Bible Commentaries

Ge 27:1-27.

INFIRMITY OF ISAAC.

1. when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim--He was in his hundred thirty-seventh year; and apprehending death to be near, Isaac prepared to make his last will--an act of the gravest importance, especially as it included the conveyance through a prophetic spirit of the patriarchal blessing.

4. make . . . savory meat--perhaps to revive and strengthen him for the duty; or rather, "as eating and drinking" were used on all religious occasions, he could not convey the right, till he had eaten of the meat provided for the purpose by him who was to receive the blessing [ADAM CLARKE] (compare

Ge 18:7).

that my soul may bless thee--It is difficult to imagine him ignorant of the divine purpose (compare

Ge 25:23).

But natural affection, prevailing through age and infirmity, prompted him to entail the honors and powers of the birthright on his elder son; and perhaps he was not aware of what Esau had done

(Ge 25:34).

6-10. Rebekah spake unto Jacob--She prized the blessing as invaluable; she knew that God intended it for the younger son

[Ge 25:23];

and in her anxiety to secure its being conferred on the right object--on one who cared for religion--she acted in the sincerity of faith; but in crooked policy--with unenlightened zeal; on the false principle that the end would sanctify the means.

11. Jacob said, Esau my brother is a hairy man--It is remarkable that his scruples were founded, not on the evil of the act, but on the risk and consequences of deception.

13-17. and his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse--His conscience being soothed by his mother, preparations were hastily made for carrying out the device; consisting, first, of a kid's flesh, which, made into a ragout, spiced with salt, onions, garlic, and lemon juice, might easily be passed off on a blind old man, with blunted senses, as game; second, of pieces of goat's skin bound on his hands and neck, its soft silken hair resembling that on the cheek of a young man; third, of the long white robe--the vestment of the first-born, which, transmitted from father to son and kept in a chest among fragrant herbs and perfumed flowers used much in the East to keep away moths--his mother provided for him.

18-27. he came unto his father--The scheme planned by the mother was to be executed by the son in the father's bedchamber; and it is painful to think of the deliberate falsehoods, as well as daring profanity, he resorted to. The disguise, though wanting in one thing, which had nearly upset the whole plot, succeeded in misleading Isaac; and while giving his paternal embrace, the old man was roused into a state of high satisfaction and delight.

27. the smell of my son is as of a field--The aromatic odors of the Syrian fields and meadows, often impart a strong fragrance to the person and clothes, as has been noticed by many travellers.

Ge 27:28-46.

THE BLESSING.

28. God give thee of the dew of heaven--To an Oriental mind, this phraseology implied the highest flow of prosperity. The copious fall of dew is indispensable to the fruitfulness of lands, which would be otherwise arid and sterile through the violent heat; and it abounds most in hilly regions, such as Canaan, hence called the "fat land"

(Ne 9:25, 35).

plenty of corn and wine--Palestine was famous for vineyards, and it produced varieties of corn, namely, wheat, barley, oats, and rye.