Day 10. Genesis 28-30

Genesis 28-30

Genesis 28

¹And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.

Remember, Isaac is a racist. He was upset about Esau marrying a Canaanite, but there was no way he would allow his other nancy-boy son to marry one of them.

²Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughers of Laban thy mother's brother.

To Isaac, marrying a cousin was better than marrying a black girl.

³And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;

⁴And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.

Inherit the land where you are a stranger. Doesn't that also mean "land that doesn't rightfully belong to you"?

Esau then saw that Isaac didn't want Jacob to marry a Canaanite (like he did), so Esau went to his uncle Ishmael.

⁹Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.

Esau is now married to three women.

Jacob travels toward Haran.

¹¹And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.

Stone pillows, surely aren't the most comfortable.

¹²And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

That's a long ladder.

¹³And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;

¹⁴And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

Like a virus, or a weed.

Jacob wakes up, and makes an altar out of his stone pillows.

¹⁹And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.

Oddly, Bethel has been listed twice so far (Gen 12:8 and 13:3) as a place people went to. It wasn't until now that it was actually named. Remember, Bethel means Beth El or "House of El" "House of God".

²⁰And Jacob vowed 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 raiment to put on,

²¹So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God:

²²And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

That's a rather interesting vow. If God will be with me, then he will be my God. If he's with you, why would you take a different god? Ok, nevermind, that's a stupid question. The closer the god of the bible is to people in the bible, the more they disobey him. If he's walking around with you, you'll probably commit some horrible deed, like ... oh... letting sin into the world.

Genesis 29

Jacob makes it to Haran. He sees some people at a well. There's a stone on the mouth of the well, the people remove it to water their flocks, then roll it back when they are done. Jacob asks how his uncle Laban is. We aren't told if he's ever met him yet. It doesn't seem like he has.

⁶And he said unto them, Is he well? And they said, He is well: and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep.

Rachel is coming.

¹⁰And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother.

The first thing Jacob does in front of Rachel, is move the stone. His first act, is showing off.

¹¹And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.

Then he kissed her, and he cried. Like a little sissy, he met a girl, kissed her, and cried.

¹³And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things.

So, Jacob goes and lives with Laban for a month. (at least to start with)

¹⁵And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be?

Laban has two daughters, Rachel (the elder one), and Leah.

¹⁷Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured.

Rachel was quite the hottie, and had nice boobs. Leah was ... tender eyed. Apparently, the Hebrew word used was rak (רכות) which should mean "delicate and soft". Some translations take it to mean blue eyed. One story about her talks about how her eyes became weak. As she was the elder sister, she was supposed to marry the elder brother (Esau). Leah didn't want to marry Esau, so she spent a lot of time crying about being stuck with Esau. Other's say she was cross eyed. She probably just had Amblyopia, or "lazy eye". Lazy... Leah's Eye. Say Leah's Eye real quick and it almost sounds like Lazy... that's odd.

¹⁸And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.

Seven years... How old is Jacob at this point? The last age we are given for him is in Genesis 26:34, when Esau was forty when he married Judith and Bashemath. Since they are twins, they are the same age. Esau took a wife from Ishmael shortly after he found out his parents didn't like hittite women. Also, inbetween the stories of Esau taking wives is the birthright story, so it probably wasn't too long after. They are most likely still forty... right? (Remember this).

¹⁹And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me.

Incest is better than taking a spouse from the surrounding people. Of course, inbreeding might lead to things like... oh, I don't know... a child being "tender eyed".

²⁰And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.

Seven years passed so quickly, because he was going to marry Rachel, the hottie. (He would have been 47-ish).

²²And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast.

Laban threw a kick ass party, and everyone got drunk and happy.

²³And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her.

Jacob got so drunk that he didn't even notice that Laban gave him Leah instead of Rachel. Jacob was so drunk that he didn't notice that he "went in unto" the "tender eyed" girl instead of the girl who was "beautiful and well favoured".

One of the symptoms of alcoholism is black-out drinking. Alcoholism can be hereditary. It pretty much started with Noah, who got blackout drunk then got raped by Ham. The next example is Lot, the nephew of Abraham, who got blackout drunk on consecutive nights and then got his two daughters pregnant. Now we see Jacob getting so drunk that he doesn't even notice that he's not even with the first girl he kissed (and then started crying like a little sissy).

²⁵And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?

