Figuring (out) Esau: The Rabbis and Their Others

Abstract

This article underscores Esau’s depiction in rabbinic literature and it calls attention to the use of eponymous biblical figures. Esau not only symbolises a real other, but, like Ishmael and the children of Keturah, he is a fabricated antipode to Israel. Both real historical events and the precedence of an archetype, a primordial Other that is articulated, reified, and transmuted throughout the rabbinic corpus, are contributing factors to this treatment of Esau. Thus, the article emphasises the importance of understanding those causes in light of rabbinic hermeneutic principles and practices.Moreover, it reflects on the reasons for the heavy-handed scholarly construal of Esau as Christianity, even though scholars of rabbinic literature doubtless agree that Esau is not always identified with Christianity. The stakes here have as much to do with understanding specific midrashim as they do with appreciating fundamental rabbinic hermeneutic practices.