Genesis 25:33

And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Jacob	יַעֲקֹ֗ב ya.'a.Ko	H3290	Jaakob · proper noun, a man's name
said	וַיֹּ֣אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Swear	הִשָּׁ֤בְעָה hi.Sha.ve.'ah	H7650	to seven oneself · verb, niphal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular + paragogic he
day	כַּיּ֔וֹם kai.Yom	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
sware	וַיִּשָּׁבַ֖ע vai.yi.sha.Va'	H7650	to seven oneself · conjunction + verb, niphal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
sold	וַיִּמְכֹּ֥ר vai.yim.Kor	H4376	to sell · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
birthright	בְּכֹרָת֖וֹ be.kho.ra.To	H1062	the firstling of man or beast · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Jacob	לְיַעֲקֹֽב le.ya.'a.Ko	H3290	Jaakob · preposition + proper noun, a man's name

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Hebrews 12:16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
Genesis 27:36 And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath…
Hebrews 6:16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
Genesis 24:3 And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daug…
Genesis 36:6-7 And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his…
Mark 6:23 And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.
Genesis 14:22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 25:29–end

We have here a bargain made between Jacob and Esau about the birthright, which was Esau's by providence but Jacob's by promise. It was a spiritual privilege, including the excellency of dignity and the excellency of power, as well as the double portion, Gen 49:3. It seemed to be such a birthright as had then the blessing annexed to it, and the entail of the promise. Now see, I. Jacob's pious desire of the birthright, which yet he sought to obtain by indirect courses, not agreeable to his character as a plain man. It was not out of pride or ambition that he coveted the birthright, but with an eye to spiritual blessings, which he had got well acquainted with in his tents, while Esau had lost t…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 25:32

Esau said . . . 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, Job 31:16; Job 6:13; Phi 3:19). "There was never any meat, except the forbidden fruit, so dear bought, as this broth of Jacob" [BISHOP HALL]. Next: Genesis Chapter 26

Adam Clarke on Genesis 25:31

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. 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 f…

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The Church Fathers

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. And do not imagine that the lust for dainty meats only is accounted gluttony, for behold, the gluttony of Esau was made manifest through a mess of pottage, and it consisteth not in flesh overmuch, nor in wine overmuch, nor in any other preparation of meats; for it was only because Esau desired greedily a mess of pottage, that the word of God rejected him, and cast him away. In the meat which thou hast nigh unto thee shew thy forbearance, and contend with that which is near thee, and let there be war with thee against the contemptible and despicable things which are set before thee, lest thou make use of them for the filling of thy belly only; for no man leaveth the obstacles which are near and fighteth with those which are afar off, and no man leaveth the sickness which is at hand and which causeth him pain, and bringeth healing unto that which hath not yet appeared. And since the dainty meats, of which the rich and noble men of the world make use, are not nigh unto thee, forbear from the inferior kinds which are set before thee, and if thou canst conquer the lust for meats which are common thou mayest believe that thou wilt also be the conqueror over the lust for those which are more dainty, and that thou wilt gain the victory over those which are of great price.
— Philoxenus of Mabbug, 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 10 -- On Gluttony

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Birthright — (1.) This word denotes the special privileges and advantages belonging to the first-born son among the Jews. He became the priest of the family. Thus Reuben was the first-born of the patriarchs, and…
Jacob — One who follows on another’s heels; supplanter, (Gen. 25:26; 27:36; Hos. 12:2-4), the second born of the twin sons of Isaac by Rebekah. He was born probably at Lahai-roi, when his father was…
Lentiles — (Heb. ‘adashim), a species of vetch (Gen. 25:34; 2 Sam. 23:11), common in Syria under the name addas. The red pottage made by Jacob was of lentils (Gen. 25:29-34). They were among the provisions…
Birthright · General references — General references
Craftiness · .Jacob, in purchase of Esau’s birthright — .Jacob, in purchase of Esau’s birthright
Dishonesty · .Jacob obtains his brother’s birthright by an unjust advantage — .Jacob obtains his brother’s birthright by an unjust advantage
Esau · Sells his birthright for a single meal — Sells his birthright for a single meal
First Born, The · Privileges of: Could be sold — Privileges of: Could be sold
Firstborn · . — .
Gluttony · .Esau — .Esau
Jacob · Obtains Esau’s birthright for just one bowl of stew — Obtains Esau’s birthright for just one bowl of stew
Oath · Esau confirms the sale of his birthright by

Genesis 25:33

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 25:29–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 25:32

Adam Clarke on Genesis 25:31

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 25:33

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 25:29–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 25:32

Adam Clarke on Genesis 25:31

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Genesis 25:33

John Calvin on Genesis 25:33

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 25:29–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 25:33-34

Rashi on Genesis 25:26