NIV, Faithlife Study Bible | Page 106

56 | Genesis 27:18
18
He went to his fa ther and said , “ My fa ther .” “ Yes , my son ,” he an swered . “ Who is it ?”
19
Ja cob said to his fa ther , “ I am Esau your firstborn . I have done as you told me . Please sit up and eat some of my game , so that you may give me your bless ing .”
20
Isaac asked his son , “ How did you find it so quick ly , my son ?”
“ The Lord your God gave me suc cess ,” he replied . 21
Then Isaac said to Ja cob , “ Come near so I can touch you , my son , to know wheth er you real ly are my son Esau or not .”
22
Ja cob went close to his fa ther Isaac , who touched him and said , “ The voice is the voice of Ja cob , but the hands are the hands of Esau .” 23 He did not rec og nize him , for his hands were hairy like those of his broth er Esau ; so he pro ceed ed to bless him . 24 “ Are you real ly my son Esau ?” he asked . “ I am ,” he re plied .
25
Then he said , “ My son , bring me some of your game to eat , so that I may give you my bless ing .”
Ja cob brought it to him and he ate ; and he brought some wine and he drank . 26 Then his father Isaac said to him , “ Come here , my son , and kiss me .”
27
So he went to him and kissed him . When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes , he blessed him and said ,
“ Ah , the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed .
28
May God give you heaven ’ s dew and earth ’ s richness — ​ an abundance of grain and new wine .
29
May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you .
Be lord over your brothers , and may the sons of your mother bow down to you . May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed .”
30
Af ter Isaac fin ished bless ing him , and Ja cob had scarce ly left his fa ther ’ s pres ence , his brother Esau came in from hunt ing . 31 He too pre pared some tasty food and brought it to his fa ther . Then he said to him , “ My fa ther , please sit up and eat some of my game , so that you may give me your bless ing .”
32
His fa ther Isaac asked him , “ Who are you ?” “ I am your son ,” he an swered , “ your first born ,
Esau .” 33
Isaac trem bled vi o lent ly and said , “ Who was it , then , that hunt ed game and brought it to me ? I ate it just be fore you came and I blessed him — ​and in deed he will be blessed !”
34
When Esau heard his fa ther ’ s words , he burst out with a loud and bit ter cry and said to his father , “ Bless me — ​me too , my fa ther !”
35
But he said , “ Your broth er came de ceit ful ly and took your bless ing .”
36
Esau said , “ Isn ’ t he right ly named Ja cob a ? This is the sec ond time he has tak en ad van tage of me : He took my birth right , and now he ’ s tak en my bless ing !” Then he asked , “ Haven ’ t you re served any bless ing for me ?”
37
Isaac an swered Esau , “ I have made him lord over you and have made all his rel a tives his servants , and I have sus tained him with grain and new wine . So what can I pos si bly do for you , my son ?”
38
Esau said to his fa ther , “ Do you have only one bless ing , my fa ther ? Bless me too , my fa ther !” Then Esau wept aloud .
39
His fa ther Isaac an swered him ,
“ Your dwelling will be away from the earth ’ s richness , away from the dew of heaven above .
40
You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother .
But when you grow restless , you will throw his yoke from off your neck .” a
36 Jacob means he grasps the heel , a Hebrew idiom for he takes advantage of or he deceives .
27:20 Lord your God Jacob uses God ’ s covenant name , yhwh ( Yahweh ), in his lie and refers to Yahweh as his father ’ s God , not yet his own ( see 28:21 ; 32:22 – 32 ). 27:23 he proceeded to bless him Though the deception works , the blessing here is simply permission to continue with the meal . The transfer of the actual promise is yet to occur . 27:28 heaven ’ s dew This metaphor speaks of material abundance in crops and , in turn , the ability to sustain large numbers of domesticated livestock . In a region where rainfall was sparse , dew was vital for sustaining life . 27:29 Be lord over your brothers This wording describes the vast scope of the recipient ’ s predominance . Since Isaac was passing on a divinely ordained covenant relationship with Yahweh , this phrase is appropriate . Compare note on 27:4 .
27:30 – 46 Upon returning from hunting , Esau prepares food and brings it to his father only to find that Isaac has already blessed Jacob ( vv . 30 – 33 ). Upset that his brother stole his blessing , Esau begs his father to bless him also ( vv . 34 – 38 ; compare 25:34 ). Isaac gives Esau a blessing , albeit a rather negative one ( vv . 39 – 40 ). After this , Esau plots to kill his brother , but Rebekah sends Jacob away to her brother , Laban ( vv . 41 – 45 ).
27:36 has taken advantage Esau uses the Hebrew word ’ aqab here , which is a wordplay on Jacob ’ s name in Hebrew , ya-aqov . Ya-aqov means “ to protect ,” and was given to Jacob as a name because of wordplay with a different word ( see note on 25:26 ). Esau suggests that Jacob ’ s name actually has to do with him being a person who supplants or cheats other people . Jacob is a trickster . birthright , and now he ’ s taken my blessing See note on 27:4 .