Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Behold, I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, ‘Bring me venison, and make me savory food, that I may eat, and bless you before Yahweh before my death.’ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command you. Go now to the flock and get me two good young goats from there. I will make them savory food for your father, such as he loves. You shall bring it to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his death.”
Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. What if my father touches me? I will seem to him as a deceiver, and I would bring a curse on myself, and not a blessing.”
His mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son. Only obey my voice, and go get them for me.”
He went, and got them, and brought them to his mother. His mother made savory food, such as his father loved. Rebekah took the good clothes of Esau, her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob, her younger son. She put the skins of the young goats on his hands, and on the smooth of his neck. She gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
He came to his father, and said, “My father?” He said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”
Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done what you asked me to do. Please arise, sit and eat of my venison, that your soul may bless me.”
Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He said, “Because Yahweh your God gave me success.”
Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.”
Jacob went near to Isaac his father. He felt him, and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” He didn’t recognize him, because his hands were hairy, like his brother, Esau’s hands. So he blessed him. He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He said, “I am.”
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv11, 13, 14, 19, 21 11. And Jacob said to Rebekah. That Jacob does…
11. And Jacob said to Rebekah. That Jacob does not voluntarily present himself to his father, but rather fears lest, his imposture being detected, he should bring a curse upon himself, is very contrary to faith. For when the Apostle teaches, that “whatsoever is not of faith is sin,” (Romans 14:23,) he trains the sons of God to this sobriety, that they may not permit themselves to undertake anything with a doubtful and perplexed conscience. This firm persuasion is the only rule of right conduct, when we, relying on the command of God, go intrepidly wheresoever he calls us. Jacob, therefore, by debating with himself, shows that he was deficient in faith; and certainly, although he was not entirely without it, yet, in this point, he is convicted of failure. But by this example we are again taught, that faith is not always extinguished by a given fault; yet, if God sometimes bears with his servants thus far, that he turns, what they have done perversely, to their salvation, we must not hence take a license to sin. It happened by the wonderful mercy of God, that Jacob was not cut off from the grace of adoption. Who would not rather fear than become presumptuous? And whereas we see that his faith was obscured by doubting, let us learn to ask of the Lord the spirit of prudence to govern all our steps. There was added another error of no light kind: for why does he not rather reverence God than dread his father’s anger? Why does it not rather occur to his mind, that a foul blot would stain the hallowed adoption of God, when it seemed to owe its accomplishment to a lie? For although it tended to a right end, it was not lawful to attain that end, through this oblique course. Meanwhile, there is no doubt that faith prevailed over these impediments. For what was the cause why he preferred the bare and apparently empty benediction of his father, to the quiet which he then enjoyed, to the conveniences of home, and finally to life itself? According to the flesh, the father’s benediction, of which he was so desirous, that he knowingly and willingly plunged himself into great difficulties, was but an imaginary thing. Why did he act thus, but because in the exercise of simple faith in the word of God, he more highly valued the hope which was hidden from him, shall the desirable condition which he actually enjoyed? Besides, his fear of his father’s anger had its origin in the true fear of God. He says that he feared lest he should bring upon himself a curse. But he would not so greatly have dreaded a verbal censure, if he had not deemed the grace deposited in the hands of his father worth more than a thousand lives. It was therefore under an impulse of God that he feared his father, who was really God’s minister. For when the Lord sees us creeping on the earth, he draws us to himself by the hand of man.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv9, 12, 13, 19, 22, 24 This subtlety is blameworthy because she should have tarried…
This subtlety is blameworthy because she should have tarried till God had performed his promise.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 Gen 27:6 And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son,…
Gen 27:6 And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,
Ver. 6. I heard thy father.] She overheard what Isaac spake secretly. Women will be listening; as Sarah behind the door, when she laughed, and little thought to be questioned for it.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv7, 9, 12, 13, 15, 16, 19, 23 Before the Lord; solemnly, as in God’s presence, in…
Before the Lord; solemnly, as in God’s presence, in his name, and by his authority, and with his leave and favour, which I shall heartily pray for thee. So he signifies that this was more than an ordinary blessing which he now intended to give him.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv6, 18 Rebekah is here contriving to procure for Jacob the…
