What does Genesis 25:30 mean?

Esau has returned from working in the field, perhaps from hunting, and he is exhausted. Jacob has been home. He has made stew, perhaps for himself. Esau likes the look of the "red stew" and asks for some, describing how tired he is.

Esau's actions in the upcoming verses indicate some combination of desperation and carelessness. Jacob's behavior is just as unpleasant—he will demand an outrageous price for giving food to his own brother. While it's possible that Esau will take this as a joke, Jacob's trickery results in consequences which are very real (Genesis 25:34).

We're told in an aside that this is why Esau's name is also called Edom, the name by which his people will later be known. Apparently the word Edom is similar to the word for red, which describes both the color of the stew and the color of Esau's hair or skin at his birth. The Edomites will come to be bitter, spiteful enemies of Israel over the centuries (Obadiah 1:10–14)