GENESIS: THE EPIC OF JACOB
Chapter 1
Puzzles for beginners: Take two
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1a
Mixed Doubles
The sometimes truly hair-raising sibling drama of Isaac's sons, grandsons of the patriarch Abraham, and Rebecca's sons, as we shall see, defies even the greatest imagination and storytelling abilities, despite its biblical age. Therefore, a brief instruction manual beforehand: Twin relationships often differ significantly from typical sibling relationships. Even these normal constellations can present us with formidable challenges. But with twins, it's something else entirely. Their cohabitation is characterized by an exceptionally closeness from roughly nine months before their first breath, which can be both a blessing and a burden. Which of the two interpretations prevails will usually become clear as their development progresses. Above all, it will become apparent which way the pendulum will swing. A return ticket may be included. Those affected, perhaps even your travel companion, could surely contribute many stories from their own experience regarding this ambivalence and its resulting consequences. It's not just the amusing episodes of twin life with its potential for mix-ups and funny misunderstandings. All these novels and comedies that spontaneously come to mind seem to be taken straight from life. Perhaps they're somewhat embellished and polished, adorned with suggestive titles like Erich Kästner's "The Parent Trap" (Das doppelte Lottchen). But perhaps the most astonishing of all these stories that life has ever written comes to us with Jacob and his brother Esau in the ancient tome Genesis. It has moved even me, someone quite well-versed in twin-related matters as someone directly affected, like no other narrative on the subject.
Things get lively with our twins even in the womb. When his wife Rebecca was pregnant, the sons kicked each other in the womb. She said, "If this is so, what will become of me?" Completely without her own experience as an expectant mother and without any expert guidance from a trusted gynecologist equipped with all the technical refinements of gynecology, she was worried. She went to consult the Lord. The Lord gave this answer: "Two nations are in your womb; two tribes are separated in your womb. One tribe is superior to the other; the older must serve the younger . " [1]
Rebecca is granted a glimpse into the future. What's being foretold is incomprehensibly vast! Two separate races within her! Is this some kind of catastrophe foretold by the highest authority? She can't quite make sense of it.
When the time came for her to give birth, it was discovered that she was carrying twins. The first to come was reddish in color and covered all over with hair like a skin. He was named Esau. Then came his brother, whose hand held Esau's heel. He was named Jacob (Heel-holder). Isaac was 60 years old when they were born. [2]
What a strange birth it was, a full 20 years after the wedding. The longed-for child arrived in a double dose. Two children of desire all at once! Two boys, as different as night and day. Twins, apparently not identical – although back then no one could have possibly known such an intimate detail. One red-haired, almost resembling an animal with red fur. And the other clinging to his heel. A double curiosity at the moment of birth. A precedent, one no obstetrician had ever encountered before, and one that absolutely must be documented for posterity.
Whether they pondered this birth for long, we don't know. The family's semi-nomadic existence had to continue, in which everyone could find their place and their task. And so it came to pass, as it had to! The boys grew up. Esau had become a man who understood the hunt, a man of the open field. Jacob, on the other hand, was a blameless man and stayed by the tents. Isaac preferred Esau, for he liked to eat game; but Rebecca preferred Jacob. [3]
Jacob, therefore, is the darling of his mother Rebecca, a stay-at-home son. Esau, on the other hand, a true outdoorsman, is the pride and joy of his father Isaac, who himself seems rather pale and unassuming compared to his larger-than-life father Abraham. It's understandable, then, that Isaac's love is expressed through food. And perhaps he sees in his son what he himself longs to be but doesn't dare to be: a real man, just as daring and wild as his firstborn Esau.
The Lord's prenatal warning of disaster is thus based on an undeniable foundation. For the attentive observer, it hangs ominously over Isaac's house. And, almost casually, in this unfortunate familial situation, the profane and the sacred become intertwined.
