Genesis 36:2-3: “Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite — also Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.”
Esau was the first of the twin brothers to get married. He married Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite and they held a great wedding feast at Beer Lahai Roi. From the start, Judith favored the gods of her youth over the God of Abraham and Isaac. Esau could not have cared less. “She gives me exactly what I need”, he told his parents on one occasion. “She is beautiful, she is fertile, and she shuts her mouth when I tell her to.” Rebekah was horrified about her son’s attitude and also Isaac, who usually sided with his son, clearly showed his disapproval; but Esau did not take any of his parents’ objections seriously.
Infatuated with the local women, Esau chose several beauties from among the Canaanite families and married them. With his increased household came increased quarrels and disagreements. Esau’s wives were competing for his attention, as were his young sons and daughters. In order to avoid his homemade problems, Esau’s hunting trips became more and more extensive, and due to his many absences, he contributed little to the day-to-day operation of the family estate. To make matters worse, his Canaanite wives were not fully on board with the notion that there was only one supreme God.
Esau’s first wife Judith conceived and gave birth to a son. His name day approached, and in conjunction with naming him, the boy was to be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. But during the ceremony Judith flat-out refused having her son circumcised. She made a scene and resisted handing over the baby to her husband and her father in law. “This is obscene!” she fumed. “Your God is cruel! Don’t you dare touch my son!” She stormed off with Esau running after her yelling: “Woman, stop this nonsense!”
After this incident, Esau divorced Judith and thereby set an example of how he would deal with a rebellious woman. From then on, his remaining two wives Adah and Oholibamah ceased to openly oppose their husband’s religious beliefs. Even so, Esau’s women continued to be a constant thorn in the side, especially for his parents.
In the meantime, Isaac developed problems with his eyesight and decided to retire from active herding and working on the farm while Jacob took on more and more responsibilities.
One morning Isaac called his son Esau and said: “I’m not sure how much longer I will live, so I want to give you my blessing today.” His son looked dumbfounded and said: “You mean you’re going to die soon?” Isaac smiled and said, “We don’t know our last hour, but I want to make sure you receive my blessing before I go. Here is what I need you to do: Go hunting and prepare me one of your tasty wild game dishes. I will bless you after the meal.” – “Consider it done!” Esau replied as he grabbed his bow and arrows and headed outside.
Rebekah overheard the brief conversation and did not like it. She had never forgotten Abraham’s word of advice from way back, when she and her husband had visited him with the newborn twins. The Lord’s prophecy during her pregnancy had been a riddle to her. The Lord spoke about two peoples in her womb, one stronger than the other, and the older serving the younger. Abraham had told her that God chooses with whom He is pleased with – regardless of rank or birth order. “This is not good,” Rebekah thought to herself. “My husband has completely forgotten about God’s revelations and seems to be blind to the things going on around here.” In private, Isaac and Rebekah had had many heated discussions about the subject and it always had boiled down to this: Isaac accused his wife of being too partial to Jacob whereas Rebekah accused her husband of being too partial to Esau. No amount of words seemed to bridge their different point of view; and so Rebekah decided on this fateful morning to intervene behind her husband’s back.
Quickly Rebekah went outside to meet with Jacob. It was springtime, and he was currently with his men, planning the upcoming sheep shearing event. Rebekah barged into the meeting and said: “Jacob, I need to speak with you – immediately!” Surprised Jacob looked at his mother. Turning to his men he said: “I need to take a quick break – let’s talk about this later.” He swiftly jumped to his feet, put an arm around his mother and motioned her to walk away with him for a private discussion. “What’s up?” he said. “You have me worried.” Rebekah replied, “Honestly, we have been asleep around here. You are buried in your work and your brother Esau is currently out hunting in order to receive his father’s deathbed blessing.” Jacob stopped in his tracks and said: “Deathbed? Is dad dying?” Rebekah shook her head and said, “I have a feeling this man will outlive us all. He is just blind and unfortunately he also seems to be blind to the things God wants to do.” She turned to Jacob and with all the earnestness she possessed said, “My son, you should receive your father’s first blessing. Please hear me out and do exactly what I say.”
And then Rebekah explained in detail the plan she had come up with – a ruse that would secure Jacob’s blessings but would bring division in her family and cause a lot of pain.