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:
15. the goodly raiment ] “Goodly,” lit. “choice,” “desirable.” By this is meant the clothes worn by Esau on festivals and solemn occasions. Their odour was familiar, Gen 27:27. It was the ancient Jewish idea that priestly garments were meant.
with her in the house ] We are to infer from this expression that in this narrative of J (E) there is no knowledge of Esau’s marriage with the Hittite women as recorded by P in Gen 26:34. Esau as a married man would have had a separate establishment. His festal attire would not have been in his mother’s keeping.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 15. Goodly raiment] Mr. Ainsworth has a sensible note on this place. “The priest in the law had holy garments to minister in, Ex 28:2-4, which the Septuagint there and in this place term , THE robe, and , the holy robe. Whether the first-born, before the law, had such to minister in is not certain, but it is probable by this example; for had they been common garments, why did not Esau himself, or his wives, keep them? But being, in all likelihood, holy robes, received from their ancestors, the mother of the family kept them in sweet chests from moths and the like, whereupon it is said, Ge 27:27, Isaac smelled the smell of his garments.” The opinion of Ainsworth is followed by many critics.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Either the sacerdotal garments which the eldest son wore in the administration of that office which belonged to him; or rather some other suit better than ordinary.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
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 “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.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(15) Goodly raiment.It has been supposed that the elder son held a sort of priestly office in the household, and as Isaacs sight was growing dim, that Esau ministered for him at sacrifices. Evidently the clothing was something special, and such as was peculiar to Esau: for ordinary raiment, however handsome, would not have been kept in the mothers tent, but in that of Esau or of one of his wives.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
15. Goodly raiment The costly festive robes of Esau . According to a rabbinical tradition the eldest son, in patriarchal times, had a priestly garment which he always put on when offering sacrifice, and this robe the rabbins suppose to have been the priestly robe .
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
EXPOSITION
Gen 27:15
And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau,literally, the robes of Esau her son the elderthe desirable, i.e. the handsome ones. The was an outer garment worn by the Oriental (Gen 39:12, Gen 39:13, Gen 39:15; Gen 41:42),, LXX.,and was often made of beautiful and costly materials (cf. 1Ki 22:10). That the clothes mentioned as belonging to Esau were sacerdotal robes possessed by him as heir of the patriarchal priesthood (Jewish Rabbis), though regarded by many as a probable conjecture (Ainsworth, Bush, Candlish, Clarke, Wordsworth, ‘Speaker’s Commentary,’ Inglis), is devoid of proof, and may be pronounced unlikely, since the firstborn did not serve in the priesthood while his father lived (Willet, Alford). They were probably festive garments of the princely hunter (Kalisch)which were with her in the house,not because Esau saw that his wives were displeasing to his parents (Mercerus, Willet), or because they were sacred garments (Ainsworth, Poole), but probably because Esau, though married, had not yet quitted the patriarchal household (Kalisch)and put them upon Jacob her younger son. The verb, being in the hiphil, conveys the sense of causing Jacob to clothe himself, which entirely removes the impression that Jacob was a purely involuntary agent in this deceitful and deeply dishonorable affair.
Gen 27:16
And she put the skins of the kids of the goatsnot European, but Oriental camel-goats, whose wool is black, silky, of a much finer texture than that of the former, and sometimes used as a substitute for human hair (cf. So Gen 4:1); vide on this subject Rosenmller’s ‘Scholia,’ and commentaries generallyupon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neckthus cautiously providing against detection, in case, anything occurring to arouse the old man’s suspicions, he should seek, as in reality he did, to test the accuracy of his now dim sight and dull hearing by the sense of touch.
Gen 27:17
And she gave the savory meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacobwho forthwith proceeded on his unholy errand.
