“Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son” (25:12, KJV)

25:12-18*

• List: The sons of Ishmael [he had 12 sons thus fulfilling God’s promise, see 17:20]
• Ishmael’s death

“And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son” (25:19, KJV)

Isaac & Rebekah / Esau & Jacob

25:19-20*

• Recap: Abraham was the father of Isaac (see 21:2-3); Isaac married Rebekah (see 24:67)

25:21-23

• Rebekah is barren but becomes pregnant;
• God says, ‘The older [twin] will serve the younger’

25:24-26*

• The birth of Esau [the older twin] and Jacob [the younger twin]

25:27-34

• Esau sells his birthright to Jacob for some stew

[the eldest had the right to become head of the family]

26:1-11

• In Gerar [home of Abimelech^B]:
• God promises to bless Isaac;
• Isaac claims Rebekah is his sister

26:12-17

• Isaac prospers (cf. 26:3);
• the Philistines block his wells;
• Abimelech^B asks him to move away

26:18-22

• In the Valley of Gerar: Isaac re-digs Abraham’s wells & is opposed by Gerar’s herdsmen

26:23-33

• At Beersheba: God promises to bless Isaac
• Abimelech^B makes a treaty with Isaac

26:34-35*

• Esau marries 2 Hittite wives who upset his parents

[cf. 27:46. Hittites were descendants of Heth (son of Canaan, see 10:15); Abraham had insisted that Isaac should not wed a Canaanite, see 24:3-4]

27:1-40

• Rebekah & Jacob trick (old & blind) Isaac so that he blesses Jacob, not Esau

[God had previously told Rebekah, 'the older will serve the younger' (25:23), but Isaac had ignored this, hence Rebekah put a plan into action to ensure that the younger Jacob was blessed according to God's word. The New Testament affirms that Isaac's blessing was ultimately spoken by faith in God (see Heb 11:20) and that Esau lost the blessing because he had been unholy by selling his birthright in Gen 25:29-34 (see Heb 12:15-17)]

27:41 – 28:5

• Esau plans to kill Jacob, so Rebekah arranges for Jacob to be sent to Laban to find a wife
• Isaac blesses Jacob again before he leaves

[It seems that, by this time, Isaac had accepted that it was God's plan for Jacob to receive the blessing]

28:6-9*

• Esau marries a 3^rd wife

[in an attempt to gain Isaac’s blessing? This wife was descended from Abraham instead of being a Canaanite]

Jacob visits Laban and gets married

28:10-22

• At Bethel: Jacob dreams of a ladder to heaven
• God promises Jacob the Land;
• God promises Jacob many descendants;
• God promises Jacob His continual Presence.
• Jacob promises that, if God provides for him, he will serve God

29:1-14

• At a well, Jacob meets Rachel & gives water to her sheep, then he meets Laban (her father)

29:15-30*

• Jacob works for 7 years to marry Rachel;
• Jacob is tricked by Laban into marrying Leah [Rachel's sister]
• He marries Rachel but has to work for Laban another 7 years

29:31 – 30:24*

• Jacob has children [see LIST below; other sons are listed in 35:16-18 & 48:5]

[KEY:

• λ = Children counted as Leah’s
• ρ = Children counted as Rachel’s
• β = Rachel’s maidservant, as surrogate for Rachel
• ζ = Leah’s maidservant, as surrogate for Leah
• δ = Jacob's only daughter]

1. Reuben----| λ | Leah

2. Simeon----| λ | Leah

3. Levi--------| λ | Leah

4. Judah------| λ | Leah

5. Dan---------| ρ / β | Bilhah

6. Naphtali--| ρ / β | Bilhah

7. Gad---------| λ / ζ | Zilpah

8. Asher------| λ / ζ | Zilpah

9. Issachar---| λ | Leah

10. Zebulun--| λ | Leah

(δ Dinah---| λ | Leah)

11. Joseph----| ρ | Rachel

• Rachel had remained barren before having Joseph

Jacob journeys back home

30:25-43

• Jacob hopes to leave Laban, but agrees to stay for wages; Laban tries to cheat him (but fails)

ch. 31

• Laban has a bad attitude so God tells Jacob to leave;
• Jacob runs away so Laban chases him but God rebukes Laban
• Rachel had stolen Laban’s idols, but Laban doesn't find them
• Jacob & Laban make a truce

32:1-2

• At Mahanaim [or ‘Two-Camps’]: God’s encampment [or army] of angels meet with Jacob

32:3-21

• Jacob is afraid to meet Esau so he divides his camp, prays for help, then sends gifts to Esau

32:22-32

• At Peniel [or ‘Face-of-God’]: Jacob wrestles with God, asks for a blessing & is renamed by God with the name 'Israel'

[The name 'Israel' means 'He-will-prevail-with-God'. The word 'prevail' means to dominate or have power and reflects the fact that Jacob prevailed in his wrestling match against God. Some translate the word 'Israel' as meaning 'He-will-rule-as-God' or 'Prince-of-God' to reflect the specific power that Israel would have. When God renamed him as 'Israel' for the second time, He spoke about the future kingship, see 35:10-11] 

33:1-17

• Esau is kind to Jacob & invites him to Seir [the land of Edom]; Jacob goes to Succoth instead [east of Jordan river]

[Esau had originally wanted to kill Jacob because the spiritual blessing was taken from him, but now that Esau is prospering materially, he no longer cares about the spiritual aspect of it]

33:18 – 34:31

• In Canaan: Jacob buys land
• Dinah is raped by Shechem; Simeon and Levi take revenge

35:1-7

• God tells Jacob to move to Bethel & build an altar
• Jacob buries all the family idols [cf. 31:19]

35:8*

• Death & burial of Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse

[the death of Rebekah (Jacob’s mother) is unrecorded]

35:9-15

• At Bethel: God blesses Jacob [cf. blessing of 28:12-19] and renames him Israel [for a second time, see 32:28]

35:16-20*

• Jacob has a child [other sons are listed in 29:31–30:24 & 48:5]

12. Benjamin---| ρ | Rachel

• Rachel dies during childbirth

35:21-22

• Reuben sleeps with Bilhah

[An act of incest, so Reuben lost his birthright, cf. Gen 49:3-4, 1 Chron 5:1-2]

35:23-29*

• List: The 12 sons of Jacob [cf. 29:31–30:24 & 35:16-18]
• Death & burial of Isaac [Jacob’s father]

GEN / Ex / Lev / Num / Deut