Jacob and the Divine Trickster : A Theology of Deception and YHWH’s Fidelity to the Ancestral Promise in the Jacob Cycle

## Preface and Acknowledgments This book is the result of a long and unexpected journey. It is nearly impossible to acknowledge with thanks all those who have contributed to this project. There are indeed many individuals to thank for their help, encouragement, and support. While perhaps unconventional, I must first thank my great-grandmother, Ann Anderson, who first introduced me to the Bible. I still vividly recall her taking me on her lap and reading to me from the book of Genesis. My journey began with her. She was the first theologian to incline my mind and heart to the importance, beauty, and power of the Bible. I miss her dearly. A number of former teachers have been instrumental in shaping this book in ways of which they are probably unaware. Murray Haar continued this journey for me by opening up the academic world of biblical studies and showing me that it is not the pursuit of answers but rather the asking of thoughtful and probing questions that breathes life into the text. It is because of him that I entered this field. Richard Swanson taught me always to use imagination and creativity in interpreting biblical texts. The seeds for this project were first planted in the spring of 2006 during a seminar on Genesis with Anathea Portier-Young at Duke University. My proposal to investigate the connection between deception and blessing in the Jacob cycle was met with great interest. The present book is markedly different from my original proposal nearly five years ago, and I thank Thea for her engaging questions during that initial foray, which have been of tremendous assistance in helping me to refine both my method and my argument. This book is a revision of my Ph.D. dissertation, completed at Baylor University (2010), and I am deeply indebted to my supervisor, W. H. Bellinger Jr. As a constant source of encouragement and confidence, he graciously and with great interest accepted the task of directing a dissertation on the divine trickster! He has instilled in me a passion for the task of Old Testament theology. He has exemplified encouragement, confidence, and care in shaping both this project and me as a scholar. Always an important advocate of my work, Dr. Bellinger has been both a mentor and a friend, never allowing me to settle for easy conclusions and always pressing me harder. I have learned from him the value and transformative power of theological inquiry of the biblical text, but also so much more that transcends academia. His interest in my scholarship and my family and me during my time at Baylor have taught me more than books ever could. ## Preface and Acknowledgments xi My friends and family have provided unfailing support and encouragement. I must thank especially my parents for modeling the type of love and devotion to one another and to God that I can only hope to achieve. I am certain they never would have thought the child pretending to sleep late on Sunday mornings would ultimately choose the field of religion as his profession! Truly, the Lord works in mysterious ways! To my parents I owe more than I can say. Last, but by no means least, the largest praise goes to my wife, Taryn, and son, Evan. Both have sacrificed in countless ways so that I may bring this work to completion. Words are inadequate to express the level of appreciation, gratitude, and love I have for them. They have kept me sane and grounded throughout this process. Every day, I have known that I would walk in the door and be greeted by a big hug and the exuberant shout of "Daddy!" which transforms even the least productive days into happy and worthwhile days. This has truly been the ultimate system of encouragement and support. Taryn has been at my side always. It is one thing to say you support someone, but it is quite another to embody it with patience, steadfastness, understanding, faith, and love. Without either of them, I could not have completed this work. And, my little Evster, who is all-too-quickly becoming my big Evster, this book is for you. xiii Abbreviations General asv American Standard Version b.c.E.

The book of Genesis portrays the character Jacob as a brazen trickster who deceives members of his own family: his father Isaac, brother Esau, and uncle Laban. At the same time, Genesis depicts Jacob as YHWH’s chosen, from whom the entire people Israel derive and for whom they are named. These two notices produce a latent tension in the text: Jacob is concurrently an unabashed trickster and YHWH’s preference. How is one to address this tension? Scholars have long focused on the implications for the character and characterization of Jacob. The very question, however, at its core raises an issue that is theological in nature. The Jacob cycle (Gen 25–36) is just as much, if not more, a text about God as it is about Jacob, a point startlingly absent in a great deal of Genesis scholarship. Anderson argues for the presence of what he has dubbed a theology of deception in the Jacob cycle: YHWH operates as a divine trickster who both uses and engages in deception for the perpetuation of the ancestral promise (Gen 12:1–3).

Through a literary hermeneutic, emphasizing the symbiotic relationship between how the text means and what the text means, and a keen eye to the larger task of Old Testament theology as literally “a word about God,” Anderson examines the various manifestations of YHWH as trickster in the Jacob cycle. The phenomenon of divine deception at every turn is intimately tethered in diverse ways to YHWH’s unique concern for the protection and advancement of the ancestral promise, which has cosmic implications. Attention is given to the ways that the multiple deceptions—some previously unnoticed—evoke, advance, and at times fulfill the ancestral promise.

