GENESIS: Snoopy's Short & Snappy Review

[paradox3]

It could be that Jacob actually wanted Shechem to marry Dinah. Later in the Torah, God will dictate that a rapist must marry the woman.

The explanation I have heard is that the woman would have been considered too defiled for another man to marry her. Or she could be pregnant as a result of the sexual assault.

Of course there is no such law yet at the time of this story.

The bit of trickery about circumcision is quite cunning when you think about it. Jacob's sons certainly took the revenge too far by extending the requirement to all males. And then murdering them and plundering the cities.

Sometimes I wonder if the purpose of these Genesis stories is to illustrate that people require the law from God in order to behave decently.

 

[paradox3]

Agreed. Jacob is a very unpleasant personality. I can't think of anything to like about him. He's duplicitous, cowardly, disloyal...

Jacob isn't very well liked on this thread at all. @unsafe and @jimkenney12 are certainly with you.

Other than his trickery with Esau, what has he done that is so awful? He was sly with his animal husbandry but I don't hold that against him.

Having children with 4 different women would have been acceptable in those days.

I liked his patience in those years of working for his father-in-law. Of course he got fooled on his first wedding night. Was he inebriated do you think?

The truce with Laban was a good thing. Likewise the reconciliation with Esau.

 

[unsafe]

Sometimes I wonder if the purpose of these Genesis stories is to illustrate that people require the law from God in order to behave decently.

I think laws bring order--but no one could keep the laws --so the laws didn't make the people behave right ----

 

[Mystic]

In Gen. 35 God orders Jacob to return to Bethel to build an altar, where he had previously built a memorial pillar. Israelites later further memorialize the site by building the most important Jewish sanctuary at Bethel prior to the construction of the Jerusalem Temple.
At my UMC church in the Finger Lakes region of NY I preached a sermon on Jacob's Bethel vision of God entitled "Finding God in Unexpected Places:"

"Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it (28:16)!"

At the end of the sermon, I found myself uttering an unintended prophetic word: "Some of you will soon find God in an unexpected place." That afternoon Pam, a choir member, and her family drove up Rte. 40 to Rochester, but when she came to an early crossroad, she turned right, saying, "We've never been down this highway; it looks kind of pretty." After a few miles her van conked out and her family was stranded. Meanwhile, Bob, my worship chairman, was driving south from Rochester down Rte. 40 when he arrived at the same intersection and, like Pam, thought to himself, "I've never driven down this highway and it looks kind of pretty," and then turned left. Bob arrived at Pam's van just a couple of minutes after the van broke down! Bob picked up Pam and her family and drove them home. Everyone involved experienced this fortuitous providential encounter as the fulfillment of my sermon's prophecy about soon finding God in an unexpected place!

 

[paradox3]

Finding God in unexpected places is a wonderful concept.

 

[paradox3]

Hello again. Here is Genesis 36

Snoopy's Snappy Review:
Yawn inducing!

Bible Gateway passage: Genesis 36 - New English Translation

The Descendants of Esau - What follows is the account of Esau (also known as Edom). Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite, in addition to Basemath the daughter of Ishmael and...

www.biblegateway.com

The descendants of Esau are outlined.

This chapter tells us that Esau moved to Seir because he and Jacob had too many possessions to be able to stay together. Reminiscent of Abraham and Lot, wouldn't you say?

It could be that the narrative is circling back to summarize all of the generations. However, Genesis 34 had Jacob returning to Canaan after a twenty year absence and Esau already residing in Seir.

This little quirk is the most interesting thing I found in today's reading. Stay tuned for more family duplicity tomorrow.

 

[paradox3]

Hello everyone. Here is Genesis 37

Snoopy's Snappy Review:
Our spiritual ancestors engage in favoritism, betrayal and deceit.

Bible Gateway passage: Genesis 37 - New English Translation

Joseph’s Dreams - But Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, in the land of Canaan. This is the account of Jacob. Joseph, his seventeen-year-old son, was taking care of the flocks with his brothers. Now he was a youngster working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s...

www.biblegateway.com

Jacob's son Joseph is now 17 years old. He is the favored son because he was born late in his father's life. Joseph's dreams confirm this and Jacob makes for him a special tunic.

No surprise he is resented by his brothers, especially after he tattles on them. At least four of the brothers plot to kill him but Reuben intervenes. Instead of murdering him, they take his tunic and put him in an empty cistern. Reuben plans to rescue Joseph later.

A caravan of Ishmaelites arrives on its way to Egypt. The camels are carrying spices, balm and myrrh. Judah proposes selling Joseph to them and the brothers get twenty pieces of silver for the sale.

When Reuben returns he finds the cistern empty! The brothers kill a young goat and dip Joseph's tunic in the blood.

They take the tunic to Jacob who assumes a wild animal has eaten Joseph. Jacob tears his clothes, puts on sackcloth and mourns for his son. He cannot be consoled.

In Egypt, Joseph is sold to Pharaoh's captain of the guard.

 

[paradox3]

Wow! What an awful story!

Does anyone feel more sympathetic towards Jacob after these events? His grief is profound.

Is this narrative a plot device to move the action to Egypt?

 

[paradox3]

Reuben is interesting. He is Jacob's firstborn son. His mother is Jacob's first wife, Leah.

Of all the sons, wouldn't he have the most reason to resent Joseph? Yet he has a moderating influence on his brothers when they want to kill Joseph off.

Of course he committed the fauxpas of sleeping with one his father's servant wives (Genesis 35) after Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin.

Dysfunctional family, anyone?

 

[jimkenney12]

Is Judah the second born? He serms to be the pushy one.

 

[Mendalla]

Oh boy, I am hearing Andrew Lloyd-Webber music in my brain right now.

