Jacob fears meeting his brother Esau after many years away. He prays to God for deliverance and wrestles with a divine being, emerging with a new name, Israel. Though initially afraid of Esau, his fear subsides after meeting God. After reconciling with Esau, Jacob settles in Shechem but one of his daughters is raped, causing conflict. Jacob moves his family to Bethel where God reaffirms his covenant. Rachel dies giving birth to Benjamin, fulfilling a curse Jacob had unwittingly placed on her.

1. The Jacob Narrative
Genesis 31 - 35

2. Birth of Twins: Jacob is named (25:19-34)
Interlude: Rebekah in foreign palace, pact with
foreigners (26)
Jacob fears Esau and flees (27:1 - 28:9)
Jacob’s encounter with God — ladder (28:10-22)
Arrival in Haran (29:1-30)
Jacob’s wives are fertile (29:31 - 30:24)
Jacob’s flocks are fertile (30:25-43)
Flight from Haran (31)
Jacob’s encounter with God — angel (32)
Jacob returns and fears Esau (33:1-20)
Interlude: Dinah in foreign palace, pact with
foreigners (34)
Death of Rebekah’s nurse: Named Israel (35)

3. Genesis 31:1-2
Now Jacob heard the words of
Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has
taken away all that was our father’s,
and from what belonged to our
father he has made all this wealth.”
2 Jacob saw the attitude of Laban,
and behold, it was not friendly
toward him as formerly.

4. Genesis 31:3
Then the LORD said to Jacob,
“Return to the land of your fathers
and to your relatives, and I will be
with you.”
Same promise God made to
Isaac in Genesis 26:3

5. Genesis 31:1-2
Now Jacob heard the words of
Laban's sons, saying, “Jacob has
taken away all that was our father’s,
and from what belonged to our
father he has made all this wealth.”
2 Jacob saw the attitude of Laban,
and behold, it was not friendly
toward him as formerly.

6. Genesis 31:4-6
So Jacob sent and called
Rachel and Leah to his flock in the
field, 5 and said to them, “I see your
father’s attitude, that it is not friendly
toward me as formerly, but the God
of my father has been with me. 6
You know that I have served your
father with all my strength….”

7. Genesis 31:7
“Yet your father has cheated me
and changed my wages ten times;
however, God did not allow him to
hurt me…”

8. Genesis 31:8-9
“If he spoke thus, ‘The speckled
shall be your wages,’ then all the
flock brought forth speckled; and if
he spoke thus, ‘The striped shall be
your wages,’ then all the flock
brought forth striped. 9 Thus God has
taken away your father's livestock
and given them to me.”

9. Genesis 31:14-16
Rachel and Leah said to him,
“Do we still have any portion or
inheritance in our father's house? 15
Are we not reckoned by him as
foreigners? For he has sold us, and
has also entirely consumed our
purchase price. 16 Surely all the
wealth which God has taken away
from our father belongs to us and our
children; now then, do whatever God
has said to you.”

10. Genesis 31:17-18
Then Jacob arose and put his
children and his wives upon camels;
18 and he drove away all his livestock
and all his property which he had
gathered, his acquired livestock
which he had gathered in Paddan-
aram, to go to the land of Canaan to
his father Isaac.

11. Genesis 31:19
When Laban had gone to shear
his flock, then Rachel stole the
household idols that were her
father’s.
(~ypir'T.)
Teraphim

12. Genesis 31:21
So he fled with all that he had;
and he arose and crossed the
Euphrates River, and set his face
toward the hill country of Gilead.

13.  Haran

14. Genesis 31:22-24
When it was told Laban on the
third day that Jacob had fled, 23 then
he took his kinsmen with him and
pursued him a distance of seven
days' journey, and he overtook him
in the hill country of Gilead. 24 God
came to Laban the Aramean in a
dream of the night and said to him,
“Be careful that you do not speak to
Jacob either good or bad.”

15. Genesis 31:25
Laban caught up with Jacob.
Now Jacob had pitched his tent in
the hill country, and Laban with his
kinsmen camped in the hill country
of Gilead.

16. Genesis 31:26
Then Laban said to Jacob,
“What have you done by deceiving
me and carrying away my daughters
like captives of the sword?”

17. Genesis 31:27-28
“Why did you flee secretly and
deceive me, and did not tell me so
that I might have sent you away with
joy and with songs, with timbrel and
with lyre; 28 and did not allow me to
kiss my sons and my daughters?
Now you have done foolishly.”

18. Genesis 31:29-30
“It is in my power to do you
harm, but the God of your father
spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be
careful not to speak either good or
bad to Jacob.’ 30 Now you have
indeed gone away because you
longed greatly for your father's
house; but why did you steal my
gods?”

19. Genesis 31:31
Then Jacob replied to Laban,
“Because I was afraid, for I thought
that you would take your daughters
from me by force….”

20. Genesis 31:32
“The one with whom you find
your gods shall not live; in the
presence of our kinsmen point out
what is yours among my belongings
and take it for yourself.” For Jacob
did not know that Rachel had stolen
them.

21. Genesis 31:33
So Laban went into Jacob’s tent
and into Leah’s tent and into the tent
of the two maids, but he did not find
them. Then he went out of Leah’s
tent and entered Rachel’s tent.

22. Genesis 31:34
Now Rachel had taken the
household idols and put them in the
camel’s saddle, and she sat on
them. And Laban felt through all the
tent but did not find them.

23. Genesis 31:35
She said to her father, “Let not
my lord be angry that I cannot rise
before you, for the manner of women
is upon me.” So he searched but did
not find the household idols.

24. Jacob’s Complaint
• I have kept my part of the bargain
• I served you for your daughters
• You changed my wages ten times
• You only treated me right because
God made you do it

25. Laban
Called the stone
Jegar-
sahadutha
(“heap of the
testimony”)
Jacob
Laban
Called the stone
Galeed
(“witness pile”)
Also known as
Mizpah (“place
of looking”)

26. Then Jacob offered a
sacrifice on the mountain,
and called his kinsmen to
the meal; and they ate the
meal and spent the night
on the mountain.
Genesis 31:54

27. Genesis 32:1-2
Now as Jacob went on his way,
the angels of God met him. 2 Jacob
said when he saw them, “This is
God’s camp.” So he named that
place Mahanaim.

28. Genesis 32:3-5
Then Jacob sent messengers
before him to his brother Esau in the
land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4
He also commanded them saying,
“Thus you shall say to my lord Esau:
‘Thus says your servant Jacob, “I
have sojourned with Laban, and
stayed until now; 5 I have oxen and
donkeys and flocks and male and
female servants; and I have sent to
tell my lord, that I may find favor in
your sight.”’”

29. Genesis 32:6
The messengers returned to
Jacob, saying, “We came to your
brother Esau, and furthermore he is
coming to meet you, and four
hundred men are with him.”

30. Genesis 32:7-8
Then Jacob was greatly afraid
and distressed; and he divided the
people who were with him, and the
flocks and the herds and the camels,
into two companies; 8 for he said, “If
Esau comes to the one company
and attacks it, then the company
which is left will escape.”

31. Jacob’s Prayer
• Jacob points out that he got into this
situation by obeying the direction of the
Lord: And Jacob said, "O God of my
father Abraham and God of my father
Isaac, O LORD, who didst say to me,
'Return to your country and to your
relatives, and I will prosper you’” (32:9).

32. • Jacob recognizes his own unworthiness: I
am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and
of all the faithfulness which Thou hast
shown to Thy servant; for with my staff
only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have
become two companies (32:10).
• Jacob points out that he got into this
situation by obeying the direction of the
Lord.
Jacob’s Prayer

33. Jacob’s Prayer
• Jacob prays for deliverance: Deliver me, I
pray, from the hand of my brother, from the
hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come
and attack me, the mothers with the
children (32:11).
• Jacob points out that he got into this
situation by obeying the direction of the
Lord.
• Jacob recognizes his own unworthiness.

34. Jacob’s Prayer
• Jacob prays according to the promise of
God.
• Jacob points out that he got into this
situation by obeying the direction of the
Lord.
• Jacob recognizes his own unworthiness.
• Jacob prays for deliverance.

35. Genesis 32:22-23
Now he arose that same night
and took his two wives and his two
maids and his eleven children, and
crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He
took them and sent them across the
stream. And he sent across
whatever he had.

38. Genesis 32:24
Then Jacob was left alone, and
a man wrestled with him until
daybreak.
qbea'YE Niphal imperfect
of qb;a'

39. Genesis 32:25
When he saw that he had not
prevailed against him, he touched
the socket of his thigh; so the socket
of Jacob's thigh was dislocated while
he wrestled with him.

40. Genesis 32:26
Then he said, “Let me go, for
the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “I
will not let you go unless you bless
me.”

41. Genesis 32:27-28
So he said to him, “What is your
name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 He
said, “Your name shall no longer be
Jacob, but Israel; for you have
striven with God and with men and
have prevailed.”
~yhil{a/-~[i t'yrIf-yKi'

42. Genesis 32:29
Then Jacob asked him and
said, “Please tell me your name.” But
he said, “Why is it that you ask my
name?” And he blessed him there.

43. Genesis 32:30
So Jacob named the place
Peniel, for he said, “I have seen God
face to face, yet my life has been
preserved.”

44. Genesis 32:31-32
Now the sun rose upon him just
as he crossed over Penuel, and he
was limping on his thigh.
32 Therefore, to this day the sons of
Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip
which is on the socket of the thigh,
because he touched the socket of
Jacob’s thigh in the sinew of the hip.

