And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, [purposing] to kill thee.
42. the words of Esau ] Esau’s threat in the previous verse was “said in his heart”; but his was not a nature to keep a secret. His intention was soon the subject of talk.
doth comfort himself ] A strange, but expressive phrase, lit. “is comforting himself with regard to thee, in order to kill thee”: as we should say, “hugs himself,” or “takes satisfaction,” in the thought that he will shortly kill thee. The versions LXX “threatens,” Lat. minatur translate erroneously.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 42. Doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee.] mithnachem lecha, which Houbigant renders cogitat super te, he thinks or meditates to kill thee. This sense is natural enough here, but it does not appear to be the meaning of the original; nor does Houbigant himself give it this sense, in his Racines Hebraiques. There is no doubt that Esau, in his hatred to his brother, felt himself pleased with the thought that he should soon have the opportunity of avenging his wrongs.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
42-45. these words of Esau were toldRebekahPoor woman! she now early begins to reap the bitterfruits of her fraudulent device; she is obliged to part with her son,for whom she planned it, never, probably, seeing him again; and hefelt the retributive justice of heaven fall upon him heavily in hisown future family.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
42. And these words of Esau… were told to Rebekah. Moses now makes a transition to a new subject of history, showing how Jacob, as a wanderer from his father’s house, went into Mesopotamia. Without doubt, it was an exceedingly troublesome and severe temptation to the holy matron, to see that, by her own deed, her son was placed in imminent danger of death. But by faith she wrestled to retain the possession of the grace once received. For, if she had been impelled by a merely womanly attachment to her younger son, it certainly would have been her best and shortest method, to cause the birthright to be restored to Esau: for thus the cause of emulation would have been removed; and he who was burning with grief at the loss of his right, would have had his fury appeased. It is therefore an evidence of extraordinary faith, that Rebekah does not come to any agreement, but persuades her son to become a voluntary exile, and chooses rather to be deprived of his presence, than that he should give up the blessing he had once received. The benediction of the father might now seem illusory; so as to make it appear wonderful that so much should be made of it by Rebekah and Jacob: nevertheless, they were so far from repenting of what they had done, that they do not refuse the bitter punishment of exile, if only Jacob may carry with him the benediction uttered by his father. Moreover, we are taught by this example, that we must bear it patiently, if the cross attends the hope of a better life, as its companion; or even if the Lord adopts us into his family, with this condition, that we should wander as pilgrims without any certain dwelling-place in the world. For, on this account, Jacob is thrust out from his paternal home, where he might quietly have passed his life, and is compelled to migrate to a strange land; because the blessing of God is promised unto him. And as he did not attempt to purchase temporal peace with his brother by the loss of the grace received; so must we beware lest any carnal advantage or any allurements of the world should draw us aside from the course of our vocation: let us rather bear with magnanimity losses of all kinds, so that the anchor of our hope nay remain fixed in heaven. When Rebekah says that Esau consoled himself with the thought, that he would slay his brother; the meaning is, that he could not be pacified by any other means, than by this wicked murder
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(42) These words of Esau.Though spoken in his heart, Esau had evidently made no secret of his evil purpose, and Rebekah therefore determines to send Jacob to her fathers house, not merely for safety, but that he might take a wife from among his own kindred. He was now formally acknowledged as the heir of the birthright and of the promises made to Abraham, and must therefore conform to the principle laid down in his own fathers case, and marry into the family of Nahor. She sends, therefore, and calls him to her tent, and takes secret counsel with him; and Jacob consents to take this distant journey. Thus the separation of mother and son, and long and painful travel, are the immediate result of their scheming.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘And the words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah, and she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, “Look, your brother Esau consoles himself about you with the thought of killing you. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice, and arise. Flee to my brother Laban, to Haran. And wait with him a few days until your brother’s hot fury turns away, until your brother’s anger turns from you and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send for you from there. Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?”
