(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)
I’m sorry if you looked for this lesson last
Thursday! I was away at The Feast of
Tabernacles enjoying a joyous feast before The Lord, and I hope you were busy
doing the same with your own family!
We left Jacob back in Bethel, worshiping God at
a holy altar and giving thanks for God’s deliverance and provision for his
family and descendants. After a very
holy time, the people of Jacob settled down and made Bethel home for a little
while. It was like a refuge for them, a
place to stay until their troubles in the land blew over and were forgotten by
the other inhabitants.
The day came when Jacob, now called Israel, felt
it was safe to move on. They walked
toward the area of Ephrath (Bethlehem) slowly because Rachel was heavy with
child, and it was close to time for her to deliver.
The birth pains came in the middle of their
journey and she was having great difficulty giving birth to this child. The midwife was with her and trying to help
her. She said to Rachel “Don’t despair,
for you have another son.”
It would be a son she would give her life
for. Rachael also knew she was
dying. In her last few breaths she named
her son Ben-Oni.
In Hebrew the word “Ben” means “son.” The root of the Hebrew word for “son” implies
a building being built. When Sarah could
not have children and she told Abraham to go into her maid and have a son by
her she said “Perhaps I shall be BUILT UP by her.” The implication was “to build up.”
This use of the words brings to mind the
statement made by Jesus at a much later date; “for I say to you that God is
able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.” (Matthew 3:9), and the
implication of “raise up” is the same meaning as “build up;” which makes the use of this word from the
lips of Rachel seem so much more profound.
Some scholars have noted that the Hebrew for stone (‘eben) is also
related to the verb for “son” (bana) meaning “to build.”
Jesus also said “You will be sons of the Most
High (Luke 6:35) and Peter later writes “You also, as living stones, are being
built up as a spiritual house.” (1 Peter 2:5)
The word “house” is frequently used to denote someone’s family but it is
also used to denote any other clearly defined group, such as a guild, a castle
order, or such similar organizations of people groups, such as when one speaks
of “the sons of the prophets” or “the
sons of the troops,” or “the sons of exile.”
So yes, the word “ben” means son, but it also
means a group of sons and a building block.
This seems to imply the building up of a nation!
The whole name given by Rachel in labor and pain
to her son was Ben-Oni which many translators have traditionally translated to
mean “Son of my Sorrow.” Today many
disagree with this interpretation.
Remember that until Joseph was born Rachel was childless for a very long
time. It seems highly unlikely that she would name
her second son in a way that would be continuously reminding everyone that he
was the cause of his mother’s death.
We must also remember how much Jacob loved
Rachel! He spent 14 years of his life
working in order to obtain her as his wife.
It is highly unlikely that he would not honor her dying wish and name
their son something completely different than what she had called him, as most of us have been traditionally taught.
Instead of accepting the traditional
interpretation here, one would think that Rachel may have sought consolation
that her son made it alive. It could be
that when Rachel heard the mid-wife say; “Do not fear, for now you have another
son” that she chose the last part of the name to be “‘on.”
We cannot be sure how the ancient text was pronounced. Historically, there are two ways to pronounce
‘on; “awen” and “on.” These two words have completely different
meanings. “Awen” means “sorrow” and “on”
means “vigor.” To be vigorous is to have
strength. It seems possible that
Jacob/Israel did not rename the child after Rachel’s death; but he simply added
amplification to the name she had already given. Rachel’s meaning “this son is my progeny” (Ben-oni)
becomes “This son is my strength” which translates to Benjamin.
So it was that Jacob had to bury Rachel, the
love of his life. He buried her on the
way between Bethel and Bethlehem and he sat up a pillar for her tombstone. The scriptures say that that pillar, marking
Rachel’s tomb, is there to this day.
Israel (Jacob) moved on again and set up a tent
near Migdal Eder. He now was the father
of twelve sons.
The sons of Leah were Ruben (the firstborn),
Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.
The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
The sons of
Rachel’s servant, Bilhah, were Dan and Naphtali.
The sons of Leah’s servant, Ziplah, were Gad and
Asher.
The first born son of Jacob did many rebellious
things to break his father’s heart. It
was while they were in Migdal Eder that Ruben committed a great sin and slept
with Bilhah, his mother’s servant, Jacob’s concubine, mother of his
half-brothers. Israel (Jacob) knew of
this. It was no secret and it was very shameful
to him.
After all of these sorrowful events in Israel’s
life, he finally came back to Mamre and reunited with his father, Isaac. Isaac was old and blind when Israel had first
left home as Jacob, and it was not thought at that time that Isaac would live
much longer. He had somehow recovered
his strength and he lived to be one hundred and eighty years old. He lived to see his two sons united
again. It must have brought him joy in
his old age.
When Isaac died, he was buried in the tombs of
Abraham and Sarah. He had lived a long
and full life. Together, Jacob and Esau
buried their father.
