Genesis 34:1-36:43 Comments by Stephen Ricker
Bible Study Home Page

Jacob Returns to Bethel
Comments for Study 22

Pick to read this Bible passage in a separate window.

Memory Verse: 35:2-3
Questions
Outline
Bibliography
Beliefs I Had Before I Begin to Study Genesis
A map of Jacob's era
A map of Egypt and Sinai during the time of Genesis
A chart of Jacob's family
Genesis Genealogy - A spreadsheet of birth's & deaths of all as listed in Genesis

I. Dinah and Her Brothers (34:1-31)

Joseph Sold by his Brethren

A wood engraving by Gustave Dore (1832-1883) titled "Joseph Sold by his Brethren". The Bible was titled: "The Holy Bible containing the Old and New Testaments, according to the authorized version. With illustrations by Gustave Doré.
The artist, Gustave Doré (1832-1883), has placed his signature at the lower left of the woodcut, and the engraver's signature, Héliodore Pisan (1822-1890), is located at the lower right.
Dore's drawings are now in public domain. This one was scanned in by creationism.org.

>1. Who was Dinah and what did she do? (1) Who was Shechem? (2-4) What did he do? Was this right in the sight of God? (7) How did Jacob find out? (5) What does this tells us about the violence of the act? Why did he wait to tell his sons? (5-6)

Genesis 34:1 "Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land."

* "Dinah" -She was not the only daughter as 37:35 and 46:7 indicates. She is the only one mentioned by name because of her role in Israel's history. She is most likely in her mid-teens, no more than twenty when this even happened.

* "went out to visit the women of the land" -Not a bad act by itself. However, more caution on her part would have saved her the misfortune that follows.

* Neither the word "God" nor "Lord" is in this sordid chapter. The previous chapter ends and the next chapter begins with the name of God and Jacob at an altar. The conclusion is that these events was not God's will, but was allowed to happen for a reason, as all morbid acts to believers are used as instruments of God. Later, when Jacob (Israel) was blessing his sons in chapters 48 and 49, the actions of Simeon and Levi are mentioned.

* Jacob bought a piece of ground to live in that was within site of a Canaanite city. (33:18-19) Later he gave it to Joseph. (48:22, Josh. 24:32) Like Lot before him (chapter 13) Jacob was drawn to the false glamour, security, and comfort of Canaanite life. As with Lot, both self and family suffered for this decision. Jacob's call to move after this chapter is the LORD's call for him to repent (change his current actions to righteousness) and to cleanse his household from the idols they still possessed.

* How then does this figure into the fact that the Pharisees and teachers of the law were wrong in condemning Jesus for "eating and drinking with sins and tax collectors?" "Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mark 2:17) He taught his disciples, "Go into the world and preach the good news to all creation." (Mark 16:15) And, "As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world." (John 17:18) Our mission field is to convert the world, the world is not to convert us. We need to protect our hearts, as James wrote, "You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." (James 4:4-10)

Genesis 34:2-4 "When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and violated her. His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. And Shechem said to his father Hamor, "Get me this girl as my wife."

* "Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite" -Jacob bought the land he now lived in from Hamor. (33:19) So they were neighbors. Shechem was probably named after the city, or the founder of the city was his ancestor. When Abram entered the promised land, first coming to this place, there was no city there. (12:6)

* "Hivite" -Esau took his wives from them. (36:2) Isaac and Rebekah had been greatly grieved by Esau's wives. (27:46, 28:1, 8) Most frequently the name appears in the list of nations God would drive out of the land during the Israelite conquest (i.e. Deuteronomy 7:1).

* "he took her and violated her" -non-congenial violent act. "Took" is "Lagah" in Hebrew meaning an irresistible force was used. "Violated" is "ana" in Hebrew meaning a dishonorable treatment.

* "His heart was drawn to... he loved the girl" -Canaanites distinguish love from sex. That is they do not understand that sex was given by God to a married loving couple of a male and a female. The concept of love being more important and fundamental to sex is not recognized and accepted by Canaanites.

