Simply Me (Continued)

Topic #1 - Philosophy (continued)

Chapter 2 (continued)

The God of Abraham: Judaism (continued)

Welcome back! Let's get back to Jacob, the third of the Three Patriarchs in Judaism.

Jacob dwelt in Harran for 20 years: Laban had tricked Jacob into working for him for 14 years for the hand of his youngest daughter, then Jacob worked for another 6 years to build up his flocks. Finally, God told Jacob that it was time to return to the land of his father. Taking his wives, children, servants, and flocks, Jacob left without warning, prompting Laban to pursue him. On his way to the land of Seir in Canaan, where Esau dwelt, Jacob got into a wrestling match with a mysterious being at the ford of the Jabbok. They wrestled all night and, at dawn, when he couldn’t defeat Jacob, the being touched Jacob on the sinew of the thigh, leaving Jacob with a limp. Realizing that the being was some sort of divinity (an angel of God, or maybe even God Himself), Jacob agreed to release him only if he blessed Jacob. The being replied, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” (Genesis 32:28)

During his sojourn in Harran, Israel acquired four wives and twelve children; eleven sons and one daughter. His wives were: Rachel (the woman for whom he worked 14 years); Leah (Rachael’s older sister); Bilha (Rachel’s servant); and Zilpah (Leah’s servant). Jacob ‘s children were: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Dinah, and Joseph. (Genesis 29:31 - 30:24) It is possible that Israel had mor daughters, but Dinah is the only one mentioned in Genesis. Once they returned to Canaan, Rachel became pregnant again. As Israel was moving all of his people and flocks to Ephrath (modern day Bethlehem), Rachel went into labor and died as she gave birth to Israel’s twelfth son, Benjamin. (Genesis 35:16-20) To this day, Rachel’s Tomb outside of Bethlehem is a popular site for pilgrimages and prayers.

Israel continued his journey, eventually reuniting with his father, Isaac, at Elonei Mamre, an important market fair north of Hebron in Judea. Isaac lived to 180. When he died, Israel and Esau buried him in the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron, alongside Abraham. Talmudic researchers believe that, at this meeting, Esau gave the genealogical records of his House to Israel, who incorporated them into his own family records. Moses would eventually augment and publish Esau’s records, and they would become Chapter 36 of the Book of Genesis.

Of all his sons, Israel’s favorite was Rachel’s firstborn, Joseph. Because of their father’s favoritism, Joseph’s half-brothers were jealous of him and often taunted him. When he was 17, Israel gave Joseph an ornate robe or coat as a reward for relating the misdeeds of his brothers to his father. Upon seeing this, the jealousy felt by the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah turned to hate. When Joseph began to have dreams that seemed to indicate that his brothers would all bow before him, they began to conspire against him. When Israel heard of the dreams, he chastised Joseph saying, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” However, Israel continued to consider Joseph’s dreams. (Genesis 37:1-11)

Sometime later, all of Joseph’s brothers, except Benjamin, were tending Israel’s flocks near Shenchem, and Israel decided to send Joseph down to check their progress and report back. When Joseph arrived, he discovered that they had moved the flocks several miles away to Dothan, so he followed them. As Joseph approached, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah saw him and decided to kill him. Reuben, Israel’s firstborn by Leah, heard this and tried to rescue Joseph saying, “Let us not take his life!” He went on to suggest that they throw him into a nearby dry cistern with the thought of later returning Joseph to their father. When Joseph arrived, his brothers grabbed him, stripped off his ornate robe, and threw him into the cistern. As they were eating, a caravan of Ishmaelites arrived from Gilead on their way to Egypt. Judah had the idea to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites, so they did and received twenty shekels of silver. When the caravan arrived in Egypt, Joseph was sold to the Captain of the Pharaoh’s Guard.

When Reuben returned and discovered that Joseph was gone, he became distraught. They all then decided to slaughter a goat and cover Joseph’s robe with the goat’s blood. Returning to Hebron, they brought the bloody robe to Israel and told him that Joseph had been devoured be some ferocious beast. Israel became extremely upset and mourned Joseph for many days, refusing to be comforted. (Genesis 37:12-36)

That's all for now. Nexgt time, we'll finish up with Jacob/Israel and discuss the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Until then, be well!

Simply Me (Continued)

Topic #1 - Philosophy (continued)

Chapter 2 (continued)

The God of Abraham: Judaism

In Judaism, Abraham is known as ,Avraham Avinu, which means, “our Father Abraham.” This honorific signifies that he is both, the biological progenitor of the Jews, and the Father of modern Judaism. In other words, Abraham was the first Jew. His story is traditionally read during the five weekly Torah readings.

According to Jewish traditions, God created heaven and earth for the sake of the piety of Abraham. After the Great Flood, he was the only one among the pious to solemnly swear to never forsake the Lord. Abraham studied the Ways of God in the house of Noah and Shem, continuing the line of High Priest from them. This position he passed down to his great-grandson, Levi, and his descendants in perpetuity. Also in this tradition, Abraham is one of the Three Patriarchs, along with his son Isaac, and his grandson Jacob (who would later be renamed, Israel). The Jewish faith remembers these three by referring to God as, “Elohei Avraham, Elohei Yitzchaq, ve Elohei Ya’aqov,” or, “God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob,” and never the God of any other prophets or luminaries in Judaism.

When Isaac was 60 years old and had been married to Rebekah for 20 years, Jacob and his twin brother, Esau were born. During the pregnancy, Rebekah was uncomfortable and went before God to ask why she was suffering. It was then she was given the prophecy that twins were fighting in her womb and that they would continue to be at odds with each other their entire lives, even after they became two separate nations. The prophecy also said, “one people will be stronger than the other, and the elder will end up serving the younger.” According to Jewish tradition, Esau was born first, covered with red hair as if he were wearing a hairy garment. Jacob came out immediately after, grasping Esau’s heel. According to Strong’s Concordance, the Hebrew name, Ya’aqov, means, “heel-catcher” or “supplanter.”

