025. XIII. Jacob’s Experiences As A Fugitive
§ XIII. JACOB’S EXPERIENCES AS A FUGITIVE Genesis 28:10-22 a, Genesis 29:1-35, Genesis 30
1. Jehovah’s promise to Jacob and his descendants. Now when Jacob set out from Beersheba, he went toward Haran. And when Jacob arrived at a certain place, he passed the night there, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones which were there, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. Then he dreamed and saw a ladder set up on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and, behold, the Messengers of God were ascending and descending on it. And, behold, Jehovah stood beside him and said, I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham thy father and the God of Isaac. The land upon which thou art lying—to thee will I give it and to thy descendants. And thine offspring shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south, and a blessing like thine and that of thy descendants shall all the families of the earth ask for themselves. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee wherever thou goest, and will bring thee again to this habitable land; for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have promised thee.
2. Origin of the name Bethel. And when Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, Surely Jehovah is in this place, and I knew it not. And he was filled with awe and said, How awful is this place; this is none other than the house of God [Beth-el] and this is the gate of heaven.
3. Origin of sanctuary at Bethel. So Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. Therefore he called the name of that place Bethel [House of God], although the earlier name of the city was Luz. And Jacob made a vow saying, If God will be with me and keep me in this journey which I am making, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, and I come again safe and sound to my father’s house, then shall Jehovah be my God and this stone which I have set up for a pillar, shall be a house of God.
4. Scene at the well in Haran. Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the children of the East. And he looked, and saw a well in the field, and there were three flocks of sheep lying down by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks; but the stone upon the mouth of the well was large. And when all the flocks were gathered here, they used to roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and then put the stone again in its place upon the mouth of the well.
5. Jacob’s conversation with the shepherds. And Jacob said to them, My friends, whence are you? And they said, We are from Haran. Then he said to them, Do you know Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him. And he said to them, Is it well with him? And they said, It is well; indeed, see Rachel his daughter coming there with the sheep. And he said, Behold, the sun is still high! it is not time for the cattle to be gathered together. Water the sheep and let them go to feed. But they said, We cannot until the flocks are gathered together and they roll the stone from the well’s mouth, then we water the sheep.
6. Meeting of Jacob and Rachel. While he was yet speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep; for she was a shepherdess. Now when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother, and Laban’s sheep, he went near and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the flock of Laban, his mother’s brother. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept loudly. And when Jacob told Rachel that he was a kinsman of her father, and that he was Rebekah’s son, she ran and told her father.
7. Jacob’s reception at her house. But as soon as Laban heard the tidings regarding Jacob, his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and embraced and kissed him, and brought him to his house. Then Jacob recounted to Laban all these things. And Laban said to him, Surely you are of my bone and of my flesh. So he remained with him about a month.
8.Agreement to serve Laban for Rachel. Then Laban said to Jacob, Because you are my kinsman should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me what shall be your wages? Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. And Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was beautiful in form and feature. Therefore Jacob loved Rachel and he said, I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter. And Laban said, It is better for me to give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me. So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days, because he loved her.
9. Laban’s deception. Then Jacob said to Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled and let me go in unto her. Accordingly Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast. And it came to pass in the evening that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to him, and Jacob went in unto her. And Laban gave Zilpah his maid-servant to his daughter Leah for a maid. When in the morning he found it was Leah, he said to Laban, What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me? And Laban said, It is not customary among us to give the younger in marriage before the elder. Remain with this one during the marriage week, then we will give to you the other also for the service which you shall render me for seven more years. Therefore Jacob did so: he remained with Leah during the marriage week. Then Laban gave him Rachel his daughter as wife. Laban also gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his maid-servant to be her maid. Then he went in to Rachel, but he loved Rachel more than Leah. Thus he had to serve him seven years more.
