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Texts -- Genesis 27:1--28:9 (NET)

Context
Jacob Cheats Esau out of the Blessing
27:1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind , he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son !” “Here I am!” Esau replied . 27:2 Isaac said , “Since I am so old , I could die at any time . 27:3 Therefore , take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game for me. 27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food , the kind I love , and bring it to me. Then I will eat it so that I may bless you before I die .” 27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau . When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back , 27:6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob , “Look , I overheard your father tell your brother Esau , 27:7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare for me some tasty food . Then I will eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before I die .’ 27:8 Now then, my son , do exactly what I tell you! 27:9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats . I’ll prepare them in a tasty way for your father , just the way he loves them. 27:10 Then you will take it to your father . Thus he will eat it and bless you before he dies .” 27:11 “But Esau my brother is a hairy man ,” Jacob protested to his mother Rebekah , “and I have smooth skin ! 27:12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him and I’ll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing .” 27:13 So his mother told him, “Any curse against you will fall on me, my son ! Just obey me ! Go and get them for me!” 27:14 So he went and got the goats and brought them to his mother . She prepared some tasty food , just the way his father loved it. 27:15 Then Rebekah took her older son Esau’s best clothes , which she had with her in the house , and put them on her younger son Jacob . 27:16 She put the skins of the young goats on his hands and the smooth part of his neck . 27:17 Then she handed the tasty food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob . 27:18 He went to his father and said , “My father !” Isaac replied , “Here I am. Which are you , my son ?” 27:19 Jacob said to his father , “I am Esau , your firstborn . I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up up and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” 27:20 But Isaac asked his son , “How in the world did you find it so quickly , my son ?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” he replied . 27:21 Then Isaac said to Jacob , “Come closer so I can touch you , my son , and know for certain if you really are my son Esau .” 27:22 So Jacob went over to his father Isaac , who felt him and said , “The voice is Jacob’s , but the hands are Esau’s .” 27:23 He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy , like his brother Esau’s hands . So Isaac blessed Jacob. 27:24 Then he asked , “Are you really my son Esau ?” “I am,” Jacob replied . 27:25 Isaac said , “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat , my son . Then I will bless you.” So Jacob brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine , and Isaac drank . 27:26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son .” 27:27 So Jacob went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent of his clothing , he blessed him, saying , “Yes , my son smells like the scent of an open field which the Lord has blessed . 27:28 May God give you the dew of the sky and the richness of the earth , and plenty of grain and new wine . 27:29 May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. You will be lord over your brothers , and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed , and those who bless you be blessed .” 27:30 Isaac had just finished blessing Jacob , and Jacob had scarcely left his father’s presence , when his brother Esau returned from the hunt . 27:31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father . Esau said to him, “My father , get up and eat some of your son’s wild game . Then you can bless me.” 27:32 His father Isaac asked, “Who are you ?” “I am your firstborn son ,” he replied , “Esau !” 27:33 Isaac began to shake violently and asked , “Then who else hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it just before you arrived , and I blessed him. He will indeed be blessed !” 27:34 When Esau heard his father’s words , he wailed loudly and bitterly . He said to his father , “Bless me too , my father !” 27:35 But Isaac replied , “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away your blessing .” 27:36 Esau exclaimed , “‘Jacob ’ is the right name for him! He has tripped me up two times ! He took away my birthright , and now , look , he has taken away my blessing !” Then he asked , “Have you not kept back a blessing for me?” 27:37 Isaac replied to Esau , “Look ! I have made him lord over you. I have made all his relatives his servants and provided him with grain and new wine . What is left that I can do for you, my son ?” 27:38 Esau said to his father , “Do you have only that one blessing , my father ? Bless me too !” Then Esau wept loudly . 27:39 So his father Isaac said to him, “Indeed , your home will be away from the richness of the earth , and away from the dew of the sky above . 27:40 You will live by your sword but you will serve your brother . When you grow restless , you will tear off his yoke from your neck .” 27:41 So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. Esau said privately , “The time of mourning for my father is near ; then I will kill my brother Jacob !” 27:42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said , she quickly summoned her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look , your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you. 27:43 Now then, my son , do what I say . Run away immediately to my brother Laban in Haran . 27:44 Live with him for a little while until your brother’s rage subsides . 27:45 Stay there until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I’ll send someone to bring you back from there . Why should I lose both of you in one day ?” 27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac , “I am deeply depressed because of these daughters of Heth . If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land , I would want to die!” 28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman ! 28:2 Leave immediately for Paddan Aram ! Go to the house of Bethuel , your mother’s father , and find yourself a wife there , among the daughters of Laban , your mother’s brother . 28:3 May the sovereign God bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants ! Then you will become a large nation . 28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham so that you may possess the land God gave to Abraham , the land where you have been living as a temporary resident .” 28:5 So Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram , to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean and brother of Rebekah , the mother of Jacob and Esau . 28:6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan Aram to find a wife there . As he blessed him, Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman .” 28:7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram . 28:8 Then Esau realized that the Canaanite women were displeasing to his father Isaac . 28:9 So Esau went to Ishmael and married Mahalath , the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael , along with the wives he already had.

Pericope

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Bible Dictionary

  • RELATIONSHIPS, FAMILY

    [isbe] RELATIONSHIPS, FAMILY - re-la'-shun-ships: I. CONSANGUINITY 1. In General 2. Parents and Children 3. Brothers and Sisters 4. Uncles, Aunts, Cousins, Kinsmen II. AFFINITY 1. Husband and Wife 2. Father-in-Law, etc. 3. Brother-...

  • Padan-aram

    [ebd] the plain of Aram, or the plain of the highlands, (Gen. 25:20; 28:2, 5-7; 31:18, etc.), commonly regarded as the district of Mesopotamia (q.v.) lying around Haran.

  • PENTATEUCH, 2A

    [isbe] PENTATEUCH, 2A - II. Authorship, Composition, Date. 1. The Current Critical Scheme: The view that Moses was the author of the Pentateuch, with the exception of the concluding verses of Deuteronomy, was once held universally....

  • PADANARAM

    [smith] By this name, which signifies the table-land of Aram , i.e. Syriac, the Hebrews designated the tract of country which they otherwise called the Aram-naharaim, "Aram of the two of rivers," the Greek Mesopotamia, (Genesis 24:10...

  • Mesopotamia

    [ebd] the country between the two rivers (Heb. Aram-naharaim; i.e., "Syria of the two rivers"), the name given by the Greeks and Romans to the region between the Euphrates and the Tigris (Gen. 24:10; Deut. 23:4; Judg. 3:8, 10). In...

  • Jacob

    [ebd] one who follows on another's heels; supplanter, (Gen. 25:26; 27:36; Hos. 12:2-4), the second born of the twin sons of Isaac by Rebekah. He was born probably at Lahai-roi, when his father was fifty-nine and Abraham one hundre...
    [nave] JACOB Son of Isaac, and twin brother of Esau, Gen. 25:24-26; Josh. 24:4; 1 Chr. 1:34; Acts 7:8. Ancestor of Jesus, Matt. 1:2. Given in answer to prayer, Gen. 25:21. Obtains Esau's birthright for a some stew, Gen. 25:29-34...

  • JUDAS ISCARIOT

    [smith] (Judas of Kerioth). He is sometimes called "the son of Simon," (John 6:71; 13:2,26) but more commonly ISCARIOTES. (Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:19; Luke 6:16) etc. The name Iscariot has received many interpretations more of less conj...

  • Hypocrisy

    [nave] HYPOCRISY. Job 8:13-15; Job 13:16; Job 15:31, 33, 34; Job 17:8; Job 20:4, 5 vs. 6-18.; Job 27:8-10 vs. 13-18.; Job 31:33, 34; Job 34:30; Job 36:13, 14; Psa. 5:9; Psa. 50:16, 17; Psa. 52:4; Psa. 55:12-14, 20, 21, 23; Psa. 78...

  • HEREDITY

    [isbe] HEREDITY - he-red'-i-ti: 1. Physiological Heredity: Heredity, in modern language, is the law by which living beings tend to repeat their characteristics, physiological and psychical, in their offspring, a law familiar in som...

