Genesis 27
1 When Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he couldn’t see, he called Esau his elder son, and said to him, “My son?” He said to him, “Here I am.”
2 He said, “See now, I am old. I don’t know the day of my death. 3 Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and take me venison. 4 Make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat, and that my soul may bless you before I die.”
5 Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. 6 Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Behold, I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, 7 ‘Bring me venison, and make me savory food, that I may eat, and bless you before Yahweh before my death.’
8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command you. 9 Go now to the flock, and bring me from there two good kids of the goats. I will make them savory food for your father, such as he loves. 10 You shall bring it to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his death.”
11 Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. 12 What if my father touches me? I will seem to him as a deceiver, and I will bring a curse on myself, and not a blessing.”
13 His mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son. Only obey my voice, and go get them for me.”
14 He went, and got them, and brought them to his mother. His mother made savory food, such as his father loved. 15 Rebekah took the good clothes of Esau, her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob, her younger son. 16 She put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands, and on the smooth of his neck.
17 She gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
18 He came to his father, and said, “My father?” He said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”
19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done what you asked me to do. Please arise, sit and eat of my venison, that your soul may bless me.”
20 Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He said, “Because Yahweh your God gave me success.”
21 Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.”
22 Jacob went near to Isaac his father. He felt him, and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 He didn’t recognize him, because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau’s hands. So he blessed him.
24 He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He said, “I am.”
25 He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless you.” He brought it near to him, and he ate. He brought him wine, and he drank.
26 His father Isaac said to him, “Come near now, and kiss me, my son.” 27 He came near, and kissed him. He smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him, and said,
“Behold, the smell of my son
is as the smell of a field which Yahweh has blessed.
28 God give you of the dew of the sky,
of the fatness of the earth,
and plenty of grain and new wine.
29 Let peoples serve you,
and nations bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers.
Let your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you.
Blessed be everyone who blesses you.”
30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had just gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also made savory food, and brought it to his father. He said to his father, “Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison, that your soul may bless me.”
32 Isaac his father said to him, “Who are you?” He said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”
33 Isaac trembled violently, and said, “Who, then, is he who has taken venison, and brought it to me, and I have eaten of all before you came, and have blessed him? Yes, he will be blessed.”
34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, my father!”
35 He said, “Your brother came with deceit, and has taken away your blessing.”
36 He said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright. Behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” He said, “Haven’t you reserved a blessing for me?”
37 Isaac answered Esau, “Behold, I have made him your lord, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants. With grain and new wine have I sustained him. What then will I do for you, my son?”
38 Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, my father!” Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.
39 Isaac his father answered him,
“Behold, of the fatness of the earth will be your dwelling,
and of the dew of the sky from above.
40 By your sword you will live,
and you will serve your brother.
It will happen, when you will break loose,
that you will shake his yoke from off your neck.”
41 Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him. Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand. Then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
42 The words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah. She sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Behold, Esau your brother comforts himself about you by planning to kill you. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban my brother in Haran. 44 Stay with him a few days, until your brother’s fury turns away— 45 until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send, and get you from there. Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?”
46 Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these, of the daughters of the land, what good will my life do me?”
Commentary
Overview
Genesis 27 records one of the most painful episodes in the patriarchal family. Isaac prepares to give his formal blessing to Esau, Rebekah secretly arranges for Jacob to receive it instead, and Jacob deceives his father by pretending to be his brother. The chapter confirms that God’s promise concerning Jacob will stand, but it does not present the family’s actions as a model of faith. Instead, it exposes the destructive effects of favoritism, secrecy, fear, and manipulation within a household that had received extraordinary covenant promises.
Isaac is old and nearly blind when he calls Esau and asks him to hunt game and prepare the food he loves. He intends to bless Esau before his death, even though God had declared before the twins were born that the older would serve the younger. Isaac’s preference for Esau has already been connected to his appetite for the food Esau provided. His decision therefore appears shaped by personal affection and physical desire rather than clear submission to God’s revealed purpose. The chapter warns that spiritual responsibility can be distorted when personal preference is allowed to control judgment.
Rebekah overhears the conversation and immediately develops a plan to secure the blessing for Jacob. She may remember God’s earlier word concerning her sons, but instead of trusting the Lord to fulfill it, she attempts to produce the promised outcome through deception. She prepares the meal, dresses Jacob in Esau’s clothing, and covers his hands and neck with goatskins so that he will feel like his hairy brother. Her actions reveal a recurring biblical danger: people may desire an outcome connected to God’s will while pursuing it by methods that contradict God’s character.
Jacob’s response also reveals the condition of his heart. His first concern is not that deceiving his father would be wrong, but that he might be discovered and receive a curse. Once Rebekah accepts responsibility for the risk, Jacob participates fully. He repeatedly lies to Isaac, identifies himself as Esau, and even attributes his rapid success to the Lord. By using God’s name to support deception, Jacob deepens the seriousness of his sin. The scene demonstrates how one compromise often requires additional falsehoods to preserve it.
Isaac is suspicious because the voice sounds like Jacob’s, but the disguised hands, Esau’s clothing, and the prepared food persuade him. He then gives Jacob a blessing of agricultural abundance, political authority, and supremacy over his relatives. The language echoes elements of God’s covenant with Abraham, especially the promise that those who bless the covenant heir will be blessed and those who curse him will be cursed. Although Jacob receives this blessing through dishonest means, its ultimate effectiveness rests upon God’s sovereign choice rather than the success of the disguise.
When Esau arrives, the deception is exposed. Isaac trembles violently, perhaps recognizing that despite his intentions, God’s earlier word concerning the brothers has prevailed. He confirms that Jacob will remain blessed. Esau responds with a bitter cry and pleads for another blessing. His grief is real, yet the earlier sale of his birthright showed how lightly he had treated his covenant inheritance when immediate appetite was at stake. Now he feels the weight of what has been lost. The account warns that spiritual privileges should not be despised simply because their value is not immediately visible.
Isaac gives Esau a secondary pronouncement describing a difficult future and eventual relief from Jacob’s domination. Esau then allows grief to harden into hatred and secretly plans to kill Jacob after Isaac’s death. The conflict between the brothers now resembles the violence between Cain and Abel. Rebekah learns of the threat and sends Jacob to her brother Laban, expecting the separation to be temporary. Instead, Jacob’s departure begins many years of exile, hardship, and further deception. The family gains the desired blessing but loses peace, trust, and unity.
No person in the chapter emerges without fault. Isaac attempts to favor Esau, Rebekah manipulates the household, Jacob lies, and Esau responds with murderous hatred. Yet human sin does not overturn God’s covenant purpose. The Lord had chosen Jacob before either brother had done good or evil, and His promise continues despite the failures of the entire family. God’s sovereignty, however, never excuses their conduct. He accomplishes His purpose while allowing each person to experience the painful consequences of acting without faith.
Genesis 27 therefore presents both warning and hope. It warns against favoritism, impatient manipulation, and the belief that a right outcome can justify sinful methods. At the same time, it offers hope that God’s redemptive plan is stronger than human weakness. The covenant line continues through Jacob and ultimately leads to Jesus Christ. Unlike Jacob, Christ receives His inheritance through perfect obedience rather than deception, and through Him undeserving people receive the blessing of God entirely by grace.
Key Themes
Notable Verses
Genesis 27:1–4 records Isaac’s intention to bless Esau and reveals how personal preference influences his decision.
Genesis 27:5–17 describes Rebekah’s plan and Jacob’s preparation to deceive his father.
Genesis 27:18–29 records Jacob’s repeated lies and Isaac’s covenant-shaped blessing.
Genesis 27:30–40 recounts the discovery of the deception, Esau’s anguish, and Isaac’s confirmation that Jacob will remain blessed.
Genesis 27:41–45 reveals Esau’s plan to kill Jacob and the beginning of Jacob’s long separation from his family.
Reflection and Application
Genesis 27 reminds believers that God never needs deception, manipulation, or secrecy in order to fulfill His will. Rebekah and Jacob may have believed they were protecting a divine promise, but their methods brought division and sorrow into the family. Faith does not merely seek the result God has promised; it also trusts Him enough to pursue that result in ways consistent with truth, patience, and obedience.
The chapter also challenges families to recognize the damage caused by favoritism. Isaac and Rebekah each preferred one son, creating competing loyalties that encouraged secrecy rather than honest fellowship. Healthy relationships require truth, impartial love, and confidence that God’s blessing is not a scarce resource to be seized at another person’s expense.
Finally, Genesis 27 offers hope to those whose families or decisions have been marked by failure. God does not approve the sins recorded here, yet neither does He abandon His covenant. His grace continues to work through deeply flawed people and moves history toward Christ, the perfectly obedient Son. In Him, believers receive an inheritance they could never obtain through their own schemes and are given grace to walk in truth rather than repeat the destructive patterns of the past.