Isaac, Rebeca, Esau and Jacob – a cautionary tale
I once read that a famous child psychologist
recommended that all children be told the stories of the Tanach, the Hebrew Bible.
Why? Because they
instill a sense of optimism and joy in
the beauty of the universe and our planet with its breathable air, diverse land
forms, rivers and oceans, and filled with countless and diverse animal life:
all created by a Divine who said “it is
very good” (Gen. 1:31).
As well, the Bible stories contain many cautionary
tales that will forewarn the young of the vagaries of real life. The danger of snakes, earthquakes, locus
plagues, drought, sibling rival, the pain of childbirth, infertility, murder and
war.
And, finally, that the Divine is still active in human
history: punishing evil and rewarding good – if not immediately, then
ultimately.
Isaac,
Rebecca, Esau and Jacob (Gen. 25:20 –
24)
Isaac, Rebecca and Jacob as founders of the 12 tribes
of Israel and the Jewish people are revered figures, but their family life is
one of the Bible’s more cautionary tales.
An objective observer – following the actual
and exact words of the Bible text, the peshat
-- would see their lives as follows:
Rebecca and Isaac marry when he is age 40 and for 20
years they are childless. Then she conceives and has a very painful pregnancy;
to the point where she goes for a consultation with an oracle of God and is
told she is carrying twins.
The day of birth arrives and the first child that
emerges is all reddish and with lots of hair and the second child emerges with
his hand griping the firstborn’s heel.
They are then named Esau and Jacob. The former for his
hairy appearance[i] at birth and the latter for being a ‘heel
grabber’.
Neither name is august, just prosaically factual.
The naming is also unusual as it does not fit with
other namings in the Bible.
As discussed in the blog Part 2: Sarah, Hagar and Ishmael, it is the mother that names the
child and at times the Bible also notes the father’s public announcement of the
name.
Here, the two names are given by some ‘anonymous’
person, and there is no mention of the father’s public announcement. It is simply – twice -- שְׁמוֹ וַיִּקְרְאוּ “They called his name … (Gen 25:25 and 26).
Maybe the deliver was so stressful that Rebecca was
too weak and a mid-wife and supporting women did the naming.
In any case, the twins grow up in their parent’s
household and their diverse personalities and interests soon emerge. (Literally
the next verse.)
Jacob is calm and stays around the family compound doing
whatever needed to be done.(Gen. 25:26) As
he was extremely successful in sheep and goat raising at his father-in-law Laban’s home decades later (Gen. 30:31-43),
one can assume he learned these skills and strategies at home.
Esau, unlike Jacob, prefers the active life of a
skilled hunter and would spends days in the wilderness and uninhabited areas
pursuing wild game with bow and arrow. (Gen. 25:26)
Esau’s hairiness at birth – like a wild animal – was
seen in rabbinic literature as a precursor to his future personality and
interests – and love of bloodshed[ii].
So in the argument of Nature vs Nurture,
the radical differences between these twins are seen as purely genetics and hereditary: with
minimal impact from the home and the environment in which they were both raised
side by side.
But there was a significant Nurture element: one that
is never desirable.
Ch 25:
|
כח וַיֶּאֱהַב יִצְחָק
אֶת-עֵשָׂו, כִּי-צַיִד בְּפִיו;
וְרִבְקָה, אֹהֶבֶת אֶת-יַעֲקֹב. |
28 Now Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his
venison; and Rebekah
loved Jacob. |
The father, the verse states, “loved” Esau while the mother “loved” Jacob.
Now the Hebrewוַיֶּאֱהַב can mean ‘preferred’, but in any case, such a
divide at the parent level is never good.
Esau’s hunting skill was admired and, in fact, encouraged
by his father. Isaac loved the taste of wild game which Esau
brought home, and which Esau also admirably cooked and presented directly to him.
