A major issue in the stories about Jacob and Esau is the issue of Jewish power. On the one hand, the legacy of Abraham is a spiritual one. On the other, in the absence of military abilities, the nation and future tribes of Israel leave themselves open to subservience, and even annihilation.

Esau was the founder of the Edomite nation, and the nations of Judah and Edom will at times be in conflict with each other. The Jacob and Esau stories describe in prophetic form the origins of this conflict and its future cyclical nature.

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These stories also contain many wordplays. Without appreciation of these wordplays, much of the depth of the text is lost. It is also helpful for our understanding of the text to compare and contrast the literal meaning of the text (called p’shat) with its midrashic or exegetical interpretation. Midrashic exegesis often represents an additional creative level fashioned on top of the literal meaning of the text.

 

 

Esau, a hunter of redness

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Rebecca and Isaac had been infertile for many years. Isaac prayed to God for a child, and Rebecca eventually conceived. However, her pregnancy seemed unusual to her because of the vigorous fetal movements. She discovers that she is bearing twins who even in utero are having trouble existing together:

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​And the children agitated within her, and she said, “If so, why am I thus?” And she went to inquire of YHWH. And YHWH said to her: “Two nations are in your womb: two peoples from your insides shall be separated: and one people will be mightier than the other (ule’om milom ye’emaz) (וּלְאֹם֙ מִלְאֹ֣ם יֶֽאֱמָ֔ץ) and the older/greater (rav) (וְרַ֖ב) shall serve the younger. (Genesis 25:22-23)

 

The JPS translation above of “and one people will be mightier than the other” fails to give full justice to the Hebrew. More precise is that power will go from one people to the other, or one will overcome the other. As Rashi and the 19th century biblical commentator R’ Samson Raphael Hirsch point out, this is a prophecy about a cyclical transfer of power from one nation to the other. 

 

Shall become strong from the other regime: They shall not be equal in greatness. When this one rises this other one falls.1

 

To maintain the symmetry of the verse, the end of the prophecy is often translated as “the older (rav) shall serve the younger.” However, the Hebrew “rav” does not mean older, but greater in number or power. Hence the meaning is “the more numerous will become subservient to the younger.”  

 

At a basic level, the Jacob and Esau stories are about the relationship between two dissimilar twin brothers. However, as the Torah will make clear, these stories are also about the balance of power between two close neighbors Judea and Edom.

 

What was the significance of this prophecy for Rebecca? Was it designed to provide her with enlightenment, and perhaps comfort, or does it constitute a call for her to ensure that her elder son does indeed become subservient to the younger? The wording of the prophecy is not clear about this, although as the story progresses Rebecca clearly does take an active role in ensuring its fulfillment.  

The delivery of the twins is described in a passage full of wordplays:

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When her term to bear grew full, then behold — twins in her womb. The first one emerged red (admoni) (אַדְמוֹנִי), all of him was like a hairy mantle (se’ar) (שֵׂעָר), so they called his name Esau. After that his brother emerged with his hand grasping onto the heel of Esau; and he called his name Jacob (יַעֲקֹב): Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them” (Genesis 25:24-26).

 

The name Esau (Esav in Hebrew) (עֵשָׂ֗ו) comes from the root a-s-a (עשה) — he made. Because of his ruddiness (admoni) and hairiness (se’ar), newborn Esau looked “ready-made” and like a mature person.2 But there is additional meaning to his redness and hairiness. As mentioned, Esau will be the progenitor of the nation Edom, which means red, and he will live in the land of Seir, which is the same word as that describing his hairiness. Part of the mountain range of Seir is also red in color because of its iron content. Yaakov (Jacob) is so named because he emerges from the womb grasping the heel (ekev) of his older brother. However, this word also has the meaning of "to follow," "to supplant," or even "to deceive,” and indeed Jacob does develop a reputation for being a trickster.

 

He [Esau] said “Is that why he is named Jacob (Ya’akov) (יַעֲקֹ֗ב), and he outwitted (vayakveni) (וַֽיַּעְקְבֵ֙נִי֙) me these two time? . .  (Genesis 27:36).

 

What is the significance of these wordplays?  The Torah seems to be pointing out that the characteristics and destiny of these twins were already determined prenatally and at birth, and these characteristics will become apparent as these twins mature into adulthood.

