55
Esau sells his birthright to Jacob,
an impetuous act depicted in one of a
series of biblical paintings, c.1860–80,
by Lady Waterford for Waterford Hall,
near Berwick-upon-Tweed, England.GENESIS
given, so cannot be revoked. In
his fury, Esau vows to murder
Jacob once their father is dead.Jacob’s ladder
Warned by his mother, Jacob flees
under the guise of finding a wife
among their own people. He heads
for Haran, where Rebekah’s brother
Laban lives. One night on the
journey, he has a dream in which
he sees angels ascending and
descending a stairway between
Earth and heaven. God is present
in this symbolic bond of the divine
and the human. He assures Jacob
of protection and promises that the
covenant made with Jacob’s
grandfather, Abraham, and father,Isaac, will extend to him and his
offspring. They will be as numerous
as the “dust of the earth,” a blessing
to the whole world. Jacob, a younger
son who has deceived his brother,
receives God’s favor.Laban tricks Jacob
However, Jacob’s behavior is
punished, and also by a trick. When
Jacob arrives at his uncle Laban’s
house, he falls in love with his
cousin Rachel. Laban promises him
her hand in marriage after seven
years. However, at the end of this
time, Laban substitutes his eldest
daughter Leah at the ceremony.
Jacob must work another seven
years to marry Rachel. ■See also: The Testing of Abraham 50–53 ■ Jacob Wrestles with God 56–57 ■
The Psalms 138–43 ■ Sermon on the Mount 204–09 ■ The Trinity 298–99Women in Genesis
The four Jewish matriarchs
in Genesis—Sarah, Rebekah,
Rachel, and Leah—are noted
for their faith and dedication
to God. Even though they
struggle to conceive children,
they keep faith in God’s plan
and acknowledge His role in
continuing Abraham’s lineage
by granting them miraculous
pregnancies, even well past
normal childbearing age.
Yet the women of Genesis
are not passive. They are
catalysts. Eve sets the history
of humankind in motion when
she defies God’s command
not to eat from the Tree of
the Knowledge of Good and
Evil, and women continually
determine who will inherit
God’s promise to Abraham:
Sarah secures the succession
of her son Isaac when she
persuades Abraham to expel
Hagar and her son Ishmael,
and Rebekah engineers for
Jacob to receive his father’s
blessing instead of his older
brother Esau.US_054-055_Esau_and_Jacob.indd 55 27/09/17 5:55 pm