Genesis 25:19-26

Living Bible

¹⁹ This is the story of Isaac’s children: ²⁰ Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram. Rebekah was the sister of Laban. ²¹ Isaac pleaded with Jehovah to give Rebekah a child, for even after many years of marriage^[a] she had no children. Then at last she became pregnant. ²² And it seemed as though children were fighting each other inside her!

“I can’t endure this,” she exclaimed. So she asked the Lord about it.

²³ And he told her, “The sons in your womb shall become two rival nations. One will be stronger than the other; and the older shall be a servant of the younger!”

²⁴ And sure enough, she had twins. ²⁵ The first was born so covered with reddish hair that one would think he was wearing a fur coat! So they called him “Esau.”^{[b] 26} Then the other twin was born with his hand on Esau’s heel! So they called him Jacob (meaning “Grabber”). Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.