Gen 27:18
And he came unto his father,by this time a bed-ridden invalid (vide Gen 27:19)and said, My father. If he attempted to imitate the voice of Esau, he was manifestly unsuccessful; the dull ear of the aged patient was yet acute enough to detect a strangeness in the speaker’s tone. And he said, Here am I who art thou, my son? “He thought be recognized the voice of Jacob; his suspicions were aroused; he knew the crafty disposition of his younger son too well; and he felt the duty of extreme carefulness” (Kalisch).
Gen 27:19
And Jacob (either not observing or not regarding the trepidation which his voice caned, but being well schooled by his crafty mother, and determined to go through with what perhaps he esteemed a perfectly justifiable transaction) said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn. A reply for which laborious excuses have been invented; as that Jacob spoke mystically, meaning not that he individually, but that his descendants, the Church, were Isaac’s firstborn; or figuratively, as importing that since he had already bought Esau’s birthright, he might justly regard himself as standing in Esau’s place (Theodoret, Aquinas). It is better not to attempt vindication of conduct which to ordinary minds must ever appear questionable, but rather to hold that “Jacob told an officious lie to his father” (Willet). I have done according as thou badest me. If the former assertion might be cleared of mendacity, it is difficult to see how this can. By no conceivable sophistry could he convince his conscience that he was acting in obedience to his father, while he was knowingly implementing the instructions of his mother. This was Jacob’s second lie.Arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison. Lie three. One lie commonly requires another to support or conceal it. Few who enter on a course of deception stop at one falsehood. That thy soul may bless me. It was the blessing of the Abrahamic covenant he craved.
Gen 27:20, Gen 27:21
And Isaac (still dissatisfied, but still resolving to proceed with caution) said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? Giving expression to a natural surprise at the speedy success which had attended Esau’s hunting expedition; an interrogation to which Jacob replied With daring boldness (Murphy), with consummate effrontery (Bush), not without perjury (Calvin), and even with reckless blasphemy (Kalisch, Alford). And he said, Because the Lord thy God brought it to me. Literally, caused it to come before me; by the concurrence, of course, of his providence; which, though in one sense true, yet as used by Jacob was an impious falsehood. Solemn as this declaration was, it failed to lull the suspicions or allay the disquiet of the aged invalid. And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son,the very thing which Jacob had suggested as likely to happen (Gen 27:12)whether thou be my very son Esau (literally, this, my son Esau) or not.
Gen 27:22, Gen 27:23
And Jacob (with a boldness worthy of a better cause) went near unto Isaac his father; and he (i.e. Isaac) felt him (i.e. Jacob), and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but (literally, and) the hands are the hands of Esau. And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him. Isaac must either have forgotten the heavenly oracle which announced the destinies of his sons at their birth, and distinctly accorded the precedence to Jacob, or he must not have attached the same importance to it as Rebekah, or he may have thought that it did not affect the transmission of the covenant blessing, or that it did not concern his sons no much as their descendants. It is hard to credit that Isaac either did not believe in the Divine announcement which had indicated Jacob as the heir of the promise, or that, believing it, he deliberately allowed paternal partiality to interfere with, and even endeavor to reverse, the will of Heaven.
Gen 27:24-26
And he said (showing that a feeling of uneasy suspicion yet lingered in his mind), Art thou my very son Esau? Luther wonders how Jacob was able to brazen it out; adding, “I should probably have run away in terror, and let the dish fall;” but, instead of that, he added one more lie to those which had preceded, saying with undisturbed composure, I amequivalent to an English yes; upon which the blind old patriarch requested that the proffered dainties might be set before him. Having partaken of the carefully-disguised kid’s flesh, and drunk an exhilarating cup of wine, he further desired that his favorite son should approach his bed, saying, Come near now, and kiss me, my sona request dictated more by paternal affection (Keil, Kalisch) than by lingering doubt which required reassurance (Lange).
