Genesis 27:20

20 Then Isaac said to his son, "{How} did you find [it] so quickly, my son?" And he said, "Because Yahweh your God {caused me to find it}."

Genesis 27:20 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 27:20

And Isaac said unto his son
Supposing him to be Esau: how [is it] that thou hast found [it] so quickly, my son?
that is, the venison; that he had met with it so soon in, the field, and got it dressed and ready in so short a time, which was not common, and seemed to be too little for doing all this in it, and so still created some suspicion of deceit: and he said, because the Lord thy God brought [it] to me;
which was another falsehood; for it was not the Lord, but his mother brought it to him: and this seems to be the most marvellous of all, that so good a man should dare to bring the name of the Lord God into this affair; indeed he does not say the Lord my God, or our God, but thy God; which some think was done on purpose, the more to cover the deceit, because they suppose that Esau, whom Jacob impersonated, was an idolater, but this is not so evident; rather it looks as if Jacob had not the confidence to call the Lord his God with a lie in his mouth.

Genesis 27:20 In-Context

18 And he went to his father and said, "My father." And he said, "Here I [am]. Who [are] you, my son?"

19 And Jacob said to his father, "I [am] Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please get up, sit up and eat from my wild game so that you may bless me."

20 Then Isaac said to his son, "{How} did you find [it] so quickly, my son?" And he said, "Because Yahweh your God {caused me to find it}."

21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Please, come near and let me feel you, my son. {Are you really} my son Esau or not?"

22 And Jacob drew near 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."

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "what is this?"
• [b]. Literally "made it to happen before me"