7 
ESA 
large. The fuburbsare inhabited by Chriftians. Of the 
inhabitants they count 18,000 Turks, of whom two-thirds 
are Janifaries ; 6000 Armenians, who have an archbifhop 
and two churches ; and 400 Greeks, who have a bilhop 
and one mean church. The Greeks are modly employed in 
laanufafturing of copper, brought from fome mines three 
days journey from the city ; this, and a manufacture of 
the fkin of a fpecies of marten, are the only objects of 
their commerce. Erzerum is the ftaple of the merchan¬ 
dize of India, efpecially when the Arabians infelt the en¬ 
virons of Aleppo and Bagdad. This merchandife confifts 
of filk from Perfia, cotton, painted linens, fpices, rhubarb 
from Eukharia, madder from Perfia, zedoary, &c. This 
town was one of the lalt which was taken from the Greek 
emperors by the Arabians : 250 miles north-north-ead of 
Aleppo, and 510 ealt of Conltantinople. 
ERZ'GEBIRG, or Erzgeburg, (Circle of,) a coun¬ 
try of Germany, in the circle of Upper Saxony, furround- 
ed by the territories of Leipfic, MeilTen, the Vogtland and 
Neuftadt, Bohemia, and the principality of Altenburg. 
It owes its name to the mines which it contains, which, 
with its manufactures, conditute its only riches. The foil 
is hard and ftubborn, the air cold, and the corn which is 
fown not (infrequently is deltroyed by the feverity of the 
weather. This territory includes fixty-four towns, and 
700 villages. Freyberg is the capital. 
ESAI'AS, or Isaiah, a man’s name. See Isaiah. 
E'SAPHE, f. [from S CGttpGCWj Gr. to feel.] The aCt of 
touch ; or feeling the mouth of the womb to know its 
date previous to parturition. 
ESARHAD'DON, [Heb. one that fecures joy.] The 
fon or brother of Sennacherib, and his fuccelfor in the 
kingdom of Aflyria. He is faid to have reigned twenty- 
nine years at Nineveh, from the year of the world 3294 to 
3322 ; befides which he reigned thirteen years at Babylon, 
in all forty-two years. He died in the year of the world 
3336. Efarhaddon, in the opinion of (ir Ifaac Newton, 
was the Sardanapalus who died, as CleCtarchus fays, of 
old age, after the revolt of Syria ; the name Sardanapalus 
being derived from AJferhadon Pul .—See the article As¬ 
syria, vol. ii. p. 295. 
E'SAU, [iuv Heb. doing or working.] A man’s name. 
E'SAU, the fon of Ifaac and Rebecca, and the twin 
brother of Jacob, whom he preceded at their birth, was 
born in the year 1836 before Chrid. When he came into 
the world he was covered all over with red hair, indica¬ 
tive of great conditutional drength of body, which pecu¬ 
liarly fitted him for the kind of life in which he after¬ 
wards delighted. For, as foon as he grew up, he became 
“ a cunning hunter, a man of the field,” and was his fa¬ 
ther’s favourite, on account of the mafculine and aCtive 
fpirit which he difplayed, and the variety of delicious 
food with which he fupplied his table. With Rebecca, 
however, Jacob was the favourite fon, who followed the 
paftoral life, and inherited more of his mother’s gentle 
eafy temper. One day, when Efau returned home, ex- 
haufted with exercife and fading, he found that his bro¬ 
ther had cooked a red pottage, which was probably con- 
iidered as very nutritious, and a dainty, and he entreated 
that he would fltare it with him. In thefe circumdances 
Jacob took an ungenerous advantage of his brother’s 
vvearinels and faintnefs, and propofed to him, as the price 
of his compliance, that he diould barter the privileges 
of his birth right for the refrediment which he wanted. 
With thefe hard terms Efau, who perhaps might think 
himfelf at the point of death, complied, and by an oath 
relinquifhed his future pretenfions to the prerogatives of 
the fird-born, that he might fatisfy his longing appetite. 
On this occalion he was called Edom, which (Tgnifies red, 
from the colour of the pottage which he had fo dearly 
purchafed; a name by which his pofterity, and the coun¬ 
try which they inhabited, were afterwards didinguilhed. 