* "spoke tenderly to her" -He must have learned from her countenance after the fact that she loathed his actions and was forever marred. So he tried to persuade her that he was a "nice guy" and "only was expressing his love and admiration for her". He didn't want news of his action to be read by Dinah's reaction to it. So he tried and tried to convince her. He is no different from "sweet talking" selfish spiritually dead men of this age.

* "Get me this girl as my wife" -He saw her as a possession and showed a lack of respect. A lack of respect toward one's parents and elders is also a trait of a Canaanite.

* Paul recorded other marks of Canaanites, "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them." (2 Tim. 3:1-5)

Genesis 34:5 "When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he kept quiet about it until they came home."

* "When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled" -Probably one of Jacob's other daughters or a servant told him.

* "his sons were in the fields with his livestock" -Working as young men should do. Perhaps if Shechem would have busied his hands with work, they would not have been busy in sin. The modern day culture has lost the wisdom of the parents teaching their children the benefits and virtues of a hard days work. Ecclesiastes 10:18 says, "If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the house leaks." And Ecclesiastes 11:6 says, "Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well."

* Jacob intended to wait to discuss it with his sons. Some had grown to an age where they began taking on the business of the family. Jacob (Israel) was in his nineties.

>2. How did Dinah's brothers react when they heard what had been done? (7) What does this say about them?

Genesis 34:6-7 "Then Shechem's father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. Now Jacob's sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter--a thing that should not be done."

* "Hamor went out to talk with Jacob" -He went to Jacob without bringing Dinah with him. (26) One could consider this holder her as a possession or a hostage. Hamor must have known that as soon as she was with her family she would refuse to return.

* "as soon as they heard" -Evidence of the shock.

* "filled with grief and fury" -Unlike their father, they let their emotions out of control. Proverbs 25:28 states, "Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control."

* "a thing that should not be done" -God's people are not to intermarry with non-believers.

>3. What did Shechem's father, Hamor propose? (9-10) What did Shechem propose and what was his reason? (11-12) Where was Dinah? (26) What does this say about Shechem and his father?

Genesis 34:8-10 "But Hamor said to them, "My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it."

* "Intermarry with us" -Hamor saw this as an opportunity for the city to slowly obtain the blessings of wealth that the Lord had given Jacob (Israel).

* "and acquire" -Hamor's hid the sin by dangling the prospect of prosperity to Israel. A slick tongue must have been the family trait.

Genesis 34:11-12 "Then Shechem said to Dinah's father and brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask. Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I'll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the girl as my wife."

* "Make the price for the bride" -Leah and Rachel must have taught their sons that a father should never treat their daughters as property as their father had them. (31:15)

>4. What did Jacob's sons propose? (13-17) What was their intent? What was wrong with their plan? Was Jacob being a good head of the family?

Genesis 34:13-17 "Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob's sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. They said to them, "We can't do such a thing; we can't give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us. We will give our consent to you on one condition only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males. Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We'll settle among you and become one people with you. But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we'll take our sister and go."

* "deceitfully" -Two wrongs do not make a right as they would soon find out. What did Jacob think and how did he feel when he saw his sons deal deceitfully as he had learned the hard way lead to no good?

* "circumcised" -The God given act of circumcision was given as a symbol of God's covenant with Abraham and his descendants. They used God's direction as a tool to their advantage. Have we done this with the gifts and talents he has given us?

* "we will take our sister and go" -They knew that Israel's wealthy would be to good of a item to resist.

>5. What did Simeon and Levi do? Why only them? How did Jacob respond? Why did Simeon and Levi say they did it? What role would it play in their future? (Gen. 49:5-7) What can we learn from this event about them, the world they lived in, and how we should live in the world we live in? (Matt. 5:5)

Genesis 34:18-24 "Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. 19 The young man, who was the most honored of all his father's household, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob's daughter. 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city to speak to their fellow townsmen. 21 "These men are friendly toward us," they said. "Let them live in our land and trade in it; the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours. 22 But the men will consent to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised, as they themselves are. 23 Won't their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours? So let us give our consent to them, and they will settle among us." 24 All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised.

* Circumcision for an adult make would make a man barely able to walk let alone fight.

Genesis 34:25-29 "Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male. 26 They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem's house and left. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where their sister had been defiled. 28 They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields. 29 They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in the houses.

* "Simeon and Levi" -Only two, Leah's second and third oldest attacked. The rest must have either been to young, not agreed, did not know of their plans, wasn't in Israel's camp at the time (i.e. married), or stayed back to protect the camp and a possible retreat.

* "looted the city... all their women and children" -Showing complete loss of control of the carnal nature. Galatians 5:22-26 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other."

Genesis 34:30-31 "Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought trouble on me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed." But they replied, "Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?"

* "You have brought trouble on me" -Two wrongs don't make a right.

* The ruthless nature would be deplorable even to the ungodly.

* The brother's reply was correct in that they should not treat women as prostitutes, especially their sister. However, it was not a justification for what they did as they made it out to be. Was all the men, women, and children in town responsible? No. It is true that all the town's men agreed to join with Israel; but did all know of the violation? Even if they did, would it justify the reaction of anger and putting to risk their own household? Perhaps Paul was thinking of this incident when he wrote, "Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need." (Eph. 4:25-28)

* Genesis 49:5-7 records the fruit of thier actions here, "Simeon and Levi are brothers-- their swords are weapons of violence. Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased. Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel."

* The fulfilment of Jacob's words is that the size of Simeon decreased (Num. 1:23=59,300 men; Num. 26:14=22,200 men) until when they finally entered the promised land all they occupied was a few cities within the borders of Judah. (Josh. 1:9) Levi received no land for they were priests. (Jos. 13:14)

II. Jacob Returns to Bethel (35:1-29)

>6. What preparation did Jacob make before going to Bethel? What was the significance of this? (1-4) Why did he call Bethel "El Bethel"?

Genesis 35:1 "Then God said to Jacob, "Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau."

* "Then God said to Jacob" -Whether by vision, dream or a voice in not known.

* "Bethel" -Because of its abundant springs, the area was fertile and attractive to settlements as early as 3200 B.C., and first supported a city around the time of Abraham. Entering Canaan, Abraham built an altar at Bethel, calling upon the name of the Lord (Gen. 12:8), and returned here after his time in Egypt (Gen. 13:3). His grandson, Jacob, spent the night here on his way to Syria to find a wife. In a dream the Lord confirmed the Abrahamic covenant, and Jacob responded by renaming this locale which was previously called Luz, “Bethel” (house of God; Gen. 28:10-22). Probably the name “Bethel” is referred to but out of chronological sequence in the earlier Abraham passages. When he returned with his large family, Jacob came to Bethel again to hear the Lord’s confirmation of the covenant and his name was changed to “Israel.” Here again Jacob set up a stone monument (Gen. 35:1-16; Hos. 12:4,5). Extensive fortification of Bethel came after this patriarchal period. (Holman Bible Dictionary)

* "The God said" -The word God is "Elohim" in Hebrew. A singlular/plural word pointing to the trinity; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

* "build an altar there to God" -The word God here is "El" in Hebrew. The root word for God. Perhaps its better to say the shortened from Hebrew 'ayil meaning strength; or as an adjective mighty; especially the Almighty (but used also of any deity).

* When Israel (then Jacob) was fleeing from his brother the passage uses the following words for God; Elohim (God), YHWH (LORD), YHWH Elohim (LORD God), and Shamar (I AM0.

* When the LORD God appeared to him when he was fleeing, Israel made this vow, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's house, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth." (Gen. 28:20-22)

Genesis 35:2-5 "So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. 3 Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone." 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. 5 Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them."

* "Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you" -Rachel had stolen her father's household gods. (31:34) At the time Jacob did not know it. (31:32)) Later he must have seen it to say this and perhaps other foreign gods that the servants and his children may have had.

* "purify yourself" -The oldest form of purification was a mikvah (cleansing with water).

* "change your clothes" -Put on the best clothes and making ourselves as neat as possible is a sign of respect and honor when we go to corporate worship. (Ex. 19:10) Does a person go to the president's house in rags or his or her best? How much more the Creator Loving God.

