Leaving Laban, Jacob travels to the land of his brother Esau. Rightfully concerned that Esau might still be a bit miffed at him he takes a few precautions. Jacob sends messengers to Esau announcing his presence and indicating his status as a man with large flocks of both animals and servants. Disappointingly, the messengers return with word that Esau and 400 of his men (probably with brass knuckles) are on their way to meet him. For the first time in a while, Jacob turns to the Lord and utters a lengthy prayer to ask for protection against the mob and to remind God of his promises from Chapter 28. Still hedging his bets and doubting even God’s protection, Jacob divides his household so that half might escape if the other half is attached. To cover all possible bases he also sends a large gift of livestock to his brother.
Having made his preparations, Jacob is left alone to await his fate. According to the NASB, God (anthropomorphic as usual) comes to Jacob and they wrestle. After many hours of wrestling, God lets Jacob win and grants him his blessing. The JSB differs on this episode in almost every possible regard. It fails to identify the mysterious wrestler as anything but a ‘supernatural being’ and admits to no ‘blessing’ being received at the end of the contest; the stranger simply leaves. The two do agree in that the stranger gives Jacob a new name, ‘Israel’, and Jacob rejoices that he’s survived this contest and infers that his survival must indicate some sort of divine blessing.
Whichever the case, the idea that Jacob, this worm of a man, should receive the blessing of the Lord is appalling. His short history in Genesis shows him to be a devious, self-serving little weasel who only bothers to pray when he needs something. As usual, God’s chosen ones don’t exactly distinguish themselves positively from the people around them.
3 comments:
Have you read Anita Diamante's "The Red Tent"? She looks at the story of Jacob and his family, told from the female perspective. The story is told by Leah's only daughter Dinah. Diamante fleshes out Dinah's rape/marriage suggesting motives of power rather than moral outrage. The story follows the biblical outline until chapter 35 when Dinah disappears from the biblical record.
Patti,
I can't say that I have. I'll admit that as of late I'm kinda slacking off on the biblical readings.
The book isn't really a bilical reading. The biblical account is used as a story line, nothing more. It has more to do with the community of women, their very different form of 'religion' and Dinah's rite of passage. Jacob and his sons merely set the stage. It's certainly no biggie to me if you don't read it, however it is an easy read and I just thought you might find it interesting.
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