1. Introduction

Jacob had managed to obtain the birthright from his brother Esau for a meal of lentils. Now his mother arranges matters so that he may seize the blessing from his father Isaac in Esau’s place.

1. Isaac Calls Esau — verses 1–4
2. Rebekah Supports Jacob — verses 5–25
3. Jacob Receives His Father’s Blessing — verses 26–29
4. Esau Is Deprived of the Blessing — verses 30–40
5. Esau Bears a Grudge against His Brother — verses 41–46

2. Isaac Calls Esau

KJV · Verses 1–4

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.

Isaac was old, and his eyes had grown dim. He called his elder son Esau, saying that he did not know the day of his death. He asked him to take his weapons, go into the field, hunt some game, and prepare the savory food he loved, so that he might eat and bless him before he died [1–4].

Isaac already knew that the elder would serve the younger (Genesis 25:23). He had heard how Esau had recklessly sold his birthright for a meal of lentils, treating it lightly. He had also seen in Esau’s life his attachment to two pagan wives, far removed from his father’s faith, who became a source of grief to Isaac and his wife Rebekah. Nevertheless, Isaac called him to eat of the game he hunted and to bless him before his death, handing on the blessing he himself had received from his father Abraham. Was Isaac moved by his human feelings as a father, or was he bearing a prophetic role without intending it?

If we blame Rebekah for intervening by human means so that her beloved Jacob might receive the blessing in place of his brother Esau, even though this fulfilled the divine declaration that the elder would serve the younger, we cannot deny Isaac’s weakness either. He wished to bless someone such as Esau, concerning whom God had already declared that he would serve the younger.

Saint Jerome, however, gives us a brief symbolic interpretation drawn from Saint Hippolytus of Rome. It reveals the prophetic symbolism of this chapter, announcing the messianic age. We may set it out as follows.

Isaac, calling his son Esau to bless him when he had grown old and his eyes had become dim, points to the heavenly Father, who in the last days called the Jewish people as the firstborn son. He longed to grant them the blessing of the Gospel and the enjoyment of eternal salvation, so that they might reign with the Lord Christ and keep the new Sabbath.

Rebekah points to the Holy Spirit, who knows that the elder will serve the younger. He therefore cared for the Gentiles, represented by the younger son, so that they might obtain the evangelical blessing in place of those Jews who refused faith in the saving Messiah. If the kid signifies the salvation of sinners, the two kids that Jacob offered as food to his father signify the gathering of some of the Jews together with the Gentiles.

Rebekah clothed Jacob in his brother Esau’s garments. This points to the people of the New Testament, who through the Holy Spirit acquired the Holy Scriptures. They received the Law, the covenants, and the prophecies that had been the clothing of the Jews, but which those who denied Jesus Christ had taken off and cast away.

The goatskins that Jacob wore upon his hands and neck signify the sin that the Lord Christ bore on our behalf, although it was not His own sin: He is the Holy One who bears our sins. The food Jacob offered signifies the unique sacrifice that gladdens the Father’s heart, through which the Church receives God’s blessing. Esau, in this symbolic reading, received the curse because of unbelief. Jacob’s flight from Esau to Haran symbolized the departure of faith to strangers, the Gentiles, after it had met with Jewish opposition.

Through this patristic understanding, we can perceive the hidden meaning of Esau’s being called to receive the blessing, which Jacob then obtained from him through the arrangements made by his mother Rebekah.

3. Rebekah Supports Jacob

KJV · Verses 5–25

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 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. 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.

Rebekah heard what her husband Isaac said to Esau; perhaps she was present. Now, in her love for her son Jacob, she told him what had happened. Remarkably, neither Rebekah nor Jacob felt that they had done wrong, and Isaac did not rebuke them for their conduct after discovering the deception. Instead, he confirmed his blessing upon Jacob. Perhaps Isaac recognized that the blessing rightly belonged to Jacob, although they had used an improper means to obtain it.

Saint Augustine believes that Scripture wished to show that Jacob’s conduct arose from simplicity of heart and faith rather than cunning and deceit. It had already declared that Esau was a man skilled in hunting, a man of the field, while Jacob was a “perfect” or simple man, dwelling in tents (Genesis 25:27). The Greek word translated “perfect,” or “blameless,” means simple or without pretense; for this reason he was worthy to receive the blessing. [364]

We would have expected Rebekah, as a wise mother and a wife who loved her husband, to speak openly to Isaac about what was in her heart and to remind him of the divine declaration concerning the blessing of the younger son. Yet God used even her weakness for good, although she herself tasted the bitterness of her hasty actions.

Rebekah carried out her part thoroughly. She prepared the food Isaac loved, gave Jacob his brother’s garments to wear so that he would carry his scent, and placed skins upon his hands and neck. Thus Isaac would recognize the food, the scent, and the touch, and bless his son.

Concerning the garments, some believe that Esau, as the firstborn, had a priestly robe that he wore during his father’s old age when offering sacrifices on behalf of the family. As for the skins placed around Jacob’s arms, Saint Augustine says:

“They signify his bearing the sins of others. [365]”

Undoubtedly, Jacob here represents the Lord Christ, the Head of the Church, who offered His life as a sacrifice of love, heavenly food that gladdens the Father’s heart. He put on our adornment and our clothing, and bore our sins, so that in our name and on our behalf He might receive eternal glory and the good pleasure of His heavenly Father.

Isaac said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau,” and he blessed him [22–23]. This is a living image of the Lord Christ. His voice is the voice of the only-begotten Son, yet His hands are our hands, for He bore our nature in Himself. He became like Esau, bearing our weaknesses and our sins, while He Himself is the righteous Jacob.

4. Jacob Receives His Father’s Blessing

KJV · Verses 26–29

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.

