Sublime

27So he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his garments, and blessed him, and said, “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed. 28 May God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. 29 Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lor

For the descendants of Abraham, kids are the sign of God’s blessing,

They’re on their way to Canaan, the promised land.

Others say the switching back and forth is a subtle way of indicating the direction in which Jacob-Israel’s heart is focused at the time: Jacob is the old man, who looks to himself, but Israel is the new man, who looks to God.

20 The sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, and Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son, 21Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead. Now the people of Gath, who were born in the land, killed them, because they came down to raid their cattle. 22And their father Ephraim mourned many days, and his brothers came to comfort him

We know that when he was younger, he bought Esau’s birthright. Later he dressed in Esau’s clothes, told his blind father that he was Esau, and under that pretense took Esau’s blessing. His very name, Jacob, was given to him because, when he was born, he was holding on to Esau’s heel. Together these amount to a psychologically striking proposition.