Genesis 35.23-26-Jacob's Genealogy
Thursday October 12, 2006
Genesis: Genesis 35:23-26-Jacob’s Genealogy
Lesson # 220
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 35:23.
This evening we will study Genesis 35:23-26, which presents to us Jacob’s genealogy.
Genesis 35:23-26, “Now there were twelve sons of Jacob: the sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, then Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Zebulun; the sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin; and the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's maid: Dan and Naphtali; and the sons of Zilpah, Leah's maid: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.”
Bruce K. Waltke, “With the completion of the twelve sons, they are listed in a summary catalogue (See Matthew 10:2-4; Revelation 21:12-14). They are presented based first on the social ranking of Jacob’s wives and then on seniority. Accordingly, the sons of Leah (35:23) and then of Rachel (35:24) are given before the sons of Bilhah (35:25) and Zilpah (35:26). Leah heads the list and her maidservant ends it. Within that frame are the sons of Rachel and her handmaid. The same sequence is found in Exodus 1:1-4, with Joseph necessarily expected in the context. Other sequences are given in Genesis 46:8-25 and 49:1-27, but Leah’s sons always head the lists” (Genesis, A Commentary, page 478, Zondervan).
“Leah” (le’ah) (hal@) (lay-aw) means, “cow” and “Rachel” (rachel) (lj@r) (raw-khale) means, “ewe,” the female of the sheep, especially of the mature.
Although Rachel was Jacob's favorite wife, the line of David and the Messianic line passed through Rachel’s sister, Leah and her son Judah and not Rachel, which indicates that Leah and not Rachel was Jacob’s right woman.
The Word of God indicates that Leah and not Rachel was Jacob’s right woman as indicated by the following.
First of all, when we take into consideration the providence of God, which expresses the fact that the world and our lives are not ruled by chance or fate but by God, we must acknowledge that, in spite of the deceptiveness of Laban, Leah was Jacob’s wife.
Furthermore, it was Leah, not Rachel, who became the mother of Judah, who was to be the heir through whom the Messiah would come (cf. 49:8 12) and it was Levi, a son of Leah, who provided the priestly line in later years.
It seems noteworthy that both Leah and her handmaid had at least twice the number of children as compared to Rachel and her maid (cf. 29:31 30:24; 46:15, 18, 22, 25).
The firstborn was always to have a double portion and so it would seem Leah did, so far as children are concerned.
Also, the superiority of Leah to Rachel is also revealed in that Rachel died at an early age, yet she was the younger sister and when she died, she was buried on the way to Bethlehem (35:19) and yet when Leah died later, she was buried with Jacob in the cave at Machpelah (49:31).
Another thing to consider is that the Word of God reveals that Jacob chose Rachel based solely upon looks and did not take into consideration her character as Abraham’s servant Eliezer did when selecting Rebekah for Isaac.
Lastly, when choosing Rachel, Jacob never prays for guidance from the Lord in order to discern if Rachel was his right woman as Abraham’s servant Eliezer did when choosing Rebekah and neither did he test the character of Rachel as Eliezer did with Rebekah!
Leah was not a curse to Jacob but a blessing.
“Reuben” (/b@War+) (re’uven) (reh-oo-vane) was the first child that Leah bore to Jacob and his name means, “behold or see, a son” and his birth is recorded in Genesis 29:32.
In the Hebrew, the name “Reuben” honors the Lord and is a play on the consonants of the name having a similar sound to the Hebrew for “He (the Lord) looked (with concern) on my misery.”
Leah recognized the grace of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and hoped that Jacob would recognize the Lord’s hand in this and that her bearing a son would not only raise her in Jacob’s esteem but also cause him to love her but it did not.
“Simeon” (/w)um+v!) (shim`on) (shim-one) was the second child that Leah bore to Jacob and his name means, “the Lord has heard” and his birth is recorded in Genesis 29:33.
The name “Simeon” in the Hebrew is from “the Lord has heard that I am hated,” which echoes the similar remark made by the Lord to Hagar recorded in Genesis 16:11, “the LORD has given heed to your affliction.’”
The first two names of Leah’s children replicate a pair of verbs (“to see” and “to hear”) and express the Lord’s providential concern and care for the unfortunate.
“Levi” (yw!l@) (lewi) (lay-vee) was the third child that Leah bore to Jacob and his name means, “My husband will be attached to me” and his birth is recorded in Genesis 29:34.
In spite of the Lord bestowing His grace upon her in giving her a third child, Leah does not have her hope realized and must learn to find her emotional fulfillment in her relationship with the Lord.
This child would be a blessing since the Aaronic priestly line in Israel and the tribe of Levi who ministered in the music and worship of the Temple were descended from Leah.
“Judah” (hd*Why+) (yehudhah) (yeh-hoo-daw) was the fourth child that Leah bore to Jacob and his name means, “I will praise the Lord” and his birth is recorded in Genesis 29:35.
By naming this fourth child yehudhah, “Judah,” Leah is again honoring the Lord and expressing the fact that she is able to transcend her distress that her husband Jacob does not prefer her over Rachel.
This child would be a blessing since King David and the Lord Jesus Christ would descend from the tribe of Judah.
Hebrews 7:14, “For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah.”
Though Leah was not the sole object of Jacob’s affections, the Lord blessed her in the sense that He gave her the privilege of being the mother of Jacob’s first four sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah who was the ancestor of David and the Lord Jesus.
Levi’s descendants were given the honor of being the priestly tribe in Israel whereas King David and the Lord Jesus Christ were both from the tribe of Judah.
Each of the names of her first four children honor the Lord and express the depth of her pain as being the rejected and not the preferred woman in Jacob’s life.
Leah names three of her first four children in honor of the Lord (29:32-33, 35) and by giving these names she confesses her faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, not the gods of her father Laban.
“Issachar” (rkccy!) (yis-saw-kawr) was the fifth child that Leah bore Jacob and his name means, “reward” and his birth is recorded in Genesis 30:16-18.
In Genesis 30:18, Leah’s statement “God has given me my wages because I gave my maid to my husband” indicates that she viewed Issachar’s birth as a reward for her giving Zilpah to Jacob.
This statement implies that she viewed this as a costly sacrifice, though at the time the births of Gad and Asher were joyful occasions.
She had misinterpreted the reason why God enabled her to get pregnant.
Leah had erroneously interpreted the meaning of her fifth son since the birth of Issachar was a gift of God’s grace and a demonstration of His compassion in response to her adverse circumstances.
Leah erroneously chose to interpret this son as evidence of God’s approval and blessing of her giving her maid Zilpah to Jacob.
In actuality, God “rewarded” Leah’s faith in Him.
Therefore, God in His grace heard Leah’s prayer for a child and rewarded her faith in Him by giving her another son by Jacob.
“Zebulun” (/l%Wbw+) (zeb-oo-loon) was the sixth child that Leah bore Jacob and his name means, “honor” as indicated by the verb zaval, “to honor in the sense of acknowledging (a woman) as one’s lawful wife and sole object of one’s love and affection” and his birth is recorded in Genesis 30:19-20.
Genesis 35:24, “the sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.”
“Joseph” ([s@w)y) (yoseph) was the first child that Rachel bore to Jacob and his name literally means, “He adds,” which is a play on the verb yasaph ([s^y*), “to add” and is also a prayer for another child, foreshadowing the birth of Benjamin and his birth is recorded in Genesis 30:22-24.
“Benjamin” (/YM!Y*N+b!) (bin-yaw-mene) was the last child that Rachel bore to Jacob and his name means, “son of my right hand” and his birth is recorded in Genesis 35:16-18.
If you recall, Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin and named him “Ben-oni,” which means, “son of my sorrow,” expressing her anguish and pain she experienced while giving birth to him.
However, Jacob did not want his son to feel guilty for the death of his mother but rather wanted him to feel loved and that he was fortunate to have him and so he changed the child’s name to “Benjamin,” which means, “son of my right hand.”
The right hand in the ancient world denoted power or a man’s strength.
“Benjamin” was the lone full brother of Joseph since they had the same mother “Rachel” whereas the mothers of Jacob’s other ten sons were Leah, Bilhah and Zilpah (See Genesis 30:22-24, Genesis 35:18, 43:29).
“Benjamin” was also the only one of Jacob’s sons that was born in the land of Canaan since his other eleven sons and his daughter Dinah were born in Paddan Aram.
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah were born in Paddan Aram according to Genesis 29:31-33, Issachar, Zebulun according to Genesis 30:14-21, Gad, Asher according to Genesis 30:9-13, Dan, Naphtali according to Genesis 30:1-8, Joseph according to Genesis 30:22-24 and Dinah according to Genesis 30:21.
Benjamin is listed as born in Paddan Aram even though he was born in Canaan for theological reasons rather than factual concern since the emphasis is upon Jacob’s sons as participating in the exodus from Paddan Aram to the land of Canaan.
Genesis 35:25, “the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's maid: Dan and Naphtali.”
The name “Bilhah” is the proper noun bilhah (hh*l!B!), which means, “carefree.”
Genesis 30:4 records that Rachel gave Bilhah to Jacob “as a wife” whereas Genesis 35:22 describes Bilhah as Jacob’s “concubine.”
This apparent contradiction is reconciled when we understand that a concubine was considered in Abraham’s day to be a “second-class wife,” acquired without payment of bride-money and possessing fewer legal rights.
In the Old Testament period, a concubine was a legal wife but one of secondary rank and she could be sent away with a small gift.
Therefore, the children of a concubine did not have the same legal rights as the wife and so the inheritance would go to the child of the wife rather than the concubine.
“Dan” (/D*) (dawn) was the first child that Bilhah bore Jacob and his name means, “God has vindicated me” and his birth is recorded in Genesis 30:5-6.
Rachel did not consider the birth of Dan merely as a blessing from the Lord but rather as the justice due her as a hopeless victim.
On the surface, it appears that Rachel is spiritual by giving credit to God for Bilhah’s pregnancy but in reality Rachel is using the Lord’s name in vain since the use of concubines by God’s people to solve barrenness in contrast to waiting on God is never authorized by God.
