1 And it cometh to pass that Isaac `is' aged, and his eyes are too dim for seeing, and he calleth Esau his elder son, and saith unto him, `My son;' and he saith unto him, `Here `am' I.'
2 And he saith, `Lo, I pray thee, I have become aged, I have not known the day of my death;
3 and now, take up, I pray thee, thy instruments, thy quiver, and thy bow, and go out to the field, and hunt for me provision,
4 and make for me tasteful things, `such' as I have loved, and bring in to me, and I do eat, so that my soul doth bless thee before I die.'
5 And Rebekah is hearkening while Isaac is speaking unto Esau his son; and Esau goeth to the field to hunt provision -- to bring in;
6 and Rebekah hath spoken unto Jacob her son, saying, `Lo, I have heard thy father speaking unto Esau thy brother, saying,
7 Bring for me provision, and make for me tasteful things, and I do eat, and bless thee before Jehovah before my death.
8 `And now, my son, hearken to my voice, to that which I am commanding thee:
9 Go, I pray thee, unto the flock, and take for me from thence two good kids of the goats, and I make them tasteful things for thy father, `such' as he hath loved;
10 and thou hast taken in to thy father, and he hath eaten, so that his soul doth bless thee before his death.
11 And Jacob saith unto Rebekah his mother, `Lo, Esau my brother `is' a hairy man, and I a smooth man,
12 it may be my father doth feel me, and I have been in his eyes as a deceiver, and have brought upon me disesteem, and not a blessing;'
13 and his mother saith to him, `On me thy disesteem, my son; only hearken to my voice, and go, take for me.'
14 And he goeth, and taketh, and bringeth to his mother, and his mother maketh tasteful things, `such' as his father hath loved;
15 and Rebekah taketh the desirable garments of Esau her elder son, which `are' with her in the house, and doth put on Jacob her younger son;
16 and the skins of the kids of the goats she hath put on his hands, and on the smooth of his neck,
17 and she giveth the tasteful things, and the bread which she hath made, into the hand of Jacob her son.
18 And he cometh in unto his father, and saith, `My father;' and he saith, `Here `am' I; who `art' thou, my son?'
19 And Jacob saith unto his father, `I `am' Esau thy first-born; I have done as thou hast spoken unto me; rise, I pray thee, sit, and eat of my provision, so that thy soul doth bless me.'
20 And Isaac saith unto his son, `What `is' this thou hast hasted to find, my son?' and he saith, `That which Jehovah thy God hath caused to come before me.'
21 And Isaac saith unto Jacob, `Come nigh, I pray thee, and I feel thee, my son, whether thou `art' he, my son Esau, or not.'
22 And Jacob cometh nigh unto Isaac his father, and he feeleth him, and saith, `The voice `is' the voice of Jacob, and the hands hands of Esau.'
23 And he hath not discerned him, for his hands have been hairy, as the hands of Esau his brother, and he blesseth him,
24 and saith, `Thou art he -- my son Esau?' and he saith, `I `am'.'
25 And he saith, `Bring nigh to me, and I do eat of my son's provision, so that my soul doth bless thee;' and he bringeth nigh to him, and he eateth; and he bringeth to him wine, and he drinketh.
26 And Isaac his father saith to him, `Come nigh, I pray thee, and kiss me, my son;'
27 and he cometh nigh, and kisseth him, and he smelleth the fragrance of his garments, and blesseth him, and saith, `See, the fragrance of my son `is' as the fragrance of a field which Jehovah hath blessed;
28 and God doth give to thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and abundance of corn and wine;
29 peoples serve thee, and nations bow themselves to thee, be thou mighty over thy brethren, and the sons of thy mother bow themselves to thee; those who curse thee `are' cursed, and those who bless thee `are' blessed.'
30 And it cometh to pass, as Isaac hath finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob is only just going out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother hath come in from his hunting;
31 and he also maketh tasteful things, and bringeth to his father, and saith to his father, `Let my father arise, and eat of his son's provision, so that thy soul doth bless me.'
32 And Isaac his father saith to him, `Who `art' thou?' and he saith, `I `am' thy son, thy first-born, Esau;'
33 and Isaac trembleth a very great trembling, and saith, `Who, now, `is' he who hath provided provision, and bringeth in to me, and I eat of all before thou comest in, and I bless him? -- yea, blessed is he.'
34 When Esau heareth the words of his father, then he crieth a very great and bitter cry, and saith to his father, `Bless me, me also, O my father;'
35 and he saith, `Thy brother hath come with subtilty, and taketh thy blessing.'
36 And he saith, `Is it because `one' called his name Jacob that he doth take me by the heel these two times? my birthright he hath taken; and lo, now, he hath taken my blessing;' he saith also, `Hast thou not kept back a blessing for me?'
37 And Isaac answereth and saith to Esau, `Lo, a mighty one have I set him over thee, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants, and `with' corn and wine have I sustained him; and for thee now, what shall I do, my son?'
38 And Esau saith unto his father, `One blessing hast thou my father? bless me, me also, O my father;' and Esau lifteth up his voice, and weepeth.
39 And Isaac his father answereth and saith unto him, `Lo, of the fatness of the earth is thy dwelling, and of the dew of the heavens from above;
40 and by thy sword dost thou live, and thy brother dost thou serve; and it hath come to pass when thou rulest, that thou hast broken his yoke from off thy neck.'
41 And Esau hateth Jacob, because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau saith in his heart, `The days of mourning `for' my father draw near, and I slay Jacob my brother.'
42 And the words of Esau her elder son are declared to Rebekah, and she sendeth and calleth for Jacob her younger son, and saith unto him, `Lo, Esau thy brother is comforting himself in regard to thee -- to slay thee;
43 and now, my son, hearken to my voice, and rise, flee for thyself unto Laban my brother, to Haran,
44 and thou hast dwelt with him some days, till thy brother's fury turn back,
45 till thy brother's anger turn back from thee, and he hath forgotten that which thou hast done to him, and I have sent and taken thee from thence; why am I bereaved even of you both the same day?'
46 And Rebekah saith unto Isaac, `I have been disgusted with my life because of the presence of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these -- from the daughters of the land -- why do I live?'
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.