Esau << EE saw >> was the son of Isaac and Rebecca, and the elder twin brother of Jacob in the Bible. He is a main character in stories in Genesis 25-33. The best known are Jacob’s buying his birthright for a bowl of stew (Genesis 25:27-34) and the loss of his blessing through the plotting of Rebecca and Jacob (Genesis 27). Esau was reconciled to Jacob after Jacob’s return to Canaan 20 years later. Canaan consisted roughly of an area that extended from east of the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. Biblical history regards Esau as the founder of the Edomite nation.
