Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Genesis
Chapter 27: The Stolen Blessing
Old and nearly blind, Isaac sets out to bless his favorite son Esau, and a family that should have trusted God instead breaks into scheming. Rebekah, who was told before the twins were born that "the elder shall serve the younger," reaches for a lie to secure what God had already promised. Jacob dresses in his brother's clothes and goatskins, stands before his father, and takes the blessing with his own lips saying, "I am Esau thy firstborn." The deed is done and cannot be undone. When Esau comes in from the hunt, he lifts up "a great and exceeding bitter cry," but the blessing is gone. Genesis 27 is a hard chapter about a promise that was sure and a household that would not wait for it, where God's purpose stands even as every person in it does wrong.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Genesis chapter 27. For each section you will find the KJV text, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus where the text touches God's choosing, the cost of sin, and the blessing that runs on to Christ. Chapter 27 is the story of the stolen blessing: Isaac's failing love for Esau, Rebekah's plot, Jacob's deception, Esau's bitter cry, and Jacob's flight from a brother bent on murder. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
Isaac's Failing Sight
Old and blind, Isaac wants to bless Esau, the son he loves, before he dies, leaning on his own preference rather than the word God gave about the two brothers.
Rebekah's Plot
Rebekah, who was told the elder would serve the younger, does not trust God to keep His promise and instead devises a scheme of goatskins and stolen clothes.
Jacob's Deception
Jacob lies to his father's face, calling himself Esau, and receives the blessing by fraud, a sin that will cost him years of exile and grief.
Esau's Bitter Cry
Esau comes in too late, and his loud, bitter weeping cannot reverse what was done. His hatred hardens into a plan to kill Jacob once their father is gone.
Obey My Voice (Genesis 27:1-17)
Isaac sends Esau to hunt venison for a farewell blessing, and Rebekah, overhearing, moves at once to put the blessing on Jacob instead by a plan of deception.
That He May Bless Thee Before His Death
"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. And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death: Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; 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. And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee. 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: And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death. And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: 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. And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them. And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved. 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: And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? 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. 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. 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. 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. And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him. And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am. 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. And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son."
Hebrew Study
"savoury meat," matʿammim (מַטְעַמִּים). The dish Isaac loves, and the hinge of the whole scheme. Isaac asks Esau to hunt venison and prepare it; Rebekah, listening, knows two young goats from the flock can be cooked to taste the same, and the substitution begins there.
"that my soul may bless thee," baʿavur tevarekhkha nafshi (בַּעֲבוּר תְּבָרֶכְךָ נַפְשִׁי). Isaac's stated purpose, spoken to Esau his firstborn and favourite: he is old, he knows not the day of his death, and he means to pass on the blessing before he dies. It is this blessing Rebekah sets out to steal for Jacob.
"a deceiver," metateʿa (מְתַעְתֵּעַ). Jacob's own word for what he fears becoming if his father feels his smooth skin: "I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing." His objection is not that the plan is wrong but that it might fail -- and his mother answers, "Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice." It is a house full of favouritism and deceit, through which God's purpose still moves.
Explanation
Isaac is old, his eyes "were dim, so that he could not see," and he feels his death drawing near. He calls Esau, his firstborn and favorite, and asks him to hunt venison and make the savoury meat he loves, "that my soul may bless thee before I die." But Rebekah is listening. The moment Esau leaves for the field, she goes to Jacob with a plan: fetch two young goats, and she will cook them to taste like the venison Isaac craves, so that Jacob can carry it in and steal the blessing. When Jacob objects that his father might feel his smooth skin and discover the fraud, "and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing," Rebekah answers, "Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice." She dresses him in Esau's best clothes and covers his hands and neck with goatskins, and sends him in.
Gospel Focus
The saddest thing here is that Rebekah was right about the promise and wrong in everything she did to secure it. Before the twins were ever born, God had told her, "the elder shall serve the younger," and God does not lie. The blessing was going to Jacob no matter what. Rebekah did not need to scheme; she needed to wait and trust. Instead she took God's promise into her own hands, and the taking cost her dearly, for she would send her beloved Jacob away and, so far as Scripture records, never see him again. This is the old temptation that began in the garden and never left us: to believe God's word and then try to bring it to pass by our own works instead of His. Abraham did it with Hagar, and here Rebekah does it with goatskins. The lesson is plain. When God has promised, our part is not to help Him with a lie but to obey Him and wait. "He that believeth shall not make haste" (Isaiah 28:16).
The Voice Is Jacob's Voice (Genesis 27:18-29)
Jacob stands before his blind father, lies about who he is, and receives the great blessing of dew, grain, and dominion that was meant for the firstborn.
God Give Thee of the Dew of Heaven
"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: Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: 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. 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. 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. And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau. 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."
Hebrew Study
"the dew of heaven," mittal hashamayim (מִטַּל הַשָּׁמַיִם). The first gift of the blessing Isaac unknowingly speaks over Jacob. In a land where rain is scarce, the dew is the water heaven gives without being asked -- the blessing begins with what only God can supply.
