page_title: Mess of pottage
hierarchical_section_title: Mess of pottage
caption_attribution_description: English: Esau Sells His Birthright for Pottage of Lentils, as in Genesis 25:32-33, "And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob."; illustration from the 1728 Figures de la Bible; illustrated by Gerard Hoet (1648-1733) and others, and published by P. de Hondt in The Hague; image courtesy Bizzell Bible Collection, University of Oklahoma Libraries
context_page_description: A mess of pottage is something immediately attractive but of little value taken foolishly and carelessly in exchange for something more distant and perhaps less tangible but immensely more valuable. The phrase alludes to Esau's sale of his birthright for a meal of lentil stew in Genesis 25:29-34 and connotes shortsightedness and misplaced priorities.
  The mess of pottage motif is a common theme in art, appearing for example in Mattia Bortoloni's Esau selling his birthright and Mattias Stomer's painting of the same title.
context_section_description: A mess of pottage is something immediately attractive but of little value taken foolishly and carelessly in exchange for something  more distant and perhaps less tangible but immensely more valuable. The phrase alludes to Esau's sale of his birthright for a meal ("mess") of lentil stew ("pottage") in Genesis 25:29-34 and connotes shortsightedness and misplaced priorities.
  The mess of pottage motif is a common theme in art, appearing for example in Mattia Bortoloni's Esau selling his birthright (1716) and Mattias Stomer's painting of the same title (c. 1640).
caption: Esau Sells His Birthright for Pottage of Lentils, a 1728 engraving by Gerard Hoet.
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