Giacobbe: un ebreo ‘errante’ che incontra Dio

Jacob is a complex, suggestive and irritating character, deceiver and deceived, eager for power but also ready for reconciliation, both hero and anti-hero at the same time. But he is also a man who marked the history of Israel, because he met God. His is a geographical-existential journey that leads to a first but fundamental fulfilment of the divine promise: a large family, in the Promised Land. It is this geographical-existential journey that is given attention in this article, with the writings of the most updated texts of the biblical narrative. If the final redaction preserves the ancient tradition of a skilled, but also ambiguous and shrewd Jacob, it highlights new essential traits characterized by faith in the presence and gratuitous help of God. His return to Canaan assumes the traits of his return from exile. Thus, for the post-exilic generation, Jacob became the prototype of the Jew called to return to his homeland and reconstitute the new community. Despite appearances, Jacob does not walk alone. Little by little he enters the sphere of the divine presence. Like Abraham, he too is given the words of YHWH: it is enough to be “wandering” but not as a solitary “wanderer”.