Isaac and his wife Rebecca prayed that she would conceive. She eventually became pregnant, but a battle was going on inside her.
Rebecca was confused by what was happening so she sought expert advice.
22. And the children struggled together inside her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the Lord.
23. And the Lord said to her, Two nations are in your womb, and two kingdoms shall be separated from your innards; and the one kingdom shall be stronger than the other kingdom; and the greater shall serve the lesser.
In this article, I will focus on Genesis 25:23, but we will also look at part of verse 22.
Genesis 25:22
I’m only going to discuss the last phrase of the verse:
And she went to inquire of the Lord.
According to Jewish tradition, only 7 women had the status of being prophetesses. Rebecca is not listed among them.
This implies she needed to use an intermediary. Who did she approach?
Rashi writes that she went to the academy of Shem and Eber.
Shem was one of Noah’s sons. According to Genesis 11, he lived for 600 years and outlived Abraham. Eber was a great-grandson of Shem and also outlived Abraham.
Rashbam states that Rebecca went to the prophets of her time, but does not suggest who that may have been.
Radak decides that she went to either Abraham or Shem.
Chizkuni (on Genesis 25:23) disagrees and writes that God spoke directly to Rebecca. But He did not speak to Isaac. That is why Isaac never suspected that Esau was evil.
Rabbi Steinsaltz summarizes, “It is unclear whether Rebecca discussed her pain with her husband… She appears to have been granted a private prophecy, which she kept to herself, although she would later act in accordance with its contents.”
Rabbi Steinsaltz’s comment makes me wonder if Rebecca did speak first to Isaac and then to Abraham. But, perhaps, God did not reveal the status of the children to them. Maybe this was a “private prophecy” that could not be revealed to immediate family, but could be revealed to the more distant relatives (Shem or Eber).
Genesis 25:23 – Merely Poetic?
Rebecca received a message from God that was meant to answer her concerns.
Let’s start by looking at the translation and format of Genesis 25:23.
There is a poetic flavor to God’s statement. We can arrange it this way:
23. And the Lord said to her:
Two nations are in your womb,
and two kingdoms shall be separated from your innards;
and the one kingdom shall be stronger than the other kingdom;
and the greater shall serve the lesser.
There’s a clear parallel structure to this verse. Rabbi Hirsch cautions against accepting that the similar phrases are mere repetition for no reason. He insists that every phrase expresses an unique concept.
Two Words for Nation
Genesis 25:23 uses two different Hebrew words for the concept of nation.
The first word used is “goy” (gimmel-vav-yud). In current usage, “goy” often has a negative connotation to refer to non-Jews.
In the Bible, the word does not have a negative sense and is often applied to the Jewish people.
The Hebrew word “le’om” (lamed-aleph-mem), translated as kingdom, appears 3 times in this verse. It can also be translated as nation. However, the Gemara Avodah Zarah 2a-b states that the word indicates “malchut” which means kingdom or royalty.
Genesis 25:23 – Phrase by Phrase
And the Lord said to her
By means of a messenger. God informed Shem via divine inspiration (ruach hakodesh) and Shem told Rebecca. [Rashi]
shall be separated from your innards
Sforno understands that this was a message of comfort to Rebecca. She was afraid that one of babies might die. So God assured her that they would both be born alive.
Rabbi Hirsch suggests a very different translation of this phrase. Here’s his translation of the entire verse:
23. God let her know [as follows]: Two nations [are] in your womb and two states; they will be different from each other, starting from your innards; one state will become mightier than the other, and the mighty one will serve the lesser.
He emphasizes that the difference between these two nations and states (his translation of “le’om”) will be clear from birth.
He adds:
[Rebecca] is informed that she carries two nations in her womb, who represent two different social systems. One state will be built on spirit and morality, on man’s human soul; the other will be built on cunning and power. Spirit and strength, morality and power, will oppose each other; from the day of their birth, the two will go their separate, opposing ways.
one kingdom shall be stronger than the other kingdom
Esau and Jacob will become the founders of two kingdoms. In Jewish tradition, these kingdoms are designated as Rome (Esau) and Jerusalem (Jacob).
Rashi, based on a Gemara, writes that these kingdoms will not be equal in their greatness. When this one rises, the other one falls.
Caesarea* and Jerusalem [are rivals]. If one says to you that both are destroyed, do not believe him; if he says that both are flourishing, do not believe him; if he says that Caesarea is waste and Jerusalem is flourishing, or that Jerusalem is waste and Caesarea is flourishing, you may believe him. … Rav Nahman bar Isaac derived the lesson from here: “and the one kingdom shall be stronger than the other kingdom” (Genesis 25:23).
*In this gemara, Rome is represented by Caesarea which was the capital of the Roman province in the Land of Israel for many years.
and the greater [Hebrew: rav] shall serve the lesser
Many translate this phrase as “and the elder will serve the younger.”
Rabbi Hirsch contends that “greater” is the proper translation of the Hebrew “rav.” He writes that “rav” never means “elder” rather it means “greater in number and power.”
Who Will Serve?
Because most of us didn’t learned grammar in school, I must start this section with a grammar note.
Many English sentences follow the word order: subject – verb – object.
The phrase “Joe serves Bill” is understood to mean that Joe is doing something for Bill. No one would suggest that the sentence means that Bill is doing something for Joe.
Hebrew, on the other hand, is more flexible with word order. That is to say, the sentence in Hebrew “Joe serves Bill” could potentially mean that “Bill serves Joe.”
It is possible with the use of Hebrew prepositions to remove the ambiguity. But, in Genesis 25:23 there are no hints to remove the doubt.
The Vilna Gaon quotes a midrash that is based on the ambiguity of the Hebrew:
“the greater shall serve the lesser” (Genesis 25:23) – Rav Huna said: If he [Jacob] merits, he [Esau] will serve, but if not, he [Esau] will be served.
The Vilna Gaon explains that this ambiguity is built into the verse. It’s not clear who is serving and who is being served.
In other words, the midrash is not being cute, rather, it is teaching the meaning of the verse: sometimes Jacob will be on top and other times Esau will be on top.