Toldot in a Nutshell

Isaac & Rebecca

Isaac is 40 years old when he and Rifka (Rebecca) marry.

Rifka: daughter of Bethuel, the Aramean from Padan Aran, sister of Laban, the Aramean.

Question So he married outside the tribe? Rifka was not from the Hebrew tribe? Or was there a tribe/culture of any nature at this stage. Or were they just a large family? I cannot imagine the stress on the young teen girl, around 13-15, being suddenly taken from the bosom of her family. Yet, in those days it was far more expected and, she agrees to the union.

They endure twenty childless years, until their prayers are answered and Rebecca conceives. She experiences a difficult pregnancy as the “children struggle inside her”. She inquires G-d, and G‑d tells her that “there are two nations in your womb,” “one mightier than the other,” and that “the younger will prevail over the elder.”

Esau & Jacob

Esau emerges first, hairy and red; Jacob is born clutching Esau’s heel. Esau grows up to be “a cunning hunter”, “a man of the field”; Jacob is “a wholesome man”, a dweller in the tents of learning. Isaac favors Esau; Rebecca loves Jacob.

Note Esau - masculine, of the earth, vibrant; Jacob - innocent, momma’s boy, hanging around the tents with the women.]

Returning exhausted and hungry from the hunt one day, Esau sells his birthright (his rights as the firstborn) to Jacob for a pot of red lentil stew.

Sells? How come this is described as a sale? Why not give? Is there really a “profit” motive here? Then it makes the deception seem even worse. Even more premeditated. And how come Esau gave up his birthright so glibly? If he “despised” it (as it says), why? Was there no money in it?

Note It ends this piece with "Jacob despised his birthright - though I would rather say “wasted”.

“All nations shall bless themselves by your seed.”

The Wells

In Gerar, in the land of the Philistines, Isaac presents Rebecca as his sister, out of fear that he will be killed by someone coveting her beauty.

Note Can we ever call a spade a spade as far as our Fathers are concerned? Isaac lied about Rifka being his sister. Firstly to Avimelech, who was an honourable man. He then prospers from his lie.

He farms the land and prospers — evoking the jealousy of his neighbours. He reopens the wells dug by his father Abraham, and digs a series of his own wells. Over the first two there is strife with the Philistines, but the waters of the third well are enjoyed in tranquillity. The first well, he called Esek — because it was contested by its neighbours, the Gerar shepherders. The second, Sitna. But, having provoked the envy of his neighbours, he is banished by Avimelech, with the words “you have grown too strong, and the people are fearful of you”. This sets the tone for the Jewish narrative for years to come.

The Deception

Question Is it acceptable to deceive the deceiver?
To use deception to correct a previous deception - that of Adam & Eve?

Esau marries two Hittite women — Judith, daughter of Be’eri, and Basemath, daughter of Elon. Isaac grows old and blind, and expresses his desire to bless Esau before he dies. While Esau goes off to hunt for his father’s favourite food, Rebecca dresses Jacob in Esau’s clothes, covers his arms and neck with goatskins to simulate the feel of his hairier brother, prepares a similar dish, and sends Jacob to his father. Jacob receives his father’s blessings for “the dew of the heaven and the fat of the land” and mastery over his brother. When Esau returns and the deception is revealed, all Isaac can do for his weeping son is to predict that he will live by his sword, and that when Jacob falters, the younger brother will forfeit his supremacy over the elder.

Blessing? He receives the blessing from his father after having lied twice to his father’s face. In other words, he steals the blessing. What is the importance of the blessing? Is this the birthright that is referred to earlier? Why is the father’s blessing so important? Or is it only important regarding our three Patriarch’s? We know the blessing Isaac gave, and Jacob… who else?

Jacob flees

Jacob leaves home for Charan to flee Esau’s wrath and to find a wife. in the family of his mother’s brother, Laban. Esau marries a third wife — Machalath, the daughter of Ishmael

[Ishmael](.tag .is-warning) This is the 2nd occurrence of Ishmael that I know of. How come this nation grew so large and there is never a mention of any of them in the bible as the descendants of Ishmael. Why is there never (or seldom) a mention of their existence?.

A man needs a wife to have a family. He also needs a village to raise a family.

Isaac aware of the Deception

From Anonymous, Nov 14th, 2019 in response…

However, a blessing cannot work without the intent of the blesser, so you can’t trick someone into truly giving you a blessing. So what was the point of the trickery here?

Well, once Isaac realized what happened, he suddenly understood the truth and what was right, and said that Jacob should be blessed! Rashi explains: “That you should not say that had Jacob not deceived his father, he would not have received the blessings, therefore, he concurred and blessed him intentionally.”

At that point the blessing took hold, because Isaac said it with intent, wanting the recipient to be Jacob. There was no deception in the end, only a deception to open Isaac’s eyes to who should really get the blessing.

• Be’er sheva, where he found the water, he built an altar to the Lord.
• Called it Shibah - thus Be’er Sheva
• Avimelech visits: “The Lord is with you. Peace.”