Esau
was one of the twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah. He and Jacob are twins, but Esau
was born first, and was technically the older child. (25:24-25) When Esau was
born, he came out all red and hairy. (25:25)
Before his birth, it was prophesized that Rebekah's
older son would serve the younger. (25:21-24) In addition, when Esau and
Jacob were born, Jacob was holding Esau's heel. This was interpreted as a sign
that Jacob would supplant Esau. (25:25-26)
When the boys grew up, Esau became a hunter. He was
Isaac's favorite son because he brought home venison to eat. (25:27-28) One day
after a hunt, Esau came home hungry. Jacob sold bread and a bowl of lentil beans
to Esau in exchange for Esau's birthright (rights to being the oldest son of the
family). This showed how little Esau valued his birthright. (25:29-34)
Later, when Isaac was old and blind, he knew he was
dying. He asks to see his oldest son, Esau, and give him the blessing of the
firstborn. First, Isaac sent Esau to catch some game over which to give him the
blessing. Esau left. (27:1-5)
Rebekah preferred Jacob over Esau. While Esau was gone,
Rebekah and Jacob tricked Isaac into thinking that Jacob was Esau, who had
returned from the hunt early. The ruse worked. Isaac gave Jacob the blessing
intended for Esau. (27:6-29)
When Esau returned with the venison, he had to be
content with a lesser blessing. Esau was mad that Jacob has tricked him out of
the blessing of the firstborn. He wanted to kill Jacob. Rebekah sent Jacob away
to her brother Laban, who lived in the city of Haran, until Esau's anger cooled.
(27:30-45)
Years later, when Jacob returned, Esau forgave him.
(33:1-16)
After Isaac's actual death (35:29), Esau went into the
mountains of Seir, and started his own tribe, called Edom. (36:1-9)
There is a discrepancy as to whom Esau's wives were.
26:34-35 says that he when he was 40 years old, he married two Canaanite women:
Judith and Basemath (both from the Hittite tribe). Isaac and Rebekah didn't like
the idea of him marrying Canaanite women. Later in 28:6-9, Esau was mad that he
had been tricked out of his father's blessing. When he saw that his parents
didn't like Canaanite women, he deliberately married another Canaanite woman to
spite them. He married Ishmael's daughter Mahalath.
But later, 36:2-5 says that he married two Canaanite
women: Adah (a Hittite) and Aholibamah (a Hivite), and that he married a woman
named Basemath who was Ishmael's daughter. Basemath bore Esau a son named
Eliphaz, Adah bore him a son named Reuel. and Aholibamah bore him three sons:
Jelish, Jaalam, and Korah. Esau also had some daughters, but no names are given. (36:6)
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