Genesis 27:18 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So he went in to his father and said, "My father." And he said, "Here I am. Who are you, my son?"

NIV: He went to his father and said, "My father." "Yes, my son," he answered. "Who is it?"

NASB: Then he came to his father and said, 'My father.' And he said, 'Here I am. Who are you, my son?'

CSB: When he came to his father, he said, "My father." And he answered, "Here I am. Who are you, my son?"

NLT: So Jacob took the food to his father. 'My father?' he said. 'Yes, my son,' Isaac answered. 'Who are you — Esau or Jacob?'

KJV: And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?

NKJV: So he went to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”

If we didn't know how high the stakes are for Jacob, Esau, and the future of Israel, this scene would feel like something out of a fictional comedy. Rebekah and Jacob are attempting to con Isaac into giving "the blessing" to Jacob instead of Esau (Genesis 27:5–10). To pull it off, they need old, blind Isaac to believe that he's talking to Esau and not Jacob (Genesis 27:1–6). In order to make this happen, Jacob is dressed in Esau's clothes, to mimic his scent (Genesis 27:15). He's wearing goat skins on his arms and neck so that he'll feel rough and hairy, like his brother (Genesis 27:16). He's bringing the food his father specifically asked for (Genesis 27:9).

And yet, right from the start, it looks like the whole scheme is going to fall apart. Isaac may be old and blind, but he's not deaf. Jacob comes before his father carrying the delicious meal, supposedly meat freshly killed and prepared by Jacob's hairy, outdoorsman of a brother, Esau. Jacob begins, perhaps too timidly, by saying, "My father." Isaac immediately asks who is speaking. He is expecting Esau, but he hears something not right in the voice, and it's too soon for Esau to have returned. Now Jacob will need to lie outright or abandon the plan…so he lies.

This moment inspires two future incidents in Jacob's life. Through God's intervention, Jacob will suffer under a bait-and-switch scam (Genesis 29). And, he will be forced to identify himself, honestly, before being blessed in a later event (Genesis 32:26–28).

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.