Quotes from John H. Sailhamer

The marriage of Esau to the daughter of Ishmael reminds us that the promised offspring of Abraham was determined, not by the will of human beings, but by the will of God. The families of the two "older" sons (Ishmael and Esau) were united in the marriage, but neither received the blessing promised to Abraham.

The seven extra years that Jacob had to serve Laban appear as a repayment for his treatment of Esau. His past had caught up with him, and he had to accept the results and serve Laban seven more years.

Human schemes can never carry out the plans of God.

Once again Jacob was one who had gone to great lengths to secure his own well-being, but his efforts proved pointless.

Here the writer shows the progress and well-being of the line of Esau. He carefully notes that Esau is, in fact, "Edom." The repeated identification of Esau as Edom throughout the chapter prepares us for the future importance of Edom during Israel's later history.

The text of 14:3–5 has played an important role in the larger chronological discussions. For example, Rashi argued that Pharaoh was prompted to pursue the Israelites because of their failure to return after three days (cf. 5:3). If this is the case, Rashi continued, "on the fifth and sixth day they pursued them . . . and, thus, this was the seventh day of Passover.

9. Abraham's death (25:1 – 11) After Sarah's death, Abraham took another wife, Keturah. Abraham was a rejuvenated old man and continued to be rewarded with the blessing of many offspring. Surprisingly little attention is given to the details of Abraham's death "at a good old age" (cf. 15:15). His final resting place was in that portion of the Promised Land he rightfully owned — the field purchased from Ephron the Hittite.

The Isaac stories open (cf. v.11) with a final statement regarding the line of Ishmael, consisting of a genealogy of the twelve leaders of Ishmael's clan, a report of the length of his life, and a report of his death. The number twelve appears again to be a deliberate attempt to set these individuals off as founders of a new and separate people (see comment on 22:20 – 24). The descendants of Ishmael continue to play a part in Genesis (28:9; 36:3; 37:27 – 28; 39:1).

God's will; rather, God's will was accomplished in spite of the conflict. Another important motif is that "the older will serve the younger.

thus Jacob's name, which means "the deceiver