The Descendants of Isaac
The Descendants of Isaac
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Isaac’s Prayer
These are the descendants of Abraham’s son Isaac:
Abraham was the father of Isaac. When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah. She was the daughter of Bethuel and sister of Laban, Arameans from Paddan Aram.
Isaac’s wife was barren, so he prayed to Yahweh on her behalf. Yahweh heard his prayer, and his wife, Rebekah, became pregnant.
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The story of the descendants of Isaac begins with Isaac having no descendants. He had inherited not only his father’s blessing but also his dilemma. Like Sarah, Rebekah was barren.1
Genesis quickly passes over a twenty-year struggle with infertility by stating that Isaac simply prayed.2 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all had a barren wife. Abraham and Sarah tried to solve the problem through surrogacy, with disastrous results.3 Jacob, who already had sons through Leah, rebuked Rachel for her plea for children and then also resorted to surrogacy.4 Only Isaac is said to have prayed for his wife.
Isaac had probably been praying for years with no discernable response. But despite the long wait, he never tried to “help” God keep his promise. God had promised him children, and those children would come through Rebekah.
Two Nations
The babies in [Rebekah’s] womb pushed against each other, and she wondered, “Why is this happening to me?”
So Rebekah went to ask Yahweh about it. Yahweh responded:
“Two nations are in your womb.
Two separate peoples will come from you.
One will be stronger than the other,
and the older one will serve the younger.”
Image by WikimediaImages from Pixabay
When Rebekah finally conceived, she endured a painful pregnancy. Her long-awaited blessing turned into a nightmare. So she followed her husband’s example and took her problem to Yahweh. The oracle she received went beyond explaining her pain to predicting the future of her children.
Rebekah was pregnant with twins, two boys who jostled for position in the womb and would continue to do so into adulthood. Their rivalry would cause them to live apart and become two separate nations. But the nations would not be equal. One would be stronger and subjugate the other.5 In this battle for supremacy, the younger son would prevail.
Jacob and Esau
When the time came for [Rebekah] to deliver, she gave birth to twins. The first to come out had a ruddy complexion, and hair covered his whole body like a cloak. They named him Esau. Then his brother came out holding on to Esau’s heel. They named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when his sons were born.
Image from Pixabay
The circumstances surrounding the birth of Isaac and Rebekah’s twin sons foreshadow their future.6 The firstborn had a ruddy complexion, a reddish skin tone typical of people who spend a lot of time outside in the sun. The hair covering his body may have given him his name. Esau (ʿesau) sounds similar to the Hebrew word for “hair” (seʿar). Probably lanugo, a layer of fine hair that protects babies in the womb, this hair may indicate a premature birth.7 Esau would also be hairy as an adult, which plays a major role in chapter 27.
The younger son immediately followed, his hand firmly grasping his brother’s heel. His parents named him Jacob (yaʿaqov), which means “he follows at the heel (close behind).” Idiomatically, it can also mean “he overcomes, surpasses.” By birth, Esau should have dominated. But Jacob would always follow at his heels, determined to surpass him.
Unidentical Twins
When the boys grew up, Esau learned to hunt and was an avid outdoorsman. Jacob was a man of integrity who stayed close to home. Isaac loved the taste of wild game, so he favored Esau. But Rebekah favored Jacob.
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As adults, Jacob and Esau couldn’t have been more dissimilar. Esau is portrayed as a wild man. His hairy body and somewhat boorish way of speaking gave him more in common with the animals he hunted than with his homebody of a brother.8 Jacob preferred to stay close to the camp and probably helped tend the family’s livestock.
Isaac favored his firstborn because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home. However, Rebekah favored Jacob, likely because of the oracle she received when she was pregnant.9 It’s unclear if she had ever told Isaac what Yahweh said. Still, there’s never a good reason for parents to play favorites. Favoritism would eventually split Isaac and Rebekah’s family apart.
The description of Jacob as “a man of integrity” comes as a surprise. The same Hebrew root (tamam) describes Noah in Genesis 6:9 and Job in Job 1:1. But Jacob was hardly a paragon of integrity! He was cunning, deceitful, and overly ambitious. Nonetheless, the rest of the chapter will show that Jacob shared one vital trait with Noah and Job. And Esau did not.
Lentil Soup
One day, Jacob cooked some soup. When Esau came in from hunting, he was famished. “Please give me a swallow of the red stuff—that red stuff there. I’m famished!” That’s why he was called Edom.
Jacob replied, “Then trade me your birthright as of today.”
“I’m starving to death!” said Esau. “What good will a birthright do me?”
“Swear to me as of today.” So Esau swore. He traded his birthright to Jacob.
Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil soup.
The pivotal event in the lives of Jacob and Esau occurred around a simple bowl of soup made with red lentils. After a day of hunting, Esau returned home hungry and tired and saw that Jacob had made soup. He rather awkwardly asked for “a swallow of the red stuff.” His request is linked to his nickname, Edom, which became the name of the nation founded by his descendants.10 Edom (ʾedom) sounds like the Hebrew word for “red” (ʾadom).
In a culture that highly valued hospitality to complete strangers, Jacob refused his own brother!11 He told Esau that if he wanted some soup, he would have to give up his rights as the firstborn son. Esau claimed he was “starving to death,” an obvious hyperbole.12 Nowhere near death’s door, he willingly traded his precious birthright for a bowl of soup.
Esau’s Birthright
After eating and drinking, Esau got up and left. In this way, he showed his disdain for his birthright.
Image by David Schwarzenberg from Pixabay
Scripture does not condone Jacob’s inhospitable treatment of his brother. Yet it also never condemns him. Instead, it is Esau who is condemned for valuing a single meal over his birthright.13
The rights of the firstborn son included leadership of the family and a double portion of the inheritance. Even after giving the double portion to Jacob, Esau would still receive a third of Isaac’s wealth. But he failed to recognize the far greater value of being Abraham’s heir.
As Isaac’s firstborn, Esau was in line to inherit Yahweh’s promises and blessing.14 And he couldn’t have cared less. Jacob, on the other hand, believed the promises, which is why verse 27 calls him “a man of integrity.” Despite his unscrupulous methods for obtaining the birthright, Jacob was blessed for recognizing there’s no greater treasure than a covenantal relationship with Yahweh.
- See Barren.
- Isaac was forty when he married Rebekah (verse 20) and sixty when his sons were born (verse 26).
- Genesis 16:2; see Hagar.
- Genesis 30:1–8.
- The Israelites subjugated the Edomites under King David. 2 Samuel 8:13–14.
- See Foreshadowing.
- Healthline, “Lanugo: What You Should Know,” by Valencia Higuera, May 18, 2017, https://www.healthline.com/health/lanugo.
- Genesis 25:30; 27:11.
- See Two Nations.
- Genesis 36:9.
- See Hospitality.
- See Hyperbole.
- See Hebrews 12:16.
- See Why Israel?