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Jacob
and Esau
Some
of the most important theological events
associated with the life of Isaac's twin
sons Jacob and Esau took place in ancient
Jordan. Jacob, with his wives Rachel and
Leah, his two concubines, and his many
children, fled the home of his uncle Laban
in Haran, Mesopotamia (Turkey/Iraq area
today), and headed back to Canaan. Laban
chased down Jacob's party and caught up
with them at a place called Mizpah in
Gilead, in the hill country above the
Jordan Valley (Genesis 31). Jacob and
Laban reconciled there and made a lifelong
pact of peace, saying, "May the Lord
watch between you and me while we are
absent one from the other" (Genesis
31:49).
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The
sites of Penuel and Mahanaim, where Jacob
stopped during this transformative return
journey from Mesopotamia to Canaan, have
long been identified with two sites in
north-central Jordan -- Tulul ed-Dahab
al-Gharbi and Tulul ed-Dahab al-Sharqi
("the eastern and western hills of
gold"). Jacob had reconciled with
his uncle Laban, but still feared facing
his brother Esau, for Jacob had used trickery
to steal Esau's birthright, and Esau had
vowed to kill Jacob one day. When Jacob
camped at Mahanaim on his way to meet
Esau, he was greeted by the angels of
God who protected him (Genesis 32:1).
Nevertheless, a frightened Jacob made
the first prayer in the Bible in which
a human being asks God for personal protection
(Genesis 32:9-12).
Penuel
(" the face of God") was so
named by Jacob after he wrestled there
all night with God in the form of a man
or an angel (Genesis 32:24-30). A massive
Bronze and Iron Age temple recently discovered
at Pella, in the northern Jordan Valley,
is thought to be the largest, best preserved
temple from Old Testament times excavated
anywhere in the Holy Land.
The
discovery leads some scholars to believe
that ancient Penuel may have been located
at Pella. After Jacob struggled with the
angel of God, his name was changed to
Isra-'el ("he struggles with God").
Then he reconciled with Esau, continued
with his family to Canaan, and soon after
emerged as the father of the 12 tribes
of Isra-'el. Esau remained in southern
Jordan, where the Bible describes him
as the father of the Edomites in the land
of Seir (also called Edom) (Genesis 36:6-8).
The
moving reconciliations in this area between
Jacob and Laban, and Jacob and Esau, are
only two of many examples of Jordan's
enduring symbolism as a place where human
beings learned and applied God's command
to love one another, and to be merciful,
tolerant, humble and forgiving.
The
region of southern Jordan below the Zered
River (modern Wadi Hasa) includes the
biblical lands of Midian, Edom, Paran
and Seir (or Mount Seir), fabled for their
pasture lands, mineral-rich mountains,
strategic communication routes, and expansive
deserts (Genesis 14:6; 32:3; Exodus 2:15).
During the Exodus, Moses and the people
had to detour around Edom because the
King of Edom refused them passage. The
excavated 7th century BC remains at Busayra
town are those of ancient Bozrah, an Edomite
capital (Isaiah 34:6). One biblical passage
suggests that the Messiah will return
from Bozrah (Isaiah 63:1; also, Revelations
19:13), while Habbakuk 3:3 says that the
Lord God came from Edom and Paran.
The
summit of Umm al-Biyara mountain in central
Petra, with its excavated 7th century
BC village, is identified by some scholars
as biblical Sela ("rock"). King
Amaziah of Judah "killed ten thousand
Edomites in the Valley of Salt and took
Sela by storm" (2 Kings 14:7, Isaiah
16:1). Ancient Sela also is identified
with the mountaintop stronghold known
today as Sele', north of Petra and near
Busayra.
Jacob's
son Joseph is known to have passed through
the land of Jordan only once as an adult,
(Genesis 50:10,11). He and other members
of the family brought the body of their
father Jacob for mourning at a place called
"the threshing floor of Atad, which
is beyond the Jordan" (i.e., east
of the Jordan River Valley), after which
they took it for its final burial in Canaan.
The
Old Testament lands of Bashan and Gilead
in northern Jordan were the scenes of
episodes in the lives of Jacob, Moses,
David, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, Gideon,
and other kings, judges and prophets.
Bashan was famed for its thick oak forests,
while Gilead was noted for its balm. The
Ishmaelite traders who bought Joseph and
took him to Egypt were carrying aromatic
gum, balm and myrrh from Gilead to Egypt
(Genesis 37:25). The southern border of
Gilead was usually the Jabbok River, the
modern Zerqa River (Numbers 21:24). Abraham,
Jacob, Gideon, Jephthah and others travelled
along its banks east of the Jordan (Judges
8:4-12; Genesis 33:17). Archaeological
remains of biblical towns in Gilead include
Rammoth-gilead (Tell Rumeith), which is
linked with events in the lives of Ahab,
Jezebel, Elijah and Elisha (2 Kings 9:1).
Jabesh-gilead in Wadi al-Yabis, whose
citizens retrieved and buried the bodies
of Saul and his sons, has been identified
with modern Tell al-Maqbara, Tell Abu-Kharaz,
or Tell al-Maqlub (Judges 21:8-15; 1 Samuel
31:11-13; 2 Samuel 2:4-7).
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