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New King James Version

Genesis 25:30

And Esau said to Jacob, "Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary." Therefore his name was called Edom. [fn]

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Birthright;   Dishonesty;   Edom;   Esau;   Firstborn;   Gluttony;   Jacob;   Responsibility;   Worldliness;   Thompson Chain Reference - Bible Stories for Children;   Children;   Home;   Pleasant Sunday Afternoons;   Religion;   Stories for Children;   Temptation;   Yielding to Temptation;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Gluttony;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Abraham;   Edom;   Esau;   Food;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Edom;   Esau;   Jacob;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Responsibility;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - All-Sufficiency of God;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Colour;   Edom;   Food;   Jacob;   Lentiles;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Adah;   Edom;   Firstborn;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Birthright;   Colors;   Cooking and Heating;   Esau;   Firstborn;   Genesis;   Inheritance;   Nuzi;   Plants in the Bible;   Pottage;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Adam;   Esau;   Firstborn;   Genesis;   Greek Versions of Ot;   Lentils;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Edom ;   Esau ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Esau;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Abram;   Jacob;   Lentiles;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Esau;   Red Sea;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Esau and Jacob;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Adam in the Old Testament;   Anthropology;   Birthright;   Color;   Edom;   Esau;   Faint;   Genealogy;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Color;   Edox, Idumea;   Esau;   Hapax Legomena;   Lentils;   Yiẓḥaḳ B. Eleazar of Cæsarea;  

Parallel Translations

English Standard Version
And Esau said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!" (Therefore his name was called Edom.)
Update Bible Version
And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray you, with that same red [pottage]. For I am faint. Therefore his name was called Edom.
New Century Version
So Esau said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red soup, because I am weak with hunger." (That is why people call him Edom.)
New English Translation
So Esau said to Jacob, "Feed me some of the red stuff—yes, this red stuff—because I'm starving!" (That is why he was also called Edom.)
Webster's Bible Translation
And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red [pottage]; for I [am] faint: therefore was his name called Edom.
World English Bible
Esau said to Jacob, "Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am famished." Therefore his name was called Edom.
Amplified Bible
and Esau said to Jacob, "Please, let me have a quick swallow of that red stuff there, because I am exhausted and famished." For that reason Esau was [also] called Edom (Red).
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
he seide to Jacob, Yyue thou to me of this reed sething, for Y am ful weri; for which cause his name was clepid Edom.
Young's Literal Translation
and Esau saith unto Jacob, `Let me eat, I pray thee, some of this red red thing, for I [am] weary;' therefore hath [one] called his name Edom [Red];
Berean Standard Bible
He said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am famished." (That is why he was also called Edom.)
Contemporary English Version
and said, "I'm starving to death! Give me some of that red stew right now!" That's how Esau got the name "Edom."
Complete Jewish Bible
and said to Ya‘akov, "Please! Let me gulp down some of that red stuff — that red stuff! I'm exhausted!" (This is why he was called Edom [red].)
American Standard Version
and Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.
Bible in Basic English
And Esau said to Jacob, Give me a full meal of that red soup, for I am overcome with need for food: for this reason he was named Edom.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Esau sayd to Iacob: feede me I pray thee, with that same red pottage, for I am fayntie: and therfore was his name called Edom.
Darby Translation
And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with the red—the red thing there, for I am faint. Therefore was his name called Edom.
Easy-to-Read Version
So Esau said to Jacob, "I am weak with hunger. Let me have some of that red soup." (That is why people call him "Red.")
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Esau said to Jacob: 'Let me swallow, I pray thee, some of this red, red pottage; for I am faint.' Therefore was his name called Edom.
King James Version (1611)
And Esau said to Iacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage: for I am faint; therefore was his name called Edom.
King James Version
And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.
New Life Bible
Esau said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red meat, for I am very hungry." That is why his name was called Edom.
New Revised Standard
Esau said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!" (Therefore he was called Edom.)
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So Esau said unto Jacob. Do let me devour some of the red - this red, for, famished, I am. For this cause, was his name called Edom.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Esau sayd to Iaakob, Let me eate, I pray thee, of that pottage so red, for I am wearie. Therefore was his name called Edom.
George Lamsa Translation
And Esau said to Jacob, Give me some of that pottage, for I am famished; that is why he was called Edom.
Good News Translation
and said to Jacob, "I'm starving; give me some of that red stuff." (That is why he was named Edom.)
Douay-Rheims Bible
Said: Give me of this red pottage, for I am exceeding faint. For which reason his name was called Edom.
Revised Standard Version
And Esau said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red pottage, for I am famished!" (Therefore his name was called Edom.)
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Esau said to Jacob, Let me taste of that red pottage, because I am fainting; therefore his name was called Edom.
English Revised Version
and Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.
Christian Standard Bible®
He said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, because I’m exhausted.” That is why he was also named Edom.
Hebrew Names Version
Esav said to Ya`akov, "Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am famished." Therefore his name was called Edom.
Lexham English Bible
And Esau said to Jacob, "Give me some of that red stuff to gulp down, for I am exhausted!" (Therefore his name was called Edom).
Literal Translation
And Esau said to Jacob, Please let me eat of the red, this red soup , for I am faint. On account of this his name is called Edom.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and sayde vnto Iacob: Let me proue of yt reed meace of meate, for I am fayntie (therfore is he called Edom.)
New American Standard Bible
and Esau said to Jacob, "Please let me have a mouthful of that red stuff there, for I am exhausted." Therefore he was called Edom by name.
New Living Translation
Esau said to Jacob, "I'm starved! Give me some of that red stew!" (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means "red.")
New American Standard Bible (1995)
and Esau said to Jacob, "Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished." Therefore his name was called Edom.
Legacy Standard Bible
Then Esau said to Jacob, "Please give me a swallow from the red stuff—this red stuff, for I am famished." Therefore his name was called Edom.

Contextual Overview

29 Hebrews 12:16">[xr] Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, "Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary." Therefore his name was called Edom. [fn] 31 But Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright as of this day." 32 And Esau said, "Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?" 33 Then Jacob said, "Swear to me as of this day." So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

with that same red pottage: Heb. with that red, with that red pottage, This, we are informed - Genesis 25:34, was of lentiles, a sort of pulse.

Edom: i.e. red, Genesis 36:1, Genesis 36:9, Genesis 36:43, Exodus 15:15, Numbers 20:14-21, Deuteronomy 23:7, 2 Kings 8:20

Reciprocal: Genesis 30:14 - Give me Genesis 32:3 - Edom Jeremiah 49:7 - Edom Ezekiel 32:29 - Edom

Cross-References

Genesis 25:14
Mishma, Dumah, Massa,
Genesis 25:21
Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
Genesis 36:1
1 Chronicles 1:35-42">[xr] Now this is the genealogy of Esau, who is Edom.
Genesis 36:9
And this is the genealogy of Esau the father of the Edomites in Mount Seir.
Genesis 36:43
Chief Magdiel, and Chief Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession. Esau was the father of the Edomites.
Exodus 15:15
Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; 1 The mighty men of Moab, Trembling will take hold of them; All the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away.
Deuteronomy 23:7
"You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were an alien in his land.
2 Kings 8:20
In his days Edom revolted against Judah's authority, and made a king over themselves.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Esau said to Jacob, feed me, I pray thee, with that same red [pottage],.... Or, "with that same red l, red"; not knowing what it was, or what it was made of, and therefore only calls it by its colour; and the word being doubled, may denote that it was very red; or he, being in haste and greedy of it through hunger, repeats it in a quick and short way: this pottage was made of lentiles, as we learn from Genesis 25:34; which sort of food was much in use with the Egyptians, Egypt abounding with lentiles; and particularly Alexandria was famous for them, from whence they were carried into other countries, as Austin m relates. The lentiles of Pelusium, a city in Egypt, are made mention of by Virgil n and Martial o, for which that place was famous; where, as Servius says p, lentiles were first found, or where they grew the best; and, in the Misnah q, an Egyptian lentil is spoken of, as neither large nor small, but middling. Pliny r speaks of two sorts of it in Egypt, and says he found it in some authors, that eating of these makes men even tempered, good humoured, and patient; and observes s, that they delight in red earth, or where there is much ruddle, or red ochre, from whence they may receive a red tincture; and the pottage made of them is of such a colour. And Dr. Shaw t says, that lentiles dissolve easily into a mass, and make a pottage or soup of a chocolate colour, much used in the eastern countries: and, as Scheuchzer observes u, coffee is of the bean kind, and not unlike a lentil, and makes a red decoction. The colour of it took with Esau, as well as it was sweet and savoury, as Athenaeus w reports; and especially, he being faint and hungry, desires his brother to give him some of it, and even to feed him with it:

for I [am] faint; so faint that he could not feed himself, or however wanted immediate sustenance, and could not wait till other food he had used to live upon was dressed:

therefore was his name called Edom; not from his red hair, but from this red pottage; for Edom signifies "red", and is the same with the names Pyrrhus and Rufus.