  

The theme of redness continues into the next episode. Why does the Torah place such emphasis on the word “red”?  One reason already mentioned is because Esau will become the nation of Edom, some of whose mountains are red. However, Rashi, following a midrash, sees an illusion to his murderous nature.3 This is not far-fetched. Esau is a hunter. In the compensatory blessing he receives from Isaac after being tricked, he is told he will live by the sword. These early stories are dripping with allusions to the animal and human blood Esau and his progeny will spill.   

 

The narrative continues:

 

​The lads grew up and Esau was a man who knew trapping, a man of the field; but Jacob was a wholesome man, abiding in tents. Isaac loved Esau because [his] trapping/game was in his mouth, but Rebecca loved Jacob (Genesis 25:27-28).

 

The text tells us “… for trapping was in his mouth.” Esau was a natural hunter. However, a midrash quoted by Rashi picks up on the unusual wording here. In whose mouth was the trapping? An obvious answer is that “his mouth” refers to the mouth of Isaac. Isaac enjoyed the food that Esau brought and appreciated his hunting skills. However, a midrash sees here a hint that Esau was an expert at deceiving his father regarding his spiritual qualities.4 With this explanation, the midrash is preempting the question — how could Isaac have been so blind as to think that a person like Esau could become his successor? The midrash’s answer is that Isaac was misled by Esau’s speech, the trapping that was in Esau’s mouth. 

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The plot develops further while providing more details about Esau’s character. Jacob has cooked a stew, and Esau comes in from the field exhausted. He says to Jacob:

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“Pour into me now some of that very red stuff (ha’adom ha’adom) (הָאָדֹם הָאָדֹם) for I am exhausted.” He therefore called his name Edom. Jacob said: “Sell me as this day your birthright to me.” And Esau said: “Look, I am going to die, so of what use to me is a birthright?” Jacob said: “Swear to me this day.” He swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, got up and left. Thus, Esau belittled the birthright (Genesis 25:29-33).

 

Esau is attracted to the redness of the soup, which is another reason he receives his nickname Edom. When he requests the soup, he wants it poured down his throat. “Pour into me now some of that very red stuff.” There is no hint of sophistication in this person, who is driven by his physical desires. And after he sells Jacob his birthright “he ate and drank, got up and left,” giving not a moment’s thought to what he had just done. His birthright meant nothing to him.

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Interlinked with the theme of destiny in these passages is the theme of the rights of the firstborn. Esau is the older brother, and should be the recipient of the privileges due to the firstborn. Firstborn rights were widely held in the Near East at this time and can be broken down into three components – religion, money, and privilege combined with power. As discussed in the essay “The importance of the firstborn in the Cain and Abel story” at that time many of the rights of the firstborn were related to rites for a dead parent. The firstborn was also responsible for family members, especially the women, which would include his widowed mother and sisters, none of whom received an inheritance. All this involved expense, and the firstborn inherited double that of his siblings. The firstborn also inherited the prestige and power that went with looking after the family’s affairs. It could be that Jacob was interested in receiving this entire birthright package - its religious aspects, its monetary value, and the power that came with it, although Rashi suggests that it was the religious aspect of the birthright he most craved:

 

Your birthright: Since the sacrificial service is performed by the firstborns, Jacob said: “This evil one is not worthy that he should bring up offering to the Holy One, Blessed is He.” And Esau belittled (the birthright): the verse testifies to his wickedness, that he belittled the service of the Omnipresent.5

 

Nevertheless, the blessing meant for Esau, and for which Jacob deceives his father and takes for himself, mentions nothing about religious functions but only about status, prestige and power. Nachmanides also writes that it was the prestige of the firstborn’s position that was being contested here and his explanation seems very much in line with the plain meaning of the text.6 Both Jacob and his mother felt it vital that this not be given over to Esau. Moreover, this blessing was bestowed upon Jacob via the name of God Elohim. Isaac is invoking here the God of international affairs and the God who will establish his son as a prestigious and powerful chief among the nations. 

