Genesis 35: The Death of Rachel and Isaac, the Birth of Benjamin, and Incest
Marlowe	01. Genesis, Bible, Old Testament	Abraham, Allonbachuth, Arbah, Asher, Benjamin, Benoni, Bethel, Bethlehem, Bible, Bilhah, Dan, Deborah, Elbethel, Ephrath, Esau, Gad, Genesis, Hebron, Isaac, Israel, Issachar, Jacob, Joseph, Judah, Leah, Levi, Luz, Mamre, Naphtali, Old Testament, Padanaram, Rachel, Rebekah, Reuben, Shechem, Simeon, Tower of Edar, Zebulun, Zilpah	Leave a comment
This is one of those chapters where the authors really want to move on to the next interesting episode, but feel the need to cover a few plot points first. Due to lack of interest, they plough through at an inappropriate speed.
God tells Jacob (who is still being called Jacob for some reason, despite having been renamed in Genesis 32) to go to Bethel and to make an altar to God there. So Jacob instructs his household to "put away the foreign gods that are among you, and purify yourselves" (Gen. 35:2). This raises the question of how many gods are supposed to exist. I realize that the word "gods" in this context probably refers to idols, but there's no indication that they are false idols. It seems far more consistent with the text to interpret God as the tribal god of Jacob's people, one of many gods. Certainly, his frequent reference to a heavenly "we" would suggest this interpretation.
So they take all their gods, as well as their earrings (earrings, according to my study bible, being magical amulets that belonged to foreign idolatry), and bury them under a tree.
Jacob had previously been concerned that the Canaanites would be pretty angry given his sons' slaughter of the Shechemites, so God causes a "terror"to fall upon the cities along their path (Gen. 35:5). Does that make God the original terrorist?
In case, Jacob arrives at Luz – which is called Luz (although there is a note in the text saying that, by Luz, they actually mean Bethel) here, despite being called Bethel earlier in this chapter (Gen. 35:1) and having renamed it Bethel in Genesis 28:19. This is all in addition to the fact that it was simply called Bethel in Genesis 12:8 and 13:3. There is a little note in the text indicating that, by Luz, they actually mean Bethel. So why not just call it Bethel? This, folks, is why you should always get a proofreader when starting a religion!
None of this really matters anyway because Jacob renames the place again to Elbethel (Gen. 35:7).
While they were there, we're told that Rebekah's nurse, Deborah, died.
Renamed… again
God appears to Jacob again and says: "Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name" (Genesis 35:10). Perhaps God felt the need to do this because the name didn't really stick the first time.
God goes into his whole benediction again, telling Jacob that he shall be the father of nations and kings, and he shall have all the land that's been given to Abraham and Isaac. To commemorate the occasion, Jacob (yes, he's still being called Jacob) decides to call the place Bethel.
No, really. I couldn't make this up if I tried.
Rachel dies
The Death of Rachel by Francesco Furini
The household gets back on the road when Rachel goes into labour. The labour is hard, but she's able to name her baby Benoni, or Son of my sorrow. "But his father called his name Benjamin" (Gen. 35:18), or Son of the right hand or Son of the South.
Now, okay, granted that Benjamin is a good deal chipper than Benoni. I'll definitely let Jacob have that. But when your wife dies giving birth to your child and, with her dying breath, tells you what to name him, proper decorum dictates that you keep that name. Seriously.
And the way the episode is presented, with Rachel naming the baby literally with her dying breath, "but his father called his name Benjamin." Just like that. Abrupt, and totally without consideration for his wife's (his favourite wife) wishes.
Jacob, who suddenly switches back to being called Israel, moves on both literally and figuratively.
Oh, also, Reuben totally sleeps with his step-mom Bilhah and Israel hears about it. BAM!
We're given another list of Jacob's wives and kids, with Benjamin included. Then Isaac dies and Esau and Jacob (back to Jacob) bury him.
Genesis 23: Sarah's Death
Marlowe	01. Genesis, Bible, Old Testament	Abraham, Abram, Bible, Canaan, Ephron, Genesis, Hebron, Heth, Hittite, Kiriath Arba, Kirjatharba, Machpelah, Mamre, Old Testament, Sarah, Sarai, Zohar	Leave a comment
Abraham's wife, Sarah, dies at the ripe old age of 127. We get to see Abraham displaying some humanity again as he mourns for her.
Abraham weigheth four hundred shekels of silver for the cave by Gerard Hoet 1728
He then sets about finding a place to bury her. He goes to the Hittites and asks them to give him some property to use as a burial place for his family. The Hittites tell him that he's "a mighty prince among us" (Gen. 23:6) and can have any piece of land he likes. So he asks for a place called Machpelah, currently owned by Ephron, the son of Zohar.
Ephron happens to be there, so he comes forward and tells Abraham that he can have it for free, but Abraham says: "No no no, I couldn't possibly!" and insists that he wants to pay. Finally, Ephron agrees to let him have it for 400 shekels, which Abraham pays.
Abraham now owns a field in Machpelah, with a cave at the end in which he can bury his dead. He buries Sarah in the cave.
This was a pretty short chapter and it really felt like the authors were trying to drag it out with all this "here, take my field!" "No, I couldn't!" "Please, I insist!" "No, no, I couldn't possibly!" It would almost qualify as comedy if it we're a burial place for Abraham's wife they were arguing over…
Genesis 14: The Rescue of Lot
Marlowe	01. Genesis, Bible, Old Testament	Abraham, Abram, Admah, Amalekite, Amorite, Amraphel, Aner, Arioch, Ashteroth Karnaim, Bela, Bera, Bible, Birsha, Chedorlaomer, Damascus, Dan, Elam, Ellasar, Elparan, Emim, Emin, Enmishpat, Eshcol, Genesis, Goi'im, Gomorrah, Ham, Hazezontamar, Hobah, Horite, Kadesh, Lot, Mamre, Melchizedek, Mount Seir, Old Testament, Rephaim, Shaveh, Shaveh Kiriathaim, Shemeber, Shinab, Shinar, Siddim, Sodom, Tidal, Zeboi'im, Zoar, Zuzim	Leave a comment
In this chapter, we get the first of the Old Testament's many wars. It reads like a list of names (which it is), so it manages to be both terribly confusing and terribly boring. I had to read it over a couple names before I could make any sense of what was going on.
The attackers:
Amraphel, king of Shinar
Arioch, king of Ellasar
Chedorlaomer, king of Elam
Tidal, king of Goi'im (the King James Version identifies him instead as the "king of nations")
The attackees:
Bera, king of Sodom
Birsha, king of Gomorrah
Shinab, king of Admah
Shemeber, king of Zeboi'im
The king of Bela (also called Zoar)
For twelve years, the attackees served Chedorlaomer, but they rebelled in the thirteenth year. I would have assumed that this refers to some sort of tribute paying arrangement, and that the rebel cities banded together and refused to pay. My study bible, however, says that "the object of the invasion may have been to secure the trade routes to Egypt and southern Arabia." A Christian source I found online says that it has to do with the people of Sodom being the descendants of Canaan, and therefore condemned to slavery. The rebellion therefore has to do with them attempting "to shake of the yoke."
Another year passes, and then Chedorlaomer and his allies "came and subdued" (Gen. 14:5) the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim (or Emin, as they are called in the KJV) in Shaveh Kiriathaim, and the Horites in Mount Seir. Once they were done with this subduing, they turned around and "came to Enmishpat (that is, Kadesh)" (Gen. 14:7) and set to work subduing the Amalekites and the Amorites.
This is when our rebel kings head out to fight Chedorlaomer and his allies. They meet in the Valley of Siddim and promptly lose. The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, so the enemy took their stuff. They also captured Lot, "and his goods" (Gen. 14:12). It's important that we keep track of Lot's goods, apparently.
Rescuing Lot
Someone escapes from the battlefield and tells Abram about Lot's capture. Abram gets his allies, Mamre the Amorite and his brothers, Eshcol and Aner. We're told that Abram only had 318 men, which is very small for an army. This would make their win very impressive, except that it doesn't say how many men Abram's allies had.
"Then he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his kinsman Lot" (Gen. 14:16). Rescue the goods first, then your kinsmen. Awesome.
Priest of God Most High
Melchizedek and Abram by Caspar Luiken 1712
When Abram returns with his spoils of war, he's met by the king of Sodom and Melchizedek, king of Salem (or Jerusalem) and priest of God Most High. Melchizedek serves bread and wine, and then blesses Abram. As a reward, Abram gives him "a tenth of everything" (Gen. 14:20). What's "everything," exactly? The stuff that had been plundered by the invaders? Is that really Abram's to give away?
The king of Sodom tells Abram that he only wants his people back, and Abram can keep all their possessions. This is rather uncharacteristic for "wicked, great sinners against the Lord" (Gen. 13:13). But Abram refuses, saying that he's "sworn to the Lord God Most High, maker of of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal-thong or anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich'" (Gen. 14:22-23). Bit rude, honestly.
He does let Mamre, Aner, and Eshcol take their share of Sodom's stuff.
Incidentally, I found some rather interesting stuff on Melchizedek while I was looking up this chapter. Apparently, there's a whole lot of Christians out there who think that he's a pre-incarnation of Jesus!