She ascribes the success of her plot to God, but in reality God did not give her the child based on her prayer but rather He gave her the child as a result of his permissive will since the directive will of God rules out concubines but the permissive will permitted the birth of this child.
She says that the birth of Dan was an answer to prayer but she is in error since God would never answer a prayer that is against His will and Rachel’s use of a concubine rather than waiting on God to solve her problem of barrenness was against the will of God (See 1 John 5:14; James 4:3).
“Naphtali” (yl!T*p+n^) (naf-taw-lee) was the second child that Bilhah bore to Jacob and his name means, “my wrestling” indicating that Rachel viewed her relationship with her sister Leah to be like a wrestling match and his birth is recorded in Genesis 30:7-8.
In Genesis 30:8, the phrase “with my wrestlings I have wrestled” in the Hebrew text literally reads “wrestlings with God, I have wrestled (with my sister)” since the Hebrew contains the noun naphtulim, “wrestlings,” which is followed by the noun Elohim, “God” and the verb pathal, “to wrestle.”
Rachel’s statement means that she wrestled in prayer with God to give her a child through Bilhah in order to be victorious over Leah.
Of course, God did not give Bilhah a child based on Rachel’s prayer because it was offered with wrong motivation and was against His will but rather God gave Bilhah a child based upon His permissive will.
The statement made by Rachel on the occasion of the birth of Bilhah’s second son is reflective of her true spiritual state at this time since it appears that she saw herself in a great wrestling match, not with God, but with her sister.
She states that she has triumphed over Leah by Bilhah giving birth to Naphtali.
This is a ridiculous statement by Rachel since how can two adopted sons win out over four of Leah’s sons?
Therefore, Rachel’s statement in Genesis 30:8 indicates that she erroneously believed that God was on her side with the birth of these two boys, Dan and Naphtali and has given her the victory over her sister Leah.
Genesis 35:26a, “the sons of Zilpah, Leah's maid: Gad and Asher.”
“Zilpah” is the proper noun zilpah (hP*l!z!) (zil-paw), which means, “intimacy” and like Bilhah she was Jacob’s concubine.
“Gad” (dG*) (gawd) was the first boy that Zilpah bore to Jacob, whose birth is recorded in Genesis 30:9-11 and his name comes from “What good fortune” indicating that Leah attributed this child to fortune or good luck rather than God and his birth.
“Asher” (rv^a*) (aw-share) is the second son that Zilpah bore to Jacob, whose birth is recorded in Genesis 30:12-13 and his name means “women will call me happy” indicating that Leah thinks she is to be envied by other women.
The name of this child demonstrates that Leah’s happiness is based upon her success over her sister Rachel.
Leah’s speech betrays her here since not once is God mentioned.
She who previously had viewed her children as a gift from the Lord now sees these sons as merely good fortune—“How lucky I am,” “How fortunate,” and “How happy am I.”
Devotion to the Lord has been thrown to the wind by Leah since the focus of her thinking has shifted from God’s estimation of her actions to the praise she would be given by other women (verse 13).
Notice that in Genesis 35:23-26, “Dinah” is never mentioned, “not” because she is the only girl in the family but rather because she plays no role in the founding of the nation of Israel, which is the concern of the narrator Moses under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
“Dinah” (hn*yD!) (dee-naw) was the seventh child that Leah bore to Jacob and only girl in the family, whose birth is recorded in Genesis 30:21 and whose name means, “judgment” since the name is the feminine form of the word din (/yD!) (deen) meaning “judgment.”
Genesis 35:26b, “These are the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.”
“Paddan Aram” (/D^P^m! sR*a&) is another name for “Aram Naharaim,” which means, “Aram of the Two Rivers.”
Therefore, the word is synonymous with the name “Mesopotamia,” which appears in Genesis 24:10 since the word “Mesopotamia” is composed of the pronoun noun Aram (sra&), “Aram” and the plural form of the noun nahar (rhn*), “two rivers.”
These two rivers were in the western part of Mesopotamia and the two rivers were the Balikh and the Khabur, tributaries of the Euphrates River.
The city of Haran was on the Balikh River about a seven hundred mile journey north-northeast of Beersheba and nearby was the city of Nahor, which was founded by Abraham’s brother, Nahor.
The name “Paddan” means “field, plain” therefore, the expression “Paddan Aram” means, “plain of Aram.”
The name “Aram” (sr*a() (Hebrew: ‘aram pronounced arawm) means, “exalted” and is frequently translated “Syrian” or “Syria” and is used to speak specifically of the Aramean people who were a leading branch of Semitic people living in Mesopotamia and northern Syria (2 Sam. 8:5-6; 1 Kgs. 20:20-21).
Isaac and Jacob both took Aramean wives (Gen. 25:20; 28:5) and in fact, Jacob is called the “wandering Aramean” in Deuteronomy 26:5.
Therefore, “Paddan Aram” refers to the city of Nahor where Abraham’s brother founded a city and named it after himself and was the place in which Laban and his family resided.