Jacob and Esau as the Goat for YHWH and the Scapegoat (original) (raw)
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The study explores the eschatological reinterpretation of the Yom Kippur ritual found in the Apocalypse of Abraham where the protagonist of the story, the patriarch Abraham, takes on the role of a celestial goat for YHWH, while the text’s antagonist, the fallen angel Azazel, is envisioned as the demonic scapegoat. The study treats the application of the two goats typology to human and otherworldly figures in its full historical and interpretive complexity through a broad variety of Jewish and Christian sources, from the patriarchical narratives of the Hebrew Bible to early Christian materials in which Yom Kippur traditions were applied to Jesus’ story.
The Biblical Significance of Adam and Eve and Jacob and Esau
The Biblical Significance of Adam and Eve and Jacob and Esau applies a Darwinian perspective to two fundamental allegories in Genesis. The ontological structure of the religious experience is determined from the allegorical references to psychological states and evolved behaviors in the story of the fall of Adam and Eve. A table presents allegorical items in the Biblical text with their Darwinian equivalents. The motivation for the strict endogamy of biblical Judaism is revealed in the allegory of Jacob and Esau, “the elder shall serve the younger,” by observing the successes and failures of Jacob and his progeny over three generations coupled with Jacob’s cunning breeding of Laban’s flocks, cited by Charles Darwin in the first chapter of On the Origin of Species... As a result of researching the paper, a translation concern over the nature of Leah’s eyes was identified in a few newer editions of the Bible by its departure from an otherwise perfect allegorical structure demonstrating the utility of the Darwinian toolkit for Biblical exegesis. Keywords: Darwinian exegesis, theology and science, gnosis, self-sacrifice, endogamy Formerly titled: Biblical Allegories from a Darwinian Perspective ""
Liberating Esau : A Corrective Reading of the Esau-Jacob Narrative in Genesis 25-36
2008
The purpose of the present study is to examine the characterisation of Esau in the book of Genesis and offer a favourable reading of the Esau story as a corrective to the usual negative readings. Traditional interpretations of Esau in Jewish and early Christian literature have provided a negative image or portrayal of Esau which contemporary Genesis commentators in their turn draw on to interpret Esau as cruel, stupid, and impulsive, having no concern for the family tradition or the future legacy. The present study revisits these negative perceptions of Esau and rereads the texts according to the sequence of the Jacob-Esau narrative. The present study intends to counterbalance this generally hostile view of Esau by emphasising the full potential in Genesis for a positive and favourable reading of Esau by examining a series of textual cruxes. Where more positive readings of Esau are suggested, this is not necessarily a claim that such readings are to be adopted, but rather to demonstrate that the negative interpretations are not the only option. Negative interpretations of Esau do not originate from the depiction of Esau in Genesis itself but are derived from the biases against Esau of a succession of later interpreters. The negative image of Esau in the text of Genesis itself is demonstrably less strong than that of contemporary Genesis commentaries. After the careful scrutiny of the Jacob-Esau narrative, other biblical texts which deal with Esau, and representative commentaries, it is concluded that the Genesis narrator has characterised Esau as a favourable and honourable character. Genesis commentators have obscured this with their negative assumptions about Esau, influenced by their focus on Jacob the chosen one. The writing of a PhD thesis can be a lonely and isolating experience, but it was a great pleasure for me to carry my postgraduate research in the Department of Biblical Studies, University of Sheffield. I wish to take this opportunity to acknowledge personal and practical support given to me during the preparation of this study. First of all, my warmest thanks go to my supervisor, Prof. Hugh Pyper, who gave liberally of his precious time for my research. The friendly and supportive atmosphere inherent in our supervisory meetings contributed to the final outcome of this study. I am also very thankful for his careful scrutiny of the whole draft with his invaluable comments. My postgraduate research would not have been the same without friendship and academic challenges provided by all my postgraduate colleagues and the faculty during the departmental seminar every Monday. I am particularly thankful to Prof. Cheryl Exum, Prof. Keith W. Whitelam, and Dr. Diana Edelman for their valuable comments. I also thank for my postgraduate roommates, Matthew Coomber and Sehyun Kim. They stood with me when the struggles of research seemed overwhelming. Our fellowship inside and outside the postgraduate room was a memorable experience of my postgraduate life in Sheffield. My special thanks also go to Minna Shkul who did all the supporting work for printing and binding of my PhD thesis while I was away from Sheffield. Over the past three years, I have enjoyed the aid of several scholarships. I am especially grateful for the studentship and maintenance grant offered by the University of Sheffield without those support I could not have embarked on my research. I am also thankful for the junior research fellowship from KIA TS (Korea Institute for Advanced Theological Studies) and financial support from Boondang Church. i ii During the time of revising my thesis, I am greatly indebted to the staff at the Infonnation Resource Center for Biblical Studies, Korean Bible Society, who provided me a reserved workstation in a quite place. I also would like to thank Kee-Mun Sung, one ofthe fellow library users there, for his mentoring and encouragement to persevere.
How It All Started The Stories of Jacob and Esau
The familiar stories of Jacob and Esau yield a rich treasure of insight in the Calvinist/Arminian debate. Long judged for his horrendous choice - to sell his birthright for food - Esau has been vilified through the ages. But was that horrendous mistake the end of his story? In this chapter, you will discover surprising facts about Esau and his posterity that will shed light on the debate. In this chapter, also, you will discover surprising details about God's oracle to Rebekah and the big surprise - the oracle was not set in stone and was later modified. If these things are true, if Esau could reform and if the predestining words to Rebekah could be modified, how then, could Esau/Edom become the example of those who, according to the Calvinist position, represent those who have been foreordained to eternal judgment? This lesson is Chapter 6 of The Edomite Enigma. For information on ordering the book, go to www.WGSministries.org/enigma.
WHEN ANIMALS RULE THE WORLD: THE ROLE OF ANIMALS IN THE STORY OF ESAU AND JACOB (GENESIS 27)
Restoration Quarterly, 2024
This article explores the relationship of humans and animals in the story of Esau and Jacob in Genesis 27. Arguing that the manner of Jacob’s trickery is patterned after the serpent’s ruse in Gen 3, Gen 27 is read within the context of the first temptation. Through the appeal to the senses, the serpent and Jacob/Rebekah, try to reverse the creation mandate, where humans are uniquely created and where they have authority over animals. This study therefore shows that the enmity between the sons of the serpent and the woman is far from over. Rather, it is a theme that pulsates through the narrative of Jacob and Esau.
The Mindset of the Patriarch Jacob and His Antipode Brother Esau
Visnyk of the Lviv University, 2020
What precisely distinguishes people who excel and flourish in life and at what they do from those who continuously struggle and suffer in life? Where do people's abilities and successes come from? Investigating these complicated issues, many contemporary psychologists, psychiatrists, neurologists, and researchers of human behavior argue that the physical health of a person, his morality, and his internal aspirations strongly affect the thinking of a person and, as a result, his behaver. Scholars believe that it is happening because man's thinking or consciousness is a value system that guides how people deal with each specific situation, or how people understand what is happening around them and what they should do in a given moment. For that reason, modern scientists, as theologians from time immemorial, began to believe that human behavior can be improved by enlightening consciousness. This article is aiming to explore what does the Bible says about human consciousness? Is it true that the consciousness of people determines their being, or, conversely, their social being determines their consciousness? It is noteworthy that for millennia the Holy Bible has taught that the life of any person can be "transformed by the renewal of the mind". The Scriptures also teach that man's behavior will gradually be changed by "renewed in the spirit of [his] mind". In the outstanding case of the biblical Esau and Jacob, Hebrew and Christian theologians always note that both of these twins came from the same womb, had the same parents and an identical environment. On the other hand, they (Esau and Jacob) are truly worlds apart. This research paper depicted how through the history, Hebrew and Christian communities viewed and interpreted the life of carnal Esau and the righteous Patriarch Jacob. Nevertheless, the main goal of this study is to show from a theological point of view how human desire, mindset and free will influence human behavior and predetermined the outcome of man's life.