And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these [which are] of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?
46. and ch. Gen 28:1-9. This passage is from P, as is shewn by the characteristic language and phraseology. It supplies a different motive for Jacob’s journey. He is to go to Paddan-aram, Gen 28:2, not to Haran as in Gen 27:43. Jacob’s deception is ignored; his departure is on a journey for a visit, and on a mission for a wife, not in flight from fear of assassination. Esau, in Gen 28:6, makes no reference to the events recorded in chap. 27. The passage interrupts the story of Jacob in J, which is resumed in Gen 28:10; it gives a parallel and distinct treatment of Jacob’s journey into the Aramaean region: it refers back to a previous passage from P, which records how Esau had married two “Hittite” wives (Gen 26:34-35). Rebekah fears Jacob may do the same; Jacob is sent away with Isaac’s blessing (Gen 28:3-4), and without reference to the great deception.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
46. I am weary of my life ] See note on Gen 26:34-35. The “daughters of Heth” clearly mean Esau’s two wives. This passage resumes the P narrative of Gen 26:35.
what good, &c.] Cf. Rebekah’s words, Gen 25:22, “if it be so, wherefore do I live?”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Gen 27:46
I am weary of my life.
–Throughout the whole of mans marvellous pilgrimage on earth, or at least from the time that he became truly intelligent, the same haunting mysteries hover around him; the same unappeasable hunger, the same quenchless thirst, and the same abiding restlessness characterize all human life. One blood circulates throughout the whole family of man. And so, in these words of our text, Rebekah speaks for us all. She anticipates the inquiry of Mr. Mallock. Is life worth living? She discloses a difficulty which we still feel, a difficulty which all the mighty discoveries of modern science are powerless to remove, or even to alieviate. We are still as far as Rebekah was from finding on earth any real and abiding object for our lives. Illusion spreads itself over our whole life. Our present is for ever discrediting our past, to be itself also discredited in its turn. Our different moods of mind have not the smallest faith in each other. Youth finds out the illusions of childhood; manhood finds out those of youth; and old age finds them both out, and too often sheds all further belief or hope, as trees shed their leaves in autumn. It often seems as if nature took a kind of pleasure in deceiving us, or sporting with us. In the realm of nature nothing is, but all things are becoming. Nature is a sort of embodied illusion. She tempts us to take refuge in utter sceptism. We no sooner get accustomed to some of her ways, than forthwith she proceeds to alter them. As soon as we find out one of her illusions, she immediately presents us with another. She makes us laugh and cry almost in the same moment. Nature mocks at the staid seriousness of the human soul. But not in nature is our chief or strongest hope of finding a settled home for our spirits. Man is far dearer to us than nature can ever be. A man would indeed be to us a hiding-place, if only we could find a real and genuine man. Rebekah is not much troubled by the spiteful duplicity of nature, so long as she has the heart of Jacob her son entirely for her own. Sublime and full of prophetic glory are the grand illusions of the human heart. What tender, fervent soul has not at some time thoroughly believed in them? Every deep human affection has its strange mystic transfiguration on the high mountains of exalted nobleness. Earth appears the very vestibule of heaven; and we gratefully exclaim with St. Peter, Lord, it is good for us to be here. Here we seek to make tabernacles, in which to entertain for ever the celestial visitants. But by and by the vision vanishes. The voice of the prophets is heard no more. The sterile bleakness of the mountain discloses itself; and affection such as we had dreamed of appears a romantic impossibility. Down we come from our mountain of transfiguration, to tread with perplexity and weariness the old dusty road that seems to lead to no particular goal. Our silver is become dross, our wine mixed with water. Our sacramental elements are common bread and common wine. Jacob is sent away from his mother; and the very soul of Rebekah becomes inert and objectless. And so we learn how essentially solitary the human soul is here on earth. We learn that no one human being is adequate to the complete and permanent satisfaction of any other human being. We learn that Rebekah was not wise to seek the true centre of her life in the unstable heart of Jacob her son. We learn that souls, like atoms, never really meet or coalesce, that every human spirit is in truth an island surrounded by the dark waters of innavigable seas. It is only on certain rare, sacred days that divine miraculous ships of the Lord affords a means of communication to these lonely islands. We pilgrims must learn to live on such divine mana of human affection as God may send us from day to day. We may not store it up in great strong barns of our own devising; for it will not keep. Earthly friendships are only brooks in the way, of which we may drink freely now and then during our long dusty pilgrimage, and so lift up our heads, and walk with freshened energy towards the far-off land of changeless realities. The friendships of earth are but transient foregleams of deep, unchanging, mystic glories in the world to come. Failing, then, to find an anchor for the soul, or a real centre in the hearts of our brethren, can we find it in work, in some great aim which shall occupy all our energies, and lift us up above the fret and worry and the vain longings of life? Without religion I think that we cannot; and even with this aid we can only do so to a certain extent. The pilgrim must still remain a pilgrim. The simple fact that we ourselves are always changing, always growing, never continuing in one stay, obviously renders it impossible for us to find permanent satisfaction in any one pursuit. Of each successive object of mans devotion and attachment we may truly say, in the sad language of the Psalmist, In the morning it is green, and groweth up; but in the evening it is cut down, dried up, and withered. An ever-tantalizing, ever baffling limitation mars and spoils all human objects of pursuit. We need Gods dew from heaven to revive and water even our fading and languishing ideals. (A. Craufurd, M. A.)
