I am reading the Bible for the first time and it is very revealing, profound and surprising. I know I’m not discovering anything new here but would like to get pol’s perspective.
1) Jacob is the quintessential Jew. Together with Abraham and Isaac he’s one of the big 3 “founding fathers”
2) He’s the one who wrestles with the angel of God, angel who for some unexplained reason decides to change Jacob’s name to “Israel” at the end of the contest. Thus, with Jacob’s family, are born the Israelites.
3) His 12 sons start the twelve tribes of Israel.
4) He’s manifestly a liar and a schemer. For centuries the Jews have been trying to erase the notion that they are liars and schemers and yet their “George Washington” is one of the most famous liars and schemers of all time. You could not make this shit up!!
5) His older brother Esau is a chad hunter, a successful outdoorsman favored by their father Isaac. Jacob schemes Esau out of his birthright, apparently with a bowl of lentils (haw stupid is Esau??)
6) Jacob likes to stay at home with Mommy. Is he a proto-accountant or lawyer? Conspiring with his mother, he lies to his geriatric, blind father about who he is (he dresses up like Esau) in order to get a critical blessing that bestowed great wealth and power.
Conclusion: the guy is a total douchebag!! And yet he is their paragon!
Of course the Jacob story is not the only part of the Torah that portrays the Jews’ “ancestors” as douchebags but it is one of the most poignant.
