Immanuel Lutheran Church Study Forum

Everytime I read Genesis, something new always comes to my attention that I didn't remember. From today's reading, I didn't remember that Rachel was a shepherd. That made me think of her in a new way.

I had forgotten that Jacob had to wait 7 more years to have Rachel and I also had forgotten that some of Jacob's sons were born from Rachel and Leah's servants. I also read that back in that time it was believed that mandrakes were supposed to help a woman become pregnant so Rachel was not giving her situation to God and trying to take care of conceiving in her own way.
I also did not remember the battle of the sisters over Jacob being so filled with jealousy. So much packed into today's reading!

I cannot pass up a comment on Rachel and Leah without mentioning the value of cross referencing different versions of the Bible for confusing passages. Gen 29:17 “Leah’s eyes were delicate, but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance.” That doesn’t seem to be an apple to apple comparison. I once heard a rabbi say a more accurate translation would be “Leah was hard to see.” Or difficult to look at. That fits better in context. The interpretation to indicate poor eyesight is gracious, but confusing. What do you think?

I also did not remember from today's reading ( NIV version) that even though Joseph asked his brothers to take his bones out of Egypt when he died, they did not. IF I am reading this correctly. It says after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt. So even after all the kindness Joseph showed his brothers they didn't do what he asked. If I am not reading this correctly, please let me know.
I see so many similarities between Joseph and Jesus: his kindness, his compassion, his forgiveness.
I always enjoy reading about Joseph.

While the other sons of Israel didn't take Joseph's bones out themselves, they did keep his mummy. I'm not sure of their intent because the story ends with Joseph's death. I think we will read in Exodus that the Israelites take the mummy when Moses leads them out of Egypt, so they must have at lease made Joseph's wishes known and passed down thru the generations in Egypt.