Esau
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Comment by whaines on September 11th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
When he obtained the blessing from Isaac, Jacob was merely getting what was rightfully his. Esau was the one being deceptive. He should have told Isaac that he had sold his birthright to Jacob and that the blessing therefore belonged to Jacob. So Jacob was not the one behaving unethically. This is why in the Midrash when Isaac finds out that Esau had sold the birthright he praises Jacob for preventing him from committing a terrible sin. You also ignore the mother-son cooperation and the fact that Jacob was reluctant to do what he did. God’s will presumably trumps ethics as Rebecca knew from revelation as well as intuition which son ought to receive and deserved the blessing.
Comment by Frank Kaufmann on September 11th, 2007 at 4:46 pm
I am embarrassed that I let this language pass through. It is good that Haines makes important observations.
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