Genesis Chapter 35

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410. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

TRAGEDY ON THE WAY TO HEBRON

This chapter continues the pilgrimage of Jacob. However, there is a significant difference. In the incident at Shechem, Jacob was largely in the background, though he was seriously embarrassed by all that took place. Perhaps he had allowed his family too much lib­erty. In this chapter there is a change. He assumes a dominant role, and hearkening to the voice of God, moves south to Bethel to renew the covenant once again. This required special preparations on the part of all with him. From Bethel the tribe moves on to Bethlehem. It proves to be a journey marked by sadness. The aged Deborah dies; the beloved Rachel also passes to her rest after giving birth to Benjamin; Reuben demonstrates that he is unfit for the position of firstborn; and Esau and Jacob meet once more at Hebron. Finally the life of Isaac comes to an end.

Jacob Is Sent By God To Bethel — Vv. 1-5

Acting under divine guidance, Jacob prepares his family, and the members of his household for a meeting with God. He leaves Shechem for Bethel, about thirty miles distant. Despite Jacob's fears, no one pursues or attacks him, for the terror of God is upon all the cities en route.

VERSE 1

"And God said unto Jacob" — Prob­ably in answer to prayer. Most likely Jacob had taken his problem to God in that way, and the answer now came.

"Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee" — He was directed to seek shelter in Bethel, the House of El. The journey, therefore, was for the purpose of worship at the altar Jacob was instructed to build there; and by the use of the title El (God), he is remind­ed of the Source of strength. Bethel, of course, signifies House of El (Strength).

"When thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother" — Bethel provided comfort and strength then, and would do so again at a time when Jacob feared the consequences of his sons' foolish action.

VERSE 2

"Then Jacob said unto his house­hold, and to all that were with him"— His household included servants who had attached themselves to Jacob when he left Haran or since; and "all that were with him" included those whom his sons had forcibly acquired from Shechem (cp. Gen. 34:29). These, doubtless, still clung to their pagan worship. There was a need for all to make proper preparation to meet with God.

"Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments" — This was in prepara­tion for engaging in worship at Bethel, the house of God (cp. 1 Tim. 3:15). True wor­ship requires: (1) Repudiation of false teaching (put away strange gods); (2) Cleansing of the Word (be clean); John 15:3); (3) A cover for sin (change your garments); (4) Activity in service (arise and go). The Hebrew nekar, rendered "strange," signifies foreign. The phrase can literally be rendered: "the gods of the stranger." As we have seen, a number of those strangers who would have had their gods with them, had only recently been forcibly taken from Shechem (Gen. 34:29).

VERSE 3

"And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar" — The purpose of the journey was reli­gious, to renew the covenant with the God (El) of Bethel.

"Unto God, Who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went" — We learn, for the first time, that Jacob had made his distress at leaving home the subject of prayer; and that he had recognised in the vision of Bethel, an answer to it. These words also reveal that Jacob constantly discerned the guiding hand of El in all the circumstances of his life.

VERSE 4

"And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears" — The earrings were orna­ments of religious or talismanic value, such as are referred to in Hosea 2:13.

"And Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem" — This state­ment would appear quite trivial apart from the remarkable typical significance of the action of Jacob. The word "oak" is 'elah and signifies strength. It was the name given to an oak or terebinth tree; and, at that time, there was a most significant oak growing at Shechem. It is translated in Genesis 12:6 as the plain of Μoreh. But the word "plain" should be rendered "oak," and the phrase signifies The Strength of the Teacher (see our notes on Gen. 12:6). This Oak or Terebinth, there­fore points to Christ, our Strength (Phil. 4:13). As Jacob buried the sinful trinkets of his followers under this oak, so the believer, in baptism, buries his sins (Rom. 6:4).

Consider the significance of the spot where this was done. It was not only the place where the Burden-bearer (Shechem) had been put to death, but the place where Abram heard the promise for the first time in the land (Gen. 12:6). Even the history of the place is in accordance with the type. It later became the site of the Sanctuary where Joshua erected his memorial pillar (Josh. 24:23-27), where the tribes were gathered. However, apostasy caused this place to become known as The Oak of the Sorcerers, for "the plain (Heb. oak) of the pillar" of Judges 9:6, is described as "the plain (or oak) of Meonenim" or sorcerers in Judges 9:37.

