The Birth and Early Rivalry of Esau and Jacob: The next patriarchal narrative, that of Jacob (25:19–36:43), extends from Jacob’s birth to Esau’s lineage. (See the Introduction for an overview of the Jacob narrative as a whole and its relationship to the Joseph story.) Three incidents set the stage for the drama of Jacob’s life: the struggle of Jacob and Esau in the womb and at birth (vv. 19–26), a brief portrait of the two boys (vv. 27–28), and Jacob’s stealing the birthright from Esau (vv. 29–34).

25:19–20 The birth of Isaac’s children is introduced as the account (toledoth) of Abraham’s son Isaac. Typically the genealogy (toledoth) of the former leader heads material about the next generation (11:27–32). This toledoth parallels the one before Ishmael’s genealogy (25:12). It includes Abrah…