Hebrews 12:16-17(v34)lest there be any sexually immoral person, or profane person, like Esau, who sold his birthright for one meal. For you know that even when…
Philippians 3:18-19(v34)For many walk, of whom I told you often, and now tell you even weeping, as the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction,…
Hebrews 12:16(v33)lest there be any sexually immoral person, or profane person, like Esau, who sold his birthright for one meal.
Job 21:15(v32)What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What profit should we have, if we pray to him?’
Job 22:17(v32)who said to God, ‘Depart from us;’ and, ‘What can the Almighty do for us?’
Show all 23 cross-references
Job 34:9(v32)For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing that he should delight himself with God.’
Isaiah 22:13(v34)and behold, joy and gladness, killing cattle and killing sheep, eating meat and drinking wine: “Let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we will…
Malachi 3:14(v32)You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God;’ and ‘What profit is it that we have followed his instructions, and that we have walked mournfully…
Matthew 26:15(v34)and said, “What are you willing to give me, that I should deliver him to you?” They weighed out for him thirty pieces of silver.
1 Corinthians 15:32(v34)If I fought with animals at Ephesus for human purposes, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, then “let’s eat and drink, for…
Genesis 27:36(v33)He said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright. See, now he has taken away my…
Psalms 106:24(v34)Yes, they despised the pleasant land. They didn’t believe his word,
Zechariah 11:13(v34)Yahweh said to me, “Throw it to the potter, the handsome price that I was valued at by them!” I took the thirty pieces of silver, and threw…
Matthew 22:5(v34)But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his merchandise,
Luke 14:18-20(v34)They all as one began to make excuses. “The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please have me excused.’…
Acts 13:41(v34)‘Behold, you scoffers, and wonder, and perish; for I work a work in your days, a work which you will in no way believe, if one declares it…
Hebrews 6:16(v33)For men indeed swear by a greater one, and in every dispute of theirs the oath is final for confirmation.
Genesis 24:3(v33)I will make you swear by Yahweh, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son of the daughters of…
Genesis 36:6-7(v33)Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, with his livestock, all his animals, and all his…
Exodus 22:9(v32)For every matter of trespass, whether it is for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for clothing, or for any kind of lost thing, about which one…
Ecclesiastes 8:15(v34)Then I commended mirth, because a man has no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be joyful: for that will…
Mark 6:23(v33)He swore to her, “Whatever you shall ask of me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.”
Genesis 14:22(v33)Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted up my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (18 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Calvin1540 · Public DomainOn vv33–3433. And Jacob said, Swear to me. Jacob did…
33. And Jacob said, Swear to me. Jacob did not act cruelly towards his brother, for he took nothing from him, but only desired a confirmation of that right which had been divinely granted to him; and he does this with a pious intention, that he may hereby the more fully establish the certainty of his own election. Meanwhile the infatuation of Esau is to be observed, who, in the name and presence of God, does not hesitate to set his birthright to sale. Although he had before rushed inconsiderately upon the food under the maddening impulse of hunger; now, at least, when an oath is exacted from him, some sense of religion should have stolen over him to correct his brutal cupidity. But he is so addicted to gluttony that he makes God himself a witness of his ingratitude.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv32–33The reprobate esteem not God’s benefits except they feel…
The reprobate esteem not God’s benefits except they feel them presently, and therefore they prefer present pleasures.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv31–34Gen 25:31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day…
Gen 25:31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
Ver. 31. Sell me this day thy birthright.] Which he knew, by the instruction of his mother, to be his by God’s appointment; and therefore takes this opportunity to get it. A well chosen season is the greatest advantage of any action.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv31–34i.e. Speedily, without delay. So this Hebrew word is…
1805
i.e. Speedily, without delay. So this Hebrew word is used 1Sa 2:16; 9:13,27; 2Ch 18:4. The birthright then had divers singular privileges; as,
Read full note →
1. Dignity and authority over his brethren, Gen 4:7; 27:29,37; 49:3.
2. A double portion, Deu 21:17; 1Ch 5:1.
3. A special blessing from his father, Gen 27:4.
4. The priesthood and chief government of the affairs of the church in his father’s absence, or sickness, and after his death, Num 8:16,17, &c.
5. The first-born was a special type, both of Christ, who was to be a first-born; and of the church, which is called God’s first-born, as Exo 4:22; and of the great privileges of the church, particularly of adoption and eternal life. See Heb 12:23. And therefore he is justly called profane, Heb 12:16, for slighting so sacred and glorious a privilege.
Quest.
1. Could the birthright be lost?
Answ. Yes. See Gen 4:7; 1Ch 5:1.
Quest.
