The second pair predicts the future of the two peoples’ relationships. Line three uses the verbal form ὑπερέξει with the genitive in the sense of “excel over,” thus “a people shall excel over a people,” that is, one group will excel over the other one. This prevalence is clarified in the last line “and the greater (that is, the older one) shall serve the lesser (that is, the younger).” The Greek translation preserves the equivalents of רב “large” versus צעיר “small.” That these lines are descriptive of later rivalries between the descendants of Esau, the Edomites, and of the younger Jacob, the Israelites, seems obvious.

These two terms can connote either numbers (many / few) or status (great / less). Therefore, more literal translations of Genesis 25:23 would be either “the many will serve the few” or “the greater will serve the lesser.” The Greek translation of Genesis 25:23 in the Septuagint also supports this translation. The Hebrew terms רב and צעיר are replaced with Greek terms μείζων (greater / larger) and ἐλάσσονι (lesser / smaller). Paul’s quotation of Genesis 25:23 in Romans 9:12 also follows the Septuagint’s choice of words. If the Genesis author intends to indicate clearly “the older” and “the younger” in this divine oracle, why does not the author use more specific terms for “the older” and “the younger”?