Tag: Isaac

Genesis 26 – God’s Promise to Isaac

Vs. 1-5 Isaac Reminded of the Promise
As it was not uncommon in the land, a famine compelled Isaac to move to a place where food could be found. He chooses to go to Gerar, to the land of Abimelech, as his father Abraham had done. The Lord appears to Isaac and cautions him against going to Egypt, but rather to stay in the land because the land would be an inheritance to him. God then repeats the blessings to Isaac as God had done for Abraham. Some suggest that this occurs before the birth of Esau and Jacob, as there is no mention of them. 

Vs. 6-33 Contention Over Wells
When Isaac and Rebekah go to the territory of Abimelech, Isaac repeats his father’s strategy of telling the people Rebekah is his sister. According to the narrative, this went on for a long time (v. 8), until a day when Abimelech sees Isaac with Rebekah in what must have been an intimate moment. The Hebrew describing Isaac and Rebekah’s actions must be difficult, as English translations include “laughing” (ESV), “caressing” (NASB, NIV), and “sporting” (KJV). The resulting conversation takes the same form as with Abraham, as Abimelech chastises Isaac for putting the people of Gerar at risk. Abimelech further establishes consequences of death to anyone who touches either Isaac or Rebekah.

Verses 12-16 offer a few pieces of information that frame the relationship between Abraham’s family and the Philistines. We are told that Isaac has been greatly blessed by God; from the world’s perspective, he is successful and rich, and therefore powerful. Not surprisingly, Abimelech asks Isaac to distance himself from the Philistine people, obviously being perceived as a threat to them. Along with this we are told in verse 15 of an action taken by the Philistines at some point after the death of Abraham. The wells dug by the servants of Abraham had been sabotaged by filling them in with earth. These wells would have been a critical source of water. We don’t know if this was done while Abraham or Isaac were in the region. It is possible that the Philistines did this simply as a means of controlling any access to water in the region. 

Verse 17 tells us that Isaac moves away from the town of Gerar to a valley in near proximity. Wells that had been filled were dug again. Encounters with the Philistines were not eliminated, however, and contention over water sources remained an issue. Twice the servants of Isaac dug wells, only to have the herdsmen of Gerar contend with them over rights of access. Ultimately the servants of Isaac find a water source that causes no contention. The name given to it, Rehoboth, celebrates that God has made room for Isaac’s clan in the land.

Isaac migrates to Beersheba, where Abraham had first made an oath with Abimelech (Genesis 21:31). There, Isaac has another vision in which the Lord affirms the promises first given to Abraham. This is followed by another encounter with Abimelech, who comes to Isaac with his personal advisor and his military commander. The visit takes Isaac by surprise, given that Abimelech has run Isaac off from the territory of Gerar. The visit is prompted by Abimelech’s apparent ongoing concern over the power Isaac could wield in the area. He goes to Isaac with the hope of solidifying peace. The two make an oath toward good relations. That, along with the digging of (another?) well by Isaac’s servants, establishes the name of the location as “the well of oath,” i.e. Beersheba. 

The chapter ends with brief details on the wives of Esau. The exact number of wives Esau had is a matter of disagreement, and complicated by the use of different names across references. Two wives are mentioned here: Judith and Basemath, both from Hittite families. The one point that is obvious from the narrative is that Esau’s wives became a source of misery for Isaac and Rebekah.

Genesis 27:1-28:5 – The Blessing of Jacob

This section begins by describing Isaac as “old and his eyes were dim so he could not see.” What Isaac is preparing to do is a blessing of his son, sometimes called a deathbed blessing. The reality is that Isaac will have many more years to live. Still, the blessing was expected to be done with the father being of sound mind. Isaac feels that the time should not be delayed. 

Noteworthy here is that Isaac arranges this only with Esau; Jacob and Rebekah are left out of the plan. At the risk of reading too much into the narrative, one might wonder how deeply divided Isaac and Rebekah have become over their preference for one or the other son. As the scene unfolds we see that both Isaac and Rebekah are doing their own scheming, conspiring for the father’s blessing to rest upon the son of their liking. 

