Genesis 25:23 - Exposition

And the Lord said unto her ,—in a dream (Havernick), a form of revelation peculiar to primitive times ( Genesis 15:1 ; Genesis 20:6 ; Genesis 28:12 ; Genesis 37:5 ; 90:5; 91:1; 96:2; cf. Job 4:13 ; Job 33:15 ); but whether communicated directly to herself, or spoken through the medium of a prophet, the Divine response to her interrogation assumed an antistrophic and poetical form, in which she was informed that her unborn sons were to be the founders of two mighty nations, who, "unequal in power, should be divided rivalry and antagonism from their youth"— Two nations are in thy womb ( i . e . the ancestors and founders of two nations, vie; the Israelites and Idumeans), and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels ;—literally, and two peoples from thy bowels (or womb) are separated , i . e . proceeding from thy womb, they shall be divided from and against each other— and the one people shall be stronger than the other people (literally, and people shall be stronger than people , i . e . the one shall prevail over the other); and the elder shall serve the younger — i . e . the descendants of the elder shall be subject to those of the younger. Vide inspired comments on this oracle in Malachi 1:2 , Malachi 1:3 and Romans 9:12-33 .