  • Family

    [nave] FAMILY. Of Saints Blessed, Psa. 128:3, 6. Should be taught God's word, Deut. 4:9, 10. Worship God together, 1 Cor. 16:19. Be duly regulated, Prov. 31:27; 1 Tim. 3:4, 5, 12. Live in unity, Gen. 45:24; Psa. 133:1. Live ...

  • FATHER

    [smith] The position and authority of the father as the head of the family are expressly assumed and sanctioned in Scripture, as a likeness of that of the Almighty over his creatures. It lies of course at the root of that so-called p...

  • Esau

    [ebd] hairy, Rebekah's first-born twin son (Gen. 25:25). The name of Edom, "red", was also given to him from his conduct in connection with the red lentil "pottage" for which he sold his birthright (30, 31). The circumstances conn...
    [isbe] ESAU - e'-so (`esaw, "hairy"; Esau): Son of Isaac, twin brother of Jacob. The name was given on account of the hairy covering on his body at birth: "all over like a hairy garment" (Gen 25:25). There was a prenatal foreshadow...
    [smith] (hairy), the eldest son of Isaac, and twin-brother of Jacob. The singular appearance of the child at his birth originated the name. (Genesis 25:25) Esau?s robust frame and "rough" aspect were the types of a wild and daring na...
    [nave] ESAU Eldest of twin sons born to Isaac and Rebekah. Birth of, Gen. 25:19-26; 1 Chr. 1:34. Called Edom, Gen. 36:1, 8. A hunter, Gen. 25:27, 28. Beloved by Isaac, Gen. 25:27, 28. Sells his birthright for some stew, Gen. 25...

  • Daughter

    [ebd] This word, besides its natural and proper sense, is used to designate, (1.) A niece or any female descendant (Gen. 20:12; 24:48; 28:6). (2.) Women as natives of a place, or as professing the religion of a place; as, "the dau...

  • Cook

    [ebd] a person employed to perform culinary service. In early times among the Hebrews cooking was performed by the mistress of the household (Gen. 18:2-6; Judg. 6:19), and the process was very expeditiously performed (Gen. 27:3, 4...

  • Cattle

    [ebd] abounded in the Holy Land. To the rearing and management of them the inhabitants chiefly devoted themselves (Deut. 8:13; 12:21; 1 Sam. 11:5; 12:3; Ps. 144:14; Jer. 3:24). They may be classified as, (1.) Neat cattle. Many hun...

  • Bow

    [ebd] The bow was in use in early times both in war and in the chase (Gen. 21:20; 27:3; 48:22). The tribe of Benjamin were famous for the use of the bow (1 Chr. 8:40; 12:2; 2 Chr. 14:8; 17:17); so also were the Elamites (Isa. 22:6...

  • Blind

    [ebd] Blind beggars are frequently mentioned (Matt. 9:27; 12:22; 20:30; John 5:3). The blind are to be treated with compassion (Lev. 19:14; Deut. 27:18). Blindness was sometimes a punishment for disobedience (1 Sam. 11:2; Jer. 39:...

  • Arrows

    [ebd] At first made of reeds, and then of wood tipped with iron. Arrows are sometimes figuratively put for lightning (Deut. 32:23, 42; Ps. 7:13; 18:14; 144:6; Zech. 9:14). They were used in war as well as in the chase (Gen. 27:3; ...

  • Armour

    [ebd] is employed in the English Bible to denote military equipment, both offensive and defensive. (1.) The offensive weapons were different at different periods of history. The "rod of iron" (Ps. 2:9) is supposed to mean a mace o...

  • Archer

    [ebd] a shooter with the bow (1 Chr. 10:3). This art was of high antiquity (Gen. 21:20; 27:3). Saul was wounded by the Philistine archers (1 Sam. 31:3). The phrase "breaking the bow" (Hos. 1:5; Jer. 49:35) is equivalent to taking ...

