took part in the ornamentation. -
ASSYKI.V.
•Smith, s. V.
E'sau (Heb. Esav', lb", hairy [see Gen. xxv, 25; his surname Edoji was given him from the red pot- tage. Gen. xxv, 30] ; Sept. and N. T. Hcrai;), the eldest son of " Isaac, Abraham's son" (Gen. xxv, 19) by Re- bekah, "the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian, of Padan- arani, the sister to Laban the Sj'rian." The marriage remaining for some time (about 19 years; comp. xxv, 20, 26) unproductive, Isaac entreated Jehovah, and Ee- bekali became pregnant. Led by peculiar feelings "to inquire of Jehovah," she was informed that she should give birth to twins, whose fate would be as di- verse as their character, and, what in those dajs was stranger still, that the elder should serve the j-ounger. On occasion of her delivery, the child that was born first was "red, all over like a hairy garment; and they called his name Esau." Immediately afterwards Jacob was born. B.C. 2004. This was not the only remarkable circumstance connected with the birth of the infant. Even in the womb the twin brothers struggled together (xxv, 22). Esau was the first- born ; but, as he was issuing into life, Jacob's hand grasped his heel. The bitter enmity of two brothers, and the increasing strife of two great nations, Avere thus foreshadowed (xxv, 23, 26). From the special at- tention drawn to his hairy appearance, one would sup- pose that the name Esau (1"i^"]), or Esav, was intended to give expression to that quality. So have many learned men in recent as well as former times held, though they are obliged to resort to the Arabic for the etymological explanation ; a word very similar in Ara- bic, signifying hairy. The older Hebrew commenta- tors, however, derived it from the verb iTil"!-", asuh' , to mal^e, and explained the word as signifying "made," "complete," "full-grown" — viewing the hair as an indication of premature manly vigor. But the Jews of the present day seem more disposed to fall in with the other derivation (for example, Raphall in loco). The unusual covering of hair, which not only distin- guished Esau as a child, but kept pace with his growth, and in mature life gave his skin a kind of goat-like ap- pearance (Gen. xxvii, 16), was undoubtedly meant to be indicative of the man ; it was a natural sign, coeval with his very birth, by which his parents might descry the future man — as one in whom the animal should greath' preponderate over the moral and spiritual qualities of nature — a character of rough, self-willed, and untamed energ3\ From the word designating his hairj^ aspect, sear ("iS'iL"), it is not improbable that the mountain-range which became the possession of his descendants was called Mount <Se/r, though it is also possible that the rough, wooded appearance of the mountain itself may have been the occasion of the name. See Seir.
In process of time the different natural endowments of the two boys began to display their effects in dis- similar aptitudes and pursuits. "While Jacob was led by his less robust make and quiet disposition to fulfil the duties of a shepherd's life, and pass his days in and around his tent, Esau was impelled, by the ardor and lofty spirit which agitated his bosom, to seek in the toils, adventures, and perils of the chase his occupa- tion and sustenance ; and, as is generally the case in natures like his, he gained hic;h repute by his skill and daring, which allied him to the martial exercises of the Canaanites (xxv, 27). He was, in fact, a thorough Bedawy, a "son of the desert" (so "we may translate iTlb d'^N, man of the f eld), who delighted to roam free as the wind of heaven, and Avho was impatient of j the restraints of civilized or settled life. His old fa- I ther. by a caprice of affection not uncommon, loved liis wilful,"vagrant boy ; and his keen rclisli for savory food being gratified by Esau's venison, he liked him I all the better for his skill in hunting (xxv, 28). A
ESAU
285
ESAU
hunter's life is of necessity one of uncertaintj'^ as well as hardship ; days pass in which the greatest vigilance and the most strenuous exertions may fail even to find, much less capture game (see Thomson, Land and Booh, ii, 3D9). The hunting tribes of North America often find themselves, after severe and long-continued labor and watching, unprovided with food, and necessitated to a length of abstinence which would be fatal to per- sons bred in towns or living by the ordinary pursuits of the field. Esau had on one occasion experienced • such a disappointment, and, wearied with his unpro- ductive efforts, exhausted for want of sustenance, and despairing of capturing an}' prey, he was fain to turn his steps to his father's house for succor in his ex- tremity. On reaching home he found his brother en- joying a carefully prepared dish of pottage : attracted by the odor of which, he besought Jacob to allow him to share in the meal. His brother saw the exigencj' in which Esau was, and determined not to let it pass unimproved. Accordingly, he put a price on the re- quired food. Esau was the elder, and had, in conse- quence, immunities and privileges which were of high value. The surrender of these to liiniself Jacob made the condition of his complying with Esau's petition. Urged by the cravings of hunger, alarmed even b}' the fear of starvation, Esau sold his Ijirthright to his youn- ger bother, confirming the contract by the sanction of an oath. Jacob, having thus got his price, supplied the famishing Esau with needful refreshments. Jacob took advantage of his brother's distress to rob him of that which was dear as life itself to an Eastern patri- arch. The birthright not only gave him the head- ship of the tribe, both spiritual and temporal, and the possession of tlie great bulk of the fiimily property, but it carried with it the covenant blessing (Gen. xxvii, 28, 29, 36 ; Heb. xii, IG, 17). Yet, though Esau, under the pressure of temporary suffering, despised his birth- right by selling it for a mess of pottage (Gen. xxv, 34), he afterwards attempted to secure that which he had deliberatel}' sold (Gen. xxvii, 4, .')4, 38 ; Heb. xii, 17). It is evident the whole transaction was public, for it resulted in a new name being given to Esau. He said to Jacob, "Feed me with that same red (□'iNin) ; there- fore was his name called Edoni'^ (m"IX; Gen. xxv, 30). It is worth}' of note, however, that this name is seldom applied to Esau himself, though almost universally given to the country he settled in, and to his posteritj*. See Euo.M. The name " Children of Esau" is in a few cases applied to the Edomites (Deut. ii, 4 ; Jer. xlix, 8 ; Obad. 18), but it is rather a poetical expression.