Jacob Steals Esau’s Blessing: This suspense-filled narrative portrays a family torn between the conflicting wills of a father and a mother. An indulgent father favors a rugged, athletic, unpretentious older son while a brilliant, domineering mother manipulates matters to the advantage of her younger son, who loves to take care of the animals and do chores around the tent. “Son” is a controlling word in this narrative, being employed by each parent to emphasize his or her respective love for and favoritism to one son. Isaac calls Esau “my son” (vv. 18, 20, 21 [twice], 24, 25, 26, 27, though mistakenly for Jacob in these verses, 37); Esau is “his [i.e., Isaac’s] son” (vv. 1, 5, 20). Rebekah calls Jacob “my son” (vv. 8, 13, 43), and he is “her son” in verse 17 (I. Willi-Plein, “Genesis 27 als…