Ge 38:27 Now it came to pass, at the time for giving birth, that behold, twins were in her womb.

28 And so it was, when she was giving birth, that the one put out his hand; and the midwife took a scarlet thread and bound it on his hand, saying, "This one came out first."

29 Then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that his brother came out unexpectedly; and she said, "How did you break through? This breach be upon you!" Therefore his name was called Perez.

30 Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand. And his name was called Zerah.

This story was recounted by Moses in detail to teach his original Israelite readers the importance, significance and privileges of being the firstborn in the family. Moses would never take the hassle of detailing the breach of Perez to be the firstborn over Zerah if it has no importance. The firstborn in Israel had the benefits of receiving the family blessing and the right to double inheritance. The idea connected with the firstborn ultimately points to the Lord Jesus Christ as the firstborn of all creation. God is training them for His coming.

Col 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Ge 38:24 And it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah was told, saying, "Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot; furthermore she is with child by harlotry." So Judah said, "Bring her out and let her be burned!"

25 When she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, "By the man to whom these belong, I am with child." And she said, "Please determine whose these are -the signet and cord, and staff."

26 So Judah acknowledged them and said, "She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son." And he never knew her again.

The incest that Tamar masterminded was wrong. However, the cause behind it was just compared to  Judah's. Judah like his son Onan practically did not care to have offspring for descendants. Tamar, on the other hand, wanted a child. Her desire might be that she would have children that would become heirs of the promise made to Abraham.

Moses wants to show his original Israelite readers here the rightness of having descendants. Even Judah had to acknowledge the cause of Tamar as more righteous than his even though it was obtained sinfully. 

Ge 38:1 It came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah.

2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua, and he married her and went in to her.

3 So she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er.

4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan.

5 And she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name Shelah. He was at Chezib when she bore him.

6 Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.

7 But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD killed him.

8 And Judah said to Onan, "Go in to your brother's wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother."

9 But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother's wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother.

10 And the thing which he did displeased the LORD; therefore He killed him also.

11 Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, "Remain a widow in your father's house till my son Shelah is grown." For he said, "Lest he also die like his brothers." And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.

12 Now in the process of time the daughter of Shua, Judah's wife, died; and Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.

13 And it was told Tamar, saying, "Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep."

14 So she took off her widow's garments, covered herself with a veil and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place which was on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife.

15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, because she had covered her face.

16 Then he turned to her by the way, and said, "Please let me come in to you"; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. So she said, "What will you give me, that you may come in to me?"

17 And he said, "I will send a young goat from the flock." So she said, "Will you give me a pledge till you send it?"

18 Then he said, "What pledge shall I give you?" So she said, "Your signet and cord, and your staff that is in your hand." Then he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him.

19 So she arose and went away, and laid aside her veil and put on the garments of her widowhood.

20 And Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand, but he did not find her.

21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, "Where is the harlot who was openly by the roadside?" And they said, "There was no harlot in this place."

22 So he returned to Judah and said, "I cannot find her. Also, the men of the place said there was no harlot in this place."

23 Then Judah said, "Let her take them for herself, lest we be shamed; for I sent this young goat and you have not found her."

This story explains why God allowed Joseph to be sold to Egypt. God's plan was to remove Jacob and his descendants away from the influence of the Canaanites. Joseph was their advance party of sorts to prepare the way. There in Egypt they lived a separate life from the pagan influence around them. Pharaoh gave them an exclusive land to dwell in. Here, the intermingling and influence of the Canaanites is creeping into the family of Jacob. It affected their morality and way of life.

Also, Moses wants to show his original Israelite readers that God wants descendants for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the nation Israel. It's His will that they should multiply. Because Onan would not cooperate with God's plan, He killed him. Later, God would enact a law for Israel called the Levirate law (see Deut. 25:5-10) obligating a surviving brother to obtain a son for the brother who died by marrying his wife.

Apparently, Judah was not so concerned about having descendants. When his son was of marriageable age, he did not give Tamar to him. He was not cooperating with God's plan. When Tamar saw this, she acted as a harlot and obtained sons, descendants for Judah. What she did was wrong but God permitted it to happen.

Ge 37:12 Then his brothers went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.

13 And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them." So he said to him, "Here I am."

14 Then he said to him, "Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me." So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.

15 Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, "What are you seeking?"

16 So he said, "I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks."

17 And the man said, "They have departed from here, for I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.

18 Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him.

19 Then they said to one another, "Look, this dreamer is coming!

20 "Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, 'Some wild beast has devoured him.' We shall see what will become of his dreams!"

21 But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, "Let us not kill him."

22 And Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him" -that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father.

23 So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him.

24 Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.

25 And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt.

26 So Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?

27 "Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh." And his brothers listened.

28 Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt. 
29 Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes.

30 And he returned to his brothers and said, "The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?"

Moses is showing his original Israelite readers that God is a God of providence. It so happened that his brothers went to Dothan. It so happened that Reuben was there to suggest something else to divert the murderous intentions of Joseph's brothers. It so happened that the company of Ishmaelites came passing by. It so happened that Judah was there to suggest selling Joseph.  It so happened that Reuben went away when Judah suggested it. It so happened that the Ishmaelites was heading towards Egypt.

God is a God of providence. He can use everything like events, people, situations even including the evil of man to advance His program. "We shall see what will become of his dreams!" but they did not know that what they did was only a step towards the fulfillment of Joseph's dreams. Israel should realize and learn that God can use the enmity of the nations surrounding Israel to advance God's promises for them.

Ge 37:2 This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.

3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors.

4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.

5 Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more.

6 So he said to them, "Please hear this dream which I have dreamed:

7 "There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf."

8 And his brothers said to him, "Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?" So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

9 Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, "Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me."

10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?"

11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

Joseph was favored by his father and chosen by God but he was hated by his brothers. Moses is showing his original Israelite readers here the similarity and the parallel between the history of the Israelites with that of Joseph.

Just as Joseph was favored by his father and chosen by God so the nation Israel was favored and chosen by God. Just as Joseph was destined to reign over his brothers so the nation Israel was destined to rule over his relative nations. Just as Joseph was hated by his brothers so Edom and others hated the nation Israel.

But ultimately, Joseph is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. What happened to him has a striking similarity with that of the greater "Joseph," the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ge 37:1 Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.

2 This is the history of Jacob.

Moses is showing his original Israelite readers here the contrast between Esau and Jacob. "Esau dwelt in Mount Seir." Gen. 36:8 but Jacob dwelt in the Promise Land. The purpose again is to encourage them to follow the example of their father Jacob. Go to the land, possess it and dwell in it.

Ge 36:31 Now these were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel:

32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, and the name of his city was Dinhabah.

33 And when Bela died, Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place.

34 When Jobab died, Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.

35 And when Husham died, Hadad the son of Bedad, who attacked Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his place. And the name of his city was Avith.

36 When Hadad died, Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place.

37 And when Samlah died, Saul of Rehoboth-by -the-River reigned in his place.

38 When Saul died, Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place.

39 And when Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor died, Hadar reigned in his place; and the name of his city was Pau. His wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.

40 And these were the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their families and their places, by their names: Chief Timnah, Chief Alvah, Chief Jetheth,

41 Chief Aholibamah, Chief Elah, Chief Pinon,

42 Chief Kenaz, Chief Teman, Chief Mibzar,

43 Chief Magdiel, and Chief Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession. Esau was the father of the Edomites.

It was prophesied in Genesis 17:16 that Sarai, whose name was changed into Sarah (meaning princess of the multitude) that from her would come kings of nations.

Ge 17:15 Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.
16 "And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her."

Now, the point of the writer here is to show how God fulfilled His promise to Sarah. She eventually became the mother of the nation Israel and other nations. Here, she is shown as to how she became the mother of nations in Esau's line.

This is to encourage the original Israelite readers again to go and possess the land and dwell in it. For just as God fulfilled His promise to Sarah and Esau, He will also fulfill His promise to them --- they too would become a nation. 

Ge 36:20 These were the sons of Seir the Horite who inhabited the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,

21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir, in the land of Edom.

22 And the sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam. Lotan's sister was Timna.

23 These were the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

24 These were the sons of Zibeon: both Ajah and Anah. This was the Anah who found the water in the wilderness as he pastured the donkeys of his father Zibeon.

25 These were the children of Anah: Dishon and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah.

26 These were the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.

27 These were the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

28 These were the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.

29 These were the chiefs of the Horites: Chief Lotan, Chief Shobal, Chief Zibeon, Chief Anah,

30 Chief Dishon, Chief Ezer, and Chief Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, according to their chiefs in the land of Seir.

