Gilbert House Fellowship #266: Genesis 31-32

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FEEDING THE dead was an integral part of the world in which Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived.

We’ve previously discussed Abraham’s distress at not having an heir to provide for him in the afterlife; this week, we explain why Jacob’s father-in-law, Laban, was so upset about losing his teraphim, the small idols that represented dead ancestors who had to be summoned to a meal every month with a necromancy ritual called kispum.

We also discuss Jacob’s separation from Laban, his encounter with angels along the Jabbok River, and his wrestling match with the Angel of God, another manifestation of Christ in the Old Testament.

Here’s the link for the book by Dr. Michael Heiser we mentioned during the program, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches About the Unseen World – and Why It Matters.


Our book Veneration is available for Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader! Click here and find out why readers rate Veneration 4.7 out of 5, describing it as “a must read” that “opens up…the Bible’s hidden mysteries.”

The latest installment of Sharon’s Redwing Saga, King’s Gambit, is available now in paperback and Kindle! Visit Sharon’s author page at Amazon.com for more.

10 Comments

  1. Your book,Veneration, really helps to explain why & what a friend of ours is doing regarding her 3 years since deceased daughter- the shrine/urn/talking to “her” although she’s with the Lord,…the mother cannot get past the grief, an overwhelming daily ordeal- she refuses to put the urn in the mausoleum plot, which we feel would help her to move forward- Veneration of the dead: was all new to me. It’s a book that needs chewing on- lot of information. The Gilbert’s have opened up about the gods, elohim, a whole new world to me- a better understanding of the powers at principalities –


  2. Derek, FYI: did you know Doctors are receiving and extra 8,000 dollars if they report a death in a hospital as being a Corona death? No matter what the cause?

    1. Author

      Are you sure that’s correct? I’ve seen that number paid by Medicare to hospitals if a COVID patient needs a ventilator, but this is the first I’ve heard of a bounty paid to doctors for reporting COVID deaths.

      I’ve also seen statistics showing a spike in reported deaths from all causes, and the increase is not accounted for by the number of reported COVID-19 deaths. That suggests the number of coronavirus deaths may actually be underreported.

  3. I love y’all! Yes I am a Southern gal so it just comes out even in script. The information I glean from your teaching is so helpful. Thank you.

  4. Jewish tradition states that Rachel stole the teraphim in the event that her father would attempt to consult the teraphim and discover the location of Jacob and the children.

  5. I read a commentary that Jacob placed Leah and her children at the front and Rachel and her children at the rear, thus protecting his favorite wife Rachel at any cost, giving her time to escape, if necessary.

  6. Still another commentary I read is that the wrestling was life-changing for Jacob, because he was on the run all his life, and now with his hip permanently dislocated, he will never run again, but limp and lean on others and on the Lord.

  7. In the footnotes of my Amplified bible it says that there were Nuzi tablets excavated which show that possession of the father’s household gods played an important role in inheritance. Says one of the tablets indicated that the region Laban lived, a son in law who possessed the family images could appear in court & make claim to the estate of his father in law and that since Jacob had possession of them one can understand why Laban was hurried to recover them.

    1. Author

      Yes, and that’s more evidence that Abraham came from northern Mesopotamia and not from Sumer. (Nuzi was near the site of modern Kirkuk in northern Iraq.)

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