Genesis 27:39

39 Isaac said to him, "You will live far away from the best land, far from the rain.

Genesis 27:39 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 27:39

And Isaac his father answered and said unto him
Being willing to bestow what he could upon him, without lessening or breaking in upon the grant made to Jacob: behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew
of heaven from above:
this agrees with part of the blessing of Jacob, only the clauses are inverted, and no mention made of corn and wine; the land of Edom not being so fat and fruitful as the land of Canaan. Castalio renders the words very differently, "thy habitation shall be from the fatness of the earth, or without the fatness of the earth, and without the dew of heaven from above" ^F3; or otherwise he thinks Esau would have the same blessing with Jacob, and so would have no occasion of complaint or grief, or to have hated his brother and sought his life; to which may be added, that the land of Edom, which Esau and his posterity inhabited, was a very desert country, see ( Malachi 1:3 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 See the Bishop of Clogher's Chronology of the Hebrew Bible, p. 142.

Genesis 27:39 In-Context

37 Isaac answered, "I gave Jacob the power to be master over you, and all his brothers will be his servants. And I kept him strong with grain and new wine. There is nothing left to give you, my son."

38 But Esau continued, "Do you have only one blessing, Father? Bless me, too, Father!" Then Esau began to cry out loud.

39 Isaac said to him, "You will live far away from the best land, far from the rain.

40 You will live by using your sword, and you will be a slave to your brother. But when you struggle, you will break free from him."

41 After that Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing from Isaac. He thought to himself, "My father will soon die, and I will be sad for him. Then I will kill Jacob."