LESSON 17
Genesis for Today: Chapters 30-31
by Herb Drake
Copyright (c) 1998, 2020, Herb Drake.
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Jacob's Growing Family
The barren wife theme reappears with Rachel, but Leah births four sons because the LORD has compassion for her misery as the unloved wife. The LORD eventually gives Rachel two sons but, due to the favoritism he learned from his father, her sons are Jacob's favorites and the other sons are understandably jealous.
The full count of the twelve sons follows:
| 1 | Leah's son | Reuben | 29:32 | |
| 2 | Leah's son | Simean | 29:33 | |
| 3 | Leah's son | Levi | 29:34 | |
| 4 | Leah's son | Judah | 29:35 | |
| 5 | Bilhah's son | Dan | 30:4 | |
| 6 | Bilhah's son | Naphtali | 30:7 | |
| 7 | Zilpah's son | Gad | 30:10 | |
| 8 | Zilpah's son | Asher | 30:12 | |
| 9 | Leah's son | Issachar | 30:17 | |
| 10 | Leah's son | Zebulun | 30:19 | |
| 11 | Rachel's son | Joseph | 30:23 | |
| 12 | Rachel's son | Benjamin | 35:18 |
One might wonder whether Jacob had daughters. Daughters are rarely mentioned in the Old Testament, so we can suppose that there were several. But Genesis does mention Leah's daughter Dinah, who is born after Zebulun and who becomes an important object as the narrative continues.
Seeing Leah's fertility, the barren Rachel offers her servant, Bilhah to Jacob, Faced with Jacob's unloving behavior toward Leah, when she stops birthing sons she gives Jacob her servant, resulting in two more sons. Leah copies this strategy, and to more sons come from her servant Zilpah.
The discord in Jacob's family becomes particularly poignant when Reuben finds mandrakes, a plant the was believed to enhance the chances of pregnancey. He brings them to his mother, Leah. Rachel covets the mandrakes, so Leah sells them to Rachel for the price of "hiring" Jacob's intimacy for the night.
Jacob's preference for Rachel's sons is key to the narrative that follows. But we are now confronted with twelve candidates for the Abrahamic promise. We would have to name Reuben at this point, as he is first born, but the first-born rule did not apply for Esau and Jacob, so there is tension on this question.
Jacob Becomes Wealthy at Laban's Expense
Noticing that the LORD had blessed Jacob with success in everything he touches, when Jacob starts making plans to move his family to his home country, Laban offers Jacob a deceitful deal to keep him for hire. Jacob counters with an equally deceitful proposal whereby he takes certain livestock from Laban's flock and raises them separately while still tending Laban's animals. The arrangement is complex, but ends up greatly enlarging Jacob's flocks. Theories have been suggested to explain Jacob's success in this enterprise, but the hand of God seems to be at work even though God had not spoken to Jacob ever since Jacob arrived at Laban's house.
Francisco applied this episode to today, saying "The far country is anywhere that one loses his vision of God and of His purpose in one's life."
Leah's life presents a contrast to Jacob. She is always faithful, doing all she can to earn her husband's love.
Jacob Flees
The time has come for Jacob to move his large family and all his livestock back to Canaan, but he fears that Laban may have designs to stop him because of a growing transfer of wealth between them has brought ill will between the two men.
He begins by calling a secret meeting with his wives. Including wives in major decisions of this sort was a common expectation in that culture, as documented in the Nuzi tablets. He offers three reasons for the move:
- Laban's regard for him has vanished.
- Laban has cheated him.
- God has spoken, and has promised to accompany them.
They manage to slip away from Laban's household. Rachel, believing that her father had misused her dowery, decides to get even; without telling Jacobs, she steals her father's teraphim. This was probably not out of spite -- her father's behavior likely made her feel that the theft was justified. The teraphim was a fetish that was of great importance to the family, perhaps as important as a deed to an estate. So Laban chases the fleeing family in hope of recovering it.
Laban overtakes Jacob on the third day. Having had a warning vision from God, Laban does not do Jacob harm. But he does insist on the return of the teraphim. Jacob, not realizing that Rachel had it in her possession, invites Laban to search for it, saying that if the object be found, the one posessing it would face death. The drama intensifies as Laban goes from tent to tent in search of the teraphim. When he finally gets to Rachel's tent, she manages to keep it hidden by sitting on it. When Laban asks her to get up, she tells him that she is having her period. Therefore, not only does she keep it hidden, but we can't miss that the teraphim had been soiled by Rachel's menstruation--a strong polemic against Laban's "household gods."
At this point, Jacob gives Laban a stinging rebuke for all of the deceitful behavior that he suffered at Laban's hands for a full twenty years. Before the two parties separate and Laban returns home, they make a pile of stones and covenant that Laban will remain North of the pile and that Jacob would remain South of the pile.
| Genesis 28-29 | Genesis 32-33 |