Jacob The Trickster Research Paper

Often times in stories found by many cultures, a common character is the “trickster”. The trickster is a person whom is prone to getting their way by playing tricks on people. Tricksters can be either gender, and could be the youngest sibling or smallest animal within the folklore. In the book of Genesis, many scholars believe that some form of a trickster or trickery is present and eventually they receive their comeuppance for what they have done. In the book of Genesis, Jacob is first introduced to the bible when Rebekah and Isaac have their twin sons. It is described, that the first child out of the womb is the child whom will bear the birthrights. As Rebekah is having her twins, Jacob tries to pull the heel of Esau back into the womb. This is the first sign that Jacob is jealous of Esau and has the ability to scheme and plan (Gen. 25:19-28). At this point in the biblical text, scholars could believe that Jacob is going to be the trickster of Isaac’s family. The first time readers can see Jacob’s ascent over Esau takes place when Jacob takes Esau’s birthrights. After …show more content…
Upon finding his uncle, Laban, he also meets his youngest daughter Rachel. At first sight, Jacob falls in love with Rachel asking Laban if he can serve him for seven years in return for being given the blessing to marry her (Gen. 29:15-20). After the seven years quickly passed, Laban had a feast to signify the completion of the seven years that Jacob had served. That evening, Laban took instead his daughter Leah to Jacob, tricking him as he could not tell the women apart in the dark (Gen. 29:21-24). In this story, it seems as if Jacob gets his comeuppance for tricking his brother Esau. It also allows for scholars to see new tricksters come into the story, Laban and Leah. One could even conclude that their trickery comes from their love for each other, similar to the mother-son relationship Rebekah and Jacob