Red Lentils - Genesis 25:27-34

25:27-29 - These two babies are born “and the boys grew,” and it seems like they couldn’t have been more different. Esau is described as “a cunning hunter, a man of the field,” whereas Jacob “was a plain man, dwelling in tents.” The implication in this verse is that these descriptions should lend some weight one way or another in our understanding of the personal characteristics of these men. But to me, I thought that they both would have lived in tents, and couldn’t identify any reason why living in a tent made someone a better person than why not living in one would make someone a bad person. Interestingly though, the word “plain” is referenced in the footnotes saying, “HEB whole, complete, perfect, simple, plain,” meaning that according to the writer of this account, Jacob was very close to being the perfect man, which of course I disagree with. Esau was a hunter and Jacob, did something else I guess, and the parents both had their favorites, which really makes me wonder just what being a “favorite” meant anciently. There are multiple accounts in the scriptures of someone being “favored,” such as parents, children, or spouses, so how is it different then and now? Isaac favored Esau “because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.” This makes Isaac look like an idiot because he favors the son that brings him food, and it makes Rebekah look like a horrible mother who doesn’t love on of her kids. This whole family is a mess. I think it’s important to remember here that Rebekah had received revelation when she was pregnant that the second born was going to inherit the spiritual birthright, so it's possible that she “favored” Jacob by training him specifically to be ready to receive the spiritual birthright. Another important point is made by the lecturer from the Torah Class, and that was it’s certain that Rebekah receiving the revelation about Jacob receiving the birthright over Esau, that she would have not only informed Jacob of the revelation but she would have told the boys as well. I can’t even begin to imagine what a slap in the face that must have been to Esau, to be told that even though legally everything should be yours, because your mother had a “revelation” suddenly you’ll get nothing. It’s important to point out here that it appears that the “birthright” that Jacob was to receive instead of Esau was the covenant blessing from God, not the inheritance of wealth. So ultimately Esau got the wealth inheritance that he was rightfully entitled to, but from the beginning, the spiritual blessing was to go to Jacob. I wonder if a little boy being told from birth that a God he doesn’t know, chose his brother was him for a blessing before they were even born, becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If I was told my whole life that I was supposed to get a blessing from God but that God decided for whatever reason that my brother deserved it more before we were even born, I might have a few hard feelings about that and be less inclined to listen to what He has to say. 25:30-34 – When the boys were older, I think around 15 or so, “Jacob sod pottage.” Interesting phrase here but there are a lot of implications that are important. It appears that Jacob is cooking stew, specifically red lentil stew. The lecturer notes that at this time anciently, it was a woman’s job to cook and a male doing the cooking would have been considered shameful, so that fact that Jacob is cooking here demonstrates abnormal circumstances. The red lentil stew is associated with mourning the loss of a loved one, and the fact that Rebekah was not doing the cooking meant that the loved one who was lost was one of her immediate family members. At this time, when an immediately family member died, the spouse, children and their spouses, parents, and siblings were forbidden to cook for 7 days during the established “mourning” time, so Rebekah would have been forbidden from cooking if it had been a parent, in-law, sibling, or child that had died. The lecturer suggests that it was Abraham who had died, and the family was observing the “mourning” time so Rebekah couldn’t cook as Abraham’s daughter-in-law, but Jacob would have been permitted to as Abraham’s grandson. Jacob has made this red lentil stew, “and Esau came from the field, and he was faint.” Esau was presumably working in the field or doing some strenuous activity, and when he came back, he was hungry. This is another point where I think Jacob’s douchebag colors show because here he has made food, his brother is hungry and instead of feeding him, he starts asking for stuff that isn’t Esau’s to give and isn’t Jacob’s to receive. Jacob asking Esau for his birthright is like my daughter asking my son for ownership to my car. The blessing is God’s to dictate who will receive it, and then Isaac’s to administer it, the boys fighting over it doesn’t make any sense. I guess my question is, how often did this concept of “sell me your birthright” come up? Is it something Jacob pestered his brother about constantly? Is it Jacob exploiting a tender topic to Esau when he’s tired and hungry? Why did Jacob think his cooking the stew was more valuable to the family than whatever Esau was doing in the field, therefore could “bargain” with the stew as currency? I’m probably going overboard here, but this whole thing just bugs me so much. Esau answers, “I’m going to starve to death over here, what good will a birthright do me then? Fine you can have it.” Jacob answers, “Swear to me this day,” where Esau responds, “fine,” and that’s how the whole mess of birthright ownership was handled that day. Esau ate the stew, had a drink then left, “thus Esau despised his birthright.” I’m not even sure what exactly that means, but one article I read said that the Hebrew word here might have been better translated “lightly regarded,” instead of a hatred of, just a disregard for. But again, I can’t imagine being told your whole life that you weren’t getting it anyway when it’s presumed to be your right, then not giving value to something that should be yours might be a self-defensive mechanism. If it were Jesus, He would say “whoever my Father chooses, I will love and support them in fulfilling the birthright,” and ultimately that’s the attitude we should be striving for, but at our basic, limited human level Esau’s attitude toward the birthright blessing is understandable, and I hate that he’s demonized for it.