Laban said, I'm not going to give my hot daughter to a drunk. ... wait, no that's not what he said.

²⁶And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.

²⁷Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.

So Jacob has to work for another 7 years to get Rachel. (That'll make him 54).

In the mean time, Laban gives Leah a handmaid named Zilpah. He also give Rachel a handmaid named Bilhah. Zilpah means "drooping", Bilhah means "bashful". Leah means "tired". Rachel means "purity". Jacob married four of the Seven Dwarfs.

³⁰And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.

That's a good husband, loving one wife more than the other. Oh, and he works for another 7 years (61 years old).

³¹And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.

Of course she was barren, that's what ALWAYS happens. Sarah, Rebekah, and now Rachel.

³²And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.

Having kids to make a marriage better is never a good idea.

Jacob's first child is Reuben. Reuben means one of several things. 1. Raa Beonyi, meaning "he has seen my misery" (looked upon my affliction). 2. Yeehabani , meaning "he will love me". 3. Ra'a ben, meaning behold, a son. It could also mean Ra'abil "wolves. At least it wasn't one of the seven dwarfs.

³³And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon.

Son number two, Simeon. Simeon could mean many things as well. 1. Shama on, "he has heard". 2. Sham 'in "there is sin".

Anyway, even though Leah bore Reuben, Jacob still didn't love her. He didn't love her, but he still had sex with her.

³⁴And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi.

Son number three, Levi. Levi means "attached" or "joining".

³⁵And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.

Son number four, Judah. Judah means "celebrated, praised".

You'll note that Leah finally got tired of trying to get attention and love from Jacob, and finally decided she'd praise the lord.

Jacob now has four sons, with the wife that he "hates".

Genesis 30

¹And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.

Rachel was jealous of Leah. She had all the love of her husband, but not the kids. Leah was jealous of Rachel, Rachel had the love but not the kids. No one was happy.

²And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?

Jacob says, look, I'm going in unto you as much as I can, and as often as I can, it's not my fault you aren't pregnant, it's God who is keeping you from getting birthing hips.

³And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.

We know how well that worked with Hagar, I'm sure it works out just as good this time.

⁶And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan.

Bilhah's first child (which belongs to Rachel) is Dan. Jacob's fifth. Dan means "judgment".

⁷And Bilhah Rachel's maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.

⁸And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.

Jacob seems to enjoy going in unto Bilhah. Son number six, Naphtali. Naphtali means "my struggle".

⁹When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.

Leah thinks she's done having kids, so she lets Zilpah get into the act. Jacob, of course, goes in unto Zilpah.

¹¹And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.

Son number 7, Gad. Gad means "luck".

Leah said "a troop cometh". With Gad at 7, there's enough sons to have a basketball team. They could field a team for hockey (granted they'd be real tired). They are still short for soccer, football, and baseball.

¹²And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a second son.

¹³And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.

Asher is son number eight. Zilpah doesn't even get to name her kids. Leah does that. Asher means "happy".

¹⁴And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes.

Mandrakes are plants that are related to nightshades. They contain hallucinogenic alkaloids. The roots sometimes resemble humans. They were believed to help with fertility. That's why Rachel wanted them.

¹⁵And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son's mandrakes.

Oh, that's nice. The wives just pass Jacob around for a flower or two. Jacob probably spent most of the nights with Rachel, so that's why she was willing to send him over to Leah for a night, after she got the fertility flowers.

¹⁶And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.

Jacob didn't protest about being purchased for some mandrakes. He just knew he was going to have sex that night. With four wives, he probably had sex every night.

¹⁷And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.

¹⁸And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.

Issachar is Jacobs ninth son. Issachar either comes from ish sakar, meaning "man of hire", because Jacob was "hired" that night for the mandrakes. The other name could be yesh sakar, meaning "there is a reward", thinking he (the baby) was a reward for giving Zilpah to Jacob. They now have all the position players and a pitcher in baseball.

¹⁹And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son.

²⁰And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.

Zebulun makes ten. Zebulun means (probably) zebed, "gift"; or yizbeleni, "honor". It could also mean zibhe-tzedek, "sacrifice to justice". Zebulun makes it so that the sons could play 5 on 5 basketball. Or he allows the family to have a relief pitcher.

²¹And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

The only girl, Dinah. Finally a daughter. Ten sons and no daughters. Dinah means "judged; vindicated"

²²And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.

God finally remember Rachel. After 11 other children, he remembers Rachel.

