Seder 19: Genesis 21:9---What Did Ishmael Do?

 When Isaac, the promised son of Abraham and Sarah, reached the age when he was weaned (perhaps age 2 or 3), Abraham "made a great feast" to celebrate (Ge 21:8).  

At that feast, or perhaps later, Sarah saw Ishmael, Isaac's older half-brother, "laughing" (ESV).  Laughter is a recurring element in this part of the book of Genesis, whether laughter of incredulity or joy.  We don't know why Ishmael was laughing, but Sarah had a strong negative reaction.  She became determined that it was time for Ishmael and his mother Hagar to leave.  

What exactly had happened?  From the context, one possibility is that Ishmael was mocking (NIV, CSB,NET, e.g.), scoffing (NKJV), or making fun of Isaac (NLT).  These translations are supported by Paul's interpretation in Galatians 4:29.  Paul says that Ishmael "persecuted" Isaac. 

Readers through the centuries have puzzled over this incident.  For example, the Book of Jubilees (2nd century BC) pictures Abraham at the feast rejoicing over both of his sons (Jubilees 17:1-4).  Jubilees 17:4 begins,  "And Sarah saw Ishmael playing and dancing, and Abraham rejoicing with great joy, and she became jealous of Ishmael..."  In this reading, Sarah may have been upset because of Abraham's love for Ishmael.  

On the other hand, Josephus (c. 100 AD), explained that Sarah "was not willing that Ishmael should be brought up with him [i.e. Isaac], as being too old for him, and able to do him injuries when their father should be dead" (Antiquities 1.215).  

At any rate, God endorsed Sarah's wishes, explaining to Abraham that he would be watching over Hagar and Ishmael.  Abraham complied, though it pained him to do so.  Some listings of the 10 trials of Abraham list the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael from his camp as one of these trials (see e.g. Jubilees 17:17).

Seder 84: Lev 12---Ritual Impurity after Childbirth

After an Israelite mother gave birth, she went through a short time of ritual impurity, similar to that associated with menstruation (Lev 15:19-24).  During that time those who touched her would pick up a minor ritual impurity.  After that there was a longer time (33 days after the birth of a son, 66 after the birth of a daughter) when the mother could not go to the tabernacle or temple but faced no other restrictions.

At the conclusion of her ritual impurity, the mother would give a burnt offering---expressing gratitude, dedication to God, and prayer for the child's protection---followed by a purification offering that restored her to  fellowship with the congregation.  

I have mentioned previously that all of the sources of ritual impurity are connected in some way with death.  How is the birth of a baby related to death?

One connection to death was the loss of blood.  Also, in the ancient world the time of birth was a dangerous time for the mother and child, with both of their lives hanging in the balance.  

The period of impurity was a quiet time for the mother and baby, a time for them to recover and be free from public responsibilities. 

Why was the length of time of ritual impurity different for daughters than for sons?  Several ideas have been proposed, including:  

• There was a widespread belief in the past that a mother tended to lose more blood at the birth of a girl.  There is no proof, however, that such a thing is true. 
• The book of Jubilees (2nd century BC) says that the reason for the different lengths of time goes back to creation (3:8-14).  Jubilees claims that Adam was created during the first week and was allowed in the Garden of Eden after a total of 40 days, while Eve was created in the second week and was allowed in the Garden of Eden after a total of 80 days.  
• Some claim that a female baby might also bleed, and the time is doubled for that reason.
• Some say that with a female baby, there is more potential future life at stake, calling for extra care and protection for the mother and baby.

Whatever the reason, the time of ritual impurity was not some kind of punishment.

Seder 44: When and How Did Esau Die?

 The book of Genesis records that the patriarch Jacob died at age 147 (Gen 47:28).  However, nothing is said in Genesis about how long Jacob's twin brother Esau lived.  

I know of two legends about the time and circumstances surrounding the death of Esau.  Both are fanciful and reflect a tendency to read later hostility between the nations of Israel and Edom back into the lives of Jacob and Esau.  Still, they are entertaining and worth knowing about.  

One of the legends appears in Chapters 37 and 38 of the book of Jubilees.  After Isaac's death, Esau's sons insist that they attack Jacob.  (They resent the fact that they have no inheritance in Canaan.) With a large army of mercenaries, they attack Jacob at Hebron, where Jacob kills Esau with a well-placed arrow from the bow spoken of in Gen 48:22.  

Another legend (b Sotah 13a) says that when Jacob's funeral procession (Gen 50) arrived at Machpelah, they were confronted by Esau, who tried to stop the burial but was killed by Dan's son Chushim.  

Seder 36: Gen 39---Joseph Resists Temptation

Genesis 39 resumes the saga of Joseph, who was sold as a slave in Egypt to Potiphar, the captain of the guard under Pharaoh.  Joseph's managerial talents soon became evident, and Potiphar eventually felt confident placing Joseph in charge of his household affairs (vv 1-6). 

Potiphar's wife, however, had a different kind of household affair in mind.  In an ancient example of sexual harassment, she tried to seduce Joseph.  The Book of Jubilees pictures her putting pressure on him for a year.  

But Joseph withstood the pressure and refused to give in to Potiphar's wife.  Although he was far from home, he had not lost his connection to the God of Jacob and the teaching he must have received from Jacob as a child.  

Joseph's example has always been important for those who are striving to resist sexual temptation.  Paul had Joseph's example in mind when he admonished early Christians to  "flee from sexual immorality" (1 Cor 6:18).  

