Genesis 27:19 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.”

NIV: Jacob said to his father, 'I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.'

NASB: Jacob said to his father, 'I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me. Come now, sit and eat of my game, so that you may bless me.'

CSB: Jacob replied to his father, "I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may bless me."

NLT: Jacob replied, 'It’s Esau, your firstborn son. I’ve done as you told me. Here is the wild game. Now sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing.'

KJV: And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.

NKJV: Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.”

Old, blind, and near the end of his life, Isaac is planning to pass on the family blessing to the firstborn of his twin sons, Esau (Genesis 27:1–5). Isaac has sent Esau out to kill and prepare fresh game for him to eat before he bestows the gift. Rebekah, Isaac's wife and Esau's mother, has overheard this arrangement (Genesis 27:6–10). The two parents make no secret of their favoritism (Genesis 25:28). In fact, this imbalance was probably Isaac's motivation for attempting to bless Esau in private, as well as what motivated Rebekah to hatch her plot. Since she favors her younger son, Jacob, Rebekah pulls him into a conspiracy.

Now, with his mother's help—and insistence—Jacob is attempting to deceive his father, Isaac, by pretending to be his older twin brother, Esau. After being asked directly who he is (Genesis 27:18), Jacob now begins to lie in earnest. He says emphatically that he is Esau, adding that he is the firstborn, as if his father would not have known that. Jacob also rushes to close the deal, perhaps worried the Esau may return at any time. He asks Isaac to quickly eat the meal and bless him.

More specifically, Jacob says he is ready for Isaac's soul to bless him. The passing on of the family blessing will be an act of Isaac's will, a gift from his soul to his son and the generations who will follow.

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.