A Portrait of Esav/2

A Portrait of Esav

Exegetical Approaches

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Innately Evil

Sources: Bavli Bava Batra16bAbout the Bavli, Pesikta DeRav Kahana3:1 ("Zakhor")About Pesikta DeRav Kahana, Targum NeofitiBereshit 25:34About Targum Neofiti, Targum Pseudo-JonathanBereshit 25:27-34Bereshit 26:34-35Bereshit 27:31Bereshit 32:7Bereshit 33:1-4About Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Targum YerushalmiBereshit 25:34Bereshit 32:7Bereshit 33:4About Targum Yerushalmi, Bereshit Rabbah63:6-14About Bereshit Rabbah, TanchumaToledot 8Vayishlach 4About the Tanchuma, Tanchuma (Buber)Toledot 2Toledot 3About Tanchuma (Buber), ?R. Saadia GaonCommentary Bereshit 25About R. Saadia Gaon, RashiBereshit 25:22Bereshit 25:27-28Bereshit 25:29Bereshit 25:32-34Bereshit 26:34-35Bereshit 27:5Bereshit 32:7Bereshit 32:12Bereshit 33:4About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki, Minchat YehudaBereshit 25:27About R. Yehuda b. Elazar, RanDerashot HaRan 2About R. Nissim Gerondi, AbarbanelBereshit 25 QuestionsBereshit 25:19Bereshit 25:24, 29About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel, SefornoBereshit 25:27-34Bereshit 26:35Bereshit 27:1Bereshit 32:7About R. Ovadyah Seforno, MalbimBereshit 27:1Bereshit 27:5About R. Meir Leibush Weiser

In utero – According to Bereshit Rabbah and Rashi, already in utero, Esav portrayed his wicked tendencies.  Whenever Rivka passed a house of idolatry, he would push in the womb,¹  drawn to worship there.  R. Yochanana and Reish Lakish further suggest that even his animosity towards Yaakov began pre-birth, as evidenced by the running around in the womb, understood to be attempts to kill the second fetus.²

Chosen Profession: "אִישׁ יֹדֵעַ צַיִד אִישׁ שָׂדֶה" – Targum Pseudo-Jonathan suggests that, as a hunter, Esav killed not just animals but people as well.³ Bereshit Rabbah, Tanchuma, and Rashi, instead, assert that the term is metaphoric, describing one who is a trickster and traps (צד) people with his words.⁴ Even the term "איש שדה" is understood negatively by R. Hiyya  in Bereshit Rabbah to refer to one who neglects himself.⁵

Contrast between brothers – Many of these sources portray the twins as total opposites, making Esav look even worse in contrast to his brother. Abarbanel goes as far as to suggest that all the negative traits inherited from Rivka's deceitful ancestors went to Esav, while all the positive traits from Avraham's side went to Yaakov. Thus one became a wicked person and the other totally righteous.

"וַיָּבֹא עֵשָׂו מִן הַשָּׂדֶה וְהוּא עָיֵף" – Most of the midrashic sources⁶ and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan find hints in this clause to two great sins of Esav, both murder and illicit relations.⁷

"וַיִּבֶז עֵשָׂו אֶת הַבְּכֹרָה"

Yaakov and Esav's reunion

Esav's marriage

Yitzchak's preference for Esav

Esav's descendants

Mildly Negative

Sources: RadakBereshit 25:27-29Bereshit 25:31-34Bereshit 27:4Bereshit 32:7About R. David Kimchi,R. Avraham b. HaRambamBereshit 25:23Bereshit 25:27-29Bereshit 25:31Bereshit 26:34Bereshit 32:7About R. Avraham Maimonides, ?RambanBereshit 25:34Bereshit 32:8About R. Moshe Nachmanides, RalbagBeiur Divrei HaParashah Bereshit 25:23-34Bereshit 25:19-34 Toelet 4Bereshit 27:1-28:9 Toelet 2Bereshit 27:1-28:9 Toelet 8About R. Levi b. Gershon, R. S"R HirschBereshit 25:27About R. S"R Hirsch

Neutral

Sources: JosephusAntiquities 1:18:1Antiquities 1:18:4-8Antiquities 1:20:1Antiquities 2:1:1About Josephus, RashbamBereshit 25:22,27-28Bereshit 25:31-34Bereshit 32:7-8Bereshit 32:21-29About R. Shemuel b. Meir, Ibn EzraBereshit 25:32-34Bereshit 27:40About R. Avraham ibn Ezra, R. Yosef Bekhor ShorBereshit 25:29-30Bereshit 25:34Bereshit 27:45Bereshit 32:7-8About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, ShadalBereshit 25:31Bereshit 32:7About R. S.D. Luzzatto,

¹ This is the midrashic understanding of the phrase, "וַיִּתְרֹצֲצוּ הַבָּנִים בְּקִרְבָּהּ ".

² According to these sages, though, the attempts are two sided.  Both brothers attempted to kill or overpower the other; Yaakov was just as active in this as Esav.

³ R. Abba b. Kahana in Bereshit Rabbah and Rashi maintain that even the term "אַדְמוֹנִי" refers to this murderous trait and denotes one who spills blood.

⁴ Tanchuma describes how he would trick his father into believing that he was God-fearing by asking questions even about the minutiae of legal practice, such as the laws of tithing salt.

⁵ A field as a place which is free for all, or הפקר, and thus the midrash suggests that Esav "הפקיר עצמו כשדה".  See Rashi who explains similarly, describing Esav as a loafer.  In another context, many of these sources further suggest that Esav was one who raped women in the field.

⁶ Rashi follows partially in their interpretation, mentioning murder but not rape.

⁷ As evidence, they point to Devarim 22 where the laws of taking an engaged woman speak of it occuring "בשדה" and Yirmiyahu 4 which mentions being "עיף" in connection to killing.