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Esau in the Hebrew Bible, is the oldest son of Isaac. He is first mentioned in the Book of Genesis, then later by the minor prophets, Obadiah[3] and Malachi.[4] The New Testament later references him in the Book of Romans[5] and the Book of Hebrews.[6]

Esau the progenitor of the Edomites and the fraternal twin brother[7][8][9] of Jacob, the patriarch of the Israelites.[10] Esau and Jacob were the sons of Isaac and Rebekah, and the grandsons of Abraham and Sarah. Of the twins, Esau was the first to be born with Jacob following. Isaac was sixty years old and Rebekah is believed to have been much younger when the boys were born. The grandfather Abraham was still alive, being about 160 years old at that time.

Esau, a "son of the desert" became a hunter [1] who had "rough"[2] qualities that distinguished him from his twin brother. Jacob was a shy or simple man, depending on the translation of the Hebrew word "Tam" (which also means "relatively perfect man").[10] Throughout Genesis, Esau is frequently shown as being supplanted by his younger twin Jacob (Israel).[11]

Esau in Genesis[edit] Birth of EsauGenesis 25:25 narrates Esau's birth, "Now the first came forth, red all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau." In Hebrew, the name Esau means "hairy" (Heb: se’ar) a wordplay on Seir,[11] the region he settled in Edom after being 40 years of age where he became the progenitor of the Edomites. The name Edom is also attributed to Esau, meaning "red" (Heb: `admoni);[11] its location being a mountainous region abundandant with red rock.[citation needed] Genesis parallels his redness to the "red pottage" that he sold his birthright for.[1] (Genesis 25:30)

[edit] BirthrightIn Genesis, Esau returned to his brother Jacob being famished from the fields. He begged his twin brother to give him some "red pottage". (paralleling his nickname, Hebrew: ?????`Edom, meaning "Red". Jacob offered to give Esau a bowl of stew in exchange for his birthright (the right to be recognized as firstborn), and Esau agreed.

In Genesis 27:1–40, Jacob uses deception, motivated by his mother Rebekah, to lay claim on his father Isaac's blessing that was inherently due to the firstborn, Esau.

In Genesis 27:5–7, Rebekah was listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for venison to bring home, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "Behold, I heard thy father speak to thy brother Esau, saying: 'Bring me venison and prepare a savory food, that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death.'" Rebekah then instructs Jacob in an elaborate deception through which Jacob pretends to be Esau, in order to steal from Esau Isaac's blessing and birthright—which in theory Esau had agreed to give to Jacob. As a result, Jacob becomes the spiritual leader of the family after Isaac's death and the heir of the promises of Abraham (Genesis 27:37).

Esau, naturally, is furious and vows to kill Jacob (Genesis 27:41). Once again Rebekah intervenes to save her youngest son Jacob from being murdered by her eldest son, Esau.

Therefore, at Rebekah's urging, Jacob flees to a distant land to work for a relative, Laban (Genesis 28:5). Jacob does not immediately receive his father's inheritance after the elaborate deception aimed at taking it from Esau. Jacob having fled for his life, leaves behind the wealth of Isaac's flocks and land and tents in Esau's hands. Jacob is forced to sleep out on the open ground and then work for wages as a servant in Laban's household. Jacob, who had deceived and cheated his brother, is in turn deceived and cheated by his relative Laban concerning Jacob's seven years of service (lacking money for a dowry) for the hand of Rachel, receiving Leah instead. However, despite Laban, Jacob eventually becomes so rich as to incite the envy of Laban and Laban's sons.


Fransisko Hayez: Esau and Jacob reconcile (1844)Genesis 32–33 tells of Jacob and Esau's eventual reconciliation. Esau showed forgiveness in spite of this bitter conflict. Jacob sends multiple waves of gifts to Esau as they approach each other in hopes of Esau sparing his life. Esau refuses the gifts, as he is now very wealthy and does not need them. Jacob never apologizes to Esau for his actions through the sending of these gifts. Jacob nevertheless bows down before Esau and insists on his receiving the gifts. (After this, God confirms his renaming of Jacob as "Israel".

[edit] FamilyEsau first married at the age of forty, two Canaanite women:[12] Adah (Bashemath)[13] and Aholibamah (Judith).[14] This arrangement grieved his parents.[15] To pacify his parents for a while, Esau changed their Canaanite names to Hebraic names.[13] When it came time for his brother to take a wife, their father Isaac blessed Jacob who instructed him not to marry a Canaanite. Upon seeing that his brother was blessed and that his father rejected the union of a Canaanite, Esau went to the house of his uncle Ishmael and married his cousin.[16] She was the daughter of Ishmael, who was known as Bashemath. Since Esau already had a wife whom he called by that name, he renamed his third wife Bashemath, to Mahalath.[13] (Genesis 28:6-9) Casting his lot with the Ishmaelite tribe, he was able to drive the Horites out of Mount Seir to settle in that region.[1].