Archives: Messiah

Jacob and Esau’s Struggle in the 2nd Century

Jacob and Esau’s Struggle in the 2nd Century

The earliest midrashic commentaries on the story of Jacob and Esau portray Esau as thoroughly wicked. Since Jacob does not seem to emerge from the deception of his father with much credit, the vilification of Esau seems a little unfair. But, like much of midrash, if we need to consider it in its historic setting if we are to fully understand it.

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Hinting at Optimism- Joseph, Judah and Tamar

The tale of Judah and Tamar has long been recognised as a deliberately constructed antithesis to the Joseph story. The Torah inserts the narrative immediately after Joseph has been thrown into the pit and directly before his arrival in Egypt. According to the Midrash (Bereshit Rabba 85,2) the 3rd century rabbis Yohanan and Elazar each offered a reason for the story’s insertion at this point. Continue reading

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