Esau as the oldest was automatically going to get the birthright as the firstborn, but God had other plans and wanted Jacob to have it as the true birthright heir all along. So, in a fair trade then sleight of hand Jacob rightfully received the birthright from his brother Esau.
But what about the “loser” Esau?
Well before we look at what happened after Esau figured out, he “lost” the birthright there was something significant that happened right BEFORE he was going to receive the birthright:
As covered before, Esau became a skilled hunter so unlike his brother Jacob, who seemed to like to be at home with his father and mother, Esau hardly ever spent time at home; he rather be out hunting in the wilderness so was often away from home journeying in the wilderness of Canaan/Levant in search for prey. But one day on his journeys in Canaan he meets two women and their families and eventually marries them both when he turned 40 (which was acceptable in this culture):
Genesis 26:34-35
“When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith…and also Basemath…”
What was not acceptable was that these women were Canaanites (specifically Hittites):
Genesis 26:34-35
“When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.”
It was forbidden by Isaac’s father, Abraham, for him to marry a Canaanite woman and Isaac himself was also against his sons marrying Canaanite women as well, because he says openly to NOT marry a native Canaanite woman:
Genesis 28:1
“...He[Isaac] commanded…: ‘Do not marry a Canaanite woman.’ ”
So, when Isaac and Rebekah saw that their firstborn son had married two Canaanite women, they were very shocked, hurt, and then full of grief for their son's forbidden marriage:
Genesis 26:35
“They (The Canaanite women) were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.”
So, it’s important to know that before Esau received the birthright, he had disobeyed his parents (and possibly even God’s will for him) by marring Canaanite women: he choose his will and what he wanted over obedience to his parents (and possibly even God). Could this have been one reason why God choose Jacob over Esau?
So, what happened to him after he realized that he was no longer the birthright heir?
After Esau realized what happened; Esau was desperate to gain ANY special blessing for him and his descendants:
Genesis 26:36-37
“‘Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?’ Isaac answered Esau, ‘I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?’”
Isaac Cleary told Esau that he had NOTHING left to bless him with: he gave it ALL to Jacob. But Esau would not accept this: he realized he had lost the birthright, but he needed a consolation, even if it was small!
Genesis 26:38
“Esau said to his father, ‘Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!’ Then Esau wept aloud. “
His father still did not have any blessings for him: all went to Jacob BUT he did receive a divine prophecy about himself and his descendant’s ultimate fate:
Genesis 26:38-40
“His father Isaac answered him, ’Your dwelling will be away from the earth’s richness, away from the dew of heaven above. You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck.’”
So, this was Esau’s and his descendant’s destiny:
To live in a barren land, be very violent and live in constant violence, war, and murder and most of all be enslaved to Jacob and his descendants to do their bidding until him and/or his descendants got fed up with the slavery and revolted and became free.
Though this was a prophecy, this was NO blessing like Esau wanted! It was, in fact, much more like a curse!
Prophecy of Esau:
He and His descendants would live in a place that would not have a lot of natural wealth: Mineral wealth, Farmland, and water
He and his descendants would be violent and constantly be at war/warlike
And as foretold, would be servants/slaves to Jacob and his nation.
And when he and his descendants got fed up, they would revolt and become free again
After receiving his only “blessing” from his father, Esau grew intensely angry at Jacob at what he saw was the theft of his rightful birthright in exchange for a curse, so from that day on he planned to kill his brother Jacob after his father died and he mourned for him. (He was already becoming violent and murderous!)
Genesis 27:45
“Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, ‘The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.’ ”
However, Rebekah heard that Esau was planning to kill Jacob after his father had died, so as covered before, she warned Jacob to run away to their families’ homeland and stay there until Esau had calmed down:
Genesis 27:43-45
“…, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my brother Laban in Harran. Stay with him for a while until your brother’s fury subsides. When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I’ll send word for you to come back from there.”
When she got though commanding Jacob what to do, she makes a very interesting statement:
Genesis 27:45
“…Why should I lose both of you in one day?”
What exactly did she mean by this odd statement? Sure, Jacob’s life was in obvious danger from being murdered by his brother, but Esau himself was alive and not in danger at all, so what did she mean by this strange statement that they were both going to die?
She seems to give the answer right after she says this, when she then goes and talks to Isaac:
Genesis 27:46
“Then Rebekah said to Isaac, ‘I’m disgusted with living because of these Hittite women If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living. ’”
So, Rebekah seems to be referring to his forbidden marriage to Canaanite wives that made her so grieved and sad over her son for marrying these horrible Hittite women. She was so distressed about it that she didn’t even want to continue living anymore! She also reveals getting Jacob to Harran was much more than protecting him from his brother: it was a desperate attempt to save her only unmarried son from the same fate as his brother: from marrying Canaanite women. This seems to mean she saw her son as already dead, because his descendants would be forever mixed raced Hebrew-Canaanite’s. So, in a sense, her oldest son (and his descendants) were already dead.
So once Isaac found out that Rebekah was commanding Jacob to run away from his murderous brother, Isaac also commanded Jacob once again to not marry a Canaanite woman but while he was in his family's homeland, to marry a Hebrew relative instead:
Genesis 28:1-2
“So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him: ‘Do not marry a Canaanite woman. Go at once to Paddan Aram (Abraham’s homeland),.. Take a wife …from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.’ ”
Eventually after Jacob left, Esau found out he had run away and that his father had approved and even understood his deception to get the birthright and running away to their homeland. But the most revealing thing about their conversation was his father had warned Jacob to not to marry a Canaanite woman:
Genesis 28:6-9
“Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, ‘Do not marry a Canaanite woman,’ ”
He then realized, possibly for the first time, how his father hated him marrying Canaanites, so Esau tried to “fix” the problem:
Genesis 28:6-9
“…Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham,…”
So his way to “Fix” this situation was to marry a non-Canaanite “Hebrew” like his father wanted: so he when into the desert of Paran to find his half-uncle Ishmael who at this time was very old and also had a family: He came to marry a fellow “Hebrew/Abrahamite” Ishmaelite woman(Ishmaelites were not pure Hebrews but a mixed-race people: specifically ,at this time, they were one-third Hebrew(Abrahamite) and two-thirds Egyptian) So Esau asked his half-uncle's permission to marry one of his daughters and he gave him Mahalath. So, by marrying an Ishmaelite woman he thought his dad would approve of his non-Canaanite “Hebrew/Abrahamite” wife and that would “make up” for marrying Canaanite women; of course, HE KEPT HIS ORIGINAL CANAANITE WIVES:
Genesis 28:9
“…in addition to the wives he already had.”
So, this “fix” really did not really change the problem, and also showed how little Esau really wanted to obey and please his parents over himself and his wives.
As many years went by, after his brother had been gone for some time, his wives gave birth to 5 sons and some daughters: Eliphaz being his firstborn:
Genesis 36:4-5
“…[Baesmath]…bore Eliphaz to Esau, [Mahalah]…bore Reuel, and [Judith?]…bore Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These were the sons of Esau, who were born to him in Canaan.”
Genesis 36:15
“…Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau:…”
These sons (and Daughters) of Esau were the first Edomites, that is the descendants of Esau
So with his three wives, Esau had many children (more than 5) and lived in Canaan close to his father and mother: but ,as they seemed to have feared, Esau finally had mixed-raced children with his evil Canaanite wives (Minus Reuel and his possible sisters who were half Ishmaelite from Mahalah instead of Canaanite [however they might not have been happy about this either]) This probably filled them with dread, but there was nothing they could do; their son had chosen to disobey and marry Canaanite wives and now his descendants and the nation they would form would forever be a mixed-raced people(Hebrew [Abrahamite/Isaacite] mixed with Canaanite/Egyptian/Something else).
While Esau expected his father to die any moment, it seems that it was his mother Rebekah that actually died first instead. With the long absence of his brother in Harran and not knowing when he would die, Isaac eventually seems to give much, if not all, of his wealth he inherited from his father Abraham and gained himself to his son Esau: so, Esau and his family became a very wealthy and powerful force in Canaan.
Eventually one day Esau and his family ventured south of their home into a desert mountainous land called Seir. This land was inhabited by Canaanite people called Horites and owned by a Horite chieftain named Seir (which the land was named by):
Genesis 36:20
“…Seir the Horite, who…[was]…living in the region…”
In some way, Esau made an agreement with this chieftain, it seems, to temporarily live in this new land with the local Horites. This Agreement probably eventually included the marriage of his sons and daughters to Seir’s Sons and Daughters (Which Esau would probably have no problem with). So, Esau along with his original home in Canaan also moved a good portion of his wealth into Seir as his extra territory.
Over 20 years had passed now, and Esau had finally calmed down from his anger against his brother Jacob and no longer wanted to murder him. He seemed to have accepted his fate or just let it go and accept that he was doing well and that his father’s prophecy might not really affect him or his descendants after all: whatever the reason, Esau forgave his brother Jacob and even was missing him after all these years.
One day, strange servants came to him in Seir and said they had a message to Lord Esau from their master:
(Genesis 32:3-5)
“Your servant Jacob says, ‘I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.’”
He was shocked to hear that after all these years his brother was finally returning back to Canaan. He wanted to meet him immediately, so he rounded up 400 men to go with him to meet him. Jacob’s servants went as fast as they could ahead of Esau to tell Jacob before Esau got there. Esau and his men set out from Seir to where Jacob was. However, during the night, he ran into 3 large groups of Cattle that were from Jacob and the people taking care of them said the same thing:
(Genesis 32:13-21)
“They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and your servant Jacob is coming behind us.”
Esau was wondering what these strange gifts meant from his brother, but he kept continuing until he got to where his brother was staying in the morning, then his brother came out and began bowing:
Genesis 33:1-3
“Jacob…himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.”
Esau was overwhelmed to finally see his brother again and ran to him and hugged him:
Genesis 33:4
“…Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. “
Then after the warm reunion, Esau was wondering who all these women and children were behind him and Jacob formally introduced him to his own family that he had in Harran:
Genesis 33:4-16
“Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. ‘Who are these with you?’ he asked. Jacob answered, ‘They are the children God has graciously given your servant.’ Then the female servants and their children approached and bowed down. Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down.”
Esau then was wondering what was the meaning of all the herds he met from him along the way:
Genesis 33:4-16
“…Esau asked, ‘What’s the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met?’ ‘To find favor in your eyes, my lord,’ he said. But Esau said, ‘I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.’ ‘No, please!’ said Jacob. ‘If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably. Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.’ And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it.”
Once he received his gifts, Esau wanted to escort Jacob and his family and possession back to Seir with him, possibly to meet his own family but Jacob didn’t want to drive his herds too hard so he declined and said he would catch up to Esau eventually and meet him in Seir:
Genesis 33:4-16
“Then Esau said, ‘Let us be on our way; I’ll accompany you.’ But Jacob said to him, ‘My lord knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die. So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the flocks and herds before me and the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.’ Esau said, ‘Then let me leave some of my men with you.’ ‘But why do that?’ Jacob asked. ‘Just let me find favor in the eyes of my lord.’ So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir.”
After this weird encounter with his brother, Esau made his way back to his home in Seir. However, many months went by, and Jacob never seemed to have come to Seir to see his family like he said he would; instead, Jacob settled all over Canaan, and they meet once again when Esau returned to his home in Canaan; and Jacob returned to his father right before he was about to die.
Sadly, Esau’s father died soon after Jacob’s return and he and Jacob helped bury their father:
Genesis 34:27-29
“... Isaac…breathed his last and died…And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.”
So, his father finally died over 20 years later than he expected, but he no longer wanted to kill his brother like before; he had made peace with his brother and now they lived beside of each other in Canaan with all their families, slaves, servants, and possessions.
However, all their wealth became a big problem they had so much that the area that their father left to them could not support both of them with all their people and cattle:
Genesis 36:7
“Their possessions were too great for them to remain together; the land where they were staying could not support them both because of their livestock.”
So instead of fighting with his brother for his father’s land, Esau let Jacob have all of their father’s land in Canaan, this way Jacob and his descendants got the land of Canaan that rightfully belonged to them through the birthright. So, Esau got all his family and possessions and moved out from Canaan into his land in Seir Where he and his family set up their permanent home with the local Horites:
Genesis 36:6-8
“Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the members of his household, as well as his livestock and all his other animals and all the goods he had acquired in Canaan, and moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob….So Esau…settled in the hill country of Seir.”
