Having A Go At Genesis

Webers.Home · Aug 25, 2020

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● Gen 26:31-32 . . Early in the morning, they exchanged oaths. Isaac then
bade them farewell, and they departed from him in peace. That same day
Isaac's servants came and told him about the well they had dug, and said to
him: We have found water!

Ah, yes. It is always so pleasant to cap a victory with a good ending. Isaac
had a perfect day.

● Gen 26:33 . . He named it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beer
sheba to this day.

The word for Shibah is from Shib' ah (shib-aw') which means: seven(th)

The new well is sister to a well Abraham dug many years previously in an
unspecified region of Gerar. He, and the then Abimelech, settled ownership
of that one with those seven ewes in chapter 21. So this is puzzling-- shib'
ah is not the same word as sheba'. Sheba' means oath. Shib' ah means
seven. Seven what? I don't know; Genesis doesn't say.

But the number 7 is often used in the Bible like we use the number 10
today. If we want to say something is perfect, we give it a ten. Isaac gave it
a seven; so I think it's safe to assume that the water in the new well was
really exceptional. (compare Rev 13:17-18 where the number of a man is
given as 666, which is imperfection three times over. In other words: man is
not only imperfect; but he's really imperfect.)

● Gen 26:34 . .When Esau was forty years old, he took to wife Judith
daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite;

There seems to be some confusion concerning the names, and the number,
of Esau's wives. Here are their names according to Gen 36:2-3.

"Esau took his wives from among the Canaanite women-- Adah daughter of
Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah daughter of Anah daughter of Zibeon the
Hivite --and also Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth."

There were two girls named Basemath-- Adah, the daughter of Elon the
Hittite, was also known as Basemath. Adah may have been surnamed to
avoid confusing her with the other Basemath: Ishmael's daughter. The
Oholibamah of 36:2 is the Judith of 26:34. She was the offspring of a mixed
marriage between Beeri and Anah. She too may have been surnamed to
avoid confusion.

● Gen 26:35 . .And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebecca.

In other words, those two girls made life miserable for Isaac and Rebecca
and caused them a great deal of mental, and emotional anguish. Some feel
that they were also a source of spiritual friction because they were infidels
who worshipped the gods of the Canaanites. No doubt they did. But how
would that come into play? Well; their religions permitted the practice of
some vile social customs.

Canaanite religions didn't forbid such things as wife swapping, promiscuity,
adultery, sex with women in their period, burning children to death in
sacrificial ceremonies, sleeping with close blood relatives, LGBT love,
bestiality, nudity, astrology, divination, voodoo, magic, communication with
the spirit world, witchcraft, drunkenness, and wild parties; including cult
prostitution where women devotees sold themselves to support their
"church" (cf. Gen 38:13-23)

So you can easily see just how vexing that women like that might be. How
could Esau even trust them while he was away on safari? Lacking his
companionship, they would either turn to each other for sensual comforts or
seek out lovers among the servants. They might even hit on Rebecca and
Isaac; and maybe even hit on their co-husband's third wife; Ishmael's
Basemath. And the girls would have no qualms about walking around the
house scantily clad or even in the nude; so you never knew what to expect
when they invited you over.

Those two women were very definitely not the PowerPuff Girls-- the
wholesome little kindergartners who make the world safe before bedtime.
No; they were the PantyHose Girls who seanced, Tarot carded, and Ouija
boarded their way to new excitements.

As bad as all that stuff was, it doesn't hold a candle to the danger of those
women influencing Isaac's grandchildren. And that is a very real threat in
mixed marriages. Men especially are susceptible to letting their wives guide
the home's religious training. I've seen it often enough to know what I'm
saying.

And with a man like Esau, a secular man who had no interest in religion to
begin with, the kids had no hope at all of turning out right. They will grow up
to scorn and ridicule Abraham's religion; and his god too. They will pick up
the most abominable habits, and see nothing wrong in them.

There is one thing our kids can do for us that is unquestionably the most
important thing they will ever do-- pass on our religious beliefs on to our
progeny. No one else is going to do that for us. And we can't stay behind
and make sure it happens. So if we leave our kids without a solid religious
heritage; then their own kids-- our grandchildren --are doomed to return to
secular concepts. And maybe worse.

Esau's side of the family went bad, that's for sure, just like Cain's did. And I
believe it started on it's downhill slide right with his union to those two
impious women. At Esau's age, and in that kind of home and upbringing; he
should have known better. But in spite of his parents' protests; in spite of
his parents' fears regarding their grandchildren; in spite of his parents'
feelings about those women coming into their home; in spite of God's
feelings regarding His religion; and in spite of his birthright; Esau forged
ahead and married those two filthy women.

You know why? Because it was his life; and nobody was going to tell him
how to live it. Some people, like the pharaoh that resisted Moses; are just
defiant to the bone and they'll do things wrong just to stand up to you and
assert their independence.
_

Webers.Home · Aug 26, 2020

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● Gen 27:1a . .When Isaac was old

Just precisely how old Isaac was at this time, is difficult to tell. But I think
we can come close enough for government work.

Jacob spent 20 years with Laban. (Gen 31:41a)

Joseph was born during that time. (Gen 30:22-24)

At just about the time Joseph was born, Jacob and Laban worked out an
arrangement concerning shares of the livestock to compensate Jacob's
labors. (Gen 30:25-34)

That deal with the livestock went on for six of the twenty years Jacob served
Laban. (Gen 31:41b)

Joseph was 30 when he became prime minister of Egypt. (Gen 41:46a)

When Joseph went to work for Pharaoh; a 14 year period began, consisting
of two divisions-- seven years of plenty, and seven years of famine. After
the seven years of plenty, and two of the years of famine, when he was
about 39, Joseph brought his dad down into Egypt. (Gen 45:6-9)

When Jacob arrived, he stood before Pharaoh and told him he was 130 years
old. (Gen 47:7-9a)

Now we can do some arithmetic.

Jacob arrived in Egypt at 130. Subtracting Joseph's age of 39, we get 91;
which was Jacob's age when Joseph was born. After subtracting 14-- the
years Jacob worked for Laban up to the deal they made concerning the
livestock --we're left with 77; which is Jacob's approximate age when he
indentured himself to Laban.

Allowing for a generous intermission of 2 years-- encompassing Rebecca's
scheme, Jacob's flight to Haran, and his eventual indenture to Laban -
Jacob's age in the section of Genesis we're in today, can very reasonably be
put at 75.

Isaac was 60 when Jacob was born. (Gen 25:26)

So adding 75 to 60, puts Isaac somewhere in the neighborhood of 135 years
old at the beginning of chapter 27.

Everyone involved in this next episode was getting up in years and thus
quite mature. Jacob and Esau, though 75 years old, were, nonetheless,
vigorous men and, gerontologically speaking, relatively young in terms of
the aging process as it existed in those days. Even Isaac wasn't as near
death as he feared since he lived another 45 years to be 180 when he died.
(Gen 35:28)

● Gen 27:1b . . and his eyes were too dim to see,

The word for "dim" is from kahah (kaw-haw') which means: to be weak; viz:
to despond and/or grow dull.

So Isaac wasn't actually blind, as some have proposed. It's far more likely
he was stricken with cataracts, macular degeneration and/or some other
vision condition very common among people his age even today.

● Gen 27:1c-2 . . he called his older son Esau and said to him; My son. He
answered; Here I am. And he said; I am old now, and I do not know how
soon I may die.

It's common for older men to feel that not only is their time running out, but
also their luck. I've dodged several bullets in my 76 years; two of them
literal; and can't reasonably expect to live too much longer before the law of
averages catches up to me either by accident, crime, or natural causes.
_

Webers.Home · Aug 27, 2020

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● Gen 27:3-4 . . Now then, please take your gear, your quiver and your
bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me; and prepare a savory
dish for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul
may bless you before I die.

The part about "my soul" is a curious statement. The Hebrew word is
nephesh (neh'-fesh) which is a very common word for all creatures great
and small in the Old Testament beginning at Gen 1:20. Nepesh never refers
to unconscious life; viz: it only refers to fauna, never to flora.

But the interesting thing is: man not only is a soul (Gen 2:7) but according
to Gen 27:4, Gen 34:2, and a host of other passages, man also has a soul;
so it turns out that nephesh is a bit ambiguous.

A pretty good paraphrase of that portion of the passage would be "that I
may bless you from the core of my being". (viz: the bottom of his heart)

Esau was Isaac's favorite and I don't think he ever did care too much for
Jacob. If he had purposed to bless Jacob, I think it would have been done
with a very grudging spirit. This particular blessing regards Esau's
inheritance. He already sold the patriarchy to Jacob for a bowl of lentil soup.
Whether or not Isaac was aware of the deal the brothers struck, is not said.

What takes place next in chapter 27 is difficult to believe. To think that two
grown-ups, one at least 75 and the other very likely 115 years old, took part
in this incredibly clownish deception. I could understand young,
inexperienced kids doing something so stupid. But it is difficult to understand
how supposedly mature adults like Rebecca and Jacob could ever seriously
ponder such a silly scheme.

It is simply moronic that Rebecca would even remotely consider that her
crafty little plan had even the remotest chance of success. Conducted under
false pretenses, and a fake ID; it would only be a matter of hours before the
scam was uncovered, the ill gotten blessing of course retracted, and the
perpetrators soundly excoriated . . unless . . unless there is more to this
incident than meets the eye; and there most certainly is.

