Chapter 6: The Patriarchs

1. Chapter 6: The Patriarchs UNDERSTANDING THE SCRIPTURES

2. 1. Isaac and Jacob (pp. 108–112) ANTICIPATORY SET Read the Catechism, no. 218 (p. 126). Then, take part in a class discussion using the following question: Why did God choose the nation of Israel, reveal himself to her, give her the Law and the prophets, and never cease to forgive her?

3. 1. Isaac and Jacob (pp. 108–112) BASIC QUESTIONS Why did Abraham arrange for a wife for Isaac from among his own kin? How did Jacob become patriarch instead of Esau? KEY IDEAS Abraham had a wife found for his son, Isaac, from among his own relatives to prevent his son from marrying a pagan Canaanite woman and risk falling into idolatry. With his mother Rebekah’s connivance, Jacob gained Esau’s birthright and Isaac’s blessing.

4. 1. Isaac and Jacob (pp. 108–112) FOCUS QUESTIONS Why did Abraham want Isaac to avoid marrying a Canaanite woman? He was afraid Isaac and his descendants would become idolaters, worshiping the false gods of the Canaanites. Why are many of the most important women in the Bible found at a well? Wells were important gathering places, especially for women, as the source of water for a community. How was the choice of Isaac’s wife the result of prayer? Abraham’s servant asked God to show him the maiden he should find for Isaac by having her give him a drink and then offer to draw water for his camels as well.

5. 1. Isaac and Jacob (pp. 108–112) GUIDED EXERCISE A think / pair / share using the following question: Why did Abraham’s servant think it good the maiden he met not only gave him water to drink but also offered to draw water for his camels? GUIDED EXERCISE Describe your relationships with older or younger siblings. Discuss ways siblings can reduce or eliminate discord among them.

6. 1. Isaac and Jacob (pp. 108–112) FOCUS QUESTIONS Why did Esau give up his birthright? He was hungry, and Jacob offered to give him bread and lentil soup in exchange for his birthright. Extension: in common English parlance, Esau “sold his birthright for a mess of pottage.” What did Esau give up? He gave up the right to become head of the family after his father and a double share of the inheritance. How did Jacob trick his father into giving him Esau’s blessing? He dressed in Esau’s clothing and wore goatskin to simulate Esau’s hairy hands.

7. 1. Isaac and Jacob (pp. 108–112) FOCUS QUESTIONS What blessing did Jacob receive from Isaac? Isaac handed on the covenant God made with Abraham. What was Isaac’s reaction to the deception? Isaac was shaken and “trembled violently,” but he maintained the blessing stood. How was Esau’s prophecy fulfilled? The nation Esau founded, the Edomites, came under the yoke of Israel but eventually broke free.

8. 1. Isaac and Jacob (pp. 108–112) CLOSURE Free write for five minutes about how, from a human point of view, deception played an important part in Jacob becoming the patriarch of Israel.

9. 1. Isaac and Jacob (pp. 108–112) HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Study Questions 1–5 (p. 125) Practical Exercises 1–2 (p. 126) Workbook Questions 1–15 Read “Jacob’s Ladder” through “Wrestling with God: Jacob Named Israel” (pp. 113–118)

10. 1. Isaac and Jacob (pp. 108–112) ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT In their covenant, God promised Abraham land, dynasty, and universal blessing through his descendants. Conduct a think / pair / share using the following question: What was the status of the fulfillment of Abraham’s covenant upon the death of Isaac?

11. 2. Jacob Renamed Israel (pp. 113–118) ANTICIPATORY SET Read Genesis 28:10–15. What is the nature of the ladder? According to a note in the St. Joseph Edition of the New American Bible, ladder is actually a mistranslation for a ziggurat with steps leading up to a Temple where God dwells.

12. 2. Jacob Renamed Israel (pp. 113–118) BASIC QUESTIONS When did God renew the Abrahamic Covenant with Jacob? What is the origin of the Twelve Tribes of Israel? What is the significance of the name Israel? KEY IDEAS During the vision of the ladder, God renewed the Abrahamic Covenant with Jacob. Jacob founded the Twelve Tribes of Israel through his twelve sons. After wrestling with an angel of God, Jacob was given the name Israel, which means he who strives with God. This is an apt description of Jacob himself and the history of the nation he founded.

13. 2. Jacob Renamed Israel (pp. 113–118) GRAPHIC ORGANIZER Complete the following table to show the connection between the covenant promises God made to Abraham and those he made to Jacob.

14. 2. Jacob Renamed Israel (pp. 113–118)

15. 2. Jacob Renamed Israel (pp. 113–118) GUIDED EXERCISE Write a paragraph about Laban having given Jacob a taste of his own medicine.

16. 2. Jacob Renamed Israel (pp. 113–118) FOCUS QUESTIONS What was the usual result of polygamy in the Bible? It almost always led to misery. Jacob loved Rachel, but she was barren. Leah was hurt because Jacob loved Rachel more than her. Rachel was jealous because Leah bore Jacob four sons. Who named Jacob’s sons? Each was named by his mother. How many mothers did Jacob’s children have? They had four: Leah, Rachel’s maid, Leah’s maid, and finally Rachel.

17. 2. Jacob Renamed Israel (pp. 113–118) FOCUS QUESTIONS How did Jacob outsmart Laban and grow rich? Jacob and Laban agreed Jacob would get the spotted animals and Laban would get the solid ones. Jacob selectively bred the animals so more spotted animals would be born. Why did Jacob return to Canaan? He had a dream in which an angel told him God wanted him to return to the land of his birth. What problem did Jacob face in Canaan? He had to face his brother Esau, who had been furious with him when he had fled twenty years earlier.

18. 2. Jacob Renamed Israel (pp. 113–118) GUIDED EXERCISE Large families are not as prevalent in the modern Western world as in the past. Discuss your thoughts on family size using the following questions: What experiences have you had with large families? Is there a perfect family size? What sacrifices do large families require? Does faith in God play a part in the size of a family? What obligations flow out of being a member of a family? GUIDED EXERCISE Conduct a focused reading of the Catechism, no. 2573, using the following question: How is prayer like a wrestling match with God?

19. 2. Jacob Renamed Israel (pp. 113–118) FOCUS QUESTIONS What did Jacob fear from Esau? Jacob feared for his life and the lives of his wives and sons; he had received word Esau was coming to meet him with four hundred armed men. What blessing did the angel, with whom Jacob had wrestled, give Jacob? He gave Jacob a new name, Israel, which means he who strives with God. What is the significance of being given a new name? It is like being created anew.

20. 2. Jacob Renamed Israel (pp. 113–118) GRAPHIC ORGANIZER Complete the following table to organize the meanings of the blessings God gave Adam, Noah, and Jacob (Israel): “Be fruitful and multiply.”

21. 2. Jacob Renamed Israel (pp. 113–118)

22. 2. Jacob Renamed Israel (pp. 113–118) CLOSURE Free write for five minutes about the extent to which Jacob can be called a saintly man.

23. 2. Jacob Renamed Israel (pp. 113–118) HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Study Questions 6–10 (p. 124) Workbook Questions 16–30 Read “Joseph’s Brothers Sell Him as a Slave” through “God Turns Evil into an Instrument of Salvation” (pp. 119–123)

24. 2. Jacob Renamed Israel (pp. 113–118) ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT A class discussion about the name Israel: Though Israel was the name given to Jacob, it came to be applied to his descendants. How is Israel just as much an apt description of the history of his descendants through the ages? How have people striven with, or fought against, God from the beginning? Why do you think God does not use his superior power to win such fights?

25. 3. Joseph, the Rejected Savior of Israel (pp. 119–123) ANTICIPATORY SET Genesis on Joseph’s two dreams and his family’s reactions (cf. Gn37:1–11). Discuss how understandable but blameworthy his brothers were.

26. 3. Joseph, the Rejected Savior of Israel (pp. 119–123) BASIC QUESTIONS Why did Joseph’s brothers hate him? How did Joseph save his family? How did God bring good out of the evil Joseph’s brothers did? KEY IDEAS Joseph’s brothers hated him out of envy and sold him into slavery. Joseph rose to a position of great authority in Egypt and was able to save his family from starvation, becoming a type of Christ. God made it possible for Joseph’s slavery to be the cause of Israel’s survival during famine; Joseph’s brothers did evil to him, but God guided events so they turned out unexpectedly well.

27. 3. Joseph, the Rejected Savior of Israel (pp. 119–123) FOCUS QUESTIONS What kind of coat did Jacob give Joseph? The kind of coat has been translated as a robe with long sleeves; a full‑length coat; and, probably most accurately, a coat of many colors. What did Joseph’s two dreams symbolize? Joseph’s brothers—and even his father and mother—would be subject to him. Why did Joseph’s brothers resent him? Joseph was their father’s favorite son, the firstborn of their father’s favorite wife; this meant none of his older brothers was their father’s favorite son and none of their mothers was Jacob’s favorite wife. In addition, Joseph told them he had dreams that prophesied he would rule over them. His father gave him an expensive and luxurious new coat, which his brothers coveted.

28. 3. Joseph, the Rejected Savior of Israel (pp. 119–123) FOCUS QUESTIONS What plan did Joseph’s brothers devise to do away with him? They planned to kill Joseph and throw him into a pit. What was Reuben’s plan to save Joseph? He persuaded his brothers to throw Joseph into a pit but not shed his blood. He hoped to come back later to rescue him. Why did Reuben’s plan fail? To get rid of Joseph and make some money at the same time, his brothers sold Joseph to a caravan of slave traders on their way to Egypt.

29. 3. Joseph, the Rejected Savior of Israel (pp. 119–123) GUIDED EXERCISE What would be your reaction if you were treated in the same manner as Joseph? Brainstorm reasons forgiveness can be so difficult. For your eyes only, write about an experience that has left you unwilling to forgive. Discuss successful approaches when you have given or sought forgiveness.

30. 3. Joseph, the Rejected Savior of Israel (pp. 119–123) FOCUS QUESTIONS Who was Zaphenathpaneah? Zaphenathpaneah was the Egyptian name given to Joseph in his capacity as Pharaoh’s chief minister, the second most powerful man in the known world. How did Joseph’s dreams come true? His brothers came to Egypt to buy grain during the famine and, without recognizing him, bowed down before him. How did Joseph explain his brothers’ evil deed? Joseph explained, “[God] sent me before you to preserve life.”

31. 3. Joseph, the Rejected Savior of Israel (pp. 119–123) GUIDED EXERCISE A focused reading of the paragraph “God had managed...” (p. 122) using the following question: How is Joseph a type of Christ?

32. 3. Joseph, the Rejected Savior of Israel (pp. 119–123) FOCUS QUESTIONS According to the Catechism, no. 312, what can God do with evil actions? He can bring good out of them. Does God’s ability excuse evil acts? No; an evil act can neither be defined as nor some time later become a good. How did God bring the greatest good out of the greatest evil? The greatest moral evil ever committed was the rejection and Crucifixion of God’s only Son. This brought about the greatest good, the Resurrection and glorification of Christ and the Redemption of all people.

33. 3. Joseph, the Rejected Savior of Israel (pp. 119–123) CLOSURE Write a paragraph about Joseph as a rejected savior of Israel and, thus, a type of Christ.

34. 3. Joseph, the Rejected Savior of Israel (pp. 119–123) HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Study Questions 11–15 (p. 125) Practical Exercise 3 (p. 126) Workbook Questions 31–42

35. 3. Joseph, the Rejected Savior of Israel (pp. 119–123) ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Work with a partner to create a bullet-point list about the greatness of Joseph based on the Commentary on Genesis 45:1–28 (p. 124).

36. The End