Albert Barnes Commentary Genesis 25:19-34

"And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham`s son. Abraham begat Isaac. And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian, to be his wife. And Isaac entreated Jehovah for his wife, because she was barren. And Jehovah was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her. And she said, If it be so, wherefore do I live? And she went to inquire of Jehovah. And Jehovah said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, And two peoples shall be separated from thy bowels. And the one people shall be stronger than the other people. And the elder shall serve the younger. And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. And the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment. And they called his name Esau. And after that came forth his brother, and his hand had hold on Esau`s heel. And his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them. And the boys grew. And Esau was a skilful hunter, a man of the field. And Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. Now Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison. And Rebekah loved Jacob. And Jacob boiled pottage. And Esau came in from the field, and he was faint. And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red [pottage]. For I am faint. Therefore was his name called Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me first thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am about to die. And what profit shall the birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me first. And he sware unto him. And he sold his birthright unto Jacob. And Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils. And he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way. So Esau despised his birthright." — Genesis 25:19-34 (ASV)

פדן padān — Paddan, “plowed field;” related: “cut, plow.”

עשׂי ‛êśâv, Esau, “hairy, or made.”

יעקב ya‛ăqôb — Ja’aqob, “he shall take the heel.”

תם tām — “perfect, peaceful, plain.” The epithet refers to disposition, and contrasts the comparatively civilized character of Jacob with the rude temper of Esau.

אדים 'ědôm — Edom, “red.”

The ninth document here begins with the usual phrase and continues to the end of the thirty-fifth chapter. It contains the history of the second of the three patriarchs, or rather, as the opening phrase intimates, of the generations of Isaac—that is, of his son Jacob. Isaac himself is not a prominent figure in the sacred history.

Born when his mother was ninety and his father a hundred years of age, he had a sedate, contemplative, and yielding disposition. Consenting to be laid on the altar as a sacrifice to God, he had the stamp of submission early and deeply impressed on his soul. His life corresponds with these antecedents. Hence, in the spiritual aspect of his character, he was the man of patience, of acquiescence, of susceptibility, of obedience. His qualities were those of the son, as Abraham’s were those of the father. He carried out but did not initiate; he followed but did not lead; he continued but did not commence.

Accordingly, the docile and patient side of the saintly character is now to be presented to our view.

The birth of Esau and Jacob (Genesis 25:19–26). Isaac was “the son of forty years.” Hence, we learn that Isaac was married the third year after his mother’s death, when Abraham was in his hundred and fortieth year. Rebekah is described as the daughter of “Bethuel the Aramaean.” As Bethuel was a descendant of Arphaxad, not of Aram, he is here designated not by his descent but by his adopted country, Aram. By descent, he was a Kasdi or Chaldean. Sarah was barren for at least thirty years; Rebekah for nineteen years. This prompted the prayer of Isaac for his wife. The heir of promise was to be a child of prayer, and accordingly, when the prayer ascended, the fruit of the womb was given. Rebekah had unusual sensations connected with her pregnancy. She said to herself, if I have conceived seed, “If it be so, why am I thus?”—why this strange struggle within me?

In the artlessness of her faith, she goes to the Lord for an explanation. We are not informed in what way she consulted God or how He replied. The expression, “she went to inquire of the Lord,” implies that there was some place of worship and communion with God by prayer. We are not to suppose that she went to Abraham or any other prophet, if such were then at hand, as we have no intimation of this in the text. Her communication with the Lord seems to have been direct. This passage suggests to us that there was now a fixed mode and perhaps place of inquiring of the Lord.

The Lord answers the mother of the promised seed. Two children are in her womb, the parents of two nations, differing in their dispositions and destinies. The one is to be stronger than the other. The order of nature is to be reversed in them, for the older will serve the younger. Their struggles in the womb are a prelude to their future history.

The twins are born in due time (Genesis 25:24–26). The difference is manifest in their outward appearance. The first is red and hairy. These qualities indicate a passionate and precocious nature. He is called “Esau the hairy,” or “the made up,” the prematurely developed. His brother is like other children. An act takes place in the very birth foreshadowing their future history. The second has a hold of his brother’s heel, as if he would trip him up from his very birth. Hence, he is called “Jacob the wrestler,” who takes hold by the heel.