Gen 27:27
And he came near, and kissed him. Originally the act of kissing had a symbolical character. Here it is a sign of affection between a parent and a child; in Gen 29:13 between relatives. It was also a token of friendship (Tobit 7:6; 10:12; 2Sa 20:9; Mat 26:48; Luk 7:45; Luk 15:20; Act 20:37). The kissing of princes was a symbol of homage (1Sa 10:1; Psa 2:12; Xenoph; ‘Cyrop.,’ 7. 5, 32). With the Persians it was a mark of honor (Xenoph; ‘Agesil.,’ 5. 4). The Rabbins permitted only three kinds of kissesthe kiss of reverence, of reception, and of dismissal. The kiss of charity was practiced among disciples in the early Christian Church (Rom 16:16; 1Co 16:20; 2Co 13:12; 1Th 5:26; 1Pe 5:14; vide Kitto’s’ ‘Cyclopedia,’ art. Kissing). And he smelled the smell of his raiment,not deliberately, in order to detect whether they belonged to a shepherd or a huntsman (Tuch), but accidentally while, in the act of kissing. The odor of Esau’s garments, impregnated with the fragrance of the aromatic herbs of Palestine, excited the dull sensibilities of the aged prophet, suggesting to his mind pictures of freshness and fertility, and inspiring him to pour forth his promised benedictionand blessed him (not a second time, the statement in Gen 29:23 being only inserted by anticipation), and said,the blessing, as is usual in elevated prophetic utterances, assumes a poetic and antistrophical form (cf. Esau’s blessing, verses 39, 40)See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a fieldthe first clause of the poetic stanza clearly connects with the odor of Esau’s raiment as that which had opened the fount of prophetic song in Isaac’s breast, so far at least as its peculiar form was concerned; its secret inspiration we know was the Holy Ghost operating through Isaac’s faith in the promise (vide Heb 11:20)which the Lord hath blessed. The introduction of the name Jehovah instead of Elohim in this second clause proves that Isaac did not mean to liken his son to an ordinary well-cultivated field, but to “a field like that of Paradise, resplendent with traces of the Deityan ideal field, bearing the same relation to an ordinary one as Israel did to the heathena kind of enchanted garden, such as would be realized at a later period in Canaan, as far as the fidelity of the people permitted it” (Hengstenberg).
Gen 27:28
Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven,literally, and the Elohim will give thee, with an optative sense; i.e. and may theElohim give thee! The occurrence of in what is usually assigned to the Jehovist (Tuch, Bleek, Davidson) is not to be explained as a special Jehovistic formula (Colenso), or as a remnant of the fundamental Elohistic writing (Kalisch), or as indicating that the personal God, and not Jehovah, the God of the covenant, was the source of the blessing (Keil, Gosman in Lange), or as intimating a remaining doubt as to whether Esau was the chosen one of Jehovah (Lange); but as identifying Jehovah with Elohim, the art. being the art. of reference, as in Gen 22:1. The blessing craved was substantially that of a fertile soil, in Oriental countries the copious dew deposited by the atmosphere supplying the place of rain. Hence dew is employed in Scripture as a symbol of material prosperity (Deu 33:13, Deu 33:28; Zec 8:12), and the absence of dew and rain represented as a signal of Divine displeasure (2Sa 1:21; 1Ki 17:1; Hag 1:10, Hag 1:11)and the fatness of the earth,literally, of the fat-nesses, or choicest parts, of the earth (Gen 45:18)and plenty of corn and winei.e. abundance of the produce of the soil (cf. Deu 33:28).
Gen 27:29
Let people serve thee (literally, and will serve thee, peoples; at once a prayer and a prophecy; fulfilled in the political subjection of the Moabites, Ammonites, Syrians, Philistines, and Edomites by David; the thought being repeated in the next clause), and nations bow down to thee (in expression of their homage): be lord over thy brethren,literally, be a lord (from the idea of power; found only here and in Gen 27:37) to thy brethren. Imminence among his kindred as well as dominion in the world is thus promisedand let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee (a repetition of the preceding thought, with perhaps a hint of his desire to humble Jacob, the favorite of Rebekah): cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth theeframed on the model of the Abrahamic benediction (Gen 12:3); but not so full as that, either because Isaac felt that after all Esau was not to be the progenitor of the holy seed (Murphy), or because, not being actuated by proper feelings towards Jehovah and his promises, the patriarch could not rise to that height of spiritual benediction to which he afterwards attainedGen 28:3, Gen 28:4 (Keil), or because the prerogative of pronouncing the Abrahamic blessing in all its fullness Jehovah may have reserved to himself, as in Gen 28:14 (‘Speaker’s Commentary’).
