Bible Study Online

In the last article, we'd learned that after Jacob's latest ordeal, which involved his sons, and the now fallen clan of the Shechemites. The Lord had reached out to Jacob, in order to remind him of the vow he had to Him, back when he was on the run from his older brother Esau:

"If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my fathers house, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth." -- (Genesis 28:20-22)

And after the Lord had done this, He would give Jacob a new set of instructions to follow: "Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau." -- Genesis 35:1

So Jacob would do as he was instructed, and while doing so, the Lord stayed with him.

But after Jacob had completed his latest task, we now find him entering into what I'd like to call -- a season of passing? For the Sacred Record reveals, that the people who were not only close to his heart and mind, but they had also played very important roles from within his early life -- had begun to pass away: His mother Rebekah, Deborah his nurse (housemother), Rachel his beloved wife and his father Isaac.

Now remember, that although Isaac's death is listed during this stage of Jacob's life -- he wouldn't actually pass away until many years later. For he would pass, after Jacob's son Joseph had been betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery. More on this, at a later date.

Now before we move forward and deeper into Jacob's record, I want to take this time to take a quick look, when it comes to the descendants of Jacob's oldest twin brother Esau -- for I personally believe, that this information is worth noting. Now although Esau had lost (or gave away) his birthright and blessing, that he was entitled to under the Abrahamic Covenant, being that he was Isaac's first born. We still find, that in spite of this, he still became a great nation from within his own right.

Now I will begin, by pointing out the prophecy that Esau's father Isaac had foretold, when it came to his son's destiny: "Your dwelling will be away from the earth's richness, and away from the dew of heaven above. You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck." -- (Genesis 27:39-40)

Understand that this prophecy points out, that when it came to where Esau would end up dwelling -- that he would be far away from the "earth's richness and away from the dew of heaven above." Know that this is in reference to Jacob's dwelling from within the "Promise Land" that is also known as Canaan the "land of milk and honey."

Now after the death of Esau and Jacob's father Isaac -- know that Isaac's estate would be divided between the two of them. And it's from this point forward, that we seem to have entered a "moment of deja vu" -- for we'll also find, that a similar occurrence had been recorded earlier, back during the days of Abraham. For the point of reference that I'm referring to, deals with the record of Abraham and his nephew Lot.

For they too, had became very wealthy men while they were in Egypt (thanks to Abraham's wife Sarah.) And after they had journeyed back from Egypt, they'd began to experience problem,s because of their new found wealth. Know that Abraham and Lot had become so wealthy, that the land in which they now occupied together, was no longer big enough to accommodate the abundance they had between them.

And because of this predicament, this would lead to Abraham and Lot, eventually coming to an agreement -- that basically dealt with them departing from each other. It would be this agreement that would eventually lead to Lot choosing to head down towards, and live near the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Now as we turn back to Jacob & Esau -- we're learning that they too, would run into a similar problem and because of this, they would eventually depart from each other as well. And of course, Jacob would stay in the "land of Canaan" and Esau would move back and finish settling in the "land of Seir," which was a mountainous region that was located to the southeast of Canaan and past the Dead Sea.

Now remember that Esau had already started settling from within the land of Seir before Jacob had made it back home from his dealings with Laban in Haran. But Esau would return home to help Jacob, when it came to burying their father, in which they gave their father the proper ceremony that he rightly deserved.

And after this was done, Esau had stayed awhile. I often wondered why he had done this? Perhaps he was trying to stick around and spend some time with his brother Jacob? After all, they did finally reconcile their differences between them not to long ago. Nonetheless, after some time had passed, they would finally recognized that the land the two had shared, would not be big enough for the both of them to remain in together:

"Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the members of his household, as well as his livestock and all his other animals and all the goods he had acquired in Canaan, and moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob. Their possessions were too great for them to remain together; the land where they were staying could not support them both because of their livestock." -- Genesis 36:6,7

Esau would take with him his three Canaanite wives:

Adah who was the daughter of Elon the Hittite and bore him a son called, Eliphaz which signifies - (God his strength)

Bashemath who was the daughter of his uncle Ishmael and she bore him a son called, Reuel which signifies (friend of God)

Aholibamah who was the daughter of Anah and she bore him three sons who were called: Jeush, Jalam and Korah.

