Genesi 25:25

25 E il primo uscì fuori, ed era rosso, tutto peloso come un mantel velluto; e gli fu posto nome Esaù.

Genesi 25:25 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 25:25

And the first came out red
Either his body, or rather the hair it was covered with, red; which was a sign, as Jarchi observes, that he would be a shedder of blood, fierce and cruel as were he and his posterity: all over like an hairy garment;
his body was all over full of hair, which stood as thick as a garment made of hair, and was a sign of the roughness of his disposition, as well as of the strength of his body: and they called his name Esau;
his parents, and those present at his birth, all that saw him thus covered with hair; for he had his name not from the colour of his body or hair; for the word does not signify "red", but comes from a word which signifies "to make", he being a "maker": that made his way out before his brother, or an active man as afterwards, or because of his hair was "made" or born more like a man than a child; and so the Targum adds,

``because he was wholly perfect, with the hair of his head and beard, and with his teeth and grinders:''

but chiefly because of his hairiness, for Esau in the Arabic language signifies "covered" ^F6, as he was with hair: some say, a word in that language signifies a hairy garment made of camel's hair ^F7.

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 <arabic> "texit", "operuit", Castel. col. 2930.
F7 Vid. Stockium. p. 923.

Genesi 25:25 In-Context

23 E il Signore le disse: Due nazioni sono nel tuo seno; e due popoli diversi usciranno delle tue interiora; e l’un popolo sarà più possente dell’altro, e il maggiore servirà al minore.

24 E quando fu compiuto il termine di essa da partorire, ecco, due gemelli erano nel suo seno.

25 E il primo uscì fuori, ed era rosso, tutto peloso come un mantel velluto; e gli fu posto nome Esaù.

26 Appresso uscì il suo fratello, il quale con la mano teneva il calcagno di Esaù; e gli fu posto nome Giacobbe. Or Isacco era d’età di settant’anni, quando ella li partorì.

27 ED i fanciulli crebbero; ed Esaù fu uomo intendente della caccia, uomo di campagna; ma Giacobbe fu uomo semplice, che se ne stava ne’ padiglioni.