Gen. 27:2-4
|
ב וַיֹּאמֶר, הִנֵּה-נָא זָקַנְתִּי; לֹא יָדַעְתִּי, יוֹם מוֹתִי. |
2 And he said: 'Behold now, I am old, I know
not the day of my death. |
|
ג וְעַתָּה שָׂא-נָא כֵלֶיךָ, תֶּלְיְךָ וְקַשְׁתֶּךָ; וְצֵא, הַשָּׂדֶה,
וְצוּדָה לִּי, צידה (צָיִד). |
3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me
venison; |
|
ד וַעֲשֵׂה-לִי מַטְעַמִּים כַּאֲשֶׁר אָהַבְתִּי, וְהָבִיאָה
לִּי--וְאֹכֵלָה: בַּעֲבוּר תְּבָרֶכְךָ נַפְשִׁי, בְּטֶרֶם אָמוּת. |
4 and make me savoury food, such as I love,
and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I
die.' |
Meanwhile, the mother, Rebecca preferred Jacob. No
detailed reasons are given other than the Jacob stayed at home, near her.
Ch 25:
|
כח וַיֶּאֱהַב יִצְחָק אֶת-עֵשָׂו, כִּי-צַיִד בְּפִיו; וְרִבְקָה, אֹהֶבֶת אֶת-יַעֲקֹב. |
28 Now
Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison; and Rebekah loved Jacob. |
Rebecca only realized the cost of her behaviour re:
Esau when she learns that after her successful plot to steal the firstborn
blessing for Jacob, the angry Esau promises revenge: he will kill Jacob once
Isaac dies. (Gen. 27:41)
She believes him, and suddenly, in a moment of
clarity, she laments:
Ch. 27:
|
מה עַד-שׁוּב אַף-אָחִיךָ מִמְּךָ, וְשָׁכַח אֵת אֲשֶׁר-עָשִׂיתָ לּוֹ,
וְשָׁלַחְתִּי, וּלְקַחְתִּיךָ מִשָּׁם; לָמָה אֶשְׁכַּל גַּם-שְׁנֵיכֶם, יוֹם אֶחָד. |
45 until
thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast
done to him; then I will send, and fetch thee from thence; why should I be bereaved of
you both in one day?' |
Her key words are: “Why should I loose both of you on the same day?”
For once, she recognizes Esau is also her son,
and if he kills Jacob, he will face a death penalty or flight as an outlaw. In
either case, he too is lost to the family and to her, his mother.
For Isaac, the moment of clarity came when he realized
Jacob had bought the firstborn birthright long before, and kept it secret. Esau
let this secret out when asking Isaac for a blessing.
Ch 25:
And Isaac finalized his new attitude when he blessed
Jacob a second time before sending him off to Paddan Aaram (i.e. Haran[iii])
and Laban to find a bride.
Ch 28:
|
א וַיִּקְרָא יִצְחָק אֶל-יַעֲקֹב, וַיְבָרֶךְ אֹתוֹ; וַיְצַוֵּהוּ וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ, לֹא-תִקַּח
אִשָּׁה מִבְּנוֹת כְּנָעַן. |
1 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and
charged him, and said unto him: 'Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters
of Canaan |
As to the relationship between the twins growing up, the
Bible is silent – except for one key incident.
The Pot of
Stew
Esau, after a long and fruitless hunting trip, returns
exhausted and -- if his words and actions can to trusted – close to death.
He sees Jacob cooking a pot of stew and implores him
for some soup.
Jacob refuses unless Esau would then and there
‘sell him the firstborn birthright’.
Esau agrees.
Ch 25:
The Bible text supports Jacob as it ends the incident with blaming Esau for giving up the firstborn birthright. (The last few words of verse 34.)
If one takes Esau at his word: that he was so faint
that he might collapse and die, Jacob’s behaviour seems both cruel and
mendacious.
They are, after all, brothers and twins.
So why not help your brother for free and feed him when he is in distress?
Jacob
not only gave Esau what he asked for: a ‘bit of soup’, but -- after the
transfer of the birthright -- a full
meal of hearty lentil soup and bread and drink.
An objective observer would be disappointed in Jacob.
The incident, put simply, speaks volumes of a long
simmering animosity that Jacob felt against his ‘older’ brother.
That the birthright ‘sale’ was kept secret is also odd.
It is not to Esau’s credit that he did not reveal the
sale to Isaac when Isaac – believing he was about to die – wanted to bless Esau
as his ‘firstborn’ son.
Rebecca, the mother, knew the secret, but for some
reason kept it hidden from her husband.
A simple sentence spoken to Isaac: “Esau sold the
firstborn right to Jacob.” by Jacob or by
Rebecca – if not Esau – would have avoided the bizarre ‘costume’ charade that
ensued.
