Tag: father

The Angel’s Blessing

Posted on by jovial_cynic

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר שַׁלְּחֵ֔נִי כִּ֥י עָלָ֖ה הַשָּׁ֑חַר וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ לֹ֣א אֲשַֽׁלֵּחֲךָ֔ כִּ֖י אִם־בֵּרַכְתָּֽנִי׃

Then he said, “Let me go, for dawn is breaking.” But he answered, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.”
Genesis 32:27 (28) (The Contemporary Torah, JPS 2006)

Why does Jacob demand a blessing from the angel in Genesis 32? There are many thoughts on this, but there may be a simple answer: Jacob can’t confirm that God has blessed him.

In Genesis 27, Isaac blesses Jacob but believes him to be Esau.
In Genesis 28, Isaac gives another blessing to Jacob and then SENDS HIM AWAY to his mother’s family. We already know that Isaac loves Esau and favors him over Jacob.
Later in Genesis 28, God meets him and says He will “bless the families of the earth” through him.
In Genesis 30 and 31, the only mentions of blessing are from Laban, who confirms that God has blessed LABAN because of Jacob, which goes back to the blessing of Genesis 28.

Perhaps Jacob is clinging to this angel and basically yelling to God, “WHAT ABOUT ME?!” Will you bless everyone around me, because of me, and not bless me as well?

And Jacob is about to face off with Esau and is afraid he’s going to die, and all he wants to know is whether or not God will love him enough to bless him.

In response, the angel changes Jacob’s name to Israel and says “this is because you have struggled against God and with men… and have won.”

And then he blesses him.

It’s quite lovely, really. I think the teaching is that when the world fails to love and bless you rightly, cling to the messengers of God and demand a blessing. In your broken-heartedness, perhaps you will experience God’s blessing.

(Important note: the angel does proceed to wrench Jacob’s leg out of socket from his hip! So, do with that what you will.)

Deferring to Esau

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He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now.
Genesis 32:4 (NIV)

Why does Jacob defer to Esau here in Genesis 32? Is it merely fear, or is there a pattern being set that we are meant to notice?

Obviously, part of scripture-study is about the narrative itself. Jacob *is* afraid. Verse 7 and 11 spell this out quite clearly.

In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well.
Genesis 32:7 (NIV)
Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children.
Genesis 32:11 (NIV)

But there’s a hidden little gem here that points to one the 10 Commandments: “You shall honor your father and mother.” The “AND” in Hebrew is doing something unusual in this commandment. You can’t see it in English, but in Hebrew, there’s something… extra.

The hebrew of “Honor your Father and Mother” is “כַּבֵּד אֶת אָבִיךָ וְאֶת אִמֶּךָ,” and it literally (word for word) is this:
honor (כַּבֵּד)
[object marker; not a word] (אֶת)
father (אָבִיךָ)
and + [object marker; not a word] (וְאֶת) <— weird.
mother (אִמֶּךָ)

In hebrew, the second object marker isn’t necessary. It’s already obvious in the text that both father and mother are the objects in question.

It’s something like this:
Honor (now I’m talking about the next object ->) father and (now I’m talking about the next object ->) mother.
But it could have (and should have?) been like this:
Honor (now I’m talking about the objects) [father and mother].

The rabbis say that this is important. Torah is telling us something, and we should wonder what it means. Their conclusion is this: Torah has given us extra room in the commandment, and we should fill that extra room.
They fill it with this: “…and also honor your oldest brother.”

Therefore, when Jacob lowers himself before Esau, referring to himself as “servant” and to Esau as “lord,” he is not merely being humble. He’s not merely acting out of fear. The text is also teaching us that the fuller meaning of the Commandment is to honor those in a position of authority over you. Hence the “long life” promise.

This also fits quite nicely in my personal view that the command to honor your father and mother is really a command to forgive them. Older siblings, too.

The Word “Love”

Posted on by jovial_cynic

וַיֶּאֱהַ֥ב יַעֲקֹ֖ב אֶת־רָחֵ֑ל וַיֹּ֗אמֶר אֶֽעֱבׇדְךָ֙ שֶׁ֣בַע שָׁנִ֔ים בְּרָחֵ֥ל בִּתְּךָ֖ הַקְּטַנָּֽה׃

Jacob loved Rachel; so he answered, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”
Genesis 29:18 (The Contemporary Torah, JPS 2006)

Don’t get caught up with this word “love.”

The first two times the word shows up in Genesis, it’s about the love a father has for his son, and the love a man has for his wife.

The next four times it shows up, it’s about how much Isaac loves venison.

When we read that Jacob “loves” Rachel, we don’t need to assume that this is a reflection of the love God has for us.

Honor your Mother and Father

Posted on by jovial_cynic
When Jacob is advised by his mother to deceive his father, we see the singular act of dishonor: Jacob vs his father Isaac. But if Jacob ignored his mother, he would be dishonoring her.

There’s a dilemma we are supposed to notice. How does a righteous son proceed?

I suspect it is easier for Jacob to honor his mother simply because he knew that she loved him. The text clearly states that Rebekah favored him, and that Isaac favored Esau.

Perhaps there is wisdom in this.

Caught in a Lie

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Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife;
Genesis 20:12 (NASB)

When you read this plainly, it appears that Abraham and Sarah are half-siblings. However, the Hebrew is full of people using familial words to describe both close and more-distant relationships.

Much later, we’ll see that Jacob refers to his “father Abraham,” but he is talking about his grandfather, so this feels legitimate.

Then Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, Lord, who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’
Genesis 32:9 (NASB)

So is Abraham really being honest here?

In a previous post, I said Sarah is described oddly at the top of the chapter; we can link the Abraham->Sarah relationship with Israel->Ark, where the ark is merely being used for victory. A stolen blessing.

Look closely at this next instance of misrepresentation to gain a blessing…

Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me. Come now, sit and eat of my game, so that you may bless me.”
Genesis 20:19 (NASB)

10

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Now Jared lived 162 years, and fathered Enoch…
Now Enoch lived sixty-five years, and fathered Methuselah…
Now Methuselah lived 187 years, and fathered Lamech…
Genesis 5:18, 21, 25 (NASB)

Now Lamech lived 182 years, and fathered a son. And he named him Noah, saying, “This one will give us comfort from our work and from the hard labor of our hands caused by the ground which the Lord has cursed.”
Genesis 5:28-29 (NASB)

For the Rabbis, 7 is “perfection,” and 10 is “completion.”

Tenth from Adam, we have another oddity. It’s the first time the name of the son is not immediately shown. Everywhere else, it would have said, “and fathered Noah.” Instead, it pauses. So we, too, must pause.