Genesis
25:19-34
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- Reading the Text:
- NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
- Hebrew Interlinear Bible, WLCv, WLC5, CHES, AV.
- The Bible Gateway: NRSV, RSV, NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
- The Blue Letter Bible. KJV, alternate versions, Hebrew text with concordance, commentaries.
- The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary, exposition and sermons.
- Bereshit 25: Massoretic, Hebrew, Aramaic, JPS.
- Historical References, Commentary and
Comparative Texts:
- Chapter 1, Book II, Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus: How Esau and Jacob, Isaac's Sons Divided Their Habitation; and Esau Possessed Idumea and Jacob Canaan.
-
Navigating the Bible: Text/Rabbinic commentary
and Divrei Torah.
- "(25:23) The greater one... Rebecca thus knew that Jacob would be the chosen one. This explains Genesis 25:28 and 28:5."
- Chapter XIII of the Epistle of Barnabas. (ca. 130)
- IV.XXI.2-3, Adversus Haereses, Irenaeus of Lyons. (c. 180)
- Chapter I, Adversus Judaeos, Tertullian (c. 198)
- Chapter XXVI, On the Soul, Tertullian (c. 210)
- Chapter XIII, Scorpiace, Tertullian (c. 213)
- Chapter VIII, On Modesty, Tertullian (c. 217)
- Rashi's Commentary, c. 1075. chabad.org.
- From the Geneva Notes.
- "The reprobate do not value God's benefits unless they feel them presently, and therefore they prefer present pleasures."
- From
Matthew Henry's
Commentary.
- "He [Jacob] was right, that he coveted earnestly the best gifts; he was wrong, that he took advantage of his brother's need."
- From
Wesley's
Notes.
- "The birth-right was typical of spiritual privileges, those of the church of the first-born: Esau was now tried how he would value those, and he shews himself sensible only of present grievances: may he but get relief against them, he cares not for his birth-right."
- From the
Commentary on the Whole Bible
(Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
- "Jacob sod pottage--made of lentils or small beans, which are common in Egypt and Syria. It is probable that it was made of Egyptian beans, which Jacob had procured as a dainty; for Esau was a stranger to it. It is very palatable; and to the weary hunter, faint with hunger, its odor must have been irresistibly tempting."
- Contemporary References, Commentary and
Comparative Texts:
- "Rivalry Between Brothers," Commented Bible Passages from Taize, 2013.
- "Esau," "Isaac," "Jacob," Frederick Buechner, Peculiar Treasures, 2013.
- Commentary, Genesis 25:19-34, Juliana Claassens, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2011.
- "One should keep in mind that these narratives are told from a pro-Jacob/pro-Israel perspective. The portrayal of a God who sides with the powerless, the weak, the younger brother, the barren woman is moreover a theological perspective that reveals something of Israel's self-understanding as a tiny, powerless people who lived in the midst of much stronger nations..."
- "Divine Redemption in Our Human Families," The Journey with Jesus: Notes to Myself, Daniel B. Clendenin, Journey
with Jesus Foundation, 2011.
- "None of the players in this story come off well. They give the lie to so-called Biblical "family values." None of them offered better mettle for the history of salvation. Far from it. And therein we can take encouragement."
- "Hair and Heals," Fr. Rick Morley, a garden path, 2011.
- "Things can be awful and embarrassingly dysfunctional–and God can still move. God can still do great things."
- "The Dysfunctional Family of God," Russell Rathbun, The Hardest Question, 2011.
- "How do we find anything like Good News in the way this not-completely-trustworthy-trickster-god treats this family?"
- "Giving Up Control," FaithElement discipleship system "setting the Bible free," 2011.
-
Commentary, Genesis 25:19-34, Esther M. Menn, Preaching This Week,
WorkingPreacher.org, 2008.
- "God may be commonly associated with the gifts of peace and unity, but this story of the struggle between Jacob and his brother, Esau, highlights family conflict as a context within which God also works."
-
The Old Testament Readings:
Genesis 25:19-34. Weekly Comments on the Revised Common
Lectionary, Theological Hall of the Uniting Church,
Melbourne, Australia.
- "This murky world of human reality is the arena wherein Yahweh?s word is brought to fulfilment."
-
"Jacob and
Esau: A Theology of Pathology,"
The Journey with Jesus: Notes to Myself, Daniel B. Clendenin, Journey with Jesus
Foundation, 2005.
- "Reading this Genesis narrative feels like walking into a county court house and sifting through a musty box of birth, marriage and death certificates, not to mention public records of lawsuits born of family pathology and resentful letters never meant to be read by others. But such are the places and manner of our redemption."
- Comments (commentary) and Clippings (technical notes for in-depth study), Chris Haslam, Anglican Diocese of Montreal.
-
Desert
Scribblings, Genesis 25:19-34, Geoff McElroy.
- "How are we like Isaac and Rebekah, allowing our favored 'child' preference over another, almost encouraging conflict and rivalry between groups, ministries, individuals, instead of seeking the best for all?"
-
"Family Values, Biblical Style,"
The Journey with Jesus: Notes to Myself, Daniel B. Clendenin, Journey
with Jesus Foundation, 2008.
