In Parashat VaYishlach, a description of Yaakov catches our attention, not only because of what it may say about him, but also because no one else in TaNaCh is ever described in a similar manner:
Beraishit 33:18
And Yaakov came “Shalem” (whole, perfect) to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-Aram; and encamped before the city.
Given the complexities of life in general, and considering the specific events that have swirled around Yaakov from the time of his birth in Parashat Toldot, for the Tora to make an objective, third-person statement that this individual was “Shalem” is simply mind-boggling. Perhaps the incongruity of such an evaluation (Hadar Zekeinim states that anyone who understands the text as referring to Yaakov himself as “Shalem” must be mistaken, because “the text does not speak in that manner”) caused RaShBaM and Chizkuni to state: “To a city named ‘Shalem,’” thereby, by redefining the word as a proper noun rather than an adjective, disconnecting the word from Yaakov. R. Dr. J.H. Hertz (The Pentateuch and Haftorahs, Soncino Press, London, 1963, p. 126) accepts the idea that the word modifies Yaakov, but he posits that it serves as an adverb: “s.v. in peace, i.e. peaceably, with peaceable intentions…” and attributing alternatives to a “Midrashic” approach, implying that his understanding is closer to the literal meaning of the text.