Food need not be a mere necessity of life…
…In the annals of cookery, even a simple mess of pottage can prove significant. Pottage, a hearty soup that is simple to make and satisfying to the appetite, is to this day a staple in Middle Eastern households, just as it was in biblical times. In the book of Genesis, Esau, a hunter, was the elder of twins sired by Isaac. His brother was named Jacob. One day Esau returned from the hunt to find Jacob preparing lentil soup.
—Origin: Flanders, 1620s, Francken, Frans II
Source of entry: Purchasing Commission of the Experts of the State Hermitage Museum, 1963
School: Flemish
Theme: The Bible and Christianity. click image for source…
Exhausted and famished, Esau cried, “Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint.” Jacob,knowing that the bearded Esau was his father,s favorite because of his love for hunting, replied that Esau must first make over his birthright to him. Esau’s hunger overcame all else: “Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?”
He swore to give up his birthright. Thus was biblical history made, for it was Jacob, not Esau, who became the progenitor of the twelve tribes of Israel.
—Title: ‘Isaac Blessing Jacob’
Painter: Govert Flinck
Year: 1638
Incident shown: Old, blind, manipulated by those he thought he could trust. The luxurious coat, once a symbol of his authority in the tribe, now falls from his shoulders, reminding the viewer that his power now passes to the eager, duplicitous son kneeling at his bedside.
Bible reference: Genesis 27
Comment: Flinck was a pupil of Rembrandt’s, and the influence of the older artist is clear in this painting of Rebecca and her husband and son.
She leans forward, urging her aged husband to give his blessing to the disguised Jacob. The old man’s closed eyes remind us that he cannot see his son kneeling in front of him, and mistakenly thinks he is blessing his other son, the hirsute Esau. —click image for source…
ADDENDUM:
(see link at end)….One day, Esau casually gave his birthright to Jacob. This meant he handed over half of his inheritance,. It was probably done in jest, since their father would have to agree and Esau was confident this would never happen.
Time went by, and Isaac realized he was near death. This meant he would have to give his formal Blessing to the son he wanted to succeed him. Esau, his favorite son, was the obvious choice.
But Rebecca had other ideas. She believed that the quiet, intelligent Jacob would do a better job. So she colluded with her younger son and under her direction, Jacob tricked his blind, dying father into giving the Blessing to him.
Esau was enraged. He had been betrayed by his mother and brother and lost the inheritance that was due to him, his birthright and the Blessing. He planned to kill Jacob as soon as his father died. Once again, Rebecca stepped in to help Jacob escape. Before she died, this remarkable woman saw all her plans come to fruition.Read More:http://www.bible-topten.com/Rebecca.htm#THE%20STORY%20OF%20REBECCA%20AND%20ISAAC
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