45. Jacob Jesus
He won by losing but
refusing to let go
His victory obtained
grace for us
Wrestled with an angel
Was a victor by grace
Wrestled with sin and
with Satan
He won by losing His life
on the cross
His hip was thrown out
of joint
All His bones were out of
joint

46. Jacob Jesus
As a memorial, the
Israelites did not eat
the sinew of the joint
He died that we might
see God
He released the angel
before the sun rose
He called the place
Peniel; the face of
God
The sun hid its face as
He was on the cross
As a memorial, we are
called to come and
eat at the Lord’s table

47. Jacob wants to
be delivered in
his upcoming
meeting with
Esau
Jacob fears
Esau
Jacob has been
delivered after
meeting God
Jacob’s
fear of
Esau is
gone
Before meeting
God
After meeting
God

48. Genesis 33:18-20
Now Jacob came safely to the
city of Shechem, which is in the land
of Canaan, when he came from
Paddan-aram, and camped before
the city. 19 He bought the piece of
land where he had pitched his tent
from the hand of the sons of Hamor,
Shechem’s father, for one hundred
pieces of money. 20 Then he erected
there an altar and called it El-Elohe-
Israel.

49. Shechem
“You are
not greater
than our
father
Jacob, are
You?”
(John 4:12)

50. The Dinah Episode
• Dinah is raped by the son
of a Canaanite chieftain
• The Canannites proposes
a policy of inter-marriage
• The sons of Jacob answer
with deceit (34:13).
• They slaughter all the
inhabitants of the city.

51. The Dinah Episode
Why is this story
included in the
Genesis Account?

52. The Dinah Episode
How does this story
relate to the Israelites
for whom Moses is
writing the book of
Genesis?

53. Genesis 35:2-3
So Jacob said to his household
and to all who were with him, “Put
away the foreign gods which are
among you, and purify yourselves
and change your garments; 3 and let
us arise and go up to Bethel, and I
will make an altar there to God, who
answered me in the day of my
distress and has been with me
wherever I have gone.”

54. Genesis 35:4
So they gave to Jacob all the
foreign gods which they had and the
rings which were in their ears, and
Jacob hid them under the oak which
was near Shechem.
Jacob’s call for purity is a
regular theme in the
Scriptures, but is there a
negative slant to hiding such
things under a tree?

55. Then God appeared to
Jacob again when he
came from Paddan-aram,
and He blessed him.
(Genesis 35:10).

56. God said to him,
“Your name is
Jacob;
You shall no longer
be called Jacob,
But Israel shall be
your name.”
Thus He called him
Israel. (Genesis
35:9-10).

57. God also said to him,
“I am God Almighty;
Be fruitful and
multiply;
A nation and a
company of nations
shall come from you,
And kings shall come
forth from you.”
(Genesis 35:11).

58. “The land which I
gave to Abraham
and Isaac,
I will give it to you,
And I will give the
land to your
descendants after
you.” (Genesis
35:12).

59. Genesis 35:16-17
Then they journeyed from
Bethel; and when there was still
some distance to go to Ephrath,
Rachel began to give birth and she
suffered severe labor. 17 When she
was in severe labor the midwife said
to her, “Do not fear, for now you have
another son.”

60. Genesis 35:18-19
It came about as her soul was
departing (for she died), that she
named him Ben-oni; but his father
called him Benjamin. 19 So Rachel
died and was buried on the way to
Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
“Son of my sorrows” “Son of my
right (hand)”

61. Rachel’s Story
• Rachel’s untimely death is a part of a
curse unwittingly placed on her by Jacob
“The one with whom you find your gods
shall not live; in the presence of our
kinsmen point out what is yours among my
belongings and take it for yourself.” For
Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen
them. (Genesis 31:32).

62. Rachel’s Story
• Rachel’s untimely death is a part of a
curse unwittingly placed on her by Jacob
• Rachel is buried “on the way to Ephrath
(that is, Bethlehem)”
• A later reference to “Rachel weeping for
her children” will point to untimely deaths
in Bethlehem.
• We have a “Son at the right hand” from
Bethlehem who became a curse for us.

63. Jacob
He was the younger
brother
Jesus
He is our elder brother
He sought to steal the
blessing that belonged
to another
He sought to share
the blessing that was
rightfully His
He took on the flesh of
a goat in order to
accomplish the
deception
He took on flesh in
order to accomplish
our salvation

64. Jacob
Jacob Has a Vision of
a Ladder between
Heaven and Earth
Jesus
Jesus is the Ladder,
the way between
Heaven and Earth
Jacob starts his family
with twelve sons that
grow and prosper until
he takes them home.
Jesus starts with
twelve disciples that
continues to grow and
prosper until He takes
us Home

65. Jacob
He struggles with an
angel and sees the
face of God
Jesus
Submits to the Father
so that we might see
the Face of God
Known for his Deceit
and deceitful tactics
Known for his
innocence, is betrayed
with deceit, takes on
our guilt

66. Jacob Jesus
He can only love the
lovely and meets his
perfect, pure, and
beautiful bride at a
well
He meets an
imperfect, unclean,
and unlovely woman
at the well, whom he
will make perfect,
clean, and lovely
enough to be His
bride.
Rolls away the stone
no man could
Rolls away the stone
no man could