The Generations of Yitschaq (Part Three)

Man, it’s been a while. Trudging through the Generations of Yitschaq…

Genesis 27:1 – Yitschaq was old, and his eyesight dimmed. He called for Esaw, his older son. “My son,” he said to him. “Here I am,” Esaw said.

Or, more literally – BEHOLD ME.

Genesis 27:2: – “Look at me. I am old, and I do not know the day of my death.”

I am old, Gandalf. I don’t look it, but I am beginning to feel it in my heart of hearts. Well-preserved indeed! Why, I feel all thin, sort of stretched, if you know what I mean: like butter that has been scraped over too much bread.

Genesis 27:3 – “Now, grab your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out into the field. Hunt some game for me.”

Kheleykha is literally more like “articles, utensils” etc. Since it’s in the context of his bow and quiver, I’ve gone with “weapons.”

Genesis 27:4 – “Make me some of the delicious food that I love. Bring it to me and I will eat it, so that my soul can bless you before I die.”

Always again, that word nefesh, “life/soul/spirit” (here as nafshiy, “my life”). As with a lot of words, mainly because I work on this project so infrequently, I vary my translations. I’ve gone with “soul” here simply because I like it better.

Genesis 27:5 – Rivqah heard what Yitschaq was saying to his son Esaw. He went out to the field to hunt game and bring it back.

Genesis 27:6 – “I heard your father speaking to your brother Esaw,” Rivqah said to her son Ya’aqov.

Genesis 27:7 – “He told Esaw to bring him some game and prepare some delicious food, so that he could eat it and bless him in the presence of Yahweh before his death.”

Lots of liberties taken here with how I’m rendering the way Rivqah is recalling what she heard to Ya`aqov. I just like the way this sounds in English.

Genesis 27:8 – “Now, my son, listen to my voice and what I’m commanding you to do.”

Genesis 27:9 – “Go to the flock and bring me two good young female goats. I’ll make the kind of delicious food your father loves.”

Genesis 27:10 – “Then, bring it to your father so that he can eat it and bless you before his death.”

Sneaky, sneaky. I think we can all see how this is shaping up. Esaw already sold his birthright to Ya’aqov, and now Rivqah and Ya’aqov are conspiring to steal his blessing as well.

Genesis 27:11 – “My brother Esaw is a hairy man, but I’m smooth,” Ya’aqov said.

Genesis 27:12 – “What if he touches me? He’ll know that I’m deceiving him, and I’ll bring a curse upon myself instead of a blessing.”

Genesis 27:13 – “Your curse will be upon me, my son,” his mother said to him. “Listen to my voice, go, and bring the goats to me.”

Genesis 27:14 – Ya’aqov left, and he brought the goats to his mother, and she made the delicious food that his father loves.

Genesis 27:15 – Rivqah took Esaw’s best clothing, which were with her in the house, and she clothed Ya’aqov.

Honestly, the “her older son Esaw/her younger son Ya’aqov” stuff gets a little repetitive at times, so I’ve kept some of it out.

Genesis 27:16 – She clothed his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the skin of the young female goats…

Genesis 27:17 – …and she gave him the food and some bread.

Genesis 27:18 – Ya’aqov went to his father. “My father,” he said. “Here I am,” Yitschaq said. “Who are you, my son?”

Genesis 27:19 – “I’m Esaw, your firstborn. I’ve done what you told me to do. Please rise up, sit, and eat, so that your soul may bless me.”

Genesis 27:20 – “How did you find it so quickly, my son?” Yitschaq said. “Your god, Yahweh, gave it to me.”

Genesis 27:21 – “Come here. Let me touch you, my son, to see if you are Esaw or not.”

Genesis 27:22 – Ya’aqov approached his father, and he touched him. “The voice is Ya’aqov’s voice, but the hands are Esaw’s hands,” Yitschaq said.

Genesis 27:23 – He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like his brother Esaw’s hands, so he blessed him.

Genesis 27:24 – “Are you my son, Esaw?” he asked. “I am,” Ya’aqov said.

