My dear readers, we are still in the “three” part of “THREE PLUS FOUR” series. Our final installment of this part is about Jacob the Patriarch. Today, we will dig into the story of his way back to the Land of Israel after 20 years of exile – and will discover the amazing details and even more amazing spiritual truths that these details point to. Together, we are rediscovering the Hebrew Bible on these pages.
JACOB’S THEFT
We will start in Genesis 31. After long years of serving Laban, Jacob decides to return to his land. He takes his family and possessions, and off he goes. His wife Rachel steals (ותגנב רחל) her father’s idols. The word תגנב here is the same word that we have in the Ten Commandments. When Laban overtakes him and accuses him of stealing his idols, Jacob is insulted by such suspicion. He is convinced that there couldn’t be any stolen goods in his camp. Jacob knows that stealing is a grave sin, and the very thought that he would be suspected of theft is unbearable to him. Indignant at the accusation, and not knowing of his wife’s theft, he invites Laban to search the whole camp.
And yet, he is not aware that he has also committed theft. To our great surprise, in the very next verse after Rachel’s theft, the same word refers to Jacob: ויגנב יעקב. Thus, we discover that Jacob also stole – he “stole the heart of Laban,” because he did not inform him that he was leaving with all his wives and children, i.e. Laban’s daughters and grandchildren. His whole departure, or rather flight, was so unseemly and ungodly that Scripture, using the same very word, accuses him of the grave sin of theft: ויגנב יעקב את-לב לבן. The message of Scripture is clear: to steal a heart is also a sin in God’s eyes!
There is another connection here that is lost in translation, but is very clear in the Hebrew Scriptures. As we would all know Laban searches the tents but doesn’t find his idols: Rachel hides them by sitting on them. Thus, the story seemed to end favorably. But is it really the end? Shortly after arriving in the land, Rachel, still a young woman unexpectedly dies in childbirth. Most readers don’t connect this death with Laban’s search in Genesis 31. Yet, the Jewish commentators connect this tragic event to Jacob’s oath to Laban: ‘With whomever you find your gods, do not let him live.’[1] This oath was fulfilled—not by Laban, but by God Himself: the one who had stolen the teraphims, had to die.
The Hebrew shows that both Jacob and Rachel realized this connection as well. The name that the dying mother gives to her son – Ben-Oni – probably means “the son of my iniquity” (און שלי, “my evil”). Understandably, Jacob didn’t want the child to carry this name, therefore he called him Benjamin, “son of the right hand,” which may be also interpreted as “son of the oath,” since right hand in the Bible often symbolizes an oath.
The Scriptures tell us about the laws of the spiritual world. Unseen and often ignored, they are nonetheless just as inviolable as the law of gravity. This is why the search of Rachel, who had actually stolen and yet on whom nothing was found, ends with her tragic death; that is why Jacob, who still didn’t know that to “steal a heart” or to deceive, was a sin, desperately needed the Peniel experience – the one that will change his name and will change his heart!
FROM THE PLACE OF GOD TO THE FACE OF GOD!
Peniel (פְּנִיאֵל) – the place of Jacob’s wrestling with God – in Hebrew means, “face of God”. It was there, at Peniel, that as Jacob said, he saw God “face to face” (hence the name of the place); it was there, at Peniel, that not only was Jacob’s name changed, but also his heart. In English, this name – “face of God” – comes rather unexpectedly; however, in Hebrew the idea of panim (“face”) is certainly one of the main motifs in the whole narrative of Jacob’s return to the Land. The root פָּנִים (panim), and the words derived from this root, occur many times in the Hebrew verses preceding the Peniel encounter. In order to understand the difference between the Hebrew and English texts, let’s read, for example, Genesis 32:20 …For he thought, “I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me.” The word “face” is not used even once in this translation (nor in many others), while in Hebrew, in this verse alone the word panim occurs four times. This builds a case and prepares us for the name Peniel.
But there is something more that can be seen in the story of Jacob when read in Hebrew. The Peniel encounter happens during Jacob’s last night outside the Land. You probably remember “Jacob’s Ladder”—Jacob’s dream on the way from Beer-Sheba to Haran, during his last night in the Land. When this chapter is read in Hebrew, we find that almost as many times as the word “face” occurs in chapter 32, the term מָקוֹם (makom), “place”, occurs here in chapter 28. Remember, here Jacob is about to leave the Land on his way into exile. His encounter with God in the dream probably happened during his last night in the Land, and as far as we know, this was the first time God spoke to him personally. When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” Therefore, we see very clearly that, at that point, this life-changing encounter and Jacob’s new concept of God was very much connected to this place.
