Genesis. Three Sets of Twin Brothers in Genesis. Religion & Theology

Three Sets of Twin Brothers in Genesis
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Three Sets of Twin Brothers in Genesis
The phenomena of twins feature prominently in the book of genesis. The stories of twins in the book of genesis are critical because it lays the ground for future generations. The twin narrations unravel the origin of humanity and also demonstrate relation with God.
We can identify instances of twining histories in genesis, but some may not be explicit i.e., it can only be inferred.
Jacob and Esau are eminent twin brothers in the book of genesis. The narration of Jacob and Esau features in Genesis 25:19-28. The two are fraternal twins of Isaac and Rebekah. Isaac was the son of Abraham. The bible indicates that the two struggle while in Rebekah’s womb; this portends the duel which the two brothers engage in later. Since Esau was born first, he assumed the position of the legal heir to the family as a birthright. Also, Esau was to become heir to the Covenant that was made between God and Abraham. The two brothers exhibited character difference; Jacob was a man of God and mother’s favorite while Esau was the father’s favorite, and was a skillful hunter.
The biblical text indicates an incident when Esau came home from hunting while hungry; he asked for food from Jacob. Jacob asked him to sell him his birthright and exchange it for food. Esau sold his birthright to Jacob. When Isaac was old, and death was knocking at his door, he was to bless Esau, but Jacob, with the help of his mother, disguised himself as Esau (Genesis 27:1-45). Thus, Jacob received blessings instead of Esau. It appears that Esau was not a spiritual man, and God knew that Esau’s generations were likely to become the enemies of Israel. Jacob was seen as the man of integrity; he was destined to in the generational lineage of Jesus.
Another set of twins was that of Perez and Zerah; their narration is espoused Genesis 38:27-30. Their mother was called Tamar. She became...