Introduction
Esau, also called Edom, is the elder twin son of Isaac and Rebekah, described as a skilled hunter and outdoorsman, in contrast to his brother Jacob. His sale of his birthright and later loss of his father's blessing to Jacob, both through his own impulsiveness and his brother's calculation, shape the central sibling rivalry of Genesis's patriarchal narrative.
This article follows the biblical account in Genesis. Where later Jewish, Christian or Islamic tradition adds detail not found in the text itself, the article identifies it as such.
Family
Birth and the sold birthright
Esau was born first, described as red and hairy, with Jacob emerging immediately after, grasping his brother's heel (from which Jacob's name, meaning roughly "he grasps the heel" or "supplanter", is explained). As a young man, Esau, returning famished from hunting, sold his birthright as firstborn to Jacob for a meal of bread and lentil stew, a transaction the text presents as showing Esau's disregard for his birthright's value.
The stolen blessing
Years later, Isaac, old and nearly blind, intended to give Esau, his favoured son, a formal blessing before his death. Rebekah and Jacob deceived Isaac, with Jacob disguised as Esau, and Jacob received the blessing instead. Esau's grief and fury at discovering the deception was profound, and he resolved to kill Jacob once their father died, prompting Jacob's flight to Rebekah's family in Paddan-aram.
Marriage and reconciliation
Esau married two Hittite women, whose presence grieved Isaac and Rebekah, and later also married a daughter of Ishmael, apparently in an attempt to please his parents. Years later, when Jacob returned from Paddan-aram, fearing his brother's continued anger, Esau instead met him with an unexpected and generous reconciliation, embracing and weeping with him.
Descendants
Genesis 36 records Esau's descendants at length, identifying them as the Edomites, who settled in the hill country of Seir, and listing a genealogy of Edomite chiefs and, later in the same chapter, a list of kings who reigned in Edom "before any king reigned over the Israelites".