BibleTools

Topical Studies

 A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z


What the Bible says about Jacob's Favoritism
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Genesis 34:1

As far as we know, Dinah was Jacob's only daughter. We can easily imagine many scenarios of life for an only girl with, at that time, eleven brothers. Would she be a tomboy? Spoiled? Over-protected? Possibly, but she could just as well have been kind, giving, respectful, and obedient. She was not only the daughter of Leah and Jacob, but the granddaughter of Isaac and Rebekah and the great granddaughter of Abraham and Sarah. She had some pretty good genes, and she certainly had been told their stories, giving her good examples to follow.

We are immediately told that she is Leah's daughter. This could be just a simple statement of fact, or under God's inspiration, Moses could be hinting that she was not one of Jacob's favorites, since her mother was Leah, not Rachel. After all, favoritism was a great sin Jacob dealt with much of his adult life. This would help to explain Jacob's subdued reaction, which is seen later on.

It is difficult to pin down Dinah's age at this point, but she was probably thirteen or fourteen years old. Most commentators agree on this, though some think she was as old as her late teens. By following the timeline of Jacob's journey, service to Laban, and return to Canaan, the evidence points to a young girl of around thirteen. Some thirteen-year-old girls look and act like streetwalkers, yet other girls of that age still play with dolls.

Where did Dinah fit? She was curious enough to leave the safety of the camp and to explore, so it is unlikely that she was still playing with dolls. She was certainly physically mature enough to draw attention from men, and girls of that time may have grown up early, yet no matter how one theorizes, she remains a young girl. Perhaps she was a bit full of herself, maybe a bit silly and giggly, as girls this age can be. Her trip into town was unwise, certainly.

She went out of her family's camp, left its safety, specifically to see the "daughters of the land." The Jewish historian, Josephus, says that the Hivites were having a festival of some sort. We can picture the color, the pageantry, and music of an exotic celebration and realize how that would catch the eye of a tent-dwelling young girl with no sisters.

Mike Ford
The Rape of Dinah

Related Topics: Hivites | Jacob's Favoritism | Rape of Dinah


 

Genesis 35:16-19

Rachel, whose entire married life had been spent desiring to bear sons for Jacob, gave birth to a second boy. Realizing that she was dying from the birth, she named the baby Ben-Oni meaning "son of my sorrow." However, Jacob changed the name of the boy to Benjamin meaning "son of my right hand." Matthew Henry explains:

But Jacob, because he would not renew the sorrowful remembrance of the mother's death every time he called his son by his name, changed his name, and called him Benjamin, the son of my right hand; that is, "very dear to me, set on my right hand for a blessing, the support of my age, like the staff in my right hand."

Not long thereafter, Jacob thought he had lost a son whom he loved dearly. Bringing Joseph's goat's blood-smeared tunic to him, his sons had caused him to believe that Joseph had been killed by a wild beast. With Joseph gone, Jacob placed all his affections on his youngest son, Benjamin, the son of his right hand. Already, Jacob viewed the young Benjamin as the staff in his right hand.

Staff
Benjamin: Son of the Right Hand

James 2:1

God provides us with dozens of examples of men and women who were partial to various people or things, and along with the examples come important lessons we can learn to avoid their mistakes. Sometimes, a right and godly favoritism is shown—particularly by God Himself—and an unrighteous, human reaction causes a great deal of trouble. Yet, more often, human partiality toward or against others opens the proverbial can of worms. A number of examples come immediately to mind.

»When God accepted Abel's offering but rejected Cain's—favor based on obedience and proper attitude—hatred, jealousy, resentment, and murderous rage resulted (see Genesis 4). This first example is one of godly favor taken badly.

»Through favoritism, Isaac (toward Esau) and Rebecca (toward Jacob) instilled a spirit of competition, strife, and resentment between the two brothers, which led to an even-now ongoing feud, more than 3,500 years later (see Genesis 25 and 27)!

»Jacob's partiality to Rachel was the source of a great deal of hostility and scheming among Jacobs's wives and concubines (see Genesis 30). This also created rivalries between their sons.

»Jacob's favoritism for Joseph made his half-brothers so jealous that they were ready to murder him (see Genesis 37). Instead, they "only" sold him into slavery, telling their father that he had been torn to pieces by a wild beast. This caused the patriarch no end of grief.

»Through his partiality as a father, Eli allowed himself to become complacent to the gross sins of his two sons (see I Samuel 2-4). This led both to calamity for Eli's house and national defeat at the hands of the Philistines.

»King David's partiality blinded his eyes to his children's evil actions, particularly Amnon's rape of his half-sister, Tamar; and Absalom's murder of Amnon and his rebellion against David himself (see II Samuel 13-18). Later, he ignored Adonijah's preparations to take over his throne, in spite of his expressed desire to have Solomon succeed him (see I Kings 1).

»In the story of Esther, Haman's prejudice almost cost the lives of all the Jews living in the Persian Empire (see Esther 3-8). Only an act of great courage and self-sacrifice saved the Jews from annihilation.

The Bible contains a host of other examples that thoroughly demonstrate the insidiousness of this potential sin. It is clear that the effects of partiality are the real problem. A person can have the best of intentions and reasons for his bias—as God's favor certainly is—but the reactions of those not in favor cause events to spin out of control. At other times, and certainly in most cases of human bias, the respect of persons is clearly wrong from the outset, and the carnal reactions of those it affects just makes matters worse.

Dan Elmore
The Sin of Partiality


 




The Berean: Daily Verse and Comment

The Berean: Daily Verse and Comment

Sign up for the Berean: Daily Verse and Comment, and have Biblical truth delivered to your inbox. This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. See what over 150,000 subscribers are already receiving each day.

Email Address:

   
Leave this field empty

We respect your privacy. Your email address will not be sold, distributed, rented, or in any way given out to a third party. We have nothing to sell. You may easily unsubscribe at any time.
 A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
©Copyright 1992-2024 Church of the Great God.   Contact C.G.G. if you have questions or comments.
Share this on FacebookEmailPrinter version
Close
E-mail This Page