Jacob steals Esau’s blessing

The Jacob Cycle - Part 4

Structure

Like the previous episode, this one is divided up into seven sections. It’s arranged chiastically with Isaac blessing Jacob in the center.¹

A. Esau marries Hittites - Genesis 26:34-35

B. Esau prepares to be blessed - Genesis 27:1-5

C. Jacob instructed to acquire blessing - Genesis 27:6-17

D. Isaac blesses Jacob - Genesis 27:18-29

C’. Esau appeals for blessing - Genesis 27:30-40

B’. Jacob sent to Padam-aram - Genesis 27:41-28:5

A’. Esau marries an Ishmaelite - Genesis 28:6-9

Whereas “Yahweh” occurred 7 times in the story about Isaac and in Philistines, the noun “blessing” (berakhah) occurs 7 times and the verb “blessed” (barak) occurs 21 (7 X 3) times, establishing blessing as the central theme.

Esau marries Hittites

³⁴ When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, ³⁴ and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.

–Genesis 26:34-35 (ESV)

The episode begins with Esau marrying two Hittite women. Hittites are descended from Heth, who is listed as a son of Canaan in Genesis 10:15. As discussed in Part 1, Hebrews 12:16 interprets Esau’s sale of the birthright and his marriages as a sign of faithlessness in Yahweh. His marriages, in particular, might suggest serving other gods. The law later prohibits Israelites from marrying women from the nations because doing so would turn them away from Yahweh (Deuteronomy 7:3-4).

The names of Esau’s wives and their fathers create a transition from the previous section and this one. Beeri recalls the well (be’er) dug in Genesis 26:32. Elon sounds like ’alah, echoing the pact/oath made between Isaac and Abimelek in Genesis 26:28.² Judith is connected to the verb “to praise” and Basemath has a connotation of a pleasant fragrance.³ All this is perhaps ironic word play. Isaac settled in Beersheba near plentiful water and at peace with the nations. Esau takes what is praiseworthy and sweet-smelling to him, but it results in bitterness of spirit for Isaac and Rebekah.

We’re not told what specifically causes the bitterness (morath, root mrr) of spirit, but the detail serves an important literary role. Esau will cry out a great “bitter” (marah, root mrr) scream after he learns that Jacob stole the blessing from him, and Rebekah will use it as a pretense to send Jacob away to protect him from Esau seeking revenge.

Esau prepares to be blessed

¹ When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” ² He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. ³ Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, ⁴ and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.” ^5a Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau.

–Genesis 27:1-5a (ESV)

We’re told that Isaac is old (although he lives for many more years, compare Genesis 25:26, Genesis 35:28, and Genesis 47:9, which suggest he lives through the time Joseph is in Potiphar’s house).⁴ We’re also told that he’s blind. This adds some plausibility to Jacob and Rebekah’s upcoming deception, but it could also be an indicator of spiritual blindness. Isaac doesn’t “see” that Esau is unfit to carry on the blessing.⁵ We find, perhaps, an echo of Isaac’s condition in Eli in 1 Samuel 4:12-18. Eli was physically blind, but also spiritually blind to the unfitness of his sons Hophni and Phinehas to serve as priests. Eli dies after hearing that his sons were killed in a battle with the Philistines by falling backwards out of his seat. His neck broke because he was “old and heavy.” He was a man of appetite, as Isaac proves to be.

Perhaps strangely, Isaac only calls Esau to give the blessing. In Genesis 49:1 and Genesis 50:24-25, Jacob and Joseph gather their families around them before they die. He also doesn’t appear to be concerned with correcting the issue of Esau marrying Canaanites. Abraham ensured that Isaac didn’t marry a Canaanite at this stage in his life (Genesis 24:1-4).⁶ Instead of addressing the problem of Esau’s marriages, his interest is in eating the food he loved before dispensing the blessing. These things, taken together, reflect poorly on Isaac, highlighting his favoritism for Esau and appetite above wisely making the way for the chosen seed of the woman to continue. However, the nature of the blessing that Isaac gives to whom he thinks is Esau will reinforce a possibility: that he intended to send Esau away.⁷ Regardless, “that my soul may bless you” may indicate that he strongly desired to bless his firstborn son.

This is the first of three times in this section that Isaac’s eating is associated with his death (Genesis 27:4, Genesis 27:7, and Genesis 27:9-10). Death is stated as the consequence for eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil three times in Genesis 2 and 3 (Genesis 2:17, Genesis 3:3, and Genesis 3:4-5). Adam and Eve’s failure is being echoed in this episode.

We’re told at the end of this segment that Rebekah witnessed this exchange. She’s perhaps given another test here. She believes Jacob is the worthy heir of the promise but will she try to take it for Jacob or wait for God to give it to him? There’s a hint given already: she was listening when Isaac spoke to “his” son, not “their” son. In verse 6 she’ll speak to “her” son, Jacob.⁸ The lines have been drawn.

