Genesis 27:24 - Printer Friendly

ESV: He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.”

NIV: Are you really my son Esau?' he asked. 'I am,' he replied.

NASB: And he said, 'Are you really my son Esau?' And he said, 'I am.'

CSB: Again he asked, "Are you really my son Esau? "And he replied, "I am."

NLT: But are you really my son Esau?' he asked. 'Yes, I am,' Jacob replied.

KJV: And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.

NKJV: Then he said, “ Are you really my son Esau?” He said, “I am.”

Jacob is trying to fool his father by impersonating Esau, his older brother. The reason for this fraud is to have Isaac grant his fatherly blessing to Jacob instead. The plan is actually a conspiracy between Jacob and his mother, Rebekah, who has supplied him with the food Isaac requested from Esau, Esau's clothes, and goat skins to mimic Esau's hairiness (Genesis 27:1–10). Even after feeling Jacob's goat-skin covered hands, Isaac, old and blind, still seems unconvinced and confused. He is ready to believe that Esau is before him with a meal of freshly killed and prepared game. He is ready to give Esau the blessing. He seems to sense something is still off though.

Finally, he just asks Jacob outright, "Are you really my son Esau?" Now Jacob commits to the lie fully: "I am." His attempt to deceive his father in order to steal the family blessing from his firstborn brother is complete. The following verse will show that Isaac decided to believe him. He is ready to eat the meal and give the blessing.

God is not without a sense of humor. Not long after this incident, Jacob will find out what it feels like to be cheated (Genesis 29). After that, God will pointedly force Jacob to identify himself before he can be blessed (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.