ESAU

The son of Isaac, and twin brother of Jacob, Ge 25:1-34. He was the elder of the two, and was therefore legally the heir, but sold his birthright to Jacob. We have an account of his ill-advised marriages, Ge 26:34; of his loss of his father’s chief blessing, and his consequent anger against Jacob, Ge 27:1-46; of their subsequent reconciliation, Ge 32:1-33:20; and of his posterity, Ge 36:1-43. He is also called Edom; and settled in the mountains south of the Dead Sea, extending to the gulf of Akaba, where he became very powerful. This country was called from him the land of Edom, and afterwards IDUMAEA, which see.

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Esau. Esau
Hairy, Rebekah’s first-born twin son (Gen. 25:25). The name of Edom, “red”, was also given to him from his conduct in connection with the red lentil “pottage” for which he sold his birthright (30, 31). The circumstances connected with his birth foreshadowed the enmity which afterwards subsisted between the twin brothers and the nations they founded (25:22, 23, 26). In process of time Jacob, following his natural bent, became a shepherd; while Esau, a “son of the desert,” devoted himself to the perilous and toilsome life of a huntsman. On a certain occasion, on returning from the chase, urged by the cravings of hunger, Esau sold his birthright to his brother, Jacob, who thereby obtained the covenant blessing (Gen. 27:28, 29, 36; Heb. 12:16, 17). He afterwards tried to regain what he had so recklessly parted with, but was defeated in his attempts through the stealth of his brother (Gen. 27:4, 34, 38).

At the age of forty years, to the great grief of his parents, he married (Gen. 26:34, 35) two Canaanitish maidens, Judith, the daughter of Beeri, and Bashemath, the daughter of Elon. When Jacob was sent away to Padan-aram, Esau tried to conciliate his parents (Gen. 28:8, 9) by marrying his cousin Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael. This led him to cast in his lot with the Ishmaelite tribes; and driving the Horites out of Mount Seir, he settled in that region. After some thirty years’ sojourn in Padan-aram Jacob returned to Canaan, and was reconciled to Esau, who went forth to meet him (33:4). Twenty years after this, Isaac their father died, when the two brothers met, probably for the last time, beside his grave (35:29). Esau now permanently left Canaan, and established himself as a powerful and wealthy chief in the land of Edom (q.v.).

Long after this, when the descendants of Jacob came out of Egypt, the Edomites remembered the old quarrel between the brothers, and with fierce hatred they warred against Israel.

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Esau. he that acts or finishes

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ESAU. → Older of the twin sons born to Isaac and Rebekah → Birth of Ge 25:19-26; 1Ch 1:34 → Called Edom Ge 36:1,8 → A hunter Ge 25:27,28 → Beloved by Isaac Ge 25:27,28 → Sells his birthright for a single meal Ge 25:29-34; Mal 1:2; Ro 9:13; Heb 12:16 → Marries a Hittite woman Ge 26:34 → His marriage to, a grief to Isaac and Rebekah Ge 26:35 → Polygamy of Ge 26:34; 28:9; 36:2,3 → Is defrauded of his father's blessing by Jacob Ge 27; Heb 11:20 → Meets Jacob on the return of the latter from Haran Ge 33:1 → With Jacob, buries his father Ge 35:29 → Descendants of Ge 36 → Hostility of descendants of, toward the descendants of Jacob Ob 1:10-14 → Ancestor of Edomites Jer 49:8 → Mount of Edom, called MOUNT OF ESAU Ob 1:8,9,18-21 → His name used to denote his descendants and their country De 2:5; Jer 49:8,10; Ob 1:6 → Prophecies concerning Ob 1:18

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eldest son of Isaac (1) General References to Ge 25:25,34; 26:34; 27:1,30; 33:9; 36:1; Ro 9:13 Heb 11:20; 12:16 (2) "The Man who lost his Inheritance," facts concerning ---A Hunter Ge 25:27 ---Impulsive, dominated by appetite Ge 25:32 ---Made a bad bargain Ge 25:33 ---Lacking in appreciation of higher things Ge 25:34 ---Married heathen wives Ge 26:34 ---Lost his blessing Ge 27:30-38 ---Sought to repent when too late Heb 12:16,17