This question reminds of Greek tragedy story stuff. The Bible never even has to justify "God's attitude about anything. God is portrayed as beyond reproach. We mere humans are not to question God. I always took this story as more of a question of the human father Isaac's attitude toward his sons. Of course, he loved Essau but was tricked by Jacob's mother and by Jacob into receiving Isaac's blessing. Poor ol' God had no choice but to follow Isaac's lead and go ahead and shower blessings on Jacob --ooh, that wascally wabbit! This is, of course, absurb fiction.

Another point: culturally, children weren't actual individuals in their own right; they were merely the property of their fathers, at least while their fathers lived and they were a part of the father's household. "God" would naturally reward or punish Jacob and Essau roughly in accordance with how their father, Isaac, set the stage for that. God, in a sense, gets reduced to a Genie in a bottle or a parlor trick. Aw, sad; and here we thought "he" was the almighty creator and ruler of the universe! LOL

God can't hate because the stories are made up and the god of the stories does not exist.

Do Christians really say that there are things God can't do?

The winner always write the story in his favor, whether it is a country after war or a person. It is a fairy tale written by someone who wanted Jacob to look good thus putting the blame on God in order to make it just,

The whole bible contradicts itself.

Jesus said that if you don't hate your brother your not loving jesus enough (luke 14:26). I get a lot of contradictions from this book.

I think from an anthropological view, as how humanity developed, it symbolizes the conflict of the hunter gatherer and the later evolving farmers. Esau was the hunter, Jacob the younger, only by minutes as they were really twins, was the farmer. Esau was pushed to the side as the firstborn ... as to God's role in this, as another here commented, God does change throughout the bible, reflecting what relationship people had with this God.
[biblegateway.com]

They play with the definition of hate to try to justify the phrase...
Saying it means loves less... ????

This is a fabulous and instructive question. I am writing exclusively as literary criticism and without respect to any God or deity. Notice that Esau, a "wild ass of a man" was an impetuous youth. Today he probably would have been given Ritalin.

But when they became adults, the situations were reversed. Esau became the gentleman's gentleman, forgiving his estranged brother unconditionally. While Jacob and his brother-in-law spend their time trying to pick each other's pockets. Jacob was favored by Rebecca, his mother, over Esau, because he could be counted on to not marry a Canaanite woman. This was the point of the story; the journey to escape idol worship, human sacrifice, temple prostitution, stuff like that.

The inconsistencies of the bible. Some will say it is hyperbole, you can't take everything in the bible literally, after all god is love. And other preachers will say that the translation is wrong, that it really means Jacob was more highly favored than Esau. But again, what did Esau do to deserve that. The god is capricious.

I don't remember this one. Are you sure you have the name right?

Awww shucks... I don't know!

I've never read it so forgive me. Don't worry about it. I forgive myself. Reminds me of a piece of pseudo philosophy from a film, 'I don't hold grudges. I'm too good for that'.

Erm - same reason god hates non-believers and homosexuals? Because he's an obnoxious, judgemental, bigotted cunt?