First sell me your birthright is literally “sell me as today your birthright.” Jacob pressures Esau to give up his birthright immediately before he will consent to give him some of the food he has cooked. The word sell may be inappropriate in cases where it means only the exchange of goods for money. Some languages will prefer a word meaning “barter,” “trade,” or “give.” Bible en français courant has a word meaning “yield, give up, surrender.” Speiser says “give me in exchange.” Birthright refers to the right of the firstborn to inherit from the father twice as much as the younger brother or brothers will inherit.

In languages in which the idea of birthright (primogeniture) is unknown, it may be necessary to use a descriptive phrase such as “the right to inherit most of our father’s wealth” or “the rights held by the oldest brother.” Two examples from Pacific translations are “If you promise me that you will no longer do the things you have a right to do because you are the firstborn, and you agree that I will do those things, then I will…” and “First you must give me that rank of yours as the oldest son, and after that I will….” In one other language the birthright is expressed as “your place as second to our father, because you are the firstborn son.” If a short phrase like “oldest brother’s rights” is used, it may be necessary to explain that phrase in a footnote.

Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch provides a suitable model for some translators: “Jacob answered: ‘You will get it only when you surrender your birthright to me on the spot [here and now].’ ”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .