Genesis 27:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.”

NIV: Then his father Isaac said to him, 'Come here, my son, and kiss me.'

NASB: Then his father Isaac said to him, 'Please come close and kiss me, my son.'

CSB: Then his father Isaac said to him, "Please come closer and kiss me, my son."

NLT: Then Isaac said to Jacob, 'Please come a little closer and kiss me, my son.'

KJV: And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.

NKJV: Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.”

Jacob is in the middle of a daring, dangerous act of fraud. He has conspired with his mother to impersonate his older twin brother, Esau, so he can obtain his father's blessing. Though Isaac is old and blind, he is suspicious when Jacob arrives to begin the scam (Genesis 27:18–23). However, Jacob is wearing Esau's clothes, has his skin disguised as Esau's skin, and carries the food Isaac had asked for (Genesis 27:11–17). So, despite lingering doubts, Isaac continues to bestow his blessing.

This kiss would be part of the formal ceremony of Isaac conferring the family blessing to Jacob—though his original intent was for this to pass to Esau. It's also possible that that kiss represented a kind of farewell between a son and his aging father. Coming close enough to kiss Isaac also posed another risk of discovery for Jacob. He would be close enough to touch and, more importantly, to smell. Again, Jacob's mother had thought of how to protect him from this (Genesis 27:15).

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.

Accessed 4/28/2024 12:58:12 PM