Biblical Hebrew Forum

[JimStinehart AT aol.com]

Nir Cohen:
 
1.  You wrote:  “esau was a hard worker: a skilled hunter (YODE( CAYD) and 
farmer (ISh SADEH)….”
 
No, no, no!  %DH can mean “places where wild animals roam”.  We have just 
been told that Esau is knowledgeable about wild game.  In that context, %DH 
must mean “places where wild animals roam”.  A young teenager being a “
skilled hunter” is totally incompatible with that young teenager being a 
“farmer
”.
 
2.  You wrote:  “esau was…a main provider for his family and the whole 
community, for which he gained his father's esteem….”
 
A thousand times No!  But nevertheless, you are beginning to highlight the 
key issue here, in your roundabout way.  Never once is there any suggestion, 
much less statement, in the text that Esau is providing meat for the 
community.  Rather, Esau is currying favor with his father Isaac by bringing 
home 
wild game for Esau’s immediate family, in particular Isaac, to eat.
 
It is absolutely clear that the well-being of the community of which Isaac 
is the leader is almost entirely dependent on the well-being of the large 
flock of sheep and goats, not on hunting (or, for that matter, farming).
 
3.  You wrote:  “…while jacob never got a job (ISh TAM) and stayed


at home (ISh OHALIM) cooking and scheming with his mother, how to gain his


father's blessing by, first, taking advantage of his brother's weak moments


and, later, by cheating his dying father.  i must admit i like your version 
better, but...”
 
Note that Jacob does not lack for aggressiveness!  Believe it or not, 
university scholars try to tell us that Genesis 25: 27 shows Jacob as being “
self-reflective”, as opposed to Esau being “aggressive”.  I will send in a 
post 
tomorrow that sets forth the scholarly view of Genesis 25: 27.  You will 
see that the most prominent Genesis scholars in the world have just as much 
trouble understanding Genesis 25: 27 as you do.
 
The whole key here is to figure out what precise aspect of Esau’s hunting 
is being castigated by the Hebrew author, and why.  Your item #2 above is 
actually quite helpful in starting to make sense of Genesis 25: 27.
 
If we can understand Genesis 25: 27, we can understand the bulk of the 
Patriarchal narratives.
 
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois