It's an ancient Jewish work that retells the stories from Genesis and Exodus, but with a whole lot of extra detail and a unique perspective on Jewish law and history. And it's in this book that we find a particularly juicy episode involving Jacob and Esau.
So, the scene is set. Jacob is chilling in his tower, likely still grieving the loss of his wife. (We can feel the sadness in the air, right?) But suddenly, messengers arrive from the men of Hebron with some alarming news. "Your brother," they say, "is coming to fight you! He’s got four thousand men, all armed to the teeth!"
Four thousand! Can you imagine the panic? They explain that the men favor Jacob over Esau. Apparently, Jacob was known as a more generous and compassionate guy. But Jacob, ever the cautious one, doesn't immediately buy it. He waits, probably peering out from the tower, until the approaching army is practically on his doorstep.
Then, and only then, does he spring into action. He slams the gates shut – can’t be too careful, right? – and climbs up to the battlements. From his elevated position, he calls out to his brother Esau, and what he says next is… well, it's something. "Noble is the comfort wherewith thou hast come to comfort me for my wife who hath died."
Wait, what? Is Jacob being sarcastic? Is he genuinely trying to defuse the situation with a bit of awkward pleasantry? Or is he just completely missing the point?
Think about it. Esau shows up with a small army after the death of Jacob’s wife. Jacob's response? A polite acknowledgement of Esau’s “comfort.”
It's a bizarre, almost comical moment amidst the potential for violence. And it leaves us hanging. What happens next? Does Esau buy Jacob’s flimsy excuse? Does a battle ensue? You’ll have to dive into the Book of Jubilees to find out!
But it does make you wonder, doesn't it? How often do we, like Jacob, try to smooth things over with words when actions speak so much louder? How often do we misread a situation, or perhaps deliberately choose to see only what we want to see? And what does it really mean to offer comfort, especially in the face of deep-seated family conflict?