Kejadian 25:20-28
Konteks25:20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, 1 the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. 2
25:21 Isaac prayed to 3 the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 25:22 But the children struggled 4 inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” 5 So she asked the Lord, 6 25:23 and the Lord said to her,
“Two nations 7 are in your womb,
and two peoples will be separated from within you.
One people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.”
25:24 When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, 8 there were 9 twins in her womb. 25:25 The first came out reddish 10 all over, 11 like a hairy 12 garment, so they named him Esau. 13 25:26 When his brother came out with 14 his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. 15 Isaac was sixty years old 16 when they were born.
25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled 17 hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. 18 25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, 19 but Rebekah loved 20 Jacob.
Kejadian 27:1-46
Konteks27:1 When 21 Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, 22 he called his older 23 son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau 24 replied. 27:2 Isaac 25 said, “Since 26 I am so old, I could die at any time. 27 27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game 28 for me. 27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then 29 I will eat it so that I may bless you 30 before I die.”
27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. 31 When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, 32 27:6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father tell your brother Esau, 27:7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare for me some tasty food. Then I will eat 33 it and bless you 34 in the presence of the Lord 35 before I die.’ 27:8 Now then, my son, do 36 exactly what I tell you! 37 27:9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare 38 them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. 27:10 Then you will take 39 it to your father. Thus he will eat it 40 and 41 bless you before he dies.”
27:11 “But Esau my brother is a hairy man,” Jacob protested to his mother Rebekah, “and I have smooth skin! 42 27:12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him 43 and I’ll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.” 27:13 So his mother told him, “Any curse against you will fall on me, 44 my son! Just obey me! 45 Go and get them for me!”
27:14 So he went and got the goats 46 and brought them to his mother. She 47 prepared some tasty food, just the way his father loved it. 27:15 Then Rebekah took her older son Esau’s best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 27:16 She put the skins of the young goats 48 on his hands 49 and the smooth part of his neck. 27:17 Then she handed 50 the tasty food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.
27:18 He went to his father and said, “My father!” Isaac 51 replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?” 52 27:19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up 53 and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” 54 27:20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world 55 did you find it so quickly, 56 my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” 57 he replied. 58 27:21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you, 59 my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.” 60 27:22 So Jacob went over to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s.” 27:23 He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau’s hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob. 61 27:24 Then he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “I am,” Jacob 62 replied. 27:25 Isaac 63 said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. 64 Then I will bless you.” 65 So Jacob 66 brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac 67 drank. 27:26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 27:27 So Jacob 68 went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent 69 of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,
“Yes, 70 my son smells
like the scent of an open field
which the Lord has blessed.
27:28 May God give you
the dew of the sky 71
and the richness 72 of the earth,
and plenty of grain and new wine.
27:29 May peoples serve you
and nations bow down to you.
You will be 73 lord 74 over your brothers,
and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. 75
May those who curse you be cursed,
and those who bless you be blessed.”
27:30 Isaac had just finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left 76 his father’s 77 presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt. 78 27:31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau 79 said to him, “My father, get up 80 and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.” 81 27:32 His father Isaac asked, 82 “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,” 83 he replied, “Esau!” 27:33 Isaac began to shake violently 84 and asked, “Then who else hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it just before you arrived, and I blessed him. 85 He will indeed be blessed!”
27:34 When Esau heard 86 his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly. 87 He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” 27:35 But Isaac 88 replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away 89 your blessing.” 27:36 Esau exclaimed, “‘Jacob’ is the right name for him! 90 He has tripped me up 91 two times! He took away my birthright, and now, look, he has taken away my blessing!” Then he asked, “Have you not kept back a blessing for me?”
27:37 Isaac replied to Esau, “Look! I have made him lord over you. I have made all his relatives his servants and provided him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?” 27:38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!” 92 Then Esau wept loudly. 93
27:39 So his father Isaac said to him,
“Indeed, 94 your home will be
away from the richness 95 of the earth,
and away from the dew of the sky above.
27:40 You will live by your sword
but you will serve your brother.
When you grow restless,
you will tear off his yoke
from your neck.” 96
27:41 So Esau hated 97 Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. 98 Esau said privately, 99 “The time 100 of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill 101 my brother Jacob!”
27:42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said, 102 she quickly summoned 103 her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you. 104 27:43 Now then, my son, do what I say. 105 Run away immediately 106 to my brother Laban in Haran. 27:44 Live with him for a little while 107 until your brother’s rage subsides. 27:45 Stay there 108 until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I’ll send someone to bring you back from there. 109 Why should I lose both of you in one day?” 110
27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressed 111 because of these daughters of Heth. 112 If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!” 113
[25:20] 1 tn Heb “And Isaac was the son of forty years when he took Rebekah.”
[25:20] 2 sn Some valuable information is provided here. We learn here that Isaac married thirty-five years before Abraham died, that Rebekah was barren for twenty years, and that Abraham would have lived to see Jacob and Esau begin to grow up. The death of Abraham was recorded in the first part of the chapter as a “tidying up” of one generation before beginning the account of the next.
[25:21] 3 tn The Hebrew verb עָתַר (’atar), translated “prayed [to]” here, appears in the story of God’s judgment on Egypt in which Moses asked the
[25:22] 4 tn The Hebrew word used here suggests a violent struggle that was out of the ordinary.
[25:22] 5 tn Heb “If [it is] so, why [am] I this [way]?” Rebekah wanted to know what was happening to her, but the question itself reflects a growing despair over the struggle of the unborn children.
[25:22] 6 sn Asked the
[25:23] 7 sn By metonymy the two children in her womb are described as two nations of which the two children, Jacob and Esau, would become the fathers. The language suggests there would be a struggle between these nations, with one being stronger than the other. The oracle reveals that all of Jacob’s scheming was unnecessary in the final analysis. He would have become the dominant nation without using deception to steal his brother’s blessing.
[25:24] 8 tn Heb “And her days were filled to give birth.”
[25:24] 9 tn Heb “look!” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene as if they were actually present at the birth.
[25:25] 10 sn Reddish. The Hebrew word translated “reddish” is אַדְמוֹנִי (’admoni), which forms a wordplay on the Edomites, Esau’s descendants. The writer sees in Esau’s appearance at birth a sign of what was to come. After all, the reader has already been made aware of the “nations” that were being born.
[25:25] 11 tn Heb “all of him.”
[25:25] 12 sn Hairy. Here is another wordplay involving the descendants of Esau. The Hebrew word translated “hairy” is שֵׂעָר (se’ar); the Edomites will later live in Mount Seir, perhaps named for its wooded nature.
[25:25] 13 tn Heb “And they called his name Esau.” The name “Esau” (עֵשָׂו, ’esav) is not etymologically related to שֵׂעָר (se’ar), but it draws on some of the sounds.
[25:26] 14 tn The disjunctive clause describes an important circumstance accompanying the birth. Whereas Esau was passive at birth, Jacob was active.
[25:26] 15 tn Heb “And he called his name Jacob.” Some ancient witnesses read “they called his name Jacob” (see v. 25). In either case the subject is indefinite.
[25:26] sn The name Jacob is a play on the Hebrew word for “heel” (עָקֵב, ’aqev). The name (since it is a verb) probably means something like “may he protect,” that is, as a rearguard, dogging the heels. It did not have a negative connotation until Esau redefined it. This name was probably chosen because of the immediate association with the incident of grabbing the heel. After receiving such an oracle, the parents would have preserved in memory almost every detail of the unusual births.
[25:26] 16 tn Heb “the son of sixty years.”
[25:27] 18 tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Jacob with Esau and draws attention to the striking contrasts. In contrast to Esau, a man of the field, Jacob was civilized, as the phrase “living in tents” signifies. Whereas Esau was a skillful hunter, Jacob was calm and even-tempered (תָּם, tam), which normally has the idea of “blameless.”
[25:28] 19 tn Heb “the taste of game was in his mouth.” The word for “game,” “venison” is here the same Hebrew word as “hunter” in the last verse. Here it is a metonymy, referring to that which the hunter kills.
[25:28] 20 tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Rebekah with Jacob and draws attention to the contrast. The verb here is a participle, drawing attention to Rebekah’s continuing, enduring love for her son.
[27:1] 21 tn The clause begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making it subordinate to the main clause that follows later in the sentence.
[27:1] 22 tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”
[27:1] 23 tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).
[27:1] 24 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:2] 25 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaac) is specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:2] 26 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here introduces a logically foundational statement, upon which the coming instruction will be based.
[27:2] 27 tn Heb “I do not know the day of my death.”
[27:3] 28 tn The Hebrew word is to be spelled either צַיִד (tsayid) following the marginal reading (Qere), or צֵידָה (tsedah) following the consonantal text (Kethib). Either way it is from the same root as the imperative צוּדָה (tsudah, “hunt down”).
[27:4] 29 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:4] 30 tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The use of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as the subject emphasizes that the blessing will be made with all Isaac’s desire and vitality. The conjunction “so that” closely relates the meal to the blessing, suggesting that this will be a ritual meal in conjunction with the giving of a formal blessing.
[27:5] 31 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a conjunction with the subject, followed by the predicate) here introduces a new scene in the story.
[27:5] 32 tc The LXX adds here “to his father,” which may have been accidentally omitted in the MT.
[27:7] 33 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:7] 34 tn The cohortative, with the prefixed conjunction, also expresses logical sequence. See vv. 4, 19, 27.
[27:7] 35 tn In her report to Jacob, Rebekah plays down Isaac’s strong desire to bless Esau by leaving out נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”), but by adding the phrase “in the presence of the
[27:8] 36 tn Heb “listen to my voice.” The Hebrew idiom means “to comply; to obey.”
[27:8] 37 tn Heb “to that which I am commanding you.”
[27:9] 38 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:10] 39 tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive. It carries forward the tone of instruction initiated by the command to “go…and get” in the preceding verse.
[27:10] 40 tn The form is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; it carries the future nuance of the preceding verbs of instruction, but by switching the subject to Jacob, indicates the expected result of the subterfuge.
[27:10] 41 tn Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[27:11] 42 tn Heb “And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, ‘Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, but I am a smooth [skinned] man.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:12] 43 tn Heb “Perhaps my father will feel me and I will be in his eyes like a mocker.” The Hebrew expression “I will be in his eyes like” means “I would appear to him as.”
[27:13] 44 tn Heb “upon me your curse.”
[27:13] 45 tn Heb “only listen to my voice.”
[27:14] 46 tn The words “the goats” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:14] 47 tn Heb “his mother.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “she” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:16] 48 tn In the Hebrew text the object (“the skins of the young goats”) precedes the verb. The disjunctive clause draws attention to this key element in the subterfuge.
[27:16] 49 tn The word “hands” probably includes the forearms here. How the skins were attached is not specified in the Hebrew text; cf. NLT “she made him a pair of gloves.”
[27:17] 50 tn Heb “gave…into the hand of.”
[27:18] 51 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:18] 52 sn Which are you, my son? Isaac’s first question shows that the deception is going to require more subterfuge than Rebekah had anticipated. Jacob will have to pull off the deceit.
[27:19] 53 tn Heb “get up and sit.” This may mean simply “sit up,” or it may indicate that he was to get up from his couch and sit at a table.
[27:19] 54 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.” These words, though not reported by Rebekah to Jacob (see v. 7) accurately reflect what Isaac actually said to Esau (see v. 4). Perhaps Jacob knew more than Rebekah realized, but it is more likely that this was an idiom for sincere blessing with which Jacob was familiar. At any rate, his use of the precise wording was a nice, convincing touch.
[27:20] 55 tn Heb “What is this?” The enclitic pronoun “this” adds emphasis to the question, which is comparable to the English rhetorical question, “How in the world?”
[27:20] 56 tn Heb “you hastened to find.” In translation the infinitive becomes the main verb and the first verb becomes adverbial.
[27:20] 57 tn Heb “caused to meet before me.”
[27:20] 58 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Because the
[27:21] 59 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:21] 60 tn Heb “Are you this one, Esau, my son, or not?” On the use of the interrogative particle here, see BDB 210 s.v. הֲ.
[27:23] 61 tn Heb “and he blessed him.” The referents of the pronouns “he” (Isaac) and “him” (Jacob) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:24] 62 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:25] 63 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:25] 64 tn Heb “Bring near to me and I will eat of the wild game, my son.” Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[27:25] 65 tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The presence of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as subject emphasizes Isaac’s heartfelt desire to do this. The conjunction indicates that the ritual meal must be first eaten before the formal blessing may be given.
[27:25] 66 tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:25] 67 tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:27] 68 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:27] 69 tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:28] 71 tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”
[27:28] 72 tn Heb “and from the fatness.”
[27:29] 73 tn Heb “and be.” The verb is an imperative, which is used rhetorically in this oracle of blessing. It is an invitation to exercise authority his brothers and indicates that he is granted such authority by the patriarch of the family. Furthermore, the blessing enables the recipient to accomplish this.
[27:29] 74 tn The Hebrew word is גְבִיר (gevir, “lord, mighty one”). The one being blessed will be stronger and therefore more powerful than his brother. See Gen 25:23. The feminine form of this rare noun means “mistress” or “queen-mother.”
[27:29] 75 tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[27:30] 76 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite form of the verb makes the construction emphatic.
[27:30] 77 tn Heb “the presence of Isaac his father.” The repetition of the proper name (“Isaac”) was
[27:30] 78 tn Heb “and Esau his brother came from his hunt.”
[27:31] 79 tn Heb “and he said to his father”; the referent of “he” (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity, while the words “his father” have been replaced by the pronoun “him” for stylistic reasons.
[27:31] 80 tn Or “arise” (i.e., sit up).
[27:31] 81 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.”
[27:32] 83 tn Heb “and he said, ‘I [am] your son, your firstborn.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.
[27:33] 84 tn Heb “and Isaac trembled with a great trembling to excess.” The verb “trembled” is joined with a cognate accusative, which is modified by an adjective “great,” and a prepositional phrase “to excess.” All of this is emphatic, showing the violence of Isaac’s reaction to the news.
[27:33] 85 tn Heb “Who then is he who hunted game and brought [it] to me so that I ate from all before you arrived and blessed him?”
[27:34] 86 tn The temporal clause is introduced with the temporal indicator and has the infinitive as its verb.
[27:34] 87 tn Heb “and he yelled [with] a great and bitter yell to excess.”
[27:35] 88 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:35] 89 tn Or “took”; “received.”
[27:36] 90 tn Heb “Is he not rightly named Jacob?” The rhetorical question, since it expects a positive reply, has been translated as a declarative statement.
[27:36] 91 sn He has tripped me up. When originally given, the name Jacob was a play on the word “heel” (see Gen 25:26). The name (since it is a verb) probably means something like “may he protect,” that is, as a rearguard, dogging the heels. This name was probably chosen because of the immediate association with the incident of grabbing the heel. Esau gives the name “Jacob” a negative connotation here, the meaning “to trip up; to supplant.”
[27:38] 92 tn Heb “Bless me, me also, my father.” The words “my father” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:38] 93 tn Heb “and Esau lifted his voice and wept.”
[27:39] 95 tn Heb “from the fatness.”
[27:40] 96 sn You will tear off his yoke from your neck. It may be that this prophetic blessing found its fulfillment when Jerusalem fell and Edom got its revenge. The oracle makes Edom subservient to Israel and suggests the Edomites would live away from the best land and be forced to sustain themselves by violent measures.
[27:41] 97 tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.
[27:41] 98 tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”
[27:41] 99 tn Heb “said in his heart.” The expression may mean “said to himself.” Even if this is the case, v. 42 makes it clear that he must have shared his intentions with someone, because the news reached Rebekah.
[27:41] 101 tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.
[27:42] 102 tn Heb “and the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah.”
[27:42] 103 tn Heb “she sent and called for.”
[27:42] 104 tn Heb “is consoling himself with respect to you to kill you.” The only way Esau had of dealing with his anger at the moment was to plan to kill his brother after the death of Isaac.
[27:43] 105 tn Heb “listen to my voice.”
[27:43] 106 tn Heb “arise, flee.”
[27:44] 107 tn Heb “a few days.” Rebekah probably downplays the length of time Jacob will be gone, perhaps to encourage him and assure him that things will settle down soon. She probably expects Esau’s anger to die down quickly. However, Jacob ends up being gone twenty years and he never sees Rebekah again.
[27:45] 108 tn The words “stay there” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:45] 109 tn Heb “and I will send and I will take you from there.” The verb “send” has no object in the Hebrew text; one must be supplied in the translation. Either “someone” or “a message” could be supplied, but since in those times a message would require a messenger, “someone” has been used.
[27:45] 110 tn If Jacob stayed, he would be killed and Esau would be forced to run away.
[27:46] 111 tn Heb “loathe my life.” The Hebrew verb translated “loathe” refers to strong disgust (see Lev 20:23).
[27:46] 112 tn Some translate the Hebrew term “Heth” as “Hittites” here (see also Gen 23:3), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., “Hittites,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.
[27:46] 113 tn Heb “If Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, why to me life?”
