The Sons of Isaac

by Roberta Kells Dorr

  Here Laban fumbled with his walking stick and glanced nervously at Jacob. “If you leave now, you’ll go with only the clothes on your back, your wives and children. You’ll go home in poverty to meet your brother, Esau.”

  At the mention of Esau, Jacob flinched. “The last word from my mother was that he has not forgotten his anger. He intends to kill me.”

  “And you still want to go? You would expose my daughters and grandchildren to such danger?” Laban was beginning to feel confident that he would win in this struggle.

  “I would have to rely on my God to protect me and my children.”

  “Look,” Laban said, leaning over and clutching Jacob’s arm, “I’m ready to pay well for your services. What do you want? Just state your price.”

  Jacob had already considered the weak position he would be in if he returned home as poor as he had been when he left. He was also alarmed that Esau was still carrying his grudge. “If you’ll do one thing, I’ll go back to work for you,” he said finally.

  “And what would that be?” Laban asked, expecting something costly.

  “Let me have any speckled, striped, or black sheep or goats from your flock and any lambs that are born speckled, striped, or black. These will be mine. I’ll ask nothing more for wages.”

  Laban could hardly believe his ears. In the market it was the pure white wool that was prized. “How do you propose for our flocks to be kept apart?” Laban said.

  Jacob thought quickly. “I’ll send my sons with a few older shepherds three days distance away with the flock you separate out for me.”

  Laban was pleased. “And you will stay and tend my flocks.”

  “Of course. I’ll claim only the spotted or striped animals,” Jacob assured him.

  When Jacob got up to go, he could tell that Laban thought he had made an excellent bargain. How could he possibly lose? With a flock of all white sheep, how could there be any speckled or black lambs appearing?

  At the same time Jacob felt he had just the chance he needed to become wealthy. Since he would be in charge of Laban’s flock of white sheep, he felt sure he could, with a few clever tricks, get some speckled and streaked lambs for himself.

  He had been tricked in so many ways by Laban that he didn’t hesitate to make a few questionable plans. If they succeeded, he would be richly rewarded for his time.

  Not all of his schemes worked, but within five years, Jacob had become very wealthy. He had not only managed to increase his flock, but by clever trading on the side, had become the owner of camels, donkeys, and many servants. This caused Laban’s sons to complain, “How can this cousin have prospered so quickly at our father’s expense?” Laban himself grew hostile.

  At this same time Jacob received word that his mother was ill and perhaps even dying. He was terribly upset. It seemed to him that Laban and his schemes had robbed him of precious years with his own family. If his mother should die before he returned home, he would not be able to bear the pain.

  For the first time he pictured his mother always waiting and listening for the message that he was at last coming home. Isaac was blind and could be no comfort to her and he knew that Esau, with his many pagan wives, was a constant frustration.

  “I must go home.” The words kept drumming in his mind night and day, but he did not know how to manage it. Laban would certainly think up new ways to detain him, and his wives might refuse to leave the only home they had known.

  In a most astonishing way, at this moment of real crisis, Elohim spoke to Jacob. “Return,” He said, “to the land of your fathers and to your own relatives, and I will be with you.”

  Jacob felt encouraged though he was aware of many problems. Would his wives support him, or would they side with their father against him? And Laban, what would he try to do just to keep his daughters, grandchildren, and a good worker from leaving? He was not one to easily release someone who worked long hours and did disagreeable things for very little real wage.

  He decided to send word to his mother that he was coming home. He could not say how soon, but at least the decision to go would have been made.

  Rebekah received the word that Jacob was coming home with great joy. “He has two wives, two concubines, and eleven children,” she told Isaac. “Imagine so many children when I was barely able to have the twins.” Every afternoon she came to sit with Isaac and brought him some savory stew or ash cakes with honey. She tried to tell him what was happening around them, the changing of the seasons, the birthing of new lambs, and the news that came with the caravans. They were now living just outside of Kiriath-arba by the oaks of Mamre. Esau was taking care of their flocks with his own, and there was no need for them to live in the barren desert of the Negev.

  Since Isaac couldn’t see, he was unaware that Rebekah had grown thin and ill. The winter cold and rains had left her with a cough and then fever that she had not been able to shake. To Isaac she was always the young, vibrant beauty he had fallen in love with. He would not believe it when she tried to tell him differently. “You are the most beautiful woman in the world,” he would say when he was especially pleased with something she had baked.

  She would laugh and pat his hand. “I have no intention of spoiling your illusion,” she would say.

  When Esau came that evening, she told him that Jacob was coming home and then watched to see his reaction. His face clouded, his eyes became thin slits, his teeth clenched, and the tic in his cheek muscle twitched. “Why are you telling me this?” he snapped. “Do you think I’ll call for a celebration?”

  Rebekah stifled a sob, but she could not stop the tears from rolling down her wrinkled cheeks. “He has been gone so long. We must welcome him properly,” she managed to whisper.

  “Of course, he must be welcomed and praised, and we must all celebrate as though we are glad to have him back.” Esau’s words were sharp with a cruel bite. “I’ll welcome him with my army of bowmen. He may as well know right from the start how I feel.”

