Review:

• Genesis 12-37 - Matthew 1:1-2 - 1 An account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:
• Abraham fathered Isaac,

Isaac fathered Jacob,
Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers,[1]

• Genesis 37 - Joseph sold into slavery by his brothers
• Genesis 38 - Matthew 1:3a – 3 Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar,[2]
• The central problem with which the chapter deals is childlessness.
• The events of the chapter must span at least 20 years, probably during which Joseph was lost to his family.
• One gets the distinct impression that ever since the Dinah incident (ch. 34) Jacob has less and less control over his family's behavior.
  
  

GENESIS 39:1-20
1 Now Joseph had been taken to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the guards, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving in the household of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he did successful, 4 Joseph found favor with his master and became his personal attendant.

• Joseph put in charge of a little. – go-for
• Joseph proved faithful in the little.

Potiphar also put him in charge of his household and placed all that he owned under his authority. 5 From the time that he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house because of Joseph. The Lord’s blessing was on all that he owned, in his house and in his fields. 6 He left all that he owned under Joseph’s authority; he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
Now Joseph was well-built and handsome.

• Son of Rachel – in his mid 20’s

7 After some time his master’s wife looked longingly at Joseph and said, “Sleep with me.”
8 But he refused. “Look,” he said to his master’s wife, “with me here my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has put all that he owns under my authority. 9 No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do this immense evil, and how could I sin against God?”
10 Although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her. 11 Now one day he went into the house to do his work, and none of the household servants were there. 12 She grabbed him by his garment and said, “Sleep with me!” But leaving his garment in her hand, he escaped and ran outside.

• The typical male clothing in patriarchal times consisted of mid-calf-length shorts and a tunic that resembled a long tee-shirt (cf. 3:21; 37:3).
• Success in temptation depends more on character than on circumstances.
• Character rests on commitment to the will of God.
• We can see Joseph's character in his loyalty to Potiphar with regard to what his master had entrusted to his care (v. 9).
• We also see it in his responsibility to God for what belonged to someone else (v. 9).
• It is further obvious in his responsibility to God respecting his special personal calling (37:5-9; 45:5-9).
• Additionally we see it in his responsibility to God concerning his sacred vocation as a member of the house of Israel.

13 When she saw that he had left his garment with her and had run outside, 14 she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “my husband brought a Hebrew man to make fools of us. He came to me so he could sleep with me, and I screamed as loud as I could. 15 When he heard me screaming for help, he left his garment beside me and ran outside.”
16 She put Joseph’s garment beside her until his master came home. 17 Then she told him the same story: “The Hebrew slave you brought to us came to make a fool of me, 18 but when I screamed for help, he left his garment beside me and ran outside.”
19 When his master heard the story his wife told him—“These are the things your slave did to me”—he was furious 20 and had him thrown into prison, where the king’s prisoners were confined. So Joseph was there in prison.[3]
 
JOSEPH IN PRISON
21 But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him. He granted him favor with the prison warden. 22 The warden put all the prisoners who were in the prison under Joseph’s authority, and he was responsible for everything that was done there. 23 The warden did not bother with anything under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him, and the Lord made everything that he did successful.[4]
 
JOSEPH INTERPRETS TWO PRISONERS’ DREAMS
GENESIS 40

• Pharoah (King of Egypt) got mad at his cup bearer and baker and had them put in prison where Joseph was.
• Joseph was assigned as their attendant for some time.
• The cupbearer and baker had dreams on the same night.
• Joseph told them the interpretation of their dreams come from God and they told him their dreams.
• The cupbearer’s dream was about a vine with 3 branches that produced grapes.
• The cupbearer squeezed the grapes into Pharoh’s cup and handed it to him.
• Joseph told him that Pharoah would restore him to his position in 3 days and he would hand him his wine.
• Joseph asked the cupbearer to remember him for this positive message because he didn’t belong there.
• The baker told Joseph his dream of 3 baskets of bread on his head the birds ate them.
• Joseph told the baker that Pharoah would hang him in 3 days and the birds would eat the flesh from his body.

20 On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he gave a feast for all his servants. He elevated the chief cupbearer and the chief baker among his servants. 21 Pharaoh restored the chief cupbearer to his position as cupbearer, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. 22 But Pharaoh hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had explained to them. 23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.[5]
 
JOSEPH INTERPRETS PHARAOH’S DREAMS
GENESIS 41
1 At the end of two years Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile, 2 when seven healthy-looking, well-fed cows came up from the Nile and began to graze among the reeds. 3 After them, seven other cows, sickly and thin, came up from the Nile and stood beside those cows along the bank of the Nile. 4 The sickly, thin cows ate the healthy, well-fed cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. 5 He fell asleep and dreamed a second time: Seven heads of grain, plump and good, came up on one stalk. 6 After them, seven heads of grain, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up. 7 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven plump, full ones. Then Pharaoh woke up, and it was only a dream.

• The next morning, no one Pharoh’s court could interpret his dreams.
• Then the cupbearer finally remembered Joseph and told Pharoah about Joseph interpret his and the baker’s dreams and he was spot on in his interpretations.

14 Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and they quickly brought him from the dungeon., He shaved, changed his clothes, and went to Pharaoh.
15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said about you that you can hear a dream and interpret it.”
16 “I am not able to,” Joseph answered Pharaoh. “It is God who will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”,

• Pharoah tells Joseph both of his dreams and explains that no one could interpret the dreams for him.

25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams mean the same thing. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years. The dreams mean the same thing. 27 The seven thin, sickly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind are seven years of famine.
28 “It is just as I told Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt. 30 After them, seven years of famine will take place, and all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. The famine will devastate the land. 31 The abundance in the land will not be remembered because of the famine that follows it, for the famine will be very severe. 32 Since the dream was given twice to Pharaoh, it means that the matter has been determined by God, and he will carry it out soon.
33 “So now, let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh do this: Let him appoint overseers over the land and take a fifth of the harvest of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35 Let them gather all the excess food during these good years that are coming. Under Pharaoh’s authority, store the grain in the cities, so they may preserve it as food. 36 The food will be a reserve for the land during the seven years of famine that will take place in the land of Egypt. Then the country will not be wiped out by the famine.”[6]
 
JOSEPH EXALTED
37 The proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants, 38 and he said to them, “Can we find anyone like this, a man who has God’s spirit in him?”

• "It can hardly be accidental that in all of Genesis only Joseph is described as one who is filled with the Spirit of God."

39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as discerning and wise as you are. 40 You will be over my house, and all my people will obey your commands., Only I, as king, will be greater than you.” 41 Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “See, I am placing you over all the land of Egypt.” 42 Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, clothed him with fine linen garments, and placed a gold chain around his neck. 43 He had Joseph ride in his second chariot, and servants called out before him, “Make way!” So he placed him over all the land of Egypt. 44 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh and no one will be able to raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt without your permission.”[7]

• Pharaoh gave Joseph a wife and freedom to roam Egypt.
• Joseph began his illustrious career at the age of 30.
• Interestingly, Jesus was "about 30 years old" when He began His public ministry (Luke 3:23).
• This is only one of many similarities between Joseph's life and Jesus' life.
• By accepting Joseph's interpretation of his dreams and his advice, Pharaoh chose to humble himself under Joseph's God.
• God rewarded this humility by preserving the land of Egypt during the coming famine.
• Joseph proceed with his plan and for 7 years of abundance he stored food in all the cities of Egypt.
• They couldn’t even measure it because it was so great.
• During this 7 years of harvest, Joseph had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
• Then 7 years of famine came to Egypt and the people pleaded with Pharoah who quickly pointed them to Joseph.
• Joseph opened the storehouses and sold grain to all of Egypt and lands around because the famine was severe.

 
JOSEPH’S BROTHERS IN EGYPT
GENESIS 42
1 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you keep looking at each other? 2 Listen,” he went on, “I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us so that we will live and not die.” 3 So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he thought, “Something might happen to him.”
5 The sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, for the famine was in the land of Canaan. 6 Joseph was in charge of the country; he sold grain to all its people. His brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the ground. 7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke harshly to them.
“Where do you come from?” he asked.
“From the land of Canaan to buy food,” they replied.
8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.

