Genesis 27:27-30

27:27 So Jacob¹ went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent² of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,

“Yes,³ my son smells

like the scent of an open field

which the Lord has blessed.

27:28 May God give you

the dew of the sky⁴

and the richness⁵ of the earth,

and plenty of grain and new wine.

27:29 May peoples serve you

and nations bow down to you.

You will be⁶ lord⁷ over your brothers,

and the sons of your mother will bow down to you.⁸

May those who curse you be cursed,

and those who bless you be blessed.”

27:30 Isaac had just finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left⁹ his father’s¹⁰ presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt.¹¹

Genesis 27:33

27:33 Isaac began to shake violently¹² and asked, “Then who else hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it just before you arrived, and I blessed him.¹³ He will indeed be blessed!”

¹tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³tn Heb “see.”

⁴tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”

⁵tn Heb “and from the fatness.”

⁶tn Heb “and be.” The verb is an imperative, which is used rhetorically in this oracle of blessing. It is an invitation to exercise authority his brothers and indicates that he is granted such authority by the patriarch of the family. Furthermore, the blessing enables the recipient to accomplish this.

⁷tn The Hebrew word is גְבִיר (gevir, “lord, mighty one”). The one being blessed will be stronger and therefore more powerful than his brother. See Gen 25:23. The feminine form of this rare noun means “mistress” or “queen-mother.”

⁸tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

⁹tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite form of the verb makes the construction emphatic.

¹⁰tn Heb “the presence of Isaac his father.” The repetition of the proper name (“Isaac”) was

¹¹tn Heb “and Esau his brother came from his hunt.”

¹²tn Heb “and Isaac trembled with a great trembling to excess.” The verb “trembled” is joined with a cognate accusative, which is modified by an adjective “great,” and a prepositional phrase “to excess.” All of this is emphatic, showing the violence of Isaac’s reaction to the news.

¹³tn Heb “Who then is he who hunted game and brought [it] to me so that I ate from all before you arrived and blessed him?”