Lessons
1. Good wives are ready in straits to unbosom themselves to good husbands.
2. Good mothers are in great trouble for the good and safety of their children.
3. Gracious women are burdened with the impieties of rebellious and wicked allies in their families.
4. Wicked matches are burdens to the very life of gracious parents.
5. God sometimes makes gracious mothers more solicitous to stir up fathers for right disposing of their children (Gen 27:46). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
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Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 46. I am weary of my life] It is very likely that Rebekah kept many of the circumstances related above from the knowledge of Isaac; but as Jacob could not go to Padan-aram without his knowledge, she appears here quite in her own character, framing an excuse for his departure, and concealing the true cause. Abraham had been solicitous to get a wife for his son Isaac from a branch of his own family; hence she was brought from Syria. She is now afraid, or pretends to be afraid, that her son Jacob will marry among the Hittites, as Esau had done; and therefore makes this to Isaac the ostensible reason why Jacob should immediately go to Padan-aram, that he might get a wife there. Isaac, not knowing the true cause of sending him away, readily falls in with Rebekah’s proposal, and immediately calls Jacob, gives him suitable directions and his blessing, and sends him away. This view of the subject makes all consistent and natural; and we see at once the reason of the abrupt speech contained in this verse, which should be placed at the beginning of the following chapter.
1. IN the preceding notes I have endeavoured to represent things simply as they were. I have not copied the manner of many commentators, who have laboured to vindicate the character of Jacob and his mother in the transactions here recorded. As I fear God, and wish to follow him, I dare not bless what he hath not blessed, nor curse what he hath not cursed. I consider the whole of the conduct both of Rebekah and Jacob in some respects deeply criminal, and in all highly exceptionable. And the impartial relation of the facts contained in this and the xxvth chapter, gives me the fullest evidence of the truth and authenticity of the sacred original. How impartial is the history that God writes! We may see, from several commentators, what man would have done, had he had the same facts to relate. The history given by God details as well the vices as the virtues of those who are its subjects. How widely different from that in the Bible is the biography of the present day! Virtuous acts that were never performed, voluntary privations which were never borne, piety which was never felt, and in a word lives which were never lived, are the principal subjects of our biographical relations. These may be well termed the Lives of the Saints, for to these are attributed all the virtues which can adorn the human character, with scarcely a failing or a blemish; while on the other hand, those in general mentioned in the sacred writings stand marked with deep shades. What is the inference which a reflecting mind, acquainted with human nature, draws from a comparison of the biography of the Scriptures with that of uninspired writers? The inference is this – the Scripture history is natural, is probable, bears all the characteristics of veracity, narrates circumstances which seem to make against its own honour, yet dwells on them, and often seeks occasion to REPEAT them. It is true! infallibly true! In this conclusion common sense, reason, and criticism join. On the other hand, of biography in general we must say that it is often unnatural, improbable; is destitute of many of the essential characteristics of truth; studiously avoids mentioning those circumstances which are dishonourable to its subject; ardently endeavours either to cast those which it cannot wholly hide into deep shades, or sublime them into virtues. This is notorious, and we need not go far for numerous examples. From these facts a reflecting mind will draw this general conclusion – an impartial history, in every respect true, can be expected only from God himself.