HOMILETICS
Gen 27:15-29
The stolen blessing: a domestic drama.-2. Isaac and Jacob, or the successful stratagem.
I. JACOB‘S DECEPTION OF ISAAC. Jacob’s impersonation of Esau was
1. Deftly prepared. The ingenious Rebekah, having dressed him in the fragrant festal robes of the princely hunter, covered his smooth skin with the soft, silky hide of the camel-goat, and put into his hand the simulated dainty dish which she had cooked. It is a melancholy thing when either woman’s wit or man’s sagacity is prostituted to unholy ends.
2. Boldly avowed. Entering his father’s tent, and approaching within easy reach of the invalid’s couch, at the same time imitating Esau’s intonations, the heartless impostor calls upon his aged parent to arise and eat of his son’s venison, in response to his father’s inquiry also openly declaring himself to be Esau; in which was a fourfold offenceagainst his venerable father, against his absent brother, against himself, and against God. Never is a lie, and seldom is a sin of any kind, single or simple in its criminality. That scheme cannot be a good one of which the first act is a lie.
3. Persistently maintained. In the face of his father’s searching interrogation, careful examination, and manifest trepidation, Jacob brazens out the imposture he had begun, covering his first falsehood by a second, and his second by a third, in which he Verges on the limits of blasphemy, allowing himself to be handled by his aged parent without betraying by a word or sign the base deception he was practicing, and at length capping his extraordinary wickedness by a solemn asseveration of his identity with Esau that carried with it in the hearing of Isaac much of the impressiveness and weight of an oath,”I am thy very son Esau!” It is amazing to what depths of criminality those may fall who once step aside from the straight paths of virtue.
4. Completely successful. Critical as the ordeal was through which he passed, he was not detected So God sometimes allows wicked schemes to prosper, accomplishing his own designs thereby, though neither approving of the schemes nor holding the schemers guiltless.
II. ISAAC‘S BENEDICTION Or JACOB. The patriarchal blessing which Isaac uttered was
1. Divinely inspired as to its origin. It was not within the power of Isaac to either conceive or express it in any arbitrarily selected moment, or in any particular way or place that he might determine. Least of all was it the production of -Isaac’s ordinary faculties under the physical or mental impulse of delicious viands or paternal affection. It was the outcome of an unseen afflatus of the Divine Spirit upon the venerable patriarch’s soul (Heb 11:20).
2. Providentially directed as to its destination. Intended for the firstborn, it was pronounced upon the younger of his sons. Had Rebekah and Jacob not interposed with their miserable trick, there is reason to suppose that God would have discovered means of defeating the misguided patriarch’s design; perhaps by laying an embargo upon his lips, as he did on Balaam (Num 22:38); perhaps by miraculously guiding his speech, as afterwards he guided Jacob’s hands (Gen 48:14). But nonetheless is the Divine finger discernible in carrying the heavenly blessing to its predestined recipient, that he does not interfere with Rebekah’s craft, but allows it, beneath the guidance of his ordinary providence, to work out its appropriate result.
3. Richly laden as to its contents embraced
(1) Material enrichment, represented by the dew, corn, and wine, which may also be regarded as symbolic of spiritual treasures;
(2) personal advancement in the world and the Church, foreshadowing both the political supremacy and ecclesiastical importance to which Israel should afterwards attain;
(3) spiritual influence, emblematic of the religious priesthood enjoyed first by the Hebrew people as a nation, and latterly by Christ, the true Seed of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob.
