The Epic of Esau

ONE OF the most enigmatic characters in the Bible is a man who literally sold his birthright for a bowl of beans. 

We refer, of course, to Jacob’s brother Esau, about whom the Bible doesn’t say much else except that he was the progenitor of Edom, southwest of the Dead Sea, a nation that would be a thorn in the side of Israel and Judah for about a thousand years.

Justin Brown, host of Prometheus Lens and co-host of The Dig Bible Podcast, joins us to discuss his forthcoming book, The Epic of Esau. Is there more to learn about the brother Jacob tricked out of his inheritance? For example, a Jewish legend about Esau names him as the one who killed the Sumerian king Nimrod, and by so doing, inheriting a magical garment—the one created by God for Adam when he and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden.

There is no way to confirm the ancient stories, so at the end of the day we’re left with some valuable lessons from the life of Esau like the importance of humility, repentance, and forgiveness in the face of missed opportunities and bad decisions. 

Find Justin’s podcasts at prometheuslenspodcast.com and thedigbiblepodcast.com.