Old Testament Lesson 10

Gospel Doctrine OT Lesson #10 - Birthrights

Gospel Doctrine Lesson #10 – Birthright Blessings; Marriage in the Covenant
Genesis 24-29

While the Sunday School lesson focuses on the blessings of birthrights and marriage, we’ll also discuss some other equally important issues in the story.

Background:
Abraham has faithfully followed the Lord through more than a century of trials and blessings. The blessings God Jehovah has promised him are also promised to Isaac. Both have been the symbolic sacrifice representing the Lord in his atonement.

Genesis 24
From this point on, we will see the importance of marriage to the right group of people. Abraham insists that Isaac not marry a Canaanite.

In the past, Christians have presumed that the Canaanites were black and this was to prevent the curse of Cain/Canaan, which was believed to be black skin, from passing into Abraham’s line. Recent archaeology proves that the Canaanites were not black, however. Therefore there must be another answer that does not place the blame on black skin.

Was there a curse on Canaan? Yes. Noah cursed the son of Ham, when Ham entered into his tent and saw Noah naked (see Genesis 9). As mentioned in a previous lesson, one tradition suggests that the special garment of Adam, which was passed down to Noah, was stolen by Ham and given to one of his sons. If the blessings that went with Adam’s garment, including priesthood authority, were kept from Canaan because of a curse, it would mean that regardless of who possessed the garment that person still was not a correct nor authorized priesthood holder.  We will come back to that idea.

Abraham notes how he sought for the priesthood and blessings of the fathers (Abraham 1), which may have included going to Noah and Shem’s home to dwell and be ordained.

Ham’s children did not seek God’s authority and power, but as with Nimrod, sought power to control and overthrow the earth and God. 

Not only were the Canaanites involved in such reckless and selfish use of power, they were also avid idolaters. Abraham fled Chaldea’s idols, only to dwell near more idolaters. The history of the Bible shows that men who marry the “daughters of men” end up falling into iniquity and disbelief. Abraham wanted Isaac to remain true to the covenant they had with Jehovah. This required marrying a woman who would be as faithful to God as was Isaac.

So Abraham sends his servant, not a slave, but an honored and trusted member of his household, to the city of Haran and his brother’s family. The Lord guides the servant, who quickly comes across Rebekah. Rebekah is perhaps one of the most remarkable women in the Old Testament. We encounter her offering not just to give the servant water, but to water all of his camels. This meant lowering a jar down into a well and bringing up water several times to give them drink. Camels drink a lot of water, especially after days or weeks of travel in the deserts of the Middle East.
Next, Rebekah quickly accepts the request to immediately leave her family and join with a man she has never met. Isaac was forty years old at the time. She was likely only half his age. Yet, when she heard who he was, jumped off her camel and ran to him (Gen 25)

The Promised Child

Rebekah is one of the few women in the Bible who receives inspiration from God, perhaps as well as, or better than, her husband. According to the Book of Jasher, Isaac and Rebekah tried for twenty years to bear children. Finally, after Isaac plead with God, Rebekah became pregnant (Jasher XXVI, pg 69).

Jasher 26

1.      And in the fifty-ninth year of the life of Isaac the son of Abraham, Rebecca his wife was still barren in those days.

2.      And Rebecca said unto Isaac, Truly I have heard, my lord, that thy mother Sarah was barren in her days until my Lord Abraham, thy father, prayed for her and she conceived by him.

3.      Now therefore stand up, pray thou also to God and he will hear thy prayer and remember us through his mercies.

4.      And Isaac answered his wife Rebecca, saying, Abraham has already prayed for me to God to multiply his seed, now therefore this barrenness must proceed to us from thee.

5.      And Rebecca said unto him, But arise now thou also and pray, that the Lord may hear thy prayer and grant me children, and Isaac hearkened to the words of his wife, and Isaac and his wife rose up and went to the land of Moriah to pray there and to seek the Lord, and when they had reached that place Isaac stood up and prayed to the Lord on account of his wife because she was barren.

(It required Isaac praying, he had gone this long relying on his father’s prayer…)

6.      And Isaac said, O Lord God of heaven and earth, whose goodness and mercies fill the earth, thou who didst take my father from his father's house and from his birthplace, and didst bring him unto this land, and didst say unto him, To thy seed will I give the land, and thou didst promise him and didst declare unto him, I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand of the sea, now may thy words be verified which thou didst speak unto my father.

7.      For thou art the Lord our God, our eyes are toward thee to give us seed of men, as thou didst promise us, for thou art the Lord our God and our eyes are directed toward thee only.

8.      And the Lord heard the prayer of Isaac the son of Abraham, and the Lord was entreated of him and Rebecca his wife conceived.

When she was pregnant, she struggled with great pangs. She asked other women if they had such struggles with their pregnancies. The women told her no. Wanting to know what was happening, the Lord told her that she had twins, and that the younger one would be the chosen one of God.

Gen 25

 21 And Isaac entreated the Lord for his ^awife, because she was^bbarren: and the Lord was ^centreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

 22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, I fit be so, why am I thus? And she went to ^ainquire of the Lord.

 23 And the Lord said unto her, ^aTwo nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; andthe one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the^belder shall serve the younger.

 24 ¶And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold,there were twins in her womb.

 25 And the first came out red, all over like an ^ahairy garment; and they called his name ^bEsau.

 26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s ^aheel; and his ^bname was called ^cJacob: and Isaac was threes core years old when she bare them.

Jacob had a special relationship with Abraham, according to the Book of Jubilees.

“Jacob was pious and righteous and Esau was a rough man, a tiller of the field and hairy, but Jacob dwelt within tents. And the youths grew, and Jacob learned writing; but Esau did not learn it, for he was a man of the field and a hunter, and learned war and all rough deeds. But Abraham loved Jacob, but Isaac loved Esau. And Abraham saw the deeds of Esau, and he knew that his name and seed should be called for him in Jacob, and he called Rebecca, and commanded her concerning Jacob, for he saw that she too loved Jacob much more than Esau. And he (Abraham) said to her: “My daughter, watch my son Jacob, for he shall be in my stead upon the earth as a blessing among the sons of men, and to all the seed of Shem, and for an honor, and I know that the Lord has chosen him for himself as a people secluded from all those upon the face of the earth.”

Abraham continues telling her to ensure that Jacob receives Isaac’s blessing and becomes Abraham’s promised line. He then blessed Jacob in front of Rebekah with the blessings of Adam, Enoch, Noah, Shem and Abraham (Book of Jubilees XIX, p47-48).

Jacob would spend much time with his grandfather. In fact, when Abraham was old, Jacob stayed the night with him, listening to him speak of Adam, Noah, Shem and the patriarchs and seeking the blessings they received.

Abraham “ceased speaking and commanding and blessing. And the two lay together on one bed, and Jacob slept in the bosom of Abraham, the father of his father, and his (Abraham’s) thoughts kissed him seven times, and his love and his heart rejoiced over him (Jacob)….And he (Abraham) laid two fingers of Jacob upon his eyes, and he blessed the God of gods, and he covered his face and stretched out his feet and slept the sleep of eternity….” (Jubilees XXII-XXIII, p53).

Here we see a tender moment between a grandfather and his special grandson, where Abraham spends his last moments on earth with the child who will fulfill the promises God has made with him and his seed. 


The Birthright

The differences between Esau and Jacob are very important. Jacob is shown to be the beginning of civilization, dwelling in tents and learning to read and write. Esau represents the lifestyle of the hunter-gatherer. Interestingly, Esau is noted as tilling the earth, much like Cain. Jacob becomes the new Abel/Seth. Just as Cain was rejected of God for his rebellious spirit, so too, Esau will lose his standing before God.

