The struggle in the womb is severe enough that Rebekah goes to inquire of the LORD. The Hebrew וָתֵּלֶךְ לִדְרֹשׁ אֶת־יְהוָה (she went to seek the LORD, v.22) is the same root as דָרַש\� (darash), to seek, to inquire, to interpret. She does not wait. She seeks.
The oracle is structured in three parallel couplets. Two nations / two peoples. They will be separated from her womb. One stronger / one weaker. And then the inversion that will drive the entire Jacob narrative: the elder will serve the younger. This is announced before either child is born, before any character has acted. The reversal is not earned by merit in the womb — it is declared.
Paul quotes this verse in Romans 9:12 (“before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad”) as the paradigmatic case of divine election not based on works. The Torah does not offer a theological explanation. It gives only the oracle. Two peoples. One will serve the other. The identity of which is which is held in suspense until the births themselves.
