Mess of pottage

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.

Its first attested use,[2] already associated with Esau's bargain, is in the English summary of one of John Capgrave's sermons, c. 1452, "[Jacob] supplanted his broþir, bying his fader blessing for a mese of potage.

"[3] In the sixteenth century it continues its association with Esau, appearing in Bonde's Pylgrimage of Perfection (1526) and in the English versions of two influential works by Erasmus, the Enchiridion (1533)[4] and the Paraphrase upon the New Testament (1548):[5] "th'enherytaunce of the elder brother solde for a messe of potage".

The disbelieving world would sell thee so; / Head turned with sophistries, and heart grown cold, / For a vile mess of pottage it would throw / Away thy heritage, and count the gold!".

[18] Terry Pratchett has a bystander ("who was anxious not to break the flow") say this in Feet of Clay, after Nobby of the Watch has guessed that the phrase is "a spot of massage" and Sgt Colon attempted to correct it to "a pot of message".

The phrase also appears in Myra Brooks Welch's poem "The Touch of the Master's Hand," in which "a mess of pottage – a glass of wine – a game" stand for all such petty worldly pursuits, contrasted to life after a spiritual awakening.