Genesis - Lesson 19
This week’s lesson begins on a sad note, the death of Rachel. In order to keep us from getting confused, I’ll be referring to Israel as Jacob. Read Gen. 35:16-29. We last saw Jacob and his crew in Bethel. Now, they’re leaving Bethel and they get as far as Ephrath and Rachel goes into hard labor. I don’t think anyone ever told that generation that bouncing around on a donkey or a camel was something that a woman who was pregnant should avoid. Ephrath is used interchangeably with Bethlehem which means house of bread. Rachel knew that she was dying. She also knew that she was giving birth to a son. What did she want to name him and what did Jacob name him?
Names in those days meant something. They were often viewed as prophetic of what the child would become or would be like. Benoi meant child of my sorrow. How sad to know that as your child comes into the world, he would never know you and the love you have for him. I cannot imagine how Rachel felt. Scripture says, “as her soul was departing”, she named him. I hesitate to share this as it causes me such pain to even think about, but when Gabe went into septic shock during his cancer treatment, he almost died. He later told me that he could physically feel his soul being pulled out of his body. He couldn’t explain it beyond that. But he knew he was dying. He could also feel his soul settle back into his body. Oh, how Rachel must have grieved over leaving this baby as her soul was pulled from her body. Likely, Jacob did not want his youngest son stuck with such a negative image for a name, so he took part of the name and added a different ending. Jacob called his son, Benjamin, which means, son of my right hand.
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