2. These should be only preliminary observations to an extended examination of the characters and conduct of Rebekah and her two sons; but this in detail would be an ungracious task, and I wish only to draw the reader’s attention to what may, under the blessing of God, promote his moral good. No pious man can read the chapter before him without emotions of grief and pain. A mother teaches her favourite son to cheat and defraud his brother, deceive his father, and tell the most execrable lies! And God, the just, the impartial God relates all the circumstances in the most ample and minute detail! I have already hinted that this is a strong proof of the authenticity of the sacred book. Had the Bible been the work of an impostor, a single trait of this history had never appeared. God, it is true, had purposed that the elder should serve the younger; but never designed that the supremacy should be brought about in this way. Had Jacob’s unprincipled mother left the matter in the bands of God’s providence, her favourite son would have had the precedency in such a way as would not only have manifested the justice and holiness of God, but would have been both honourable and lasting to HIMSELF. He got the birthright, and he got the blessing; and how little benefit did he personally derive from either! What was his life from this time till his return from Padan-aram? A mere tissue of vexations, disappointments, and calamities. Men may endeavour to palliate the iniquity of these transactions; but this must proceed either from weakness or mistaken zeal. God has sufficiently marked the whole with his disapprobation.
3. The enmity which Esau felt against his brother Jacob seems to have been transmitted to all his posterity; and doubtless the matters of the birthright and the blessing were the grounds on which that perpetual enmity was kept up between the descendants of both families, the Edomites and the Israelites. So unfortunate is an ancient family grudge, founded on the opinion that an injury has been done by one of the branches of the family, in a period no matter how remote, provided its operation still continues, and certain secular privations to one side be the result. How possible it is to keep feuds of this kind alive to any assignable period, the state of a neighbouring island sufficiently proves; and on the subject in question, the bloody contentions of the two houses of YORK and LANCASTER in this nation are no contemptible comment. The facts, however, relative to this point, may be summed up in a few words. 1. The descendants of Jacob were peculiarly favoured by God. 2. They generally had the dominion, and were ever reputed superior in every respect to the Edomites. 3. The Edomites were generally tributary to the Israelites. 4. They often revolted, and sometimes succeeded so far in their revolts as to become an independent people. 5. The Jews were never subjected to the Edomites. 6. As in the case between Esau and Jacob, who after long enmity were reconciled, so were the Edomites and the Jews, and at length they became one people. 7. The Edomites, as a nation, are now totally extinct; and the Jews still continue as a distinct people from all the inhabitants of the earth! So exactly have all the words of God, which he has spoken by his prophets, been fulfilled!
4. On the blessings pronounced on Jacob and Esau, these questions may naturally be asked. 1. Was there any thing in these blessings of such a spiritual nature as to affect the eternal interests of either? Certainly there was not, at least as far as might absolutely involve the salvation of the one, or the perdition of the other 2. Was not the blessing pronounced on Esau as good as that pronounced on Jacob, the mere temporary lordship, and being the progenitor of the Messiah, excepted? So it evidently appears. 3. If the blessings had referred to their eternal states, had not Esau as fair a prospect for endless glory as his unfeeling brother? Justice and mercy both say – Yes. The truth is, it was their posterity, and not themselves, that were the objects of these blessings. Jacob, personally, gained no benefit; Esau, personally, sustained no loss.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The daughters of Heth, Esaus wives, who were Hittites, Gen 26:34. Therefore let us, after the example of Abraham, send him to fetch a wife from his own kindred. This indeed was one reason, but the other she conceals from Isaac; thus prudently alleging several reasons, one to Jacob, and another, as it is probable, to Esau, and each most suitable to the person to whom she speaks.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
46. Rebekah said to IsaacAnotherpretext Rebekah’s cunning had to devise to obtain her husband’sconsent to Jacob’s journey to Mesopotamia; and she succeeded bytouching the aged patriarch in a tender point, afflicting to hispious heartthe proper marriage of their younger son.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
46. And Rebekah said to Isaac. When Jacob might have fled secretly, his mother, nevertheless, obtains leave for his departure from his father; for so a well-ordered domestic government and discipline required. In giving another cause than the true one to her husband, she may be excused from the charge of falsehood; inasmuch as she neither said the whole truth nor left the whole unsaid. No doubt, she truly affirms that she was tormented, even to weariness of life, on account of her Hittite daughters-in-law: but she prudently conceals the more inward evil, lest she should inflict a mortal wound on her husband: and also, lest she should the more influence the rage of Esau; for the wicked, often, when their crime is detected, are the more carried away with desperation. Now, although in consequence of the evil manners of her daughters-in-law, affinity with the whole race became hateful to Rebekah, yet in this again the wonderful providence of God is conspicuous, that Jacob neither blended, nor entangled himself, with the future enemies of the Church.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(46) Rebekah said to Isaac.With this begins a new act. In the previous five verses we had the general results of Rebekahs guile: we have now the special consequence of Jacobs departure for Haran. Upon Rebekahs communication to Isaac follows his decision in the next chapter. In the Hebrew there is no break from the beginning of Genesis 27 to the end of Gen. 27:9 of Genesis 28.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
46. Rebekah said to Isaac Her words show the emotionality of her temperament, (comp . Gen 25:22,) and also the artfulness and tact by which she brings her husband to further the plans and desires of her heart .