The difference between birthright and blessing may be subtle, but it seems clear that our characters understood them separately. The birthright (which Esau has already squandered to Jacob) was primarily about tangible inheritance, with the firstborn traditionally receiving double of any other. It helped to insure security of subsistence for the next generation. The blessing bestowed by the father was to give prophetic voice about the life awaiting the child. While the birthright would always be expected to go to the oldest, the highest blessing could go to any son. (See Genesis 48-49 for Jacob’s blessing of his many sons.)

Rebekah overhears Isaac speaking to Esau. She knows what is coming, and she clearly wants Jacob to receive the blessing Isaac would otherwise give to Esau. Her conspiracy begins immediately. While Esau is away hunting, she enlists Jacob to bring two goats from their own flock, which she will prepare for Isaac. Isaac is aware of the obvious weak points of the plan, knowing that his father will easily be able to tell the difference between the two sons even with poor eyesight. Rebekah’s determination, and perhaps her attitude toward Isaac, is revealed in her statement in verse 13: “Let your curse be on me (if the plan fails).” 

When the food (and Jacob) are adequately prepared, Rebekah sends Jacob into the presence of his father. The conversation involves several questions—spoken or implied—on the part of Isaac. Who (which son) are you? How did you find the game so fast? Why do you sound like Jacob? Are you really my son Esau? Isaac tests things in nearly every way he knows how. He feels Jacob’s hand, which Isaac determines to be Esau’s hand because of the goat hair. He brings the son close so he can smell his garments. The one thing that Isaac does not do is something that many contend should have been part of the blessing ceremony; Isaac does not ask for a witness.

Satisfied he is dealing with the son of his choice, Isaac proceeds to offer his blessing. He begins associating the son’s fragrance with that of a field that has been blessed by God, which is nice imagery. The first half of the blessing is about prosperity: receiving the dew of heaven, the fatness of the earth, ample portions of grain and wine. All of this would be standard indications that Yahweh was showing favor. The second half of the blessing feels directly attached to the promises God had given to Abraham. While it may not be true of every facet of the blessing, there are elements that would by nature be exclusive to one son (“be lord over your brothers”). 

Isaac becomes visibly bothered when he realizes he has been deceived (v. 33). Esau insists there must remain a blessing for himself from his father (v. 34,36,38). Believing there is authority in the words he has spoken, Isaac concedes that the blessing has already gone to Jacob: “I have made him your master” (v. 37). What Isaac then speaks over Esau does not sound to us like a blessing. Even so it is predictive, which is typical of a father’s words over a son in these moments. Esau would have a dwelling, though it would be apart from the most fertile of regions. His existence would be marked by conflict, and at times he would experience the dominion of his younger brother. Nevertheless, at times he would be able to break free from that dominion. 

Esau’s fury against his brother is understandable. He becomes determined to kill Jacob, but refrains from immediate action out of respect for his father. It seems clear that Esau’s expectation was that Isaac would soon die, and therefore his retribution would not require a long wait. As a foil to his plan, though, Rebekah learns of Esau’s anger and directs Jacob to flee to Haran, to the home of her brother Laban (v. 43). Perhaps as a means to get Isaac’s endorsement for Jacob’s journey, Rebekah laments the aggravation brought upon them by Esau’s foreign wives. She claims that her life would be in despair if Jacob also were to take a foreign wife. Following her prompting, Isaac sends Jacob to Paddan-aram (28:2), to the house of his mother’s father. In the Genesis account, this is the last mention of Jacob seeing his father with the exception of a brief comment in 35:27, just before the account of Isaac’s death.

Genesis 28:6-22 – Jacob’s Dream

At this point the focus of the generational narrative shifts to Jacob, whose life will receive considerably more attention than did Isaac’s. There is a brief mention in verses 6-9 of Esau taking another wife. This time Esau will find a wife from the family line of his own ancestors, probably motivated to please his father given the circumstances that have previously transpired. (For a focused look at the scriptural account of Esau’s wives, see the addendum at the end of these study notes.)