Jacob instructed to acquire blessing

^5b So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, ⁶ Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, ⁷ ‘Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the LORD before I die.’ ⁸ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you. ⁹ Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father, such as he loves. ¹⁰ And you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.” ¹¹ But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. ¹² Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring a curse upon 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, bring them to me.” ¹⁴ So he went and took them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared delicious food, such as his father loved. ¹⁵ Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her older son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. ¹⁶ And the skins of the young goats she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. ¹⁷ And she put the delicious food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

–Genesis 27:5b-17 (ESV)

Rebekah decides to seize the blessing for Jacob through deception. She doesn’t repeat what she heard verbatim, perhaps to persuade Jacob to go along with her plan. She removes mention of Esau’s weapons and Isaac wanting to bless Esau with his “soul”.⁹ She adds that Isaac said “bless you before the LORD” to add importance to what is happening.¹⁰ Could this be recalling the serpent changing what God had said to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:1 (“Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’”)

Rebekah commands Jacob to go through with her plan. The concern he has isn’t a moral one; he doesn’t want to be caught and have to face the consequences.¹¹ Rebekah reassures Jacob by saying she’ll bear the consequences and orchestrates a masquerade. The fact that the masquerade of Rebekah being only Isaac’s sister in Gerar was shown to be unnecessary sheds light on this one: such action was unnecessary for God to accomplish his purpose. Nevertheless, God will continue to effect his plan to rescue humanity even through the failings of those he is working to save.

Parallels with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil

The parallels with Genesis 3 are striking, illustrating that this is another failure scene.

Genesis 3	Genesis 27
Eve “saw” [tere’, root r’h]	Isaac couldn’t “see” [r^eot, root r’h]
The tree was “good” [tov] for food	Rebekah requested two “good” [tov] goats
The tree was “desirable” [nekhmad, root hmd]	Rebekah dressed Jacob in Esau’s “desirable” [khamudot, root hmd] clothes
Eve “took” [tiqqakh, root tqh] the fruit	Jacob “took” [qakh, root tqh] the goats; Rebekah “took” [tiqqakh, root tqh] Esau’s clothes
Eve “gave” [titten] the fruit to Adam	Rebekah “gave” [titten] the food to Jacob

Isaac blesses Jacob

¹⁸ So he went in to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” ¹⁹ Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.” ²⁰ But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the LORD your God granted me success.” ²¹ Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.” ²² So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” ²³ And he did not 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 answered, “I am.” ²⁵ Then he said, “Bring it near to me, that I may eat of my son’s game and bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. ²⁶ Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” ²⁷ So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him and said,

“See, the smell of my son
is as the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed!
²⁷ May God give you of the dew of heaven
and of the fatness of the earth
and plenty of grain and wine.
²⁸ Let peoples serve you,
and nations bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you,
and blessed be everyone who blesses you!”

–Genesis 27:18-29 (ESV)

The ruse succeeds, perhaps surprisingly, as it seemed ridiculous with little chance of success. We’re perhaps being shown that with the plan’s success, we see God is working behind the scenes and the lengths God will go to protect his chosen one.¹² There will be consequences for Rebekah and Jacob’s actions, but the chosen seed of the woman will be given God’s blessing. Perhaps, also, Isaac is not quite as disabled as Rebekah believed.¹³

What’s interesting about the blessing is what’s missing. It contains elements of abundance, fruitfulness, and authority, but there’s nothing about numerous descendants, the gift of the land, or being a blessing to the nations.¹⁴ Perhaps this reinforces the idea that Esau was to be sent away and Jacob would be given those parts of the blessing, instead.

Esau appeals for blessing

³⁰ As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. ³¹ He also prepared delicious food and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that you may bless me.” ³² His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” ³³ Then Isaac trembled very violently and said, “Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.” ³⁴ As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” ³⁵ But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.” ³⁶ Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” ³⁷ Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold, I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. ³⁸ What then can I do for you, my son?” ³⁸ Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. ³⁹ Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:

“Behold, away from the fatness of the earth
shall your dwelling be,
and away from the dew of heaven on high.
⁴⁰ By your sword you shall live,
and you shall serve your brother;
but when you grow restless
you shall break his yoke from your neck.”

–Genesis 27:30-40 (ESV)

Esau returns and Jacob and Rebekah’s deception is revealed. Isaac and Esau’s distress is vividly described. Isaac “trembled a very great tremble”¹⁵ and Esau “cried out with a very great and bitter scream.” There’s no doubt who the reader should pity. He twice “took” (laqah,) recalling Eve “taking” the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil in Genesis 3:6 Here also is the parallel of Isaac “Isaac-ing” Rebekah in Gerar. Esau says Jacob has “Jacob-ed” him here and when he was coerced into selling his birthright. It reminds us that this deception wasn’t necessary. Humans don’t need to take things into their own hands to get what God wants to give them freely.

