ABSTRACT
Abraham’s son, Isaac, a lesser figure than his father, is overshadowed by his twin sons, Esau and Jacob, but both were destined to be the fathers of nations. Yet only one could inherit the supreme destiny of Abraham, and therein lies the family tension. Esau is the honest farmer, Jacob the trickster, who outwits his innocent twin brother as later he outwits the more wily Laban. The sixth-century bc compilers of the narrative have done their best to justify the manner in which he attained the destiny which they inherited. Esau is said to ‘despise his birthright’; perhaps worse, he marries out of the tribe. Little is said overtly to excuse Jacob, who lives on to enjoy the fruits of his deviousness. However, in the tacit fashion of Old Testament narrative, after he has wrestled with God (p. 87) – and, significantly, is renamed Israel – he makes peace with Esau. Thereafter he can live as befits the inheritor of the Promise, and father of the 12 tribes who take his name. Unfortunately, the story of his son Joseph is too long for inclusion here, but it should not be missed.
