Genesis 22:17

22:17 I will indeed bless you, ¹  and I will greatly multiply ²  your descendants ³  so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession ⁴  of the strongholds ⁵  of their enemies.

Genesis 25:24-34

25:24 When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, ⁶  there were ⁷  twins in her womb. 25:25 The first came out reddish ⁸  all over, ⁹  like a hairy ¹⁰  garment, so they named him Esau. ¹¹  25:26 When his brother came out with ¹²  his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. ¹³  Isaac was sixty years old ¹⁴  when they were born.

25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled ¹⁵  hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. ¹⁶  25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, ¹⁷  but Rebekah loved ¹⁸  Jacob.

25:29 Now Jacob cooked some stew, ¹⁹  and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished. 25:30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed ²⁰  me some of the red stuff – yes, this red stuff – because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called ²¹  Edom.) ²² 

25:31 But Jacob replied, “First ²³  sell me your birthright.” 25:32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” ²⁴  25:33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” ²⁵  So Esau ²⁶  swore an oath to him and sold his birthright ²⁷  to Jacob.

25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. ²⁸  So Esau despised his birthright. ²⁹ 

Genesis 27:35-41

27:35 But Isaac ³⁰  replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away ³¹  your blessing.” 27:36 Esau exclaimed, “‘Jacob’ is the right name for him! ³²  He has tripped me up ³³  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?”

27:37 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?” 27:38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!” ³⁴  Then Esau wept loudly. ³⁵ 

27:39 So his father Isaac said to him,

“Indeed, ³⁶  your home will be

away from the richness ³⁷  of the earth,

and away from the dew of the sky above.

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.” ³⁸ 

27:41 So Esau hated ³⁹  Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. ⁴⁰  Esau said privately, ⁴¹  “The time ⁴²  of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill ⁴³  my brother Jacob!”

Genesis 32:3-7

32:3 Jacob sent messengers on ahead ⁴⁴  to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the region ⁴⁵  of Edom. 32:4 He commanded them, “This is what you must say to my lord Esau: ‘This is what your servant ⁴⁶  Jacob says: I have been staying with Laban until now. 32:5 I have oxen, donkeys, sheep, and male and female servants. I have sent ⁴⁷  this message ⁴⁸  to inform my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight.’”

32:6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you and has four hundred men with him.” 32:7 Jacob was very afraid and upset. So he divided the people who were with him into two camps, as well as the flocks, herds, and camels.

Numbers 20:14-21

Rejection by the Edomites

20:14 ⁴⁹ Moses ⁵⁰  sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: ⁵¹  “Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the hardships we have experienced, ⁵²  20:15 how our ancestors went down into Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time, ⁵³  and the Egyptians treated us and our ancestors badly. ⁵⁴  20:16 So when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and sent a messenger, ⁵⁵  and has brought us up out of Egypt. Now ⁵⁶  we are here in Kadesh, a town on the edge of your country. ⁵⁷  20:17 Please let us pass through ⁵⁸  your country. We will not pass through the fields or through the vineyards, nor will we drink water from any well. We will go by the King’s Highway; ⁵⁹  we will not turn to the right or the left until we have passed through your region.’” ⁶⁰ 

20:18 But Edom said to him, “You will not pass through me, ⁶¹  or I will come out against ⁶²  you with the sword.” 20:19 Then the Israelites said to him, “We will go along the highway, and if we ⁶³  or our cattle drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We will only pass through on our feet, without doing anything else.”

20:20 But he said, “You may not pass through.” Then Edom came out against them ⁶⁴  with a large and powerful force. ⁶⁵  20:21 So Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border; therefore Israel turned away from him.

Deuteronomy 23:7

23:7 You must not hate an Edomite, for he is your relative; ⁶⁶  you must not hate an Egyptian, for you lived as a foreigner ⁶⁷  in his land.

Deuteronomy 23:1

Purity in Public Worship

23:1 A man with crushed ⁶⁸  or severed genitals ⁶⁹  may not enter the assembly of the Lord. ⁷⁰ 

Deuteronomy 1:35

1:35 “Not a single person ⁷¹  of this evil generation will see the good land that I promised to give to your ancestors!

Isaiah 63:1

The Victorious Divine Warrior

63:1 Who is this who comes from Edom, ⁷² 

dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah? ⁷³ 

Who ⁷⁴  is this one wearing royal attire, ⁷⁵ 

who marches confidently ⁷⁶  because of his great strength?

“It is I, the one who announces vindication,

and who is able to deliver!” ⁷⁷ 

Ezekiel 25:12

A Prophecy Against Edom

25:12 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Edom ⁷⁸  has taken vengeance against the house of Judah; they have made themselves fully culpable ⁷⁹  by taking vengeance ⁸⁰  on them. ⁸¹ 

[22:17]  ¹ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form (either an imperfect or cohortative) emphasizes the certainty of the blessing.

[22:17]  ² tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).

[22:17]  ³ tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.

[22:17]  ⁴ tn Or “inherit.”

[22:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. To break through the gate complex would be to conquer the city, for the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”).

[25:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “And her days were filled to give birth.”

[25:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “look!” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene as if they were actually present at the birth.

[25:25]  ⁸ 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.

[25:25]  ⁹ tn Heb “all of him.”

[25:25]  ¹⁰ 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.

[25:25]  ¹¹ 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.

[25:26]  ¹² tn The disjunctive clause describes an important circumstance accompanying the birth. Whereas Esau was passive at birth, Jacob was active.

[25:26]  ¹³ tn Heb “And he called his name Jacob.” Some ancient witnesses read “they called his name Jacob” (see v. 25). In either case the subject is indefinite.

[25:26]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the son of sixty years.”

[25:27]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “knowing.”

[25:27]  ¹⁶ tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Jacob with Esau and draws attention to the striking contrasts. In contrast to Esau, a man of the field, Jacob was civilized, as the phrase “living in tents” signifies. Whereas Esau was a skillful hunter, Jacob was calm and even-tempered (תָּם, tam), which normally has the idea of “blameless.”

[25:28]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the taste of game was in his mouth.” The word for “game,” “venison” is here the same Hebrew word as “hunter” in the last verse. Here it is a metonymy, referring to that which the hunter kills.

[25:28]  ¹⁸ tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Rebekah with Jacob and draws attention to the contrast. The verb here is a participle, drawing attention to Rebekah’s continuing, enduring love for her son.

[25:29]  ¹⁹ sn Jacob cooked some stew. There are some significant words and wordplays in this story that help clarify the points of the story. The verb “cook” is זִיד (zid), which sounds like the word for “hunter” (צַיִד, tsayid). This is deliberate, for the hunter becomes the hunted in this story. The word זִיד means “to cook, to boil,” but by the sound play with צַיִד it comes to mean “set a trap by cooking.” The usage of the word shows that it can also have the connotation of acting presumptuously (as in boiling over). This too may be a comment on the scene. For further discussion of the rhetorical devices in the Jacob narratives, see J. P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis (SSN).

[25:30]  ²⁰ tn The rare term לָעַט (la’at), translated “feed,” is used in later Hebrew for feeding animals (see Jastrow, 714). If this nuance was attached to the word in the biblical period, then it may depict Esau in a negative light, comparing him to a hungry animal. Famished Esau comes in from the hunt, only to enter the trap. He can only point at the red stew and ask Jacob to feed him.

[25:30]  ²¹ tn The verb has no expressed subject and so is given a passive translation.

[25:30]  ²² sn Esau’s descendants would eventually be called Edom. Edom was the place where they lived, so-named probably because of the reddish nature of the hills. The writer can use the word “red” to describe the stew that Esau gasped for to convey the nature of Esau and his descendants. They were a lusty, passionate, and profane people who lived for the moment. Again, the wordplay is meant to capture the “omen in the nomen.”

[25:31]  ²³ tn Heb “today.”

[25:32]  ²⁴ tn Heb “And what is this to me, a birthright?”

[25:33]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Swear to me today.”

[25:33]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:33]  ²⁷ sn And sold his birthright. There is evidence from Hurrian culture that rights of inheritance were occasionally sold or transferred. Here Esau is portrayed as a profane person who would at the moment rather have a meal than the right to inherit. He will soon forget this trade and seek his father’s blessing in spite of it.

[25:34]  ²⁸ sn The style here is typical of Hebrew narrative; after the tension is resolved with the dialogue, the working out of it is recorded in a rapid sequence of verbs (“gave”; “ate”; “drank”; “got up”; “went out”). See also Gen 3:1-7 for another example.

[25:34]  ²⁹ sn So Esau despised his birthright. This clause, which concludes the episode, is a summary statement which reveals the underlying significance of Esau’s actions. “To despise” means to treat something as worthless or with contempt. Esau’s willingness to sell his birthright was evidence that he considered it to be unimportant.

[27:35]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:35]  ³¹ tn Or “took”; “received.”

[27:36]  ³² tn Heb “Is he not rightly named Jacob?” The rhetorical question, since it expects a positive reply, has been translated as a declarative statement.

[27:36]  ³³ sn He has tripped me up. When originally given, the name Jacob was a play on the word “heel” (see Gen 25:26). The name (since it is a verb) probably means something like “may he protect,” that is, as a rearguard, dogging the heels. This name was probably chosen because of the immediate association with the incident of grabbing the heel. Esau gives the name “Jacob” a negative connotation here, the meaning “to trip up; to supplant.”

[27:38]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Bless me, me also, my father.” The words “my father” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:38]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and Esau lifted his voice and wept.”

[27:39]  ³⁶ tn Heb “look.”

[27:39]  ³⁷ tn Heb “from the fatness.”

[27:40]  ³⁸ 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.

[27:41]  ³⁹ tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.

[27:41]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”

[27:41]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “said in his heart.” The expression may mean “said to himself.” Even if this is the case, v. 42 makes it clear that he must have shared his intentions with someone, because the news reached Rebekah.

[27:41]  ⁴² tn Heb “days.”

[27:41]  ⁴³ tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.

[32:3]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “before him.”

[32:3]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “field.”

[32:4]  ⁴⁶ sn Your servant. The narrative recounts Jacob’s groveling in fear before Esau as he calls his brother his “lord,” as if to minimize what had been done twenty years ago.

[32:5]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “I am sending.” The form is a preterite with the vav consecutive; it could be rendered as an English present tense – as the Hebrew perfect/preterite allows – much like an epistolary aorist in Greek. The form assumes the temporal perspective of the one who reads the message.

[32:5]  ⁴⁸ tn The words “this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[20:14]  ⁴⁹ sn For this particular section, see W. F. Albright, “From the Patriarchs to Moses: 2. Moses out of Egypt,” BA 36 (1973): 57-58; J. R. Bartlett, “The Land of Seir and the Brotherhood of Edom,” JTS 20 (1969): 1-20, and “The Rise and Fall of the Kingdom of Edom,” PEQ 104 (1972): 22-37, and “The Brotherhood of Edom,” JSOT 4 (1977): 2-7.

[20:14]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “And Moses sent.”

[20:14]  ⁵¹ sn Some modern biblical scholars are convinced, largely through arguments from silence, that there were no unified kingdoms in Edom until the 9th century, and no settlements there before the 12th century, and so the story must be late and largely fabricated. The evidence is beginning to point to the contrary. But the cities and residents of the region would largely be Bedouin, and so leave no real remains.

[20:14]  ⁵² tn Heb “found.”

[20:15]  ⁵³ tn Heb “many days.”

