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in the houses. Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought trouble on me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed." But they replied, "Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?" (NIV)
Honor
They reminded Jacob that the family honor was at stake, as well as the need to restore their sister's honor.
35:1
Then God said to Jacob, "Go up to
Going
to
God now tells Jacob to move because of the trouble that was brewing among the neighboring Canaanite tribes due to the slaughter of Shechem by Simeon and Levi.
35:2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. (NIV)
Preparing Jacob
God had sufficiently prepared Jacob, making him ready to cut the covenant. The
covenant required Jacob and his household to "walk before Me and be blameless"—which must include no other
gods. Some idols were no doubt worshipped in Laban's household, but others were
probably obtained when the sons of Jacob spoiled the city of
In the same way that Jacob instructed his household to purify themselves, God instructed Moses to command the children of Israel to be pure and wash their clothes before He made the covenant and delivered the commandments (EXO 19:10,14).
35:3 Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone." (NIV)
Remaining Faithful
Jacob's life had been one of constant distress since the day he stole the
blessing from Esau, yet God remained faithful to the promise He made with Jacob
at
35:4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak [NKJ, REB: “terebinth tree”] at [REB, TAN: “near”] Shechem. (NIV)
Burying the Idols
The earrings and the spoils of Shechem may have had some idolatrous design, or may have been devoted to idol worship. They had brought their idols from Laban’s household, where the entire household was expected to worship the patriarch’s god.
35:5 Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them. (NIV)
Terror of God
God prevented any retribution against Jacob's family by some supernatural
means. He may have simply put a spirit of fear in their minds. This
fear, coupled with the knowledge that the sons of
35:6
Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is,
Luz
The Canaanites called the area Luz, although Jacob had renamed it before going
to
35:7-8
There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel [“God of the
House of God”], because it was there that
God revealed Himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother. Now Deborah,
Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried under the oak below
Deborah
Moses probably added this editorial comment, since there is no indication that
Deborah ever left Rebekah to join Jacob's family. It is likely she died while
Jacob was away in
35:9-10
After Jacob returned from Paddan
Jacob’s Renaming
This appears to be an editorial comment about the events at Peniel just after
Jacob returned from
35:11 And God said to him, "I am God Almighty [“El Shaddai”]; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community [NKJ,NRS:“company”] of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. (NIV)
El Shaddai
God now tells Jacob He is El Shaddai. Although Isaac had referred to El Shaddai while blessing Jacob, this is the first time God appears to Jacob by that name.
Separating the Promise
This is also the first time God separates the promise of national greatness into a nation and a company of nations.
35:12-13 The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you." Then God went up from him [shows that this was an actual event, not a dream or vision] at the place where He had talked with him. (NIV)
Speaking with Jacob
This is the last recorded time God speaks with Jacob until He tells him to go
down into
35:14-20 Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. Jacob called the place where God had talked with
him
Rachel’s Tomb
The site of her tomb was still known during Samuel's time (1SA 10:2). The other wives of the patriarchs—Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah—were all buried in the cave at the field of Machpelah.
35:22
Birthright Disqualification
Two of the older sons of Jacob—Simeon and Levi—had disqualified themselves from
any birthright by acting on Jacob’s behalf without his permission in destroying
the men of Shechem, and now Reuben does the same. This left
35:23-26
The sons of Leah: Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon,
Benjamin’s Inclusion
Benjamin was clearly not born in the area of
35:27
Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is,
Time Frame
This probably occurred sometime between 1716 B.C. and 1708 B.C. God has now fulfilled His promise to Jacob of returning him to his father's house (28:15,21).
35:28-29 Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years. Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. (NIV)
Isaac died in 1696 B.C., 12 years after Joseph was sold by his brothers. It was
not necessary to specify that Isaac was buried in the
36:1 Now this is the genealogy of Esau, who is
Who is Edom
This is an editorial reminder that the nation of
36:2-3
Esau took his wives from the women of
Descent of Oholibamah
Although the second wife has two different names, they are closely related in meaning. At the time Esau took her as a wife her name was Judith [“praised”], but due to unrevealed events, her name was later changed to Oholibamah [“my tent is exalted”]. Name changes were not uncommon.
However, Judith is said to be the daughter of "Beeri" in 26:34, yet Oholibamah is the daughter of "Anah." One possible explanation is that "Beeri" was a very powerful and famous Hittite, several generations removed, and Oholibamah was actually a descendent of "Beeri", possibly a granddaughter or great-granddaughter. This is similar to how the Jews skipped many generations in claiming to be sons of Abraham.
Esau’s Motives
Esau married two Canaanite wives and the daughter of Ishmael. Since the
two Canaanite wives were born in the land, his descendants through them should
have rights to the land by reason of their mothers' births. Since Ishmael
had prior claim to the birthright, his descendants should also have claim to
the land involved. Through these marriages Esau attempted to validate his
claim to the
36:4-5
Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel, and Oholibamah bore Jeush,
Jalam and Korah. These were the sons of Esau, who were born to him in
36:6 Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the persons of his household, his cattle and all his animals, and all his goods which he had gained in the land of Canaan, and went to a country away from the presence of his brother Jacob.
Esau’s Territory
Esau had already gained territory in the
36:7 For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together, and the land where they were strangers could not support them because of their livestock. (NIV)
This separation of the two brothers is very similar to the separation of Abram
and
36:8-9
So Esau (that is,
Esau moved back to the land he had earlier conquered.
36:10 These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz [Esau’s firstborn, 36:15], the son of Esau's wife Adah, and Reuel, the son of Esau's wife Basemath. (NIV)
The remainder of this chapter is paralleled in 1CH 1:35-54.
36:11 The sons of Eliphaz: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz. (NIV)
Eliphaz
One of Job's three friends was Eliphaz the Temanite. While Esau's son might be the same one, it is more likely that either a son or grandson of Teman was named Eliphaz [a later descendant would be more likely to carry the designation "the Temanite"].
36:12 Esau's son Eliphaz also had a concubine named Timna [daughter of Seir the Horite, 36:22], who bore him Amalek. These were grandsons of Esau's wife Adah. (NIV)
Amalek
Amalek
was the father of the Amalekites, bitter enemies of
36:13-19
The sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were grandsons of
Esau's wife Basemath. The sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah
daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon, whom she bore to Esau: Jeush,
Jalam and Korah [possibly
“Timna” (son of Eliphaz) in 1CH 1:36]. These were the chiefs [leaders, or TAN:
“clans”] among Esau's descendants: The
sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, Korah,
Gatam and Amalek. These were the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in
Esau’s Descendants
This concludes the summary of Esau's descendants from his sons who were born in
the
36:20-21
These were the sons of Seir [“hairy”] the
Horite [possibly
meant “cave dweller” since the Hebrew “hor” means “cave”], who were living in the region: Lotan, Shobal,
Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These sons of Seir in
This genealogy is apparently given to show how Esau had claim to the area of the Horites by marrying into one of the ruling families (36:25).
