Chapter 70 ladder

Dear Xiaowen: Did you notice the ladder on the fire truck at the police station?That kind of ladder goes up very high, up to a hundred feet.The American underworld slang calls the ladder Jacob, do you know who it is? Jacob was the son of Isaac, and the father of the 12 sons who founded the Twelve Tribes of Israel, according to the Old Testament. He bought his older brother Esaus birthright with a bowl of savory stew (“mess of pottage”). Later , Jacob enforced his claim by pretending to his blind and aged father that he himself was Esau. Thus, he obtained from Isaac the words of blessing Isaac had meant for Esau. Esau was so angry that Jacob fled for his life.

On the way to his uncle Laban, Jacob slept at a place called Bethel, where he dreamed of a wonderful ladder between heaven and earth. In the dream, God promised to protect and bless him while he was away from home. Much encouraged, Jacob went on to Labans home. There he fell on love with Labans daughter, Rachel. But Laban forced Jacob to marry hid older daughter. Leah, before he could have Rachel for his wife. After working 20 years for Laban, Jacob left for home. On the way, Jacob prayed all night until God reassured him that Esau would spare his life. Esau met him with forgiveness, and they parted good friends. Jacob spent his last years in Egypt, where his son Joseph brought him to live.

Esau was the son of Isaac and Rebecca, and twin brother of Jacob in the Bible. He is a main character in many stories found in Genesis 25-33. The best known are Jacobs cheating him out of his birthright for a “mess of pottage ” (Gen.25:27-34), and the loss of his blessing through the plotting of his mother and brother (Gen.27). Esau was reconciled to Jacob after the latters return to Palestine 20 years later. Biblical history regards Esau as the founder of the Edomite nation. Jacob is the old, old, old, old, old... old ancestor of the people of Israel. Mess of pottage is the meaning of "the loss outweighs the gain", "the loss outweighs the gain", and "not worth it".

A Jacobs ladder is a ladder made of rope or cable, usually with wooden rungs. It is dropped over the side of a ship to enable people to ascend from or descend to small boats alongside. Harbor pilots usually come aboard via a Jacobs ladder. The Jacobs ladder gets its name from an incident in the Book of Genesis (28:12). The patriarch Jacob falls asleep and the a vision: "And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and he top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.” Jacobs ladder has been used in at least two other quite earthly meanings. A small plant with a flower-and-leaf formation resembling a ladder bears this name. In England, also what we Americans call “runs” in hosiery were formerly called Jacobs ladders . Nowadays they are simply ladders.

Jacobs ladder can ascend to the sky, so thieves Latin (the thief's lingo, incision) of the American underworld called the ladder Jacob. One of the polemoniums in plants is called Jacobs ladder because they have ladderlike leaves. dad November 1, 1975