When Rebekah realises what Esau intends to do she decides to send Jacob to a place of safety. With her son she is honest. He must flee to her brother in Haran until Esau’s anger has abated. ‘A few days’ is wishful thinking. Even in the best of circumstances it would take quite some time. Haran is not just round the corner. But she is trying to make it sound temporary. Neither she nor Jacob realise that they will never meet again.
The repetition of the phrase, with slight differences, about Esau’s hot fury stresses how great a threat it is. But she is confident that the hot fury that has gripped him will subside, and that eventually even his anger against Jacob will die down and what has happened will be unimportant. She knows her son and knows that both will happen. She knows his heart is on other things. (Repetitions such as we find here, almost word for word, are a constant feature of ancient literature).
“Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?” If Esau murders Jacob then he too will become liable to death for fratricide, especially as Jacob is now the heir apparent. She still has love in her heart for Esau.
However Isaac must be told a different story. No one wants him upset by what is happening and he must not learn of his elder son’s evil intent. It is clear that he is in his dotage and not up with things. He does not realise the storm that is growing around him. So Rebekah takes a different tack with him. She wants the initiative for Jacob’s departure to seem to come from him.
And here we really come to the end of the Isaac stories. All that remains is his sending Jacob to Haran (Gen 28:1), twenty years of silence, and his welcoming back of Jacob at Mamre (Gen 35:27), followed immediately by his death (Gen 35:29).
Thus if we ignore the stories describing his childhood, the seeking of Rebekah and the birth and blessing of his sons, the only account of any length about Isaac is his activity at Gerar and Beersheba. And this out of one hundred and eighty years of life. And why is this? Because there were no covenant records.
Isaac passed a peaceable life, first at Beer-lahai-roi (Gen 25:11), then at Gerar and Beersheba (Genesis 26), and finally at Mamre (Gen 35:27). He experienced few theophanies and made few covenants worth recording. Thus the silence about his life.
This demonstrates that the idea that Genesis contains camp fire stories passed down, with anecdotes about the lives of the patriarchs, just is not true.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Gen 27:42 And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, [purposing] to kill thee.
Ver. 42. And these words of Esau, &c. ] For he could not hold, as Absalom did, who, intending to murder Amnon, spake neither good nor evil to him. These still revenges are most dangerous, as a dog that barks not. That Esau vented himself in words, was a great mercy of God to Jacob. He thought nothing, good man, but followed his calling, not knowing his danger. But his provident mother heard about it, and took course to prevent it. So doth the sweet fatherly providence of God take care and course for the safety of his servants, when they are either ignorant or secure. Masses were said in Rome for the good success of the Powder Plot; but no prayers in England for our deliverance: and yet we were delivered. A sevenfold psalmody they had framed here, which secretly passed from hand to hand, with tunes set, to be sung for the cheering up of their wicked hearts, with an expectation, as they called it, of their day of Jubilee. a The matter consisteth of railing upon King Edward, Queen Elizabeth, and King James; of petition, imprecation, prophecy, and praise. This Psalter is hard to be had: for they are taken up by the Papists as other books are, that discover their shame. But Mendoza, that liar ( conveniunt rebus nomina saepe suis ), sounded the triumph before the victory. That blind letter of theirs brought all to light, by the mere mercy of “the Father of lights,” who was pleased to put a divine sentence into the mouth of the king. Sorex suo perit indicio. Hunc tibi pugionem mittit Senatus, dixit ille: detexit facinus fatuus, et non implevit. So here. See the like, 1Sa 19:2 Act 9:24 ; Act 23:16 .
And she sent and called Jacob.
a Spec. Bell. Sacri.
comfort himself: Gen 37:18-20, Gen 42:21, Gen 42:22, 1Sa 30:5, Job 20:12-14, Psa 64:5, Pro 2:14, Pro 4:16, Pro 4:17
Reciprocal: Gen 33:1 – Esau came Gen 50:15 – their father Eze 25:12 – taking vengeance Eze 35:5 – thou hast had 1Co 1:11 – it hath 2Co 9:1 – touching
27:42 And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, {m} as touching thee, doth comfort himself, [purposing] to kill thee.
(m) He hopes to recover his birthright by killing you.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes