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Document Details : Title: When Reconciliation Means More than the 'Re-Membering' of Former Enemies Subtitle: The Problem of the Conclusion to the Jacob-Esau Story from a Narrative Perspective (Gen 33,1-17) Author(s): AGYENTA, Alfred Journal: Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses Volume: 83 Issue: 1 Date: 2007 Pages: 123-134 DOI: 10.2143/ETL.83.1.2021744 Abstract : The conclusion to the Jacob-Esau Story narrated in Gen 33,1-17 has occasioned a long-standing debate among scholars about the nature of the reconciliation between Jacob and Esau. While some deny any reconciliation between the brothers, others choose to justify it by appealing to the national dimension of the story. Whereas the appeal to the national dimension of the story, and for that matter, to the history of Israel appears to be a facile solution to the problem, the present article is an attempt to demonstrate that as a narrative discourse, the Jacob-Esau Story is about genuine reconciliation between two enemy-brothers. We hope to do this by drawing particular attention to the narrative art and details of the story, some of which have often been ignored in discussions on the final scenes of the story. The article argues that the Jacob-Esau Story offers us a radical understanding of reconciliation that goes beyond a mere physical reunion of former enemies. |
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