This land was a mountainous desert land that was not as fertile as the land in main Canaan (which was in the Fertile Crescent) this was the beginning of the fulfillment of Isaac’s prophecy:
That he and his descendants would live in an arid unfertile land, unlike his original home in fertile Canaan now identified as the mount Seir:
Prophecy of Esau:
He and His descendant’s would live in a place that would not have a lot of natural wealth: Mineral wealth, Farmland, and water
(Fulfilled around 1800 B.C. when Esau and his family moved to mt Seir in Genesis 36:8)
He and his descendants would be violent and constantly be at war/warlike
would be servants/slaves to Jacob and his nation.
And when he and his descendants got fed up, they would revolt and become free again
Eventually his sons (and Daughters) grew up and became old enough to marry. Though it does not directly say what race many of their wives were: since their father had a history of marrying local women and they seemed to be peacefully living in the same land with native Horites, it seems most likely that his children would have married (or even been engaged at this time) to the sons and daughters of Seir (Horites).
This is strongly hinted with the concubine of Eliphaz named Timna:
Genesis 36:12
“…Eliphaz also had a concubine named Timna,…”
In a later passage, she is identified as a daughter of Seir (which would make her a Horite):
Genesis 36:22
“… Timna was Lotan’s sister.”
Genesis 36:20
“…the son… of Seir the Horite,…: Lotan,…”
So, they began marrying Horite women and then had children of their own; intermixing their children’s D.N.A. even more with Canaanite by intermarrying with the local Horites:
Eliphaz, the firstborn son of Esau, had 6 sons and possibly daughters
Genesis 36:11-12
The sons of Eliphaz:
“…Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz. …Eliphaz also had a concubine named Timna, who bore him Amalek.”
Reuel had 4 sons and possibly daughters
Genesis 36:13
“The sons of Reuel:
Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah.”
However, Esau’s sons: Jeush, Jalam and Korah sons are not recorded but it can be assumed they also had unmentioned sons and possibly daughters as well.
All these grandsons of Esau became the chiefs (or tribal patriarchs) of their own tribe:
Genesis 36:15
“These were the chiefs among Esau’s descendants:
The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau:
Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, Korah, Gatam and Amalek.
The sons of Esau’s son Reuel:
Chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah.
The sons of Esau’s wife… [Judith?]:
Chiefs Jeush, Jalam and Korah.
These were the sons of Esau…and these were their chiefs.”
Eventually his grandsons (and granddaughters) grew up and they also got married and also had their own children. After a while, Esau became very old and one day died, his sons then most likely buried him.
Eventually the 14 tribal ruler’s descendants formed into tribes and clans in Seir and all of them became known as Edomites:
Genesis 36:43
“…Esau, the father of the Edomites.”
These Edomites, that seemed to at first had lived peacefully and even intermarried with the Horites, eventually became soo powerful and numerous that they got together and made war with the Horites to claim all the mountains and land of Seir for themselves: they chased the Horites out of Mt Seir and those that didn’t leave were killed:
Deuteronomy 2:12
“…the descendants of Esau…destroyed the Horites from before them and settled in their place,…”
Like their ancestor, Esau, they had become very violent and warlike: even to the people who seemed to have been so kind and allowed them to stay:
Prophecy of Esau:
He and His descendants would live in a place that would not have a lot of natural wealth: Mineral wealth, Farmland, and water
(Fulfilled around 1800 B.C. when Esau and his family moved to Mt Seir in Genesis 36:8)
He and his descendants would be violent and constantly be at war/warlike
(First fulfilled between 1800 B.C.-1500 B.C. when The Edomites went to war against the Horites)
would be servants/slaves to Jacob and his nation.
And when he and his descendants got fed up they would revolt and become free again
The Edomites won and claimed all the mountains and land around Seir: their new nation was called Edom after their forefather Esau (Esau was also known as Edom):
Genesis 36:1
“…Esau (that is, Edom).”
The nation God prophesized to Rebekah long ago: Esau’s nation was Edom, and his descendants in this nation would fulfill his destiny.
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