John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
Genesis 27:1
INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 27
In this chapter we are informed, that Isaac, being old and dim sighted, sent for Esau to get him venison, that he might eat of it, and bless him before he died, Ge 27:1; that Rebekah hearing of this formed a scheme for Jacob to get the blessing before him, which she communicated to Jacob, to which he at first objected, but afterwards complied,
Ge 27:5; and also how that he succeeded in the attempt, and got the blessing from his brother, Ge 27:18; and that this was confirmed to him by his father, even when his mistake was discovered upon Esau's coming, Ge 27:30; which occasioned a most bitter cry in Esau, a severe reflection on his brother, and an earnest expostulation with his father for a blessing, which he obtained, Ge 27:34; the consequence of this were hatred in Esau to Jacob, and an intention to kill him, which Rebekah hearing of, advised Jacob to flee to her brother Laban,
Ge 27:41; and to facilitate this, complains to Isaac of Esau's wives, and suggests, that should Jacob marry among the same people, it would add to the distress of their lives; and therefore hints it to him, that it was necessary and proper he should go to her family for a wife, Ge 27:46; and whether Isaac sent him, as the following chapter shows.
Ver. 1. And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old,.... He is generally thought to be about one hundred and thirty seven years of age at this time, which was just the age of his brother Ishmael when he died, Ge 25:16; and might put him in mind of his own death as near at hand; though if he was no older, he lived after this forty three years, for he lived to be one hundred and eighty years old, Ge 35:28:
and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see; which circumstance is mentioned, not only as a sign of old age, and as common to it, but for the sake of the following history, and as accounting for it, that he should not know Jacob when he blessed him; and this was so ordered in Providence, that by means of it the blessing might be transferred to him, which otherwise in all probability would not have been done, if Isaac had had his sight:
he called Esau his eldest son; who though he was married, and had been married thirty seven years at this time, yet still lived in his father's house, or near him; for as he was born when his father was sixty years of age, and he married when he himself was forty, and his father must be an hundred, so if Isaac was now one hundred and thirty seven, Esau must have been married thirty seven years; and though he had disobliged his father by his marriage, yet he retained a natural affliction for him; nor had he turned him out of doors, nor had he any thoughts of disinheriting him; but on the contrary intended to bestow the blessing on him as the firstborn, for which reason he is here called "his eldest son":
and said unto him, my son; owning the relation, expressing a tender affection for him, and signifying he had something further to say unto him:
and he said unto him, behold, [here am] I; by which Esau intimated he was ready to hear what his father had to say to him, and was willing to obey him. The Targum of Jonathan says, this was the fourteenth of Nisan, when Isaac called Esau to him.
Genesis 27:2
Ver. 2. And he said, behold, now I am old,....
See Gill on "Ge 27:1":
I know not the day of my death; how soon it will be; everyone knows he must die, but the day and hour he knows not, neither young nor old; and though young men may promise themselves many days and years, an old man cannot, but must or should live in the constant expectation of death.
Genesis 27:3
Ver. 3. Now therefore, take, I pray thee, thy weapons,.... Or "thy vessels", or "instruments" {n}, his instruments of hunting: as
thy quiver and thy bow; the former is the vessel or instrument, in which arrows were put and carried, and has its name in the Hebrew language from its being hung at the girdle, though another word is more commonly used for a quiver; and Onkelos and Jarchi interpret this of a sword; and which is not disapproved of by Aben Ezra and Ben Melech, who explain it either a quiver or a sword; and the latter was as necessary for hunting as the former, see Ge 27:40; and such a sword may be meant, as Mr. Fuller observes {o}, which we call a "hanger" (i.e. a small sword often worn by seamen); and of the bow being an instrument of hunting, not anything need be said:
and go out to the field, and take me [some] venison; this does not necessarily intend what we commonly call so, but anything hunted in the field, as hares, wild goats, &c. and indeed the latter seems to be what Isaac loved, by the preparation Rebekah afterwards made.
{n} Kylk "instrumenta tua", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "vasa tua", Vatablus. {o} Miscell. Sacr. l. 1. c. 17.
Genesis 27:4
Ver. 4. And make me savoury meat, such as I love,.... For, though he had lost his sight, he had not lost his taste, nor his appetite for savoury food:
and bring [it] to me, that I may eat; this, was enjoined to make trial of his filial affection and duty to him, before he blessed him:
that my soul may bless thee before I die; not only that he might do it with cheerfulness and vivacity, having eaten a comfortable meal, and being refreshed with it, but that having had proof of his son's duty and affection to him, he might confer the blessing on him heartily: this blessing was not an ordinary and common one, but what parents used to bestow upon their children at the time of their death, or a little before it; and good men oftentimes did this under a spirit of prophecy, declaring what would be the case and circumstances of their children in time to come; and particularly the principal part of the blessing of Isaac, which Abraham had entailed upon him by divine direction, and he thought to have entailed on Esau his firstborn, was the promise of the descent of the Messiah from him and his seed, and of the possession of the land of Canaan by them: and this shows that Rebekah had not made known the oracle to Isaac, that the "elder should serve the younger",
Ge 25:23: or, if she had, he had forgot, or did not understand it, and might think it respected not the persons of his sons, but their posterity; or however, from a natural affection for Esau his firstborn, and that the blessing and inheritance might go in the common channel, he was desirous he should have it; and he might also be ignorant of Esau's having sold his birthright to Jacob, or that he made no account of it.
Genesis 27:5
Ver. 5. And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son,.... She might hear Isaac call to him by one means or another, that he had sent for him, or might see him go into his father's tent, and might stand at the door of it and listen to hear what he said to him; though the Targum of Jonathan says, she heard by the Holy Spirit;
and Esau went to the field to hunt [for] venison, [and] to bring [it]; as his father directed and enjoined him; and thus it was ordered by divine Providence, that there might be time and opportunity for Jacob to get the blessing before his broker.
Genesis 27:6
Ver. 6. And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son,.... Who was in the tent with her, and for whom she had the strongest affection:
saying, behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother; heard the conversation that passed between them, and particularly what Isaac had given in charge to Esau,
saying, as follows:
Genesis 27:7
Ver. 7. Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat,.... Fetch him venison out of the field, and dress it in a savoury manner, and bring it to him:
that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death; the phrase "before the Lord" is here added, which yet perhaps might be expressed by Isaac, though before omitted by the historian, and has a very considerable emphasis in it; for this solemn blessing was given not only in the presence of the Lord, and before him as a witness, but by calling upon him, and praying for direction in it, and then pronouncing it in his name and by his authority, he approving of it, so that it was ever after irrevocable.
Genesis 27:8
Ver. 8. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice,.... Hearken to what I am about to say, and do
according to that which I command thee, in every particular; she required of him filial obedience to all that she enjoined him; which, though not difficult to be performed, she was aware Jacob would make objections to, as he did; and therefore she is so pressing and peremptory in her injunctions, as well knowing it was respecting an affair of the greatest moment and importance.
Genesis 27:9
Ver. 9. Go now to the flock,.... To the flock he had the care of, and that immediately, for the case required haste:
and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; two young kids that were fat, as Jonathan and Ben Melech interpret it; and, though two may seem to be too much to be dressed for Isaac only; it may be observed, that Rebekah intended only to take out some of the choicest and most tender and delicate parts of them, and which would best suit her purpose, and which she would make most like to venison; and the rest could be disposed of for the use of the family: and, if it should be questioned whether Rebekah had a right to do this without her husband's leave, the Jewish writers have an answer ready; that, in her dowry or matrimonial contract, Isaac had allowed her to take two kids of the goats every day {p}:
and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth; such as would pass with him for venison: Jarchi says, that the taste of a kid is like the taste of a young roe or fawn; however, by seasoning, the natural taste might be altered so as not to be distinguished, as we find it was; and such as have the best skill in venison may be imposed upon and deceived by more ways than one, as well as Isaac was.
{p} Bereshit Rabba, sect. 65. fol. 57. 4. Jarchi in loc.
Genesis 27:10
Ver. 10. And thou shall bring [it] to thy father,.... For venison; and as if he was Esau that brought it:
that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death; to whom she knew by the divine oracle the blessing belonged, Ge 25:23, as well as by virtue of the sale of the birthright to him by his brother,
Ge 25:33, and through Esau's forfeiting of it by marrying with the Canaanites, Ge 26:34; in these her sentiments she was right, but wrong in the ways and means she took to get it for him.
Genesis 27:11
Ver. 11. And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother,.... Being timorous lest he should do an ill thing, and be accounted a deceiver, and bring a curse upon himself:
behold, Esau my brother [is] a hairy man; covered all over with hair; as with a hairy garment; so he was born, and so he continued, and no doubt his hair increased, Ge 25:25:
and I [am] a smooth man: without hair, excepting in those parts where it is common for all men to have it.
Genesis 27:12
Ver. 12. My father peradventure will feel me,.... For, though he could not see him, and so discern whether he had any hair or no on him, yet, suspecting him by his voice, he might call him to him to feel him, as he did; for Jacob understood his mother right, that he was to represent his brother Esau in the transaction of this affair:
and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; one that imposes upon another and causes him to err, leads him to say or do wrong things: and not only appear as one, but be really one, and even a very great one, as the doubling of the radical letters in the word shows; yea, the worst of deceivers, a deceiver of a parent, of one that was both aged and blind:
and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing; and he might justly fear, that should he be found out, it would so provoke his father, that instead of blessing him, he would curse him, see
De 27:18.
Genesis 27:13
Ver. 13. And his mother said unto him, upon me [be] thy curse, my son,.... That is, if thy father should curse thee, which I am well assured he will not, let the curse, be what it will, fall upon me, and not on thee; I shall bear the blame and the punishment: this she said in the strong faith of the divine oracle, being fully persuaded her scheme would succeed, and that Jacob would have the blessing, and therefore she feared no curse falling upon her or her son; and this she said to encourage him: the Targum of Onkelos is,
"to me it has been said in prophecy, that the curses shall not come upon thee, my son:''
only obey my voice, and go fetch me [them]; the two fat kids of the goats from the flock.
Genesis 27:14
Ver. 14. And he went and fetched and brought [them] to his mother,.... Being satisfied with what his mother had said, he went to the field where the flock was, and took out of it two young kids, and brought them to his mother; and thus far he did right to obey her commands:
and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved; by picking out proper pieces, and seasoning them well, it was as grateful to him as if it had really been venison, such as he loved.
Genesis 27:15
Ver. 15. And Rebekah took goodly garments of her eldest son Esau,.... Or "desirable" {q} ones, exceeding good ones:
which [were] with her in the house; which she had the care and keeping of, and were wore only on particular occasions: some think these were priestly garments, which belonged to him as the firstborn, and were not in the keeping of his wives, being idolaters, but in his mother's keeping; which is not very probable, yet more likely than that they were, as some Jewish writers {r} say, the garments of Adam the first man, which Esau seeing on Nimrod, greatly desired them, and slew him for them, see Ge 10:10; and hence called desirable garments:
and put them upon Jacob her younger son; that be might be took for Esau, should Isaac examine him and feel his garments, or smell them.
{q} tdmxh "desideratissimis", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. {r} Targum Jon. in loc. Bereshit Rabba, sect. 65. fol. 58. 1. Pirke Eliezer, c. 24. Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 3. 1.
Genesis 27:16
Ver. 16. And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands,.... Upon both his hands, and the whole of them that was bare, that he might appear to be like Esau:
and upon the smooth of his neck; which in Esau was covered with hair as his hands; and Hiscuni, a Jewish writer {s}, observes, that the skins of goats are rough, and like the skin of a hairy man; and so Bochart {t} remarks, that goats' hair in the eastern countries is not much unlike human hair; see 1Sa 19:13.
{s} Apud Drusium in loc. {t} Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 51. col. 626.
Genesis 27:17
Ver. 17. And she gave the savoury meat,.... Seasoned and dressed in such a manner as might be taken for venison:
and the bread which she had prepared to eat with it,
into the hand of her son Jacob; the dish of meat in one hand, and the bread in the other.
Genesis 27:18
Ver. 18. And he came unto his father,.... Into the tent and apartment where he was:
and said, my father; to try whether he was awake, and to let him know that he was come, since he could not see him:
and he said, here [am] I; what hast thou to say to me?
who [art] thou, my son? for, from the voice and the quick dispatch made, he suspected it was not his son Esau.
Genesis 27:19
Ver. 19. And Jacob said unto his father, I [am] Esau thy firstborn,.... Had he only said that he was his firstborn, he might have been excused from lying, because he had bought the birthright of Esau; but when he says, I am Esau, he can by no means be excused; for to say he impersonated Esau will not do; besides, he afterwards says he was his very son Esau, Ge 27:24:
I have done according as thou badest me; which is another lie; for Isaac had not bid him bring him any venison, nor go into the field for it, and take it and dress it for him; nor indeed had Jacob done either of these:
arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison; or "hunting" {u}, what he had hunted; another untruth, for it was not venison he brought him, nor anything that was hunted by him: by this it seems that Isaac lay upon a bed or couch through infirmity, and therefore is bid to arise and put himself in a proper posture for eating, which in those times and countries was usually sitting:
that thy soul may bless me; as this was the thing in view, so speaking of it as soon as he came in, and which he desired might be done after his father had eat and drank, might serve to take off the suspicion of his being another person; since this was what Isaac himself proposed to Esau to do; and this he said when there were none else present.
{u} ydyum "de venatione mea", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, &c.
Genesis 27:20
Ver. 20. And Isaac said unto his son,.... Supposing him to be Esau:
how [is it] that thou hast found [it] so quickly, my son? that is, the venison; that he had met with it so soon in, the field, and got it dressed and ready in so short a time, which was not common, and seemed to be too little for doing all this in it, and so still created some suspicion of deceit:
and he said, because the Lord thy God brought [it] to me; which was another falsehood; for it was not the Lord, but his mother brought it to him: and this seems to be the most marvellous of all, that so good a man should dare to bring the name of the Lord God into this affair; indeed he does not say the Lord my God, or our God, but thy God; which some think was done on purpose, the more to cover the deceit, because they suppose that Esau, whom Jacob impersonated, was an idolater, but this is not so evident; rather it looks as if Jacob had not the confidence to call the Lord his God with a lie in his mouth.
Genesis 27:21
Ver. 21. And Isaac said unto Jacob, come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son,.... Still suspecting some fraud in the case; and whereas he knew that Esau was a hairy man, and Jacob smooth, he thought by feeling he could discover the imposture, if there was any:
whether thou [be] my very son Esau, or not; which he still pretty much questioned.
Genesis 27:22
Ver. 22. And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father,.... Boldly and without trembling; which he could the better do, as his father could not see him, and so not capable of discerning any change in his countenance or outward behaviour:
and he felt him; some parts of his body, especially his hands:
and said, the voice [is] Jacob's voice; very like it, as if it was the same, as indeed it was:
but the hands [are] the hands of Esau; are like them, being hairy as they; or, as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem,
"the feeling of the hands is as the feeling of the hands of Esau;''
they feel like them.
Genesis 27:23
Ver. 23. And he discerned him not,.... As he could not see, he could make no judgment by that sense; and, though he had his hearing, and thought the voice was like Jacob's, he might imagine there might be an alteration in Esau's voice, coming in haste and weary from the fields; yet, as there could not be any deception in his feeling, he thought it safest to trust to that, as it follows:
because his hands were hairy as his brother Esau's hands; which could not in a short time become so naturally; it was more reasonable to think that Esau's voice should be altered and become like Jacob's, than that Jacob's hands should become like Esau's:
so he blessed him; or intended and determined within himself to bless him, for the blessing was not given till afterwards; unless this is to be understood of a common blessing, congratulating him on the quick dispatch he made, and the great success he met with; and after this gave him the patriarchal blessing, which as yet he had not, being not thoroughly satisfied of him, as appears by what follows.
Genesis 27:24
Ver. 24. And said, [art] thou my very son Esau?.... Still having some doubt on his mind whether he really was so or not, because of his voice:
and he said, I [am]; as for the observation of Jarchi upon this, in order to excuse Jacob from lying, that he does not say, "I am Esau", only "I", it will not do, since it is an answer to Isaac's question, with a design to deceive him; and he intended by it that he should understand him as he did, that he was really Esau.
Genesis 27:25
Ver. 25. And he said, bring [it] near to me,.... Being in a good measure satisfied that it must be Esau that was with him, he agreed that he should set his savoury meat before him he had prepared and brought to him:
and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee; this showed that as yet he had not blessed him, at least that the main and principal blessing was yet to come:
and he brought [it] near to him, and he did eat; set it on a table before him, and guided his hands to it, or fed him with it, and he made a meal of it:
and he brought him wine, and he drank; and so was comfortably refreshed, and in a good temper and disposition of mind to confer the blessing.
Genesis 27:26
Ver. 26. And his father Isaac said unto him,.... After he had eat and drank, and the repast was over, and all were took away:
come near now, and kiss me, my son; which was desired either out of affection to him, excited by this instance of preparing such savoury and agreeable food; or else having some suspicion still, and willing to have more satisfaction before he proceeded further to bless, from the smell of his breath, and of his garments,
Genesis 27:27
Ver. 27. And he came near, and kissed him,.... Jacob came near and kissed Isaac his father:
and he smelled the smell of his raiment; which being not like the smell of a sheep coat, but of a field, might give him more full satisfaction that it was truly Esau:
and he blessed him; with his patriarchal and prophetic blessing, which here begins:
and said, see, the smell of my son [is] as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed; like a field fall of fragrant herbs, flowers, and spices, watered with the dews and rain of heaven, and so made fruitful, which emits a most, delightful odour; this may respect the scent of Esau's clothes, now on Jacob's back, which they received from the fields, which Esau continually frequented; or rather from the odoriferous herbs and fruits which were put among them in the chest, in which Rebekah had laid them up; and it may be, that whereas the goatskins on his hands and neck would be apt to send forth a rank and disagreeable smell, these might be so scented by Rebekah as to prevent that. Some render these words, "see the smell of my son, whom the Lord hath blessed {w}, as the smell of a field"; and so Isaac pronounces him blessed of the Lord, as well as by himself; the sense is the same: as to the smell many interpreters consider this as a type and figure of the acceptance of believers with God, being clothed with the goodly, excellent, and desirable garment of the righteousness of Christ their elder brother, even of their persons, services, and sacrifices; which is indeed truly spiritual and evangelical; but is liable to this objection, that it makes profane Esau a type of Christ. I see not that anything can well be objected to the application of this son of Isaac's to the Messiah himself, whom he may have a special regard unto in this prophetic blessing, reading the words, "the smell of my son [shall be] as the smell of a field": or "my son, whom the Lord hath blessed", and came before with all the blessings of goodness, and in whom all nations shall be blessed, shall be "as the smell of a field"; all whose garments smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia, Ps 45:8, even Isaac's principal son, that should be of his seed, of whom Jacob his present son was a type, and who was to spring from him.
{w} So Junius, Tremellius, Gesner. & Walther. apud Calov.
Genesis 27:28
Ver. 28. Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven,.... Or "shall" or "will give thee" {x}, seeing he was blessed of God, and the blessed seed should spring from him, as well as his posterity should inherit the land of Canaan; for this is said rather by way of prophecy than wish, and so all that follow; and the dew of heaven is the rather mentioned, not only because that makes the earth fruitful on which it plentifully falls, but likewise because the land of Canaan, the portion of Jacob's posterity, much needed it, and had it, for rain fell there but seldom, only twice a year, in spring and autumn; and between these two rains, the one called the former, the other the latter rain, the land was impregnated and made fruitful by plentiful dews; and these signified figuratively both the doctrines and blessings of grace, which all Jacob's spiritual offspring, such as are Israelites indeed, are partakers of, and especially under the Gospel dispensation, see
De 32:2:
and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine; and such the land of Canaan was, a fat and fertile land, abounding with all good things, see De 8:8; by which are figured the plenty of Gospel provisions, the word and ordinances, which God has given to his Jacob and Israel in all ages, as he has not given to other people, and especially in the times of the Messiah, Jacob's eminent seed and son, see Ps 147:19.
{x} Kl Ntyw "dabit ergo tibi", Schmidt; so Ainsworth.
Genesis 27:29
Ver. 29. Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee,.... Which was literally true in the times of Joshua and the judges, when the Canaanites were conquered and subdued, and those that remained became tributary to the Israelites; and still more so in the times of David, a son of Jacob, in the line of Judah, when the Philistines, Moabites, Syrians, Ammonites, and Edomites, became subject to him, his servants and tributaries; and yet more so in the times of the Messiah that was to spring from Jacob, and did, to whom many nations have been already subject, and all will in the latter day, Ps 72:11. And this passage is applied to the Messiah, and his times, by the Jews, in an ancient book {y} of theirs, at least said to be so. The Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it of the children of Esau or the Edomites, and of the children of Keturah; and that of Jerusalem, of the children of Esau, and of Ishmael:
be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee; these seem rather to be the children of Esau, Jacob's brother, and his mother's sons; the Targum of Jerusalem interprets the latter of the sons of Laban, his mother's brother, the Arabians and Syrians; which will be more fully accomplished when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, Re 11:15; who will then appear to be King of kings, and Lord of lords, Re 17:14, even the King of the whole earth:
cursed [be] everyone that curseth thee; it signifies, that those who were the enemies of Jacob, or would be the enemies of the church and people of God, his spiritual Israel, and of the Messiah, would be reckoned the enemies of God, and treated as such;
and blessed [be] he that blesseth thee; and that those that were his friends, and the friends of the people of God, and heartily wish well to the interest of Christ, these should be accounted the friends of God, and be used as such. The same blessing is pronounced on Abraham the grandfather of Jacob, Ge 12:3.
{y} Zohar in Gen. fol. 84. 4.
Genesis 27:30
Ver. 30. And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of,
blessing Jacob,.... So that he had the whole entire blessing, and nothing wanting; and takes in blessings of all sorts, temporal, spiritual, and eternal, of which the land of Canaan, and the fruits of it, were typical:
and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father; which no doubt he made haste to do, as soon as he had got the blessing; partly to avoid his brother, whom he might expect to come in every moment, and partly to relate to his mother the success he had met with: or "scarce in going out was gone out" {z}, was just gone out, and that was all; the Targum of Jonathan says, he was gone about two hands' breadths; that is, out of the door of his father's tent, which was a small space indeed. Jarchi interprets this doubling of the word, of the one going out and the other coming in at the same time; but Ainsworth more rightly observes, that it makes the matter the more remarkable, touching God's providence herein:
that Esau his brother came in from his hunting; and not only was come out of the field from hunting, but had been at home some time, and had dressed what he had caught in hunting, and was just coming in with it to his father, as appears from Ge 27:31.
{z} auy auy Ka "tantum, vel vix exeundo exierat", Montanus, Piscator, Vatablus, Schmidt.
Genesis 27:31
Ver. 31. And he also made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father,.... Which was made of real venison, or of creatures taken in hunting, and not like Jacob's, made of other flesh, in imitation of it; for what the Jewish writers {a} say is not to be regarded, that he was hindered from getting true venison, by angels loosing the deer he bound; still less what the Targum of Jonathan says, that he killed a dog, made savoury meat of it, and brought it to his father:
and said unto his father, let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me; this address is made by Esau to his father in a very respectful manner, as became a dutiful son to an aged and honoured parent; who in obedience to his command had prepared agreeable food for him, and now brought it to him, in order to receive his blessing, which he had himself proposed to give him upon it.
{a} Bereshit Rabba, sect. 67. fol. 59. 3.
Genesis 27:32
Ver. 32. And Isaac his father said unto him, who [art] thou?.... Hearing another voice more like Esau's than what he had heard before surprised him, and therefore in haste puts this question:
and he said, I [am] thy son, thy firstborn Esau; all which was true in a sense; he was his son, and he was Esau, and he was his firstborn by nature, but not by right, for he had sold his birthright.
Genesis 27:33
Ver. 33. And Isaac trembled very exceedingly,.... Or "trembled with a great trembling exceedingly" {b}; he was amazed, and astonished, and seized with a trembling all over his body, and with terror and confusion of mind; at the craft of Jacob in getting the blessing; at the disappointment of Esau in losing it; at his own act in blessing Jacob instead of Esau, contrary to his inclination and intention; and at the overruling providence of God in bringing this about in so strange a manner, agreeably to the oracle he had given Rebekah; which now perhaps came fresh into the mind of Isaac, if he had heard it before; and all together threw him into this amazement:
and he said, who? where [is] he; which words spoken in haste, and without order, show the hurry and consternation of mind he was in:
that hath taken venison, and brought [it] me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest; he was here but just now; he was scarce gone out before thou camest in; who, and where is he, that has done this? He knew it must be Jacob that had prepared and brought him food he called venison, which he had eaten sufficiently of, though in the confusion of his mind he puts these questions: and
have blessed him? yea, [and] he shall be blessed; for he now saw clearly that it was according to the divine will that Jacob should be blessed, though his natural affection led him to bless Esau; and no doubt, while he was pronouncing the blessing on Jacob, he felt an uncommon impulse upon his mind, by which he was assured that he was right in blessing him, that it was according to the will of God, was by his direction, and with his approbation; and therefore he here, even after Jacob's deceit was detected, confirms and ratifies it; and this is added, lest any question should be made of the validity of the blessing of Jacob, when it was given through mistake, and got by deceit; but this Isaac did and said knowingly, and by faith, as the apostle says, Heb 11:20.
{b} dam-de hldg hdrx drxyw "contremuit tremore magno usque valde", Montanus; Pagninus, Schmidt.
Genesis 27:34
Ver. 34. And when Esau heard the words of his father,.... That another person had been before him, and got the blessing; and especially when he heard this ratified, and confirmed, and made irrevocable:
he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry; as loud as he possibly could, and in as doleful and hideous a manner as can be imagined; according to the Vulgate Latin version, he roared like a lion:
and said unto his father, bless me, [even] me also, O my father; thou art my father, and I am a child of thine as well as Jacob, show paternal affection to me; give me also a child's blessing, one at least equal to what thou hast given Jacob, if not a greater, as being the firstborn.
Genesis 27:35
Ver. 35. And he said, thy brother came with subtilty,.... The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, and so Jarchi, interpret it, "with wisdom", taking it in a good sense, and as excusing the fact; or rather commending it, as if it was wisely and prudently managed; but the word signifies fraud and deceit, and so it must be understood; though it may be Isaac says this, not so much to blame Jacob for what he had done, as to excuse himself to Esau, that he did not intend to give the blessing from him, but that he was imposed upon through the craft and subtilty of his brother, who feigned himself to be Esau; pretending he had been hunting, and had had wonderful success, and had got venison, and had prepared it; and came with goat, skins upon his hands and neck, that he might seem to be hairy as Esau was, and by these artful tricks he had deceived him, and therefore Esau could not blame him for what he had done:
and hath taken away thy blessing; which belonged to him as the firstborn, and he expected to have, and Isaac intended to have given it to him.
Genesis 27:36
Ver. 36. And he said, is not he rightly named Jacob?.... As he was by his parents, and those that were at his birth, because he took his brother by the heel as he came out of his mother's womb; for Jacob signifies "heeler", a supplanter, and was given him to keep up the memory of what he had done, to which Esau here refers:
for he hath supplanted me these two times; to supplant another is to put his foot under the heel of another, in order to trip him up, to which Esau alludes; but uses the word in a figurative sense, for circumventing him, and dealing fraudulently and deceitfully with him, though he is not able to support his charge; for if he dealt fraudulently with any, it was with his father, and not with him, and the two times he refers to prove it not:
he took away my birthright; which is not true, he did not take it away from him either by force or fraud, Esau sold it to him for a mess of pottage, Ge 25:29; he had despised and made light of it himself, and had parted with it at so mean a price, and now falsely charges his brother with taking it away from him, and wrongly accuses him of being a supplanter on that account:
and behold, now he hath taken away my blessing; this also is not true, he had not taken it away; it was given him by his father; and though he had used some artful methods with him to get it, Ge 27:15, he had neither supplanted Esau, but if anyone, his father; nor had he done any injustice to Esau, since as he had bought of him the birthright, the blessing annexed to it went along with it, and of right belonged to Jacob:
and he said, hast thou not reserved a blessing for me? is the whole fund of blessings exhausted? are all bestowed upon Jacob? is there not one left for me? he hoped there was, and that as good a one as he had bestowed on his brother, and entreats he might have it.
Genesis 27:37
Ver. 37. And Isaac answered and said unto Esau,.... Giving an account of the blessing be had bestowed upon his brother:
behold, I have made him thy lord; the lord of his posterity, who would be subdued and become tributary to his seed:
and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; the Edomites, who sprung from his brother Esau, who, according to this prophetic blessing, became servants to David, who was a son of Jacob's,
See Gill on "Ge 27:29";
and with corn and wine have I sustained him; promised him a fruitful country, the land of Canaan, abounding with all good things, particularly with corn and wine, which are put for all the rest:
and what shall I do now unto thee, my son? what is there remains? what can be bestowed upon thee? there is nothing left; dominion over others, even over all nations, yea, over thyself and thy posterity, and plenty of all good things, are given already to Jacob; what is there to be done for thee, or thou canst expect?
Genesis 27:38
Ver. 38. And Esau said unto his father, hast thou but one blessing, my father?.... He seems to speak diminutively of what had been given to Jacob, calling it one blessing: whereas there were many, and of different sorts, both temporal and spiritual; but it may be Esau had not so clear and comprehensive a view of what was contained in Jacob's blessing; or at least was willing to think and hope that there was not so much given, but there might be some behind for him, and that his father had a greater stock than to be drained of all at once:
bless me, [even] me also, O my father: with another blessing, with one equal to what has been given my brother:
and Esau lift up his voice, and wept; in order to move the affections of his father, and to prevail upon him to reverse the blessing he had bestowed on Jacob, and give it to him; but he could not bring his father to repentance, to change his mind, and revoke the blessing, and give it him, with all his crying and tears, as the apostle observes,
Heb 12:17.
Genesis 27:39
Ver. 39. And Isaac his father answered and said unto him,.... Being willing to bestow what he could upon him, without lessening or breaking in upon the grant made to Jacob:
behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above: this agrees with part of the blessing of Jacob, only the clauses are inverted, and no mention made of corn and wine; the land of Edom not being so fat and fruitful as the land of Canaan. Castalio renders the words very differently, "thy habitation shall be from the fatness of the earth, or without the fatness of the earth, and without the dew of heaven from above" {c}; or otherwise he thinks Esau would have the same blessing with Jacob, and so would have no occasion of complaint or grief, or to have hated his brother and sought his life; to which may be added, that the land of Edom, which Esau and his posterity inhabited, was a very desert country, see Mal 1:3.
{c} See the Bishop of Clogher's Chronology of the Hebrew Bible, p. 142.
Genesis 27:40
Ver. 40. And by thy sword shalt thou live,.... By what he could get by it; his land being so poor that he could not live upon it, but must be obliged to such methods for a livelihood; or his country being surrounded with enemies, his posterity would be obliged to defend themselves by the sword, and other weapons of war:
and shalt serve thy brother; which is the sense and language of the oracle, Ge 25:23; and which Isaac perhaps now remembered, and had a clear understanding of it, and delivers out his prophetic blessing agreeably to it:
and it shall come to pass, when thou shalt have the dominion; not over the Israelites, the posterity of Jacob, which the Edomites, Esau's posterity, never had; but when they should get a greater degree of strength, power, authority, and dominion in the world:
that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck; the Edomites should revolt from the posterity of Jacob, and shake off the yoke of bondage and subjection they had been long under; as they did in the times of Joram, king of Judah, and set up a king of their own, and continued in such a state of freedom a long time, see 2Ki 8:20.
Genesis 27:41
Ver. 41. And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him,.... It being a better blessing than his; giving him a better country, and greater plenty of good things, a larger dominion, and even dominion over him and his seed; for as for the promise of the Messiah, and spiritual blessings, he seems to have no concern about them, only temporal ones:
and Esau said in his heart; within himself, but he did not long keep it there, but told somebody of it; or otherwise, how should Rebekah be informed of it, as afterwards related? what he said follows,
the days of mourning for my father are at hand, then will I slay my brother Jacob: that is, the time of his father's death was drawing nigh, when there would be a mourning for him for some days; at which time, or at the end of it, he proposed to pick a quarrel with Jacob about his title to his father's substance, and in the quarrel kill him, and so regain the birthright and the blessing; and Jacob dying unmarried, and without issue, would defeat both the oracle of God, and the prophetic benediction of his father; but he failed in all, the time of his father's death was not so near as he imagined, for he lived forty three years after this; and this design of his being discovered, was the occasion of Jacob's going to Haran, where he married two sisters, and by them and their maids had a numerous offspring, whereby both the oracle and the blessing had their accomplishment. Esau seems to have retained some affection for his father, and therefore put off the execution of this wicked design until his death, being unwilling to grieve him, but had no regard for his mother, who he knew loved Jacob better than he, and was assisting to him in getting the blessing from him. Schmidt gives a sense of this passage different from all interpreters, and renders the words, "the days of my father's mourning will draw nigh"; not in which his father would be mourned for, being dead, but in which his father, being alive, would himself mourn for his son Jacob, being slain by Esau; and accordingly he renders the next clause, "for I will slay my brother Jacob"; and that will make him mourn, and perhaps die of his grief; and so he shows an ill will to his father because he confirmed the blessing to Jacob, as well as to Jacob because he had it.
Genesis 27:42
Ver. 42. And these words of Esau her eldest son were told to Rebekah,.... Jarchi and Jonathan say, by the Holy Ghost; but Aben Ezra thinks, by one of Esau's friends and confidants, to whom out of the abundance of his heart he had revealed this secret, which is not at all unlikely:
and she sent and called Jacob her younger son; who might be in another tent or apartment, or with the flocks in the field:
and said unto him, behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, [purposing] to kill thee; he has determined on it, and has laid a scheme for it, and comforts himself with the thought of it, that he shall be able to accomplish it, and so be the heir of the promise, and get the blessing; and even such is his nature, that thy death will be a comfort to him under the loss of his blessing, though he gets nothing by it, so sweet is revenge unto him.
Genesis 27:43
Ver. 43. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice,.... Hearken to what I say, and do according to it, as he had already in many instances, and particularly in a late one, in which he succeeded, and therefore had good reason to attend to her advice and direction, see Ge 27:13;
and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother, to Haran; where Laban her brother, dwelt.
Genesis 27:44
Ver. 44. And tarry with him a few days,.... Which Aben Ezra interprets a few years; rather, as Hiscuni, one year; perhaps it may be better should it be said one or two years; but instead of so short a time Jacob stayed there twenty years, and perhaps Rebekah never saw him anymore, being dead before he returned; after this account, no more mention is made of her:
until thy brother's fury turn away; which she hoped would abate, subside, and be entirely gone in process of time, and especially when the object of it was out of sight, and so it might be thought would be out of mind.
Genesis 27:45
Ver. 45. Until thy brother's anger turn away from thee,.... Which is repeated from the preceding verse, to carry on the connection:
and he forget [that] which thou hast done to him; in getting the blessing from him; being convinced that Jacob had done him no injury, and that he had no just cause of being angry with him, it being the will of God that he should have the blessing; and besides, having bought the birthright of him, the blessing belonged to him in course; or however would in time forgive and forget what he thought was an injury done him:
then I will send, and fetch thee from thence; send messengers to him that should acquaint him with the disposition of his brother towards him, and, if agreeable, bring him along with them to his mother again; this is said to encourage him to go:
why should I be deprived also of you both in one day? who might either in the quarrel kill one another; or however, as one would be murdered, so the other, the murderer, must die by the hand of the civil magistrate, according to the law in Ge 9:6; or should he escape justice being done him by men, yet the hand of God would find him; or if obliged to flee and hide himself, it would be as if he was not.
