Genesis 27

This chapter belongs to the patriarchal narratives of Genesis and concerns Isaac and his sons. It continues from Esau's sale of his birthright in Genesis 25 and from the account at the end of Genesis 26, where Esau's marriages to Hittite women become a grief to his parents.

Outline

• Verses 1–4: Isaac, whose eyes have grown dim, tells Esau to hunt game and prepare savory food, promising to bless him before he dies.
• Verses 5–13: Rebekah overhears this and has Jacob bring young goats. When Jacob worries that he will be found out, Rebekah says that she will take the curse upon herself.
• Verses 14–17: Rebekah prepares the savory food, dresses Jacob in Esau's clothing, and puts goatskins on his hands and neck.
• Verses 18–25: Jacob deceives his father by claiming to be Esau. Isaac remains suspicious, saying, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau," yet he eats the food.
• Verses 26–29: Isaac blesses Jacob with the abundance of the earth and with rule over his brethren.
• Verses 30–35: When Esau returns, Isaac trembles "very exceedingly," and Esau cries out with a loud and bitter cry.
• Verses 36–40: Esau asks for whatever blessing remains, and Isaac tells him that he will live by the sword and serve his brother, but will eventually break the yoke from off his neck.
• Verses 41–46: When Esau resolves to kill Jacob, Rebekah plans to send Jacob to her brother Laban in Haran, and she persuades Isaac by citing her distress over the daughters of Heth.

Key Verses

• Genesis 27:29: "Be lord over thy brethren" — The oracle in chapter 25, "the elder shall serve the younger" (Genesis 25:23), is carried forward in this blessing.
• Genesis 27:36: "Is not he rightly named Jacob?" — Esau links the meaning of the name, which recalls grasping the heel (Genesis 25:26), to deception.
• Genesis 27:41: Esau's resolve to kill Jacob sets in motion the next narrative, in which Jacob leaves home.

People and Places

• Isaac — The son of Abraham and the father of Esau and Jacob.
• Rebekah — Isaac's wife, who devises the scheme on Jacob's behalf.
• Esau — The firstborn son, whose descendants become Edom.
• Jacob — The younger son, who deceives his father to obtain the blessing.
• Laban — Rebekah's brother, who lives in Haran.
• Haran — A city in northern Mesopotamia where Rebekah's kinsfolk live.

Points for Reflection

• The text neither praises nor condemns the deception by Jacob and Rebekah. The Reformed tradition reads the episode as an instance of God's election being accomplished even through human faults and connects it with Romans 9:10–13 in the New Testament. In the Wesleyan and Arminian traditions, many interpreters understand this passage in Romans 9 as concerning the election of peoples and their roles rather than the eternal salvation of individuals.
• Many interpreters read the later account of Jacob being deceived by Laban (Genesis 29) as a consequence of this deception.
• Rebekah said, "I will send, and fetch thee from thence" (Genesis 27:45), but there is no record that the two ever met again. The claim that Rebekah never saw Jacob again is an inference drawn from this silence.
• In the New Testament, Hebrews 11:20 refers to Isaac's blessing as an act of faith. Hebrews 12:16–17 cites as a warning the fact that Esau sought the blessing with tears yet did not obtain it.
• The words of verse 40, "thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck," are commonly read in connection with Edom's revolt from Judah (2 Kings 8:20–22).

In the Korean Church

In preaching and Sunday school, the chapter is frequently presented as the story of Jacob receiving the blessing. In sermons on the family, it is also cited as an example of parental favoritism and the family conflict that results from it.