Genesis 25:33

_AND JACOB SAID, SWEAR TO ME THIS DAY; AND HE SWARE UNTO HIM: AND HE SOLD HIS BIRTHRIGHT UNTO JACOB._ Jacob said, Swear to me this day. An oath is prostituted when it is exacted and given to confirm an improper and sinful contract; and a person is chargeable with additional guilt when, after entering into a sinful engagement, he precipitately confirms it by an oath. This is what Esau did: he despised or cared little about it in comparison of present gratification to his appetite; he threw away his religious privileges for a trifle; and hence, he is stigmatized by the apostle as a "profane person" (Hebrews 12:16; also Philippians 3:19). 'There was never any meat, except the forbidden fruit, so dearly bought as this broth of Jacob' (Dr. Hall). That Esau deserved to be superseded in

33._And Jacob said, Swear to me_. Jacob did not act cruelly towards his brother, for he took nothing from him, but only desired a confirmation of that right which had been divinely granted to him; and he does this with a pious intention, that he may hereby the more fully establish the certainty of his own election. Meanwhile the infatuation of Esau is to be observed, who, in the name and presence of God, does not hesitate to set his birthright to sale. Although he had before rushed inconsiderately upon the food under the maddening impulse of hunger; now, at least, when an oath is exacted from him, some sense of religion should have stolen over him to correct his brutal cupidity. But he is so addicted to gluttony that he makes God himself a witness of his ingratitude....

29-34 We have here the bargain made between Jacob and Esau about the right, which was Esau's by birth, but Jacob's by promise. It was for a spiritual privilege; and we see Jacob's desire of the birth-right, but he sought to obtain it by crooked courses, not like his character as a plain man. He was right, that he coveted earnestly the best gifts; he was wrong, that he took advantage of his brother's need. The inheritance of their father's worldly goods did not descend to Jacob, and was not meant in this proposal. But it includeth the future possession of the land of Canaan by his children's children, and the covenant made with Abraham as to Christ the promised Seed. Believing Jacob valued these above all things; unbelieving Esau despised them. Yet although we must be of Jacob's judgment in seeking the birth-right, we ought carefully to avoid all guile, in seeking to obtain even the grea...

- LIII. Birth of Esau and Jacob 20. פדן _padān_, Paddan, “plowed field;” related: “cut, plow.” 25. עשׂי _‛__êśâv_, ‘Esaw, “hairy, or made.” 26. יעקב _ya‛ăqôb_, Ja’aqob, “he shall take the heel.” 27. תם _tām_, “perfect, peaceful, plain.” The epithet refers to disposition, and contrasts the comparatively civilized character of Jacob with the rude temper of Esau. 30. אדים _'ědôm_, Edom, “red.” The ninth document here begins with the usual phrase, and continues to the end of the thirty-fifth chapter. It contains the history of the second of the three patriarchs, or rather, indeed, as the opening ph

AND JACOB SAID, SWEAR UNTO ME THIS DAY,.... For the more sure and certain confirmation of the bargain; and by this oath oblige himself to let him peaceably enjoy the birthright, nor seek to revoke it, or dispute it with him, or disturb him in the possession of it: AND HE SWARE UNTO HIM; that he would abide by the bargain, and never give him any trouble on that account; and hereby he made it over to Jacob as firm as it could be; God himself being appealed to as a witness of it, whose will it was that Jacob should have the birthright, the blessing, and the promises: AND HE SOLD HIS BIRTHRIGHT UNTO JACOB; with all the privileges and appurtenances of it, and that for one morsel of meat, as in Hebrews 12:16....

IX. THE GENERATIONS OF ISAAC CHAPTER 25:19-34 Esau and Jacob _ 1. Rebekah barren and the answered prayer (Genesis 25:19)_ 2. The birth of Esau and Jacob (Genesis 25:23) 3. The growth of the boys (Genesis 25:27) 4. Esau sells his birthright (Genesis 25:29) It was 25 years after Abraham entered Canaan before Isaac was born. It was 20 years after Isaac's marriage before the birth of Esau and Jacob. The barren condition of Rebekah led Isaac to exercise faith and to cast himself upon the Lord for help. And He answered him. God delights to take up what is weak and barren and manifest H

THE BIRTH OF JACOB AND ESAU. JACOB TAKES ADVANTAGE OF ESAU TO SECURE HIS BIRTHRIGHT. At this point we pass to the story of Jacob. In the present section Genesis 25:19 f., Genesis 25:26_ b_ belong to P, the rest to Jeremiah Genesis 25:21 is from J, and so in the judgment of most critics Genesis 25:29, though some assign it to E. Like Sarah and Rachel, Rebekah is for long without a child. P fixes the interval from marriage to motherhood as thirty years, but in view of the untrustworthiness of his chronological statements elsewhere no dependence can be placed on them here. Before their birth the mother's life is made int

DAY. Figure of speech _Brachyology._ App-6. Supply "that thou wilt sell it". BIRTHRIGHT. The Severus Codex here reads "ware", i.e. Esau treated his birthright as merchandise. See App-34....

_Swear to me_ Jacob is acute enough to secure the solemn ratification of his brother's act, done in the thoughtless moment of exhaustion. When Esau recovers his self-control, he will not be able to repudiate his action. _this day_ R.V. marg. rightly, _first of all_. Cf. Genesis 25:31....

JACOB SAID, SWEAR, &C.— Jacob's conduct, however pious in other instances, is not to be justified in this particular; for he ought not to have taken advantage of his brother's necessity; and if he saw him profanely offering to sell the privileges of his birth-right, it was his duty to have dissuaded him from it: and therefore, it is remarkable, that although God had determined to confine his grand spiritual covenant to the Israelites, and to prefer them in many things to the Edomites; yet Jacob himself enjoyed no personal advantage, as to temporal things, above Esau. Let it be observed, that though the sacred historian relates this account, he does not commend Jacob, or propose it at all for imitation. REFLECTIONS.—As in the womb Jacob caught his brother by the heel, and got thereby the name of Jacob, we here see how well he deserved it in his dealing with Esau. Jacob knew the value of t...