²⁴And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.

Joseph means "may Yahweh add". Rachel finally gets a child, and what does she do? Names the kid "I want another child please God".

²⁵And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country.

²⁶Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee.

This is probably at the end of the third set of seven years, when Jacob would be 61.

²⁷And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.

²⁸And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.

Laban asks Jacob to stay, because while Jacob was there, Laban got more stuff. Jacob says, he wants to go. Laban asks what he can give him, when he leaves.

³²I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire.

³³So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.

Jacob asks for all the speckled and spotted cattle, the brown sheep, the spotted and speckled goats. They were the ones with blemishes, not the pure white ones. Laban says, good idea, take them.

³⁵And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.

Jacob separates the blemished animals and sends them with his kids.

³⁷And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.

³⁸And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.

³⁹And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.

Remember, according to most people who believe the bible 100%, that evolution is false. They fully believe that the earth is roughly 6000 years old. They also must believe that taking sticks and putting white stripes on them can produce animal offspring if you place that in front of them while they are drinking.

⁴⁰And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban's cattle.

Jacob now took the animals that were born with the stripes.

⁴¹And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.

⁴²But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.

Jacob then used his magic striped sticks in front of cattle, but only the strong ones. The weak ones he left alone, so they became Laban's.

Things to ponder for today:

1. Racism is a family value in the bible. Abraham was racist. Isaac was racist. Laban was racist. You may say that they weren't racist since they lived in the land of the Hittites, and they were friends with them... but when you claim that you don't want your kids to marry someone, that's when your true feelings come out.

2. How drunk do you have to be to have sex with a girl expecting it to be the one great love of your life, only to wake up next to her older, not as pretty, not as boobalicious sister? I don't think I've ever gotten drunk enough that I wouldn't be able to tell my significant other from her sisters.

3. At this point, Jacob didn't quite love Leah; he definitely had no feelings for Zilpah and Bilhah; the only person he actually had feelings for was Rachel. He still "went in unto" Leah, Zilpah, and Bilhah, a little thing like actually "loving" his wives didn't get in the way of him having sex. He's at least in his 50's when he had children, this is before Viagra.

4. Is having children a good way to get your spouse to love you?

5. I wonder if Jacob used any stripey sticks tricks to ensure that he only had boys, except for the time when he had Dinah.

6. Do you believe that putting striped sticks in front of livestock will cause the newborns to come out with stripes?

Day 9. Genesis 25-27

Genesis 25-27

Genesis 25

¹Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.

Keturah was the mother of Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. So, in addition to Ishmael and Isaac, Abraham wound up having a lot of kids. This is all after Sarah is dead, and Abraham is well into his 100's.

⁵And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.

Well, he had already given a bottle of water to Ishmael, what more did he have to give away?

⁶But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.

Will Isaac wind up having similar family values as Abraham?

⁷And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years.

⁸Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.

Abraham lived 175 years. Good old age, an old man, full of years... don't those all mean the same thing? Why the repetition?

⁹And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre;

¹⁰The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.

Nice of Ishmael to come back for the burial. No one is sure where he grew up, the Quran claims that Abraham and Ishmael built the Kaaba in Mecca, so it was around there. Abraham then moved to Israel, near the area where he bought the grave. So, from the time Abraham died, someone got word to Ishmael in (probably) what is now Saudi Arabia, and he got back in time to bury his father.

¹¹And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahairoi.

God wound up blessing most of Abraham's children. Two of them (in theory) still have people who trace their lineage back to Abraham. The sons of Keturah didn't fare so well (except for one).

Verses 12-16 are the children of Ishmael. None of them really stand out.

¹⁷And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people.

Oh... just found some interesting stuff, about Hagar. Apparently, some Jewish tradition holds that the real name of Hagar is actually Keturah. This tradition says that after the death of Sarah, Abraham looked for her, and found her, that would explain why Ishmael was able to make it back so quickly for Abraham's burial. The muslim Hajj is based on Hagar's search for water for Ishmael.

So, if Ishmael was gathered to his people, his people would be Abraham and Hagar. If he's out roaming the desert in Saudi Arabia, what people would he be gathered to?

¹⁹And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begat Isaac:

²⁰And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.

Isaac was forty when he married Rebekah. That's the same time when Sarah died. Remember, in Gen. 24:67 she became his wife, and comforted him at his mothers passing. He was 40 when he got married, and got over his mothers death. He doesn't seem like a mature 40 year old.