LIAR!

Genesis 27:25 – “Bring the game to me, so that I can eat it and my soul may bless you.” Ya’aqov brought it to him and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and he drank it.

Genesis 27:26 – “Come here and kiss me, my son,” Yitschaq said.

Genesis 27:27 – Ya’aqov approached him, and Yitschaq kissed him. He smelled his clothing, and he blessed him. “The smell of my son is like the smell of a field that Yahweh has blessed,” he said.

Genesis 27:28 – “May Elohim give you the dew of the skies, the fat of the land, and multitudes of grain and fresh wine.”

Genesis 27:29 – “May people serve you, and may nations bow down to you. May you be master over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. Those who curse you will be cursed, and those who bless you will be blessed.”

Genesis 27:30 – After Yitschaq finished blessing Ya’aqov, Ya’aqov left his father’s presence, and his brother Esaw came back from his hunt.

Genesis 27:31 – He also made delicious food, and he brought it to his father. “May my father rise and eat some of his son’s game, so that your soul may bless me,” Esaw said.

Genesis 27:32 – “Who are you?” Yitschaq said. “I’m your firstborn son, Esaw.”

Genesis 27:33 – Yitschaq began to tremble greatly. “Then who was it who hunted game and brought it to me?” he asked. “I ate it before you came, and I blessed him, and he will be blessed.

Genesis 27:34 – When Esaw heard his father’s words, he cried loudly and bitterly. “Bless me too, my father!” he said.

Genesis 27:35 – “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing,” Yitschaq said.

Genesis 27:36 – “He was truly named Ya’aqov. He has grabbed my heel twice. He took my birthright, and now he has taken my blessing. Have you not set aside a blessing for me?”

Genesis 27:37 – “I’ve made him master over you and all his brothers. I’ve given him slaves, grain, and fresh wine to support him. What, then, can I do for you, my son?”

Genesis 27:38 – “Do you only have one blessing, my father? Bless me, too!” Esaw raised his voice and wept.

Genesis 27:39 – “Your dwelling will be away from the fat of the earth and the dew of the skies,” Yitschaq said.

So, basically the opposite of what Ya’aqov got – rather than live in a fertile, rich land with plenty of rain, Esaw’s people will live a harder life. Much of the land of Edom (the nation descended from Esaw) was mountainous and infertile.

Genesis 27:40 – “You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. When you become restless, you will tear his yoke from your neck.”

Genesis 27:41 – Esaw hated Ya’aqov because of his father’s blessing. “The days of mourning my father are approaching,” he said to himself. “Then, I will slay my brother Ya’aqov.”

Genesis 27:42 – Rivqah leaned what Esaw had said, and she sent for Ya’aqov. “Your brother Esaw is consoling himself by planning to kill you,” she said.

Genesis 27:43 – “Now, my son, listen to my voice. Get up and flee to my brother Lavan in Charan.”

Genesis 27:44 – “Dwell with him for a while until your brother’s fury cools.”

Genesis 27:45 – When that happens and he’s forgotten what you’ve done to him, I’ll send for you and take you from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”

…until Esaw forgets what Ya’aqov has done to him? Whose idea was this, Rivqah?

Genesis 27:46 – “I’m disgusted with my life because of the daughters of Cheth,” Rivqah said to Yitschaq. “If Ya’aqov marries one of the women of this land, then what good is my life to me?”

And a little racism for your stinger.

Full Text

Yitschaq was old, and his eyesight dimmed. He called for Esaw, his older son.

“My son,” he said to him.

“Here I am,” Esaw said.

“Look at me. I am old, and I do not know the day of my death. Now, grab your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out into the field. Hunt some game for me. Make me some of the delicious food that I love. Bring it to me and I will eat it, so that my soul can bless you before I die.”

Rivqah heard what Yitschaq was saying to his son Esaw. He went out to the field to hunt game and bring it back.

