Esau hated his brother Jacob on account of the blessing that his father
had given him, and Jacob was very much afraid of his brother Esau, and
he fled to the house of Eber, the son of Shem, and he concealed himself
there fourteen years on account of his brother Esau, and he continued
there to learn the ways of the Lord and His commandments. When Esau saw
that Jacob had fled and escaped from him, and Jacob had cunningly
obtained the blessing, then Esau grieved exceedingly, and he was also
vexed at his father and mother. He also rose up and took his wife, and
went away from his father and mother to the land of Seir. There he
married his second wife, Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite,
and he called her name Adah, saying that the blessing had in that time
passed from him. After dwelling in Seir for six months, Esau returned
to the land of Canaan, and placed his two wives in his father's house
in Hebron. And the wives of Esau vexed and provoked Isaac and Rebekah
with their works, for they walked not in the ways of the Lord, but
served their fathers' gods of wood and stone, as their fathers had
taught them, and they were more wicked than their fathers. They
sacrificed and burnt incense to the Baalim, and Isaac and Rebekah
became weary of them. And at the end of fourteen years of Jacob's
residing in the house of Eber, Jacob desired to see his father and his
mother, and he returned home. Esau had forgotten in those days what
Jacob had done to him, in having taken the blessing from him, but when
Esau saw Jacob returning to his parents, he remembered what Jacob had
done to him, and he was greatly incensed against him, and he sought to
slay him.[107]
But Esau would not kill Jacob while his father was yet alive, lest
Isaac beget another son. He wanted to be sure of being the only
heir.[108] However, his hatred against Jacob was so great that he
determined to hasten the death of his father and then dispatch Jacob.
Such murderous plans Esau cherished in his heart, though he denied that
he was harboring them. But God spoke, "Probably thou knowest not that I
examine the hearts of men, for I am the Lord that searcheth the heart."
And not God alone knew the secret desires of Esau. Rebekah, like all
the Mothers, was a prophetess, and she delayed not to warn Jacob of the
danger that hung over him. "Thy brother," she said to him, "is as sure
of accomplishing his wicked purpose as though thou wert dead. Now
therefore, my son, obey my voice, and arise, flee thou to Laban my
brother, to Haran, and tarry with him for seven years, until thy
brother's fury turn away." In the goodness of her heart, Rebekah could
not but believe that the anger of Esau was only a fleeting passion, and
would disappear in the course of time. But she was mistaken, his hate
persisted until the end of his life.[109]
Courageous as he was, Jacob would not run away from danger. He said to
his mother, "I am not afraid; if he wishes to kill me, I will kill
him," to which she replied, "Let me not be bereaved of both my sons in
one day."[110] By words Rebekah again showed her prophetic gift. As she
spoke, so it happened—when their time came, Esau was slain while the
burial of Jacob was taking place.[111]
And Jacob said to Rebekah: "Behold, thou knowest that my father has
become old and does not see, and if I leave him and go away, he will be
angry and will curse me. I will not go; if he sends me, only then will
I go."[112]
Accordingly, Rebekah went to Isaac, and amid tears she spoke to him
thus: "If Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, what good shall
my life do me?"[113] And Isaac called Jacob, and charged him, and said
unto him: "Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan, for
thus did our father Abraham command us according to the word of the
Lord, which He had commanded him, saying, 'Unto thy seed will I give
the land; if thy children keep My covenant that I have made with thee,
then will I also perform to thy children that which I have spoken unto
thee, and I will not forsake them.' Now therefore, my son, hearken to
my voice, to all that I shall command thee, and refrain from taking a
wife from amongst the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Haran, to the
house of Bethuel, thy mother's father, and take thee a wife from thence
of the daughters of Laban, thy mother's brother. Take heed lest thou
shouldst forget the Lord thy God and all His ways in the land to which
thou goest, and shouldst join thyself to the people of the land, and
pursue vanity, and forsake the Lord thy God. But when thou comest to
the land, serve the Lord. Do not turn to the right or to the left from
the way which I commanded thee, and which thou didst learn. And may the
Almighty God grant thee favor before the people of the land, that thou
mayest take a wife there according to thy choice, one who is good and
upright in the way of the Lord. And may God give unto thee and thy seed
the blessing of thy father Abraham and make thee fruitful and multiply
thee, and mayest thou become a multitude of people in the land whither
thou goest, and may God cause thee to return to thy land, the land of
thy father's dwelling, with children and with great riches, with joy
and with pleasure."[114]
As the value of a document is attested by its concluding words, the
signature of the witnesses, so Isaac confirmed the blessing he had
bestowed upon Jacob.[116] That none might say Jacob had secured it by
intrigue and cunning, he blessed him again with three blessings, in
these words, "In so far as I am endowed with the power of blessing, I
bestow blessing upon thee. May God, with whom there is endless
blessing, give thee His, and also the blessing wherewith Abraham
desired to bless me, desisting only in order not to provoke the
jealousy of Ishmael."[116]
Seeing with his prophetic eye that the seed of Jacob would once be
compelled to go into exile, Isaac offered up one more petition, that
God would bring the exiles back again. He said, "He shall deliver thee
in six troubles, and in the seventh there shall no evil touch thee."
And also Rebekah prayed to God in behalf of Jacob: "O Lord of the
world, let not the purpose prosper which Esau harbors against Jacob.
Put a bridle upon him, that he accomplish not all he wills to do."[117]
When Esau observed that even his father's love had passed from him to
Jacob, he went away, to Ishmael, and he addressed him as follows: "Lo,
as thy father gave all his possessions to thy brother Isaac, and
dismissed thee with empty hands, so my father purposeth to do to me.
Make thyself ready then, go forth and slay thy brother, and I will slay
mine, and then we two shall divide the whole world between us." And
Ishmael replied: "Why dost thou want me to slay thy father? thou canst
do it thyself." Esau said: "It hath happened aforetime that a man
killed his brother—Cain murdered Abel. But that a son should kill his
father is unheard of."
Esau did not really shrink back from parricide, only it chanced not to
fit the plan he had hatched. "If Ishmael slays my father," he said to
himself, "I am the rightful redeemer, and I shall kill Ishmael to
avenge my father, and if, then, I murder Jacob, too, everything will
belong to me, as the heir of my father and my uncle."[118] This shows
that Esau's marriage with Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael and
grandchild of Abraham, was not concluded out of regard for his parents,
who were opposed to his two other wives, daughters of the Canaanites.
All he desired was to enter into amicable relations with Ishmael in
order to execute his devilish plan.[119]
But Esau reckoned without his host. The night before his wedding with
Mahalath Ishmael died, and Nebaioth, the son of Ishmael, stepped into
his father's place, and gave away his sister.[120] How little it had
been in Esau's mind to make his parents happy by taking a granddaughter
of Abraham to wife, appears from the fact that he kept his two other
wives, the Canaanitish women. The daughter of Ishmael followed the
example of her companions, and thus she but added to the grief caused
the parents of Esau by their daughters-in-law.[121] And the opportunity
might have been a most favorable one for Esau to turn aside from his
godless ways and amend his conduct, for the bridegroom is pardoned on
his wedding day for all his sins committed in years gone by.[122]
Scarcely had Jacob left his father's house, when Rebekah began to weep,
for she was sorely distressed about him. Isaac comforted her, saying:
"Weep not for Jacob! In peace doth he depart, and in peace will he
return. The Lord, God Most High, will guard him against all evil and be
with him. He will not forsake him all the days of his life. Have no
fear for him, for he walketh on the right path, he is a perfect man,
and he hath faith in God—he will not perish."[123]