l מן-האדם האדם הזה "de rufo, rufo isto", Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius; so Piscator, Schmidt. m Comment. in Psal. xlvi. tom. 8. p. 174. n Virgil. Georgic. l. 1. ver. 228. o Martial. l. 13. epigr. 9. p In Virgil. ut supra. (Georgic. l. 1. ver. 228) q Misn. Celim. c. 17. sect. 8. r Nat. Hist. l. 18. c. 12. s lbid. c. 17. t Travels, p. 140. Ed. 2. u Physica Sacra, vol. 1. p. 78. w Deipno Sophist. l. 4. c. 14, 15.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

- 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 phrase intimates, of the generations of Isaac; that is, of his son Jacob. Isaac himself makes little figure in the sacred history. Born when his mother was ninety, and his father a hundred years of age, he is of a sedate, contemplative, and yielding disposition. Consenting to be laid on the altar as a sacrifice to God, he had the stamp of submission early and deeply impressed on his soul. His life corresponds with these antecedents. Hence, in the spiritual aspect of his character he was the man of patience, of acquiescence, of susceptibility, of obedience. His qualities were those of the son, as Abraham’s were those of the father. He carried out, but did not initiate; he followed, but did not lead; he continued, but did not commence. Accordingly, the docile and patient side of the saintly character is now to be presented to our view.

Genesis 25:19-26

The birth of Esau and Jacob. “The son of forty years.” Hence, we learn that Isaac was married the third year after his mother’s death, when Abraham was in his hundred and fortieth year. “Bethuel the Aramaean.” As Bethuel was a descendant of Arpakshad, not of Aram, he is here designated, not by his descent, but by his adopted country Aram. By descent he was a Kasdi or Kaldee. Sarah was barren for at least thirty years; Rebekah for nineteen years. This drew forth the prayer of Isaac in regard to his wife. The heir of promise was to be a child of prayer, and accordingly when the prayer ascended the fruit of the womb was given. Rebekah had unwonted sensations connected with her pregnancy. She said to herself, “If it be so,” if I have conceived seed, “why am I thus,” why this strange struggle within me? In the artlessness of her faith she goes to the Lord for an explanation. We are not informed in what way she consulted God, or how he replied. The expression, “she went to inquire of the Lord,” implies that there was some place of worship and communion with God by prayer. We are not to suppose that she went to Abraham, or any other prophet, if such were then at hand, when we have no intimation of this in the text. Her communication with the Lord seems to have been direct. This passage conveys to us the intimation that there was now a fixed mode and perhaps place of inquiring at the Lord. The Lord answers the mother of the promised seed. Two children are in her womb, the parents of two nations, differing in their dispositions and destinies. The one is to be stronger than the other. The order of nature is to be reversed in them; for the older will serve the younger. Their struggles in the womb are a prelude to their future history.

Genesis 25:24-26

The twins are born in due time. The difference is manifest in the outward appearance. The first is red and hairy. These qualities indicate a passionate and precocious nature. He is called “Esau the hairy,” or “the made up,” the prematurely developed. His brother is like other children. An act takes place in the very birth foreshadowing their future history. The second has a hold of his brother’s heel, as if he would trip him up from his very birth. Hence, he is called “Jacob the wrestler,” who takes hold by the heel.

Genesis 25:27-34

The brothers prove to be different in disposition and habit. The rough fiery Esau takes to the field, and becomes skilled in all modes of catching game. Jacob is of a homely, peaceful, orderly turn, dwelling in tents and gathering round him the means and appliances of a quiet social life. The children please their parents according as they supply what is lacking in themselves. Isaac, himself so sedate, loves the wild, wandering hunter, because he supplies him with pleasures which his own quiet habits do not reach. Rebekah becomes attached to the gentle, industrious shepherd, who satisfies those social and spiritual tendencies in which she is more dependent than Isaac. Esau is destructive of game; Jacob is constructive of cattle.

