Genesis 27:18

And he came unto his father,.... Into the tent and apartment where he was: and said, my father; to try whether he was awake, and to let him know that he was come, since he could not see him: and he

And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? He came unto his father.

G: UPON THE OF JACOB’S LIFE (Genesis 27) The elaborate calculations of Lightfoot, and most Jewish and Christian commentators, intended to show that when Jacob set out upon his journey to Haran, he and Esau were each about 77 years of age, and Isaac their father about 137, though based apparently upon the letter of Scripture, are so contrary to its facts that evidently there must be some error in them. Fortunately there are several dates which are open to no doubt, and if we start with these, it may prove not Impossible to arrive at more trustworthy conclusions. When, then, Jacob went down into Egypt, he was 130 years of age (Genesis 46:9), and as Joseph when he “stood before Pharaoh” was 30 (Genesis 41:46), and as his first years of power were the seven years of plenty, and there had been already two years of famine when he made himself known to his brethren, he was plainly about 14 years of age when his father joined him. Now he was a lad of 17 when sold into Egypt (Genesis 37:2), and as he was born before the contract to serve Laban for the speckled cattle (Genesis 30:25), which lasted for six years (Genesis 31:41), he was about 7 when Jacob returned to Canaan. It follows, therefore, that Jacob was 91 when Joseph was born. Now the usual calculations allow only twenty years for Jacob’s sojourn in Padanaram, of which the first seven were spent in service before Leah and Rachel were given him in marriage. If from the twenty, we subtract these seven years and the seven years of Joseph’s age, there remain only six years for the birth of Leah’s six sons and the interval of her barrenness; and undeniably the narrative would be guilty of very remarkable exaggeration in its account of Rachel’s childlessness, and Rachel herself of excessive impatience, considering that at the end of six years she gave birth herself to a son, and in the interval had given her maid Bilhah to Jacob, who had by her two sons; and as the birth of these was the occasion to Rachel of very unseemly exultation over her sister (Genesis 30:6; Genesis 30:8), her conduct can only be accounted for by the fact that Leah had already a numerous offspring when Rachel gave Bilhah to her husband. The case of Leah is still plainer. She bears four sons, after which she “left bearing” (Genesis 29:35), and this barrenness continued so long that she gave Zilpah as her substitute to Jacob, who bare him two sons, Gad and Asher. Now neither Rachel nor Leah would have resorted to this expedient until they utterly despaired of having children themselves; and Leah herself describes it as an act of great self-sacrifice (Genesis 30:18). Zilpah’s sons both seem to have been born in this period of Leah’s barrenness; for we find that Jacob had entirely discarded Leah, and it was only at Rachel’s request that he visited her again.

18. who art thou, my son] These words indicate the state of blindness of Isaac. The element of doubt arises from an imperfect recognition of the voice.