Page:A Jewish Interpretation of the Book of Genesis (Morgenstern, 1919, jewishinterpreta00morg).pdf/237

 The Unity of

the Jacob Story

219

The covenant at "deceitfur'. with the word ramai Mizpeh, as has been stated, depicts the relations between Israel and Syria during the reign of Ahab.

tion

,

On

the other hand,

Esau

descended from him, Edom,

typified the nation traditionally still

in

the compilers' days the

arch-enemy of their own nation Judah. In their task they were too much patriotic Judeans to be altogether prophetThey could not do as Hosea had done, and ically objective. paint Jacob in hopelessly black colors. feel, too,

They could not but

a certain sense of national gratification in picturing

triumph over Esau and Laban, even while at the same time from a purely moral standpoint they condemned

Jacob's

Jacob's deception.

of international law

macy.

own

Even today deception within the is

limits

often regarded as praiseworthy diplo-

These compilers w^ere too much children of

their

drawn of Jacob the Israelite outwitting and triumphing over Esau the Edomite and Laban the Aramaean. But this caused the one great w^eakness of their drama. For after Jacob's regeneration and reconciliation with Esau, they still represented him as not trusting Esau implicitly, and outwitting him once more by promising to join him in his home land, Seir, and then instead journeying on elsewhere. It is an illogical sequel to the story. We would expect it to times not to exult a bit in the picture they had

conclude with the perfect reconciliation of the tw^o brothers

mutual trust in each other, their return together house and subsequent dwelling together in peace and love. Probably the compilers w^ould have concluded their story thus had they been able. But actual historical conditions made this impossible. Judah and Edom did not dwell together, nor were their relations peaceful and brotherly. Instead they dwelt apart in different lands, and were constantly divided by mutual distrust, hatred, and strife. And so the most these compilers could do w^as to make Jacob and Esau meet and part again amicably. And even here

and

to

their

their father's