(ThyBlackMan.com) Meanwhile, when Esau, the older twin brother of Jacob, was 40 years old, he married two Canaanite women, which was an act of defiance. Isaac was going to give his bloodline blessing to Esau, his favorite son, when the brothers were 70 years old, in 2088. But Jacob, Rebekah’s favorite, usurped the blessing and he later had to flee from the family before Esau would kill him. So Jacob was 70 when he left Canaan, and met Rachel in Syria, who at first I thought was 20 at the time, and Leah would be 22. If Jacob stayed with Isaac two weeks before fleeing to Syria, it would still be in the year 2088 when Jacob left Canaan, and the year 2087 when Jacob contracted that he would work for Laban 7 years to have Rachel in marriage.
I wondered why Jacob would wait about a year before asking for Rachel’s hand in marriage. The only reason I could think of is that Rachel was 17, and underage when Jacob first met her. My guess is that he waited until her 18th birthday to contract with Laban, and Jacob was 71 at the time, and Leah would be about 20.
Seven years later, when the year 2080 finally came, when Jacob was 78 years old, he was tricked into consummating the marriage with Leah, who was 27 years old. However, one week later, Jacob was given Rachel as a wife when she was 25 years old, but he had to work another 7 years to pay for her.
Jacob loved Rachel dearly. But Leah was just an inconvenience, for about 2 months. Only when Rachel was unavailable would Jacob sleep with Leah. But Leah later conceived and had her first child Reuben in 2079. Eleven months later, she had Simeon in 2078. In very early 2077, Leah then gave birth to Levi. A bit less than nine months later, Judah came out of the shoe a little prematurely, near the end of 2077. Levi was the third son, the number of divinity. Judah was the 4th son, the number of humanity, both born the same year. Levi would be the tribe of the priesthood. Judah would be the tribe of royalty. John the Baptist was of the tribe of Levi, and of the lineage of Aaron, born the same year as Jesus. Yeshua, whom you may know as Jesus, was of the tribe of Judah, the lineage of David and Solomon. This qualified Him to be heir to David’s throne. However, by means of His maternal grandmother, Yeshua was also of the tribe of Levi, of the lineage of Aaron, which qualified Him to be High Priest, after the order of Melchizedek.
While Leah was pregnant with Judah, Rachel gave Bilhah, her handmaiden, to Jacob, and Bilhah gave birth to Dan, the 5th son, in 2076. When Leah saw that she wasn’t pregnant a year after Judah was born, she gave Zilpah, her handmaiden, to Jacob, who gave birth to Gad, the 6th son, in 2075. Bilhah conceived again and gave birth to Naphtali, the 7th son, later in 2075. Zilpah later gave birth to Asher, in mid-2074. the 8th son.
It is now 2074. Reuben is five years old, when he gives mandrakes from the field to his mother, Leah. A mandrake is a Mediterranean plant, with purple or white flowers and large yellow berries. It was thought to help with fertility. Rachel wanted some of the mandrakes because she was still barren. So Leah makes a deal with Rachel to have Jacob spend the night with Leah, and Leah would give Rachel a few mandrakes. Leah conceives, and gives birth to Issachar, the 9th son, in 2073, and Leah conceives again, and gives birth to Zebulun, the 10th son in 2072. Three years later, in 2069, Leah gives birth to a daughter, Dinah, when Leah was thirty-eight years old.
So, take note of this. From 2079, which was the birth of Reuben, to 2072, the birth of Zebulun, was 7 years, and Jacob had ten sons born. Each son was 1 year or less in age from each other, on down the line. They formed the first known clique, or latch. An exclusive group. My narrative, which filled in the missing pieces, ends here. I will now be supported by scripture, starting in Genesis chapter 30. You will see the three reasons the brothers will sell Joseph to the caravan.
Rachel finally gave birth to Joseph, when she was thirty-seven years old, in the year 2068, four years after Leah gave birth to Zebulun, and 1 year after Leah gave birth to Dinah. Jacob was 90 years old when Joseph was born. One year later, in 2067, Jacob leaves Laban after nearly twenty-one years living with him, to go back to his homeland, and to his father, Isaac.
Sixteen years later, in the year 2051, it was the start of the year of Jacob’s trouble. In February, the good news was that Rachel was approaching 54 years old, and two months pregnant with Benjamin. The bad news was that Bilhah was 48 years old, and three months pregnant, and Jacob had not slept with her in over five years.
Joseph was 17, and Jacob had given him a coat of many colors, signifying that Joseph was the favorite son. Strike one. Dinah was 18 and longed for the companionship of other young maidens. This suggests that she didn’t have any other sisters that she could talk to at the time. Since Joseph was the favorite son, Jacob made it known that as soon as Joseph was of age, that he would give Dinah to Joseph in marriage. Strike two.
The six sons of Leah could not marry their full sister Dinah. But the four sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, who were older than Joseph, were being bypassed and would have to wait longer for a wife. The sons of Jacob were not allowed to marry Canaanite women. Since Jacob waited until seventy to find a wife, he felt that his sons could do the same.
End of Part Two.
Next Page – Devout Christians: The Hidden First Miracle God Performed In Israel, Part 3 of 5.
Staff Writer; Herman Cummings
You may also purchase this writer book which is entitled; Moses Didn’t Write About Creation.
Note: Recently Herman published a new book which is entitled; The Sabbath That Assassinated Atheism Kindle Edition.
One may also contact him at; HermanC@ThyBlackMan.com.
