The Ladder of Jacob: Ancient Interpretations of the Biblical Story of Jacob and His Children

by James L. Kugel

Book Overview

Rife with incest, adultery, rape, and murder, the biblical story of Jacob and his children must have troubled ancient readers. By any standard, this was a family with problems. Jacob's oldest son Reuben is said to have slept with his father's concubine Bilhah. The next two sons, Simeon and Levi, tricked the men of a nearby city into undergoing circumcision, and then murdered all of them as revenge for the rape of their sister. Judah, the fourth...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0691141231
• ISBN13: 9780691141237
• Release Date: March 2009
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.1"