Biblical Hebrew Forum

[JimStinehart AT aol.com]

Karl:
 
You wrote:  “GL(D, MXNYM and PNW)L are all different places east of
 the Jordan….”
 
So there’s no way that Jacob would tell Esau that Esau should go on ahead, 
and that Jacob would see Esau a little later south of the Dead Sea.  No, 
Jacob’s reference to Seir must be to historical Seir/Shar/Jazer, in southern 
Gilead.  Esau and everyone else know that Jacob is headed for Canaan, and 
would never take his huge, exhausted flock through the entire Transjordan to 
a 
locale south of the Dead Sea before entering beloved Canaan.  The story makes 
no sense unless the Seir being referenced there is north of the Dead Sea, 
and south of Penuel.  That’s exactly where historical Seir/Shar/Jazer was 
located.  Esau reasonably thought that Jacob was going to proceed south from 
Penuel to Seir/Shar/Jazer in southern Gilead (not south of the Dead Sea), and 
then Jacob would at that point turn west, entering Canaan in the general 
vicinity of the Jerusalem area.  That’s one logical route for Jacob to take, 
so 
it was a reasonable story for Jacob to tell Esau.
 
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois