Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
Jacob by deceit snatches his father's blessing from his brother; therefore Esau threatens him with death: wherefore his mother counsels Jacob to flee to Haran. Hence learn that the purpose, promise, and election of God is firm, by which He had said in chapter 25, verse 23: The elder shall serve the younger, and that no human counsels can overturn it.
Vulgate Text: Genesis 27:1-46
1. Now Isaac had grown old, and his eyes had grown dim, and he could not see: and he called Esau his elder son, and said to him: My son! He answered: Here I am. 2. His father said: You see that I have grown old, and I do not know the day of my death. 3. Take your weapons, your quiver and bow, and go out: and when you have caught something by hunting, 4. make me a savory dish from it such as you know I like, and bring it that I may eat, and my soul may bless you before I die. 5. When Rebecca had heard this, and he had gone into the field to carry out his father's command, 6. she said to her son Jacob: I heard your father speaking with your brother Esau, and saying to him: 7. Bring me some of your game, and prepare food for me to eat, and I will bless you before the Lord before I die. 8. Now therefore, my son, heed my counsel: 9. and going to the flock, bring me two choice kids, that I may prepare from them food for your father, which he gladly eats: 10. which when you have brought in, and he has eaten, he may bless you before he dies. 11. He answered her: You know that my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am smooth: 12. if my father should touch me and perceive it, I fear he may think I wished to mock him, and I shall bring upon myself a curse instead of a blessing. 13. His mother said to him: Upon me be that curse, my son: only listen to my voice, and go and bring what I have said. 14. He went, and brought them, and gave them to his mother. She prepared food, such as she knew his father liked. 15. And she clothed him with the very fine garments of Esau, which she had at home with her: 16. and she put the little skins of kids around his hands, and covered the bare parts of his neck. 17. And she gave him the savory food, and delivered the bread which she had baked. 18. When he had brought these in, he said: My father! And he answered: I hear. Who are you, my son? 19. And Jacob said: I am your firstborn Esau: I have done as you commanded me: Arise, sit, and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me. 20. And again Isaac said to his son: How were you able to find it so quickly, my son? He answered: It was the will of God that what I wanted should quickly come to me. 21. And Isaac said: Come here, that I may touch you, my son, and prove whether you are my son Esau or not. 22. He approached his father, and when he had felt him, Isaac said: The voice indeed is the voice of Jacob; but the hands are the hands of Esau. 23. And he did not recognize him, because the hairy hands bore the likeness of the elder. Blessing him therefore, 24. he said: Are you my son Esau? He answered: I am. 25. Then he said: Bring me food from your game, my son, that my soul may bless you. When he had eaten what was offered, he also presented him wine; and when he had drunk it, 26. he said to him: Come to me, and give me a kiss, my son. 27. He came near, and kissed him. And as soon as he perceived the fragrance of his garments, blessing him, he said: Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of a full field, which the Lord has blessed. 28. May God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, abundance of grain and wine; 29. and let peoples serve you, and tribes adore you: be lord of your brothers, and let the sons of your mother bow before you. He who curses you, let him be cursed, and he who blesses you, let him be filled with blessings. 30. Scarcely had Isaac finished speaking: and when Jacob had gone out, Esau came. 31. And he brought to his father the cooked food from his hunting, saying: Arise, my father, and eat of your son's game, that your soul may bless me. 32. And Isaac said to him: Who then are you? He answered: I am your firstborn son Esau. 33. Isaac was struck with a violent amazement: and wondering beyond what can be believed, he said: Who then is he who earlier brought me the game he had caught, and I ate of everything before you came? I blessed him, and he shall be blessed. 34. When Esau heard his father's words, he roared out with a great cry, and in dismay said: Bless me also, my father. 35. He said: Your brother came deceitfully, and took your blessing. 36. And he replied: Rightly is his name called Jacob: for he has supplanted me this second time: he took away my birthright before, and now a second time he has stolen my blessing. And again to his father: Have you not reserved, he said, a blessing for me also? 37. Isaac answered: I have made him your lord, and have subjected all his brothers to his service: I have established him with grain and wine, and after this, my son, what more can I do for you? 38. Esau said to him: Have you only one blessing, father? I beseech you, bless me also. And when he wept with great wailing, 39. Isaac, moved, said to him: In the fatness of the earth, and in the dew of heaven from above 40. shall be your blessing. You shall live by the sword, and shall serve your brother; and the time shall come when you shall shake off and loose his yoke from your neck. 41. Esau therefore always hated Jacob for the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and he said in his heart: The days of mourning for my father will come, and I will kill my brother Jacob. 42. These things were reported to Rebecca: who sending for and calling her son Jacob, said to him: Behold, your brother Esau threatens to kill you. 43. Now therefore, my son, listen to my voice, and arise and flee to my brother Laban in Haran; 44. and you shall dwell with him a few days, until the fury of your brother subsides, 45. and his indignation ceases, and he forgets the things you have done to him: afterward I will send and bring you back here; why should I be bereaved of both my sons in one day? 46. And Rebecca said to Isaac: I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife from the stock of this land, I do not wish to live.
Verse 1: Isaac Had Grown Old
NOW ISAAC HAD GROWN OLD. Isaac in this year in which Jacob stole the blessing from his brother was 137 years old, while Esau and Jacob were 77. For in this year 77, Jacob, immediately after stealing his brother's blessing and fearing his anger, fled to Mesopotamia at his mother's advice. This is evident from the fact that Joseph was born in the year 91 of Jacob's life. Now Joseph was born 14 years after his father's flight into Mesopotamia, that is, after Jacob had served Laban there for 14 years for Rachel and Leah, as I shall demonstrate at chapter 30, verse 25. Therefore this flight of Jacob occurred in the 77th year of Jacob's life; for from this year 77 to the year 91, in which Joseph was born, there intervene precisely the 14 years already mentioned. So Eusebius, book 9 of the Preparation, chapter 4. See Abulensis here, Question 1, and Pererius in the preface to this chapter. After this Isaac lived still 43 more years; for he died in the 180th year of his age.
AND HIS EYES GREW DIM, both from old age and from frequent illnesses, says St. Augustine, book 16 of The City of God, chapter 30.
Note here the long patience of Isaac; for he endured blindness for 44 years, namely from the 137th year of his age (as I said above) to the 180th year, in which he died. St. Syncletica spoke excellently in the Lives of the Fathers: "If sickness befalls us, let us not be saddened, because it profits us for the destruction of bodily desires. If we lose our eyes, let us not bear it heavily, because we have lost the instrument of pride. If we have become deaf, let us not grieve, because we have lost vain hearing."
Hence in the same place another holy anchorite said: "The highest form of religion is that in sickness one give thanks to God: for just as bodily illness is cured by a strong and powerful medicine, so by bodily illness the vices of the heart are blunted. If you are iron, you lose your rust through the fire of tribulation; if gold, you become more splendid and pure: therefore the holy Fathers always desired to be in sickness."
In the same place, Polemon, a companion of Blessed Pachomius, when he was severely afflicted with pains of the spleen, and was asked by the brethren to allow some remedy to be applied, answered: "If the martyrs of Christ, some torn to pieces, some beheaded, some burned with fire, nevertheless endured bravely to the end for the faith: why should I, yielding impatiently to small pains, cast away the rewards of patience, and vainly shrink from momentary afflictions out of desire for the present life?"
In the same place we read of Didymus (who was blind for eighty years, and yet was most learned in Sacred Scripture, whence St. Jerome calls him his "seer"), that when asked by St. Anthony whether he was saddened because he lacked eyes, and he did not deny it, he heard from Anthony: "I marvel that a wise man should grieve over the loss of something that ants and fleas possess, and not rather rejoice in the possession of that which only the Saints and Apostles have merited: for it is much better to see by the spirit than by the flesh, and to possess those eyes into which a speck of sin cannot fall, than those which by sight alone, through concupiscence, can send men to the ruin of hell."
Hence Blessed Peter, Abbot of Clairvaux, when he had lost one eye from the force of an illness, said with one eye: "I have escaped one of my enemies, and I fear the remaining one more than the one I lost." Hence also some philosophers tore out their own eyes, lest the mind be distracted, but gathered wholly together might devote itself to contemplation; and among the faithful, we read that St. Audomarus, Aquilinus, and others sought and obtained blindness from God. St. Pigmenius, a Roman priest who was blind, meeting Julian the Apostate, when he heard from him: "I give thanks to the gods, O Pigmenius, that I see you," answered: "I give thanks to my God that I do not see you." With as brave a spirit, therefore, he bore his blindness as he despised the tyrant. Thereafter, crowned with martyrdom, he began to see what eye has not seen; and to hear what ear has not heard; and to understand what has not entered into the heart of man.
Verse 2: Isaac Contemplates His Death
YOU SEE THAT I HAVE GROWN OLD, AND I DO NOT KNOW THE DAY OF MY DEATH. See how for 43 years Isaac here premeditatedly contemplated his death, expected it daily as uncertain, and prepared himself and all his affairs for it. By his deed therefore he teaches us that our life ought to be nothing other than a meditation on death, as Plato used to say. For death is certain, and will certainly come to us; but the day and hour of it is uncertain.
Verse 3: Make Me a Savory Dish
AND WHEN YOU HAVE CAUGHT SOMETHING BY HUNTING, MAKE ME A SAVORY DISH FROM IT. In Hebrew, make me matammim, that is, dainties, namely dishes of more delicate food, which delight the taste; for this was the auspicious, joyful, and solemn day of the son's blessing, and therefore was to be celebrated with a joyful and pleasant feast. So Lipomanus.
One may ask: Why did Isaac ask Esau for wild game from hunting, rather than chicken or lamb, when he had these at hand at home, before he wished to bless him? I answer first, because Isaac was accustomed to eating wild game, which Esau brought him from hunting, as is clear from chapter 25, verse 28, and consequently he was more nourished and delighted by it; second, because he wanted Esau to prepare himself for receiving the blessing through this obedience and service of hunting: so Thomas the Englishman; third, because Isaac was unknowingly moved by God to send Esau out hunting, so that in the meantime Jacob could anticipate Esau and snatch the blessing from him: for God had decreed to prefer Jacob over Esau in the birthright.
Tropologically, Isaac here taught that those who give spiritual things may demand temporal things, namely that priests and pastors who teach, pray, and bless the people ought to be supported by the people.
Verse 7: Before the Lord
BEFORE THE LORD, seeing, hearing, invoked, consenting, and inspiring, the Lord. So Oleaster, Pererius, and others. See here how wonderful God is in fulfilling His works and promises: Jacob could have hoped for nothing less than to be blessed, since the father had resolved to bless Esau, and yet the blessing fell to Jacob himself. On the contrary, Esau was never more certain of receiving the blessing than when his father spoke thus to him; and yet then above all he lost it. Learn therefore to trust God, even if all things go against you: learn to believe against hope in hope.
Verse 11: Jacob Is Smooth-Skinned
I AM SMOOTH, that is, smooth-skinned, not hairy like Esau.
Verse 12: Rebecca's Faith and Courage
UPON ME BE THAT CURSE, not that Rebecca truly wished to take upon herself the father's curse and punishment in place of her son, as St. Chrysostom would have it; but she speaks thus because she was confident of a happy outcome: for she knew God had so promised, chapter 25, verse 23, as if to say: You fear your father's anger in vain; there is no danger from him; I guarantee it, indeed if you hesitate and doubt, I will take all his anger upon myself. So Theodoret.
Where note first, in Rebecca an unshaken faith in the word of God saying: The elder shall serve the younger; second, she herself instructs her son to seek the blessing, judging that he would be happy if he were blessed by his father, who was a holy man: other mothers educate their sons for vanities and sins; third, although she knew her husband was in error in that he wished to bless the elder son against the will of the Lord, she nevertheless does not quarrel with him, does not resist by force, but secretly ensures that the blessing goes to the one whom God had destined; fourth, she takes every care that the aged father not perceive the deception, and so be disturbed; fifth, she is dutiful toward her aged husband, preparing for him the foods he gladly ate; sixth, she prudently corrects Jacob, so as to mollify Esau's anger.
Tropologically, how parents ought to love their children equally, and not prefer one over another, or if they do prefer one, ought to compensate in another way, St. Ambrose teaches from this affection of Isaac toward Esau and of Rebecca toward Jacob, in book 2 of On Jacob, chapter 2: "Accept," he says, "a good contest between parents. Let the mother show affection, the father judgment: let the mother lean with tender devotion toward the younger, let the father preserve the honor of nature toward the elder; let him honor more, let her love more; let one compensate what the other diminishes."
Verse 14: Jacob Brings the Kids
HE BROUGHT the two kids which his mother had requested: not that the father was so robust and of such appetite that he would consume two kids, as Procopius would have it, but because from the two kids she intended to cut off the more delicate parts and offer them to the father. So Diodorus and Abulensis.
Morally, St. Ambrose, book 2 of On Jacob, chapter 2: "He conquered," he says, "who was preferred by the oracle; diligence conquered slowness, gentleness conquered harshness, while the one seeks rough prey through harsh hunting, the other prepares the foods of mild character."
Verse 15: The Garments of Esau
VERY FINE. In Hebrew chamudot, that is, desirable; the Septuagint has beautiful: hence the mother kept them in a chest among fragrances. For that they were fragrant is clear from verse 27.
Allegorically, the robe of Esau, that is, the prophecy, priesthood, and scripture of the Old Testament were transferred from the Jews to Jacob, that is, to the Christians. So St. Ambrose.
Verse 16: The Little Skins of Kids
AND THE LITTLE SKINS OF KIDS, so that Jacob would appear to be Esau, who was hairy.
SHE PUT AROUND HIS HANDS, in the manner of gloves: for otherwise Jacob had to use his hands, and with them bring food to his father and serve him.
Allegorically, Jacob is Christ, who put on goatskins, that is, took our sins upon Himself, that He might atone for them. So St. Augustine, in the book Against Lying, chapter 10, and Prosper, part 1 of the Preaching, chapter 21.
THE BARE PARTS OF HIS NECK, that is, the softness and smoothness of his neck. So the Hebrew.
Verse 19: I Am Your Firstborn Esau
WHO ARE YOU? For Jacob's voice raised a doubt and scruple in Isaac, so that he was uncertain whether the one speaking was Jacob or Esau, and therefore he asks: Who are you?
Learn here that God sometimes allows the just to be somewhat ignorant, to be deceived, to fall, to be tricked, so that they may know themselves. Thus holy Isaac thought the blessing of God was to be fulfilled in Esau, but he was mistaken; second, that God sometimes reveals to the little ones what He hides from the great: thus to Rebecca was revealed what Isaac did not know. Christ Himself confesses the same, Matthew 11:25.
I AM YOUR FIRSTBORN ESAU. One may ask whether Jacob lied here, and whether he sinned? First, Origen, Cassian, and Chrysostom, following Plato, judge that Jacob did lie, but lawfully and without sin; for it is sometimes lawful to use a lie, as it were hellebore, or as we use poisonous substances in medicines. But this is an error already declared and condemned by the Church, against which St. Augustine wrote in the book Against Lying.
Second, Gabriel in book 3, distinction 38, and Ailly in book 1, Question 12, at the end, judge that it is indeed not lawful to lie of itself, but it is lawful to lie when God dispenses. But the common opinion of the Doctors with St. Augustine is that lying is evil by its nature, and consequently cannot be dispensed by God. For lying is of itself contrary to the nature and virtue of truth. Whence Sacred Scripture absolutely prohibits all lying, Ecclesiasticus chapter 7, verse 14.
Third, better is St. Augustine, in the book Against Lying, chapter 10, who judges this to be a figurative expression. For just as in Matthew 11:14, John the Baptist is called Elijah, not as to his person but as to his spirit; and in Tobit 5:18, Raphael says he is Azariah, that is, "helper of God," the son of Ananiah, that is, "grace of God": so Jacob says he is Esau, not as to name and person, but as to the right and birthright conferred on him by God in chapter 25, verse 23. Whence he says: I have done as you commanded me; for your primary intention was to command your firstborn to bring food and receive the paternal blessing: and I am the firstborn. Eat therefore of my game, which I hunted not in the field but in the stable.
But truly I say, it seems that Jacob, by his mother's impulse and by his garments, and deeds, and words, lied not only about the right but also about the person of Esau: for he wishes to persuade his father, who is carefully examining the person of Esau, by every means that he is Esau himself; whence he lies saying: I have done as you commanded me; and, Eat of my game, as if to say: I took up weapons and bow, I hunted, behold the wild game which I caught and cooked: eat of it; so St. Chrysostom, Lyranus, Cajetan, Lipomanus, Pererius and others.
