fight all comers results in his being crippled on the very morning when he must face his brother Esau. His persistence wrings a blessing out of his mysterious combatant, but it comes at a price. Jacob is both blessed and broken by this “magnificent defeat at the hands of God.”26 To be elected is a mixed bag for Jacob. It means great blessing, but also wounding. Christians may well see here an anticipation of the end of the Bible’s story. God accepted defeat of his son through human crucifixion. But