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Genesis 27

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Isaac Plans to Bless Esau 1–5

1
And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his elder son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Here am I. ​
2
And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death.
3
Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me venison;
4
and make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die. ​
5
And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.

Rebekah and Jacob Plot Deception 6–17

6
And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, ​
7
Bring me venison, and make me savory food, that I may eat, and bless thee before Jehovah before my death. ​
8
Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.
9
Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savory food for thy father, such as he loveth:
10
and thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, so that he may bless thee before his death.
11
And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man.
12
My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. ​
13
And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son; only obey my voice, and go fetch me them. ​
14
And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved.
15
And Rebekah took the goodly garments of Esau her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son; ​
16
and she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: ​
17
and she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

Jacob Deceives Isaac and Receives the Blessing 18–29

18
And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?
19
And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy first-born; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. ​
20
And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because Jehovah thy God sent me good speed. ​
21
And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.
22
And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. ​
23
And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.
24
And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.
25
And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank.
26
And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.
27
And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son Is as the smell of a field which Jehovah hath blessed: ​
28
And God give thee of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and new wine: ​
29
Let peoples serve thee, And nations bow down to thee: Be lord over thy brethren, And let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: Cursed be every one that curseth thee, And blessed be every one that blesseth thee. ​

Esau Returns; The Deception Is Revealed 30–40

30
And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.
31
And he also made savory food, and brought it unto his father; and he said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison, that thy soul may bless me.
32
And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy first-born, Esau.
33
And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who then is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed. ​
34
When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceeding great and bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father. ​
35
And he said, Thy brother came with guile, and hath taken away thy blessing. ​
36
And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me? ​
37
And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with grain and new wine have I sustained him: and what then shall I do for thee, my son? ​
38
And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.
39
And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, of the fatness of the earth shall be thy dwelling, And of the dew of heaven from above; ​
40
And by thy sword shalt thou live, and thou shalt serve thy brother; And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt break loose, That thou shalt shake his yoke from off thy neck. ​

Esau Vows Revenge; Jacob Flees 41–46

41
And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob. ​
42
And the words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah; and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee.
43
Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; ​
44
and tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away;
45
until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be bereaved of you both in one day? ​
46
And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these, of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me? ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Genesis 27

Verse 1

his eyes were dim — Kahah, to grow dull; Israel's eyes were 'dim' too (48:10, kaved), and Eli's (1 Sam 3:2, kehah). Isaac calls 'Esau his eldest son' (gadol, great or elder) though the LORD had said 'the elder shall serve the younger' (25:23) and Esau had sold the birthright (25:33). Hebrews says, 'By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come' (Heb 11:20).

Verse 4

savoury meat, such as I love — Matammim, relished dishes; the word occurs six times in the chapter (vv.4, 7, 9, 14, 17, 31). Isaac wants it 'that my soul may bless thee' (nephesh, the whole person), so the blessing is to be spoken after the meal. He says the same at the table in v.25. He had loved Esau for his venison (25:28).

Verse 6

I heard thy father speak unto Esau — Verse 5 says 'Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau', and Esau went to hunt. Isaac and Rebekah each act for the son they love (25:28). The only word of the LORD about the two sons had been given to Rebekah: 'the elder shall serve the younger' (25:23).

Verse 7

before the LORD — Rebekah reports Isaac's words, but Isaac had said, 'that my soul may bless thee before I die' (v.4). 'Before the LORD' is her addition, and 'before my death' stands in for his wording. She sets the blessing in the LORD's presence in telling it, as the first thing Jacob hears.

Verse 12

my father peradventure will feel me — Mashash, to grope, the verb used of the blind: 'as the blind gropeth in darkness' (Deut 28:29), and of Egypt's 'darkness which may be felt' (Exod 10:21). Isaac uses it in v.22. Jacob fears 'a curse… and not a blessing'. The Law has its own curse: 'Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way' (Deut 27:18).

Verse 13

Upon me be thy curse — Rebekah takes the curse on herself, in the idiom of Abigail's 'Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be' (1 Sam 25:24) and the woman of Tekoah (2 Sam 14:9). 'Obey my voice' is her word three times in the chapter (vv.8, 13, 43), spoken to Jacob each time.

Verse 15

her eldest son… her younger son — The text sets the two titles side by side, as the oracle did: 'the elder shall serve the younger' (25:23). 'Goodly' is chemdah, desirable or precious. Esau's best clothes were kept at her house, and Isaac later smells them (v.27). The same verb, labash, 'put on', is used of the clothes here and the skins in v.16.

Verse 16

the skins of the kids of the goats — They answer Jacob's reason for fear in v.11: 'Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man'. The kid of the goats appears again when Jacob's sons 'killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood' to show their father Joseph's coat (37:31).

