oh, ladies!
So I’ve been busy the past few days, but I’ve now read up to Genesis 36. A LOT of things happen during Genesis 21-36:
-Isaac is born
-God tests Abraham (seeing if he would sacrifice Isaac)
-Sarah dies
-God leads Abraham’s servant to Rebekah (who became Isaac’s wife)
-Abraham dies
-Esau & Jacob are born
-Esau sells his birthright to Jacob (because he was really hungry)
-Isaac pulls the “she is my sister” trick on Abimelech (poor guy)
-Isaac finds a place to settle
-Jacob gets Isaac’s blessing
-Jacob is tricked by Laban (marries Leah and Rachel)
-Jacob has 11 sons (Benjamin not yet born)
-Jacob and his family leave for Canaan (his homeland)
-Jacob wrestles with God
-Jacob and Esau reunite
-Dinah (Jacob’s daughter) is raped; Levi & Simeon get revenge
-Benjamin is born; Rachel dies during childbirth
-Isaac dies
Obviously, a lot of things went on here, the lives of three generations. One thing that stuck out to me that I never really noticed before was how interesting these early women of the Bible were. They certainly had their strengths, but they were definitely not without weaknesses (and I feel like their weaknesses stand out more in the Bible): Sarah often showed lack of faith in God, Rebekah was a bit manipulative (she reminds me of a Korean 아줌마), and Leah and Rachel were always trying to one-up each other. Of course, the men had their faults, too But it’s just interesting to see how in so many ways, people—and women in particular—have not changed much at all.
