1 Now when Isaac was old and his eyes had become clouded so that he was not able to see, he sent for Esau, his first son, and said to him, My son: and he said, Here am I.
2 And he said, See now, I am old, and my death may take place at any time:
3 So take your arrows and your bow and go out to the field and get meat for me;
4 And make me food, good to the taste, such as is pleasing to me, and put it before me, so that I may have a meal and give you my blessing before death comes to me.
5 Now Isaac's words to his son were said in Rebekah's hearing. Then Esau went out to get the meat.
6 And Rebekah said to Jacob, her son, Your father said to your brother Esau in my hearing,
7 Go and get some roe's meat and make me a good meal, so that I may be full, and give you my blessing before the Lord before my death.
8 Now, my son, do what I say.
9 Go to the flock and get me two fat young goats; and I will make of them a meal to your father's taste:
10 And you will take it to him, so that he may have a good meal and give you his blessing before his death.
11 And Jacob said to Rebekah, his mother, But Esau my brother is covered with hair, while I am smooth:
12 If by chance my father puts his hand on me, it will seem to him that I am tricking him, and he will put a curse on me in place of a blessing.
13 And his mother said, Let the curse be on me, my son: only do as I say, and go and get them for me.
14 So he went and got them and took them to his mother: and she made a meal to his father's taste.
15 And Rebekah took the fair robes of her oldest son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob, her younger son:
16 And she put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck:
17 And she gave into the hand of Jacob, her son, the meat and the bread which she had made ready.
18 And he came to his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I: who are you, my son?
19 And Jacob said, I am Esau, your oldest son; I have done as you said: come now, be seated and take of my meat, so that you may give me a blessing.
20 And Isaac said, How is it that you have got it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the Lord your God made it come my way.
21 And Isaac said, Come near so that I may put my hand on you, my son, and see if you are truly my son Esau or not.
22 And Jacob went near his father Isaac: and he put his hands on him; and he said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.
23 And he did not make out who he was, because his hands were covered with hair like his brother Esau's hands: so he gave him a blessing.
24 And he said, Are you truly my son Esau? And he said, I am.
25 And he said, Put it before me and I will take of my son's meat, so that I may give you a blessing. And he put it before him and he took it; and he gave him wine, and he had a drink.
26 And his father Isaac said to him, Come near now, my son, and give me a kiss.
27 And he came near and gave him a kiss; and smelling the smell of his clothing, he gave him a blessing, and said, See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field on which the blessing of the Lord has come:
28 May God give you the dew of heaven, and the good things of the earth, and grain and wine in full measure:
29 Let peoples be your servants, and nations go down before you: be lord over your brothers, and let your mother's sons go down before you: a curse be on everyone by whom you are cursed, and a blessing on those who give you a blessing.
30 And when Isaac had come to the end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob had not long gone away from Isaac his father, Esau came in from the field.
31 And he made ready a meal, good to the taste, and took it to his father, and said to him, Let my father get up and take of his son's meat, so that you may give me a blessing.
32 And Isaac his father said to him, Who are you? And he said, I am your oldest son, Esau.
33 And in great fear Isaac said, Who then is he who got meat and put it before me, and I took it all before you came, and gave him a blessing, and his it will be?
34 And hearing the words of his father, Esau gave a great and bitter cry, and said to his father, Give a blessing to me, even to me, O my father!
35 And he said, Your brother came with deceit, and took away your blessing.
36 And he said, Is it because he is named Jacob that he has twice taken my place? for he took away my birthright, and now he has taken away my blessing. And he said, Have you not kept a blessing for me?
37 And Isaac answering said, But I have made him your master, and have given him all his brothers for servants; I have made him strong with grain and wine: what then am I to do for you, my son?
38 And Esau said to his father, Is that the only blessing you have, my father? give a blessing to me, even me! And Esau was overcome with weeping.
39 Then Isaac his father made answer and said to him, Far from the fertile places of the earth, and far from the dew of heaven on high will your living-place be:
40 By your sword will you get your living and you will be your brother's servant; but when your power is increased his yoke will be broken from off your neck.
41 So Esau was full of hate for Jacob because of his father's blessing; and he said in his heart, The days of weeping for my father are near; then I will put my brother Jacob to death.
42 Then Rebekah, hearing what Esau had said, sent for Jacob, her younger son, and said to him, It seems that your brother Esau is purposing to put you to death.
43 So now, my son, do what I say: go quickly to Haran, to my brother Laban;
44 And be there with him for a little time, till your brother's wrath is turned away;
45 Till the memory of what you have done to him is past and he is no longer angry: then I will send word for you to come back; are the two of you to be taken from me in one day?
46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, My life is a weariness to me because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob takes a wife from among the daughters of Heth, such as these, the women of this land, of what use will my life be to me?
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 27
Commentary on Genesis 27 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 27
Ge 27:1-27. Infirmity of Isaac.