Rebekah is here contriving to procure for Jacob the blessing which was designed for Esau; and here,
I. The end was good, for she was directed in this intention by the oracle of God, by which she had been governed in dispensing her affections. God had said it should be so, that the elder should serve the younger; and therefore Rebekah resolves it shall be so, and cannot bear to see her husband designing to thwart the oracle of God. But,
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II. The means were bad, and no way justifiable. If it was not a wrong to Esau to deprive him of the blessing (he himself having forfeited it by selling the birthright), yet it was a wrong to Isaac, taking advantage of his infirmity, to impose upon him; it was a wrong to Jacob too, whom she taught to deceive, by putting a lie into his mouth, or at least by putting one into his right hand. It would likewise expose him to endless scruples about the blessing, if he should obtain it thus fraudulently, whether it would stand him or his in any stead, especially if his father should revoke it, upon the discovery of the cheat, and plead, as he might, that it was nulled by an error personae - a mistake of the person. He himself also was aware of the danger, lest (Gen 27:12), if he should miss of the blessing, as he might probably have done, he should bring upon himself his father's curse, which he dreaded above any thing; besides, he laid himself open to that divine curse which is pronounced upon him that causeth the blind to wander out of the way, Deu 27:18. If Rebekah, when she heard Isaac promise the blessing to Esau, had gone, at his return from hunting, to Isaac, and, with humility and seriousness, put him in remembrance of that which God had said concerning their sons, - if she further had shown him how Esau had forfeited the blessing both by selling his birthright and by marrying strange wives, it is probable that Isaac would have been prevailed upon knowingly and wittingly to confer the blessing upon Jacob, and needed not thus to have been cheated into it. This would have been honourable and laudable, and would have looked well in the history; but God left her to herself, to take this indirect course, that he might have the glory of bringing good out of evil, and of serving his own purposes by the sins and follies of men, and that we might have the satisfaction of knowing that, though there is so much wickedness and deceit in the world, God governs it according to his will, to his own praise. See Job 12:16, With him are strength and wisdom, the deceived and the deceiver are his. Isaac had lost the sense of seeing, which, in this case, could not have been imposed upon, Providence having so admirably well ordered the difference of features that no two faces are exactly alike: conversation and commerce could scarcely be maintained if there were not such a variety. Therefore she endeavours to deceive, 1. His sense of tasting, by dressing some choice pieces of kid, seasoning them, serving them up, so as to make him believe they were venison: this it was no hard matter to do. See the folly of those that are nice and curious in their appetite, and take a pride in humouring it. It is easy to impose upon them with that which they pretend to despise and dislike, so little perhaps does it differ from that to which they give a decided preference. Solomon tells us that dainties are deceitful meat; for it is possible for us to be deceived by them in more ways than one, Pro 23:32. 2. His sense of feeling and smelling. She put Esau's clothes upon Jacob, his best clothes, which, it might be supposed, Esau would put on, in token of joy and respect to his father, when he was to receive the blessing. Isaac knew these, by the stuff, shape, and smell, to be Esau's. If we would obtain a blessing from our heavenly Father, we must come for it in the garments of our elder brother, clothed with his righteousness, who is the first-born among many brethren. Lest the smoothness and softness of Jacob's hands and neck should betray him, she covered them, and probably part of his face, with the skins of the kids that were newly killed, Gen 27:16. Esau was rough indeed when nothing less than these would serve to make Jacob like him. Those that affect to seem rough and rugged in their carriage put the beast upon the man, and really shame themselves, by thus disguising themselves. And, lastly, it was a very rash word which Rebekah spoke, when Jacob objected the danger of a curse: Upon me be thy curse, my son, Gen 27:13. Christ indeed, who is mighty to save, because mighty to bear, has said, Upon me be the curse, only obey my voice; he has borne the burden of the curse, the curse of the law, for all those that will take upon them the yoke of the command, the command of the gospel. But it is too daring for any creature to say, Upon me be the curse, unless it be that curse causeless which we are sure shall not come, Pro 26:2.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv6–24 And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son,.... Who was…
And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son,.... Who was in the tent with her, and for whom she had the strongest affection:
saying, behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother; heard the conversation that passed between them, and particularly what Isaac had given in charge to Esau:
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saying, as follows:
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv6, 19, 20 Rebekah is here contriving to procure the blessing for…
