#23 Genesis 33 & 34-Lesson 1

GENESIS #23 Genesis 33 & 34 GENESIS CHAPTER 33: JACOB MEETS ESAU Jacob places his family in a specific order Concubines and their children up front Leah and her children next Rachel and Joseph to the rear Jacob bowed low 7 times Complete capitulation 1 Esau forgives Jacob and they reconcile E a e e Jac b ,b e a accepts (typical Middle Eastern custom) Esau assumes Jacob will follow him into Edom Esau leaves, and Jacob implies he will follow 2 JACOB IS NOT GOING WITH ESAU He makes Esau believe he ll f ll , b ha intention of doing so Instead, goes back up north to a place he names Succoth (booths) 1 ½ to 2 years later, he moves to Shechem SHECHEM 3 SHECHEM HAD CHANGED Same place Abraham first stopped in Canaan At time of Abraham, Shechem was NOT a city or a village Shechem did not exist at the time of Abraham Places and names changed over the 1000 years the OT was written When Jacob arrived, it had become a walled city 4 Jacob purchased land outside the city walls of Shechem King Hamor was a Hivite A shepherd would NOT live inside of a city The amount he pays is recorded, so that everyone knows he paid a good and proper amount for it Other important Biblical events happened at this exact place 5 JOHN 4:1-14 In John 4, Shechem is currently called Sychar Jesus encounters a Samaritan woman at Jac b e , he e Israel used when camping outside the walls of Shechem She is the 1st non-Jew to be offered salvation Today Shechem (Sychar) is called Nablus, in the West Bank Jacob erects an altar, calls it El-Elohe-Israel means El, the God of Israel 6 GENESIS CHAPTER 34: THE ASSAULT OF DINAH Dinah was about 15 years old Ra-ah = wanting to see, learn Shechem, son of King Hamor, victimizes Dinah It was an act of rebellion for her to go into the city unaccompanied King nn a he wants to marry Dinah 7 KING HAMOR OFFERS A SOLUTION The King asks Jacob and his sons if his son may marry Dinah Hamor ruled over a confederation of tribes, so he had to be diplomatic Shechem was a large kingdom About 1000 sq. miles! 8 .a h g be d e The taking of Dinah was an illegal thing, as it brought shame and dishonor on the girl and her family Compensation was required for the family The girl was ruined, so she probably could never marry Dinah was being held hostage inside the city Jac b e eK g Sons say all males in the city must be circumcised for a marriage to occur No one could marry into Israel without submitting to the Covenant of Abraham Results of circumcision would be pain, infection, and a resulting physical weakness for a time 9 LEVI AND SIMEON TAKE REVENGE! King Hamor convinces his citizens to be circumcised Totally self-serving, a deception 3 days later, Levi and Simeon lead a raid and kill all males living in the city Then their brothers loot the city 10 JAC B BEC ME A E CH Jacob is heartbroken and furious Perrizites are probably a general name for various tribes living in the hill country Hivites are from the line of Ham, and his son Canaan NAS Genesis 49:5 "Simeon and Levi are brothers; Their swords are implements of violence. 6 "Let my soul not enter into their council; Let not my glory be united with their assembly; Because in their anger they slew men, And in their self-will they lamed oxen. 7 "Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel. I will 11 disperse them in Jacob, And scatter them in Israel. MOST LEVITES BECAME GUARDS AND BUTCHERS Levites got no land allotment They were scattered among the 12 tribes Simeon was surrounded by Judah, and was the first Israelite tribe to be absorbed by another God would NOT allow the mixing of the Hivites and the Israelites It would have united the line of Ham with the line of Shem, which is something He had previously 12 divided and separated