One day Esau, tired and hungry, came along from the field while Jacob was boiling up some stew. In response to Esau’s request, “Quick, please, give me a swallow of the red​—the red there,” Jacob asked him to sell his birthright. Having no appreciation for sacred things, namely, the promise of Jehovah to Abraham respecting the seed through whom all nations of the earth would bless themselves, Esau impetuously, by sworn oath, sold his birthright to Jacob for one meal of lentil stew and bread. By thus despising the birthright, viewing it as of little value, Esau showed a complete lack of faith. He perhaps wanted no part in suffering the fulfillment of God’s word concerning Abraham’s seed: “Your seed will become an alien resident in a land not theirs, and they will have to serve them, and these will certainly afflict them for four hundred years.”​—Ge 15:13; 25:29-34; Heb 12:16.

Esau knew that Jacob was entitled to the blessing because he had legally acquired the birthright. (Archaeological testimony confirms that among ancient peoples of the Middle East the practice existed of exchanging a birthright for something material. For example, a text from Nuzi tells of one brother’s receiving three sheep in exchange for his share of the inheritance.) But Esau, like Cain, harbored animosity toward his brother Jacob and was waiting for an opportunity to put him to death. Therefore, Rebekah, on learning of this, advised Jacob to run away to her brother Laban at Haran. When seeking Isaac’s consent in this matter, she kindly chose not to reveal to Isaac the murderous intention of Esau but voiced her feelings as to how she would be affected if Jacob ever took a wife like the daughters of Heth. Isaac then called Jacob, blessed him, and directed him to go to Paddan-aram to Rebekah’s relatives to obtain a wife. When Esau saw this, he was prompted to take a third wife, Mahalath (Basemath?) the daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael.​—Ge 27:41–28:9; 36:3; see BASEMATH No. 2.