 

In general, Jewish sages had a very negative view of Esau, even though it is possible from the text to regard Esau as the guileless victim of plots rather than the epitome of evil. Nevertheless, by linking up phrases from this story to other passages in the Bible with similar wording, the following midrash regards Esau as a sexual violator, murderer and thief:

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“And Esau came in from the field”: which means that he violated a betrothed maiden, as it says: “But if the man find the damsel that is betrothed in the field, and the man take hold of her and lie with her (Deut 22:25) …… while “And he was faint” signified that he committed murder. . . .  R’ Berekiah and R’ Zakkai the elder said: He also committed theft, as you read’ “if thieves came to thee, if robbers (shodede) by night (ibid 1:5).7

 

​The plot that Rebecca concocts is well known. Isaac, who is blind, informs his eldest son Esau that he would like to bless him before he dies and he asks him to hunt and prepare venison for him so that he will be in a good mood to bless him. Rebecca overhears the conversation, and disguises Jacob as Esau by placing goat’s hairs on his arms and dressing him in Esau’s clothing. When he arrives, Isaac is suspicious that Jacob is before him, since the voice he hears sounds very much like Jacob. Nevertheless, the goats’ skins and clothes persuade him that it is Esau. He blesses Jacob with a blessing that has nothing to do with the tradition of Abraham, but a lot to do with prosperity and supremacy:

​ He approached and kissed him, and he smelled the scent of his garments, and he blessed him and said:

 

"Behold, my son's scent is like the scent of a field that YHWH has blessed. And may Elohim give you of the dew of the heavens and the fatness of the earth, and much corn and wine. May the nations serve you, and may peoples bow down to you; may you be a lord over your brethren, and may your mother's sons bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed, and may those who bless you be blessed” (Genesis 27:27-29).

 

How could Isaac have made such a mistake in inappropriately blessing Esau in this way, despite his being the firstborn? As we have seen, the explanation of Rashi is that he was not only physically blind, but blinded by the deception of Esau. R’ Samson Raphael Hirsch, however, raises another explanation, which has been taken up by some modern commentators.8 Isaac knew full well the character of Esau. Nevertheless, he appreciated these characteristics and thought them essential for the future of the Israelite nation.  

 

Isaac appreciated Esau not only because of the food he brought him from the hunt, but also because of the power he personified. Isaac may well have argued thus — why not join the physical prowess of Esau to the wholesomeness of Jacob and the twins will function as partners in bringing the heritage of Abraham to the world? As the most powerful, it made sense that the firstborn Esau be the head of the family. 

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We know very little about Isaac from the Torah as he is not involved in any major episodes, except for his near-sacrifice by his father in the Akeida episode. Isaac chiefly saw his role as preserving the heritage of his father. He was a spiritual person. He did, after all, submit himself to being sacrificed without protest. He also knew firsthand what it was like to be powerless in a hostile world.  

Set within the story of Jacob and Esau is an account of Isaac’s life in Gerar in the land of the Philistines (chapter 26). It is a chapter about the lack of power — lack of power in being able to prevent Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, from taking his wife into his harem, and lack of power in preventing Abimelach’s servants from stealing his wells. He is continually on the move until he reaches Rehovoth: “for now YHWH has granted us ample space (hirchiv) (הִרְחִ֧יב) and we will be fruitful in the land” (Genesis 26:22). 

 

Rebecca came from a home in which conflict and scheming had been part of her environment. She appreciated the household of Isaac because its values were the very opposite of those from the home she came from. She also knew that it was Jacob, and not Esau, who espoused these values, and these would be the ones promoted by the Jewish people. She also knew, because it had been revealed to her by prophecy, that the ideals of their descendents would be in conflict, and they were destined to struggle with each other throughout history. The granting of supremacy to Esau had to be prevented at all costs, and Isaac had to be disillusioned of his plan in the most forceful of ways. Her scheme of substituting Jacob for Esau was the only way this could be achieved. In so doing, she would drive home to her husband that only Jacob was fit to continue the heritage of Abraham and he was the one who should have supremacy.

 

Esau is completely distraught when he learns what his brother had done to him and cries out a great and bitter cry. His firstborn privileges had been spirited away from him twice. Isaac is also extremely upset; not only because he has been made a fool of and because his favored son has lost his birthright, but because his entire approach to his two sons and to the heritage of Abraham has fallen by the wayside. As the text tells us:

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​Isaac trembled a great trembling and said: 'Who, then, was it who hunted the provision, and brought it to me that I should eat from all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yea, and he shall be blessed” (Genesis 27:33).

 

Isaac sees very clearly the consequences of what Rebecca and Jacob have done. The two brothers are not to be in partnership throughout history but in conflict. As he tells Esau:

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“Behold, a lord have I made him over you, and all his kin have I given him as servants, with grain and wine have I supported him, and for you where — what can I do my son? . . . .”  So Isaac, his father, answered and said to him: “Behold, of the fatness of the earth shall be your dwelling and of the dew of the heavens from above. By your sword you shall live, but your brother you shall serve; yet it shall be that when you will be aggrieved (tarid) (תָּרִיד), you may remove his yoke from upon your neck” (Genesis 27:37-40).

 

This is neither a blessing nor a prayer, but a prophesy. But what does it mean “when you will be aggrieved”? In what way is Isaac limiting his previous blessing to Jacob?

 

The Second Temple biblical commentator Onkelos writes:

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Yet by your sword you shall live, and your brother you shall serve. But it shall be that when his descendants will transgress the words of the Torah you will remove his yoke from your neck.9 

 

Rashi, based on midrash Bereishis Rabba, explains the connection between being aggrieved and removing the yoke in a similar way: 

 

When you shall be aggrieved: the word is an expression of pain. . .  as if to say [i.e., Isaac means to say] “when Israel will transgress the laws of the Torah, and you will have a claim to be aggrieved over the blessings that [Jacob] took “you may remove his yoke etc.”10  

 

According to this explanation, Israel will lose its ascendency if it becomes sinful, and Edom “will be aggrieved” by being subjugated by a nation that lacks the religious merit to do this.

 

A simpler, non-midrashic explanation is that Israel will remain ascendant unless it overdoes its dominion, in which case Esau/Edom “will be aggrieved” and resentful, and will break out of its oppression.11  

 

Whichever explanation, Isaac is recognizing here the cyclical nature of the conflict between the generations of Jacob and Esau. There will be times in history when Jacob will be supreme, and other times that Esau will have dominion.

 

At this stage it is worth asking the question — who does Esau represent? Who are the generations of Esau that will be struggling with those of Jacob? And did this prophecy ever come about?  

 

 

The nation of Edom

 

Esau moved to the hill country of Seir, intermingling with (Genesis 36:2 and 36:20-30) or displacing (Deuteronomy 2:12) its original inhabitants, the Horites (Genesis 36:8-9, 20-21). Seir is a rugged, mountainous area located southeast of the Dead Sea, corresponding to modern-day southern Jordan. The territory of Edom may have extended southwards as far as Eilat, which would have been their seaport. Over time they expanded their territory to both sides of the Arava or Jordan Rift Valley. To the north of Edom was the territory of Moab and the territory of Judah to the west.

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There was continual warfare between the early Israelite kingdom and Edom. The Edomites were defeated by King David (2 Samuel 8:13-14). They subsequently gained independence, but faced renewed conflict under King Amaziah of Judah (2 Kings 14:7). At the time of Nebuchadnezzar, they assisted the Babylonians in plundering Jerusalem and slaughtering the Judeans, and this earned them the considerable ire of the prophet Obadiah who prophesied that they would eventually be avenged. The Edomites subsequently moved northwards into the vacated territory of Judea, into what is now called the Sh’fela, and formed the province of Idumea during the Hellenistic period. The Nabateans took over their original territory south of the Dead Sea.

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At the time of the Second Commonwealth, the Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus took over this territory from the Greeks.12 The Idumeans were given the choice of either exile or conversion to Judaism. Most accepted conversion, although this step was much opposed by the Pharisees. 

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Antipater was a politically astute Idumaean general who had converted to Judaism and who became a power-maker in the struggle between the two Hasmonean brothers Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II for the throne of Judea. He allied with the Roman general Pompey, who intervened in the civil war between the two brothers and who was eventually appointed procurator of Judea by Julius Caesar. Antipater was poisoned by a rival, but his political machinations laid the groundwork for his son, Herod the Great, to eventually become king of Judea on behalf of Rome after fighting for his throne against the Hasmonean prince Antigonus II Mattahias. In effect, Herod subjugated Judea to the rule of Rome, although he was sensitive to the religious requirements of the Jewish people, and even rebuilt the Temple. He wiped out all the Hasmoneans, including his wife Miriam and their two sons. Herod’s father was Jewish but Herod’s mother was not, so that he was not strictly speaking Jewish. In this way, an Edomite achieved dominion over the Jewish people.

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There is a Rabbinic tradition that a chieftain of Esau founded Rome.13 There is no corresponding tradition in Rome, although the beginnings of this city are obscure and different legends are related. Nevertheless, the term Edom became a synonym in some Rabbinic literature for Rome. The Roman Empire eventually morphed into the Christian empire, and because of Christian oppression of Jews, Edom also became a synonym for Christian Rome and finally for Christianity itself.14

 

 

A final question

 

A question remains from the discussion so far. Jacob is one of the three forefathers of the Jewish people. To what extent should he be regarded as a role model?  Or put another way, does the Bible condone trickery and deception? Is the Torah really a book about how to deceive a blind father? Whichever way one looks at it, either Jacob acted correctly and the Bible is teaching us morally ambiguous behavior, or Jacob acted improperly and the Jewish people have a trickster as a forefather. 

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The answer would seem to be that the Bible is not shackling the Jewish people by demanding absolute straightforwardness in their dealings with their enemies. There is only one way for the powerless to deal with the powerful — this is not to confront them directly but to be tricky. This is the legacy of Jacob and this characteristic is embedded in his Hebrew name Ya’acov.

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However, deception and trickery do have consequences. Against a recognized trickster, everyone’s defenses go up. Trickery begets trickery. The Torah recognizes there may be no option when dealing with a brother such as Esau, but it does not definitively condone it. Jacob paid dearly for his deceptions:

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• Jacob was deceived by his uncle Laban at night and given Leah as a bride instead of his true-love Rachel.

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• During his 20 years in Haran, he was subject to Laban’s deceptions — “I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks and you changed my wage ten countings” (ibid, 31:41).

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• His own children trick him with the blood of a goat, instead of admitting that they had sold their brother Joseph into slavery. As a consequence of this, Jacob spent 22 years mourning the presumed death of his son.

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The Bible does not condone trickery, but it also recognizes there are times when there are no other options. This is the legacy of survival that Jacob, who was nothing but righteous, bequeathed to the Jewish people. As we shall soon see, he was renamed by God Yisrael, which was the connotation of victory.

 

References

1. Rashi to Genesis 25:23. Also R’ Hirsch to 25:22 — “the whole of history is nothing else than a struggle as to whether spirit or sword, or as our sages put it, whether Caesaria or Jerusalem is to have the upper hand.”

2. Rashi to ibid 25:25.

3. Rashi to Genesis 25:25 and Bereishis Rabba 63:8.

4. Rashi to Genesis 25:27 and Bereishis Rabba 63:10.

5. Rashi to ibid 25:31 and Bereishis Rabba 63:13.

6. Nachmanides to ibid 25:34.

7. Bereishis Rabba 63:12.

8. Commentary to the Torah of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on Genesis 27:1 and Dividing the Berakhot by Rav Ezra Bick in the Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash, Parshat HaShavua, Yeshivat Har Etzion (http://www.vbm-torah.org/archive/parsha66/06-66toldot.htm).

9. Onkelos to ibid 27:40.

10. Rashi to ibid 27:40, based on Bereishis Rabba 67:7.

11. Ibn Ezra interprets the word “tarud” as “you are disturbed.” He connects it to political rebellion. Whenever he finds an opportunity, he will break through. Radak sees “tarud” in the sense of agitation or being stirred. When Esau is sufficiently stirred up, he will throw off Jacob’s yoke. Rashbam gives Esau even more of a break: “When you become weary of the yoke and desire to cast it off from your neck, you will be able to do so at a time of your choosing.”

12. The source of this information is from the writings of Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews book 13, chapter 9 and the Jewish War book 1, chapter 2).

13. See for example TB Avoda Zarah 10a and TB Megilla 6b and Bereishis Rabba 65:21 and 78:10. The following is a typical Talmudic statement that makes this point: “Vespasian sent Titus who said: “Where is their God, the rock in whom they trusted (Deut 3:25). This was the wicked Titus who blasphemed and insulted Heaven. What did he do? ..... A voice went forth from heaven saying: Sinner, son of sinner, descendent of Esau the sinner...” (TB Gittin 56b).