Difference between revisions of "Esau" - New World Encyclopedia
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By the age of 40, Esau, had taken two [[Hittite]] women to be his wives. This, however, displeased his parents, who preferred that Esau choose his mates from among the Hebrews. Esau's wives were thus "a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah." (Gen 26:35) | By the age of 40, Esau, had taken two [[Hittite]] women to be his wives. This, however, displeased his parents, who preferred that Esau choose his mates from among the Hebrews. Esau's wives were thus "a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah." (Gen 26:35) | ||
| − | ===Robbed of his blessing== | + | ===Robbed of his blessing=== |
Isaac grew old and had become nearly blind. He decided to bless his eldest son before he died. He sent Esau out in the fields to hunt down some meat and prepare him a meal, after which he would receive Isaac's blessing. Rebekah overheard this exchange and instructed Jacob to fetch her two goats so that she could prepare a tasty meal for his father. She then commanded Jacob to bring the meal to Isaac to receive the blessing in his brother's stead. Jacob worried that his father might notice the substitution through touch, since Esau was hairy and he was smooth. "What if my father touches me?" he asked. "I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing." Gen. 27:12) Rebekah took responsibility for the act, saying, "Let the curse fall on me." She then disguised Jacob by placing hairy goatskins over his neck and arms. | Isaac grew old and had become nearly blind. He decided to bless his eldest son before he died. He sent Esau out in the fields to hunt down some meat and prepare him a meal, after which he would receive Isaac's blessing. Rebekah overheard this exchange and instructed Jacob to fetch her two goats so that she could prepare a tasty meal for his father. She then commanded Jacob to bring the meal to Isaac to receive the blessing in his brother's stead. Jacob worried that his father might notice the substitution through touch, since Esau was hairy and he was smooth. "What if my father touches me?" he asked. "I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing." Gen. 27:12) Rebekah took responsibility for the act, saying, "Let the curse fall on me." She then disguised Jacob by placing hairy goatskins over his neck and arms. | ||
Revision as of 14:47, 17 March 2007
Esau (Hebrew עֵשָׂו, Esav, ) was the oldest son of Isaac and Rebekah and the twin brother of Jacob in the biblical Book of Genesis. Although he was the elder son and thus stood first in the line of inheritance from Isaac, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob and was later cheated out of receiving Isaac's blessing when Jacob and Rebekeh conspired to deceive Isaac into unknowingly bestowing his blessing on Jacob instead. He planned to kill Jacob once Isaac died, but Rebekah wisely arrange for her younger son to flee to her relatives in Haran. Esau became a wealthy man in his right, and when Jacob returned 21 years later, Esau forgave him and welcomed him. In biblical tradition, Esau is considered to be the father of the Edomites, a semitic people living east of the Jordan in the land of Canaan.
Biblical Account
Esau was born miraculous to Isaac and Rebekah after 20 years of marriage, at which time his father was 60 (Genesis 25:26), and his grandfather Abraham was 160. Rebekah had been barren, but Isaac's prayers for her were answered when she finally conceived. During Rebekah's pregnancy, "the children struggled together within her" (Genesis 25:22). Rebekah questioned God about the tumult in her womb, and she learned "two nations struggled" within her. "The one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger." (Gen. 25:23)
Esau was born immediately before his twin brother Jacob, whose hand grasped Esau's heel. Rabbinical commentators explain that Jacob was trying to hold Esau back from being the firstborn. His name, "Esau," derives from the Hebrew word for "red." The biblical says that "first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment." Esau and his twin brother were markedly different not only in appearance, but also in character and behavior. Esau was a "skillful hunter, a man of the open country" but Jacob was a gentle man who prefered to stay close to home. Esau favored by his father, Isaac, while Jacob was favored by his mother, Rebekah.
A major event in Esaus' life occurred one day when he returned home from hunting. Faint from hunger, Esau requested some of the stew that Jacob had been cooking. Jacob agreed to sell his brother this food only in excahnge for his birthright as the older brother. Feeling he was on the point of starvation, Esau agreed, saying, "I am going to die - what is this birthright to me?" (Genesis 25:29-34)
After this, because of a famine, Isaac moved the family to the Philistine town of Gerer. The text does not indicate whether Esau or Jacob accompanied them during this period, during which their mother was taken into the harem of the Philistine king Abimelech "for a long time."
By the age of 40, Esau, had taken two Hittite women to be his wives. This, however, displeased his parents, who preferred that Esau choose his mates from among the Hebrews. Esau's wives were thus "a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah." (Gen 26:35)
Robbed of his blessing
Isaac grew old and had become nearly blind. He decided to bless his eldest son before he died. He sent Esau out in the fields to hunt down some meat and prepare him a meal, after which he would receive Isaac's blessing. Rebekah overheard this exchange and instructed Jacob to fetch her two goats so that she could prepare a tasty meal for his father. She then commanded Jacob to bring the meal to Isaac to receive the blessing in his brother's stead. Jacob worried that his father might notice the substitution through touch, since Esau was hairy and he was smooth. "What if my father touches me?" he asked. "I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing." Gen. 27:12) Rebekah took responsibility for the act, saying, "Let the curse fall on me." She then disguised Jacob by placing hairy goatskins over his neck and arms.
Jacob went into his father's tent. Isaac was surprised that he had returned so soon from the supposed hunt. "Who are you, my son?" Isaac asked suspiciously. "I am Esau your firstborn," Jacob replied. Isaac was still suspicious and asked to feel him, since Esau was hairy. The goatskins seemed to fool him, although he declared, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau." Nevertheless, Isaac blessed him:
May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed. (Gen. 27:29) As soon as Jacob left the tent, Esau arrived and exposed the deception. Isaac was shaken, but affirmed that Jacob would indeed be blessed. To Esau's pathetic entreaties, he agreed to give Esau a lesser blessing.
upon realizing that this displeased his parents, his cousin Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael (Gen 27:6-9). There are many Biblical references to hostility between the people of Israel and the people of Edom (e.g., 2 Samuel 8:12-14; 2 Kings 8:20-22; Psalm 137:7), and it is possible that some of the narrative of Genesis is intended to explain the origins and justification of that hostility.
Esau's name
Esau's name in Hebrew means "hairy", and, according to Genesis 25:25, it is a reference to his hairiness at birth. He is also called "Edom", which means red. Genesis relates this directly to his selling his birthright for some "red stuff" (Gen. 25:30). However, Genesis also makes a point of mentioning that he was red when he emerged from the womb (Gen 25:25). However, this may be an example of retroactive nomenclature, as the land which was supposedly inhabited by his descendants, Edom, contains a great abundance of red rock, and most scholars believe that the name of the land is a topographical reference.
Notes
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Metzeger, Bruce M. (ed) and , Michael D. Coogan (ed) (1993). The Oxford Companion to the Bible. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-504645-5.
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