The brothers prove to be different in disposition and habit (Genesis 25:27–34). The rough, fiery Esau takes to the field and becomes skilled in all modes of catching game. Jacob is of a homely, peaceful, orderly turn, dwelling in tents and gathering around him the means and comforts of a quiet social life. The children please their parents as they supply what is lacking in themselves. Isaac, himself so sedate, loves the wild, wandering hunter, because he supplies him with pleasures which his own quiet habits do not reach. Rebekah becomes attached to the gentle, industrious shepherd, who satisfies those social and spiritual tendencies in which she is more dependent than Isaac. Esau is destructive of game; Jacob is constructive of cattle.

A characteristic incident in their early life is attended with very important consequences (Genesis 25:29–34). “Jacob sod pottage.” He has become a sage in the practical comforts of life. Esau leaves the field for the tent, exhausted with fatigue. The sight and smell of Jacob’s savory dish of lentil soup are very tempting to a hungry man. “Let me feed now on that red, red broth.” He does not know how to name it. The lentil is common in the country and forms a cheap and palatable dish of a reddish-brown color, with which bread seems to have been eaten. The two brothers were not congenial.

They would therefore act independently of each other and each provide for himself. Esau was no doubt occasionally rude and hasty. Hence, a selfish habit would grow up and gather strength. He was probably accustomed to supply himself with such food as suited his palate and might have done so on this occasion without any delay. But the rich flavor and high color of the stew, which Jacob was preparing for himself, takes his fancy, and nothing will do but the “red, red.” Jacob obviously regarded this as a rude and selfish intrusion on his privacy and property, in keeping with similar encounters that may have taken place between the brothers.

It is here added, “therefore was his name called Edom,” that is, “Red.” The origin of surnames, or second names for the same person or place, is a matter of some importance in the fair interpretation of an ancient document. It is sometimes hastily assumed that the same name can only owe its application to one occasion; and hence a record of a second occasion on which it was applied is regarded as a discrepancy. But the error lies in the interpreter, not in the author.

The propriety of a particular name may be marked by two or more totally different circumstances, and its application renewed on each of these occasions. Even an imaginary cause may be assigned for a name and may serve to originate or renew its application. The two brothers now before us provide very striking illustrations of the general principle. It is pretty certain that Esau would receive the secondary name of Edom, which ultimately became primary in point of use, from the red complexion of his skin, even from his birth. But the exclamation “that red red,” uttered on the occasion of a very important crisis in his history, renewed the name and perhaps tended to make it take the place of Esau in the history of his race.

Jacob, too, the holder of the heel, received this name from a circumstance occurring at his birth. But the buying of the birthright and the gaining of the blessing were two occasions in his subsequent life on which he merited the title of the supplanter or the holder by the heel (Genesis 27:36). These instances prepare us to expect other examples of the same name being applied to the same object for different reasons on different occasions.

“Sell me this day thy birthright.” This brings to light a new cause of disagreement between the brothers. Jacob was no doubt aware of the prediction communicated to his mother, that the older should serve the younger. A quiet man like him would not otherwise have thought of reversing the order of nature and custom. In after times, the right of primogeniture consisted in a double portion of the father’s goods (Deuteronomy 21:17) and a certain rank as the patriarch and priest of the house on the death of the father. But in the case of Isaac, there was the far higher dignity of chief of the chosen family and heir of the promised blessing, with all the immediate and ultimate temporal and eternal benefits therein included. Knowing all this, Jacob is willing to purchase the birthright as the most peaceful way of bringing about the supremacy that was destined for him. He is therefore cautious and prudent, even conciliating in his proposal.

He availed himself of a weak moment to accomplish by consent what was to come. Yet he lays no necessity on Esau but leaves him to his own free choice. We must therefore beware of blaming him for endeavoring to win his brother’s concurrence in a thing that was already settled in the purpose of God. His chief error lay in attempting to anticipate the arrangements of Providence. Esau is strangely ready to dispose of his birthright for a trivial present gratification. He might have obtained other equally suitable sustenance, but he will sacrifice anything for the desire of the moment. Any higher importance of the right he was prepared to sell so cheaply seems to have escaped his view, if it had ever occurred to his mind. Jacob, however, is deeply in earnest.

He will bring this matter within the range of heavenly influence. He will have God solemnly invoked as a witness of the transfer. Even this does not startle Esau. There is not a word about the price. It is plain that Esau’s thoughts were altogether on “the morsel of meat.” He swears to Jacob. He then ate and drank, and rose up and went his way, as the sacred writer graphically describes his reckless course. Most truly did he despise his birthright. His mind did not rise to higher or further things. Such was the boyhood of these wondrous twins.