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We know that Jacob bought the birthright from Esau. But we also know that he timed the purchase for when Esau was ayef, famished.
Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the open, famished (ayef). And Esau said to Jacob, “Give me some of that red stuff to gulp down, for I am famished (ayef)”—which is why he was named Edom. (Gen. 25:29)
This word only appears in three places in the entire Torah! The first two are in the story of Jacob and Esau.
The third one appears near the end of the text:
Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left Egypt—how, undeterred by fear of God, he surprised you on the march, when you were famished (ayef) and weary, and cut down all the stragglers in your rear. (D. 25:17)
Wow.
The Torah connects Jacob’s behavior to that of Amalek: taking advantage of someone who is in a weak state.
Is there any other way to read this other than to suggest that G-d definitely did not approve of Jacob’s method of purchasing the birthright?
Discussion (11)
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Is it Jacob's fault that Esau couldn't properly recognize the value of his assets?
Don't go shopping when you're hungry.
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Esau was a short term thinker. But the purchase of the birthright and subsequent theft of the blessing through deceit was a confused mistake.
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I don’t know. Really a lot of deals are made when one party is truly desperate.
I’m no Tora-Biblio-scholar but was Esau unlucky or unwise? And should he have trusted G-d to deliver him (or at least tried to get a better deal from someone else)?
IOW, taking advantage, esp. of kin isn’t good, but being taken advantageable isn’t smart.
And if you own lands and can’t make them produce, maybe they should be run by someone else.
Again, I don’t know the story beyond what I read here. Still, it is unusual for one party in a family drama to come out smelling like roses.
And you did ask if there was an alternative interpretation. So here is an I’ll-informed one.
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I might interpret this as a warning not to get in such a weak state lest bad things befall you.
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Two somewhat related questions of my own, with my answers:
I introduce them because I think you meant to ask both of them, in addition to a third question that others have been answering, assuming that it is the only one that you meant to ask: “What lesson or lessons did G-d intend for us to draw from this passage, and which did he not?”
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