What is the difference between a birth right and a blessing as in the story of Esau and Jacob?<\/p>\n\t
A birthright referred to a person’s inheritance. For most of the world’s history, the firstborn child of a family would receive an extra inheritance from his father. What would happen is that when a father died, they would count his surviving children and add one to the count. They would then divide the inheritance that many ways and the eldest child would get two portions. Thus, if a man died having three surviving children, his inheritance would be divided four ways. The eldest child would receive two-fourths (that is, one-half) of the estate, and the other two children would receive one-fourth of the estate each.<\/p>\n
The birthright can be seen in this Mosaical law: “But he shall acknowledge the son of the unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his<\/em>” (Deuteronomy 21:17). The double portion came as a right of birth; that is, by the right of being firstborn.<\/p>\n This is what Esau sold to Jacob for a bowl of red bean stew when he returned hungry from a hunting trip (Genesis 25:29-34). Now, Isaac, their father was a very wealthy man. Esau gave up half of his inheritance (one-third of Isaac’s estate) for a single bowl of red bean stew. This is why it is mentioned, “Thus Esau despised his birthright<\/em>” (Genesis 25:34).<\/p>\n Though not commonly done, a birthright could be given to another son. For example, “Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel-he was indeed the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel, so that the genealogy is not listed according to the birthright; yet Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came a ruler, although the birthright was Joseph’s<\/em>” (I Chronicles 5:1-2). Because Reuben had sex with his father’s concubine, Jacob took away his second portion and gave it to Joseph. He did this by making Joseph’s own children count as his children. Since Joseph had two sons, those sons each got a portion of Jacob’s estate; thus giving Joseph’s family a double portion.<\/p>\n The family blessing was a way to designate who became the head of the extended family when the father died. Like the birthright, the blessing generally went to the eldest son but not always. Again using Jacob’s family, Reuben should have received the blessing, but because of his sin, he was skipped. Next in line was Simeon, but he and his brother Levi (third in line) had destroyed a town in anger over the rape of their sister. For that Jacob decided that they were not suitable to lead the family. Therefore, the blessing came to Judah. Thus, in Jacob’s family, the person receiving the blessing and the person receiving the birthright (or double portion) were two different people.<\/p>\n A change in the blessing also happened in Isaac’s family. Before Isaac’s twin sons were born, God said, “Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger<\/em>” (Genesis 25:23). Because God placed the older son under the younger son, he was stating that the second born was to receive the blessing. Now Isaac in his old age decided to change this and give the blessing to his eldest son, Esau, anyway. However, his wife overheard his plan and arranged it so that Jacob tricked Isaac into thinking he was his brother. Thus Isaac gave the blessing to his second son, just as God said, even when he tried to go against God.<\/p>\n The blessing in Abraham’s descendants was particularly important because God stated to Abraham that from his descendants the Savior of the world would come. The blessing followed the path of those who were Jesus’ ancestors. Jesus was a descendant of Judah, who had received Jacob’s blessing (Hebrews 7:14).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: What is the difference between a birth right and a blessing as in the story of Esau and Jacob? Answer: Birthright: A birthright referred to a person’s inheritance. For most of the world’s history, the firstborn child of a family would receive an extra inheritance from his father. What would happen is that when…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[1362,1095,189,76],"class_list":["post-8720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-birthright","tag-blessings","tag-genesis","tag-terminology"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":410,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/410-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":8720,"position":0},"title":"How were Isaac and Jacob blessed?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 19, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How were Isaac and Jacob blessed? Answer: In the times of the Old Testament children could inherit two things from their parents: property and a blessing. If your parents had three children, then on their death their property was divided four ways (one more than the number of living\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25890,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/joseph-was-the-favorite-of-all-of-jacobs-sons-so-why-did-judah-get-the-blessing\/","url_meta":{"origin":8720,"position":1},"title":"Joseph was the favorite of all of Jacob’s sons, so why did Judah get the blessing?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 5, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Joseph was the favorite of all of Jacob's sons, so why did Judah get the blessing? Answer: There were two things which typically went to the eldest son (not the favorite son): The blessing and a double portion. While it was normally the right of the firstborn to receive\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35550,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-proper-way-to-distribute-an-inheritance\/","url_meta":{"origin":8720,"position":2},"title":"What is the proper way to distribute an inheritance?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 27, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What are the biblical guidelines in regard to the proper way to distribute an inheritance? In regards to emphasis, should it be based on sex, capability, relationship, need, character, or other factors? For example, should inheritance be given more to a male, a wise person, or a close family,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4329,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-judaism-calvinistic\/","url_meta":{"origin":8720,"position":3},"title":"Is Judaism Calvinistic?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 28, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Does the Jewish religion teach predestination, foreordination and election? Do they teach that David was born in sin? Do they teach that God hates some people before they were born just because He hated Esau before he was born? Answer: Modern day Judaism is divided into three main sects\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7510,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-god-pick-jacob-for-salvation-before-or-after-he-was-born\/","url_meta":{"origin":8720,"position":4},"title":"Did God pick Jacob for salvation before or after he was born?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 29, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In regards to your article \"Predetermined Destiny\": First, after stating in paragraph five that God's selection of Jacob was made before Jacob was born, you turn right around and say that God's selection of Jacob was not made before he was born. Well, which is it? Did God pick\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":58256,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/some-thoughts-to-consider-with-our-mothers-in-mind\/","url_meta":{"origin":8720,"position":5},"title":"Some Thoughts to Consider with Our Mothers in Mind","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 21, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Abraham Smith \"For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears\" (Hebrews 12:17). This verse holds many valuable applications for the one who would accept them. From the preceding\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/01\/MotherAndChild-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8720"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8720\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Blessing:<\/h3>\n