Ninety-five years prior to this point in time, God personally selected a
vibrant water girl up in Haran to be Isaac's spouse. The wisdom of that
selection is now going to become apparent as we begin to realize who
actually wore the spiritual pants in Isaac's house. If spirituality were a
martial art, Rebecca would be a black belt. Her discernment regarding
heavenly matters is remarkable. Was she really a silly female? Far from it.

In spite of God's mandate in chapter 25 concerning Jacob, and in spite of the
plainly obvious superiority of Jacob's character, and his spiritual
discernment, and his convictions, and in spite of Esau's blatant indifference
to his birthright, and to his spiritual heritage, and to the mind of God; Isaac
was nevertheless apparently determined to give both the patriarchy and the
inheritance to Esau-- clearly the wrong choice; not to mention a direct
affront to God. The inheritance was one thing, but the patriarchy was a
whole other matter altogether.

Esau even married impious women from among the pagan Canaanites. A
horrible choice considering the repercussions of such spouses upon the
future of Abraham's covenant. And Esau no doubt made that choice against
the counsel and consent of his parents; proving all the more just how head
strong and self-willed the man really was. Motivated by the gain of temporal
advantage, and the gratification of carnal appetites; Esau had no spiritual
vision at all. Well; Rebecca is fixin' to give Mr. Isaac, and his secular son Mr.
Esau, the wake-up call of their lives!

Esau was a man's man. I think if any of us met him, we would be instantly
drawn by his charisma and virility. And I think that Isaac saw in him the kind
of man he always wished he was himself. But in the coin of heaven, Esau
had no more worth than a dilapidated old shoe.

It's difficult to comprehend how favoritism, on the part of such a presumably
spiritual man as Isaac, could be based upon such a carnal motive as the
taste of venison. But it wasn't just the meal, but rather the way it was
obtained.

We get runs of Salmon up here in Oregon's rivers at various times of the
year. Last time I checked; you could buy fresh Coho Salmon in local
supermarkets for about $12 a pound. But no; guys prefer instead to spend
all day on a river shivering in the freezing cold just to catch one Salmon in
the wild.

But the river fish means something that the supermarket fish can never
mean. Yes, both are edible and both make great eating and honestly you
can't tell the difference. But one is obtained with a shopping cart. The other
by a man's own bare hands: with fishing tackle, by personal energy
combined with risk, skill, and cunning, i.e. man vs wild. All those are
important to a "real" man's feelings of personal worth.

It was customary in Jacob's day to mark solemn occasions with a feast; like
the one Isaac prepared for Abimelech when they swore an oath together in
chapter 26. And since the blessing Isaac resolved to bestow upon Esau was
such an important one, it seemed appropriate that the solemnities should be
marked by a feast of wild meat provided by Esau's own personal hunting
skills.

However, father and son didn't reckon on the God factor, and they surely
didn't reckon on black-ops Rebecca. Their little party is not going to happen
because this sharp gal from up north anticipated this very day and is all set
to implement a little fiesta of her own.
_

Webers.Home · Aug 28, 2020

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● Gen 27:5a . . Rebecca had been listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau.

We might ask: Why was Rebecca so concerned anyway? Didn't God decree
the firstborn's rights to Jacob? Then Jacob will get them anyway; won't he?

Yes. Jacob would eventually end up with the firstborn's rights anyway; but
the problem was: the outgoing patriarch had to impart the blessing and
obviously Mr. Isaac wasn't inclined to do so. It appears to me that Isaac was
actually going to attempt to circumvent God's wishes and I honestly think it
was because he was afraid of alienating his favorite son.

Rebecca wasn't stupid, nor inclined to superstition. I seriously doubt she was
silly enough to believe the words of the blessing themselves held sufficient
magic to confer the firstborn's rights upon Jacob just because he happened
to be in the room and hear them as they were spoken in his direction. After
all, it was all done under false pretenses and a fake ID. No court in the land
would uphold anything obtained by a fraud like that. But her scheme was
designed to do something else entirely.

I believe her intent was to wake Isaac up and make him return to his
senses. The man did fear God. That much is beyond question. But he was
lax in his patriarchal duties. Before this is over, he will regret his laxity very,
very much.

● Gen 27:5b-7 . .When Esau had gone out into the open to hunt game to
bring home, Rebecca said to her son Jacob: I overheard your father
speaking to your brother Esau, saying: Bring me some game and prepare a
dish for me to eat, that I may bless you, with the Lord's approval, before I
die.

That's not really what Isaac said. It appears that Rebecca embellished a little
and added "with the Lord's approval." Compare Gen 3:3 where Eve
embellished God's testimony in Gen 2:17 where He didn't forbid them to
"touch" the fruit; no, only to eat it.

● Gen 27:8 . . Now, my son, listen carefully as I instruct you.

Cool as a vice cop, Rebecca executes Plan A with the step by step precision
of a well arranged sting. I can just visualize her grip upon Jacob's arm,
gazing up into his face with a most intense look, as she gears him up to get
started on his part of the scheme.

● Gen 27:9a . . Go to the flock and fetch me two choice kids,

Why two? Well, for one thing: deer produce a much larger quantity of meat
than a little bitty kid. It's true Isaac couldn't possibly eat a whole deer at one
sitting, but Rebecca can only use parts of the kids that best resemble the
venison cuts Isaac prefers. And Esau more than likely cooked up a whole lot
more than just one serving. I think he typically brought his dad a heaping
buffet and let him pick out what he wanted; and anything left over was kept
as victuals for the rest of the house; which of course included Esau himself.

Rebecca is going to have to duplicate that setting as best as she can. And
she will too. After all, who was it taught those two boys how to cook in the
first place? None other than Becky Crocker.

● Gen 27:9b . . and I will make of them a dish for your father, such as he
likes.

This is additional evidence that it wasn't merely the flavor of Esau's cooking
that made Isaac love him. Rebecca could duplicate the taste of venison with
goat meat so that you couldn't tell the one from the other.

● Gen 27:10a-11a . .Then take it to your father to eat, in order that he may
bless you before he dies. Jacob answered his mother Rebecca: But....

Jacob straight away sees where his mom is going with this and likes it.
However . . there's just one problem: Rebecca can duplicate Esau's cooking;
but how will Jacob duplicate Esau? They didn't have the benefit of slick
Hollywood make-up artists in those days so how are they going to make
Jacob look (or rather, feel) like his brother?

Well, they have Isaac's poor eyesight to their advantage; so Jacob's
appearance won't have to be all that accurate. But they will need at least
one prosthetic: body hair.

● Gen 27:11b-12 . . my brother Esau is a hairy man and I am smooth
skinned. If my father touches me, I shall appear to him as a trickster and
bring upon myself a curse, not a blessing.

Isaac might get the wrong idea and think that Jacob is poking fun at his bad
eyesight by playing a dumb trick on him. That would hurt the old boy's
feelings a great deal to think that his 75 year-old son thought so little of him
as to perpetrate such a cruel prank; which of course would warrant a curse;
because it is not only cruel to play tricks on the blind, but, even worse, to be
cruel to one's parents.

● Gen 27:13 . . But his mother said to him: Your curse, my son, be upon
me! Just do as I say and go fetch them for me.

That's the oldest ploy in the book. It's the very same reasoning the German
military guards used to justify their duties at Auschwitz and Dachau. "You
can't blame us" they said; "We only did what we were told." That seems
reasonable enough. After all, the ones in charge are really responsible;
right?

Wrong. The midwives of Ex 1:15-17 could have used the very same excuse;
but didn't. And God commended them for fearing Him. If they had obeyed
Pharaoh, they would have received condemnation instead. Everyone bears
their own personal responsibility and has a duty to raise conscientious
objections.

In other words: it is a sin to violate your conscience. Yes, soldiers and minor
children are to obey their superiors-- but to the point of sin? Never! Besides,
Jacob was no minor child. He was a grown man.

But Rebecca needed some leverage to keep Jacob in the game. By playing
the "filial authority" card, she persuaded Jacob to stay on track. Luckily, he
wasn't too bright at the time and failed to appreciate his own personal
accountability. After all, the man was at least 75 years old; not just a little
kid.

But then again, I think Jacob the supplanter really wanted to pull this thing
off and just needed a way to appease his own misgivings about it; so it
wasn't too difficult to win him over.
_

Webers.Home · Aug 29, 2020

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● Gen 27:14-15 . . He got them and brought them to his mother, and his
mother prepared a dish such as his father liked. Rebecca then took the best
clothes of her older son Esau, which were there in the house, and had her
younger son Jacob put them on;

The word for "house" is from bayith (bah'-yith) which means: a dwelling (in
the greatest variation of applications), including family.

Does that mean Rebecca lived in a permanent structure? I don't think so.
Bayith doesn't always mean what we think. In Gen 6:14 it implicates the
interior of the ark. At Gen 7:1 it implicates Noah's family, and quite possibly
even all their belongings-- a regular Noah's Family Robinson. At Gen 15:2,
bayith implicates Abraham's entire estate: his tents, his livestock, and his
servants.

Some have proposed that Esau's best clothes were special-- for religious
observances --like the garments that priests might wear. But that certainly
doesn't fit Esau's character. I think it was just a nice outfit of some sort,
maybe even the one he got married in. But anyway, they sure didn't get
washed often because his clothes usually smelled like the outdoors-- and
that could mean anything from plain old dirt to wild flowers and meadow
grass.

