More Research Tidbits

Today’s first tidbit involves the timeline of Jacob’s flight from Laban. Laban caught up with Jacob after about ten days, but there are YEARS between his flight and his eventual settlement at Hebron. I have always heard that Rachel did not rise for her father when he was searching for the family idols because she claimed to be menstruating, (Gen. 31:35) though she was actually pregnant with Benjamin. But when I began to formulate a timeline for this novel I realized that Rachel could NOT have been pregnant at that point.

Most of us think that Jacob’s journey from Haran to Beersheba (where he would live with Isaac) occurred quickly, but that doesn’t work due to the ages of his children. All of Jacob’s children, save Benjamin, were born in the second seven years of his stay in Haran—after his marriage, and before his six-year-period of being paid in livestock. By that reckoning, even Reuben, his firstborn, could be no older than twelve when the family left Haran. Simeon, Levi, and Judah would only be eleven, ten, and nine, respectively, and Dinah, Leah’s last child, would be about six.

If Jacob’s journey from Haran to Isaac’s home lasted only a few months, that would mean that an eleven- and ten-year old killed every man in the city of Shechem, and that Dinah, a six year old, had gone out exploring, alone, and been taken by the prince of Shechem. Not plausible.

It is more likely that when Jacob reached Shechem (after meeting Esau), he remained there several years—long enough for his sons to mature and his daughter to reach marriageable age. The Bible tells us that Jacob built a HOUSE for himself in Sukkot, so he and his company were not living in tents at that time. After the trouble in Shechem, however, Jacob had to move his family, so they returned to life in tents.

Though we have no way of knowing for sure—until heaven, at least—for my novel I had them spend seven years in Sukkot, which would have given Dinah and her brothers time to age so they could pull off the events in Genesis 34.

Finally, how long did Leah live? My research yielded several different opinions about the time of Leah’s death, from the relatively young age of fifty-one to much later. The Book of Jubilees claims that Leah died in the “fourth year of the second week of the forty-fifth jubilee (2167 after the creation), which would indicate that she and Jacob were married for forty-five years.

“And all her sons and his sons came to mourn over Leah his wife with him, and to comfort him regarding her, for he was lamenting her” (Jubilees 36:22). Moreover, a later death would mean that she was present for several traumatic events—the slaughter at Shechem, the supposed death of Joseph, and the deaths of Rebekah and Isaac. She would not have been alive, however, at the time when Jacob and his family went down to Egypt in response to Joseph’s invitation.

One thing is certain–the Bible tells us that Jacob buried her in the family burial plot at Machpelah, and Jubilees tells us that he mourned over her for many days. He did come to love her, because she was tender and pure in heart. Rachel might have been beautiful, but Leah was the wife he needed.

Thanks for reading my ruminations!

Oh–this book won’t be out for some time, but the first book in the Matriarchs series, RESCUED HEART: THE STORY OF SARAH, releases in October. You can preorder it here!

Until next time,

Angie