1 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.”
2 And he said, “Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:”
Isaac is getting old and thinks he won’t live much longer (though the Bible tells us he lives another 20 years or so). He decides to go ahead and hand out his final blessings to his children. These blessings were very much like prophecies. They show in the Bible to be right on.
3 “Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;
4 “And make me savory meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.”
Isaac wanted Esau to catch him some meat and then he will give him his blessing. Since Esau was the oldest it would be normal for him to become the leader of the family clan. Even though Esau had sold his inheritance, he could still become the clan leader.
5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.
6 And Rebekah spoke unto Jacob her son, saying, “Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,
7 “’Bring me venison, and make me savory meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death.’
8 “Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.
9 “Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savory meat for thy father, such as he loves:
10 “And thou shall bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.”
Rebekah wanted her favorite to get the blessing reserved for the oldest. She told him to deceive his blind father.
11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:
12 “My 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.”
“Uh, mom, my brother and I aren’t anything alike. Even blind, dad will know the difference.”
13 And his mother said unto him, “Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.”
She assures him it will be all right, “just do what I say.”
14 And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savory meat, such as his father loved.
She's probably the one who taught Esau how to cook it in the first place.
15 And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:
16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:
Esau must have been one hairy man for Jacob to get away with wearing goat skin as a disguise.
17 And she gave the savory meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
18 And he came unto his father, and said, “My father:” and he said, “Here am I; who are thou, my son?”
19 And Jacob said unto his father, “I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou told me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.”
A bald face lie.
20 And Isaac said unto his son, “How is it that thou have found it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the LORD thy God brought it to me.”
First challenge: “How in the world did you get back so fast?”
Answer: “Uhhh, God blessed me.”
21 And 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.”
Second challenge: Isaac is going to make sure that this person is hairy like Esau, not smooth like Jacob.
22 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.”
Isaac knows the voice belongs to Jacob, but decides to trust his sense of touch instead.
23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.
24 And he said, “Are thou my very son Esau?” And he said, “I am.”
25 And 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.
26 And his father Isaac said unto him, “Come near now, and kiss me, my son.”
This is another test. Isaac is probably still a bit unsure.
27 And 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 has blessed:
28 “Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:
“You will be rich.”
29 “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 curses thee, and blessed be he that blesses thee.
“You will be the boss, the clan leader, and anyone who comes against you will suffer while your friends will be blessed.”
30 And 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.
31 And he also had made savory 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.”
32 And Isaac his father said unto him, “Who are thou?” And he said, “I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau.”
33 And 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 cames and have blessed him. Yea, and he shall be blessed.”
The truth comes out. But instead of changing Jacob’s blessing by cursing him, he confirms that Jacob will be blessed just as he said.
34 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.”
Esau was upset. He wanted some sort of blessing also.
35 And he said, “Thy brother came with subtlety, and has taken away thy blessing.”
36 And he said, “Is not he rightly named Jacob? 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 thou not reserved a blessing for me?”
“Surly you intended to bless Jacob. Give me his blessing.”
Esau obviously never intended to actually give Jacob the birthright. If he had, he would have no reason to mention it here.
37 And 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?”
It appears Isaac hadn’t planned to bless Jacob and hadn’t reserved anything for him.
38 And Esau said unto his father, “Have thou but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.
“Something, Anything!”
39 And 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;
40 “And by thy sword shall thou live, and shall serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shall have the dominion, that thou shall break his yoke from off thy neck.”
“You’ll be rich. You will be a fighter and a servant to your brother, but you will eventually be free.”
A yoke is the curved piece of wood put around an oxen's nick for him to push on when he pulls a plow or wagon. It is a symbol of work and bondage.
41 And 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.”
Esau planned to kill Jacob as soon as his dad died.
42 And 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.
43 “Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;
44 “And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away;
45 “Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou have done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?”
It had probably come to Esau’s knowledge that his mother had helped Jacob, so now she will have little or no relationship with her oldest.
She warns Jacob to run for his life; sends him to take sanctuary with her brother. She intends for this to just be a short time, but it ends up stretching out to more than twenty years. In fact, Rebekah will die before Jacob gets back, so she did lose both her boys in the same day. Isaac will live to “see” Jacob again.
46 And 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?”
She chooses to use her daughters-in-law as an excuse to Isaac to send Jacob away.
Imagine if she had just trusted God to do what He promised her before the boys were born? God would have worked it all out right no matter what, but Rebekah would have been able to have Jacob by her side for the rest of her life and had a good relationship with Esau to boot. In fact, this deception couldn't have helped her relationship with Isaac, either.
2 And he said, “Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:”
Isaac is getting old and thinks he won’t live much longer (though the Bible tells us he lives another 20 years or so). He decides to go ahead and hand out his final blessings to his children. These blessings were very much like prophecies. They show in the Bible to be right on.
3 “Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;
4 “And make me savory meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.”
Isaac wanted Esau to catch him some meat and then he will give him his blessing. Since Esau was the oldest it would be normal for him to become the leader of the family clan. Even though Esau had sold his inheritance, he could still become the clan leader.
5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.
6 And Rebekah spoke unto Jacob her son, saying, “Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,
7 “’Bring me venison, and make me savory meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death.’
8 “Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.
9 “Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savory meat for thy father, such as he loves:
10 “And thou shall bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.”
Rebekah wanted her favorite to get the blessing reserved for the oldest. She told him to deceive his blind father.
11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:
12 “My 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.”
“Uh, mom, my brother and I aren’t anything alike. Even blind, dad will know the difference.”
13 And his mother said unto him, “Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.”
She assures him it will be all right, “just do what I say.”
14 And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savory meat, such as his father loved.
She's probably the one who taught Esau how to cook it in the first place.
15 And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:
16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:
Esau must have been one hairy man for Jacob to get away with wearing goat skin as a disguise.
17 And she gave the savory meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
18 And he came unto his father, and said, “My father:” and he said, “Here am I; who are thou, my son?”
19 And Jacob said unto his father, “I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou told me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.”
A bald face lie.
20 And Isaac said unto his son, “How is it that thou have found it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the LORD thy God brought it to me.”
First challenge: “How in the world did you get back so fast?”
Answer: “Uhhh, God blessed me.”
21 And 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.”
Second challenge: Isaac is going to make sure that this person is hairy like Esau, not smooth like Jacob.
22 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.”
Isaac knows the voice belongs to Jacob, but decides to trust his sense of touch instead.
23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.
24 And he said, “Are thou my very son Esau?” And he said, “I am.”
25 And 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.
26 And his father Isaac said unto him, “Come near now, and kiss me, my son.”
This is another test. Isaac is probably still a bit unsure.
27 And 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 has blessed:
28 “Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:
“You will be rich.”
29 “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 curses thee, and blessed be he that blesses thee.
“You will be the boss, the clan leader, and anyone who comes against you will suffer while your friends will be blessed.”
30 And 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.
31 And he also had made savory 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.”
32 And Isaac his father said unto him, “Who are thou?” And he said, “I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau.”
33 And 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 cames and have blessed him. Yea, and he shall be blessed.”
The truth comes out. But instead of changing Jacob’s blessing by cursing him, he confirms that Jacob will be blessed just as he said.
34 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.”
Esau was upset. He wanted some sort of blessing also.
35 And he said, “Thy brother came with subtlety, and has taken away thy blessing.”
36 And he said, “Is not he rightly named Jacob? 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 thou not reserved a blessing for me?”
“Surly you intended to bless Jacob. Give me his blessing.”
Esau obviously never intended to actually give Jacob the birthright. If he had, he would have no reason to mention it here.
37 And 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?”
It appears Isaac hadn’t planned to bless Jacob and hadn’t reserved anything for him.
38 And Esau said unto his father, “Have thou but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.
“Something, Anything!”
39 And 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;
40 “And by thy sword shall thou live, and shall serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shall have the dominion, that thou shall break his yoke from off thy neck.”
“You’ll be rich. You will be a fighter and a servant to your brother, but you will eventually be free.”
A yoke is the curved piece of wood put around an oxen's nick for him to push on when he pulls a plow or wagon. It is a symbol of work and bondage.
41 And 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.”
Esau planned to kill Jacob as soon as his dad died.
42 And 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.
43 “Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;
44 “And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away;
45 “Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou have done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?”
It had probably come to Esau’s knowledge that his mother had helped Jacob, so now she will have little or no relationship with her oldest.
She warns Jacob to run for his life; sends him to take sanctuary with her brother. She intends for this to just be a short time, but it ends up stretching out to more than twenty years. In fact, Rebekah will die before Jacob gets back, so she did lose both her boys in the same day. Isaac will live to “see” Jacob again.
46 And 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?”
She chooses to use her daughters-in-law as an excuse to Isaac to send Jacob away.
Imagine if she had just trusted God to do what He promised her before the boys were born? God would have worked it all out right no matter what, but Rebekah would have been able to have Jacob by her side for the rest of her life and had a good relationship with Esau to boot. In fact, this deception couldn't have helped her relationship with Isaac, either.