Texts in Conversation
Genesis describes Esau as hairy and Jacob as smooth, a contrast used in Joshua’s description of geography. Mount Seir, meaning “hairy,” is linked to Edom, Esau’s land, while Mount Halak, meaning “smooth,” is on Israel’s border, Jacob’s land. This suggests the story of the brothers may have been influenced by the region’s landscape.
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Genesis 27:11
Hebrew Bible
10 Then you will take it to your father. Thus he will eat it and bless you before he dies.” 11 “But Esau my brother is a hairy man,” Jacob protested to his mother Rebekah, “and I have smooth skin! 12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him and I’ll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.”
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Joshua 11:17
Hebrew Bible
16 Joshua conquered the whole land, including the hill country, all the Negev, all the land of Goshen, the foothills, the rift valley, the hill country of Israel and its foothills, 17 from Mount Halak up to Seir, as far as Baal Gad in the Lebanon Valley below Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and executed them. 18 Joshua campaigned against these kings for quite some time.
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... the description in Genesis 27:11 of Jacob as a “smooth” (Hebrew, 'halak') man and Esau as a “hairy” (Hebrew, 'seir') man recalls the place names Mt. Halak and Mt. Seir in Joshua 11:17 that mark the boundaries between Israel and Edom. Esau’s willingness to trade his birthright to Jacob for some lentils, described in Genesis 25:30 in Hebrew as ha-adom, “red stuff,” and his description in Genesis 25:25 as a “ruddy” (Hebrew, 'admoni') and a “hairy” (Hebrew, ke-adderet seir, “like a hairy mantle”) likewise reinforces Esau’s identification with Edom and Seir ..."
Sweeney, Marvin A.
"The Legacy of Josiah in Isaiah 40–55" in Everson, A. Joseph, and Hyun Chul Paul Kim (eds.) The Desert will Bloom: Poetic Visions in Isaiah
(pp. 109-129) Society of Biblical Literature, 2009
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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