Rebekah is here contriving to procure the blessing for Jacob, which was designed for Esau. If the end was good, the means were bad, and no way justifiable. If it were not a wrong to Esau to deprive him of the blessing, he himself having forfeited it by selling the birth right, yet it was a wrong to Isaac, taking advantage of his infirmity, to impose upon him: it was a wrong to Jacob, whom she taught to deceive, by putting a lie in his mouth. If Rebekah, when she heard Isaac promise the blessing to Esau, had gone to him, and with humility and seriousness put him in remembrance of that which God had said concerning their sons; if she had farther shewed him how Esau had forfeited the blessing, both by selling his birth-right, and by marrying of strange wives; 'tis probable Isaac would have been prevailed with to confer the blessing upon Jacob, and needed not thus to have been cheated into it. This had been honourable and laudable, and would have looked well in history; but God left her to herself to take this indirect course, that he might have the glory of bringing good out of evil.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv12, 13, 15, 19, 23 Verse 12. I shall bring a curse upon me]…
Verse 12. I shall bring a curse upon me] For even in those early times the spirit of that law was understood, De 27:18: Cursed is he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way; and Jacob seems to have possessed at this time a more tender conscience than his mother.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv6, 13, 16, 19, 20, 21 Gen 27:6. Rebekah spake unto Jacob — Rebekah is…
Gen 27:6. Rebekah spake unto Jacob — Rebekah is here contriving to procure the blessing for Jacob, which was designed for Esau. If the end were good, the means were bad, and no way justifiable. If it were not a wrong to Esau to deprive him of the blessing, he himself having forfeited it by selling the birthright, yet it was a wrong to Isaac to take advantage of his infirmity to impose upon him: it was a wrong to Jacob, whom she taught to deceive by putting a lie in his mouth. If Rebekah, when she heard Isaac promise the blessing to Esau, had gone to him, and with humility and seriousness put him in remembrance of that which God had said concerning their sons; if she had further showed him how Esau had forfeited the blessing, both by selling his birthright, and by marrying of strange wives; it is probable Isaac would have been prevailed with to confer the blessing upon Jacob, and needed not thus to have been cheated into it. This had been honourable and laudable, and would have looked well in history; but God left her to herself to take this indirect course, that he might have the glory of bringing good out of evil.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv7, 12, 13, 15, 19, 22 In the sight of the Lord, answers to my…
In the sight of the Lord, answers to my soul, &c., ver. 4. I will bless thee with all earnestness and sincerity. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv6, 11, 13, 18 Rebekah spake unto Jacob--She prized the blessing as invaluable;…
Rebekah spake unto Jacob--She prized the blessing as invaluable; she knew that God intended it for the younger son [Gen 25:23]; and in her anxiety to secure its being conferred on the right object--on one who cared for religion--she acted in the sincerity of faith; but in crooked policy--with unenlightened zeal; on the false principle that the end would sanctify the means.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv8, 9, 12, 15, 16, 20, 22 8. Obey my voice — Rebekah heard (Gen_27:5) and…
8. Obey my voice — Rebekah heard (Gen_27:5) and spake (Gen_27:6) on the subject pending with Isaac, for she, too, had a divine relation to the covenant blessing. And when she saw Isaac’s determination to go counter to what she knew to be the divine word, she has no hesitation in seeking to thwart his purpose.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 7. before the Lord] i.e. in the presence of…
7. before the Lord] i.e. in the presence of Jehovah, and in acknowledgment of His power, the human blessing will be pronounced, and will be effectual. The supposition that “before the Lord” means before an image of Jehovah in the house, is an arbitrary one. A local sanctuary, such as we may suppose was sought by Rebekah (Gen_25:22), is not here implied. Isaac contemplates a religious act of blessing performed under the inspiring consciousness of the Divine Presence.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv7, 9, 13, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21 (7) Before the Lord (Jehovah).—Rebekah has been accused of…
(7) Before the Lord (Jehovah).—Rebekah has been accused of inserting words which Isaac had not used; but it is unreasonable to suppose that more is recorded of Isaac’s address to his son than the main sense. Still, these words had a meaning to Jacob which they did not bear to Esau. The latter cared for his father’s blessing, partly from natural affection, but chiefly because of the temporal benefits connected with it. To Jacob its value consisted in the covenant between Jehovah and the family of Abraham.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 24 Vers. 6, 7. And Rebekah (having already formed a…
