Exegesis

 Some years ago, the University of Notre Dame hired a new football coach. The position of football coach at Notre Dame is an important one in American sports,  so I happened to read an account of his first press conference in one of the eastern papers, either The New York Times or The Washington Post. There was nothing particularly interesting until the end. Then, according to the reporter, the coach said, I intend to die like St. Peter,  leaning on my staff. However, the coach's brother, I suppose one of his staff, tugged at his sleeve and whispered a correction. The coach then amended St. Peter to St. Paul.

I thought this oddly at variance with the received hagiographies, particularly for men with an Irish surname coaching at a prominent Catholic school. I remarked on this to family members with connections to Notre Dame, and forgot about it.

But last week in reading Spinoza's Theological-Political Treatise I found

Those who are ignorant of this fact cannot justify the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews for interpreting (chap. xi:21) Genesis (xlvii:31) very differently from the version given in our Hebrew text as at present pointed, as though the Apostle had been obliged to learn the meaning of Scripture from those who added the points. In my opinion the latter are clearly wrong. In order that everyone may judge for himself, and also see how the discrepancy arose simply from the want of vowels, I will give both interpretations. Those who pointed our version read, "And Israel bent himself over, or (changing Hqain into Aleph, a similar letter) towards, the head of the bed." The author of the Epistle reads, "And Israel bent himself over the head of his staff," substituting mate for mita, from which it only differs in respect of vowels. Now as in this narrative it is Jacob's age only that is in question, and not his illness, which is not touched on till the next chapter, it seems more likely that the historian intended to say that Jacob bent over the head of his staff (a thing commonly used by men of advanced age for their support) than that he bowed himself at the head of his bed, especially as for the former reading no substitution of letters is required.

 Evidently the coaches had in mind a garbled version of the story of Jacob, who according to Genesis was indeed approaching his death but not quite on his deathbed. Quite possibly their version can be traced upward through a succession of football coaches to the days before face masks.

It had never occurred to me that reading Spinoza would enable me to understand coach-speak. But football is imperfectly distinguished from religion in some parts of America. It can be a stepping stone to politics also: there is a former college football coach in the Senate now, and football careers have led to the House of Representatives, the Cabinet, and the Presidency. Perhaps a theological-political treatise is just the thing.