Isaac’s Blessings as He Nears Death |
Genesis 27:1-41 The First Book of Moses Called Genesis |
When Isaac was old, his eyes were so dim he couldn’t see & he called his eldest son, Esau, & told him that he was old & doesn’t know when his death will be & asked him to take his weapons & quiver to the field & hunt venison & prepare savory meat that he loves for him, so he [Isaac] could eat it & bless him, before he dies. |
Rebekah spoke to her son, Jacob, telling him what Isaac, his father, had said to Esau. Then she told Jacob to obey [her] & go get 2 choice kid goats from the flock & bring them to her, so she can make savory food from them like his father loves & then, Jacob can give it to his father before his father’s death. |
Jacob was [concerned he would be found out] & get a curse instead of a blessing, because Esau is a hairy man & he isn’t. His mother said to let the curse be on her, but go get the [kid goats] for her. After Jacob [brought] them to his mother, she made the savory food such as his father loved. |
Rebekah took the [clothing] of her eldest son, Esau, that were in the house & put them on Jacob, her younger son, along with the skin of the kid goats on Jacob’s hands & the smooth part of his neck. When she gave Jacob the savory meat & bread, she had prepared, he went & gave it to his father. |
When his father asked who he was, Jacob said that he was Esau, his firstborn & he had done according to what he [Isaac requested]. I pray that you, sit up & eat of my venison so that your soul may bless me. Isaac asked him, How did you find it so quickly? Jacob said, The Lord God brought it to me. |
Isaac said, Come there, so I can feel you to see if you are really my son Esau or not. Jacob went near to his father who felt him & said that the voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s & Isaac didn’t [recognize] him because his hands were hairy like Esau's, so Isaac blessed him [Jacob]. Isaac then asked him if he was really Esau, his son & Jacob said that he was. |
Isaac asked him to bring his savory venison to him to eat, so his soul could bless him. Jacob gave him the food & wine to drink & came near. Isaac asked him to come & kiss him & he kissed his father who could smell [Esau’s scent of the field which the Lord had blessed] on his clothing. |
Isaac blessed Jacob saying, May God give you of the dew of heaven & the fatness of the earth & plenty of corn & wine. Let peoples & nations serve you & bow down to you. Be [master] over your brethren & let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you & blessed be everyone who blesses you! |
As soon as Isaac [finished] blessing Jacob & he was gone from the presence of his father, Esau, his brother, came in from hunting & made savory meat & brought it to his father & said, Let my father arise & eat of his son’s venison, [so] that your soul may bless me. When his father asked who he was, he replied that he is Esau, his firstborn son. |
Isaac was trembling & asked where was the one who had taken venison & brought it to me & I ate it & blessed him before you came? Esau cried bitterly when he heard his father’s words & begged his father to bless him, too. Isaac said that his brother came with subtlety & had taken away his blessing. Esau said that he is rightly named Jacob, because he has taken away both his birthright & [now] his blessing! |
Esau asked if his father had reserved a blessing for him? Isaac said that he had [already] made Isaac his master & has given all his brethren to him as servants & [blessed] him with corn & wine & wondered what he should do. Esau asked if Isaac only had one blessing & wept asking his father to bless him. |
Isaac’s blessing of Esau was, Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth & dew from the heaven above. He shall live by his sword & he shall serve his brother. It shall come to pass when he [Esau] has dominion, that he will try to break his [Jacob’s] yoke off his neck. Esau hated Jacob for the blessing he got. |
[Esau] planned in his heart that he would kill Jacob when the days of mourning for his father, Isaac, were at hand. Rebekah was told these words of [Esau’s plan] & called for Jacob, her younger son & told him that his brother, Esau, is planning to kill him, so he should obey her & flee to her brother, Laban in Haran & stay with him a few days until Esau’s fury turns away & he forgets what you have done to him. |
Then she will send for Jacob & said, Why should I be deprived of both of you in one day? Rebekah told Isaac that she is [worried to death], because of the daughters of Heth [Esau married] & if Jacob selects a wife from the daughters of Heth, as well, what good would her life be? |