What is the story of jacob mentioned in merchant of venice by shakespeare?
Answers
During the mating time , Jacob and Laban(Jacob's uncle , a shepherd) together made a deal that all the striped and spotted sheep which were to be born were to be owned by Jacob. Jacob, who was pretty crafty,placed striped branches before the sheep. This influenced the sheep to give birth to young ones which were all striped and spotted.(But thats not how genetics work.. old belief i perceive .. anyway!) Hence Jacob became the owner of all the sheep which were born.
Extra references : (from www.shmoop.com)
In this passage from the play, we can see two completely different interpretations of the same sacred text.
Shylock sees Jacob's story as an example of human ingenuity.
Antonio, on the other hand, sees Jacob's success as an example of God's providence. Antonio also accuses Shylock of using a biblical story to justify the practice of usury (lending money and charging interest).
Hope this would be of help to you
Mark BRAINLIEST if this helps you
Shylock tells the story of Laban agreeing to allow Jacob all the spotted lambs in the flock. Knowing that a mother's lambs will look like whatever the mother looks at before she conceives, Jacob contrives to strip pieces of wood so that they are two-toned. He then puts them in front of the ewes. The ewes give birth to lots of spotted or multi-colored lambs, and Jacob profits.
To Shylock this is what interest is: simply acting shrewdly and using what you know to multiply your profits. Since this story comes from the Bible, Shylock implies it means we are all to act with similar foresight to maximize our wealth. Antonio disagrees, saying the abundance of spotted lambs had nothing to do with what Jacob did, but was simply an act of God. Shylock believes people have to be participants in their own wealth building; Antonio thinks wealth comes from God alone.