If you are looking for the beginning of this study you can start HERE with the brief introduction. At the bottom of that introduction will be the links to each section of the study guide as it becomes available. For this study the English Standard Version is the translation that is being utilized and you can read it online HERE or pick up the copy of your choice from Amazon or your local book store. I find THIS EDITION to be useful for deep study and annotation.
Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)
What were the sons of Laban claiming concerning Jacob? (31:1)
What does Rachel steal from her father’s house? (31:19)
How long had Jacob served Laban in his household? (31:38)
What covenant is made between Jacob and Laban? (31:52)
What does Jacob fear Esau is coming to do with his 400 men? (32:6-7)
What unusual thing happens to Jacob in the middle of the night? (32:22-32)
How does Jacob approach Esau? (33:1-3)
What terrible thing does Shechem do? (34:2)
How do the sons of Jacob make the city of Shechem vulnerable to attack? (34:13-25)
What command does Jacob give to all those who are in his household? (35:2)
How does Rachel die? (35:16-21)
Logic Questions: (The Interpretation of the Text)
Why would Rachel take her father’s household gods? (31:19)
What is the sign of the covenant between Jacob and Laban? (31:51-52)
Genesis 34:7 says that Shechem “had done an outrageous thing in Israel”. Why does the text say what it does in this way?
Why would God put “a terror” upon the cities around Jacob and his family as they departed from the city of Shechem? (35:5)
Why is the changing of Jacob’s name to Israel important? (35:10)
What purpose is there in setting up pillars of stone as we see Israel do in Gen. 35:14? See also Gen. 31:45; Gen. 28:18, and elsewhere.
How should we understand the differences between the two names given for Israel’s youngest son? (35:18) Ben-oni means “son of my sorrow” but Benjamin means “son of the right hand”.
Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of the Text)
What evidence is there in this reading which indicates Jacob has become more humble over the past 20 years?
When Jacob hears that Esau is coming to him with 400 men, he prepares for that meeting. Do you think he is wise in the way he prepares for this encounter? Why or why not?
Were the actions of Simeon and Levi in Genesis 34 just? Why or why not?
Theological Analysis: (Scripture Interprets Scripture)
Read Exodus 20:3-6 and relate this to Jacob’s story. How do we see Jacob move towards being a more faithful worshiper of Yahweh?
Read Proverbs 29:23 and relate this to Jacob’s story. Where does the vice of pride and the virtue of humility play a part in his story and how does it prove this proverb true?
Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)
Faith, Humility, Deception