Genesis 25:32
in Genesis 25“Look,” said Esau, “I am about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Esau said, Behold, I am about to die: and what profit shall the birthright do to me?
KJV
And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
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This verse in Genesis 25
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAnd Esau said, behold, I am at the point to die,.... Or, "going to die" (y), going the way of all flesh; which he might say on account of the common frailty and mortality of man, and the brevity of life at most, or by reason of the danger of life he was always exposed to in hunting of wild beasts, as Aben Ezra suggests; or rather, because of his present hunger and faintness, which, unless immediately relieved, must issue in death.
This site's exposition
First sell me your birthright
on Genesis 25:31-34
This is the first place birthright stands in the Bible, and it stands in a demand that one be sold. The last verse runs its verbs at speed, ate and drank and got up and went away, then gives the verdict, Esau despised his birthright. Hebrews 12:16 calls him profane.
This site's exposition
I am about to die
Esau asks what good a birthright is to a man about to die. John Gill set out three readings: the frailty common to all, the danger of a hunter's life in the field, or the famished hour itself. Gill preferred the last.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
This vice of gluttony delivered Adam up to death; by the pleasure of the appetite consummate evil was brought into the world. Through it Noah was mocked, Canaan was cursed, Esau was deprived of his birthright and married into a Canaanite family. Lot became his own son-in-law and father-in-law, by marrying his own daughter.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
(2.) But, being of a spiritual nature, his undervaluing it was the greatest profaneness imaginable. Note, It is egregious folly to part with our interest in God, and Christ, and heaven, for the riches, honours, and pleasures, of this world, as bad a bargain as his that sold a birthright for a dish of broth. Repentance was hidden from his eyes (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And Esau said, behold, I am at the point to die,.... Or, "going to die" (y), going the way of all flesh; which he might say on account of the common frailty and mortality of man, and the brevity of life at most, or by reason of the danger of life he was always exposed to in hunting of wild beasts, as Aben Ezra suggests; or rather, because of his present hunger and faintness, which, unless immediately relieved, must issue in death.
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 Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
I am at the point to die--that is, I am running daily risk of my life; and of what use will the birthright be to me: so he despised or cared little about it, in comparison with gratifying his appetite--he threw away his religious privileges for a trifle; and thence he is styled "a profane person" (Heb 12:16; also Job 31:7, 16;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
10 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 |
| עֵשָׂ֔ו | ʾesav | Esau | H6215 → | 97 times |
| הִנֵּ֛ה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אָנֹכִ֥י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| הוֹלֵ֖ךְ | holekh | [am] going | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| לָמ֑וּת | lamut | to die | H4191 → | 839 times |
| וְלָמָּה־ | velamah- | and for what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| זֶּ֥ה | zeh | this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| לִ֖י | li | to <the> me | ||
| בְּכֹרָֽה׃ | bekhorah | [is] a birthright | H1062 → | 10 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
עֵשָׂ֔וEsau
ʾesavH6215 →97 times
הִנֵּ֛הhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
אָנֹכִ֥יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
הוֹלֵ֖ךְ[am] going
holekhH1980 →1546 times
לָמ֑וּתto die
lamutH4191 →839 times
וְלָמָּה־and for what?
velamah-H4100 →752 times
זֶּ֥הthis
zehH2088 →1180 times
לִ֖יto <the> me
li
בְּכֹרָֽה׃[is] a birthright
bekhorahH1062 →10 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
Malachi 3:14You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the LORD of Hosts?
it leads to
- Job 35:3
For you ask, ‘What does it profit me, and what benefit do I gain apart from sin?’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 58:3
“Why have we fasted, and You have not seen? Why have we humbled ourselves, and You have not noticed?” “Behold, on the day of your fast, you do as you please, and you oppress…
- Psalms 73:8–13
They mock and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression.
- Zephaniah 1:12
And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish the men settled in complacency, who say to themselves, ‘The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.’
- Job 35:3
Through
Job 21:15Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what would we gain if we pray to Him?’
it leads to
- Exodus 5:2
But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”
- Exodus 5:2
Through
Job 22:17They said to God, ‘Depart from us. What can the Almighty do to us?’
it leads to
- Job 21:14–15
Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone! For we have no desire to know Your ways.
- Job 21:14–15
Through
Exodus 22:9In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any lost item that someone claims, ‘This is mine,’ both parties shall bring their cases before the judges.…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 25:1
If there is a dispute between men, they are to go to court to be judged, so that the innocent may be acquitted and the guilty condemned.
- Deuteronomy 25:1
Through
Job 34:9For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing that he should delight in God.’
it leads to
- Job 21:14–16
Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone! For we have no desire to know Your ways.
- Job 21:14–16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies18
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About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Basil of Caesarea, ON RENUNCIATION OF THE WORLD; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.