Those who are interested in biblical texts are well aware of the story of Jacob and Rachel. She has always been a metaphor for true love. No wonder the Bible says that when Jacob met Rachel, he kissed her and “lifted up his voice and wept” (Genesis 29:11). This story was glorified in painting and sculpture. Deceived by his future father-in-law, Jacob was forced to first marry his beloved sister, and then wait another 14 years. What do biblical historians say? Was their love really “strong as death”?
Meeting with Rachel
Shortly after arriving in Haran, Jacob fell in love with Rachel, the daughter of his cousin Laban (Genesis 29:17). Laban warmly welcomed him into his family. But at the same time, he set too high a price when Jacob asked for permission to marry. Initially, Jacob had to work as a shepherd for seven years, tending Laban's flocks. The annual salary of a shepherd in the Bronze Age was about 10 shekels; therefore, seven years of labor was a fairly strict requirement. But Jacob, being a fugitive from his brother Esau, was in no position to bargain.
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Chapter 4
Know now what the Lord will do in Judgment on the sons of men. When the rocks collapse, and the sun goes out, and the waters dry up, and the fire is hidden, and every creation is confused, and the invisible spirits are exhausted, and hell loses its protection [from the suffering of the Most High], then people will lose faith and will persist in their unrighteousness, and for this they will be judged and receive punishment. 2. And the Most High heard your prayer, that He might deliver you from unrighteousness and make you His son, and a slave, and a servant before Him. 3. You will shine with the light of knowledge in Jacob, and you will be like the sun to all the seed of Israel. 4. And blessing will be given to you and to all your seed until the Lord visits all nations in His mercy, forever and ever. [But only your sons will lay hands on Him to crucify Him.] 5. And for this purpose advice and knowledge have been given to you, so that you may instruct your sons in this matter. 6. For those who bless you will be blessed, and those who curse you will perish.
Deception
The biblical story goes like this: Jacob served Laban for seven years; but because of the love he felt for Rachel, they seemed to him like several days. When Jacob was finally seven years old, he celebrated his wedding night, and at dawn he discovered that his wife was not Rachel, but her older sister Leah, whom Laban had sent to Jacob’s tent. Laban explained to the indignant Jacob that according to the custom of the tribe, the eldest daughter should marry first. And if Jacob still wants to marry Rachel, then he must work for Laban for another seven years. And so it happened.
Chapter 9
Two days later I, Judah, and our father Jacob came to Isaac our forefather. 2. And my father’s father blessed me according to the visions which I saw. And he did not want to go with us to Bethel. 3. When we came to Bethel, my father Jacob saw a vision of me, that I would be their priest. 4. And he rose the next morning and offered tithes of everything through me to the Lord. 5. And so we came to Hebron to abide there. 6 And Isaac called me continually to instruct me in the law of the Lord, just as the angel showed me. 7. And he taught me the law of the priesthood, sacrifices, burnt offerings, firstborn of the fruits, willing and expiatory sacrifices. 8. And every day he instructed me, and was busy with me, and said to me: 9. Keep yourself from the spirit of fornication, for it is persistent and will defile the holy through your seed. 10. Therefore, take yourself a wife while you are still young, so that there will be no shame and filthiness on her, and not from a family of foreign nations. 11. And before entering the holy place, perform ablution; and when you offer a sacrifice, wash yourself; and having finished the sacrifice, wash yourself also. 12. And offer twelve trees with leaves to the Lord, as Abraham also taught me. 13. And of every clean and feathered animal you shall offer a sacrifice to the Lord. 14. And from all the firstfruits and wine you shall offer firstfruits as a sacrifice to the Lord God. And season every sacrifice with salt.
Other visions of Jacob
Over time, Jacob became rich and became a cattle breeder himself. Because conflicts arose in this tribe, and he was forced to return back to Canaan to his brother, who seems to have forgotten about the feuds between them and himself became a rich and influential man. One day while traveling, Jacob again had a dream about a stranger with whom he got into a fight. They fought all night. According to biblical tradition, this stranger was an angel of the Lord, or even God himself. Eventually the stranger relented, blessed Jacob, and gave him the name “Israel” (“He who rules with God”) (Genesis 32:28). He was told that just as Jacob struggled with God, so the people of Israel would struggle for centuries with their obedience to the Lord. Jacob then began to say that he saw God face to face (Genesis 32:30).
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Old Testament patriarch Jacob (Israel), his wives Rachel and Leah
Jacob
| What remains for a homeless wanderer, led by God? To walk - from the well, from the stone in Bethel, from the ladder that is dreamed of, to the well with clean water - for Rachel's sheep... The wanderer - who obtained the birthright by deception, hidden by Rebekah from Isaac, remains - to be forever deceived by Laban... Blood-sweat, seven-year concession - to seek Rachel the dove... (But as if life had been hit and broken with a hot whip...) On the wedding night - instead of the shepherdess Rachel - to love the blind Leah... What remains for the wanderer - the firstborn - a burden cut down, cured of love - by spaces-distances - what remains? To fight with God is to become Israel, marked by lameness... L. Kolodyazhnaya |
Jacob (Israel) is the patriarch of the Old Testament Church, the son of Isaac and Rebekah, the brother of Esau and the grandson of Abraham, the legendary ancestor of the “twelve tribes of Israel.” His story is told in the book of Genesis (XXV, XXVII-L). Even in the womb, Jacob's rivalry begins with his twin brother Esau, who is opposite to him in everything. Hearing how her sons began to beat in the womb, Rebekah asks God about this, and He answers her: “Two tribes are in your womb, and two different nations will come from your womb; one nation will become stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger” (Gen. 25, 23). “And the time came for her (i.e., Rebekah) to give birth,” says the writer of everyday life, “and behold, twins were in her womb. The first one came out, all red as skin, shaggy, and they named him Esau. Then his brother came out, holding Esau’s heel with his hand, and his name was called Jacob.” The children grew up, and Esau became a skilled hunter, a man of the fields, and Jacob became a meek man, living in tents. Jacob was the favorite son of Rebekah his mother, and her instructions had a strong influence on him on some important occasions of his life. The first manifestation of his independent life, which the book of Genesis narrates, seems to indicate some cunning in his character. One day, taking advantage of the hunger of the tired Esau, Jacob buys his birthright for a meal of lentils (for “lentil stew”) (25, 29-34). Let us remember that birthright is one of the highest values in Israeli society. The firstborn of the flock and the firstfruits are sacrificed to God as the Creator of life. The firstborn son (firstborn) is the “strength and the firstfruits of strength” of the father, “the height of dignity and the height of power” (Gen. 49–3). It is not for nothing (let’s jump ahead a little) that Pharaoh, who deceived Moses nine times, took the defeat of his firstborn so painfully, and only after this, the tenth “plague of Egypt,” did he finally fulfill his promise - he released the people of Israel. The first-born son had material and moral advantages over his brothers (a double share of the inheritance, the position of head of the clan in the future). Birthright was seen as a gift from God and was inalienable. The rights of the firstborn were protected by the law (Deut. 21). The only violation of this right was the case of Reuben, the son of Jacob, whom his father, dying, deprived of his privilege because he had “defiled his father’s bed” by entering into a sinful relationship with his concubine Bilhah. Thus, Jacob (Israel) obtained the birthright illegally by convincing his twin brother Esau, who was born first, to sell him the birthright for a bowl of lentil stew. After this, Jacob, at the instigation of Rebekah, by deception - posing as his brother - received a blessing from his half-blind father, giving the right to inherit all property and power over the brothers and tribes over which they would stand. One day, the decrepit Isaac sent Esau into the field to catch game and prepare food for his father: at the meal, Isaac would give him a parental blessing. “And Rebekah took the rich robe of her eldest son Esau, which was in her house, and clothed her youngest son Jacob in it; and she covered his hands and his smooth neck with the skin of kids; and she gave the food and the bread which she had prepared into the hands of Jacob her son. He went in to his father and said: My father! He said: here I am; who are you, my son? Jacob said to his father: I am Esau, your firstborn; I did as you told me; get up, sit down and eat my game, so that your soul may bless me... And Isaac said to Jacob: Come, I will feel you, are you my son Esau or not? Jacob came to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “A voice, the voice of Jacob; and the hands, the hands of Esau. And he did not recognize him, because his hands were like the hands of his brother Esau, shaggy; and blessed him” (Gen. 27:15–23). Thus, by deception, Jacob receives a blessing from his father as the firstborn son (and thereby the preferential rights to fertile Canaan, while Esau gets the dry and rocky region of Edom). As a result of this last act, he had to flee and, in accordance with the wishes of his mother, retired to Mesopotamia, to Harran, to his uncle Laban. Before setting off on his journey, Isaac blessed Jacob and directed him to look for a wife from Laban’s daughters (XXVIII, 1-5). On the way, he had to spend the night in a certain place, right on the bare ground, placing a stone under his head. In a dream, he saw a staircase to heaven and angels on it. And he heard a voice proclaiming that God was giving this land to him and his descendants, who would be as numerous as the sand of the earth. Waking up, Jacob realized that God was with him, and the place where he was was the house of God. He placed a stone at his head as a monument, and named the place Bethel. Here he promised to return to God a tenth of what God would give him - a tithe.
| Jacob ran before his own blood, Tired, he lay down on an earthen bed, There, placing a stone under his head, the young man fell into a deep sleep. And then a vision appeared to him: Like a golden chain, from heaven to earth the Mysterious staircase shone, And the angels walked along it, turning white. Now up, now down, with airy feet, barely touching the bright steps, Exciting the soul, captured by dreams, with a premonition of its coming days. And at the top of the wonderful staircase, Like a shadow, there was Someone, the Lord of angels, And in the blindness of heavenly joy Jacob could not overcome the horror. And he woke up and cried out to God: “This place is sacred, the Creator is here!” And the Father showed Israel the way to the promised land. He anointed the stone he took under his head, and erected it, and dedicated it with reverence, awe, and love to the Ruler of both souls and mental powers. That first was the exiled Jew, the prototype of the temple and the earthly altar, Here is the first anointing of oil, sanctifying the creation to this day. M. Lot-Borodina |
While living with Laban, Jacob fell in love with his beautiful youngest daughter Rachel (whom he met, while still approaching Harran, at the well where Rachel brought the sheep to water) and served Laban for her for 7 years. But Laban deceived him into giving him Leah, his eldest daughter, as his wife. “And Laban had two daughters; The eldest's name is Leah, the youngest's name is Rachel. Leah was weak-eyed, but Rachel was beautiful in form and beautiful in face. Jacob fell in love with Rachel and said: I will serve you seven years for your youngest daughter, Rachel. Laban said: It is better to give her to me for you than to give her to someone else; live with me. And Jacob served for Rachel seven years; and they appeared to him a few days before, because he loved her... ... Laban called all the people of the place and held a feast. In the evening Laban took his daughter Leah and brought her to him; and Jacob went in to her. In the morning it turned out that it was Leah. And (Jacob) said to Laban: What hast thou done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? Why did you deceive me? Laban said: in our place they don’t do that, to give the younger one away before the older one. Finish this week; Then we will give you that one too, for the service that you will serve with me for another seven years. Jacob did so; and (Lavan) gave Rachel his daughter to him as a wife. And Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah; and he served with him for seven more years.” (Book of Genesis, chapter XXIX, vv. 1-6, 9-23, 25-28, 30). Thus, Jacob also gets Rachel as his wife, having served for her for another 7 years. At that time, polygamy was common, therefore, in addition to Leah and Rachel, Jacob took two more maidservants as wives: Bilhah and Zilpah, and thus from four wives he had 12 sons and one daughter Dinah (XXIV, XXX, 1, XXXV, 16-19). After the birth of his son Joseph, Jacob decides to return from Mesopotamia to his native land. Laban, who wants to reward him, asks only for speckled sheep and spotted goats, the number of which quickly grew in Jacob’s flock. Jacob tells his loved ones a dream he had at the time when the cattle were conceiving: an angel who appeared to him in a dream said: “Lift up your eyes and look; All the goats, having mounted the cattle, are mottled, speckled and spotted” (30:10). In the same dream, God tells Jacob to return to his homeland, the land of Canaan. And 20 years after entering Mesopotamia, Jacob secretly left Laban’s house with his family and everything he had, and headed to the land of Canaan. Having learned about this, Laban set off in pursuit of him and caught up with him near the city of Gilead and tried, although in vain, to return at least his household gods, whom he superstitiously worshiped and which Rachel stole from him, hiding them under her saddle camel However, the matter ended in reconciliation, and Jacob was given the opportunity to continue his further journey (XXX, 25-43, XXXIII). In Mahanaim, God encouraged Jacob - he was met by the angels of God; but still, as he approached his Fatherland, he felt an involuntary fear in his soul, afraid of meeting his brother Esau, whose anger against him, as he thought, had not yet completely subsided. During one of the nights, he remains alone in the tent and endures a mysterious struggle in the dark with God, who appeared to him in the form of an Angel (in Scripture He is called “Someone”) and receives a new name - Israel (God-fighter). As a memory of this meeting, Jacob was left with a limp for the rest of his life. Jacob named this place of meeting with God Penuel; “for,” he said, “I saw God face to face and my soul was preserved” (chap. XXXII).
| Jacob's Prayer Book of Genesis, ch. XXXVII, art. 10 “I lived with Laban the rich; Now I hasten to return to my homeland; I acquired a lot of goods in a foreign land; I have everything: both male and female slaves, but I stand before you as a petitioner!” Fearing and wanting a meeting with his brother, Jacob said so, sending to Esau... And his messenger returned at sunset, Saying that Esau was coming to them with a crowd. Jacob was confused, filled with sadness, And he divided his caravan in two... Meanwhile, night fell over the valley And fog swirled from the blue hills... And he fell on his knees in the darkness of the night, And he cried out to the God of his fathers with hope: “Oh God! Whose mercy towards me is unchanging - Wasn’t it You who called me to my homeland? In the waterless desert You were my guide Among distant unknown countries, And I crossed the Jordan on dry ground... There is no measure to Your great and rich generosity! Covering with Your cover, Save even now from the vengeance of Esau, Deprived of my sacred right, - Have mercy on me from my brother’s vengeance! In anger, he knows no mercy. Esau's coming frightens me: I am afraid that both mother and children will perish, and with them Jacob's lineage will be cut short. But, God! Forgiving my treachery, Seeing my repentance and melancholy, You said: “Your descendants will be countless, like the sand of the sea!” O. Chyumina |
Jacob's meeting with his brother Esau was peaceful and loving.
Having then reached Succoth, Jacob founded a dwelling here, but then moved to the city of Shechem, near which he pitched his tent, bought himself a part of the field and erected an altar here to the Lord. After an unfortunate event, namely, the dishonor inflicted by the prince of Shechem on his daughter Dinah, and the cruel revenge for this on the Shechemites by her brothers, Simeon and Levi, Jacob, at the command of God, gathered with his entire family at Bethel. But before setting off, he ordered everyone who was with him to abandon foreign gods, cleanse themselves and change their clothes. Bethel was the place of new revelations of God's mercy to Jacob. During the journey from Bethel, Jacob's beloved wife, Rachel, died from difficult childbirth, giving birth to his son Benjamin, and she was buried near Bethlehem. Isaac was still alive, being 180 years old, when Jacob visited him in Hebron, where, however, he soon died, and Esau and Jacob, his sons, buried him (XXXV). After this, Jacob usually lived in the land of Canaan, but whether in a certain place, the book of Genesis does not say for sure. Once we meet him living in the valley of Hebron (XXXII, 1, 15). The cruelty of the sons of Jacob, in selling his beloved son Joseph to Egypt, served as a source of bitter sadness and grief for him (XXXVII). The famine that followed in the land of Canaan and the double journey of his sons to Egypt for bread also caused him a lot of anxiety and grief. But finally, he was consoled by the joyful news that Joseph was alive and in honor, and at his request he undertook a journey to Egypt (XLII, XLV). On the way to Egypt, he received a new sign of God's blessing, precisely in Bathsheba, and finally arrived in Egypt with his entire household, and was delighted to see his son, who had long been considered lost. Having gone to meet his father in Goshen, Joseph fell on his neck and cried for a long, long time. “I will now die, having seen your face,” Israel said to Joseph, “for you are still alive” (XLVI, 29-30). Presented to Pharaoh in Egypt, Jacob was received very graciously by him. “How many years of your life?” - Pharaoh asked him. “The days of my wandering are one hundred and thirty years,” Jacob answered, “the days of my life are small and miserable and have not reached the days of the life of my fathers in the days of their wanderings” (XLVII, 8-10). And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and left him. By order of Pharaoh, Jacob, with all his sons and his household, settled in the best part of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and remained there until his death, which followed 17 years after his arrival in Egypt (XLVII). Before his death, he blessed the sons of Joseph, ordered himself to be buried in Hebron, and on his deathbed pronounced a solemn prophetic blessing to all his sons, telling them what would happen to them in the days to come (XLVII, 29-31, XLVIII, XLIX). Upon his death, his body was embalmed and honorably transported to the land of Canaan to Hebron and buried there in the cave of Machpelah, in accordance with his will (L, 1-13) ... From the above-mentioned brief historical sketch of the life of Jacob, one cannot help but see that he was one of the greatest patriarchs of the Old Testament Church. He always endured the repeated trials and tribulations of his long-suffering one hundred and forty-seven-year-old life with unshakable fidelity to God, with firm patience and devotion to the Providence of God and with unchanging trust in Him in all the circumstances of his life; That is why in all other books of the Bible the name of Jacob has a very high meaning, whether it is used in the sense of his descendants, or the Jewish people, or the people of God, etc. Even more often found in the Holy Scriptures is another and more remarkable name received by Jacob in the time of his mysterious struggle with the heavenly enemy - Israel. Abraham is usually revered as the father of believers, but Jacob, or Israel, became, so to speak, the symbol or representative of the entire Church of God on earth. The expressions “seed of Jacob”, “children of Jacob” are often applied in general to the entire society of true believers on earth (Deut. XXXIII, 10, Ps. XIII, 6, etc.). The New Israel is often called the New Testament Christian Church, founded on earth by the Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles. About the life of the holy righteous foremother Leah
So little is known about some saints that their hagiographies do not exist.
Everything that is known about Saint Leah can be read in the Bible, in the Old Testament (Gen., chapter 29).
Rachel had no children for a long time, while Leah already had six sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun. Jacob, forced to marry Leah, did not love her; she sought to win her husband’s favor. This is evident, in particular, from the symbolic names given by her to her sons. The name Reuben is interpreted as meaning that “God saw the grief of Leah, to whom her husband preferred Rachel, and gave her a son”; the name Simeon is derived in the Bible from the words spoken by Leah at his birth: “The Lord heard that I was unloved, and gave me this too”; The name Levi is derived in the Bible from the words spoken by Leah at his birth: “Now my husband will cling to me.” Thus God rewarded and comforted Leah by blessing her with children (Gen. 29:31). The tribes of the descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob formed, according to the Bible, the people of Israel. When first listing the tribes, the Bible calls them by the names of the 12 sons of Jacob (Gen. 49:28). According to legend, the holy foremother Leah rests in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. About the life of the holy righteous foremother Rachel
Rachel is the youngest daughter of Laban, the sister of Leah, the second wife of Jacob, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. According to the Bible, Rachel was “beautiful in form and beautiful in face” (Gen. 29:17), and Jacob loved her more than “weak-eyed” Leah (Gen. 29:30). However, Rachel remained barren for a long time and was jealous of Leah's fertility. Desperate, she, like Sarah before (Gen. 16:2-4), gave her maidservant Bilkha as a concubine to her husband; Rachel considered Dana and Naphtali born to Bilkha as her own sons (Gen. 30:1–8). Eventually, Rachel became pregnant and gave birth to a son, saying, “God has taken away my shame. And she called his name Joseph, saying, “The Lord will give me another son” (Gen. 30:23–24). Rachel, as we have already told, died during her second birth on the way from Beth-El to Ephrat, in Beth-Lechem; dying, she named her second son Ben-Oni (“son of my suffering”), but Jacob gave him the name Benjamin. Jacob buried Rachel not in the family crypt in the cave of Machpelah, but where she died - by the road, and erected a monument of stones over her grave (Gen. 35:16-21; cf. 48:7). He did this because he foresaw how those expelled to Babylonia would pass here, and Rachel would pray to God to have mercy on them. Rachel's tomb at Beth Lechem is mentioned by early Christian writers (for example, Eusebius); the earliest Jewish source describing this tomb is the 10th-century Guide to Jerusalem. Jewish travelers, beginning with Benjamin of Tudela (about 1170), speak of a monument consisting of twelve stones, eleven of which were laid by the sons of Jacob, and on them a large stone laid by Jacob himself. A dome on four columns was built over the grave. At the end of the 18th century. A building was erected around the grave, which was repaired in 1841 with funds provided by M. Montefiore. During the Jordanian occupation (1948–1967), the area around Rachel's grave was converted into a Muslim cemetery. The building was later restored by the Israeli Ministry of Religious Affairs and today serves as a place of mass pilgrimage and tourism. The memory of Rachel was preserved in her descendants in all subsequent times. During the time of Boaz and Ruth, the residents and elders of Bethlehem, blessing the marriage of Boaz with Ruth, wished him the same happiness and blessing from God that Rachel and Leah brought to Israel (Ruth. 4:11). The prophet Jeremiah, depicting the disasters and captivity of the Jews, represents Rachel as the foremother of the Israelites, orphaned and weeping inconsolably for her sons, for they were gone (Jer. 31:15). And the Evangelist Matthew, seeing in this sad event the image of another sad event, namely, the beating of the Bethlehem infants by Herod, repeats the words of the prophet, applying them to the present event - the children of Bethlehem belonged to the offspring of Rachel, and she, like their mother, cries inconsolably, because there are none (Matt. 2:18). The Church honors Saint James as a forefather, and his wives - Leah and Rachel - as foremothers, as pious and virtuous people, canonized by the Church, representing an example of virtue and remaining, according to the teachings of the Church, after their death in Heaven and praying before God for all members Churches still living on earth.
| Rachel And Jacob met Rachel in the valley, He bowed to her like a homeless stranger. The herds raised hot dust, the source was filled with a huge stone. He rolled away the stone with his own hand and gave clean water to the sheep to drink. But his heart began to feel sad in his chest, to ache like an open wound, and he agreed to serve as a shepherd for Laban for seven years for the maiden. Rachel! For the one who is in your power, Seven years are like seven dazzling days. But the money-lover Laban is much wise, And pity is unknown to him. He thinks: everyone will be forgiven for deceiving For the glory of Laban's house. And with a firm hand He brings blind Leah to Jacob into the nuptial rest. The high night flows over the desert, Drops cool dew, and Laban's youngest daughter groans, tormenting her fluffy braids. He curses his sister and blasphemes God, and orders the angel of death to appear. And Jacob dreams of a sweet hour: The transparent source of the valley, The cheerful gaze of Rachel’s eyes And her dove-like voice: Jacob, weren’t you the one who kissed me and called me your black dove? A. Akhmatova |
Jacob's other children
However, let us return to Rachel and the other women of Jacob. By the time he moved to Canaan, Jacob not only had two wives, but also maidservants, whom he used as concubines. All the women bore him 11 sons and a daughter. “Unloved” Leah gave birth to seven children of Jacob, including six sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun, and a daughter, Dinah. Jacob's concubine Bilhah gave birth to Dan and Naphtali, and another slave, Zilpah, gave him Gad and Asher. Can we say that Rachel was the love of Jacob’s life?
Chapter 8
And again I saw a vision similar to the previous one, after we had been here seventy days. 2. And I saw seven men in white robes saying to me: Rise up, put on the vestments of the priesthood, and the crown of righteousness, and the breastplate of knowledge, and the breastplate of righteousness, and the tablet of faith, and the miter of the head, and the ephod of prophecy. 3. And each of them carried something, handed it to me and said to me: From now on, become a priest, both you and all your seed. 4. And the first anointed me with holy oil and gave me a rod. 5. And the second washed me with clean water, and gave me bread and wine to taste, and clothed me with holy and glorious clothing. 6. The third clothed me in fine linen like an ephod. 7. The fourth one put on me a belt like purple. 8. The fifth one gave me a branch of a fat olive tree. 9. The sixth one put a crown on my head. 10. The seventh put on me the diadem of the priesthood and filled my hands with incense, that I might serve as a priest to the Lord God. 11. And they say to me: Levi, your seed will be divided into three orders as a sign of the glory of the Lord who is to come. 12. And the first lot will be great, and no other lot will appear above it. 13. The second will be the lot of the priesthood. 14. The third will be given a new name, for a king will arise from Judah and create a new priesthood in the image of the nations for all nations. 15. And his appearing shall find love, for he shall be a prophet of the Most High from the seed of Abraham your father. 16. And all that you desire in Israel will be yours, and your seed will eat everything beautiful in sight, and will share the table of the Lord. 17 And some of them will be priests and judges and scribes, and holy things will be on their lips. 18. And waking up from sleep, I realized that this dream was similar to the first. 19. And I hid it in my heart, and did not tell it to any person on earth.
Favorite Rachel
However, many biblical scholars believe that this was the case. After all, the ancient Jews considered the purpose of a woman’s life to be the birth of children, especially sons. Therefore, multiplying the number of descendants was a “duty.” Some researchers emphasize that the Bible contains indications that God did not like the fact that Jacob preferred Rachel to everyone else, and therefore she could not give birth. But, apparently, Jacob began to fight with God this time too. And he turned out to be right! It was Rachel who gave birth to a boy who became Jacob's favorite, despite how many children he already had from other women.
I believe that those who believe that despite the fact that a barren woman in those days was considered cursed, Jacob still remained faithful to his love are right. And other children appeared to him because this was his duty as a “patriarch”.
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Chapter 2
I, Levi, was born in Hebron and came with my father to Sikim. 2. I was not yet twenty years old when I took retribution on Hamor together with Simeon for our sister Dinah.6 3. And when I was tending the flock in Abelmechol, the spirit of the knowledge of the Lord came upon me, and I saw all the people who had turned away from their path , and sin built its house on the walls, and unrighteousness sat on the towers. 4. And I was in sorrow for the generation of the sons of men, and I prayed to the Lord to save me. 5. Then a dream came over me, and I saw a high mountain and I myself was on it. 6. And behold, the heavens opened, and the angel of the Lord said to me: Levi, Levi, come in! 7. And I ascended to the first heaven and saw great water hanging there. 8. And I also saw a second sky, much brighter and shining, and its height was infinite. 9. And I said to the angel: What is this? And the angel answered me: Do not be surprised, for you will see a different sky, brighter and incomparable. 10. And having gone up there, you will stand next to the Lord, and you will be His servant, and you will proclaim His secrets to people, and you will proclaim about the coming deliverance of Israel. 11. And through you and through Judas the Lord will appear to people to save the entire human race with Himself. 12. And your life is the Lord’s portion, and He will be your field, and your vineyard, and your fruit, and your gold, and your silver.
