The Patriarchs, Abraham, his son Isaac, and his son Jacob, received a series of blessings throughout Genesis. In Genesis 12:2, Abraham is blessed by God. In Genesis 12:3, God says that he will bless all the families of the earth. Genesis 24:1 states that the LORD was determined to bless Israel. Receiving a father’s blessing was one of the highest honors. It was believed that losing a blessing would lead to a cursed life. Isaac's blessing on Jacob in Genesis 27:28-9, gives Jacob the authority over his brother, and promised blessings to those who blessed him, and curses to those who cursed him. When Esau found out that Jacob had received his blessing, he asked if his father had one left for him. Not only did these blessings...bless people, they also held prophesies from the future, Jacob blessed all of his twelve children, (Genesis 49) these blessings gave them inheritance, and prophecy, all of which were seen fulfilled later in the bible. Jacob blessed Judah, (Genesis 49:8) he says, “Judah, your brothers will praise you, you will grasp your enemies by their necks, your relatives will bow down before you.” In verse 10, it says the ruler’s staff will not pass from your descendants,” and Judah’s descendants included David and Jesus.
The theme of a son's inheritance is one of the most repeated in the story of the patriarchs. The first suggestion of this in Genesis is the genealogies such as those of Genesis 5 and 10. These may seem boring to a modern reader, but evidently they served a purpose for the Israelite's, for whom they were first intended. In Genesis 22:8-21, God states that Ishmael will not have his father's inheritance, but in a sort of return, says that he will be a father of a nation--just not the promised nation that became Israel. This implies that inheritance was a much bigger deal then than now. Later, in Genesis 25:19-34, Esau is extremely hungry, apparently enough to be fearful for his life, and trades his birthright, or inheritance, for a (presumably large) portion of stew from Jacob. Jacob effectively threatened his brother's life to get his inheritance, which also points at the importance of one's inheritance from his father. In Genesis 37:1-11, in particular verses 3 and 4, Jacob (now known as Israel) shows extra favor to his son Joseph, perhaps giving him a larger inheritance than his older brothers. This infuriated Joseph's older brothers; in conjunction with the emphasis placed on Isaac and Jacob not being the firstborn of their brothers, there seems to have been a very strong tradition of giving the largest inheritance to the oldest son. This is further reinforced by Genesis 48, in which Israel blesses Joseph's sons, but blesses Ephraim, the younger of the two, over Manasseh, the firstborn. Clearly, in the time of the patriarchs, the inheritance was almost always given in the largest portions to the firstborn sons, and a son's inheritance was sometimes considered important enough that other sons would be willing to kill their brothers for it.
In the story of the patriarchs there are numerous repeating patterns one of them being promises.In Genesis chapter 9:11 the Lord promises that he will never kill all of creation by waters. Genesis chapter 12:2-3 the Lord promises Abram that he will make him into a great nation. Genesis chapter 12:7 the Lord promises Abram’s people the Canaanites land. Genesis chapter 15:5 the Lord promises Abram that his descendants are as the numbers of the stars. Genesis 18:10 the Lord promises that Sarah will have a son. Genesis 26:4 the Lord promises Isaac that he will make his descendants multiplied as the stars and give them all these lands and the nations of the earth will be blessed because of his offspring. In Genesis 28:14 the Lord promises Jacob that he will make his offspring as the dust of the earth. I think that the significance and importance of this repeated pattern of promises is two things. The first being that by promising His people and later accomplishing those promises he gains and makes trust between his people and Himself. Secondly, the way God makes promises with his people further reveals himself to them therefore strengthening their faith in him and to know and understand him better as a whole. The cultural significance it had on the people and culture was that it also helped trust to form and faith to strengthen between the people and God as well. Theological importance: This as well ties into what I had to say. Because God made promises to accomplish his will as well as to protect and help his people and because he accomplished those promises he shows he can be trusted and that he is all powerful and all-knowing and nothing can stop him. That is the theological importance
A recurring pattern in the story of the patriarchs is how God promises them a multitude of offspring. In Genesis 17:4, God made His covenant with Abram and promised that he would be "the father of a multitude of nations". This is a substantial promise to Abram (now called Abraham) because of the fact that both him and Sarai (now called Sarah) were old and well beyond the point of childbirth. Genesis 26:24 says that God gave Isaac the same kind of promise and said, "...'I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake'". In Genesis 35:11, God blesses Jacob and said, "'...be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body...'". The importance in this pattern of blessings and promises make it possible that humanity is saved by Jesus Christ. This is shown in Matthew 1:1, "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham". As God promised the patriarchs, they would father kings and eventually the King of Kings. The cultural significance is that in this patriarchal era, offspring and heirs were very important and valued in this culture. The fact God even promised Abraham to have a son in his old age would have been shocking and received with skepticism. God, however, went a step further and promised that he would be the father of nations! In the culture back then, this would have seemed absurd and impossible. Even Abraham had his doubts. The theological importance is that God will always keep his promises, no matter how crazy they seem. In conclusion, one repeating pattern in the patriarchal era is the promises and blessings of descendants that God gives.
Throughout the Bible in the book of Genesis God make many promises to the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In Genesis 12:2 God says, “I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” In Genesis 13:16 God make another promise saying, “I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.” Yet again in Genesis 17:7-8 God promises, “I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.” God made many more promises to the patriarchs in Genesis 22:16-18, 24:60, 35:11-12, and many more. The importance of this pattern to the overall story is that it showed how the patriarchs had an intimate relationship with God. It allows the reader to see how they would have communicated with God. The cultural significance would have been the patriarchs greatly focused on God and what he told his people. The theological importance of God promises to his people was that he was always there for them and never forsake them. God promises strengthened the patriarch's faith in him because after God made a promise it would come true every time and it gave the patriarch even more reason to trust God.
Well the obvious pattern is that the youngest was favored/blessed (Which is really annoying since I'm the oldest sibling in my family). It started with Abraham and Issac in Genesis 21:8-14, were Abraham decides to kick-out Ishmael and his mother. Then giving the blessing to his youngest son, Issac. When it came to Issac's turn to bless his sons he chose the eldest (Very wise) to get the greater blessing, but his very deceitful wife tricked him. She sent the youngest (Jacob) in his tent posing as his older brother (Esau), wearing his clothes and putting on sheep wool on his arms to make him seem excessively hairy to get the blessing. That story can be found in Genesis chapter 27. Then when Jacob has kids he favors the youngest, which would be Joseph. Joseph had twelve older brothers, who after had seen Jacob favor Joseph, decided to just get rid of him. So they sold him to slave traders. You might have noticed I have said "favored" not "blessed" when talking about Joseph, that's because he never really got officially blessed, and that was because he was sent away to Egypt. We can see he was favored in Genesis 37:3. Lastly we get too Jacob blessing Joseph's boys (It appears Joseph wasn't manly enough to do it himself). In Genesis 48:13-20 Jacob blesses the younger of the two with the greater blessing, Ephraim. So as we can clearly see the strong pattern here was to bless the youngest. Which was not common in the ancient times, usually they blessed the eldest. I think that God might have orchestrated this to show that he did not need the eldest to create a great nation. ~ Aidan
A theme that repeats numerous times in the story of the patriarchs is that of covenants. God makes several covenants with Abram/Abraham regarding his descendants and the land he would settle in (verses 12:7, 13:14-17, chapters 15 and 17, and verses 22:16-18). Abraham makes a covenant with King Abimelech in verse 21:27. God makes two covenants with Hagar, Abraham’s wife’s slave, in 16:10 and 21:18, both relating to her descendants through Ishmael, the son she had with Abraham. God makes a covenant with Isaac in 26:2-5. God establishes covenants with Jacob in 28:13-15, 35:10-12, and 46:3-4 regarding his name change to Israel, among other things. Jacob also makes a covenant with Laban in 31:44. These covenants are important to the story of the patriarchs mostly because of their role as patriarchs. Through the line of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and on, God established his people, the Israelites. The initial covenant between God and Abram was the first glimpse of the great nation that the Israelites would become. Because of these covenants, we can see that God kept his promises and the end result was no accident. Culturally, covenants give us an insight into the way official transactions or deals were made in the Sumerian world, as we can see through the covenant between Abraham and Abimelech, as well as the one between Jacob and Laban. As a deeply religious people, they would make their deals with God (or a god) as their witness. This relates to the theological importance of covenants. It shows how religious the ancient Sumerian people were. The theological importance also relates to the earlier point of how God always keeps the promises made in these covenants. Finally, because of these covenants, we know exactly why and how Israel became established as a nation.
In the patriarchal age of the Bible, one repeating pattern is the struggle between brothers. Most often, the struggle occurs between an older brother and a younger brother. Usually God chooses one brother over the other. This pattern starts with Cain and Abel in Genesis 4. God is more pleased with Abel’s offering than with Cain’s. Cain kills his younger brother. Brothers Jacob and Esau struggle the second that they come out of the womb--with Jacob grasping Esau’s heel. God says that Jacob, the younger son, will rule over Esau. Jacob and his mother successfully trick Isaac into blessing the wrong son (Genesis 25 and 27). Finally, Joseph, the favorite son of the preferred wife, is hated by his elder brothers. His dreams prophecy that his brothers and even his father will bow before him (Genesis 37). Joseph is used by God to ensure great prosperity in Egypt during a famine and ultimately to saves Joseph’s own people (Genesis 41-45). This pattern shows that God often makes the unlikely choice between brothers. Choosing a younger brother over the eldest was not culturally acceptable. The father's property was always passed on to the oldest son. This was his birthright. God breaks those cultural rules. Theologically, it’s interesting to note that God uses sinful, weak, cowardly people to promote his glory and achieve his purposes. It demonstrates to us, too, that what we expect or think is fair is not always going to be God’s plan. Also through these stories, much can be learned about family life and the way that household was managed in ancient times.
A similarity between all the stories of Patriarchs is that even though these men weren’t perfect, God used them anyway, because they trusted him. Lets start off with Abraham. Abraham was a stone cold sinner. I don’t have an exact quote cause eat doesn’t really mention it in the bible but he was worshiping and practicing a religion that wasn’t God’s. God told him to get out of there (Genesis 12:1-3) and to start following him. And he did! God doesn’t measure by how much right or wrong you’ve done, he just wants your heart, and Abraham stayed true to God. And Jacob, who, next to a lot of other things, Stole the birthright from Esau. (Genesis 27:30) And lied to his father (Genesis 27:19) and many other bad things. But even so God chose him to pass on his legacy, and he was a man of God, because he trusted and believed God. And last is Joseph. Joseph deceived his brothers (Genesis 42:7) And his heart was hard towards them when they came to him. He did give them food but he tested them (Genesis 42:15). But even so he was a great man, growing the kingdom of God and the people of Israel. God chose him not because he was perfect, but because he trusted him. What does this tell us about these men? Well, even though they were chosen to do God’s word, they weren’t perfect. They messed things up, they were humans. God doesn’t love us because we’re perfect, because of what Jesus did. No matter how much we mess up, God will always love us, and no matter how many times we screw up God will correct our paths and lead us where he wants us to go if we trust in him.
One theme in the story of the Patriarchs are the dreams given by God to numerous people in Genesis, the dreams and visions in the Patriarch’s story all of God trying to communicate a specific message. The first dream given by God as a promise is to Abraham in Genesis 17. Where God appeared to Abraham and made a covenant with him and said his descendents will be “exceedingly fruitful” and he would be the father of “nations”. All of these dreams were either a warning or a blessing. Jacob wrestled with God and dreamt of the ladder leading to heaven (Genesis 28:10-18 and 32:22). Joseph, Jacob’s son, interpreted and had many dreams from God, such as the dreams that the stars and the moon bowed down to him in Genesis 37. Or the dream of the stalks of his brothers grain bowing to his stalk of grain (Genesis 37:1-11). Another example would be Pharaoh's dream, in Genesis 41, of the seven skinny cows devouring the seven plump cows. God, through Joseph, interpreted this dream as seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. Because the dream was interpreted, Egypt was saved from famine and the Israelite nation was preserved, so God could exhibit His glory. God gave dreams and visions to communicate what He wanted from people, this was His way of personally speaking to people. In the Old Testament times there wasn’t a Bible or any account of Genesis because the people were literally living out the Old Testament. During the ancient times people may have been more superstitious and they had dreams and saw omens and God used this superstition to communicate to them. It was also more common for people to be spoken to by God as shown in the many dreams and warnings or blessings conveyed through these dreams.
The inherited theme of the family line of the patriarchs that stood out for me was that even though these men where very close to God they had some seriously unhealthy marriages! In Genesis chapter sixteen it is said that, in order to have a son to continue their family line Abraham and Sarah chose to have his child be born by the slave women Hagar. Also, in chapter twenty, Abraham says that Sarah is only his sister and that they are not married. This causes the king Abimelech to almost take Sarah as his wife (The Lord informed him that she was indeed married). Ironically enough in chapter twenty six, Abraham's son Isaac makes the exact same mistake with the same king Abimelech and his wife Rebekah! Isaac's son Jacob, in chapter twenty nine, ends up having two wives and they have constant conflict because he favors one over the other. The patriarchs had some serious problems in their marriages even though everyone sees them as being so perfect. I also think that they didn't realize how much of an influence that they had on their children.
One pattern that is seen several times through the Old Testament accounts of the Patriarchs is the concept of choosing the younger over the firstborn. Although Abraham was likely the firstborn of Terah, for the next five generations the younger child was chosen over the firstborn. When Abraham fathered his second son, Isaac, his wife Sarah demanded that Abraham exile his firstborn son Ishmael from the camp. God permitted this banishment, saying that although he would bless Ishmael, His plans would be fulfilled through Isaac, the second to be born (Gen 21: 12-13). Years later, Isaac’s own wife, Rebekah, asked the Lord why the two children in her womb were struggling with each other. The Lord’s response was that two nations were within her, but that the older would serve the younger (Gen 25:22-23). God’s favor on the younger of the twins—which was named Jacob—was shown increasingly throughout his life. When Jacob himself grew old and it came time for him to bless his two grandsons, he went out of his way to bestow the greater blessing upon the younger of the two (Gen 48:17-19). It is clear that the Lord has chosen the younger rather than the firstborn in all of these circumstances. This is very important and tells something of the Lord’s character. In that ancient culture, the firstborn son would inherit nearly all the possessions of the father—leaving the second son with next to nothing. But God here clearly chooses the second born, the least likely to succeed, to fulfill his plans. God does not base who he calls to do his will on personal value. It is clear that God does not discriminate based on who and what the world values. This is a very significant truth.
The theme I noticed was woven through the lives of the patriarchs is their wives barrenness but yet God's provision despite. For Abraham, his wife Sarah was barren because of her age (Gen. 18:11). Despite this barrenness God provided and Sarah conceived and gave birth to Isaac (Gen. 21:1-6). Isaac's wife Rebekah was also barren (Gen. 25:21). After some time and prayer, God allowed Rebekah to have children; and she gave birth to two sons. Again, he provided. The same was true for both of Jacob's wife Rachel. She was barren early on (Gen. 29:31). Continually faithful, God opened her womb and she gave birth later in her life. The interesting thing about all of these instances was that God used the time of bareness to teach the patriarchs and their wives something. And then in His timing (which always ended up being perfect) he allowed them to have children. It a lesson in trusting in God's timing, because we may be in a "barren" time, but God will provide at the perfect moment. We can't always see when that perfect moment it, so we have to trust. All of the patriarchs trusted God and he brought them out of the barrenness into blessing.
I think that one of the recurring themes is God's companionship. God is continually appearing to the patriarchs, and he guides them to where they need to go. In Genesis 26:2-3 it says, "The Lord appeared to Isaac and said 'Stay in this place for a while, and I will be with you>...'" Also in Gen 31:3, he guides Jacob the same way. God was also with these people wherever they went, blessing them and promising them great fruit and that great nations will come from their offspring (Gen 12:2-3 and 35:11). He was always helping his chosen people with whatever they needed, being a companion to them wherever they went, giving them riches and wealth. I also noticed that, in Genesis, it doesn't talk a lot about Gods punishments for sins, apart from Sodem and Gammorah. This could be because there was not much punishment, or is just not mentioned. It would be more revealing of the relationship between God and his people, though, if it talked more about what god did when they sinned. In any case, it seems as though, in Genesis at least, God was much more of a companion and friend than he is commonly viewed to be today.
One pattern that repeats through out the story of the Patriarchs is God’s promises to his people. Starting with Abraham, God says in Genesis 12:2: I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” In Genesis 13:14-15 God promises Abraham land for him and his descendants. In Genesis 17, God tells Abraham that he “shall be the father of a multitude of nations.” God establishes a covenant with Abraham, and his offspring. In Genesis 21, God fulfilled his promise to Abraham, giving him Isaac. In Genesis 22:16-18, God blesses Abraham and Isaac, promising “offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore.” Secondly, God fulfills a promise just by the birth of Isaac alone. In Genesis 26:3-5 God says to Isaac: “Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring” “I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands.” God promises Isaac offspring that would bless all the nations of the earth. God establishes the covenant with Isaac because his father obeyed him. Lastly, in Genesis 28:14-15 God says to Jacob: “ Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land.” These promises were important because they were how God communicated his purpose to his people. God fulfilled his promises, showing that he is faithful, that he provides, and that he cares for his people.
When I read the various passages, something I noticed was that the patriarchs seemed to receive the blessings and have promises fulfilled when they were old. In Genesis 12:2. God says to Abraham "I will make of you a great nation..." However, he doesn't receive the blessing until he is very old. Genesis 24:1 says "Abraham was well advanced in years, and God blessed him." Genesis 21 talks about the birth of Isaac. Sarah bore Abraham a son in his old age. I think that God was trying to show/teach two things. First, God seemed to be teaching Abraham to be patient and trust him. It would have been hard at times for Abraham to trust in Gods promises as he was getting old. The second thing God was trying to teach Abraham was that he (God)can do anything. Not many people have kids when they are 90 or become the father of the nations, you know! ;)
The verbal action of commanding is a pattern repeatedly seen throughout the story of the patriarchs. It occurs often, from God commanding Adam about the tree of life in chapter two verse sixteen all the way to Joseph commanding his servants in chapter fifty verse two - and many times in between. The importance of this pattern/its cultural significance is that it shows us that an authority structure has existed and been followed since the beginning of time. People have always understood authority/who is in command. This has relevance to our historical understanding of Israel in that it helps us understand how Israel was structured and what day-to-day life might have been like. Below are times that the action of commanding occurred in the story of the patriarchs: - Concerning the Tree of Life (chapters/verses 2:16, 3:11, 3:17) - Noah following God's commands concerning the flood (chapters/verses 6:22, 7:5, 7:9, 7:16) - God's commands concerning circumcision (chapter 21, verse 4) - Joseph commanding his steward (chapter 44, verse 1) - Jacob's commands to his sons (chapters/verses 49:29, 49:33, 50:12, 50:16) - Pharaoh's commands (chapters/verses 45:21, 47:11) - Joseph commands his servant (chapter 50, verse 2)
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The Patriarchs, Abraham, his son Isaac, and his son Jacob, received a series of blessings throughout Genesis. In Genesis 12:2, Abraham is blessed by God. In Genesis 12:3, God says that he will bless all the families of the earth. Genesis 24:1 states that the LORD was determined to bless Israel. Receiving a father’s blessing was one of the highest honors. It was believed that losing a blessing would lead to a cursed life. Isaac's blessing on Jacob in Genesis 27:28-9, gives Jacob the authority over his brother, and promised blessings to those who blessed him, and curses to those who cursed him. When Esau found out that Jacob had received his blessing, he asked if his father had one left for him. Not only did these blessings...bless people, they also held prophesies from the future, Jacob blessed all of his twelve children, (Genesis 49) these blessings gave them inheritance, and prophecy, all of which were seen fulfilled later in the bible. Jacob blessed Judah, (Genesis 49:8) he says, “Judah, your brothers will praise you, you will grasp your enemies by their necks, your relatives will bow down before you.” In verse 10, it says the ruler’s staff will not pass from your descendants,” and Judah’s descendants included David and Jesus.
The theme of a son's inheritance is one of the most repeated in the story of the patriarchs. The first suggestion of this in Genesis is the genealogies such as those of Genesis 5 and 10. These may seem boring to a modern reader, but evidently they served a purpose for the Israelite's, for whom they were first intended. In Genesis 22:8-21, God states that Ishmael will not have his father's inheritance, but in a sort of return, says that he will be a father of a nation--just not the promised nation that became Israel. This implies that inheritance was a much bigger deal then than now. Later, in Genesis 25:19-34, Esau is extremely hungry, apparently enough to be fearful for his life, and trades his birthright, or inheritance, for a (presumably large) portion of stew from Jacob. Jacob effectively threatened his brother's life to get his inheritance, which also points at the importance of one's inheritance from his father. In Genesis 37:1-11, in particular verses 3 and 4, Jacob (now known as Israel) shows extra favor to his son Joseph, perhaps giving him a larger inheritance than his older brothers. This infuriated Joseph's older brothers; in conjunction with the emphasis placed on Isaac and Jacob not being the firstborn of their brothers, there seems to have been a very strong tradition of giving the largest inheritance to the oldest son. This is further reinforced by Genesis 48, in which Israel blesses Joseph's sons, but blesses Ephraim, the younger of the two, over Manasseh, the firstborn. Clearly, in the time of the patriarchs, the inheritance was almost always given in the largest portions to the firstborn sons, and a son's inheritance was sometimes considered important enough that other sons would be willing to kill their brothers for it.
In the story of the patriarchs there are numerous repeating patterns one of them being promises.In Genesis chapter 9:11 the Lord promises that he will never kill all of creation by waters. Genesis chapter 12:2-3 the Lord promises Abram that he will make him into a great nation. Genesis chapter 12:7 the Lord promises Abram’s people the Canaanites land. Genesis chapter 15:5 the Lord promises Abram that his descendants are as the numbers of the stars. Genesis 18:10 the Lord promises that Sarah will have a son. Genesis 26:4 the Lord promises Isaac that he will make his descendants multiplied as the stars and give them all these lands and the nations of the earth will be blessed because of his offspring. In Genesis 28:14 the Lord promises Jacob that he will make his offspring as the dust of the earth.
I think that the significance and importance of this repeated pattern of promises is two things. The first being that by promising His people and later accomplishing those promises he gains and makes trust between his people and Himself. Secondly, the way God makes promises with his people further reveals himself to them therefore strengthening their faith in him and to know and understand him better as a whole.
The cultural significance it had on the people and culture was that it also helped trust to form and faith to strengthen between the people and God as well.
Theological importance: This as well ties into what I had to say. Because God made promises to accomplish his will as well as to protect and help his people and because he accomplished those promises he shows he can be trusted and that he is all powerful and all-knowing and nothing can stop him. That is the theological importance
A recurring pattern in the story of the patriarchs is how God promises them a multitude of offspring. In Genesis 17:4, God made His covenant with Abram and promised that he would be "the father of a multitude of nations". This is a substantial promise to Abram (now called Abraham) because of the fact that both him and Sarai (now called Sarah) were old and well beyond the point of childbirth. Genesis 26:24 says that God gave Isaac the same kind of promise and said, "...'I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake'". In Genesis 35:11, God blesses Jacob and said, "'...be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body...'". The importance in this pattern of blessings and promises make it possible that humanity is saved by Jesus Christ. This is shown in Matthew 1:1, "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham". As God promised the patriarchs, they would father kings and eventually the King of Kings.
The cultural significance is that in this patriarchal era, offspring and heirs were very important and valued in this culture. The fact God even promised Abraham to have a son in his old age would have been shocking and received with skepticism. God, however, went a step further and promised that he would be the father of nations! In the culture back then, this would have seemed absurd and impossible. Even Abraham had his doubts.
The theological importance is that God will always keep his promises, no matter how crazy they seem.
In conclusion, one repeating pattern in the patriarchal era is the promises and blessings of descendants that God gives.
Throughout the Bible in the book of Genesis God make many promises to the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In Genesis 12:2 God says, “I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” In Genesis 13:16 God make another promise saying, “I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.” Yet again in Genesis 17:7-8 God promises, “I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.” God made many more promises to the patriarchs in Genesis 22:16-18, 24:60, 35:11-12, and many more.
The importance of this pattern to the overall story is that it showed how the patriarchs had an intimate relationship with God. It allows the reader to see how they would have communicated with God.
The cultural significance would have been the patriarchs greatly focused on God and what he told his people.
The theological importance of God promises to his people was that he was always there for them and never forsake them. God promises strengthened the patriarch's faith in him because after God made a promise it would come true every time and it gave the patriarch even more reason to trust God.
Well the obvious pattern is that the youngest was favored/blessed (Which is really annoying since I'm the oldest sibling in my family). It started with Abraham and Issac in Genesis 21:8-14, were Abraham decides to kick-out Ishmael and his mother. Then giving the blessing to his youngest son, Issac. When it came to Issac's turn to bless his sons he chose the eldest (Very wise) to get the greater blessing, but his very deceitful wife tricked him. She sent the youngest (Jacob) in his tent posing as his older brother (Esau), wearing his clothes and putting on sheep wool on his arms to make him seem excessively hairy to get the blessing. That story can be found in Genesis chapter 27. Then when Jacob has kids he favors the youngest, which would be Joseph. Joseph had twelve older brothers, who after had seen Jacob favor Joseph, decided to just get rid of him. So they sold him to slave traders. You might have noticed I have said "favored" not "blessed" when talking about Joseph, that's because he never really got officially blessed, and that was because he was sent away to Egypt. We can see he was favored in Genesis 37:3. Lastly we get too Jacob blessing Joseph's boys (It appears Joseph wasn't manly enough to do it himself). In Genesis 48:13-20 Jacob blesses the younger of the two with the greater blessing, Ephraim. So as we can clearly see the strong pattern here was to bless the youngest. Which was not common in the ancient times, usually they blessed the eldest. I think that God might have orchestrated this to show that he did not need the eldest to create a great nation. ~ Aidan
A theme that repeats numerous times in the story of the patriarchs is that of covenants. God makes several covenants with Abram/Abraham regarding his descendants and the land he would settle in (verses 12:7, 13:14-17, chapters 15 and 17, and verses 22:16-18). Abraham makes a covenant with King Abimelech in verse 21:27. God makes two covenants with Hagar, Abraham’s wife’s slave, in 16:10 and 21:18, both relating to her descendants through Ishmael, the son she had with Abraham. God makes a covenant with Isaac in 26:2-5. God establishes covenants with Jacob in 28:13-15, 35:10-12, and 46:3-4 regarding his name change to Israel, among other things. Jacob also makes a covenant with Laban in 31:44. These covenants are important to the story of the patriarchs mostly because of their role as patriarchs. Through the line of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and on, God established his people, the Israelites. The initial covenant between God and Abram was the first glimpse of the great nation that the Israelites would become. Because of these covenants, we can see that God kept his promises and the end result was no accident. Culturally, covenants give us an insight into the way official transactions or deals were made in the Sumerian world, as we can see through the covenant between Abraham and Abimelech, as well as the one between Jacob and Laban. As a deeply religious people, they would make their deals with God (or a god) as their witness. This relates to the theological importance of covenants. It shows how religious the ancient Sumerian people were. The theological importance also relates to the earlier point of how God always keeps the promises made in these covenants. Finally, because of these covenants, we know exactly why and how Israel became established as a nation.
In the patriarchal age of the Bible, one repeating pattern is the struggle between brothers. Most often, the struggle occurs between an older brother and a younger brother. Usually God chooses one brother over the other. This pattern starts with Cain and Abel in Genesis 4. God is more pleased with Abel’s offering than with Cain’s. Cain kills his younger brother. Brothers Jacob and Esau struggle the second that they come out of the womb--with Jacob grasping Esau’s heel. God says that Jacob, the younger son, will rule over Esau. Jacob and his mother successfully trick Isaac into blessing the wrong son (Genesis 25 and 27). Finally, Joseph, the favorite son of the preferred wife, is hated by his elder brothers. His dreams prophecy that his brothers and even his father will bow before him (Genesis 37). Joseph is used by God to ensure great prosperity in Egypt during a famine and ultimately to saves Joseph’s own people (Genesis 41-45). This pattern shows that God often makes the unlikely choice between brothers. Choosing a younger brother over the eldest was not culturally acceptable. The father's property was always passed on to the oldest son. This was his birthright. God breaks those cultural rules. Theologically, it’s interesting to note that God uses sinful, weak, cowardly people to promote his glory and achieve his purposes. It demonstrates to us, too, that what we expect or think is fair is not always going to be God’s plan. Also through these stories, much can be learned about family life and the way that household was managed in ancient times.
A similarity between all the stories of Patriarchs is that even though these men weren’t perfect, God used them anyway, because they trusted him.
Lets start off with Abraham. Abraham was a stone cold sinner. I don’t have an exact quote cause eat doesn’t really mention it in the bible but he was worshiping and practicing a religion that wasn’t God’s. God told him to get out of there (Genesis 12:1-3) and to start following him. And he did! God doesn’t measure by how much right or wrong you’ve done, he just wants your heart, and Abraham stayed true to God.
And Jacob, who, next to a lot of other things, Stole the birthright from Esau. (Genesis 27:30) And lied to his father (Genesis 27:19) and many other bad things. But even so God chose him to pass on his legacy, and he was a man of God, because he trusted and believed God.
And last is Joseph. Joseph deceived his brothers (Genesis 42:7) And his heart was hard towards them when they came to him. He did give them food but he tested them (Genesis 42:15). But even so he was a great man, growing the kingdom of God and the people of Israel. God chose him not because he was perfect, but because he trusted him.
What does this tell us about these men? Well, even though they were chosen to do God’s word, they weren’t perfect. They messed things up, they were humans. God doesn’t love us because we’re perfect, because of what Jesus did. No matter how much we mess up, God will always love us, and no matter how many times we screw up God will correct our paths and lead us where he wants us to go if we trust in him.
One theme in the story of the Patriarchs are the dreams given by God to numerous people in Genesis, the dreams and visions in the Patriarch’s story all of God trying to communicate a specific message. The first dream given by God as a promise is to Abraham in Genesis 17. Where God appeared to Abraham and made a covenant with him and said his descendents will be “exceedingly fruitful” and he would be the father of “nations”. All of these dreams were either a warning or a blessing. Jacob wrestled with God and dreamt of the ladder leading to heaven (Genesis 28:10-18 and 32:22). Joseph, Jacob’s son, interpreted and had many dreams from God, such as the dreams that the stars and the moon bowed down to him in Genesis 37. Or the dream of the stalks of his brothers grain bowing to his stalk of grain (Genesis 37:1-11). Another example would be Pharaoh's dream, in Genesis 41, of the seven skinny cows devouring the seven plump cows. God, through Joseph, interpreted this dream as seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. Because the dream was interpreted, Egypt was saved from famine and the Israelite nation was preserved, so God could exhibit His glory. God gave dreams and visions to communicate what He wanted from people, this was His way of personally speaking to people. In the Old Testament times there wasn’t a Bible or any account of Genesis because the people were literally living out the Old Testament. During the ancient times people may have been more superstitious and they had dreams and saw omens and God used this superstition to communicate to them. It was also more common for people to be spoken to by God as shown in the many dreams and warnings or blessings conveyed through these dreams.
The inherited theme of the family line of the patriarchs that stood out for me was that even though these men where very close to God they had some seriously unhealthy marriages! In Genesis chapter sixteen it is said that, in order to have a son to continue their family line Abraham and Sarah chose to have his child be born by the slave women Hagar. Also, in chapter twenty, Abraham says that Sarah is only his sister and that they are not married. This causes the king Abimelech to almost take Sarah as his wife (The Lord informed him that she was indeed married). Ironically enough in chapter twenty six, Abraham's son Isaac makes the exact same mistake with the same king Abimelech and his wife Rebekah! Isaac's son Jacob, in chapter twenty nine, ends up having two wives and they have constant conflict because he favors one over the other. The patriarchs had some serious problems in their marriages even though everyone sees them as being so perfect. I also think that they didn't realize how much of an influence that they had on their children.
One pattern that is seen several times through the Old Testament accounts of the Patriarchs is the concept of choosing the younger over the firstborn. Although Abraham was likely the firstborn of Terah, for the next five generations the younger child was chosen over the firstborn. When Abraham fathered his second son, Isaac, his wife Sarah demanded that Abraham exile his firstborn son Ishmael from the camp. God permitted this banishment, saying that although he would bless Ishmael, His plans would be fulfilled through Isaac, the second to be born (Gen 21: 12-13). Years later, Isaac’s own wife, Rebekah, asked the Lord why the two children in her womb were struggling with each other. The Lord’s response was that two nations were within her, but that the older would serve the younger (Gen 25:22-23). God’s favor on the younger of the twins—which was named Jacob—was shown increasingly throughout his life. When Jacob himself grew old and it came time for him to bless his two grandsons, he went out of his way to bestow the greater blessing upon the younger of the two (Gen 48:17-19). It is clear that the Lord has chosen the younger rather than the firstborn in all of these circumstances. This is very important and tells something of the Lord’s character. In that ancient culture, the firstborn son would inherit nearly all the possessions of the father—leaving the second son with next to nothing. But God here clearly chooses the second born, the least likely to succeed, to fulfill his plans. God does not base who he calls to do his will on personal value. It is clear that God does not discriminate based on who and what the world values. This is a very significant truth.
