If you are looking for the beginning of this study you can start HERE with the brief introduction. At the bottom of that introduction will be the links to each section of the study guide as it becomes available. For this study the English Standard Version is the translation that is being utilized and you can read it online HERE or pick up the copy of your choice from Amazon or your local book store. I find THIS EDITION to be useful for deep study and annotation.
Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)
What does God promise to do for Isaac? (26:2-5)
What foolish thing does Isaac do to the people of Gerar which his father Abraham also did before him? (26:6-11)
What happened to the wells that Abraham had dug in the past? (26:18)
What covenant is made between Isaac and Abimelech? (26:28-29)
What makes “life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah”? (26:34-35)
How do Rebekah and Jacob deceive Isaac and make him think that Jacob is Esau? (27:14-17)
What does Isaac give to Jacob which he intends for Esau? (27:26-30)
What does Esau intend to do because of Jacob’s actions? (27:41)
Where do Isaac and Rebekah send Jacob? (28:1-5)
What vow does Jacob make? (28:20-22)
How long did Jacob agree to serve Laban so he might marry Rachel? (29:20)
How long did Jacob end up serving Laban to actually marry Rachel? (29:30)
How many children does Jacob have by the end of chapter 30?
What deceptive thing does Laban do to cheat Jacob out of his wages? (30:35-36)
Logic Questions: (The Interpretation of the Text)
What are some reasons why Abimelech might hate Isaac? (26:16, 27)
If Abimelech hates Isaac, why might he want to make a covenant with him? (26:28-29)
Why can’t Isaac bless Esau now that he has blessed Jacob? (27:34-41)
Why does God confer the promises of the Abrahamic covenant upon Jacob who seems such an unworthy fellow? (28:12-15)
Why does Jacob weep when he meets Rachel? (29:11)
What does the meaning of the name of Leah’s fourth child indicate? (29:35)
What are some ways we see the use of “deception” in this reading?
What indications are there in the text that Jacob has not yet been truly converted by faith in Yahweh?
Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of the Text)
How important are names for people and names for places? What kinds of things should we think about when naming something or someone?
Is it ever appropriate to deceive someone? If so, how so? If not, why not?
Theological Analysis: (Scripture Interprets Scripture)
Read Psalm 5:4-6 and Jeremiah 9:7-9. How do these passages relate to the current reading?
In Romans 9:15 God tells us “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” How does this notion relate to the story of Jacob and Laban?
Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)
Deception, Hospitality, Love, Barrenness,