Moreover, although these words could be excused and verified by amphibology and some subtle mental reservation, nevertheless Jacob does not seem to have had such a reservation, for he was not so subtle, nor did he revolve such great things in his mind: but he was simple, upright, and candid; and in this business of snatching the blessing from his brother by guile and fraud, he simply obeyed his mother and did whatever she suggested; whence also he is called deceitful by his father, in verse 35.
I say second, this lie of Jacob was not pernicious, nor injurious to anyone, but was officious, and consequently only a venial sin. For the rights of the firstborn were owed to him by God's gift, and therefore by snatching them from Esau by guile, he did him no injury, but claimed what was his own. So Tostatus, Lipomanus, Cajetan. Moreover, perhaps from invincible ignorance both the mother and Jacob thought, as Origen, Cassian, and St. Chrysostom thought, namely, that it was lawful for them to lie in such a case and necessity.
You will say: There was a mystery here, therefore it was not a lie. The antecedent is clear, because Jacob putting on the garments and person of Esau signified Christ, who took our sins and punishments upon Himself. Again it signified that the Gentiles were to be substituted for the Jews in the filiation and blessing of Abraham, namely in grace, justice, and salvation, as the Apostle explains, Romans 9 and 10.
I answer: This mystery was on the part of God and the Holy Spirit, who intended to signify this allegorically; but the lie was on the part of Jacob; for he in the literal sense intended to persuade his father that he was Esau in person. Hence the mystery of God just mentioned does not excuse him, especially since he seems to have been ignorant of it at the time. Moreover, this mystery and this mystical sense does not rest upon Jacob's lie: for truth cannot rest upon falsehood; but it rests upon Jacob's deed, by which he presented himself to his father, and so acted as if he himself were Esau: for deeds can often be excused from lying, where words cannot. For words definitely and determinately signify the thing and the mind of the speaker: but deeds only confusedly and indeterminately; hence they can be bent this way or that by the intention of the doer, determined, and directed to signify this or that. Thus actors in comedies represent the persons of kings and princes without lying, by doing what they did, as if they themselves were kings and princes.
ARISE, SIT, AND EAT. Isaac was therefore lying in bed because of old age and weakness, and Jacob asks him to rise from it in order to eat.
Mystically, St. Ambrose, in the book On Isaac, chapter 5: "The bed of the saints," he says, "is Christ, in whom the hearts of all, wearied by worldly battles, find rest. In this bed Isaac rested, and blessed the younger son."
Verse 22: The Voice of Jacob, the Hands of Esau
THE VOICE INDEED IS THE VOICE OF JACOB; BUT THE HANDS ARE THE HANDS OF ESAU. Thus allegorically the voice of Christ was the voice of the Son of God, but the hands and external appearance, which men saw and touched, were those of a common, mortal, and wretched man. Whence St. Bernard, sermon 28 on the Song of Songs: "What is heard in Christ," he says, "is His own: what is seen is ours: what He speaks is spirit and life: what appears is mortal and is death: one thing is perceived, and another is believed."
Hence in the same place he teaches that knowledge of the truth is received more through hearing than through sight. "The eyes of the patriarch grow dim," he says, "the palate is deceived, the hand is deceived, the ear is not deceived. What wonder, if the ear perceives the truth, since faith comes from hearing, hearing through the word of God, and the word of God is truth? The voice, he says, is the voice of Jacob; nothing is truer: but the hands are the hands of Esau; nothing is more false. You are deceived, the likeness of the hand deceives you. Nor is there truth in taste, even if there is sweetness: for how does he have truth who thinks he is eating game, when he is eating domestic kid meat? Much less the eye, which sees nothing. There is no truth in the eye, no wisdom; only hearing has the truth, which perceives the word."
The same is clear in the Eucharist: for in it the hand, taste, and touch are deceived, while they perceive, taste, and judge it to be bread; but the voice alone does not deceive: for this is the voice of the Son of God, who can neither be deceived nor deceive, saying: This is My body.
Verse 23: Isaac Prepares to Bless
BLESSING HIM THEREFORE. That is, intending and preparing himself to bless: for the word "blessing" signifies here an act, not completed, but begun and intended, namely the very intention and preparation for blessing: for Isaac does not bless Jacob here, but in what follows.
