JACOB & ESAU
Who are you?
—Isaac
“Not all the days of even the Bible’s greatest saints are remarkable,” said the man. “Abraham lived to be one hundred and seventy-five without much more word of him before he was buried in the same cave as Sarah.”
The man watched the boy take a large swig of his water and place it down again. “Ahhh.”
The man shook his head with a smile. “Soon after, we hear of the children of Isaac and Rebekah, twins named Esau and Jacob. While Rebekah is pregnant, the Lord tells her, ‘Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body. One people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger.’”
The boy said, “Do I sense another Cain and Abel story coming?”
“We shall see,” said the man, reading on:
When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.107
Now Jacob cooked a stew, and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.”
But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.”
And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die, so what is this birthright to me?”
Then Jacob said, “Swear to me as of this day.”
So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils. Then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.108
“Can you explain the birthright thing?” said the boy “What’s going on there?”
“Sure,” said the man. “In those times, the firstborn was the rightful heir to the entire inheritance. I believe the rationale was that if you divide land and livestock amongst all your children, then everyone receives only a small parcel and a few goats. To avoid this, they gave nearly everything to the firstborn, which explains the rivalry between the twins. This tradition was arbitrary and unfair, but at least it was arbitrary and predictable.”
“Jeez, what a rip-off.”
“Precisely,” said the man. “Which makes the selling of the birthright all the more significant. And the thoughtless manner in which Esau sells it for immediate gratification renders him unfit to be the heir. The words ‘I am about to die’ demonstrate his shortsightedness in that he will never live to inherit Canaan for himself, or any of the other supposed future blessings, so what use are they to him when he is dead and gone. But the manner in which Jacob takes advantage of his brother’s frivolous attitude wasn’t exactly commendable either.”
“I would’ve done the same if that’s all it took,” said the boy. “If my options are to fool a fool or let his children inherit the land that mine could have instead, come on now, that’s just Darwinism right there.” The man chose not to comment as the boy smirked at him. “Anyway, what happens to Esau?”
“Well, it says when Esau is forty years old, he takes for wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. Then it says they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah.”
“Why were they a grief of mind?”
“As we saw with Abraham going to great lengths to find a suitable wife for Isaac, unions with these cursed people did not align with God’s will.”
With a wink the boy said, “For a second there I thought it was because there were two of them.”
“That too, of course,” said the man.
“Right, of course,” said the boy. “Clear as day.”
The man gave him a fleeting glare before he looked down to read again:
When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.”
And he answered, “Here I am.”
He said, “Behold, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”109
“Clearly he wasn’t listening when the Lord said the elder should serve the younger.”
“Actually, it’s possible what the Lord shared with Rebekah about her pregnancy she kept to herself. If that were the case, then Isaac would have been acting according to tradition. But it’s equally possible she shared this word from God with Isaac and he was trying to balance the injustice done to Esau by his brother. But you’re right either way, that he was going against the Lord’s will.”
“Or maybe this is just what happens when parents pick favorites,” said the boy.
The man nodded and read on:
But Rebekah overheard what Isaac had said to his son Esau. So when Esau left to hunt for the wild game, she said to her son Jacob, “Listen. I overheard your father say to Esau, ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare me a delicious meal. Then I will bless you in the Lord’s presence before I die.’ Now, my son, listen to me. Do exactly as I tell you. Go out to the flocks, and bring me two fine young goats. I'll use them to prepare your father’s favorite dish. Then take the food to your father so he can eat it and bless you before he dies.”110
“Uh-oh,” said the boy.
“Uh-oh is right. And Jacob recognizes that and tells his mother here,” said the man:
“But my brother Esau is a hairy man while I have smooth skin. What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing.”
His mother said to him, “My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say. Go and get them for me.”
So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it.111
“That’s right, let Mommy bear your burdens,” said the boy. “You know, it really took no time at all for these chosen families to start manipulating each other.”
“Manipulation as it was,” said the man, “you have to wonder if we can excuse Rebekah’s behavior, as her intention aligns with the divine prophecy.”
“What a catch twenty-two that is,” said the boy. “They really put a lot of importance on this blessing.”
“The belief in birthrights and blessings was everything back then. And Rebekah knew this blessing was intended for Jacob, but she wrongs Isaac by deceiving him, she wrongs Jacob by tempting him to deceive, and she wrongs Esau by stealing from her own son. Here we see one of the first crooked measures used to further a divine purpose, as if the ends justify the means. This also gives Esau a reason to hate his brother, his family, and perhaps even his religion. But all were to blame for the circumstance this family found themselves in, not just her.”
“So deep,” said the boy, “so deep. But depending on how you look at it, Rebekah could be seen as a hero. She goes against her husband, shouldering a potential curse, and pushes Jacob to do what it takes in order to fulfill God’s prophecy.”