But why were those clothes (viz: his cleanest dirty shirts) in Rebecca's
home? I believe it was because Rebecca anticipated this very day and kept
them right there handy so she could put them on Jacob when the time
came. And that is why she never washed the smell out of them. Jacob of
course was very likely a tidy sort of guy and kept his clothes clean. But Esau
was a rugged outdoor type who's clothes you would expect to have an odor.

● Gen 27:16 . . and she covered his hands and the hairless part of his neck
with the skins of the kids.

Those hides would still be raw and untreated. So Rebecca had to scrub and
scrape to get all the fat and blood off so they wouldn't have a visceral smell
to them. Yuck! That's reminiscent of scenes from Silence Of The Lambs.

● Gen 27:17 . .Then she put in the hands of her son Jacob the dish and the
bread that she had prepared.

Yummy. From the kitchen of Becky Crocker; with biscuits and gravy too.
Well, this is as far as Rebecca can go. Now it's all up to Mr. Jacob to pull this
off. Good luck dude. Don't chicken out now. HWUAH! (Navy SEAL cheer)

● Gen 27:18-19a . . He went to his father and said: Father. And he said:
Yes, which of my sons are you? Jacob said to his father: I am Esau, your
first-born; I have done as you told me.

That man makes me proud. No mumbling, no stuttering, no hesitation--
right to it. Yes; he is a big fat liar. But I love it. You watch. Any day now he'll
get a letter in the mail from CIA recruiters praising his moral flexibility.

NOTE: When Jacob called out to his dad; he used what is known as a
"vocative" which Webster's defines as: of, relating to, or being a
grammatical case marking out the one addressed. In other words: a
vocative is intended to get the attention of a specific person in a room rather
than everybody in the room.

This may seem superfluous, and I guess it isn't germane to the study of
Genesis; but the principle has an important application in Christianity.
Compare Rom 8:15 and Gal 4:6 where the Aramaic vocative Abba indicates
that the Father's children don't call out to Him as merely a clan's
paterfamilias, but rather, like Jacob did with Isaac: as one's very own papa.

● Gen 27:19b-20 . . Pray sit up and eat of my game, that you may give me
your innermost blessing. Isaac said to his son: How did you succeed so
quickly, my son? And he said: Because the Lord your God granted me good
fortune.

What did he say!? My golly that man had chutzpah! He actually dragged the
name of God into the lie. Now Jacob will be condemned to the lower regions
for sure; or will he?

"I say unto you: that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit
down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven." (Matt
8:11)

● Gen 27:21-23 . . Isaac said to Jacob: Come closer that I may feel you, my
son-- whether you are really my son Esau or not. So Jacob drew close to his
father Isaac, who felt him and wondered: The voice is the voice of Jacob, yet
the hands are the hands of Esau. He did not recognize him, because his
hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; and so he blessed him.

So then, in spite of their twin-ness, there was enough of a difference in the
brothers' voices to be discernable. However, Rebecca somehow attached
size-cut pieces of young goat skin on the backs of Jacob's hands and fingers
with some sort of toupee adhesive so it would feel to Isaac as if it were a
man's natural hairs. That was a pretty good trick; and would probably land
her a job as a Hollywood make-up artist.

● Gen 27:24 . . He asked: Are you truly my son Esau? And when he said: I
am,

Some people are of the opinion that Jacob was a mama's boy. Well, maybe
he was. But one thing he had that most mama's boys don't; and it's a level
head under stress. Jacob was as calm and calculating as a test pilot all
during this incident.

I tell you, that man amazes me. I bet Rebecca was just outside the door
sweating bullets while all this was going on; hoping and praying that Jacob
not lose his cool and bolt out of the room in a panic. This is just the kind of
cool under fire that the Secret Service looks for; but then, you need a pretty
high IQ to work with those guys.

● Gen 27:25 . . he said: Serve me and let me eat of my son's game that I
may give you my innermost blessing. So he served him and he ate, and he
brought him wine and he drank.

The wine was probably out in the kitchen. When Jacob went back to get it,
don't you think Rebecca hugged him and gave him a great big thumbs up? I
do. Those two were a team! The original Mission Impossible task force.

While Isaac was eating, he and Jacob probably chatted. About what; I don't
have a clue. But Jacob managed to pull it off like a pro. Isaac really thought
he was talking with Esau.
_

Webers.Home · Aug 30, 2020

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● Gen 27:26-27 . .Then his father Isaac said to him: Come close and kiss
me, my son. And he went up and kissed him. And he smelled his clothes and
he blessed him, saying, Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of the fields
that the Lord has blessed.

Esau probably always smelled like that and Rebecca took full advantage of it.
He should have washed his clothes once in a while. Good grief the man had
two wives. What the heck did they do all day? Neglect their chores to watch
Oprah, Dr. Phil, Judge Judy, and the Soaps?

I bet if you visited Esau's home the kids were running around in dirty
underwear and snotty noses all the time. You probably had to kick a path to
walk and wouldn't dare sit down because something might stick. Poor
Rebecca. What a pair of daughters-in-law. I bet when they all got together
on holidays, Judith and Basemath sat around on their tushes and gossiped
while Rebecca and Jacob did all the dishes.

● Gen 27:28 . . May God give you of the dew of heaven and the fat of the
earth, abundance of new grain and wine.

The Hebrew word for the "fat" pertaining to Abel's offering is cheleb (kheh'
leb); or cheleb (khay'-leb) which don't always indicate fleshly fat, but mostly
mean the richest or the choicest parts.

The Hebrew word for the "fat" pertaining to Isaac's blessing is mashman
(mash-mawn') which, again, doesn't always indicate fleshly fat; but also
richness; e.g. a rich dish, a fertile field, and or a robust man. In other
words; Isaac's blessing is agricultural.

The benediction, first of all, regards things in nature necessary for prosperity
in an agrarian economy-- rain, fertile soil, and abundant yields. Rain is an
especially precious resource in the country of Israel where today it's confined
to just one season a year lasting only three months. In the old days, they
had two rainy seasons; the early rains and the latter rains.

City slickers hate rain. It's so inconvenient. It gets their hair wet; they have
to run the wipers; it floods their streets and storm drains, their gutters
overflow from clogged downspouts, they can't wear flip-flops-- caring little
that the foods available in the supermarkets and convenience stores are
utterly dependent upon adequate rain. I think that some people actually
think their foods are manufactured in sweat shops rather than grown in the
dirt. They just can't make the connection.

● Gen 27:29a . . Let peoples serve you, And nations bow to you;

Jacob's progeny has exercised dominance over many nations in the past,
most especially during Solomon's period. Today they're in a slump. But that
benediction isn't dead yet; no, not by a long sea mile. In the future, Israel
will be the seat of world power and the center for religious studies. You'd
never know it to look at Jacob's condition today; but it's going to happen.

● Gen 27:29b . . Be master over your brothers, and let your mother's sons
bow to you.

The magic words! --and the very ones I'm sure Rebecca was anxiously
waiting to hear. His "mother's sons" right then only amounted to (in Isaac's
mind) just one: Mr. Jacob. But Rebecca became a grandma and today her
sons can't even be numbered. Every one of them are supposed to honor
Jacob and bow in respect because he, along with Isaac and Abraham, is a
member of the elite league of senior patriarchs.

The bestowal of the patriarchy upon Jacob was done with God as a witness,
who has, so far, neither interfered nor intervened; nor has He seen fit to
alert Isaac to Jacob's deception, nor said a single word about the whole
fraudulent business.

In short, the Almighty God, of all people, is apparently condoning Jacob's
funny business. It seems to me, that the only way to understand this
situation is to conclude that, whatever may be wrong with the stratagem
and deception of Jacob and Rebecca, the sin of Esau and Isaac was infinitely
more grievous.

Yes, it's true that God doesn't usually condone lies; and I'm sure Jacob and
his mom well knew it. They were spiritual people; both of them. But I really
think that as bad as deception might be in God's sight, it had become a
desperate necessity in this case to prevent a much worse sin: that of
blasphemously presuming to impart the most holy of God's offices to a man
who neither appreciated its depth, nor would honor it-- and to do so directly
in the face of God's commandment against it.

Such an eventuality surely would have incurred God's most severe discipline
upon both Isaac and Esau; and I am convinced that Rebecca felt she must
prevent that occurrence at all costs, even if it meant alienating her husband
and infuriating Esau to the point of seeking Jacob's death.

Isaac, because of the solemn nature of what he was doing, (conveying holy
covenant promises and blessings to a son, who in turn would be responsible
for their transmission and implementation in his own family) was no doubt
under the influence of the power of God that day and was carried along in
the scheme even though he half suspected the son in the room with him
wasn't Esau. No. Jacob was getting that blessing, and there was nothing
short of Heaven and Hell themselves that could prevent it.

The Almighty Himself, who had made His solemn covenant with Abraham,
and renewed it with Isaac, certainly was present in that room during the
whole affair. What would have happened if Esau was instead standing there
that day we can only surmise.

But it seems highly probable that the consequences would have been tragic
for both father and son. The Almighty God's holy promises and covenants
are never to be dispensed as trifles, subject to the whim and preference of
self centered mortals who are swayed to make important decisions simply
upon the taste of their favorite foods.
_

Webers.Home · Aug 31, 2020

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● Gen 27:29c . . Cursed be they who curse you, blessed they who bless you.

