Old Testament Commentary - Genesis 25

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 25 Abraham marries, has seed, dies, and is buried in the cave of Machpelah—His generation through Ishmael set forth—Rebekah conceives, and Jacob and Esau struggle in her womb—The Lord reveals their destiny to Rebekah—Esau sells his birthright for a mess of pottage.
1 THEN again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. 2 And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and ^aMedan, and ^bMidian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim. 4 And the sons of ^aMidian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of ^bKeturah.		2^a 2 Ne. 20:26 ^b Ex. 2:16 (15-16); Ex. 18:1 (1-11); 1 Chr. 1:32-33 4^a Ex. 2:16 (16-22) ^b 1 Chr. 1:32-33
5 ¶ And ^aAbraham ^bgave all that he had unto Isaac. 6 But unto the sons of the ^aconcubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and ^bsent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the ^ceast country.		1^a TG Jesus Christ, Appearances, Antemortal 2^a Josh. 5:13; TG Angels ^b 3 Ne. 11:19; Ether 6:12; TG Courtesy 3^a JST Gen. 18:3 ...brethren... 4^a TG Washing ^b TG Hospitality 5^a OR sustain... ^b Gen. 19:8
7 And these are the ^adays of the years of ^bAbraham's life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years. 8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good ^aold age, an old man, and full of years; and was ^bgathered to his people. 9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael ^aburied him in the cave of ^bMachpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre; 10 The field which Abraham ^apurchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham ^bburied, and Sarah his wife.		1^a TG Jesus Christ, Appearances, Antemortal 2^a Josh. 5:13; TG Angels ^b 3 Ne. 11:19; Ether 6:12; TG Courtesy 3^a JST Gen. 18:3 ...brethren... 4^a TG Washing ^b TG Hospitality 5^a OR sustain... ^b Gen. 19:8
11 ¶ And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the ^awell Lahai-roi.
12 ¶ Now these are the ^agenerations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom ^bHagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, ^cbare unto Abraham: 13 And these are the names of the sons of ^aIshmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, 14 And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, 15 Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah: 16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; ^atwelve princes according to their nations.
17 And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people. 18 And they dwelt from ^aHavilah unto ^bShur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.
19 ¶ And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: ^aAbraham begat Isaac: 20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of ^aBethuel the Syrian of ^bPadan-aram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21 And Isaac intreated the LORD for his ^awife, because she was ^bbarren: and the LORD was ^cintreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to ^aenquire of the LORD. 23 And the LORD said unto her, ^aTwo nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the ^belder shall serve the younger.
24 ¶ And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red, all over like an ^ahairy garment; and they called his name ^bEsau. 26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's ^aheel; and his ^bname was called ^cJacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.
27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning ^ahunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a ^bplain man, dwelling in ^ctents^a. 28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his ^avenison: but ^bRebekah loved Jacob.	27^a dwelling in tents Abraham had lived in a variety of places and likely under a variety of life styles. In Ur he was a part of the household of his father and established sufficently enough in society to have had his immediate fathers worship heathen gods and for Abraham to be put forth as a sacrifice by the priest of those Gods (Abraham 1:6-7 & 12). He had herds and flocks in Haran and in the land of the Canaanites. And he taught in the halls of Pharaoh in Egypt. Isaac's life was that of a herdsman, but his son Esau had turned to hunting and it please Isaac. But Jacob had held the course of a herdsman, following after the flocks and living the plain life by so dwelling in tents, the required abode for one who follows after and tends to the flocks. Perhaps in viewing that same humble dwelling of a tent, which Nephi so states of Lehi that Lehi dwelt in a tent after having such lands and properties of inheritance of wealth in Jerusalem, did Esau so despise the common habitat of tent dwelling which Jacob had assumed.
Esau Sells His Birthright
29 ¶ And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: 30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called ^aEdom.