36:22-24
The sons of Lotan: Hori and Homam. Timna [concubine to Eliphaz] was Lotan's sister. The sons of Shobal: Alvan,
Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam. The sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah [named after
Zibeon’s younger brother]. This is the
Anah who discovered the
Anah
This “Anah” is differentiated from the one in vs 20, by pointing out that he made what then must have been an important discovery.
36:25-30
The children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah [the one who became one of Esau’s wives] daughter of Anah. The sons of Dishon
: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran and Keran. The sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan and
Akan. The sons of Dishan: Uz [probably gave his name to the area where Job lived:
LAM 4:21] and Aran. These were the Horite
chiefs: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These were the
Horite chiefs, according to their divisions, in the
36:31 Now these were the kings who reigned in the
Scriptural Addition
Verse 31 was obviously added after Moses since there was never a king over the
children of
36:32-43
Bela [“destruction”,
may have been the Balaam of NUM 22:5] son
of Beor became king of
37:1
Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the
“Dwelt in the Land”
Since Isaac preferred living in the area of Beer Lahai Roi (25:11), it seems likely that was also the location where Jacob settled.
37:2 This is the account of Jacob [REB: “and this is an account of Jacob’s descendants”]. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them [1708 B.C.]. (NIV)
Concubines to Wives
In 35:22 Bilhah was still considered a concubine. Now she and Zilpah both have the status of being wives of Jacob. Due to Jacob’s promise to Laban that he would not take any other wives while married to his daughters (31:50), it is probable that Leah was now dead. This made it possible for him to elevate the mothers of four of his sons to the status of wives.
This is the beginning of the account of the circumstances that placed the
nation of Jacob or
37:3
Now
Coat of Many Colors
The meaning of the Hebrew [ketonet passim] is literally "a coat that extends to the hands and feet;” the only other occurence of this term is found in 2SA 13:18.
Jewish tradition states that this coat was a symbol of being chosen for leadership. This was similar to the tradition regarding the "garment of skins" given to Adam, which according to tradition was passed down even to Esau (27:15).
37:4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. (NIV)
Favoritism
Favoritism has divided children, families, and nations.
37:5-10
Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the
more. He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: We were binding
sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly [symbolized how quickly Joseph
rose out of obscurity in
reign over us? Will you actually rule us?" And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had another dream, and this time the sun [Israel] and moon [Rachel] and eleven stars [Joseph’s brothers] were bowing down to me." When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, "What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?" (NIV)
Sun, Moon, Eleven Stars
John used these same symbols in REV 12:1. Jacob indicated it would be impossible for the dream to literally be fulfilled in their present circumstances since Rachel was already dead.
37:11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father did not forget the incident. (REB)
37:12 Now his brothers had gone to graze their father's flocks near Shechem, (NIV)
Shechem
This “Shechem” may have been on the same land that Jacob had bought about 10 years earlier, located almost 60 miles from the area where Jacob was living close to his father Isaac.
37:13-15
and
Joseph’s Authority
If all Jacob wanted was a report on the condition of his flocks he could have sent a servant. However, since the other sons had not always proven trustworthy (vs 2), Jacob gave Joseph the authority to correct any problem he might find.
37:16-20
He replied, "I'm looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are
grazing their flocks?" "They have moved on from here," the man
answered. "I heard them say, 'Let's go to
Irony
The irony of his brothers' attempt to destroy him was that their scheming would eventually help in the fulfillment Joseph's dreams.
37:21-22 When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. "Let's not take his life," he said. "Don't shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don't lay a hand on him." Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father. (NIV)
Reuben
As firstborn, Reuben was held responsible for all his brothers’ actions.
37:23-28
So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him
of his robe—the richly ornamented robe he was wearing—and they took him and
threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in
it. As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of
Ishmaelites coming from
Caravan
It was the Midianites who bought Joseph as a slave. The Ishmaelites had apparently been hired to transport the goods of the Midianite merchants.
37:29 When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. (NIV)
37:30-32 Returning to his brothers, he said, "The boy is gone! Now, what am I to do?" Then they got Joseph's robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. They took the ornamented robe back to their father and said, "We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son's robe." (TAN)
37:33-35 He recognized it and said, "It is my son's robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces." Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. "No," he said, "in mourning will I go down to the grave to my son." So his father wept for him. (NIV)
Jacob’s Daughters
The only daughter ever mentioned by name was Dinah. The use of the plural
“daughters” has three possible explanations. (1) The term “daughter” can
refer to a granddaughter, and by this time the older sons had children.
(2) It was also entirely possible that other unnamed daughters had also
been born, some marrying their half-brothers. (3) Some of the sons, such
as
37:36
Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in
Foreshadowing
What happened to Joseph foreshadowed all that would happen to the family of
Jacob. They would all go down into
38:1
About that time
Time Frame
From the selling of Joseph until Israel moved into Egypt during the famine, not
more than 23 years could have elapsed [13 years as slave and prisoner + 7 years
of plenty + 2 years of famine]. Therefore, it is improbable that
38:2-5
There
Judah’s Jeopardy
If this was a Canaanite, by marrying her,
38:6
Since
38:7-8
But Er,
Providing an Heir
Just as tithing was an ongoing statute long before Sinai, the custom of
levirate marriage was also being practiced several centuries prior to being
included with God’s instructions to
38:9 But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so whenever he lay with his brother's wife, he spilled his seed on the ground to keep from producing offspring for his brother. (NIV)
Onan did not refuse to sleep with his brother's widow, but only refused to impregnate her.
38:10 What he did was wicked in the LORD's sight; so He put him to death also. (NIV)
His attitude was one of mocking and shaming his brother's wife as well as his own family. Onan’s deceit, selfishness and disobedience to his father’s instructions led to his death.
38:11-14
Tamar’s Deceit
Tamar used the same tactic as Jacob by disguising herself to get what should have been rightfully given to her.
38:15-24
When
Sin of Prostitution
A daughter of a priest was to be burned for such an offense (LEV 21:9). Tradition states that Tamar was a descendant of Shem, who was viewed as a priest of God.
38:25 As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. "I am pregnant by the man who owns these," she said. And she added, "See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are." (NIV)
38:26
38:27-28 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist and said, "This one came out first." (NIV)
38:29 But just then he drew back his hand, and out came his brother; and she said, "What a breach you have made for yourself!" So he was named Perez [“breach”]. (TAN)
38:30 Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist, came out and he was given the name Zerah [“shining”]. (NIV)
The Breach
The breach was a break in the normal continuity of
birth. Although Perez [Pharez] was the first to break out of the womb,
his brother was the actual firstborn. This break symbolized the
fact that the line of Pharez would be the first Jews to produce the kings of
39:1-5
Now Joseph had been taken down to
Theme
God made a promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed through his descendant who would be the Savior. A major theme in the story of Joseph is that all who come into contact with Joseph are blessed, making Joseph a type of Christ.