Verse 19

I am Esau thy firstborn — 'Firstborn' is bekor, the root of the bechorah (birthright) Jacob had bought (25:31–33). Here he claims the rank by Esau's name. 'I have done according as thou badest me' answers the instruction of v.4, and 'that thy soul may bless me' repeats Isaac's own words with the pronoun changed.

Verse 20

the LORD thy God brought it to me — Qarah, 'brought', literally 'caused to meet me', the verb of the servant's prayer 'send me good speed' (24:12), where the answer was the LORD's. Jacob says 'the LORD thy God', not 'my God'. Isaac's question uses mahar, 'so quickly', the same word as 'hasted' for Abraham's meal (18:7).

Verse 22

The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau — Isaac 'felt' him (mashash, v.12), then weighs the voice against the hands. His verdict follows the hands: 'he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him' (v.23). He asks once more in v.24 before the blessing.

Verse 27

the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed — The clothes are Esau's (v.15), and Esau is 'a man of the field' (25:27). Isaac's own field had been blessed: 'Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him' (26:12). The smell prompts the blessing that follows, which begins in v.28.

Verse 28

the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth — Dew (tal), fatness (mishmannim), 'corn and wine' (dagan, tirosh): the gifts of the land. Moses' blessing of Israel uses the same: 'a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew' (Deut 33:28), and of Joseph, 'the precious things of heaven, for the dew' (Deut 33:13).

Verse 29

Let people serve thee — The last line, 'cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee', is the line of the promise to Abraham (12:3) and is spoken of Israel in Num 24:9. Jacob himself 'bowed himself to the ground seven times' to Esau at their meeting (33:3).

Verse 33

Isaac trembled very exceedingly — Charad, to tremble, with 'a great trembling' in the Hebrew. His verdict, 'yea, and he shall be blessed', stands. He himself later sends Jacob out with 'the blessing of Abraham' (28:3–4), and Hebrews says that 'by faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come' (Heb 11:20).

Verse 34

a great and exceeding bitter cry — Tse'aqah, the noun used in Genesis only here and of the cry of Sodom (18:21; 19:13); 'bitter' is mar, as in Mordecai's 'loud and a bitter cry' (Esth 4:1). Hebrews recalls it: 'when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected… though he sought it carefully with tears' (Heb 12:17).

Verse 35

subtilty — Mirmah, deceit; in Genesis only here and when Jacob's sons 'answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully' (34:13). It is Isaac who names it: 'Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing', in answer to Esau's cry. Esau repeats the charge in his own words in v.36.

Verse 36

he hath supplanted me these two times — Aqab, the verb behind 'Jacob', found in Genesis only here. The two things taken are the 'birthright' (25:31–34) and the 'blessing' (berakah). 'Reserved' is atsal, to set apart. The name is later changed: 'Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel' (32:28).

Verse 37

I have made him thy lord — Gevir, a master, found in Genesis only in vv.29 and 37. Isaac lists what was given: lordship, 'all his brethren… for servants', and 'corn and wine' to 'sustain' him (samak, to hold up). His closing question, 'what shall I do now unto thee, my son?', is answered by a lesser blessing in vv.39–40.

Verse 39

thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth — Esau receives the pair of v.28, 'the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above'. He later took his household and 'went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob' (36:6) and settled: 'Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom' (36:8).

Verse 40

by thy sword shalt thou live — The word fulfils the line of 25:23. 'Serve thy brother' is seen when 'all they of Edom became David's servants' (2 Sam 8:14); the yoke is broken when 'Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day' (2 Kgs 8:22; also 8:20).

Verse 41

Esau hated Jacob — Satam, to bear hatred; in Genesis it recurs of Joseph, whom the archers 'sorely grieved… and hated' (49:23), and in his brothers' fear 'Joseph will peradventure hate us' (50:15). Esau 'said in his heart' what he planned, and the words were then 'told to Rebekah' (v.42).

Verse 43

flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran — Barach, to flee; the same verb is used when Jacob later 'fled' (31:20) and in God's word 'when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother' (35:1). Rebekah says 'a few days' (v.44); the stay was 'twenty years' in Laban's house (31:41). Hosea says, 'Jacob fled into the country of Syria' (Hos 12:12).

Verse 45

deprived also of you both in one day — Shakol, to be bereaved of children. The loss is double: Jacob would be slain, and Esau would come under the law of blood, 'Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed' (9:6). Jacob uses the verb of himself later: 'Me have ye bereaved of my children' (42:36) and 'If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved' (43:14).

Verse 46

the daughters of Heth — Heth was Canaan's son (10:15). Esau's Hittite wives 'were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah' (26:34–35). Her words lead to Isaac's charge in 28:1–2, 'Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan' and 'Arise, go to Padanaram', the same restraint Abraham laid on his servant (24:3).