Bible Study Online Article

After Jacob had settled in the land of Bethel, we find that people, who were close to him, would begin passing away.

I'll like to point out that there are some things that weren't included in the telling of the scriptures.

For instance, we can only assume that Jacob's mother, Rebekah had already passed.

I'm making this assumption based on the fact that Rebekah's nurse Deborah, had passed when she was in service to Jacob's household.

It's believed that she came to live with Jacob after Rebekah's passing to help the promise bearer with his new family.

Deborah had been with the family of Abraham for a long time and on top of this she was a person of piety and prudence. She provided the family with great wisdom when it came to raising families, which made her services invaluable.

So therefore she would die lamented and this is why Jacob would bury her under the oak, in which he called it Allon-bacuth, which signifies 'the oak of weeping.'

Next God would appear and reaffirm his covenant with Jacob. He would do this by reminding the promise bearer that his name Jacob, he would no longer be, for his name is now Israel, which signifies -- 'a prince with God.'

The last time this happen, it was done through Jacob wrestling with an angel. The angel would voluntarily submitt to Jacob, and this was done in order to encourage the promise bearer to face his fears when it came to his brother Esau.

Now it would be done through a special visitation by El-shaddai Himself, 'I am God Almighty.' This time it would be to encourage Jacob to deal with his fears when it came to the Canaanites.

After God had departed from him, Jacob would erect a pillar in honor of the one true God. He would pour a wine drink offering on it followed by the pouring of oil.

Now some twenty years before Jacob had already made a pillar in honor of the Almighty. Being that he was once again in the same place, he could have repaired the one that he had made twenty years before, or could have made erected a new one (the telling of the scriptures seems to indicate this).

After all, with this new confirmation, his name had been changed from Jacob to Israel. He didn't have that honor the last time he was at Bethel.

Afterwards Jacob would move his family from Bethel and started heading towards Ephrath (Bethlehem.) During the journey we are informed that Jacob's beloved wife Rachel was pregnant.

This wasn't an ordinary pregnancy for Rachel pains were violent, which would cause her to endure a very hard labor of childbirth.

Her midwife tried to encourage Rachel, by reminding her about the vow she had made after giving birth to her first child, Joseph.

"Don't be afraid for you should have another son," the midwife proclaimed.

Keep in mind that Rachel had desired to have kids and God had finally blessed her with one, in which she named Joseph.

Now, God has opened her womb once again and she will give birth to another child, in which she name Ben-oni, which signifies - 'the son of my sorrows,' for she had a very difficult childbirth with him.

But Jacob would change his name to Benjamin, which signifies, 'the son of my right hand.'

But this special moment in time would end in a great tragedy, for Rachel had died while giving birth to her second child.

Being that she died during childbirth, she needed to be buried quickly. This would lead to Jacob burying her on the road to Ephrath (Bethlehem), in which he would erect a pillar over Rachel's grave in her honor.

Jacob would move on again and he settled about a thousand paces from Ephrath (Bethlehem) to a place called, 'The Tower of Edar,' or 'The Tower of the Flock.'

It was at this time Jacob's oldest son Reuben would commit the sinful act of sleeping with his father's wife Bilhah. Because of his actions, Reuben would lose his birthright and the blessing that he was entitled to under the Abrahamic Covenant.

"Reuben, you are my first born, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father's bed, onto my couch and defiled it." (Genesis 49:3-4)

Now it's at this time that the telling of the scriptures informs us that Jacob's father Issac had passed away at the age of one hundred and eighty.

This would make him the longest living patriarch out of the three, for Abraham died at the age of one hundred and seventy five and Jacob would live to reach the age of one hundred and forty seven.

Note: Keep in mind that although the scriptures has recorded his death during this account, his actual death would not happen until many years after Joseph (his grandson) had been sold into slavery.

This has not happen yet, but I wanted to point this out to you, for I feel that it's important information to know.

Many times people make the claims that the Bible contradicts itself, when in fact their contradiction arguments are caused because they ignore the time-lines or they simply don't know, or they do know and will do everything in their power to stand against the 'Word of God.'

Start at:

The Introduction of Abraham

The Birth of Isaac

The Birth of Esau & Jacob

Jacob - The Path of Uncertainty

54) Jacob the Prosperous

55) Jacob departs from Laban

56) Rachel the Thief

57) Jacob's Mistake

58) Laban's Pursuit

59) The Friendship Covenant

60) The Host of Angels

61) Jacob Wrestles with God

62) The Reconciliation of Jacob & Esau

63) Dinah the Daughter of Israel

64) The Plot of Vengeance

65) The Forgotten Vow

66) <-CURRENT PAGE->

67) The Descendants of Esau

68) Joseph the Favorite Son

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