“Two nations are in your womb,
Two separate peoples shall issue from your body;
One people shall be mightier than the other,
And the older shall serve the younger.” (24) When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. (25) The first one emerged red, like a hairy mantle all over; so they named him Esau. (26) Then his brother emerged, holding on to the heel of Esau; so they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born. (27) When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the outdoors; but Jacob was a mild man who stayed in camp. (28) Isaac favored Esau because he had a taste for game;-e but Rebekah favored Jacob. (29) Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the open, famished. (30) And Esau said to Jacob, “Give me some of that red stuff to gulp down, for I am famished”—which is why he was named Edom. (31) Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” (32) And Esau said, “I am at the point of death, so of what use is my birthright to me?” (33) But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. (34) Jacob then gave Esau bread and lentil stew; he ate and drank, and he rose and went away. Thus did Esau spurn the birthright.
(8) Esau realized that the Canaanite women displeased his father Isaac. (9) So Esau went to Ishmael and took to wife, in addition to the wives he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, sister of Nebaioth.
(34) Jacob then gave Esau bread and lentil stew; he ate and drank, and he rose and went away. Thus did Esau spurn the birthright.
(ו) וַיִתְרֹצֲצוּ הַבָּנִים בְּקִרְבָּהּ... בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהָיְתָה עוֹמֶדֶת עַל בָּתֵּי כְנֵסִיּוֹת וּבָתֵּי מִדְרָשׁוֹת יַעֲקֹב מְפַרְכֵּס לָצֵאת, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (ירמיה א, ה): בְּטֶרֶם אֶצָּרְךָ בַבֶּטֶן יְדַעְתִּיךָ, וּבְשָׁעָה שֶׁהָיְתָה עוֹבֶרֶת עַל בָּתֵּי עֲבוֹדַת כּוֹכָבִים עֵשָׂו רָץ וּמְפַרְכֵּס לָצֵאת, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב: זֹרוּ רְשָׁעִים מֵרָחֶם. וַתֹּאמֶר אִם כֵּן לָמָּה זֶה אָנֹכִי...
And the children struggled with in her... When she stood by houses of prayer and houses of study Jacob squirmed, trying to get out, as it says "before I created, in the womb I knew you"(Jer. 1:5) When she passed by the house of idol-worship, Esau would run and squirm, trying to get out, as it says, “the wicked turn astray from the womb” (PS. 58:4); when she would pass a synagogue or study house, Jacob would squirm to get out…
... ונגלה על בני עשו הרשע ואומר להם: מקבלים אתם את התורה? אמרו לו: מה כתיב בה? – אמר להם "לא תרצח". אמרו: זו היא ירושה שהורישנו אבינו, שנאמר (בראשית כז מ) "על חרבך תחיה"!
... He came and revealed Himself to the sons of the wicked Esav and asked them: Will you accept the Torah? They: What is written in it? He: "You shall not kill." They: But this is what we have inherited from our father, as it is written (Genesis 27:40) "By your sword shall you live!"
(7) Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem’s fall; how they cried, “Strip her, strip her to her very foundations!”
Who dwell in the land of Uz!
To you, too, the cup shall pass,
You shall get drunk and expose your nakedness. (22) Your iniquity, Fair Zion, is expiated;
He will exile you no longer.
Your iniquity, Fair Edom, He will note;
He will uncover your sins.
(2) I have shown you love, said the LORD. But you ask, “How have You shown us love?” After all—declares the LORD—Esau is Jacob’s brother; yet I have accepted Jacob (3) and have rejected Esau. I have made his hills a desolation, his territory a home for beasts-a of the desert.
And the House of Joseph flame,
And the House of Esau shall be straw;
They shall burn it and devour it,
And no survivor shall be left of the House of Esau
—for the LORD has spoken.
וְאָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק מַאי דִּכְתִיב אַל תִּתֵּן ה׳ מַאֲוַיֵּי רָשָׁע זְמָמוֹ אַל תָּפֵק יָרוּמוּ סֶלָה אָמַר יַעֲקֹב לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם אַל תִּתֵּן לְעֵשָׂו הָרָשָׁע תַּאֲוַת לִבּוֹ זְמָמוֹ אַל תָּפֵק זוֹ גֶּרְמַמְיָא שֶׁל אֱדוֹם שֶׁאִלְמָלֵי הֵן יוֹצְאִין מַחֲרִיבִין כָּל הָעוֹלָם כּוּלּוֹ
And Rabbi Yitzḥak also said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked; further not his evil device, so that they not exalt themselves. Selah” (Psalms 140:9)? Jacob said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, grant not to the wicked Esau the desires of his heart, as he wishes to destroy us. Further not his evil device [zemamo]; do not remove the muzzle [zamam] that constrains him and prevents him from breaking out and gathering further strength. This is a reference to Germamya of Edom, i.e., Germany, which is near the land of Edom, i.e., Rome. As, if the Germans would go forth, they would destroy the entire world.
On another occasion, Antoninus (a Roman Emperor) said to Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi: Will I enter the World-to-Come? Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to him: Yes. Antoninus said to him: But isn’t it written: “And there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau” (Obadiah 1:18)? Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi answered: The verse is stated with regard to those who perform actions similar to those of the wicked Esau, not to people like you.
In crimsoned garments from Bozrah—
Who is this, majestic in attire,
Pressing forward-a in His great might?
“It is I, who contend victoriously,
Powerful to give triumph.”-b
(1) Who is this that cometh. Some refer this to Messiah, others to the angel Michael; but more correctly it may be referred to God. This prophecy contains the decree made against Edom, that is, against the empire of Rome and Constantinople, who are called Edomites, because they adopted the Edomite religion—that is, the religion of "the known man" (Christianity)—which was first established among the Edomites.