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Genesis Chapter 27

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October 1, 2025

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When Isaac Got Old 👴

When Isaac became very old, his eyes grew so weak that he could barely see anything around him. One day, he called for his older son Esau and said, “My son, come here.” Esau hurried over and said, “Yes, father, I’m here!” Isaac said to him, “Son, I’m getting very old and I don’t know how much longer I’ll live. I want to give you a special blessing before I die. But first, please take your bow and arrows and go hunting. Catch a wild animal and cook it the way I love it. When you bring it to me to eat, then I’ll give you my most important blessing.”

Mom Has a Secret Plan 🤫

But guess what? Rebekah, their mother, was listening to everything Isaac said to Esau! As soon as Esau left to go hunting, she quickly called for Jacob, her younger son. “Jacob, come here right now!” she whispered urgently. “I heard your father tell Esau to hunt an animal and cook it so he can give Esau his special blessing. But listen carefully – we’re going to get that blessing for you instead!” Jacob looked worried. “But mom, Esau is really hairy and I’m not. What if dad touches me and figures out I’m not Esau? He’ll be so angry and curse me instead of blessing me!” Rebekah said, “Don’t worry about that, son. If anything bad happens, it will be my fault, not yours. Just do exactly what I tell you. Go get two young goats from our flock, and I’ll cook them just the way your father likes.”

The Great Disguise 🥸

So Jacob brought his mother the goats, and she cooked them into a delicious meal that smelled amazing. Then she took Esau’s best clothes and put them on Jacob so he would smell like his brother. But there was still one problem – Jacob’s smooth skin! Rebekah had a clever idea. She took the furry goat skins and wrapped them around Jacob’s hands and neck. Now he felt hairy just like Esau! She gave Jacob the yummy food and sent him to his father.

The Trick Works 😮

Jacob nervously walked up to his father carrying the meal. “Father?” he said quietly. “Yes? Which of my sons are you?” Isaac asked, squinting in the darkness. Jacob took a deep breath and lied: “I’m Esau, your older son. I did exactly what you asked. Please sit up and eat this meat so you can give me your blessing.” Isaac was suspicious. “How did you catch an animal so quickly?” Jacob said, “Because Yahweh your God helped me find it right away.”ᵃ Isaac still wasn’t sure. “Come closer so I can touch you. I want to make sure you’re really Esau.” When Jacob came close, Isaac felt his hands and said, “This is so strange! Your voice sounds like Jacob, but your hands feel like Esau’s hands.” The goat skins had fooled him!

Isaac Gives the Big Blessing 🙌

Isaac ate the delicious meal and drank some wine. Then he said, “Come give your old father a kiss.” When Jacob kissed him, Isaac smelled Esau’s clothes and was convinced this was really his older son. So Isaac gave Jacob this amazing blessing: “May God give you plenty of rain from heaven And rich soil that grows lots of food. May you have all the grain and grapes you need. May other nations serve you And other peoples bow down to you. May you be the leader over your brothers. Anyone who curses you will be cursed, And anyone who blesses you will be blessed!”

Uh-Oh! Esau Comes Home 😱

Right after Jacob left his father’s tent, Esau came back from hunting! He had caught a wild animal and cooked it perfectly. He brought it to his father and said excitedly, “Father, sit up and eat the meat I caught for you. Then you can give me your special blessing!” Isaac was confused. “Who are you?” “I’m Esau, your firstborn son!” Esau replied. Isaac began shaking all over. “Then who was just here? Someone brought me food and I ate it all. I already gave that person my blessing, and I can’t take it back!”

Esau’s Heart Breaks 💔

When Esau heard this, he let out the loudest, saddest cry you can imagine. “Please father, bless me too! Please!” But Isaac said sadly, “Your brother came here and tricked me. He stole your blessing.” Esau was so upset. “Jacob! That’s the perfect name for himᵇ – he’s always trying to take my place! First he took my birthrightᶜ, and now he’s stolen my blessing! Don’t you have any blessing left for me?” Isaac answered, “I’m so sorry, son. I already made Jacob the leader over you and your brothers. I promised him plenty of food and wine. What’s left for me to give you?” Esau begged, “Don’t you have just one blessing for me, father? Please!” And Esau started crying.

A Different Kind of Blessing ⚔️

Isaac felt terrible for his son. He gave Esau this blessing: “You will live away from the rich land And away from the rain of heaven. You will live by fighting with your sword And you will serve your brother. But someday, when you grow strong, You will break free from his control.”

Esau Makes a Scary Plan 😠

Esau was so angry at Jacob that he started planning something terrible. He thought to himself, “When father dies, I’m going to kill Jacob for what he did to me!” But someone told Rebekah what Esau was planning. She quickly called Jacob and said, “Your brother Esau is so mad that he wants to hurt you! You need to run away right now to my brother Laban’s house far away in Haran.ᵈ Stay there until Esau stops being angry and forgets what you did. Then I’ll send for you to come home.”

Mom’s Smart Solution 🤔

Rebekah also went to Isaac and said, “I’m so tired of the women around hereᵉ who don’t love God! If Jacob marries one of them like Esau did, I’ll be heartbroken!” This gave Isaac another good reason to send Jacob far away to find a wife from their own family. And that’s how Jacob had to leave home because of his big mistake. Even though he got the blessing, he lost his family and had to start a whole new life far away.

Kid-Friendly Footnotes:

  • ᵃ Yahweh: This is God’s special name that means “I AM” – the one who has always existed and always will
  • ᵇ Jacob: His name means “heel-grabber” or someone who tries to take another person’s place by being sneaky
  • ᶜ Birthright: This was a special privilege that the oldest son got – he would inherit twice as much as his brothers and become the family leader
  • ᵈ Haran: A city very far away where Rebekah’s family lived – it would take many days of walking to get there
  • ᵉ Women around here: The people living near them didn’t worship the true God, and Isaac and Rebekah wanted their children to marry people who loved God
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Footnotes:

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Footnotes:

  • 1
    And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, [here am] I.
  • 2
    And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:
  • 3
    Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me [some] venison;
  • 4
    And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring [it] to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.
  • 5
    And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt [for] venison, [and] to bring [it].
  • 6
    And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,
  • 7
    Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death.
  • 8
    Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.
  • 9
    Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:
  • 10
    And thou shalt bring [it] to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.
  • 11
    And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother [is] a hairy man, and I [am] a smooth man:
  • 12
    My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.
  • 13
    And his mother said unto him, Upon me [be] thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me [them].
  • 14
    And he went, and fetched, and brought [them] to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved.
  • 15
    And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which [were] with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:
  • 16
    And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:
  • 17
    And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
  • 18
    And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here [am] I; who [art] thou, my son?
  • 19
    And Jacob said unto his father, I [am] Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.
  • 20
    And Isaac said unto his son, How [is it] that thou hast found [it] so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought [it] to me.
  • 21
    And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou [be] my very son Esau or not.
  • 22
    And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice [is] Jacob’s voice, but the hands [are] the hands of Esau.
  • 23
    And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.
  • 24
    And he said, [Art] thou my very son Esau? And he said, I [am].
  • 25
    And he said, Bring [it] near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought [it] near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank.
  • 26
    And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.
  • 27
    And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son [is] as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed:
  • 28
    Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:
  • 29
    Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed [be] every one that curseth thee, and blessed [be] he that blesseth thee.
  • 30
    And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.
  • 31
    And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison, that thy soul may bless me.
  • 32
    And Isaac his father said unto him, Who [art] thou? And he said, I [am] thy son, thy firstborn Esau.
  • 33
    And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where [is] he that hath taken venison, and brought [it] me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, [and] he shall be blessed.
  • 34
    And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, [even] me also, O my father.
  • 35
    And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.
  • 36
    And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?
  • 37
    And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?
  • 38
    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.
  • 39
    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;
  • 40
    And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.
  • 41
    And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.
  • 42
    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.
  • 43
    Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;
  • 44
    And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away;
  • 45
    Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget [that] which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?
  • 46
    And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these [which are] of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?
  • 1
    When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” “Here I am,” Esau replied.
  • 2
    “Look,” said Isaac, “I am now old, and I do not know the day of my death.
  • 3
    Take your weapons—your quiver and bow—and go out into the field to hunt some game for me.
  • 4
    Then prepare a tasty dish that I love and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you before I die.”
  • 5
    Now Rebekah was listening to what Isaac told his son Esau. So when Esau went into the field to hunt game and bring it back,
  • 6
    Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Behold, I overheard your father saying to your brother Esau,
  • 7
    ‘Bring me some game and prepare me a tasty dish to eat, so that I may bless you in the presence of the LORD before I die.’
  • 8
    Now, my son, listen to my voice and do exactly as I tell you.
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    Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so that I can make them into a tasty dish for your father—the kind he loves.
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    Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.”
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    Jacob answered his mother Rebekah, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am smooth-skinned.
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    What if my father touches me? Then I would be revealed to him as a deceiver, and I would bring upon myself a curse rather than a blessing.”
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    His mother replied, “Your curse be on me, my son. Just obey my voice and go get them for me.”
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    So Jacob went and got two goats and brought them to his mother, who made the tasty food his father loved.
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    And Rebekah took the finest clothes in the house that belonged to her older son Esau, and she put them on her younger son Jacob.
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    She also put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck.
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    Then she handed her son Jacob the tasty food and bread she had made.
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    So Jacob went to his father and said, “My father.” “Here I am!” he answered. “Which one are you, my son?”
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    Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may bless me.”
  • 20
    But Isaac asked his son, “How did you ever find it so quickly, my son?” “Because the LORD your God brought it to me,” he replied.
  • 21
    Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come closer so I can touch you, my son. Are you really my son Esau, or not?”
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    So Jacob came close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”
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    Isaac did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him.
  • 24
    Again he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” And he replied, “I am.”
  • 25
    “Serve me,” said Isaac, “and let me eat some of my son’s game, so that I may bless you.” Jacob brought it to him, and he ate; then he brought him wine, and he drank.
  • 26
    Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come near and kiss me, my son.”
  • 27
    So he came near and kissed him. When Isaac smelled his clothing, he blessed him and said: “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed.
  • 28
    May God give to you the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth—an abundance of grain and new wine.
  • 29
    May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be the master of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed, and those who bless you be blessed.”
  • 30
    As soon as Isaac had finished blessing him and Jacob had left his father’s presence, his brother Esau returned from the hunt.
  • 31
    He too made some tasty food, brought it to his father, and said to him, “My father, sit up and eat of your son’s game, so that you may bless me.”
  • 32
    But his father Isaac replied, “Who are you?” “I am Esau, your firstborn son,” he answered.
  • 33
    Isaac began to tremble violently and said, “Who was it, then, who hunted the game and brought it to me? Before you came in, I ate it all and blessed him—and indeed, he will be blessed!”
  • 34
    When Esau heard his father’s words, he let out a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me too, O my father!”
  • 35
    But Isaac replied, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”
  • 36
    So Esau declared, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me twice. He took my birthright, and now he has taken my blessing.” Then he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”
  • 37
    But Isaac answered Esau: “Look, I have made him your master and given him all his relatives as servants; I have sustained him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?”
  • 38
    Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, O my father!” Then Esau wept aloud.
  • 39
    His father Isaac answered him: “Behold, your dwelling place shall be away from the richness of the land, away from the dew of heaven above.
  • 40
    You shall live by the sword and serve your brother. But when you rebel, you will tear his yoke from your neck.”
  • 41
    Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
  • 42
    When the words of her older son Esau were relayed to Rebekah, she sent for her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is consoling himself by plotting to kill you.
  • 43
    So now, my son, obey my voice and flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran.
  • 44
    Stay with him for a while, until your brother’s fury subsides—
  • 45
    until your brother’s rage against you wanes and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”
  • 46
    Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a Hittite wife from among them, what good is my life?”

Genesis Chapter 27 Commentary

1What’s this book, chapter or verse about?
2The Full Context
3What the Ancient Words Tell Us
4What Would the Original Audience Have Heard?
5But Wait… Why Did They…?
6Wrestling with the Text
7How This Changes Everything
8Key Takeaway
9Further Reading

Genesis 27 – When the Favorite Son Gets Outplayed

What’s this book, chapter or verse about?

This is the story of Isaac’s blessing gone sideways – where the blind patriarch plans to bless his favorite hunter son Esau, but crafty Jacob and his mother Rebekah cook up a scheme involving goat stew and fake fur that changes the trajectory of biblical history forever.

The Full Context

Genesis 27 sits at the heart of one of Scripture’s most morally complex family dramas. Written as part of the foundational narratives that Moses compiled for Israel during their wilderness wanderings, this chapter reveals how God’s promises to Abraham continued through a decidedly dysfunctional family. The original audience – Israelites preparing to enter the Promised Land – would have understood this as the story of how their ancestor Jacob (later renamed Israel) received the covenant blessing, even though the method was anything but straightforward.

This passage comes after the prophecy in Genesis 25:23 that “the older will serve the younger,” and right after Esau’s impulsive trade of his birthright for a bowl of stew in Genesis 25:29-34. The literary structure of Genesis deliberately contrasts Isaac’s favoritism toward Esau with Rebekah’s preference for Jacob, setting up the central tension. What makes this narrative particularly challenging is that it forces readers to wrestle with how God’s sovereign purposes can work through human deception and family favoritism – themes that would resonate deeply with an ancient Near Eastern audience familiar with complex inheritance practices and divine election.

What the Ancient Words Tell Us

The Hebrew text of Genesis 27 is packed with wordplay and irony that gets lost in translation. When Isaac says berakhah (blessing) repeatedly throughout the chapter, it echoes back to the root word barak, which means both “to bless” and “to kneel.” There’s something profound about Isaac literally bowing to a divine plan he can’t see coming.

The word ma’asadim (delicacies) that Rebekah uses for her deceptive meal plan is the same term used earlier for the food Isaac craved from Esau. She’s literally fighting food with food, using Isaac’s own appetite against him. It’s culinary warfare at its finest.

Grammar Geeks

The Hebrew phrase hinneh re’ach beni kere’ach sadeh (“the smell of my son is like the smell of a field”) uses a double play on scent and blessing. The word re’ach (smell/scent) sounds remarkably similar to ruach (spirit), suggesting that Isaac is trying to discern something spiritual through his physical senses – and getting it completely wrong.

But here’s where it gets really interesting: when Jacob says anokhi Esav bekhoreka (“I am Esau your firstborn”), he’s technically not lying about being the firstborn. Remember, Esau sold his birthright back in chapter 25! Jacob now legally holds the firstborn status, even though Isaac doesn’t realize the transaction happened.

What Would the Original Audience Have Heard?

Ancient Near Eastern listeners would have immediately recognized the high stakes here. In their world, a father’s deathbed blessing wasn’t just warm wishes – it was legally binding and carried the weight of divine authority. Once spoken, these words couldn’t be taken back, which explains Isaac’s violent trembling when he discovers the deception.

The original audience would also have caught the irony of roles throughout this story. Typically, the father chose the heir and the mother supported that decision. Here, we see a complete reversal: Rebekah actively subverts her husband’s choice, and she’s the one who remembers God’s prophecy about Jacob’s destiny while Isaac seems to have forgotten it entirely.

Did You Know?

Archaeological evidence from Nuzi tablets (15th-14th centuries BCE) shows that adoption documents and inheritance rights could indeed be transferred between brothers, making Esau’s earlier sale of his birthright legally legitimate in ancient Near Eastern law. Jacob wasn’t just being clever – he was working within established legal frameworks.

The fur-covered hands detail would have been particularly vivid to a nomadic audience. Desert dwellers knew exactly how different smooth and hairy skin felt, making Isaac’s inability to distinguish the difference all the more striking. It emphasizes just how much his other senses had deteriorated along with his sight.

But Wait… Why Did They…?

Here’s what puzzles me about this whole scene: Why didn’t Rebekah just remind Isaac about God’s prophecy? Why resort to deception when she had a direct word from God on her side?

Part of the answer might lie in ancient patriarchal culture. Even with a divine prophecy, challenging a patriarch’s decision directly could have been seen as overstepping boundaries. Rebekah may have felt that indirect action was her only viable option.

But there’s also something deeper happening here. Look at Isaac’s character throughout Genesis – he’s remarkably passive compared to his father Abraham or his son Jacob. When facing conflict, Isaac typically retreats or compromises rather than confronts. Maybe Rebekah recognized that gentle persuasion wouldn’t work with someone so set in his preferences.

Wait, That’s Strange…

Isaac asks Jacob to come close so he can touch him, then says “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are Esau’s hands.” But then… he goes ahead with the blessing anyway? This suggests Isaac might have had deeper suspicions than the text explicitly states, yet chose to proceed despite his doubts.

Wrestling with the Text

The ethical complexity of this passage has troubled readers for millennia, and honestly, it should. We’re watching the mother of faith’s chosen people orchestrate an elaborate deception against her own husband. Jacob participates willingly, even invoking God’s name to cover his lie (Genesis 27:20).

Yet the text never explicitly condemns their actions. In fact, the blessing Isaac pronounces over Jacob is later confirmed by God himself in Genesis 28:13-15. This doesn’t mean the deception was morally right, but it suggests that God’s sovereign purposes can work through flawed human actions.

The consequences ripple throughout the rest of Genesis. Jacob spends decades fleeing from Esau’s anger, gets deceived himself by his father-in-law Laban, and experiences family dysfunction in his own household. The pattern of favoritism and deception doesn’t end with this generation – it continues through Joseph and his brothers.

“Sometimes God accomplishes his purposes not because of our moral failures, but in spite of them – weaving even our worst moments into his greater story.”

What’s remarkable is how the narrator presents all of this without editorial comment. We’re left to wrestle with the moral ambiguity ourselves, which might be exactly the point. The God of Genesis isn’t looking for perfect people to work through – he’s working with the people he has.

How This Changes Everything

This chapter fundamentally shifts the trajectory of biblical history. The blessing Isaac pronounces over Jacob in Genesis 27:28-29 becomes the foundation for Israel’s covenant relationship with God. Every future promise to the nation of Israel traces back to this moment in a tent where an old man was tricked by goat stew and fake fur.

But perhaps more importantly, this passage reveals something crucial about how God works in the world. Divine sovereignty doesn’t require human perfection. God’s promises don’t depend on our moral purity or perfect understanding. The covenant continues not because Jacob earned it through righteousness, but because God chose to work through him despite his deception.

The chapter also establishes patterns we see throughout Scripture: the younger chosen over the older, the underdog receiving divine favor, and God’s purposes accomplished through unlikely means. Mary’s Magnificat in Luke 1:52-53 echoes these themes: “He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.”

For the original Israelite audience, this story provided crucial identity formation. They weren’t chosen because they were the strongest nation or the most righteous people. They were chosen because God decided to work through them, flaws and all. That’s both humbling and incredibly hopeful.

Key Takeaway

God’s sovereign purposes don’t require our perfect behavior or complete understanding – his covenant love persists through our moral complexity and works even through our failures to accomplish his greater plans.

Further Reading

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External Scholarly Resources:

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