• Twenty-one years after his brothers sold Joseph into slavery, they "bowed down to him with their faces to the ground," in fulfillment of his youthful dreams 

9 Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies. You have come to see the weakness of the land.”
10 “No, my lord. Your servants have come to buy food,” they said. 11 “We are all sons of one man. We are honest; your servants are not spies.”
12 “No,” he said to them. “You have come to see the weakness of the land.”
13 But they replied, “We, your servants, were twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no longer living.”
14 Then Joseph said to them, “I have spoken: ‘You are spies!’ 15 This is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one from among you to get your brother. The rest of you will be imprisoned so that your words can be tested to see if they are true. If they are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” 17 So Joseph imprisoned them together for three days.
18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “I fear God—do this and you will live. 19 If you are honest, let one of you be confined to the guardhouse, while the rest of you go and take grain to relieve the hunger of your households. 20 Bring your youngest brother to me so that your words can be confirmed; then you won’t die.” And they consented to this.
21 Then they said to each other, “Obviously, we are being punished for what we did to our brother. We saw his deep distress when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this trouble has come to us.”
22 But Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to harm the boy? But you wouldn’t listen. Now we must account for his blood!”
23 They did not realize that Joseph understood them, since there was an interpreter between them. 24 He turned away from them and wept. When he turned back and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and had him bound before their eyes. 25 Joseph then gave orders to fill their containers with grain, return each man’s silver to his sack, and give them provisions for their journey. This order was carried out. 26 They loaded the grain on their donkeys and left there.
 
THE BROTHERS RETURN HOME
27 At the place where they lodged for the night, one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver there at the top of his bag. 28 He said to his brothers, “My silver has been returned! It’s here in my bag.” Their hearts sank. Trembling, they turned to one another and said, “What has God done to us?”

• The brothers returned to Jacob and told him everything Joseph had said to them.

35 As they began emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his bag of silver! When they and their father saw their bags of silver, they were afraid.
36 Their father Jacob said to them, “It’s me that you make childless. Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything happens to me!”

• Each time Jacob's sons had left home, they returned with more money—but minus a brother.
• Did Jacob think they had sold Simeon?

37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You can kill my two sons if I don’t bring him back to you. Put him in my care, and I will return him to you.”
38 But Jacob answered, “My son will not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. If anything happens to him on your journey, you will bring my gray hairs down to Sheol in sorrow.”[8]

• This story is about repentance.
• Repentance is still necessary for today.
• Repentance is the changing of the mind about something.
• God leads us to repentance through his kindness.
• Romans 2:4

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Mt 1:1–2.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Mt 1:3.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 39:1–20.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 39:21–23.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 40:1–23.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 41:1–36.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 41:37–57.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 42:1–38.

Review:

• Abraham and Sarah
• Isaac (& Ishmael) and Rebekah (Laban’s sister)
• Jacob (& Esau)
  
  

GENESIS 33:18-20
18 After Jacob came from Paddan-aram, he arrived safely at Shechem in the land of Canaan and camped in front of the city. 19 He purchased a section of the field where he had pitched his tent from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of silver., 20 And he set up an altar there and called it God, the God of Israel.[1]
 
GENESIS 34

• Dinah was the daughter of Jacob & Leah
• She went out to visit her girlfriends.
• Shechem, son of Hamor (Chiefton of the region), raped Leah.
• Then he wanted her as his wife.
• He loved her and spoke tenderly to her.
• Jacob (father) heard about Dinah being raped but his sons (her brothers) were in the fields with the flocks.
• Jacob remained quiet.
• Hamor came to talk to Jacob.
• The sons returned home and found out Dinah was raped.
• Shecham (a Canaanite) had violated Jacob and Israel.
• Hamor pleaded with Jacob and his sons to let Shecham take Dinah as his wife and offered him to blend his family with the Canaanites.
• Intermarry and let our families grow together.
• Shecham is there and pleads also and offers whatever the brothers want for Dinah.
• The sons plotted, “We cannot give our sister to an uncircumcised man. This is a disgrace.”
• If all y’all get circumcised, then we can live with you and intermarry.
• Hamor and Shechem immediately agreed and went to the city gate to share the good news with the men.
• What were the men going to get out of it?
• They were going to intermarry and inherit Jacob’s flocks and possessions.
• So they all got circumcised.
• On the 3rd day after the mass circumcision, Jacob’s sons (rather Dinah’s brothers) came in and slaughtered Hamor, Shechem, and all the males and then plundered all their possessions.
• They went from house to house.
• Jacob did not know the plan and told them they had brought oncoming harm to their family.

