Everything about Esau totally explained
Esau (
Hebrew,
Standard Hebrew Esav,
Tiberian Hebrew ʿĒśāw) is the brother of
Jacob (whom God renamed
Israel) -- the
patriarch and founder of the Israelites -- in the
biblical Book of Genesis. Esau was the oldest son of
Isaac and
Rebekah and the grandson of
Abraham. Jacob and Esau were fraternal twins, with Esau born minutes before Jacob (Israel) and thus entitled to lead the family and obtain a preferred inheritance after Isaac's death.
Name
Esau's name in
Hebrew means "hairy", and, according to Genesis 25:25, it's 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 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
[citationneeded] believe that the name of the land is a topographical reference. However, this is speculation, and has no basis in the biblical text.
Family
Genesis 36 & 28:8-9 detail Esau's family. He took two wives from the women of Canaan:
Adah or
Basemath, the daughter of Elon,
Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah. Esau married his cousin
Mahalathor another
Basemath, daughter of
Ishmael and sister of
Nebaioth upon hearing of his parents' displeasure with his marriage to
Canaanite women.
Adah bore a son named Eliphaz, Basemath bore a son named Reuel, and Aholibamah bore sons named Jeush, Jalam and Korah.
Biblical Description
The Bible depicts Esau as a hunter who prefers the outdoor life, qualities that distinguished him from his brother who was a shy, or simple man depending how you translate the Hebrew word 'Tam' (which also means relatively perfect man.)
Book of Jubilees
In the
Book of Jubilees (which is neither part of the Jewish nor most Christian canons), Esau's father, Isaac, compels Esau to swear not to attack or kill Jacob after Isaac has died. However, after the death of Isaac, the sons of Esau convince their father to lead them, and hired mercenaries, against Jacob in order to kill Jacob and his family and seize their wealth, (especially the portion of Isaac's wealth that Isaac had left to Jacob upon his death). In the ensuing battle, Jacob kills Esau with an arrow. The sons of Jacob then defeat the rest of the attackers despite overwhelming odds.
Some of the sons of Esau are spared, but they're sworn to serve and pay fealty to Jacob.
Later History of Edom
Genesis Chapter 36 lists some of the early descendants of Esau and describes his people as settling in the hill country of Seir. His death isn't recounted in the Bible. However, during the time that the Israelites were in captivity in
Egypt, the Edomites established their own kingdom and had several kings before the Israelites established their monarchy.
Hundreds of years later, when the Israelites returned from captivity in
Egypt during the
Exodus, God commands the Israelites to honor and respect their "brothers" the Edomites, the descendants of Esau. The Israelites are commanded to be careful not to provoke the Edomites or take anything from them without paying for it. However, although the Bible doesn't record it in connection with those events, later God expresses anger at the Edomites for not showing the Israelites hospitality, such as in Numbers 20:14-22.
There are several Biblical references to hostility between the people of Israel and the people of Edom (for example,
2 Samuel 8:12-14;
2 Kings 8:20-22;
Psalm 137:7), and it's possible that some of the narrative of Genesis is intended to explain the origins and justification of that hostility. The Edomites (also known as Idumeans) came to be dominated by the larger kingdom of Israel, but from time to time fought wars with Israel throughout Israel's history.
Approximately 1000 years after Esau's and Jacob's common birthday, God expresses extreme anger and condemnation upon the Edomites such as in the prophesies of the
Book of Malachi Chapter 1 and the
Book of Obadiah Chapter 1. However, although the Bible follows the convention of describing the Edomites by the name of their long-dead patriarch Esau, the specific reasons given for God's anger involve then-recent sins of the Edomite people, not of the individual man Esau.
Id.
The prophesies of
Obadiah and
Malachi indicate that the Edomite race no longer exists in modern times. In Obadiah Chapter 1:18, it's declared: ' "But the house of Esau will be as stubble. And that'll set them on fire and consume them,
So that there will be no survivor of the house of Esau," For the LORD has spoken. '
(Emphasis added.)
Although not all scholars accept the Bible as an authoritative source of history, it's clear that the Old Testament's harsh condemnation of the Edomites in Malachi and Obadiah are intended by the Biblical authors to refer to a people who no longer exist. Whether or not this is an accurate history, the Biblical text can't be understood as intending to condemn any people or group still in existence.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Esau'.
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