The Ladder of Jacob

A renowned scholar retraces the steps of ancient biblical interpreters as they struggled to understand the complex and troubling story of Jacob. Rife with incest, adultery, rape, and murder, the biblical story of Jacob and his children must have troubled ancient readers. They were the founders of the nation of Israel. Yet, 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, murde