Discovery BoxGenesis 27:27-30 
Context27:27 So Jacob 1 went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent 2 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 sky 4
and the richness 5 of the earth,
and plenty of grain and new wine.
27:29 May peoples serve you
and nations bow down to you.
You will be 6 lord 7 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 left 9 his father’s 10 presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt. 11
Genesis 27:33
Context27:33 Isaac began to shake violently 12 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!”
1 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Heb “see.”
4 tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”
5 tn Heb “and from the fatness.”
6 tn 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.
7 tn 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.”
8 tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
9 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite form of the verb makes the construction emphatic.
10 tn Heb “the presence of Isaac his father.” The repetition of the proper name (“Isaac”) was
11 tn Heb “and Esau his brother came from his hunt.”
12 tn 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.
13 tn 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?”
