Joshua 24:4

4 And to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau, and to Esau I gave Mount Seir to possess it; but Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt.

Joshua 24:4 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 24:4

And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau
When Rebekah was barren, so that the children appeared the more to be the gift of God; though Esau perhaps is mentioned, for the sake of what follows:

and I gave unto Esau Mount Seir to possess it;
that Jacob and his posterity alone might inherit Canaan, and Esau and his seed make no pretension to it:

but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt;
where they continued many years, and great part of the time in bondage and misery, which is here taken no notice of; and this was in order to their being brought into the land of Canaan, and that the power and goodness of God might be the more conspicuous in it.

Joshua 24:4 In-Context

2 And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Long ago your fathers dwelt on the other side of the river, even Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nachor, and they served other gods.

3 And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the river and led him throughout all the land of Canaan and multiplied his generation and gave him Isaac.

4 And to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau, and to Esau I gave Mount Seir to possess it; but Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt.

5 I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them; and afterward I brought you out.

6 And I brought your fathers out of Egypt; and when ye came to the sea, the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red sea.