Who were a source of grief unto Isaac and to Rebekah.
All Commentaries on Genesis 26:35 Go To Genesis 26
John Chrysostom
AD 407
See how much can be learned from these few words. I mean, why did it indicate to us Esau’s age? Not idly, but for us to learn from it Isaac’s advanced years and the fact that he was now well beyond his prime. You see, if we recall what was said before, that at the time he married Rebekah he was in fact forty years old, whereas when the children were born he was sixty, we will realize that now at a hundred he had reached the height of old age. Since, in fact, it is next about to recount to us that because of his age he had poor eyesight, accordingly it indicates his age to us so that we might be in a position to know precisely Isaac’s time of life. So it said, “Now, Esau was forty.” Then for us to learn the boy’s indiscretion in taking brides from races he should not have, it revealed to us that one was from the race of the Hittites, the other from the Hivites. Yet knowing as Esau did the pains taken by the patriarch in giving express orders to his servant to select a bride for Isaac from his own tribe and the fact that their mother Rebekah came from Haran, he should not have set his mind on any such thing. In order, however, to show from the outset the undisciplined character of Esau’s behavior, he took those wives before seeking advice. And for us to learn their intractable nature Scripture says, “They were at odds with Isaac and Rebekah.” What could be more galling than this antipathy when they were due to show complete respect and not only did not do this but were even prepared for hostility? Homilies on Genesis
