GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 30:3 Because of her barrenness, Rachel offers Jacob her servant BILHAH as a substitute wife (v. Genesis 30:3). This was a common practice in ancient Near Eastern culture. Abraham and Sarah had also followed this custom (see Genesis 16:1). Children born to the second wife were... [ Continue Reading ]
GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 30:14 Leah buys from Rachel the right to lie with Jacob. Having agreed to this with her sister, she says to Jacob, I HAVE HIRED YOU WITH MY SON’S MANDRAKES. The context suggests Rachel may have viewed the plant as increasing fertility. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElements... [ Continue Reading ]
GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 30:17 Once more (see note on 29:32–35), the names of the sons reflect events surrounding their births. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 30:22 GOD REMEMBERED RACHEL. On God’s “remembering,” see note on 8:1. GOD HAS TAKEN AWAY MY REPROACH. A woman’s inability to bear children could be interpreted as divine disapproval. Joseph’s name is derived from a remark made by his mother; in Hebrew JOSEPH sounds like the v... [ Continue Reading ]
GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 30:25 Having completed 14 years of service to Laban, Jacob wants to return to his family in Canaan. Laban, however, is reluctant to lose Jacob’s service, which has brought him considerable wealth. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=ima... [ Continue Reading ]
GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 30:27 Laban’s use of DIVINATION is sinful (see Deuteronomy 18:10), even though the information obtained is accurate. THE LORD HAS BLESSED ME BECAUSE OF YOU. All the members of the special line descended from Abraham are portrayed as bringing God’s blessing to others. NAME YOU... [ Continue Reading ]
GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 30:31 As payment for his services, Jacob asks Laban to give him livestock with distinctive markings. Then it would be obvious which animals were Jacob’s and which were Laban’s. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 30:35 Having agreed on the wages, Laban secretly removes all the animals he had promised to Jacob and gives them to his SONS. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 30:37 To produce more speckled and spotted sheep and goats, Jacob manipulates the breeding process. Scholars differ as to how Jacob is using STICKS with PEELED WHITE STREAKS IN THEM to do this. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images... [ Continue Reading ]
GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 30:41 Jacob ensures that the striped, speckled, and spotted sheep and goats come from the best animals in Laban’s flocks. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 30:43 Having arrived in Paddan-aram with only his staff (see Genesis 32:10), Jacob has become very rich. His possessions resemble earlier summaries of Abraham’s wealth (see Genesis 12:16; Genesis 24:35). ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = [ Continue Reading ]