Jacob and Esau

19 This is the account(A) of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac.

Abraham became the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old(B) when he married Rebekah(C) daughter of Bethuel(D) the Aramean from Paddan Aram[a](E) and sister of Laban(F) the Aramean.(G)

21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless.(H) The Lord answered his prayer,(I) and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.(J)

23 The Lord said to her,

“Two nations(K) are in your womb,
    and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other,
    and the older will serve the younger.(L)

24 When the time came for her to give birth,(M) there were twin boys in her womb.(N) 25 The first to come out was red,(O) and his whole body was like a hairy garment;(P) so they named him Esau.[b](Q) 26 After this, his brother came out,(R) with his hand grasping Esau’s heel;(S) so he was named Jacob.[c](T) Isaac was sixty years old(U) when Rebekah gave birth to them.

27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter,(V) a man of the open country,(W) while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. 28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game,(X) loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.(Y)

29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew,(Z) Esau came in from the open country,(AA) famished. 30 He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew!(AB) I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.[d])(AC)

31 Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.(AD)

32 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”

33 But Jacob said, “Swear(AE) to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright(AF) to Jacob.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew.(AG) He ate and drank, and then got up and left.

So Esau despised his birthright.

Isaac and Abimelek(AH)

26 Now there was a famine in the land(AI)—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines(AJ) in Gerar.(AK) The Lord appeared(AL) to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt;(AM) live in the land where I tell you to live.(AN) Stay in this land for a while,(AO) and I will be with you(AP) and will bless you.(AQ) For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands(AR) and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.(AS) I will make your descendants(AT) as numerous as the stars in the sky(AU) and will give them all these lands,(AV) and through your offspring[e] all nations on earth will be blessed,[f](AW) because Abraham obeyed me(AX) and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees(AY) and my instructions.(AZ) So Isaac stayed in Gerar.(BA)

When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,(BB)” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”

When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelek king of the Philistines(BC) looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. So Abimelek summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?(BD)

Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.”

10 Then Abimelek said, “What is this you have done to us?(BE) One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”

11 So Abimelek gave orders to all the people: “Anyone who harms(BF) this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”(BG)

12 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold,(BH) because the Lord blessed him.(BI) 13 The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.(BJ) 14 He had so many flocks and herds and servants(BK) that the Philistines envied him.(BL) 15 So all the wells(BM) that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up,(BN) filling them with earth.

16 Then Abimelek said to Isaac, “Move away from us;(BO) you have become too powerful for us.(BP)

17 So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar,(BQ) where he settled. 18 Isaac reopened the wells(BR) that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.

19 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. 20 But the herders of Gerar quarreled(BS) with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!”(BT) So he named the well Esek,[g] because they disputed with him. 21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled(BU) over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.[h] 22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth,[i](BV) saying, “Now the Lord has given us room(BW) and we will flourish(BX) in the land.”

23 From there he went up to Beersheba.(BY) 24 That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham.(BZ) Do not be afraid,(CA) for I am with you;(CB) I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants(CC) for the sake of my servant Abraham.”(CD)

25 Isaac built an altar(CE) there and called on the name of the Lord.(CF) There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.(CG)

26 Meanwhile, Abimelek had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces.(CH) 27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?(CI)

28 They answered, “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you;(CJ) so we said, ‘There ought to be a sworn agreement between us’—between us and you. Let us make a treaty(CK) with you 29 that you will do us no harm,(CL) just as we did not harm you but always treated you well and sent you away peacefully. And now you are blessed by the Lord.”(CM)

30 Isaac then made a feast(CN) for them, and they ate and drank. 31 Early the next morning the men swore an oath(CO) to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they went away peacefully.

32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well(CP) they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!” 33 He called it Shibah,[j] and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.[k](CQ)

Jacob Takes Esau’s Blessing

34 When Esau was forty years old,(CR) he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.(CS) 35 They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.(CT)

27 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see,(CU) he called for Esau his older son(CV) and said to him, “My son.”

“Here I am,” he answered.

Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death.(CW) Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country(CX) to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like(CY) and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing(CZ) before I die.”(DA)

Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau left for the open country(DB) to hunt game and bring it back, Rebekah said to her son Jacob,(DC) “Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, ‘Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the Lord before I die.’(DD) Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you:(DE) Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats,(DF) so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it.(DG) 10 Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing(DH) before he dies.”

11 Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man(DI) while I have smooth skin. 12 What if my father touches me?(DJ) I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse(DK) on myself rather than a blessing.”

13 His mother said to him, “My son, let the curse fall on me.(DL) Just do what I say;(DM) go and get them for me.”

14 So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it.(DN) 15 Then Rebekah took the best clothes(DO) of Esau her older son,(DP) which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 16 She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins.(DQ) 17 Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made.

18 He went to his father and said, “My father.”

“Yes, my son,” he answered. “Who is it?”(DR)

19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn.(DS) I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game,(DT) so that you may give me your blessing.”(DU)

20 Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”

“The Lord your God gave me success,(DV)” he replied.

21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you,(DW) my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not.”

22 Jacob went close to his father Isaac,(DX) who touched(DY) him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau;(DZ) so he proceeded to bless him. 24 “Are you really my son Esau?” he asked.

“I am,” he replied.

25 Then he said, “My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing.”(EA)

Jacob brought it to him and he ate; and he brought some wine and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here, my son, and kiss me.”

27 So he went to him and kissed(EB) him(EC). When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes,(ED) he blessed him and said,

“Ah, the smell of my son
    is like the smell of a field
    that the Lord has blessed.(EE)
28 May God give you heaven’s dew(EF)
    and earth’s richness(EG)
    an abundance of grain(EH) and new wine.(EI)
29 May nations serve you
    and peoples bow down to you.(EJ)
Be lord over your brothers,
    and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.(EK)
May those who curse you be cursed
    and those who bless you be blessed.(EL)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 25:20 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
  2. Genesis 25:25 Esau may mean hairy.
  3. Genesis 25:26 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he deceives.
  4. Genesis 25:30 Edom means red.
  5. Genesis 26:4 Or seed
  6. Genesis 26:4 Or and all nations on earth will use the name of your offspring in blessings (see 48:20)
  7. Genesis 26:20 Esek means dispute.
  8. Genesis 26:21 Sitnah means opposition.
  9. Genesis 26:22 Rehoboth means room.
  10. Genesis 26:33 Shibah can mean oath or seven.
  11. Genesis 26:33 Beersheba can mean well of the oath and well of seven.

19 And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begat Isaac:

20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.

21 And Isaac intreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and the Lord was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the Lord.

23 And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.

25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.

26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.

27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.

28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.

29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:

30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.

31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.

32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?

33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

26 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.

And the Lord appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:

Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;

And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:

And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.

And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.

And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife; and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.

10 And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.

11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him.

13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:

14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.

15 For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.

16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.

17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.

19 And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.

20 And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.

21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.

22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

23 And he went up from thence to Beersheba.

24 And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.

25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well.

26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.

27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?

28 And they said, We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;

29 That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the Lord.

30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.

31 And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water.

33 And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.

34 And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:

35 Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

27 And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.

And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:

Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;

And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.

And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.

And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,

Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death.

Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.

Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:

10 And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.

11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:

12 My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.

13 And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.

14 And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved.

15 And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:

16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:

17 And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

18 And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?

19 And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy first born; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.

20 And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the Lord thy God brought it to me.

21 And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.

22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.

23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him.

24 And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.

25 And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine and he drank.

26 And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.

27 And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed:

28 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:

29 Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.