Anderson’s careful and thoughtful interweaving of trickster texts and traditions in the interest of theology is a unique contribution of this important volume. Oftentimes, scholars who are interested in the trickster are unconcerned with the theological ramifications of the presence of material of this sort in the biblical text, while theologians have often neglected the vibrant and pervasive presence of the trickster in the biblical text. Equally vital is the necessity of viewing the Old Testament’s image of God as also comprising dynamic, subversive, and unsettling elements. Attempts to whitewash or sanitize the biblical God fail to recognize and appreciate the complex and intricate ways that YHWH interacts with his chosen people. This witness to YHWH’s engagement in deception stands alongside and paradoxically informs the biblical text’s portrait of YHWH as trustworthy and a God who does not lie. Anderson’s Jacob and the Divine Trickster stands as a stimulating and provocative investigation into the most interesting and challenging character in the Bible, God, and marks the first true comprehensive treatment of YHWH as divine trickster. Anderson has set the stage to continue the conversation and investigation into a theology of deception in the Hebrew Bible.

The book of Genesis portrays the character Jacob as a brazen trickster who deceives members of his own family: his father Isaac, brother Esau, and uncle Laban. At the same time, Genesis depicts Jacob as YHWH’s chosen, from whom the entire people Israel derive and for whom they are named. These two notices produce a latent tension in the text: Jacob is concurrently an unabashed trickster and YHWH’s preference. How is one to address this tension? Scholars have long focused on the implications for the character and characterization of Jacob. The very question, however, at its core raises an issue that is theological in nature. The Jacob cycle (Gen 25–36) is just as much, if not more, a text about God as it is about Jacob, a point startlingly absent in a great deal of Genesis scholarship. Anderson argues for the presence of what he has dubbed a theology of deception in the Jacob cycle: YHWH operates as a divine trickster who both uses and engages in deception for the perpetuation of the ancestral promise (Gen 12:1–3). Through a literary hermeneutic, emphasizing the symbiotic relationship between how the text means and what the text means, and a keen eye to the larger task of Old Testament theology as literally “a word about God,” Anderson examines the various manifestations of YHWH as trickster in the Jacob cycle. The phenomenon of divine deception at every turn is intimately tethered in diverse ways to YHWH’s unique concern for the protection and advancement of the ancestral promise, which has cosmic implications. Attention is given to the ways that the multiple deceptions—some previously unnoticed—evoke, advance, and at times fulfill the ancestral promise. Anderson’s careful and thoughtful interweaving of trickster texts and traditions in the interest of theology is a unique contribution of this important volume. Oftentimes, scholars who are interested in the trickster are unconcerned with the theological ramifications of the presence of material of this sort in the biblical text, while theologians have often neglected the vibrant and pervasive presence of the trickster in the biblical text. Equally vital is the necessity of viewing the Old Testament’s image of God as also comprising dynamic, subversive, and unsettling elements. Attempts to whitewash or sanitize the biblical God fail to recognize and appreciate the complex and intricate ways that YHWH interacts with his chosen people. This witness to YHWH’s engagement in deception stands alongside and paradoxically informs the biblical text’s portrait of YHWH as trustworthy and a God who does not lie. Anderson’s Jacob and the Divine Trickster stands as a stimulating and provocative investigation into the most interesting and challenging character in the Bible, God, and marks the first true comprehensive treatment of YHWH as divine trickster. Anderson has set the stage to continue the conversation and investigation into a theology of deception in the Hebrew Bible. What role does God play in relation to the deceptions that pervade the Jacob cycle? What has not been investigated is the way God may factor into this deceptive activity. The book of Genesis contains a latent tension: Jacob is both a brazen trickster who deceives members of his own family and YHWH's chosen, from whom the entire people of Israel derive and for whom they are named. How is one to reconcile this tension? This dissertation investigates the phenomenon of divine deception in the Jacob cycle (Gen 25-35). The primary thesis is that YHWH both uses and engages in deception for the perpetuation of the ancestral promise (Gen 12:1-3), giving rise to what Anderson has dubbed a theology of deception. Through a literary hermeneutic, emphasizing the symbiotic relationship between both how the text means and what the text means, with theological aims, this study examines the various manifestations of YHWH as Trickster in the Jacob cycle. Attention is given to how the multiple deceptions evoke, advance, and at times fulfill the ancestral promise. In Gen 25-28 YHWH engages in deception to insure Jacob receives the ancestral promise. Here Jacob is seen cutting his deceptive teeth by extorting the right of the firstborn from Esau and the paternal blessing from Isaac. YHWH, however, also plays the role of Trickster through an utterly ambiguous oracle to Rebekah in Gen 25:23, which drives the human deceptions. At Bethel (Gen 28:10-22) Jacob receives the ancestral promise from YHWH, in effect corroborating the earlier deceptions. In Gen 29-31 YHWH uses the many deceptions perpetrated between Jacob and Laban to advance the ancestral promise in the areas of progeny, blessing to the nations, and land. Lastly, in Gen 32-35 YHWH participates in Jacob's final deception of Esau (Gen 33:1-17) through two encounters Jacob has, first with the "messengers of God" and second with God. Jacob's tricking of Esau during their reconciliation results in Jacob's return to the promised land. Can anyone out-trick the Divine Trickster? Anderson thus rightly gives due attention to the Old Testament's image of God as dynamic, subversive, and unsettling, appreciating the complex and intricate ways that YHWH interacts with his people. This witness to YHWH's engagement in deception stands alongside and informs the biblical portrait of YHWH as trustworthy and a God who does not lie