196. Contradictions - November 28, 2020

This week our scholar in residence, Professor David Sperling, led us on an exploration of the patriarch Jacob. At one point during his narrative, Jacob left his home to travel toward Haran. There are two different traditions at work in the Bible that provide two different possible reasons for why Jacob left home. Along the way, Jacob made a stop at Bethel, where he dreamed of angels going up and down a staircase (known as Jacob's Ladder). Jacob realized that Bethel is a sacred place. In other books of the Bible, Bethel is also identified as being sacred. Again - there are two traditions at work here. We examined which story is older, although it appears to be younger. There is more than meets the eye (or ear!).