Why, thank you, Gandalf.
My naming preference is a matter of whim, I'm afraid... my screen name has been Elijah (biblically, as in, Elisha's mentor) for years, but obviously, and especially on a Tolkien board, that's no longer an option!!! So I settled on Mark12_30 since it's my life verse. You may call me whatever you like...
Regarding Jacob's travels: Abraham and Isaac had dwelt in Beersheba and that is where Jacob spent his childhood; Jacob crossed the Jordan and went east, to Padan Aram, and served Laban in Haran (for Rachel and Leah).
When he returned from Haran, he wrestled with God at Penuel, and then re-crossed the Jordan. He did not go back to Beersheba-- the land of his fathers-- but dwelt in Shechem instead.
Jacob was so transformed by his wrestling experience that he was renamed Israel from that time forward. In the mystical sense, he was a new person, and did not return to his old life.
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...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.
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