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.
Esau Sells His Birthright for Pottage of Lentils, a 1728 engraving by Gerard Hoet.
Esau and the Mess of Pottage, by Jan Victors.
Esau is the elder son of Isaac in the Hebrew Bible. He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis and by the prophets Obadiah and Malachi. The Christian New Testament alludes to him in the Epistle to the Romans and in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Esau and Jacob (1919) by Adolf Hulf
Esau and Jacob Presented to Isaac (painting circa 1779–1801 by Benjamin West)
Francesco Hayez: Esau and Jacob reconcile (1844)
Esau Selling His Birthright by Hendrick ter Brugghen c. 1627