Esau's Repentance and Forgiveness of Fornication
The biblical figure Esau is described in Hebrews 12:16 as a "fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright" [1]. This passage connects Esau's actions to both fornication and profanity, primarily in the context of his disregard for his spiritual inheritance.
Esau's profanity is most clearly seen in the Genesis account where he sells his birthright to his younger brother Jacob for a meal of lentil stew [1]. John Gill notes that Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage, but only after the bargain for the birthright was made and sworn to [2]. Esau's immediate consumption and subsequent departure, "following his former course of life, without any remorse of conscience," highlights his indifference to the spiritual significance of his birthright [2]. Commentators like Jamieson, Fausset & Brown emphasize that Esau "profanely cast away his spiritual privilege for the gratification of his palate," viewing the smallness of the inducement as an aggravation of his guilt [6]. Matthew Henry suggests that Esau's profanity also extended to his choice of wives, marrying Canaanites who were "strangers to the blessing to Abraham, and subject to the curse of Noah," thereby indicating his lack of desire for the blessing and disregard for God's curse [8].
The connection between Esau and fornication in Hebrews 12:16 has been interpreted in various ways. Some scholars suggest that the term "fornicator" might refer to Esau's general sensuality or lack of self-control, which led him to prioritize immediate physical gratification over spiritual blessings [6]. Matthew Henry, for instance, speculates that Esau might be called a fornicator for marrying two wives simultaneously, though he leans more towards the interpretation that his profanity stemmed from marrying Canaanites [8]. The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, an ancient text, uses the language of becoming a "slave of fornication" in a broader sense to describe a loss of spiritual power and glory, which could be seen as analogous to Esau's selling of his birthright [7].
Regarding Esau's repentance, the New Testament indicates that he "found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears" (Hebrews 12:17) [5]. This does not necessarily mean he was unable to feel regret, but rather that his tears did not lead to a true change of heart or a recovery of the lost spiritual blessing [3]. John Calvin, in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, explains that such expressions of crying and tears in figures like Esau do not denote "true conversion or calling upon God" [3]. Instead, Calvin argues, they represent the anxiety of the wicked who, in calamity, recognize their need for divine assistance but do not genuinely implore it [3]. He further clarifies that while Esau received a temporal blessing for his tears, the spiritual inheritance remained with Jacob, signifying Esau's exclusion from divine mercy in that regard [9]. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown elaborate that Esau's later desire for the blessing came "afterward," when it was too late to recover what he had despised [5]. This highlights a theological principle that there is an "acceptable time" for seeking God, and those who neglect it may find themselves calling upon Him in vain when He has "turned his back" [4].
Thus, Esau's story serves as a cautionary tale against prioritizing worldly desires over spiritual inheritance and illustrates a form of regret that falls short of genuine repentance leading to restoration [3, 5].
Sources
- King James Version “[KJV] Hebrews 12:16 — Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.”
- Genesis (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Genesis 25:34: Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles,.... This shows what the pottage was made of, of which see Gen 25:30; and that Jacob gave to Esau more than he asked and bargained for, bread as well as pottage; but neither of them until the bargain was made and swore to, and be had got the birthright secured unto him; as cunning as Esau, and as simple and plain as Jacob were, the latter outwitted the former, and was too crafty for him: and he did eat, and drink, and rose up, and went his way; following his former course of life, without any remorse of conscience”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 58: this in the application which is afterwards made of the example of Esau, who tried in vain, by crying and tears, to recover his lost birthright; nor in the denunciation of the Prophet, “They cried, and I would not hear.” Such modes of expression do not denote true conversion or calling upon God, but that anxiety with which the wicked, when in calamity, are compelled to see what they before securely disregarded—viz. that nothing can avail but the assistance of the Lord. This, however, they do not so much implore as lament the loss o”
- CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 2 (Gen 24-50), section 4.21: when he calls on them, afterwards call upon him in vain, when he has turned his back. So long as God addresses and invites us, the gate of the kingdom of heaven is in a certain sense open: this opportunity we must use, if we desire to enter, according to the instruction of the Prophet, “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found; call ye upon him while he is near.” ( Isaiah 55:6 .) Of which passage Paul is the interpreter, in defining that to be the acceptable time of the day of salvation in which grace is brought unto us by the gosp”
- Hebrews (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Hebrews 12:17: afterwards--Greek, "even afterward." He despised his birthright, accordingly also he was despised and rejected when he wished to have the blessing. As in the believer's case, so in the unbeliever's, there is an "afterwards" coming, when the believer shall look on his past griefs, and the unbeliever on his past joys, in a very different light from that in which they were respectively viewed at the time. Compare "Nevertheless afterward," &c. Heb 12:11, with the "afterward" here. when he would--when he wished to have. "He that will not when he may, wh”
- Hebrews (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Hebrews 12:16: fornicator-- (Heb 13:4; Co1 10:8). or profane--Fornication is nearly akin to gluttony, Esau's sin. He profanely cast away his spiritual privilege for the gratification of his palate. Gen 25:34 graphically portrays him. An example well fitted to strike needful horror into the Hebrews, whosoever of them, like Esau, were only sons of Isaac according to the flesh [BENGEL]. for one morsel--The smallness of the inducement only aggravates the guilt of casting away eternity for such a trifle, so far is it from being a claim for mercy (compare Gen 3:6). O”
- Introduction “Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, Introduction, section 26: by becoming the slave of fornication, as I myself also suffered. For I gave my staff, that is, the stay of my tribe; and my girdle, that is, my power; and my diadem, that is, the glory of my 4 kingdom. And indeed I repented of these things; wine and flesh I eat not until my old age, nor 5 did I behold any joy. And the angel of God showed me that for ever do women bear rule over 6 king and beggar alike. And from the king they take away his glory, and from the valiant man his might, and from the beggar even that little which is the st”
- Genesis (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Genesis 26:34: Here is, 1. Esau's foolish marriage - foolish, some think, in marrying two wives together, for which perhaps he is called a fornicator (Heb 12:16), or rather in marrying Canaanites, who were strangers to the blessing to Abraham, and subject to the curse of Noah, for which he is called profane; for hereby he intimated that he neither desired the blessing nor dreaded the curse of God. 2. The grief and trouble it created to his tender parents. (1.) It grieved them that he married without asking, or at least without taking, their advice and consent: see whose steps ”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 58: mitigation of his punishment except that he did not suffer it alive on the earth? The curse of God, though concealed, was fixed on his house, and he himself went to eternal destruction. We may see the same thing in Esau ( Gen. 27:38, 39 ). For though he met with a refusal, a temporal blessing was granted to his tears. But as, according to the declaration of God, the spiritual inheritance could be possessed only by one of the brothers, when Jacob was selected instead of Esau, that event excluded him from the divine mercy; but still ”