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
JACOB ( Gen 27:46 to Gen 37:2 a)
Jacob Flees to Haran to Find a Wife of His Own Kin And Remains There Over Twenty Years Establishing His Own Sub-Tribe Before Returning Home (Gen 27:46 to Gen 37:2 a).
Jacob’s Departure ( Gen 27:46 to Gen 28:9 )
Gen 27:46
‘And Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth such as these, of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do to me?” ’
It was always the intention of Isaac and herself to obtain a wife for Jacob from their kinsfolk. The way in which this is the constant aim of the family demonstrates a sense in which they felt themselves to be exclusive. They were like royalty in past days, but even more exclusive.
The purpose behind this was presumably the maintenance of the exclusiveness of the family tribe itself, and of its leadership within the tribe. To marry outside the family would be to introduce foreign elements. Canaanite daughters would introduce religious practises that were seen as evil, for Canaanite religion was debased. To marry within the commonality of their own tribe could damage the recognition of their own patriarchal status in the eyes of the tribe.
There is a lesson for all Christians here to ensure that they marry those who will deepen rather than challenge their faith. Marrying a non-believer is condemned in Scripture (2Co 6:14).
There had been no hurry in bringing this about, but events have now precipitated matters. For his own safety from a revengeful brother Jacob must be got to a place of safety. Yet Isaac must be kept unawares of the strains within the family, and Rebekah knew that he would probably dismiss the threat to Jacob out of hand. He would say he should be able to stand up for himself. And he certainly would not like the suggestion that they were all waiting for him to die (Gen 27:41). So she goes to Isaac with the suggestion that now is the time to consider a wife for Isaac. However, like any wise diplomat she wants him to think that the suggestion is his.
So she satisfies herself with telling him how distressed she is to think of Jacob marrying a Canaanite woman. ‘Such as these’ may even suggest that some have been showing interest in Jacob and have been visiting the tribe. And her plan succeeds. She knew she had only to plant the seed and he would act on it.
But she had no conception of the fact that Jacob would be away for so long.
Thus Gen 27:46 is the opening introduction to the new covenant narrative which continues in Genesis 28. But it is also important as a connecting link. The compiler clearly wanted it to be seen as connecting directly with the previous narrative. Yet it is equally the commencement of the following narrative.
Jacob Seeks a Wife in Haran and Marries Leah and Rachel ( Gen 27:46 to Gen 30:24 )
This covenant narrative is based around Yahweh’s covenant with Jacob in Gen 28:13-15. He obtains wives and is abundantly fruitful, bearing many children. The initial covenant record was possibly Gen 28:1-22 recorded by Jacob as solemn evidence of Yahweh’s covenant with him. The second, which records the fulfilment of the promise of fruitfulness, may have been added subsequently as a postscript, or may have been a separate record resulting from the vivid awareness by his wives of Yahweh’s intervention in the birth of their children.
Gen 28:1-2
‘And Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him and said to him, “You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Paddan-Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father, and take for yourself a wife from there from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.” ’
Having been prompted by Rebekah’s words Isaac, unaware of the undercurrents around him, calls for Jacob and sends him to his wife’s family, the family of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, to find a suitable wife. The fact that he knows that Laban has daughters serves to demonstrate that the families kept in touch. (Compare for the detail Gen 25:20).
But noteworthy is the fact that in contrast to the servant who went to Paddan-aram for Rebekah on Isaac’s behalf Jacob bears no expensive wedding gifts. Isaac is clearly not pleased with him. He must make his own way. Alternately it may be that the family tribe was going through hard times and such gifts were not possible. In those days catastrophe, disease and human enemies could soon devastate the fortunes of wealthy semi-nomads as Job 1 demonstrates.
