He is Esau, &c.— This would read better, if rendered, as it ought to be, THIS is Esau, the father of Edom, i.e.. This is his family, and the account of his posterity. After this we meet with no farther mention of Esau in the Mosaic history.
REFLECTIONS.—We have here an account of Esau and his posterity, and see therein the promise to Abraham fulfilled in part, that he should be the father of many nations. He is called Edom, or red, in memory of the profane sale of his birthright for the red pottage. Note; If men by ill doings get an ill name, they must thank themselves for it. His wives and family are mentioned, and his place of abode Mount Seir: there he fixes, and leaves Jacob in peaceable possession of Canaan. Probably God had now convinced him of the unchangeableness of the decree concerning the promised Seed and the possession of the land of Canaan, and he submitted to it. Though God hated him in this sense, by excluding him from the succession, it does not follow either from Scripture or reason that he was on this account eternally lost.
The genealogy of the Horites also, who inhabited Seir, is mentioned in this chapter. By Esau's intermarriage they soon became one people, and, it is to be feared, had one religion. Bad connections by marriage usually end in our following our wives' gods.
In external prosperity, Jacob is far behind his brother. A numerous race of dukes and governors reign in Edom, while Jacob's posterity are servants in AEgypt. Note; We must wait with patience for the fulfilment of the promises. Esau has a present possession, Jacob only a land in prospect. Let us not envy the children of the world; they have their all in hand, while we have ours in hope: and death, which must cast them out of their possessions, shall bring us to our inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and which fadeth not away, reserved for us in heaven.