Genesis 27:18-29

27:18 He went to his father and said, “My father!” Isaac ¹  replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?” ²  27:19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up ³  and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” ⁴  27:20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world ⁵  did you find it so quickly, ⁶  my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” ⁷  he replied. ⁸  27:21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you, ⁹  my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.” ¹⁰  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. ¹¹  27:24 Then he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “I am,” Jacob ¹²  replied. 27:25 Isaac ¹³  said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. ¹⁴  Then I will bless you.” ¹⁵  So Jacob ¹⁶  brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac ¹⁷  drank. 27:26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 27:27 So Jacob ¹⁸  went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent ¹⁹  of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,

“Yes, ²⁰  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 ²¹ 

and the richness ²²  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 ²³  lord ²⁴  over your brothers,

and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. ²⁵ 

May those who curse you be cursed,

and those who bless you be blessed.”

[27:18]  ¹ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:18]  ² sn Which are you, my son? Isaac’s first question shows that the deception is going to require more subterfuge than Rebekah had anticipated. Jacob will have to pull off the deceit.

[27:19]  ³ tn Heb “get up and sit.” This may mean simply “sit up,” or it may indicate that he was to get up from his couch and sit at a table.

[27:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.” These words, though not reported by Rebekah to Jacob (see v. 7) accurately reflect what Isaac actually said to Esau (see v. 4). Perhaps Jacob knew more than Rebekah realized, but it is more likely that this was an idiom for sincere blessing with which Jacob was familiar. At any rate, his use of the precise wording was a nice, convincing touch.

[27:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “What is this?” The enclitic pronoun “this” adds emphasis to the question, which is comparable to the English rhetorical question, “How in the world?”

[27:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “you hastened to find.” In translation the infinitive becomes the main verb and the first verb becomes adverbial.

[27:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “caused to meet before me.”

[27:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Because the Lord your God….’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:21]  ⁹ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:21]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Are you this one, Esau, my son, or not?” On the use of the interrogative particle here, see BDB 210 s.v. הֲ.

[27:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he blessed him.” The referents of the pronouns “he” (Isaac) and “him” (Jacob) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:24]  ¹² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ¹³ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Bring near to me and I will eat of the wild game, my son.” Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[27:25]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The presence of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as subject emphasizes Isaac’s heartfelt desire to do this. The conjunction indicates that the ritual meal must be first eaten before the formal blessing may be given.

[27:25]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ²⁰ tn Heb “see.”

[27:28]  ²¹ tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”

[27:28]  ²² tn Heb “and from the fatness.”

[27:29]  ²³ tn Heb “and be.” The verb is an imperative, which is used rhetorically in this oracle of blessing. It is an invitation to exercise authority his brothers and indicates that he is granted such authority by the patriarch of the family. Furthermore, the blessing enables the recipient to accomplish this.

[27:29]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew word is גְבִיר (gevir, “lord, mighty one”). The one being blessed will be stronger and therefore more powerful than his brother. See Gen 25:23. The feminine form of this rare noun means “mistress” or “queen-mother.”

[27:29]  ²⁵ tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.