When Efau was forty years old, he occafioned great grief 
to his parents, by marrying two wives out of idolatrous 
Canaanitidi families, with which the pofterity of Abra- 
ESA 
ham were prohibited from intermingling. But thefe cir¬ 
cumdances did not prevent him from being again received 
into his father’s favour; and as Ifaac grew old and dim- 
fighted, and probably confidered his diffolution to be at 
no great didance, he refolved to bedow his lad prophetic 
bleffing on him, as his firft-born and heir. With this 
view he called Efau to him, and defired that he would 
engage in the chace, and prepare for him fome favoury 
meat, that he might be invigorated with it before lie 
went through the folemn fcene. Rebecca, who had over¬ 
heard the words that palled between them, and was de- 
firous that her fon Jacob diould receive that benediction, 
immediately took deps for that purpofe. She drefled 
fome favoury food, difguifed Jacob in his brother’s 
clothes, and fo completely managed the deception, that, 
when Jacob carried the difii to his father, and perfonated 
Efau, the artifice proved fuccefsful, and the irrevocable 
bleding, intended for the elder born, was pronounced on 
the younger. Jacob had fcarcely left his father’s pre¬ 
fence when Efau arrived with the produce of his hunt¬ 
ing, and an explanation took place, which plunged both 
Ifaac and Efau in the greated didrefs, when they found 
that Jacob had by fubtlety fupplanted his brother in the 
greated bequed which Ifaac had to bedow. Ifaac alfo 
blelfed Efau ; but declared that he could not devolve on 
him and his children equal privileges with what he con¬ 
ferred on Jacob and his poderity. Thefe were to prove 
the fuperiors of the defendants from Efau in dignity and 
power, to whom they mud for a long period be fubjeCt, 
till they diould at length acquire drength to break the 
yoke. Efau felt high refentment at the conduCt of his 
brother on this occafion, and at fird determined to kill 
him as foon as their father fhould die. Intelligence of 
this defign being brought to Rebecca, die prevailed upon 
Ifaac to fend Jacob to her brother Laban, where he diould 
be beyond the reach of Efau’s vengeance, and, by marry¬ 
ing a wife out of his family, prevent the fame kind of 
unhappinefs which his brother’s union with idolaters had 
occafioned. This feparation between the brothers laded 
for leveral years; during which Efau, confidering that 
Ifaac and Rebecca had an averfion to the daughters of 
the Canaanites, married a wife of the family of Ifhmael, 
and, removing to mount Seir, became poireffed of great 
wealth and power. Of this he afforded evidence, when 
his brother Jacob, who had married his uncle’s daugh¬ 
ters, and was returning to his father’s country, with a 
numerous family, and large flocks and herds, lent to in¬ 
form him of his circumdances, and to propitiate his anger 
if he dill retained refentment for Jacob’s conduct refpeff- 
ing the fale of the birth-right, and his father’s blefling. He 
went out to meet him, with a company of four hundred 
men, and after a tender interview, in which Efau (hewed 
that he entirely forgave the pad, and that his mind was 
influenced by a noble fpirit of generofity, as well as fra¬ 
ternal afteftion, he intimated his wiHi that Jacob would 
fettle in his neighbourhood, where they might be within 
reach of rendering each other kind and friendly offices. 
But with this wifli Jacob was afraid of complying, and 
went and dwelt in Shechem. The next account which 
the Scriptures give of any meeting between the two 
brethren, was on the death of Ifaac, when they both at¬ 
tended to pay their filial refpedts to his remains, and 
appear to have adjuded their refpe6tive claims on their 
father’s edate, and to have conducted themfelves towards 
each other in the mod peaceable and amicable manner. 
As, however, their joint polfedions were now grown to 
fuch a magnitude, that there was no room for them both 
in the land in which they were drangers, Efau returned 
to his former fettlement at mount Seir, w here his pode¬ 
rity became a numerous and powerful people, called after 
their progenitor, Edomites. Of the time of Efau’s death 
no mention is made in Scripture, or of the age to which 
he arrived. At his father’s death he was one hundred 
and twenty years old ; after which he married a wife, by 
whom he had feveral fons, 
E'SAU, 
