Genesis 25:29-31
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
29 Once, when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. 30 He said to Jacob, “Let me gulp down some of that red stuff;[a] I am famished.” That is why he was called Edom. 31 But Jacob replied, “First sell me your right as firstborn.”[b](A)
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- 25:30 Red stuff: in Hebrew, ’adom; another play on the word Edom, the “red” land.
- 25:31 Right as firstborn: the privilege that entitled the firstborn son to a position of honor in the family and to a double share in the possessions inherited from the father. There is a persistent wordplay between bekorah, “right of the firstborn,” and berakah, “the blessing.” Contrary to custom, the preference here is for the younger son, as it was in the choice of Isaac over Ishmael.
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