Verse 10 tells us that Jacob has departed from Beersheba and is headed for Haran. As we noted from the journey of Abraham’s servant (Genesis 24), this is a good 400 mile journey. Along the way Jacob has a powerful experience at one of his nightly resting spots. We are not told in advance the name of the place, only that he stopped. While asleep, Jacob has a dream in which he sees a ladder, the bottom of which is set on earth and the top reaching into heaven. Angels are ascending and descending on it, and the Lord is standing above it. The depiction itself is powerful, portraying a place where heaven and earth meet. 

In this dream the Lord communicates promises to Jacob. They reiterate promises made to Abraham and Isaac regarding both descendants and land. The promise is accompanied by an assurance of God’s presence wherever Jacob will go. When he awakens, Jacob expresses the remarkable reality that “the Lord is surely in this place, and I did not know it” (v. 16). He takes the stone he had used as a pillow and sets it up (a “standing stone”) as a pillar. He anoints the stone with oil in order to establish it as a sacred reminder of what he encountered here. Fittingly, he names the place Bethel, meaning “house of the Lord.”

Jacob then expresses something resembling a pending commitment to God (vs. 20-22), anticipating the Lord’s faithfulness, committing the location to be established for the Lord, and committing a tithe of his possessions to the Lord.

Addendum: Esau’s Wives

The record of Esau’s wives in scripture can be confusing. Three locations, all in Genesis, mention these wives. Following is the list with their references:

(Gen. 26:34) Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite

(Gen. 26:34) Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite

(Gen. 28:9) Mahalath, daughter of Ishmael, sister of Nebaioth

(Gen. 36:2) Adah, daughter of Elon the Hittite

(Gen. 36:2) Oholibamah, daughter of Anah, granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite

(Gen. 36:3) Basemath, daughter of Ishmael, sister of Nebaioth

In hopes of resolving some apparent conflict, let us consider where and how these wives are mentioned. The first two on the list, Judith and Basemath, are mentioned together in scripture. They are both listed as daughters of Hittite men, and both become a source of irritation to Isaac and Rebekah. We will call these wives #1 (Judith) and #2 (Basemath).

The next reference is from Genesis 28. Esau has observed that his father has sent Jacob to seek a wife from their own clan, and that the daughters of Canaan displeased Isaac. He is thus motivated to find a wife of his own people. Esau finds a daughter of his great uncle, Ishmael, and marries her. This wife is clearly different than the first two. We shall call her wife #3 (Mahalath). 

Genesis 36 comes to us after Isaac’s death, and begins with a genealogy of Esau’s descendants. It includes the mention of three wives. The question we would immediately ask is, are these wives in addition to the ones previously mentioned (#4, #5, and #6), or are they repeats—or both? To unwind this we can start by remembering that often in scripture people are referenced by different names. Sometimes new names are given to people, and after marriage this could be once such time.

In 36:2 we are told of a wife named Adah. Because she is the “daughter of Elon the Hittite,” I would suggest this is the same wife named Basemath in 26:34. Therefore Adah is actually wife #2. 

Also in 36:2 we are told of a wife named Oholibamah, identified here as the daughter of Hivites. It is a bit less intuitive to draw a connection between this wife and one mentioned previously. Still, and in accord with some scholars, Oholibamah could be the Judith of 26:34. In this case Oholibamah is the same as wife #1

In 36:3 we are told of a wife who is the daughter of Ishmael, sister of Nebaioth. That information is likely the accurate piece we need to discern her identity. Giving her the name Basemath in 36:3 was possibly an accidental switch by the original writer. Thus, the wife of Genesis 36:3 is the same as Mahalath, wife #3. 

The interpretive reasoning with this approach is grounded in the view that Genesis offers two sections of text, each of which tell us of a total of three wives of Esau. The first section is in chapters 26-28, in which we are told that Esau takes two foreign wives and one wife of his own clan (Ishmael’s daughter). The second section of text in chapter 36 also tells us that Esau takes two foreign wives and one wife of his own clan (Ismael’s daughter). Within that framework the details shift (Hittite to Hivite, Judith to Oholibamah, etc.), but the general picture we are given remains consistent.

There are other methods by which scholars have reached different conclusions. No claim to certainty is made here. The explanation offered above is meant only to suggest one possible resolution to the matter.