Bible studies for writers | Genesis 29

This medium-sized chapter covers a lot of territory. Jacob starts out young, heading to Haran to find a wife. He plays out a similar scenario as to how his father found his mother. He falls in love, gets married – twice, and to sisters! Yikes! – and has four children, all boys I might add. Yet, with all this going on, you want to know the one and only thing I highlighted? I underlined the end of verse 9, “for she was a shepherd.”

Rachel was no princess or prissy little thing who cooked and cleaned all day. She was a shepherd! She worked and lived with sheep and goats day in and day out. Sometimes she took them to pasture and camped with them under the stars. She probably smelled pretty bad and had rough hands, and let’s not even talk about her dire need for a pedicure! I love this rough-and-tumble picture of Rachel, and I love this tiny snippet of a “Hoorah for girls!” I know a lot of women shy away from Christianity because in many ways in can seem male-dominant. Like, why is God a He? Why are most of the main “heroes” guys? I get it, but God definitely emphasizes those female “remnants” and the absolute necessity of them in so many stories of the Bible. Sometimes, they are so slight – like “for she was a shepherd” – that we don’t notice them, even after reading the stories time and time again. Curiosity is how God draws us nearer. It’s fun discovering new things about Him, the people He chose, the bone-headed things they did and even the professions that shaped them into who they were. For she was a shepherd … do you see Rachel in a whole new light now? I do!

Writing prompt: for she was a shepherd

In about the same amount of words as Chapter 29, and following its style, write about Rachel’s life from when she met Jacob at the well to after the birth of her four nephews (er, step-sons?).