“⁷But as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

– Genesis 48:7 (NKJV)

“But as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died beside me (in my sight) in the land of Canaan on the way (recognise the deliberate use of the phraseology Our Lord would become known for across the globe: He and His Disciples being literally described during their time upon the earth as men of “The Way”, and this then of course later also being affirmed in the Biblical Text for posterity’s sake as we ourselves know Our Lord to be the Self-Proclaimed “Way . . . Truth and Life” [John 14:6]; there is also a notable secondary application of this parabolic term in that it so accurately describes The Christian Walk, The Pilgrimage [be reminded also of John Bunyan’s work] undertaken by the believer as he commits himself to persevere unto the end and be saved [Matt 24:13], and if he be ‘A Righteous Man’, by God’s Grace to “hold his way” [Job 17:9]), when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath (and now, Dear Reader, we must take a grave pause as we examine this verse, which upon first inspection seems almost random, out-of-place, and of mere narrative-, but not overtly significant-, consequence; nevertheless, it is exceedingly probable that what we in fact read here is a testifying to the fact that Rachel did not indeed persevere to the end and will not share in the inheritance of God’s people, as spoken of in the previous verse, as is also subtly alluded to in Jacob’s launching this utterance by way of the word “But . . .”); and I buried her there on the way to (. . . for we know that Rachel opted to trust in “potions” [mandrakes], men [her husband] and even in (stolen!) idols [teraphim] right up to the very end as opposed to: Trusting in The Most High God [for “by Faith you will be saved”], humbling herself before Him and therein surrendering her self-seeking ways unto Him, and so we must ask ourselves that if an individual refuses again and again to forsake his or her prideful ways – even if “a daughter of Abraham” under the old-covenant and even if mothering several of the Tribes of Israel itself – and if such a one is described in The Scriptures in a language so clearly indicating a lack of persevering to the end, namely, “died . . . on the way, when there was but a little distance to go”, if such an individual is then indeed saved?) Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem *) (if this idea is perhaps too unbearable for you to consider Dear Reader, I would perhaps posit that you hold fast to the glimmer of Hope introduced here at the very end; especially in its being transcribed to be included so carefully and so very particularly here, namely, the harbinger of Hope that is “Bethlehem”: for it is not only by Faith that we are saved but also by Grace, and is that not the very embodiment of Christ, born in that selfsame Bethlehem, the very “no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved”, here introduced at the end; a Life-Raft for a Rachel to cling to, even if then saved as only through fire [1 Cor 3:15] . . . ).”

* “Whom have I in heaven but You?” – Psalm 73:25a