Rebecca believes that Isaac has in this moment -- near
death -- a divine power to both predict and shape the future. And so too do Isaac and Esau and Jacob.
The ‘blessing scene’ is presented in great detail in
the Bible with extensive first person dialogue. (Gen. 27: 1-40)
Rebecca orchestrates an elaborate ruse to make Jacob
seem to be Esau to the blind Isaac. She
dresses Jacob in Esau’s clothing and simulates his hairy arms and neck with
applications of hairy goat skins. And she even prepares a meat meal that would
pass as wild game.
Isaac, although he is confused as the voice is that of
Jacob, not Esau, he nevertheless gets tricked by the hairy body and animal
smell.
When Esau final arrives to Jacob’s tent with game he
has caught and prepared to his father’s liking, he is shocked and enraged.
And with a tearful voice – yes, Esau cries -- he asks
a question that has always bothered me:
Ch 27:
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לח וַיֹּאמֶר עֵשָׂו אֶל-אָבִיו, הַבְרָכָה אַחַת הִוא-לְךָ אָבִי--בָּרְכֵנִי גַם-אָנִי, אָבִי;
וַיִּשָּׂא עֵשָׂו קֹלוֹ,
וַיֵּבְךְּ. |
38 And
Esau said unto his father: 'Hast
thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my
father.' And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. |
Isaac and Rebecca had two sons: twins at that, and
now, Isaac, before he dies, has only ONE BLESSING to give?
How is that fair or just?
When Jacob himself was about to die, he blessed all
12 of his sons. Not just one. (Gen. 49:1-38)
And Isaac’s answer and repeat of the blessing given to
Jacob is telling:
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לז וַיַּעַן יִצְחָק וַיֹּאמֶר לְעֵשָׂו, הֵן גְּבִיר שַׂמְתִּיו לָךְ וְאֶת-כָּל-אֶחָיו נָתַתִּי
לוֹ לַעֲבָדִים, וְדָגָן וְתִירֹשׁ, סְמַכְתִּיו; וּלְכָה אֵפוֹא, מָה
אֶעֱשֶׂה בְּנִי. |
37 And
Isaac answered and said unto Esau: 'Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given
to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him; and
what then shall I do for thee, my son?' |
It is one thing to wish a firstborn son prosperity and
an abundance of crops and wine, but it is another to say: “and as for your
brother and all his descendants, they will be ‘under your domination’ and your ‘servants/slaves’.
But that is what Isaac said thinking he was blessing
Esau instead of Jacob.
And only under pressure from a crying Esau, does Isaac
improvises a second blessing:
This second blessing is disturbing.
·
Esau is not blessed with prosperity
in crops and wine like Jacob: only to ‘live’ in such locations.
·
Esau and his descendants will be
subordinate servants/slaves תַּעֲבֹד to Jacob’s
offspring BUT eventually ‘break free’.
·
Esau and his descendants will survive
and thrive by the sword – by violence.
No wonder Esau left Isaac’s tent upset and
outraged. What a plan-B blessing!
What a dysfunctional family!
Two other points re: Esau need to be mentioned.
Esau’s marriages
At the age of 40 Esau marries; the same age at which
Isaac married Rebecca.
In fact, he marries in the same year two Canaanite
women and brings them back to live in his father’s family compound. (Gen. 26:
34)
As discussed in the blog on the Bible’s terminology of marriage, these marriages are given Formula
#2 as they are inter-marriages. But by naming the women’s fathers, it means
they were not slaves and the marriages were, in part, to create alliances.
And although Isaac and Rebecca found their new
daughter-in-law’s distasteful and ‘upsetting’ in their ways (Gen. 36:35), it is
hard to believe the marriages were done by Esau without his parent’s help. After all, there would have been two large bride prices to pay, and Esau was still
living ‘at home’.
(A scenario similar that of Samson’s first marriage to
a Philistine for which he had his father make the arrangements. See Judges
ch 14 and as discussed in the earlier blog, “Part 1: the Bible’s terminology of
marriage”.)
