Esau

Biblical Account

According to Genesis 25, Esau was the first of the twins born to Isaac and Rebekah. Before their birth, it was declared that "the elder shall serve the younger" (Genesis 25:23). He is described as red and hairy at birth, and he grew up to become a skillful hunter, a man of the field. Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed the game Esau hunted, while Rebekah loved Jacob.

One day Esau returned from hunting exhausted, ate some of the red pottage Jacob had cooked, and gave up his birthright (the rights of the firstborn son) in exchange (Genesis 25:29-34). Because of this episode he was given the name Edom, meaning "red." At the age of forty he married two Hittite women, who were a grief to his parents (Genesis 26:34-35), and he later also married a daughter of Ishmael (Genesis 28:9).

In Genesis 27, Jacob, following his mother's plan, disguised himself as Esau and received their father's blessing first. Esau wept aloud and pleaded for a blessing; he received a blessing that he would live by the sword and serve his brother, after which he resolved to kill Jacob. About twenty years later, when Jacob returned, Esau came out to meet him with four hundred men, but he ran to Jacob, embraced him, kissed him, and wept with him (Genesis 33:4). The two brothers buried their father together (Genesis 35:29), and Genesis 36 records the genealogy of the Edomites, Esau's descendants, who settled on Mount Seir.

Significance Within Scripture

Edom, the nation descended from Esau, is portrayed as Israel's brother nation. Deuteronomy 23:7 commands Israel not to abhor an Edomite, for he is a brother, and Obadiah prophesies judgment on Edom for rejoicing over the calamity of its brother Israel. Malachi 1:2-3 declares, "I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau," and Romans 9:10-13 cites this verse to explain that God's election is "not of works, but of him that calleth." Hebrews 12:16-17 presents Esau, who sold his birthright for one morsel of meat, as an example of a "profane person."

Interpretation and Debate

The reference to Esau in Romans 9 is frequently cited in discussions of predestination. The Calvinist tradition reads the passage as teaching the unconditional election of individuals. The Arminian and Wesleyan traditions, noting that Genesis 25:23 speaks of "two nations," understand it as the election of peoples to particular roles, or interpret "hate" as a Hebrew comparative idiom meaning "love less." Interpreters are also divided over whether the "place of repentance" mentioned in Hebrews 12:17 refers to Esau's own repentance or to an opportunity to change Isaac's mind.

The portrayal of Esau as thoroughly wicked is generally understood to have developed in later Jewish tradition more than in the biblical text itself. Genesis also records the scene in which Esau graciously received his brother and was reconciled with him. The New Korean Revised Version (Gaeyeok Gaejeong) renders the food as patjuk (red-bean porridge), but the original Hebrew term is understood to refer to lentils. The Herod family of the New Testament is known to have come from Idumea, whose people were descended from Edom.

In the Korean Church

In Korean church preaching, Esau is often cited as an example of someone who made light of spiritual things for the sake of immediate desires. The expression "Esau, who sold his birthright for a bowl of red-bean porridge" is widely used. Other sermons treat the reconciliation of Jacob and Esau as a passage illustrating forgiveness between brothers. In Sunday school, the account is commonly taught as the story of twin brothers.