Who was Esau in the Bible?
Esau was the elder of Isaac's twin sons, born into the family through which God had promised blessing to the world, yet he is remembered above all for trading away what was his by birth. His story raises a hard question: how can someone raised so close to God's promises end up called "profane," and what did he actually lose?
The Man and His Family
Esau and Jacob were twins, and their differences were visible from the start — though the deepest difference was not.
F. B. HoleEsau and Jacob, not yet born, were declared to be two nations and also "two kinds of people," and the elder was to serve the younger. When born the prediction was clearly verified. They were entirely different in physical appearance, in habits and mental make-up. The one a skilful hunter, a lover of the open air; the other a plain or homely man, fond of tent life. All this would have been obvious to the ordinary onlooker, but it is the incident at the end of the chapter that discloses the real rift between them, that the onlooker might never have discerned.
His advantages were unusual. He grew up among people who lived on God's word, and it left no mark on him.
George C. WillisHe was the son of Isaac, one of the most honoured of the patriarchs. He was about fifteen when his grandfather Abraham died... He saw, and knew, the value which his grandfather, father, and brother placed on the promises of God: but to him they appear to have meant nothing at all: and he "sold his birthright for a single meal" (Heb. 12:16). He seems to have been a man entirely devoid of faith. What he could not see had no value in his eyes.
The Birthright He Sold
The birthright was not a sentimental title. It carried real weight, and he swapped all of it for a bowl of stew.
The Bible TreasuryBut that in which Esau is representative is that he "despised his birthright," which carried with it, besides other things, a double portion in inheritance (Deut. 21:17), family rule and the privilege of transferring the "Blessing"; all these he surrenders for a bowl of stew. He barters manhood for animal appetite, and exchanges immense spiritual wealth and privilege for a mouthful of sensual satisfaction.
Why was he willing? Because the birthright's whole value lay in a future he had no faith in.
A. PridhamHis heart was never really on the birthright, because he had no true appreciation of the inheritance. As the apparent heir of the promises of God, he stood in an entirely false light. For he was without the faith which alone makes promise precious... Meat was more to him than God. For his soul's desires were on this side of death.
What "Profane" Means
Hebrews attaches a label to him that has stuck. It describes a very ordinary kind of person.
C. H. MackintoshThus we learn what a profane person is, namely one who would like to hold both worlds; one who would like to enjoy the present without forfeiting his title to the future. This is by no means an uncommon case. It expresses to us the merely worldly professor, whose conscience has never felt the action of divine truth, and whose heart has never felt the influence of divine grace.
The Blessing and the Tears
Later Esau wept bitterly for the blessing his brother had taken. Commentators differ on what he could not find: some read it as Esau's own repentance, others as a change of mind in Isaac.
Leslie M. GrantHe shed tears of anguish in desire for the blessing, but he found no place of repentance. Not that he sought repentance: it was the blessing he sought, but did not care to repent of his proud contempt of the grace of God, which indeed is the only ground upon which God will allow the blessing.
The other reading keeps the failure on Isaac's side:
Samuel RidoutThere came a time when Esau desired repentance on the part of his father; he desired to change Isaac's mind, but he found no place for it though he sought it carefully with tears. He said, "Bless me, even me also, O my father;" but he could not change his father's mind, for his father had expressed the mind of God in the matter.
Brothers Reconciled
Esau planned to kill Jacob. Years later, the meeting Jacob dreaded turned out very differently.
Morrish Bible DictionaryWhen he went to meet Jacob he was accompanied by four hundred men. It may be God had warned Esau, as He did Laban, not to hurt Jacob; or possibly his anger may have subsided: for when they approached, "Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept." They were thus happily reconciled, and at the death of Isaac his two sons buried him.
"Esau Have I Hated"
The famous words about God hating Esau are often misplaced in time.
C. H. Mackintosh"Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated" was not said before the children were born, but hundreds of years after, when the real character and practical ways of each had been fully manifested. All that was said before the children were born was that "the older will serve the younger." It is more than a sad mistake to represent God as hating a man before he was born.
Summary
- Born to it. Esau had every advantage — Abraham's grandson, Isaac's firstborn, heir to the promises — and none of it registered, because he had no faith to make a promise precious.
- Sold it. The birthright meant a double inheritance, family rule, and the power to pass on the blessing; he handed the lot over for one meal.
- Named by it. Scripture's word for him is "profane": the person who wants both worlds and lets the present price out the future.
- Wept over it. His tears were for the blessing, not for the sin — and commentators differ on whether the repentance he could not find was his own or his father's change of mind.
- Judged for it. God's "I hated Esau" was spoken centuries later, after Esau's descendants had shown settled hatred toward Israel — not before the twins were born.