That the blessing upon Jacob was definitely the same as the blessing given
to Abraham and Isaac is clear from the words spoken here in the final part.

First, Isaac conferred the material aspects of patriarchal life: prosperity. I
am sure that Esau would have loved that part of it. However, there is
nothing in the wording of the blessing to suggest that it included an actual
bequeathal of Isaac's assets. Isaac's closing statement echoes God's own
words to Abraham in Gen 12:3

Some have wondered why Isaac didn't include the balance of the Gen 12:2
3 blessing at this time; which goes like this:

"I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your
name great, and you shall be a blessing . . and all the families of the earth
shall bless themselves by you."

Sad to say, I think Isaac knew very well it would be like blessing a beast.
Though Esau might become a great nation, he would never become a
blessing to all the families of the Earth; nor that they would bless
themselves by him.

Yet even knowing that, Isaac was, for all intents and purposes, still
determined to confer the patriarchy upon Esau, the secular son. I hate to
say it, but I strongly suspect Isaac was becoming somewhat deranged;
especially because of the feelings he entertained about his supposedly
imminent death.

Anyway, he did pronounce the blessing upon Jacob; and did so under the
very inspiration of God, though Isaac himself was trying to thwart the will of
God all the while he was speaking.

Just so, many years later, the infamous prophet for profit, Balaam, in
Numbers 22, 23, and 24, was forced to bless Israel even against his own
will.

And in the days of Jesus of Nazareth (John 11:49-52) the high priest spoke
prophetically of the meaning of Jesus' death; though the priest himself did
not understand the real import of what he was saying; nor even put any
stock at all in his own words.

The blessing which, by God's edict, should have gone to Jacob in the first
place, was indeed finally pronounced upon him by his father in spite of
Isaac's lack of willingness to do so. He was tricked into it, yes; but by
thunder that shouldn't have been necessary.
_

Webers.Home · Sep 1, 2020

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● Gen 27:30-33a . . No sooner had Jacob left the presence of his father
Isaac-- after Isaac had finished blessing Jacob --than his brother Esau came
back from his hunt. He too prepared a dish and brought it to his father. And
he said to his father: Let my father sit up and eat of his son's game, so that
you may give me your innermost blessing. His father Isaac said to him: Who
are you? And he said: I am your son, Esau, your first-born! Isaac was seized
with very violent trembling.

According to Jewish folklore, Isaac's first impulse, upon realizing he blessed
the wrong son, was to retract the benediction from Jacob and give it to the
son for whom it was intended; and would have except at that moment he
saw Hell open beneath his feet, thus signifying that God was very displeased
with his intentions; and if he persisted any longer to bless the wrong boy, he
would suffer dire consequences. I would not be one bit surprised if that were
true.

It began to dawn on Isaac what had happened. The truth suddenly came
home to him like a frigid blast of icy wind. In spite of all his intentions, God
overruled Isaac, and he blessed the younger instead of the elder; like he
was supposed to do in the first place.

Furthermore, he realized he had been deceived by his true love Rebecca,
and by his faithful son Jacob, whom he really hadn't appreciated very much
up until now. I think he realized, that they, level-headed and sensible people
that they were, deceived him in order to prevent the head of the house from
doing what he very well knew he had no right to do. And God was in on the
whole scheme, and had blessed Jacob through Isaac in spite of himself to
the contrary. Jacob would indeed be blessed, just as he should have been all
along.

● Gen 27:33b . .Who was it then-- he demanded --that hunted game and
brought it to me? Moreover, I ate of it before you came, and I blessed him;
now he must remain blessed!

This was clearly the will of God and there was nothing Isaac could do to
change it. He had tried to, but God stopped him. As the impact of these
thoughts came over him, Isaac became very shaken. Emotions of all sorts
must have overwhelmed him-- anger with Jacob, concern for Esau's future,
heartbreak over Rebecca's treachery, resentment at having his own plans
thwarted, and shame for having played the fool in such an important
spiritual matter. All those feelings surely contributed to his trembling.

Isaac quickly realized God had spoken to him in judgment, and that he had
incurred great peril to himself in so ignoring the will of God. He had betrayed
the trust of his father Abraham and had practically destroyed his own home;
all because of a carnal appetite and parental adulation of a favorite son's
physical exploits. No wonder the poor man was shaking so badly.

● Gen 27:34a . .When Esau heard his father's words, he burst into wild and
bitter sobbing,

The Hebrew word for "sobbing" is wayits'aq which is from tsa' aq (tsaw-ak')
meaning: to shriek.

I have a feeling the shriek that wrenched up out of Esau's lungs is the very
same hysterical emotion that millions of damned will feel at The Great White
Throne judgment of Rev 20:11-15 when the grim reality of their fate finally
sinks in that they have lost Heaven forever. It's beyond words.

At the first, Esau entered his dad's room with cheerful anticipation. Then
quite bluntly, Isaac blurts out that someone beat him to it. Watching his dad
shivering, and seeing the look of fear wash over the patriarch's face, the
awful truth became only too apparent and Esau gave vent to his
disappointment with a dreadful scream.

● Gen 27:34b . . and said to his father: Bless me too, Father!

In Esau's mind, his dad really hadn't intended to bless Jacob; and was
actually hoodwinked into it; so surely God couldn't possibly honor the
fraudulent blessing. Isaac could just simply retract his words and bless the
older son like he wanted to. But no. It was far more serious than either Esau
or his dad imagined; which by now, via God's Spirit, Isaac was fully aware.

● Gen 27:34c . . But he answered: Your brother came with guile and took
away your blessing.

That was really only a half truth; no doubt told with the intent to prevent
alienating his eldest son. The fact of the matter is: Isaac couldn't change
anything now even if he wanted to; and he knew it too because by now he
was fully reminded of God's original mandate regarding the two boys even
before they were born. Hardly knowing how to explain his wanton error to
Esau, he simply blamed Jacob for it. But it was Isaac's fault all along. He
should never have led Esau to believe he would get the blessing. So many
dads cannot admit they made a mistake in the way they raised their kids.
Isaac was certainly no better.

● Gen 27:36a . . [Esau] said: Was he, then, named Jacob that he might
supplant me these two times? First he took away my birthright and now he
has taken away my blessing!

Esau bitterly recalled that Jacob had taken away his birthright-- of course
conveniently forgetting that he saw no value in it and traded his privilege for
a measly bowl of porridge.

● Gen 27:36b-38 . . And he added: Have you not reserved a blessing for
me? Isaac answered, saying to Esau: But I have made him master over you:
I have given him all his brothers for servants, and sustained him with grain
and wine. What, then, can I still do for you, my son? And Esau said to his
father: Have you but one blessing, Father? Bless me too, Father! And Esau
wept aloud.

It must have been a strange sight to see such a virile, strong, athletic he
man screaming like a woman and bawling like a little girl. Agonizingly, he
begged his dad for a blessing of some kind for himself, probably hoping that
somehow God, through his father's intercession, could be persuaded to
change His mind. The portion of the blessing, which no doubt appealed to
Esau the most-- that of political superiority and material security-- had been
irrevocably given to Jacob; and all the blubbering in the world couldn't
change the situation now.
_

Webers.Home · Sep 2, 2020

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● Gen 27:39-40 . . And his father Isaac answered, saying to him: See, your
abode shall be [away from] the fat of the earth and [from] the dew of
heaven above. Yet by your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your
brother; but when you grow restive, you shall break his yoke from your
neck.

The words in the brackets don't actually appear in the Hebrew text. But
according to a foot note in the 1985 JPS Tanakh; the meaning of the Hebrew
is just what you see. Jacob's side of the family was granted the best water,
fertile soils, and abundant yields. In contrast, Esau's side of the family would
live in regions plagued with geological shortages of water, arable land, and
natural pastures.

Isaac's prediction was fulfilled by the very nature of the rugged region that
came to be known as the land of Edom. The Edomites, in general, lived in
violence and subjection to Israel; remaining essentially independent until
David's time, but then were subjugated permanently after that in spite of
frequent rebellions and temporary partial freedom. Finally, Edom
disappeared as a nation by that name: the little prophecy of Obadiah
explains why.

Esau's life of indifference to spiritual matters-- in spite of being born to one
of the most privileged heritages possible --had finally caught up with him
and it was too late even for regrets.

● Gen 27:41 . . Now Esau harbored a grudge against Jacob because of the
blessing which his father had given him, and Esau said to himself: Let but
the mourning period of my father come, and I will kill my brother Jacob.

Well, he had a long wait ahead of him. Isaac lived another 45 years.

But isn't it odd how the human spirit desires to kill-- not just desire for harm
and misfortune; but to the gravest extreme?

A few years ago, out here on a highway in Oregon, traffic was slowed. So a
man tried to get ahead of it by driving on the shoulder to pass everyone up.
As he went by a pick-up truck with some men in it, one of them threw a
paper cup at him. He dropped back and fired a gun into the pick-up, killing
one of the passengers.

That is so typical of the feelings that overwhelm human beings when they're
angry. They want blood, and no other form of revenge will satisfy. Is it
possible that there is anybody out there who has never wished that
somebody would die?

Esau's personality changed dramatically. He went from an indifferent,
carefree outdoor sportsman to a bitter, vindictive neurotic. The thought of
his sissy brother ruling over him-- the superior son who was always admired
and idolized for his strength and prowess --was just too much for Esau to
bear.

