Romans 9:13

“As it is written, etc..] In (<390102>Malachi 1:2,3); Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. These words are explanative of the former; they are of like import, and the one interpret the other; and show, that the former are to be understood in a spiritual, and not in a temporal sense, and of the persons, and not the posterity of Jacob and Esau; for though Malachi prophesied long after Jacob and Esau were personally dead, yet the Lord in that prophecy manifestly directs the murmuring Jews to the personal regard he had had to Jacob and Esau, and which had continued in numberless instances to their respective posterities, in order to stop their mouths, and reprove their ingratitude; and…”

“As it is written - Malachi 1:2-3. That is, the distribution of favors is on the principle advanced by the prophet, and is in accordance with the declaration that God had in fact loved the one and hated the other. Jacob - This refers, doubtless, to the posterity of Jacob. Have I loved - I have shown affection for that people; I have bestowed on them great privileges and blessings, as proofs of attachment. I have preferred Jacob to Esau. Esau - The descendants of Esau, the Edomites; see Malachi 1:4. Have I hated - This does not mean any positive hatred; but that he had preferred Jacob, and had withheld from Esau those privileges and blessings which he had conferred on the posterity of Jacob.…”

“As it is written - With which word in Genesis, spoken so long before, that of Malachi agrees. I have loved Jacob - With a peculiar love; that is, the Israelites, the posterity of Jacob. And I have, comparatively, hated Esau - That is, the Edomites, the posterity of Esau. But observe, This does not relate to the person of Jacob or Esau Nor does it relate to the eternal state either of them or their posterity. Thus far the apostle has been proving his proposition, namely, that the exclusion of a great part of the seed of Abraham, yea, and of Isaac, from the special promises of God, was so far from being impossible, that, according to the scriptures themselves, it had actually happened. He now…”

“9:13 “I loved Jacob, but I rejected (literally hated) Esau”: Paul quotes Mal 1:2-3, where Jacob, whose other name is Israel (Gen 32:28), stands for the nation of Israel, and Esau stands for Edom. Here, Paul is referring to them as individuals. Just as love can sometimes express a choice, so hate can express rejection. The story of Jacob and Esau illustrates how the sovereign God chooses his own people.”

“Jacob: Mal 1:2, Mal 1:3 hated: Gen 29:31, Gen 29:33; Deu 21:15; Pro 13:24; Mat 10:37; Luk 14:26; Joh 12:25 Romans 9:14”