Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget [that] which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?
45. I will send, and fetch thee ] There is no mention of this part of Rebekah’s promise being fulfilled.
be bereaved of you both ] The expression seems to be a reference to the custom of blood-revenge, as in 2Sa 14:7. The life of the murderer would be required by the family. He must either be banished from the family, or judicially put to death. In either case the parents would be “bereaved of both.”
Or, possibly, “you both” refers to Isaac, her husband, and Jacob, her favourite son. On the day of Isaac’s death, Esau intended to slay Jacob.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 45. Why should I be deprived also of you both] If Esau should kill Jacob, then the nearest akin to Jacob, who was by the patriarchial law, Ge 9:6, the avenger of blood, would kill Esau; and both these deaths might possibly take place in the same day. This appears to be the meaning of Rebekah. Those who are ever endeavouring to sanctify the means by the end, are full of perplexity and distress. God will not give his blessing to even a Divine service, if not done in his own way, on principles of truth and righteousness. Rebekah and her son would take the means out of God’s hands; they compassed themselves with their own sparks, and warmed themselves with their own fire; and this had they at the hand of God, they lay down in sorrow. God would have brought about his designs in a way consistent with his own perfections; for he had fully determined that the elder should serve the younger, and that the Messiah should spring not from the family of Esau but from that of Jacob; and needed not the cunning craftiness or deceits of men to accomplish his purposes. Yet in his mercy he overruled all these circumstances, and produced good, where things, if left to their own operations and issues, would have produced nothing but evil. However, after this reprehensible transaction, we hear no more of Rebekah. The Holy Spirit mentions her no more, her burial excepted, Ge 49:31. See Clarke on Ge 35:8.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Of thee by Esaus bloody hands; and of Esau, who was likely to suffer death for his murder, either by the authority of the magistrate, as God commanded, Gen 9:6, or by the hand of God, who ofttimes supplies the magistrates defects in that particular, and in some extraordinary manner executes this vengeance. See Gen 4:11,16; Ac 28:4.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
45. Why should I be deprived of youboth?This refers to the law of Goelism, by which the nearestof kin would be obliged to avenge the death of Jacob upon hisbrother.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
45. Why should I be deprived of you both in one day ? Why does Rebekah fear a double privation? for there was no danger that Jacob, endued with a disposition so mild and placid, should rise up against his brother. We see, therefore, that Rebekah concluded that God would be the avenger of the iniquitous murder. Moreover, although God, for a time, might seem to overlook the deed, and to suspend his judgment, it would yet be necessary for him to withdraw from the parricide. Therefore, by this law of nature, Rebekah declares that she should be entirely bereaved; because she would be compelled to dread and to detest him who survived. But if Rebekah anticipated in her mind what the judgment of God would be, and devoted the murderer to destruction, because she was persuaded that wickedness so great would not be unpunished; much less ought we to close our eyes against the manifest chastisements of God. (52)
(52) The French is more diffuse: “ Tant plus nous faut — il appercevoir les fleaux de Dieu qui sont manifestes, et ne faut point ciller les yeux en ne faisant semblant de les voir.” So much the more ought we to perceive the scourges of God, which are manifest; and we ought not to wink as pretending not to see them. — Fr. Tr.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
PART FORTY
THE STORY OF JACOB; THE JOURNEY TO PADDAN-ARAM
(Gen. 27:46 to Gen. 28:22)
1. The Biblical Account
46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these, of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me? 1 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. 2 Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mothers father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mothers brother. 3 And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a company of peoples; 4 and give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land of thy soojournings, which God gave unto Abraham, 5 And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Paddan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacobs and Esaus mother.
6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; 7 and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Paddan-aram: 8 and Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; 9 and Esau went unto Ishmael, and took, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abrahams son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.
10 And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. 11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he dreamed; and, behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and, behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 13 And, behold, Jehovah stood above it, and said, I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land where on thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14 and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. 16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely Jehovah is in this place; and I knew it not. 17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Beth-el: but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 21 so that 1 come again to my fathers house in peace, and Jehovah will be my God, 22 then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be Gods house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
2. Jacobs Blessing and Departure (Gen. 27:45 to Gen. 28:5). We are told by the critics that we have here two accounts of Jacobs departure differentiated by dissimilar motivations; In one version, the motive is fear of Esaus revenge; in the other, it is Rebeccas aversion to Hittite women and her determination that Jacob shall choose a wife from among her own Aramaean relatives. In their eagerness to find material for separate documents, or evidence of duplicate accounts, the critics seem to be ever ready to sacrifice the force and beauty of the narratives with which they deal. They dissect them to the quick, rending them into feeble or incoherent fragments, or they pare them down by the assumption of doublets to the baldest forms of intelligible statement, and thus strip them of those affecting details, which lend them such a charm, because so true to nature. This involves the absurdity of assuming that two jejune or fragmentary accounts, pieced mechanically together, have produced narratives which are not only consistent and complete, but full of animation and dramatic power. An attempt is made to establish a difference between J and E on one hand, and P on the other, as to the reason why Jacob went to Paddan-Aram. According to the former (Gen. 27:1-45), it is to flee from his brother, whom he has enraged by defrauding him of his fathers blessing. According to the latter (Gen. 26:34-35; Gen. 28:1-9), that he may not marry among the Canaanites, as Esau had done, to the great grief of his parents, but obtain a wife from among his own kindred. P, we are told, knows of no hostility between the brothers. But all this is spoiled by the statement in Gen. 28:7, that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Paddan-Aram. His father sent him to get a wife (Gen. 28:1-9), but his mother to escape Esaus fury (Gen. 27:42-45); and there is no incompatibility between these two objects. In order to gain Isaac over to her plan without acquainting him with Esaus murderous designs, Rebekah simply urges her dissatisfaction with the wives of Esau, and her apprehension that Jacob might contract a similar marriage with someone of the daughters of the land. Isaac had one object in mind, Rebekah another. There is nothing for the critics to do, therefore, but to pronounce the unwelcome words, and his mother, an interpolation. In order to prove their point they must first adjust the text to suit it. But tinkering the text in a single passage will not relieve them in the present instance. The hostility of Esau is embedded in the entire narrative, and cannot be surrendered from it. Why did Jacob go alone and unattended in quest of a wife, without the retinue or the costly presents for his bride, befitting his rank and wealth? When Abraham desired a wife for Isaac he sent a princely embassy to woo Rebekah, and conduct her to her future home. Why was Jacobs suit so differently managed, although Isaac imitated Abraham in everything else? And why did Jacob remain away from his parents and his home, and from the land sacred as the gift of God, for so many long years till his twelve sons were born (Gen. 35:26 P)? This is wholly unaccounted for except by the deadly hostility of Esau (UBG, 330, 331). (It should be recalled that J stands for the Jahvistic Code, E for Elohistic, and P for the Priestly. See my Genesis, I, pp. 4770)
In order to obtain Isaacs consent to the plan, without hurting his feelings by telling him of Esaus murderous intentions, she [Rebekah] spoke to him of her troubles on account of the Hittite wives of Esau, and the weariness of life that she should feel if Jacob also were to marry one of the daughters of the land, and so introduced the idea of sending Jacob to her relations in Mesopotamia, with a view to his marriage there (BCOTP, 280). The true state of Esaus spirit is shown by his resolve to kill his brother as soon as his father should die. To avert the danger, Rebekah sent away Jacob to her family at Haran. Isaac approved the plan, as securing a proper marriage for his son, to whom he repeated the blessing of Abraham, and sent him away to Paddan-aram (Gen. 32:10) (OTH, 96). The first verse of ch. 28 so obviously follows the last verse of ch. 27 that we see no pertinent reason for assuming separate accounts of the motive for Jacobs departure.
Note also the blessing with which Isaac sent Jacob on his way, Gen. 28:1-4. The Jehovah of the blessing is at the same time the God of universal nature, Elohim, who from his general beneficence will bestow the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine, In taking leave of Jacob, Isaac pronounces upon him the blessing of Abraham (Gen. 28:4); he is thus led to borrow the language of that signal revelation to Abraham when Jehovah made himself known as God Almighty (Gen. 17:1), and gave him promises with a special emphasis, which are here repeated. Hence the El Shaddai (Gen. 27:3) and Elohim (Gen. 27:4) (UBG, 332). The blessing to Abraham was that he should teach man the knowledge of the true God which would become a blessing to him. Isaac now blessed Jacob that his seed might be worthy to give such teaching, in the merit of which they would possess the Promised Land (SC, 157). Note the phrase, company of peoples, Gen. 27:3. This would seem to point forward to the tribes that were to spring from the loins of Jacob. By the words of Gen. 27:4, Isaac conveys the most important part of the patriarchal blessing, the part relative to the Messiah, which he had not quite ventured to bestow previously when he still thought he was dealing with Esau. Sobered by the failure of his attempt and made wiser, he freely gives what he fully understands to have been divinely destined for Jacob. The blessing of Abraham is fully as much as was promised to him but no more. Since previously (Gen. 27:27-29) Isaac also had not ventured to bestow the land of promise on the one who presumably was Esau, now he unmistakably bestows it on Jacob, that which is now a land of sojourning where the patriarchs have as yet no permanent possession except a burial place. . . . God gave this land to Abraham, of course, only by promise but none the less actually (EG, 767, 768).
Note well the aftermath of treachery in this case: Rebekah and Jacob never saw each other again. Jacob had lost a mothers love, a fathers love, and a brothers loveall sacrificed to selfish ambition. He was almost like Cainall alone in the world. We may be certain that, our sins, sooner or later, find us out (Num. 32:23).
Review Questions
See Gen. 28:20-22.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
45. Both in one day If Esau slew Jacob, the avenger of blood would speedily arise, (Gen 9:6,) and so both of them would perish as in a day . Or, perhaps, she refers to Isaac and Jacob both dying in a day .
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Poor mistaken mother! These few days proved somewhat more than 20 years.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 27:45 Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget [that] which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?
Ver. 45. And he forget, &c. ] While wrongs are remembered, they are not remitted. He forgives not, that forgets not. When an inconsiderate fellow had stricken Cato in the bath, and afterwards cried him mercy, he replied, I remember not that thou didst strike me. a Our Henry VI is said to have been of that happy memory, that he never forgot anything but injuries. Esau was none such: he was of that sort whom they call , soon angry, but not soon pleased. His anger was like “coals of juniper,” Psa 120:4 which burn extremely, last long (a whole twelve month about, as some write), and though they seem extinct, revive again: –
“ Flamma redardescit, quae modo nullas fuit .” – Ovid.
a Sen., De Ira., lib. i.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
why. ? Figure of speech Erotesis. App-6.
both. Jacob by Esau’s hand, and Esau by the avenger of blood. Gen 9:6.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
then I: Pro 19:21, Lam 3:37, Jam 4:13-15
why: Gen 4:8-16, Gen 9:5, Gen 9:6, 2Sa 14:6, 2Sa 14:7, Act 28:4
Reciprocal: Gen 30:25 – and to
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
27:45 Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget [that] which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be {n} deprived also of you both in one day?
(n) For the wicked son will kill the godly: and the plague of God will later come on the wicked son.