The BIRTHRIGHT — the firstborn's (bekhor) privilege: a double share of the inheritance (Deuteronomy 21:17), the headship of the family, and here, in the line of promise, the covenant blessing itself. Esau trades it for a bowl of stew (25:29-34) and 'despised' it (see bazah); Jacob will later steal the matching blessing (ch. 27). The New Testament makes Esau the type of the 'profane' person who sells the eternal for one meal (Hebrews 12:16). Genesis keeps overturning it — the younger again and again takes the bekhorah (Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, Ephraim over Manasseh). → first discussed at Gen 25:31