Genesis 25:24-28

25:24 When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, ¹  there were ²  twins in her womb. 25:25 The first came out reddish ³  all over, ⁴  like a hairy ⁵  garment, so they named him Esau. ⁶  25:26 When his brother came out with ⁷  his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. ⁸  Isaac was sixty years old ⁹  when they were born.

25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled ¹⁰  hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. ¹¹  25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, ¹²  but Rebekah loved ¹³  Jacob.

[25:24]  ¹ tn Heb “And her days were filled to give birth.”

[25:24]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “all of him.”

[25:25]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn The disjunctive clause describes an important circumstance accompanying the birth. Whereas Esau was passive at birth, Jacob was active.

[25:26]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “the son of sixty years.”

[25:27]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “knowing.”

[25:27]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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.