Birthright

Biblical Text

The birthright is the right of precedence given to the firstborn son. The New Korean Revised Version usually renders the term as "the right of the firstborn." The principal text is Genesis 25:29-34. When Esau came in exhausted from the field and asked for the red stew his younger brother Jacob was cooking, Jacob demanded that he sell his birthright. Esau swore an oath and sold it. The text sums up the episode with the words "thus Esau despised his birthright" (Genesis 25:34). In Genesis 27, Jacob, following a plan devised by his mother Rebekah, also obtains the blessing of his father Isaac. Esau then complains that Jacob has taken from him both his birthright and his blessing (Genesis 27:36).

Several other passages also deal with the birthright.

• Deuteronomy 21:15-17: Stipulates that the firstborn is to receive a double portion even if he is the son of the unloved wife.
• Genesis 49:3-4; 1 Chronicles 5:1-2: Record that Reuben lost his birthright because he defiled his father's bed, and that the birthright passed to the sons of Joseph.
• Genesis 48: Jacob blesses his grandson Ephraim ahead of Ephraim's elder brother Manasseh.

Background

In Hebrew, the birthright is bekorah, and the firstborn son is bekor. According to Deuteronomy 21:17, the firstborn received a double portion of the inheritance. The firstborn is also commonly understood to have served as the representative of the family. The Law declares that every firstborn belongs to God (Exodus 13:2). This provision is connected with the death of the firstborn of Egypt, the last of the Ten Plagues, and with the Passover. In Numbers 3:12-13, the Levites are dedicated to God in place of the firstborn of Israel.

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

God calls Israel "my son, even my firstborn" (Exodus 4:22). From Genesis onward, a recurring pattern appears in which the younger brother takes precedence over the elder: Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, Ephraim over Manasseh, and, in the same vein, the choice of David, the youngest son, as king. In the New Testament, Hebrews 12:16-17 holds up Esau, "who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright," as a warning. The New Testament calls Jesus Christ "the firstborn among many brethren" (Romans 8:29) and "the firstborn" (Colossians 1:15, 18). It also describes the community of believers as "the church of the firstborn" (Hebrews 12:23).

Interpretation and Debate

Interpreters differ over Romans 9:10-13, which quotes Malachi 1:2-3 ("Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated"). The Calvinist tradition reads this passage as a basis for God's sovereign election, that is, the doctrine of predestination. The Arminian and Wesleyan traditions tend to read it as concerning the historical roles of two nations, Israel and Edom, rather than the eternal salvation of individuals.

Assessments of Jacob's conduct are likewise divided. Some see it as the fulfillment of the promise that "the elder shall serve the younger" (Genesis 25:23), while others regard it as exploiting his brother's weakness. The text itself does not directly condemn the transaction; instead, it draws attention to Esau's attitude.

Some details commonly associated with the account are not found in the text itself. The view that the firstborn held the priestly duties of the household is an interpretation handed down in Jewish tradition and elsewhere; Genesis does not state it directly. Likewise, the "red-bean porridge" (patjuk) of the New Korean Revised Version is understood from the original language to have been a lentil stew.

In the Korean Church

"Esau, who sold his birthright for a bowl of red-bean porridge" is a frequent sermon illustration. It is commonly cited to teach that believers should not make light of the value of faith for the sake of immediate desires.