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  • [Gen 27:34] Poor Esau Repented Too Late

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The events recorded in Genesis stretch historically from Creation to Joseph's death, a period of at least 2500 years. The first part of the book (ch. 1-11) is not as easy to date precisely as the second part (ch. 12-50). The ...
  • Genesis provides the historical basis for the rest of the Bible and the Pentateuch, particularly the Abrahamic Covenant. Chapters 1-11 give historical background essential to understanding that covenant, and chapters 12-50 re...
  • The structure of Genesis is very clear. The phrase "the generations of"(toledotin Hebrew, from yaladmeaning "to bear, to generate") occurs ten times (really eleven times since 36:9 repeats 36:1), and in each case it introduce...
  • There are at least three purposes for the inclusion of this genealogy, which contains 10 paragraphs (vv. 1-5, 6-8, 9-11, 12-14, 15-17, 18-20, 21-24, 25-27, 28-31, and 32).1. It shows the development of the human race from Ada...
  • The Lord destroyed the corrupt, violent human race and deluged its world, but He used righteous Noah to preserve life and establish a new world after the Flood."Noah's experience presents decisively the author's assertion tha...
  • "The Babel account (11:1-9) is not the end of early Genesis. If it were, the story would conclude on the sad note of human failure. But as with earlier events in Genesis 1-11, God's grace once again supersedes human sin, insu...
  • One of the significant changes in the emphasis that occurs at this point in Genesis is from cursing in the primeval record to blessing in the patriarchal narratives. The Abrahamic Covenant is most important in this respect. H...
  • A major theme of the Pentateuch is the partial fulfillment of the promises to the patriarchs. The promises in Genesis 12:1-3 and 7 are the fountainhead from which the rest of the Pentateuch flows.397Walter Kaiser labeled the ...
  • "The function of this genealogy is not so much to connect Abraham with the preceding events, as the previous genealogies have done, but to provide the reader with the necessary background for understanding the events in the l...
  • "These verses are of fundamental importance for the theology of Genesis, for they serve to bind together the primeval history and the later patriarchal history and look beyond it to the subsequent history of the nation."414"W...
  • The second crisis Abram faced arose because of a famine in Canaan. Abram chose to sojourn in the Nile Valley until it was past. In this incident Abram tried to pass Sarai off as his sister because he feared for his life. By d...
  • Abraham's purchase of a burial site in the Promised Land demonstrated his intention to remain in Canaan rather than going back to his native homeland. Since he was a sojourner in Canaan his friends probably expected him to bu...
  • A new toledotbegins with 25:19. Its theme is "the acquisition of the blessing and its development and protection by the Lord."625Moses set up the whole Jacob narrative in a chiastic structure that emphasizes the fulfillment o...
  • Verses 19-34 introduce the whole Jacob and Esau saga.In the first pericope (25:19-26) we have the record of God answering Isaac's prayers by making Rebekah fertile (blessing). He gave her two sons, Esau and Jacob, and foretol...
  • 25:27-28 Esau was a nomadic hunter, but Jacob remained in his tents.". . . they became the personification of the two different ways of life which would have been typical for Palestine at this period of history: that of hunte...
  • Reacting to Isaac's disobedient plan to bless Esau, Jacob and Rebekah stole the blessing by deception. Esau became so angry with Jacob over his action that Jacob had to flee for his life.Two reports of Esau's marriages (26:34...
  • We can identify three purposes for this brief section.1. Moses explained and justified the reason for Jacob's later departure for Paddan-aram (27:46-28:2).2. Moses identified the ancestors of the Edomites who later played a m...
  • Here we have the third round of Jacob's battle with Esau. The first was at birth (25:21-28) and the second was over the birthright (25:29-34). In all three incidents Jacob manipulated his brother."This chapter [27] offers one...
  • The long account of Jacob's relationship with Laban (chs. 29-31) is the centerpiece of the Jacob story (chs. 25-35). It is a story within a story, and it too has a chiastic structure. At its center is the account of the birth...
  • Jacob was ready to sacrifice part of his family expecting Esau to attack him, and he approached his brother as though Esau was his lord. In contrast, Esau welcomed Jacob magnanimously, reluctantly received his gift, and offer...