In “The Legends of the Jews” (This is a massive collation of the Haggada--the traditions which have grown up surrounding the Biblical narrative. These stories and bits of layered detail are scattered throughout the Talmud and the Midrash, and other sources, including oral. In the 19th century Ginzberg undertook the task of arranging the Haggada into chronological order, and this series of volumes was the result.  Not a great primary source but interesting for study and how it present things) it says…

The circumstances connected with the birth of her twin sons were as remarkable as those during the period of Rebekah's pregnancy. Esau was the first to see the light, and with him all impurity came from the womb; Jacob was born clean and sweet of body. Esau was brought forth with hair, beard, and teeth, both front and back, and he was blood-red, a sign of his future sanguinary nature. On account of his ruddy appearance he remained uncircumcised. Isaac, his father, feared that it was due to poor circulation of the blood, and he hesitated to perform the circumcision. He decided to wait until Esau should attain his thirteenth year, the age at which Ishmael had received the sign of the covenant. But when Esau grew up, he refused to give heed to his father's wish, and so he was left uncircumcised. The opposite of his brother in this as in all respects, Jacob was born with the sign of the covenant upon his body, a rare distinction. But Esau also bore a mark upon him at birth, the figure of a serpent, the symbol of all that is wicked and hated of God.”

How does our modern church deal with the apocrypha and this EXTRA sources such as the apocrypha, Jubilees, Jasher, DSS?

Secret or hidden. By this word is generally meant those sacred books of the Jewish people that were not included in the Hebrew Bible (see Canon). They are valuable as forming a link connecting the Old and New Testaments and are regarded in the Church as useful reading, although not all the books are of equal value. They are the subject of a revelation recorded in D&C 91, in which it is stated that the contents are mostly correct but with many interpolations by man. Among these books the following are of special value:

The First Book of Esdras. 

The Second Book of Esdras. .

The Book of Tobit. 

The Book of Judith. 

The rest of the chapters of the Book of Esther. 

The Book of the Wisdom of Solomon. 

The Wisdom of Jesus the son of Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus. 

The Book of Baruch. 

The Song of the Three Children. 

The History of Susanna. 

Bel and the Dragon. 

The Prayer of Manasses, 

The First Book of the Maccabees. 

The Second Book of the Maccabees. 

Joseph solves the problem for us.  He wonders if he should translate the apocrypha.

D&C 91

 1 Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you concerning the ^aApocrypha—There are many things contained therein that are true, and it is mostly translated correctly;

 2 There are many things contained therein that are not true, which are ^ainterpolations by the hands of men.

 3 Verily, I say unto you, that it is not needful that the Apocrypha should be ^atranslated.

 4 Therefore, whoso readeth it, let him ^aunderstand, for the Spirit manifesteth truth;

 5 And whoso is enlightened by the ^aSpirit shall obtain benefit therefrom;

 6 And whoso receiveth not by the Spirit, cannot be benefited. Therefore it is not needful that it should be translated. Amen.

Moving on…

Genesis 25

 29 ¶And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:

 30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint:

 31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy ^abirthright.

 32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?

 33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.

 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

Why is Esau exhausted?

In a previous lesson, we discussed the garment of Adam having been passed down through the generations to Noah. The garment was sacred, and used to represent Adam as the glory of God. The person wearing it had great power. It allowed Adam to name the animals, and Noah to gather them to the ark (so it feels like it represents the priesthood). The Book of Jasher tells us that Ham stole the garment from Noah, giving it to his son. The garment then was passed down to Nimrod, who used the garment to become king of the earth, to be a mighty hunter, and to be feared by men.

Jasher 7

27.   And in their going out, Ham stole those garments from Noah his father, and he took them and hid them from his brothers.

28.   And when Ham begat his first born Cush, he gave him the garments in secret, and they were with Cush many days.

29.   And Cush also concealed them from his sons and brothers, and when Cush had begotten Nimrod, he gave him those garments through his love for him, and Nimrod grew up, and when he was twenty years old he put on those garments.

30.   And Nimrod became strong when he put on the garments, and God gave him might and strength, and he was a mighty hunter in the earth, yea, he was a mighty hunter in the field, and he hunted the animals and he built altars, and he offered upon them the animals before the Lord.

In fact, this is a possible explanation for why Ham was punished for seeing his father’s nakedness in Genesis 9.

