Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • In the Bible, the eldest son of Isaac and Rebecca who sold his birthright to his twin brother, Jacob, for a mess of pottage.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun biblical The son of Isaac and Rebekah and the older twin brother of Jacob.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun (Old Testament) the eldest son of Isaac who would have inherited the covenant that God made with Abraham and that Abraham passed on to Isaac; he traded his birthright to his twin brother Jacob for a mess of pottage

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Classical Hebrew עֵשָׂו (ʿĒśāw; Modern: Eisav).

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Examples

  • The principal can say with the pastor, "My brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am a smooth man."

    Richard Mitchell on Clergymen 2007

  • The principal can say with the pastor, "My brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am a smooth man."

    Archive 2007-12-01 2007

  • Liberal England: My brother Esau is an hairy man. comment-link {margin-left:. 6em;}

    My brother Esau is an hairy man 2006

  • And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau, his eldest son, and said unto him,

    The Dor�� Gallery of Bible Illustrations 2008

  • Chapter 27 1. And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.

    Probably Just One Of Those Funny Coincidences 2006

  • Chapter 27 1. And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.

    Villaraigosa And Nunez Cut And Run - Video Report 2006

  • And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.

    Genesis 27. 1999

  • And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I. 1.

    Commentary on Genesis - Volume 2 1509-1564 1996

  • Now Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, and he could not see: and he called Esau, his elder son, and said to him: My son?

    The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Book 01: Genesis The Challoner Revision

  • Now Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, and he could not see: and he called Esau, his elder son, and said to him: My son?

    The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete Anonymous

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