Genesis 25:25

25 The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau.

Genesis 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.

Genesis 25:25 In-Context

23 And the LORD told her, “The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.”

24 And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that she did indeed have twins!

25 The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau.

26 Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.

27 As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home.

Footnotes

• [a] Esau sounds like a Hebrew term that means “hair.”