As they matured, the boys exhibited very different personalities. Esau became a skilled hunter and a man of the outdoors, while Jacob was content to remain at home among the tents. Their parents loved both of their children, but Isaac favored Esau, while Rebekah favored Jacob. When they were older, Jacob was preparing some stew when Esau came in and declared that he was famished. He asked for some of the ‘red stew’ from Jacob, who said that he would give Esau some, provided Esau sold Jacob his birthright as firstborn. Esau said, “Look, I am about to die. What good is the birthright to me?” He then swore to Jacob, selling his birthright for the price of a bowl of stew.

Years later, Isaac’s vision was failing him as he got older. He called for Esau, telling him to gather his bow and quiver and go get some wild game for him. He told Esau to, “prepare me the kind of tasty meal I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.” Rebekah heard this and, remembering the prophecy that her older son would serve her younger, realized that this must mean Jacob would receive Isaac’s blessing. So, after Esau left for the hunt, she went to Jacob and told him what she’d heard. She told Jacob to gather two goats from the flock so that she could prepare a meal for Isaac, then he would serve it to his father and receive the blessing for himself. In spite of his fears that Isaac would recognize the deception because Esau was much hairier than he was, he did as his mother instructed. When the savory meat was ready, Rebekah dressed Jacob in Esau’s garments and laid garments across his arms and neck to simulate Esau’s hairy skin. Isaac was suspicious because of Jacob’s voice, but the disguise ultimately worked and Isaac blessed Jacob, saying, “May God give you Heaven’s dew and Earth’s richness-an abundance of grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and may those who bless you be blessed.” Esau was furious because Jacob had first taken his birthright, and then his blessing, so he decided that, upon his father’s death, he would kill his brother. When she heard about what Esau said, Rebekah sent Jacob to live with her brother, Laban the Aramean, in Harran until enough time had passed for Esau to forget what Jacob had done. (Genesis Chapter 27)

Next time, we'll continue our look at Judaism with more on Jacob. Until then, be well!

Simply Me (continued)

Topic #1 - Philosophy (continued)

Chapter 2 (continued)

The God of Abraham

YHWH…Yahweh…Jehovah…Allah…or simply, God.  If you are a religious person who practices monotheism (the worship of a single Deity), and you address your particular Creator by one or more of these names, then, no matter which you use, you are in all probability a member of one of three specific faiths: Christianity, Islam, or Judaism.  The first two are the first and second largest religions in the world, while the third is the twelfth largest.  Judaism is the oldest of the three, while Islam is the youngest.  They each agree with one or both of the others on various points, and disagree on even more; but there is one point on which they all three agree: they were the same religion up until the life of a Hebrew man who was named Abram upon his birth, but who, in his later years, was given the name, “Abraham,” by the Deity he worshipped.

So, just who was this Abram/Abraham?  Well, all we know of him is what was passed down through Hebrew oral tradition, and later documented in the Book of Genesis…also known as the First Book of: the Torah, the Pentateuch, the Old Testament, and the Books of Moses.  In it, we are told that Abraham:

• was a direct descendant of Noah through Noah’s son, Shem;
• was born approximately 292 years after the Great Flood;
• was a pious, devout man who always answered the call of the Lord;
• was married to his half-sister, Sarai (whom God would later rename, “Sarah”);
• became exceedingly wealthy due to a ‘misunderstanding’ with Egypt’s Pharaoh about whether Sarai was his sister or his wife;
• was the uncle of Lot;
• saved Lot’s life twice: once by rescuing him from a hostile force that had taken him hostage; and once by bargaining with God to spare the lives of any righteous people who may have been living in Sodom and Gomorrah when God had decided to destroy those two cities;
• received four promises from God:

1. that God would make Abram “…into a great nation;”
2. that God would give all the land of Canaan to all of Abram’s offspring (descendants);
3. that, even though Abram and Sarai were old and childless, God would make Abraham’s descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky or as the grains of sand on the seashore;
4. and that Ishmael, Abraham’s son with one of Sarah’s slaves, would not be forgotten; that he would be a great nation in his own right and would be the father of twelve rulers;

• fathered his first son, Ishmael, with Sarah’s slave, Hagar, at Sarah’s encouragement;
• fathered his heir, Isaac, with Sarah 14 years after the birth of Ishmael;
• had his faith tested by God, who commanded Abraham to offer his young son, Isaac, as a burnt sacrifice.  God stopped the sacrifice before the boy could be harmed.

In Jewish and Christian tradition, Abraham was the first of the three Patriarchs of the Israelites, with his son, Isaac, and his grandson, Jacob, being the second and third.  Jacob, whose name would be changed by God to, “Israel,” was the father of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, and whose direct descendants would include Moses, through his son, Levi, and the Israelite Kings David and Solomon, through his son, Judah.  Christian tradition holds that Jesus is also a direct descendant of Jacob/Israel through King David.

This is where the schism occurs between Judaism/Christianity and Islam.  While Islamic tradition holds that all of the above were Prophets of Allah (God); that Abraham, Isaac, and Israel were Patriarchs of the Israelites; this tradition maintains that Abraham’s oldest son, Ishmael, was also one of the Patriarchs of the Israelites, and was in fact Abraham’s favorite son and true heir.  Muhammad himself, the founder of Islam, claimed to be a direct descendant of Ishmael.  I’ll go into Islam in more detail in a later post.  Next time, I’m going to focus on the descendants of Isaac: Judaism and Christianity.

Until then, Be Well...

© James P. Rice 2011, 2016