תולדות

This is the story of Isaac, son of Abraham. When Isaac was forty, he married Rebekah from Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban. For a long time Rebekah could not have children, so Isaac pleaded with God for her, and God answered.

Rebekah became pregnant, but the babies struggled inside her. Upset and confused, she went to ask God what was happening. God told her, “Two nations are in your womb… and the older shall serve the younger.”

When the time came, she had twins. The first came out red and very hairy, so he was named Esau. Then his brother came out holding Esau’s heel, so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty when they were born.

As they grew, Esau became a skilled hunter who loved the outdoors, while Jacob was quieter and stayed near the tents. Isaac favored Esau because he enjoyed the game Esau brought home, but Rebekah favored Jacob.

One day Jacob was cooking lentil stew when Esau came in from the open, exhausted and hungry. “Give me some of that red stuff,” Esau begged. Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” Esau answered, “I’m at the point of death, what use is it?” So he swore an oath and traded his birthright for bread and stew.

Later a famine came. God told Isaac not to go down to Egypt, but to stay in the land. Isaac went to Gerar, where Abimelech was king. Afraid, Isaac said Rebekah was his sister. But Abimelech saw Isaac being affectionate with her and confronted him, warning everyone not to harm them.

God blessed Isaac’s crops, and he became wealthy. The Philistines filled in Abraham’s wells, so Isaac moved and dug again. After quarrels over two wells, he dug a third and named it Rehoboth, meaning “ample space,” because there was finally room to live in peace.

When Esau was forty, he married Hittite women, and it brought bitterness to Isaac and Rebekah. Years later Isaac was old and nearly blind. He called Esau and said, “Hunt game and make me the dish I love, so I can bless you before I die.”

Rebekah overheard and quickly told Jacob to bring two kids from the flock. She cooked the meal, dressed Jacob in Esau’s best clothes, and covered Jacob’s hands and neck with the skins so he would feel hairy. Jacob brought the food to Isaac and said he was Esau. Isaac hesitated, “The voice is Jacob’s”, but he felt the hands, smelled the clothes, and gave the blessing.

Soon Esau returned, and Isaac trembled when he realized what had happened. Esau wept and begged for a blessing; Isaac spoke of a hard life, living by the sword and serving his brother until he could break free.

Esau planned to kill Jacob, so Rebekah sent Jacob to Haran, to her brother Laban. Isaac blessed Jacob again and told him to find a wife from Rebekah’s family, not from the Canaanites.