²¹And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

Well, she was Sarah's great niece, so being barren (and hot) was probably a family trait.

²²And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.

²³And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

Not only was she pregnant, it was twins.

²⁵And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.

They had a red hairy baby.... eeew. Esau, in Hebrew, means "hairy". So, as is custom with biblical originality, they named their hairy child, Harry.

²⁶And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.

The second child was named Jacob. Here we have the brothers, Jacob and Esau. Isaac was 60 when they were born. Abraham was 100 when Isaac was born; he would have been 160 when the fraternal twins were born. He didn't die until they were 15. Why there is no interaction listed between Abraham and them is unknown.

²⁷And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.

Dwelling in his momma's tents. Esau was a man's man. Jacob was a momma's boy.

²⁸And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Dad loves his masculine son, mom loves her little helper.

²⁹And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:

³⁰And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.

Edom, that will be an area named after Esau. There will also be the Edomites, who are of his lineage. Edom means "red". So his full name is probably Edom-Esau; red and hairy. The red pottage is red lentil stew.

³¹And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.

Apparently Isaac was going to follow tradition and give everything to the firstborn. Wait, what tradition? Isaac got everything from Abraham and he was the second born. Ishmael should have gotten the birthright. This birthright concept has to have been added later. There is no mention of a birthright in the bible before this point. There have been a series of brothers, but not once has their been any talk of the firstborn receiving a larger inheritance, if anything, they've gotten the shaft.

³²And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?

Esau must have known that uncle Ishmael didn't get the bigger share, of grandpa Abraham's wealth. He also saw his other uncles having great riches. He's a man of the field. He's a hunter. He would have no use for many tents, and riches. It would do him no good. (he's probably only 15 now too.)

³³And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.

³⁴Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

Jacob was the original soup nazi. You want soup, ONE BIRTHRIGHT!!!

Genesis 26

¹And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.

There's a lot of famine in this area. As a child I always wondered about the terrain. I grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Sure we had snow, and cold, but we had four seasons. I've never heard of a famine in Wisconsin. I always figured that places like Germany and France, in Europe; would have a similar climate to Wisconsin. Then you look at pictures of Israel. It looks like a desert. There's rocks and caves and sand. It doesn't look like a great place to live. Now, there's a famine. When there's a famine, where do the people run to? Egypt. Why Egypt? Egypt does have the Nile, it floods every year and creates a fertile area to plant crops. But other than that, the place is a desert. Why didn't they ever run north? Why was it always south? If they are going to go on a 400 mile walk for food, why don't they go up to Germany?

²And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:

³Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;

This time, god said, don't run to Egypt. Stick out this famine.

⁴And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

Stars, sand, innumerable, dust, it's another seed promise. Behold, I will make over population on the earth of thee.

⁶And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:

Isaac stayed put.

⁷And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.

You are kidding me, right? Isaac did the same "she's my sister" thing that his dad did. I wonder how this turns out.

⁸And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.

⁹And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife; and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.

Abimelech? The same Abimelech? Probably not, most likely it's the son of Abimelech, "Benmelech" he might have changed his name when his dad died and he became king.

¹⁰And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.

¹¹And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

Once again, we see after the "she's my sister" story, that the person who tells it profits greatly. Remember that the next time you are out with your wife. If you are in a new country, just say she's your sister and see if they give you half the kingdom.

¹³And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:

¹⁴For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.

Everyone envies a rich man.

¹⁶And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.

¹⁷And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

We see Isaac, who only had the two sons, had enough men that he could have taken over parts of Palestine. This is the area that's promised to them, why didn't they just take it?

Isaac's servants then dig some wells, get into fights, dig more wells, and move some more.

²³And he went up from thence to Beersheba.

Maybe...

²⁴And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.

Isaac got blessed, not for what he did, but for what Abraham did.

²⁵And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well.

Again, I wonder, why would you live in a place where you have to keep digging wells, why not move to a place with running water, that gets rain?

²⁶Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.

Abimelech asks for a peace treaty. They all agree, have a feast and leave the next day.

³²And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water.

There's plenty of water up north. In fact, there's no history of people living in Germania for another couple hundred years.

³³And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.

Wait a second, in verse 23 it says he went to Beersheba. Now it says that he called it Shebah. Shouldn't verse 23 say, "he went to the place that was unnamed and later would be called beersheba".

³⁴And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:

Esau was 40, like his dad was, when he took a wife. In fact, he took two wives. This must have called for lots of celebration from the Isaac clan.

³⁵Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

Nope, there was no celebration for Isaac and Rebekah. Why? Esau married daughters of the Hittites. The Hittites are of Heth (remember, Abraham bought the cave from the people of Heth). Heth was the second son of Canaan. The Canaanites are/were black, the Hittites would have also been black. Isaac and Rebekah were just as racist as Abraham, when he said his son wouldn't marry no N-word.

Genesis 27

¹And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.

Eyes were dim means he couldn't see very well. Esau was still his favorite son. Jacob was the mama's boy, and even though Isaac was a momma's boy too, he liked his masculine hairy son Esau better.

³Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;

⁴And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.

Interesting, the old man couldn't see very well, but he still had his appetite. Oddly, he must have still had his teeth because he wanted some wild venison. Which is usually somewhat chewy. I find it hard to believe that during this time period, people who lived to be in their 100's still had their teeth. But they probably didn't eat much sugar, so it is possible.

⁵And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.

⁶And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,

Rebekah still loved Jacob (the sissy) better than Esau (the hairy hunter). They are probably in their 40's (as Esau married the ni.... hittites).

⁹Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:

Rebekah knows that her little pusillanimous son won't be able to make the savoury meat. All he's good at is making lentil soup.

¹⁰And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.

Rebekah wants her favorite mama's boy son to get the blessing instead of the one who actually deserves it.

¹¹And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:

¹²My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.

Esau is hairy... hairy is hairy. How hairy is he?

¹³And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.

How much did she have to hate Esau to go to all this trouble to steal a blessing? Did his marriage to the hittites really piss her off that much? Was she thinking "i don't want to be the grandmother to any half hittite baby!"

Jacob goes and gets the goats, and Rebekah prepares the meats. Then she takes some of Esau's clothes and puts them on Jacob.

¹⁶And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:

Esau is so hairy, that her mother believes that goat skins will fool her husband who is going blind.

¹⁸And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?

¹⁹And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy first born; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.

Jacob lies. Granted, this blessing was part of the birthright (possibly). Is a family blessing an actual piece of inheritance that can be transferred?

²⁰And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me.

Isaac is thinking that something is going on, he just doesn't know exactly what it is yet.

²¹And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.

²²And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.

Hmmm, you got the meat really fast, you sound like Jacob, but feel like Esau.

²³And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him.

...

²⁵And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine and he drank.

Now we've got the food test, which Jacob passed.

²⁶And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.

²⁷And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed:

Finally, he passed the smell test.

²⁸Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:

²⁹Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.

So, Isaac blessed Jacob instead of Esau. This whole dilemma could have been overcame if there would have been a comma after the word "therefore" and another word and a comma inserted before "God". All he had to say was... "Therefore, Esau, God..."But the blessing was to whoever was standing there. It just so happens to be the wrong person. But it can be fixed... right?

³⁰And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

Esau shows up mere seconds after Jacob leaves. That means that he did get the hunting done quickly.

Isaac asks, who was there. Esau says it's him, Esau.

³³And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.

So it's not a blessing for whoever was in the room, it was for whoever brought him venison first.

³⁴And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.

Surely there's some blessing left for Esau?

³⁷And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?

³⁸And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.

Apparently, there's no blessing left. But wait, Isaac seems to want to bless Esau. This means that Isaac was able to forgive Esau for marrying the Hittite. Wait... hold on a second. Why would Esau have to be forgiven for marrying someone he loves?

³⁹And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;

⁴⁰And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.

This is the blessing that Esau gets. How is it a problem? It's pretty much what he does. He isn't a farmer, a shepherd or a rancher; he's a hunter. He doesn't eat sheep, he eats deer. Every so often, he doesn't get a deer and has to sell his birthright for lentil soup. But that's because he exaggerates how hungry he is. This blessing isn't really a problem.

⁴¹And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.

Esau plans to kill Jacob. He'll do it after Isaac dies and the appropriate mourning time is over.

Rebekah hears about Esau's plans, so she doesn't try to calm him down (he'd probably want to kill her too, since she's the one who pretty much orchestrated the whole incident) she thinks it's best to have Jacob run away, which will also help remove suspicion from her.

⁴³Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;

⁴⁴And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away;

⁴⁵Until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?

"of you both" doesn't mean Jacob and Esau, it means Isaac and Jacob. Since Esau was going to kill Jacob after Isaac dies.

The racist Rebekah goes and talks to Isaac.

⁴⁶And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?

She's was angry about Esau marrying a hittite. There's no way she's going to let he little boy Jacob marry a hittie.

Points to ponder for today:

1. Is marrying your cousin better than marrying a hittite?

2. Why is there only one blessing?

3. Why stay in Israel? There's a whole world out there. Why run to Egypt when there's trouble? How come the rest of the world isn't ever explored.

4. So far, the main biblical patriarchs have been: Adam; Noah; Abraham; Isaac; and now Jacob.

Adam, the person who ate the fruit that brought sin into the world.

Noah, the guy who got so drunk he was raped by his son.

Abraham, the guy who abandoned his first son and routinely lies about his wife so that he won't get injured.

Isaac, also lied about his marital status; doesn't want his sons to marry a hittite (black person).

Jacob, tricks his brother out of his birthright, tricks his father out of the blessing for the person who really deserves it.

These are the main people who are chosen by god.

Day 8. Genesis 22-24

Genesis 22-24

Genesis 22

¹And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

God tempted Abraham. Why did god tempt Abraham? God wanted Abraham to prove his loyalty to his god.

²And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

Thine only son? What about Ishmael? Or perhaps he means, the only son that Abraham loves, because sending away your other son is a sure sign that you don't love them. Many people give their kids up for adoption, one of the main reasons (it seems) is that it was an unwanted pregnancy and the mother couldn't afford the child. We know that Abraham is quite rich, so that's not the case. He did it because he was married to Sarah. She is actually quite the bitch. They make a good couple. He's douchie enough to send away his firstborn son, because his first wife, who is pretty, told him to.

Did Abraham actually feel love for Sarah, or was it just her beauty he was in love with. According to Jewish mythology, she was one of the most beautiful women to have ever lived. She was so beautiful that all other people seemed like apes in comparison. (this isn't in the actual bible, but in some other works). She also was a prophetess, apparently not good enough to see in the future that giving Hagar to Abraham would really piss her off though.

³And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

Abraham takes Isaac and two men with him to go do the sacrifice. You'll note that Abraham so far hasn't asked "why?" He hasn't even acted like he was going to refuse to do it.

⁶And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

The asshole is about to kill his son, and he makes Isaac carry the wood.

⁷And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

⁸And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

Abraham then lies to his son, that he is about to kill. Granted, Abraham was used to killing people and not feeling remorse. Perhaps he learned something from the 10 righteous people time back in Sodom. When god wants to kill a bunch of people, he's going to do it, you'll note god didn't take the bargaining down to 4 people.

⁹And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

We aren't told if Isaac struggled. We aren't told if Abraham was sad to do this. The only thing we know is that Abraham did it without question.

¹⁰And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

Mom who said she killed on God's orders acquitted

Father: God Told Me to Sacrifice Wife, Children

Currently, people who believe god tells them to kill their children are classified as insane. If it's in the bible, then that person is to be revered.

An angel stops Abraham.

¹²And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

So it's only ATTEMPTED murder.

¹³And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

Thank heavens there was an animal caught there, so that the god who asked for the child sacrifice could get his bloodlust satisfied; even if it is only a ram, and not a human sacrifice.

The angel continues.

¹⁶And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

¹⁷That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

¹⁸And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Because Abraham didn't withhold his son, he will be blessed. Except, he's already been given this blessing? Well, maybe not this exact one, in Gen 13:16 his seed was to be like the dust; in Gen. 16:10 it was innumerable; this time it's like sand on the sea. God likes to repeat himself.


²⁰And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor;

Nahor, Abraham's brother had some children. Huz, Buz, Kemuel, Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, Bethuel were born of Milcah. Tebah, Gaham, Thahash, and Maachah were born of Reumah (his concubine).

Bethuel was the father of Rebekah. We are told all these births because Rebekah is important. Rebekah is the great-niece of Abraham.
Isaac is the son of Abraham.


Genesis 23

¹And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.

²And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.

Sarah died at 127. Jewish mythology holds that she died one of two ways, both deal with the attempted sacrifice of Isaac.

1. Samael (the archangel) told her that Abraham sacrificed Isaac, and she died of grief.
2. Satan (in the form of an old man) told her Isaac was sacrificed. She cried... alot, but got comfort in the belief that god told Abraham to do it. So she went to go find Abraham. Then satan tells her that it's not true, and she died of joy.

Abraham then attempts to buy a cave to bury her in.

⁹That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a buryingplace amongst you.

This cave fills up with people over time.

¹¹Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead.

The extremely rich Abraham didn't have to pay for the cave, they wanted to give it to him.

He wanted to pay for it.

¹⁵My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.

It's worth 400 shekels. Abraham wound up paying for it.

¹⁶And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.

Current money.

¹⁹And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.

They are/were (supposedly) buried in the Cave of the Patriarchs, or the Cave of Machpelah. Bones were found in there, the guy who did the digging claimed he knew who's bones they were.

An early Jewish text, the Genesis Rabba, states that this site is one of three that the nations of the world cannot taunt Israel and say ‘you have stolen them.’ it being purchased "for its full price" by Abraham.

Apparently, claiming Israel has stolen things is a common practice.

Genesis 24

¹And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.

Sarah's dead, and Abraham is old.

²And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:

A thigh oath. Actually, it was probably a testicle oath. Apparently the word "testify" is from the same word as testis (testicles). Which means to swear a ball oath. So Abraham made his servant grab his balls and swear something... what was it?

³And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:

What a racist asshole. Remember, the Canaanites were black. So Abraham said "don't let my son marry no (n word)". Add this to the list of great attributes of Abraham.

⁴But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.

Incest is better than marrying a black girl.

⁵And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?

The servant is still standing there holding Abraham's balls asking "what if she won't come back?"

Abraham says someone will come back.

¹⁰And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.

There are two Nahor's. One was Abraham's brother, the other his grandfather.

The servant prayed.

¹²And he said O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.

¹³Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:

¹⁴And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.

You'll note that god wasn't the god of the servant. (The servant was probably Eliezer from Gen. 15:2) Eliezer prayed that when the women come out to get water, he'll ask them for some water, and the one who gives him water will be the one to marry Isaac.

¹⁵And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.

¹⁶And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.

Hey, remember Rebekah from earlier? The great-niece of Abraham. Apparently she's a hottie like her great-aunt Sarah. She's a virgin too, whoo hooo.

The servant (who isn't named, but it's assumed to be Eliezer) asked her for water. She gave him some. Then she said she'll get some for his camels too. HUZZAH!!!

²¹And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.

He was shocked that what he prayed for actually happened.

²²And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;

²³And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?

No wonder she got him water, he was all blinged out. Abraham paid 400 shekels of silver for the caves that he's buried in, his servant paid 20.5 shekels of gold for some water.

She told him she was the daughter of Bethuel, the granddaughter of Nahor.

²⁹And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.

Laban will be important later.

The servant tells his story to Laban:

³⁵And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.

³⁶And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath.

Isaac will get everything.

³⁷And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell:

³⁸But thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.

No black wives though.

He tells the story of how Abraham made him swear on his nuts. He tells how he pray for water and water for his camels. He tells exactly the same thing that has already been told in this chapter.

⁵⁰Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.

⁵¹Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the LORD hath spoken.

Laban freely gives away his sister. He'll get more stingy as times go by.

They ask if she wants to go, she says sure. So she takes off with the servant.

⁶³And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.

The camels are coming, the camels are coming.

⁶⁴And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.

She was happy that she wasn't getting married to a troll. He was probably happy that he didn't have to marry one of the black town girls.

⁶⁷And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

Nothing comforts a guy over his mothers death, like having a new wife who is a close cousin.

Points to ponder:

1. Abraham didn't necessarily want his son to marry one of his cousins so much that he didn't want him to marry a Canaanite.
2. I know I'm getting way ahead of myself, but take a look at James 1:13. ¹³Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man Meanwhile Genesis 22:1 says that God did tempt Abraham. Which of these verses is incorrect?
3. Why does Gen. 22:2 say Isaac is Abraham's only son? Does Abraham remember Ishmael anymore? Did he just assume that Hagar and Ishmael were dead?
4. If God tells you to sacrifice your children, would you do it? Would you seek medical help first?
5. Are you willing to swear on your nuts?
6. The new testament is about Jesus. God goes from not wanting a human sacrifice to demanding one, this time, it's his own son though. God doesn't want to be shown up, he doesn't give his own son the last second reprieve with the goat in stuck in the bushes.