Not Black and White

Not Black and White Commentary by Brad Anderson Cite Share Show Bible Passage Read by Ben Quash Jacob Steinhardt (1887–1968) was a German-born artist who emigrated to Palestine in 1933. In a woodcut of this scene, Steinhardt focuses solely on the embrace of the brothers as recounted in Genesis 33:4: ‘Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept’ (NRSV). An aura of light surrounds the brothers in Steinhardt’s stark depiction of this momentous occasion. Jacob’s stance and disposition seems to be one of vulnerability and affection. While the biblical text paints a more ambiguous picture, here Jacob is fully embracing his estranged brother. Esau, meanwhile, is tenderly cradling Jacob’s head, while kissing the brother who had wronged him many years earlier. It is in this unlikely reunion that Jacob says that seeing Esau’s face is like seeing the face of God (33:10). And yet, other interpretations are possible. While Jacob embraces his brother, his facial expression seems neutral, not necessarily indicating affection. Further, Esau’s disposition remains unclear as he meets his conniving brother, because his face is hidden. Throughout history, readers have been sceptical of Esau because of his association with Edom, and Edom’s later treachery against Judah. As such, there are some interpretive traditions which have difficulty acknowledging Esau’s magnanimity. In the early Jewish midrash Genesis Rabbah, for example, we are told that Esau fell on Jacob’s neck and bit him (78:9). Is Steinhardt’s Esau kissing Jacob, or is something more sinister at work? The starkness of the woodcut adds to the ambiguity, as light and dark play off one another. References Neusner, Jacob. 1985. Genesis Rabbah: The Judaic Commentary to the Book of Genesis, A New American Translation, vol. III (Atlanta: Scholars Press)