Esau (/ˈiːsɔː/; Hebrew: עֵשָׂו; Standard Hebrew: Esav; Tiberian Hebrew: ʿĒśāw; ISO 259-3 ʕeśaw; Greek:ἩσαῦHēsau; Arabic:عِيسُو‘Īsaw; meaning "Hairy" or "Rough"), in the Hebrew Bible, is the older son of Isaac. He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis, and by the prophets, Obadiah and Malachi. The New Testament of the Christian Bible alludes to him in St Paul's Letter to the Romans and in the Letter to the Hebrews.
(Old Testament) the eldest son of Isaac who would have inherited the covenant that God made with Abraham and that Abraham passed on to Isaac; he traded his birthright to his twin brother Jacob for a mess of pottage