God’s Faithfulness
The main point of Joseph’s story is not about how great a man he was, but rather how God then [and later through Jesus] would be faithful to the promises made to Abraham, because both Joseph and Jesus kept the "way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what He has promised him" (18:19).
39:6-7 So he left in Joseph's care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a time his master's wife became infatuated with him. 'Come, make love to me,' she said. (NIV)
Tables Turned
This situation is an interesting twist of the similar events of both Abraham and Isaac. In their cases powerful men wanted their wives while Joseph is wanted by the wife of a powerful man.
39:8-12 But he refused. "With me in charge," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. (NIV)
Joseph’s Morals
In the cases of Abraham and Isaac, it was either God’s intervention or a sense of morality on the part of the man in power that prevented sin. The only thing that saved Joseph was his own moral convictions.
Joseph’s Failings
All of the patriarchs prior to this had faith in God, but they are all recorded to have made some major mistakes. Yet, not one sin committed by Joseph is ever recorded. By omitting any record of Joseph’s personal failings, God outlines by his example the obedience and faith required of a savior.
39:13-15 When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, she called her household servants. "Look," she said to them, "this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with [REB: “rape”] me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house." (NIV)
Potiphar’s Wife
As the events unfold, it seems that there were some great strains on Potiphar’s marriage. His wife blames him for being responsible for what she is accusing Joseph of doing.
39:16-18 She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. Then she told him this story: "That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me [REB: “me an object of insult”]. But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house." (NIV)
Evil Intentions
Joseph was falsely accused of a criminal act that demanded punishment, just as Jesus would also be falsely accused.
Potiphar's wife's intention was to hurt Joseph out of spite, which was the same reason his brothers did what they did. Joseph would later state that they intended evil against him, but God allowed it for good (50:20).
39:19-20 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, "This is how your slave treated me," he burned with anger. Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, (NIV)
Prison
Potiphar was no doubt angry with his wife, knowing what kind of woman she was. However, by her pronouncements prior to his arrival, she had put him into a very awkward position. He was forced to render punishment on Joseph. The fact is a slave would normally have been put to death for a crime of this nature. Yet, Joseph was sent to prison, and not the prison for ordinary-class criminals. He was placed in an institution for prisoners who were sent there directly on orders from the Pharaoh.
39:21 the LORD was with him; He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. (NIV)
Since God was ultimately behind Joseph being in his present plight, God made the situation as comfortable as possible for him, just as He had done with Potiphar.
39:22-23 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. (NIV)
40:1-5
Some time later, the cupbearer [NKJ: “butler”] and the baker [Hebrew: “cook”] of the king of
Servants’ Crimes
Since the two chief servants responsible for serving food and beverage to the Pharaoh were incarcerated at the same time, it seems probable that the royal food taster met a death by poison, and it was not immediately determined whether it was in the food or in the drink.
Time Frame
Since the Pharaoh calls them to trial on his birthday, it is quite possible the poisoning attempt had been made on the Pharaoh's birthday one year earlier.
40:6-8 When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. So he asked Pharaoh's officials who were in custody with him in his master's house, "Why are your faces so sad today?" "We both had dreams," they answered, "but there is no one to interpret them." Then Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams." (NIV)
Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that only “God in heaven” could reveal the correct interpretation of his dream (DAN 2:27-28). This event occurred in 1697 B.C., eleven years after Joseph had been sold.
40:9-19 So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, "In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup and put the cup in his hand." "This is what it means," Joseph said to him. "The three branches are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head [an idiom for “bring you to trial”] and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. For I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon." When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, "I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread. In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for
Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head." "This is what it means," Joseph said. "The three baskets are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat away your flesh." (NIV)
40:20 The third day was Pharaoh's birthday and he gave a banquet for all his officials. He had the chief cupbearer and the chief baker brought up where they were all assembled. (REB)
40:21-23 He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh's hand, but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation. The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him. (NIV)
Longsuffering
After eleven years of unfair treatment, the stage is now set for Joseph’s elevation. However, even with everything in place, God does not immediately bring events to a head. Joseph must continue being patient waiting and hoping simply to be released from his less than desirable situation.
41:1 When two full years had passed [1695 B.C.], Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the
Pharaoh
This Pharaoh, Amenemhat III, began his reign in 1709 B.C.
41:2-8
when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed
among the reeds. After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of
the
Dream Interpretation
Centuries later the same scenario would unfold when
Nebuchadnezzar vainly sought out the wise men of
41:9-13 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, "Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged." (NIV)
Butler’s Story
The butler had not told Pharaoh about Joseph for two whole years even though the event was undoubtedly etched in his mind. There are two plausible reasons: either he had not seen an opportunity to personally benefit from relating the story until now, or God had caused him to forget since the timing of Joseph's release was critical to His plan.
41:14-21 So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it." "I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires [similar to Daniel’s reply to Nebuchadnezzar (DAN 2:27-28)]."
Then
Pharaoh said to Joseph, "In my dream I was standing on the bank of the
Since both types of cattle came up out of the
41:22-31
"In my dreams I also saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a
single stalk. After them, seven other heads sprouted—withered and thin and
scorched by the east wind. The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good
heads. I told this to the magicians, but none could explain it to me."
Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same.
God has revealed to Pharaoh what He is about to do. The seven good cows are
seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and
the same dream. The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven
years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind:
They are seven years of famine. "It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has
shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. Seven years of great abundance are coming
throughout the
Harvest
In
Historical Record
The overflow hinged on the amount of rain at its headwaters. God was about to provide
perfect rains for exceptional harvests for seven years and torrential rains for
the following seven years which would make planting impossible. According
to the available records of the flood levels of the
41:32 The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon. (NIV)
God’s Decision
Joseph reveals an important principle: when God states something once, He has firmly decided it should be done; when He restates it, He will shortly take action.
41:33-36
"And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in
charge of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to
take a fifth of the harvest of
Joseph’s Role
Joseph's role was different from Daniel's later role in that Daniel only revealed the meaning, whereas Joseph also advised how to react to the meaning of the dream. The advice he gave was a principle for all time, which was summarized later by the apostle Paul in ROM 12:21: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Joseph’s ability to discern between good and evil is a point that is strongly emphasized in relation to his wisdom.
41:37-38 The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. So Pharaoh asked them, "Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God ?" (NIV)
Spirit of God
This is the first reference in the Bible, and the only one in the book of Genesis of someone having the spirit of God. The same reference is later made about Daniel by Nebuchadnezzar (DAN 4:8).
