Esau (Hebrew: עֵשָׂו, meaning “hairy” or “rough”) was the firstborn son of Isaac and Rebekah, the twin brother of Jacob, and the grandson of Abraham. He is primarily known as the progenitor of the Edomites and as a man who famously forfeited his spiritual inheritance for immediate physical gratification.
Birth and Characteristics
Esau’s life was marked by distinction from the very womb, where he and his brother struggled together—a conflict God explained as the beginning of two manner of nations.
“And the first came out red, all over like a hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.” (Genesis 25:25, KJV)
As he grew, Esau became a “cunning hunter” and a “man of the field,” contrasting with Jacob, who was a “plain man, dwelling in tents.” Because Esau provided venison for his father, he became the favorite of Isaac, while Rebekah favored Jacob.
The Forfeited Birthright
The most defining moment in Esau’s biography is the sale of his birthright. Returning from the field “faint” with hunger, he found Jacob cooking a pottage of lentils.
- The Request: Esau begged for the “red pottage,” leading to his secondary name, Edom (meaning “Red”).
- The Bargain: Jacob demanded the birthright in exchange for the meal.
- The Choice: Esau reasoned, “Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?” (Genesis 25:32).
- The Verdict: Scripture records a scathing summary of this act: “Thus Esau despised his birthright” (Genesis 25:34).
By valuing a single meal over the covenant promises of Abraham, Esau became a biblical archetype for worldliness. The New Testament warns against being a “profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright” (Hebrews 12:16).
The Stolen Blessing and Exile
Years later, when Isaac sought to give Esau the patriarchal blessing, Jacob (through the prompting of Rebekah) deceived his blind father and received the blessing instead. When Esau discovered the deception, he “cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry,” but the blessing could not be reversed.
Filled with hatred, Esau vowed to kill Jacob, forcing Jacob to flee to Padan-aram. During this exile, Esau married Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael, further distancing himself from the covenant line of his parents.
Reconciliation and Legacy
Despite his earlier vow of vengeance, when Jacob returned twenty years later, Esau met him with unexpected grace:
“And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.” (Genesis 33:4, KJV)
Esau eventually settled in Mount Seir, a rugged region south of the Dead Sea. His descendants, the Edomites, became a persistent rival to Israel. The prophets, most notably Obadiah, frequently spoke of the judgment coming upon the “mount of Esau” for their pride and their violence against the children of Jacob.