Read Genesis 33-34 at Bible Gateway.
Chapter 33 opens in the middle of one of God’s paragraph divisions. To see the message that Scripture is trying to convey, I often outline chapters according to God’s paragraph divisions, writing the single topic or theme for each of God’s paragraphs. This helps me find chiastic structures and see more easily the teaching tools of Scripture. My outline for the life of Jacob up through today’s reading is:
Gen 26:1-32:2 {sx3+p} (strong theme)
Gen 26:1-33 {s} (weak paragraph division)
Gen 26:34-35 {s}
Gen 27:1-28:9 {s}
Gen 28:10-32:2 {p} (strong paragraph division)
There are four paragraphs from the last “p” strong paragraph marker found at the end of Gen 25:34, to the next “p” found at the end of Gen 32:2. Ask the Holy Spirit, the Teacher, to reveal the topic of each of the paragraphs. This is what I came up with:
Gen 26:1-33 {s} Life of Isaac repeats events from the life of Abraham
Gen 26:34-35 {s} Esau’s wives
Gen 27:1-28:9 {s} Jacob receives the blessing + Jacob’s wife
Gen 28:10-32:2 {p} God fulfills His promise to Jacob (departure from the Land + Jacob’s wives + Jacob’s sons + Jacob’s livestock + return to the Land)
Now looking at these four topics, why did God decide to put these four together into a single strong theme? I realized that right after Jacob receives the blessing as Abraham’s seed, he departs to find his wife. God does not want us to miss that these two things are together, so He puts them both in a single paragraph. I cannot help but notice, that just as the life of Isaac repeats events from the life of Abraham, the life of Jacob repeats events from the life of Isaac, i.e., going away to Haran to find the wife of the Promised Seed!
I concluded that the single strong theme from Gen 26:1-32:2 teaches that Abraham’s blessing, promise, and covenant was transferred from Isaac to Jacob. Next:
Gen 32:3-34:31 {sx2+p} (strong theme)
Gen 32:3-33:17 {s} Jacob renamed Israel, “Upright of El”
Gen 33:18-20 {s} Jacob acquires property in the Land
Gen 34:1-31 {p} Defilement with Canaanites
The previous strong theme showed us that Isaac’s life repeated Abraham’s, and then that Jacob’s life repeated Isaac’s. Something happens in today’s reading, though, that is not a repeat of either Abraham or Isaac: Jacob acquired property in the Land to dwell there. The only property Abraham and Isaac owned, was not for a dwelling place, but for a burial place! Abraham and Isaac were sojourners in the Land – they belonged to a different kingdom!
The history (prophecy) that follows Jacob acquiring property in the land to dwell there, is defilement with Canaanites – not only the rape of Dinah, but also Simeon and Levi’s sin of murder. It is a warning to us, that if we make this world our dwelling place, we will incur defilement. For Abraham and his seed, YHVH is to be our exceedingly great reward!
For further study: There are repeating elements in the weak paragraph at the beginning of today’s reading, Gen 32:3-33:17. Is there a chiastic structure? If so, what is the central axis that God has placed neon flashing lights around? Why?
Finding Messiah: Compare these two verses:
Then Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan Aram; and he pitched his tent before the city. Gen 33:18 NKJV
And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city. Gen 33:18 KJV
The KJV translators had such respect for the word of God, that they did not change a jot or tittle of it. The modern translators feel compelled to improve the text (although the NKJV is the least tampered with). But here we find a clear discrepancy, where the NKJV and the KJV do not match at all.
Shalem is in Hebrew, Salem. It is Strong’s H8004, and its definition is literally, the place of which Melchizedek was king. Melchizedek was, we learned earlier, the King of Peace, and the King of Righteousness – a preincarnate appearance of the Word of God made flesh. The Scripture is telling us, that Jacob came to the place where Melchizedek was king; Jacob came to the place where the King of Peace and the King of Righteousness, Messiah Yeshua, reigned!
<– 31-32 genesis 35-36 –>
genesis index ::: ::: ::: one year reading schedule
Leave a Reply