Vers. 6, 7. And Rebekah (having already formed a plan for diverting the patriarchal blessing from Esau, whose habit of life and utterly unspiritual character may perhaps have recalled to her mind and confirmed the declaration of the oracle concerning Jacob"s precedence) spake unto Jacob her son, i.e. her favorite, in contrast to Esau, Isaac s son (ver. 5) saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, Bring me venison ( vide on ver. 3), and make me savory meat, that I may eat (literally, and I shall eat), and bless thee the lengthened form of the future in this and the preceding verb (cf. hlkeaow in ver. 4) is expressive of Isaac"s self-excitement and emphatic determinationbefore the Lord. The word Jehovah, by modern criticism regarded as a sign of divided authorship, is satisfactorily explained by remembering that Rebekah is speaking not of the blessing of God"s general pro vide nce, but of the higher benediction of the covenant (Hengstenberg). The phrase, though not included in Isaac"s address to Esau, need not be regarded as due to Rebekah"s invention. She may have understood it to be implied in her husband"s language, though it was not expressed (cf. Gen_14:20) That it was designedly omitted by Isaac in consequence of the worldly character of Esau appears as little likely as that it was deliberately inserted by Rebekah to whet her favorite"s ambition (Kalisch). As to meaning, the sense may be that this patriarchal benediction was to be bestowed sincerely (Menochius), in presence and by the authority of God (Ainsworth, Bush, Clericus); but the use of the term Jehovah rather points to the idea that Rebekah regarded Isaac simply "as the instrument of the living and personal God, who directed the concerns of the chosen race (Hengstenberg). Before my death. Since Rebekah makes no remark as to the groundlessness of Isaac s fear, it is not improbable that she too shared in her bed-ridden husband"s expectations that already he was "in the presence of" his end.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv6, 13, 14 Go now to the flock, and fetch me from…
Gen_27:6-10
Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth
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Rebekahs cunning plot in favour of Jacob
I.
THE HUMAN ELEMENT IN IT.
1. The partiality of a fond mother.
2. Ambition.
II. THE RELIGIOUS ELEMENT IN IT.
1. It seemed as if the oracle of God was likely to become void.
2. The crisis was urgent. (T. H. Leale.)
Crooked measures to obtain a worthy object
This is a mysterious affair. It was just that Esau should lose the blessing, for by selling his birthright he had despised it. It was Gods design, too, that Jacob should have it. Rebekah also knowing of this design, from it having been revealed to her that the elder should serve the younger, appears to have acted from a good motive. But the scheme which she formed to correct the error of her husband was far from being justifiable. It was one of those crooked measures which have too often been adopted to accomplish the Divine promises; as if the end would justify, or at least excuse the means. Thus Sarah acted in giving Hagar to Abraham; and thus many others have acted under the idea of being useful in promoting the cause of Christ. The answer to all such things is that which God addressed to Abraham: I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be thou perfect. The deception practised on Isaac was cruel. If he be in the wrong, endeavour to convince him; or commit it to God, who could turn his mind, as he afterwards did that of Jacob when blessing Ephraim and Manasseh; but do not avail yourself of his loss of sight to deceive him. Such would have been the counsel of wisdom and rectitude; but Rebekah follows her own. (A. Fuller.)
Use of unscrupulous meals by religious persons
To this day the method of Rebekah and Jacob is largely adopted by religious persons. It is notorious that persons whose ends are good frequently become thoroughly unscrupulous about the means they use to accomplish them. They dare not say in so many words that they may do evil that good may come, nor do they think it a tenable position in morals that the end sanctifies the means; and yet their consciousness of a justifiable and desirable end undoubtedly does blunt their sensitiveness regarding the legitimacy of the means they employ. For example, Protestant controversialists, persuaded that vehement opposition to Popery is good, and filled with the idea of accomplishing its downfall, are often guilty of gross misrepresentation, because they do not sufficiently inform themselves of the actual tenets and practices of the Church of Rome. In all controversy, religious and political, it is the same. It is always dishonest to circulate reports that you have no means of authenticating; yet how freely are such reports circulated to blacken the character of an opponent, and to prove his opinions to be dangerous. It is always dishonest to condemn opinions we have not inquired into, merely because of some fancied consequence which these opinions carry in them; yet how freely are opinions condemned by men who have never been at the trouble carefully to inquire into their truth. They do not feel the dishonesty of their position, because they have a general consciousness that they are on the side of religion, and of what has generally passed for truth. All keeping back of facts which are supposed to have an unsettling effect is but a repetition of this sin. There is no sin more hateful. Under the appearance of serving God, and maintaining His cause in the world, it insults Him by assuming that, if the whole bare, undisguised truth were spoken, His cause would suffer. The fate of all such attempts to manage Gods matters by keeping things dark, and misrepresenting fact, is written for all who care to understand in the results of this scheme of Rebekahs and Jacobs. They gained nothing, and they lost a great deal, by their wicked interference. They gained nothing; for God had promised that the birthright would be Jacobs, and would have given it him in some way redounding to his credit and not to his shame. And they lost a great deal. The mother lost her son; Jacob had to flee for his life, and, for all we know, Rebekah never saw him more. And Jacob lost all the comforts of home, and all those possessions his father had accumulated. He had to flee with nothing but his staff, an outcast to begin the world for himself. From this first false step onwards to his death, he was pursued by misfortune, until his own verdict on his life was, Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life. (M. Dods, D. D.)
