This isn’t a Bible passage one might want to read to young children, but it is recorded for a profound reason. It gives us another insight into the character of Yehudah (Judah), and the symbols point to King David and the Messiah.
Category: Torah
This account of Yosef’s dreams and being sold by his brothers into slavery in Mitsraim (Egypt) is the foundation for the teaching through the rest of Genesis and even the Torah. The life of Yeshua the Messiah on Earth paralleled that of Yosef (Joseph).
We sometimes gloss over long lists in the Bible of hard-to-pronounce names and places. Yet the meanings of names in God’s word are part of the lessons He wants us to learn. The names in this chapter point to reasons why “Esau” and “Edom” are mentioned continually in the prophets as an adversary to Israel.
We boast in our pride, we constantly demand our rights, we put our trust in our government to protect these rights, but we don’t ask God to protect us. Ya’akov (Jacob) needed to return to Beit ’El (Bethel) to fulfill the vow he had made to the LORD when he was fleeing from Esau.
God protected Ya’akov and his entourage from being pursued by those who would have wanted to take revenge on Ya’akov’s family for what happened in Shechem (Genesis 34). He put a great terror on those who wanted to pursue them and convinced them to leave them alone.
Humility and loyalty are underlying teachings of Genesis 33-34. The phrase “women and children first” is held up as selfless chivalry, but it it seems Ya’akov (Jacob) wasn’t so chivalric in his sending his wives and children ahead of him toward what he thought would be his heavily armed and bloodthirsty brother, Esau.
Then there’s the disaster that followed the defilement of Ya’akov’s daughter, Dinah, whose forceable conquering at the hands of a city’s “first son” led to the deaths of all the men and the enslavement of the women and children of that city by the hands of two of Ya’akov’s sons.
Ya’akov (Jacob) had a conversion experience the night he wrestled with a Heavenly visitor. Not only did he receive a new name, but also he received a new “vision” for what his future would hold.
We look at the final covenant between Laban and his son-in-law Jacob. Jacob’s six-year prosperity with Laban, marked by unconventional animal husbandry, leads to tension as Laban’s wealth declines. Amid disputes, God directs Jacob to return to his homeland. Laban pursues, accusing Jacob of theft, but God intervenes in a dream, preventing harm. Jacob confronts Laban, recounting years of mistreatment. A covenant is formed, and fear shifts from Jacob to Laban. The narrative highlights God’s role in trials and underscores the prophetic nature of biblical stories, urging readers to seek divine understanding in difficulties.