Here is the record of the men whom Esau subjugated. The point that Moses wants to show here to his original Israelite readers is that Esau and his descendants took over the territory of the Horites, fulfilling God's promise that Esau would become a nation as prophesied in Genesis 25:23.

This should encourage Israel about their prospects. Surely, they too will become a nation in the Promise Land since Jacob, their father, was promised by God that he too would become a nation. And so, to the land they must go and possess it.

Ge 36:10 These were the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, and Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau.

11 And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

12 Now Timna was the concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son, and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These were the sons of Adah, Esau's wife.

13 These were the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife.

14 These were the sons of Aholibamah, Esau's wife, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon. And she bore to Esau: Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah.

15 These were the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn son of Esau, were Chief Teman, Chief Omar, Chief Zepho, Chief Kenaz,

16 Chief Korah, Chief Gatam, and Chief Amalek. These were the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom. They were the sons of Adah.

17 These were the sons of Reuel, Esau's son: Chief Nahath, Chief Zerah, Chief Shammah, and Chief Mizzah. These were the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom. These were the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife.

18 And these were the sons of Aholibamah, Esau's wife: Chief Jeush, Chief Jaalam, and Chief Korah. These were the chiefs who descended from Aholibamah, Esau's wife, the daughter of Anah.

19 These were the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these were their chiefs.

What became of Esau is what Moses is showing his original Israelite readers here. In these verses, we read that Esau multiplied and developed into an emerging nation. Moses is showing that the prophecy of God that Esau would become a nation is being fulfilled.

Ge 25:23 And the LORD said to her: "Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger."

Just as God fulfilled His promise about Esau, so He will fulfill His promise about Israel becoming a nation in the land.

Ge 36:1 Now this is the genealogy of Esau, who is Edom.

2 Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite; Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;

3 and Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebajoth.

4 Now Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, and Basemath bore Reuel.

5 And Aholibamah bore Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

6 Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the persons of his household, his cattle and all his animals, and all his goods which he had gained in the land of Canaan, and went to a country away from the presence of his brother Jacob.

7 For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together, and the land where they were strangers could not support them because of their livestock.

8 So Esau dwelt in Mount Seir. Esau is Edom.

Moses is showing his original Israelite readers here that Esau's sons, who were Canaanites and Ishmaelites, respectively, through their mothers, moved out of the land of Canaan, the Promise Land, with Esau.

Moses is showing his original Israelite readers that the history of Jacob and Esau establishes the fact that the Israelites has a just claim on the land and not the Canaanites, since it was Esau who moved out of the Promise Land while Jacob remained.

Ge 35:27 Then Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had dwelt.

28 Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years.

29 So Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Moses is showing his original Israelite readers that Jacob did make it back to his father Isaac in peace. In Genesis 28:20-21, Jacob said: "If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God."

Now, just as Jacob promised that if God would bring him back in the land, back into his father's house, that God would be his God, so Israel must follow Jacob's example. God is bringing them back into the land of their fathers, now, they must acknowledge and recognize God as their God. They should have no other gods but Him.

Ge 35:22 ...Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:

23 the sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun;

24 the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin;

25 the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali;

26 and the sons of Zilpah, Leah's maidservant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram.

Moses here found it necessary to rehearse again the list of Jacob's sons because of the birth of Benjamin. Moreover, he is also showing that the promise of God of descendants to Jacob is in the works and being progressively fulfilled. At this point, they were twelve, but later on become the nation Israel itself.

The emphasis here is the fact that they were of Jacob. It is stated at the end of verse 22 and restated again, for emphasis, at the end of  verse 26. Since they were of Jacob, they must follow his steps in returning back to the land promised to him with all the other attendant promises to be fulfilled there.

Ge 35:16 Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor.

17 Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, "Do not fear; you will have this son also."

18 And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin.

19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).

20 And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel's grave to this day.

21 Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.

22 And it happened, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine; and Israel heard about it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:

Moses here is explaining to his original Israelite readers as to why the tribe of Benjamin received the land inheritance they had and why the tribe of Reuben forfeited the leadership in Israel. Between Bethel and Ephrath-Bethlehem lie the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. Why was the tribe given this part of the Promise Land? Because Benjamin was born there. Rachel, Benjamin's mother who gave birth to him there, died and was buried there.

