Jewish Life of the Month: Jacob
Rebecca Keys
Image Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Jacob
Dates
Biblical period
Impact
One of the three biblical patriarchs, Jacob occupies the Jewish imagination as a righteous trickster. His sons represent the 12 tribes of Israel, and he is best known for a series of renowned struggles with his brother Esau, with his father-in-law Laban, with an angel, with his wives, and with his own sons.
Famous Quote
"And Jacob said to his father, I am Esau your firstborn." (Genesis 27:19)
By Yair Zakovitch
Published November 20, 2012
216 pages
“Eloquently provocative” —Choice
A powerful hero of the Bible, Jacob is also one of its most complex figures.
Bible stories recounting his life often expose his deception, lies, and greed—then, puzzlingly, attempt to justify them. In this book, eminent biblical scholar Yair Zakovitch presents a complete view of the patriarch, first examining Jacob and his life story as presented in the Bible, then also reconstructing the stories that the Bible writers suppressed—tales that were well-known, perhaps, but incompatible with the image of Jacob they wanted to promote. Through a work of extraordinary “literary archaeology,” Zakovitch explores the recesses of literary history, reaching back even to the stage of oral storytelling, to identify sources of Jacob's story that preceded the work of the Genesis writers.
The biblical writers were skilled mosaic-makers, Zakovitch shows, and their achievement was to reshape diverse pre-biblical representations of Jacob in support of their emerging new religion and identity. As the author follows Jacob in his wanderings and revelations, his successes, disgraces, and disappointments, he also considers the religious and political environment in which the Bible was written, offering a powerful explication of early Judaism.