Hebrews 12:17

Would have inherited] The RV removes the ambiguity of these words by rendering 'when he afterward desired to inherit.' He sought it] i.e. the blessing, not the repentance. When Esau is said to have 'found no place of repentance,' this does not mean that he found it impossible to repent—a thing contrary to all the doctrine of Scripture. In Hebrews 6:4 the author does not say 'they cannot repent,' but 'we cannot make them repent.' What is meant is that when he afterward wished to inherit the blessing he found it irretrievably beyond his reach. He found no way of undoing the consequence of his own act: see Genesis 27:34.

18-24. Appeal for greater watchfulness based on a contrast between the new covenant and the old: cp. Genesis 2:1; Genesis 10:28.