10.Birth of Leah’s children; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah. When Jehovah saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb; Rachel, however, was barren. Accordingly Leah conceived and bore a son whom she named Reuben [Behold a son]; for she said, Jehovah hath beheld my affliction; now my husband will love me. And she conceived again and bore a son; and said, Because Jehovah hath heard that I am hated, he hath therefore given me this one also; hence she called his name Simeon [Hearing]. And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, Now this time will my husband become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons: therefore his name was called Levi [Attached]. And she conceived again, and bore a son, and said, This time will I praise Jehovah: therefore she called his name Judah [Praise]; then she ceased to bear children.
11. ByZilpah:Gad andAsher. When Leah saw that she had ceased to bear children, she took Zilpah her maid-servant and gave her to Jacob as a wife. And Zilpah Leah’s maid-servant bore Jacob a son. And Leah said, Fortunate am I! therefore she called his name Gad [Fortune]. And Zilpah Leah’s maid-servant bore Jacob a second son. And Leah said, Happy am I! for women are sure to call me happy; therefore she called his name Asher [Happy].
12. Rachel’s children by Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali. And when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel was jealous of her sister, and said to Jacob, Give me children or else I die. But Jacob’s anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, Am I in God’s stead? Who hath withheld offspring from thee? And she said, Here is my maid Bilhah, go in unto her, that she may bear upon my knees and I also may obtain children by her. And so she gave him Bilhah her maid for a wife, and Jacob went in unto her. And when Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son, Rachel said, God hath judged me and hath also heard my voice and hath given me a son. Therefore she called his name Dan [He judged]. And Bilhah Rachel’s maid conceived again, and bore Jacob a second son. And Rachel said, With superhuman wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and have prevailed; therefore she called his name Naphtali [Obtained by wrestling].
13. Leah’s later children: Issachar and Zebulun. And God heard Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. Then Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I gave my maid to my husband; therefore she called his name Issachar [There is a hire]. And Leah conceived again, and bore a sixth son to Jacob. And Leah said, God hath endowed me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun [Dwelling]. And afterwards she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah.
14.Birth of Rachel’s son, Joseph. And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. So she conceived and bore a son and said, God hath taken away my reproach. And she called his name Joseph [He will add], saying, Jehovah will add to me another son.
15.The contract between Jacob and Laban. Now when Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, Send me away, that I may go to my own place, and to my country. But Laban said to him, If now I have found favor in your eyes—I have divined that Jehovah hath blessed me for your sake. And Jacob answered him, You know how I have served you, and what your cattle have become under my charge, for it was little which you had before I came, but now it has greatly increased, since Jehovah hath blessed you wherever I went. But now, when am I to provide for my own house as well? Then 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 your flock: remove from it every speckled and spotted one; then whatever is born to the flock henceforth speckled or spotted shall be mine. And Laban said, Good, let it be as you say. So he removed that day the he-goats that were striped and spotted, and all the she-goats that were striped and spotted, every one that had white on it, and gave them into the hands of his sons. Then he put the distance of a three days’ journey between himself and Jacob; and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.
16. Jacob’s crafty trick. Now Jacob took fresh rods of white poplar, and of the almond and of the plane tree, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white which was in the rods. And he set the rods which he had peeled before the flocks in the watering-troughs, where the flocks came to drink (and they conceived when they came to drink), so that the flocks conceived before the rods. Therefore the flocks brought forth striped, speckled and spotted offspring. And whenever the stronger animals of the flock conceived, Jacob laid the rods in the troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might conceive among the rods. But when the animals were weak, he put them not in; so that the weaker ones were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s. Thus the man increased in wealth exceedingly, and had large flocks, and maidservants and men-servants, and camels and asses.
I. The Divine Promise. The late priestly narrative (Genesis 35:6; Genesis 35:9-15) and Hosea (Hosea 12:4) place the divine revelation and promises to Jacob after his return from Aram. This may have been its original position, for the promises come more naturally after he has learned in the hard school of experience the lessons which were necessary for his development. On the other hand, the representation that God appeared to him at the time of his greatest spiritual need also rings true to the teachings of the prophets. Both the Judean and Northern Israelite narratives (which have been closely blended) agree in placing the vision on Jacob’s journey to Haran.