Remarkably, before this dream – before his last night in the Land – we read: “And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set.” And then, after the Peniel encounter, we read: “And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him”. Do you see the beauty of this narrative? These two meetings with God – when Jacob is leaving the Land and when he returns – form a peculiar literary inclusion. The sun setting at the beginning of Jacob’s journey and rising at its end seems to bracket his whole journey. Within these divine “brackets” we see a beautiful progression that we shouldn’t miss—the progression of Jacob’s faith; the progression of his knowledge of God; the progression of revelation: from the place of God to the face of God!
There are many more amazing details that we find in Jacob’s and other stories in Hebrew Scriptures. If these articles whet your appetite for discovering the hidden treasures of the Hebrew Bible I would be happy to provide more information (and also a teacher’s discount for new students) regarding eTeacher’s wonderful courses (juliab@eteachergroup.com). You might also enjoy my books, they all are Bible based and have a lot of Hebrew insights – you can get them here.
[1] Gen. 31:32
Dear Julia.
Let me introduce myself. I am from Indonesia. This the first time I write a comment,
I always excited reading your articles. I just want to ask about Betel… We read Betel in Gen 12: 8. And Jacob renamed city of Luz to Betel in Genesis 28. Maybe you can write an article about Betel. Thank you.
Dear Julia, thank you very much for the wonderful insights into Jacob’s life. It changed my understanding of the life paths of the 3 great patriarchs.
I think Jacob experienced incredible grace from God that makes us pause in awe and fear of God.
It is even overwhelming because these are not just stories, but they hold a mirror up to ourselves, to teach, to admonish and challenge us.
These family relationships and consequences of their actions have had a great effect on the fate of these people.
it is obvious that just as in Jacob’s life, there are hidden things in our lives and in our ancestors’ lives, and the consequences are usually not clear.
If God Himself does not uncover these connections, we will remain stuck in front of these invisible barriers. Thankfully God often intervenes at the right time to save us from hidden consequences.
I think we all are like uneven stones that he smooths with the water of his grace. These changes are, as we learned from Jacob’s life and the other patriarchs often profound, transforming events, that fill us with the awe of God. This is a blessing from God. How much we need this in our lives today!
Thank you, Julia, you deeply uncovered the Word of God and directed our inner eyes to the essential meaning.
God bless you.
Thank you Dear Julia,
I’m so happy to learn more from you and your insights into Jacob’s story .I just turned eighty years of age and not in the best of health so I pray that I can live to read more of your monthly lessons
Jacob’s story is one of the most heartbreaking stories of the Bible .I can’t help but feel bad for Leah . She got a husband through trickery and felt so unloved . Still I believe that there are hints in the story that Jacob may have ended up loving Leah more than Rachel . Jacob wanted to be buried in the cave where Abraham and Sarah , Isaac and Rebecca were buried and Jacob said there I buried Leah and he was buried next to Leah . Abraham loved Sarah and Isaac loved Rebecca so I believe Jacob loved Leah . I wonder if Rachel’s beauty was superficial and didn’t permeate to the depth of her soul . God teaches us not to judge by appearances but look for the beauty within and perhaps this is yet another lesson in this story
May God Bless you and all of His Sacred Family
Dear Gladys, your comments always give me some food for thought. I’ve never done any research or studies on Jacob and Leah, but now, I think, I will do it. I’ve always been wondering why God bestows His anointing, for all time, on a monarchic line arising from the Tribe of Judah, the son of Leah, and how it goes together with Leah being not loved. The competition between Leah’s and Rachel’s children is very obvious in the Scripture and even more prominent in the Jewish commentaries. King David, and also Jesus, come from Judah – so in the end, Leah becomes much more important in God’s plan than Rachel. There is definitely something to think about – thank you, Gladys!
So Jacob’s literal journey, into and out of the land, is accentuated with the hugely important inward journey that he pursues at the same time: the “ladder” and the “wrestling” events.
This reminds me of the admonition to be who we should be, and do what we should do.
Thank you Julia continuing to share your insight!
Sincerely, Nick
Yes, Nick, the story of Jacob’s journey in Hebrew makes it abundantly clear that it is the spiritual inward journey as well – that’s why it is so important in the Lord’s eyes, and the Torah tells us more about this journey than about Jacob’s 20 years at Laban’s place.
thank you for your sharing
this morning I am so much blessed
Thank you for your kind words, Seonghak! Blessings!