“What she did was certainly brave,” said the man, reading on:
Then Rebekah took the best garments of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. And she put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. She also gave the delicious meal and the bread which she had made to her son Jacob.112
“Baby goat hair?”
“This may not be the sheep-like wool you’re thinking of,” said the man. “I believe it was more like camels’ silky hair that resembled that of a human’s.” Then he read on:
So he went in to his father and said, “My father.”
And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”
Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done just as you told me. Now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.”
But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?”
He answered, “Because the Lord your God granted me success.”113
“Jeez. Bold move roping the Lord into this treachery.”
“Bold indeed,” said the man. “Then Isaac says to Jacob, ‘Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.’”
“You know, it really doesn’t say much for their relationship that his father doubts him like that.”
“Well, after he saw what a trick he played on his brother, can you blame him?”
“I guess not,” said the boy. “So what happens?”
“So Jacob approaches his father and Isaac feels him and says, ‘The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.’ So he believes it’s Esau and he blesses Jacob. But then he questions him again,” said the man, reading further:
“Are you really my son Esau?”
He said, “I am.”
He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, so that my soul may bless you.”
So he brought it near to him, and he ate, and he brought him wine, and he drank.
Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.” And he came near and kissed him, and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said, “Surely, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed. Therefore may God give you of the dew of heaven, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, and let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be those who bless you!”114
“Must be difficult for Jacob to bite his tongue during all this,” said the boy.
“In what way?”
“Well, he’s hearing this blessing that’s supposed to belong to his only other sibling, not to mention his twin. Isaac says, ‘Let your mother’s sons bow down to you.’” The boy pretended to look around an empty room before he settled back on the man. “Well, I guess that means me.”
“Huh,” said the man, “I never noticed that.”
“My twin is supposed to be my master now because he was born a second before me? Thanks for nothing, Dad!”
“It’s a good point you raise.”
“Anyway, keep going,” said the boy.
So the man read on:
After Isaac finished blessing him, and Jacob had scarcely left his father’s presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, ‘My father, please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.’
His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?”
“I am your son,” he answered, “your firstborn, Esau.”
Isaac trembled violently and said, “Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him, and indeed he will be blessed!”115
“Day late and a dollar short, pal,” said the boy, as the man continued:
When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, bless me too, my father!”
But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”116
Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”
Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold, I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?”117
“Boy, they’re taking this seriously. Can’t Isaac just call Jacob back in and say, ‘Hey, asshole, that wasn’t very nice.’ What’s with the permanence of the blessing?”
“I don’t have a good answer for you there,” said the man. “All we can do is take from the story what we can. The fact of the matter is that he intended to give all the blessing he had to Esau because he loved him more, and not reserve a blessing for Jacob. But perhaps Isaac realizes what occurred here was the divine will of the Lord as originally intended. The blessing was not supposed to be a matter of subjective fatherly affection, but a right entrusted by the grace of God to the second born son.”
“Alright, well let’s hear what happens then.”
So the man read on:
Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept aloud.
His father Isaac answered him, “Your dwelling will be away from the earth’s richness, away from the dew of heaven above. You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck.”118
“What does that mean?” said the boy. “Sounds intense.”
“The metaphor is of a bull, yoked to pull a cart or plow. He’s saying that when he gets tired of serving his brother he’ll break free.”
“Ah. That makes sense. Go on then,” said the boy.
So the man read on:
Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and he said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching, then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent an—119
“Wait a minute. If he said this to himself, how did she find out?”
“Well, obviously that’s up to speculation based on the lack of detail,” said the man. “Some have guessed Esau told his plan to a confidant or a friend and they warned Rebekah, while others have pushed for the idea that God warned Rebekah of Esau’s idea.”
“I guess it doesn’t really matter,” said the boy.
“It wouldn’t affect the story either way,” said the man, reading on:
She sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is planning to avenge himself by killing you. Now then, my son, do what I say. Flee at once to my brother Laban in Harran. Stay with him for a while until your brother’s fury subsides. When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I'll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”120
“Yeah,” said the boy. “I’m sure he’ll totally forget you stole his entire future in a few days. Who even remembers those kinds of things anyway.”
“Keep that in mind as the story unfolds,” said the man. “But did you notice the reflection of sibling rivalry with Cain and Abel here? ”
“I did,” said the boy, “but I’m having trouble sympathizing with Esau on this one. He kinda seems like a moron.”
Smiling, the man read on:
And Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”121
“What’s that all about?” said the boy. “Seems kind of randomly thrown in there.”
“The reason may be two-fold,” said the man. “One, to obtain Isaac’s consent to send Jacob to Laban, sparing him from any guilt regarding Esau’s murderous intentions. And two, to conceal her involvement in the deception by presenting a concern of a proper wife for at least one of their sons.”
“Ah, I see,” said the boy. “More manipulation to throw him off the scent trail.”
“Something like that,” said the man.