Esau in the Bible
Meaning: he that acts or finishes
Exact Match
The first one came out red-looking,
After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel with his hand.
When the boys grew up, Esau became an expert hunter, an outdoorsman,
Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for wild game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field exhausted.
And Esau will say to Jacob, Give me now to eat from the red; this red, for I faint: for this he called his name Edom.
“Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?”
But Jacob said, "Swear an oath to me now." So Esau swore an oath to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.
Then Jacob gave bread and lentil stew to Esau; he ate, drank, got up, and went away. So Esau despised his birthright.
When Esau was 40 years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.
When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could not see,
And he answered, “Here I am.”
Now Rebekah was listening to what Isaac said to his son Esau. So while Esau went to the field to hunt some game to bring in,
Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Listen! I heard your father talking with your brother Esau. He said,
Jacob answered Rebekah his mother, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am a man with smooth skin.
Then Rebekah took the best clothes of her older son Esau, which were in the house, and had her younger son Jacob wear them.
Jacob replied to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may bless me.”
Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come closer so I can touch you, my son. Are you really my son Esau or not?”
So Jacob came closer to his father Isaac. When he touched him, he said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”
He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him.
Again he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?”
And he replied, “I am.”
As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob and Jacob had left the presence of his father Isaac, his brother Esau arrived from the hunt.
Esau also made a delicious dish [of meat] and brought it to his father and said to him, “Let my father get up and eat some of his son’s game, so that you may bless me.”
But his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?”
He answered, “I am Esau your firstborn son.”
When Esau heard his father’s words, he cried out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!”
Esau replied, “Is he not rightly named
But Isaac answered Esau: “Look, I have made him a master over you, have given him all of his relatives as his servants, and have sustained him with grain and new wine. What then can I do for you, my son?”
Esau said to his father, “Do you only have one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” And Esau wept loudly.
Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau determined in his heart: “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
When the words of her older son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she summoned her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Listen, your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you.
Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am tired of living because of the daughters of Heth [these insolent wives of Esau]. If Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”
So Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
Esau noticed that Isaac blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to get a wife there. When he blessed him, Isaac commanded Jacob, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman.”
Esau realized that his father Isaac disapproved of the Canaanite women,
so Esau went to Ishmael and married, in addition to his other wives, Mahalath daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son. She was the sister of Nebaioth.
Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
He commanded them, “You are to say to my lord Esau, ‘This is what your servant Jacob says. I have been staying with Laban and have been delayed until now.
When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau; he is coming to meet you—and he has 400 men with him.”
He thought, “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it, the remaining one can escape.”
Please rescue me from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid of him; otherwise, he may come and attack me, the mothers, and their children.
He spent the night there and took part of what he had brought with him as a gift for his brother Esau:
And he told the first one: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who do you belong to? Where are you going? And whose animals are these ahead of you?’
then tell him, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau. And look, he is behind us.’”
He also told the second one, the third, and everyone who was walking behind the animals, “Say the same thing to Esau when you find him.
You are also to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.’” For he thought, “I want to appease Esau with the gift that is going ahead of me. After that, I can face him, and perhaps he will forgive me.”
Now Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming toward him with 400 men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female slaves.
Then he went out to meet Esau, passing in front of all of them, and bowed low to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.
But Esau ran to meet him, hugged him, threw his arms around him, and kissed him. Then they wept.
When Esau looked up and saw the women and children, he asked, “Who are these with you?”
He answered, “The children God has graciously given your servant.”
So Esau said, “What do you mean by this whole procession
“To find favor with you, my lord,”
“I have enough, my brother,” Esau replied. “Keep what you have.”
So receive my blessing, which has been sent to you, since God has been gracious to me. Besides, I have enough." Because Jacob kept pressing him, Esau accepted the gifts.
Then Esau said, “Let’s move on, and I’ll go ahead of you.”
Esau said, “Let me leave some of my people with you.”
But he replied, “Why do that? Please indulge me,
That day Esau started on his way back to Seir,
God said to Jacob, “Get up! Go to Bethel and settle there.
He took his last breath and died, and was gathered to his people,
These are the family records
Esau took his wives from the Canaanite women: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite,
Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel,
and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were Esau’s sons, who were born to him in the land of Canaan.
Esau took his wives, sons, daughters, and all the people of his household, as well as his herds, all his livestock, and all the property he had acquired in Canaan; he went to a land away from his brother Jacob.
So Esau (that is, Edom) lived in the mountains of Seir.
These are the family records of Esau, father of the Edomites in the mountains of Seir.
Eliphaz son of Esau’s wife Adah,
and Reuel son of Esau’s wife Basemath.
bore Amalek to Eliphaz.
These were the sons of Esau’s wife Adah.
Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.
These were the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath.
daughter of Anah and granddaughter
She bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah to Edom.
the sons of Eliphaz, Esau’s firstborn:
Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz,
Chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.
These are the chiefs of Reuel
in the land of Edom.
These are the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath.
Chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.
These are the chiefs of Esau’s wife Oholibamah
daughter of Anah.
and these are their chiefs.
The children of Anah are these: Dishon and Oholibamah [Esau’s wife], the daughter of Anah.
Search Results by Versions
Search Results by Book
Thematic Bible
Anger » Sinful, exemplified » Esau
Children » Instances of » Esau
So Esau went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham's son Ishmael, along with the wives he already had.
wicked Children » Exemplified » Esau
Esau » General references to
Esau » Sells his birthright for a single meal
"Look," said Esau, "I'm about to die! What use is the birthright to me?" But Jacob said, "Swear an oath to me now." So Esau swore an oath to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. So Esau despised his birthright.
Esau » His name used to denote his descendants and their country
Esau » Polygamy of
Esau » Birth of
But the children struggled inside her, and she said, "If it is going to be like this, I'm not so sure I want to be pregnant!" So she asked the Lord, and the Lord said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples will be separated from within you. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger." When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, there were twins in her womb. The first came out reddish all over, like a hairy garment, so they named him Esau. When his brother came out with his hand clutching Esau's heel, they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.
Esau » The man who lost his inheritance, facts concerning » Sought to repent when too late
Esau » The man who lost his inheritance, facts concerning » Lost his blessing
Isaac began to shake violently and asked, "Then who else hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it just before you arrived, and I blessed him. He will indeed be blessed!" When Esau heard his father's words, he wailed loudly and bitterly. He said to his father, "Bless me too, my father!" But Isaac replied, "Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away your blessing." Esau exclaimed, "'Jacob' is the right name for him! He has tripped me up two times! He took away my birthright, and now, look, he has taken away my blessing!" Then he asked, "Have you not kept back a blessing for me?" Isaac replied to Esau, "Look! I have made him lord over you. I have made all his relatives his servants and provided him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?" Esau said to his father, "Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!" Then Esau wept loudly.
Esau » Is defrauded of his father's blessing by jacob
Esau » Mount of edom, called mount of esau
Those who have been delivered will go up on Mount Zion in order to rule over Esau's mountain. Then the Lord will reign as King!
Esau » The man who lost his inheritance, facts concerning » Lacking in appreciation of higher things
Esau » The man who lost his inheritance, facts concerning » Impulsive, dominated by appetite
Esau » The man who lost his inheritance, facts concerning » Married heathen wives
Esau » The man who lost his inheritance, facts concerning » Made a bad bargain
Esau » The man who lost his inheritance, facts concerning » A hunter
Esau » Beloved by isaac
Esau » Hunter
Esau » Hostility of descendants of, toward the descendants of jacob
You should not have entered the city of my people when they experienced distress. You should not have joined in gloating over their misfortune when they suffered distress. You should not have looted their wealth when they endured distress. You should not have stood at the fork in the road to slaughter those trying to escape. You should not have captured their refugees when they suffered adversity.
Esau » Called edom
Esau » His marriage to, a grief to isaac and rebekah
Esau » With jacob, buries his father
Esau » Marries a hittite woman
Esau » Ancestor of edomites
Esau » Meets jacob on the return of the latter from haran
Esau » Prophecies concerning
Esau » Descendants of
the First-born » Instances of superseded » Esau
Gluttony » Instances of » Esau
But Jacob said, "Swear an oath to me now." So Esau swore an oath to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. So Esau despised his birthright.
Hatred » Exemplified » Esau
Hatred » Examples of » Esau
Hittites » Intermarriages with, by » Esau
Jetheth » Duke » Esau
Malice » Exemplified » Esau
Miscegenation » Instances of » Esau
Murder » Exemplified » Esau
Polygamy » Esau
Remorse » Esau
Responsibility » Attempts to shift » Esau
"Look," said Esau, "I'm about to die! What use is the birthright to me?" But Jacob said, "Swear an oath to me now." So Esau swore an oath to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. So Esau despised his birthright.
Riches » Examples of wicked men possessing » Esau
Temptation » Yielding to temptation » jacob » Defrauds » Esau
Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I'll prepare them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. Then you will take it to your father. Thus he will eat it and bless you before he dies." "But Esau my brother is a hairy man," Jacob protested to his mother Rebekah, "and I have smooth skin! My father may touch me! Then he'll think I'm mocking him and I'll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing." So his mother told him, "Any curse against you will fall on me, my son! Just obey me! Go and get them for me!"
The wicked » Remorse of, examples of » Esau
Worldliness » Instances of » Esau
But Jacob said, "Swear an oath to me now." So Esau swore an oath to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. So Esau despised his birthright.