Esau I Have Hated

We find a very strange statement in the opening verses of Malachi.

2 "I have loved you," says YHWH. Yet you say, "How have You loved us?" "Was not Esau Ya'aqov's brother?" says YHWH, "Yet I loved Ya'aqov; 3 but Esau I hated, and made his mountains a desolation, and gave his heritage to the monsters of the wilderness." – Malachi 1:2-3 (SQV)

These words are repeated by Paul in Romans 9:6-13, when he writes about the election of the children of Abraham. But in this statement, Paul fails to explain why YHWH says He hates Esau. Even in Malachi, YHWH only proclaims the judgment and punishment that will come on Edom/Esau; He does not elaborate on why. So let's take a look at a few things and see if we can figure out just why, exactly, YHWH has said that He hates Esau.

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