Gen 28:3-4
“And God Almighty (El Shaddai) bless you and make you fruitful, and multiply you that you may be a company of peoples. And give you the blessing of Abraham to you, and to your seed with you, that you may inherit the land of your sojournings, which God gave to Abraham.”
This charge now recognises that Jacob is to receive authority over the family tribe after Isaac has gone, not only the immediate tribe but over the wider family (‘the company of peoples’), and has become the recipient of the blessings of the covenant. The mention of El Shaddai (the Almighty God) as in Genesis 17, where the ‘multitude of nations’ is also mentioned, links it with the wider covenant given there. Compare also Gen 35:11 where God reveals Himself to Jacob as El Shaddai and ‘a company of nations’ is mentioned. The term El Shaddai is thus used when ‘many nations’ are in view in contrast with the more personal name of Yahweh which is more closely connected with the national covenant. Yahweh is the name of God, but He is given many titles in relation to His activities.
Jacob is to become a company of peoples, and is to receive the blessing of Abraham, which includes inheritance of the land in which they at present ‘sojourn’ (that is, live without a settled place to call their own). This anticipates the fact that future Israel will be made up of many nations. We can consider the mixed multitude who united with Israel at the Exo 12:38 and the nations later conquered and absorbed through history.
Gen 28:5
‘And Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.’
The continual emphasis of the detail confirms the importance put on the family connection. The repetition is typical of Ancient Near Eastern literature.
Gen 28:6-7
‘Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take for himself a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge saying, “You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan, and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother and was gone to Paddan-aram.’
Up to this point Esau had not considered the question of the provenance of his wives. He appears to have acted independently in his marriages and with little thought to the covenant community. Now the actions of Isaac bring him up short.
The writer is deliberately bringing out the contrast to establish the worthiness of Jacob to take over his father’s position. Jacob does that which is right by the family and the covenant, Esau did not. It is to Jacob, by his actions, that the inheritance truly belongs. With all his failings Jacob was true to the covenant.
“That Jacob obeyed his father and his mother.” The writer lays great stress on Jacob’s obedience in the marriage field. It demonstrates what a central feature it was in his thoughts. He sees Esau’s failure in this a crucial factor.
Gen 28:8-9
‘And Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please Isaac, his father, and Esau went to Ishmael, and added to the wives that he had Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.’
This verse demonstrates the close connection kept with the wider family. Esau is welcomed by Ishmael’s family as a suitable husband for their daughter, and clearly knows fairly quickly where to find them in order to pursue his suit.
Esau’s love for his father constantly comes over. He desires to please him and the feeling is reciprocated. Yet he did so in independence and not like Jacob in filial obedience. Here he seeks to remedy, rather belatedly, his error in marrying Canaanite women. This brings out how independently he had acted when he married the latter. But even here he acts independently.
This union explains why we next see Esau as leader of a band of men in Seir. He has found the independent lifestyle of the Ishmaelites to his liking. And he is aware that he has no future with the family tribe, thus fulfilling Isaac’s words (Gen 27:40).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Gen 27:46. I am weary, &c. See notes on ch. Gen 26:34, &c. The writers of the Universal History remark, that whosoever narrowly observes Jacob’s life, after he had obtained his father’s blessing, will own, that it consisted in nothing less than in worldly felicity, of which he enjoyed as little perhaps as any man whatever. Forced from his home into a far country, for fear of his brother; deceived and oppressed by his own uncle, and forced to fly from him after a servitude of twenty-one years; in imminent danger either of being pursued and brought back by Laban, or murdered by an enraged brother: these fears are no sooner over, but the baseness of his eldest son in defiling his couch; the treachery and cruelty of the two next to the Shechemites; and, lastly, the loss of his beloved wife, and supposed untimely end of his son Joseph: all these overwhelmed him with fresh successions of grief; and, to complete all, his being forced by famine to descend into AEgypt, and to die in a strange land; these, and many more, are sufficient proofs that his father’s blessing was of a quite different nature, and consisted chiefly in these two particulars; viz. the possession of the land of Canaan, in right of primogeniture, which his brother had sold him, and which rather belonged to his posterity than to himself; the other and more glorious one was, that of the Messiah’s being born of his race, and not of that of Esau.