2. Did Jacob well in this matter?
Answ. No; because he tempted his brother to an act of profaneness and folly, and so was guilty of his sin. And though God had designed and promised this privilege to him, yet he should have waited till God had executed his promise in his own way, as David did till God gave him possession of Saul’s kingdom; and not have anticipated God, and snatched it by an irregular act of his own, as Jeroboam did the kingdom from Rehoboam.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv31–34And Jacob said, sell me this day thy birthright.…
And Jacob said, sell me this day thy birthright. Which had many privileges annexed to it, as honour and authority in the family next to parents; a double portion of inheritance; some say the exercise of priesthood, but that is questioned; the parental blessing, and especially in this the promises of the Messiah, and of inheritance of the land of Canaan, and which was typical of the heavenly inheritance: all which Rebekah knew by the divine oracle were designed for Jacob, and which no doubt she had acquainted him with, and advised him to deal with his brother about parting with his birthright as he had opportunity; and very likely they had talked together about it before in a distant manner, and Esau had shown some indifference to his right, and made no great account of it; and now, an opportunity offering to get him in the mind to part with it, he takes it, and moves for a sale of it immediately, at once, without any more delay, and even before he had his pottage; thus taking the advantage of his brother's necessity: or, sell it me "as the day" (x), let the bargain be as clear as the day, as Jarchi interprets it; let it be made in plain and full terms, that there may be no dispute about it hereafter, or any revocation of it: but the former sense seems best, as appears from Gen 25:33, where the same way of speaking is used.
(x) "juxta hunc diem", Fagius, Drusius.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv31, 34Sell me this day thy birth-right - He cannot…
Sell me this day thy birth-right - He cannot be excused in taking advantage of Esau's necessity, yet neither can Esau be excused who is profane, Heb. xii, 16, because for one morsel of meat he sold his birth-right. The birth-right was typical of spiritual privileges, those of the church of the first-born: Esau was now tried how he would value those, and he shews himself sensible only of present grievances: may he but get relief against them, he cares not for his birth-right. If we look on Esau's birth-right as only a temporal advantage, what he said had something of truth in it, that our worldly enjoyments, even those we are most fond of, will stand us in no stead in a dying hour. They will not put by the stroke of death, nor ease the pangs, nor remove the sting. But being of a spiritual nature, his undervaluing it, was the greatest profaneness imaginable. It is egregious folly to part with our interest in God, and Christ, and heaven, for the riches, honours, and pleasures of this world.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv31, 34Verse 31. Sell me this day thy birthright.] What…
Verse 31. Sell me this day thy birthright.] What the בחרה bechorah or birthright was, has greatly divided both ancient and modern commentators. It is generally supposed that the following rights were attached to the primogeniture:
1. Authority and superiority over the rest of the family.
Read full note →
2. A double portion of the paternal inheritance.
3. The peculiar benediction of the father.
4. The priesthood, previous to its establishment in the family of Aaron.
Calmet controverts most of these rights, and with apparent reason, and seems to think that the double portion of the paternal inheritance was the only incontestable right which the first-born possessed; the others were such as were rather conceded to the first-born, than fixed by any law in the family. However this may be, it appears,
1. That the first-born were peculiarly consecrated to God, Ex 22:29.
2. Were next in honour to their parents, Ge 49:3.
3. Had a double portion of their father's goods, De 21:17.
4. Succeeded him in the government of the family or kingdom, 2Ch 21:3.
5. Had the sole right of conducting the service of God, both at the tabernacle and temple; and hence the tribe of Levi, which was taken in lieu of the first-born, had the sole right of administration in the service of God, Nu 8:14-18; and hence we may presume, had originally a right to the priesthood previous to the giving of the law; but however this might have been, afterwards the priesthood is never reckoned among the privileges of the first-born.