41:39-43
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all this known to you,
there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You
shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your
orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you." So
Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I hereby put you in charge of the whole
Translations
For “Make way,” NKJ and NRS have “Bow the knee,” based on the possibility that the original word was a derivation of the Hebrew “barakh” which means “to kneel.” The word is left untranslated in TAN, “Abrek,” since its translators do not know if it is an Egyptian word of unknown meaning, or a compound Hebrew word. Adam Clark speculates it to be a compound of either “ab” [father] + “rach” [tender] or “ab” [father] + “barech” [blessing]. Either would emphasize endearment of the people for what Joseph was doing for them: "father of care" or "father of blessings.” Most likely the word stood for his title of office, which later we find was "father of Pharaoh" (45:8).
41:44-45
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one
will lift hand or foot in all
Neith
"NEITH, the very ancient and important goddess of Sais,
the Greek Athene. On the earliest monuments she is represented by a
shield transfixed by arrows. Later she wears the crown of
Adam Parallels
In certain respects, Joseph parallels the first Adam:
§ Both were dependent on God for the knowledge of good and evil.
§ Both were given dominion to rule over all the land.
§ Adam was made in God's image before being allowed to rule while Joseph was given the signet ring and dressed exactly like the chief ruler of the land before he began ruling.
§ Adam was given a wife by God while Joseph was given a wife by the chief ruler.
But there was also a major difference between them. While Adam was given the
opportunity to rule the earth as its ideal king and failed because he decided
to discontinue relying on God to discern good and evil, Joseph ruled
So, although the example of Joseph looks back to the first Adam reflecting on what could have been, even more importantly, the example of Joseph looks forward to the second Adam for what will be.
41:46
Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of
He was probably selecting sites for granaries as well as selecting and teaching capable and dependable managers for his famine preparation program.
41:47-57
During the seven years of abundance the land produced
plentifully. Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of
abundance in
abundance
in
A Savior
Joseph now becomes a "savior" to lands affected by the famine, making him a type of the One referred to in the promise made to Abram in 12:3, where God said that "all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
42:1-2
When Jacob learned that there was grain in
Famine
Droughts and resulting famines seemed to have been fairly common in
42:3-8
Then ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain
from
Appearance
Joseph was still a teenager when he was sold by his brothers while his brothers were much older. After 21 years their appearances had not changed as much as his due to the differences in ages.
42:9-13
Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to
them, "You are spies! You have come to see where our land is
unprotected." "No, my lord," they answered. "Your servants
have come to buy food. We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest
men, not spies." "No!" he said to them. "You have come to
see where our land is unprotected." But they replied, "Your servants
were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the
The first impression is that Benjamin is still a young boy. In reality, by this time he is in his early thirties with ten sons of his own.
42:14-18 Joseph said to them, "It is just as I told you: You are spies! And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!" And he put them all in custody for three days. On the third day, Joseph said to them, "Do this and you will live, for I fear God: (NIV)
Repentance
Joseph, symbolically representing the Savior, initiates repentance in his brothers by putting unexpected obstacles before them in order to re-orient their thinking. Then, after giving them time to focus on their present plight offers them life, and tells them how it is possible: fear God.
42:19-21 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die." This they proceeded to do. They said to one another, "Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that's why this distress has come upon us." (NIV)
They comprehended that sin demanded a penalty, the first step toward repentance.
42:22 Reuben replied, "Didn't I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn't listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood." (NIV)
The second step toward repentance is understanding that we are individually responsible for shedding the blood of our Savior and brother. The brothers are now coming to this point. They acknowledge that they mistreated Joseph and were, in their minds, guilty of his death.
42:23 They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter. (NIV)
This was necessary to prevent Joseph’s brothers from becoming suspicious.
42:24 He turned away from them and began to weep, but then turned back [NKJ: “returned”, apparently Joseph left the room until he could regain his composure] and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes. (NIV)
Jewish tradition states that Simeon was the one who bound and put Joseph in the pit. Joseph had Simeon bound to focus their memories back to their sin to help deepen their repentance.
42:25-26 Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to put each man's silver back in his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. After this was done for them, they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left. At the place where they stopped for the night one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of his sack. "My silver has been returned," he said to his brothers. "Here it is in my sack." Their hearts sank and they turned to each other trembling and said, "What is this that God has done to us?" (NIV)
God’s Involvement
It seemed that everything they did was cursed. They now began to focus on the
explanation as being from God. They sold Joseph as a slave, and they knew
the normal penalty for stealing in
42:29-34
When they came to their father Jacob in the
Addition of Statements
In the recorded statement of Joseph, he mentioned nothing about trading in the land—only that they would be allowed to live if they returned with Benjamin. The brothers may have included this addition to influence Jacob, who was a trader, to cooperate with Joseph's demands.
42:35 As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man's sack was his pouch of silver! When they and their father saw the money pouches, they were frightened. (NIV)
Distrust
The first part of this verse took place earlier, during their journey back to Jacob (43:21). The last part depicts the brothers producing the silver as proof to Jacob of what they were reporting. They knew it would be difficult to convince their father of what had happened. Jacob had not had trust in his sons since Joseph's disappearance.
42:36 Their father Jacob said to them, "It is always me that you bereave: Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you would take away Benjamin. These things always happen to me!" (TAN)
42:37-38 Then Reuben said to his father, "You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back." But Jacob said, "My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow." (NIV)
43:1-3
Now the famine was still severe in the land. So when
they had eaten all the grain they had brought from
Reuben and Judah
Reuben had pleaded with Jacob to send Benjamin back with them at the end of the
last chapter. Now
43:4-9
If you will send our brother along with us, we will go
down and buy food for you. But if you will not send him, we will not go down,
because the man said to us, 'You will not see my face again unless your brother
is with you.'"
43:10 If we had not wasted all this time, we could have made the journey twice by now.' (REB)
43:11
Then their father
Some Produce
The land still produced some foodstuffs, but there was not sufficient rain for the grain crops to mature to harvest. Balm was a resin from trees used for its aromatic and healing properties. They could water nut trees from wells, and the bees could still produce honey from the moisture and flowering plants around the wells.
43:12-14 Take double the amount of silver with you, for you must return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake. Take your brother also and go back to the man at once. And may God Almighty [TAN: “El Shaddai”] grant you mercy before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved." (NIV)
Hope
The ultimate end of repentance is forgiveness and mercy. Jacob now points to the only hope they have. They could not go back into the past and undo what they had done to Joseph, no more than we can go back into the past and undo the sins we have committed that made Christ's sacrifice necessary.
43:15-23
So the men took the gifts and double the amount of
silver, and Benjamin also. They hurried down to
“Your God”
It is interesting that Joseph’s steward refers to their one God rather than to
the traditional the gods of
43:24-26 The steward took the men into Joseph's house, gave them water to wash their feet and provided fodder for their donkeys. They prepared their gifts for Joseph's arrival at noon, because they had heard that they were to eat there. When Joseph came home, they presented to him the gifts they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him [the second time (42:6 = first time) – this twice fulfills Joseph’s prophetic dream (37:7)] to the ground. (NIV)
The brothers had bowed before Joseph once already (42:6). This marks the second time and partly fulfills the dreams Joseph had of their sheaves bowing before his sheaf and the eleven stars bowing before him (37:7-10).
