For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together. The land of their sojournings could not support them because of their livestock.
Two brothers who once could not live at peace now cannot share a country. The reason is not hatred but wealth. Their herds and goods had outgrown the land. The parting looks like a practical deal about pasture. Commentators see more in it: a lasting split of portions. One brother settles into a possession. The other stays a stranger in Canaan.
Prosperity That Fulfilled a Blessing
Why did Esau own so much? One writer points back to his father.
F. B. HoleThe chapter shows us that Esau prospered in earthly things, so his father's blessing came true for him. He occupied his own territory and became fully independent of Jacob. His descendants multiplied, became chiefs, and were notorious.
Why They Could Not Dwell Together
Commentators read the crowded pasture as a picture of something deeper. The two men stood on different ground before God. That difference had to show itself.
L. M. GrantVerse 6 tells us that he took his wives, family, and all his possessions. He left the land of Canaan, going "from the face of his brother Jacob." The man "after the flesh" cannot live together with the man God has chosen. Yet Esau (Edom) prospers and develops greatly in a material way.
The distance between the herds later hardened into something worse.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinIn verse 6 we read that Esau went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob. It came at last to a pronounced and complete separation between Esau and Jacob. Jacob dwelt in the land in which his father was a stranger. And Edom became the treacherous foe to the people of Israel.
God's Purpose Behind the Move
Esau moved away by his own choice. A commentator sees God's purpose at work in it.
Frederick W GrantThe world must have its day. Yet in the middle of it all comes a clear sign that God's purpose is being fulfilled — the purpose "which is not of works, but of Him who calls."
Possession Against Pilgrimage
The verse calls Canaan the land where they were staying as foreigners. Esau traded that temporary standing for land he could own. Jacob stayed on as a stranger.
Numerical Bible NotesEsau leaves Canaan for Seir, and his descendants soon, as their names seem to show, live by their sword in this barren region. Two texts here have special meaning for us. First, Esau took all he had gained in the land of Canaan and went into the country away from his brother Jacob. Then the section closes with one short verse that speaks volumes to the ear that hears. It contrasts Jacob's portion with his brother's: "Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan."
Seir as God's Gift to Esau
Centuries later Israel marched toward Canaan. God treated the land Esau settled as His own gift. He told Israel to leave it alone.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThey might have wanted to take the plains of Moab or Mount Seir and the lands of Ammon. The Lord forbade them to do so. Disobedience would have been disastrous. Edom had harassed Israel badly and shown an arrogant pride. Even so, Jehovah would not give Edom's land to Israel. He remembered His word: "I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession." So they were not to seek what the Lord had not given them. And this is obedience and a lesson of faith. What happy contentment there would be among God's people, if this rule were followed.
Fast Growth and Slow Growth
Esau's family tree rises into chiefs and kings. Jacob's family is still wandering with flocks. That order is deliberate.
William KellyThe Edomite interrupts the course of the line of God's dealings. We see at once what remarkable maturity there was here. It is always so — first that which is natural, afterwards that which is spiritual. Even then we find a rapid development of power in the family of Esau... I have no doubt this is given to us as an important sign of how quickly what is not of God shoots up. Growth according to God is slower, but then it is more permanent.
Summary
- Riches divide. The prosperity that fulfilled Isaac's blessing on Esau made shared living impossible. The land could not carry both households.
- Portions separate. Esau took land he could hold in Seir. Jacob stayed in the land where his father had lived as a foreigner.
- Purpose stands. Esau's own choice to leave cleared Canaan for the line that rests on God who calls, not on works.
- Boundaries hold. Mount Seir was God's own gift to Esau. God later told Israel not to covet it. Be content with what God assigns.
- Patience wins. What is natural rises first and fast, into chiefs and kings. What grows according to God grows slower and lasts.