 1 Sa 10:2 "When you have departed from me today, you will find two men by Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah..."

Reuben was the firstborn of the tribes of Israel. He should have received the leadership of the tribes but that was given to Judah. Why? Reuben forfeited this privilege because of what he did here "... Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine..."

Simeon and Levi, both the second and third son's respectively, were bypassed because of their violence and treachery at Shechem. The privilege went from the first son to the fourth son, Judah.

Ge 35:1 Then God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother."

2 And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments.

3 "Then 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 in the way which I have gone."

4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem.

5 And they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all 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 And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.

8 Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was called Allon Bachuth.

9 Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him.

10 And God said to him, "Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name." So He called his name Israel.

11 Also God said to him: "I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body.

12 "The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land."

13 Then God went up from him in the place where He talked with him.

14 So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it.

15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.

Moses is showing his original Israelite readers here that God blessed Jacob when he wholly obeyed God. Jacob delayed in fulfilling his vow he made to God in Genesis 28:19-22 thirty years ago. Instead, after serving Laban for twenty years, he went to Shechem, not Bethel, and dwelt there for ten years.

As discipline, God permitted the sad story of Dinah, his daughter, and the scandalous story of the violence and treachery of his sons in Shechem. Now, Jacob was reminded of his vow and was ready to leave Shechem and go to Bethel.

Jacob's commitment and full obedience are seen in his words: "Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. Then 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 in the way which I have gone."

And because of this the blessing of God was upon him. God protected them by striking the cities with fear with the result that no one came to harm them in their journey. In Bethel, Jacob fulfilled his vow. The result? God blessed him by reconfirming and expanding His promise to him. His name "Israel" speaks of his blessed status and position before God. The promise of numerous descendants, along with kings from his line, with further assurance of the land was given to him. All these because Jacob now fully obeyed.

In the same way, the nation Israel will be so blessed if they obeyed God fully and wholeheartedly. That's Moses' point here.

Genesis 34:1 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. 
2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and violated her. 
3 His soul was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke kindly to the young woman.4 So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young woman as a wife.”

5 And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. Now his sons were with his livestock in the field; so Jacob held his peace until they came. 
6 Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. 
7 And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved and very angry, because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing which 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 as a wife.9 And make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to yourselves. 
10 So you shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you. Dwell and trade in it, and acquire possessions for yourselves in it.”

11 Then Shechem said to her father and her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. 
12 Ask me ever so much dowry and gift, and I will give according to what you say to me; but give me the young woman as a wife.”

13 But the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father, and spoke deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. 
14 And they said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a reproach to us. 
15 But on this condition we will consent to you: If you will become as we are, if every male of you is circumcised, 
16 then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us; and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. 
17 But if you will not heed us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and be gone.”

18 And their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son. 
19 So the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. He was more honorable than all the household of his father.

20 And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying: 
21 “These men are at peace with us. Therefore let them dwell in the land and trade in it. For indeed the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us as wives, and let us give them our daughters. 
22 Only on this condition will the men consent to dwell with us, to be one people: if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. 
23 Willnot their livestock, their property, and every animal of theirs be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell with us.”24 And all who went out of the gate of his city heeded Hamor and Shechem his son; every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

25 Now it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males. 
26 And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went out. 
27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled.28 They took their sheep, their oxen, and their donkeys, what was in the city and what was in the field, 
29 and all their wealth. All their little ones and their wives they took captive; and they plundered even all that was in the houses.

30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have troubled me by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my household and I.”

31 But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a harlot?”


What Reuben and Simeon did were evil. Nevertheless, Moses wrote this incident to explain two things:
First, it was written to show how immoral the Canaanites were and thus the need to separate from them. Shechem, Hamor and the rest were Canaanites. The sexual immorality done to Dinah shows the characteristic depravity of the Canaanites.

Second, it was written to explain as to why the tribes of Reuben and Simeon were bypassed in the giving of special blessings. 

Ge 33:18 Then Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan Aram; and he pitched his tent before the city.

19 And he bought the parcel of land, where he had pitched his tent, from the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for one hundred pieces of money.

20 Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel.

Again, Moses is further encouraging his original Israelite readers here that they must go and possess the land and live in it permanently. They are to live in the land and worship there. They are to possess the land in which Jacob, their forefather, had a rightful claim. He bought a parcel of land and worshiped there.