Verse 27: The Fragrance of Jacob's Garments
WHEN HE PERCEIVED. The fragrance of the scent which Jacob spread from his garments so refreshed and gladdened the mind of the good old man Isaac, that filled with joy and burning with love for his son, he burst forth into his blessing.
From this passage it is evident that it was a most ancient custom for the garments of leading men and nobles to be seasoned with precious ointments or fragrances. The same is clear from Song of Songs 4:11: The scent of your garments is like the scent of incense, and Psalm 44:9: Myrrh, and aloes, and cassia from your garments.
BEHOLD THE SMELL OF MY SON. For "behold" the Hebrew has "see," as if to say: I see, that is, I perceive, I sense, I smell the wonderful fragrance of my son; for "sight" is used for any sense, as I have said elsewhere.
LIKE THE SMELL OF A FULL FIELD, blooming with flowers and fruits: for these breathe forth a sweet and fragrant breath, by which men are wonderfully refreshed. The word "full" is not in the Hebrew, nor in the Chaldean, but in the Greek.
Tropologically, on the fragrance of virtues see Rupert here, and St. Augustine, book 16 of The City of God, chapter 37, and St. Gregory, homily 6 on Ezekiel, who says: "For the flower of the grape smells differently; because great is the virtue and reputation of preachers, who inebriate the minds of their hearers. Differently the flower of the olive; because sweet is the work of mercy; because like oil it soothes and gives light. Differently the flower of the rose; because the white life of the flesh consists in the incorruption of virginity. Differently the flower of the violet; because great is the virtue of the humble, who holding by desire the last places, do not raise themselves through humility from earth on high, and preserve in their minds the purple of the heavenly kingdom. Differently the spike of grain smells when brought to maturity; because the perfection of good works is prepared for the satisfaction of those who hunger for justice."
WHICH THE LORD HAS BLESSED. This blessing of the field by God consists in three things, as Isaac here explains: first, in a sweet and fragrant smell, about which he says here: Like the smell of a full field; second, in the dew of heaven. He says rather in dew than in rain, because in Palestine it rains only twice a year, namely in October when they sow, so that the seed may sprout, which is therefore called in Scripture the early rain; second, in April, so that the crops may ripen, which is called the late rain. Hence in the intervening time the fields continually need dew, so that the crops and harvests do not dry out, but are nourished, fed, and grow. Third, in the fatness of the earth, that is, that the earth be not sandy, not watery, not worn out, but rich, moderately dry, and as if youthful, so that it may produce abundant offspring and fruits.
Allegorically, these blessings were fulfilled in Christ, as St. Augustine teaches, book 16 of The City of God, chapter 37. Tropologically, in the soul of every just person, as St. Gregory teaches, homily 6 on Ezekiel. Anagogically, in the Blessed, as St. Irenaeus teaches, book 5, chapter 33.
Verse 29: The Fourfold Blessing of Jacob
LET PEOPLES SERVE YOU, as if to say: To your descendants, David, Solomon, and the Maccabees, the Edomites, Philistines, Arabs, Ammonites, and other peoples shall be subject.
Note the four parts of this blessing. The first is a fourfold blessing of Jacob: the first pertains to wealth, when he says: May God give you of the dew of heaven, etc.; the second pertains to dominion, when he says: Let peoples serve you; the third, to preeminence among brothers, when he says: Be lord of your brothers; by which words Jacob received the right and lordship over Esau; but the execution of this right and lordship he received not in himself, but in his descendants, when the descendants of Esau, namely the Edomites, served under David; the fourth, when he says: He who curses you, let him be cursed; and he who blesses you, let him be filled with blessings. This pertains to God's favor, as if to say: God will take up your cause and that of your descendants; those who are your friends or enemies, He will consider His own: cursing these, that is, doing evil to them, and blessing those, that is, doing good to them.
Note: These blessings are partly blessings, partly prophecies. For Isaac by the prophetic spirit with these words both invokes and at the same time foretells what was to come to Jacob and to the Israelites from God and God's favor.