4. Absolutely permanent as to its duration. Though Isaac subsequently learnt of the deception which had been practiced towards him, he felt that the words he had spoken were beyond recall This was proof decisive that Isaac spake not of himself, but as he was moved by the Holy Ghost. His own benediction, uttered purely by and from himself, might, and, in the circumstances, probably would, have been revoked; the blessing of Jehovah transmitted through his undesigned act he had no power to cancel.
Learn
1. That those who attempt to deceive others are not infrequently themselves deceived.
2. That those who enter on a sinful course may speedily sink deeper into sin than they intended.
3. That deception practiced by a son against a father, at a mother’s instigation, is a monstrous and unnatural display of wickedness.
4. That God can accomplish his own designs by means of man’s crimes, without either relieving them of guilt or himself being the author of sin.
5. That the blessing of God maketh rich and addeth no sorrow therewith.
6. That the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Gen 27:15. Took goodly raiment of her eldest son, &c. Some critics of very great name, as Bochart, Selden, Grotius, &c. are of opinion, that these were the sacerdotal garments, appropriated to the first-born, which seems very probable; and if so, we have a confirmation of what was suggested on Gen 27:1. The Jews, who generally render the truth itself suspicious by their fabulous additions, pretend that these were the very garments in which Adam, Noah, and Abraham sacrificed and performed religious offices. It, however, certainly deserves observation, that the word rendered goodly, comes from a root chamad, signifying to desire earnestly, to covet, and is applied to all sorts of sacred things, both of the true and false worship, which were to the respective parties eminently the objects of their desire and affections. See the Lexicographers. For the skins of kids, Gen 27:16 it is remarked, that in the eastern countries, goats’ hair very much resembles the human.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Gen 27:15 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:
Ver. 15. And Rebekah took goodly raiment. ] The priestly garments, some think, proper to Esau had he kept his birthright; but kept, not by Esau or his wives, but by the mother of the family. The Hebrew calleth them Vestes desiderabiles, garments of desires; goodly, sweet, precious; yet far inferior to that rich and royal robe of Christ’s righteousness, that garment of our Older Brother, wherewith arrayed we obtain the blessing. We read of Solomen’s bravery; of Herod’s cloth of silver; of Alcisthenes the Sybarite’s cloak, sold to the Carthaginians by Dionysius for one hundred and twenty talents; of Demetrius’s robe of estate, which, for the exceeding costliness of it, no prince that came after him would ever put on. a But all these were but rags to the robe of righteousness, that fine white linen, and shining. Rev 19:14
a Propter invidiosam impendii magnificentiam . – Athenaeus.
goodly. Hebrew desires. Figure of speech Metonymy (of the Adjunct), App-6, put for the things desired or coveted (2Ch 36:10. Isa 64:11. Lam 1:10).
raiment. All raiment in the East to this day marks the social rank and position of the wearer. Among the Bedouins, the chief and his eldest son wear a distinctive garment. This accounts for Jacob’s desire here, and his act with Joseph (Gen 37:3). Being the garment of the firstborn it doubtless denoted also his official and priestly position. Here, Hebrew. beged (compare Exo 28:2, Exo 28:4; Exo 35:19. Lev 10:6; Lev 21:10), used of sacred things. Not the word rendered clothes in Deu 29:5. No wonder Esau is called “profane” when he sold this his birthright (Heb 12:16).
goodly raiment: Heb. desirable, Gen 27:27, The Septuagint translates it “a goodly robe,” which was a long garment that great men used to wear – Luk 20:46, Luk 15:22. The priest afterwards in the law had “holy garments” to minister in – Exo 28:2-4. Whether the first-born before the law had such to minister in is not certain: for, had they been common garments, why did not Esau himself or his wives keep them? But being, in likelihood, holy robes, received from their ancestors, the mother of the family kept them in sweet chests, from moths and the like; whereupon it is said – Gen 27:27,”Isaac smelled the smell of his garments.
Reciprocal: Gen 48:18 – for this 1Ki 20:6 – pleasant Jam 2:2 – goodly
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge