Genesis 27:42 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, “Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself about you by planning to kill you.

NIV: When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, 'Your brother Esau is planning to avenge himself by killing you.

NASB: Now when the words of her elder son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she sent word and called her younger son Jacob, and said to him, 'Behold your brother Esau is consoling himself concerning you by planning to kill you.

CSB: When the words of her older son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she summoned her younger son Jacob and said to him, "Listen, your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you.

NLT: But Rebekah heard about Esau’s plans. So she sent for Jacob and told him, 'Listen, Esau is consoling himself by plotting to kill you.

KJV: And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee.

NKJV: And the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Surely your brother Esau comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you.

Esau was actively planning to murder Jacob after Isaac died. His anger is understandable. Using an elaborate deception in which he pretended to be Esau (Genesis 27:15–17), Jacob had tricked their father into giving him the blessing intended for Esau (Genesis 27:1–5; 27:30–35). This gift was not simply well wishes from dad to son. It was the formal conferring of the blessing of God, for wealth and political rule to one son and not the other. The blessing seems to have been irrevocable and possibly even prophetic (Genesis 27:37).It's not surprising that Jacob's action would threaten his relationship with Esau.

Still, to murder one's brother was no small crime. Fortunately for the intended victim, Esau, he did not keep his plan to himself. He told someone what he planned to do, and the word got back to their mother Rebekah. She, of course, was the one who hatched the plot to deceive Isaac in the first place (Genesis 27:6–10). She immediately tells Jacob about Esau's plan. Interestingly, Rebekah doesn't mention that Esau plans to wait to kill Jacob. Either she didn't know that, or she is afraid that Esau won't be able to hold himself back for long. In either case, the following verse will make clear that she wants Jacob to get out of town right away.

Her description of Esau's heart is interesting. It's a human experience to comfort oneself with a plan to take revenge on those who have hurt us. It's a false comfort that allows us to go about our daily activities until the moment comes when we can act. In that sense, her assessment of Esau's plan is sensible. Then again, one has to wonder what Rebekah thought would happen. She conspired with Jacob to cheat Esau out of his life's most valuable possession! Her punishment for that will be played out over the next few passages. Once her favorite son flees, he won't return until after her own death (Genesis 35:27; 49:31).

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.