GENERATIONS

By V. C. Cheney

The twins Esau and Jacob were destined to become two nations, and their conflict began even before they were born. A spiritual pattern can be discerned through the genealogy, tracing back to Cain and Abel. Ishmael, the ancestor of the Arabs, mirrored the “ancient hostility” through his jealousy, as did Cain toward his brother Abel. 
This enmity originated in the Garden of Eden when YHVH pronounced judgment on the serpent, also known as HaSatan. Hostility, enmity, and hatred are synonymous terms. This first prophecy about the “ancient hostility” is echoed in the story of Esau and Jacob. YHVH “appointed” (shyith, שית, to put, place, set, appoint, make) this enmity in the Garden and fostered it between these two nations. Rebekah, like the women before and after her, carried the seed forward until the birth of the Messiah. 

There is also a small, often overlooked detail: the word “heel.” When Jacob was born, he grasped his brother’s heel, which led to him being named Jacob, meaning “grabber” in Hebrew, a name he carried for the rest of his life. Why did Jacob grab his brother’s heel? YHVH is conveying something significant. In a twin pregnancy, the babies typically face each other. When the twins are ready to be born, one twin drops its head toward the cervix, and its heel comes close to the other twin’s head. Was Esau attempting to crush Jacob’s head? Was Jacob trying to protect his head from Esau’s heel? He must have grabbed it for protection. Esau likely attempted to push himself out with his heel against Jacob, trying to be born first. Thousands of years passed before the prophecy of Genesis 3:15 was fulfilled, and the Messiah defeated HaSatan as He rose from His grave. By conquering the sting of death, Messiah crushed the head of the serpent. We now have victory in Messiah over the power of sin.


The birth of the twins serves as a prophetic picture of HaSatan attempting to overturn the prophecy by crushing the Messiah’s head. Striking someone’s head is more life-threatening than hitting the heel, which usually only results in limping. HaSatan believed that if he crushed the Messiah’s head first, he would not have to fear his own head being crushed. Over the centuries, he tried to reverse the prophecy in various ways: the corruption of the Earth, the Tower of Babel, the giants in the land of  Canaan, and more. When the twins were born, he concentrated on corrupting the firstborn, Esau.

The Book of Jasher offers more insights into Esau and his encounter with Nimrod, a descendant of Noah through Ham. In most English translations, the verse is read as “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunger before God.” However, the word “before” should be interpreted as “against” YHVH. (Genesis 10:8-9) Nimrod is recognized as the founder of the Tower of Babel and the first king to openly defy YHVH and his commandments, as we learned in the parashah “Noah.”


Jasher (Chapter 27) describes Nimrod as jealous of Esau’s hunting skills. During a hunt, Esau ambushed Nimrod, beheaded him with a sword, and killed his two servants in the wilderness. As he fled, Esau hid Nimrod’s valuable garments, believed to be the original ones made for Adam. Esau returned home terrified of retribution for the murder. He was exhausted from the hunt. Then he sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of soup. Esau’s action against Nimrod fulfilled a prophecy that Abraham’s descendants would defeat Nimrod. (Chapter 12 of the Book of Jasher in which Nimrod was warned in a dream.) After Nimrod’s death, his vast kingdom fragmented and collapsed, with territories returned to local kings and Nimrod’s people were taken a slaves. 


Later, Esau defied his parents by marrying two Canaanite women. After losing the blessing, he tried to reconcile with his parent by marrying a third wife. She was not a relative of Abraham, but from Ishmael, which led to the intertwined destinies of the Canaanites, Ishmaelites, and Esau’s descendants, the Edomites. 

This week, we are reading Parashah No. 6, Toldot  תולדת

Torah:  Genesis 25:19–28:9

Haftarah: Malachi 1:1–2:7

Brit Hadashah:  Romans 9:1–13

© 2026 Article by V. C. Cheney. All Rights Reserved.