Genesis 27

1 And it came to pass, that when Isaac became old, and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau, his eldest son, and said unto him, My son, and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.

2 And he said, Behold now, I am old: I know not the day of my death.

3 Now, therefore, take I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow and go out to the field and take me some venison

4 and make me savoury food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless thee before I die.

5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to Esau, his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison and to bring it.

6 Then Rebekah spoke unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau, thy brother, saying,

7 Bring me venison and make me savoury food that I may eat and bless thee before the LORD before my death.

8 Now, therefore, my son, hearken unto my voice according to that which I command thee.

9 Go now to the flock and bring me from there two good kids of the goats, and I will make them savoury food for thy father, such as he loves;

10 and thou shalt bring it to thy father that he may eat and that he may bless thee before his death.

11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau, my brother, is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man;

12 my father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon myself, and not a blessing.

13 And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son; only obey my voice and go bring me them.

14 And he went and took them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savoury food, such as his father loved.

15 And Rebekah took good clothes of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob, her younger son:

16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands and upon the smooth of his neck,

17 and she gave the savoury food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

18 And he came unto his father and said, My father, and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?

19 And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau, thy firstborn; I have done according as thou didst command me; arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.

20 Then Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me.

21 And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.

22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.

23 And he discerned him not because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him.

24 And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.

25 And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.

26 And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now and kiss me, my son.

27 And he came near and kissed him, and he smelled the smell of his clothing and blessed him and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD has blessed.

28 Therefore let God give thee of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of wheat and new wine.

29 Let the peoples serve thee and nations bow down to thee; be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee; cursed be every one that curses thee, and blessed be he that blesses thee.

30 And it came to pass as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

31 And he also had made savory food and brought it unto his father and said unto his father, Let my father arise and eat of his son’s venison that thy soul may bless me.

32 And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau.

33 Then Isaac trembled very exceedingly and said, Who is he that has taken venison and brought it to me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest? I have blessed him and he shall be blessed.

34 And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.

35 And he said, Thy brother came with deceit and has taken away thy blessing.

36 And he said, Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times; he took away my birthright, and, behold, now he has taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?

37 And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren I have given to him for slaves, and with wheat and new wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now unto thee, my son?

38 And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

39 Then Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth and of the dew of the heavens from above,

40 and by thy sword shalt thou live and shalt serve thy brother; yet there shall be a time when thou shalt have dominion, and thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.

41 And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will slay my brother Jacob.

42 And these words of Esau, her elder son, were told to Rebekah; and she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as concerning thee, does comfort himself, purposing to kill thee.

43 Now therefore, my son, hear my voice and arise; flee unto Laban, my brother, to Haran

44 and dwell with him a few days until thy brother’s fury turns away,

45 until thy brother’s anger turns away from thee, and he forgets that which thou hast done to him; then I will send, and bring thee from there; for why should I be deprived of you both in one day?

46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these who are of the daughters of this land, why should I want to live?

Genesis 27 Commentary

Chapter 27

Isaac sends Esau for venison. (1-5) Rebekah teaches Jacob to obtain the blessing. (6-17) Jacob, pretending to be Esau, obtains the blessing. (18-29) Isaac's fear, Esau's importunity. (30-40) Esau threatens Jacob's life, Rebekah sends Jacob away. (41-46)

Verses 1-5 The promises of the Messiah, and of the land of Canaan, had come down to Isaac. Isaac being now about 135 years of age, and his sons about 75, and not duly considering the Divine word concerning his two sons, that the elder should serve the younger, resolved to put all the honour and power that were in the promise, upon Esau his eldest son. We are very apt to take measures rather from our own reason than from Divine revelation, and thereby often miss our way.

Verses 6-17 Rebekah knew that the blessing was intended for Jacob, and expected he would have it. But she wronged Isaac by putting a cheat on him; she wronged Jacob by tempting him to wickedness. She put a stumbling-block in Esau's way, and gave him a pretext for hatred to Jacob and to religion. All were to be blamed. It was one of those crooked measures often adopted to further the Divine promises; as if the end would justify, or excuse wrong means. Thus many have acted wrong, under the idea of being useful in promoting the cause of Christ. The answer to all such things is that which God addressed to Abraham, I am God Almighty; walk before me and be thou perfect. And it was a very rash speech of Rebekah, "Upon me be thy curse, my son." Christ has borne the curse of the law for all who take upon them the yoke of the command, the command of the gospel. But it is too daring for any creature to say, Upon me be thy curse.

