Vayeitzei… “and he went out”…Genesis 28:10-32:3

The narratives contained in this weeks’ portion include Jacob’s vision of a ladder reaching into the heavens, his marriages to Leah and Rachel, his Midas Touch with animal husbandry, and Rachel’s theft of her father’s “gods” as Jacob’s family parts from that of greedy Laban.

The tale of Jacob’s ladder-vision is well known:
Genesis 28:10 Jacob left Beer-sheba and went towards Haran. 11He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. 12And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13And the Lord stood beside him and said, ‘I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; 14and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. 15Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’ 16Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!’ 17And he was afraid, and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’ 18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19He called that place Bethel; but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, 22and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that you give me I will surely give one-tenth to you.’

The New Testament Gospel of John picks up on the stirring imagery of Jacob’s ladder:

Jesus answered,
"Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?
You will see greater things than these."
And he said to him, "Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened
and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." John 1:50-51

When I taught a recent class on this topic, my students noticed Jacob’s cunning. This is no obedient Abraham, but a man willing to bargain with God. Even though the divine voice has already promised land and offspring, Jacob still couches vow as conditional.. IF God will do thus and thus, I will…”

Luckily for both parties, the arrangement seems to have worked out! Everything that Jacob touches turns to… more. More wives (a two-for-one special!). More babies…and more babies…and more babies. And then there is his talent with breeding livestock. This guy has a talent for reproduction.

We have discussed the betrothal type-scene in previous lessons, and it is easy to see how the current story of Jacob and Rachel’s meeting and betrothal fit the mold. One pertinent detail that might have escaped notice comes in the form of this hint:

Genesis 29:1-11 Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the people of the east. As he looked, he saw a well in the field and three flocks of sheep lying there beside it; for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well's mouth was large, and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well, and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well. Jacob said to them, "My brothers, where do you come from?" They said, "We are from Haran." He said to them, "Do you know Laban son of Nahor?" They said, "We do." He said to them, "Is it well with him?" "Yes," they replied, "and here is his daughter Rachel, coming with the sheep." He said, "Look, it is still broad daylight; it is not time for the animals to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go, pasture them." But they said, "We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep." While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep; for she kept them. Now when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother's brother Laban, and the sheep of his mother's brother Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of his mother's brother Laban. Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and wept aloud.

The stone covering the mouth of the well is our first hint that there is an impediment – a barrier if you will – which will inflict this union. Rachel’s womb, as we shall find, is similarly “stopped up” – barren. While Jacob can uncover the well by himself, however, it will take God’s help to free Rachel’s womb for the bearing of Joseph and Benjamin.

Jacob is presented in Genesis as heroic, larger than life, a fitting father of the 12 tribes which will become Israel. It is worth noting, however, that the Hebrew Bible prophet Hosea had a very different assessment of Jacob’s character and importance! Hosea uses the name “Jacob” both to refer to the patriarch AND to the nation of his descendants.

He says (in Hosea 12: 2-4, 9-10; and 13-14)
2 The LORD has an indictment against Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways, and repay him according to his deeds.
3 In the womb he tried to supplant his brother, and in his manhood he strove with God.
4 He strove with the angel and prevailed, he wept and sought his favor; he met him at Bethel, and there he spoke with him…

So far, all this sounds fairly familiar, except that paired with the comment that Jacob will be punished, his actions in supplanting his brother and striving with God take on a more negative valence, making Jacob sound more like a boor who needs to be thrown out of a bar than a good guy.

9 I am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again, as in the days of the appointed festival.
10 I spoke to the prophets; it was I who multiplied visions, and through the prophets I will bring destruction…
12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram, there Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he guarded sheep.

Notice here that Jacob is being compared – unfavorably!- with “prophets”… whereas prophets have visions and wield power, Jacob spends all his time just mucking about with sheep and trying to get a wife.

13 By a prophet the LORD brought Israel up from Egypt, and by a prophet he was guarded.
14 Ephraim [a grandson of Jacob] has given bitter offense, so his Lord will bring his crimes down on him and pay him back for his insults.

Aha! And now Jacob is contrasted with THE Prophet of Prophets, Moses. Hosea seems to want us to choose… which story is important to us? The Patriarchs, or the Exodus? Which hero do we choose? Which theology? Which promises?