The Sons of Jacob
21Israel again set out and pitched his tent beyond the Tower of Eder. 22While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it.
Jacob had twelve sons:
23The sons of Leah were Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
24The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
25The sons of Rachel’s maidservant Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali.
26And the sons of Leah’s maidservant Zilpah were Gad and Asher.
These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan-aram.
Reuben the first born son, we would have expected better behavior from him. Jacob heard about it and what did he do? We read nothing of consequences in these verses.
The dysfunctional family continues but God chose to use then because of grace.
“We are greatly amazed in reflecting upon the event as a whole that descendants of the worthy patriarch Abraham should almost immediately after his time already have sunk to the level upon which Jacob’s sons stand in this chapter.” (Leupold)
What is the Tower of Eder? "the tower of the flock"
Blessings, David
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