<P> 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 . </P>
<P> 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 . </P>
who sold his birthright for a mess of pottage
who sold his birthright for a mess of pottage
Esau 's
Esau 's