Book of Jubilees, פרשת תולדות

Chapter 24

The author of Jubilees is unaware of the midrash which explains the red lentil stew which Jacob made as a mourning meal for the death of Abraham:

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Isaac swears an oath of peace with Abimelech king of Gerar. The author of Jubilees is disquieted at this oath of friendship between a Hebrew and their traditional enemies the Philistines, and adds:

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Strong stuff!

Chapter 26

When Isaac said "The hands are the hands of Esau, but the voice is the voice of Jacob", why did he continue to accept Jacob's subterfuge? The Bible doesn't give an answer; Jubilees supplies one:

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When Esau returns from the hunt, and discovers he has been deceived, he cries out "Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, my father!" Isaac responds:

Behold, your dwelling shall be from the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; And by your sword shall you live, and shall serve your brother; and it shall come to pass when you shall have the dominion, that you shall break his yoke from off your neck.

הִנֵּה מִשְׁמַנֵּי הָאָרֶץ יִהְיֶה מוֹשָׁבֶךָ וּמִטַּל הַשָּׁמַיִם מֵעָל׃ וְעַל־חַרְבְּךָ תִחְיֶה וְאֶת־אָחִיךָ תַּעֲבֹד וְהָיָה כַּאֲשֶׁר תָּרִיד וּפָרַקְתָּ עֻלּוֹ מֵעַל צַוָּארֶךָ׃

Now, הִנֵּה מִשְׁמַנֵּי הָאָרֶץ יִהְיֶה מוֹשָׁבֶךָ, "Your dwelling shall be from the fatness of the earth", can mean either "Your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth," making this a blessing, or "Your dwelling shall be far from the fatness of the earth," making it a curse. Jubilees (predictably) goes for the latter, and then, not content with that, adds to the end:

You shall sin a complete sin unto death, And your seed shall be rooted out from under heaven.

Lovely.

Chapter 27

The Bible continues: "Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, Let the days of mourning for my father be at hand, then will I kill my brother Jacob. These words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son," and told him to flee to Ḥaran. But wait; how could Rebekah know something Esau only said in his heart? Jubilees provides the answer by supplying, after "were told to Rebekah": "in a dream". In the Bible, Jacob meekly goes along with his mother's plan; in Jubilees, he is more assertive:

Jacob said, 'I am not afraid; if he tries to kill me, I will kill him!' But she said to him: 'Let me not be bereft of both my sons on one day.'

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