Genesis 27

CHAPTER 27

1Forsooth Isaac waxed eld [or old], and his eyes dimmed, and he might not see. And he called Esau, his more or older son, and said to him, My son! Which answered, I am present.

2To whom the father said, Thou seest that I have waxed eld, and I know not the day of my death#27:2 Isaac would still be alive more than 20 years after this event(!)..

3Take thine arms, an arrow case, and a bow, and go out; and when thou hast taken anything by hunting,

4make me a stew thereof, as thou knowest that I will or desire, and bring it to me that I eat, that my soul bless thee before that I die.

5And when Rebecca had heard this thing, and he had gone forth into the field that he fulfill the behest of his father,

6she said to her son Jacob, I heard thy father speaking with Esau, thy brother, and saying to him,

7Bring thou to me of thine hunting, and make thou meats, that I eat, and that I bless thee before the Lord before that I die.

8Now therefore, my son, assent to my counsels,

9and go to the flock, and bring to me twain [or two] of the best kids, that I make meats of those to thy father, which he shall eat gladly;

10and that when thou hast brought in those meats, and he hath eaten, he bless thee before that he die.

11To whom Jacob answered, Thou knowest that Esau my brother is an hairy man, and I am smooth;

12if my father shall touch or draw me to him, and feel me, I dread lest he guess that I would scorn him, and he bring in cursing on me for blessing.

13To whom his mother said, My son, this cursing be in me; only hear thou my voice, and go, and bring that that I said.

14He went, and brought it, and gave it to his mother. She made ready meats, as she knew that his father would have,

15and she clothed Jacob in [the] full good clothes of Esau, which she had at home with herself.

16And she wrapped his hands about with little skins of goat kids, and covered the nakedness of his neck;

17and she gave to him the stew, and betook him [the] loaves, which she had baked.

18And when these were brought in, he said, My father! And he answered, I am here; who art thou, my son?

19And Jacob said, I am Esau, thy first begotten son. I have done to thee as thou commandedest to me; rise thou up, and sit, and eat of my venison, that thy soul bless me.

20Again Isaac said to his son, My son, how mightest thou find this venison so soon? Which answered, It was God’s will, that this thing that I would, should come soon to me.

21And Isaac said, My son, come thou hither, that I touch thee, and that I prove whether thou be my son Esau, or nay.

22Jacob nighed to his father; and when Isaac had feeled him, he said, Soothly the voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands be the hands of Esau.

23And Isaac knew not Jacob, for the hairy hands showed the likeness of the elder son. Therefore Isaac blessed Jacob,

24and said again, Art thou my son Esau? Jacob answered, I am.

25And Isaac said, My son, bring thou to me meats of thine hunting, that my soul bless thee. And when Isaac had eaten these meats brought, Jacob brought also wine to Isaac, and when this was drunken,

26Isaac said to him, My son, come thou hither, and give to me a kiss.

27Jacob nighed, and kissed him; and anon as Isaac feeled the odour of his clothes, he blessed him, and said, Lo! the odour of my son as the odour of a plenteous field which the Lord hath blessed.

28God give to thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of [the] earth, abundance [or plenty] of wheat, and of wine, and of oil;

29and peoples serve thee, and lineages worship thee; be thou lord of thy brethren, and the sons of thy mother be bowed before thee; be he cursed that curseth thee, and he that blesseth thee, be he [full-]filled with blessings.

30Scarcely Isaac had filled the word, and when Jacob was gone out, Esau came,

31and brought in meats sodden of the hunting to the father, and said, My father, rise thou, and eat of the hunting of thy son, that thy soul bless me.

32And Isaac said, Who art thou? Which answered, I am Esau, thy first begotten son.

33Isaac dreaded with a great aston-ishing; and he wondered more than it may be believed, and said, Who therefore is he which a while ago brought to me venison taken, and I ate of all things before that thou camest; and I blessed him? and he shall be blessed.

34When the words of the father were heard, Esau roared with a great cry, and was astonied, and said, My father, bless thou also me.

35Which said, Thy brother came prudently [or beguilingly], and took thy blessing.

36And Esau added, Justly his name is called Jacob, for lo! he [hath] supplanted me another time; before he took away my first begotten things, and now the second time, he [hath] ravished privily my blessing. And again he said to the father, Whether thou hast not reserved a blessing also to me?

37Isaac answered, I have made him thy lord, and I have made subject all his brethren to his servage; I have stablished him in wheat, and wine, and oil; and so, my son, what shall I do to thee after these things?

38To whom Esau said, Father, whether thou hast only one blessing? I beseech thee, that also thou bless me. And when Esau wept with great yelling,

39Isaac was stirred, and said to him, Thy blessing shall not be in the fatness of [the] earth, and in the dew of heaven from above;

40thou shalt live by sword, and thou shalt serve thy brother, and time shall come when thou shalt shake away, and unbind his yoke from [off] thy nolls.

41Therefore Esau hated evermore Jacob for the blessing by which the father had blessed him; and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning of my father shall come, and I shall slay Jacob, my brother.

42These things were told to Rebecca, and she sent, and called her son Jacob, and said to him, Lo! Esau, thy brother, menaceth [or threateneth] to slay thee;

43now therefore, my son, hear thou my voice, and rise thou up, and flee to Laban, my brother, into Haran;

44and thou shalt dwell with him a few days, till the strong vengeance of thy brother rest, and his indignation cease,

45and till he forget those things which thou hast done against him. Afterward I shall send, and I shall bring thee from thence hither. Why shall I be made sonless of ever either son in one day?