Verses 18-29 Jacob, with some difficulty, gained his point, and got the blessing. This blessing is in very general terms. No mention is made of the distinguishing mercies in the covenant with Abraham. This might be owing to Isaac having Esau in his mind, though it was Jacob who was before him. He could not be ignorant how Esau had despised the best things. Moreover, his attachment to Esau, so as to disregard the mind of God, must have greatly weakened his own faith in these things. It might therefore be expected, that leanness would attend his blessing, agreeing with the state of his mind.

Verses 30-40 When Esau understood that Jacob had got the blessing, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry. The day is coming, when those that now make light of the blessings of the covenant, and sell their title to spiritual blessings for that which is of no value, will, in vain, ask urgently for them. Isaac, when made sensible of the deceit practised on him, trembled exceedingly. Those who follow the choice of their own affections, rather than the Divine will, get themselves into perplexity. But he soon recovers, and confirms the blessing he had given to Jacob, saying, I have blessed him, and he shall be blessed. Those who part with their wisdom and grace, their faith and a good conscience, for the honours, wealth, or pleasures of this world, however they feign a zeal for the blessing, have judged themselves unworthy of it, and their doom shall be accordingly. A common blessing was bestowed upon Esau. This he desired. Faint desires of happiness, without right choice of the end, and right use of the means, deceive many unto their own ruin. Multitudes go to hell with their mouths full of good wishes. The great difference is, that there is nothing in Esau's blessing which points at Christ; and without that, the fatness of the earth, and the plunder of the field, will stand in little stead. Thus Isaac, by faith, blessed both his sons, according as their lot should be.

Verses 41-46 Esau bore malice to Jacob on account of the blessing he had obtained. Thus he went in the way of Cain, who slew his brother, because he gained that acceptance with God of which he had rendered himself unworthy. Esau aimed to prevent Jacob or his seed from having the dominion, by taking away his life. Men may fret at God's counsels, but cannot change them. To prevent mischief, Rebekah warned Jacob of his danger, and advised him to withdraw for his safety. We must not presume too far upon the wisdom and resolution, even of the most hopeful and promising children; but care must be taken to keep them out of the way of evil. When reading this chapter, we should not fail to observe, that we must not follow even the best of men further than they act according to the law of God. We must not do evil that good may come. And though God overruled the bad actions recorded in this chapter, to fulfil his purposes, yet we see his judgment of them, in the painful consequences to all the parties concerned. It was the peculiar privilege and advantage of Jacob to convey these spiritual blessings to all nations. The Christ, the Saviour of the world, was to be born of some one family; and Jacob's was preferred to Esau's, out of the good pleasure of Almighty God, who is certainly the best judge of what is fit, and has an undoubted right to dispense his favours as he sees proper, ( Romans 9:12-15 ) .

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 27

In this chapter we are informed, that Isaac, being old and dim sighted, sent for Esau to get him venison, that he might eat of it, and bless him before he died, Ge 27:1-4; that Rebekah hearing of this formed a scheme for Jacob to get the blessing before him, which she communicated to Jacob, to which he at first objected, but afterwards complied, Ge 27:5-17; and also how that he succeeded in the attempt, and got the blessing from his brother, Ge 27:18-29; and that this was confirmed to him by his father, even when his mistake was discovered upon Esau's coming, Ge 27:30-33; which occasioned a most bitter cry in Esau, a severe reflection on his brother, and an earnest expostulation with his father for a blessing, which he obtained, Ge 27:34-40; the consequence of this were hatred in Esau to Jacob, and an intention to kill him, which Rebekah hearing of, advised Jacob to flee to her brother Laban, Ge 27:41-45; and to facilitate this, complains to Isaac of Esau's wives, and suggests, that should Jacob marry among the same people, it would add to the distress of their lives; and therefore hints it to him, that it was necessary and proper he should go to her family for a wife, Ge 27:46; and whether Isaac sent him, as the following chapter shows.