Genesis 25:27

Esau was a cunning hunter. As the two boys grew up a great difference in character became evident. Esau displayed a rough, capricious disposition, and reveled in the wild, adventurous life of field and forest (see Genesis 27:3).

Jacob was a plain man. The Hebrew word tam, here translated “plain,” suggests an amiable, pious, and cultured personality. The duties and responsibilities of settled family life, so monotonous and irritating to Esau, came naturally to Jacob, “a plain man, dwelling in tents.” Whereas Esau never outgrew the physical and emotional restlessness of adolescence, Jacob developed the stability of character and soundness of judgment that should come with maturity.