I overheard an argument concerning\u00a0Esau and Jacob.\u00a0 One was arguing that they were twins\u00a0(Genesis 25:21ff) but not identical twins.<\/p>\n
What are your thoughts?<\/p>\n\t
Twins are when two children are born to one mother in the same birth. “So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb<\/em>” (Genesis 25:24). Identical twins happen when one fertilized egg splits into two to form two children. Fraternal twins happen when a woman releases two eggs at the same time and both are fertilized. Identical twins basically look alike because they have the same DNA. Fraternal twins do not necessarily look similar.<\/p>\n “And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man” <\/em>” (Genesis 27:11). Several times it is mentioned that Esau was a hairy man, but here we are told that Jacob was not. Thus, they are fraternal twins.<\/p>\n\t That’s a good simple explanation, easy to understand, and makes sense. Thank you.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: I overheard an argument concerning\u00a0Esau and Jacob.\u00a0 One was arguing that they were twins\u00a0(Genesis 25:21ff) but not identical twins. What are your thoughts? Answer: Twins are when two children are born to one mother in the same birth. “So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[26,189,25],"class_list":["post-30742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-esau","tag-genesis","tag-jacob"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1850,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-homosexuality-a-race\/","url_meta":{"origin":30742,"position":0},"title":"Is homosexuality a race?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 12, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is homosexuality a race? Answer: According to my dictionary, a race is \"a lineage; a family, tribe, people, or nation belonging to the same stock; a breed or stock.\" In other words, a race is a breed of mankind. When two people of the same race have children, characteristics\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52544,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-sometimes-show-favoritism\/","url_meta":{"origin":30742,"position":1},"title":"Does God sometimes show favoritism?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In Acts 10:34-35, Peter said, \"I now realize God does not show favoritism but accepts men who fear him and do what is right\". I believe sometimes God shows favoritism. In Romans 9:13 and Malachi 1:2-3, it is written: \"Jacob I love, Esau I hated.\" Here God favored Jacob\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29388,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-mahalath-a-canaanite-and-did-esau-marry-her-to-get-back-at-his-father-isaac\/","url_meta":{"origin":30742,"position":2},"title":"Was Mahalath a Canaanite and did Esau marry her to get back at his father, Isaac?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 2, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Was Mahalath a Canaanite and did Esau marry her to get back at his father, Isaac? Answer: \"When Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. And they were a grief of mind\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8720,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-difference-between-a-birthright-and-a-blessing-as-in-the-story-of-esau-and-jacob\/","url_meta":{"origin":30742,"position":3},"title":"What is the difference between a birthright and a blessing as in the story of Esau and Jacob?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 20, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What is the difference between a birth right and a blessing as in the story of Esau and Jacob? Answer: Birthright: A birthright referred to a person's inheritance. For most of the world's history, the firstborn child of a family would receive an extra inheritance from his father. What\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26401,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/study-of-identical-twins-show-homosexuality-is-not-genetic\/","url_meta":{"origin":30742,"position":4},"title":"Study of Identical Twins Show Homosexuality Is Not Genetic","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Source: Holland Davis, \"Identical twin studies prove homosexuality is not genetic.\" 13 May 2013. Source: Whitehead, N. E., Ph.D., \"The Importance of Twin Studies.\" Narth. Source: Whitehead, N. E.,\u00a0My Genes Made Me Do It. After years of trying to prove a genetic basis to homosexuality, the evidence is mounting that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Issues"","block_context":{"text":"Issues","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":92741,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-isaac-want-to-bless-esau\/","url_meta":{"origin":30742,"position":5},"title":"Why did Isaac want to bless Esau?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hey there. Regarding Genesis 27. Why does Isaac intend to bless Esau when the prophetic voice had already declared, \"The older shall serve the younger\" (Genesis 25:23)? Also, why does Isaac twice indicate that he suspects that Jacob is pulling a trick on him, yet does nothing? 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