The fathers tent is seen as a type of  Temple, of Holy of Holies.  It’s where he receives visions. 

Think of Lehi’s tent.  Here he receives visions, sees the tree of life.  Finds the Liahona.

When Ham sneaks into the tent, the Holy of Holies, he sees his father “naked” or without the garment and he steals it. 

Shem and Japeth walk backwards into the room so they won’t see anything Holy, that they shouldn’t see (just as it was later done in the jewish temple) and cover their father. 

Why does Nimrod hate Abraham?

One tradition says that the city of Enoch was not translated all at once.  That it was taken into heaven slowly, over some years as it was separated from the earth.  According to George Laub, the prophet Joseph Smith said this…

“Now I will tell the story of the designs of building the tower of Babel. It was designed to go to the city of Enoch for the veil was not yet so great that it hid it from their sight so they concluded to go to the city of Enoch. For God gave him place above the impure air for he could breath a pure air and him and his city was taken, for God provided a better place for him. For they were pure in heart for it is the pure in heart that causes the Zion to be. And the time will come that Enoch and this city will come again to meet our city and his people our people and the air will be pure and the Lord will be in our midst forever.”

Nimrod is not attempting to build a tower up into the empty atmosphere.  He is attempting to reach the city of Enoch which has Enoch (& Melchizedek).  Remember Melchizedek is a “type” of both Elohim and Jehovah.  Nimrod wants to supplant Melchizedek.  He is a type of “Cain” or better, of Satan himself. 

But Nimrod is foiled by the confounding of the languages.  Nimrod, unable to reach heaven and dethrone God by way of his tower, turns his enmity to God’s representative.  Abraham. 

In his older years, Nimrod feared Abraham’s family, as he saw in a dream they would kill him. He especially developed a jealousy of Esau’s hunting prowess. There was enmity between the two of them. In one chance meeting in the wild, Esau slays Nimrod and takes the garment of Adam from him. Nimrod’s men hear the fighting from a distance and chase Esau.

“And when Esau saw the mighty men of Nimrod coming at a distance, he fled, and thereby escaped; and Esau took the valuable garments of Nimrod, which Nimrod’s father had bequeathed to Nimrod, and with which Nimrod prevailed over the whole land, and he ran and concealed them in his house. And Esau took those garments and ran into the city on account of Nimrod’s men, and he came unto his father’s house wearied and exhausted from fight, and he was ready to die through grief when he approached his brother Jacob and sat before him” (Jasher XXVII, p72).

It seems that Esau feared being caught with Nimrod’s garments, for he knew his men were after him. Had they caught him, he would have been killed, and so selling his birthright for a mess of pottage seemed like a very good deal when Jacob offered it. Selling the birthright also gave Jacob a spot to be buried next to his dear grandfather in the cave at Machpelah. So the garment of Adam returned to the rightful owner, Jacob.

Esau is clearly a man to be feared. 

Blessing of the Firstborn

The blessing of the Firstborn actually is part and parcel of the birthright. When Esau sold his birthright, the blessing should have automatically gone with it.  However, Isaac still loved his older son and sought to give him the blessing. Rebekah knew, however, that God’s will through Abraham was to ensure Jacob received the blessing. And she meant for Jacob to receive that blessing.

In deceiving Isaac, who was blind, it seems rather strange that Jacob could so easily deceive him. Can lamb skins really seem like Esau’s rough and hairy hands? Was he really that furry? Could hearing Jacob’s voice not convince him that something was up? According to Jubilees, Isaac “did not know him, for it was a fate from heaven to remove his spirit…” (XXVI pg 60). Isaac temporarily lost his spirit of discernment, in order for God to accomplish his plan of blessing Jacob. 

Esau was so angry for losing the blessing of first born that he planned Jacob’s death. The Book of Jasher suggests that Jacob fled to the house of Eber, the son of Shem for several years. (Just two generations before, Abraham fled Nimrod for the house of Noah/Shem, where he was protected and guided in the gospel.)