Ch 26:
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לד וַיְהִי עֵשָׂו, בֶּן-אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה, וַיִּקַּח אִשָּׁה אֶת-יְהוּדִית,
בַּת-בְּאֵרִי הַחִתִּי--וְאֶת-בָּשְׂמַת, בַּת-אֵילֹן הַחִתִּי. |
34 And
when Esau was forty years old, he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri
the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. |
|
35 And
they were a bitterness of spirit unto Isaac and to Rebekah. {S} |
Then, many years later, immediately after the Isaac ‘blessing’
incident: when Isaac sends Jacob to Paddan Aram (i.e., Haran) to get a wife from
the ancestral kindred and NOT a Canaanite (Gen. 28:1-2 ), Esau, now in his mid-60’s,[iv]
goes to Ishmael, Abraham’s other son, for a wife. For their union the Bible used the elevated Formula
#1 לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה. (Gen.28:8-9).
|
ח וַיַּרְא
עֵשָׂו, כִּי רָעוֹת בְּנוֹת כְּנָעַן, בְּעֵינֵי, יִצְחָק אָבִיו. |
8 and
Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan
pleased not Isaac his father; |
|
|
ט וַיֵּלֶךְ
עֵשָׂו, אֶל-יִשְׁמָעֵאל; וַיִּקַּח אֶת-מָחֲלַת בַּת-יִשְׁמָעֵאל
בֶּן-אַבְרָהָם אֲחוֹת נְבָיוֹת, עַל-נָשָׁיו--לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה . |
9 so
Esau went unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives that he had Mahalath the
daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.
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If you pay attention, you will notice this 3rd
marriage took place more than 20 years after his ‘double’ wedding at age
40. Esau never complains about his first
two wives. Moreover, the genealogy of ch 36 states these first two wives bore
Esau 4 sons before he moved to Mount Seir -- and possibly daughters as
well (Gen. 36: 6). But their births and
existence is left out in the Bible narrative as it focuses on Jacob.
Esau’s
response to Jacob’s return
Jump forward another 22 or so years. Esau – and Jacob
– are now in their mid-80s.
The account of the ‘reunion’ of Jacob and Esau is
described in great detail and, again, with much first person dialogue. It takes
up Ch 32:4-33 and Ch 33:1-16.
Jacob is still after more than 20 years fearful of his
brother and his promised revenge: i.e., Esau will murder Jacob.
He sends messengers to notify Esau, who is residing in
the far south at mount Seir, that he is returning.
The messengers return saying Esau is coming to meet
him with 400 men.
Fearful, Jacob then sends a huge number of animals as
a gift: in 4 to 5 separate herds one after another with verbal messages of
friendship , hoping Esau will be ‘appeased’ and go home with these herds.
But Esau and his 400 men still continue on toward
Jacob and his family.
Fearing the worst, Jacob, in desperation, divides up
his wives and children and herds into two camps: so if Esau attacks one, the
other might be able to flee.
He also places the two groups on the other side of a
river, and bravely crosses it alone to face Esau’s rage and probably death.
This is the setting of the famous battle he has with a
stranger in the dark of night; an angel with the message: ‘God will protect you.’
And also a name change gift: Jacob ‘the heel’ will now be called ‘Israel’, i.e.
‘one who fought and overcame a divine force’.
And when Eau and his men finally arrive, Esau runs
up and hugs him and kisses him.
|
ד וַיָּרָץ עֵשָׂו לִקְרָאתוֹ וַיְחַבְּקֵהוּ, וַיִּפֹּל עַל-צַוָּארָו
וַיִּשָּׁקֵהוּ; וַיִּבְכּוּ. |
4 And
Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they wept. |
To Jacob’s utter surprise, murder is not Esau’s mind. And they even share a good cry.
Esau then explained his 400 men were to accompany and protect Jacob and his entourage as they travel into Canaan. When Jacob demurs, Esau again offers a smaller security guard contingent.
Jacob again says no, and so Esau and his 400 men leave
and go back to Mount Seir.
Jacob other
reunion
Jacob then settles in Succoth and buys land near the
city of Shechem. (Gen. 33: 17-19)
After the disastrous incident with Dina, he leaves and
moves on. As they reach Bethlehem,
Rachel goes into labour with Benjamin, dies in childbirth and is buried by the
roadside. (Gen. 35:16-20)
Only after all of the above does Jacob go to
visit Isaac who is living by Hebron: to introduce his remaining
wives and children to his blind father (Gen. 35:27). Rebecca, it seems, has already died as she is
not mentioned[v].
The very next verse deals with Isaac’s death and
burial. (Gen, 35:29)
NOTE: While not everything in the Chumash is in
chronological order, there is no dispute that Jacob visited Isaac only just
before his death. In fact, Ramban for
Genesis 35:28 states that Jacob arrived just 7 days before Isaac’s death
and Isaac’s death was delayed so that both Esau and a returning Jacob could
attend his funeral.
End of Esau
As for Esau, he appears just twice more in the Bible.
When Isaac dies at age 180 (Yes, some 50 years after the ‘blessings’) Esau,
now about age 120, is prominently listed as participating in the funeral
alongside Jacob.
In fact, the Bible lists Esau first!
Gen. Ch 35:
|
כט וַיִּגְוַע
יִצְחָק וַיָּמָת וַיֵּאָסֶף אֶל-עַמָּיו, זָקֵן וּשְׂבַע יָמִים; וַיִּקְבְּרוּ אֹתוֹ, עֵשָׂו
וְיַעֲקֹב בָּנָיו. |
29 And
Isaac expired, and died, and was gathered unto his people, old and full of days; and Esau and Jacob
his sons buried him.
|
The final time Esau appears is in Ch 36 as the entire
chapter of 43 verses is a list of his offspring and descendant’s for multiple
generations.
Yes, like Ishmael (Gen. 25:12-18), he too gets a respectful,
even far lengthier genealogy.
Ch, 36 also includes the following passage:
https://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0136.htm
Just like Abraham and Lot before them, Esau and Jacob
had such large herds, numerous servants and families that they ‘agreed’ to
separate and live far apart.
No enmity here, but a peaceful, pragmatic separation.
The laws of
Inheritance
Deut. 21:15-17 states as God’s ruling that if a man
has two sons and the one born first is from a ‘hated’ wife and the second one
born is from a ‘beloved’ wife, primogenitor still rules. The first born son gets a double share of the
inheritance – no matter what the father would wish.
1.
.
While
the above deals with the offspring of two separate wives, the Medieval commentator
Ibn Ezra notes the rule applies to twin sons as well[vi].
That
would mean that Esau should inherit double the share that his twin brother
Jacob was to receive, as Esau emerged first from the womb. It could also explain -- as a practical
matter -- why Jacob cared to be recognized as ‘the firstborn’ and the trickery
that he and Rachel -- who preferred Jacob -- pursued.
Now
the above Divine law given after the Exodus may not have applied beforehand, i.e., during Patriarch times.
In fact, the law was different.
The
Code of Hammurabi, the great Mesopotamian king who lived just before or contemporaneous
with Abraham at the start of the 18th century BCE[vii]
has his entire law code extent with 282 laws.
As all 7 nations of Canaan were ‘Semitic’ and of Mesopotamian ancestry, in all likelihood the laws of Canaan would be identical to Mesopotamian law.
Also, Abraham and Sarah were themselves
Mesopotamian: brought up in its culture and under its laws. Abraham and Sarah were raised in Ur (Gen.
11:28) and only left Mesopotamia when Abraham was 75 years old and Sarah 65
(Gen. 12:4). Even Rebecca and thereafter Leah and Rachel (and of course Laban) --
who all lived in Mesopotamian – would have been familiar with these laws.
This
strong Mesopotamian link is why Abraham and all the patriarchs and their
descendants are called HEBREWS numerous times in the Bible[viii]:
literary, “they come from over the river (Euphrates)” – the official southern boundary of ancient
Mesopotamia.
So
what was Mesopotamian law regarding inheritance?
The Code of Hammurabi, #170[ix]
states:
If his wife bear sons to a man, or his maid-servant have borne
sons, and the father while still living says to the children whom his
maid-servant has borne: "My sons," and he count them with the sons of
his wife; if then the father die, then the sons of the wife and of the
maid-servant shall divide the paternal property in common. The son of
the wife is to partition and choose.
While the situation is more like that of Hagar and
Ishmael, the principal is clear: all recognized sons share equally in
the inheritance.
So under Mesopotamian law, Esau and Jacob – no matter
who was born first – would be equal heirs.
The only thing Isaac could give to his first-born son
that would be ‘distinctive’ was the blessing: and even this was
prescribed by custom – if not law – to be given to the ‘firstborn’ son.
CONCLUSION
The Bible in its sections re: Isaac, Rebecca, Esau and
Jacob tends to present the views of Rebecca and Jacob. This is exactly the same
as it did earlier on with the rivalry between Sarah and Hagar as to who should
be Abraham’s heir: Ishmael or Isaac -- as detailed in a previous blog.
Such a perceptive is easily understandable because it
is Jacob – not Esau – who in the father of the 12 Tribe of Israel and
progenitor of the Jewish People. And it is to him that God speaks often: Gen.
28:12-15; 32:2-13, 25-31; 35:1, 9-13.
Yes, there must have been good reason for Rebecca and
especially Jacob to fear Esau’s threat of revenge even after 20 years, as Esau
was not only an athletic outdoorsman and skilled hunter, but one who probably
had a ‘hot temper’ -- though it never appears in the Bible text other than his
vow of revenge.
But when Jacob returns after 20 years, the reality is
Esau no longer has any murderous intent. Instead, the Bible portrays him as a
loving brother: with hugs and kisses.
And as the Bible stresses, Esau still showed respect
for Isaac and participated fully -- alongside Jacob – in Isaac’s funeral.
Finally, as noted in Ch 36, he and Jacob separated
their families and herds amicably, with Esau moving to Mount Seir.
A man who cries when his father cannot give him a
blessing, a man who takes another wife to please his father, is not all bad.
And, in the end, as stated explicitly in the Bible
text, he was not a danger and ‘hot head’ any more.
As far as the Bible text is concerned -- the peshat -- the brothers ended up as they
should: not hostile rivals – but peacefully.
Isaac’s 1st
Blessing
As for Isaac’s blessing given to Jacob, its section
re: Edom (identical to the prophecy Rebecca received when pregnant (Gen. 25;
23)), did not come true for many centuries; and even then, it was bizarrely
shot lived.
King David conquered Edom[x] c. 1000 BCE and it was a vassal state until it won back independence during the 8 year reign of King Jehoram of Judah (834 -842).[xi] A total of 50 to 60 years.
Then, centuries later, the Hasmonean King Jonathan
Hyrcanus (ruler 134 BCE to 103
BCE) annexed Edom.[xii].
His conquest and forced conversion of Esau’s
descendants soon had its comeuppance: as Jonathan allowed the Edomite royal
family to marry into the Hasmoneans.
King Herod the Great (ruler 37 BCE to 4 BCE), son of
Antipater the Idumaean (yes,
Edom) [xiii] and thereafter his sons, ruled all or parts of
Judea and ancient Israel until 6 CE for the Jerusalem area and to 39 CE for the
Galilee and east of the Jordan.[xiv]
All ruled as
Jewish monarchs.
Herod’s most famous accomplishment was the enlargement
of the Temple mount to its current stone walls (Yes, the Western Wall is
Herod’s) and enlarging and beautifying the Second Temple building itself.[xv]
Thereafter, all was under direct Roman rule for the
next 600 years!
Rabbinic
approach
Rabbinic sources from the Midrash to Talmud and
thereafter have always seen the struggle of the twins in the womb – and Bible events
thereafter -- as hallmarks of an ‘eternal enmity’ and ‘struggle’ between the
children of Israel and evil Edom.
Ch 25:
|
כג וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה לָהּ, שְׁנֵי גֹיִים בְּבִטְנֵךְ, וּשְׁנֵי לְאֻמִּים,
מִמֵּעַיִךְ יִפָּרֵדוּ; וּלְאֹם מִלְאֹם יֶאֱמָץ, וְרַב יַעֲבֹד צָעִיר. |
23 And
the LORD 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. |
Consequently, Esau is vilified left, right and centre[xvi].
Fanciful ideas include:
Q: Why did Rebecca had such pains during pregnancy?
A: Because every time she passed an idol temple Esau
would try to jump out and whenever
she passed a place of God, Jacob would try to get out.
Q: Why was Esau tired when he came to Jacob making
stew?
A: It was the day of Abraham’s death. Esau was coming back from killing the great
King Nimrod: ambushing him so he could steal his supernatural clothing that was
handed down from Adam. He also stopped to rape a young bride.
Q: Why did Isaac prefer Esau?
A: Rashi says Esau constantly lied to his father and
pretended to be studying Torah.
Q: Why did Jacob come to Laban empty handed and
without the required bride price gifts as did Eliezer?
A. Esau’s son
attacked Jacob once he left home and stole all the valuables.
