[8] According to the Hebrew Bible, Esau is the progenitor of the Edomites and the elder brother of Jacob, the patriarch of the Israelites.

Esau, a "man of the field", became a hunter[1] who had "rough"[2] qualities that distinguished him from his twin brother.

[9] Throughout Genesis, Esau is frequently shown as being supplanted by his younger twin, Jacob (Israel).

In Genesis 27:1–40, Jacob uses deception, motivated by his mother Rebekah, to lay claim to his blind father Isaac's blessing that was inherently due to the firstborn, Esau.

When Esau goes to the field to hunt for venison to bring home, Rebekah says to her son Jacob, "Behold, I heard thy father speak to thy brother Esau, saying: 'Bring me venison and prepare a savory food, that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death.'"

Jacob follows through with the plan to steal his brother's birthright by bringing the meal his father Isaac requested and pretending to be Esau.

As a result, Jacob became the spiritual leader of the family after Isaac's death and the heir of the promises of Abraham (Genesis 27:37).

When Esau learns of his brother's thievery, he is livid and begs his father to undo the blessing.

Once again Rebekah intervenes to save her younger son from being murdered by his elder twin brother, Esau.

Therefore, at Rebekah's urging, Jacob flees to a distant land, Paddan-aram (towards Harran) to work for his uncle Laban (Genesis 28:5).

Jacob does not immediately receive his father's inheritance after the impersonation aimed at taking it from Esau.

Having fled for his life, Jacob has left the wealth of Isaac's flocks, land and tents in Esau's hands.

Jacob is forced to sleep out on the open ground and then work for wages as a servant in Laban's household.

Jacob does so, but after the wedding finds that beneath the veil is not Rachel but Leah, Laban's elder daughter.

[24] The minor prophets, such as Obadiah, claim that the Edomites participated in the destruction of Solomon's Temple in the siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE.

However, the prophecy of Obadiah insists on the literal "violence done" by Esau "unto [his] brother Jacob" when the Edomites "entered the gate of my people..., looted his goods..., stood at the parting of the ways to cut off the fugitive,... delivered up his survivors on his day of distress".

"Then Ya'aqov bent his bow and sent forth the arrow and struck Esau, his brother on his right breast and slew him (Jubilees 38:2) .

[28] The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan connects the name Esau to the Hebrew asah, stating, "because he was born fully completed, with hair of the head, beard, teeth, and molars.

On that day before returning, in a rage over the death of Abraham, Esau committed five sins; he raped a betrothed young woman, he committed murder (Nimrod), he denied God, he denied the resurrection of the dead, and he spurned his birthright.

[38] South of the Palestinian town of Sa'ir on the West Bank there is a tomb reputed to be that of Esau – El 'Ais in his Arab name.

North of the chamber is a vaulted room of equal size, and to the east is an open court with a fig-tree, and a second cenotaph rudely plastered, said to be that of Esau's slave.