That the birthright was a matter of very great importance, there can be no room to doubt; and that it was a transferable property, the transaction here sufficiently proves.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn v34Gen 25:34. He did eat and drink, and rose…
Gen 25:34. He did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way — Without any serious reflections upon the ill bargain he had made, or any show of regret. Thus Esau despised his birthright — He used no means to get the bargain revoked, made no appeal to his father about it; but the bargain which his necessity had made, (supposing it were so,) his profaneness confirmed, and by his subsequent neglect and contempt, he put the matter past recall.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv31, 33Sell me. He had been informed by his mother,…
Sell me. He had been informed by his mother, that God had transferred the birth-right to him; and, therefore, he takes this opportunity to obtain the consent of Esau quietly. The latter, who knew nothing of God’s decree, shewed his little regard for that privilege. (Haydock) --- He perhaps intended to assert his claim by force, notwithstanding this agreement. (Menochius) --- It is not probable that he could plead in earnest, that he was famishing in the midst of his father’s house. (Du Hamel) --- The birth-right was a temporal honour; though some assert that the office of priesthood belonged also to it. This, however, does not seem to be certain; for we find Abel, Abraham, and other younger children offering sacrifice. The first-born were entitled to a double portion, (Deuteronomy xxi. 17; 1 Paralipomenon v. 2, 5) and to their father’s peculiar blessing, Ecclesiasticus iii. 12. To despise such advantages betrayed a bad disposition, for which Esau is condemned, Hebrews xii. 16; Romans ix. (Calmet) --- Jacob’s conduct was perfectly innocent, whether we consider this transaction as serious or not. Isaac never ratified the bargain; nor do we find that Jacob rested his claim on it. (Haydock) --- But it is recorded by Moses, to shew the disposition of these two young men. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv31–32Jacob said, Sell me . . . thy birthright--that…
Jacob said, Sell me . . . thy birthright--that is, the rights and privileges of the first-born, which were very important, the chief being that they were the family priests (Exo 4:22) and had a double portion of the inheritance (Deu 21:17).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv31, 3431. Sell me this day thy birthright — “This…
31. Sell me this day thy birthright — “This birthright not only embraced the authority and honour of the patriarchal headship of the chosen family, but made its possessor heir to the Abrahamic covenant, and thus the channel of God’s great revealed mercies to mankind — a mediator between God and the race — typifying the God-man. Jacob, who was on a much lower spiritual plane than Abraham, by no means comprehended the vastness and dignity of these spiritual blessings, but he appreciated them far more than the worldly and sensual Esau. He knew that he was predestinated to this heir-ship, although he was the younger son. Dreading a collision with his ferocious brother, which seemed inevitable in the event of his father’s death, when the succession would be contested, and lacking faith in God’s unfolding providence, he resolves to avail himself of Esau’s weakness to obtain the birthright by peaceful purchase. The cautious Jacob knows well that Esau will repent as soon as his hunger is sated, and takes care to have the contract ratified by a solemn oath.” — Newhall.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv31–3431. this day] Rather, as R.V. marg., first of…
31. this day] Rather, as R.V. marg., first of all. So also in Gen_25:33. See 1Sa_2:16, “they will surely burn the fat presently,” where “presently” = Heb. “this day,” i.e. “first of all.” The same idiom explains 1Ki_22:5, where “to-day” should be rendered “first of all.”
Jacob seizes his opportunity: Esau is too faint to question or oppose: the coveted privilege may be won at once by a bold bid.
Read full note →
thy birthright] i.e. the rights and privileges of the firstborn. What these were is not defined. In 27 the blessing of the firstborn is chiefly regarded as a religious privilege rather than as a transfer of property. But it is clear from Gen_43:33, Gen_48:13-19, that the firstborn was regarded as entitled to a more honourable position and to a larger share of the inheritance than his brethren (cf. Deu_21:17). Jacob’s action on this occasion is recorded without disapproval. There is probably a touch of humour in the tradition, that by a stroke of cleverness Jacob, the younger, deprived his elder brother Esau of the advantage of the birthright; and, hence, Israel obtained a richer and more fertile land than Edom. The carelessness of Esau rather than the meanness of Jacob seems to meet with the contempt of the narrator.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn v34(34) He did eat and drink, and rose up,…
(34) He did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way.—These words graphically describe Esau’s complete indifference to the spiritual privileges of which he had denuded himself. There is no regret, no sad feeling that he had prolonged his life at too high a cost. And if Jacob is cunning, and mean in the advantage he took of his brother, still he valued these privileges, and in the sequel he had his reward and his punishment. He was confirmed in the possession of the birthright, and became the progenitor of the chosen race, and of the Messiah; but henceforward his life was full of danger and difficulty. He had to flee from his brother’s enmity, and was perpetually the victim of fraud and the most cruel deceit. But gradually his character ripened for good. He ceased to be a scheming, worldly-minded Jacob, and became an Israel, and in his pious old age we see a man full of trust and faith in God, unworldly and unselfish, and animated by tender and loving feeling. Purified from his early infirmities, and with all his better nature strengthened and sanctified by sorrow, he shows himself worthy of his second name, and becomes “a prince with God.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv31–34And Jacob said, Sell me this day literally, as…
And Jacob said, Sell me this day literally, as the day; as clearly as the day (Jarchi, Kimchi, Drusius); immediately, statim (Rosenm perhaps simply today, shmeron (LXX, Glassius, Gesenius, Kalisch; cf. 1Sa_9:13, 1Sa_9:27; 1Ki_1:49) thy birthright. The right of primogeniture in the family of Abraham implied
(1) succession to the earthly inheritance of Canaan;
Read full note →
(2) possession of the covenant blessing transmitted through the paternal benediction; and
(3) progenitorship of the promised seed.
Under the Mosaic institute the privileges of the firstborn were clearly defined. They involved succession to
(1) the official authority of the father;
(2) a double portion of the father s property; and
(3) the functions of the domestic priesthood (vide Gen_27:4, Gen_27:19, Gen_27:27-29; Gen_49:3; Exo_22:29; Num_8:14-17; Deu_21:17)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren1905 · Public DomainOn v34
Genesis
A BAD BARGAIN
Read full note →
POTTAGE VERSUS BIRTHRIGHT
Gen 25:34.