Genesis 27:46
Ver. 46. And Rebekah said to Isaac,.... Not what she had told Jacob concerning the enmity of Esau to Jacob, and his intention to kill him, lest it should grieve him, and bring his gray hairs with sorrow to the grave; but what follows, as an excuse to get Isaac's leave for Jacob's departure, concealing the true reason of it:
I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; whom Esau had married, Ge 26:34; who were continually vexing and teasing her by their impiety and idolatry, their irreligion and profaneness, their disobedience and contradiction, their froward temper and behaviour;
if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth; as his brother has done, and after his example, as the best are too apt to be led by bad examples:
such as these [which are] of the daughters of the land: like those Esau had married, of the same tribe, or of other of the tribes of the Canaanites, which were in religion and manners like unto them:
what good shall my life do me? I shall have no comfort in it; death would be more eligible than such a life: this she said with great vehemence and affection, to move and work upon Isaac to lay him commands on Jacob, and give him orders and directions to go to her family and friends, and there take him a wife; and the succeeded according to her wishes, as the following chapter shows.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
Genesis 28:1
INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 28
In this chapter an account is given of the charge Isaac gave to Jacob not to marry a Canaanitess, but to go to Padanaram, and take a wife from his mother's family, and of his blessing him before he sent him away, Ge 28:1; of the notice that Esau took of this blessing and charge, which led him to take a wife of the family of Ishmael,
Ge 28:6; of the dream of the ladder, which Jacob had in his way to Haran, Ge 28:10; of the blessing which God conferred upon him there, Ge 28:13; of the awfulness of the place upon his awaking, and of his erecting a pillar in it, and giving a name to it,
Ge 28:16; and of the vow he made to God, should he be supplied with the necessaries of life, and be kept in safety by him,
Ge 28:20.
Ver. 1. And Isaac called Jacob,.... Or therefore {d}, because of what Rebekah had said to him, related in the latter part of the preceding chapter, he sent for Jacob to come to him from his tent or apartment where he was, or from the field where he was keeping the flocks; thus paying a great regard to what his wife Rebekah had suggested to him, and which appeared to him very right and reasonable:
and blessed him; he did not send for him to chide and reprove him for his fraudulent dealings with him to get the blessing from his brother, much less to revoke it, but to confirm it; which was necessary to prevent doubts that might arise in the mind of Jacob about it, and to strengthen him against the temptations of Satan; since he was about to be sent away from his father's house solitary and destitute, to go into another country, where he was to be for awhile in a state of servitude; all which might seem to contradict the blessing and promises he had received, and would be a trial of his faith in them, as well as a chastisement on him for the fraudulent manner in which he obtained them:
and charged him, and said unto him, thou shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; it was time that he was married; for he was now, as the Jewish writers {e} say, seventy seven, years of age, which exactly agrees with what Polyhistor {f}, an Heathen writer, relates from Demetrius, that Jacob was seventy seven years of age when he came to Haran, and also his father Isaac was then one hundred and thirty seven years old; and so it is calculated by the best chronologers, and as he must be, since he was born when his father was sixty years of age, See Gill on "Ge 27:1"; and being now declared the heir of the promised land, it was proper he should marry, but not with any of the Canaanites, who were to be dispossessed of the land of Canaan, and therefore their seed, and Abraham's, to whom it was given, must not be mixed. Isaac takes the same care, and gives the same charge concerning the marriage of his son Jacob, on whom the entail of the land was settled, as his father Abraham did concerning his, Ge 24:3.
{d} arqyw "itaque", V. L. Schmidt, Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "igitur", Drusius. {e} Pirke Eliezer, c. 35. Vid. Seder Olam Rabba, c. 2. p. 4. {f} Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 21. p. 422.
Genesis 28:2
Ver. 2. Arise, go to Padanaram,.... Of this place,
See Gill on "Ge 25:20"; either he is bid to go directly, in haste and alone; perhaps by this time Rebekah had given Isaac some hint of the ill design of Esau against him, which made Isaac the more urgent upon him to be gone, as well as it was high time he had took to himself a wife:
to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; who though now dead in all probability, yet the house and family went by his name:
and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother: who had daughters unmarried, of which no doubt Isaac and Rebekah had knowledge, a correspondence being kept up between the two families, though at a great distance.
Genesis 28:3
Ver. 3. And God Almighty bless thee,.... This is not a new blessing, distinct from that in Ge 28:1, but the same; there it is expressed in general, here the particulars of it are given; and by which it appears, that Isaac's blessing Jacob was a prayer, wishing a blessing from God upon him, and was the prayer of faith, delivered out under the spirit of prophecy; and they are blessed indeed that are blessed of God, and they must needs be blessed who are blessed by the Almighty; for what is it he cannot do or give? The Targum of Jonathan adds,
"with much riches;''
but no doubt all kind of blessings are included, both temporal and spiritual:
and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee; with a numerous offspring:
that thou mayest be a multitude of people; or an "assembly" or "congregation" {g} of them; which may all unite in one body and make one nation, as the twelve tribes descending from Jacob did.
{g} lhql "in Coetum", Pagninus, Montanus, &c.
Genesis 28:4
Ver. 4. And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee,.... Which was promised to Abraham, and was entailed upon Isaac and his seed, and now upon Jacob and his seed, which follows:
that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave to Abraham; the land of Canaan, which was given to Abraham by promise, but not in possession; he was a sojourner and stranger in it, and so Isaac had been all his days, and now Jacob, who through the blessing was become heir of it; but as yet neither he nor his posterity must enjoy it, but be strangers and sojourners in it, for the exercise of faith, and for the leading of their minds off of all earthly enjoyments, to the better and heavenly country God has provided for his people; see Heb 11:9.
Genesis 28:5
Ver. 5. And Isaac sent away Jacob,.... From Beersheba; not in anger, or in a dishonourable way, but took his leave of him no doubt in an affectionate manner; as it is clear he went with his blessing, and had his good wishes for a prosperous journey:
and he went to Padanaram; which from Beersheba, according to some {h}, was four hundred and eighty miles:
unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian; some versions make Laban to be the Syrian, others Bethuel; it is a matter of no great moment which is here so called, since they were both called Syrians, see Ge 25:20:
the brother of Rebekah; this refers to Laban, for Bethuel was her father:
Jacob's and Esau's mother; Jacob is set first, not only as being most beloved by his mother, but as now having the birthright and the blessing.
{h} Bunting's Travels, p. 72.
Genesis 28:6
Ver. 6. And when Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob,.... Had conferred the blessing before given, or had wished him a good journey; which perhaps may be all that Esau understood by it, and so was not so much offended with it:
and sent him away to Padanaram, to take him a wife from thence; which likewise might not be displeasing to him, partly as he understood it to be only on account of taking a wife, and not on account of his ill design upon him, which he might imagine his parents knew nothing of; and partly as he would now be out of the way, and he might find means the easier to ingratiate himself into his father's favour, and get him to revoke the blessing, and settle the inheritance upon him:
and that as he blessed him, he gave him a charge, saying, thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; or of the Canaanites, of any of the tribes or nations that belonged to that people, whether Hittites or others.
Genesis 28:7
Ver. 7. And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother,.... As it became him, and as it becomes all children to be obedient to their parents in all things lawful they command them; and it would have been well if Esau had been obedient to them also in a like case, the case of his marriage:
and was gone to Padanaram; as they had enjoined him, to take a wife from thence.
Genesis 28:8
Ver. 8. And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father. Who he perceived was displeased with the daughters of Canaan, or that they were "evil in [his] eyes" {i}, offensive to him, and disapproved of by him, because of their ill manners: Rebekah is not mentioned, whose displeasure he cared not for.
{i} ynyeb twer "malae in oculis", Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius, Schmidt.