What Profit This Birthright? What is the Birthright? There are two components of the Birthright of the Firstborn. One is that which is of a temporal earthly nature and the other is that which is eternal and spiritual in nature. Esau comprehended very little of the eternal nature of the birthright and as a hunter he cared little for the life of a herdsman. It is the Eternal and Spiritual component that was of concern to Jacob. For understanding, perhaps stated a different way, 'The Right to Birth the Messiah' would be a more informative perspective as to what is being given here. In another perspective, it is the right to the Priesthood and the right to the Covenant Blessings of the Fathers. This was and is the right which Abraham sought after as recorded in Abraham 1:1-4. And as there stated in verse 4, It is the 'appointment unto the Priesthood according to the appointment of God unto the fathers concerning the seed.' Here then are the three perspectives of the 'Birthright' drawn directly from the Preexistent realm and the Promise of God the Father, the setting forth the Plan of Eternal Progression, the Plan of Redemption, the Plan of Salvation, the very Plan of Happiness. First, it concerns to whom 'The Seed', the Messiah in Whom Is Salvation, JEHOSHUA/JESUS, would be born. 'Blessed is he through whose seed Messiah shall come' (Moses 7:53). Second, it concerns the bestowal of the Covenant Blessings of the Fathers set forth before the foundation of the earth which is inseparably connected to the ministry and administration of Jehovah, as Creator, God of the Old Testament, Final Judge and King, as well His birth, life, atonement and resurrection as the Saving Redeemer. It is the very Covenant of the Fathers, the Covenant of Abraham passed to Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Ephraim, the Covenant given to Noah, Enoch, and Adam, the Covenant of God the Father given by Him to His Spirit Children in the Preexistent Councils of Heaven. Third, it is the very Power of God by which this Covenant Promise of the Redemption is carried forth, from the Creation to the Atonement and Final Judgement. It embraces every ordinance, doctrine and principle of the Gospel and is the power by which each and all is instituted and carried forth. It is the Power of God, the Priesthood of God by and through which all that is and is accomplished is done. Simply stated, it is the Son, Covenant, and Power.
31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy ^abirthright. 32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?^a	32^a what profit shall this birthright do me? This seems a bit naive from today's perspective of property values and the detailed rights of property ownership. But in Esau's day it was not the same difference of trading a multi-million dollar ranch spread for a bowl of food. Isaac's rights were but grazing rights and the rights to a well or two from which to draw the water. People shared the land and Isaac's life was one of following the grazing lands seasonally, living in a tent. It was no 'stable' profession where a permanant house and residence was ever established in just one place. And Isaac's claims to the use of the land where bardered agreements and were to be protected by force if need be and subject to the same if some force was so inclined to persue the matter. Youthful Esau had no taste for the life of a herdsman. He was a hunter and a free spirit. It was Jacob who stayed the course of a 'plain man' desposed not to women's tasks, but to the day-in and day-out tasks of caring for the flocks, a talent which served him well in the employ of his kinsman Laban later on. And Esau was no religious Sunday School boy so to speak, as he had no concern or regard for the eternal values of such a birthright and the righteous covenant blessings of the fathers. Thus his response portrayed his state of mind and consideration when he stated, 'What profit shall this birthright do me?' Me, who is a 'hunter' not a sheep herder. You can feel his response to Jacob to be, 'Go ahead, you tend the flocks, I'll adventure the countryside and be 'free'. Later Esau, as he grew older, came to understand more concerning the temporay value of herds and flocks and he would become angry that his brother had 'stolen' the birthright. But whether Esau ever came to understand the eternal value of the birthright is questionable.
Esau Despised His Birthright
33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus *Esau despised his* birthright^a**.	*34^a Esau despised his* birthright** Along witht he birthright was the responsiblity of the care of the family. Exactly what all about the birthright there is that Esau despised is uncertain. Certainly Esau was not prone to being a farmer or herdsman any more that Laman and Lemuel were. Esau was a 'hunter' not a 'farmer'. Laman and Lemuel also persued such a life style after their arival in the promised land. Perhaps they had had enough those many years of scratching by tilling the earth all those years in the wildernes with Lehi and Nephi. And like Laman and Lemuel, Esau likely had not taste for the things of God which the birthright further entailed. It would seem that Esau may have despised the whole concept of 'birthright', the family responsibilities of the oldest son, the plain man's way of living, as well as the things of God which were also envolved and primary to the birthright.