A Prophecy against Esau
The prophecy against Esau, also known as Edom, is a significant aspect of biblical prophecy. It foretells the rivelry and yoke that Edom must bear before finally be able to gain himself from his brother, of those from the house of Jacob, Israel.
After Esau had discovered that Jacob had stolen his birthright blessing from him, he pleaded his father, Isaac, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” pleading if there was anything left for him, “Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?” upon which Isaac pronounced the most profound and intriguing prophecy to understand:
“Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him. And what shall I do now unto thee, my son?” Genesis 27:37
The Targum offers further insight, a more dramatic scene
“And Isaac answered and said to Esau: ‘Behold, I have appointed him as a ruler (“Shalit”) over you, and all his brothers I have placed before him as servants; and with grain and wine I have sustained him.
“And now, go and be expelled from me; for what can I do for you, my son?'” Genesis 27:37 Jonathan
Isaac explains to Esau that the blessing wasn’t just a wish; it was a legal and divine spiritual transfer of power.
By calling Jacob a “Shalit” (ruler), Isaac acknowledges that the hierarchy is now fixed. In the ancient patriarchal world, there could only be one “head of the house.” By blessing Jacob first, Isaac inadvertently exhausted the unique legal capacity of the firstborn’s blessing.
Jacob was deemed to be the master, and Esau to be the servant.
This “Go and be Expelled from me” is a very harsh insight revealed from the Targum, which indicates that once the blessing was given, a spiritual “gulf” opened even between Isaac and Esau.
Isaac realized that they could no longer dwell in the same spiritual space because their destinies had fundamentally diverged. Hence Esau lifted up his voice and wept, pleading again, “Hast thou but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father!”
And Isaac his father answered and said unto him,
“Behold, thy dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above.
“And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.” Genesis 27:39-40
Isaac is essentially saying: “Your brother has the spiritual heart of the world (Jerusalem/Israel), but you will still be given “the best fruits” and physical “dwelling,” and the material abundance of some great empires of the earth.
The prophecy is found in Obadiah 1:18, which states, “The house of Esau will be as stubble and consumed by fire.” It originated from Jacob, who was afraid to return to Canaan because of his brother Esau; but this originates from the Jonathan version of Genesis 30:25, which reveals through the Holy Spirit that Jacob knew Esau, the “stubble,” could only be defeated by the “flame” of Joseph
“And it was, when Rachel had given birth to Joseph, that Jacob said through the Holy Spirit that the House of Joseph is destined to be like a flame to consume the House of Esau. He said: ‘From now on, I am not afraid of Esau and his legions.’ And he said to Laban: ‘Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my own land.’” Genesis 27:40 Jonathan
And this Jonathan narrative is being confirmed the prophet Obadiah. And so when Joseph was born, Jacob asked Laban to be sent back to his own country:
“And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble; and they shall kindle them and devour them. And there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau, for the Lord hath spoken it” Obadiah 1:18
This prophecy is part of a larger narrative where Esau’s lineage is depicted as a temporary rule before the rightful inheritance of Jacob’s posterity.
The prophecy is also referenced in Ezekiel 35, where the prophet warns against the arrogance of Esau’s heart and its consequences. The prophecy serves as a warning to nations that exalt themselves against the Lord and ultimately leads to their downfall.
Thus it was establised that the posterity of Esau were to serve his younger brother Jacob in the years to come, in fact, the years to the endtime. But how such a prophecy were to played out were left with not mush details.
However, from other Scriptures, we were to know the descendants were to be numbered in billions.
To Isaac, God promised through Rebekah billions in her descendants
“And they blessed Rebekah and said unto her, “Thou art our sister; be thou the mother of thousands of millions; and let thy seed possess the gate of those who hate them” Genesis 24:60
Rebekah was to become a matriarch of a vast multitude, “thousands of millions,” meaning billions, for the descendants of Esau and Jacob.
The Masoretic offers the shell, but the Targum brings forth the Genesis account which reveals with greater insight. Esau realized that Cain had made a mistake by killing Abel too soon; he plans, instead, to delay his revenge until Isaac’s death, avoiding Cain’s mistake; as after Abel’s death, Adam and Eve had another son, Seth, and the birthright slipped away from Cain.
But a more detailed setting of this Prophecy could be expounded from the Targum of Jonathan version
And upon thy sword shalt thou depend, entering at every place: yet thou shalt be supple and credulous, and be in subjection to thy brother; but it will be that when his sons become evil, and fall from keeping the commandments of the law, thou shalt break his yoke of servitude from off thy neck. Genesis 27:40 Jonathan
“And Esau harbored hatred in his heart against Jacob, his brother, because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him.
“And Esau said in his heart, ‘I will not do as Cain did, who killed Abel during their father’s lifetime and then their father had another son, Seth.
“Rather, I will wait until the days of mourning for my father have passed, and then I will kill Jacob my brother, and I will be the sole heir.’” Genesis 27:41 Jonathan
— that is, explaining what the Masoretic Text lacks: Esau reasoned that he wouldn’t repeat Cain’s error. Instead, by his calculation, by waiting, he will both avenge himself and secure the birthright; hence he would wait until his father had died and the mourning period had passed before killing Jacob, so he would solely inherit the birthright;
— in short, the Targum provides greater insights, portrays Esau as harboring Cain-like hatred but scheming to avoid Cain’s mistake. He plans to kill Jacob only after Isaac’s death, believing this will secure both vengeance and inheritance. This interpretive expansion deepens the biblical narrative by casting Esau as a new Cain, while also explaining Rebecca’s urgent intervention;
— then, following a severe drought in his homeland of Canaan, Jacob and his descendants migrated to neighboring Egypt through the help of his son Joseph, who had become a trusted confidant of the pharaoh. Jacob died in Egypt at the age of 147 and believed to have been buried in the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron. What happened—did Esau fail to kill his brother as he had once vowed to do? Did Esau repent, or was it all part of a prophecy?
— if Esau had repented, what made him repent? Or is this a prophecy?
Joel
A Prophecy of Esau and Jacob 