Genesis 27:1-4

Jacob Cheats Esau out of the Blessing

27:1 When ¹  Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, ²  he called his older ³  son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau ⁴  replied. 27:2 Isaac ⁵  said, “Since ⁶  I am so old, I could die at any time. ⁷  27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game ⁸  for me. 27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then ⁹  I will eat it so that I may bless you ¹⁰  before I die.”

Genesis 27:9-14

27:9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare ¹¹  them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. 27:10 Then you will take ¹²  it to your father. Thus he will eat it ¹³  and ¹⁴  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! ¹⁵  27:12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him ¹⁶  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, ¹⁷  my son! Just obey me! ¹⁸  Go and get them for me!”

27:14 So he went and got the goats ¹⁹  and brought them to his mother. She ²⁰  prepared some tasty food, just the way his father loved it.

[27:1]  ¹ tn The clause begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making it subordinate to the main clause that follows later in the sentence.

[27:1]  ² tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”

[27:1]  ³ tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).

[27:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaac) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:2]  ⁶ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here introduces a logically foundational statement, upon which the coming instruction will be based.

[27:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “I do not know the day of my death.”

[27:3]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew word is to be spelled either צַיִד (tsayid) following the marginal reading (Qere), or צֵידָה (tsedah) following the consonantal text (Kethib). Either way it is from the same root as the imperative צוּדָה (tsudah, “hunt down”).

[27:4]  ⁹ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The use of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as the subject emphasizes that the blessing will be made with all Isaac’s desire and vitality. The conjunction “so that” closely relates the meal to the blessing, suggesting that this will be a ritual meal in conjunction with the giving of a formal blessing.

[27:9]  ¹¹ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:10]  ¹² tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive. It carries forward the tone of instruction initiated by the command to “go…and get” in the preceding verse.

[27:10]  ¹³ tn The form is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; it carries the future nuance of the preceding verbs of instruction, but by switching the subject to Jacob, indicates the expected result of the subterfuge.

[27:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[27:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, ‘Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, but I am a smooth [skinned] man.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Perhaps my father will feel me and I will be in his eyes like a mocker.” The Hebrew expression “I will be in his eyes like” means “I would appear to him as.”

[27:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “upon me your curse.”

[27:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “only listen to my voice.”

[27:14]  ¹⁹ tn The words “the goats” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “his mother.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “she” in the translation for stylistic reasons.