18
1They settled from Havilah to
2Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria. He settled over against all his kinsmen.
The Birth of Esau and Jacob
19 These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son:
3Abraham fathered Isaac,
20
and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah,
4the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of
5Paddan-aram,
6the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife.
21
And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And
7the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22
The children struggled together within her, and she said, "If it is thus, why is this happening to me?" So she went
8to inquire of the LORD.
23
And the LORD said to her,
9"Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided;
10the one shall be stronger than the other,
11the older shall serve the younger."
24
When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25
The first came out red,
12all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau.
26
Afterward his brother came out with
13his hand holding Esau's heel, so
14his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
27
When the boys grew up, Esau was
15a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man,
16dwelling in tents.
28
Isaac loved Esau because
17he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.