"the fatness of the earth," mishmannei haʾaretz (מִשְׁמַנֵּי הָאָרֶץ). The second gift: the richness of the ground itself, "plenty of corn and wine," and with it rule over nations and over his own brethren. This is the blessing God first spoke to Abraham, now passed on to Jacob, though by a crooked hand.
"he shall be blessed," gam-barukh yihyeh (גַּם־בָּרוּךְ יִהְיֶה). When Esau walks in and the deceit is uncovered, Isaac "trembled very exceedingly" -- and yet he does not take the blessing back. He confirms it instead: "yea, and he shall be blessed."
Explanation
Jacob comes in, and the deception runs from lie to lie. "I am Esau thy firstborn," he says. When Isaac wonders how the hunt was so quick, Jacob even drags God into the falsehood: "Because the LORD thy God brought it to me." Isaac's suspicion is stirred, for "the voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau," yet the goatskins fool his failing sense of touch, and "he discerned him not." One more time Isaac asks, "Art thou my very son Esau?" and one more time Jacob answers, "I am." Then Isaac eats, kisses him, smells the field on Esau's clothes, and gives the blessing: the dew of heaven and fatness of earth, "plenty of corn and wine," rule over nations and over his own brethren, and the ancient covenant word, "cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee." It is the blessing God first spoke to Abraham, now passed on to Jacob, though by a crooked hand.
Gospel Focus
Two truths stand side by side in this room, and we must hold them both. First, God's choice was real and right. He had set His love on Jacob before either twin had done good or evil, "that the purpose of God according to election might stand" (Romans 9:11). The blessing belonged to Jacob by God's own decree. Second, the way Jacob took it was sin, plain and deliberate lying, and God never needed it. His purpose would have stood without a single lie. That God can weave even our failures into His plan is His mercy, not our license. And notice the reach of this blessing. "Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee" was never exhausted in Jacob himself; it pressed forward through the seed of Israel to the Christ who came from that line, before whom in the end "every knee should bow" (Philippians 2:10). The covenant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was always leaning toward the One in whom all nations would truly be blessed. Even a household full of sin could not stop the promise from running on to Jesus.
Bless Me, Even Me Also (Genesis 27:30-40)
Esau returns to find the blessing gone, Isaac trembles as he grasps what has happened, and Esau weeps a great cry that cannot undo the deed.
Thy Brother Came With Subtilty
"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. And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing. 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? 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? 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. 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; 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."
Hebrew Study
"a great and exceeding bitter cry," tzeʿaqah gedolah umarah (צְעָקָה גְּדֹלָה וּמָרָה). Esau's cry comes too late; the blessing cannot be recalled. He begs, "Bless me, even me also, O my father," and lifts up his voice and weeps -- the grief of a man who sold the eternal and wept only when the loss was felt.
"supplanted me," vayyaʿqveni (וַיַּעְקְבֵנִי). Esau names the bitter truth about his brother: "Is not he rightly named Jacob?" The name means one who takes hold of the heel, a supplanter, and the verb here is built from it. He has now taken both the birthright and the blessing, "these two times."
"by thy sword shalt thou live," al-charbekha tichyeh (עַל־חַרְבְּךָ תִחְיֶה). Isaac has already given away the dominion, the grain, and the dew, and he has little left. He can only tell Esau that he will live by his sword, serve his brother, and one day break the yoke from his neck. It is not a blessing so much as a hard word about a hard life.
Explanation
Jacob is barely out of the room when Esau comes in from his hunt with his own savoury meat. "Who art thou?" Isaac asks, and when Esau answers, "I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau," Isaac "trembled very exceedingly." He sees now that he has been deceived, and yet he does not take the blessing back: "yea, and he shall be blessed." Esau lets out "a great and exceeding bitter cry" and begs, "Bless me, even me also, O my father." He names the bitter truth about his brother: "Is not he rightly named Jacob?" for Jacob means one who takes hold of the heel, a supplanter, and he has now taken both the birthright and the blessing. Isaac has already given away the dominion, the grain, and the dew, and he has little left. He can only tell Esau that he will live by his sword, serve his brother, and one day break the yoke from his neck. It is not a blessing so much as a hard word about a hard life.
Gospel Focus
Esau's tears are one of the most sobering warnings in all of Scripture. The New Testament points straight at this scene: "Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears" (Hebrews 12:16-17). Esau wept, but his tears were for the lost blessing, not for the profane heart that had once despised his birthright over a bowl of stew. There is a sorrow that only mourns the consequences of sin and never turns from the sin itself, and it saves no one. The warning is for us. Some things, once treated as cheap, are hard to recover, and a day can come when even bitter weeping cannot buy back what a careless heart threw away. Better to prize the things of God now, while the door of true repentance stands wide open, than to weep over them when the hour has passed.
Flee Thou to Laban (Genesis 27:41-46)
Esau's grief turns to murderous hatred, and Rebekah, to save her son, sends Jacob far away to her brother Laban, never dreaming how long the parting will last.
