The firstborn son in a family has a special place in the family and society. He receives more than his siblings and is often given more responsibility than them by his parents. In the scriptures, birthright usually refers to the right of the son born first in a family to inherit his father’s possessions and authority. In ancient Israel, for example, all the sons received some of their father’s property, but the firstborn received a double portion and became the leader of the family.

In the Bible, the firstborn son was considered to be a priestly figure. This meant that he would be responsible for offering sacrifices on behalf of his family and for making sure that everything within their home was in order according to God’s standards. This included making sure that there were no idols or other objects representing false gods present in their home as well as keeping track of what days were holy and when holy days began.

A birthright was an honor, a double portion of the father’s property, given to the firstborn son in an ancient Hebrew family. The oldest son also received the dying father’s most dynamic blessing. Younger siblings received a smaller inheritance and blessing. He would also be responsible for leading prayers at home if his father died before him (or if there was no father present).

Birthright Bible verse

Genesis 25:31-34

Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am famished.” Therefore his name was called Edom. Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Hebrews 12:16-17

that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

Romans 8:29

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

1 Peter 1:3-5

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Matthew 5:5

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

What Is the Significance of The Birthright?

Few Christians today understand the biblical notion of the birthright. Yet to the writers of both the Old and New Testaments, it was a tremendous matter. We believers, by virtue of our second birth, are the sons of God and participate in God’s blessings as our spiritual birthright in both this age and the next. Our birthright as Christians is to inherit all that God is in Christ. The apostle Paul told us that Christ Himself is our allotted inheritance (Col. 1:12; Eph. 1:14), that we are heirs of God (Rom. 8:17), and that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ” (Eph. 1:3).

The birthright promised to God’s people is in three aspects: image, dominion, and participation in God’s kingdom. God’s central intention in creating man is that man would bear His image to express Him (Gen. 1:26). But because of Adam’s fall, man completely failed to express God. However, Christ came to fully declare the unseen God (John 1:18) and be the image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15). Through regeneration, we gain the divine life to become sons of God. When we live Christ and magnify Him (Phil. 1:20-21), we fulfill God’s intention and desire to have His image expressed through man. Christ, who is God’s image, lives again through us, the members of His Body.

The second aspect of the birthright concerns man’s having dominion. God’s intention is for man to have dominion to subdue every negative thing on earth and exercise God’s authority (Gen. 1:26). Instead, Adam himself was subdued by Satan. Christ came and fulfilled God’s intention. He defeated the enemy Satan and in ascension, all things were subjected under His feet (Eph. 1:22). Our birthright as New Testament believers is to experience Christ’s subduing power and to participate in Christ’s dominion today. In Christ, we enjoy everything being subjected under the Lord’s feet. By our receiving the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, we may reign over all things in Christ (Rom 5:17) to exercise God’s authority.

The third aspect of our wonderful birthright is our participation in God’s kingdom. This includes the church life as the kingdom of God in the present age (Rom. 14:17) and the kingdom’s full manifestation in the coming millennium (Rev. 20:6). Today, we enjoy the kingdom’s righteousness, peace, and joy by gathering for fellowship as the Body of Christ. Then in the next age, the victorious believers who have valued their birthright in this age will reign with Christ for a thousand years. This kingdom participation is both our birthright today and a marvelous coming reward.

Why is the Birthright so Emphasized in the Bible?

A birthright is a right to something that you inherit. In the Bible, it refers to the right to receive a double portion of an inheritance when your father dies. If you have brothers or sisters, they get a single portion.

The birthright is emphasized in the Bible because it honored the rights or privileges of the family’s firstborn son. After the father died, or in the father’s absence, the firstborn son assumed the father’s authority and responsibilities. However, the Bible also shows that the father could rescind the birthright and pass it on to a younger son. A good example of this is the case of Jacob and his twelve sons. Reuben was the eldest, but the birthright was given to Joseph’s sons. Even then, Jacob blessed the younger son, Ephraim, above the elder, Manasseh (Genesis 37:19-22; Genesis 49:1-4; Genesis 49:22-26).

In addition to assuming the leadership role in the family, the recipient of the birthright inherited twice that received by the other sons. In cases where a husband might have more than one wife, the birthright always went to the firstborn son of the father and could not be awarded to the son of a favorite wife without proper justification (Deuteronomy 21:15-17) or if the firstborn son’s mother was a concubine or a slave (Genesis 21:9-13; Judges 11:1-2).

The birthright of a king’s firstborn son included his succession to the throne (2 Chronicles 21:1-3). King Rehoboam of Judah violated this tradition by passing the birthright to Abijah, his favorite son. However, to avoid trouble with the older sons, the king paid them off (2 Chronicles 11:18-23).

As New Testament Christians, we have an inherited “birthright” status through Jesus Christ as the firstborn Son of God (Romans 8:29; Colossians 1:15; Revelation 1:5). As God’s only begotten Son, Jesus received the kingdom from His Father and is Lord of all (Acts 2:36; Philippians 2:9-11; Revelation 19:16). Christ promises to share with us His kingdom and inheritance (Romans 4:13; Galatians 3:29; Ephesians 1:18; Hebrews 11:16).

Christians are warned not to imitate Esau who, on impulse, gave away his birthright for a bowl of stew (Hebrews 12:16-17; Genesis 25:19-34). Because of his foolishness, Esau lost his birthright and the blessings of his father (Genesis 27). The lesson for us is to respect what is holy. We should never throw away what is important, godly, or honorable for the sake of temporary pleasure.

Our focus is to remain on Jesus, the appointed heir of all things (Hebrews 1:2; Psalm 2:7-8; Matthew 28:18). And we, through His grace and our faith in Him, are counted as joint heirs (Romans 8:17; Galatians 3:29; Titus 3:7).

Valuing a Birthright

In the Ancient Near East, the firstborn son had certain rights and privileges: he was usually favored by his father, and when his father died, he would receive a double portion of the inheritance. In the case of Jacob and Esau, when Isaac died, all that he had would be divided up into three equal parts, of which Esau would receive two as his birthright, and Jacob would only receive one.

Being an eldest child myself, I quite like this arrangement! I can hear my younger brother crying out, “that’s not fair!” Well, tough. That’s how it was done back then.

Of course, there are extrabiblical documents recording the sale or bartering of a birthright. The so-called Nuzi tablets inform us that the transfer of inheritance rights could be given or sold to another. Theoretically, a younger son could trade something of value to the eldest son for the right to a double share of their father’s inheritance. This is exactly what Jacob has in mind in today’s Scripture passage.

Isaac is still alive at this point, and his flocks and herds are still growing. The exact value of what his property will be when he passes on and leaves it to his sons is unknown. But it’s reasonable to assume that its worth more than a bowl of stew! That’s why Moses tells us that “Esau despised his birthright.” Jacob probably never would have tried to get Esau to trade it for stew if he thought that Esau valued it as deeply as he should have.

But Esau was an outdoorsman who lived in the moment. He was a hunter who always focused on his next prey. He wasn’t worried about the future. In that moment, he was hungry. He wanted food now! Why would he care about what that would cost him later?

So many of us have this attitude in life. That’s one of the reasons that our society is so deep in debt: if we can charge it on our credit cards, then we can get what we want now and worry about paying it off later. It’s one of the reasons that young couples in our churches give in to sexual temptation: we know that we will get married later, so why not enjoy having sex now? And this is one of the reasons that our society struggles so much with obesity: I know that this will cost me later, but that cookie looks so good right now, and I’m sooooo hungry!

When we sacrifice the future to indulge in momentary lusts of the flesh, we are saying by our actions that we despise our future selves. Esau despised his birthright, and traded it for a bowl of stew. But Jacob practiced wisdom.

Jacob planned this whole deal out. Esau had a regular pattern of working in the field and coming home hungry, so Jacob made sure that the stew he was cooking would smell delicious and be perfectly ready, right around when Esau would be coming home hungry. Esau wasn’t literally starving, but the good smell of the stew exaggerated his hunger, and he just had to have it now, no matter what the cost. Jacob knew this, and so he asked for something of Esau’s that Esau wouldn’t even miss in the moment, something that was so far in the future that is was way out of Esau’s thoughts: his birthright.

As the firstborn, Esau knew that he would have the birthright, so it wasn’t important to him—it was just something that he took for granted. But as the younger son (and only by a few minutes at the most!), Jacob would have seen the uneven distribution of his father’s wealth as an insult, and was stewing over it for years (pun intended). Finally, he saw his opportunity and he pounced—in a moment when Esau was weak with hungry, Jacob got him to make a formal vow. When Esau looks back on it later, he rages that Jacob “stole” his birthright. But Jacob was merely living for the future, while Esau was living for the moment. 

Each one of us has that same choice to make every day: do we live in the moment like Esau, not caring about how it will affect us in the future? Or do we practice wisdom like Jacob, and plan ahead for the future, while still enjoying the little things in life, like making stew, or tricking our brother?