Genesis 27:39 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: “Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high.

NIV: His father Isaac answered him, 'Your dwelling will be away from the earth's richness, away from the dew of heaven above.

NASB: Then his father Isaac answered and said to him, 'Behold, away from the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling, And away from the dew of heaven from above.

CSB: His father Isaac answered him, Look, your dwelling place will be away from the richness of the land, away from the dew of the sky above.

NLT: Finally, his father, Isaac, said to him, 'You will live away from the richness of the earth, and away from the dew of the heaven above.

KJV: And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;

NKJV: Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: “Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above.

Esau, crying in despair, has asked Isaac to bless him in any way possible, in spite of the fact that nearly all of the blessing has been given to Jacob (Genesis 27:27–29). Now Isaac responds, but it doesn't sound like a blessing.

Isaac had blessed Jacob with the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth, perhaps referring to the successful growing of well-watered crops and successful herds of animals. Now he confers on Esau what appears to be the exact opposite of this. He tells Esau that his dwelling will be away from the fatness of the earth and the dew of heaven. Perhaps this describes the nomadic life of a wandering tribe.

Eventually, Esau's descendants will become the nation known as Edom. These Edomites will live in the mountainous land of Seir, and bitterly conflict with the nation of Israel, which will descend from Jacob. The book of Obadiah predicts the eventual ruin of the Edomite people.

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 5/4/2024 12:04:38 PM