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Both of Genesis’s twin birth stories use the identical phrase “there were twins in her womb,” found nowhere else in the Bible. In both accounts one twin usurps the other’s place as firstborn during the struggle to be born first.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 25:24
Hebrew Bible
23 and the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples will be separated from within you. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” 24 When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out reddish all over, like a hairy garment, so they named him Esau. 26 When his brother came out with his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.
Genesis 38:27
Hebrew Bible
26 Judah recognized them and said, “She is more upright than I am, because I wouldn’t give her to Shelah my son.” He was not physically intimate with her again. 27 When it was time for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb. 28 While she was giving birth, one child put out his hand, and the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 29 But then he drew back his hand, and his brother came out before him. She said, “How you have broken out of the womb!” So he was named Perez. 30 Afterward his brother came out—the one who had the scarlet thread on his hand—and he was named Zerah.
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Notes and References
“... The striking resemblance between this story and that of Jacob and Esau suggests that the prebirth conflict between Jacob and Esau was like that between Perez and Zerah: it was a fight over the birthright, a fight over which of the twins would succeed in being born first. Such a tale about a struggle that ends with Jacob victoriously cheating his brother out of his firstborn status would have cast a shadow over the Patriarch, and it was consequently rejected by the biblical writers. In its stead was brought a tradition that only hints at a feeble attempt of Jacob’s to delay his brother’s birth by clinging to the latter’s heel, and no more. ... The relationship between the two birth stories is made obvious by the phrase that appears in both, “Behold, there were twins in her womb” (Genesis 25:24, 38:27), a locution unique to these two stories. ...”
Shinan, Avigdor and Yair Zakovitch
From Gods to God: How the Bible Debunked, Suppressed, or Changed Ancient Myths and Legends
(pp. 150-151) The Jewish Publication Society, 2012
* 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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