Rom 9:13: "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated" (Mal 1:2–3, MT and LXX)
Says Mal 1:2–3 reads וָאֹהַב אֶת־יַעֲקֹב וְאֶת־עֵשָׂו שָׂנֵאתִי (va'ohav et-ya'aqov ve'et-'esav saneti, "Yet Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated," BSB).
Says Swete has καὶ ἠγάπησα τὸν Ἰακώβ … τὸν δὲ Ἠσαὺ ἐμίσησα. Paul's Τὸν Ἰακὼβ ἠγάπησα, τὸν δὲ Ἠσαῦ ἐμίσησα is the LXX, except that he puts Τὸν Ἰακὼβ before the verb, so both clauses open with the name.
Says שָׂנֵא (sane') is the ordinary Hebrew verb "hate" (BDB p. 971). It can mark the one loved less: Gen 29:30 says Jacob "loved Rachel more than Leah," and 29:31 calls Leah שְׂנוּאָה (senu'ah, "unloved," BSB).
Implies Here "loved" and "hated" are a Semitic idiom for choosing and not choosing, as in Gen 29:30–31. Malachi speaks of the peoples descended from Jacob and Esau, set side by side.
Uncertain Whether "hated" goes further, to active rejection, is debated; the stronger reading cites Edom's judgment in Mal 1:3–4 ("I have made his mountains a wasteland," BSB). What this means for election is left to the exegetical notes.
Claims
- SaysMal 1:2–3 וָאֹהַב אֶת־יַעֲקֹב וְאֶת־עֵשָׂו שָׂנֵאתִי.
- SaysSwete καὶ ἠγάπησα τὸν Ἰακώβ … τὸν δὲ Ἠσαὺ ἐμίσησα; Paul's Τὸν Ἰακὼβ ἠγάπησα, τὸν δὲ Ἠσαῦ ἐμίσησα is the LXX with Τὸν Ἰακὼβ fronted.
- Saysשָׂנֵא is the ordinary verb "hate" (BDB p. 971); Gen 29:30–31 uses שְׂנוּאָה of Leah, loved less than Rachel.
- ImpliesIn Mal 1:2–3 and Rom 9:13 "loved/hated" is a Semitic idiom of choosing and not choosing; Malachi speaks of the two peoples.
- UncertainWhether "hated" goes further, to active rejection, is debated; the stronger reading cites Edom's judgment in Mal 1:3–4.
Citations
- OSHB CC BY 4.0 Mal 1:2–3 (morph HVqp1cs); Gen 29:31 (morph HVqsfsa)
- BDB CC BY 4.0 s.v. sane' (H8130), p. 971, entry u.bq.aa
- LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 Mal 1:2–3 (vol. 3 p. 94; apparatus: "ημας] υμας ℵ* | Ιακωβ 2°] + λεγει κς ℵ"). LXX checked against Swete scan, vol. 3 (1912), p. 94.
- SBLGNT CC BY 4.0 Rom 9:13
- BSB public domain Mal 1:2–3; Gen 29:30–31
Quotations from LXX (Swete) are used under CC BY-SA 4.0 · Credits
2026-11-04
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