Answers for a study in the book of Genesis: Chapters 33-36, The Twelve Sons of Israel

“Answers for a study in the book of Genesis” is a weekly post in addition to the regular “apologetics” posts on the weekend where the original questions can be found at the bottom of the study, and then answers appear here mid-week. This gives you time to do your own research, and then check your answers. Keep in mind these will be basic answers with a little depth, but you can go much deeper for discussion if you’d like.

Always remember to pray before you study and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and lead you into the truth found in God’s Word – pray for protection from the evil one who will try to discourage, distract and deceive us when we commit to growing closer to the LORD.

Note: Questions are taken directly from the chapters, and answers should be found and cited from the Scripture text in order to be Biblically accurate (unless asked to summarize in your own words). Study Bibles, commentaries and your own thoughts can be used for Discussion or Going Deeper questions. If you use these kinds of sources share them with your group.

 1.  Review of Class Topic:  Before getting into the Bible study questions, discuss today’s class presentation by summarizing what you learned, commenting or asking any questions.

Answers will vary…

Read Genesis Chapter 33 through Chapter 36, then answer the following questions:

2.  (Genesis 33:1-20) In this chapter Jacob finally reunites with Esau. What did Jacob do when he saw Esau coming and how did Esau respond to what Jacob did? Discuss: Do you think Jacob was wise in the way he handled this encounter, why or why not?

33 Then Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two maids. ² He put the maids and their children in front, and Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. ³ But he himself passed on ahead of them and bowed down to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. ⁴ Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. ⁵ He lifted his eyes and saw the women and the children, and said, “Who are these with you?” So he said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” ⁶ Then the maids came near with their children, and they bowed down. ⁷ Leah likewise came near with her children, and they bowed down; and afterward Joseph came near with Rachel, and they bowed down. ⁸ And he said, “What do you mean by all this company which I have met?” And he said, “To find favor in the sight of my lord.” ⁹ But Esau said, “I have plenty, my brother; let what you have be your own.” ¹⁰ Jacob said, “No, please, if now I have found favor in your sight, then take my present from my hand, for I see your face as one sees the face of God, and you have received me favorably. ¹¹ Please take my gift which has been brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me and because I have plenty.” Thus he urged him and he took it. ¹² Then Esau said, “Let us take our journey and go, and I will go before you.” ¹³ But he said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail and that the flocks and herds which are nursing are a care to me. And if they are driven hard one day, all the flocks will die. ¹⁴ Please let my lord pass on before his servant, and I will proceed at my leisure, according to the pace of the cattle that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come to my lord at Seir.” ¹⁵ Esau said, “Please let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.” ¹⁶ So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. ¹⁷ Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built for himself a house and made booths for his livestock; therefore the place is named Succoth. ¹⁸ Now Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-aram, and camped before the city. ¹⁹ He bought the piece of land where he had pitched his tent from the hand of the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money. ²⁰ Then he erected there an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.

Jacob and Esau:

• Jacob divided the children between Leah, Rachel and the two maids, and sent them in the order of the maids first, then Leah, then, Rachel last (again showing favoritism).
• At this point, Jacob now went before them to meet his brother Esau.
• Jacob bowed before Esau 7 times and offered many gift – Note: It should have been the other way around since Jacob had the birthright and therefore, honor as head of the family.
• Esau actually responded by running to meet Jacob, and he hugged and kissed him, and they both wept. Note: Although the hug and kiss were part of tradition, this seems to show remorse on both their parts for the past.
• Esau was surprised at the size of Jacob’s family and belongings, and, as custom would have it, he declined the gifts. However, again with custom, Jacob insists, and Esau accepts.
• Note: This is a common way of dealing in many places in the middle east still today, and is a part of the “manners and customs” of bargaining, we saw it in Abraham’s buying of the burial site for Sarah.

