BIBLE CHAPTER STUDY
Genesis 27: Jacob's Deception and Isaac's Blessing
Through Rebekah's scheme, Jacob receives Isaac's blessing meant for Esau, leading to Esau's wrath and Jacob's flight to Haran.
Scripture
1And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his elder son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Here am I.
2And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death.
3Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me venison;
4and make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.
5And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.
6And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,
7Bring me venison, and make me savory food, that I may eat, and bless thee before Jehovah before my death.
8Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.
9Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savory food for thy father, such as he loveth:
10and thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, so that he may bless thee before his death.
11And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man.
12My 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.
13And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son; only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.
14And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved.
15And Rebekah took the goodly garments of Esau her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son;
16and she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:
17and she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
18And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?
19And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy first-born; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.
20And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because Jehovah thy God sent me good speed.
21And 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.
22And 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.
23And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him.
24And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.
25And 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.
26And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.
27And 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 Jehovah hath blessed:
28And God give thee of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and new wine:
29Let peoples 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 every one that blesseth thee.
30And 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.
31And he also made savory food, and brought it unto his father; and he said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me.
32And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy first-born, Esau.
33And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who then 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.
34When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceeding great and bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.
35And he said, Thy brother came with guile, and hath taken away thy blessing.
36And 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?
37And 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 grain and new wine have I sustained him: and what then shall I do for thee, my son?
38And 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.
39And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, of the fatness of the earth shall be thy dwelling, And of the dew of heaven from above;
40And by thy sword shalt thou live, and thou shalt serve thy brother; And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt break loose, That thou shalt shake his yoke from off thy neck.
41And 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.
42And the 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.
43Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;
44and tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away;
45until 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 bereaved of you both in one day?
46And 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, of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?
What this passage means
Genesis 27 is a narrative of deception, blessing, and fractured family bonds. Isaac, old and blind (verse 1), intends to bless his firstborn Esau with words that echo the Abrahamic promises — dew of heaven, fatness of the earth, dominion over peoples, and the curse/blessing formula (verses 28–29). Through Rebekah's scheme and Jacob's disguise, the blessing instead falls on Jacob (verses 18–25), and once given it is irrevocable in Isaac's mouth: 'yea, and he shall be blessed' (verse 33).
The chapter shows the human machinery behind a divine oracle. Isaac's trembling response (verse 33) acknowledges that the blessing has been permanently transferred, and he gives Esau a lesser but parallel prophecy of dwelling, sword, and servitude (verses 39–40). Esau's bitter cry and hatred (verses 34, 41) reveal the cost of the deception, and Rebekah's words in verses 45–46 fuse maternal instinct with the stated reason of the Hethite marriages to send Jacob away to Haran.
For the reader, the chapter poses the question of how God's covenant purposes (announced before the twins' birth) advance through tangled human means. The blessing language of verse 29 ('Cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be every one that blesseth thee') ties this scene to the broader patriarchal storyline without resolving the moral tension within it.
Context
The chapter stands within the patriarchal narratives of Genesis, where covenant blessing passes from generation to generation. The provided material shows Isaac's age and dim sight in verse 1, the role of smell in confirming identity in verse 27, and the covenantal blessing formula in verses 28–29. The cross references connect this scene to earlier Abrahamic promises (Genesis 12:3) and later restatements of the blessing (Deuteronomy 33:28; Isaiah 49:23), as well as to Isaac's own deathbed blessing of Joseph's sons in Genesis 48.
The provided curated note identifies Genesis 27 as a backfilled chapter outside the P0/P1 priority set; the only descriptive content available is that note itself, so no further external setting is imported here.
Key words in the original
- H2204 H2204 (זָקֵן) — 'old / to be old'. Isaac is described with this root in verse 1 ('when Isaac was old') and again in verse 2 ('I am old'), framing the urgency of the intended blessing before death.
- H3543 H3543 (כָּהָה) — 'dim'. Used of Isaac's eyes in verse 1 ('his eyes were dim, so that he could not see'), the same root that describes Eli in 1 Samuel 3:2 and later Israel in Genesis 48:10, both of whom appear in the provided cross references.
- H7121 H7121 (קָרָא) — 'called'. Isaac 'called' Esau in verse 1. The qal form here initiates the pivotal private conversation that drives the entire chapter's deception.
Related verses
- Genesis 12:3 The blessing formula in Genesis 27:29 ('Cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be every one that blesseth thee') echoes the original Abrahamic promise of Genesis 12:3, showing how Isaac's words transmit the earlier covenant to Jacob.
- Hebrews 11:20 Hebrews 11:20 explicitly calls the Isaac-Jacob-Esau episode an act of faith: 'By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come,' reframing the deceptive circumstances of Genesis 27 as part of the author's portrait of faith.
- Genesis 25:25 Genesis 25:25 describes Esau at birth as 'red, all over like a hairy garment,' the physical trait Rebekah later exploits by covering Jacob's hands and neck with goat skins (Genesis 27:16, 23) to deceive Isaac's touch.
Common questions
Why did Isaac intend to bless Esau despite God's earlier oracle?
The chapter does not state Isaac's motive explicitly. He acts as the patriarch distributing the covenant blessing (verses 3–4, 7), apparently favoring Esau personally while unaware that the divine oracle had already assigned the older brother's role to the younger (as referenced in Hebrews 11:20 and the broader patriarchal narrative).
Was the blessing Jacob received valid if it was obtained by deception?
Within the chapter itself, Isaac treats the blessing as irrevocable: 'yea, and he shall be blessed' (verse 33) and he cannot reverse what has left his mouth. Hebrews 11:20 in the provided cross references later reframes Isaac's act as one done 'by faith,' while leaving the human deception uncondoned.
What does the parallel blessing of Esau in verses 39–40 accomplish?
After the irrevocable transfer of the primary blessing, Isaac offers Esau a separate, lesser oracle: dwelling from the earth's fatness, life by the sword, servitude to his brother, and eventual breaking of the yoke (verses 39–40). It neither replaces what Jacob received nor fully satisfies Esau, and it sets the structural tension between the two lineages that runs through the rest of Genesis.