Genesis 28:9
Ver. 9. Then went Esau unto Ishmael,.... Not to Ishmael in person, for he was now dead, Ge 25:17, and had been dead as is reckoned about fourteen years before this, but to the house of Ishmael:
and took unto the wives which he had; the daughters of Heth, and who seem by this to be both alive at this time:
Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son; the same with Bashemath, Ge 36:3; as the Targum of Jonathan expresses it, this person having two names, and is further described,
the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife; who was the eldest son of Ishmael, and, his father being dead, was the principal in the family; and this woman Esau took to wife was his sister by his mother's side, as the above Targum expresses, as well as by his father's; whereas he might have other sisters only by his father's side, he having had more wives than one. This Esau seems to have done in order to curry favour with his father, who was displeased with his other wives, and therefore takes one of his father's brother's daughters; but in this he acted an unwise part, on more accounts than one; partly as it was taking to wife the daughter of one that was cast out of his grandfather's house, and had been a persecutor of his father, and therefore not likely to be agreeable to him; and partly as being a daughter of the bondmaid's son: children born of her could not inherit the land promised to Abraham and Isaac.
Genesis 28:10
Ver. 10. And Jacob went out from Beersheba,.... Where Isaac and Rebekah now lived: from hence he went alone, without any servants to attend him, though perhaps not without letters of recommendation from his parents, testifying their affection to him, and that he came with their knowledge and consent, and was their heir, as Isaac had been to Abraham; nor without provisions, at least not without money to purchase them by the way, as appears by the oil he had, Ge 28:18:
and went toward Haran: for thither he could not get in one day, being many days' journey; See Gill on "Ge 28:5".
Genesis 28:11
Ver. 11. And he lighted upon a certain place,.... Without any design to take up there, but as it were casually to him, though very providentially, after he had travelled forty eight miles; for so far it seems it was from Beersheba to Luz or Bethel {k}, as this place was called:
and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; which hindered his pursuing his journey any further that day, and therefore took a night's lodging here: and he took of the stones of that place; one of the stones that lay there, as Aben Ezra and Ben Melech rightly interpret it, as appears from Ge 28:13; though the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem will have it, that these were four stones that he took, and that by a miracle they became one, and is one of the five miracles they say were done for Jacob on that day:
and put [them for] his pillows, and lay down in that place and slept; being weary with his journey though he had no other bed than the earth, and for his pillow a stone, and for his canopy or curtain the open heaven; a different lodging this from what he had been used to in his father's house, and under the indulgence of his mother; and one would wonder how he could sleep in such circumstances, and that he did not take cold, after such a journey: but it must be considered that it was in a warm climate, and in an age when they did not use themselves to such soft beds as now, and especially that he was under the particular care of divine Providence.
{k} Bunting's Travels, p. 72.
Genesis 28:12
Ver. 12. And he dreamed,.... As he slept; not a common dream, but under divine direction and influence:
and, behold, a ladder set upon the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: denoting either the providence of God, and the various steps of it, bringing about his own glory and the good of his people; and which is steady, firm, and sure, and reaches to all things here on earth; and in an especial manner is concerned about the people of God, their protection and safety; and is directed and governed according to the will, counsels, and purposes of God in heaven; a view of which must be very encouraging to Jacob in his present circumstances: or else the incarnation and mediation of Christ, who in his human nature was to be in the fulness of time on earth, there to live a while, obey, suffer, and die, and so was the ladder set on earth; and his divine nature was the top of it, which reached heaven; here he was in that nature before his incarnation, and from hence he came; and indeed here he was in that when on earth; and as man, he ascended on high when he had done his work, and is now higher than the heavens; he may be fitly represented hereby as the Mediator, who has reconciled things in heaven and things on earth, and has as it were joined and united heaven and earth together: and the various rungs in this ladder, so considered, are Christ's interposition as a surety front eternity; his incarnation in time; his being under the law, and his obedience to it; his sufferings, the shedding of his blood, and the death of the cross; his resurrection from the dead, ascension to heaven, session at the right hand of God, and intercession there. Moreover this may point out to us Christ as the way to his Father, of access unto him, and acceptance with him, by which he communicates the blessings of his grace to men, and by which they ascend to God with their prayers and praises to him: as also as being the way to heaven and eternal happiness; the various steps to which are election in him, redemption by him, regeneration by his Spirit and grace, the several graces of his Spirit, faith, hope, and love, justification by his righteousness, pardon by his blood, adoption through him, and the resurrection of the dead:
and, behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it: which may be expressive of the employment of angels in the affairs of Providence, who receive their commission from heaven, and execute it on earth, in which they are diligent, faithful, and constant; and of the ministry of them, both to Christ personal, and to his church and people, even to every particular believer; see Joh 1:51.
Genesis 28:13
Ver. 13. And behold, the Lord stood above it,.... Ordering, directing, and overruling all things in Providence, for the glory of his name and the good of his people; and may signify, as the ladder may be a figure of Christ, that Jehovah the Father, is above him, as man and Mediator, and makes himself known in and by him, and delivers out all his blessings and promises through him, both temporal and spiritual, and such as follow:
and said, I [am] the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: their covenant God and Father in Christ, who had made promises unto them, and bestowed blessings upon them; and the same was and would continue to be the God of Jacob, which is strongly intimated:
the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; meaning not that small pittance of land only on which his body then lay, and which it covered, but all the land of which it was a part, even the whole land of Canaan; hereby entailing it on him and his seed, and so explaining and confirming the blessing of his father Isaac; and by which it appears, that all that had been done was under a divine direction, and according to the will of God.
Genesis 28:14
Ver. 14. And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth,.... Innumerable, see Ge 13:16;
and thou shalt spread abroad to the west; or "the sea", the Mediterranean sea, which was west of the land of Canaan:
and to the east, and to the north, and to the south; not of the whole world, but of the land of Canaan: the meaning is, that his posterity should be numerous, and break out and spread themselves like a flood of water, and reach to the utmost bounds of the land on all sides:
and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed; that is, in that eminent and principal seed that should spring from him, the Messiah, in whom some of all nations should, as they have been, be blessed with all spiritual blessings, as redemption, peace, pardon, justification, adoption, and eternal life; the same promise had been made to Abraham, was renewed to Isaac, and now confirmed to Jacob, see Ge 22:18.
Genesis 28:15
Ver. 15. And, behold, I [am] with thee,.... Though alone, at a distance from his father's house, no friend to keep him company, or servant to attend him; but the presence of God here promised is abundantly more than an equivalent for all this:
and will keep thee in all [places], whither thou goest; from beasts of prey, in lonesome places through which he might travel; from thieves and robbers, to whom he might be exposed; from his brother Esau, and all his ill designs against him; and from being always under the bondage of Laban, into which he would be brought:
and will bring thee again into this land: the land of Canaan, which was entailed on him and his seed for an inheritance; but, as he would now soon be out of it, and continue in another land for many years, as he did, which would make it look very unpromising that he and his seed should inherit it, this is said unto him:
for I will not leave thee, until I have done [that] which I have spoken to thee of; made good all his promises to him: and the sense is, not that he would then leave him when he had done so, but as not before, so never after; for God never does, nor never will, utterly forsake his people.
Genesis 28:16
Ver. 16. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep,.... Which had been sweet unto him, and out of his dream, it being now over; and it having left such a weight upon his mind, and such an awe upon his spirits, it might tend the sooner to awaken him; what time it was is not said, perhaps it was in the middle of the night or towards morning, since after this it is said that he rose early in the morning:
and he said, surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew [it] not; God is everywhere, in a general way, upholding all things by his power, as he is immense and omnipresent; but here he was in a special sense, by some signal token of his presence; by a stream of light and glory darting from the heavens, hence Onkelos and Jonathan paraphrase it,
"the glory of the Lord, and the glory of the majesty of the Lord;''
and by the appearance of angels, and by the communications of his mind and will, and grace to Jacob, and that communion he had with him in his dream, of which he was very sensible: for, when he says, "I knew it not", the meaning is, he did not think or expect to meet with God in such a place; he did not know that God ever appeared anywhere but in the houses of his people, such as his father's house; and in the congregation of the faithful, or where the saints met for public worship, or where an altar was erected for God: though sometimes God is present with his people, and they are not sensible of it; as the church in Isa 41:10; and as Mary, when Christ was at her elbow, and she knew him not, Joh 20:13.
