Toldot (Part 2) - Genesis 25:19-28:9

This is simply a list of 26 odd things in the parashah that some people may miss:

25:19 - In the previous verses, it started with "these are the generations of Ishmael" and then immediately listed all who came after. This one does not. It just...stops. It's almost as if it belongs to the previous chapter, but a new story was then attached to it, inserting some unrelated stories.

25:20 - For those who want to say that the burial of Sarah happened immediately after the Akeida rather than years later, then there are those who calculate that Rebecca was 3 years old when she married Isaac. For those who hold that there was a delay of several years between the two, that problem does not exist.

25:21 - The Hebrew word עתר is commonly translated as "entreat". It is used to ask God for a favor. להתפלל, a word that we commonly associate with "to pray", only occurs in the Torah 7 times (not in this section), and is always used to beg God to stop killing!

25:22 - "And [Rebecca] walked to 'seek higher guidance' from YHVH." The apologetic is that she walked to talk to a prophet. Really? The only one up to that point that YHVH was talking to, according to the text, was Abraham, so why not give his name? No, this is an anthropomorphism that is disturbing to some.

25:26 - The name "Jacob" can also mean "one who follows", who came after Esau. But it is also one who does not want to lead as we will see through the rest of Genesis as he flips between the names Israel and Jacob.

25:26-27 - Jacob was a mamma's boy, and didn't like to go out. He preferred cooking. Isaac preferred Esau who loved the outdoors and was a provider of meat for the family.

25:31 - This entire section of selling the bechora makes no sense as a plot device for any future stories. It is never mentioned again (except in passing in Genesis 27:36 when Esau cries that Jacob took what was not his to take, TWICE), and nobody else in the family seems to know about this and ignores Esau's later complaint. It appears that this is simply a way of explaining the Edomites and their relationship with the Jewish people, with Esau as their patriarch.

26:1 - "There was a famine in the land" - this seems to be a reoccurring theme. However, unlike the Abraham version of the exact same story, including the name of the king, God tells Isaac to avoid Egypt. God even repeats all of the promises in the next few sentences: "go to a land that I will show you" and "I will give these lands to you and your offspring".

26:6 - Here we have a repeat of the two Abraham versions of "don't tell them that you are my wife, tell them that you are my sister" decades after Abraham supposedly did the same thing. What is more likely, that this was a common practice, or this was all the same story, but different versions?

26:18 - Isaac is following inf the foots of his father, repeating his travels, and re-digging the wells, finding water where there was none. This will be a common theme later on, where some descendants seem to have a knack for finding water.

26:21 - "Sitnah" - This is the feminine form of the word "Satan". The term "Satan" is used in a few places in the Torah, but is never a personification of the supernatural, but an adjective or verb form.

26:24 - YHVH appeared to Isaac, just as he had to Abraham and will to Jacob. Some translations are uncomfortable with YHVH appearing in any form that can be seen, whether awak or in a dream. The verse hear says it was night, but not that Isaac was dreaming.

26:28 - This is a repeat of King Abimelech making a deal with a Patriarch, and celebrating that together just as Abimelech did with Abraham (although some commentators, such as the Rashbam, chastise Abraham for making the same deal.)

26:24 - This verse telling us that Esau got married likely belongs at a later point in the story since Esau seems to still be living at home and there is no mention of his wife or family during the episodes that follow.

27:1 - "When Isaac became old" - It should be noted that Isaac will live for A LOT of years after this. He will be alive with Joseph becomes king! Also, it says that his "eyes became dim from seeing". Most people are not sure what that means, especially since he just spent a large amount of time travelling around, digging wells, and making deals with a king.

27:5 - The conspiracy between Rebecca, who didn't care for he hairy son, and Jacob, who never mentioned the bechorah scene, is very odd. If you have faith in God, there's no reason to cheat your way to the top. But there is something else - what is the big deal about a blessing? It is being treated as though it is a special magical spell. In fact, the entire blessing seems to be a prophecy imposed by the writer. What Isaac declared would happen did not happen to Jacob, but, it was a theme that is found in many of the prophetic texts, promising that nations of the world will bow to you and so forth. Obviously a story written much later as a promise of hope.

27:18 - The interaction between Isaac and Jacob is reminiscent of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf - "you voice", "your scent", etc. It has caused some commentators to say that Isaac know what was going on, but played along anyhow. That may or may not be true, based on Isaac's reaction later on.

27:23 - "He did not recognize [Jacob] because his hands were hairy" is a comical farce.

27:33 - Isaac trembling when he found out that he was duped should indicate that he wasn't aware that Jacob had fooled him. But then, he never complains after that.

27:35 - Apparently all blessings have a 1-time use. But then, you can't have the Edomites being blessed by God since they were seen as oppressors and this is likely a commentary on how they will one day be subservient to the Jews. (see 27:40).

27:41 - This might be immediately after the deception event, or it could be years later. Both positions are cited. Some also use the verse to indicate that Esau wanted to have his father killed. It also appears that he would not kill his own brother until after his father was dead. Who will live on for decades.

27:42 - Somebody told all of this to Rebecca. It doesn't say who. For some odd reason, Rebecca never tells Isaac, but only Jacob.

27:46 - Rebecca manipulates Isaac once more to get Jacob out of the picture. After all, he's over 40 and should have a wife.

28:2 - Isaac tells Jacob to go visit his uncle and find a cousin to marry.

28:3 - "Shaddai" is always cited for either fertility or protection on the road. Here it is the latter, although Jacob is going for the purpose of marriage.

28:9 - Esau finally heard what bothered his father so much - taking Canaanite wives instead of marrying cousins! So he goes and marries the daughter of Ishmael, who is his cousin. What a son!