Isaac and Esau believed that the blessing on Jacob was irrevocable. Esau only asks if there’s anything left for him. Isaac responds with a different blessing or “anti-blessing.” Jacob would receive abundance from heaven’s dew and the earth’s richness, Esau’s would live away from the richness of the earth and heaven’s dew. Note the reversal of dew/earth.¹⁶ Rather than live off the abundance of the land, the nation coming from Esau would be supported by violence, ostensibly through pillage.¹⁷ Isaac utters a kind of oracle: although Edom would be subject to Israel, it would eventually break free and have revenge in the wake of Babylon’s conquest.

Jacob sent to Padam-aram

Rebekah and Jacob

⁴¹ Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” ⁴² But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, “Behold, your brother Esau 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 and stay with him a while, 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 bring you from there. Why should I be bereft of you both in one day?”

–Genesis 27:41-45 (ESV)

Esau is perhaps linked to Cain here. Cain was angry (yihar, literally “hot”) that God didn’t favor his offering, so he rose up against his brother (ahi,) killed (yaharge) him, and was cursed from the ground. He was told he would be a wanderer on the earth (arets). Esau would live away from the richness of the earth (arets) and wanted to kill (ahargah) his brother (ahi). Rebekah tells Jacob to flee and stay in Haran until Esau’s anger (hamat, literally “heat”) turns away from him.

However, he’s further shown as a character deserving sympathy by linking his response to Jacob’s theft of the birthright to God’s response to the evil of humanity in Genesis 6.¹⁸ Yahweh regretted (yinnakhem, root nkhm) creating humans. It grieved him in his heart (lib,) so he planned their end. Esau said to himself/in his heart (lib) that he would kill Jacob to comfort himself (mitnakhem, root nkhm). More connections to the flood story are made when Jacob returns to the land and faces Esau (see Part 11).

Literally, Rebekah directs Jacob to stay with Laban for “a few days.”¹⁹ The consequences of the deception will be more than she or Jacob anticipate. Jacob is away for 20 years and Rebekah will never see him again.²⁰

Rebekah and Isaac

⁴⁶ Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I loathe my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

–Genesis 27:46 (ESV)

Rebekah uses the situation of Esau’s marriages to Hittites to influence Isaac to send Jacob away to save him from Esau. Isaac is apparently ignorant of Esau’s intent.

Isaac and Jacob

¹ Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and directed him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women. ² Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother’s ³ brother. God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. ⁴ May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!” ⁵ Thus Isaac sent Jacob away. And he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.

–Genesis 28:1-5 (ESV)

Isaac takes the bait. He confirms the blessing given to Jacob and sends him to Laban. Nearly every phrase of the blessing is found in the promises to Abraham.

Esau marries an Ishmaelite

⁶ Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he directed him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” ⁷ and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram. ⁸ So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father, ⁹ Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the wives he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth.

–Genesis 28:6-9 (ESV)

The literary unit that started with Esau marrying Hittites neatly concludes with Esau marrying an Ishmaelite. Recognizing that marrying Canaanites displeased Isaac, he marries an Ishmaelite to try to gain favor. By doing so, he only connects himself a family line that was sent away.²¹

Summary

Every character’s actions are morally suspect and the grasping is unnecessary. This story shows how God works through even human fallibility.

Bibliography

Abraham, Jed H. “A Literary Solution to the Name Variations of Esau’s Wives.” The Torah U-Madda Journal 7 (1997): 1–14. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40914828.

Mackie, Tim. “Session 11: Parting of the Brothers.” The BibleProject Classroom: Jacob. Published 2021. https://bibleproject.com/classroom/jacob/notebook/teacher-notes.

Sarna, Nahum M. Genesis. The JPS Torah Commentary. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 1989.

Walton, John H. Genesis. The NIV Application Commentary. E-book ed. Zondervan, 2014.

Wenham, Gordon John. Genesis 16-50, Volume 2. World Biblical Commentary. E-book ed. Zondervan Academic, 2017.

Wenham, Genesis, 202. ↩
Abraham, “Name Variations of Esau’s Wives,” 7. ↩
Sarna, Genesis, 189. ↩
Walton, Genesis, 728. ↩
Sarna, Genesis, 190. ↩
Wenham, Genesis, 206. ↩
Walton, Genesis, 553. ↩
Wenham, Genesis, 206. ↩
Ibid. ↩
Sarna, Genesis, 190. ↩
Wenham, Genesis, 206. ↩
Walton, Genesis, 561. ↩
Wenham, Genesis, 206. ↩
Ibid, 208. ↩
Ibid, 211. ↩
Sarna, Genesis, 194. ↩
Ibid. ↩
Mackie, “Parting of the Brothers,” see section “Esau, Cain, and the Flood-Sending God.” ↩
Wenham, Genesis, 212. ↩
Ibid, 216. ↩
Walton, Genesis, 569. ↩