OT Family Conflict and Resolution

“In every case, the stories reflect at least three major values, which David
Petersen has described as “(1) the value of defining family in expansive terms; (2) the
value of family continuity; (3) and the value of nonviolent resolution of conflict within
the family.”7 The need to preserve the family and solve its problems while minimizing
violence explains Cain’s escape from “justice” (4:8– 16), Esau’s “forgiveness” of Jacob
(33:1– 17), and the strained scene between Joseph and his brothers after their father’s
death (50:15– 21).
Sibling rivalry is a major subtheme, with conflicts dividing such figures as Cain and
Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, and Joseph and his brothers. Yet rivalry is not the
only way generational peers relate. Each story of conflict, except that of Cain and Abel,
which is foreshortened by murder, has a complementary story of sibling reconciliation.”

– Family Values and Resolution of Conflicts in OT stories

• Hamilton, Mark W. “A theological Introduction to the Old Testament”