43:27 He greeted them, and he said, "How is your aged father of whom you spoke? Is he still in good health?" (TAN)
Translator
Joseph is still using a translator at this point.
43:28-32 They replied, "Your servant our father is still alive and well." And they bowed low [third time] to pay him honor. As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother's son, he asked, "Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?" And he said, "God be gracious to you, my son." Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there. After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself, said, "Serve the food." They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, for that is detestable to Egyptians. (NIV)
Prohibited Dining
One Jewish tradition states that the Egyptians would not sit with the Hebrews "because the latter ate the flesh of the animals to which the former paid divine worship" (Legends of the Bible, Louis Ginzberg, 1956, p.243).
43:33 The men had been seated before him in the order of their ages, from the firstborn to the youngest; and they looked at each other in astonishment. (NIV)
Seating Chart
Josephus states about this meal, "and they were set down in the same order as they used to sit at their father's table" (Antiquities, II.VI.6). Another tradition relates that when it was time for them to be seated "Joseph raised his cup, and, pretending to inhale his knowledge from it, he...assigned places to all his brethren corresponding to their dignity and their age" (Legends of the Bible, p.243).
43:34 When portions were served to them from Joseph's table, Benjamin's portion was five times as much as anyone else's. So they feasted and drank freely with him. (NIV)
Testing the Brothers
This may have been a test by Joseph to see if the other brothers would become jealous of Benjamin, to determine whether it really was Benjamin, who had aged 22 years since he had last seen him [Benjamin had been approximately 10 years old]. Jewish tradition explains the amount Benjamin received as follows: "During the meal, Joseph took his portion, and gave it to Benjamin, and his wife Asenath followed his example, and also Ephraim and Manasseh, so that Benjamin had four portions in addition to that which he had received like the other sons of Jacob" (Legends of the Bible, p.244).
44:1-2 Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: "Fill the men's sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man's silver in the mouth of his sack. Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one's sack, along with the silver for his grain." And he did as Joseph said. (NIV)
Testing the Brothers
This was to be another test in order to determine if it really was Benjamin. If the others made no attempt to rescue him, Joseph could conclude it was an imposter.
44:3-5 As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys. They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, "Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, 'Why have you repaid good with evil? Isn't this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.'" (NIV)
Reflection
Joseph once again places them in a position of reflection on the past and the evil they had committed. Each year at Passover the people of God reflect on their past bloodguiltiness when they take the cup of wine.
Divination
There is no indication that Joseph would be involved in the practices of the Egyptian magicians. A more realistic understanding of this verse is offered by one Jewish tradition: the cup was used to test people's honesty and discover whether they could be trusted or not. This was the reason Joseph pretended to inhale from the cup the knowledge of how the brothers should be seated. It was a setup to make the cup look desirable for stealing.
44:6-15
When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them. But they said to
him, "Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do
anything like that! We even brought back to you from the
If Jewish tradition is accurate about Joseph pretending to inhale knowledge from his cup (43:33), this statement was made in order to convince his brothers he could discover other things about them. At this point Joseph may have been planning further steps to bring them to admit publicly the sin they had committed against him, possibly pretending to divine that they were guilty of a criminal offense against their missing brother.
44:16
"What can we say to my lord?"
Forgiveness
Once there is an awareness of guilt from sin, there is a need to have the conscience cleansed. That can only be done by the forgiveness made possible by the Savior (HEB 9:14), at which time we are bought by blood and become slaves of the Savior. The brothers have at last come to this point and offer themselves as slaves to Joseph.
44:17-24
But Joseph said, "Far be it from me to do such a thing! Only the man who
was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back to
your father in peace." Then
An Assumption
The brothers did not know what had become of Joseph after they sold him, and for 22 years Jacob had not received any correspondence from him. They assumed Joseph was dead.
44:21-24 "Then you said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me so I can see him for myself.' And we said to my lord, 'The boy cannot leave his father; if he leaves him, his father will die.' But you told your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.' When we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said. (NIV)
44:25-26 so when our father told us to go again and buy food, we answered, "We cannot go down; for without our youngest brother we cannot enter the man's presence; but if our brother is with us, we will go." (REB)
44:27-28 "Your servant my father said to us, 'You know that my wife [Jacob did not say “one of my wives”] bore me two sons. One of them went away from me, and I said, "He has surely been torn to pieces." And I have not seen him since. (NIV)
Recollection
In 42:38, Jacob is recorded as saying only that "his [Benjamin's] brother
is dead." It seems that
44:29-34 If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery.' "So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy's life, sees that the boy isn't there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow. Your servant guaranteed the boy's safety to my father. I said, 'If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!' "Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord's slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come upon my father." (NIV)
Judah’s Sincerity
45:1-2 Joseph was no longer able to control his feelings in front of all his attendants, and he called, 'Let everyone leave my presence!' There was nobody present when Joseph made himself known to his brothers, but he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and news of it got to Pharaoh's household. (REB)
Joseph’s Admission
No matter what further steps Joseph had calculated for bringing a confession of
guilt from his brothers, at this point he dropped them.
45:3 Joseph said to his brothers [without an interpreter], 'I am Joseph! Can my father be still alive?' They were so dumbfounded at finding themselves face to face with Joseph that they could not answer. (REB)
45:4
Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had
done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into
Since the topic of selling their missing brother had never been discussed, Joseph now proves beyond a doubt, with this one phrase, who he really was.
45:5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. (NIV)
Sent Ahead
Christ died for all humanity while it was still in sin (ROM 5:8), essentially going ahead of all mankind in order to save all mankind.
Forgiveness
Joseph once again displays the trait of the Savior of mankind by telling them that what they did was done in ignorance, yet it was necessary to fulfill a greater plan that God had in mind. This was somewhat similar to Jesus’ prayer in LUK 23:34: “Then said Jesus, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they do.’ And they divided His garments and cast lots.”
45:6 It is now two years that there has been famine in the land, and there are still five years to come in which there shall be no yield from tilling. (TAN)
45:7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great [TAN: “extraordinary”] deliverance. (NIV)
The Exodus
Joseph would preserve them as a remnant at that time. The great deliverance would come during the time of their descendants at the time of the exodus.
45:8 It is clear that it was not you who sent me here, but God, and he has made me Pharaoh's chief counsellor [MOF: “Pharoah’s prime minister”; NKJ, NIV, TAN, NRS: “father to Pharoah,” Joseph’s title as seen in 41:43], lord over his whole household and ruler of all Egypt. (REB)
45:9-12
Now hurry back to my father and say to him, 'This is
what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all
Joseph was not using an interpreter any longer. He spoke with his brothers in their native tongue.