Isaac ate and drank wine, then asked his son to come near and kiss him with a kiss of love and respect. He would receive the paternal blessing out of the abundance of satisfaction that filled Isaac’s life and the sweet fragrance in which he had lived throughout his pilgrimage.

Isaac smelled the scent of his garments. Esau’s precious clothes had been kept among pleasant fragrances, and they awakened in Isaac the scent of fields with their flowers and delightful fruits. He therefore began the blessing by saying, “The smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed” [27]. He asked for him the dew of heaven, which transforms barren ground into a garden, and the fatness of the earth, its fertility. He prayed that the Lord would give him corn and wine as a sign of satisfaction and joy. He also asked that peoples and nations would submit to him, and that his brothers would bow down before him.

Here the author presents Saint Irenaeus as directing us beyond a merely literal understanding of the blessing toward its fulfillment in the kingdom. Saint Irenaeus explains the blessing in this way:

“If someone does not receive these things as referring to the appointed kingdom, he falls into contradiction and perplexity, as happened with the Jews. Not only did the nations fail to serve Jacob during his lifetime, but after receiving the blessing he himself left his home and served his uncle Laban the Syrian for twenty years (Genesis 31:41). Nor did he become lord over his brother: when he returned from Mesopotamia to his father’s house, he bowed down before his brother Esau and offered him many gifts (Genesis 33:3). Moreover, how could he have inherited an abundance of corn and wine here, when he migrated to Egypt because of the famine that struck the land where he lived, and became subject to Pharaoh, who then ruled Egypt? [366]”

Thus the author understands this blessing as fulfilled spiritually through the coming of the Lord Christ, when Jacob, that is, the Church, enjoyed the spiritual kingdom. Saint Augustine says:

“Jacob’s blessing is the proclamation of Christ to all nations, something now accomplished. Isaac is the Law and prophecy: through the mouth of the Jews, Christ’s blessing was proclaimed in prophecy, as though by one who neither recognized nor understood it. The world is like a field filled with the sweet fragrance of Christ’s name. His blessing is the dew of heaven, the rain of divine words, and the fatness of the earth, the gathering of the peoples. His blessing is the abundance of corn and wine, the multitude who gather bread and wine in the sacrament of His Body and Blood. Nations serve Him and rulers bow down to Him. He is lord over His brothers, for He rules the Jewish people. The sons of His Father bow down to Him: they are Abraham’s children according to faith, while He Himself is Abraham’s son according to the flesh. Whoever curses Him becomes accursed, and whoever blesses Him is blessed. [367]”

In Jesus Christ our Lord, each of us becomes Jacob, hearing the blessing from his father’s mouth: “The smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed: Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine … be lord over thy brethren” [27–29].

Truly, in Christ Jesus our heart becomes a field, indeed a garden, bearing a sweet fragrance that gladdens the heart of the Bridegroom, who says, “I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved” (Song of Solomon 5:1).

Saint Gregory of Nyssa says in his interpretation of the Song:

“He comes into His garden and gathers its spices, which are filled with the fruit of her virtues. Then He speaks of His enjoyment of the feast and His delight in it, saying to His bride: “I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse.” [368]”

What is the dew of heaven but the sanctification of the soul? It becomes like heaven, bearing God’s grace as dew that the Holy Spirit uses to make many lands fruitful. The fatness of the earth points to the fertility of the body sanctified by the Holy Spirit. All its energies, senses, and gifts are set free to work in harmony with the dew of heaven.

The abundance of corn reveals the soul’s satisfaction in her Bridegroom, the Bread who came down from heaven. The abundance of wine points to the overflowing inward spiritual joy. Finally, dominion signifies the condition of the spiritual person as a king possessing authority and mastery. He tells a thought to come, and it comes; to go, and it goes. In the Lord, he has authority over his thoughts, his senses, and all his inward being.

5. Esau Is Deprived of the Blessing

KJV · Verses 30–40

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.

Someone may ask: What was Esau’s fault, that he should be deprived of a blessing that his brother obtained through the arrangements of their mother Rebekah? Did he not cry out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry when he heard from his father that his brother had taken the blessing, asking that he too might be blessed?

The answer is that Esau had treated lightly what was already in his hands, the birthright, and so lost the blessing against his will. His conduct in general was what deprived him of receiving it.

Esau’s exceedingly great and bitter cry means that he sought the blessing with tears, as the apostle says (Hebrews 12:17). Yet he did not seek it in its spiritual meaning; he sought temporal blessings. The proof is that he asked to receive a blessing as well, saying, “Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?” [36]. It is one blessing, through which a person enjoys the privilege that the Lord Christ should come from his descendants. How, then, could it belong to two brothers?

6. Esau Bears a Grudge against His Brother

KJV · Verses 41–46

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?

Although Esau bore a grudge against his brother, we do not deny his sense of honor: out of respect for his father’s old age, he refrained from killing his brother during his father’s lifetime. He expected his father’s death to come soon, not knowing that his father would live for many more years.

Perhaps Rebekah was afraid to speak openly to Isaac about Esau’s hatred of Jacob. She therefore asked him to direct Jacob to go to Haran and marry there, rather than taking a wife from the daughters of Heth, as his brother Esau had done. In this way she found a way for her son to receive his father’s blessing before fleeing from his brother.

Finally, Rebekah was deprived of her son Jacob as the fruit of her human planning and her deception of her husband. Saint Ambrose, however, sees wisdom in Rebekah’s final action. She overcame her natural maternal feelings in order to turn anger away from her son Esau, and to avoid losing both him and his brother Jacob. He says:

“His mother wished him to live as a stranger until his brother’s anger had passed away. Good counsel rises above natural feelings. [369]”