²¹Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. ^xThe Lord heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. ^y²²But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” ^zSo she went to inquire of the Lord. ^a²³And the Lord said to her:

Two nations are in your womb;

two people will come from you and be separated.

One people will be stronger than the other, ^b

and the older will serve the younger. ^c

²⁴When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb. ²⁵The first one came out red-looking, ^dcovered with hair ^elike a fur coat, and they named him Esau. ^f²⁶After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel with his hand. ^gSo he was named Jacob. ^hⁱIsaac was 60 years old when they were born.

Esau Sells His Birthright

²⁷When the boys grew up, Esau became an expert hunter, an outdoorsman, ^jbut Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home. ^k²⁸Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for wild game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. ^l

²⁹Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field exhausted. ³⁰He said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, because I’m exhausted.” That is why he was also named Edom. ^m

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Footnotes

z25:22 If thus, why this I
d25:25 In Hb, the word red-looking sounds like “Edom”; Gn 32:3.
e25:25 In Hb, the word hair sounds like “Seir”; Gn 32:3.
h25:26 = He Grasps the Heel
j25:27 a man of the field
k25:27 man living in tents
m25:30 = Red

Cross references

x25:21 Gn 11:30; 29:31; Ex 23:26; Jdg 13:2–3; 1Sm 2:5; Jb 24:21; Is 54:1; Lk 1:36; 23:29; Gl 4:27; Heb 11:11
y25:21 1Sm 1:17; 1Ch 5:20; 2Ch 33:13; Ezr 8:23; Ps 127:3; Rm 9:10
a25:22 1Sm 9:9; 10:22
b25:23 2Sm 8:14; Ob 18–21
c25:23 Gn 27:29; Mal 1:2–3; Rm 9:12
f25:25 Gn 27:11, 16, 23
g25:26 Hs 12:3
i25:26 Gn 27:36
l25:28 Gn 27:4–9