- "Why do you think some Christians seem to suggest that our families should be perfect or free from problems?"
- "The
Principle of Divine Election," from the Biblical
Studies Foundation.
- "While we must acknowledge that God in His omniscience knew all of the deeds of both these sons from eternity past, Paul says that the choice of Jacob over Esau had nothing to do with their works."
-
"From Rivkah's Womb to the Western Wall," Rabbi Arthur Waskow, The
Shalom Center.
- "It took Jacob of the Torah more than twenty years, plus a night of wrestling with God, to learn that steadfastness and clarity in his own identity, not trickery or violence, could win him the blessings of prosperity and peace."
- Parshah Toldot, text, commentary & articles from Chassidic Masters, sermons, etc from Chabad Lubavitch.
- Parshas Toldos, Divrei Torah from The Project Genesis Torah Study. Index to numerous Orthodox articles and studies on Genesis 25:19 - 28:9.
- Parshat Toldot, articles and commentary by the Jewish Community of Atlanta, at The Torah From Dixie.
- "Election
and Transformation, Genesis 25:19-34," Lawrence Semel, Kerux
Online Journal of Biblical Theology.
- "The story of Jacob teaches us that election gives rise to and brings into prominence the need for the transformation of the lives of the redeemed."
- "Blessed
Deception," program highlights, discussion & reflection questions and more
from the Bill Moyers PBS series Genesis: A
Living Conversation.
- "How is Rebecca's relationship with God different from those of the women who preceded her in Genesis?"
- "A Note on the Oracle of Rebecca (Gen 25.23)," by Robert A. Kraft. Journal of Theological Studies 13 (1962) 318-320.
- Isaac and Rebekah, from And Adam Knew Eve: A Dictionary of Sex in the Bible by Ronald L. Ecker.
- From the (1913) Catholic Encyclopedia: Esau, Jacob
- At Wikipedia: Esau, Jacob
- At the Jewish Encyclopedia (1910): Esau, Jacob.
- "Brief History and Final Destiny of Edom," by Lambert Dolphin. Gathers other passages from the Hebrew Bible about Edom, and attempts to put them into a chronological narrative.
- Recommended articles
from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are
linked below.
ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of
selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices.Annotated list of "starting place" articles at ATLAS for this week's texts (includes direct links).
- Assis, Elie, "Why Edom? On the
Hostility towards Jacob's Brother in Prophetic Sources," Vetus
Testamentum, 2006.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Clifford, Richard J., "Expository
Article: Genesis 25:19-34," Interpretation, 1991.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Cohn, Robert L., "Negotiating (with)
the Natives: Ancestors and Identity in Genesis," Harvard Theological
Review, 2003.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials -
Crüsemann, Frank, "Dominion, Guilt, and Reconciliation: The Contribution
of the Jacob Narrative in Genesis to Political Ethics, Semeia,
1994.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Havrelock, Rachel, "The Myth of Birthing the Hero:
Heroic Barrenness in the Hebrew Bible," Biblical Interpretation,
2008.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Jones, Verity A., "Family Feuds,"
The Christian Century, 2002.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Kaminsky, Joel S.,
"Humor and the Theology of Hope: Isaac as a Humorous Figure,"
Interpretation, 2000.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Klein, Ralph W., "Celebrating and Sharing the Gift:
Reflections on Jacob, Israel's Ancestor," Currents in Theology and
Mission, 1991.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Malul, M., "AQEB 'Heel' and AQAB 'to
Supplant' and the Concept of Succession in the Jacob-Esau Narratives,"
Vetus Testamentum, 1996.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Matthews, Victor H. and Frances Mims, "Jacob the
Trickster and Heir of teh Covenant: A Literary Interpretation,"
Perspectives in Religious Studies, 1985.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Smith, S.H., "'Heel' and 'Thigh': The Concept of
Sexuality in the Jacob-Esau Narratives," Vetus Testamentum, 1990.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Turner, Mary Donovan, "Rebekah: Ancestor of Faith," Lexington Theological Quarterly, 1985.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Assis, Elie, "Why Edom? On the
Hostility towards Jacob's Brother in Prophetic Sources," Vetus
Testamentum, 2006.
- Sermons:
- A Man Of The Moment, Stan Purdum from SermonStudio.
- With Children:
- Worshiping with Children, Proper 10, Including children in the congregation's worship, using the Revised Common Lectionary, Carolyn C. Brown, 2011.
- "Abraham - Father of Many Nations," "Jacob, Father of Israel," Illustrating the Story (lessons, children's sermons), coloring pages, activity sheets, crafts, children's songs. MSSS Crafts.
- "Jacob & Esau," children's study, puzzles, coloring sheet, etc. Higher Praise Christian Center.
- "Crossword on Genesis 24 & 25," Don Crownover's Bible Puzzles.
- "Jacob and Esau," online computer java-based coloring pages from Grace Baptist Church of Feeding Hill.
- Drama:
- Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
- Clip Art: Isaac Blesses Jacob, Julius Schnoor von Carolsfeld woodcuts, World Mission Collection, Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.
- Liturgy:
- Hymns and Music:
- Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
- Movies scenes with the following themes, listed at The Text This Week's Movie Concordance:
- Study links and resources for the Book of Genesis
