“And on the seventh day He rested.” Sorry about the break. I will to catch up over the week.

Three major events, today. First, Jacob heads back towards home, but worries his brother Esau will still be mad. However, Esau has forgiven Jacob, and wants him just to come home. But he gives a lame excuse about the children and lambs being tired, and says that he’ll be right behind. Instead, he wanders around through Sukkoth and Canaan.

It appears that he’s projecting his own views about Esau onto him, and being a pretty crappy brother to boot.

In Canaan, there’s a little trouble. The Crown Price rapes Jacob’s daughter Dinah, and then asks to marry her. To make up for is, the father offers to have Jacob’s people and his people intermarry and form an alliance. In deceit, Jacob’s sons agree on the condition that all the Canaanite men get circumcised. Ouch! They agree.

Three days later, when the men of the city are laid up, Jacob’s sons kill all the men, then pillage the city, raze the crops, and steal the women and children. This seems a little over the top.

On weird interlude is Jacob’s dream of wrestling with God. I don’t understand it. Maybe 4000 years ago, there was a reasonable metaphor that this reflected, but it just doesn’t make sense.

Tomorrow: Genesis 35-37