ヘブライ語聖書における対面の意義

ヤコブ物語における［長子権、顔、祝福］の使用法より

抄録

This paper is the analysis of Jacob's story in the book of Genesis with special attention to the encounter with the divine being and brother in chapter 32 and 33. Buber analyzed the usage of specified words in these chapters by following his Leitwortstil (Leading Word style). This is, according to H. C. Askani, the most crucial discovery for the translation method of Buber and Rosenzweig. Sorted out by this method, the Leitwort begins with a blessing (Segen), follows with firstborn (Erstgeburt) and face (Antlitz) and also ends with a blessing. Jacob's story starts from his sinful act of depriving Esau of his blessing (Gen 27) and ends with the return of the blessing to Esau as a means of compensation (Gen 33). Jacob's story is constituted by the Leitwort and the purpose of this paper is to make the hidden meaning of this story clearer, through not only the Leitwort method, but also by the historical biblical interpretation.
In conclusion, the reconciliation between the divine and human in Gen 32 and 33 is a proof that, for the first time, Jacob was able to achieve the I-Thou relationship with God and Esau. Jacob achieved the turning from I-It to I-Thou, so that he was released from his sin, which he carried with the disgraceful name of Jacob (Fersenschleicher). A Face-to-face encounter with God should lead to death but Jacob emerges from this encounter alive. Levinas and Buber interpret this matter differently. On one hand, Buber suggests a turning from a sinful life (named as Jacob) to a new life (named as Israel) through the blessing of God. On the other hand, Levinas thinks God imposed the infinite responsibility on Jacob as the subordination to others and according to him this is the reason of God's choice of Jacob over Esau. Following the encounter with God's angel Jacob looked at the face of Esau as the face of God and followed his brother. Jacob's experience at Pniel made him a substitute of the other. Here he was subjected to a deep trauma. Survival of this trauma imparted him with the responsibility to the others. Therefore Jacob's change of name bound him with this inescapable responsibility to the others. This is the interpretation of the significance of the face-to-face encounter with God according to Levinas and Buber.