Genesis 25:25

25:25 The first came out reddish ¹  all over, ²  like a hairy ³  garment, so they named him Esau. ⁴ 

Genesis 26:1

Isaac and Abimelech

26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred ⁵  in the days of Abraham. ⁶  Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.

Genesis 32:17

32:17 He instructed the servant leading the first herd, ⁷  “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong? ⁸  Where are you going? Whose herds are you driving?’ ⁹ 

Genesis 40:13

40:13 In three more days Pharaoh will reinstate you ¹⁰  and restore you to your office. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you did before ¹¹  when you were cupbearer.

¹ sn Reddish. The Hebrew word translated “reddish” is אַדְמוֹנִי (’admoni), which forms a wordplay on the Edomites, Esau’s descendants. The writer sees in Esau’s appearance at birth a sign of what was to come. After all, the reader has already been made aware of the “nations” that were being born.

² tn Heb “all of him.”

³ sn Hairy. Here is another wordplay involving the descendants of Esau. The Hebrew word translated “hairy” is שֵׂעָר (se’ar); the Edomites will later live in Mount Seir, perhaps named for its wooded nature.

⁴ tn Heb “And they called his name Esau.” The name “Esau” (עֵשָׂו, ’esav) is not etymologically related to שֵׂעָר (se’ar), but it draws on some of the sounds.

⁵ tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”

⁶ sn This account is parallel to two similar stories about Abraham (see Gen 12:10-20; 20:1-18). Many scholars do not believe there were three similar incidents, only one that got borrowed and duplicated. Many regard the account about Isaac as the original, which then was attached to the more important person, Abraham, with supernatural elements being added. For a critique of such an approach, see R. Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, 47-62. It is more likely that the story illustrates the proverb “like father, like son” (see T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 53). In typical human fashion the son follows his father’s example of lying to avoid problems. The appearance of similar events reported in a similar way underscores the fact that the blessing has now passed to Isaac, even if he fails as his father did.

⁹ tn Heb “the first”; this has been specified as “the servant leading the first herd” in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ tn Heb “to whom are you?”

¹¹ tn Heb “and to whom are these before you?”

¹³ tn Heb “Pharaoh will lift up your head.” This Hebrew idiom usually refers to restoring dignity, office, or power. It is comparable to the modern saying “someone can hold his head up high.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “according to the former custom.”