Chapter Text
Jacob Gets Isaac's Blessing
And it came to pass, that when Isaac was 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.
2And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:
3Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison ;
4And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.
5And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.
6And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,
7Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death.
8Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.
9Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:
10And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.
11And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:
12My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.
13And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.
14And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved.
15And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:
16And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:
17And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
18And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?
19And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.
20And 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.
21And 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.
22And 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.
23And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him.
24And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.
25And 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 did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank.
26And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.
27And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed:
28Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:
29Let people 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 curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.
Esau's Plea
30And 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.
31And he also had made savoury meat, 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.
32And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau.
33And Isaac trembled very exceedingly , and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.
34And 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.
35And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.
36And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?
37And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?
38And 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.
39And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;
40And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.
Jacob Flees to Laban
41And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.
42And 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 touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee.
43Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;
44And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away;
45Until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?
46And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?
Summary
Isaac, old and blind, prepares to bless Esau and asks him to hunt game and prepare a meal. Rebekah overhears and conspires with Jacob to deceive Isaac. Jacob, wearing Esau's clothing and goat skins on his arms, impersonates his brother. Despite suspicion, Isaac is deceived and bestows the blessing of abundance and dominion on Jacob. When Esau returns and the deception is discovered, Isaac trembles but confirms the blessing cannot be revoked. Esau weeps bitterly and receives a lesser blessing. He resolves to kill Jacob, and Rebekah sends Jacob to Haran.
Meaning
The stolen blessing raises profound questions about human deception and divine sovereignty. Jacob and Rebekah's scheme is morally reprehensible, yet it fulfills the oracle given before the twins' birth: "the elder shall serve the younger." God's purposes advance even through flawed human means.
Isaac's irrevocable blessing reflects the ancient understanding that spoken words—especially patriarchal blessings—carried binding power. The consequences are immediate and devastating: family rupture, exile, and lasting enmity. Jacob will spend decades reaping what he has sown, deceived by others as he deceived his father.
Background
The deathbed blessing was a legal act in the ancient Near East, functioning almost as a last will and testament. Once pronounced, it could not be withdrawn. This explains Isaac's trembling and Esau's desperation.
Rebekah's favoritism toward Jacob and Isaac's toward Esau create the dysfunctional family dynamics that drive much of the remaining Genesis narrative.
Chapter Outline
- vv. 1-4Isaac prepares to bless Esau
- vv. 5-17Rebekah and Jacob plot the deception
- vv. 18-29Jacob deceives Isaac and receives the blessing
- vv. 30-33Esau returns and the deception is discovered
- vv. 34-40Esau's bitter cry and lesser blessing
- vv. 41-46Esau's hatred and Jacob's flight to Haran
Key Verses
“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.”— 27:22
This verse captures the dramatic tension of the entire deception scene. Isaac's suspicion—sensing contradiction between voice and touch—has become proverbial for situations where conflicting evidence demands discernment.
“Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: Let people 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 curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.”— 27:28-29
Isaac's patriarchal blessing echoes the Abrahamic covenant language of Genesis 12:3. Once spoken, the blessing is treated as irrevocable and prophetically binding, establishing Jacob's line as the covenant heir over Esau.
“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.”— 27:34
Esau's anguished cry is referenced in Hebrews 12:16–17 as a warning about despising spiritual inheritance. His grief is genuine, yet the text underscores that the blessing, once bestowed, cannot be recalled.
“And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.”— 27:40
Isaac's oracle over Esau prophetically outlines the future of Edom—militaristic, subordinate to Israel, yet eventually gaining independence (fulfilled in 2 Kings 8:20–22).
People & Places
People
- Isaac — Aging patriarch of the covenant family, nearly blind, who intends to bless his firstborn Esau before dying.
- Rebekah — Wife of Isaac and mother of Esau and Jacob, who engineers the deception to secure the blessing for her favored son Jacob.
- Jacob — Younger twin son of Isaac, who deceives his father by impersonating Esau to obtain the patriarchal blessing.
- Esau — Firstborn twin son of Isaac, a skilled hunter who loses the blessing through his brother's subterfuge and his own earlier sale of the birthright.
- Laban — Rebekah's brother in Haran, to whom she plans to send Jacob for refuge from Esau's wrath.
Places
- Haran — City in Mesopotamia where Rebekah's brother Laban lives, proposed as Jacob's place of refuge.
Prophecy & Fulfillment
Isaac's blessing over Jacob in verses 28–29 carries forward the Abrahamic covenant promises of land fertility, national preeminence, and the curse-and-blessing formula of Genesis 12:3. The oracle over Esau in verse 40 prophetically foreshadows the Edomite nation's subjugation to Israel under David (2 Samuel 8:14) and their later revolt under Jehoram (2 Kings 8:20–22). God's prior word to Rebekah that 'the elder shall serve the younger' (Genesis 25:23) finds its covenantal ratification here, despite the morally compromised means by which it was obtained.
Devotional
Genesis 27 is a sobering portrait of a family fractured by favoritism and deception. Isaac favors Esau; Rebekah favors Jacob. Both parents scheme rather than trust God's declared purpose. The result is broken trust, bitter tears, and years of separation.
Yet God's sovereign plan advances even through human failure. This does not excuse the deceit—Jacob and Rebekah bear real consequences—but it reminds us that no human scheming can derail God's purposes. The chapter invites honest self-examination: where do we manipulate outcomes instead of waiting on the Lord? True faith rests in God's timing, not our own cleverness.
Literary Style
Genesis 27 is masterful dramatic narrative built on dialogue and irony. Nearly every exchange is laden with dramatic irony—the reader knows what Isaac does not. The chapter employs sensory detail (touch, smell, taste, voice) to heighten tension around Isaac's blindness. Repetition of key words—'bless,' 'venison,' 'firstborn'—creates structural cohesion across the parallel scenes of Jacob's deception and Esau's return.