Verse 33: Isaac Struck with Amazement
ISAAC WAS STRUCK WITH A VIOLENT AMAZEMENT. The Septuagint: Isaac was seized with a very great ecstasy. In this terror and wonder, therefore, Isaac, seized in an ecstasy, says St. Augustine, Question 80, saw and said the things that follow, so that he changed his mind, and was not angry at Jacob, who by fraud had stolen the blessing from his brother, but confirmed it: indeed in this rapture God showed Isaac that this deed of Jacob, as to the substance of the act, namely the stealing, anticipation, and substitution of himself in the birthright (though not as to the manner, namely the lie), was done by His nod and instinct: for Jacob had been designated by Him as the firstborn and heir of His promises made to Abraham and Isaac, not Esau; He therefore willed that Isaac should ratify these things; whence Isaac, immediately obedient to God, and changing his mind from Esau to Jacob, said: And he shall be blessed. So St. Jerome, Alcuin, and St. Augustine, book 16 of The City of God, chapter 37.
Verse 34: Esau's Cry for a Blessing
HE ROARED OUT, like a lion, displaying not only his sorrow, but his ferocity and fury, with a loud cry like a roar.
Philo and Eusebius judge that Esau roared out thus, not so much from grief at the lost blessing (although this too stung him), as from envy of his brother's advancement, especially because his father had preferred him to himself, and had subjected him to his brother.
BLESS ME ALSO. The Hebrew has greater pathos: Bless me also; I, my father, understand, am your son, and the truly firstborn, and dearer to you until now, and to whom you promised this blessing a short while ago, who have now been forestalled by my brother's guile, and have suffered this loss because I obeyed your command and departed to hunt, in order to prepare what you desired; it is therefore fitting that you bless me also.
EARLIER. This word is not in the Hebrew, nor the Chaldean, nor the Greek. "Earlier" here is the same as "before"; for we commonly say of a watchful, diligent, and keen man: Long ago, already he anticipated you, as Jacob here had anticipated Esau; for scarcely had Jacob gone out from his father, when Esau arrived, as is clear from verse 30. Where St. Chrysostom, homily 53, marvels at God's providence toward those who are His and obedient to Him: for He arranged that Esau would not return until after Jacob, having received the blessing, had departed. "Hence let us learn," he says, "that when anyone wishes to manage his affairs according to the will of the Lord, he is aided by so much heavenly help, that he plainly experiences this in reality."
It could secondly be that "earlier" refers not to Jacob's departure, but to the catching of the game and the food brought by him to his father: for the father spent a little more time eating and conversing with Jacob.
AND HE SHALL BE BLESSED. You will say: An error of person invalidates human contracts, especially marriages; therefore also this blessing of Isaac: for he in error, while blessing Jacob, thought and intended to bless not him but Esau. Again, Jacob crept in by guile and fraud; but guile should benefit no one, as the rule of law holds.
Pererius answers by denying the consequence; because Isaac was not in error regarding the person as to his primary intention, which was to bless him who was the firstborn, or whom God wished to be the firstborn: and that was Jacob, not Esau; he was however in error as to his secondary intention, by which he intended to bless Esau, thinking him to be the firstborn; whence, recognizing this error by God's instinct and correcting his intention, he said: And he shall be blessed, namely Jacob, whom I blessed before. Moreover Jacob's guile was not evil, but good: for by it he claimed his right and what was his own, namely the birthright, which he could not otherwise have obtained from the unjust and violent possessor Esau.
Moreover, this was not so much a blessing as a prophecy, and the tongue of Isaac was moved not so much by Isaac as by God to bless Jacob.
One may ask, why did Esau so eagerly and insistently seek his father's blessing? I answer first, because through long experience men had learned in that time that a father's blessing -- or curse -- has very great power, and is often efficacious upon children, as still happens not infrequently. The blessing of a father, says the Wise Man in Sirach 3, verse 11, establishes the houses of children, but the curse of a mother uproots their foundations. Thus Shem and Japheth, blessed by Noah: Blessed be the Lord God of Shem, let Canaan be his servant, may God enlarge Japheth, etc., Genesis 9:26 -- they obtained the very same from God. Thus Jacob's blessing given to Ephraim and Manasseh in Genesis 48:20, and another given to the twelve sons in Genesis 49; likewise the blessing of Moses given to the twelve tribes, Deuteronomy 33, was efficacious and actually fulfilled. Likewise the blessing of Tobit given to his son in chapter 5, verse 21: May you travel well, and may God be with you on your journey, and may His angel accompany you; also the blessing of Raguel the father-in-law given to Tobias and his wife Sarah, chapter 10, verse 1, was efficacious. Hence St. Ambrose, Book 1 of On the Blessings of the Patriarchs, chapter 1: "How much reverence," he says, "we owe to our parents, when we read (Genesis 27) that whoever was blessed by his father was truly blessed; therefore God grants this grace to parents, so that the devotion of children may be stirred up: the privilege of parents, therefore, is the discipline of children." Thus by the blessing of their father Mattathias, the Maccabees became brave and invincible in wars, 1 Maccabees chapter 2, verse 69 and following.