Now, Jacob follows in his grandfather’s footsteps by fleeing his enemy for the house of Eber (Jasher XXIX p75). This did not stop Esau. He continued to plague his parents.

12. And when Esau saw that Jacob had fled and escaped from him, and that Jacob had cunningly obtained the blessing, then Esau grieved exceedingly, and he was also vexed at his father and mother; and he also rose up and took his wife and went away from his father and mother to the land of Seir, and he dwelt there; and Esau saw there a woman from amongst the daughters of Heth whose name was Bosmath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and he took her for a wife in addition to his first wife, and Esau called her name Adah, saying the blessing had in that time passed from him.
13. And Esau dwelt in the land of Seir six months without seeing his father and mother, and afterward Esau took his wives and rose up and returned to the land of Canaan, and Esau placed his two wives in his father's house in Hebron.
14. And the wives of Esau vexed and provoked Isaac and Rebecca with their works, for they walked not in the ways of the Lord, but served their father's gods of wood and stone as their father had taught them, and they were more wicked than their father.
15. And they went according to the evil desires of their hearts, and they sacrificed and burnt incense to the Baalim, and Isaac and Rebecca became weary of them.
16. And Rebecca said, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good then is life unto me?

After 14 years, Jacob returned. Esau still wanted him dead. Rebekah went to Isaac asking him to not allow Jacob to marry a Canaanite woman, but to send him off to her family in Haran. Isaac agreed and sent Jacob off with his blessing.

Jacob’s Ladder

Along the trek, Jacob stops for the night and lays his head on a long stone to sleep. In his dreams, he sees a ladder or staircase that led up to heaven. Most people note the angels going up and down the staircase, but do not notice that Genesis 28:13, which states:

 12 And he ^adreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the ^bangels of God ascending and descending on it.

 13 And, behold, the ^aLord stood ^babove it, and said, I am the^cLord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the ^dlandwhereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;

 14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the ^anorth, and to the south: and in thee and in thy ^bseed shall all the ^cfamilies of the earth be ^dblessed.

 15 And, behold, ^aI am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will ^bbring thee again into this ^cland; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

God’s at this time are often very “local”.  Different places, different gods.  One of the lessons here is that Jehovah is not a “local” god. 

A vision where a person sees God is called a theophany. In modern parlance, LDS would say the person was going through a temple endowment. The most important thing about an endowment is the person enters into God’s presence and is instructed by him. That the Lord explained to Jacob that he was the same God that Abraham followed helped Jacob to understand that Jehovah was not just a local God who had no power in other lands, but that he could follow Jacob everywhere. The Lord promises to Jacob the same promises He made to Abraham and that Abraham had already made to Jacob.

Genesis 28

 16 ¶And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely theLord is in this place; and I knew it not.

 17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of ^aheaven.

Jacob is amazed that Jehovah could be with him in all places. But a God that held such power and that revealed himself to mankind was worth worshiping. Upon waking, Jacob realizes he is on sacred ground. “This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven” (Gen 28:17). Jacob sets up the stone, which he used for a pillow, as a sacred pillar or altar, and named it Beth-El, the House of God. “This stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house” (vs 22). 

Here we see that the place is the gateway to God’s heaven. It is God’s house on earth, even though it is only a pillar. Later, the Temple of Solomon would have two massive pillars in the front gate, representing the gateway of Jacob’s God to heaven. Just as the ark of the covenant and Mercy Seat represented God in his holy temple or house, so did the stone pillar (Hebrew: Masseboth) represent the gateway up the staircase to God’s throne. Jacob had received his endowment. 

Jewish tradition has this event occurring on Mt Moriah, where Abraham traditionally sacrificed Isaac, and where Solomon would one day build the temple.

Jacob’s 21 year test

Just as Abraham and Isaac had their tests of patience, so too, Jacob was tested with patience. First, he fell in love with Rachel and worked seven years for her dowry, but was tricked into marrying Leah. Then he agreed to work seven more years for Rachel. Finally, he agreed to work another seven years for his own wealth. At every step of the way, his father-in-law, Laban, attempted to trick and deceive him.

