Genesis 25:29 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted.

NIV: Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished.

NASB: When Jacob had cooked a stew one day, Esau came in from the field and he was exhausted;

CSB: Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field exhausted.

NLT: One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry.

KJV: And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:

NKJV: Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary.

The scene described in this and the following verses will reveal more fully the personalities of Jacob and Esau and determine the course of their relationship and fortunes.

Jacob, the quiet, indoor brother, is cooking stew. Is this unusual work for a man, the son of the wealthy and powerful patriarch? We are not told. Esau returns from working in the field, perhaps on a hunting expedition, and he is exhausted. As the following verses reveal, he is also desperately hungry. Given his reactions in this passage, it might not have been a very successful trip. Esau seems hasty, and his attitude is unflattering.

Of course, Jacob's actions are also inappropriate. Rather than simply giving his brother food, Jacob demands something outrageous in return. What might have seemed like a joke, at first, becomes a milestone event in Scripture (Hebrews 12:16).

Genesis 25:29–34 describes a significant encounter between the twins Jacob and Esau. Esau, the hunter, returns home from the fields exhausted. He requests a bowl of Jacob's red stew. In curt language, Jacob demands Esau's birthright in exchange. Esau foolishly agrees. Jacob, cruelly it seems, requires his brother to bind himself to the ''sale'' with an oath so that it can't be reversed. Neither brother is presented in a flattering light.

Genesis 25 is packed with information. Abraham marries another wife, most likely before Sarah died, and has six sons with her. Abraham dies at the age of 175 and is buried by both Isaac and Ishmael at the family-owned cave where Sarah was buried. Ishmael's 12 sons are listed, along with the region their tribes settled in, to the east of what would later become Israel. And, finally, God grants Isaac's prayer for Rebekah to become pregnant by giving the couple twins: the feuding Jacob and Esau.

The previous chapter tells the story of how Abraham's servant found a wife for Isaac from among Abraham's people. This chapter rushes to fill in the details of the end of Abraham's life before beginning the story of Isaac's years as patriarch. Abraham marries another woman and has six sons with her, eventually sending them all away from Isaac. Abraham dies and is buried with Sarah. Ishmael's 12 sons are listed, and then his death is recorded, as well. Finally, Isaac's twin boys are born in response to his prayer to the Lord.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.

Accessed 5/3/2024 2:23:55 PM