“²⁹Then he charged them and said to them: “I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, ³⁰in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place. ³¹There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah. ³²The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth.”

– Genesis 49:29-32 (NKJV)

“²⁹Then he charged them and said to them: “I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, ³⁰in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place. ³¹There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah. ³²The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth.”

– Genesis 49:29-32 (NKJV) *

* It is necessary to note at the reiteration of this passage – the contents of which specifically impressed upon the hearts of his sons (“then he charged them and said to them”), those who as Jacob’s closest living relatives would traditionally assume responsibility for his burial – here now a second time, why it is of such critical importance:

While ‘The Twelve Tribes of Israel’ & the consequent slow but sure more structured establishment of God’s ‘Treasured Possession’ for generations to come has just been formally announced, this information underscores said structure as ‘The Three Patriarchs of The Faith’: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will now be “united in death” and their bodies gathered together in the earth ○ .

We are furthermore astonished to discover that where Sarah and Rebekah are irrevocably recognised as the God-ordained “wives ” of the previous two Patriarchs, dear Leah will soon be added to their number as the equally irrefutable “wife ” of Jacob, having also specifically and predestinately mothered most of ‘The Tribes of Israel’. We finally also gain closure and settle in the knowledge that where Rachel is oft’ described as Jacob’s “great love” she was never the intended patriarchal wife and ‘Mother of Nations’ in the manner of those who have gone before her – namely Sarah and Rebekah – appointed by God for such a glorious purpose. How striking then to recognise that what Laban “intended for evil” God very purposefully and deliberately “meant for Good” [Gen 50:20]; the culminating theme and central message of our narrative that we are fast approaching in our text at this very moment. To imagine a modern day example of another royal whose relationship is oft’ described as a “great love” is that of King Edward VIII, which is also riddled with impure motives of manipulation, idolatry and coercive control, on the part of the woman, partnered with the weakness of the flesh and yielding to the spell of lust cast, on the part of the king (Proverbs 31:3); the sad reality of which is evident throughout Rachel’s life and culminates in her tragic death, which is preceded by a curse pronounced, albeit in ignorance, in perhaps a most just act of righteousness on Jacob’s part. Is it not therefore especially precious that in a second act of profound Justice and Righteousness Jacob tenderly and lovingly buried his true wife by his very own hand: “and there I buried Leah ” [verse 31]?