Genesis 27:35-36

27:35 But Isaac ¹  replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away ²  your blessing.” 27:36 Esau exclaimed, “‘Jacob’ is the right name for him! ³  He has tripped me up ⁴  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?”

¹ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Or “took”; “received.”

³ tn Heb “Is he not rightly named Jacob?” The rhetorical question, since it expects a positive reply, has been translated as a declarative statement.

⁴ sn He has tripped me up. When originally given, the name Jacob was a play on the word “heel” (see Gen 25:26). The name (since it is a verb) probably means something like “may he protect,” that is, as a rearguard, dogging the heels. This name was probably chosen because of the immediate association with the incident of grabbing the heel. Esau gives the name “Jacob” a negative connotation here, the meaning “to trip up; to supplant.”