46And Rebecca said to Isaac, It annoyeth or vexeth me of my life for the daughters of Heth; if Jacob take a wife of the kindred of this land, I will not live.

Genesis 27

Jacob’s Deception

1Now when Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see, he called his elder [and favorite] son Esau and said to him, “My son.” And Esau answered him, “Here I am.” 2Isaac said, “See here, I am old; #Isaac lived another forty-three years after this blessing was given to Jacob (35:27-29).I do not know #Lit the day of my death.when I may die. 3So now, please take your [hunting] gear, your quiver [of arrows] and your bow, and go out into the open country and hunt game for me; 4and make me a savory and delicious dish [of meat], the kind I love, and bring it to me to eat, so that my soul may bless you [as my firstborn son] before I die.”

5But Rebekah overheard what Isaac said to Esau his son; and when Esau had gone to the open country to hunt for game that he might bring back, 6Rebekah said to Jacob her [younger and favorite] son, “Listen carefully: I heard your father saying to Esau your brother, 7‘Bring me some game and make me a savory and delicious dish [of meat], so that I may eat it, and declare my blessing on you #The patriarch’s formal blessing, offered before the Lord, was equivalent to an inalterable command and prophecy, whose outcome was assured. For that reason it had great importance and tangible value, especially for the firstborn son. When Esau sold his birthright (25:33), he did not imagine that, as a consequence, he would actually lose the blessing to which he had originally been entitled as the firstborn.in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ 8So now, my son, listen [carefully] to me [and do exactly] as I command you. 9Go now to the flock and bring me two good and suitable young goats, and I will make them into a savory dish [of meat] for your father, the kind he loves [to eat]. 10Then you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before his death.” 11Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Listen, Esau my brother is a hairy man and I am a smooth [skinned] man. 12Suppose my father touches me and feels my skin; then I will be seen by him as a cheat (imposter), and I will bring his curse on me and not a blessing.” 13But his mother said to him, “May your curse be on me, my son; only listen and obey me, and go, bring the young goats to me.” 14So Jacob went and got the two young goats, and brought them to his mother; and his mother prepared a delicious dish of food [with a delightful aroma], the kind his father loved [to eat]. 15Then Rebekah took her elder son Esau’s best clothes, which were with her in her house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16And she put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17Then she gave her son Jacob the delicious meat and the bread which she had prepared.

18So he went to his father and said, “My father.” And Isaac said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” 19Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done what you told me to do. Now please, sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may bless me.” 20Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found the game so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the Lord your God caused it to come to me.” 21But Isaac [wondered and] said to Jacob, “Please come close [to me] so that I may touch you, my son, and determine if you are really my son Esau or not.” 22So Jacob approached Isaac, and his father touched him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23He could not recognize him [as Jacob], because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. 24But he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” Jacob answered, “I am.” 25Then Isaac said, “Bring the food to me, and I will eat some of my son’s game, so that I may bless you.” He brought it to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine and he drank. 26Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come, my son, and kiss me.” 27So he came and kissed him; and Isaac smelled his clothing and blessed him and said,

“The scent of my son [Esau]

Is like the aroma of a field which the Lord has blessed;

28Now may God give you of the dew of heaven [to water your land],

And of the fatness (fertility) of the earth,

And an abundance of grain and #The Hebrew word refers to wine that is in the first stage of fermentation, still in the vat. Some of the rabbis said that the first stage takes three days, and that wine does not have a strong appeal to the senses until it is 40 days old (according to the Talmud).new wine;

29May peoples serve you,

And nations bow down to you;

Be lord and master over your brothers,

And may your mother’s sons bow down to you.

May those who curse you be cursed,

And may those who bless you be blessed.”

The Stolen Blessing

30Now as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31Esau also made a delicious dish [of meat] and brought it to his father and said to him, “Let my father get up and eat some of his son’s game, so that you may bless me.” 32Isaac his father said to him, “Who are you?” And he replied, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” 33Then Isaac trembled violently, and he said, “Then who was the one [who was just here] who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I blessed him. Yes, and he [in fact] shall be (shall remain) blessed.” 34When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with a great and extremely bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” 35Isaac said, “Your brother came deceitfully and has [fraudulently] taken away your blessing [for himself].” 36Esau replied, “Is he not rightly named #See note 25:26.Jacob (the supplanter)? For he has supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright, and now he has taken away my blessing. Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” 37But Isaac replied to Esau, “Listen carefully: I have made Jacob your lord and master; I have given him all his brothers and relatives as servants; and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. What then, can I do for you, my son?” 38Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” Then Esau [no longer able to restrain himself] raised his voice and wept [loudly].

39Then Isaac his father answered and [prophesied and] said to him,

“Your dwelling shall be away from the fertility of the earth

And away from the dew of heaven above;

40But you shall live by your sword,

And serve your brother;

However it shall come to pass when you break loose [from your anger and hatred],

That you will tear his yoke off your neck [and you will be free of him].”

41So 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 very near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42When these words of her elder son Esau were repeated to Rebekah, she sent for Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Listen carefully, your brother Esau is comforting himself concerning you by planning to kill you. 43So now, my son, listen and do what I say; go, escape to my brother Laban in Haran! 44Stay with him for a while, until your brother’s anger subsides. 45When your brother’s anger toward you subsides and he forgets what you did to him, then #Rebekah never saw her son Jacob again. He was well over forty and probably fifty-seven years old when he fled from Esau to Haran, and he stayed there at least twenty years.I will send and bring you back from there. Why should I be deprived of you both in a single day?”

46Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am tired of living because of the daughters of Heth [these insolent wives of Esau]. If Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

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Genesis 27

Genesis 27