 
GENESIS 35
1 God said to Jacob, “Get up! Go to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”
2 So Jacob said to his family and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your clothes. 3 We must get up and go to Bethel. I will build an altar there to the God who answered me in my day of distress. He has been with me everywhere I have gone.”
4 Then they gave Jacob all their foreign gods and their earrings, and Jacob hid them under the oak near Shechem. 5 When they set out, a terror from God came over the cities around them, and they did not pursue Jacob’s sons. 6 So Jacob and all who were with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. 7 Jacob built an altar there and called the place El-bethel because it was there that God had revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
8 Deborah, the one who had nursed and raised Rebekah,, died and was buried under the oak south of Bethel. So Jacob named it Allon-bacuth.
9 God appeared to Jacob again after he returned from Paddan-aram, and he blessed him. 10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; you will no longer be named Jacob, but your name will be Israel.” So he named him Israel. 11 God also said to him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation, indeed an assembly of nations, will come from you, and kings will descend from you., 12 I will give to you the land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac. And I will give the land to your future descendants.” 13 Then God withdrew, from him at the place where he had spoken to him.
14 Jacob set up a marker at the place where he had spoken to him—a stone marker. He poured a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. 15 Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.
 
RACHEL’S DEATH
16 They set out from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth, and her labor was difficult. 17 During her difficult labor, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you have another son.” 18 With her last breath—for she was dying—she named him Ben-oni, but his father called him Benjamin. 19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 Jacob set up a marker on her grave; it is the marker at Rachel’s grave still today. [2]
 
This is an almost undisputed site. Jews, Moslems and Christians all agree that here Rachel was entombed. The pillar Jacob set up has long since disappeared, but some mark has marked the spot for thirty-six hundred years. The pillar was still there when Moses wrote the narrative in the Book of Genesis. It has long since been swept away; but thirty centuries of sorrow and suffering have not been able to sweep away the memory of it from the hearts of Rachel's posterity. The "Sepulchre of Rachel" is a modern building, a small dome surmounting a square chamber at one end, and nothing particular in form or material in any part of it. It measures twenty-three feet on each side. The height of the wall is twenty feet and the dome is ten feet high. The eastern chamber is twenty-three feet long by thirteen feet broad. The inner chambers are used by the Jews, who meet here every Friday to pray.
 
-Video of present Rachel’s Tomb
 
21 Israel set out again and pitched his tent beyond the Tower of Eder. 22 While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it.
Jacob had twelve sons:
23 Leah’s sons were Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn),
Simeon, Levi, Judah,
Issachar, and Zebulun.
24 Rachel’s sons were
Joseph and Benjamin.
25 The sons of Rachel’s slave Bilhah
were Dan and Naphtali.
26 The sons of Leah’s slave Zilpah
were Gad and Asher.
These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan-aram.
 
ISAAC’S DEATH
27 Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. 28 Isaac lived 180 years. 29 He took his last breath and died, and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.[3]
 
GENESIS 36
1 These are the family records of Esau (that is, Edom). 2 Esau took his wives from the Canaanite women:[4]
 
6 Esau took his wives, sons, daughters, and all the people of his household, as well as his herds, all his livestock, and all the property he had acquired in Canaan; he went to a land away from his brother Jacob. 7 For their possessions were too many for them to live together, and because of their herds, the land where they stayed could not support them. 8 So Esau (that is, Edom) lived in the mountains of Seir.
9 These are the family records of Esau, father of the Edomites in the mountains of Seir.[5]
 
