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After asking Jacob his name, the man says, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed” (Genesis 32:28). Trible explains, “The stranger gives Jacob (whose name in folk etymology suggests a grasper, schemer or conniver) the new name Israel (“God rules”).”.
The story of Tamar and Judah is also a story of family continuity achieved by the determination of a woman. Tamar bears twins, Perez and Zerah, after she masquerades as a prostitute to seduce her father-in-law, Judah, who had failed to fulfill his promise to give her his youngest son Shelah as a husband after his two older sons had died while ...
In the Fall 2022 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, Kristine Henriksen Garroway situates the biblical story of Rachel and Leah in its ancient Near Eastern context. Her article, “ Why Leah Gives Birth Before Rachel,” examines Jacob’s marriages to Leah and Rachel—and their resulting children—in light of ancient Mesopotamian marriage ...
In Matthew’s genealogy, we learn that Joseph ’s father was named Jacob (Matthew 1:16) and that his family tree included the patriarch Jacob (Matthew 1:2). James was thus named after his grandfather. As Ben Witherington writes, “It is clear that the family of ‘James’ was proud of its patriarchal heritage.” 2 So Jacob was the third ...
Genesis 37–50 tells the intricate and adventurous story that begins with Joseph portrayed as the favorite son of Jacob. Joseph’s special status angers his brothers, who sell him into slavery—to either Ishmaelites or Midianites, who then bring him to Egypt. There Joseph gains the favor of Pharaoh, is promoted into the highest office, and ...
The Akedah (ah-kay-DAH), or binding of Isaac, is one of the most powerful narratives in the Hebrew Bible. For nearly 2,000 years, however, it has been read somewhat differently by Jews and Christians. It is even portrayed differently in the pictures they make. For most Christians, the Hebrew word akedah is unfamiliar; more often than not, they ...
A mighty warrior, judge, prophetess, and minstrel. Deborah, the only female judge in the Bible, excelled in multiple areas. 1 Clearly one of the Bible’s most outstanding figures, she served ancient Israel as a prophet, 2 judge, military leader, songwriter, and minstrel (Judges 4–5). The only woman who judges, Deborah “used to sit under ...
Jacob the Convert. The gravestone of Jacob the convert dates to the very end of the Roman period (37 B.C.E.–324 C.E.), when Jews had been expelled from Jerusalem. By that time, the Galilee had become the main center for Jewish life and culture within Roman Palestine. However, as indicated by his inscription, Jacob was not born Jewish, nor was ...
The article was first republished in Bible History Daily on June 1, 2015. At the inception of Wiesel’s Supporting Roles series in Bible Review, BAS editors wrote: We are pleased—and honored—to present our readers with the first of a series of insightful essays by Elie Wiesel, the world-renowned author and human rights advocate.
Introduced as “the most clever of all of the beasts of the field that YHWH God had made,” the serpent in the Garden of Eden is portrayed as just that: a serpent. Satan does not make an appearance in Genesis 2–3, for the simple reason that when the story was written, the concept of the devil had not yet been invented.