[20:15]  ⁵⁴ tn The verb רָעַע (ra’a’) means “to act or do evil.” Evil here is in the sense of causing pain or trouble. So the causative stem in our passage means “to treat wickedly.”

[20:16]  ⁵⁵ tn The word could be rendered “angel” or “messenger.” Some ambiguity may be intended in this report.

[20:16]  ⁵⁶ tn The Hebrew text uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) to emphasize the “here and now” aspect of the report to Edom.

[20:16]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “your border.”

[20:17]  ⁵⁸ tn The request is expressed by the use of the cohortative, “let us pass through.” It is the proper way to seek permission.

[20:17]  ⁵⁹ sn This a main highway running from Damascus in the north to the Gulf of Aqaba, along the ridge of the land. Some scholars suggest that the name may have been given by the later Assyrians (see B. Obed, “Observations on Methods of Assyrian Rule in Transjordan after the Palestinian Campaign of Tiglathpileser III,” JNES 29 [1970]: 177-86). Bronze Age fortresses have been discovered along this highway, attesting to its existence in the time of Moses. The original name came from the king who developed the highway, probably as a trading road (see S. Cohen, IDB 3:35-36).

[20:17]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “borders.”

[20:18]  ⁶¹ tn The imperfect tense here has the nuance of prohibition.

[20:18]  ⁶² tn Heb “to meet.”

[20:19]  ⁶³ tn The Hebrew text uses singular pronouns, “I” and “my,” but it is the people of Israel that are intended, and so it may be rendered in the plural. Similarly, Edom speaks in the first person, probably from the king. But it too could be rendered “we.”

[20:20]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “to meet him.”

[20:20]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “with many [heavy] people and with a strong hand.” The translation presented above is interpretive, but that is what the line means. It was a show of force, numbers and weapons, to intimidate the Israelites.

[23:7]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “brother.”

[23:7]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “sojourner.”

[23:1]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “bruised by crushing,” which many English versions take to refer to crushed testicles (NAB, NRSV, NLT); TEV “who has been castrated.”

[23:1]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “cut off with respect to the penis”; KJV, ASV “hath his privy member cut off”; English versions vary in their degree of euphemism here; cf. NAB, NRSV, TEV, NLT “penis”; NASB “male organ”; NCV “sex organ”; CEV “private parts”; NIV “emasculated by crushing or cutting.”

[23:1]  ⁷⁰ sn The Hebrew term translated “assembly” (קָהָל, qahal) does not refer here to the nation as such but to the formal services of the tabernacle or temple. Since emasculated or other sexually abnormal persons were commonly associated with pagan temple personnel, the thrust here may be primarily polemical in intent. One should not read into this anything having to do with the mentally and physically handicapped as fit to participate in the life and ministry of the church.

[1:35]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “Not a man among these men.”

[63:1]  ⁷² sn Edom is here an archetype for the Lord’s enemies. See 34:5.

[63:1]  ⁷³ tn Heb “[in] bright red garments, from Bozrah.”

[63:1]  ⁷⁴ tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis; note the first line of the verse.

[63:1]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “honored in his clothing”; KJV, ASV “glorious in his apparel.”

[63:1]  ⁷⁶ tc The Hebrew text has צָעָה (tsa’ah), which means “stoop, bend” (51:14). The translation assumes an emendation to צָעַד (tsa’ad, “march”; see BDB 858 s.v. צָעָה).

[63:1]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “I, [the one] speaking in vindication [or “righteousness”], great to deliver.”

[25:12]  ⁷⁸ sn Edom was located south of Moab.

[25:12]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “and they have become guilty, becoming guilty.” The infinitive absolute following the finite verb makes the statement emphatic and draws attention to the degree of guilt incurred by Edom due to its actions.

[25:12]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “and they have taken vengeance.”

[25:12]  ⁸¹ sn Edom apparently in some way assisted in the destruction of Jerusalem in 587/6 b.c. (Ps 137:7; Lam 5:21, 23; Joel 3:19; Obadiah).