II.The Vision at Bethel. About ten miles north of Jerusalem, a little to the right of the great highway that leads from Hebron and Jerusalem northward to Shechem and on to Damascus, are found the ruins of the ancient sanctuary of Bethel. It is on a slight limestone elevation, strewn with rocks. Here the Hebrews revered the sacred rock on which, according to their traditions, Jacob pillowed his head, as he dreamed of the ladder leading up to the abode of God and of the divine messengers passing back and forth from earth to heaven. There the fugitive, paying the bitter penalty for his meanness and treachery, yet craving a revelation from heaven, was given anew the promise already proclaimed to Abraham (§ VII). To this was added the assurance of God’s personal care and protection.
According to Hebrew tradition, it was because God (El) revealed himself here to Jacob that Bethel received its name and became a famous sanctuary. The belief that the spirit of the Deity resided in certain sacred stones was widely current among early peoples. Many stone circles or gilgals and pillars at temple sites, as, for example, those recently discovered in the ruins of Gezer, testify that the ancient inhabitants of Palestine shared the same belief. The Old Testament also refers frequently to these sacred stones or pillars that stood beside every ancient altar. At first only rude bowlders, they were in time carved into artistic pillars (cf. Hosea 10:1). The present story gives the accepted explanation of the sanctity of the pillar that stood beside the altar of Bethel. The reformation of Josiah in 621 B.C. made all of these high-places, with their heathen symbols and associations, illegal, but the present story evidently comes from the early period, when sacred pillars were still regarded as perfectly legitimate.
III.The Wooing and Winning of Rachel. The scene at the well near Haran is repeated many times in Arabia to-day, except that few sons of the desert manifest the same chivalrous zeal in serving the modern Rachels. Jacob’s kisses and tears are characteristic of the emotional Oriental. Even the crafty Laban embraced and kissed the stranger; but in the heart of Jacob was stirring a love which mastered even the selfish schemer. By his services for seven years, practically as a slave, Jacob paid the bride-price which every oriental father demands. The custom still survives in Syria. The length of the service or the amount of the bride-price is proportionate to the wealth and position of the parents. The cruel deception, of which Jacob was the victim, was a further retribution for the atrocious deceit which he had practised upon his father and brother. Laban’s excuse, however, did not palliate his act Like most of the dealings between him and Jacob, it was justified by custom but not by moral law.
IV.Jacob’s Family. In connection with the account of the birth of Jacob’s eleven sons the popular derivation of their names is given. Apparently the stories grew out of the meaning suggested by each name. In nearly every case the etymology is based simply on assonance and not on the real derivation. The picture which these early prophetic stories give of Jacob’s home life is far from attractive. The polygamy that was forced upon him and the resulting favoritism and jealousy are but the after fruits of his own deceit and treachery. The early prophets make no attempt to conceal the hideousness of it all, for therein was taught most forcibly its obvious moral lessons.
V.His Dealings with Laban. The original story-tellers doubtless took a certain delight in the account of the shrewd dealings between Jacob and Laban. They reflect the low ethics of the desert where “a lie is the salt of a man,” and successful knavery is secretly more admired than plain honesty. It is a case of Shylock versus Shylock, of steel cutting steel: Laban is sharp and unprincipled, but Jacob is able to surpass him in the game of wits. Laban readily agrees that Jacob’s pay shall consist simply of the young sheep and goats abnormally marked. By the use of a device well known to cattle-breeders in antiquity (cf. Oppian, Kynegetica, I. 327-356), Jacob so contrives that all the strong offspring of the flock become his by legal although not by moral right. His entire life at Haran is a strange mixture of faith and selfishness, of chivalry and meanness, of true affection and jealousy, of faithful service and trickery.