“I heard your father speaking to your brother Esaw,” Rivqah said to her son Ya’aqov. “He told Esaw to bring him some game and prepare some delicious food, so that he could eat it and bless him in the presence of Yahweh before his death. Now, my son, listen to my voice and what I’m commanding you to do. Go to the flock and bring me two good, young female goats. I’ll make the kind of delicious food your father loves. Then, bring it to your father so that he can eat it and bless you before his death.”

“My brother Esaw is a hairy man, but I’m smooth,” Ya’aqov said. “What if he touches me? He’ll know that I’m deceiving him, and I’ll bring a curse upon myself instead of a blessing.”

“Your curse will be upon me, my son,” his mother said to him. “Listen to my voice, go, and bring the goats to me.”

Ya’aqov left, and he brought the goats to his mother, and she made the delicious food that his father loves. Rivqah took Esaw’s best clothing, which were with her in the house, and she clothed Ya’aqov. She clothed his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the skin of the young female goats, and she gave him the food and some bread. Ya’aqov went to his father.

“My father,” he said.

“Here I am,” Yitschaq said. “Who are you, my son?”

“I’m Esaw, your firstborn. I’ve done what you told me to do. Please rise up, sit, and eat, so that your soul may bless me.”

“How did you find it so quickly, my son?”

“Your god, Yahweh, gave it to me.”

“Come here. Let me touch you, my son, to see if you are Esaw or not.”

Ya’aqov approached his father, and he touched him.

“The voice is Ya’aqov’s voice, but the hands are Esaw’s hands,” Yitschaq said, but he did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like his brother Esaw’s hands, so he blessed him. “Are you my son, Esaw?”

“I am,” Ya’aqov said.

“Bring the game to me, so that I can eat it and my soul may bless you.”

Ya’aqov brought it to him and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and he drank it.

“Come here and kiss me, my son,” Yitschaq said.

Ya’aqov approached him, and Yitschaq kissed him. He smelled his clothing, and he blessed him.

“The smell of my son is like the smell of a field that Yahweh has blessed,” he said. “May Elohim give you the dew of the skies, the fat of the land, and multitudes of grain and fresh wine. May people serve you, and may nations bow down to you. May you be master over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. Those who curse you will be cursed, and those who bless you will be blessed.”

After Yitschaq finished blessing Ya’aqov, Ya’aqov left his father’s presence, and his brother Esaw came back from his hunt. He also made delicious food, and he brought it to his father.

“May my father rise and eat some of his son’s game, so that your soul may bless me,” Esaw said.

“Who are you?” Yitschaq said.

“I’m your firstborn son, Esaw.”

Yitschaq began to tremble greatly.

“Then who was it who hunted game and brought it to me?” he asked. “I ate it before you came, and I blessed him, and he will be blessed.”

When Esaw heard his father’s words, he cried loudly and bitterly.

“Bless me too, my father!” he said.

“Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing,” Yitschaq said.

“He was truly named Ya’aqov. He has grabbed my heel twice. He took my birthright, and now he has taken my blessing. Have you not set aside a blessing for me?”

“I’ve made him master over you and all his brothers. I’ve given him slaves, grain, and fresh wine to support him. What, then, can I do for you, my son?”

“Do you only have one blessing, my father? Bless me, too!”

Esaw raised his voice and wept.

“Your dwelling will be away from the fat of the earth and the dew of the skies,” Yitschaq said. “You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. When you become restless, you will tear his yoke from your neck.”

Esaw hated Ya’aqov because of his father’s blessing.

“The days of mourning my father are approaching,” he said to himself. “Then, I will slay my brother Ya’aqov.”

Rivqah leaned what Esaw had said, and she sent for Ya’aqov.

“Your brother Esaw is consoling himself by planning to kill you,” she said. Now, my son, listen to my voice. Get up and flee to my brother Lavan in Charan. Dwell with him for a while until your brother’s fury cools. When that happens and he’s forgotten what you’ve done to him, I’ll send for you and take you from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”

“I’m disgusted with my life because of the daughters of Cheth,” Rivqah said to Yitschaq. “If Ya’aqov marries one of the women of this land, then what good is my life to me?”