1. when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim—He was in his hundred thirty-seventh year; and apprehending death to be near, Isaac prepared to make his last will—an act of the gravest importance, especially as it included the conveyance through a prophetic spirit of the patriarchal blessing.
4. make … savory meat—perhaps to revive and strengthen him for the duty; or rather, "as eating and drinking" were used on all religious occasions, he could not convey the right, till he had eaten of the meat provided for the purpose by him who was to receive the blessing [Adam Clarke] (compare Ge 18:7).
that my soul may bless thee—It is difficult to imagine him ignorant of the divine purpose (compare Ge 25:23). But natural affection, prevailing through age and infirmity, prompted him to entail the honors and powers of the birthright on his elder son; and perhaps he was not aware of what Esau had done (Ge 25:34).
6-10. Rebekah spake unto Jacob—She prized the blessing as invaluable; she knew that God intended it for the younger son [Ge 25:23]; and in her anxiety to secure its being conferred on the right object—on one who cared for religion—she acted in the sincerity of faith; but in crooked policy—with unenlightened zeal; on the false principle that the end would sanctify the means.
11. Jacob said, Esau my brother is a hairy man—It is remarkable that his scruples were founded, not on the evil of the act, but on the risk and consequences of deception.
13-17. and his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse—His conscience being soothed by his mother, preparations were hastily made for carrying out the device; consisting, first, of a kid's flesh, which, made into a ragout, spiced with salt, onions, garlic, and lemon juice, might easily be passed off on a blind old man, with blunted senses, as game; second, of pieces of goat's skin bound on his hands and neck, its soft silken hair resembling that on the cheek of a young man; third, of the long white robe—the vestment of the first-born, which, transmitted from father to son and kept in a chest among fragrant herbs and perfumed flowers used much in the East to keep away moths—his mother provided for him.
18-27. he came unto his father—The scheme planned by the mother was to be executed by the son in the father's bedchamber; and it is painful to think of the deliberate falsehoods, as well as daring profanity, he resorted to. The disguise, though wanting in one thing, which had nearly upset the whole plot, succeeded in misleading Isaac; and while giving his paternal embrace, the old man was roused into a state of high satisfaction and delight.
27. the smell of my son is as of a field—The aromatic odors of the Syrian fields and meadows, often impart a strong fragrance to the person and clothes, as has been noticed by many travellers.
Ge 27:28-46. The Blessing.
28. God give thee of the dew of heaven—To an Oriental mind, this phraseology implied the highest flow of prosperity. The copious fall of dew is indispensable to the fruitfulness of lands, which would be otherwise arid and sterile through the violent heat; and it abounds most in hilly regions, such as Canaan, hence called the "fat land" (Ne 9:25, 35).
plenty of corn and wine—Palestine was famous for vineyards, and it produced varieties of corn, namely, wheat, barley, oats, and rye.
29. Let people serve thee—fulfilled in the discomfiture of the hostile tribes that opposed the Israelites in the wilderness; and in the pre-eminence and power they attained after their national establishment in the promised land. This blessing was not realized to Jacob, but to his descendants; and the temporal blessings promised were but a shadow of those spiritual ones, which formed the grand distinction of Jacob's posterity.
30-35. Esau came in from his hunting—Scarcely had the former scene been concluded, when the fraud was discovered. The emotions of Isaac, as well as Esau, may easily be imagined—the astonishment, alarm, and sorrow of the one; the disappointment and indignation of the other. But a moment's reflection convinced the aged patriarch that the transfer of the blessing was "of the Lord," and now irrevocable. The importunities of Esau, however, overpowered him; and as the prophetic afflatus was upon the patriarch, he added what was probably as pleasing to a man of Esau's character as the other would have been.
39, 40. Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth—The first part is a promise of temporal prosperity, made in the same terms as Jacob's [Ge 27:28]—the second part refers to the roving life of hunting freebooters, which he and his descendants should lead. Though Esau was not personally subject to his brother, his posterity were tributary to the Israelites, till the reign of Joram when they revolted and established a kingdom of their own (2Ki 8:20; 2Ch 21:8-10).
41. Esau hated Jacob—It is scarcely to be wondered at that Esau resented the conduct of Jacob and vowed revenge.
The days of mourning for my father are at hand—a common Oriental phrase for the death of a parent.
42-45. these words of Esau were told Rebekah—Poor woman! she now early begins to reap the bitter fruits of her fraudulent device; she is obliged to part with her son, for whom she planned it, never, probably, seeing him again; and he felt the retributive justice of heaven fall upon him heavily in his own future family.
45. Why should I be deprived of you both?—This refers to the law of Goelism, by which the nearest of kin would be obliged to avenge the death of Jacob upon his brother.
46. Rebekah said to Isaac—Another pretext Rebekah's cunning had to devise to obtain her husband's consent to Jacob's journey to Mesopotamia; and she succeeded by touching the aged patriarch in a tender point, afflicting to his pious heart—the proper marriage of their younger son.