Ge 33:1 Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants.

2 And he put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last.

3 Then he crossed over before them and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

4 But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

5 And he lifted his eyes and saw the women and children, and said, "Who are these with you?" So he said, "The children whom God has graciously given your servant."

6 Then the maidservants came near, they and their children, and bowed down.

7 And Leah also came near with her children, and they bowed down. Afterward Joseph and Rachel came near, and they bowed down.

8 Then Esau said, "What do you mean by all this company which I met?" And he said, "These are to find favor in the sight of my lord."

9 But Esau said, "I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself."

10 And Jacob said, "No, please, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present from my hand, inasmuch as I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me.

11 "Please, take my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough." So he urged him, and he took it.

12 Then Esau said, "Let us take our journey; let us go, and I will go before you."

13 But Jacob said to him, "My lord knows that the children are weak, and the flocks and herds which are nursing are with me. And if the men should drive them hard one day, all the flock will die.

14 "Please let my lord go on ahead before his servant. I will lead on slowly at a pace which the livestock that go before me, and the children, are able to endure, until I come to my lord in Seir."

15 And Esau said, "Now 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 And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, built himself a house, and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

Moses is showing his original Israelite readers here how God was with Jacob with regards to his relationship with his brother Esau.

Pr 16:7 When a man's ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Moses is saying that God could do the same with the enemies of the nation Israel.

Ge 32:22 And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok.

23 He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had.

24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.

25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.

26 And He said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks." But he said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!"

27 So He said to him, "What is your name?" He said, "Jacob."

28 And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed."

29 Then Jacob asked, saying, "Tell me Your name, I pray." And He said, "Why is it that you ask about My name?" And He blessed him there.

30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved."

31 Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip.

32 Therefore to this day the children of Israel do not eat the muscle that shrank, which is on the hip socket, because He touched the socket of Jacob's hip in the muscle that shrank.

Again, Moses' point is that the nation Israel must learn from what happened to Jacob here. Jacob did not obtain the blessing by struggling, wrestling and contending with God in stubbornness. He obtained it when he clung to God out of weakness and helplessness.

God came and subdued him. But he resisted. Jacob was stubborn in nature like the nation Israel. God crippled him and Jacob wrestled no more. He no longer wrestles but clings to Him for blessing. He no longer tried to earn the blessing but now sought His grace. Hosea 12:3-4: "...in his strength he struggled with God. Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed; He wept, and sought favor from Him..."

And he got it! God is prevailed upon not by our own stubbornness and strength. No, He is prevailed upon by our weakness; when we cling to Him in humility. "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble" (Jas 4:6). And, Jacob, in prevailing with God, he had power with men.

He was blessed with a new name. His new name was a prophecy of sorts as to what he will become. From Jacob, meaning supplanter and underminer, to Israel meaning Prince with God or Prince of God.

The word "Israel" can be translated in three different ways: 1) God rules 2) One who strives with God 3) Prince of God or Prince with God. Since the word Israel was meant to be a blessing or a benefit to Jacob, the third translation seems to fit well.

In the future, the nation Israel will be God's prince over all the earth. He will be the top and leading nation.

From this point on, Jacob will now limp his way through life. He will now have a staff as his daily companion, "...Jacob...leaning on the top of his staff..." Heb. 11:21.  Every step is a reminder to him that he must cling to God every step of the way. Every Israelite should be reminded of this and learn from it whenever they abstain from eating the muscle in the hip socket of an animal.

Moses wants his original Israelite readers here to learn that blessing cannot be obtained by scheming, manipulating and being stubborn against God's ways but by clinging to God in submission as in the case of their forefather Jacob.

Ge 32:3 Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.

4 And he commanded them, saying, "Speak thus to my lord Esau, 'Thus your servant Jacob says: "I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now.

5 "I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight."'"

6 Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, "We came to your brother Esau, and he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him."

7 So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies.

8 And he said, "If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape."

9 Then Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the LORD who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you':

10 "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies.

11 "Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children.

12 "For You said, 'I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.'"

13 So he lodged there that same night, and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother:

14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,

15 thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals.

16 Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, "Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves."

17 And he commanded the first one, saying, "When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, 'To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?'

18 "then you shall say, 'They are your servant Jacob's. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.'"

