Nicholas Paprocki, Hannah Levy, Mohammad

As a group we came up with these following questions about the Genesis:

We would like to know more about the authors?
How and why did the Bible come together as it did?
What was left out?
Why include side stories of we as the reader are suppose to fear God?
What is its purpose?

Group members: Shawn Corbett, Katie Sadis and Juanita Mckoy

Facts

• Rachel is jealous that she didn’t bear Jacob any children.
• Rachel is mad with Jacob that she as had no children. She is blaming Jacob like he is God
• Jacob gets mad with Rachel because she is trying to make him responsible for something that he has no control.
• She gives Jacob her maid, Bilhah, in order to have a child.
• Bilhah gives birth to a man whom Rachel takes as her own and names Dan.
• Bilhah then has a second child name Naphtali and Rachel exclaims that she has faced her sister and won
• Leah then gave Jacob her maid with which he had 2 sons
• Leah also gave her maid Zilpah to Jacob in order to have more children. Zilpah had two sons named Gad and Asher.
• Leah believes that she had her six son because of the dowry of mandrakes (Dowry means property or money brought by a bride to her husband on their marriage)
• Leah then bought a night with Jacob for mandrakes, where she proceeded to bear a 5th and 6th son for him, as well as a daughter
• Leah 5^th and 6^thsons are Issachar and Zebulun. Her daughter name is Dinah.
• Rachel is blessed with her own child now named Joseph
• God then blessed Rachel with another son for Jacob by “opening her womb”
• Rachel then speaks about another child that will come some.
• Jacob wanted to be able to provide for his family.
• Jacob then asks for freedom from Laban, who tricks Jacob by preventing him from taking his pay of the goats and lambs.
• Jacob conceived a plan to help the flock breed that, which was his payment.
• He becomes very rich

observations

These are things that happened to Jacob and his family. Jacob was made to deceive his father to get a blessing. But look what happened to Jacob he was deceived by his father-in-law with Leah and not Rachel. Look what happened to Leah for listening she was unloved no matter what she tried (or how many children she was able to have. So because Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah god didn’t allow her to have children for some years. This only made Rachel very jealous of her sister even though Rachel still had more than Leah but couldn’t see (the love of her husband Jacob). Laban taking the flock out before Jacob only hurt him in the end because Jacob came up with a way to get his flock and be rich off of Laban. Jacob means heel catcher, supplanter, cheater, defrauder, and deceiver.

To me it seems like whatever you are named that is what you will be or will be like in some way.  Look because of what Jacobs name means that is what he is called. It also seems like he is called by the meaning of his name even when he does good. As to say it doesn’t matter. It is something how Leah has to demand Jacob to come to bed with her like she is not his wife. Because Leah said to Jacob you must come to bed with me. 

Ideas

Rachel has been looking also to magic and not just god. Is this true because of what the dictionary has to say about mandrakes. She was worshiping more then one good. Just like her father. The father uses divination. Divination is like insight. Now i don’t know about this but why does Rachel want these Mandrakes.

 some thing for a thesis:

God used all the events or things that Laban, Reahel and leah did thru out this chapter; to prove to jacob that he is a god that keeps his promises. Everything was used the good the bad and the ugly.

Facts

• Jacob was going after his father god and he married two wife their name is Laban Rachel.
• His father in law was disagree with him about his god
• Angle came to his dream and told him to leave this land an come back to it in the birth
• Rachel didn’t like god of Jacob

Objective

• Rachel uses her period as a means of cheating Laban

Idea

• I think Jacob should fight about his god and tell his father in law what is the right thing to do

Facts: Isaac, now old and blind, calls to his older son Esau to hunt game. Isaac wants to eat and bless Esau before he dies. Rebekah overhears Isaac say this to Esau and then tells Jacob, her other son, that he must hunt the game to get the blessing from his father. Rebekah tells Jacob to get her two kid lambs so she can cook for Isaac. Jacob then tells his mother that Esau is a hairy man and that he is smooth of skin. He says that Isaac will know that Jacob was the one who is being blessed because of the way his skin feels. To confuse Isaac, Rebekah dresses Jacob in Esau’s clothing. The plan works and Jacob receives his father’s blessing. Esau is hurt by his brothers deceit, he both pretended to be the eldest, and stole the blessing away. Esau’s duty and obligation is now to Jacob. Esau hates Jacob. He is aware that his father is going to die soon so once that happens he wants to kill Jacob. Rebekah is informed this and warns Jacob to run until he is free of Esau and his plans.