  Rebekah sobbed and coughed, becoming so weak that Esau was frightened and Isaac grew nervous wondering what was happening.

  “Please, Esau,” Rebekah said, “can’t you forget the past and be glad that your brother is coming?”

  “It’s always been Jacob you’ve loved. You never loved me. The blessing meant nothing to me, but for you to love him so … sticks in my throat like a thorn.”

  “Oh, Esau,” she cried, “I loved you both … but your father loved you so much that Jacob seemed left out.”

  She noticed that Esau looked surprised and then without a word turned and disappeared into the night. She sat for a long time pondering all that had happened. Why had it taken all these years for her to explain things to Esau? She had taken for granted that he understood the way things were in their family. It had been so obvious to her.

  She quickly picked up the empty bowls and handed Isaac the linen square scented with rose water to wipe his hands. She could see that he was lost in his own thoughts and seemed not to have even been aware of Esau’s visit. She helped him stretch out on his straw mat and waited until she was sure he was asleep before tiptoeing out of the tent.

  Back in her own tent she sank down among the cushions and for the first time admitted to herself that she was not feeling well. “I must get well. Jacob is coming home at last, and I must be well and strong when he comes.” She said the words but hoped that Jacob would come soon.

  * * *

  Back in Haran Jacob was wondering how he was going to manage such a big move. It was encouraging that his wives had agreed and were already making plans.

  However, as the days passed, his situation grew steadily worse. Laban no longer bragged about having made such a brilliant bargain with Jacob, and Laban’s sons openly began to accuse Jacob of some treachery. “How can it be,” they questioned, “that so many of the sheep are suddenly speckled?” They confronted Jacob at every opportunity and were not satisfied with his answers.

  They even complained to Leah and Rachel. �
��This fine husband of yours has to be cheating. He’s getting only the speckled animals, but there are now more of them, and they are the stronger, healthier ewes and rams.”

  Finally Jacob sensed a growing hostility when he joined Laban’s sons or sat with Laban in the evenings. Leah had even told him that their complaint seemed to be logical. “They say that you are becoming wealthy at our father’s expense.”

  He knew that with such feelings it would not be long before there would be a carefully constructed plot to get rid of him. At first he merely shrugged off the growing fear and anxiety. He rationalized but finally had to admit the situation was serious. He felt alone and vulnerable and soon began to feel trapped.

  One day while he was out in the field, he sent for Leah and Rachel so he could talk to them privately. The day was crisp and cool with a few scattered clouds. They joined him under a hastily constructed brush arbor. He waited until one of the old shepherds had served them some fresh pomegranate juice before explaining.

  “I hear that your father has turned against me,” he said. “You know how hard I’ve worked for him while he has never dealt fairly with me. He’s cheated me and tricked me over and over again. However, in spite of all his cunning plans, my God has not permitted him to really harm me.”

  “It’s true,” Leah interjected, “that when he said all the speckled and streaked young goats and sheep should be yours, then all of them seemed to be speckled and streaked. Your flocks have grown while his are much smaller.”

  Jacob toyed with a blade of grass as he hesitated. He wondered if he could trust his wives, the daughters of Laban, with the secret of his success. Finally, he made up his mind. He had nothing to hide. He must be open and frank with them if they were to understand.

  “This cunning is not from me,” he said finally. “It was at the mating season that I had a dream. One of God’s messengers appeared to me and told me that my God, the God who appeared to me at Bethel, had seen all that Laban had done to me. He then showed me how to manage so that I would prosper in spite of Laban’s plans.”

  Both Leah and Rachel were listening intently. They understood how unfair their father had been, how he had constantly taken advantage of their husband. They had watched with amazement as Jacob had prospered in spite of their father’s plans. “What did the angel show you?” Rachel said, leaning forward with an expression of intense interest.

  “In the dream the angel called to me and told me that if I brought the striped and mottled he goats to mate with Laban’s white nanny goats, most of the young goats would be mottled. You see the result. I did what the angel told me, and I have been blessed beyond anything I could have imagined. That’s why your father and brothers are angry.”

  “We know they are angry,” Leah said. “What will you do?”

  “The angel must have known this would happen, for he instructed me to return to the land of my birth. I have also received word that my mother is not well.” He looked at them to see what their response was to such a radical solution.

  He was relieved to find that Leah and Rachel were both tired of their father’s tricks and told Jacob they were ready to leave. “We can wait a few days until the time of the sheepshearing. Everyone will be so busy they won’t miss us right away. That’ll give us time to gather our things,” they said.

  Elaborate plans were being made for the shearing. Laban and the brothers had decided this would be the time for a final showdown with Jacob. They would count his flock and then their flock and demand an explanation. “He will have to confess to whatever trick he has used to get so many speckled or streaked animals,” they said.

  * * *

  Since Laban and his sons were so occupied with their plots and plans, no one noticed that Jacob’s wives were busy packing all of their important belongings. Leah had so many children that she had to choose very carefully what each would carry. They now had slaves and servants to manage the larger, more cumbersome things such as grindstones, kneading troughs, wineskins, tripods for making the goat cheese, and woven material for shelter from the sun or rain.

  Rachel took very few practical necessities. Bilhah, her faithful maid, carried her cosmetics, medicinal herbs, and perfumes. She herself carried only her jewelry and two of the birdcages.

  At the very last moment, after Laban’s family had left for the shearing sheds, Rachel made her way stealthily to her father’s courtyard. She went straight to the door that opened into the space under the stairs where Laban kept his household gods. Then, swiftly and silently, she picked out all of the small teraphim that were supposed to deal with women’s problems. They were stone or clay figures with legs stiff and rigid, heads small with prominent noses, and arms held straight and close to their sides. They were not at all beautiful but were considered to be very powerful in matters that might concern a woman.

  The collection was greatly prized by Laban. Many of them had been made by his grandfather in Ur, and others had been traded by desperate landowners in time of drought. A small fertility goddess could even be bartered for food.

  Rachel especially wanted the ones that were to help a woman become pregnant and protect her in childbirth. She desperately wanted to become pregnant again. She had prayed to Jacob’s God to give her a child but had had no results. “What harm would it do,” she reasoned, “to try asking the clay images for help?”

  Also she was terrified to think of setting out on such a long journey with no household gods. She had seen her father consulting them and then throwing the colored stones when he had difficult decisions to make. She could not imagine how anyone could have a moment of peace with no household gods to protect them.

  She quickly bundled them into a basket and covered it with some loaves of bread. She set the basket on her head and started to hurry out the door. She paused for a moment before leaving, to look around the familiar courtyard for the last time. It held no happy memories. Instead she could remember vividly the night she was to have been married to Jacob. She had been dressed and ready with all the love and pent-up excitement that had been building since the day she had met him at the well. She was the pretty one he obviously loved. How cruel of her father to keep her locked away while Leah took her place.

  She steadied the basket on her head as she thought how glad she would be to leave all these sad memories behind. In the doorway she stopped and looked at the good luck charm fastened to the lintel. She remembered her father putting great store by touching it as he left for the market or field. He gave it credit for many of the good things that came his way.

  She reached up and tugged at it until it came free, then quickly slid it into the basket under the bread. Laban had stolen her wedding night, and she would rob him of his good fortune. She did not want the old goat-man god or the ugly horned images of Sin, the local god. They were too big to carry or to conceal. But she had just the place for her collection of small images, in a pocket she had devised in the straw filling of her riding saddle. The images would fit in it nicely, and no one would be the wiser until they were miles from Haran.

  * * *

  As it turned out they had been gone three days before the revelers at the shearing missed them. Jokes and sly remarks had been made about Jacob and his sons, who they assumed must be late in rounding up their extensive flock. They could hardly wait to confront him and divide his flock among themselves.

  When three days had passed and Jacob had not come with his family and flocks, Laban grew suspicious. He sent several of his sons back to Jacob’s house in the city to question his daughters. The sons found the courtyard empty with only a few tools leaning against the far wall. The house itself was dark and silent.

  “They left just before the shearing festival,” an old woman told them.

  It took a few more days to determine just what had happened. Laban came hurrying home and consulted with his sons. They all speculated as to where Jacob would take such a large, unwieldy family.

  Finally when Laban discovered the small fertility teraphim an
d the good luck image from his door gone, he realized this was no short trip. “They have obviously left to go back to Jacob’s family in Canaan,” he said.

  “What can we do?” his sons asked.

  “We’ll go after them. Jacob can’t sneak off like this with my daughters and their children. And what an insult for him to steal my good luck images.”

  “They can’t have gotten far,” one of his sons said. “They have children and large flocks.”

  In less than a day they were mounted and ready to ride.

  By asking questions as they went, they were able to follow the trail exactly, with few mistakes. They rode down along the Balikh River, crossed the Euphrates, and when they reached the Gilead mountains, they knew that within a day or two they would catch up with Jacob’s more cumbersome band.

  As they traveled, Laban spent most of his time gloating over the way he would punish Jacob. His eyes glistened and his mouth twisted into an ugly grimace as he swore to deal out severe punishments to him. His whole entourage began to fear the worst. They knew Laban as a man who had a fine-tuned temper and would tolerate no insubordination.

  How surprised they were when they finally caught up with Jacob to find Laban strangely ready to make peace. “I had a dream last night,” he told Jacob. “The God of your father appeared to me and warned me not to harm you. However, why did you have to steal my lucky idols?”

  Jacob’s face grew red, and he clenched his fists in frustration. He had never had any dealings with Laban’s idols, and he resented being accused of stealing them. Without hesitation he pronounced a great curse on anyone who might have taken the idols, saying, “Whoever has taken them, let him die.”

  Then he gave permission for Laban to search everyone and every place. “Search the camp,” he said, “and if you find them with anyone, they will surely die.”

  Laban sent his men in every direction while he himself checked his daughters and their children. When he came to Rachel, she very cleverly insisted she could not rise from the camel’s saddle because it was that time of the month.