There are some interesting parallels between Yaakov and Odysseus, the Greek hero. Gary Rendsburg (1984, also see C.H. Gordon, 1955) writes “the entire Jacob cycle, moreover, parallels the Odyssey, Sinuhe, and Gilgamesh where the protagonist must leave home and then happily returns.” He uses the parallelism between Yaakov and the Odyssey to explain 35:2, which records that Yaakov told his family, “Purify (wash) yourself, change your garments.” He argues that chapter 35 is the homecoming of Yaakov and when in ancient literature there was a homecoming, there was always a washing and changing of clothing prior to returning home. Thus, 35:2 records a washing prior to the homecoming of Yaakov. This last point is not clear since he notes (footnote #8) that it is possible that the washing in 35:2 was for cultic reasons and not simple cleaning before coming home. The cultic reason seems more likely since the washing was a while before Yaakov returned home to his father and seems to be directly related to G-d’s command to offer sacrifices at Bet-El, 35:1. Yet, one could argue that the homecoming was to Bet-El, where Yaakov had his dream when he left home, 28:19. In addition to this possible connection between Yaakov and Odysseus, other parallels between Yaakov and Odysseus can be found.
The first parallel between Yaakov and Odysseus is their personality that both were renowned for their cleverness. Homer continually refers to Odysseus as the wise or sagacious hero and Odysseus used tricks to explicate himself from difficult situations. Yaakov also used his intellect and tricks to overcome his difficulties with Esav and Lavan. Yaakov tricked his father, 27:35, and then was tricked by Lavan, 29:23-25. Afterwards, he became wealthy by using his acumen by raising animals, 30:28-43. He then escaped from Lavan since Lavan was about to impoverish him, 31:42. When Yaakov returned home, he showed his sagacity by giving Esav gifts and calling Esav his lord. This allowed Esav to think that he was the superior brother, which ended the conflict peacefully. Furthermore, when Esav offered to journey with Yaakov, Yaakov realized he might be walking into a trap, so he politely but determinedly refused to go, 33:12-16, see our discussion on 33:1-16, "My brother, my enemy?"
A second parallel between Yaakov and Odysseus is the structure of the stories here of Yaakov and the Odyssey. The Odyssey is usually divided into three sections. The first four books of the story record the troubles in Odysseus’s home that due to his absence there were many suitors for his wife. The next eight books record Odysseus travels on the way home from the battle at Troy. The final twelve books record the homecoming of Odysseus that he killed all the suitors and returned to his wife, son and father.
Chapters 25-33 follow the same structure though without all the gory killings and fantastic creatures. In chapters 25 and 27, there is trouble at home that Yaakov was not beloved by his father, and the parallel suitor here is Esav who was Yitzhak’s favorite. Chapters 28-31 record all the adventures of Yaakov when he was away from home. Coincidentally, both Yaakov and Odysseus were away from home for 20 years. While Rendsburg argued that chapter 35 should be thought of as the homecoming of Yaakov when Yaakov returns to his father, I would expand the homecoming to begin from chapters 32, as chapters 32 and 33 record that Yaakov returned to Israel and faced his brother. My understanding is that in the middle of the night Yaakov fought Esav (see our discussion on 32:25-31, 33:10, "Who fought with Yaakov?) which would parallel Odysseus fighting the suitors of his wife. But even if one follows the usual interpretation that Yaakov fought an angel, still in the end due to Yaakov, Esav left Yitzhak’s home, 36:9.
The third parallel is from James Joyce, who re-created the Odyssey in his book Ulysses. Daniel Boorstin (1992, p. 704) notes that Joyce chose Odysseus as his model since he was the most complete man in literature. Joyce writes “Odysseus is the son of Laertes, but he is father to Telemachus, husband to Penelope, lover of Calypso, companion in arms to the Greek warriors around Troy and King of Ithaca. He was subjected to many trials but with wisdom and courage came through them all.”
Could not Yaakov also be considered a complete man? Yaakov might even be more of a complete person than Odysseus if one looks at his relationships with his family members, father, mother, brother, uncle, four wives and children. For example, Yaakov is the only person, who the Torah records a conversation between the person and his mother, 27:6-13. Furthermore, Yaakov's relationship with Rahel is undoubtedly the most romantic relationship recorded in the Torah.
Joyce also notes that Odysseus did not want fight in Troy, but once he agreed he showed his heroism. This also occurred by Yaakov who did not want to fight Esav. He tried sending gifts to appease Esav, 32:14-21, but when he was attacked in the middle of the night, he showed his heroism by fighting even though he was wounded, and even insisted on getting a blessing, 32:26,27.
One difference between Yaakov and Odysseus is that Yaakov was only a leader of the family and not of many people, but by the time the family went down to Egypt, the clan consisted of 70 men. Also, in the end, Yaakov kept the family together, while Odysseus lost all his men by the time he returned home.
Erich Auerbach (1953, p. 17) notes another difference between Yaakov and Odysseus and other Greek figures, that in the stories of Homer the people do not age, while figures in Tanakh change with time. Auerbach notes that “Odysseus on his return is exactly the same as when left Ithaca two decades earlier. But, what a road what a fate, lies between the Jacob who cheated his father out of his blessings, and the old man whose favorite son has been torn to pieces by a wild beast.” Yet, if we “stop” the story of Yaakov when he returned to the land of Israel after twenty years, then he too does not yet seem to have aged. (This non-aging would exclude the story of Dinah, see our discussion above, 34:1-35:7, “How old was Dina when Shekhem wanted to marry her?” where I argue that this incident is recorded out of chronological order.) Note, Auerbach (pp. 7-12, partially quoted by N. Leibowitz, 1976, pp. 196-199) in his comparison of the Akedah with Homer has noted many other differences in style between Tanakh and the stories ascribed to Homer.
If one has accepted these comparisons between Yaakov and Odysseus, the question becomes is there any significance to the parallels? A possible answer is maybe both texts are trying to portray a real genuine hero that people can look up to. The hero is a person, who is not perfect. Thus, we see all the family relationships of the hero, the complete man of Joyce. The similar structures show the difficulties faced by the hero and how they were surmounted. The heroes are smart and show their greatness by conquering many challenges in their lifetime. They do not choose to fight, but if necessary, they are willing and able.
The depiction of Yaakov as a hero is not unique in the Torah. It also occurs by Avraham and Moshe. Avraham also overcame numerous tests, (Mishnah, Pirkei Avot 5:4 states that there were 10 tests) but Avraham was a different type of hero than Yaakov. Yaakov was a fighter who used his wisdom and strength to succeed while by Avraham the tests involved his faith in G-d. As for Moshe, some scholars have argued that the events of his birth followed the pattern of other heroes in literature, see our discussion on Shemot 2:2-6, "Moshe, a foundling?" Moshe was also a different type of hero from Yaakov and Avraham as he demonstrated great leadership abilities by guiding the people out of Egypt to the border of the Promised Land.
Auerbach, Erich, 1953, Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Boorstin, Daniel J., 1992, The Creators, New York: Random House.
Gordon, Cyrus, H., 1955, Homer and the Bible, Hebrew Union College Annual, 26, pp. 43-108.
Rendsburg, Gary, 1984, Notes on Genesis XXXV, Vetus Testamentum 34:3, pp. 361-365.
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