Genesis 25:33

Gen 25:33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.

Ver. 33. Swear to me.] With fickle men, make all firm and fast.

“Quo teneam vultus mutantem Protea nodo?” - Horat.

And he sold his birthright to Jacob.] And, with it, heaven also, as the Jerusalem Paraphrast addeth, whereof the birthright was a type and pledge. So his sin was in unthankfulness for such a dignity; in limiting it to this life; in selling it so very cheap; but especially, in his profane parting with a spiritual blessing for a temporal. Such a foolish bargain makes every impenitent person in the sale of his soul for a thing of nought; which Christ, who only went to the price of a soul, saith is more worth than a world. "Let there be no fornicator," as every worldling is, {Jas 4:4} "or profane person among us, as Esau". {Heb 12:16} And that there may not, let not men take pleasure in pleasure, spend too much time in it, shoot their affections too far into it. It is no wisdom, to go as far as we may. It was not simply a sin in Esau to go a hunting: but yet the more he used it the more profane he grew by it, and came at length to condemn his birthright. Adrian {a} the emperor was a great hunter; broke his leg in hunting; called a city that he built in Mysia, by the name of Adrian’s huntings: but how little care he took for his poor soul, that Animula vagula blandula of his, abundantly testifieth. The maddest hunter that ever I read of was Mithridates; who was so set upon it, that he came not into any house, either of city or country for seven years together. {b} To lawful delights and recreations, God allows men to stoop, for their bodies’ sake; as the eagle to the prey, or as Gideon’s soldiers, to soop their handful, not to gorge their bellyful. An honest man’s heart is where his calling is: such a one, when he is elsewhere, is like a fish in the air, whereunto if it leap for recreation or necessity, yet it soon returns to its own element.

{a} Dio in Vita.

{b} Adeo venandi rubie percitus ut septem continuis annis, nec urbis, nec ruris tecto sit usua.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

25:33-34 Esau eagerly took Jacob’s bait and fell into the trap. He ate and left too quickly to have been near death (25:32). The final comment on the passage explains that Esau showed contempt for his birthright, considering it worthless (Heb 12:16). It is foolish to sacrifice spiritual blessings to satisfy physical appetites (cp. Gen 3:6).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Thus the wicked prefer their worldly commodities to God’s spiritual graces: but the children of God do the contrary.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

33. And Jacob said, Swear to me. Jacob did not act cruelly towards his brother, for he took nothing from him, but only desired a confirmation of that right which had been divinely granted to him; and he does this with a pious intention, that he may hereby the more fully establish the certainty of his own election. Meanwhile the infatuation of Esau is to be observed, who, in the name and presence of God, does not hesitate to set his birthright to sale. Although he had before rushed inconsiderately upon the food under the maddening impulse of hunger; now, at least, when an oath is exacted from him, some sense of religion should have stolen over him to correct his brutal cupidity. But he is so addicted to gluttony that he makes God himself a witness of his ingratitude.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

33. Swear to me] Jacob is acute enough to secure the solemn ratification of his brother’s act, done in the thoughtless moment of exhaustion. When Esau recovers his self-control, he will not be able to repudiate his action.

this day] R.V. marg. rightly, first of all. Cf. Gen_25:31.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Jacob said, swear unto me this day,.... For the more sure and certain confirmation of the bargain; and by this oath oblige himself to let him peaceably enjoy the birthright, nor seek to revoke it, or dispute it with him, or disturb him in the possession of it:

and he sware unto him; that he would abide by the bargain, and never give him any trouble on that account; and hereby he made it over to Jacob as firm as it could be; God himself being appealed to as a witness of it, whose will it was that Jacob should have the birthright, the blessing, and the promises:

and he sold his birthright unto Jacob; with all the privileges and appurtenances of it, and that for one morsel of meat, as in Heb 12:16.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Swore; and still we find him enraged above measure, when Isaac had, by mistake, ratified the transfer of the birth-right to Jacob; (chap. xxvii. 41.) whence we may gather, that he did not intend to perform what he promised, even with the solemnity of an oath; which renders him still more deserving of the title profane, which St. Paul gives him. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Jacob acted subtlely in this affair; he knew that delays were dangerous; and Esau’s consideration, or second thoughts, might have spoiled his bargain, and therefore he requires haste, as in the sale, so in his oath; wherein he addeth another sin, in hurrying his brother into an oath by precipitation, which neither his brother should have taken, nor Jacob should have advised him to take, without mature advice.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And Jacob said, Swear to me this day. On the expression "this day" vide supra, ver. 31. The conduct of Jacob in this transaction is difficult to defend Though aware of the heavenly oracle that assigned to him the precedence in his father s house, he was far from being justified in endeavoring, by "cautious, prudent, and conciliatory proposals" (Murphy), but rather by unbelieving impatience, despicable meanness, and miserable craft, to anticipate Divine pro vide nce, which in due time without his assistance would have implemented its own designs. And he sware unto him. If Jacob"s demand of an oath evinced ungenerous suspicion, Esau"s giving of an oath showed a low sense of honor (Lange). And he sold his birthright unto Jacob thus meriting the appellation of bebhlov. (Heb_12:16)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

SWEAR TO ME THIS DAY. When Esau said, “What is this birthright to me? I do not desire it,” Jacob said to him, “Swear to me that you will not desire it, nor will you inherit it forever.” Thereupon he swore to him, and following that he sold it to him, and Jacob gave him the purchase price or the pottage he desired.It is possible that Esau said, “What is this birthright to me? It is sold to you,” and Jacob said, “Swear to me that you will never complain about the sale.” And when Scripture says that first he swore to him and then he sold it to him, its intent is as if it said that he sold it to him first and then swore to him.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

ויאמר השבעה לי, he was afraid that Esau would have second thoughts after having eaten.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.