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Deuteronomy assigns each nation a divine guardian while keeping Jacob as God’s own portion. Jubilees draws on that arrangement when Isaac calms Rebecca, promising that Jacob’s guardian outranks the lesser one set over Esau.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Deuteronomy 32:8
Hebrew Bible
7 Remember the ancient days; bear in mind the years of past generations. Ask your father and he will inform you, your elders, and they will tell you. 8 When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided up humankind, he set the boundaries of the peoples, according to the number of the heavenly assembly. 9 For the Lord’s allotment is his people, Jacob is his special possession. 10 The Lord found him in a desolate land, in an empty wasteland where animals howl. He continually guarded him and taught him; he continually protected him like the pupil of his eye.
Jubilees 35:17
Pseudepigrapha
16 ‘If he wishes to kill his brother Jacob, he will be handed over to Jacob and will not escape from his control but will fall into his control.’ 17 ‘Now you are not to be afraid for Jacob because Jacob’s guardian is greater and more powerful, glorious, and praiseworthy than Esau’s guardian.’ 18 Then Rebecca sent and summoned Esau. When he had come to her, she said to him: ‘I have a request that I will make of you, my son; say that you will do it, my son.’
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Notes and References
... What is worth noting here is that Esau’s guardian is not the same as Jacob’s. Few possible explanations for such a statement or idea can be suggested. First, since Esau represents Edom in Genesis, it is not that difficult to understand that his guardian or guardians (=god[s]) are not the same as the guardian of Israel, Yhwh. The author stated already in Jubilees 15:30-32 that God did not choose Esau, even though he was a son of Abraham. All peoples belong to God, but they are ruled by false-leading spirits so that they do not follow Him. In the case of Israel, however, that is not true. In Jubilees 15:30-32, the author has given an interpretation on Deuteronomy 32:8-9, and now in Jubilees 35:17 he alludes to this idea once again: Esau’s guardian is a false-leading spirit. ...
Tanskanen, Topias K. E.
Jacob, the Torah, and the Abrahamic Promise: Studies on the Use and Interpretation of the Jacob Story in the Book of Jubilees
(pp. 243-244) Åbo Akademi University Press, 2023
* 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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