What a remarkable type! It points for­ward to the Lord Jesus, a living sacrifice of Strength (the oak) who can effectively cover sin as here was done by Jacob, but whose efficacy to do so was harmed by unscrupulous sorcerers (a term scripturally used for false religion: Rev. 21:8) intro­ducing truth-destroying apostasy. Mean­while, under the oak by Shechem, the Burden-bearer, Jacob hid away the sin of the people with him.

VERSE 5

"And they journeyed"—The caval­cade left the field of Shechem, and moved south along the winding valley hemmed in by towering mountains, that leads to the hilly terrain of Bethel. Jacob was at the head of a numerous company of people, surely causing the patriarch to ponder the ways of Providence. He had left Bethel a lonely fugitive — he returned to it having grown into a large company of people.

"And the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob" — For some reason, the inhabi­tants of the land hesitated to attack Jacob and his company. Perhaps it was at this time that he effectively defended his inher­itance against the attack of the warlike Amorites (Gen. 48:22), so that others feared to molest him. Whatever reason they gave for their reluctance to attack, it was only a half-truth. In fact, a supernatu­ral dread settled upon the people of the land which was induced by angelic supervision (see Psa. 34:7). The Psalmist sums it up as follows:

And He confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, And to Israel for an everlasting cove­nant; Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, The lot of your inheritance; When they were but a few men in num­ber- Yea, very few, and strangers in it. When they went from one nation to another. From one kingdom to another people; He suffered no man to do them wrong; Yea, He reproved kings for their sakes; Saying, Touch not Mine anointed, And do My prophets no harm (Psa 105:10-15).

Death of Deborah, Rebekah's Nurse — Vv. 6-8

Jacob arrives at Bethel, and recalling the circumstances of his previous visit to this place, he builds an altar and worships God. But whilst he sojourns there, Debo­rah, Rebekah's nurse, dies at a very old age. Jacob was now at least one hundred years of age; his mother had been mar­ried twenty years before he was born (Gen. 25:20,26); and must have been about 140 years of age if still alive. Her nurse would have been even older. It is most unlikely that Deborah had made her way to far-distant Padan-aram at her age, and therefore she must have met up with Jacob at either Shechem or Bethel. Most likely she made her way to Jacob on the death of Rebekah, so that Jacob never again saw his mother who loved him so deeply. In the death of Deborah, he mourned the snapping of this sole contact with the mother he loved so much.

VERSE 6

"So Jacob came to Luz" — This was the original name of the town. See notes at Gen. 28:19.

"Which is in the land of Canaan"— The narrative emphasises Jacob's status as pilgrim.

"That is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him" — Jacob could well contrast his condition now with that of his previous visit to this site. Then he was a lonely fugitive; now he was the head of a large company of people, with numerous flocks and herds. He could see in this contrast a token of the fulfilment of the divine covenant.

VERSE 7

"And he built there an altar" — For the significance of altars, see comments on Gen. 8:20; 12:6.

"And called the place El-beth­el"—The name El-beth-el signifies The Strength of the house of El. Jacob, obvi­ously, would identify this Strong One with the promised Redeemer, the Seed of the Woman, who would bruise the serpent power on the head (Gen. 3:15).

Today we acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as that Strong One (Phil. 4:13). He is also identified with the altar (Heb. 13:10). The name given him at birth: Immanuel, or God with us, proclaims that he is the Strength of the House of El. Jacob had exhibited that strength despite his obvious weakness; in fact, in him, "God's strength was made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9).

Hosea comments: "He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God; yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us; even Yahweh God of hosts" (Hos. 12:3-5). What a profound statement. Not only is the angel identified with Yahweh Elohim Sabaoth, but he is represented as speaking with the descendants of Jacob, as well as with the patriarch himself: this is indicated in the narrative by the use of the plural pronoun "us".

"Because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother" — The word rendered "appear­ed" in this verse is galah. It signifies to make naked, to disclose, reveal, or uncov­er. In the context of this verse, it signifies "to appear, as if by the removal of a veil" (Gesenius); to make manifest things previ­ously hidden. It is a different word from that rendered "appeared" in v.9 of this chapter. It implies that at Bethel, Jacob had a further revelation: God disclosed his intentions to him, in a manner He had not done so previously.

VERSE 8

"But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died" — See comments at the beginning of this section. Deborah signifies Bee, which doubtless is an index of her character. She was noted for her busy activity on the behalf of others. She had nourished Rebekah as a baby, and accom­panied her when she left Haran for Isaac in the Land (Gen. 24:59).

"And she was buried beneath Beth­el"— She was buried not beneath the vil­lage, but a little south of Bethel.

"Under an oak" — The Hebrew 'elown, (cp. v. 4) "oak," signifies strength. The oak under which Deborah was buried is compared in this chapter with the oak under which were hidden the pagan gods found among the company of Jacob (v.4). At Shechem, the Burden-bearer, sins were hidden; here, in proximity to the House of El, the faithful sleep in anticipation of the resurrection (1 Thess. 4:14).

What a remarkable type. At their induction into Christ, the Burden-bearer, the sins of believers are covered away; in him at the close of a faithful life of service to others, saints sleep awaiting the resur­rection.

"And the name of it was called Allon-bachuth" — The name signifies The oak of weeping, indicative of the sor­row and mourning at the death of a faith­ful and useful member of the community.

Isaac Blessed By God — Vv. 9-15

Again the angel of God appears unto Jacob, this time to confirm the promise made to him previously at Bethel.

VERSE 9

"And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padan-aram, and blessed him" — The word "appear-ed" is raah; and signifies to see both literally or figuratively; either person­ally or by vision.

VERSE 10

"And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob; Thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel" — This is a confirmation of that promised by the angel in Ch. 32:28 (see notes). It implies that God endorsed his action since leaving Shechem.

VERSE 11

"And God said unto him, I am God Almighty"—The name is El Shaddai. It is the name by which Yahweh made Himself known to Abram when He changed his name to Abraham. See notes, Gen. 17:1. This name reveals that He can be both Nourisher and Destroyer.

"Be fruitful and multiply" — As children are "an heritage of Yahweh, and the fruit of the womb is His reward" (Psa. 127), the promise of a numerous progeny comprised a divine blessing of great importance. Jacob, previously, had been promised a numerous seed (Gen. 28:3), and his large family was a token fulfilment of it. It is now repeated as if to show that his present family was not the end of the matter, and to the promise is added a clause that revealed that his family would develop into a nation.

"A nation and a company of nations shall be of thee" — A similar blessing was promised Abraham (Gen. 17:5,6,16), and later, Joseph (Gen. 49:22). It pro­claimed that Israel would develop into a nation of tribes, as in fact it did. In accor­dance with the promise, Ephraim too, became a "company of nations" or of tribes, for after the division of the nation, it became the title of the northern kingdom (Ezek. 37:16; Jer. 31:9,18,20; Hos. 4:17; 5:3; Zech. 9:13; 10:7). Commenting upon the experiences of Jacob at this time Elpis Israel (p. 274) states: "When he arrived at Bethel, he built the altar as God had told him. And God said to him there, Ί am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins: and the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee will I give it, and to thy Seed after thee will I give the land" (Gen. 35:12). In this renewal of the promise the additional idea was revealed to Jacob, that the nation constituted of his descendants, would contain a plurality of nations — that is, be a national association of tribes. He was to inherit the land with them, and with the Seed, or Christ, this blessing at Bethel reminded him that he would rise from the dead with Abraham, and inherit the land for ever with his Seed.

"And kings shall come out of thy loins" — This happened through the line of David, and will do so in the future through those to whom have been given the "sure mercies of David" (Isa. 55:3). They will "live and reign with Christ a thousand years" (Rev. 20:4), constituting the true "Israel of God" (Gal. 6:16).

VERSE 12

"And the land which I gave Abra­ham and Isaac" — See Gen. 13:14-15 for a description of the land. Abraham and Isaac received this only in promise (Heb. 11:13, 39-40), and are yet to inherit it.

"To thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land"— Jacob did not receive it in his lifetime, for shortly after, he went down into Egypt and there died. The promise therefore, takes in the future, and as the comment from Elpis Israel above states, the promise comprised a guarantee that Jacob would be raised to inherit it with the Seed, even the Lord Jesus Christ.

VERSE 13

"And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him" — The angel's mission having been completed, he left Jacob in Bethel.

VERSE 14

"And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him" — Evi­dently the pillar that Jacob had set up pre­viously had fallen down, or had been removed. See Gen. 28:18, and notes there regarding the significance of the pillar.

"Even a pillar of stone" — Unhewn stone, representing human nature shaped by a Divine hand, was used for the build­ing of an altar as well as a pillar (Exod. 20:25).