* Israel had been in the promised land for around ten years and still did not return to this place as he had vowed. It must have been on his mind. Why did he tarry? Perhaps rationalized fear and/or a feeling of inadequacy and uncleanliness.

* "let us go" -Israel brought his whole family and all with him to worship.

* "and the rings in their ears" -Such practices weren't considered ornamental as many consider it today. Rather in ancient times such practices were believed to give a person magical and/or divine power, a belief still shared by some today.

* "and the terror of God..." -God's presence with Israel was senced even with the immoral Canaanites. When the nation Israel was given a command to conquer the promised land many generations later, the terror of God fell on their enemies, the Canaanites again. (Jos. 2:9)

Genesis 35:6-8 "Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. 7 There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother. 8 Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So it was named Allon Bacuth."

* "Luz" -Jacob was the one who gave a new name to Luz. He called it Beth-el ("Beth" is Hebrew for House, "El" is Hebrew for God) when he saw the angles of God ascending and descending on a stairway and the LORD above it.

* "El-Bethel" -means "the God of Beth-el". Seems redundant to me. Israel traveled south for over twenty miles (40 km) from Shechem to arrive here. Bethel is 1,010 feet (308 m) higher than Shechem.

* "Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died" -Since Jacob left all alone, Deborah must have been with Isaac and Rebekah. This means that since his return to Canaan, Israel must have had contact of some from with his aged father. The Bible does not mention it because their visits/communication has nothing to do with the covenant and/or the future (from their point of view).

* "Allon Bacuth" -means Oak of Weeping.

* Isaac lived at Mamre. (27) Mamre is over thirty miles (50km) south of El-Bethel.

>7. How did the Lord reveal himself to Jacob and what did he promise him? What was God's great purpose for Jacob? How did Jacob respond?

Genesis 35:9-13 "After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. 10 God said to him, "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel." So he named him Israel. 11 And God said to him, "I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. 12 The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you." 13 Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him."

* "returned from Paddan Aram" -Paddan Aram is the area to the north of the promised land where Laban, Rebekah and Leah's father, lived. Why his returning from Paddan Aram is mentioned again is unclear unless Moses, the author is marking a new section. Yet, earlier in Genesis Moses marked new sections by using the phrase, "this the account of".

* "God appeared to him again and blessed him" -"Again" could be referring to when he left for Paddan Aram years earlier, or at Peniel, or both.

* "Your name..." -This a new incident in Jacob's life. The LORD is repeating his name change as a kind of restart after Israel put his foot down and cleansed his family.

* "I am God Almighty" -El Shaddia (also spelled Shadday) meaning the all sufficient One.

* "be fruitful and increase in number" -Never said to Abraham and Isaac. However it was said to Adam and Noah.

* "A nation and a community of nations will come from you" -The nation was Israel which split after Solomon died. Both halves eventually ended in captivity. They did not become a nation again, under self rule until 1948 A.D. "A community of nations" is referring to the church. Joseph's son Ephraim became the fulfilment when the northern half (kingdom) of Israel was captured and scattered into the nations and regather again when the church was grafted into Israel. (Rom. 9-11)

* "kings will come from your body" -Not only is this refering to Saul, David, Solomon, and the rest, but Jesus is King of kings, and Lord or lords, referring to the Millennium (one thousand year reign of Christ and believers). I write of this in my manuscript The Believer's Future-Hope That Inspires.

* "The land..." -The Israelites came out of Egypt as a new nation and occupied most of the land thru the time of Judges, Kings, the prophets and even now. However, they never obtained all of the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and now Jacob. This will be fulfilled at the very end of this age thru the Millenium.

* "Then God went up from him" -As Jesus went up after talking to the disciples. (Acts 1:9)

* "where he had talked with him" -God talked to him as a man talks to another man. Many false religious systems can not believe that God can appear as a man. This is a staple believe of true religion.

* Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob received the same (or similar) unconditional promises.

* Jacob's descendants did not have the LORD God appear to them as he did their ancestors for over four hundred years. The LORD God would not appear to anyone again until Moses, or at least if he did it is not recorded in the Bible. (Ex. 3:6, 33:11)

Genesis 35:14-15 "Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel."

* "Bethel" -see above

III. Benjamin, Rachel and Isaac (35:16-36:43)

>8. Where did Jacob move his family to next? (16) Describe the the birth of Benjamin.

Genesis 35:16-20 "Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty. 17 And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, "Don't be afraid, for you have another son." 18 As she breathed her last--for she was dying--she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin. 19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day that pillar marks Rachel's tomb."

* "still some distance Ephrath" -became Bethleham. (19, Ru. 1:2, Mk. 5:2) Bethel is only twenty miles (30km) north of Ephrath. So they couldn't have been to far, perhaps five miles.

* "Rachel" -As with many events in Genesis, this became a prophetic event. It was fulfilled at the time of the Messiah Jesus' birth. Matthew 2:16-18 states, "When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."

* "Ben-Oni" -meaning son of my sorrow.

* "Benjamin" -meaning son of my right hand, son of age (i.e. old age), and/or son of the south. Benjamin was the only son of Israel to be born not only in the promised land, but the territory that his descendants would inherit when they entered the promised land over four hundred years later. Israel (Jacob) left Bethel and was going to Ephrath (Bethlehem) when he was born and his mother died. Bethlehem is just inside Judah's territory. Bethel and Jerusalem (a few miles south of Bethel) were in Benjamin's territory and on the road to Bethlehem.

>9. Where did Jacob move his family to next? (21) What happened there and what does that say about the oldest son? How do you think he was in the sight of the LORD and what role would it play in his future? (Gen. 49:3-4)

Genesis 35:21-22 "Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder. While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father's concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it. Jacob had twelve sons:"

* "Migdal Eder" -meaning the watch town of the flock.

* Bilah was old. So why would Reuben do this? It was an arrogant act staking claim to his inheritance as firstborn. However, because of this he lost his right as firstborn. (49:3-4; 1 Chron. 5:1)

* So Israel's three oldest sons were unqualified to receive the birthright. God had not chosen them just as he had not chosen Ishmael and Esau who were also the oldest. Why? To show his sovereignty.

* Who then would received the birthright, the blessing of Jacob (Israel)? Judah, Leah's fourth son was next in line. He would receive some of it, but not all of the blessing. The blessing also fell on the two sons of Joseph, Rachel's oldest. Thus, Joseph received a double portion of the blessing. The blessing then becomes very important in Israel and all of human history. I've read and heard people say that the age we are in now (age of grace, age of the church, age of preaching the gospel) is not prophesied in the Old Testament and therefore was/is a mystery. It was a mystery to many in Israel, but they are wrong in saying it is not prophesied. I believe they say this because they have read older eschatology books that state this and have not studied Genesis and Israel's history that well. If they would study better they would see this age is prophesied in Genesis, in the covenants the LORD established and the blessings of Jacob (Israel) to his twelve sons and Joseph's two sons. More of this in chapter 48 t0 50 study (study 27).

Genesis 35:23-27 "The sons of Leah: Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun. 24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 25 The sons of Rachel's maidservant Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali. 26 The sons of Leah's maidservant Zilpah: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram. 27 Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed."

>10. Describe the death of Rachel and Isaac. Who buried them? Note the genealogy of Esau, the ancestor of the Edomites in chapter 36. Who became the Edomites in relation to the Israelites? (Num. 20:14-21)

Genesis 35:28-29 "Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years. Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him."

* Moses the author of Genesis as dictated face-to-face by the LORD in the tent of meeting (see mote above) ends sections with genealogies. So we are coming the end to the account of Jacob. From here Genesis presents the life of Judah and Joseph, receivers of the blessing of Jacob (Israel).

Chapter 36

* Esau's descendants lived south and south est of the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Abraham's other sons lived south and southeast of the promised land. when Israel were on their way out of Egypt, from Mt. Sinai, they had to go through Edom. Edom would not let them pass. Israel had to go around their territory to get to the promised land. (Num. 20:14-21)