43 Esau was father of the Edomites. [6]
 
JOSEPH’S DREAMS
GENESIS 37
1 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. 2 These are the family records of Jacob.
At seventeen years of age, Joseph tended sheep with his brothers. The young man was working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought a bad report about them to their father.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons because Joseph was a son born to him in his old age, and he made a long-sleeved robe for him. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not bring themselves to speak peaceably to him.
5 Then Joseph had a dream. When he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 There we were, binding sheaves of grain in the field. Suddenly my sheaf stood up, and your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.”
8 “Are you really going to reign over us?” his brothers asked him. “Are you really going to rule us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream and what he had said.
9 Then he had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun, moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
10 He told his father and brothers, and his father rebuked him. “What kind of dream is this that you have had?” he said. “Am I and your mother and your brothers really going to come and bow down to the ground before you?” 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
JOSEPH SOLD INTO SLAVERY
12 His brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem. 13 Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers, you know, are pasturing the flocks at Shechem. Get ready. I’m sending you to them.”
“I’m ready,” Joseph replied.
14 Then Israel said to him, “Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are doing, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the Hebron Valley, and he went to Shechem.
15 A man found him there, wandering in the field, and asked him, “What are you looking for?”
16 “I’m looking for my brothers,” Joseph said. “Can you tell me where they are pasturing their flocks?”
17 “They’ve moved on from here,” the man said. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph set out after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
18 They saw him in the distance, and before he had reached them, they plotted to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Oh, look, here comes that dream expert! 20 So now, come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal ate him. Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”
21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from them. He said, “Let’s not take his life.” 22 Reuben also said to them, “Don’t shed blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him”—intending to rescue him from them and return him to his father.
23 When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped off Joseph’s robe, the long-sleeved robe that he had on. 24 Then they took him and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty, without water.
25 They sat down to eat a meal, and when they looked up, there was a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying aromatic gum, balsam, and resin, going down to Egypt.
26 Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come on, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh,” and his brothers agreed. 28 When Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took Joseph to Egypt.
29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. 30 He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone! What am I going to do?” 31 So they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the robe in its blood. 32 They sent the long-sleeved robe to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it. Is it your son’s robe or not?”
33 His father recognized it. “It is my son’s robe,” he said. “A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has been torn to pieces!” 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said. “I will go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” And his father wept for him.
36 Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the guards.[7]

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 33:18–20.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 35:1–20.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 35:21–29.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 36:1–2.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 36:6–9.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 36:43.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 37:1–36.

Review:

• Abraham and Sarah
• Isaac (& Ishmael) and Rebekah (Laban’s sister)
• Jacob (& Esau)
• Map

 
GENESIS 28:6-9

• Jacob was instructed not to marry a Canaanite woman.
• Esau went to Jordan area and married Ishamel’s daughter.

GENESIS 28:10-22
10 Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11 He reached a certain place and spent the night there because the sun had set. He took one of the stones from the place, put it there at his head, and lay down in that place. 12 And he dreamed: A stairway was set on the ground with its top reaching the sky, and God’s angels were going up and down on it. 13 The Lord was standing there beside him, saying, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your offspring the land on which you are lying. 14 Your offspring will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out toward the west, the east, the north, and the south. All the peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 Look, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven.”
18 Early in the morning Jacob took the stone that was near his head and set it up as a marker. He poured oil on top of it 19 and named the place Bethel, though previously the city was named Luz. 20 Then Jacob made a vow: “If God will be with me and watch over me during this journey I’m making, if he provides me with food to eat and clothing to wear, 21 and if I return safely to my father’s family, then the Lord will be my God. 22 This stone that I have set up as a marker will be God’s house, and I will give to you a tenth of all that you give me.[1]
 
GENESIS 29:1-30

• Jacob goes to Haran and comes to a well in the field.
• Men who know Laban speak to Jacob and point to Rachel who is coming to feed Laban’s sheep.
• Jacob rolls the stone away from the well and waters Laban’s sheep for Rachel and then kisses her.
• Jacob weeps loudly and shares with Rachel that he is Rebekah’s son. (Laban’s nephew).
• Laban runs to greet Jacob.
• Jacob lives and works there for a month.
• Laban has two daughters, Leah and Rebekah.
• “Leah had tender eyes, but Rachel was shapely and beautiful.”[2] (Genesis 29:17)
• Jacob offered to work for Laban for 7 years to be able to marry Rachel.
• 7 years seemed like days to Jacob.
• Jacob requested to sleep with Rachel.
• A wedding feast was had… wine served.
• Laban led Leah into the bed of Jacob.
• When he awoke, he realized it was Leah.
• Laban told him if he stayed and worked another 7 years, he would give Rachel to him that week.
• Jacob agreed and also married Rachel.
• Laban gave both Leah and Rachel slaves as their own.

GENESIS 29:31-35
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was neglected, he opened her womb; but Rachel was unable to conceive. 32 Leah conceived, gave birth to a son, and named him Reuben, for she said, “The Lord has seen my affliction; surely my husband will love me now.”
33 She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “The Lord heard that I am neglected and has given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon.
34 She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “At last, my husband will become attached to me because I have borne three sons for him.” Therefore he was named Levi.
35 And she conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him Judah. Then Leah stopped having children.[3]
 
GENESIS 30:1-24

• This similar scene unfolds for years to come.

