Perceptions of Succession in the Jacob Narrative

The narrator's position regarding the perception of succession at the base of the Jacob narrative is a crucial element at the foundation of Jacob's election, which has long disturbed the readers of the book of Genesis. The matter is examined in this article through a literary analysis of the exposition of the Jacob narrative (Gen 25, 19-34), which presumes that succession is exclusive, but also undermines it and the mechanisms that enable its realization. In light of the conclusions of this analysis, the criticism of the story is not directed at the personal choice of Jacob, but rather against the perception of exclusive succession which led to the human choice of Jacob as an exclusive inheritor of his father and the covenant.