19 So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, "In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him;

20 "and also say, 'Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.'" For he said, "I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me."

21 So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.

Moses is trying to show to his original Israelite readers Jacob's example with regards his dealings with his brother Esau, who later became the nation of Edom. Israel was not to be hostile against Edom.
De 2:4 Command you the people, saying, You are to pass through the border of your brothers the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir; and they will be afraid of you: take good heed to yourselves therefore;
5 don't contend with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on; because I have given Mount Seir to Esau for a possession.

Moses is also showing his original Israelite readers the importance of restituting a brother whom they have offended. 

Ex 22:3 "If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt for his bloodshed. He should make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
4 "If the theft is certainly found alive in his hand, whether it is an ox or donkey or sheep, he shall restore double.

Lastly, Moses is showing them that whatever blessings, privileges and protection they have received and will receive from God, it was all because of God's grace. Just as Jacob was not deserving of all the mercies he received from God so Israel was not deserving of all the blessings, privileges and protection they enjoyed. 

Ge 32:1 So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

2 When Jacob saw them, he said, "This is God's camp." And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

Mahanaim was part of the Promise Land. It's in the territory of Israel. Moses is again encouraging his original Israelite readers that the place they are going to is where God's angels met their forefather Jacob. It is a place called "God's camp." It's a further encouragement to go and occupy the land and not turn back to Egypt.

Ge 31:43 And Laban answered and said to Jacob, "These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock; all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne?

44 "Now therefore, come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me."

45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar.

46 Then Jacob said to his brethren, "Gather stones." And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap.

47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed.

48 And Laban said, "This heap is a witness between you and me this day." Therefore its name was called Galeed,

49 also Mizpah, because he said, "May the LORD watch between you and me when we are absent one from another.

50 "If you afflict my daughters, or if you take other wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us-see, God is witness between you and me!"

51 Then Laban said to Jacob, "Here is this heap and here is this pillar, which I have placed between you and me.

52 "This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm.

53 "The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father judge between us." And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.

54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain.

55 And early in the morning Laban arose, and kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.

Here Moses is showing his original Israelite readers Jacob's break with Laban and the people of the East in principle. Israel should learn from this the idea of separation from their idolatrous neighbors.

Moses is also showing here how God made Jacob's enemy to be practically at peace with him. In the same way, God is able to make Israel's enemies to be at peace with them. Israel should learn that their enemies are entirely in God's power. That they never have to compromise their ways with the nations round about them to have peace. God who is with them is able to do it.

Pr 16:7 When a man's ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

1Ch 22:9 'Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies all around. His name shall be Solomon, for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days.

Ge 31:22 And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled.

23 Then he took his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days' journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead.
24 But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, "Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad."

25 So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead.

26 And Laban said to Jacob: "What have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword?

27 "Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and not tell me; for I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp?

28 "And you did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now you have done foolishly in so doing.

29 "It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, 'Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.'

30 "And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father's house, but why did you steal my gods?"

31 Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, "Because I was afraid, for I said, 'Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force.'

32 "With whomever you find your gods, do not let him live. In the presence of our brethren, identify what I have of yours and take it with you." For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

33 And Laban went into Jacob's tent, into Leah's tent, and into the two maids' tents, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah's tent and entered Rachel's tent.

34 Now Rachel had taken the household idols, put them in the camel's saddle, and sat on them. And Laban searched all about the tent but did not find them.

35 And she said to her father, "Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is with me." And he searched but did not find the household idols.

36 Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban: "What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued me?

37 "Although you have searched all my things, what part of your household things have you found? Set it here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both!

38 "These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock.

39 "That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.

40 "There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes.

41 "Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times.

42 "Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night."

Moses is showing his original Israelite readers here the similarity between Israel's escape from Egypt and Jacob's escape from Laban.

The point of all these verses is stated in verse 42: "Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night."

In the same way that God was with Jacob in his experience with Laban, protecting and blessing him, God was also with Israel, protecting and blessing Israel; He did not allow Egypt to harm Israel, and, in fact, He did not send Israel away empty-handed for all his labors in Egypt. Moses' point --- the source of all Israel's blessings was God.

To emphasize that idols are nothing and could do nothing for Israel, Moses included an incident about Rachel's sitting on idols. For a woman to sit upon idols during her menstrual period was a practical mockery against the very idols.

Genesis 31: 34 Now Rachel had taken the household idols, put them in the camel's saddle, and sat on them. And Laban searched all about the tent but did not find them.

Genesis 31: 35 And she said to her father, "Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is with me." And he searched but did not find the household idols.

Ge 31:1 Now Jacob heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, "Jacob has taken away all that was our father's, and from what was our father's he has acquired all this wealth."

2 And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and indeed it was not favorable toward him as before.

3 Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you."

4 So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock,

5 and said to them, "I see your father's countenance, that it is not favorable toward me as before; but the God of my father has been with me.

6 "And you know that with all my might I have served your father.

7 "Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me.

8 "If he said thus: 'The speckled shall be your wages,' then all the flocks bore speckled. And if he said thus: 'The streaked shall be your wages,' then all the flocks bore streaked.

9 "So God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.

10 "And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted.

11 "Then the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, 'Jacob.' And I said, 'Here I am.'

12 "And He said, 'Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you.

13 'I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.'"

14 Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, "Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house?

15 "Are we not considered strangers by him? For he has sold us, and also completely consumed our money.

16 "For all these riches which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children's; now then, whatever God has said to you, do it."

17 Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels.

18 And he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained, his acquired livestock which he had gained in Padan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.

19 Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father's.

20 And Jacob stole away, unknown to Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee.

21 So he fled with all that he had. He arose and crossed the river, and headed toward the mountains of Gilead.

Jacob worked for Laban practically as his slave. But God was with him and blessed him; he made him prosperous. Now, it's time to go back to the land of promise. God commanded him to do so.

What Moses is trying to do here is to encourage his original Israelite readers to follow Jacob's example. He is further encouraging them to go to the land which God promised to them and their forefathers. The Israelites had a tendency to go back.

Moses is showing them the parallel experience of Jacob with that of Israel. Just as Jacob became Laban's slave so Israel became a slave in Egypt. Just as Jacob became wealthy with all the animals he gained from Laban's flock so Israel became wealthy; they had "flocks and herds-a great deal of livestock" when they came out of Egypt. Just as Laban and his sons became unfavorable towards Jacob so Pharaoh and company became unfavorable towards Israel. Just as God called Jacob back to the land of his fathers so Israel was commanded by God to go back to the land of their fathers.

Ge 30:25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, "Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my country.

26 "Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know my service which I have done for you."

27 And Laban said to him, "Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for I have learned by experience that the LORD has blessed me for your sake."

28 Then he said, "Name me your wages, and I will give it."

29 So Jacob said to him, "You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me.

30 "For what you had before I came was little, and it has increased to a great amount; the LORD has blessed you since my coming. And now, when shall I also provide for my own house?"

31 So he said, "What shall I give you?" And Jacob said, "You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep your flocks:

32 "Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from there all the speckled and spotted sheep, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and these shall be my wages.

The speckled and spotted sheep, the brown lambs and the spotted and speckled goats were rare animals. In this arrangement, Jacob would have less while the remaining greater part would be Laban's.

33 "So my righteousness will answer for me in time to come, when the subject of my wages comes before you: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the lambs, will be considered stolen, if it is with me."34 And Laban said, "Oh, that it were according to your word!"

Laban was quick to agree seeing that the arrangement was favorable to him.

35 So he removed that day the male goats that were speckled and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had some white in it, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and gave them into the hand of his sons.Ge 30:36 Then he put three days' journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.

Laban was very crafty against Jacob. The considerable distance would ensure that the marked animals of Jacob would not breed with Laban's flock. This would also mean that Jacob would have a lesser flock to tend and obtain his own wages from.

37 Now Jacob took for himself rods of green poplar and of the almond and chestnut trees, peeled white strips in them, and exposed the white which was in the rods.

38 And the rods which he had peeled, he set before the flocks in the gutters, in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, so that they should conceive when they came to drink.

39 So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted.

40 Then Jacob separated the lambs, and made the flocks face toward the streaked and all the brown in the flock of Laban; but he put his own flocks by themselves and did not put them with Laban's flock.

41 And it came to pass, whenever the stronger livestock conceived, that Jacob placed the rods before the eyes of the livestock in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.

Whether this has scientific basis or not I could not be sure. It could have been a superstitious belief on the part of Jacob. In Bisaya, we call it "Lihi." Personally, I believe that it was the result of God's blessing. It was a miracle. God blessed Jacob despite his superstitious belief.