● Gen 27:42a . . When the words of her older son Esau were reported to
Rebecca,

You know, if criminals would just keep their mouths shut they might get
away with a whole lot more crimes. But no, they just have to tell somebody
about it. Esau must have vented his bitterness to some of the servants who,
in turn, leaked it to Rebecca.

● Gen 27:42b-43a . . she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him:
Your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you. Now, my son,
listen to me.

Again showing herself to be a woman of quick decision, Rebecca called Jacob
and told him exactly what to do. Not wishing for a war between her sons,
she thought it best to send Jacob away for a while.
_

Webers.Home · Sep 3, 2020

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● Gen 27:43b-45 . . Flee at once to Haran, to my brother Laban. Stay with
him a while, until your brother's fury subsides-- until your brother's anger
against you subsides --and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I
will fetch you from there. Let me not lose you both in one day!

The word for "fury" is from chemah (khay-maw') and/or chema' (khay
maw') which means: heat. The word for "anger" is from 'aph (af) which
means: the nose or nostril; hence, the face, and occasionally a person; also
(from the rapid breathing in passion) ire.

(chuckle) Ol' Esau was indeed a passionate man. But his was not the
lingering passion of a scented candle, or of a Yule log, which burn slowly for
a long time. His rage burned more like a tumbleweed; a flashing,
momentary flame that would soon pass. Esau might hold a grudge, but he
wouldn't go on red faced and breathing heavy about it for very long.

Moody, introspective people, often stay upset for long periods of time; which
really exasperates the Esau types who usually get over things quickly. The
Esau types are happy to let personal conflicts blow over and then move on.
But the moody types are always wanting to dredge up unresolved hurts and
argue about them again and again for the Nth time until someone finally
listens.

Some lawsuits, like the one between President Clinton and Paula Jones,
often cannot be settled out of court because personalities like hers want an
admission of guilt and an apology. Money is out of the question, and an
insult to boot, because people like Paula Jones are never satisfied with
anything less than a public hanging.

Knowing Esau's nature, Rebecca figured his rage would pass away quickly
and he would soon return to his typical carefree ways. Unfortunately, it was
past twenty years before Jacob came back home, and there is no record that
he ever saw his mom again.

Rebecca's stratagem was indeed costly, but it could have gone much worse
if Jacob had stayed home. Surely any attempt by Esau to kill Jacob would
have resulted in Esau's death; the Lord protecting Jacob for future use. But I
think Rebecca feared Esau might succeed and then become permanently
alienated from the family like Cain was after killing his brother Abel. So she
would, in effect, lose both boys in one day just as grandma Eve did.

Rebecca-- the bright, discreet lass that she was --no doubt had counted all
the costs of her scheme; and believed the issue was vital enough to require
her to do what she did. As a matter of fact, later events proved that she was
correct. Esau did soon get over his rage, and he prospered quite adequately
in a material sense. Jacob never did really lord it over him, which was
probably all Esau really cared about anyway.

Both boys survived this calamitous event: hubby Isaac too. And Jacob went
on to spawn the people of Israel, thus making a line to Messiah; by whom
the Serpent's head would be crushed, and the entire world blessed beyond
measure.

They say all's well that ends well. Maybe. Rebecca's family was fractured,
and she lost the companionship of a really good son. Hers was a sacrifice of
the heart. I would really like to see Rebecca compensated for that some day.
_

Webers.Home · Sep 5, 2020

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● Gen 27:46 . . And Rebecca said to Isaac: I am weary of living because of
the daughters of Heth. If Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as
these which are of the daughters of the land, I might as well die.

Abraham purchased a cemetery plot from Heth's clan back in chapter 23.

I think Rebecca was becoming very lonely for the company of daughters-in
law of a kindred spirit. Christians considering marriage should really give
some serious thought to how their parents feel about a prospective spouse.
It's just not fair to force your choice down their throat with the haughty
protest: It's my life!

No man is an island, entire of itself;
Every man is a piece of the continent:
A part of the main.
(John Donne, 1624)

Everything that people do, everything they say, every decision they make;
has a ripple effect.

You know, Isaac really wasn't a bad man. But something happened to him
that made him lose interest in his patriarchal duties. I really do think the
man was having problems with depression; which may have been associated
somehow with his eyesight.

What if you could never again see Orion and the Milky Way, nor a sunset,
nor the colors of the rainbow, nor watch the flight of migrating geese or a
buzzing humming bird, nor see the bees busily collecting their pollen, nor
the wind shaking the trees, nor the fluorescent colors of Autumn foliage, nor
the splendor of the Grand Canyon, nor a spider's web illuminated from
behind by morning sunlight, nor the ocean's waves, nor fireworks on the 4th
of July? And what about all the things you haven't seen yet? Defective
eyesight would prevent you from ever seeing the things that you missed.

There is a well known syndrome that occurs in men called male menopause;
and also known by it's other name: andropause. Although male menopause
is related to the aging process-- with resultant hormonal reductions --men's
problems aren't caused by the very same kinds of changes that occur in
women. Women's menopausal difficulties are chiefly chemical. But with men,
it's mostly psychological.

One of the primary symptoms of andropause is depression. Not just bouts of
depression that come and go, but the chronic kind. Every day, every night:
feelings of inadequacy and worthlessness plague men afflicted with chronic
depression. They feel useless, they feel they'll never be any good again,
they feel expendable; and they feel unnecessary. But worse, they feel
unlovable; viz: not only do they feel like no one cares whether they live or
die, but they feel it is impossible for anyone to care about them at all.

It isn't unusual for men to rapidly deteriorate and die during the first
eighteen months of their retirement years. Why? Because their jobs, and
their careers, made their lives meaningful and worthwhile. It gave them a
reason to live. It gave them strong feelings of value, it made them creative
and gave them feelings of self worth and self esteem, and feelings of
belonging in a man's world. At career's end, they feel expended and
expendable; actually losing interest in living and it's almost as if they will
themselves to pass away because there's nothing left to live for, and people
begin treating them like children instead of mature adults.

When we're young and spry, we look forward to the future with optimism
and anticipation. But when we're older, there is nothing in life to look
forward to anymore but falling apart and leaving it. All the good stuff is over.
And it doesn't help having our bodies deteriorate along the way.

I really think that Isaac's handicap robbed him of all reasonable optimism;
and he saw no reason to go on living; especially at his age. Because of that,
he had no spirit for patriarchal duties. When the boys brought him food that
day, both of them asked their dad to sit up and eat. Sit up!? What the heck
was he doing lying down? Well, I think he was lying around all day feeling
sorry for himself, that's what. Life had become uninteresting to Isaac, and
he was no longer one tough cookie; but rather, one whipped puppy.

But not so Rebecca. No, No; not that quick-legged Aquarian. She was a
fighter, she was a Rocky Balboa. Becky had a head on her shoulders. Ever
the strong decisive woman, she put a bug in Isaac's ear to send Jacob away
to find a spouse. Yes, she was being cunning again; but in the right of it too:
as usual. It was a whole lot better for Jacob to depart with his dad's good
will than running away from home without saying good-bye.

Now that the blessing had actually been dispensed, and it was very clear to
Isaac that Jacob was God's choice to perpetuate Abraham's covenant, there
was no excuse to delay any longer in the matter of finding his son a suitable
wife because men don't live forever, Their children have to take up the flame
and carry it forward. Jacob was a virile man at this point in his life; but
that's getting ready to change. This fact, combined with the immediate
danger of another Cain-and-Abel episode, was more than enough reason for
Isaac to send Jacob away.

Rebecca's personal desire for Jacob to have a wife from her own people, one
with whom she could have fellowship rather than the continual friction she
experienced with Esau's Hittite wives, compelled her to convince Isaac that
her own life wouldn't be worth living anymore if Jacob married the same
kinds of impious women as his brother's.

Was Rebecca a good wife? Even though she tricked her husband? And even
though she was strong and decisive? I really believe she was because even
in the US Navy, sometimes a captain needs his first officer to take over and
run the ship till he's better.

"The Lord God said; It is not good for man to be alone; I will make a fitting
helper for him." (Gen 2:18)

Isaac benefited from his dad Abraham's wisdom; and he had the providence
of God to thank in the selection of his wife. Rebecca really saved the day,
and got Isaac back up on his patriarchal feet. If it wasn't for her, nothing
would have turned out right. She was indeed the perfect mate for that
particular man. Unlike Eve who brought her man down; Becky propped her
man up. Some women, infected with misandry, are pleased when their man
goes down.
_

Webers.Home · Sep 6, 2020

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● Gen 28:1a . . So Isaac sent for Jacob and blessed him. He instructed him:

This is the first time, at least on record, that Isaac has shown any real
interest in Jacob's spiritual condition. You just have to wonder if Jacob
received any religious instruction at all from his dad. I would not be
surprised if Rebecca has been Jacob's only tutor up to this point.

Isaac went through a very traumatic experience. I think he was shaken, and
it appears to have succeeded in bringing him back to his senses. Now he
renders upon Jacob the full extent of Abraham's blessing; which he really
should have done a long time ago.

