Chapter 3 – part 3 – Esau – Loved by Isaac

This is Part 3 of Chapter 3 of a book I have written called “Jacob the Righteous.” The introduction and chapters 1-3 pt 2 can be found in previous posts. Please feel free to sign up to my blog to be notified when I add the next chapter. Comments are always welcome!

“Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau.” Genesis 25:28 NIV

Esau – Pt 3 – Loved by Isaac

 The only indication from Scripture as to why Isaac loved Esau is given that, “Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau.” As stated earlier, the sensible interpretation of this verse is that Esau satisfied his father’s taste for wild game and thereby earned his favor. I am willing to posit that Isaac’s love for game might very well be related to his relationship with his older brother, Ishmael. Genesis 21:20 states about Ishmael that,

 “God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer.”  NIV

 The book of Genesis develops a strong relationship between Abraham and Ishmael. Ishmael was the firstborn son of Abraham.[1] He participated in the covenant ritual of circumcision[2] and was loved by Abraham.[3] Abraham loved his firstborn son so much that he had requested of the Lord that he might receive the birthright.[4] Scripture states that Sarah’s insistence upon Ishmael being expelled from the camp “was very grievous in Abraham’s sight.” The Hebrew word translated as grievous in the King James Version of the Bible is ery, pronounced as yara’.[5] The NAS states, “The matter distressed Abraham greatly…”[6] Contextually, it would not be out of context to say that Sarah’s demand really angered Abraham.  It was only upon the assurance of God that Ishmael, too, would be made into a great nation, that the distress of Abraham was assuaged. It was, after all, through Isaac, that the Lord intended to continue his covenant.

 To deduce that the relationship between Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac abruptly ended at the point of Abraham sending Ishmael off with Hagar is difficult to accept. As nomadic people, it was highly likely that they were to continue some form of relationship. The story is told in scripture that Ishmael and Isaac together buried Abraham in the cave at Machpelah.[7]  Jewish traditions also note a continued relationship between Abraham and Ishmael. [8]

 It is my opinion that Abraham and Isaac both loved Ishmael and that Isaac’s taste for game came through his continued relationship with his big brother, the archer.  The word tvq qesheth, translated as archer is rather ambiguous, leaving the reader to wonder if it relates to hunting either men or beast, or, both. A hunter of men/warrior would be more consistent with the prophecy regarding Ishmael as found in Genesis 16:12,

 “He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”

 Scripture points out that Esau knew his Uncle Ishmael and that he had also developed a relationship through his marriage of the daughter of “the wild man.”  Genesis 28:9 says that Esau went to his uncle,

 “Esau married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.”

 Marriage was often intended to create an alliance between families. Alliances were formed by families and nations that shared similar interests.  The alliance would provide physical protection against a shared enemy. Remember, Nimrod and Esau shared similar interests. They wanted to rule over the righteous. The Scriptural prophecies regarding the hostility of Ishmael, and of Esau living by the sword[9], indicate that these men, too, shared a common interest.

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[1] Genesis16:16

[2] Genesis 17:23

[3] Genesis 21:11

[4] Genesis 17:18

[5]Ery, yara’ is also used in 1 Samuel 1:8 (KJV) to describe the distress that Hannah, the mother of Samuel, experienced in her bareness prior to being blessed by the birth of Samuel.

[6] Genesis 21:11 NIV

[7] Genesis 25:10

[8] Lewis Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, chapter V, Abraham, The Two Wives of Ishmael, “And Ishmael then took his wife and his children and his cattle and all belonging to him, and he journeyed from there, and he went to his father in the land of the Philistines. And Abraham related to Ishmael all that had happened between him and the first wife that Ishmael had taken, according to what she had done. And Ishmael and his children dwelt with Abraham many days in that land, and Abraham dwelt in the land of the Philistines a long time.”

[9] Genesis 27:40 NET Bible®

Chapter Three – Pt 2 – Esau – A Man of the Field

This is the Part 2 of of Chapter 3 of my book entitled Jacob the Righteous. You can find the introduction and Chapters 1-3 in my previous posts.

 

“And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. Genesis 25:27 KJV

Esau

Pt 2 – A Man of the Field

 Esau is also described a man of the field. The Hebrew word hds, sadeh, is frequently translated as field. It is important to note that the word has also been interpreted to mean battlefield,[1] and also implies a hostile, ungoverned area, or wilderness.[2] It was to a field that Cain invited his brother Abel to commit his premeditated crime of murder.

 It would be difficult and unnecessary to deny that Esau was skilled in the art of hunting game.  Genesis 25:28 clearly states in that, “Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau.” The sensible interpretation of this verse is that Esau satisfied his father’s taste for wild game.

 It is important to recognize that it was not necessary for Esau to hunt game to provide food for his family. His family’s occupation was that of shepherds. There was plenty of meat available to them. It is more likely that Esau was involved in hunting for sport and did not involve himself in the family business.

 Accepting Esau’s skill as a game hunter does not mean that Esau was not also a leader of a band of bandits, and like Nimrod, skilled in the craft of both hunting and killing wild game and men.  

Evidence of Esau being a man of war is found in Genesis 32:6.

  When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”

 Believing that all scripture is useful for teaching and learning, it stands to reason that the meaning of each word is useful for learning and understanding. The comparison of Esau to Nimrod, and even Cain, has its merits. 

 Rabbi Ari Kahn, in his commentary of Esau; while making ties between the nature of Esau and Nimrod, introduces the contrast of character between Nimrod and Esau’s grandfather Abraham. It was promised to Abraham that through his offspring all the nations of the world would be blessed. Esau, like Nimrod, rejected the ways of YHWH, and from the time of his conception he worked in an adversarial fashion against his brother, Jacob. Of Nimrod and Abraham, Kahn states,

 “The two are seen as spiritual adversaries: Nimrod represents paganism and its inherent lack of respect for human life, while Abraham represents monotheism and its ethical base and vision.”[3]

 Interestingly, text is also found in the Qur’an that supports the Jewish traditions of Nimrod and Abraham being contemporary “spiritual adversaries.” [4]

 The Holy Bible also gives a clear picture of Esau as one whom like Nimrod, had contempt towards YHWH. The author of Hebrews says of Esau,  

 “See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.  Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.” [5]

 Contempt for the ways of YHWH will only lead to destruction. Proverbs 14:12 tells us,

 “There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.”  NAS

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[1] 1Samuel 4:2, NASB

[2] Deuteronomy 21:1

[3] Rabbi Ari Kahn, Toldot,  Esau, http://www.aish.com/tp/i/moha/48932852.html

[4] Qur’an 21:51 f f.; 29:16; 37:83

[5] Hebrews 12:16-17, NIV