Chapter 18
And when vengeance comes on them from the Lord, the priesthood will disappear. 2. Then the Lord will raise up a new priest, to whom all the words of the Lord will be revealed, and he himself will administer the judgment of righteousness on earth for many days. 3. And his star will rise in the heavens, like a royal one, carrying the light of knowledge, like the light of the sun, and will be magnified in the universe. 4. She will illuminate the earth like the sun, and destroy all darkness from under heaven, and peace will come to all the earth. 5. The heavens will rejoice in his days, and the earth will rejoice, and the clouds will rejoice, and the angels of the glory of the face of the Lord will rejoice in him. 6. The heavens will open, and from the Temple of Glory holiness will descend upon him with the voice of the Father, like the voice of Abraham to Isaac. 7. And the glory of the Most High will pour on him, and the spirit of knowledge and holiness will rest on him [in the water]. 8. For he will give the greatness of the Lord to his sons forever; and no one will inherit it for generations and generations until forever. 9. And during his priesthood the peoples will be filled with knowledge on earth and will be sanctified by the grace of the Lord. [Israel will be diminished in ignorance and darkened in sorrow. ] During his priesthood sin will disappear, and the wicked will cease to do evil. 10. And he will open the gates of Paradise and turn away the sword that threatens Adam. 11. And he will cause the saints to eat of the Tree of Life, and the spirit of holiness will be upon them. 12. And he will bind Belial and give power to his children to trample upon evil spirits. 13. And the Lord will rejoice in His children, and He will be pleased with His beloved forever. 14. Then Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will rejoice, and I will rejoice, and all the saints will be clothed with joy.
Chapter 17
And just as you have heard about the seventy weeks, hear also about the priesthood. [2. For every jubilee there will be a priesthood. And on the first anniversary, the first one anointed to the priesthood will be great and will begin to speak with God as with a father, and his priesthood will be filled with the Lord, and in the days of his joy He will rise for the salvation of the world. 3. On the second jubilee, the anointed one will be taken in the sorrow of the beloved, and his priesthood will be honored and glorified above all else. 4. The third priest will be overcome with grief. 5. The fourth will suffer, for a great deal of injustice will rise up against him, and in all Israel everyone will hate his neighbor. 6. The fifth will be enveloped in darkness. 7. Likewise for the sixth and seventh. 8. On the seventh anniversary there will be an abomination that I cannot express in front of people, for then they will know how to do it. 9. Therefore they will be captured and plundered, and their land and their very existence will disappear.] 10. In the fifth week they will return to the land of their desolation and will rebuild the House of the Lord. 11. In the seventh week they will find priests who will be idolaters, covetous, proud, lawless, wicked, child molesters and bestialists.
Chapter 13
Now, my children, I command you: Fear the Lord your God with all your heart, and live in simplicity according to all His laws. 2. And teach your children to read and write, so that they may have knowledge throughout their lives, constantly reading the law of God. 3. For whoever knows the law of the Lord will be honored, and he will not be received as a stranger wherever he goes. 4. And he will gain many friends, greater than his parents, and many of the people will desire to serve him and listen to the law from his lips. 5. Do justice, my children, on earth, that you may find it in heaven. 6. And sow good things in your souls, and you will find them in your life; If you sow evil, you will reap all turmoil and sorrow. 7. You will find wisdom in the fear of God, for if captivity comes and cities, and lands, and gold, and silver, and all property perish, then no one can take away the wisdom of a wise man, except the blindness of wickedness and the hardening of sin. 8. If someone protects himself from these evil deeds, then he will have wisdom, and a shining one for his enemies, and a homeland in a foreign land, and will give him a friend among his enemies. 9. Everyone who teaches good and does good will sit on the throne next to kings, like Joseph my brother.
