Did Esau Receive the Birthright & Blessing Instead of Jacob?

This may seem like a very strange question to ask, but according to the Judeo-Christian clergy of today this is, in essence, what they are claiming. You will probably, in all likelihood, declare you have never heard any of them ever make such a statement. But, we believe before we are finished, you will have to agree that they have made the allegation suggested in the above title many time, in many different ways.

Chances are, you have often heard the Bible story about Esau selling his birthright to Jacob for a mess of red lentil pottage (meat, Hebrews 12:16). No doubt, you are very familiar with the story of how Jacob�s mother, Rebekah, disguised him so Isaac would believe he was Esau, and therefore confer the blessing on Jacob instead of Esau.

Esau sold his birthright because he deemed it of no importance to what he had obtained with the killing of Nimrod. The story is told in the Book of Jasher:

We find in Chapter 27:

1).� And Esau at that time, after the death of Abraham, frequently went in the field to hunt.

2).� And Nimrod king of Babel, the same was Amraphel, also frequently went with his mighty men to hunt in the field, and to walk about with his men in

the cool of the day.

3).� And Nimrod was observing Esau all the days, for a jealousy was formed in the heart of Nimrod against Esau all the days.

4).� And on a certain day Esau went in the field to hunt, and he found Nimrod walking in the wilderness with his two men.

5).� And all his mighty men and his people were with him in the wilderness, but they removed at a distance from him, and they went from him in different directions to hunt, and Esau concealed himself for Nimrod, and he lurked for him in the wilderness.

6).� And Nimrod and his men that were with him did not know him, and Nimrod and his men frequently walked about in the field at the cool of the day, and to know where his men were hunting in the field.

7).� And Nimrod and two of his men that were with him came to the place where they were, when Esau started suddenly from his lurking place, and drew his sword, and hastened and ran to Nimrod and cut off his head.

8).� And Esau fought a desperate fight with the two men that were with Nimrod, and when they called out to him, Esau turned to them and smote them to death with his sword.

9).� And all the mighty men of Nimrod, who had left him to go to the wilderness, heard the cry at a distance, and they knew the voices of those two men, and they ran to know the cause of it, when they found their king and the two men that were with him lying dead in the wilderness.

10).� And when Esau saw the mighty men of Nimrod coming at a distance, he fled, and thereby escaped; and Esau took the valuable garments of Nimrod, which Nimrod's father had bequeathed to Nimrod, and with which Nimrod prevailed over the whole land, and he ran and concealed them in his house.

11).� And Esau took those garments and ran into the city on account of Nimrod's men, and he came unto his father's house wearied and exhausted from fight, and he was ready to die through grief when he approached his brother Jacob and sat before him.

12).� And he said unto his brother Jacob, Behold I shall die this day, and wherefore then do I want the birthright? And Jacob acted wisely with Esau in this matter, and Esau sold his birthright to Jacob, for it was so brought about by the Lord.

13).� And Esau's portion in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham had bought from the children of Heth for the possession of a burial ground, Esau also sold to Jacob, and Jacob bought all this from his brother Esau for value given.

14).� And Jacob wrote the whole of this in a book, and he testified the same with witnesses, and he sealed it, and the book remained in the hands of Jacob.

Anyone who has any Bible training at all knows, beyond all doubt, that it was Jacob who received who received the blessing. Yet, the mainstream Judeo-Christian clergy continue to insist that it was Esau who received the blessing. The reason the Judeo-Christian clergy make such a �false� claim is because they have never taken the time to identify the true Esauites and the true Jacobites. Maybe, if �we� can identify the descendants of Esau, called Edomites, Idumea, and Edom then possibly we can recognize the true descendants of Jacob, called Israelites.

Later, we will quote a statement made by a noted television preacher who makes a good example of applying to Esau that which belongs to Jacob. Before doing this, we need to review Esau�s background.

We are informed in the Genesis 25 account, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for �red pottage ... therefore was his name called Edom,� meaning �red.� Amazingly Esau�s color is still red today. Further Scripture shows Esau took three wives: (a) Genesis 28:9: �Then went Esau unto Ishmael and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael.� (b) Genesis 36:2: He also �took his wives of the daughters of Canaan, Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite.�

These are the very people the Almighty warned the descendants of Jacob NOT TO MARRY. Later, Yahweh�s Providence �separated� Esau and Jacob in Genesis 36:6: �Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters ... and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob.�

Therefore, this averted Esau�s offspring from taking spouses from Jacob�s posterity. From these marriages, the blood of Esau, Ishmael�s daughter and the already racially mixed Canaanites were intermingled., becoming Edomites.

Several hundred years later, when Yahweh miraculously delivered the Israelites from Egypt, Exodus 17:10 informs us that the first people to fight against Israel WERE THE EDOMITES. From that point on the Biblical historical records tell us of the continued enmity and war between the Israelites and the Edomites. Exodus 17:16 prophesied:

�For he (Moses) said, Because Yahweh hath sworn that Yahweh (through Israel) will have war with Amalek from generation to generation,� which has continued up to our present day. (Hurrian-Edomites Genesis 36:20-30)

Later, in Ezra 9:1, we are informed that the small �Jewish� remnant, when returning to Palestine, took wives among the racially-mixed Hittites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Amonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites, adding MORE mixed-blood similar to that of Esau�s descendants.

Then, continuing down through the history of this mixed remnant, to the time of the Messiah, we are informed by Flavius Josephus that the �Idumeans� (Edomites) became part of �Jewry.� This would explain why some Judeans believed Him and other Judeans hated Him. This would also explain the passage in Josephus, War 2:8:, which says:

�For there are three philosophical sects among the Judeans. The followers of the first of whom are the Pharisees; of the second the Sadducees; and the third sect, who pretends to severer discipline, are called Essens. THESE LAST ARE JUDAH BY BIRTH, and seem to have a greater affection for one another than the other sects have.� (The Essenes of Dead Sea Scroll fame)

This is why the Jewish Encyclopedia states: �There is Edom [Esau is called Edom in Genesis 36:8). And Edom is in 'Modern Jewry.'� (Jewish Encyclopedia, 1925 edition, Vol. 5, p. 41)

This makes it quite evident that not all who were living in Judea, at that time, were of the TRUE Tribe of Judah. While we could go on at length about the mixed-ethnic origins of the �Jews,� the purpose of this study is to show only the Edomite connection of their several origins. The following are quotations taken from various books substantiating this fact:

�The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia Of The Bible,� volume H-L, pages 41-42 says this concerning the forced conversion of the Edomites to Judaism:

�In 128 B.C., Antiochus was killed during a Parthian campaign. From this time on Judea enjoyed de facto independence. John Hyracanus began a policy of territorial expansion, including the reconquest of the coastal cities ceded to Syria during the early years of his reign: Hyrcanus (then) turned southward and conquered the providence known as Idumea. The ancient Edomites had been pushed out of their territory south and east of the Dead Sea by the Nabatean Arabs, with the result that they moved into southern Palestine, including the area south of Hebron. This area came to be known as Idumea, and (it) was forcibly annexed to the Jewish state of John Hyrcanus.

�The coastal cities linked the commercial highway through Palestine. From earliest times merchants and warriors passed north from Egypt along the coastal road leading to Syria and Mesopotamia. Without control of commercial routes, Hyrcanus could not hope to build a major state. As soon as Syrian internal affairs made interference from the north unlikely, Hyracanus took the coastal cities as a guarantee of the future of his state�s freedom of movement.

�Another ancient trade route passed south of Judea, through Idumean, to Egypt. As Hyrcanus captured this territory, HE COMPELLED THE IDUMEANS TO ACCEPT JUDAISM and become circumcised ...