Esau

Male, Deceased Person

102

Who is Esau?

Esau, in the Jewish Bible, is the older son of Isaac. He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis, and by the prophets, Obadiah and Malachi. The New Testament of the Christian Bible alludes to him in St Paul's Letter to the Romans and in the Letter to the Hebrews.

Esau is the progenitor of the Edomites and the elder twin brother of Jacob, the patriarch of the Israelites. Esau and Jacob were the sons of Isaac and Rebekah, and the grandsons of Abraham and Sarah. Of the twins, Esau was the first to be born with Jacob following, holding his heel. Isaac was sixty years old and Rebekah is believed to have been younger when the boys were born. The grandfather Abraham was still alive, being 160 years old at that time.

Esau, a "man of the field" became a hunter who had "rough" qualities that distinguished him from his twin brother. Jacob was a shy or simple man, depending on the translation of the Hebrew word "Tam". Throughout Genesis, Esau is frequently shown as being supplanted by his younger twin Jacob.

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Also known as
  • Esav
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Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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