Once Jacob had prepared a dish when Esau came in exhausted from the field. Esau said to Jacob, “Give me some of that red stuff to eat, that red stuff there, I’m completely exhausted.” That’s why it’s called Edom (Red). Jacob replied, “Then sell me your birthright right now.” “Look,” Esau said, “I’m starving to death,” “what good is your birthright to me?” Jacob answered, “Swear to me right now!” So Esau swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; he ate and drank, and got up and went on his way. But Esau didn’t care about the birthright . [4]
What can we say about this? This episode undoubtedly caused serious damage to Esau's reputation, especially among those well-versed in the Bible, which is not above offering more than one negative comment. For example, in the Letter to the Hebrews, it warns against being immoral and godless like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. You also know that he was rejected when he later sought to inherit the blessing, for he could not find a way to repent, even though he sought it with tears (Hebrews 12:16-17).
One thing becomes abundantly clear: What immense importance was attached to this birthright in the Old Testament and the culture of the Orient at that time! It's about a right, indeed, one could almost think, from the perspective of the Epistle to the Hebrews, a duty, even a "goddamned" duty, to claim the inheritance. A right that belonged solely to the firstborn. I admit, today it seems rather insignificant which twin sees the light of day first. Even birth certificates don't offer much insight. Although, as the firstborn, I was always proud of it, with a full five-minute lead! My twin brother could never take that away from me. A start-to-finish victory, so to speak, from an unassailable pole position! I was superior to him once and for all, untouchable, no matter how hard he tried! My younger brother, I'm quite sure, was less bothered by it. And Jacob? He held onto his brother's heel. Such an extraordinary event—that it gave rise to his name: Jacob. Heel-holder—Jacob had thus actively followed his brother in tow. But why this effort? He really didn't need it. The second twin invariably glides along behind the firstborn without any trouble. So why grab the heel, Jacob? A hopeless, yet futile attempt to hold Esau back? Or simply fear of being left behind? Absolutely not to lose touch with the pioneering youngster who was ahead of him?
Looking at the subsequent lives of the two brothers, it becomes abundantly clear how much Jacob must have resented not being the firstborn. He not only ambushes his brother, whose rumbling stomach dominates his thoughts, but also buys his birthright with a simple lentil stew. Later, he even swindles Isaac out of his birthright. This is done with cunning and treachery, instigated by their mother, and driven by his own desire. Let's examine this more closely.
When Isaac grew old and his eyesight failed him, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son!” Esau replied, “Here I am.” Isaac then asked him to go hunting and bring him some game to eat. In a broader context, this meant: “So that I may bless you before I die.” Rebecca overheard the conversation and reacted swiftly. In her eyes, her Jacob was entitled to the birthright blessing. No matter the cost! She instructed him to slaughter two fine young goats from the herd so that she could prepare a delicious meal for her husband. “Then you will bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.” Jacob answered his mother Rebecca, “My brother Esau has hair, but I have smooth skin. Perhaps my father will touch me, and he might think I am mocking him, and I will bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.” His mother replied: Let your curse be upon me, my son. Listen to me. [5]
Resistance was futile! With the delicious food, the hairy skins of young goats wrapped around his hands and neck, and his brother's clothes on his body, his mother sent him on his way. He went to his father and said, "My father!" "Yes," he answered, "who are you, my son?" Jacob replied to his father, "I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Sit up, eat some of my venison, and then bless me!" Then Isaac said to his son, "How did you find anything so quickly, my son?" He answered, "The Lord your God made it run out to meet me." Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come closer, my son, and I will feel you to see whether you are truly my son Esau or not." Jacob went to his father Isaac. Isaac felt him and said, "The voice is indeed Jacob's voice, but the hands are Esau's hands." He did not recognize him, for Jacob’s hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau, and so he blessed him. He asked, “Is it you, my son Esau?” “Yes,” he replied . [6]
And after he had eaten his fill of the supposed venison, and Jacob also served him wine, Isaac continued: Come nearer and kiss me, my son. He came nearer and kissed him. Isaac smelled the fragrance of his clothes, blessed him, and said: Yes, my son, you smell like the field that the Lord has blessed. May God give you dew from heaven and the richness of the earth, abundant grain and new wine. The peoples shall serve you, the tribes shall bow down before you; you shall be Lord. Your mother’s sons shall worship you. Cursed is he who curses you, and blessed is he who blesses you. [7]
This preposterous approach by the elderly con artist duo is a meticulously planned double-blind scam, not unlike, yet completely contrary to, a randomized double-blind experiment of our time. For obvious reasons, they can't resort to the "grandchild scam" or even the telephone to create distance. The risk of being exposed increases alarmingly the closer the son and father get. How do they minimize the risk of being discovered when the victim suspects something is amiss? With scent, of all things—two scents, in fact: the scent of Esau's clothes, which Jacob has put on, and above all, the scent of the roast itself. The telltale voice is drowned out by smell. In this way, Jacob swindles himself of the blessing that was promised to his brother Esau.
As soon as Isaac had blessed Jacob and Jacob had left his father, his brother Esau came back from the hunt. He prepared a delicious meal for him, only to be greeted by his father with the words, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am your son Esau, your firstborn.” Isaac was overcome with trembling and asked, “Who was it that hunted the game and brought it to me? I ate of it all before you came, and I blessed him; blessed he shall remain.” When Esau heard his father’s words, he cried out in bitter anger and said to his father, “Bless me too, Father!” He replied, “Your brother has come by trickery and has taken away your blessing.” Then Esau said, “Isn’t he called Jacob (the Deceiver)? He has deceived me twice now: He has taken away my birthright, and now he has taken away my blessing as well.” Then he said: Have you not saved a blessing for me? [8]
After Esau learned from his father the full details of the blessing for Jacob, he was overcome with despair: “Did you have only one blessing, father? Bless me too, father!” And Esau began to weep loudly. His father Isaac answered him and said: “Far from the fatness of the earth you shall live, far from the dew of heaven above. By your sword you shall live. You shall serve your brother. But if you endure, you will throw off his yoke from your neck . ” [9]
So much turmoil reigns in the pious household of Isaac. To speak of a family harmony that is far from harmonious would be an understatement. When Esau then threatens, not quietly and secretly, but loudly and clearly, to kill his twin brother, the mother—who else in this family constellation—takes the initiative. She sends her favorite son away, far away. And she orchestrates Jacob's departure with cunning, for this is a skill she possesses perfectly, and given all the circumstances, it is more than appropriate. She instructs her husband to send Jacob on his way with the task, in keeping with good old family tradition, of finding a wife from their own family of origin. No Canaanite woman, however! And Isaac dutifully does as his wife demands, sending his son Jacob away with his blessing, the blessing he had inherited from his father Abraham. Far away to his brother-in-law Laban in Paddan-Aram, which lies in Haran in northwestern Mesopotamia, in the land between the rivers, beyond the Euphrates.
Double escape
Jacob left Beersheba and went to Haran. Even though it appeared otherwise, it was an escape. Equipped only with his shepherd's staff, Jacob set off into the unknown. Lying on a stone pillow, he dreamed that night: He saw a stairway on the earth that reached to heaven. Angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above and said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac […] I am with you; I will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” [10]
More than 20 years have passed since Jacob's first escape. Much has happened in that time, but we will only briefly touch upon these events here, however formative they may have been for him. After an unimaginable and chaotic tangle of relationships, Jacob has become the patriarch of a large family, a blended family, as we would say today, and a highly complex structure brimming with potential for conflict. He has two wives, Rachel and Leah, and two concubines, their respective maids. And a large family of eleven sons. Moreover, Jacob is wealthy. His wealth consists primarily of his livestock. Jacob is a shepherd, a semi-nomadic herder, accustomed to traversing the semi-arid steppe of the Middle East with all his belongings—his household goods and his black goat-hair tents—but above all, together with his flocks. From pasture to pasture. From watering hole to watering hole. But entirely different circumstances currently determine his movements and his thoughts. The unique aspect of his current journey through the lonely wilderness lies primarily in two points: There is no turning back. And his destination is challenging, even though he knows it all too well, not to say far too well.
[1] Genesis 25: 21b–26.
[2] Genesis 25: 24–26.
[3] Genesis 25: 27–28.
[4] Genesis 25: 29–34.
[5] Genesis 27: 1–13.
[6] Genesis 27: 18–24.
[7] Genesis 27: 26–29.
[8] Genesis 27: 30–36.
[9] Genesis 27: 38–40.
[10] Genesis 28: 10–15.
