#esau

i can't tell whether these two would be besties, frenemies, or genuinely despise each other.

whichever relationship it is that these two would have, they're on the same brainwave of mischievous fuckery frfr

They would definitely be Frenemies.

Wrestling with God

1 And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

2 And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.

4 And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:

5 And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.

6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.

7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;

8 And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.

9 And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:

10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.

11 Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.

12 And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

13 And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother;

14 Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams,

15 Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals.

16 And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove.

17 And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?

18 Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob's; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us.

19 And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him.

20 And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.

21 So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company.

22 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.

23 And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.

24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.

28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.

30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.

32 Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank. — Genesis 32 | King James Version (KJV) The King James Version Bible is in the public domain. Cross References: Genesis 14:6; Genesis 18:2; Genesis 24:27; Genesis 27:41; Genesis 31:3; Genesis 31:10; Genesis 31:41; Genesis 33:1; Genesis 33:8; Genesis 35:9-10; Genesis 43:11; Deuteronomy 2:37; Joshua 21:38; Judges 8:8; 1 Samuel 25:19; 2 Kings 6:16-17; Psalm 34:7; Hosea 12:4; Luke 12:45; 1 Corinthians 13:12; Hebrews 11:12

I have long held the opinion that there are three primary blacksheep in the Torah, all within Genesis. They are Ishmael, Esau, and Dinah.

I think that what makes them the blacksheep is that they all consistently lived in the shadows of their siblings, and lived out of favor with their parents, and unjustly.

Ishmael was Abraham's first child, begot by Hagar at the request of Sarah. Ishmael, like all babies, did not ask to be brought into the world, and he and his mother suffered terrible abuse as a result of him simply being born. I wonder if Hagar carried resentment towards Ishmael as a result, even if she loved him. Ishmael goes on to be the progenitor of the Northern Arab tribes, and, according to tradition, builds the Kaaba in Mecca with his father which established a strong link between Abrahamic faith and Arab identity. The importance of what he does, who he goes on to be, and everything he sets out to accomplish is left out of the Torah. We as Jews are not told of the life of our ancestor, Abraham's first child, because he was not Sarah's first child. G-d had a plan for Ishmael, but his plan detracts him from his father and brother, from the Jewish legend that Ishmael could have become. When Ishmael is last mentioned in the Torah, his life is loosely, simply summarized in a shallow paragraph. His story remains a mystery in the Jewish telling of things and it seems like Ishmael was designed to be of Abraham, but not of the Jewish people. That, to me, is a tragedy for Ishmael. Living in his younger brother's shadow, the difficult relationship between his parents and Sarah, and the fast-forwarding of his life in the Torah lead me to believe that Ishmael truly is a blacksheep.

Esau, the child of Isaac and Rebekah, the grandson of Abraham, was the older twin brother of Jacob. As the technical first-born, Esau was entitled to certain blessings and political juxtapositions (I imagine) that did not apply to his brother. However, Esau, more impulsive and brute than Jacob, sells his birthright when on the verge of collapse after a long day in the field. True, Esau sold away his birthright, but it was wrong for Jacob to demand such a thing. I imagine that Esau, as his father's favorite, really burned a hole in the side of Rebekah, who preferred Jacob--to the point that she manipulates her husband into giving Jacob the blessings that he wanted to give Esau. Esau was betrayed not only by his twin brother and mother, but by his father also. I always found it unreasonable that Isaac could not bless both sons, and seemingly Esau did as well. He goes on to live with his family, whom all make exceptions for Jacob that they may not make for Esau, and he is aware of that. Esau's misfortune goes on when his decisions appear to displease those around him. At one point, he returns to his uncle Ishmael to seek wives that would not offend his parents, as Jacob's wife Rachel did not. I find it wholesome that the two blacksheep are together. Two firstborn sons swindled out of whatever may have been theirs by those that were supposed to love them the most. When Esau and Jacob remeet, they are full of love, though Jacob had anticipated the worst from his brother (granted, Esau had vowed to kill him). Esau's acceptance and positive reaction towards his brother says volumes of Esau's personal growth and increased empathy, though he does not exactly receive this praise throughout the passage. Even his good work seems to go unnoticed.

Dinah was the daughter and seventh-born child of Jacob and Leah. Dinah's position as the only daughter in the family may have meant that she would be dotted on and favored, but not so for her. Perhaps because she is the child of his least-favorite partner, Jacob seems to never speak to or about Dinah; even when she is raped, he remains silent. When Dinah's brother retaliate on her behalf, Jacob scolds them. He is much more concerned about the reputation of the family than the safety of his only daughter, and never admits to the atrocity of rape itself. There is a midrash that says that Leah knew that she was born with another son; however, she prayed to G-d for a miracle and the fetus transformed from a boy to a girl. Did Jacob resent Dinah for being born a girl, when he could have had another son? Jacob carried the opinion that sons were superior to daughters, and Dinah was likely to Jacob another woman under his roof to contend with. We know that the family life of Jacob's clan is messy, but Dinah seems more removed fro the mess than anyone. Aside from her assault, she is nearly never mentioned. Dinah is one of the 70 individuals to relocate to Egypt, and that is all we really know about her story.