But, yeah, musicals notwithstanding, it is a rather savage, cruel story when you think about it, even if it turns out well for Joseph in the end.

 

[GordW]

This is not about selling off Joseph but is a different look at who Joseph might have been -- Gender Queer perhaps? Written by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg (bit of a long read but well worth it). I first starting reading her substack (she has since moved to a different platform) around the time she was working through the PAtriarch stories.

(Gender)queering Joseph

Midrashic Possibilities for the Torah's Most Extra Child

open.substack.com

 

[paradox3]

Is Judah the second born? He serms to be the pushy one.

He is Leah's fourth born. The order is Rueben, Simeon, Levi, Judah.

After Judah come the 4 boys born to the concubines. Then Leah has two more sons and a daughter. Finally Rachel has Joseph and Benjamin.

Yes, Judah is the one who comes up with the idea to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites. The idea to murder him might have come from the sons of the concubines but the text is not clear about this.

Simeon and Levi (second and third born) were the ones who avenged Dinah's sexual assault in Genesis 34.

 

[GordW]

Yes, Judah is the one who comes up with the idea to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites. The idea to murder him might have come from the sons of the concubines but the text is not clear about this.

THe text may not be clear in part because it doesn't really matter. They would be counted as sons of Jacob/Israel and then of the woman to whom the slave belonged (Leah and Rachel). The slave women were not of account, barely even persons. Which is what we saw with Hagar although she seemed to gain/claim some agency and personhood in her story.

 

[unsafe]

Jacob's favoritism continues and this keeps the fires burning with the siblings ----Jacob favors Joseph and makes him a special tunic which may signify that he has been chosen as head of the house when Jacob dies ----

Jealousy and envy are very destructive emotions when they are allowed to take root in a person ---

Scripture warns us of the dangers of Jealousy and Envy

Proverbs 6:34 ESV​

For jealousy makes a man furious, and he will not spare when he takes revenge.

Proverbs 14:30 ESV​

A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.

I say
Joseph here is no saint ----he keeps throwing arrogance around by telling his dreams to his brothers who are ravished by jealousy and envy of the special treatment of Joseph by his Father and by theses dreams he is having ---Joseph is throwing arrogance around at his brothers that he is better than they are ---not good for keeping the peace with your siblings ----

Our Corrupt Nature shows big time here ----jealousy --envy ---strife --conflict --separation of siblings --deceit is taking place -----

James 3:16 ESV
For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.

I say
Greed now shows up as Joseph is sold into Slavery for money by his brothers ------

Joseph was anointed by God for His purpose ----but Joseph in his ego driven self made things very bad for himself with his brothers --Joseph is reaping what he himself is sowing -----

God tells him in a dream that his family will bow down to him ------and this prophecy is later fulfilled in Genesis 42----

When it comes to God's plan playing out God will choose whoever he wants to bring about His Victory --all these people that God has Chosen have continued to go down a sinful path and reap the consequences of their bad decisions ----and through all their bad displays --God shows His Agape --patience and mercy in dealing with their flawed broken Nature -----

Reuben who went to look for Joseph in the pit finds it empty

Now here is the Great deceit the Brothers pull over their Father -----Nasty --Nasty and Nasty ---so bad is this ----they all should feel such guilt and shame for this deceit -----But Do They ?????

31 Then they took Joseph’s tunic, slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood;

32 and they brought the multicolored tunic to their father, saying, “We have found this; please examine it and decide whether or not it is your son’s tunic.”

33 He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild animal has devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces!”

34 So Jacob tore his clothes [in grief], put [m]on sackcloth and mourned many days for his son.

Satan is our enemy -----he puts bad thoughts in the minds of people ---he stirs up our emotions and if these emotions are allowed to take root -----what you see in this Chapter is the result -----your in a war of the mind -----your body will move to your thoughts and that is what happened here -----with dire consequences --

 

[paradox3]

@unsafe

We have yet to encounter Satan by name in the Torah. Some people think the shrewd serpent in Genesis 3 represents Satan.

Is there anything in Genesis which suggests we are to hold Satan responsible for the terrible things that happen? I am not picking this up.

In tomorrow's reading we will see God kill off two individuals in a rather capricious way. More shenanigans by the people are coming up, too.

 

[paradox3]

THe text may not be clear in part because it doesn't really matter. They would be counted as sons of Jacob/Israel and then of the woman to whom the slave belonged (Leah and Rachel). The slave women were not of account, barely even persons. Which is what we saw with Hagar although she seemed to gain/claim some agency and personhood in her story.

In Genesis 37:2 it is stated that Joseph is tending the flocks and working with the sons of the two concubines, Bilbah and Zilpah. The sons are not named which is interesting.

Later in the chapter it seems likely the same brothers are involved because they are once again grazing the sheep. But it's not completely clear. Reuben and Judah show up as well at the location.

 

[unsafe]

Some people think the shrewd serpent in Genesis 1 represents Satan.

Scripture tells us that the serpent of old is Satan ----knowing your scripture clears up who the serpent is in Genesis 3

Revelation 12:9
AMP
And the great dragon was thrown down, the age-old serpent who is called the devil and Satan, he who continually deceives and seduces the entire inhabited world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

 

[Mendalla]

Scripture tells us that the serpent of old is Satan ----knowing your scripture clears up who the serpent is in Genesis 3

Revelation 12:9
AMP
And the great dragon was thrown down, the age-old serpent who is called the devil and Satan, he who continually deceives and seduces the entire inhabited world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

So a book written several centuries after Genesis clarifies Genesis? To my eye, that's the author of Revelation putting their own interpretation on Genesis and only clarifies it if you accept that interpretation.

 

[paradox3]

Genesis 3 doesn't suggest a dragon to me. The serpent seems more lowly somehow. I think of dragons as fierce rather than sneaky..