This sheet on Genesis 27 was written by Esther Israel for 929 and can also be found here
In Chapter 25 Ya'akov (a.k.a.: Jacob)'s name was explained as referring to the circumstances of his birth: He was born hanging on to the heel,‘akev of his older twin. His name, then, means something like "The Heeler".
Yet the translation left out the obvious word play in the Hebrew, leaving us a bit confused by the connection between the description in 25:26: "Then his brother emerged, holding on to the heel of Esau..." and the 'logical' result in that verse: "...so they named him Jacob". Ya'akov/Jacob is on Esau's heels, trying to catch up with his older brother, even surpass him, gaining the birthright (chapter 25) and now the first born's blessing. Capturing nuances of original texts is frequently a problem in translation.
Here, Esau offers another etymology for Ya'akov's name. In 27:36, Esau cries angrily, interpreting Ya'akov's name as a character trait – he is a "supplanter", with our translation, or, I suggest: on who overrides, supersedes. Jacob has twice cut before him into the line of seniority and beaten him to the desired prize. In modern Hebrew too, the word appears, not as ע.ק.ב but rather ע.ק.פ., which means “break into a queue out of turn,” or “pass your car on the road.”
In Esau's reading, Jacob is not a go-getting heeler, but a crooked cheat. Which is another meaning of עקוב, "crooked". As Jeremiah 17:9 claims: "עקוב הלב מכל", ‘akov halev mikol: “Most devious is the heart."
This is what will be rectified in the renaming of Ya'akov, by divine messenger and God, who seemingly concur with Esau's understanding when the name of crookedness is replaced by a name based on the word for straight and honest: ישראל Yisrael (Israel), from ישר, yashar, “straight.”
Yet the translation left out the obvious word play in the Hebrew, leaving us a bit confused by the connection between the description in 25:26: "Then his brother emerged, holding on to the heel of Esau..." and the 'logical' result in that verse: "...so they named him Jacob". Ya'akov/Jacob is on Esau's heels, trying to catch up with his older brother, even surpass him, gaining the birthright (chapter 25) and now the first born's blessing. Capturing nuances of original texts is frequently a problem in translation.
Here, Esau offers another etymology for Ya'akov's name. In 27:36, Esau cries angrily, interpreting Ya'akov's name as a character trait – he is a "supplanter", with our translation, or, I suggest: on who overrides, supersedes. Jacob has twice cut before him into the line of seniority and beaten him to the desired prize. In modern Hebrew too, the word appears, not as ע.ק.ב but rather ע.ק.פ., which means “break into a queue out of turn,” or “pass your car on the road.”
In Esau's reading, Jacob is not a go-getting heeler, but a crooked cheat. Which is another meaning of עקוב, "crooked". As Jeremiah 17:9 claims: "עקוב הלב מכל", ‘akov halev mikol: “Most devious is the heart."
This is what will be rectified in the renaming of Ya'akov, by divine messenger and God, who seemingly concur with Esau's understanding when the name of crookedness is replaced by a name based on the word for straight and honest: ישראל Yisrael (Israel), from ישר, yashar, “straight.”
(לו) וַיֹּ֡אמֶר הֲכִי֩ קָרָ֨א שְׁמ֜וֹ יַעֲקֹ֗ב וַֽיַּעְקְבֵ֙נִי֙ זֶ֣ה פַעֲמַ֔יִם אֶת־בְּכֹרָתִ֣י לָקָ֔ח וְהִנֵּ֥ה עַתָּ֖ה לָקַ֣ח בִּרְכָתִ֑י וַיֹּאמַ֕ר הֲלֹא־אָצַ֥לְתָּ לִּ֖י בְּרָכָֽה׃
(36) [Esau] said, “Was he, then, named Jacob that he might supplant me these two times? First he took away my birthright and now he has taken away my blessing!” And he added, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”
Esther Israel is a Jerusalem educator
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