Here we also find that Esau would also be recognized as a nation just like his brother Jacob. Jacob is known as "Israel" and Esau would be known as "Edom" (The Father of the Edomites).

Teman - signifies (on the right)

Omar - signifies (to speak)

Zepho - signifies (gazing)

Gatam - signifies (a brunt valley)

Kenaz - signifies (hunting)

Amalek - signifies (dweller in the valley)

Nahath - signifies (rest)

Zerah - signifies (sunrise)

Shammah - signifies (the Lord was there)

Mizzah - signifies (strength)

Keep in mind, that the descendants of the sons of Esau's third wife Aholibamah, are not mentioned. But they are recognized as chiefs, or dukes -- which could mean, that they were perhaps military commanders, or captains of some sort. As a matter of fact, all of Esau's sons seem to have these titles associated with their names.

Know that I'm adding Aholibamah's three sons here, just for page organization purposes, and not as an indication that they were the only sons in Esau's genealogy that had these titles associated with them.

Jeush - signifies (he protects)

Jalam - signifies (to conceal)

Korah - signifies (baldness)

Now when Esau had ventured back to the land of Seir -- understand that it was already being inhabited by the Horites. Now I'm mentioning this, because the Word of God finds it to be very important, so therefore, I do too. Since Esau had intermarried with the Horites, this only makes sense, that they too, are included in Esau's overall genealogy. Now let's take a quick look at the chief sons of "Seir the Horite" and their sons:

Hori - signifies (cave-dweller)

Homam - signifies (destruction)

Alvan - signifies (height)

Manahath - signifies (rest)

Ebal - signifies (bare mountain)

Shepho - signifies (boldness)

Onam - signifies (vigorous)

Aiah - signifies (falcon)

Anah (He discovered the hot springs in the desert while he was grazing the donkeys)

Dishon

Hemdan - signifies (desirous)

Eshban - signifies (fire of discernment)

Ithran - signifies (advantage)

Keran - signifies (lyre - which is a string instrument of the harp family class)

Bilhan - signifies (decrepitude or feebleness)

Zaavan - signifies (trouble)

Akan - signifies (sharp-sighted)

Uz - signifies (wooded)

Aran - signifies (joyful)

Next we find, that the Sacred Record brings to our attention, the rulers, or kings of Edom. This is basically done to show, that eventually the Edomites had weeded out the Horites, and had taken full possession of the land that God had given over to Esau. This account is recorded within the Sacred Account (Genesis 36:31-43). Now keep in mind, that there was a prophecy that had been foretold when it came to Esau, and once again, the Sacred Record has to show the fulfillment of that prophecy.

This is done by God, in order to show that the validity and credibility of the Sacred Record is reinforced. Know that no other book is able to do this, or bold enough to make this claim. Always remember, that the Word of God stands alone: proven, infallible, indestructible and incorruptible.

And for those unbelievers, who dare to stand shamelessly against the "Mighty Word of God" -- could one day, find themselves in a very perilous, eternal, spiritual situation? Let's pray that they will find the path of Real Truth, before it's too late.

In the next article, we'll continue forward with our Bible study series -- starting with Jacob's favorite son, from out of the twelve -- Joseph.

God Creates the Earth

The Sons of God - The Daughters of Men

The Introduction of Abraham

The Birth of Isaac

The Birth of Esau & Jacob

Jacob - The Path of Uncertainty

**YOUR CURRENT - BIBLE STUDY ONLINE SERIES - WOULD BE HERE**

Joseph the Favorite Son

Joseph the Overseer of Egypt

The Unveiling of Joseph

54) Jacob the Prosperous

55) Jacob departs from Laban

56) Rachel the Thief

57) Jacob's Mistake

58) Laban's Pursuit

59) The Friendship Covenant

60) The Host of Angels

61) Jacob Wrestles with God

62) The Reconciliation of Jacob & Esau

63) Dinah the Daughter of Israel

64) The Plot of Vengeance

65) The Forgotten Vow

66) The Season of Passing

67) <-CURRENT - BIBLE STUDY ONLINE - PAGE->

68) Joseph the Favorite Son