Genesis 25 Study Notes

25:19 The family records of Isaac son of Abraham, the eighth of the eleven (Hb) toledoth sections in Genesis (see note at 5:1), extend from 25:19 through 35:29.

25:20-26 Inquire of the Lord meant that Rebekah consulted a prophet or priest, but it may be that Isaac functioned in this way. Esau was prophesied to be the ancestor of a nation, the Edomites, who would generally be ruled by Israel, the nation descended from Jacob. According to Mal 1:2-3, quoted in Rm 9:13, the prophecy also meant that God chose Jacob to inherit the Abrahamic promise.

25:27-28 The differences between Esau and Jacob, already apparent at birth, became more pronounced as the boys grew up. Esau was a rough-and-tumble hunter and outdoorsman (lit “man of rural regions”); Jacob was quiet and stayed at home (lit “dweller in tents”). The differences between the boys highlighted a division between the parents: Isaac, something of an outdoorsman himself (24:63), loved his rugged son Esau, while Rebekah loved her more domestic son Jacob, even teaching him how to cook.

25:29-34 Esau’s impatient, appetite-driven life contrasted sharply with Jacob’s shrewd, calculating character. Esau willingly traded his birthright—the right of the firstborn son to a double portion (or perhaps two-thirds) of the inheritance (Dt 21:17)—for the chance to eat some . . . red stuff. Because of his fateful decision, Esau picked up the alternate name Edom (“Red”), which would be carried by the people group stemming from him (32:3). And because Jacob had made him swear to sell his birthright, the decision could not be undone.