Genesis 27

Genesis 27:1

It all begins with God An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on the Book of Genesis www.easyenglish.info Marie Wetherill and Keith Simons This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

Words in boxes are from the Bible.

Tap the * before a word to show an explanation.

Chapter 27 Isaac *blesses Jacob v1 When Isaac was old, he could not see. He was almost blind. He called his older son Esau and he said to Esau, ‘My son!’

Esau answered, ‘Here I am.’

v2 Then Isaac said, ‘Look! I am old. I do not know when I shall die. v3 Therefore, now take your arms for war, your bow and *arrows. Go into the country. And hunt wild animals in order to get meat for me. v4 Make a *stew for me that tastes very good. Make the sort that I love. And bring it to me to eat. Then I will *bless you greatly before I die.’

v5 Rebekah was listening when Isaac was talking to his son Esau. Esau went out into the country to hunt wild animals for meat. v6-7 Then Rebekah said to her son Jacob, ‘I heard your father ask Esau your brother to go out. He asked Esau to go out to hunt. Your father wanted his favourite *stew to eat. Then, before your father’s death, he would *bless Esau in front of the *Lord. v8 So now, my son, do exactly what I tell you to do. v9 Go to the *flock and fetch two good *kids for me. I will make them into a *stew for your father. It will be a *stew that tastes very good. It will be the sort that he loves. v10 You will take the *stew to your father to eat. And he will *bless you before his death.’

v11 But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, ‘Look! My brother Esau is a hairy man, but my skin is smooth. v12 Perhaps my father will feel me. Then he will think that I am cheating him. He will then *curse me. He will not *bless me.’

v13 Jacob’s mother replied, ‘Let him *curse me. Let him not *curse you, my son. Just do what I say. Go and bring the *kids to me.’

v14 So Jacob went. He caught the *kids and he brought them to his mother. She prepared a *stew that tasted very good. It was exactly as Jacob’s father liked. v15 Rebekah had the best clothes of Esau, her older son. They were with her in the house. So she took the clothes and she put them on Jacob, her younger son. v16 She then took the *kids’ skins. She put the skins onto Jacob’s hands. She also put the skins onto the smooth part of his neck. v17 She took the *stew that tasted very good. And she took the bread that she had made. And she gave them to her son Jacob.

v18 So Jacob went in to his father and he said, ‘My father!’

Isaac replied, ‘I am here. Who are you, my son?’

v19 Jacob said to his father, ‘I am Esau, your older son. I have done as you asked. Now sit up and eat my meat. And then *bless me.’

v20 But Isaac said to his son, ‘You have found meat very quickly, my son.’

Jacob answered, ‘The *Lord your God made me successful.’

v21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, ‘Come near so that I can feel you, my son. I must know whether you are really my son Esau or not.’

v22 So Jacob went near to his father Isaac, who felt him. And Isaac said, ‘The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are Esau’s hands.’ v23 So Isaac did not recognise Jacob, because Jacob’s hands felt hairy like his brother Esau’s hands. So Isaac *blessed Jacob. v24 Isaac said, ‘Are you really my son Esau?’

Jacob replied, ‘I am.’

v25 Then Isaac said, ‘Bring your meat to me, my son, so that I can eat it. And then I can *bless you.’

So Jacob brought the meat to Isaac, who ate it. Jacob brought some wine for him to drink. v26 Then Jacob’s father Isaac said this to him. ‘Come near and kiss me, my son.’

v27 So Jacob came near and he kissed Isaac. Isaac smelled the smell that came from the clothes. And he *blessed Jacob.

Isaac said ‘Look! My son smells like a field that the *Lord has *blessed. v28 Let God give to you *dew from heaven. Let him give to you good crops from the earth. And let him give to you plenty of grain and wine. v29 Let nations serve you and let nations *bow down to you. Be a *lord over your brothers. Let your mother’s sons *bow down to you. Let God *curse everyone that *curses you. Let God *bless everyone that *blesses you.’

v30 So Isaac had *blessed Jacob. Isaac had just finished and Jacob went away from his father Isaac. Immediately, Jacob’s brother Esau came in. Esau had been hunting. v31 Esau also cooked a *stew that tasted very good. And he took it to his father. He said to his father, ‘Come, my father, and sit up. Eat some of the *stew that I, your son, have prepared for you. It tastes very good. Then *bless me.’

v32 Esau’s father Isaac said to him, ‘Who are you?’