The book of Fourth Maccabees, a philosophically-oriented work from the Second Temple period, holds up Joseph's example as proof that it is possible to obey the 10th commandment (You shall not covet) by the mastery of reason over emotion (4 Macc 2).  

Seder 35: Gen 38---Who Did Jacob's Sons Marry?

 For Abraham, it was very important that Isaac marry a woman in Abraham's clan (Gen 24).  For Isaac and his wife Rebekah, it was important that her son Jacob marry someone from that same clan (Gen 28:1-2).  

But the book of Genesis never raises the subject of who Jacob's twelve sons were supposed to marry.   There are at least a couple of reasons why this apparently ceased to be an issue.  For one thing, Jacob and his father-in-law Laban had parted on less-than-amicable terms (Gen 31:51-54), so Jacob would not have been likely to send any of his sons back to Haran in search of wives.  

Also, by this point the identity of the covenant family may have become well enough established that assimilation into the surrounding Canaanite culture was no longer such a danger---at least after the destruction of Shechem.  Jacob's family was not absorbed into Shechem, but it's possible that some of the women captured from Shechem (Gen 34:29) married sons of Jacob.

We are given information about the wives of three of those sons.  Judah married the daughter of a Canaanite named Shua (Gen 38:2).  We are not told her name, and she is referred to in 1 Chron 2:3 simply as Bath-shua ("daughter of Shua").  Simeon also married a Canaanite (Gen 46:10), and Joseph married Asenath, the daughter of an Egyptian priest (Gen 41:45). 

Ancient readers of Genesis were curious and concerned about the lack of information given on this subject.  Some sought to fill in the gaps.  For example, the book of Jubilees (second century BC) lists names of wives of Jacob's sons in verses 20-21 of chapter 34:

"And after Joseph perished, the sons of Jacob took unto themselves wives. The name of Reuben's wife is 'Ada; and the name of Simeon's wife is 'Adlba'a, a Canaanite; and the name of Levi's wife is Melka, of the daughters of Aram, of the seed of the sons of Terah; and the name of Judah's wife, Betasu'el, a Canaanite; and the name of Issachar's wife, Hezaqa: and the name of Zabulon's wife, Ni'iman; and the name of Dan's wife, 'Egla; and the name of Naphtali's wife, Rasu'u, of Mesopotamia; and the name of Gad's wife, Maka; and the name of Asher's wife, 'Ijona; and the name of Joseph's wife, Asenath, the Egyptian; and the name of Benjamin's wife, 'Ijasaka.  And Simeon repented, and took a second wife from Mesopotamia as his brothers."

Notice that Jubilees, in its desire for Jacob's sons not to have mixed too much with the Canannites, has some of them going back to Haran to marry women from Abraham's clan.  

Seder 32/33: Gen 35---Promises Affirmed, Deaths Mourned

 At some point God called upon Jacob to appear before him at Bethel and carry out the vow that he had made before leaving Canaan many years before (Gen 35:1; 28:20-22).  

As part of an appropriate purification in preparation for this divine encounter, Jacob asked his household to get rid of any idols they possessed (v 2).  This would have certainly included the household gods that Rachel had taken from Laban.  

Verse 4 reports, "So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears."  There is some pronoun ambiguity in this verse.  Were the rings in the ears of the people or the idols?  A good case can be made for the latter interpretation, since idols often did have earrings made of precious metals.  Burying those items would mean that they couldn't be used to make more idols.

Verse 8 mentions that on the trip, Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died.  There are two interesting pieces of information in this verse.  First, the name of Rebekah's nurse had not been mentioned in Gen 24:59, where we learn that she accompanied Rebekah on her trip to Canaan to marry Isaac.  Second, we have not previously heard that Deborah was with Jacob rather than with Rebekah.  

There have been a number of speculations about when Deborah might have joined Jacob.  Perhaps Rebekah had sent her to Jacob at Haran with the news that it was safe to return to Canaan, as she had said she would send someone to do (Gen 27:45). Or perhaps Rebekah had sent her to Jacob after he returned to Canaan.  Or perhaps Rebekah had died, and Deborah then joined Jacob's family.     

In any case, there was a time of mourning for Jacob and the family after Deborah's death.

At Bethel God appeared to Jacob and affirmed both Jacob's new name and the blessing imparted by Isaac (Gen 28:3-4) that the Abrahamic promises would continue through Jacob (Gen 35:9-12).  

Genesis 35 goes on to record that Jacob's beloved wife Rachel died not far from Bethlehem while giving birth to her son Benjamin (vv16-21).  Her grave was not far from a road on which, much later, descendants of Judah and Benjamin would travel on their way to exile in Babylon.  Jeremiah pictures Rachel weeping for her descendants at that point (Jer 31;15).  Jeremiah goes on to prophecy an eventual return from exile (vv 16-17).  

Jeremiah's prophecy was later recalled by Matthew when he reported the murder of infants in Bethlehem by the ruthless Herod the Great (Matt 2:16-18).  Herod, of course, failed in his goal to kill the infant Jesus, whose family had already fled to Egypt (vv 13-15).  

Genesis 35 concludes by mentioning Isaac's death at age 180 (vv 27-29), twelve years after Joseph was sold into slavery and 23 years after Jacob's return to Canaan. Chapters 34-35 give just a few snapshots of Jacob's life during those 23 years and raise lots of questions for readers.  For example, when did Rebekah die?  Did she see Jacob again?  What kind of interaction did Jacob have with his parents and with Esau during those years?  The text does not tell us, and later writers have imagined different answers.  The Book of Jubilees (second century BC), which emphasizes the piety of the patriarchs, pictures Jacob in regular contact with his parents (Jubilees 29:15-20).