The Sale of the Birthright (Genesis 25:27-34).
‘And the boys grew, and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the open country, and Jacob was a perfect man, dwelling in tents.'
The two boys, different in birth, grew up as very different people. Esau was the outdoor type, interested in hunting in the woods and the wide open spaces, away for days on end, never long at home. But Jacob was ‘a perfect man', meaning that he was more ‘respectable', more in keeping with the expectations of the family tribe, an established farmer tending the sheep and the crops and living in a ‘civilised' fashion and remaining in the family tribe encampment.
‘Now Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his venison. And Rebekah loved Jacob.'
Sadly both parents had their favourites. The one because Esau brought him luxuries to enjoy. He overlooked the fact that Jacob remained at home assisting with the main work. He probably just took that for granted. The other for reasons not given, but it may well partly be because Jacob was there and helpful in domestic affairs and was more responsive to her love.
‘And Jacob boiled pottage, and Esau came in from the open country, and he was faint.'
Esau was a tough hunter. If he felt faint and hungry we can be sure it was something quite severe. He had possibly been out for many days and had not taken anything, and now famished and totally exhausted he is returning to the camp. He feels literally on the point of death. He may have been out in the scorching sun, and having run out of water, be feeling completely dehydrated. And in such a state he comes across Jacob in the act of preparing food and liquid.
‘And Esau said to Jacob, “I beg you. Feed me with the red stuff, this red stuff, for I am weak.” That is why his name was called Edom (red).'
It has been suggested that Esau saw the red stuff cooking and thought it was a blood soup or red meat concoction. If he had a special liking for such things it helps to explain the comment about why he was called red, i.e. because of his liking for such things. But he may well not have been too bothered what it was. He was so desperately hungry and thirsty that anything would do. He genuinely felt as though he was dying. Thus it may be that his nickname Edom came from this incident of the red pottage.
‘And Jacob said, “Sell me this day your birthright”.'
That Jacob was taking advantage of the situation cannot be doubted. But it is very probable that there is a past history to this suggestion, for the writer certainly does not moralise on it. The ‘birthright' in mind was the elder son's portion (probably a double portion as later) and would include leadership of the family tribe and responsibility for its possessions and wealth. We cannot really doubt from what has been said that Esau had no particular desire for such a position. He wanted to be free to hunt and venture far and wide. And there can be no doubt that Jacob was more suitable for the position.
It is probable too that Esau had often lamented to Jacob about the fate that would eventually tie him down to his responsibilities. Indeed this was probably what gave Jacob the hope that he might succeed in what he was doing. Thus what Jacob was asking him to give up was not something he greatly desired.
Yet we cannot admire the trait in Jacob's nature that prompted him to take advantage of the situation. It was not a transaction that Esau had thought out but one arising on the spur of the moment, and he knew he had caught Esau at a time when he was most defenceless. But the final truth is, as the writer later points out, that Esau despised his birthright. It was, in fact, not what he wanted from life at all. Pleasure came before duty. So neither can be exonerated from blame.
‘And Esau said, “Look, I am at the point of death. And what profit will the birthright do to me?”.'
Many subconscious factors no doubt brought him to this decision, including the wish to be free from something burdensome, the desire to enjoy full liberty to do his own thing, his scorn at those who could make do with camp life, all now brought to a point by his present condition of thirst and starvation.
Thus at a moment of great need like this he could dismiss his birthright as irrelevant. What good was a birthright to a dead man? It must be said in Jacob's favour that had he been put in that position he would have died rather than yield it.
‘And Jacob said, “Swear to me this day.” And he swore it to him. And he sold his birthright to Jacob.'
The seriousness of this transaction must not be underestimated. It was a genuine transaction carried out quite legally and not under duress. And it was established by an oath. Once that had been sworn the position was legally and permanently fixed. The birthright legitimately belonged to Jacob. And we cannot doubt that Jacob soon committed it to writing as permanent evidence of the contract which had taken place without witnesses (unless witnesses were brought in to witness the oath).
‘And Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil pottage, and he ate and drank, and rose up and went his way. Thus did Esau despise his birthright.'
Jacob fulfils his part in the transaction. And it is noteworthy that any disapproval of the transaction by the writer is directed at Esau. He treated lightly what was so valuable, including his responsibilities to the tribe. Jacob merely took advantage of his contempt for his birthright. From now on Jacob can carry on knowing that the leadership in the family tribe will one day be his, and he can happily bide his time.
“He ate and drank and rose and went away.” This suggests that at this point Esau could not care less about his birthright. To him Yahweh's covenant with His people mattered little. Future events suggest that to Jacob at least it was of more importance. But his methods demonstrated that his own trust in Yahweh was minimal at this point. He did not believe God's promise could be fulfilled without his own intervention. Like many he sought the right things by the wrong methods.
An interesting example of a similar transaction to this is found at Nuzi coming from the second millennium BC. "On the day they divide the grove... Tupkitilla shall give it to Kurpazah as his inheritance share. And Kurpazah has taken three sheep to Tupkitilla in exchange for his inheritance share."