| | Fortunately for Jacob, people are scared of Yahweh. So they often seem to do unfair things clearly against their interests just to make him happy.
Now, I am not an expert in the Bible, and that's not the point of this blog. The point is to go through it as an average person and see what's there. I do probably a little more than the average person, since I often compare different versions (on http://www.biblegateway.com/, etc.), but later I plan to investigate more. For now I want the text to stand for itself.
If I compare Genesis 30 and 31, I see that in Genesis 30, it makes no mention of God, or an angel of God, telling Jacob to make Laban's goats and sheep streaked and spotted, or telling him that what he did was good. But in Genesis 31, not until AFTER Laban's sons catch on to Jacob's trickery, does Jacob tell his wives that:
The Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’ And He said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.’” (Genesis 31:11-13, NKJV)
Suddenly, what appears to be Jacob ripping off his (unfair, yes) master is actually God's idea. But God doesn't tell us this, and not even an angel of God. Jacob tells us that an angel told him this in a dream. This seems rather convenient to me. We only see God tell Jacob to go home to daddy, and he'll be with him (verse 3). All the rest, we just have to take Jacob's word that he was told in a dream. He's proven to be an honorable sort, so I'm sure we can trust him.
His wives decide they might as well run off with him and all the riches, since after all, Jacob says an angel says that God says to do so, and their dad doesn't have much anymore (31:15). And to add insult to injury, Rachel steals her father's gods. Take his goods, and steal his religion. So they just up and leave likw dishonest cowards (the NIV even says "Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was running away", 31:20). Surely this isn't how God wants honorable people act, right?!
Well, God reportedly appears to Laban in a dream telling him not to say anything good or bad to Jacob. Well Laban, when he tracks down Jacob, does outline the case against him, but is most concerned about the stolen gods (maybe he wants protection from Yahweh and his hare-brained schemes?). Rachel hides them by sitting on them and pretending that she's having her period. Jacob is said to not know that Rachel stole them, and we're not told why Rachel stole them anyway (if it was because they were an outrage to Yahweh, you would think she'd just destroy them. Maybe she just thought they looked pretty and would be nice to steal, or wanted a back up in case the whole Yahweh thing didn't work out. Who knows?).
So since Laban can't find his gods, he gives up and makes a covenant with Jacob, making him promise that he'll take no other wives than his two daughters (does he know about all the slave sex and resulting children earlier?) and treat them well. They swear by "The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father" (31:53) that they won't cross past the pillar to harm each other. Sounds like polytheism to me, although I'm sure some would claim that these are just different names for Yahweh. Yahweh is also given a different name twice in the chapter, "the Fear of Isaac." A quick look at a few sites indicates that this apparently is a generally accepted translation. That's what I want my God to be known as, the Fear.
They put up a pillar, offer a sacrifice, eat, and the deal is sealed. Yahweh seems to find unusual chosen ones, who use decipt, lying, cowardice, slavery, and messed up competitions over sex and children to become rich and plentiful.
PS Copyright notice for NKJV: "New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version® is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000."
Copyright notice for NIV: Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved. |
| | Posted 3/1/2009 10:42 AM - 40 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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