● Gen 28:1b-4 . .You shall not take a wife from among the Canaanite
women. Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother's
father, and take a wife there from among the daughters of Laban, your
mother's brother. May El Shaddai bless you, make you fertile and numerous,
so that you become an assembly of peoples. May He grant the blessing of
Abraham to you and your offspring, that you may possess the land where
you are sojourning, which God assigned to Abraham.

It would have been much wiser of course, if circumstances had permitted, to
keep Jacob at home and dispatch a trusted servant up to Haran to fetch a
wife back down to Canaan like Abraham did for Isaac. But at this point, I
guess that option was out of the question. Isaac's patriarchal laxity is having
quite a domino effect upon Jacob's future. He's going to be tricked into
taking two wives, sisters at that, and squander twenty years of his life
indentured to a very crafty, dishonest man.

● Gen 28:5 . .Then Isaac sent Jacob off, and he went to Paddan-aram, to
Laban the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebecca, mother of
Jacob and Esau.

I just have to wonder if Isaac would have thought of Laban at all if not for
Rebecca putting a bug in his ear.

Not only was Laban an Aramean, but so were Abraham, Lot, Sarah, and
Rebecca. The boys (Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and Esau) were born in Canaan.
So of what country were they? Canaan wasn't a united sovereignty like the
USA. It was a frontier territory. Along the coast were Philistine colonies; the
remainder populated by many communities scattered all over the place
much like Native American peoples were in America's early days.

I don't know about Ishmael and Esau, but Isaac and Jacob looked ahead to a
future country that they would call home. That country didn't exist just yet
in Jacob's day, but it would eventually, and he would be a somebody there--
Abraham's covenant guarantees it. Those men haven't missed out on
anything. According to the New Testament's Jesus, they will all return some
day and live in that land as citizens in land promised to Abraham.

"I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take
their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of
heaven." (Matt 8:11)

The writer of Hebrews said, that although those three men were pilgrims in
Canaan, they will one day live inside it as citizens in a town of their own.

"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his
inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was
going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a
foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs
with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with
foundations, whose architect and builder is God." (Heb 11:8-10)

I don't know exactly how much detail those men knew in their day; but that
"city with foundations" is going to be some piece of work. (cf. Rev 21:2-27)

● Gen 28:6-7 . .When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him
off to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, charging him, as he blessed
him "You shall not take a wife from among the Canaanite women" and that
Jacob had listened to his father and mother and gone to Paddan-aram,

That had to shake Esau up even more. Up to this point, for many, many
years, he had been daddy's little boy. Now, practically overnight, Jacob
takes center stage. It must have been very disturbing and I have no doubt it
made Esau feel extremely insecure; probably for the first time in his life.

Jacob listened to his parents. The difference between Jacob and Esau really
shows in that respect. Esau did pretty much whatever he pleased. But Jacob
wasn't like that. Even at 75 years old he took his parents advice. American
kids today are famous for ignoring their parents guidance; and they usually
end up regretting it too.

His dad was smart all along, but the boy was too immature at the time to
see it. He thought smartness came packaged with youth. In his mind; older
people were expendable, obsolete, and out of touch with reality. But
education doesn't necessarily make one wise: just conceited.

Although Esau was Isaac's favorite, I really don't think he ever disciplined,
scolded, nor lectured his eldest son for anything. I think he let Esau run wild
so as to avoid stressing their relationship. Even though Esau's wives were a
misery to Isaac and Rebecca, apparently no one ever spoke up and said
anything about it till now; and as a result; Esau fell for one of the oldest
ruses in the book:

A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong;
Gives it a superficial appearance of being right.
(Thomas Paine)
_

Webers.Home · Sep 7, 2020

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● Gen 28:8 . . Esau realized that the Canaanite women displeased his father
Isaac.

Now that Esau no longer enjoyed the status of a pampered athlete, he's a
little more attuned to the opinions of others around him; most especially to
the dad who at one time gave the impression his eldest was so wonderful.

● Gen 28:9a . . So Esau went to Ishmael and took to wife, in addition to the
wives he had,

Some feel that Esau did that to create an alliance with Ishmael; since he too
was a disfavored son. But Ishmael was already deceased by this time. He
was at least fourteen years older than Isaac, who was by this time around
135. Ishmael died at 137; twelve years prior to this chapter. It is much more
likely that Esau betrothed a woman from Ishmael's family in an attempt to
redeem his marriages to the Hittite girls. Ishmael's girls, at least, were kin.

● Gen 28:9b . . Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, sister of
Nebaioth.

Ishmael being long dead; his son Nebaioth made the arrangements for
marriage.

You know, life sometimes dealt cruelly with girls in that day. Romance was
out of the question. Even if there was a boy in the neighborhood that took
their breath away, the girls weren't allowed to even date, let alone marry
him. They had to marry a man their dads or their brothers selected--
oftentimes a total stranger and often someone quite a bit older than
themselves. You'll often see it said in the Bible that so and so loved a
particular girl; but hardly ever will you see where she loved him back.

I believe that Abraham was a conscientious parent and made certain
Ishmael received religious training. By the time Ishmael was evicted at
fifteen or so, he had a pretty good basic knowledge regarding Abraham's
god. And his mom Hagar was familiar with Him too. So it would not surprise
me if Mahalath was pretty sound in the correct beliefs. She was a much
better choice than the Hittite girls, and she is never once said to be a
heartbreak to either Isaac or Rebecca. I would like to think Mahalath was
very good company for Rebecca; which would have been a real comfort to
her now that Jacob was gone.

Unfortunately, Mahalath was too little too late. It was like closing the gate
after the horses have run out of the corral. I'm sure Mahalath was okay; but
Esau's new wife could never change God's decree concerning Jacob. Esau
lost out: and he lost out big.

● Gen 28:10 . . Jacob left Beer-sheba, and set out for Haran.

It's difficult for me to believe that Jacob made the 450 miles trip to Haran all
by himself. He may have, I don't know. I'm not saying he didn't. After all,
Hagar was apparently traveling alone when she ran away from Sarah back in
chapter 16. But that was a very dangerous, foolish thing to do. A lone
person in wild country is just asking for trouble. What if they were to fall and
break a leg? Or were attacked by brigands and/or wild animals?

The route to Haran was used by caravans so Jacob may have traveled along
with one for safety's sake; and if not, then maybe with travelers on foot like
himself sort of like the pilgrims who trek the El Camino de Santiago de
Compostela in Spain.

● Gen 28:11a . . He came upon a certain place

According to Gen 28:19, the "certain place" was Bethel. The site started out
as Luz; but later came to be known by the name Jacob gave it. Today it's
commonly believed Bethel was somewhere around Beitin, about twelve miles
north of Jerusalem and maybe two and a half miles northeast of Ramallah.
At this point, Jacob was maybe sixty miles from Beer-sheba-- probably the
second or third day of his journey.

● Gen 28:11b . . and stopped there for the night, for the sun had set.

Travel at night without a car with good electric headlights was not a good
idea in those days. Palestine was once the habitat of bears and lions; and
the odds were against you of getting lost and losing your way in the dark.

● Gen 28:11c . .Taking one of the stones of that place, he put it under his
head and lay down in that place.

I doubt the stone was very large. Probably just enough to elevate his head a
little so he wouldn't lie with his cheek right down on flat dirt. That is so
uncomfortable. Try it. Put a towel or something down on the floor and lie
down on the side of your head. It's much more comfortable to stack a few
books first and then put the towel down. He probably did it like that and
cushioned the stone with a bag or a coat.

● Gen 28:12a . . He had a dream;

In the book of Genesis, dreams are a common means of communication
between God and humans. Is that still going on? I really don't know. But if it
ever happened to me, I would consider it a nightmare.
_

Webers.Home · Sep 8, 2020

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● Gen 28:12b . . a ladder was set on the ground and its top reached to the
sky, and angels of God were going up and down on it.

The word for "ladder" is from cullam (sool-lawm') which is actually a
staircase. This is the one and only place in the entire Old Testament where
that specific word is located so we can't compare it's application in other
contexts.

One of the problems with Old Testament Hebrew is that scholars are not
quite sure what some of the ancient words really mean. Cullam could just as
easily mean an elevator or an escalator.

There's something very conspicuous about the staircase in Jacob's dream:
there were no humans on it. So what does that mean? Well . . the staircase
was, after all, merely a figment rather than a physical object. But it has to
signify something real in order to be useful. I would say the dream indicates,
at the very least, that there's an avenue-- a connection --between Heaven
and Earth so that mankind isn't totally isolated from God.

But why show Jacob a stairway to heaven if human beings weren't using it in
his day? I think that the very existence of a pathway to God meant that one
day not only angels, but human beings too would be using it-- because, in
reality, that stairway represents Christ; Jacob's great, great, great grandson.
(cf. John 1:45-51)

● Gen 28:13a . . And behold, Yhvh stood above it and said: I am Yhvh; god
of Abraham your father, and the god of Isaac;

On the page of Scripture, this is Jacob's very first close encounter with his
father's god. Till now, Yhvh had been merely data in Jacob's head;
something he picked up in home-school yeshiva.

Exactly why God chose to become personal with Jacob at just that moment
in his life is a mystery. But the moment came not around the dinner table at
home with family; but actually when Jacob stepped away from his family.

It was as if Jacob's own family-- the holiest family on earth at the time; the
keepers of the knowledge of the one true god --was actually hindering
Jacob's spiritual progress; and if anything is to be learned at all from his
experience, it's that his own father, the spiritual head of the house, was the
one to blame for it. It certainly wasn't Rebecca; no, not when it was to her
that God revealed the eldest of the two lads would serve the younger: and
I'm really curious why God didn't repeat His edict to Isaac.

● Gen 28:13b-14 . . the ground on which you are lying I will assign to you
and to your offspring. Your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth;
you shall spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the
south. All the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you and your
descendants.

Those are essentially the very same promises that God originally made to
Abraham. The most important one, that of blessing to all nations, has been
passed on down, not to all the descendants of Abraham, but only to special
ones; beginning with Isaac, then Jacob, and eventually to Christ. (Gal 3:16)

Not all Hebrews are a blessing to all the families of the earth. Only those
Hebrews who inherited the patriarchy are a blessing because it is through
them that Messiah's line has existed. The other Hebrews really don't count
for much in that respect except that the nation, as a whole, is credited with
safe-keeping the Old Testament. (Rom 3:1-2)
_

Webers.Home · Sep 9, 2020

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● Gen 28:15 . . Remember, I am with you: I will protect you wherever you
go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done
what I have promised you.

Actually, hardly any of those promises were fulfilled in Jacob's lifetime-- his
offspring didn't become as populous as the dust of the earth, nor did they
spread out to the east and the west and to the north and to the south. Nor
did all the nations of the earth bless themselves by Jacob and his
descendants. So what gives? How could God say: "I will not leave you until I
have done what I have promised you"

I believe God has continually associated with Jacob to this very day, ever
since the day of their first close encounter at Bethel. That didn't stop with
Jacob's demise. No, their association goes on.

"Now even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are
raised, when he called the Lord "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob." For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all
live to Him." (Luke 20:37-38)

In order to live "to" God (viz: live unto God) it is necessary to be in
existence. God has always been with Jacob, and never left him even once--
all these many years; better than three-thousand of them by now. And all
this whole time Jacob has lived under God's protection because God
promised He would protect Jacob wherever he went; and in order for that
promise to be meaningful, it has to include the afterlife. (cf. Ps 139:7-10,
Matt 16:18)

● Gen 28:16-17a . . Jacob awoke from his sleep and said: Surely the Lord is
present in this place, and I did not know it! Shaken, he said: How awesome
is this place!

Actually Jacob was very frightened. I believe that place gave him the creeps.
It isn't unusual for an encounter with God to unnerve people. Even the very
best saints get shook up by it. Daniel just about fainted when God talked
with him (Dan 10:17. And Moses was very frightened when God descended
upon Mt. Sinai. (Heb 12:18-21)

● Gen 28:17b . .This is none other than the house of God, and that is the
gateway to heaven.

The Hebrew word for "house" is somewhat ambiguous. It can indicate one's
dwelling, and it can indicate one's entire estate. For example; Pharaoh's
house at Gen 12:15 consisted of a palace while Abraham's house at Gen
14:14 consisted of all that he owned and possessed. Jacob apparently
assumed (probably correctly) that the real estate where he met with God
was a favorite of His in Canaan; i.e. He had it staked out for Himself: and
who's to argue with that?
_

Webers.Home · Sep 10, 2020

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● Gen 49:8 . .You, O Judah, your brothers shall praise; your hand shall be
on the nape of your foes; your father's sons shall bow low to you.

Reuben was the original ranking brother, then the position passed to Joseph,
and finally to the family of Judah's grandson David; and that's where it
remains to this day. (Ps 89:20-27)

● Gen 49:10a . .The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the scepter
from between his feet

Refer to: 2Sam 7:16, 2Sam 23:5, Ps 85:35-38, Ps 89:4 , and Ps 89:30

● Gen 49:10b . . And the homage of peoples be his.

The "peoples" of that verse are non Jews; viz: Gentiles. The jurisdiction of
Davidic monarchs is normally limited to their own country, among their
fellow Jews; but one is coming in Judah's family who will one day rule the
entire world. (Dan 7:13-14 and Ps 2:7-9)

This next prediction is the scariest one of all.

● Gen 49:11-12 . . He washes his garment in wine, his robe in blood of
grapes. His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.

See: Isa 63:1-6, and Rev 19:15-16

● Gen 49:13 . . Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore; he shall be a haven for
ships, and his flank shall rest on Sidon.

Zebulun never did actually occupy a Mediterranean shore (Josh 19:10-16)
but their proximity to the coast, via the territory of Ashur, gave them
opportunity to earn their livings in sea related trades like stevedoring, ship
building, and possibly crews on fishing vessels and cargo ships owned and
operated by the Philistines and Phoenicians.

Zebulun's flank didn't extend to the coastal city named Sidon, but to a
region generally known as Sidonia-- which included the city of Trye --a
territory often labeled Sidon for short.

● Gen 49:14-15 . . Issachar is a strong-boned burro, crouching among the
sheepfolds. When he saw how good was security, and how pleasant was the
country, he bent his shoulder to the burden, and became a toiling serf.

Men like Zebulun, and Issachar are the invisible people. They don't want
much out of life; and they're never really in the news as movers and
shakers; the paparazzi don't follow them around, nor are they among the
rich, famous, and powerful. Zebulun, and Issachar represent the blue collar
labor force, the non-professional working men and women who make a
country productive in goods and services.

Unfortunately, the two tribes, on the whole, believed in peace at any price,
and were wont to trade their independence for corvee labor in order to avoid
conflict with overlords and invaders-- the two notable exceptions being
Zebulun's response when mustered for duty with Gideon (Judg 6:35) and
the two tribes responses when mustered by Barak (Judg 5:14-15) but they
rarely took the initiative to go on the offensive.
_

Webers.Home · Sep 11, 2020

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● Gen 28:18a . . Early in the morning, Jacob took the stone that he had put
under his head and set it up as a pillar

The word for "pillar" is from matstsebah (mats-tsay-baw') which is
something stationed; viz: a column or (memorial stone)by analogy, an idol.
All over the Mojave Desert in California are man-made stone monuments
that mark the location of historical events and/or sites. One of my favorites
is the Foot And Walker pass where Butterfield stagecoach passengers had to
disembark and walk because the slope was too steep for horses to pull the
coach with them inside it.

Jacob's pillow stone became a souvenir of his very first close encounter with
the Bible's God. To set it up, he would need something to elevate it and
make it prominent. So he probably gathered more stones into a pile, like a
cairn, and then put his pillow block on the very top as the cap stone.

● Gen 28:18b . . and poured oil on the top of it.

The Bible doesn't say where Jacob got the idea to pour oil on his historical
marker; so we'll just have to take an educated guess at it. It's very likely,
considering the situation, that anointing the pillow stone with oil (probably
either an edible, or medicinal oil rather than a petroleum based lubricant)
dedicated it as a memorial to Jacob's contractual bond between himself and
God.

There's reported to be widespread evidence (I haven't seen it for myself)
from the ancient Near East, for the use of oil in international treaty
relationships, and in effectuating business contracts. The practice seems to
have been a token of peace, friendship, and assumed obligation. In Jacob's
case, the anointing is connected with the making of a vow that bound him to
specific commitments.

● Gen 28:19 . . He named that site Bethel; but previously the name of the
city had been Luz.

Luz retained it's original name for a long time afterwards. On his way back
home after twenty years with Laban, the name hadn't yet been changed to
Bethel (Gen 36:6). Precisely when the site's name was officially changed to
Bethel is difficult to ascertain.

The word for "Bethel" is from Beyth-' El (bayth-ale') which means (what
else?) house of God.

According to Jewish folklore, the stone Jacob chose for his pillow was
actually one of the stones Abraham used to construct the altar where he
bound Isaac. Jewish folklore also believes the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to
be the site where Abraham offered his son. Those lore imply that Bethel and
the Temple Mount are geographically the same. But it's highly unlikely. The
Temple Mount is in Jerusalem; and Bethel was about 12 miles to the north.
The exact geographic location of the offering of Isaac is totally unknown at
this time.

In the days of Solomon's rule, Israel became divided into a north and a
south, sort of like America's fracture during the Civil War. A king named
Jeroboam ruled the northern part and another king named Rehoboam ruled
the southern part. The northern part was called Israel, and the southern part
was called Judah. Jeroboam became concerned that his subjects in the north
might change sides due to the Temple being located in the south. (1Kgs
12:26-29)

Point being, the Temple Mount was at Jerusalem in Rehoboam's realm; and
Bethel was on Jeroboam's turf in the north; and if the people really wanted
to get on God's bad side, they worshipped in the north.

"Come to Bethel, and transgress" (Amos 4:4)
_

Webers.Home · Sep 12, 2020

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● Gen 28:20-21 . . Jacob then made a vow, saying: If God remains with me,
if He protects me on this journey that I am making, and gives me bread to
eat and clothing to wear, and if I return safe to my father's house-- Yhvh
shall be my God.

What's he saying? That the Lord has not been his god up to this point? Not
necessarily. It wasn't uncommon in those days for people to worship other
gods right along with Yhvh. This practice was later strictly forbidden by the
first of the Ten Commandments. (Ex 20:1-3)

Jacob's uncle Laban (the very father of his beloved Rachel) was notorious for
polytheism. On the one hand, he recognized Yhvh's divinity (Gen 24:50 and
31:29) while on the other hand he harbored a collection of patron gods in his
home (Gen 31:19 and 31:30). In the ancient Semitic world; patron gods
were equivalent to Catholicism's patron saints-- objects of devotion
venerated as special guardians, protectors, and/or supporters; viz:
alternative sources of providence.

