Two Nations
Yitzchak marries Rivkah, but for twenty years she is unable to have children, so Yitzchak prays to God on her behalf, and she conceives. The pregnancy is painful, with the children struggling within her, and when she seeks God she learns that two nations are in her womb and that the elder will serve the younger. Esav is born first, red and covered with hair, followed by Yaakov, whose hand grips his brother's heel. Esav grows into a skilled hunter, a man of the field, while Yaakov is a wholesome man who dwells in tents, and Yitzchak favors Esav while Rivkah loves Yaakov.
A Birthright Sold
One day Esav comes in from the field exhausted and famished, and finds Yaakov cooking a pot of red lentil stew. Esav begs for some of the stew, and Yaakov offers it in exchange for the birthright, the privilege of the firstborn. Esav, feeling that he is about to die of hunger, dismisses the birthright as worthless and swears it away for the meal. He eats, drinks, and goes on his way, and the Torah notes that in this moment Esav treats his birthright with contempt.
Wells in Gerar
A famine drives Yitzchak toward the land of the Philistines, and God tells him not to go down to Egypt but to remain in the land, renewing to him the promises once made to Avraham (Abraham). In Gerar, fearing for his life, Yitzchak says that Rivkah is his sister, until the king Avimelech (Abimelech) discovers the truth and orders that no one harm them. Yitzchak sows and prospers greatly, and out of envy the Philistines stop up the wells his father had dug, so Yitzchak reopens them and digs new ones, quarreling over water until he finds room to dwell in peace. God appears to him at Be'er Sheva, and Avimelech comes to make a treaty with him, recognizing that God is with him.
The Stolen Blessing
Yitzchak grows old and his eyesight fails, and he asks Esav to hunt game and prepare a meal so that he may give him his blessing before he dies. Rivkah overhears and, determined that the blessing should go to Yaakov, dresses him in Esav's clothing and covers his arms with goatskins so that he will seem hairy to his blind father. Yaakov brings the food, and though Yitzchak is puzzled by the voice, he feels the skins, smells the garments, and gives Yaakov the blessing of dew, grain, and mastery over nations and brothers. Yaakov receives the blessing meant for the firstborn and slips away just before Esav returns.
Esav's Bitter Cry
Esav comes in with his own prepared meal, and when Yitzchak realizes what has happened, he trembles violently but confirms that the blessing will remain with Yaakov. Esav cries out with a great and bitter cry, begging his father for a blessing of his own, and Yitzchak gives him words about living by the sword and one day breaking his brother's yoke. Filled with hatred, Esav resolves to kill Yaakov once their father has died. Rivkah learns of his intent and warns Yaakov, urging him to flee to her brother until Esav's anger cools.
Sent to Charan
Rivkah tells Yitzchak that she cannot bear the thought of Yaakov marrying a local Hittite woman, and so Yitzchak calls Yaakov, blesses him again, and charges him to take a wife from the family of Rivkah's brother Lavan (Laban). Yitzchak passes on to Yaakov the blessing of Avraham, that he may inherit the land and become a great people. Yaakov is sent off toward Charan, into the household of his mother's family. Seeing that his Canaanite wives displease his parents, Esav goes and marries a daughter of Yishmael (Ishmael), hoping in vain to win his father's favor.