"And he poured a drink offering thereon" — Under the Law, a drink offer­ing comprised about one third of a gallon of wine. Wine is representative of a new life, brought about by treading underfoot ripened grapes, and allowing the juice to ferment. When wine is poured out in a drink offering, it represents a new life giv­en in total dedication unto Yahweh. Since the pillar represented Christ, the drink offering symbolised his life as a sacrifice.

"And he poured oil thereon" — See note on Gen. 28:18.

VERSE 15

"And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Beth­el" — As we have previously noted, the name signifies House of El (or Strength). The name is representative of the Ecclesia.

Birth of Benjamin: Death of Rachel — Vv. 16-20

Here further tragedy strikes at him. Rachel, his fondly cherished wife, the light of his eyes, dies in giving birth to Benjamin. Smitten with grief, Jacob con­signs the body of his best-loved wife to the earth, and sets up a pillar as a memorial to her. The pathetic incident also fore­shadows the sufferings associated with the Lord Jesus Christ.

VERSE 16

"And they journeyed from Beth-el" — They moved south, through the hilly territory of what subsequently became known as Judah, past the city of Salem where Melchizedek had presided over the festival enjoyed by Abram after the slaughter of the kings, and onwards towards Bethlehem.

"And there was but a little way to come to Ephrath" — Ephrath signifies fruitful. It was adjacent to Bethlehem, and about fifteen miles (24kms) from Bethel. It was appropriate that Rachel should be travailing in birth as the cavalcade moved towards Ephrath, the place of fruitfulness. It is also significant that Benjamin should be the only son to be born in the land, and that he should have been born close to where, later, the Lord was brought to the birth (Mic. 5:2), for in this narrative Ben­jamin becomes a type of Christ.

"And Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour" — In this, Rachel typed the nation at the birth of its king, the Lord Jesus Christ. As she was in pain to bring forth, so was the nation at the first advent of the Lord. It was oppressed by Rome, and anxious to be delivered therefrom. It looked for the advent of the Messiah to free it from the yoke of bondage. But when he came, the nation saw him as Benoni, a Son of Sorrow. At his birth, the slaughter of the innocents of Bethlehem, at the instigation of Herod, underlined the political anguish of the nation at the time (cp. Matt. 2:18): suffering that culminated in political death at the hands of Rome in a.d. 70. But those sufferings were as the birthpangs of a new era of grace brought about by the manifestation of the Lord Jesus as "Son of God with power; accord­ing to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection of the dead" (Rom. 1:4).

VERSE 17

"And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also" — The midwife endeavoured to comfort her with words of assurance; but in vain.

VERSE 18

"And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing" — This verse is eager­ly seized upon by believers in the immor­tality of the soul to teach that the soul as such leaves the body at death. But the word "soul" is nephesh, and is rendered life over one hundred times in the A.V., e.g. Gen. 9:4, 32:30; Lev. 17:11; Deut. 12:23). Rachel's life was departing, or ebbing away.

"(For she died)"—This is a pathetic comment on Rachel in childbirth. She had pleaded for children on the grounds that if she did not have any she would be as good as dead (Gen. 30:1), and now, in giving birth to her second child, she died. Rachel is used as a type of the nation (Jer. 31:15-16). On this occasion, she enacted the agony of the nation when it was brought to political extinction at the first advent of the Lord Jesus (cp. Matt. 2:18). The Lord likened the increasing trouble brought upon Judah, as "the beginning of sorrows" (Matt. 24:7-9), an expression used of a woman in travail.

"That she called his name Ben-oni" — The name signifies Son of my sorrow. As such, he typed the Lord Jesus as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief such as Isaiah 53 portrays him.

"But his father called him Ben­jamin" — He was no Son of Sorrow to Jacob, but rather, the Son of the Right Hand, as the name Benjamin means. Though the Lord Jesus was "a man of sor­row" to the nation, he was not so to the Father. Yahweh elevated him to the Son of the Right Hand in heaven (Psa. 110:5). The tragic incident at Ephrath, therefore, typed the greater tragedy of the nation at the birth of the Lord Jesus. It also fore­shadowed his changed status when he was brought from the dead and ascended to heaven. In his death, resurrection and ele­vation, the Lord Jesus passed through the process of Son of Sorrow to Son of the Right Hand (cp. Psa. 118:15-16; Matt. 22:44; Acts 2:33-34; 7:55, Rom. 8:34; Eph. 1:20; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:3,13; 8:1; 10:12; 1 Pet. 3:22).

VERSE 19

"And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethle­hem" — Bethlehem signifies The House Of Bread. It became the birthplace of Jesus, the antitypical Benjamin, or Son of the Right Hand. After the allotment of the country to the tribes in the days of Joshua, the territory of the Benjamites was extend­ed by a long strip far into the south to include the sepulchre of their beloved ancestress (1 Sam. 10:2).

VERSE 20

"And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day" — From this we learn that the pillar was standing hundreds of years after Jacob erected it over the grave of his beloved wife. In 1 Sam. 10:2 it is referred to as "Rachel's sepulchre in the border of Benjamin" so that it was still standing in the days of Saul and David. As we have seen previously (see comment on Gen. 28:18), such a pillar was a memorial of the covenant that God had just made with Jacob, and which had included the members of his family, developed into a nation. Now Rachel was a symbol of the nation (Jer. 31:15), and the pillar was a monument of memorial that both she and the nation will live again. She died as a pilgrim, never seeing the realisation of her hope; but she is to live again, to witness the glory of her son, and the antitypical Joseph (cp. Gen. 37:10). The words of Jeremiah 31:16-17 can apply to Rachel both personally as well as typically: "Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith Yahweh; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end (the words are directed to Rachel — see v. 15), saith Yahweh; that thy children shall come again to their own border."

The details of Rachel's death are care­fully recorded, not merely because of the great and lasting love that Jacob had for her, but because of the typical foreshadow­ing that is revealed by these details.

Wickedness of Reuben: Summary of Jacob's Family — Vv. 21-26

Jacob moves south towards the "tower of Edar' Here Reuben commits a crime of the most terrible character. This firstborn son of Jacob, his natural succes­sor in the headship of the tribe, becomes guilty of the heinous sin of incest. Jacob's grief and anger are great, though at this point in the narrative a veil is thrown over the circumstances. Later, however, it is recorded that it cost Reuben his birthright (Gen. 49:4). In this account, Reuben is a type of Israel after the flesh, which lost the birthright to the true Israel of God (Gal. 6:16).

VERSE 21

"And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar"— The exact site of Migdal Edar, the Watch-tower of the Flock is unknown, but, obvi­ously, it was adjacent to Bethlehem. Much later when the Lord Jesus was born at the same place, there were "in the same coun­try shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night" (Luke 2:8). The shepherds were disturbed in their vigil by the appearance of an angel pro­claiming the birth of the Lord, and again, at the presence of a company of angels, singing of its significance. This incident gives point to the statement of Micah 4:8, predicting the royal destiny of Jerusalem, as the result of the appearance of Israel's future king: "And thou, Ο tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem." Here, tower of the flock is Migdal Edar as in the verse before us. It is quite significant, therefore, that after the birth of Benjamin, Jacob should encamp with his shepherds, at the very spot where some hundreds of years later, encamped shepherds would listen to the song of the angels proclaiming the birth of the antitypical Benjamin.

VERSE 22

"And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land" — In the portion of land mentioned in the previous verse.

"That Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine" — Reuben was Jacob's firstborn son of Leah. His name means See, A Son! and as such he is representative of Israel after the flesh. Bilhah was Rachel's maid. Reuben's frightful crime is only matched by that of Israel after the flesh in entering into illicit association with Rome, to crucify the Lord Jesus. By his crime, Reuben lost his posi­tion of firstborn, the rights of which were bestowed upon younger sons. In line with the type, Israel after the flesh also lost the privileged status of firstborn when it was abandoned of God in a.d. 70. It was given to the Israel of God (Luke 12:32).

"And Israel heard it" — In the Hebrew there is no further comment, merely a break in the verse, leaving it to the imagination to consider the enormity of such an action. The shame, sorrow, indignation and horror of Israel at the shocking incident could not be expressed in words, and was better left unstated. Because of his action at this time, Reuben was deposed from his privileged status of firstborn (see notes Gen. 49:4).

"Now the sons of Jacob were twelve" — The names of the twelve sons of Jacob form a sentence, conveying an important message. Throughout the Scrip­tures they are set forth in various orders, changing the message of the names as this is done. For example, the order of names is different in the passage before us to that given in Genesis 49. Here they are enu­merated under the heading of the various mothers.

VERSE 23

"The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun" —

The names of Leah's sons provide the fol­lowing message: See a son (Reuben), hear him (Simeon), join him (Levi), praise him (Judah), he will reward (Issachar), with a dwelling (Zebulun).

VERSE 24

"The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin" — The message of salvation continues with the meaning of Rachel's sons: There will be increase (Joseph) to the Son of the right hand (Benjamin).

VERSE 25

"And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali" — Con­tinue the message: At the judgment (Dan), after wrestling (Naphtali).

VERSE 26

"And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid; Gad, and Asher" — For the company (Gad) of the blessed (Asher). The exact significance of each of the names is set forth in our comments on the chapters dealing with their births (Chps. 29,30). Here we have paraphrased them into a sentence.

"These are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padan-aram" — Actually Benjamin (v. 24) was born in the land of Canaan, but reference is made to Padan-aram to indicate that Jacob's wan­derings were not yet over. Moreover, though Benjamin was born in the Land, hismother was from Padan-aram and therefore her son is accounted as having come from there.

Death Of Isaac — Vv. 27-29

Jacob moves on to Hebron where he takes up residence with Isaac. Hebron sig­nifies "fellowship," and here old wounds are healed. Shortly afterwards Isaac died, and the two brothers, Esau and Jacob, are again united in peace at the burial of their father.

VERSE 27

"And Jacob came unto Isaac his father" — Jacob left Laban at the age of 97 years, when Isaac was 151 years of age, and Joseph was 6. Joseph was 17 when his brothers openly manifested their dislike of him (Gen. 37:2), which means that Jacob would have been 108 years of age at that time, and Isaac 168 which was twelve years before his death (see v. 28).

"Unto Mamre" — Mamre signifies strength or power. See notes at Gen. 13:18.

"Unto the city of Arbah" — Arbah signifiesfour. So Jacob came in strength to the city of the four. In Rev. 21:16, spiritual Jerusalem is described as a city that lieth "foursquare."

"Which is Hebron" — Hebron signi­fies union or fellowship. This minute description of the stopping place of Jacob is not without point. It seems to indicate a development in his spiritual status. Con­sider the type set forth from this view­point: The wandering from Shechem (the Burden-bearer) to Bethel (the House of El), is accompanied by sin and sorrow (Vv. 4,22), leading to the City of the Four, with which is associated strength ana fel­lowship. During these wanderings, one is born who was first viewed as the Son of Sorrow (Isa. 53:3), but whose name was changed into Son of the Right Hand.

Later on, the nation of Israel was con­stituted the Kingdom of God, and was itself divided into four: a division antici­pated by the fourfold listing of the sons of Jacob in this chapter.

"Where Abraham and Isaac sojourned" — Though pilgrims in the land they sojourned at Hebron, enjoying fellowship with God.

VERSE 28

"And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years" — This important state­ment helps us to place the events of this section of Genesis in prop­er chronological sequence. Isaac married Rebekah at the age of 40 (Gen. 25:20), Jacob was born when Isaac was 60 (Gen. 25:26); Jacob left Laban at the age of 97, when Joseph was 6 (Gen. 30:25-31:41);Isaac was then 157; Joseph aroused the antagonism of his brothers when he was 17 (Gen. 37:2) when Isaac was 168; Isaac died at the age of 180, which would have been the year before Joseph appeared before Pharaoh at the age of 30 (Gen. 41:46). Thus, chronologically, the events of the following chapters should be placed before the death of Isaac. It is stat­ed here, in order to complete this section, headed by Moses as: The Generations of Isaac (Gen. 25:19). Thus the next chapter commences a new section: The Genera­tions of Esau.

VERSE 29

"And Isaac gave up the ghost" — The Hebrew gava' here rendered ghost, signifies to breathe out, thus to expire. The same word is rendered die in Gen. 6:17; Num. 17:12; Job. 27:5; 29:18; Psa. 88:15; 104:29 etc., dead in Num. 20:29, and per­ish in Josh. 22:20; Job 34:15. The expres­sion is translated by Rotherham as "Isaac breathed his last". In Job 3:11; 10:17-18, it is used to describe death.

"And died" — He expired and died.

"And was gathered unto his peo­ple"— This is a Hebrew idiom for burial. It is applied to Abraham whose fathers were idolators. See note Gen. 15:15.

"Being old and full of days" — He had lived a long and very full life contain­ing experiences which were God-directed, developing him into a man of faith.

"And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him" — The death of their father united them again, and they buried him in the cave of Machpelah (Gen. 49:29-33).