Broad lessons unmistakable, but points strange and difficult to throw oneself back to so different a set of ideas. So
I. Deal with the narrative.
Not to tell it over again, but bring out the following points:-
{a} Birthright.-What?
None of them any notion of sacred, spiritual aspect of it.
To all, merely material advantages: headship of the clan. All the loftier aspects gone from Isaac, who thought he could give it for venison, from Esau, and from the scheming Rebekah and the crafty Jacob.
{b} The Bargain.
It is not clear whether the transaction was seriously meant, or whether it only shows Jacob’s wish to possess the birthright and Esau’s indifference to it.
At any rate, the barter was not supposed to complete Jacob’s title, as is shown by a subsequent piece of trickery.
Isaac’s blessing was conceived to confer it; that blessing, if once given, could not be revoked, even if procured by fraud and given in error.
The belief would fulfil itself, as far as the chieftainship was concerned.
It is significant of the purely ‘secular’ tone of all the parties concerned that only temporal blessings are included in Isaac’s words.
{c} The Scripture judgment on all parties concerned.
Great mistakes are made by forgetting that the Bible is a passionless narrator of its heroes’ acts, and seldom pauses to censure or praise-so people have thought that Scripture gave its vote for Jacob as against Esau.
The character of the two men.
Esau-frank, impulsive, generous, chivalrous, careless, and sensuous.
Jacob-meditative, reflective, pastoral, timid, crafty, selfish. Each has the defects of his qualities.
But the subsequent history of Jacob shows what heaven thought of him.
This dirty transaction marred his life, sent him a terrified exile from Isaac’s tent, and shook his soul long years after with guilty apprehensions when he had to meet Esau.
All subsequent career to beat his crafty selfishness out of him and to lift him to higher level.
II. Broad General Lessons.
1. The Choice.-Birthright versus Pottage.
{a} The Present versus The Future.
Suppose it true that to both brothers the birthright seemed to secure merely material advantage, yet even so the better part would have been to sacrifice material present for material future. Even on plane of worldly things, to live for to-morrow ennobles a man, and he is the higher style of man who ‘spurns delights and lives laborious days’ for some issue to be realised in the far future.
The very same principle extended leads to the conviction that the highest wisdom is his who lives for the furthest, which is also the most certain, Future.
{b} The Seen versus The Unseen.
However material the advantages of the birthright were supposed to be, they then appealed to imagination, not sense. There was the pottage in the pan: ‘I can see that and smell it. This birthright, can I eat it? Let me get the solid realities, and let who will have the imaginary.’
So the unseen good things, such as intellectual culture, fair reputation, and the like, are better than the gross satisfactions that can be handled, or tasted, or seen.
And, on the very same principle, high above the seeker after these-as high as he is above the drunkard-is the Christian, whose life is shaped by the loftiest Unseen, even ‘Him who is invisible.’
2. The grim absurdity of the choice.
The story seems to have a certain undertone of sarcasm, and a keen perception of the immense stupidity of the man.
Pottage and a full belly to-day-that was all he got for such a sacrifice.
‘This their way is their folly.’
3. How well the bargain worked at first, and what came of it at last.
No doubt Esau had his meal, and, no doubt, when a man sells his soul to the devil {the mediaeval form of the story}, he generally gets the price for which he bargained, more or less, and oftentimes with a dash of vinegar in the porridge, which makes it less palatable.
What comes of it at last. Put side by side the pictures of Esau’s animal contentment at the moment when he had eaten up his mess, and of his despair when he wailed, ‘Hast thou not one blessing?’
He finds out his mistake. A sense of the preciousness of the despised thing wakes in him.
And it is too late. There are irrevocable consequences of every false choice. Youth is gone: cannot alter that. Opportunities gone: cannot alter that. Strength gone: cannot alter that. Habits formed, associations, reputation, position, character, are all determined.
But there is a blessed contrast between Esau’s experience and what may be ours. The desire to have the birthright is sure to bring it to us. No matter how late the desire is of springing, nor how long and insultingly we have suppressed it, we never go to our Father in vain with the cry, ‘Bless me, even me also.’
‘What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield1917 · Public DomainOn v31The "birthright" had three elements:
birthright
The "birthright" had three elements:
Read full note →
(1) Until the establishment of the Aaronic priesthood the head of the family exercised priestly rights.
(2) The Abrahamic family held the Edenic promise of the Satan-Bruiser Gen 3:15. --Abel, Seth, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Esau.
(3) Esau, as the firstborn, was in the direct line of the Abrahamic promise of the Earth-Blesser Gen 12:3.
For all that was revealed, in Esau might have fulfilled those two great Messianic promises. This birthright Esau sold for a momentary fleshly gratification. Jacob’s conception of the birthright at that time was, doubtless, carnal and inadequate, but his desire for it evidenced true faith.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On v31right as firstborn to inherit most of the father's…
birthright
right as firstborn to inherit most of the father's wealth
Read full note →
I am about to die
Esau was exaggerating to emphasize how hungry he was. AT: "I am so hungry I feel like I could die" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)
What good is the birthright to me?
Esau used a question to emphasize that eating was more important than a birthright. This can be translated as a statement. AT: "My inheritance is no good to me if I die of hunger!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
First swear to me
What Jacob wanted Esau to swear can be stated explicitly. AT: "First swear to me that you will sell me your birthright" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
lentils
These are like beans, but their seeds are very small, round, and somewhat flat. (See: Translate Unknowns)
Esau despised his birthright
"Esau showed that he did not value his birthright"
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv31, 3325:31-33 Jacob was the better hunter on this occasion,…
25:31-33 Jacob was the better hunter on this occasion, but great danger lay in exercising such strong ambition. God’s people should desire the things of God, but they must not seek them in the flesh (see Zech 4:6; Gal 5:16-17; Eph 6:10-12). The Lord dealt severely with Jacob to purge him of carnal methods. He later received the promise not as crafty Jacob the usurper, but as Israel (meaning, “God fights”), with God fighting on his behalf (Gen 32:28).
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv33–34 33. And Jacob said, Swear to me. Jacob did…
33. And Jacob said, Swear to me. Jacob did not act cruelly towards his brother, for he took nothing from him, but only desired a confirmation of that right which had been divinely granted to him; and he does this with a pious intention, that he may hereby the more fully establish the certainty of his own election. Meanwhile the infatuation of Esau is to be observed, who, in the name and presence of God, does not hesitate to set his birthright to sale. Although he had before rushed inconsiderately upon the food under the maddening impulse of hunger; now, at least, when an oath is exacted from him, some sense of religion should have stolen over him to correct his brutal cupidity. But he is so addicted to gluttony that he makes God himself a witness of his ingratitude.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv32–33 The reprobate esteem not God’s benefits except they feel…
The reprobate esteem not God’s benefits except they feel them presently, and therefore they prefer present pleasures.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv31–34 Gen 25:31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day…
Gen 25:31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
Ver. 31. Sell me this day thy birthright.] Which he knew, by the instruction of his mother, to be his by God’s appointment; and therefore takes this opportunity to get it. A well chosen season is the greatest advantage of any action.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv31–34 i.e. Speedily, without delay. So this Hebrew word is…
1805
i.e. Speedily, without delay. So this Hebrew word is used 1Sa 2:16; 9:13,27; 2Ch 18:4. The birthright then had divers singular privileges; as,
Read full note →
1. Dignity and authority over his brethren, Gen 4:7; 27:29,37; 49:3.
2. A double portion, Deu 21:17; 1Ch 5:1.
3. A special blessing from his father, Gen 27:4.
4. The priesthood and chief government of the affairs of the church in his father’s absence, or sickness, and after his death, Num 8:16,17, &c.
5. The first-born was a special type, both of Christ, who was to be a first-born; and of the church, which is called God’s first-born, as Exo 4:22; and of the great privileges of the church, particularly of adoption and eternal life. See Heb 12:23. And therefore he is justly called profane, Heb 12:16, for slighting so sacred and glorious a privilege.
Quest.
1. Could the birthright be lost?
Answ. Yes. See Gen 4:7; 1Ch 5:1.
Quest.
2. Did Jacob well in this matter?
Answ. No; because he tempted his brother to an act of profaneness and folly, and so was guilty of his sin. And though God had designed and promised this privilege to him, yet he should have waited till God had executed his promise in his own way, as David did till God gave him possession of Saul’s kingdom; and not have anticipated God, and snatched it by an irregular act of his own, as Jeroboam did the kingdom from Rehoboam.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv31–34 And Jacob said, sell me this day thy birthright.…
And Jacob said, sell me this day thy birthright. Which had many privileges annexed to it, as honour and authority in the family next to parents; a double portion of inheritance; some say the exercise of priesthood, but that is questioned; the parental blessing, and especially in this the promises of the Messiah, and of inheritance of the land of Canaan, and which was typical of the heavenly inheritance: all which Rebekah knew by the divine oracle were designed for Jacob, and which no doubt she had acquainted him with, and advised him to deal with his brother about parting with his birthright as he had opportunity; and very likely they had talked together about it before in a distant manner, and Esau had shown some indifference to his right, and made no great account of it; and now, an opportunity offering to get him in the mind to part with it, he takes it, and moves for a sale of it immediately, at once, without any more delay, and even before he had his pottage; thus taking the advantage of his brother's necessity: or, sell it me "as the day" (x), let the bargain be as clear as the day, as Jarchi interprets it; let it be made in plain and full terms, that there may be no dispute about it hereafter, or any revocation of it: but the former sense seems best, as appears from Gen 25:33, where the same way of speaking is used.
(x) "juxta hunc diem", Fagius, Drusius.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv31, 34 Sell me this day thy birth-right - He cannot…
Sell me this day thy birth-right - He cannot be excused in taking advantage of Esau's necessity, yet neither can Esau be excused who is profane, Heb. xii, 16, because for one morsel of meat he sold his birth-right. The birth-right was typical of spiritual privileges, those of the church of the first-born: Esau was now tried how he would value those, and he shews himself sensible only of present grievances: may he but get relief against them, he cares not for his birth-right. If we look on Esau's birth-right as only a temporal advantage, what he said had something of truth in it, that our worldly enjoyments, even those we are most fond of, will stand us in no stead in a dying hour. They will not put by the stroke of death, nor ease the pangs, nor remove the sting. But being of a spiritual nature, his undervaluing it, was the greatest profaneness imaginable. It is egregious folly to part with our interest in God, and Christ, and heaven, for the riches, honours, and pleasures of this world.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv31, 34 Verse 31. Sell me this day thy birthright.] What…
Verse 31. Sell me this day thy birthright.] What the בחרה bechorah or birthright was, has greatly divided both ancient and modern commentators. It is generally supposed that the following rights were attached to the primogeniture:
1. Authority and superiority over the rest of the family.
Read full note →
2. A double portion of the paternal inheritance.
3. The peculiar benediction of the father.
4. The priesthood, previous to its establishment in the family of Aaron.
Calmet controverts most of these rights, and with apparent reason, and seems to think that the double portion of the paternal inheritance was the only incontestable right which the first-born possessed; the others were such as were rather conceded to the first-born, than fixed by any law in the family. However this may be, it appears,
1. That the first-born were peculiarly consecrated to God, Ex 22:29.
2. Were next in honour to their parents, Ge 49:3.
3. Had a double portion of their father's goods, De 21:17.
4. Succeeded him in the government of the family or kingdom, 2Ch 21:3.
5. Had the sole right of conducting the service of God, both at the tabernacle and temple; and hence the tribe of Levi, which was taken in lieu of the first-born, had the sole right of administration in the service of God, Nu 8:14-18; and hence we may presume, had originally a right to the priesthood previous to the giving of the law; but however this might have been, afterwards the priesthood is never reckoned among the privileges of the first-born.
That the birthright was a matter of very great importance, there can be no room to doubt; and that it was a transferable property, the transaction here sufficiently proves.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v34 Gen 25:34. He did eat and drink, and rose…
Gen 25:34. He did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way — Without any serious reflections upon the ill bargain he had made, or any show of regret. Thus Esau despised his birthright — He used no means to get the bargain revoked, made no appeal to his father about it; but the bargain which his necessity had made, (supposing it were so,) his profaneness confirmed, and by his subsequent neglect and contempt, he put the matter past recall.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv31, 33 Sell me. He had been informed by his mother,…
Sell me. He had been informed by his mother, that God had transferred the birth-right to him; and, therefore, he takes this opportunity to obtain the consent of Esau quietly. The latter, who knew nothing of God’s decree, shewed his little regard for that privilege. (Haydock) --- He perhaps intended to assert his claim by force, notwithstanding this agreement. (Menochius) --- It is not probable that he could plead in earnest, that he was famishing in the midst of his father’s house. (Du Hamel) --- The birth-right was a temporal honour; though some assert that the office of priesthood belonged also to it. This, however, does not seem to be certain; for we find Abel, Abraham, and other younger children offering sacrifice. The first-born were entitled to a double portion, (Deuteronomy xxi. 17; 1 Paralipomenon v. 2, 5) and to their father’s peculiar blessing, Ecclesiasticus iii. 12. To despise such advantages betrayed a bad disposition, for which Esau is condemned, Hebrews xii. 16; Romans ix. (Calmet) --- Jacob’s conduct was perfectly innocent, whether we consider this transaction as serious or not. Isaac never ratified the bargain; nor do we find that Jacob rested his claim on it. (Haydock) --- But it is recorded by Moses, to shew the disposition of these two young men. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv31–32 Jacob said, Sell me . . . thy birthright--that…
Jacob said, Sell me . . . thy birthright--that is, the rights and privileges of the first-born, which were very important, the chief being that they were the family priests (Exo 4:22) and had a double portion of the inheritance (Deu 21:17).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv31, 34 31. Sell me this day thy birthright — “This…
31. Sell me this day thy birthright — “This birthright not only embraced the authority and honour of the patriarchal headship of the chosen family, but made its possessor heir to the Abrahamic covenant, and thus the channel of God’s great revealed mercies to mankind — a mediator between God and the race — typifying the God-man. Jacob, who was on a much lower spiritual plane than Abraham, by no means comprehended the vastness and dignity of these spiritual blessings, but he appreciated them far more than the worldly and sensual Esau. He knew that he was predestinated to this heir-ship, although he was the younger son. Dreading a collision with his ferocious brother, which seemed inevitable in the event of his father’s death, when the succession would be contested, and lacking faith in God’s unfolding providence, he resolves to avail himself of Esau’s weakness to obtain the birthright by peaceful purchase. The cautious Jacob knows well that Esau will repent as soon as his hunger is sated, and takes care to have the contract ratified by a solemn oath.” — Newhall.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv31–34 31. this day] Rather, as R.V. marg., first of…
31. this day] Rather, as R.V. marg., first of all. So also in Gen_25:33. See 1Sa_2:16, “they will surely burn the fat presently,” where “presently” = Heb. “this day,” i.e. “first of all.” The same idiom explains 1Ki_22:5, where “to-day” should be rendered “first of all.”
Jacob seizes his opportunity: Esau is too faint to question or oppose: the coveted privilege may be won at once by a bold bid.
Read full note →
thy birthright] i.e. the rights and privileges of the firstborn. What these were is not defined. In 27 the blessing of the firstborn is chiefly regarded as a religious privilege rather than as a transfer of property. But it is clear from Gen_43:33, Gen_48:13-19, that the firstborn was regarded as entitled to a more honourable position and to a larger share of the inheritance than his brethren (cf. Deu_21:17). Jacob’s action on this occasion is recorded without disapproval. There is probably a touch of humour in the tradition, that by a stroke of cleverness Jacob, the younger, deprived his elder brother Esau of the advantage of the birthright; and, hence, Israel obtained a richer and more fertile land than Edom. The carelessness of Esau rather than the meanness of Jacob seems to meet with the contempt of the narrator.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v34 (34) He did eat and drink, and rose up,…
(34) He did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way.—These words graphically describe Esau’s complete indifference to the spiritual privileges of which he had denuded himself. There is no regret, no sad feeling that he had prolonged his life at too high a cost. And if Jacob is cunning, and mean in the advantage he took of his brother, still he valued these privileges, and in the sequel he had his reward and his punishment. He was confirmed in the possession of the birthright, and became the progenitor of the chosen race, and of the Messiah; but henceforward his life was full of danger and difficulty. He had to flee from his brother’s enmity, and was perpetually the victim of fraud and the most cruel deceit. But gradually his character ripened for good. He ceased to be a scheming, worldly-minded Jacob, and became an Israel, and in his pious old age we see a man full of trust and faith in God, unworldly and unselfish, and animated by tender and loving feeling. Purified from his early infirmities, and with all his better nature strengthened and sanctified by sorrow, he shows himself worthy of his second name, and becomes “a prince with God.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv31–34 And Jacob said, Sell me this day literally, as…
And Jacob said, Sell me this day literally, as the day; as clearly as the day (Jarchi, Kimchi, Drusius); immediately, statim (Rosenm perhaps simply today, shmeron (LXX, Glassius, Gesenius, Kalisch; cf. 1Sa_9:13, 1Sa_9:27; 1Ki_1:49) thy birthright. The right of primogeniture in the family of Abraham implied
(1) succession to the earthly inheritance of Canaan;
Read full note →
(2) possession of the covenant blessing transmitted through the paternal benediction; and
(3) progenitorship of the promised seed.
Under the Mosaic institute the privileges of the firstborn were clearly defined. They involved succession to
(1) the official authority of the father;
(2) a double portion of the father s property; and
(3) the functions of the domestic priesthood (vide Gen_27:4, Gen_27:19, Gen_27:27-29; Gen_49:3; Exo_22:29; Num_8:14-17; Deu_21:17)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v34
Genesis
A BAD BARGAIN
Read full note →
POTTAGE VERSUS BIRTHRIGHT
Gen 25:34.
Broad lessons unmistakable, but points strange and difficult to throw oneself back to so different a set of ideas. So
I. Deal with the narrative.
Not to tell it over again, but bring out the following points:-
{a} Birthright.-What?
None of them any notion of sacred, spiritual aspect of it.
To all, merely material advantages: headship of the clan. All the loftier aspects gone from Isaac, who thought he could give it for venison, from Esau, and from the scheming Rebekah and the crafty Jacob.
{b} The Bargain.
It is not clear whether the transaction was seriously meant, or whether it only shows Jacob’s wish to possess the birthright and Esau’s indifference to it.
At any rate, the barter was not supposed to complete Jacob’s title, as is shown by a subsequent piece of trickery.
Isaac’s blessing was conceived to confer it; that blessing, if once given, could not be revoked, even if procured by fraud and given in error.
The belief would fulfil itself, as far as the chieftainship was concerned.
It is significant of the purely ‘secular’ tone of all the parties concerned that only temporal blessings are included in Isaac’s words.
{c} The Scripture judgment on all parties concerned.
Great mistakes are made by forgetting that the Bible is a passionless narrator of its heroes’ acts, and seldom pauses to censure or praise-so people have thought that Scripture gave its vote for Jacob as against Esau.