45:13
Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in
Joseph knew it would be difficult to convince Jacob to come into
45:14-15 With that he embraced his brother Benjamin around the neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. He kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; only then were his brothers able to talk to him. (TAN)
Dumbfounded
It had taken them some time to assimilate all that Joseph had said, and at the same time to comprehend he was not seeking revenge.
45:16-20
When the news reached Pharaoh's palace that Joseph's
brothers had come, Pharaoh and all his officials were pleased. Pharaoh said to
Joseph, "Tell your brothers, 'Do this: Load your
animals and return to the
Make Haste
The Pharaoh’s command was to be urgent, not wasting time hauling material goods that could be easily replaced.
45:21-24
So the sons of
New Clothing
Joseph again takes on the role of Savior by giving his brothers new clothing, just as the repentant and overcomers are given new clothing by Christ. [REV 3:5: “He that overcomes, the same shall be clothed in white raiment."]
Assigning Blame
He instructed them to resist debating which brother was the most to blame for selling him into slavery because he had forgiven them and his mercy had removed all of their guiltiness.
45:25-28
So they went up out of
Recalling the Dream
The appearance of the official carts of
Jacob’s Visit
The appearance of the official carts of
Chapter 46
46:1 So
Both Abraham (21:33) and Isaac
(26:23-24) had worshipped God in
46:2-3 And God spoke to
Entering
Jacob may have had misgivings
about going into
46:4 I will go down to
This promise to bring him back to
the land is similar to the one God made to Jacob in the dream of the ladder
which occurred at
Four Generation Count Begins
This was also the point at which
God began counting the four generations that would live outside the land of
promise before being brought back (15:16).
46:5-7 Then Jacob left
Female Descendants
The only daughter of Jacob ever
indicated by name was Dinah. It is very likely that the wives of Jacob’s
sons for the most part were half-sisters. However, the term “daughters”
could include the wives of his sons, even if they were not related by blood.
Likewise, the only granddaughter mentioned by name was Asher’s daughter,
Serah. According to Jewish tradition another granddaughter was born as
Jacob’s family was entering
46:8-10 These
are the names of the sons of
The list includes all who went
into
Canaanite Intermarriage
Since attention is directed to
one son of Simeon being part Canaanite, it would seem that none of the other
descendants of Jacob were [with the exception of Shelah, son of
46:11-15 The sons of Levi:
Gershon, Kohath and Merari. The sons of
Leah’s Descendants
Total descendants by Leah = 33.
46:16-18 [NIV] The sons of Gad:
Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi and Areli. The sons of Asher:
Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi and Beriah. Their sister was Serah. The sons of Beriah:
Heber and Malkiel. These were the children born to Jacob by Zilpah, whom Laban
had given to his daughter Leah—sixteen in all.
Order
The wives of Jacob were normally
listed before their maids, but here the list goes from greatest number to the
least.
Zilpah’s Descendants
Total descendants by Zilpah = 16.
46:19-20 The sons of Jacob's wife
Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. In
Scriptural Addition
The LXX adds to this verse:
"These were the sons of Manasseh whom his Syrian concubine bore unto
him: Machir; and Machir begat Galaad. The sons of Ephraim, Manasseh's brother,
were Sutalaam and Taam; and the sons of Sutalaam, Edem." This addition
is derived from NUM 26:29-36 and 1CR 7:14-20, adding five to the total.
46:21-22 The sons of Benjamin:
Bela, Beker, Ashbel,
Rachel’s Descendants
Total descendants by Rachel = 14.
46:23-25 The son of Dan:
Hushim. The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem. These
were the sons born to Jacob by Bilhah, whom Laban had given to his daughter
Rachel–seven in all. (NIV)
Bilhah’s Descendants
Total descendants by Bilhah = 7.
46:26 All
those who went to
Not Counting His Sons’ Wives
This phrase strongly supports
that most of Jacob’s sons married direct descendants of Jacob, that is,
daughters other than Dinah.
Sixty-Six People
This total excludes Jacob and
clearly identifies the group as those that went with him at that time to
|
Jacob’s children (11
sons + Dinah) |
12 |
|
Reuben’s sons |
4 |
|
Simeon’s sons |
6 |
|
Levi’s sons |
3 |
|
|
5 |
|
Issachar’s sons |
4 |
|
Zebulun’s sons |
3 |
|
Gad’s sons |
7 |
|
Asher’s children (4
sons + 1 daughter + 2 grandsons) |
7 |
|
Dan’s son |
1 |
|
Naphtali’s sons |
4 |
|
Benjamin’s sons |
10 |
|
Total |
66 |
Son’s Wives
The sons' wives are omitted in
this total. Of the eleven sons who were with Jacob, it appears that only nine
had wives at that time.
Jacob, the total is 75: the very number that Stephen
mentioned in ACT 7:14: "Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob
and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people."
46:27 With
the two sons who had been born to Joseph in
Additions
To the total of 66 in vs 26, Jacob,
Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh are added to make 70. These are the 70 referred to
in EXO 1:5 and DEU 10:22: "Your fathers went down to
46:28 Then he sent
Have you ever heard this old saying “Land of
46:29-34… Joseph had his chariot
made ready and went to
Uniform Answer
Joseph found it necessary to tell
his father and brothers how to answer the Pharaoh's question about their occupation, this uniform answer would keep the Pharoah from
dividing the family. If they had mentioned that they were also involved in
trading, like Abraham and Isaac, the Pharoah would have placed parts of the
family in cities, the others in
46:…34
Then you will be allowed to settle in the region of
“All Shepherds are Detestable…”
The major reason the Egyptians
detested shepherds was that they sacrificed the very animals the Egyptians
considered sacred. Speaking of the Jews, the Roman historian Tacitus
recorded: "They sacrifice the ram in order to insult Jupiter Ammon, and
they sacrifice the ox, which the Egyptians worship under the name Apis."
47:1-2
Joseph went and told Pharaoh, "My father and brothers, with their flocks
and herds and everything they own, have come from the
Duality of the Role
Joseph now implements the plan proposed at the end of the last chapter. As we have seen throughout the story of Joseph, this dual accounting of events has emphasized the duality of the role of Joseph. Not only did Joseph fulfill a necessary physical role for that time in history, but he also provided a prototype of the future Saviour of the world.
47:3-6
Pharaoh asked the brothers, "What is your occupation?" "Your
servants are shepherds," they replied to Pharaoh, "just as our
fathers were." They also said to him, "We have come to live here
awhile, because the famine is severe in
Location
Since shepherds were detestable, and since Pharaoh indicated he needed some with “special ability,” it is most likely the property he had in mind was not herds used for meat, but probably herds used for dairy purposes, where special skills in cheese-making would be needed. He could likewise use men skilled in the care and training of his horses.
