Esau was Isaac and Rebecca’s firstborn son, the twin of Jacob. Already in the womb he struggled against his brother, and in his youth he already showed signs of wickedness. Esau showed his deviation from the ways of God by selling his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of red lentils, earning him the name ‘Edom,’ meaning red. He went on to marry local pagan girls and become a powerful murderer, adulterer, and thief. Jacob tricked their father, Isaac, who was not aware of Esau’s wicked ways, into giving him Esau’s blessing. When Esau realized that Jacob got “his” blessings through trickery, he vowed to kill Jacob, who ran away. Many years later, upon Jacob’s return to the Land of Israel, Esau came out to wage war against Jacob but Jacob placated him. Esau then left the Land of Israel and went east to conquer the land of Seir (in modern-day southern Jordan), where he established the kingdom of Edom.
