Genesis 49 Jacob, on his deathbed, gathered his 12 sons together to “bless” them. I use quotes here, because some of the blessings didn’t seem like something you would want put upon you. Now, remember, these are the sons who wanted to kill one of their brothers and lie to their father about it, so maybe Joseph …
Genesis 42 Here it comes. The whole build-up was for this. Back down on the farm, the famine was starting to hurt Jacob’s household. He sent 10 of the brothers to Egypt to buy grain, but kept the youngest, Benjamin, who was Joseph’s brother (I assume by the same mother, since they are all brothers by …
Genesis 37 More horrible stories about God’s favorite people. Jacob’s (Israel’s) kids get up to some wacky hi-jinx. Jacob likes his youngest son, Joseph. His brothers all hate him. To be honest, Joseph sounds like an ass. He rats on them to his father and tells them about dream he has about how they all bow …
Genesis 35 God sent Jacob back to Bethel. Jacob has to tell his household, who have each seen and experienced God’s power first-hand, that they have to get rid of their foreign gods. These people are just stupid! Why did the creator of the entire universe pick them? Jacob disposes of the gods and off they …
Genesis 29 These 3 scenes are all a little troublesome. The 1st and the 3rd don’t really show Jacob in a favorable light, and the second doesn’t show his future father-in-law (uncle) as an honest man, either. I’m having a lot of trouble sympathizing with many of the characters in these stories. First, Jacob seems to be telling random shepherds …