42 But when the flocks were feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban's and the stronger Jacob's.

43 Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

Moses seeks to show his original Israelite readers here that God was with Jacob. Even Laban recognized this. Despite all the scheming against Jacob by Laban, God still blessed and prospered Jacob exceedingly. God was faithful to His promise to Jacob.

Israel should learn that God will also be with them to bless them and fulfill His word. The scheming of their enemies against them cannot prevent God from blessing them. As He blessed Jacob despite  Laban's schemes so He can bless them despite their enemies' plots against them.

Ge 29:31 When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.

32 So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, "The LORD has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me."

33 Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also." And she called his name Simeon.

34 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore his name was called Levi.

35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Now I will praise the LORD." Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing.
Ge 30:1 Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, "Give me children, or else I die!"

2 And Jacob's anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"

3 So she said, "Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, and she will bear a child on my knees, that I also may have children by her."

4 Then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife, and Jacob went in to her.

5 And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.

6 Then Rachel said, "God has judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son." Therefore she called his name Dan.

7 And Rachel's maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.

8 Then Rachel said, "With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed." So she called his name Naphtali.

9 When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife.

10 And Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son.

11 Then Leah said, "A troop comes!" So she called his name Gad.

12 And Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.

13 Then Leah said, "I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed." So she called his name Asher.

14 Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes."

15 But she said to her, "Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?" And Rachel said, "Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son's mandrakes."

16 When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, "You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son's mandrakes." And he lay with her that night.

17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.

18 Leah said, "God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband." So she called his name Issachar.

19 Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son.

20 And Leah said, "God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons." So she called his name Zebulun.

21 Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.

23 And she conceived and bore a son, and said, "God has taken away my reproach."

24 So she called his name Joseph, and said, "The LORD shall add to me another son."

God in grace overruled the unideal situation Jacob was in. Here, Moses shows his original Israelite readers their origin and the circumstances surrounding it. He also shows that God was faithful to His promise that He would give descendants to Jacob. This also shows how the rivalry among the tribes of Israel began. Israel should also learn from the mistakes of their ancestors here.

Ge 29:16 Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.

17 Leah's eyes were delicate, but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance.

18 Now Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, "I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter."

19 And Laban said, "It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me."

20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her.

21 Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her."

22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast.

23 Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her.

24 And Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid.

25 So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?"

26 And Laban said, "It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.

27 "Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years."

28 Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also.

29 And Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as a maid.

30 Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban still another seven years.


Jacob received poetic justice. God, in His providence, turned the tables on him. He posed as the older brother, Esau, to his father Isaac and now Leah posed as the younger sister to him. His sin found him out.

Here Moses is showing his original Israelite readers that God, in His providence, will make them reap what they have sown. If they sow disobedience, they will reap punishments. If they sow obedience they will reap blessings.

He is also teaching them that whatever they do to their brethren will also be done to them in God's ordering of things and events. A very important principle to remember as they live in the land that God promised them.

GE 29:1 Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the sons of the east.
GE 29:2 He looked, and saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, for from that well they watered the flocks. Now the stone on the mouth of the well was large. 

GE 29:3 When all the flocks were gathered there, they would then roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well. 

GE 29:4 Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Haran.” 

GE 29:5 He said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.” 

GE 29:6 And he said to them, “Is it well with him?” And they said, “It is well, and here is Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep.” 

GE 29:7 He said, “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered. Water the sheep, and go, pasture them.” 

GE 29:8 But they said, “We cannot, until all the flocks are gathered, and they roll the stone from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.” 

GE 29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 

GE 29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. 

GE 29:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted his voice and wept. 

GE 29:12 Jacob told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and that he was Rebekah’s son, and she ran and told her father. 

GE 29:13 So when Laban heard the news of Jacob his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Then he related to Laban all these things. 

GE 29:14 Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him a month.

In the previous chapter, God promised Jacob His presence wherever he goes. Here in this chapter Moses shows God's providence in guiding Jacob to his intended destination. Everything was perfectly timed. Places, events, persons converged in a well-timed fashion.

It so happened that he came to the right place. It so happened that he met the right people who knew his relatives. It so happened that Rachel came out to meet him.

It appears that Moses wants to show his original Israelite readers that just as God was providentially guiding Jacob so He is now with Israel.