  • About 10 years had passed since Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, and he had not yet returned to Bethel to fulfill his vow there (28:20-22). His negligence evidently was due in part to the continuing presence of the idols ...
  • Moses included this relatively short genealogy (toledot) in the sacred record to show God's faithfulness in multiplying Abraham's seed as He had promised. He also did so to provide connections with the descendants of Esau ref...
  • Joseph's brothers met his second recorded visit to them with great antagonism. They plotted to kill him and so render his dreams impossible to fulfill. For practical reasons they decided to sell him and to deceive Jacob into ...
  • The structure of chapters 46 and 47 is also chiastic.887AGod appears to Jacob (46:1-4)BJacob journeys to Egypt (46:5-27)CJoseph meets Jacob (46:28-34)DJoseph's brothers meet Pharaoh (47:1-6)C'Jacob meets Pharaoh (47:7-10)B'Jo...
  • This section continues the events begun in verses 1-7.Jacob's eyes were failing in his old age (v. 10) so he did not recognize Ephraim and Manasseh (cf. 27:1). He may not have seen them for several years previously and may ha...
  • Aalders, Gerhard Charles. Genesis. The Bible Student's Commentary series. 2 vols. Translated by William Heynen. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas...
  • "Chapters 23 and 24 are two of the brightest chapters in the book of Numbers. Scores of wonderful things are said about Israel, mainly prophetical. The dark sins of the past were forgotten; only happy deliverance from Egypt w...
  • After receiving the reminder of his death and as one of his final official acts as Israel's leader, Moses pronounced a prophetic blessing on the tribes of Israel (cf. Gen. 49)."In the ancient Near East, a dying father's final...
  • The residents of the town of Gibeon decided that if they could not defeat the Israelites they would join them. This has been a strategy that enemies of believers have employed for centuries (cf. Num. 25:1-2).9:1-2 Israel is t...
  • Naomi had experienced both blessing and loss since she had left Bethlehem. When she returned home she chose to emphasize her hardships. She had forgotten God's faithfulness and His promises to bless all Israel (Gen. 12:1-3, 7...
  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • 105:7-11 God remembered His people (v. 7, cf. v. 42) so His people should remember Him (v. 5). God had been faithful to the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12:1-3, 7; 15:18-21; 22:15-18; 28:13-15). He made this covenant with Abraham...
  • This poem depicts the effects of Yahweh's wrath on the self-exalting nations. His judgment will be universal (vv. 1-4). Isaiah particularized it with reference to Edom, a representative nation (vv. 5-17; cf. 25:10-12)."Here w...
  • The focus of this chapter is Israel's position of prominence among the nations in the future.". . . the poem centres on the Abrahamic theme that those who bless him will be blessed and those who curse him will be cursed (Gn. ...
  • 25:12 The Edomites had taken vengeance on the Judahites rather than helping them (cf. 36:1-7; Gen. 25:30; 27:41-46; 32:4; Lam. 4:21-22; Amos 1:11-12).25:13 For this reason the Lord promised to send judgment on them. He would ...
  • 37:15-17 The Lord also commanded Ezekiel to take two sticks (cf. Zech. 11:7-14). He was to write on one of them "For Judah and for the sons of Israel, Judah's companions."He was to write on the other stick "For Joseph and for...
  • 11:12 The Lord complained that Ephraim (Israel) had consistently lied and tried to deceive Him. He described Himself as surrounded and under attack by His own people. Wherever He looked all He saw was cheaters. Deception (Heb...
  • The Lord proceeded to teach His people the need to repent by reminding them of the experience of their forefather Jacob.12:3 The Lord described the ancestor of these kingdoms further. Jacob grasped his brother's heel while he...
  • Pride was not the only reason God would humble Edom. The Edomites had also cursed the people whom God had purposed to bless, the Israelites (cf. Gen. 27:40-41; Exod. 15:15; Num. 20:14-21; Deut. 2:4; Judg. 11:17-18; 1 Sam. 14:...
  • The revelation that Yahweh gave Malachi for Israel consisted of six "heavy"messages. The first one reminded God's people of His love for them and of their ungratefulness.1:2a The Lord's first word to His people was short and ...
  • The disciples of John were not the only men who began following Jesus. Andrew continued to bring other friends to Jesus. This incident preceded Jesus' formal appointment of the Twelve, but it shows Him preparing those who wou...
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