Genesis 27:38 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

NIV: Esau said to his father, 'Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!' Then Esau wept aloud.

NASB: Esau said to his father, 'Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me, me as well, my father.' So Esau raised his voice and wept.

CSB: Esau said to his father, "Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father! " And Esau wept loudly.

NLT: Esau pleaded, 'But do you have only one blessing? Oh my father, bless me, too!' Then Esau broke down and wept.

KJV: And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.

NKJV: And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

Esau is clearly despondent. He is crying loudly before his old, blind father Isaac, who has been tricked into giving his blessing to the younger twin, Jacob (Genesis 27:30–33). As Esau points out, this fits with Jacob's name. In Hebrew, Ya'aqob means "one who cheats," or "usurper," from a phrase which literally means "heel-grabber" (Genesis 25:25–26). Even though Isaac has already said that he has blessed Jacob by making him lord over his brothers and giving him wealth in grain and wine, Esau repeats his desperate request to be blessed in any way, at all. Besides losing his birthright in a moment of recklessness (Genesis 25:29–34), he is now left cheated of his father's final gift.

Isaac's proclamation in the following verses will offer little comfort. In his (literally) blind favoritism (Genesis 25:28), Isaac has given every ounce of blessing he can bestow on the person he thought was Esau (Genesis 27:27–29). That gift cannot be taken back, and there is really nothing left for Isaac to give. All he has left is a stark prediction.

Genesis 27:30–46 describes the aftermath of Jacob's deception of Isaac in order to receive the family blessing. Once Esau arrives and Isaac realizes he has given the blessing to the wrong son, his body begins to tremble in panic. Esau, deeply distraught, cries out in loud and bitter agony. Isaac gives to Esau a leftover blessing that reads like a curse. Esau pledges to kill Jacob once their father has died. Learning of this, Rebekah urges Jacob to run away to live with her brother in Mesopotamia.

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 5/8/2024 1:31:00 PM