Genesis 25:23

25:23 and the Lord said to her,

“Two nations ¹  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.”

Genesis 27:40

27:40 You will live by your sword

but you will serve your brother.

When you grow restless,

you will tear off his yoke

from your neck.” ² 

Numbers 24:18-19

24:18 Edom will be a possession,

Seir, ³  his enemies, will also be a possession;

but Israel will act valiantly.

24:19 A ruler will be established from Jacob;

he will destroy the remains of the city.’” ⁴ 

Deuteronomy 20:13

20:13 The Lord your God will deliver it over to you ⁵  and you must kill every single male by the sword.

Malachi 1:2-3

1:2 “I have shown love to you,” says the Lord, but you say, “How have you shown love to us?”

“Esau was Jacob’s brother,” the Lord explains, “yet I chose Jacob 1:3 and rejected Esau. ⁶  I turned Esau’s ⁷  mountains into a deserted wasteland ⁸  and gave his territory ⁹  to the wild jackals.”

[25:23]  ¹ sn By metonymy the two children in her womb are described as two nations of which the two children, Jacob and Esau, would become the fathers. The language suggests there would be a struggle between these nations, with one being stronger than the other. The oracle reveals that all of Jacob’s scheming was unnecessary in the final analysis. He would have become the dominant nation without using deception to steal his brother’s blessing.

[27:40]  ² sn You will tear off his yoke from your neck. It may be that this prophetic blessing found its fulfillment when Jerusalem fell and Edom got its revenge. The oracle makes Edom subservient to Israel and suggests the Edomites would live away from the best land and be forced to sustain themselves by violent measures.

[24:18]  ³ sn Seir is the chief mountain range of Edom (Deut 33:2), and so the reference here is to the general area of Edom.

[24:19]  ⁴ tn Or, understanding the Hebrew word for “city” as a place name, “of Ir” (cf. NRSV, NLT).

[20:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “to your hands.”

[1:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “and I loved Jacob, but Esau I hated.” The context indicates this is technical covenant vocabulary in which “love” and “hate” are synonymous with “choose” and “reject” respectively (see Deut 7:8; Jer 31:3; Hos 3:1; 9:15; 11:1).

[1:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “I set his mountains as a desolation.”

[1:3]  ⁹ tn Or “inheritance” (so NIV, NLT).