Q: Why did Esau hug and kiss Jacob?
A: He was actually trying to bit his neck but
miraculously it turned to marble.
Q: Why is Rebecca’s death never mentioned in the
Bible?
A: Rashi, citing Genesis Rabbah, states her death and
burial were kept secret so that “people might not curse the mother who gave birth to Esau.”[xvii]
Q; When did Esau die?
A: When the children of Israel came to the family
cave/crypt to bury Jacob, Esau tried to block the burial claiming there was
only one spot left and it should be his. During the heated argument, a deaf son
of Dan was so outraged he took a sword and cut off Esau head. Esau’s head was
small enough to fit at Jacob’s feet.
Q. Who is the ancestor of the Romans that took over
and crushed Judea and its two revolts?
A: Esau. Rome
comes from his descendants, Edom.
This last, bizarre identification first appears in the
Jerusalem Talmud which blames the offspring of Esau for the destruction of Beitar, the final stronghold of the
failed Bar Kochva Revolt against Rome (132-136 CE). The Midrash Tanchumah lists Emperor Hadrian
as “King of Edom” and Genesis Rabbah in discussing the twins in the womb calls
Esau ”Hadrian”.
Other rabbinic and later identifications of even King
Herod as Roman, can be found in the article, “Esau, the ancestor of Rome” at https://www.thetorah.com/article/esau-the-ancestor-of-rome .
In closing, the life of the family of Isaac and
Rebecca was highly dysfunctional and a cautionary warning for all parents and
siblings.
And while Esau was not perfect, he clearly – based on
the straightforward meaning of the Bible text – the peshat -- tried to be a loyal and faithful son to his father.
Whatever anger and grudge he had against Jacob for
stealing the ‘blessing’ dissipated over the 20+ years of Jacobs absence: as he
was able to amass both wives and children and great wealth and large herds
anyway.
______________________________
Esau’s descendants
One could argue Esau’s demonization was less to do
with him than to some of his is descendants.
Esau fathered 5 sons from his three wives and also
daughters. He was grandfather to at least 10 grandsons and probably granddaughters.
(Gen. 36: 10-14)
However, one grandson was named Amalek (Gen. 36: 12).
It is this descendant and his followers and tribe that
became notorious in Jewish history for attacking the children of Israel after
the Exodus: when they were tired and weary. For this act of kinship betrayal,
God ordered their total extinction in the future. (Exod. 17: 8-16)
Ch 17:14
|
יד וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה, כְּתֹב זֹאת זִכָּרוֹן בַּסֵּפֶר, וְשִׂים,
בְּאָזְנֵי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ: כִּי-מָחֹה אֶמְחֶה אֶת-זֵכֶר עֲמָלֵק, מִתַּחַת הַשָּׁמָיִם. |
14 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Write this
for a memorial in the book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly blot out the
remembrance of Amalek from under heaven |
King Saul carried out this punishment years later. With
the Prophet Samuel’s sword welding, King Agag of Amalek was cut to pieces, and
all his people: men, women and children, were all killed. (1 Samuel Ch. 15). A Biblical punishment called Cherem הֶחֱרִים -- as done previously with the cities of Ai and Jericho by Joshua.
Certainly the prominence in the Bible of Amalek –
Esau’s grandson’s descendants -- and their evil actions did not help Esau’s
reputation, and may, in part, account for Esau’s vilification in rabbinic
legends and literature.
But there is also a second, centuries later
‘descendant’: Haman.
The evil viceroy of the Persian King Achashverosh
plotted to exterminate all Jews throughout the world empire of Persia on the 13th
of Adar. (Esther 3:7-9)
And he is identified in the Book of Esther as the “son
of Hasmmedatha the Agagite”.
Esther 3:1
According to rabbinic tradition (Talmud Bavli, Megilla 13a.1), he was a descendant of King Agag, the
Amalek ruler that Samuel slew.
This lineage is accepted by Josephus[xviii],
and by a detailed genealogy going back to Esau in the early Medieval
Aramaic translation of the Book of Esther called Targum Sheni[xix].
It is also accepted by modern historians[xx].
Lastly, one need not speculate like the rabbis of the
Talmud that King Agag, during the extra night of life Saul gave him before
Samuel’s arrival and slew him, impregnated a slave girl and Hamman was a
descendent of this one night act.