Observations: Jacob gathers chickens instead of lambs showing his immaturity. Rebekah openly favors Jacob. The comparison of smooth to hairy skin between brothers shows age difference. Isaac is blind.

Ideas: The smooth versus hairy skin could show the comparing of age/masculinity between the brothers. The story is showing what it means to be a man. This story shows the gender role of women in the bible at this time. (villain, spiteful, cunning.)

Facts

• Jacob is running away from Laban
• God tells Jacob to return home
• His wives also tell him he should go
• Laban pursues him for seven days and finally overtakes him
• Laban comes to reclaim his household gods
• Rachel tricks Laban from finding them
• Laban and Jacob are able to reconcile
• They make a covenant and set up boundries

Observations

• The fact that they are running away is described as deception
• Jacob and Rachel are portrayed as tricksters in this story
• Rachel uses her period as a means of cheating Laban out of his household gods

Ideas

• Women are further portrayed as deceitful in this story, harkening back to eve somewhat

Genesis 33

Facts:

Jacob is on journey with wife’s children when he sees his brother Esau coming with 400 men. Jacob is nervous and protects his family. The meeting of the brothers goes well with Esau praising his brother and God. Esau offers to go with Jacob but Jacob makes excuses and goes alone to the land of Canaan and builds a alter to God.

Observations:

• Jacob divides his wives with their children and puts them in order based on their importance to him.  The ones lease important closest to the front and in the most danger.
• Jacob calls himself “your servant”, and refers to Esau as “my lord” even though the stolen blessing from Isaac granted Jacob power over his siblings.
• Jacob says, “If I find favor with you, then accept my present from my hand; for truly to see your face is like seeing the face of God” (Gen. 33:10) could be in reference to when he sees God in the previous chapter.  This could be mimicking this event and commenting on how he survived seeing the face of God and now is surviving this encounter with Esau who wished to murder him after stealing his father’s blessing.
• Esau accepts his gifts and forgives Jacob because he has done well for himself even without the blessing from his father.
• Jacob makes excuses as to why he cannot travel on with his brother, and says he will follow behind him more slowly because of his children and overtired flocks.  This reflects on his mischievous side.  Esau, however, leaves some of his own men with Jacob.
• Jacob Goes on to Succoth And builds a altar to God

Idea:

This chapter deals with the forgiveness and reconciliation of Jacob and Esau. Once the idea of one brother killing the other is replaced with the favor and blessing of God on the brothers and their families. There is still doubt in Jacobs mind as he continues on without his brother.

Facts :

-The Lord appears to Abram, then age 99, to make a covenant with him, his wife Sarai, Ishmael and all of  his slaves and servants. He wants to make Abram the ancestor of many nations. To make this covenant happen, all males surrounding and including Abram must be circumcised.

-The Lord makes it clear that Abram shall then be called Abraham and his wife Sarah.

-Sarah will bear a child at the age of 90, and his name will be Isaac.

-In the covenant,Ishmael, son of Abraham and Sarah is said to be the future father of 12 princes, and from him a great nation(Gn. 17:20)

Observations: Even with this great covenant that was being offered to Abraham, at one point he laughed and questioned the fact that a woman Sarah’s age would be able to bear a child and how this would be possible.

After Abraham’s doubt, the Lord confirms all the facts that He(God) once stated about the covenant with him and after God leaves Abraham, Abraham goes on to obey and complete his part of the covenant which was to circumcise the flesh of the foreskin of himself, his son Ishmael, and all his slaves and servants.