Was Jacob right to take Esau’s blessing in disguise? Was he right to deceive his father and to take from his brother the blessing Isaac sought to give him? Was Rivka right in conceiving the plan in the first place and encouraging Jacob to carry it out? These are fundamental questions dealing with this episode. We can attempt to answer these questions by suggesting two dramatically different readings of this narrative. 

 

This article is part of the Covenant & Conversation series.

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