REFLECTIONS.Observe, 1. The natural effects of disappointed pride appear in Esau’s hatred and revenge. Though loth to grieve his aged father, and draw down his curse, he however thinks he has not long to wait, and then Jacob shall pay dearly for his cunning. Note; (1.) He is not the last wicked son, who is pleased with the hopes of his father’s death. (2.) Marvel not, if brother rise against brother, when religion is concerned: it was so from the beginning.
2. Rebekah resolves to disappoint his purposes. She admonishes Jacob of his danger, and advises him to give way by yielding and absence. Note; Distance of time and place wears off, or weakens the impressions of resentment. She justly fears lest she should be deprived of both sons at once, by the murder of one and the execution of the other. The thought of a son a murderer must needs be shocking to every parent.
3. She conceals from Isaac Esau’s purpose, but finds a very urgent reason for his consent to her design, by pleading the danger of Jacob’s marrying a Canaanite, and that such a step would make her life miserable. Note; (1.) Parents are greatly interested in the settlement of their children. (2.) Where one child hath settled wrong, they should be doubly careful of those who remain.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
In this expression of Rebekah’s, was there not a believing reference to the promised seed?
REFLECTIONS
How sweet and precious is it, to behold dying believers anxious to give their last testimony, to the faith of Jesus! Though the pious parents of the present age, have not, like the Patriarchs, a prophetical benediction respecting the coming Saviour to give their children; yet have they a parental blessing at parting to deliver. And oh! how precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints, when life is closed with such an honourable testimony.
But ought not the improper, and frequently ill-bestowed, affection of parents, in the partiality among their children, to learn from this example of Isaac, how sinful it becomes in the divine eye? Reader! let us pray for grace, that nothing short of the covenant blessing, may satisfy the desires of our souls. The Lord put away far from us that awful spirit of a carnal state, which, like Esau, makes light of the covenant mercies of God in Christ Jesus, and finds, like him, no place for repentance, though it be sought even with tears.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 27:46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these [which are] of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?
Ver. 46. I am weary of my life, &c. ] A wise woman, saith an interpreter, not willing to grieve her husband, she conceals from him Esau’s malicious hatred of Jacob, and pretends another cause of sending him away, to take him a fit wife. Let women learn not to exasperate their husbands with quick words or froward deeds; but study their quiet. Livia, wife to Augustus, a being asked how she could so absolutely rule her husband, answered, By not prying into his actions, and dissembling his affections, &c.
a Dio in Aug.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Gen 27:46
46Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am tired of living because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”
Gen 27:46 Again, we see the subtlety of Rebekah. She uses a supposed excuse for sending Jacob away, while not mentioning her weariness of life (BDB 880 I) to Esau. Apparently, her reason was valid because Isaac honors it (cf. Gen 28:1-2). We have a reference in Gen 26:34-35 that Esau had married two of the Canaanite (Heth, BDB 366, cf. Gen 23:3; Gen 23:10; see Special Topic: Pre-Israelite Inhabitants of Palestine ) women.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
1. Who does this chapter seem to identify as having impure motives and techniques?
2. How is Gen 25:23 related to this chapter?
3. What does the patriarchal blessing involve?
4. Why does Rebekah want her son to marry a relative?
daughters of Heth. Refers to Esau’s wives. Gen 26:34, Gen 26:35.
what good. Figure of speech Erotesis, and Figure of speech Aposiopesis, App-6, Literally “Wherefore to me life? “Eng. Idiom, “What good would my life be to me? “
Jacob Sent Away from Home
Gen 27:46; Gen 28:1-9
Esau deferred the execution of his murderous purpose, because of the near approach, as he supposed, of his fathers death. But Isaac lived for forty years after this. His secret purpose, however, became known to Rebekah. See Pro 29:11. The ostensible reason for Jacobs expatriation which Rebekah gave her husband was not the real one. He was sent to Haran, not primarily for a wife, but to escape his brother. Does not this constant duplicity explain the reason of Rebekahs heart-weariness? It seems probable that she never saw her favorite son again. The benediction already pronounced on Jacob was repeated with greater amplitude and tenderness as he left his fathers tent. Sad as he was in the inevitable wrench, the star of hope shone in the sky, beckoning him onward. It was necessary that he should be taken from under his mothers influence into that greater world, where, through pain and disappointment, he should become a prince with God. Often our nest is broken up that we may learn to fly.
life Gen 26:34; Gen 26:35.
Heth was ancestor of the Hittites.
I am: Num 11:15, 1Ki 19:4, Job 3:20-22, Job 7:16, Job 14:13, Jon 4:3, Jon 4:9
because: Gen 26:34, Gen 26:35, Gen 28:8, Gen 34:1, Gen 34:2
if Jacob: Gen 24:3
Reciprocal: Gen 6:2 – and they Gen 21:21 – a wife Gen 23:3 – Heth Gen 24:37 – And my Gen 28:1 – Thou shalt Gen 34:9 – General Gen 36:2 – Esau Num 12:1 – married 1Ch 1:13 – Heth Isa 15:4 – his Jer 4:31 – for my Mal 2:15 – That he
Gen 27:46. If Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth As Esau has done. More artifice still. This was not the thing she was afraid of. But if we use guile once, we shall be very ready to use it again. It should be carefully observed, that, although a blessing came on Jacobs posterity by his vile lying and dissimulation, yet it brought heavy affliction upon himself, and that for a long term of years. So severely did God punish him personally, for doing evil that good might come.
Gen 27:46 to Gen 28:9. Jacob is Sent from Home to Marry into his Mothers Family.The reader may readily suppose that Rebekah uses the unfortunate marriage of Esau as a pretext to hide her real reason for sending Jacob away, which was to baulk Esau of his revenge. But this section comes from P and links on to Gen 26:34 f. Intermarriage with Canaanites was contrary to the ideals of Judaism; Edom may do such things, but not Israel. When Esau learnt that his father was not pleased with his wives, and in sending Jacob to Laban had given him the blessing of Abraham, he married the daughter of Ishmael, his cousin, though not so pure in breed as his own family, since her grandmother was Egyptian. It is noteworthy that if Genesis is a unity, Jacob is sent off to marry at the age of seventy-seven, when Rebekah had put up with her unwelcome daughters-in-law thirty-seven years. He is eighty-four when he actually marries! The documentary analysis saves us from such absurdities.
27:46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the {o} daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these [which are] of the daughters of the land, {p} what good shall my life do me?
(o) Who were Esau’s wives.
(p) By this she persuaded Isaac to agree to Jacob’s leaving.
Rebekah used her dislike for Esau’s wives as an excuse to gain Isaac’s permission for Jacob to go to Paddan-aram. Paddan-aram was the area around Haran. [Note: See the map "Abraham’s Travels Outside the Promised Land" under my comments on 11:27-32 for its location.] Evidently Rebekah had kept Esau’s hatred for Jacob from his aged father because she believed Isaac was near death (Gen 27:41). Rebekah’s deceit secured the blessing for Jacob, but it resulted in his having to flee from his home. As far as Genesis records, Rebekah never saw him again.
". . . her broaching the subject of Jacob’s marriage was a masterstroke: it played equally on Isaac’s self-interest and his principles. The prospect of a third Hittite daughter-in-law and a distracted wife would have unmanned even an Abraham." [Note: Kidner, p. 157.]
"Rebekah’s manipulative language to spare Jacob again displays the poverty of Isaac and Rebekah’s relationship. As demonstrated by the previous deception, Isaac and Rebekah do not seem able to communicate honestly with one another on important spiritual matters." [Note: Waltke, Genesis, p. 382.]
Isaac evidently realized that his desire to give the blessing to Esau was not God’s will, so having given it to Jacob (Gen 27:27-29) he blessed him further (Gen 28:1-4). [Note: Concerning Isaac’s desire that Jacob marry someone from outside the Promised Land, see the note at 24:3-4.]
This account is another remarkable demonstration of God’s ability to use the sins of men and women to accomplish His purposes and at the same time punish the sinners for their sins.
"What man intends for evil God utilizes for good." [Note: Davis, p. 238. Cf. Romans 8:28.]
Many years later the aged Jacob blessed Joseph’s younger son Ephraim rather than his older brother Manasseh (Gen 48:14-19). He must have remembered how he had deceived his father Isaac to get his blessing. Joseph’s approach to Jacob on that occasion was honorable by contrast, and his life was free of the consequences of deceit. This was not true of Jacob’s life.
Jacob reaped what he sowed (Gal 6:7). Laban later deceived him, and later still his own sons (in the case of the sale of Joseph) did so even more cruelly than he deceived Isaac. [Note: For some helpful insights into Jacob’s character, see R. Paul Stevens, "Family Feud," His 42:3 (December 1981):18-20.]
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)