Ahead of Providence
Luther was very importunate at the throne of grace to know the mind of God in a certain matter; and it seemed to him as if he heard God speak to his heart thus: I am not to be traced. One adds, If He is not to be traced, He may be trusted; and that religion is of little value which will not enable a man to trust God where he can neither trace nor see Him. But there is a time for everything beneath the sun; and the Almighty has His times and seasons. It has been frequently with my hopes and desires, in regard to Providence, as with my watch and the sun. My watch has often been ahead of true time; I have gone faster than Providence, and have been forced to stand still and wait, or I have been set back painfully. Flavel says, Some providences, like Hebrew letters, must be read backwards. (J. G. Wilson.)
God will not have His kingdom maintained by carnal policy
We must walk in simplicity, sine plicis, for though the serpent can shrink up into his folds, and appear what he is not, yet it doth not become the saint to shuffle either with God or men. Jacob got the blessing by a wile, but he might have got it cheaper by plain dealing. (W. Gurnall.)
A lie not permitted to man
The minister of the seminary at Clermont, France, having been seized at Autun by the populace, the mayor, who wished to save him, advised him not to take the oath, but to allow him to tell the people that he had taken it. I would myself make known your falsehood to the people, replied the clergyman; it is not permitted me to ransom my life by a lie. The God who prohibits my taking the oath will not allow me to make it believed that I have taken it. The mayor was silent, and the minister was martyred.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv6, 11 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Gen_27:6-10
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Gen_27:6-10
REBEKAH’S CUNNING PLOT IN FAVOUR OF JACOB
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I. The human element in it.
1. The partiality of a fond mother. She tenderly loved this son, and was ready to sacrifice herself to promote his welfare and distinction.
2. Ambition. She wanted to see her favourite son raised to the highest honour. Yet her ambition was devoid of selfishness, for she asked nothing for herself, but only for Jacob. “But here is a trait of female character: it is a woman’s ambition, not a man’s, doing wrong, not for her own advantage, but for the sake of one she loved. It is a touch of womanhood.”—(Robertson.)
II. The religions element in it. We must remember that we are dealing here with the history of the Church of God. These persons are mentioned, and their acts related because they have to do with this history. We justly blame Rebekah, but we have to consider her conduct in the light of her circumstances and character. Her faith in God was placed in circumstances of great trial.
1. It seemed as if the oracle of God was likely to become void. The purpose of Isaac was known, and it was against God’s revealed purpose. The stubbornness of an old man forbade the thought that he would listen to argument, or set aside the claims of a long-cherished affection. The known will of God and the known will of her husband were at variance. It is a difficult matter to trust in God alone, and to forsake all leaning upon ourselves.
2. The crisis was urgent. Isaac had taken steps to carry out his intention. He supposes himself to be on his deathbed and, therefore, makes up his mind to impart the blessing, which when once bestowed was irrevocable. What in this emergency is the believing wife to do? It was of no use to try mild measures, for the mind of the old man was weak and his purpose too deeply seated. She ought to have left the matter with God, and to be content to be still, to trust, and to wait. But it is a hard trial to allow a great evil to happen when we have the means of preventing it. To work and scheme is more easy than to be silent. When we see the declared will of God likely to be thwarted, it seems as if any device of ours to prevent it becomes a justifiable, and even a pious necessity. The sin of Rebekah was of a complex nature. Hence how difficult it is to estimate human conduct if we only regard it from the outside. “We label sins as by a catalogue. We judge of man by their acts; but it is far truer to say that we can only judge the acts by the man. You must understand the man before you can appreciate his deed. The same deed, done by two different persons, ceases to be the same. Abraham laughed, and so did Sarah: one was the laugh of scepticism, the other the result of that reaction in our nature by which the most solemn thoughts are balanced by a sense of strangeness, or even ludicrousness. The Pharisees asked a sign in unbelief; many of the Old Testament saints, in faith. A fine discrimination is therefore needed to understand the simplest deed. A very delicate analysis of character is necessary to comprehend such acts as these and rightly apportion their turpitude and their palliations.”—(Robertson.)
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Gen_27:6. She overheard what Isaac spoke secretly. Women will be listening; as Sarah behind the door, when she laughed, and little thought to be questioned for it.—(Trapp.)
Gen_27:7-10. The sin of deceiving a man into what is right differs little from deceiving him into what is wrong. The effect of the sin may, indeed, be different; but its moral character in the eyes of Omniscience is substantially the same. The slightest deviation from the straightforward principles of integrity and honesty is contrary to the very genius and actings of a true faith; and though the event was overruled to good, yet this was no justification of the parties concerned. Evil ceases not to be evil because God makes it redound to His glory.—(Bush.)
God inclines the love of the mother to the younger, against the custom of nature, because the father loves the elder, against the promise. The affections of parents are divided; that the promise might be fulfilled, Rebekah’s craft shall answer Isaac’s partiality. Isaac would unjustly turn Esau into Jacob, Rebekah doth as cunningly turn Jacob into Esau: her desire was good; her means were unlawful. God doth oft-times effect His just will by our weaknesses; yet neither thereby justifying our infirmities, nor blemishing His own actions.—(Bp. Hall.)
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v18 Isaac Blesses Jacob
Isaac Blesses Jacob
v. 18. And he came unto his father, and said, My father; and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?
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v. 19. And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau, thy first-born; I have done according as thou badest me; arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. Jacob here became guilty of his mother’s deceit in deed as well as in words and intent, for he was not Esau, nor was the meat which he was bringing venison. So far as he was concerned, he was trying to obtain his father’s blessing under false pretenses.
v. 20. And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the Lord, thy God, brought it to me. Upon Isaac’s surprised question: How is this? Thou wast quick to find;—Jacob piously refers the supposed luck of his chase to a special blessing of the Lord.
v. 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. Isaac’s surprise changes into suspicion at the sound of Jacob’s voice and at the indefinite answer which was so unlike Esau’s blunt manner. But it was here that Rebekah’s stratagem proved its worth.
v. 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 was much nearer being convinced, but his suspicions were not yet allayed altogether.
v. 23. And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. Isaac did not know and recognize Jacob for the person who he really was, the hairiness of his wrists making him inclined to think him Esau, so he made ready to bless him, the act being anticipated by the author.
v. 24. And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am. This bold answer settled the doubts of Isaac to such an extent that he was ready for the meal.
v. 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. Thus Jacob gained his first step.
v. 26. And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. It was the kiss of the father which was to introduce the blessing.
v. 27. And he came near, and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his raiment which the strategy of Rebekah had placed on him, since their odor was that of the fields and of the chase; and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed. Isaac’s blessing consisted of inspired utterances looking into the future and transmitting the special blessing of the Lord to Jacob.
v. 28. Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine. These were temporal gifts, of great importance in the country which Jacob and his children were to possess. The quantity of the dew, especially during the dry season, determined the fruitfulness of the land. The fat, productive fields of the earth were to be his, the result being a rich yield of grain and new wine.
v. 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 curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee. This part of the blessing describes the position of influence and power which the descendants of Jacob were to occupy. Not only over his brethren, over the people of his own race, including the children of his brother, he was to be lord, but also over strange people and nations. The idea of a world dominion is thus brought out, culminating in the promise that men would be judged according to their attitude toward him and his descendants. Thus the blessing looks forward to the Messiah, the touchstone of the ages, for to this day the right answer to the question: What think ye of Christ? decides the fate of every person in the world.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv8, 11, 13, 15, 18, 20, 22, 24 General Information:
General Information:
Rebekah continues to speak to her younger son Jacob.
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Now
This does not mean "at this moment," but is used to draw attention to the important point that follows.
obey my voice as I command you
Rebekah said "my voice" to refer to what she was saying. AT: "obey me and do what I tell you" (See: Metonymy)
I will make delicious food from them for your father, just like he loves
The word "delicious" refers to something that tastes very good. See how a similar sentence was translated in Genesis 27:4.
You will take it to your father
"Then take it to your father"
so that he may eat it, so that he may bless you
"and after he eats it, he will bless you"
he may bless you
The word "bless" refers to the formal blessing a father pronounces on his children.
before his death
"before he dies"
translationWords
obey
command
flocks
goat
bless
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv11, 18, 20 27:11-12 Jacob had no qualms about this deception; he…
27:11-12 Jacob had no qualms about this deception; he only feared that it might not work and that he would be cursed for trying.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.