Genesis 25:33
in Genesis 25“Swear to me first,” Jacob said. So Esau swore to Jacob and sold him the birthright.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jacob said, Swear to me first; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
KJV
And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
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This verse in Genesis 25
Commentary
6 notes on this verseEsau's profane contempt of the birthright, and the foolish sale he made of it. He is called profane Esau for it ( Heb. xii. 16 ), because for one morsel of meat he sold his birthright, as dear a morsel as ever was eaten since the forbidden fruit; and he lived to regret it when it was too late.
This site's exposition
First sell me your birthright
on Genesis 25:31-34
The word birthright stands here for the first time in the Bible, in a demand that it be sold. Jacob makes his brother swear to it, and verse 34 runs its verbs at speed, ate and drank and got up and went away. Esau despised his birthright, and Hebrews 12:16 calls him profane.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
Philoxenus of Mabbug13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 10 -- On Gluttony · Written before 523.
proposed
Esau, because of his meat, cast away the birthright together with the blessings, and he became a slave unto sin, and one who was subject under the hand of his brother.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And Jacob said, swear unto me this day,....
Esau's profane contempt of the birthright, and the foolish sale he made of it. He is called profane Esau for it ( Heb. xii. 16 ), because for one morsel of meat he sold his birthright, as dear a morsel as ever was eaten since the forbidden fruit; and he lived to regret it when it was too late.
Marriage is not forbidden to old age. By her he had six sons, in whom the promise made to Abraham concerning the great increase of his posterity was in part fulfilled, which, it is likely, he had an eye to this marriage. The strength he received by the promise still remained in him, to show how much the virtue of the promise exceeds the power of nature.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יַעֲקֹ֗ב | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| הִשָּׁ֤בְעָה | hishaveah | swear ! | H7650 → | 186 times |
| לִּי֙ | li | to <the> me | ||
| כַּיּ֔וֹם | kaiyom | as the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| וַיִּשָּׁבַ֖ע | vaiyishava' | and he swore | H7650 → | 186 times |
| ל֑וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| וַיִּמְכֹּ֥ר | vaiyimkor | and he sold | H4376 → | 80 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּכֹרָת֖וֹ | bekhorato | birthright his | H1062 → | 10 times |
| לְיַעֲקֹֽב׃ | leyaako | to Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יַעֲקֹ֗בJacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
הִשָּׁ֤בְעָהswear !
hishaveahH7650 →186 times
לִּי֙to <the> me
li
כַּיּ֔וֹםas the day
kaiyomH3117 →2304 times
וַיִּשָּׁבַ֖עand he swore
vaiyishava'H7650 →186 times
ל֑וֹto <the> him
lo
וַיִּמְכֹּ֥רand he sold
vaiyimkorH4376 →80 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּכֹרָת֖וֹbirthright his
bekhoratoH1062 →10 times
לְיַעֲקֹֽב׃to Jacob
leyaakoH3290 →350 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hebrews 12:16See to it that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his birthright.
it leads to
- Genesis 25:31–34
“First sell me your birthright,” Jacob replied.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Corinthians 6:15–20
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!
- Genesis 25:31–34
Through
Mark 6:23And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom!”
it leads to
- Esther 7:2
and as they drank their wine on that second day, the king asked once more, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given to you. What is your request? Even up to…
- Esther 5:3
“What is it, Queen Esther?” the king inquired. “What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given to you.”
- Matthew 4:9
“All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will fall down and worship me.”
- Esther 5:6
And as they drank their wine, the king said to Esther, “What is your petition? It will be given to you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be…
- 2 Kings 6:31
He announced, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders through this day!”
- Esther 7:2
Through
Genesis 27:36So Esau declared, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me twice. He took my birthright, and now he has taken my blessing.” Then he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing…
it leads to
- Genesis 25:26
After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.
- Genesis 25:26
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Philoxenus of Mabbug, 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 10 -- On Gluttony.