Scripture reference - Jacobs favorite son
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By Evil_Mr_Paik
- Scripture reference - Jacobs favorite son
- Created: Oct 16, 2007
- Last updated: Aug 14, 2008
- After episode: 3.22: Through The Looking Glass
- Status: Current
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In the Bible, there was this guy named Jacob. He fell in love with this girl, Rachel, and asked her father, Labans permission to marry her. Laban said he must work him for 7 years as a dowry. Jacob agrees, works seven years, and gets married. Jacobs father in law, tricked him, however, and forced him to marry his older, less beautiful daughter, Leah, saying that “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.” And since polygamy was apparently not a problem, Jacob works for another 7 years and finally marries his beautiful love, Rachel. Also, Laban gives each daughter a maidservant as a wedding gift.
Stick with me. I know this is lengthy. So Jacob loved Rachel, but not Leah. But here’s the catch. Rachel turns out to unable to have children (sound familiar?) while Leah is very fertile. So Rachel gives Jacob her maidservant as a third wife so she can bear children in her place. Leah does the same thing out of jealousy. So Jacob sires eleven children, none of which Rachel bore to him. But finally, she miraculously conceives. She gives birth to two sons, who become Jacobs favorites (since they were born of his favorite wife and the only one he really loves. The first son, Joseph, was sold into slavery by his brothers and they tell Jacob that a wild animal killed him. This leaves Jacob with one remaining favorite son…
Benjamin.
My point isn’t that Lost is directly trying to parallel scripture, only that there are some interesting similarities. Namely.
Benjamin is Jacobs favorite son = Ben Linus is the island/Jacobs’ favorite son(or inhabitant)
A woman named Rachel miraculously conceives.
On an unrelated note, Biblically, the name Jacob means “he deceives”
Again, these are just some observations that may not be significant at all, but i thought it worth noting especially considering multiple scriptural references in the show.
Key characters
| Short Name | Full Name | Episodes | Theories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben | Benjamin Linus | 3.20, 4.9, & 3” href=”/episodes/theres-no-place-home-parts-2-3/”>4.13 | 1733 |
Similar theories
| Title | Author | Cmnts | Votes | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freeze Frame of Jacob | shellbell | 12 | 0 | 0 |
Very good points. +1
An astute observation worthy of consideration. +1
= Rachel Carlson is the name of Juliet’s sister who “miraculously” conceives.
You might even be able to bring Locke into the analogy.
Ben and Locke have some things in common. They are both somewhat “in tune” with the island. They both had mothers named Emily. Kind of spiritual brothers if you will.
Locke’s story is similar to Joseph’s. Joseph was throw into a pit, he can interpret dreams, and eventually rises to power in Egypt by helping Pharaoh.
Nice one katsage.
yeah, i’ve been meaning to hit the bible up for answers, but never got around to it. I’ll post something in the same vein in a bit. +1ers.
Evil MrP this is an excellent post. It cheers the heart to see something worthy on here.
There are many interpretations of the story you mention including my particular favourite The Handmaid’s Tale. I recommend it to anyone who hasn’t read it. Its by Margaret Atwood.
Liking the Rachel connection especially. Big +1 from me.
Welcome, Evil! Very nice observations, indeed! +1
Great discussion and points!
Nice, Shammie!
Evil…your points are definitely worth noting.+1
Evil Mr P, welcome and congrats on your first theory!
Although these points have been made before, yours was concise, well written and right to the point. I liked it and was definitely worth mentioning again. :-) +1
Looking forward to more!
Evil,
I think that there are a lot of refrences to different religions on the show, but I don’t think we can take any one of them at face value, or as what is literally being played out. I think that the island and the story of the island can be compared to every humans life experience. We all have our own religious beliefs mixed in with our knowlege of other religious belifs, mixed in with our social, political, scientific, etc.. beliefs. I think that the island is a reflection of humanity as a whole. We, as individuals, decide what we want to believe and we have to move pieces around so that it all makes sense to us in the “bigger picture”. even those who do not believe in religion can not deny the impact that others beliefs make, thus making it “real”, whether it is or is not. I think that we will come to know the purpose of all of the religious, philosophic, psychological aspects of the show. But I don’t think it will be for any obvious reasons… Just little pieces of the shows “bigger picture”.
very nice
Useful information without trying to account for every detail of the show…..very refreshing. The obvious question is who is Jacob’s other son that was sold into slavery. Was his brother given up for adoption on the mainland or born on the island and sent away? Locke has somewhat of a messianic reputation amongst the Others, perhaps he has come home to claim the throne, so to speak. If not Locke, the Others could easily be mistaken as to which Lostie is the returning ‘favorite son’ and the writers could be misleading us yet again, so it could be just about anyone, including a character we haven’t met yet. Great food for thought though, cheers.
Just wanted to reiterate(from months back) that Aaron’s biological father and Claire’s boyfriend is the spitting IMAGE of Ben and I’ve always thought they must be related since the producers are so detail-oriented. There’s no way they would cast someone that looks that similar to Ben without it being intentional, it’s as if they searched the globe for his son.
http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Events/3330/KeirODonne_Kambo5448700400.jpg ^Thomas, Claire’s boyfriend. Ben’s son??
Except wasnt Ben’s mom Emily not Rachel?
This could be totally absurd but what if Jack is Jacobs other son? What if Jack is the favorite son and ben is not. Also, what If Jacob is really Jack’s Father Christian. Who knows how many illigetimate sons he may have!!!