Then Will I Slay My Brother Jacob
"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. 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. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away; 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? 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?"
Hebrew Study
"hated Jacob," vayyistom (וַיִּשְׂטֹם). Esau's grief hardens into settled, murderous hatred. He tells himself that once their father dies and the days of mourning are over, "then will I slay my brother Jacob." The blessing has torn the family apart.
"flee thou to Laban," berach-lekha el-Lavan (בְּרַח־לְךָ אֶל־לָבָן). Rebekah gets word of the threat and moves again, this time to save Jacob's life, sending him to her brother in Haran for "a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away." Those few days will stretch into twenty long years; the schemer becomes a fugitive.
"I am weary of my life," qatzti bechayyai (קַצְתִּי בְחַיַּי). To get Isaac's blessing on the journey, Rebekah does not tell him about the death threat. She complains instead about the daughters of Heth and the danger that Jacob might marry a pagan woman too -- reaping sorrow from the very blessing she had grasped by deceit.
Explanation
The blessing has torn the family apart. Esau now hates Jacob and tells himself that once their father dies and the days of mourning are over, "then will I slay my brother Jacob." Rebekah gets word of the threat and moves again, this time to save Jacob's life. She sends him away to her brother Laban in Haran, telling him to stay "a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away." Those "few days" will stretch into twenty long years. To get Isaac's blessing on the journey, Rebekah does not tell him about the death threat; she complains instead about Esau's Hittite wives and the danger that Jacob might marry a pagan woman too. So Jacob leaves with nothing but the blessing and his mother's fear, driven from home by the very deception that was meant to secure his place in it.
Gospel Focus
Here we begin to see the harvest of the deceit. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Galatians 6:7). Jacob sowed deception, and he will reap it. He deceived his father with the wrong son dressed as the right one, and in a few years Laban will deceive him with the wrong daughter, Leah for Rachel, on his wedding night. He put a goatskin on his hands to fake his brother, and his own sons will one day dip a coat in goat's blood to fake his son Joseph's death. Rebekah told Jacob to obey her voice into a lie, and she lost him for the rest of her life. God forgives sin fully and freely, but He does not always cancel its consequences in this world, for "be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23). And yet grace runs underneath it all. The God who lets Jacob reap what he sowed will also meet him at Bethel with a ladder to heaven and keep every promise. Our failures are real and they cost us, but they cannot cancel the faithfulness of the God who chose us.
Chapter 27 in Review
Genesis 27 is the story of a blessing that was sure and a family that would not wait for it. Isaac, old and blind, sets out to bless Esau against the word God had spoken about the two sons. Rebekah, knowing the elder would serve the younger, reaches for a lie instead of trusting the promise, and dresses Jacob in goatskins and his brother's clothes. Jacob stands before his father, says again and again that he is Esau, and takes the blessing of dew, grain, and dominion. When Esau comes in and learns the truth, he cries "a great and exceeding bitter cry," but the blessing cannot be recalled. His grief curdles into a plan to murder Jacob, and Rebekah sends her beloved son away to Laban, losing him for the rest of her days.
For the Apostolic reader, this hard chapter holds together two truths we must never pull apart. God's choice of Jacob was righteous and stood on His own word, "that the purpose of God according to election might stand," and the blessing pressed on through Israel to the Christ before whom every knee will bow. Yet the deceit used to grasp it was real sin with a real harvest, for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Esau's tears warn us not to treat holy things as cheap, and Jacob's long exile warns us that God forgives sin without always sparing us its cost. Through all of it the promise never fails. The God whose purpose no lie could stop is the God who keeps His covenant still.
- God's choice of Jacob stood on His own word, not on human scheming; the promise needed no lie to keep it (27:29; Romans 9:11).
- Rebekah believed the promise but tried to secure it by sin, and lost her son for it (27:8-17).
- The blessing of dominion pressed forward through Israel to Christ, before whom every knee will bow (27:29; Philippians 2:10).
- Esau's bitter tears mourned the loss but not the sin; some things carelessly despised are hard to recover (27:34; Hebrews 12:16-17).
- Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap; Jacob's deceit began a long harvest of being deceived (27:41-44; Galatians 6:7).
Questions for Reflection
- Rebekah tried to help God keep His promise by a lie. Where are you tempted to force by your own works what God has said He will do?
- Esau wept over the lost blessing but not over the heart that despised it. Is your sorrow over sin a turning from it, or only regret for its cost?
- Jacob's deceit set a harvest in motion. What are you sowing today that you will one day reap?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). The name Jacob means one who takes hold of the heel, a supplanter, and can be checked in any Bible reference. Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- God's sovereign choice of Jacob: Genesis 27:1-17; 25:23; Romans 9:10-13.
- The blessing and its reach to Christ: Genesis 27:27-29; 12:3; Philippians 2:9-11.
- Esau's bitter cry and false repentance: Genesis 27:30-40; Hebrews 12:16-17.
- The harvest of deceit and Jacob's flight: Genesis 27:41-46; Galatians 6:7; Numbers 32:23.