Esau was Reddish Brown and Carnal – Genesis Chapter 25
by Sabina Dawkins
Abraham lived 175 years, and then his spirit left his body. Ishmael lived 137 years. Isaac was 40 when he married Rebekah. She was barren, so Isaac asked God for a child, and Rebekah became pregnant. Her twins, Esau and Jacob, would create two different nations: Edom and Israel. Esau and Jacob had different natures: Esau was carnal; Jacob was spiritual. The two struggled against each other even in her womb:
And the LORD said unto her, “Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.”
Genesis 25:23
That prophesy was fulfilled here:
And David gat him a name when he returned from smiting of the Syrians in the valley of salt, being eighteen thousand men. And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all they of Edom became David’s servants. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went.
2 Samuel 8:13-14
In Genesis 25:25, “the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.” Notice the comma after the word “red,” meaning he was red and hairy, not that he had red hair. And the “red” skin color that Esau had was more of a brown with a reddish tint, like the red heifer mentioned in Numbers 19:2. Context is important to remember while reading the Bible.
Esau, who was of the flesh, sold his birthright to Jacob for a meal of bread and lentils. Paul told the Hebrews that for this, Esau was a “profane person” (Hebrews 12:16). He was only concerned with preserving his physical life.