31
Jacobיַעֲקֹבsaid,וַיֹּאמֶר“Sellמִכְרָהmeלִיtodayכַיּוֹםyour birthright.”אֶת בְּכֹרָתְךָ
Genesis 25:31
Study it in the app“Jacob said, “Sell me today your birthright.””
With the Hebrew beneath
Genesis 25:31, word by word
- Jacobיַעֲקֹבyaakov
Jacob
Jacob, the younger son of Isaac and Rebekah, twin brother of Esau and father of the twelve tribes. In Hebrew "Yaakov" sounds like "heel" and "supplant" (Genesis 25:26; 27:36). God later gave him the name Israel; the name also stands for his descendants, the people of Israel.
Where else “yaakov” appears- saidיֹּאמֶרyomer
say
To say with the mouth to someone what one thinks or wants, or to answer him.
Where else “yomer” appears- “Sellמִכְרָmichra
sell
To give something or someone to another in exchange for payment.
Where else “michra” appears- todayיּוֹםyom
today
This very day in which one speaks, the present moment.
Where else “yom” appears- your birthrightבְּכֹרָתְbechorat
birthright
The rights of the eldest son in the family.
Where else “bechorat” appears
Translation note
The birthright was the right of the eldest son; according to Deuteronomy 21:17, he was due a double share of the inheritance.
The context
30Esau said to Jacob, “Please let me gulp down some of the red, this red stuff, for I am exhausted.” That is why his name was called Edom.
31 · This verse (above)
32Esau said, “Look, I am going to die; what good is a birthright to me?”
To study Genesis 25 in a group
1. What it says
What did Esau do with his birthright, and what did he receive in exchange (vv. 29-34)?
2. What it means
What does the text mean when it ends, “Thus Esau despised his birthright” (v. 34)?
3. How I live it
What valuable thing are you at risk of trading away for a need of the moment?