Genesis 27:5-43
5 Rebekah was listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau . So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game to bring home,
6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob , "Behold , I heard your father speak to your brother Esau , saying , 7 'Bring me some game and prepare a savory dish for me, that I may eat , and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death .' 8 "Now therefore, my son , listen to me as I command you. 9 "Go now to the flock and bring me two choice young e goats e from there , that I may prepare them as a savory dish for your father , such as he loves . 10 "Then you shall bring it to your father , that he may eat , so that he may bless you before his death ." 11 Jacob answered his mother Rebekah , "Behold , Esau my brother is a hairy man and I am a smooth man . 12 " Perhaps my father will feel me, then I will be as a deceiver in his sight , and I will bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing ." 13 But his mother said to him, "Your curse be on me, my son ; only obey my voice , and go , get them for me." 14 So he went and got them, and brought them to his mother ; and his mother made savory food such as his father loved . 15 Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her elder son , which were with her in the house , and put them on Jacob her younger son . 16 And she put the skins of the young e goats e on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck . 17 She also gave the savory food and the bread , which she had made , to her son Jacob .
18 Then he came to his father and said , "My father ." And he said , "Here I am. Who are you, my son ?" 19 Jacob said to his father , "I am Esau your firstborn ; I have done as you told me. Get up, please , sit and eat of my game , that you may bless me." 20 Isaac said to his son , "How is it that you have it so quickly , my son ?" And he said , " Because the Lord your God caused it to happen to me." 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob , "Please come close , that I may feel you, my son , whether you are really my son Esau or not." 22 So Jacob came close to Isaac his father , and he felt him and said , "The voice is the voice of Jacob , but the hands are the hands of Esau ." 23 He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands ; so he blessed him. 24 And he said , "Are you really my son Esau ?" And he said , "I am." 25 So he said , "Bring it to me, and I will eat of my son's game , that I may bless you." And he brought it to him, and he ate ; he also brought him wine and he drank . 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, "Please come close and kiss me, my son ." 27 So he came close and kissed him; and when he smelled the smell of his garments , he blessed him and said , "See , the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed ; 28 Now may God give you of the dew of heaven , And of the fatness of the earth , And an abundance of grain and new wine ; 29 May peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you; Be master of your brothers , And may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, And blessed be those who bless you."
30 Now it came about, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob , and Jacob had hardly e gone out from the presence of Isaac his father , that Esau his brother came in from his hunting . 31 Then he also made savory food , and brought it to his father ; and he said to his father , " Let my father arise and eat of his son's game , that you may bless me." 32 Isaac his father said to him, " Who are you?" And he said , "I am your son , your firstborn , Esau ." 33 Then Isaac trembled violently e e e , and said , " Who was he then that hunted game and brought it to me, so that I ate of all of it before you came , and blessed him? Yes , and he shall be blessed ." 34 When Esau heard the words of his father , he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry , and said to his father , "Bless me, even me also , O my father !" 35 And he said , " Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing ." 36 Then he said , "Is he not rightly named e 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 , "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?" 37 But Isaac replied to Esau , "Behold , I have made him your master , and all his relatives I have given to him as servants ; and with grain and new wine I have sustained him. Now as for you then , what can I do , my son ?" 38 Esau said to his father , "Do you have only one blessing , my father ? Bless me, even me also , O my father ." So Esau lifted his voice and wept . 39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him, "Behold , away from the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling , And away from the dew of heaven from above . 40 "By your sword you shall live , And your brother you shall serve ; But it shall come about when you become restless , That you will break his yoke from your neck ."
Jacob Flees from Esau
41 So Esau bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said to himself , " The days of mourning for my father are near ; then I will kill my brother Jacob ." 42 Now when the words of her elder son Esau were reported to Rebekah , she sent and called her younger son Jacob , and said to him, "Behold your brother Esau is consoling himself concerning you by planning to kill you. 43 "Now therefore, my son , obey my voice , and arise , flee to Haran , to my brother Laban !
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 27:5-43
Commentary on Genesis 27:1-5
(Read Genesis 27:1-5)
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.
Commentary on Genesis 27:6-17
(Read Genesis 27:6-17)
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.
Commentary on Genesis 27:18-29
(Read Genesis 27:18-29)
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.
Commentary on Genesis 27:30-40
(Read Genesis 27:30-40)
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.
Commentary on Genesis 27:41-46
(Read Genesis 27:41-46)
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.