Genesis 28:17
Ver. 17. And he was afraid,.... Not with a servile but filial fear; not with a fear of the wrath and displeasure of God, but with a fear of his grace and goodness; not with a fear of distrust of it, of which he had just had such a comfortable assurance; but with an awe of the greatness and glory of God, being conscious of his own unworthiness to receive such favours from him;
and said, how dreadful [is] this place! not terrible and horrible, being not like Mount Sinai, but like Sion; not as the suburbs of hell, but as the gate of heaven majestic and venerable, because of the glory of God that appeared in it, whose name is holy and reverend and because of the holy angels here present: and so the church, of which this was an emblem, is a solemn assembly, awful and venerable; a city of solemnities, because of the worship of God in it, and his presence there; who is to be feared in the assembly of his saints, and to be had in reverence of all that are about him; and where persons should behave in a serious and solemn manner. The Targum of Jonathan is,
"how tremendous and praiseworthy is this place! this is not a common place:''
this [is] none other but the house of God; wherefore he afterwards called it Bethel, which signifies the house of God; and so the church of God is often called, Ps 23:6; which is of God's building, where he dwells, and his family is, of which he is the master and governor; which he beautifies and adorns, fills, repairs, and defends:
and this [is] the gate of heaven: Mr. Mede renders it "the court of heaven", because of the angels; since in gates justice was administered by kings, attended with their retinue; but royal courts were not kept there, only courts of judicature: this place seems to be so called, because the heavens were opened and the glory of God was seen, attended by his angels, who were passing and repassing, as people through the streets of a city; and was an emblem of the church of Christ, who is figured by the ladder set on earth, whose top reached to heaven, the door, the gate, the way of ascent to it; here he is preached in the word as the way of salvation, the way to heaven and eternal happiness; here he is held forth in the ordinances; here he grants his presence to his people, and indulges them with communion with him, which makes it like and next to heaven unto them: and, generally speaking, though not always, God brings his people to heaven this way, through a Gospel church state, and by means of the word and ordinances; and here angels also attend, 1Co 11:10.
Genesis 28:18
Ver. 18. And Jacob rose up early in the morning,.... In order to proceed on his journey, being comfortably refreshed both in body and mind: but first he
took the stone that he had put [for] his pillows, and set it up [for] a pillar; not for a statue or an idol to be worshipped, but for a memorial of the mercy and goodness of God unto him, see Jos 4:3; indeed, among the Heathens, stones, even rude and unpolished ones, were worshipped as gods; and this was the ancient custom among the Greeks, and which, as Pausanias {l} says, universally obtained among them:
and poured oil upon the top of it; which he had brought with him for necessary uses in his journey, or fetched from the neighbouring city; the former is most likely: and this he did, that he might know it again when he returned, as Aben Ezra remarks, and not for the consecration of it for religious use; though it is thought, by some learned men {m}, that the Phoenicians worshipped this stone which Jacob anointed; and that from this anointed stone at Bethel came the Boetylia, which were anointed stones consecrated to Saturn and Jupiter, and others, and were worshipped as gods; the original of which Sanchoniatho {n} ascribes to Uranus, who, he says, devised the Boetylia, forming animated stones, which Bochart renders anointed stones; and so Apuleius {o}, Minutius Felix {p}, Arnobius {q}, and others, speak of anointed stones, worshipped as deities; and hence it may be through the early and ancient abuse of such pillars it was, that they were forbidden by the law of Moses, and such as the Heathens had erected were to be pulled down, Le 26:1.
{l} Achaiaca sive, l. 7. p. 441. {m} Bochart. Canaan. l. 2. c. 2. col. 707, 708. Marsham. Chronicon, p. 56. & alii. {n} Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 1. p. 37. {o} Florida, c. 1. {p} Octav. p. 2. {q} Adv. Gentes, l. 1. p. 2.
Genesis 28:19
Ver. 19. And he called the name of that place Bethel,.... The house of God, which he took this place to be:
but the name of that city [was called] Luz at the first; which signifies an almond or hazel nut, Ge 30:37; perhaps from the number of this sort of trees that grew there, under which Jacob might lay himself down, which was probably in the field of Luz; and being at night, he might not know there was a city so near, until the morning. Though Josephus {r} says he did it purposely, out of hatred to the Canaanites, and chose rather to lie under the open air. This was about twelve miles from Jerusalem, as Jerom {s} says.
{r} Antiqu. l. 1. c. 19. sect. 1. {s} De loc. Heb. fol. 89. C.
Genesis 28:20
Ver. 20. And Jacob vowed a vow,.... Which is the first vow we read of in Scripture:
saying, if God will be with me; the word if is not a sign of doubting, but is either an adverb of time, and may be rendered, "when God shall be with me" {t}; or as a supposition, expressive of an inference or conclusion drawn, "seeing God will be with me" {u}; which he had the utmost reason to believe he would, since he had not only promised it, but had so lately granted him his presence in a very singular and remarkable manner, referring to the promise of God, Ge 28:15:
and will keep me in this way that I go; as he had said he would, and as hitherto he had, and for the future he had reason to believe he still would:
and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on; which is included in that clause, "I will not leave thee", &c. Ge 28:15, even not without food and raiment; which is all men can desire or use, and therefore with them should be content.
{t} Ma "quum", Junius & Tremellius; so Ainsworth. {u} Quandoquidem, Tigurine version.
Genesis 28:21
Ver. 21. So that I come again to my father's house in peace,.... In safety from Esau, and all other enemies, as God promised him he should:
then the Lord shall be my God; not as if he should not be his God if he did not do all this for him; which would savour not only of a mercenary spirit, but of great impiety; neither of which were to be found in Jacob: but the meaning is, that he should not only continue to own him as his God, and to worship him, but having fresh obligations upon him, should be stirred up more eagerly and devoutly to serve him in a very singular way and manner, and particularly by doing what is expressed in
Ge 28:22. Some think he has respect to the Messiah, owning him to be the true God with the Father and the blessed Spirit, who had appeared to Abraham, and was the fear of Isaac, and whom Jacob now owned as his God: this receives some confirmation from the Targum of Jonathan, which begins the paragraph thus,
"if the Word of the Lord will be my help, &c. then the Lord shall be my God.''
Genesis 28:22
Ver. 22. And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house,.... Building an altar of it with some others, and sacrificing to God on it; and wherever God is worshipped, that place is his house, be it what or where it will; and Jacob did as he promised to do, see
Ge 35:3:
and of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth unto thee; for the support of his worship; for the maintenance of such that were employed in it; for the provision of sacrifice, and for the relief of the poor, or for any use or service in which God might be glorified: this was imitated by the Heathens in later times, who gave the tenth of their substance to their gods, Jupiter, Hercules, and others {w}.
{w} Herodot. Clio sive, l. 1. c. 89. Varro apud Macrob. Saturnal. l. 3. c. 12. Pompon. Laet. de Sacerdot. Rom. c. 3.