Jacob knew about Abraham's god and believed that He existed (Gen 27:20).
But that's merely an educated consent, and nothing personal. It's like
knowing and believing that Mr. Barak Hussein Obama is the President of the
United States. But so what? Has the President ever come to your home for
coffee or dinner? Have the two of you been to a movie together or to a
picnic? Where was he when you were sick, down and out, and/or feeling
helpless, hopeless, despondent and depressed? See what I'm saying?

Lots of people glibly venerate the Bible's God. But very, very few can
honestly say: The Lord is my friend, He cares about me, He cares about my
life, He protects me and provides for me wherever I go. I am His, and He is
mine. We are one; we are together.

Jacob's vow reflects a personal decision of his own volition to make Yhvh the
sole object of his religious devotion to the exclusion of all the other gods
that people commonly venerated in his day. So we could paraphrase Gen
28:20-21 to read like this:

"If God remains with me, if He protects me on this journey that I am
making, and gives me bread to eat and clothing to wear, and if I return safe
to my father's house-- then Yhvh shall be my only patron."
_

Webers.Home · Sep 13, 2020

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● Gen 28:22a . . And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, shall be
God's abode;

Jacob's pillow stone wasn't really meant to be a dwelling or a container as
we typically think of human habitat or animal cages. It was meant to be a
sort of monitoring device. An 8th century BC Aramaic treaty inscription from
Sfire, in Syria, terms each upright stone on which the treaty is inscribed as
an abode of the gods.

The Hebrew word for "God" is 'elohiym (el-o-heem') which is a plural word
meaning gods of all descriptions; both the good and the bad; and the true
and the false. So that we could translate Gen 28:22a-- "shall be the abode
of the gods."

The stone(s) symbolize a divine presence monitoring fulfillment and/or
infractions of the terms of a treaty or a vow. So Jacob's pillar was not only
the custodian of his vow, but was also its regulatory agency taking note
whether Jacob and Yhvh keep their promises to each other. The very same
thing turns up again in Gen 31:44-52.

● Gen 28:22b . . and of all that You give me, I will set aside a tithe for You.

This is probably the very first Biblical instance of the so-called "faith
promise". Though coming from a wealthy family; and heir apparent to his
father Isaac's personal fortune, the fulfillment of this particular vow was
contingent, not upon what Jacob possessed already; but upon God's future
providence.

Jacob didn't promise a set dollar figure, but promised a "tithe" which in
English Bibles is commonly translated a tenth; but in reality the Hebrew
word 'asar (aw-sar') just means to apportion; which Webster's defines as: to
divide and share out according to a plan; especially to make a proportionate
division or distribution of.

The value of a nondescript tithe therefore is left up to individual discretion.

"Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not
reluctantly or under compulsion, for God prefers a whole-hearted giver."
(2Cor 9:7)

"And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year
you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now
finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by
your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is
there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to
what he does not have." (2Cor 8:10-12)

Jacob was under no obligation to reciprocate and compensate God for the
promises. Their fulfillment was dependent neither upon Jacob's generosity
nor his piety. Fulfillment was dependent solely upon God's own personal
integrity.

So why should Jacob dedicate a tithe? Well; like I said, he didn't have to.
Jacob's response was totally spontaneous and voluntary. His tithe was
motivated from a sense of fair play-- reciprocation --rather than a response
to Holy mandates. In other words: Jacob reciprocated God's kindness with
kindness of his own.

A faith that gives out of friendship, rather than obligation, is much better
than a religion that mandates a tithe. And the gift should be given where the
giver feels whole-hearted about it; viz: they should have some say in where
their offering goes, and they should be able to feel quite satisfied about it
rather than feel as though their pockets were picked.

So; how was Jacob going to transfer some of his assets into God's account?
There was neither Temple nor synagogue in his day, and certainly no
Aaronic priesthood. Abraham did his business with Melchizedek but there is
no record of either Isaac or Jacob doing business with one of Mel's
successors.

When all else fails, a very, very good way to give to God is by helping people
less fortunate than yourself; in other words: pay it forward.

"He who is generous to the poor makes a loan to Yhvh: He will repay him his
due." (Prv 19:17)

There are lots of charities benefiting disadvantaged people. United Way lists
quite few to pick from; and just about every city has at least one gospel
oriented rescue mission. For sure; those causes are a whole lot more
satisfying than just mindlessly tossing money into a basket passed around
on a Sunday morning.
_

Webers.Home · Sep 14, 2020

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● Gen 29:1 . . Jacob resumed his journey and came to the land of the
Easterners.

The geographic region in Turkey where Jacob went wasn't actually east by
his reckoning. It was just about dead north. But the people who populated
that region had roots in the east. Here's another version.

"Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the sons of the
east."

Many of the peoples in and around Haran, although they lived northward
from Canaan, were actually descendants of early pioneers who migrated out
west from the world of Babylon; just as Abraham and his dad Terah had
done many years prior to Jacob's birth. (cf. Gen 11:1-2)

● Gen 29:2a . .There before his eyes was a well in the open.

The balance of Jacob's trip, from Luz to this well, is passed over in silence.
Apparently nothing of significance occurred along the way. If Jacob traveled
at, say, 25 miles per day, it would have taken him about eighteen days to
reach Haran.

If he stuck to the trade route, he could have stopped in Damascus and took
in some of the local sights and maybe stayed at a "motel" before pushing
on. Food wouldn't really be a problem because there surely were plenty of
settlements and/or vendors along the trade route.

Major highways, like the old US routes 66, and 101, always had lots of
merchants offering overnight accommodations, plus all the goods and
services a traveler would likely need to see them through. I wouldn't be a bit
surprised if there existed in that day food cart equivalents of McDonalds and
Burger King.

● Gen 29:2b-3 . .Three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, for the
flocks were watered from that well. The stone on the mouth of the well was
large. When all the flocks were gathered there, the stone would be rolled
from the mouth of the well and the sheep watered; then the stone would be
put back in its place on the mouth of the well.

Apparently this well wasn't fed by an artesian source but was a variety that
kept itself filled by seepage out of a substrate aquifer. A well like that--
which is more like a cistern --can become rancid very quickly by bird
droppings, dead critters, and debris if it's not kept covered. Although
structuring the watering time created a rush hour, it was sensible. That way
the well wasn't left open for too long a time and there was less chance of
polluting it.

● Gen 29:4a . . Jacob said to them: My friends, where are you from?

Exactly what language Jacob spoke in his greeting isn't said; but during his
era; Akkadian was a common language in Mesopotamia where Laban lived.

I don't think this well is the very same one where Abraham's servant met
Rebecca. For one thing, it's out in the open, not actually connected with any
specific town. If it had been, then Jacob could have assumed the shepherds
lived nearby and not asked them where they were from.

This particular well was within walking distance of pasture land. Any grasses
close in to the towns were likely over-grazed. That's just one of the natural
results of progress and urban sprawl.

● Gen 29:4b-6a . . And they said: We are from Haran. He said to them: Do
you know Laban the son of Nahor? And they said: Yes, we do. He continued:
Is he well?

Laban's location, and his state of affairs, would of course be Jacob's primary
concern. After all, he just traveled nearly 500 miles to find him. If the man
was dead or moved away, then the trip was all for nothing; and in those
days, there was no way to call ahead.

● Gen 29:6b . .They answered: Yes, he is; and there is his daughter Rachel,
coming with the flock.

According to Gen 31:1 Laban had sons too, not just daughters. But the boys
may have been too young at the time to go out in the fields alone. So big
sister had to do all the ropin' and brandin' till her little brothers grew a few
more hat sizes.

Does that maybe indicate Rachel was a bit of a tomboy? Maybe. Personally;
I think she was. But I don't think she was one of those hard, masculine
kinds of tomboys, like some tough she-male working shoulder to shoulder
with roughneck oil drillers, or packing a 9mm Glock, a nightstick, and a can
of pepper spray as a cop, or putting out fires with a hook and ladder
company, or dressed full-out for combat in Afghanistan.

I think Rachel was one of those women who can survive in a man's world if
need be; yet retain their feminine side too. They still like cosmetics, dinner
out, husbands, family and children, pampering themselves with a trip to the
beauty parlor, and shopping for new shoes and a purse-- but don't mind
running a lawn mower, trimming the hedges, or firing up a leaf blower whe
they have to.

There's a lot of single moms out there nowadays who haven't much choice
but to wear a man's hat now and again-- not to prove a point, but just to get
by.

Herding sheep out in the open is risky for a lone woman. But apparently
Rachel wasn't afraid of any of the local men; who no doubt were motivated
by male chivalry to look out for her; and besides, we're going to see just up
ahead that her dad was not a man to trifle with. Anybody who messed with
Rachel would have to answer to Laban; and he was a man who took nothing
lying down.

Jacob is going to fall for this tomboy-ish angel in a very short time; and no
surprise. Men often hook up with women that resemble their moms. That is
so weird because some of those very same guys were brought up by moms
from hell. But that's what they're used to. So, without even thinking about
it, they often gravitate to those very same attributes in a girl.

Well, Rachel and Rebecca were like peas in a pod. They were both confident,
fearless, and decisive: not to mention tens to boot. I think Jacob felt very
secure with women like that.
_

Having A Go At Genesis

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