Esau answered, ‘I am your son, your son Esau, who was born first.’

v33 Then Isaac started to tremble and he could not stop. He said, ‘Who was it then that hunted for meat? Who brought the meat to me? I ate it all before you came. And I have *blessed him. Certainly he will have *blessing.’

v34 Esau listened to his father’s words and he cried out very bitterly. He said to his father, ‘*Bless me! *Bless me too, my father!’

v35 But Isaac said, ‘Your brother cheated you. He came to me and he lied. He has stolen your *blessing.’

v36 Esau said, ‘Jacob is a good name for him. He has cheated me twice. Jacob stole my *birthright. And look! Now he has stolen my *blessing.’ Then Esau said, ‘Have you not saved a *blessing for me?’

v37 Isaac replied to Esau, ‘Look! I have made him your *lord. All his brothers will be his servants. I have *blessed him with grain and wine. So there is nothing that I can give to you, my son.’

v38 Esau said to his father, ‘I cannot believe that you cannot *bless me with something, my father. *Bless me! *Bless me too, my father!’ Esau cried out and he wept.

v39 Then Isaac his father answered him, ‘You will live away from the rich earth. You will live away from the *dew that comes from the sky above. v40 You will live by means of your sword. You will serve your brother. However, you will pull yourself away so that you get loose. And after that you will not serve him.’

v41 Esau hated Jacob, because his father had *blessed Jacob. So Esau said this to himself: ‘Soon we shall be sad when my father dies. After that, I will kill my brother Jacob.’

v42 Someone told Rebekah what her older son Esau had said. So she sent for her younger son Jacob and she said this to him: ‘Look! Your brother Esau is planning to kill you. That is how he is comforting himself. v43 Therefore, my son, now do as I say. Get up and run away. Run away to Laban, my brother in Haran. v44 Stay with him for a while until your brother becomes less angry. v45 Your brother will become calm and he will not be angry any longer. And he will forget what you have done to him. Then I will send for you. Then you can come back. I do not want to lose both my sons on the same day.’

v46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, ‘The women from Heth’s family make my life miserable and I am tired. If Jacob marries a local woman, a woman from Heth’s family like these, I shall not want to live.’

Isaac became an old man. He thought that he might die soon. (But in fact, he would live for many more years.) Isaac wanted to give a special *blessing to Esau, who was Isaac’s first son. Esau was also Isaac’s favourite son.

The whole family realised that this *blessing was an important matter. Isaac was a holy man. God would be present when Isaac gave his *blessing. And Isaac’s words would not just come from his own imagination. Isaac’s words would be a *prophecy that came from God’s Holy Spirit.

Rebekah wanted Jacob to receive the *blessing instead of Esau. And Jacob himself was desperate for the *blessing. Previously, he bought the *birthright (the rights of the oldest son) from Esau (Genesis 25:33).

Jacob obtained Isaac’s *blessing by methods that were not honest. But the *blessing that Jacob received really came from God. And it seems that Jacob received nothing from Isaac except the *blessing. Esau received great wealth in Canaan (Genesis 36:6). But Jacob left Canaan with very few possessions (Genesis 28:20).  Jacob left home quickly, because he had to escape from Esau.

But the *blessing was all that Jacob really needed. And, as Jacob escaped, he received an even better *blessing. God himself spoke to Jacob. The God of Abraham and Isaac became Jacob’s God too (Genesis 28:13-21). Notes on the verses Verses 1-2 Isaac should have called both sons to him. He knew about the *prophecy at his sons’ births (Genesis 25:23). In the *prophecy, Jacob was the son that God had chosen.

It is clear that Isaac spoke to Esau in secret.

Verse 3 Isaac loved food and he wanted Esau to make a special meal for him. Esau was happy to do that, although he had given his *birthright to Jacob. Esau was the oldest son and so normally he would have had the *birthright.

Verse 4 At special times, people often ate special meals. Isaac’s request for a special meal emphasises the importance of his *blessing.

Verse 5 Isaac spoke to Esau in secret, but Rebekah heard Isaac’s words. Isaac and Rebekah may have lived in a tent. Rebekah was perhaps outside, but she heard clearly. She knew that Isaac loved Esau (Genesis 25:28). But God had told her that Jacob would be more important than Esau (Genesis 25:23). So, she made a plan so that Jacob would get Isaac’s *blessing.

Verse 6 Rebekah knew about God’s choice. She should have trusted God better. Then she would have known that God’s plans never fail. Rebekah wanted to get something that was right. However, her actions were not right. She lied and she cheated.

Verses 7-10 Rebekah was careful. She made a plan. She did not tell Jacob everything that he would have to do. He would have to lie. And he would have to cheat. But if he had known how much, he might have been afraid.

Verse 11 The *Hebrew text has ‘I am a smooth man.’ The *Hebrew word for ‘smooth’ can also mean that the person is not sincere.

Verse 12 Jacob realised that Isaac would not just be speaking from his own imagination. Isaac’s words would come from God’s Holy Spirit. So, it mattered whether Jacob received a *blessing or a *curse.