The theme I noticed was woven through the lives of the patriarchs is their wives barrenness but yet God's provision despite. For Abraham, his wife Sarah was barren because of her age (Gen. 18:11). Despite this barrenness God provided and Sarah conceived and gave birth to Isaac (Gen. 21:1-6). Isaac's wife Rebekah was also barren (Gen. 25:21). After some time and prayer, God allowed Rebekah to have children; and she gave birth to two sons. Again, he provided. The same was true for both of Jacob's wife Rachel. She was barren early on (Gen. 29:31). Continually faithful, God opened her womb and she gave birth later in her life. The interesting thing about all of these instances was that God used the time of bareness to teach the patriarchs and their wives something. And then in His timing (which always ended up being perfect) he allowed them to have children. It a lesson in trusting in God's timing, because we may be in a "barren" time, but God will provide at the perfect moment. We can't always see when that perfect moment it, so we have to trust. All of the patriarchs trusted God and he brought them out of the barrenness into blessing.
I think that one of the recurring themes is God's companionship. God is continually appearing to the patriarchs, and he guides them to where they need to go. In Genesis 26:2-3 it says, "The Lord appeared to Isaac and said 'Stay in this place for a while, and I will be with you>...'" Also in Gen 31:3, he guides Jacob the same way. God was also with these people wherever they went, blessing them and promising them great fruit and that great nations will come from their offspring (Gen 12:2-3 and 35:11). He was always helping his chosen people with whatever they needed, being a companion to them wherever they went, giving them riches and wealth. I also noticed that, in Genesis, it doesn't talk a lot about Gods punishments for sins, apart from Sodem and Gammorah. This could be because there was not much punishment, or is just not mentioned. It would be more revealing of the relationship between God and his people, though, if it talked more about what god did when they sinned. In any case, it seems as though, in Genesis at least, God was much more of a companion and friend than he is commonly viewed to be today.
One pattern that repeats through out the story of the Patriarchs is God’s promises to his people. Starting with Abraham, God says in Genesis 12:2: I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” In Genesis 13:14-15 God promises Abraham land for him and his descendants. In Genesis 17, God tells Abraham that he “shall be the father of a multitude of nations.” God establishes a covenant with Abraham, and his offspring. In Genesis 21, God fulfilled his promise to Abraham, giving him Isaac. In Genesis 22:16-18, God blesses Abraham and Isaac, promising “offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore.” Secondly, God fulfills a promise just by the birth of Isaac alone. In Genesis 26:3-5 God says to Isaac: “Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring” “I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands.” God promises Isaac offspring that would bless all the nations of the earth. God establishes the covenant with Isaac because his father obeyed him. Lastly, in Genesis 28:14-15 God says to Jacob: “ Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land.” These promises were important because they were how God communicated his purpose to his people. God fulfilled his promises, showing that he is faithful, that he provides, and that he cares for his people.
When I read the various passages, something I noticed was that the patriarchs seemed to receive the blessings and have promises fulfilled when they were old. In Genesis 12:2. God says to Abraham "I will make of you a great nation..." However, he doesn't receive the blessing until he is very old. Genesis 24:1 says "Abraham was well advanced in years, and God blessed him." Genesis 21 talks about the birth of Isaac. Sarah bore Abraham a son in his old age.
I think that God was trying to show/teach two things. First, God seemed to be teaching Abraham to be patient and trust him. It would have been hard at times for Abraham to trust in Gods promises as he was getting old. The second thing God was trying to teach Abraham was that he (God)can do anything. Not many people have kids when they are 90 or become the father of the nations, you know! ;)
The verbal action of commanding is a pattern repeatedly seen throughout the story of the patriarchs. It occurs often, from God commanding Adam about the tree of life in chapter two verse sixteen all the way to Joseph commanding his servants in chapter fifty verse two - and many times in between. The importance of this pattern/its cultural significance is that it shows us that an authority structure has existed and been followed since the beginning of time. People have always understood authority/who is in command. This has relevance to our historical understanding of Israel in that it helps us understand how Israel was structured and what day-to-day life might have been like. Below are times that the action of commanding occurred in the story of the patriarchs:
- Concerning the Tree of Life (chapters/verses 2:16, 3:11, 3:17)
- Noah following God's commands concerning the flood (chapters/verses 6:22, 7:5, 7:9, 7:16)
- God's commands concerning circumcision (chapter 21, verse 4)
- Joseph commanding his steward (chapter 44, verse 1)
- Jacob's commands to his sons (chapters/verses 49:29, 49:33, 50:12, 50:16)
- Pharaoh's commands (chapters/verses 45:21, 47:11)
- Joseph commands his servant (chapter 50, verse 2)
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