Verse 23
23. The Lord said Here, too, we have a poetic strain:
Then said Jehovah to her, Two nations are in thy womb, And two peoples from thy bowels shall be separated .
And people than people shall be stronger, And the great shall serve the small .
What immediate effect this oracle had on Rebekah we are not told, but it probably served, in the subsequent time, to give her an intuitive partiality for the younger son. The subsequent history of the Israelites and the Edomites show how truly this prophecy was fulfilled. The descendants of Esau were strong, and fortified themselves in Mount Seir. They refused the Israelites a passage through their territory. Numbers 20:18. But Saul vexed them with his wars, (1 Samuel 14:47,) and David subdued them, and put garrisons throughout their land, (2 Samuel 8:14,) and they remained in such subjection till the days of Joram . 2 Kings 8:20. Then, according to Isaac’s prophecy, Esau broke his brother’s yoke from off his neck . Genesis 27:40.
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