Genesis 25:32

32 Esau said, "I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?"

Genesis 25:32 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 25:32

And Esau said, behold, I [am] at the point to die
Or, "going to die" F25, 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. Dr. Lightfoot F26 thinks it was now the time of the famine spoken of in the following chapter, ( Genesis 26:1 ) : and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
a dying man, or when dead? In such a case, all the privileges of it in course would devolve on Jacob; and as for the promises of the Messiah, and of the land of Canaan, made to Abraham and his seed, these seemed to be at a great distance, and if he lived ever so long might never enjoy them; and therefore judged it most advisable to consult his present interest, and have something in hand, than to trust to futurity; and, by thus saying, he signified an entire willingness to part with his birthright on the terms proposed.


FOOTNOTES:

F25 (twml Klwh) "vadens ad moriendum", Montanus.
F26 Works, vol. 1. p. 15, 696.

Genesis 25:32 In-Context

30 Esau said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!" (Therefore he was called Edom. )
31 Jacob said, "First sell me your birthright."
32 Esau said, "I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?"
33 Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.