ABSTRACT

Genesis’ account of Jacob going east, which turns into his quest for a wife, is a carefully adapted transformation of Argonautic myth. Genesis 27–33 features a perfect homology for all the leading actors from Jason’s myth (Jason: Jacob, Medea: Rachel, Aietes: Laban, and Hera: Rebecca), with Laban’s household gods unexpectedly corresponding to the Golden Fleece. It offers a further instance of euhemerization in Hera’s role being assumed by Rebecca. The narrative can be seen as a response to Greek culture in its valorization of a pastoralist over a heroic protagonist, and symbolic triumph over a Herakles figure in Esau. The Genesis scribes are clearly referencing a version of the myth earlier than Apollonius’.