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mess of pottage

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | 476 words | Copyright

mess of pottage in the biblical story, the dish of lentils for which the hungry Esau sold his birthright to his younger brother Jacob (Genesis 25); the expression is proverbial for a ridiculously small amount offered or taken for something of real value.

Although the proverbial use is recorded from 1526, it does not occur in the Authorized Version of 1611; it does however appear in the heading of chapter 25 in the Bibles of 1537 and 1539, and in the Geneva Bible of 1560.

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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "mess of pottage." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "mess of pottage." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-messofpottage.html

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "mess of pottage." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-messofpottage.html

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