VI.Historical Significance of the Stories. The marvellous simplicity of these stories deepens the impression that the hero was an individual rather than the representative of a race. A careful analysis, however, reveals much that is typical of the character and experiences of early Israel. The twelve sons of Jacob are in reality the twelve tribes which were first brought together and united under a common head in the days of Saul and David. To them Jacob was their common traditional ancestor. These stories were therefore important forces in Israel’s national life, for they gave all members of the various composite tribes, that finally coalesced, the sense of blood-kinship as well as of political unity. The tribes whose ancestry is traced to Jacob are divided into three classes, according to the relative dates when they settled in Palestine, their importance and the purity of their descent. These classes include: (1) the descendants of the favorite wife, Rachel. These were Joseph and the youngest son, Benjamin. The two traditional sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, were the powerful tribes of central Canaan which play the leading role in early Hebrew history. (2) The sons of the hated wife Leah—Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun—tribes that stand next in importance, in purity of blood and in final geographical position to the Rachel tribes. Of these Leah tribes the first four, which found homes in the south, constitute the earlier group. (3) The four sons of the slave wives, Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher, the outlying tribes which contained the largest native Canaanite element, and were never very strong or closely assimilated with the other Hebrew tribes.
Thus tradition has woven into these stories the facts of later history which it also seeks to explain. The account of the shrewd dealings between Laban and Jacob doubtless reflect the bitter conflict waged for over two centuries after the days of David, in the public markets and on the battle-field, between the Arameans and the Israelites.
VII.Aim and Teachings. The aims of the original narratives were evidently, (1) to trace the origin of the name and sanctuary of Bethel, (2) to reassert Israel’s divine destiny, (3) to emphasize the purity of its Aramean origin, and (4) to establish the popular belief that all the Hebrew tribes were of one blood. These stories were also of interest to the prophets because they illustrated certain universal and distinctly religious truths. The experiences of Jacob emphasize the supreme fact that: (1) The divine love and pity follow even the fugitive who flees, pursued by his own crimes. (2) In the most discouraging environment and in the saddest moments of life come the most glorious revelations. (3) Heaven and God himself are very near the earth, and the way of communication is close and direct. (4) Strong, pure love can evoke devoted service even from a mean man. (5) The consequences of a man’s base acts pursue him wherever he may go, affecting his own fortunes and the happiness of all connected with him.
1.Reasons for the departure from Aram. Now Jacob heard Laban’s sons say, Jacob has taken all that was our father’s, and from that which was our father’s he has acquired all these riches. And Jehovah said to Jacob, Return to the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred, and I will be with thee.
2. The escape. Then Jacob arose and set his sons and his wives upon the camels, and drove away all his cattle. And while Laban was gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole the household gods that were her father’s. So he fled with all that he had, and set out on his way toward Mount Gilead.
3. Laban’s charge. Then Laban took his tribesmen with him, and pursued after Jacob seven days’ journey, and overtook him in Mount Gilead. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountain; and Laban with his tribesmen encamped in Mount Gilead. And Laban said to Jacob, Why did you flee secretly, stealing away from me without telling me, else I might have sent you away with mirth and with songs, with tambourine and with harp. But now since you are surely going, because you long so earnestly for your father’s house, why have you stolen my gods? And Jacob said to him, The one with whom you find your gods shall not live; in the presence of our kinsmen investigate for yourself what is with me and take it. Jacob, however, did not know that Rachel had stolen them. So Laban went into Jacob’s tent and into Leah’s, and into the tent of the two maid-servants, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent, and entered Rachel’s. Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in the camel’s saddle and was sitting upon them, so that when Laban had searched all about the tent, he did not find them. And she said to her father, Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is upon me. And he searched thoroughly, but did not find the household gods.
4. Jacob’s encounter protest. Then Jacob was angry and brought a charge against Laban; and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass ? what is my sin, that you have pursued hotly after me? Although you have searched all my goods, what have you found of all your household possessions? Declare it here before my kinsmen and yours, that they may decide which of us two is in the right. These twenty years have I been with you; your ewes and she-goats have not cast their young, neither did I eat the rams of your flocks. That which was torn of beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it myself; from my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. Thus I was: in the day the drought consumed me, and by night the frost, and my sleep fled from my eyes.
5 The covenant between Laban and Jacob. Then Laban answered, Come, let us make a covenant, I and you, and let there be a witness between me and you. Therefore Jacob said to the members of his family, Gather stones. And when they had taken stones and made a heap, they ate there by the heap. And Laban called it Jegar-saha-dutha [Heap of witness]; but Jacob called it Galeed [Heap of witness]. And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and you to-day. Therefore he called it Galeed. Moreover Laban said to Jacob, Behold, this heap, which I have set between me and you, is a witness that I will not pass over this heap to you, and that you shall not pass over this heap to me, for harm. The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor (the God of their ancestors) judge between us.
6.Jacob’s message to Esau. And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother to the land of Seir, the territory of Edom. And he commanded them saying, Speak thus to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, “I have prolonged my sojourn with Laban until now, and I have oxen and asses, flocks and men-servants, and maid-servants, and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.”’ And the messengers returned to Jacob saying, We came to your brother Esau, even as he was coming to meet you with four hundred men.
7.His present to Esau. Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. And he took from that which he had with him a present for Esau his brother: two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty milch camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty she- asses and ten foals. And he delivered them into the hands of his servants, each drove by itself, and said to his servants, Pass over before me, and leave a space between the droves. And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meets you and asks you saying, ‘To whom do you belong? and where are you going? and whose are these before you?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Jacob’s; it is a present sent to my lord Esau; and he himself is just behind us.’ Thus he commanded also the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, In this manner shall you speak to Esau, when you find him, and you shall say, ‘Moreover thy servant Jacob is just behind us.’ (For he said to himself, ‘I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and not until then will I see his face; perhaps he will receive me.) So the present passed over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.
8.Crossing the Jabbok. Then he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two maid-servants, and his eleven children, and sent them over the ford of the Jabbok.
9.The long struggle and the divine blessing. Jacob was left alone, and one wrestled with him until break of day. And when he saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he smote the hollow of his thigh and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was strained, as he wrestled with him. Then he said, Let me go, for the day is breaking. But Jacob replied, I will not let thee go except thou bless me. And he said to him, What is thy name? And he replied, Jacob. Then he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel [God’s struggler]; for thou hast struggled with God and with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked him, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Why is it that thou dost ask my name? So he blessed him there.
10. Sanctity of the hip muscle. But the sun rose as soon as he had passed beyond Penuel, and he limped upon his thigh. This is why to this day the Israelites do not eat the hip muscle, which is at the hollow of the thigh, for he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh on the hip muscle.
11.Meeting of the two brothers. And when Jacob lifted up his eyes he saw Esau coming with four hundred men. Then he apportioned the children to Leah and to Rachel, and to the two maid-servants. And he put the maid-servants and their children in front, and Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. Then he himself passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him, and they wept. When he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children, he said, Who are these with you? And he answered, The children whom God hath graciously given your servant. Then the maid-servants together with their children approached, and bowed themselves. Leah also and her children approached, and bowed themselves, and afterwards Joseph and Rachel approached, and bowed themselves.
12. Jacob’s present to Esau. And Esau said, What do you mean by all this company which I met? And Jacob replied, To find favor in the sight of my lord. And Esau said, I have plenty, my brother; keep what you have. But Jacob replied, Nay, I pray you, if now I have found favor in your sight, receive my offering from my hand; for I have looked upon your face as one looks upon the face of God, and you have regarded me favorably. Take, I pray you, my gift that is brought to you, because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. Thus he urged him importunately until he took it.
13.The peaceful parting. Then Esau said, Let us set out and go on our way, and let me go before you. But he replied to him, My lord knows that the children are tender, and that I have flocks and herds with their young; and if they overdrive them one day all the flocks will die. Let my lord, I pray you, pass over before his servant, and I will proceed leisurely according as the cattle which I am driving, and the children are able to endure, until I come to my lord at Seir. Then Esau said, Let me at least leave with you some of the people who are with me. But Jacob replied, What need is there? let me only find favor in the sight of my lord. So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir.
14. Jacob at Succoth and Sheehem. But Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built there a house for himself, and made huts for his cattle; therefore the name of the place is called Succoth [Huts]. Then Jacob came in peace to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and encamped before the city. And he bought the piece of ground where he pitched his tent, from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for four hundred shekels; and he erected there an altar and called it El, God of Israel.