Genesis 25:29-34

A characteristic incident in their early life is attended with very important consequences. “Jacob sod pottage.” He has become a sage in the practical comforts of life. Esau leaves the field for the tent, exhausted with fatigue. The sight and smell of Jacob’s savory dish of lentile soup are very tempting to a hungry man. “Let me feed now on that red, red broth.” He does not know how to name it. The lentile is common in the country, and forms a cheap and palatable dish of a reddish brown color, with which bread seems to have been eaten. The two brothers were not congenial. They would therefore act each independently of the other, and provide each for himself. Esau was no doubt occasionally rude and hasty. Hence, a selfish habit would grow up and gather strength. He was probably accustomed to supply himself with such fare as suited his palate, and might have done so on this occasion without any delay. But the free flavor and high color of the mess, which Jacob was preparing for himself, takes his fancy, and nothing will do but the red red. Jacob obviously regarded this as a rude and selfish intrusion on his privacy and property, in keeping with similar encounters that may have taken place between the brothers.

It is here added, “therefore was his name called Edom,” that is, “Red.” The origin of surnames, or second names for the same person or place, is a matter of some moment in the fair interpretation of an ancient document. It is sometimes hastily assumed that the same name can only owe its application to one occasion; and hence a record of a second occasion on which it was applied is regarded as a discrepancy. But the error lies in the interpreter, not in the author. The propriety of a particular name may be marked by two or more totally different circumstances, and its application renewed on each of these occasions. Even an imaginary cause may be assigned for a name, and may serve to originate or renew its application. The two brothers now before us afford very striking illustrations of the general principle. It is pretty certain that Esau would receive the secondary name of Edom, which ultimately became primary in point of use, from the red complexion of skin, even from his birth. But the exclamation “that red red,” uttered on the occasion of a very important crisis in his history, renewed the name, and perhaps tended to make it take the place of Esau in the history of his race. Jacob, too, the holder of the heel, received this name from a circumstance occurring at his birth. But the buying of the birthright and the gaining of the blessing, were two occasions in his subsequent life on which he merited the title of the supplanter or the holder by the heel Genesis 27:36. These instances prepare us to expect other examples of the same name being applied to the same object, for different reasons on different occasions.

“Sell me this day thy birthright.” This brings to light a new cause of variance between the brothers. Jacob was no doubt aware of the prediction communicated to his mother, that the older should serve the younger. A quiet man like him would not otherwise have thought of reversing the order of nature and custom. In after times the right of primogeniture consisted in a double portion of the father’s goods Deuteronomy 21:17, and a certain rank as the patriarch and priest of the house on the death of the father. But in the case of Isaac there was the far higher dignity of chief of the chosen family and heir of the promised blessing, with all the immediate and ultimate temporal and eternal benefits therein included. Knowing all this, Jacob is willing to purchase the birthright, as the most peaceful way of bringing about that supremacy which was destined for him. He is therefore cautious and prudent, even conciliating in his proposal.

He availed himself of a weak moment to accomplish by consent what was to come. Yet he lays no necessity on Esau, but leaves him to his own free choice. We must therefore beware of blaming him for endeavoring to win his brother’s concurrence in a thing that was already settled in the purpose of God. His chief error lay in attempting to anticipate the arrangements of Providence. Esau is strangely ready to dispose of his birthright for a trivial present gratification. He might have obtained other means of recruiting nature equally suitable, but he will sacrifice anything for the desire of the moment. Any higher import of the right he was prepared to sell so cheap seems to have escaped his view, if it had ever occurred to his mind. Jacob, however, is deeply in earnest. He will bring this matter within the range of heavenly influence. He will have God solemnly invoked as a witness of the transfer. Even this does not startle Esau. There is not a word about the price. It is plain that Esau’s thoughts were altogether on “the morsel of meat.” He swears unto Jacob. He then ate and drank, and rose up and went his way, as the sacred writer graphically describes his reckless course. Most truly did he despise his birthright. His mind did not rise to higher or further things. Such was the boyhood of these wondrous twins.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Genesis 25:30. I am faint — It appears from the whole of this transaction, that Esau was so completely exhausted by fatigue that he must have perished had he not obtained some immediate refreshment. He had been either hunting or labouring in the field, and was now returning for the purpose of getting some food, but had been so exhausted that his strength utterly failed before he had time to make the necessary preparations.


 
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