The character of the two men.
Esau-frank, impulsive, generous, chivalrous, careless, and sensuous.
Jacob-meditative, reflective, pastoral, timid, crafty, selfish. Each has the defects of his qualities.
But the subsequent history of Jacob shows what heaven thought of him.
This dirty transaction marred his life, sent him a terrified exile from Isaac’s tent, and shook his soul long years after with guilty apprehensions when he had to meet Esau.
All subsequent career to beat his crafty selfishness out of him and to lift him to higher level.
II. Broad General Lessons.
1. The Choice.-Birthright versus Pottage.
{a} The Present versus The Future.
Suppose it true that to both brothers the birthright seemed to secure merely material advantage, yet even so the better part would have been to sacrifice material present for material future. Even on plane of worldly things, to live for to-morrow ennobles a man, and he is the higher style of man who ‘spurns delights and lives laborious days’ for some issue to be realised in the far future.
The very same principle extended leads to the conviction that the highest wisdom is his who lives for the furthest, which is also the most certain, Future.
{b} The Seen versus The Unseen.
However material the advantages of the birthright were supposed to be, they then appealed to imagination, not sense. There was the pottage in the pan: ‘I can see that and smell it. This birthright, can I eat it? Let me get the solid realities, and let who will have the imaginary.’
So the unseen good things, such as intellectual culture, fair reputation, and the like, are better than the gross satisfactions that can be handled, or tasted, or seen.
And, on the very same principle, high above the seeker after these-as high as he is above the drunkard-is the Christian, whose life is shaped by the loftiest Unseen, even ‘Him who is invisible.’
2. The grim absurdity of the choice.
The story seems to have a certain undertone of sarcasm, and a keen perception of the immense stupidity of the man.
Pottage and a full belly to-day-that was all he got for such a sacrifice.
‘This their way is their folly.’
3. How well the bargain worked at first, and what came of it at last.
No doubt Esau had his meal, and, no doubt, when a man sells his soul to the devil {the mediaeval form of the story}, he generally gets the price for which he bargained, more or less, and oftentimes with a dash of vinegar in the porridge, which makes it less palatable.
What comes of it at last. Put side by side the pictures of Esau’s animal contentment at the moment when he had eaten up his mess, and of his despair when he wailed, ‘Hast thou not one blessing?’
He finds out his mistake. A sense of the preciousness of the despised thing wakes in him.
And it is too late. There are irrevocable consequences of every false choice. Youth is gone: cannot alter that. Opportunities gone: cannot alter that. Strength gone: cannot alter that. Habits formed, associations, reputation, position, character, are all determined.
But there is a blessed contrast between Esau’s experience and what may be ours. The desire to have the birthright is sure to bring it to us. No matter how late the desire is of springing, nor how long and insultingly we have suppressed it, we never go to our Father in vain with the cry, ‘Bless me, even me also.’
‘What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v31 The "birthright" had three elements:
birthright
The "birthright" had three elements:
Read full note →
(1) Until the establishment of the Aaronic priesthood the head of the family exercised priestly rights.
(2) The Abrahamic family held the Edenic promise of the Satan-Bruiser Gen 3:15. --Abel, Seth, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Esau.
(3) Esau, as the firstborn, was in the direct line of the Abrahamic promise of the Earth-Blesser Gen 12:3.
For all that was revealed, in Esau might have fulfilled those two great Messianic promises. This birthright Esau sold for a momentary fleshly gratification. Jacob’s conception of the birthright at that time was, doubtless, carnal and inadequate, but his desire for it evidenced true faith.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v31 right as firstborn to inherit most of the father's…
birthright
right as firstborn to inherit most of the father's wealth
Read full note →
I am about to die
Esau was exaggerating to emphasize how hungry he was. AT: "I am so hungry I feel like I could die" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)
What good is the birthright to me?
Esau used a question to emphasize that eating was more important than a birthright. This can be translated as a statement. AT: "My inheritance is no good to me if I die of hunger!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
First swear to me
What Jacob wanted Esau to swear can be stated explicitly. AT: "First swear to me that you will sell me your birthright" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
lentils
These are like beans, but their seeds are very small, round, and somewhat flat. (See: Translate Unknowns)
Esau despised his birthright
"Esau showed that he did not value his birthright"
translationWords
birthright
oath
bread
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv31, 33 25:31-33 Jacob was the better hunter on this occasion,…
25:31-33 Jacob was the better hunter on this occasion, but great danger lay in exercising such strong ambition. God’s people should desire the things of God, but they must not seek them in the flesh (see Zech 4:6; Gal 5:16-17; Eph 6:10-12). The Lord dealt severely with Jacob to purge him of carnal methods. He later received the promise not as crafty Jacob the usurper, but as Israel (meaning, “God fights”), with God fighting on his behalf (Gen 32:28).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.