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Genesis — Chapter 27

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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?

Abrahamic Catechism

Bible Study

Genesis — Chapter 27

◈ Zohar

• The Zohar reveals that Isaac's blindness in old age was not merely physical but served a mystical purpose — had Isaac retained his sight, the sefirah of Gevurah (judgment) would have perceived Esau's true nature and cursed him, which was not in the divine plan; the concealment of his eyes allowed the transfer of blessing to proceed according to the higher wisdom of Keter (Zohar I:142b-143a). The Zohar also traces Isaac's blindness to the Akedah, where his eyes beheld the ministering angels and were scorched by the supernal light, and to the incense smoke of Esau's wives' idolatrous offerings. Both causes — one holy, one impure — converged to create the conditions necessary for Jacob to receive the blessing.

• Rebecca's instruction to Jacob to impersonate Esau is understood in the Zohar not as deception but as prophetic action guided by the Shekhinah — Rebecca, whose prophetic powers exceeded Isaac's in this matter, perceived that the blessings rightfully belonged to Jacob, who had legitimately purchased the birthright (Zohar I:143a-143b). The goatskins placed on Jacob's hands represent the garments of the kelipah that the righteous must temporarily wear when entering the domain of judgment to retrieve holy sparks. The Zohar teaches that Jacob's discomfort — "Perhaps my father will feel me and I shall seem a deceiver" — reflects the soul's reluctance to descend into the realm of falsehood.

• Isaac's trembling when he discovered the deception — "he trembled exceedingly" — is interpreted by the Zohar as a shaking of the sefirotic tree itself: Isaac perceived in that moment the full depth of the divine plan, recognizing that a supernal force had guided the blessings to their proper recipient (Zohar I:143b-144a). The Zohar says Isaac saw Gehinnom open beneath Esau, and this is what caused his trembling. His confirmation — "Indeed, he shall be blessed" — sealed the blessing irrevocably, for he now understood with prophetic clarity what he had been blind to see.

• Esau's bitter cry — "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?" — is one of the most poignant moments in the Zohar's reading of Genesis, for it represents the genuine anguish of the Sitra Achra when it perceives that the light it coveted has been diverted to holiness (Zohar I:144a-144b). The Zohar teaches that Esau's tears were real and that they have not yet been fully requited — the suffering of Israel in Esau's exile is partially a consequence of these tears. The blessings Isaac gave Esau — "by your sword you shall live" — consigned him to the realm of Gevurah without Chesed, might without mercy.

• The Zohar interprets Isaac's blessing to Jacob — "the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth" — as a bestowal of both supernal and terrestrial abundance: the "dew of heaven" is the hidden dew (tal) that flows from Keter through Tiferet, the dew of resurrection and eternal life, while the "fatness of the earth" is the material blessing that flows through Malkhut (Zohar I:143b). The dew is the most mystical element of the blessing, for the Zohar teaches that this same dew will revive the dead in the future era. Jacob received both the spiritual and material dimensions of the patriarchal inheritance, making him the most complete of the patriarchs.

✦ Talmud

• Megillah 6a teaches "If someone says, I toiled and found, believe him" — connecting effort with divine assistance, which the sages apply to Jacob's struggle for the blessing. The Talmud asks whether Jacob's deception was justified, with multiple opinions noting that the blessings were rightfully his through the purchased birthright. The complexity of the narrative is preserved rather than simplified.

• Bava Batra 16b discusses Rebecca's role in orchestrating the blessing, teaching that she acted on prophetic knowledge that "the elder shall serve the younger." The Talmud vindicates Rebecca's actions as guided by the oracle she received during pregnancy. Her deception of Isaac is reframed as faithful execution of a divine plan.

• Taanit 29a notes that Isaac's trembling upon discovering the switch — "he trembled exceedingly" — reflected his momentary vision of Gehinnom opening beneath Esau. The Talmud explains that Isaac then deliberately confirmed the blessing on Jacob, saying "he shall indeed be blessed," meaning the trembling resolved into certainty. Isaac's shaking becomes a moment of prophetic clarity rather than confusion.

• Sanhedrin 67b discusses whether the disguise involving goatskins on Jacob's arms constituted the biblical prohibition against deception, with the sages distinguishing between deception for personal gain and deception in fulfillment of divine will. The Talmud uses this case to explore the nuances of truth-telling in the patriarchal narratives. Jacob's later suffering (being deceived by Laban) is sometimes read as a consequence.

• Berakhot 27b references the power of patriarchal blessings and their irrevocability — once Isaac blessed Jacob, the blessing could not be retracted even when the deception was revealed. The Talmud derives from this the principle that words of blessing, once spoken with full intention, take on binding spiritual force. The chapter becomes a source for the theology of blessing.

✡ Book of Jubilees

• Jubilees 26:1-35 provides the full account of Jacob receiving Isaac's blessing through Rebekah's scheme. Jubilees does not condemn the deception but treats it as the fulfillment of the divine plan already declared to Rebekah: the elder shall serve the younger.

• Jubilees 26:23-24 records Isaac's blessing over Jacob: nations shall serve him, he shall be lord over his brothers, and whoever curses him shall be cursed. The blessing once given cannot be retracted — it is registered on the heavenly tablets.

• Jubilees 26:34-35 records Esau's fury and his determination to kill Jacob after Isaac's death. Rebekah's intelligence network detects Esau's intent, and she acts to send Jacob away. Rebekah functions as a prophetic operative — she sees the threat and maneuvers accordingly.

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