Saul’s attack and slaughter did not impact all
Amalekites for more Amalekites appear in 1
Samuel much later. An Amalekite was somehow
involved in the last battle between King Saul’s army and the Philistines. He brought King Saul’s royal crown and arm
bracelet to David and false claimed he have killed Saul himself (2 Samuel 1:
1-10).
According to 1 Samuel 30, while David and his 600 men were off
somewhere, his home and city of Ziklag – where his two wives and all the
spouses and offspring of his men resided – was raided by Amalekites who burned
the city to the ground and took everyone captive. When David and his forces caught up to them,
there was a great battle and David’s forces slaughter countless Amalekites and
recovered his two wives and all the others.
1 Samuel 30:
But notice 400 Amalekite survived as they fed on
camels.
Consequently, the death of King Agag and all those
found with him by King Saul was not the end of Amalek.
CONCLUSION
It is not
surprising that after the destruction of the Second Temple (enlarged and made
magnificent by King Herod) and the disaster of the Bar Kochva Revolt: when
rabbinic legends and midrashim were being created and the Jerusalem and
Babylonian Talmuds compiled (c. 300 CE and c. 500 CE), looking back at the
great misfortunes of the past – and looking for a common thread or link
– it was not hard to see Esau and the struggle in the womb with Jacob as a
logical ‘source’.
The evils that befell the Israelites after the Exodus,
the efforts to crush and destroy the Children of Israel many centuries later, all
made sense as the ‘evil seed’ of Esau.
The mindset: Nature rules over Nurture.
Or, as the old expression, goes: The apple does not
fall far from the tree.
But this is not the Esau that the actual words of the
Bible – ending with Genesis Ch 36 -- presents.
[i] See section ‘Birth’ at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esau
[ii] See Rashi for Gen. 25:25 where he
cites Genesis Rabbah 63:8.
[iii] Paddan
Aram, also called Aram Naharraim, is a region and local kingdom. The first means ‘the fields of Aram’ and the
second ‘Aram by the river’. The central city is Haran. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haran_(biblical_place)
[iv] The analysis by https://sites.google.com/site/calendarstudies/genesis-28-9 suggests Esau and Jacob were about age 63. This is based on the fact Esau negotiated with Ishmael who died at age 137. As Ishmael was 14 years older than Isaac, and Esau and Jacob where born when Isaac was 60, Ishmael would have been 74 at their birth. At his death, Esau and Jacob could not have been more than 63 years old = 137 – 74.
.
[v] See Rashi’s Gen. 35:8 commentary
#3. Rashi, citing Genesis Rabbah and Midrash Tancuma, states
Jacob learned of Rebecca’s recent death when burying her nurse Deborah.
[vi] https://www.sefaria.org/Deuteronomy.21.17?lang=bi&with=Ibn%20Ezra&lang2=en
Right Sidebar resources
[vii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammurabi
[viii]
Gen. 14:13, 39:14 and 17,
Exod. 41:12; Exod. 1:15-16, 19, 21, Exod. 2:6-7, 11, 13; Exod. 21:2; Deut.
15:12 and nine other times in the ensuing Tanach
as tracked by Bible Hub
[ix] https://avalon.law.yale.edu/ancient/hamframe.asp
[x] 2 Samuel 8:14, 1 Kings 11:15-16
[xi] 2 Kings 8:20-22
[xii] See http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7972-hyrcanus-john-johanan-i
and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hyrcanus
[xiii]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_the_Great
[xiv] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judea_(Roman_province)#:~:text=The%20Roman%20province%20of%20Judea%20%28%2F%20d%CA%92%20u%CB%90,of%20the%20Hasmonean%20and%20Herodian%20kingdoms%20of%20Judea.
[xv] It is Herod’s magnificent Second Temple that is the centre-piece of the Israel Museum’s Jerusalem model reconstruction. See right sidebar at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Temple
[xvi]
See https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3840330/jewish/Jacob-and-Esau-in-the-Bible.htm
[xvii]
Rashi for Gen.35:8, comment
#3.
[xviii]
https://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/ant-11.html
[xix] See Wikipedia which reprints the
full linage at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haman#:~:text=As%20his%20epithet%20Agagite%20indicates,the%20king%20of%20the%20Amalekites.
[xx] See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haman and http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7124-haman-the-agagite
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