Genesis 27:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies."

NIV: Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies."

NASB: Then you shall bring it to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his death.'

CSB: Then take it to your father to eat so that he may bless you before he dies."

NLT: Then take the food to your father so he can eat it and bless you before he dies.'

KJV: And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.

NKJV: Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death.”

Isaac's wife, Rebekah, has overheard his plan to bless their firstborn son, Esau (Genesis 27:1–6). However, Rebekah greatly prefers the younger of the twin boys, Jacob (Genesis 25:28). Isaac might have been trying to avoid this very situation by speaking to Esau alone, rather than stating his blessing in front of the entire family. Rebekah knows that God has predicted that Jacob, not Esau, will be superior (Genesis 25:23). In an effort to "help" God's plans along, and to aid her favored son, she hatches a deceptive plot (Genesis 27:7–9).

Here, Rebekah concludes describing to Jacob her plan for him to receive the family blessing from Isaac instead of Esau. This relies heavily on Isaac's age-induced blindness. Before Esau can return with freshly hunted game and prepare it as a delicious meal, she will prepare a meal herself. Then Jacob can take it to his father and receive the blessing instead.

Jacob will raise very reasonable objections to his mother's plan in the following verses. Readers should note that his concerns are about being caught—not whether or not this is a moral plan (Genesis 27:12).

Genesis 27:1–29 describes how the Abrahamic family blessing came to second-born Jacob, instead of his firstborn brother, Esau. Isaac intends to give the blessing to his favored son, Esau. Rebekah commands Jacob to impersonate Esau, instead, in order to get the blessing for himself. Isaac almost catches on but is convinced by the smell of Esau on Jacob's borrowed clothes, and the hairy, Esau-like goat's skin on Jacob's hands. Isaac gives to Jacob the future-defining blessing of God.

Isaac's plan to pass the family blessing on to his favorite son, Esau, is thwarted by the deception of Isaac's wife Rebekah, and his other son Jacob. Old and blind, Isaac fails to recognize that the man claiming to be Esau is actually Jacob in a clever disguise. His prayer of blessing for wealth and rule over his brothers will remain valid though it is given under false pretense. Esau will be left with a blessing that sounds like a curse and a plan to murder his brother. Jacob will be forced to run for his life.

Prior chapters described the prosperity of Isaac, living in the Valley of Gerar. Genesis 27 leaps forward to near the end of Isaac's life. The time has come to pass on the family blessing. Isaac's intention to give that blessing to firstborn, Esau, is thwarted by the deception of Isaac's wife Rebekah and his other son Jacob. Isaac overcomes his suspicions that the man before him is not Esau and delivers the very blessing of God on Jacob. Esau is left with a near-curse and a murderous rage. Rebekah urges Jacob to go to her brother's household, a plan Isaac will endorse in the following chapter. There, he will ironically experience the sting of deception in his own life.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.