47:7-9 Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed [TAN: “greeted”] Pharaoh, Pharaoh asked him, "How old are you?" And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty [in 1686 B.C.]. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers [Isaac lived 180 years, Abraham lived 175 years]." (NIV)
47:10 Then Jacob bade Pharaoh farewell, and left Pharaoh's presence. (TAN)
47:11-12 So Joseph settled his father and his brothers
in
Rameses
Since the first Pharaoh named Ramses would not rule for almost another 350 years, it is evident that this designation is a later editorial update.
Focusing on Joseph
From this point until 50:15, there is no interaction with Joseph's brothers in the story line. The main focus now is Joseph, his sons and Jacob's blessings.
47:13 There was no food, however, in the whole region because the
famine was severe; both
Building
Moses now shows how
47:14
Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in
The Pharaoh now controlled all the precious metals throughout the region.
47:15-16
When the money of the people of
This was the wisest decision that could be made. Since the people did not have grain for themselves, they certainly did not possess feed for their livestock. By using their animals for barter, both the people and the livestock were spared.
47:17-25 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys. And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock. (NIV)
This was the sixth year of the famine [1683-1682 B.C.].
47:18-19 When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, "We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. Why should we perish before your eyes – we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate." (NIV)
This was the last, or seventh, year of the famine [1682-1681 B.C.] because the people ask Joseph for seed, which would be needed to sow a crop the following year.
47:20-21
Then Joseph bought all the
This action simplified the distribution of grain for the final year of the famine.
47:22 However, he did not buy the land of the priests, because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land. (NIV)
The religion of
47:23-25 Joseph said to the people, "Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground. But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children." "You have saved our lives," they said. "May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh." (NIV)
Joseph now allowed them to go back to the land they sold, where they became tenants of Pharaoh, giving him 20% of their harvest for their lease.
Christ-Type
The focus on Joseph is once again that of Savior. He first saved
47:26-28
So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in
Egypt–still in force today–that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It
was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh's. Now the
Israelites settled in
The famine had been over for 12 years by this time [1669 B.C.]. Now the story focuses back on Joseph’s family.].
47:29-30
When the time drew near for
Making the Oath
To be buried in the land of promise was critical to
47:31
'Swear that you will,' said Jacob. So he gave him his oath, and
Jacob was most likely bedridden at this time.
Chapter 48
48:1-3 Some
time later Joseph was told, "Your father is ill." So he took his two
sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him. When Jacob was told, "Your son
Joseph has come to you,"
48:4 "and said to me,
'Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a
multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an
everlasting possession.'
God’s Blessing & Promise
When God blessed Jacob at
Jacob also neglected to mention
that at Bethel God promised "kings will come from your body.” This
of course was intentional, due to the fact that the kings promised were to
descend through Judah, not Joseph.
48:5 "Now then, your two
sons born to you in
Patriarchal Adoption
Jacob adopted Joseph's two sons.
This was a patriarchal right which he chose to invoke to make them like Reuben
and Simeon, his first and second-born sons.
48:6-7 [TAN, a preface
is included: “I do this because”] Any children
born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will
be reckoned under the names of their brothers. As I was returning from Paddan,
to my sorrow Rachel died in the
Jacob is remembering the fact
that Rachel had given him his second son shortly after returning to the land of
promise, shortly after God had transferred the promises made to Abraham and
Isaac to him at
48:8-14 When
father kissed
them and embraced them.
This is the first recorded account
in the Bible of the laying on of hands.
48:15-16 Then he blessed Joseph
and said, "May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the Angel [Hebrew: “goel”
which means “kinsman”] who has delivered me from all harm–may He
bless these boys. May they be called by my name
and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they increase
greatly upon the earth." (NIV)
Redeemer
The kinsman is the one who has
the right as nearest of kin to redeem a forfeited inheritance. Clearly, the one
to whom Jacob refers is not a created angel, but God’s Messenger, the Redeemer
of all mankind.
Called By Israel’s Name
The name “
48:17-18 When Joseph saw his
father placing his right hand on Ephraim's head he was displeased [TAN: “thought
it wrong”]; so he took hold of his father's hand to move it
from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. Joseph said to him, "No, my
father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head." (NIV)
From appearances, it looked like
Jacob was making the same mistake as his father Isaac had—blessing the wrong
one. Joseph, believing it was due to Jacob’s blindness, attempted to stop
the procedure.
48:19 But his father refused and
said, "I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also
shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his
descendants shall become a multitude of nations."
Transference of the Blessing
Jacob clarified that the blessing
was being divided between both sons, even though Ephraim would be greater than
Manasseh in respect to the actual number of nations and territory controlled.
As has been the case throughout
Genesis, the blessing promised by God has not gone to the one who has had the
right by birth, but to the one who has had no right to it, emphasizing once
again that the only way to receive God's blessing is by His grace.
48:20 So
he blessed them that day and said: 'When a blessing is pronounced in
Fulfillment of the Promises
The blessings of Joseph's sons do
not play an important role in the later biblical story. They do, however, play
a major role in showing how God fulfilled His promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
about the greatness of their physical descendants.
|
GEN 12:2 |
“I will make of you a great nation” |
|
GEN 17:2 |
“I will multiply you exceedingly” |
|
GEN 17:4 |
“you shall be a father of many
nations” |
|
GEN 17:6 |
“I will make you exceedingly
fruitful…make nations of you” |
|
GEN 28:14 |
“your seed
shall be as the dust of the earth, and you shall spread…” |
|
GEN 22:16-18 |
“multiply your seed as the stars of
heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and your descendants
shall possess the gate of their enemies” |
|
GEN 26:1-5 |
“multiply as the stars…I will give
unto your seed all these countries” |
|
GEN 27:26-29 |
“dew of
heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn…” |
|
GEN 35:9-12 |
“a nation and
a company of nations shall be of you…” |
48:21 Then
Additional Information
Jacob now tells Joseph what God
had told him at
48:22 "Moreover I have given
to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the
Amorite with my sword and my bow."
Apparently, the Amorites had
taken the land Jacob had purchased from Shechem (33:19), and he had to use
force to reclaim it.
49:1-2
And Jacob called his sons and said, "Gather together, that I may tell you
what shall befall you in the last days [NIV, TAN, NRS, REB: “days to come”]: "Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob,
and listen to
“Days to Come”
The expression “days to come” is used as an introduction to two other poetic sections in the books of Moses: the oracles of Balaam (NUM 24:14) and the last instructions of Moses (DEU 31:29). The subject matter in all three of these sections is God's future deliverance of His chosen people, with a King as the focal point.
Restoration of the Blessing
The final words of Jacob are the summary of God's plan to restore His blessing
lost in
49:3-4 "Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. Turbulent as the waters [REB: “uncontrollable as a flood”], you will no longer excel [MOF: “but lost by surging lust”], for you went up onto your father's bed, onto my couch and defiled it. (NIV)
Reuben’s Disinheritance
Reuben lost the birthright because he dishonored his father by sleeping with Bilhah (35:22). "Reuben was the firstborn, but when he defiled his father's marriage bed, his rights as firstborn were given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel; so he could not be listed in the genealogical record in accordance with his birthright, and though Judah was the strongest of his brothers and a ruler came from him, the rights of the firstborn belonged to Joseph" (1CH 5:1-2).
Indications point to
49:5-6 Simeon and Levi are a pair; their weapons are tools of lawlessness. Let not my person be included in their council, let not my being be counted in their assembly. For when angry they slay men, and when pleased they maim oxen. (TAN)
49:7
Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them
in Jacob and disperse them in
Simeon and Levi’s Disinheritance
Simeon and Levi also disqualified themselves from the birthright, dishonoring
their father by committing mass murder in the city of
The tribe of Levi remained with the southern
49:8
"
Disinheriting Heirs
The purpose behind what was said to Reuben, Simeon and Levi was to eliminate them as the rightful heirs to the promises made to Abraham in order to move Judah and Joseph into those positions.
49:9-10
You are a lion's cub, O
Tradition states that “
Nations
There is no doubt that the kingship referred to is not just over
49:11 He will tether His donkey to a vine, His colt to the choicest branch; He will wash His garments in wine, His robes in the blood of grapes. (NIV)
Messianic Symbols
Both the “vine” (JOH 15:1) and the “branch” (ISA 11:1) are used as symbols for the Messiah. The order of events leading up to the blessing of all nations is depicted in this and the next verse.
First, the Messiah must come to the physical descendants of
49:12 His eyes will be darker than wine, His teeth whiter than milk. (NIV)
Wine and milk are used as symbols of prosperity and blessing:"in that
day, the mountains shall drip with new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk...for
the LORD dwells in
49:13
Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will
extend toward
Birth Order
All of the sons were enumerated in birth order, except here: Issachar was actually older than Zebulun.
Zebulun
The boundaries of Zebulun's original inheritance did not include the seacoast
(JOS 19:10-16), but will eventually do so. Since the name “Zebulun” means
"lofty abode," and its boundaries include the ability to go
throughout the world, the implication is that the blessings of the Promised
Land will spread to all the world when the seed of
The modern descendants of Zebulun are generally thought to be the
49:14 Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between two burdens;
49:15 When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor. (NIV)
Millennium
The reaction of stubborn mankind will be one of glad acceptance of the blessing through Abraham. The “resting place” and “land” refer to the Millennial reign of the King of kings (PSA 95:11).
The characteristics of Issachar match closely those of the nation of
49:16
Dan shall judge [NIV: “provide justice for”] his people as one of the tribes of
49:17 Dan will be a serpent by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider tumbles backward. (NIV)
Dan
Various ways of understanding the serpent quality of Dan include being wise and cunning as well as leaving the name of Dan to mark their migratory movements.
The modern day descendants of Dan are believed to be
49:18 I wait in hope for salvation from you, LORD. (REB)
Though Dan may be a judge, his judgments are not always right. The only true Judge is the One who judges righteously (ISA 11:1-4).
49:19 Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him [REB: “is raided by raiders”], but he shall triumph at last [after the final defeat of all enemies by Christ].
Gad
49:20 Asher's food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king. (NIV)
Asher
In the last days, Asher, and all nations will enjoy great abundance and rich
delicacies when the Lawgiver from the house of
Today,
49:21 Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns [NKJ: “gives goodly words” – REB: “Naphtali is a spreading terebinth putting forth lovely boughs”]. (NIV)
Naphtali
Naphtali and all peoples will experience the blessing of healthy descendants and produce generations of obedient subjects for the King of kings.
Some feel that
49:22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well; his branches run over the wall.
Joseph
Since Joseph is the recipient of the birthright promise, Jacob has a lot to say
about him, just as he did with
49:23-24
The archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him and
hated him. But his bow remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were
made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (from there is the
Shepherd, the Stone of
Other nations have been jealous of all that God has given Joseph's descendants, but God made certain that the promises He made to Abraham would be fulfilled.
49:25 by the God of your father who will help you, and by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
The statements about the other brothers picture the ultimate blessings that not only they, but all nations will receive. The prophecy Jacob makes about Joseph is one filled with specific blessings to his descendants, based upon the blessing Jacob had already given to Joseph's sons when he gave them the birthright.
49:26 Your father's blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among [TAN: “elect of”] his brothers. (NIV)
Ultimately, the blessings that had passed down to Jacob were more than the
physical blessings that he had now passed on to Joseph, because they included
the promise of the Messiah, which was passed to
49:27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder." (NIV)
Benjamin
Like
It is thought that
49:28 All these are the twelve tribes of
Twelve Tribes
Only the twelve mentioned here are considered the tribes of
Return of Christ
The main focus of Jacob’s speech was that when the One comes to whom the
Kingship truly belongs, the peace and prosperity that was available through the
tree of life in
49:29-33
Then he gave them these instructions: "I am about to be gathered to my
people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in
50:1-3
Joseph threw himself upon his father and wept over him and kissed him. Then
Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father
Embalming
Embalming was considered an art among the Egyptians. It was necessary to remove
the brain and major organs, then fill the cavities
with spices. Next they wrapped the body in salt for several weeks to draw out
the moisture, after which they washed it, wrapped it in linen and smeared a
type of resin or gum over the cloth. Hence, it took 40 days to prepare Jacob
for burial, and another 30 days to lay in this state in
50:4-5
When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to
Pharaoh's court, "If I have found favor in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh for
me. Tell him, 'My father made me swear an oath and
said, "I am about to die; bury me in the tomb I dug for myself in the
Speaking to Pharaoh
Joseph could not enter Pharaoh's presence because he was wearing cloths of a mourner, and no one in mourning was allowed to approach a monarch (EST 4:2).
50:6-16
Pharaoh said, "Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to
do." So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh's officials
accompanied him–the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of
Egypt–besides all the members of Joseph's household and his brothers and those
belonging to his father's household. Only their children and their flocks and
herds were left in
Now that they were in the land of promise, it was necessary to mourn the prescribed period of time for that area (NUM 19:19).
50:11-17
When the Canaanites who lived there saw the mourning
at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, "The Egyptians are holding a
solemn ceremony of mourning." That is why that place near the
Hittite, along with the field. After burying his father, Joseph returned to
Suspicious Minds
After the passing of 17 years, Joseph was heartbroken that his brothers would still be suspicious of him, thinking that he still held them accountable for their sin.
50:18-24
His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. "We are your
slaves," they said. But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I
in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to
accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be
afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them
and spoke kindly to them. Joseph stayed in
Joseph now passes on to them the promise that Jacob passed to him before his death (48:21).
50:25
And Joseph made the sons of
Paul refers to this statement as a sign of Joseph’s faith in the promises of God (HEB 11:22).
50:26 So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after
they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in
Time Frame
This was 1615 B.C., 168 years before the Exodus. Moses performed the oath made
by