Why did Jacob and Esau struggle in the womb?

Answer 1

A:The twins, Esau and Jacob, fought in Rebekah's womb. Then, at the moment of birth, Jacob, the second born, held onto Esau's heel as if to hold him back, requiring a physical ability far beyond that of mortal babies. As a supposed historical account it is an implausible story without witnesses, presaging their rivalry in later life. Undoubtedly, the story of Jacob and Esau that we now have in The Bible was intended to be the story of two men, but this is more typical of the birth legend of pagan gods than a true story of ordinary mortals.

As we see the story now, the two unborn babies fought in the womb out of sibling rivalry, and Jacob sought to hold Esau back because he somehow already knew that the firstborn would inherit the birthright.

This is more than just improbable, but there is evidence that this story evolved from a very different story right back in the very beginnings of Israel. We now have compelling evidence that the Israelites were at all times polytheistic until the destruction of the kingdom in 722 BCE. Their gods included the moon god and the sun god, in many ways rivals just as the sun and the moon seemed to be rivals. It is very plausible that, in early tradition, Jacob was the moon god and Esau was the sun god, and it was only later that the story of the brothers became stories of extraordinary humans. Another story in the Book of Genesis, inserted into the story of Jacob and Esau shortly after a dispute between the brothers, underlines the identification of Jacob with the moon god.

Jacob was left alone and wrestled with a man all night until the break of day, when the man said he must leave (Genesis 32:24ff). Even though his leg was dislocated, Jacob refused to let his opponent go unless he blessed Jacob. That the 'man' was a god is amply demonstrated - Jacob asked for his blessing, he had the prerogative of changing Jacob's name, Jacob's new name was Israel (generally assumed to mean "wrestled with God') and Jacob called the place Peniel ('the face of God') because he had seen God face to face. If the man who wrestled with Jacob was a god, then Jacob was also a god in the very early tradition behind this passage, as demonstrated by the fact that he was such an even match for his opponent. And if the opponent was a god, he was also a sun god - daybreak signalled the end of the contest, he had to leave Jacob before the sun could rise, then the sun rose upon Jacob. This was the daily struggle in which the sun god defeats the moon god at dawn. This tells us that Jacob was indeed the moon god in early times; it does not mention Esau by name, but is interleaved with stories of the rivalry between Jacob and Esau. All the stories of sibling rivalry began as stories of rivalry between two gods, only later becoming stories of rivalry between two human brothers, and the story of Esau and Jacob struggling in the womb is explained easily once we recognise that these stories were originally about two gods seeking supremacy.

Answer 2

In the Bible, Jacob and Esau struggled in the womb because they were destined to have a tumultuous relationship in their lives. This struggle foreshadowed the conflict and rivalry that would exist between them as they grew up, ultimately leading to Jacob tricking Esau out of his birthright and blessing.