Genesis 27:33-43

33 Then Isaac trembled violently * * *, and said, "1Who was he then that hunted game and brought it to me, so that I ate of all of it before you came, and blessed him? 2Yes, and he shall be blessed."
34 When Esau heard the words of his father, 3he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, "Bless me, even me also, O my father!"
35 And he said, "4Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing."
36 Then he said, "Is he not rightly named * 5Jacob, for he has supplanted me these two times? He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing." And he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?"
37 But Isaac replied to Esau, "Behold, I have made him 6your master, and all his relatives I have given to him as servants; and with grain and new wine I have sustained him. Now as for you then, what can I do, my son?"
38 Esau said to his father, "Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father." So Esau lifted his voice and 7wept.
39 Then 8Isaac his father answered and said to him, "Behold, 9away from the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling, And away from the dew of heaven from above.
40 "By your sword you shall live, And your brother 10you shall serve; But it shall come about 11when you become restless, That you will break his yoke from your neck."
41 So Esau 12bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said to himself, "13The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob."
42 Now when the words of her elder son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she sent and called her younger son Jacob, and said to him, "Behold your brother Esau is consoling himself concerning you by planning to kill you.
43 "Now therefore, my son, 14obey my voice, and arise, flee to 15Haran, to my brother 16Laban!

Genesis 27:33-43 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 27

In this chapter we are informed, that Isaac, being old and dim sighted, sent for Esau to get him venison, that he might eat of it, and bless him before he died, Ge 27:1-4; that Rebekah hearing of this formed a scheme for Jacob to get the blessing before him, which she communicated to Jacob, to which he at first objected, but afterwards complied, Ge 27:5-17; and also how that he succeeded in the attempt, and got the blessing from his brother, Ge 27:18-29; and that this was confirmed to him by his father, even when his mistake was discovered upon Esau's coming, Ge 27:30-33; which occasioned a most bitter cry in Esau, a severe reflection on his brother, and an earnest expostulation with his father for a blessing, which he obtained, Ge 27:34-40; the consequence of this were hatred in Esau to Jacob, and an intention to kill him, which Rebekah hearing of, advised Jacob to flee to her brother Laban, Ge 27:41-45; and to facilitate this, complains to Isaac of Esau's wives, and suggests, that should Jacob marry among the same people, it would add to the distress of their lives; and therefore hints it to him, that it was necessary and proper he should go to her family for a wife, Ge 27:46; and whether Isaac sent him, as the following chapter shows.

Cross References 16

  • 1. Genesis 27:35
  • 2. Genesis 25:23; Genesis 28:3, 4; Numbers 23:20
  • 3. Hebrews 12:17
  • 4. Genesis 27:19
  • 5. Gen 25:26, 32-34
  • 6. Genesis 27:28, 29
  • 7. Hebrews 12:17
  • 8. Hebrews 11:20
  • 9. Genesis 27:28; Deuteronomy 33:13, 28
  • 10. Genesis 25:23; Genesis 27:29
  • 11. 2 Kings 8:20-22
  • 12. Genesis 32:3-11; Genesis 37:4, 8
  • 13. Gen 50:2-4, 10
  • 14. Genesis 27:8, 13
  • 15. Genesis 11:31
  • 16. Genesis 24:29

Footnotes 10

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