Finally escaping from Laban and returning to land of promise, Isaac knew his test was not over. He still had to make peace with Esau.

Jacob wrestles

In chapter 32 of Genesis, Jacob approaches the land and knows he must be strong in order to prevail. He comes across angels of God, who he recognizes as the host of God. They are to prepare the way for two events: Jacob encountering Esau, but more so Jacob encountering God.

Jacob wrestled a man until dawn. This was no ordinary man, as he had the power to touch Jacob’s thigh and cause it to go out of joint. This man also had the power to give Jacob a new name and bless him.

There are two key ways of thinking here: either this was God or it was a man. Some people, like Joseph F. Smith, felt that Jacob only wrestled a man, because there is no way anyone could prevail against God in a wrestling match. Besides, prior to his mortal life, Jehovah/Jesus did not have a physical body with which to wrestle. However, given the power of God, he could have wrestled with Jacob, even without a body and made it seem real. As for prevailing, it could be that Jacob prevailed by enduring through the night, not by beating his foe.

Others believe that it was God, for Jacob states afterward, “I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved” (vs 30). Jacob called the place Penu-El, the Face of God. Clearly, Jacob was wrestling someone more than just a regular man. My preference is that he was fighting God, or another divine being standing in as God. (Perhaps one of the city of Enoch with a body and finely honed wrestling skills volunteered?)

One interesting LDS teaching is that of Divine Investiture. It is where a divine being can stand in the place of another divine being. Jehovah speaks to us in many places as if he is the Father (see Moses 1). In Revelation, an angel speaks as though he is Christ, yet when John attempts to worship the being, he is told not to, as he is a fellow servant (Rev 19:10).

One blog, Heavenly Ascents, suggests that perhaps the divine being who wrestled with Jacob was a translated man. Not long before Jacob, there were many who were translated, including Enoch and his city (Moses 6-7) and Melchizedek and his city (JST Genesis 14). It is suggested that Abraham spoke with Melchizedek as Lord, which suggests perhaps that Jacob wrestled also Melchizedek as Lord! Why? Melchizedek is THE symbol of Jesus Christ. Melchizedek was known as Prince of Peace and the King of Salem. Salem was translated, becoming a part of heaven, therefore Melchizedek was a king of heaven. And as mentioned in a previous lesson, in the Dead Sea Scrolls, 11Q Melchizedek proclaims that “Melchizedek is El (God)!” In another place, he is proclaimed to be Jehovah. How is this possible? By Divine Investiture, wherein he stands in the place of God, representing all that God is.

So, there are a variety of possible beings who represented the Lord, including Jehovah himself.

Genesis 32

 24 ¶And Jacob was left alone; and there ^awrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

 25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

 26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

 27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.

The Name

An interesting moment in Jacob’s wrestling with the Lord comes after he has prevailed through the night. Jacob insists on being blessed before he will let the man go. The Lord asks him his name, and he tells him “Jacob”, meaning Supplanter. While this name fit Jacob in his early life in his challenges with Esau and Laban, it no longer applied to the promised heir of Abraham.

Genesis 32

 28 And he said, Thy ^aname shall be called no more Jacob, but ^bIsrael: ^cfor as a ^dprince hast thou ^epower with God and with men, and hast ^fprevailed.

 29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my ^aname? And he ^bblessed him there.

 30 And Jacob called the name of the place ^aPeniel (meaning the face of God): for I have ^bseen God ^cface to face, and my life is preserved.

 31 And as he passed over ^aPenuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.

 32 Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew that shrank.

In the modern vernacular we think of the thigh as the front of the leg.  While some believe the “hollow” to be the groin area,  Kosher laws imply it was the hamstring, in the back of the leg, the sciatic nerve.  Jewish law called Kashrut indicates

The sciatic nerve and its adjoining blood vessels may not be eaten. The process of removing this nerve is time consuming and not cost-effective, so most American kosher slaughterers simply sell the hind quarters to non-kosher butchers.