Verse 13 Rebekah was encouraging Jacob. She told him not to worry about a *curse. Of course, she had already heard the *prophecy in Genesis 25:23. So she was confident about Jacob’s future.

Verse 15 Esau was probably married, but his best clothes were still with Rebekah.

Verses 16-17 Rebekah and Jacob prepared everything carefully. They wanted Isaac to think that Jacob was really Esau.

Verses 18-26 Jacob went to see his father, Isaac. But Jacob wanted Isaac to think that Jacob was really Esau. Isaac wanted to give his *blessing to Esau, because Esau was Isaac’s oldest son. But Jacob was desperate to receive Isaac’s *blessing. This was because Jacob wanted God’s *blessing.

But Jacob did not really know God when these events happened. And Jacob did not realise how God wanted him (Jacob) to behave. Jacob imagined that he had to earn the *blessing by his own clever schemes. He had already persuaded Esau to sell the *birthright to him. And here, Jacob received Isaac’s *blessing by another scheme.

Jacob made Isaac give him the *blessing. But we cannot really earn God’s *blessing by our own efforts. God’s *blessing is a free gift because of his kindness. We receive God’s *blessing if we humbly invite him into our lives. In chapter 28, Jacob would himself meet God. Then Jacob would understand these things better.

Verses 27-28 Isaac’s *blessing came from God. God would make Jacob successful. God would do good things in Jacob’s life.

Verse 29 There were probably no other sons. But Isaac said this in case there would be other sons. *Blessings for families probably had the same words in them every time. But Isaac added the special words that God spoke to Abraham in Genesis 12:3. Jacob would receive the benefit of God’s promises to Abraham.

Verse 30 Esau too wanted Isaac’s *blessing. Esau had not cared about the *birthright, but he still wanted the *blessing.

Verse 31 Esau was able to prepare food. Rebekah did not stop him and neither did Jacob.

Verses 32-33 Before, Isaac had thought that he was *blessing Esau. But after that, the real Esau came in. Isaac could not deny that Jacob had received the *blessing.

Verses 34-36 Esau was sorry because he did not receive the *blessing from Isaac. But Esau was not sorry about the wrong things that he did in his life. Esau did not care about God. Esau did not care about what God wanted. Esau wanted to kill his brother (verse 41).

Verses 37-40 Isaac hesitated to give any *blessing to Esau. Isaac realised that God had told him what to say about Jacob. But then God gave Isaac a *prophecy about Esau.

Esau’s *descendants would live in a city that was later called Petra. This city was in the desert. And Esau’s *descendants would oppose Jacob’s *descendants. But Jacob’s *descendants would be more powerful. They would make Esau’s *descendants into slaves. You can read how this happened in 2 Samuel 8:11-14.

Verse 41 Esau was very angry. But he did not want to kill Jacob while Isaac was still alive. So, Esau waited. In fact, Isaac would live for many more years. And when Isaac died, Esau had become friendly with Jacob again.

Verses 42-43 Rebekah knew Esau’s plan. So, she decided to send Jacob away to her relatives in Haran. He would be safe there.

Verse 44 Rebekah said that Jacob would need to be away for only a very short time. But he was actually away for 20 years.

Verse 45 Rebekah said that she did not want to lose both her sons at the same time. It is not clear what she meant by that. Esau was not a ‘good’ son, but he was a son anyway. But Rebekah thought that she would ‘lose’ him too. We can guess how this might happen. Maybe if Esau killed his brother, then God might kill Esau. Or maybe other people would kill Esau for that reason. Or maybe he would have to go away to hide.

Verse 46 Again Rebekah showed how clever she was. She did not tell Isaac the real reason why Jacob should go away. Isaac would be happy if Jacob married a good woman. In this story, everyone in the family did something wrong. However, it does prove these facts to us. God gives his *blessing as he wants. And he gives it by his *mercy. Although we may do ‘good’ things in our life, we cannot earn God’s *blessing in that way. And we certainly cannot earn God’s *blessing by our own clever schemes. Instead, we need to be humble. We should confess our evil deeds to God. We should invite God into our lives. And we should trust him.

Jacob’s actions in this chapter were wrong. He lied and he cheated. But his attitude was right. He wanted to receive God’s *blessing. God gave a *blessing to Jacob by means of Isaac. But Jacob did not receive this *blessing just because he cheated. Isaac did not know whom he was *blessing. But God knew the truth. And God wanted to *bless Jacob. The *prophecy in Genesis 25:23 shows this.

© 2006, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

May 2006

Visit our website: www.easyenglish.info

var w1 = new Array;w1[0]=’<b%3Ebless</b%3E ~ to give someone a blessing; or to be kind to someone; or to do good things for someone; or to promise good things to someone.