Jacob limped. Moses was ​“heavy of tongue.” Isaac was blind. But did Isaac also suf­fer from a mild men­tal retar­da­tion? Did Esau show symp­toms of Atten­tion Deficit Hyper­ac­tive Dis­or­der? Was Joseph ​“gift­ed”?

In Esau’s Bless­ing, Dr. Ora Horn Prouser offers a provoca­tive new read­ing of the Hebrew Bible that applies a con­tem­po­rary ​“spe­cial needs” per­spec­tive to the ancient texts. The result­ing insights into bib­li­cal char­ac­ters makes the Tanakh a source of edu­ca­tion­al and ped­a­gog­ic wisdom.

“Who makes [man] dumb or deaf, see­ing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” says God to Moses (Exo­dus 4:11). Prouser shows how read­ing the Bible can, in her words, ​“help us to imag­ine our spe­cial needs brethren in the embrace of a lov­ing God, and instruct us to respond in a sim­i­lar com­pas­sion­ate manner.”

This book con­firms that the Bible wants peo­ple with dis­abil­i­ties to be treat­ed with dig­ni­ty and respect. It shows that char­ac­ters with dis­abil­i­ties are among the most hero­ic per­son­ages in Scripture.

For those work­ing in the field of spe­cial edu­ca­tion, this book pro­vides a frame­work that anchors their good work firm­ly in an ancient tra­di­tion and calls atten­tion to its holy pur­pose. For those with loved ones with dis­abil­i­ties, Esau’s Bless­ing shows how God’s love and covenant extend to everyone.