Commentary on Genesis 25:19-34

Amy Merrill Willis

Genesis 25:19-34 begins a group of narratives that biblical commentators usually call the
Jacob Cycle and which the Hebrew Bible calls the toledot (generations or descendants) of
Isaac (25:19).
Both of these labels convey important information about the stories found in Genesis 25-36, but
neither gives the full picture. Missing from these titles are the rest of Jacobs family -- the formidable
figure of Jacobs mother, Rebekah, his older brother, Esau, and Jacobs primary wives, the sisters
Rachel and Leah.
The biblical writers understood family to be the foundational unit of society and religious experience,
and they understood this particular family (beginning with Abraham and Sarah) to be the foundation
of ancient Israelite society and religion. As such, these stories explore not only the complications of
domestic ties, they also explore the connection between family dynamics, social customs, and
covenantal life.
Like many of our own domestic dramas, the stories of the Israelite ancestors are replete with
infertility and problem pregnancies and difficult births. Pregnancy is a condition that is always
fraught with meaning and risk. In this case, the situation of Rebekah and Isaac is itself an echo of
Abraham and Sarahs earlier difficulties. Infertility threatens the family line with biological extinction
and jeopardizes the promises of the ancestral covenant (see Genesis 17:1-8) until God intervenes
after a lengthy period.
Rebekahs resultant pregnancy means that the covenant promises and the family line will survive,
against the odds, but hers turns out to be a problem pregnancy in more ways than one. Rebekahs
condition creates such discomfort for her that she is not sure what the outcome will be. A word from
the Divine informs her that she is not just gestating twins who are struggling within her, she is also
gestating two different nations fighting for dominance.
As it turns out, these twins are not identical and they dont share a special bond that involves a
secret language and a fierce devotion to each other. Quite the opposite. At birth, Esau and Jacob
each possess characteristics that signal physical and personality differences that will lead them into
conflict. Esau is born hairy and red, characteristics that link him to the people of Edom, who the
writer of this passage understands to be descended from Esau.
These characteristics also link to Esau to the outdoors and he turns out to be brawny and skillful at
hunting. Jacob, who is destined to be the progenitor of the 12 Israelite tribes, is born second. He is

smooth-skinned and comes out with his hand around Esaus foot. The detail is not gratuitous; it
indicates Jacobs desire to upset Esaus status as the firstborn son and to subvert the social
customs and expectations that would favor the firstborn.
The social status of these twin brothers is complicated by the Ancient Israelite expectation that the
first- born son should be favored. The firstborn son typically takes on his fathers profession (Cain
becomes a farmer, like Adam in Genesis 4:2), succeeds his father as the family patriarch, and
inherits a larger portion of the family goods than his other brothers (Deuteronomy 21:15-17). These
privileges make up the birthright (25:31) and collectively provide a level of social and material
security that the younger brother would not enjoy. The younger sibling would have to depend on the
mercy of the older brother or make his own way in the world. It may be that these customs
developed to create consistency and fairness in families, to prevent parental favoritism from running
amok. When the older and younger brothers in question are twins born just minutes apart, however,
then the custom seems a bit more arbitrary and unfair.
Jacob is determined, even before birth, to have the birthright and the blessing of the firstborn. But
since he is not the outdoorsy type, he uses brains, not brawn, to gain it. Jacob is a trickster, an
underdog character who uses his wit and cunning to change the status quo. As a man who prefers
the tents to the hunt, Jacob knows how to cook and he uses this skill and his knowledge of Esaus
weakness to trade some red soup for Esaus birthright. It is a trade that Esau willingly makes.
The story of Jacob and Esau has profoundly influenced western literatures treatment of sibling
rivalry and parental favoritism. Katherine Patersons award winning novel, Jacob Have I
Loved, about twin sisters,is just one fine example of how the riches of this story can be brought to
bear for contemporary readers. Nevertheless, it is often difficult for Christian readers to appreciate
these as religious narratives. Seen through the lens of a traditional Protestant or Catholic piety,
there seems to be little about Jacob to inspire us.
When I teach these narratives, my students often think that Jacob victimizes Esau. They read
Esaus comment in verse 32 quite literally and think that Jacob is trading on Esaus dire situation. In
fact, Esau has just come in from hunting. He is not starving to death, he just prefers immediate
gratification over the long term benefits of his birthright. His family inheritance, which in this story is
tied to the covenant promises, means little to him.
American Christians have been taught to correlate piety with traditional personal virtues like
selflessness and guilelessness. Moreover, we tend to view our personal successes as rewards for
our piety and virtues. But these stories challenge our first-world sensibilities by lifting up an
otherwise disadvantaged character who must use guile and ambition to claim his status as a son of
the covenant.

Esau may not value his familial and spiritual inheritance, but Jacob does. Moreover, Jacob doesnt
see any immediate reward for his efforts; it will be decades before he actually sees success. Jacob
is not deterred by the prospect of delayed gratification.
These stories illuminate a different view of grace. God chose Jacob even before his birth, a choice
that was clearly not based on Jacobs merits or achievements. Indeed, this is one of many stories
about siblings (see also Genesis 4; Genesis 21; Genesis 48; 1 Samuel 16; Luke 15:11-32) in which
God acts contrary to the social custom of favoring the firstborn.
Firstborns are no more virtuous by the fact of being born first, but being born second in the ancient
near eastern world made one an automatic underdog. These stories show that God seems to prefer
underdogs and tricksters, something that might rankle conventional American notions of grace.