Here's the count:

• Jacob & Leah – Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah
• Jacob & Bilhah (Rachel’s slave) – Dan, Naphtali
• Jacob & Zipah (Leah’s slave) – Gad, Asher
• Jacob & Leah (after mandrakes) – Issachar, Zebulun & Dinah

22 Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb. 23 She conceived and bore a son, and she said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” 24 She named him Joseph and said, “May the Lord add another son to me.” [4]
GENESIS 30:25-43

• Jacob negotiated with Laban to split the flock that Jacob had grown and made Laban wealthy.
• After years, Jacob ended up with the healthier flock.

GENESIS 31:1-21

• Jacob’s flocks have multiplied over and over and Laban’s have decreased.
• Laban began to look at Jacob with “attitude”.
• Jacob, Rachel, and Leah flee to Canaan while Laban is out shearing his sheep.
• Rachel even steals his household idols.

GENESIS 31:22-35

• Laban comes after Jacob and the crew.
• He overtakes them in Gilead (west of Jordan River)
• He was told by God the night before not to say anything or harm Jacob.
• He accuses Jacob of stealing his idols.
• He searches all the tents.
• Jacob doesn’t know Rachel stole idols.
• Rachel is sitting on her camel with the idols in the saddlebags.
• She tells her father she can’t get up because she is on her period.

GENESIS 31:36-55

• Laban never discovers idols.
• Jacob and Laban discuss and agree to mark this place where neither man will cross to hurt the other man.
• Laban kisses and blesses his family and returns to his home.

 
GENESIS 32:1-24

• Jacob travels south towards Esau and plans to meet with him.
• He devises this plan that splits his possessions into two camps.
• He sends servants ahead with a portion of his flock to appease Esau before they meet.
• At night, he crossed the river Jabbock with his wives.

 
GENESIS 32:24-32
24 Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not defeat him, he struck Jacob’s hip socket as they wrestled and dislocated his hip. 26 Then he said to Jacob, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
27 “What is your name?” the man asked.
“Jacob,” he replied.
28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” he said. “It will be Israel because you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.”
29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.”
But he answered, “Why do you ask my name?” And he blessed him there.
30 Jacob then named the place Peniel, “For I have seen God face to face,” he said, “yet my life has been spared.” 31 The sun shone on him as he passed by Penuel,—limping because of his hip. 32 That is why, still today, the Israelites don’t eat the thigh muscle that is at the hip socket: because he struck Jacob’s hip socket at the thigh muscle.[5]
 
GENESIS 33:1-19
1 Now Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming toward him with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two slave women. 2 He put the slaves and their children first, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3 He himself went on ahead and bowed to the ground seven times until he approached his brother.
4 But Esau ran to meet him, hugged him, threw his arms around him, and kissed him. Then they wept. 5 When Esau looked up and saw the women and children, he asked, “Who are these with you?”
He answered, “The children God has graciously given your servant.” 6 Then the slaves and their children approached him and bowed down. 7 Leah and her children also approached and bowed down, and then Joseph and Rachel approached and bowed down.
8 So Esau said, “What do you mean by this whole procession I met?”
“To find favor with you, my lord,” he answered.
9 “I have enough, my brother,” Esau replied. “Keep what you have.”
10 But Jacob said, “No, please! If I have found favor with you, take this gift from me. For indeed, I have seen your face, and it is like seeing God’s face, since you have accepted me. 11 Please take my present that was brought to you, because God has been gracious to me and I have everything I need.” So Jacob urged him until he accepted.
12 Then Esau said, “Let’s move on, and I’ll go ahead of you.” [6]

• Jacob and his crew slowly made their way to Succoth and built a temporary compound.
• By the end of the chapter, he has relocated to Canaan.
• Throughout Jacob’s story, he communicates with God, and God communicates with him.
• God made a promise to Jacob, and He always keeps His promises.
• Jacob keeps moving ahead with some fear, some doubt, some preparation… but he always trusts that God will keep His promises.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 28:10–22.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 29:17.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 29:31–35.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 30:22–24.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 32:24–32.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 33:1–12.

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