An Atheistic Bible Study Of Genesis Chapter Twenty-Five Jacob And Esau

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Some time after the death of Sarah, his first wife, Abraham remarries. His second wife is called Keturah. They have many sons, who are all named over the next few paragraphs. Despite all these other sons, Abraham leaves his money and property only to his second son, Isaac. The other boys, including sons born to concubines (Abraham used prostitutes) are given gifts (unidentified) and sent off into the desert to fend for themselves. At 175, Abraham dies, so Isaac and Ishmael have his body buried alongside Sarah in the Mamrean cave he bought as the location of the family tomb. Ishmael has many sons too, twelve in all, before he dies aged 137. Where he is buried is not stated. Isaac, now forty years old, married to Rebekah, finds his wife is barren. This becomes virtually a repeat of the story of Sarah’s barren-ness. The time-lines are out of sync here as Isaac and Ishmael grew up as children together, but we are told now that one died aged 137 as the other one hits 40. Ishmael is just referred to as being dead because he is no longer of importance in the overall narrative but his death should have been a footnote to a later chapter. Isaac prays to God to make Rebekah fertile which finally works twenty years later when he turns 60, and she is soon pregnant with twins. The foetuses fight in her womb, and when she asks why, God explains that both will found nations, but one will be dominant and subjugate the other one. Rebekah goes into labour, and Esau is born first. He is totally covered in red fur. Jacob, the second son, comes out of the womb grasping Esau’s ankle firmly in his hand. Esau, like Ishmael, becomes a great hunter and worker of the land, while Jacob stays quietly at home (suggesting he is lazy). Their tory reads like leftover bits and out-takes from Abraham’s own story. Jacob likes his brother while their parents, especially Rebekah, show favouritism to Jacob. Esau goes out hunting one day but catches nothing. He returns from the desert close to starvation, to find Jacob stirring a delicious pot of stew cooking on the fire. Esau asks if he can have some of the stew. Jacob, knowing that he loses out legally on the family inheritance to the boy who is minutes older than he is, insists that the half-starved brother sells him his birth-right (entitlement to the family estates) and Esau is desperate enough to agree to the deal. He has sold his inheritance for a bowl of soup. The Bible blames Esau for despising his birth-right but it is really Jacob who is greedy and unscrupulous in manipulating and exploiting his brother to his own personal gain. Again there are barren women, impregnated by the will of God, and preposterous longevity at a time when few would have seen their thirtieth birthdays. Jacob comes across as a total scum-bucket, though he is supposed to be one of the good guys. Arthur Chappell