Genesis 27:27

27 He went over and gave him a kiss. When Isaac smelled his clothes, he blessed him and said, "The smell of my son is like the smell of open country that the LORD has blessed.

Genesis 27:27 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 27:27

And he came near, and kissed him
Jacob came near and kissed Isaac his father: and he smelled the smell of his raiment;
which being not like the smell of a sheep coat, but of a field, might give him more full satisfaction that it was truly Esau: and he blessed him;
with his patriarchal and prophetic blessing, which here begins: and said, see, the smell of my son [is] as the smell of a field which
the Lord hath blessed;
like a field fall of fragrant herbs, flowers, and spices, watered with the dews and rain of heaven, and so made fruitful, which emits a most, delightful odour; this may respect the scent of Esau's clothes, now on Jacob's back, which they received from the fields, which Esau continually frequented; or rather from the odoriferous herbs and fruits which were put among them in the chest, in which Rebekah had laid them up; and it may be, that whereas the goatskins on his hands and neck would be apt to send forth a rank and disagreeable smell, these might be so scented by Rebekah as to prevent that. Some render these words, "see the smell of my son, whom the Lord hath blessed F23, as the smell of a field"; and so Isaac pronounces him blessed of the Lord, as well as by himself; the sense is the same: as to the smell many interpreters consider this as a type and figure of the acceptance of believers with God, being clothed with the goodly, excellent, and desirable garment of the righteousness of Christ their elder brother, even of their persons, services, and sacrifices; which is indeed truly spiritual and evangelical; but is liable to this objection, that it makes profane Esau a type of Christ. I see not that anything can well be objected to the application of this son of Isaac's to the Messiah himself, whom he may have a special regard unto in this prophetic blessing, reading the words, "the smell of my son [shall be] as the smell of a field": or "my son, whom the Lord hath blessed", and came before with all the blessings of goodness, and in whom all nations shall be blessed, shall be "as the smell of a field"; all whose garments smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia, ( Psalms 45:8 ) , even Isaac's principal son, that should be of his seed, of whom Jacob his present son was a type, and who was to spring from him.


FOOTNOTES:

F23 So Junius, Tremellius, Gesner. & Walther. apud Calov.

Genesis 27:27 In-Context

25 Isaac said, "Bring me some of the game, and I will eat it, Son, so that I will bless you." Jacob brought it to Isaac, and he ate it. Jacob also brought him wine, and he drank it.
26 Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come here and give me a kiss, Son."
27 He went over and gave him a kiss. When Isaac smelled his clothes, he blessed him and said, "The smell of my son is like the smell of open country that the LORD has blessed.
28 May God give you dew from the sky, fertile fields on the earth, and plenty of fresh grain and new wine.
29 May nations serve you. May people bow down to you. Be the master of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed. May those who bless you be blessed."
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