What does Genesis 25:34 mean?

With Esau's sworn oath that his birthright was now his brother's, Jacob delivers his part of this crazy deal (Genesis 25:29–31). He gives his brother bread and a bowl of what turns out to be lentil stew. We may have been picturing "red stew" as a meaty soup instead of a bowl of beans. Esau has sold his birthright for a bowl of bean soup, and Jacob has taken that birthright as his own. Through a combination of Esau's recklessness and Jacob's trickery, this has become an outrageously expensive arrangement for Esau.

If two children made such a lopsided deal these days, it's likely a parent would step in and reverse the trade, giving each child a stern talking to. But the deal made between these two full-grown men will stand, as we'll see in the following chapters. The swearing of an oath, in that era, was as binding as the signing of a modern written contract.

The chapter ends with what appears to be an obvious statement. Esau "despised" his birthright. He didn't hold it with the value it was worth, and did not take care to protect it. This choice will carry consequences for the rest of his life, and even into history (Hebrews 12:16).