Then tell the story, emphasizing Jacob's submission to Esau and the humility of his prayer to God. The latter can best be brought out by quoting the prayer in the language of the Bible. (Genesis 32. 10 to 13.) In describing Jacob's wrestling with the angel do not read a far-fetched moral into it. Merely explain that God sent an angel to wrestle with Jacob and that if Jacob could make the angel bless him that would be the sign that he was strong enough and great enough and good enough to be the father of the Jewish people. The blessing of the angel should be given in direct discourse. In teaching the change of name from Jacob to Israel, call attention to the fact that we Jews are sometimes called Children of Israel or Israelites because we are all descended from Israel.
Do not fail to record Esau's departure to Mount Seir, leaving Jacob in possession of the promised land, and Jacob's fulfillment of his vow at Beth El. Whenever recalling anything from a previous lesson as in this instance Jacob's vow, try to get the children to tell it to you rather than tell it yourself. Say for example, "So we have seen how God kept His promise to Jacob to be with him when he was away from his land, and to bring him back home in safety, and to give to him and to his descendants the land of Canaan, but do any of you remember the promise that Jacob made when he awoke after that wonderful dream?" etc.
=Interpretation.= In the narratives dealing with the history of the patriarchs, we have constantly emphasized that the point of view of the Biblical author regarded their lives as significant not so much as personal history, but rather as a preparation for Israel's national existence. In the story of Joseph this point of view is still discernible, though the chief interest has been transferred to the personal history of Joseph. It is discernible in that Joseph's being sold into Egypt and the settling of his father and brothers in Goshen are conceived not as fortuitous circumstances but as part of a divine plan which had already been revealed to Abraham. (Genesis 15. 13.) Still the main interest is, as we have said, in the personal career of Joseph. This narrative is preeminently a story. It is not a story with a moral, but a story abounding in morals. Perhaps the most important from the point of view of the child is that which might be summed up in the words of the psalmist, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" (Psalms 133. 1.) This is taught negatively in the first part of the story and affirmatively in the last. But such ideas as the danger of unjust discrimination on the part of parents, the evil of tale-bearing and boastfulness, the value of honest, faithful service, the nobility of resistance to temptation under the most trying circumstances, and the beauty of forgiveness and reconciliation are only a few of the many other morals taught by this story. The portion of Joseph's life that is covered by this chapter shows how Jacob's partiality to Joseph created hostility between him and his brothers by arousing in them envy and in him a certain vanity and sense of superiority. These characteristics of Joseph at this period of his life are not given any attention by most Jewish school teachers because of the tendency to idealize all Biblical heroes, thus overlooking the obvious significance of Genesis 37. 2, but the story only gains in meaning when we see at the end how completely Joseph had outlived all such pettiness as is here ascribed to him.