Texts in Conversation
Genesis 25 says Jacob lived in “tents,” and both Jubilees and Genesis Rabbah use the plural to heighten the contrast with Esau. They turn Jacob’s tents into a sign of devotion to study, showing him as focused on learning when Esau was not.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 25:27
Hebrew Bible
25 The first came out reddish all over, like a hairy garment, so they named him Esau. 26 When his brother came out with his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born. 27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Date: 750–400 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Jubilees 19:14
Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions
13 And in the sixth week, in the second year of it [2046], Rebecca bore to Isaac two sons, Jacob and Esau, and Jacob was a smooth and upright man, and Esau was fierce, a man of the field, and hairy, and Jacob dwelt in tents. 14 And the youths grew, and Jacob learned to write; but Esau did not learn, for he was a man of the field and a hunter, and he learnt war, and all his deeds were fierce. 15 And Abraham loved Jacob, but Isaac loved Esau.
Date: 170–125 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Genesis Rabbah 63:11
Aggadah
Rabbinic
hunted in the field. In the house, [he said]: ‘How does one prepare salt?’ In the field, [he said:] ‘How does one prepare straw?’ Rabbi Ḥiyya said: He abandoned himself like a field. Israel said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, is it not enough that you subjugated us to seventy nations, but even to this one, that engages in relations like a woman?’ The Holy One blessed be He said to them: ‘I, too, will exact retribution against him with that expression.’ That is what is written: “The heart of the valiant of Edom will be on that day like the heart of a woman in anguish” (Jeremiah 49:22). “Jacob was a simple man, a dweller in tents” – two tents; the study hall of Shem, and the study hall of Ever. “Isaac loved Esau because of the game in his mouth, and Rebecca loved Jacob” (Genesis 25:28). “Isaac loved Esau because of the game in his mouth” – good meat for his mouth and a good cup for his mouth. “And Rebecca loved Jacob” – the more she would hear his voice, the more she would add love onto her love for him.
Date: 500 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Esau is not only “a man of the field” but also a “hunter” (Jubilees 19:14; compare Genesis 25:27) and one who “learned (the art of) warfare” (Jubilees 19:14). The mention that he was “harsh” is repeated (Jubilees 19:14), and in contrast to Jacob it is said that Esau did not learn the art of writing (Jubilees 19:14). Jacob “learned (the art of) writing” (Jubilees 19:14), which might be an elaboration of the remark that “Jacob dwelt in tents” (Jubilees 19:13d; Genesis 25:27d) ... Compare Genesis Rabbah 63:11: “Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents: in two tents, namely in the academy of Shem and the academy of Eber.” Targum Onqelos Genesis 25:27: “Jakob was a man peaceful in his works, a minister in the house of instruction.” ..."
Jacques T. A. G. M. van Ruiten, Abraham in the Book of Jubilees: The Rewriting of Genesis 11:26–25:10 in the Book of Jubilees 11:14–23:8, JSJSup 161 (Leiden: Brill, 2012), 242.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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