Jacob’s wisdom in handling this situation:

Answers may vary, but could include…

• Jacob finally did the right thing by going first to meet Esau, but his separation of the wives and kids will continue to cause problems for the family and will especially play out in the life of Joseph.
• Jacob may have been somewhat deceptive again with Esau because he said he would come to Seir after him, but instead he went on to Succoth and later to Shechem.
• However, if we look at God’s hand in the promise of the Abrahamic Covenant with Jacob, we find that Seir later becomes Edom; it is a desert location and was not necessarily suitable for the large number of livestock and animals that Jacob owned and it would not make sense for him to take everything to Seir.
• In addition, it was not the Promised Land that God wanted him to be in, and this is where God’s sovereignty comes in because Jacob is the one who is to receive the Abrahamic Covenant that included people, land and a blessing (the seed of the Messiah – the Scarlet Thread of Jesus).
• NOTE: In 33:20 Jacob now calls on the name of God by erecting an altar –we find he used the term El-Elohe-Israel, which means LORD God of Israel – the God of the nation of Israel who is distinct and separate from all false gods of the world.

3.  (Genesis 34:1-31) This chapter tells a side story about Jacob’s daughter Dinah, the people of Shechem and some of her brothers. What happened to Dinah and how did Jacob’s sons respond to the request by Shechem’s father? Who were the two sons of Jacob that were responsible for this and what did their father Jacob say to them?

34 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land. ² When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force. ³He was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. ⁴ So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young girl for a wife.” ⁵ Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter; but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob kept silent until they came in. ⁶ Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. ⁷ Now the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved, and they were very angry because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing ought not to be done. ⁸ But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him in marriage. ⁹ Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves. ¹⁰ Thus you shall live with us, and the land shall be open before you; live and trade in it and acquire property in it.” ¹¹ Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “If I find favor in your sight, then I will give whatever you say to me. ¹² Ask me ever so much bridal payment and gift, and I will give according as you say to me; but give me the girl in marriage.” ¹³ But Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor with deceit, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. ¹⁴ They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. ¹⁵ Only on this condition will we consent to you: if you will become like us, in that every male of you be circumcised, ¹⁶ then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live with you and become one people. ¹⁷ But if you will not listen to us to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go.” ¹⁸ Now their words seemed reasonable to Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son. ¹⁹ The young man did not delay to do the thing, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. Now he was more respected than all the household of his father. ²⁰ So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, ²¹ “These men are friendly with us; therefore let them live in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters in marriage, and give our daughters to them. ²² Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised. ²³ Will not their livestock and their property and all their animals be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will live with us.” ²⁴ All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city. ²⁵ Now it came about on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came upon the city unawares, and killed every male. ²⁶ They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went forth. ²⁷ Jacob’s sons came upon the slain and looted the city, because they had defiled their sister. ²⁸ They took their flocks and their herds and their donkeys, and that which was in the city and that which was in the field; ²⁹ and they captured and looted all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives, even all that was in the houses. ³⁰ Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and my men being few in number, they will gather together against me and attack me and I will be destroyed, I and my household.” ³¹ But they said, “Should he treat our sister as a harlot?”

• Dinah went out to “visit the daughters of the land and when Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her he took her and lay with her by force.” This tells us two things:   1) Dinah went to visit a foreign group of people; 2) She was raped by the “prince of the land.” 
• Note, we can ask the question: Should she have left her people, and gone into a foreign land, unaccompanied? The text doesn’t tell us the purpose of the visit (she could have just been getting to know people, or it could be that she was crossing the line, doing something more nefarious), either way it resulted in her rape and abduction.
• Cultural note: In this culture, the “prince of the land” (Shechem) could basically do anything he wanted to, similar to some Middle Eastern cultures today, where the royalty is above the law of the land. In this case, he wanted Dinah as a wife (maybe one of many) and his father saw it as a way of getting “Israel” to assimilate into their tribe, as they would not only marry into their families, but be able to accumulate Israel’s wealth. Negotiation of wives was part of the custom of the land (as we will see in Solomon’s time later on), and as much as we dislike the idea of the role of women back in this day, it was the culture they lived in.

What the sons did…

• They deceived (note the example their father Jacob had set), the father of Shechem and the people of that land, by agreeing to give Dinah in marriage, but only if all the males would be circumcised first, and Hamor and Shechem agreed; and believing it would be worth the wealth they’d gain in the long run, they had all the men of the land agree also (some scholars say there might have been anywhere from 50 to 100 men in this town).
• On the third day, as the men of Shechem were healing from being circumcised, the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, went into the town and killed all of the men, and took all of the women, children and possession back to Israel, becoming their property and increasing their family’s wealth (just as the men of Shechem had wanted to do to them).

Note: Earlier in this story, it appears that Jacob was willing to settle in with the people of Shechem as he seemed to agree to the terms of Simeon and Levi’s proposal (the Scripture is not clear as to whether or not Jacob knew in advance of their plan to kill and pillage the people).

Jacob’s response:

• At this point, Jacob is distressed and says to his sons: “You have brought trouble on me by making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and my men being few in number, they will gather together against me and attack me and I will be destroyed, I and my household.” Jacob is concerned for his own welfare (again), and does not seem to be trusting in God’s promise and protection – God will protect him and his family, as we see in the next chapter, by instilling a “fear” among all of the people they will encounter along their way to Bethel.
• Note: Jacob and his family should have consulted God first in this matter; and Jacob and his family should have never settled so close to a Canaanite town where there would be temptation to mingle and intermarry – this is always going to be Satan’s ploy throughout time, trying to stop God’s plan and promise, especially when it comes to the “Seed” promise.
• Thoughts: Jacob could have been a more “hands on” father to his son by advising them, however, Jacob had already given the sons of Leah the message that he did not favor them, especially when he sent them first in line before Rachel and her son Joseph when they were in fear of Esau earlier. This favoritism will be a serious problem for this family in upcoming situations and beyond…

4.  (Genesis 35:1-21) In this chapter God tells Jacob to move to Bethel. What did Jacob require his household to do, and why was this was important? What happened between God and Jacob, and what was the result of this encounter? What happened to Rachel after this?

35 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and live there, and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” ² So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves and change your garments; ³ and let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.” ⁴ So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods which they had and the rings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak which was near Shechem. ⁵ As they journeyed, there was a great terror upon the cities which were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. ⁶ So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. ⁷ He built an altar there, and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled from his brother. ⁸ Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak; it was named Allon-bacuth. 

Jacob Is Named Israel

⁹ Then God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and He blessed him. ¹⁰ God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; You shall no longer be called Jacob, But Israel shall be your name.” Thus He called him Israel. ¹¹ God also said to him, “I am God Almighty; Be fruitful and multiply; A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, And kings shall come forth from you. ¹² “The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, And I will give the land to your descendants after you.” ¹³ Then God went up from him in the place where He had spoken with him. ¹⁴ Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He had spoken with him, a pillar of stone, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. ¹⁵ So Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him, Bethel. ¹⁶ Then they journeyed from Bethel; and when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and she suffered severe labor. ¹⁷ When she was in severe labor the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for now you have another son.” ¹⁸ It came about as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named him Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. ¹⁹ So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). ²⁰ Jacob set up a pillar over her grave; that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day. ²¹ Then Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.

What Jacob required of his household:

• Note: Jacob has now acquired more pagan people (from Shechem), and Rachel had stolen her father’s idols (we don’t know if she gave them up here or not).
• Jacob told them to “Put away the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves and change your garments; and let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”” So, Jacob hid them under the oak near Shechem (Speculation: He probably should have just destroyed them, but possibly the people were more willing to part with them if there was a chance to get them back)
• Application thought: Jacob seemed to now trust God fully, and this is an important turning point. No other thing should take the place of, or be added to, our worship of the one True God. That is why syncretism and religious pluralism is so harmful to the Christian faith, because there are many who are trying to add in the practices, philosophies, rituals and idols from other faiths.
• The importance of this obedience by Jacob was the protection he and his family received from God: “As they journeyed, there was a great terror upon the cities which were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.”

God and Jacob

• God again appeared to Jacob and blessed him and repeated his name change, reaffirming the Abrahamic Covenant: “Your name is Jacob; You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” As we saw earlier in chapter 32, the name Israel, means: “Struggle with God,” or “he struggles with God.”
• God also reemphasizes the three parts of the Covenant: 1) a nation, and company of nations and kings; 2) The land will be given to him and his descendants; 3) Blessing.
• Note: In 35:11 the LORD identifies Himself to Jacob as “El Shaddai” meaning “God Almighty”; “The All Sufficient One.” This is to assure Jacob that He is capable of fulfilling all that He has promised.

Rachel died giving birth to Jacob’s 12^th son, her 2^nd, Benjamin, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath

(Bethlehem), and Jacob set up a pillar to her and it was there for much of Israel’s history (but lost today). Note: As said earlier, Rachel does not appear to have been the best choice to be the mother of the children of Israel as she was not strong enough to have children, especially not all twelve.

5.  (Genesis 35:22-26) There are now twelve sons (future tribes) of Israel. Reuben is the oldest son and should get the blessing of his father, but what did he do, and why does it come back to bite him (see Genesis 49:4)? Food for thought: What have the three oldest sons done so far that might make them lose the chance at the blessing (and who is fourth in line)?

²² It came about while Israel was dwelling in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine, and Israel heard of it. Now there were twelve sons of Jacob— ²³ the sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, then Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Zebulun; ²⁴ the sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin; ²⁵ and the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maid: Dan and Naphtali; ²⁶ and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maid: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

• In verse 22: “It came about while Israel was dwelling in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine, and Israel heard of it.”
• Jacob did not do anything about it at this time, but later in chapters 49-50 it will come back on Reuben as he will miss out on receiving the firstborn’s inheritance and blessing.
• Cultural Note: In ancient cultures, whoever has control of property, like concubines, would have control of the “tribe’s” inheritance and possessions. Notice it says: “Israel heard of it.” Many scholars consider this to be a ploy by Reuben to show dominance in the family since Jacob was mourning Rachel and might have been showing signs of weakness; others say it was simply that Reuben was comforting Bilhah who was mourning over the loss of Rachel. (David’s son Adonijah will attempt to do this same thing later on in Israel’s history).

Food for thought:

1. Reuben slept with his father’s concubine, and later it will appear that he does not seem to be of leadership quality
2. Simeon slaughtered a whole community of people, and would later be the main person responsible for Joseph’s plight
3. Levi, with Simeon, slaughtered a whole community of people
4. Judah…

6.   (Genesis 35:27 through 36:43) How old was Isaac when he died, and who was there to bury him? Chapter 36 is a focus on Esau and his genealogy: Where did he move to and why? Discuss: How does Esau’s move relate to the Covenant Promise and God’s sovereign plan?

²⁷ Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre of Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned. ²⁸ Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years. ²⁹ Isaac breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, an old man of ripe age; and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

36 Now these are the records of the generations of Esau (that is, Edom). ² Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite; ³ also Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. ⁴ Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, and Basemath bore Reuel, ⁵ and Oholibamah bore Jeush and Jalam and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan. ⁶ Then Esau took his wives and his sons and his daughters and all his household, and his livestock and all his cattle and all his goods which he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to another land away from his brother Jacob. ⁷ For their property had become too great for them to live together, and the land where they sojourned could not sustain them because of their livestock. ⁸ So Esau lived in the hill country of Seir; Esau is Edom.

Descendants of Esau

⁹ These then are the records of the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir. ¹⁰ These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz the son of Esau’s wife Adah, Reuel the son of Esau’s wife Basemath. ¹¹ The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho and Gatam and Kenaz. ¹² Timna was a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These are the sons of Esau’s wife Adah. ¹³ These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath and Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath. ¹⁴ These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon: she bore to Esau, Jeush and Jalam and Korah. ¹⁵ These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau, are chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, ¹⁶ chief Korah, chief Gatam, chief Amalek. These are the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. ¹⁷ These are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah. These are the chiefs descended from Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath. ¹⁸ These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah. These are the chiefs descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. ¹⁹ These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs. ²⁰ These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan and Shobal and Zibeon and Anah, ²¹ and Dishon and Ezer and Dishan. These are the chiefs descended from the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. ²² The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna. ²³ These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan and Manahath and Ebal, Shepho and Onam. ²⁴ These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah—he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness when he was pasturing the donkeys of his father Zibeon. ²⁵ These are the children of Anah: Dishon, and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. ²⁶ These are the sons of ^[n]Dishon: Hemdan and Eshban and Ithran and Cheran. ²⁷ These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan and Zaavan and Akan. ²⁸ These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. ²⁹ These are the chiefs descended from the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah, ³⁰ chief Dishon, chief Ezer, chief Dishan. These are the chiefs descended from the Horites, according to their various chiefs in the land of Seir.  ³¹ Now these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the sons of Israel. ³²Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, and the name of his city was Dinhabah. ³³ Then Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah became king in his place. ³⁴ Then Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites became king in his place. ³⁵ Then Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the field of Moab, became king in his place; and the name of his city was Avith. ³⁶ Then Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah became king in his place. ³⁷ Then Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates River became king in his place. ³⁸ Then Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor became king in his place. ³⁹ Then Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar became king in his place; and the name of his city was Pau; and his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab. ⁴⁰ Now these are the names of the chiefs descended from Esau, according to their families and their localities, by their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth, ⁴¹ chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, ⁴² chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, ⁴³ chief Magdiel, chief Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of the Edomites), according to their habitations in the land of their possession.

Isaac’s death:

• Isaac was 180 years old when he died – he was buried by sons Esau and Jacob. This means the brothers did see each other again, at least this one last time.
• Note: Ages will now continue to decrease with each generation – Moses will later say that man will be given 70 years, 80 if strong. That still stands as the average today (although modern science is helping some to live into their 90s and 100s).

Esau:

• Esau moved from the land of Canaan because he had become too large in company and possessions. He moved to, and lived in the hill country of Seir, which later became Edom, the nation. This nation would eventually be a problem for the nation of Israel in times to come.

Discussion answers may vary, but might include…

• It was in God’s sovereignty that Esau would move away and not Jacob, because Jacob/Israel was the promised heir to the land of Canaan.
• God’s perfect plan will always play out, no matter how much Satan, or we ourselves, try to mess it up, or think we are helping God out.
• Jacob was an imperfect man who became closer to God as he matured, and that was in God’s perfect plan.
• With His foreknowledge as Creator, God knows the heart of humans, and He knew the best choices for His Covenant Promise (Isaac not Ishmael, Jacob not Esau).
• God knows the beginning from the end – See Isaiah 44:6-8, and Isaiah 46:9-10.

7.  Going Deeper: Do a study on the names Jacob and Israel (as God renamed him). Hint: There is significance to the Scripture’s use of these names from this time forward.

• Note: We will see in Scripture the name Jacob used to reference the person individually, often when he is acting “worldly” in nature.
• We will see the name Israel used when it references things of the Promise, or of a spiritual nature, or when he is acting in line with God’s will.
• Israel will also be used to reference the family/people group, and later the nation in general.
• Israel will also be used much later in history to represent the divided kingdom of the north, and the name Judah will represent the southern kingdom.
• The name change to Israel, just like Abraham and Sarah’s name change, includes a part of God’s name or a connection to God. The “ah” in Abraham and Sarah represents God’s breath, or God’s breathing into them a new name showing a connection to the one True God. The “el” in Israel means “God” thus showing Jacob’s new connection to God and his eternal plan.

Please join us each week as we continue our case for the Old Testament, and a study in the book of Genesis!

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You will not find this material in the public school curriculum even though it is based on solid evidence and grounded in research. It is ironic that following the evidence to where it leads stops at the door of our public schools as they will not let a “Divine footprint” in!  Join us as we examine evidence for Christianity and learn how to become a thoughtful defender and ambassador of your faith.

Click into the resource page of this website to view many of the top Christian thinkers and apologists along with some of their work; connecting to these types of resources is essential in your Christian growth.

Please let me know what you think: Give feedback, ask questions or send concerns in the comment section of the blog.

Teri Dugan

TeriDugan@truthfaithandreason.com

1 Peter 3:15