Chapter Overview
This chapter directly conflicts with the previous one. Jacob gets a blessing a second time, Esau is ok with it, Jacob leaves to get a wife, Esau gets a wife, and Jacob is called out as the special one of god.
Additional Notes
This chapter is another good example of how the bible is not consistent. It redoes the previous chapters and removes any threat to Jacob’s life from Esau. This chapter shouldn’t even exist, much like several other chapters that necessitate a multiverse to explain what’s been going on.
Chapter 28: Isaac Blesses the Child… Again
AKA: More Biblical Contradictions
- And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
- Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother’s father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughers of Laban thy mother’s brother.
- And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;
- And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.
- And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.
- When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padanaram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughers of Canaan;
- And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padanaram;
- And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father;
- Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.
- And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.
- And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.
- And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
- And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
- And thy seed 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 in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
- And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
- And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.
- And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
- And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
- And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.
- And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
- So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God:
- And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
- WTF? Jacob was told to flee for his life at the end of the last chapter. Timeskip much?
- So… they’re doing everything they can to keep this in the family.
- You already did this blessing business last chapters.
- Apparently Isaac has to pass this down to Jacob rather than god passing it on now?
- A shorter trip than when the slave went to get Rebekah.
- But… Jacob left before Esau came back in the last chapter. Inconsistent much?
- What a good boy. Good boy!
- They never really say why… why does Isaac not like Canaanites?
- This guy is going to take his brother’s daughter as a wife? That’s gonna mess up the gene pool…
- Good boy!
- Sounds like this was supposed to be a named place but oral traditions lost what the name was supposed to be.
- Sounds like it’s time for a dream sequence
- Dadgummit god, stop repeating this already! It’s getting really old. I wonder if Esau and Ishmael’s kids got the same talking to from the all mighty sky-daddy.
- Blah blah blah. We’ve heard all this before.
- And this. Man does this god like to talk. And repeat himself. Does he have trouble with remembering things?
- Then why was it a “certain place” a few verses back? It implies you knew it was a special place.
- Why is this dreadful? I’d assume that Jacob, who is apparently the chosen one now, would be quite excited about all of this.
- Does he just carry this stuff on him in the off chance that he needs to anoint random pillars that he sets up?
- What a shocker, he’s founding another location that we’re supposed to be impressed with.
- This is a rather strange thing to do. Just examine this for a moment. It’s just a weird vow that Jacob makes. “If god gives be bread and clothing…
- …And makes sure that I get home, then (and only then) will he be my god…
- …And then I’ll make a place for god to dwell and give a tithe of 10% unto this god.” Isn’t that a weird thing to vow? Shouldn’t he already believe in this god?