Genesis 27:35-36
Context27:35 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?”
[27:35] 1 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:35] 2 tn Or “took”; “received.”
[27:36] 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.
[27:36] 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.”