Some believe this act implies that the angel could have overcome Jacob if he wished.  Other’s indicates that careful reading implies that the thigh touching occurred after the wrestling was over and this was done to “seal” a covenant. 

Genesis 32:25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

Israel means one who prevails with God, or “struggle” with God. In other words, while Jacob wrestled all night long, the true wrestling occurred previously, when Jacob struggled through life among men and seeking God’s way.

Because he was now considered worthy of God’s greatest blessings, he received a new name. This new name would represent the new and future Jacob. 

Anciently, a name held power. If a person had a special name and it was revealed to others, it gave power to those others.

So, when Israel/Jacob asks the man his name, he is rebuffed.

Genesis 32:29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my ^aname? And he ^bblessed him there.

Anciently, one of God’s names was Jehovah/Yahweh. It is represented by the letters “YHWH.” For Jews, ancient and modern, it is a sacred and unpronounceable name. It is blasphemy to say the name, and so they use the term “Adonai” (Lord) instead. Why? Because this is God’s special power name, reserved for few to pronounce, such as the high priest once a year in the temple’s Holy of Holies before the Mercy Seat.

In Revelation 2:17, we read that for those that overcome (or prevail) God will “ 17 …give to eat of the hidden^b manna, and will give him a ^cwhite ^dstone, and in the stone a new^ename written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it..”

D&C 130 gives us more information regarding this. Those who receive a celestial glory will receive a white stone, which becomes a personal Urim and Thummim.

 10 Then the white ^astone mentioned in Revelation 2:17, will become a Urim and Thummim to each individual who receives one, whereby things pertaining to a ^bhigher order of kingdoms will be made known;

 11 And a ^awhite stone is given to each of those who come into the celestial kingdom, whereon is a new ^bname written, which no man knoweth save he that receiveth it. The new name is the key word.

This stone is accessed by using the new name, which is a keyword or password. The Urim and Thummim is what makes a person a “seer” (Mosiah 28:16). A seer is greater than a prophet. He is a revelator and prophet also, with the greatest spiritual gift a mortal can possess. Interestingly, “no man can look in them except he be commanded, lest he should look for that he ought not and he should perish (Mosiah 8:13-20).

So, even to this day, a special name given of God to man is very significant.

Israel establishes himself in the Promised Land

Israel sets out to treat his brother differently. He is no longer the Supplanter, but one who has prevailed with God and man. He sends great gifts ahead of him to bribe Esau, soften his heart, and to make amends. Esau accepts the bribe, realizing that the Supplanter is dead, and he has a new brother who seeks his older brother’s acceptance.

Genesis 33

1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.

 2 And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.

 3 And he passed over before them, and ^abowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

 4 And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.

Remember, they have not seen each other for at least 35 years.

Twelve children are born to Israel. With the birth of the youngest, Benjamin, Rachel dies in childbirth. Reuben is caught sleeping with his step-mother. Levi and Simeon slaughter an entire city, because a young prince of the city slept with their sister, Dinah. 

And he settled in an area that he named El-Elohe-Israel, “El (God) is the God of Israel/Jacob”.


Bibliography:

Joel’s Monastery (blog): http://joelsmonastery.blogspot.com/

Book of Jasher: http://www.ccel.org/a/anonymous/jasher/home.html

Book of Jubilees: http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/jub/index.htm
also http://www.pseudepigrapha.com/jubilees/index.htm

David Larsen’s Heavenly Ascents, Jacob vs Esau:http://www.heavenlyascents.com/2010/03/04/the-jewish-legends-of-jacob-vs-esau-the-birthright-and-the-blessing/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+HeavenlyAscents+(Heavenly+Ascents)

David Larsen’s Heavenly Ascents, Melchizedek as Translated God:http://www.heavenlyascents.com/2010/02/24/more-on-melchizedek-and-abraham-and-more-old-testament-resources/

Kevin Barney at BCC, The Wrestler:http://bycommonconsent.com/2010/02/17/the-wrestler/

Posted by rameumptom at 8:42 PM 

This shows that Golgotha is on the end of Mt Moriah at the lowest point.