Bible:Genesis 25:23
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Yahweh said to her, "Two nations are in your womb. Two peoples will be separated from your body. The one people will be stronger than the other people. The elder will serve the younger."
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| Genesis 25:23 | |
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Commentary
In Genesis 25:23, God is responding to the question that Rebecca has asked him about why she was finding her pregnancy so difficult. In answering God revealed to her that she was going to have twins and that the son who was born first, that is, the elder brother would actually be weaker and serve the son who was born second, that is, the younger brother. In Ancient Near Eastern, the first son would normally receive special blessing and a larger inheritance, and so this was very unusual.
Some have suggested that this verse poses a problem for the goodness of God. For Jacob (the younger brother) to dominate over Esau (the older brother) he had to sin and deceive Esau. It has been argued that for God to have known Jacob would be stronger, he would have aided Jacob. One possibility is that God was pre-knowing, but not predetermining, the future: God did not take any part in determining Jacob's domination over Esau but because God knows all things before they happen, He knew what would happen.
Another possibility is that this verse was written by Israelites who knew the end of the story. Genesis was not compiled until long after Jacob and Esau's life. The compiler of this narrative may have viewed the birth order as prophetic and wanted a way to tie it into later events. Therefore he wrote on God's behalf. In the Hebrew understanding of God, God knew everything before it happened and thus the compiler would simply have been explaining what God was thinking.
However, given that there are so many prophecies about Christ and others that were clearly given beforehand, and yet God is said to not ever be the author of sin, then the simplest logical conclusion is that it is possible for God to both clearly know the future and yet for people to remain free and accountable for their actions.
| All Versions | |
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| Version | Text |
| Hebrew | ויאמר יהוה לה שני בבטנך ושני לאמים ממעיך יפרדו ולאם מלאם יאמץ ורב יעבד צעיר׃ |
| Greek | και ειπεν κυριος αυτη δυο εθνη εν τη γαστρι σου εισιν και δυο λαοι εκ της κοιλιας σου διασταλησονται και λαος λαου υπερεξει και ο μειζων δουλευσει τω |
| Latin | Qui respondens ait : Duæ gentes sunt in utero tuo, et duo populi ex ventre tuo dividentur, populusque populum superabit, et major serviet minori. |
| KJV | And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. |
| WEB | Yahweh said to her, "Two nations are in your womb. Two peoples will be separated from your body. The one people will be stronger than the other people. The elder will serve the younger." |
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