Genesis 35:22–26
The Bible4Jesus.com Podcast
About this episode
We live in an age that loves to airbrush history. We demand that our heroes be flawless, our founding documents be untainted by the sins of their time, and our family trees be pruned of all embarrassing branches. It is a true story, and that means it is a messy story, because it is a story about us. Nowhere is this messiness more apparent than in the patriarchal narratives. If you were trying to launch a new religion and wanted to attract followers, you would not write a book like Genesis. You would present your founding fathers as paragons of virtue, men of unshakeable faith and impeccable character. You would not lead with a deceiver like Jacob, a jealous schemer like Sarah, or a whole catalog of sons born from bitter marital strife, rivalry, and outright sin. And you certainly would not interrupt the narrative of God's covenant faithfulness to record a sordid little affair of incest, only to follow it up with a formal roster of the resulting family.