On the contrary, Ham, cursed by his father Noah, turned out just so in all his Canaanite posterity. Likewise Reuben, cursed by Jacob for incest, turned out the same: the same happened to Levi and Simeon, Genesis chapter 49, verses 4 and 5. Whence St. Ambrose infers above: "Let the devout honor their father for the sake of grace, the ungrateful for the sake of fear."
St. Augustine has a memorable example in Book 22 of The City of God, chapter 8, about ten children cursed by their mother, who were immediately struck with a horrible trembling of their limbs, and therefore wandered through nearly the whole Roman world: two of whom were cured at the relics of St. Stephen.
Second, because through this blessing of the dying father, the firstborn were declared, and the heirs of the promise made to Abraham, just as Jacob was here declared. So Rupert.
Verse 36: The Name Jacob and Supplanting
RIGHTLY (correctly, truly, aptly -- so the Hebrew) HIS NAME WAS CALLED JACOB: FOR HE HAS SUPPLANTED ME THIS SECOND TIME. Jacob means the same as "heel-holder" and "supplanter." He was so named because at birth he held his brother's heel. This signified that he would supplant his brother, as in fact he did: first, by shrewdly purchasing Esau's birthright in chapter 25, verse 21; second, here by snatching from him his father's blessing. The Arabic emphatically translates it as "he jacobed me this second time." "To jacob" is a word frequent among Arabs meaning to supplant, and to diminish something to the very dregs and extremity, taken from the Hebrew aqab and yaaqob, that is, to supplant and supplanter.
YOUR BLESSING -- owed to you by the right of nature, and destined for you by me, but God transferred it to your brother.
Verse 37: What Shall I Do for You?
ALL HIS BRETHREN. All his relatives and blood-kin, whether to be born from you, O Esau, or from Ishmael and my other brothers, sons of Keturah: for as I am the head and chief of these, so also shall Jacob be.
WHAT SHALL I DO? Esau was demanding a blessing similar to Jacob's, and one owed to the firstborn: Isaac could not give this; hence the Apostle in Hebrews 12 asserts that Esau sought it with tears, but in vain, for he did not obtain it; therefore Isaac gave him another such as he could.
Verses 39–40: The Blessing of Esau
IN THE FATNESS OF THE EARTH, AND IN THE DEW OF HEAVEN FROM ABOVE SHALL BE YOUR BLESSING. In Hebrew it is: your dwelling or habitation shall be, that is to say: You will dwell in a fat and fertile land, which God will make fruitful by sending dew and rain.
You see here that Isaac's blessing is a prophecy, which was fulfilled in chapter 33, verse 9. Furthermore, this is the least of the blessings given to Jacob, namely the abundance of wine and wheat; for indeed such a blessing, and no other, was owed to a worldly and carnal man.
YOU SHALL LIVE BY THE SWORD. You will occupy a rich land; yet you will live not so much by farming as by plundering and raiding -- not so much you yourself, as your descendants. How predatory and warlike the Edomites were, Josephus teaches in Book 4 of The Jewish War.
AND YOU SHALL SERVE YOUR BROTHER (under David), AND THE TIME SHALL COME WHEN YOU SHALL SHAKE OFF AND LOOSE THE YOKE. That is, in the time of Joram son of Jehoshaphat, the Edomites revolted from the Jews, 2 Kings 8, and remained free from the Jewish yoke for 800 years, until Hyrcanus, who subdued them again; and again Herod, son of Antipater the Edomite, obtained the kingdom of Judea, and held it in himself and his descendants until the destruction of Jerusalem, for 150 years. Hence it came about that in the time of Titus and Vespasian, the Edomites together with the Romans stormed and devastated Jerusalem. See Josephus, Book 14 of the Antiquities, at the beginning, and Book 1 of The Jewish War.
Morally, St. Ambrose, Book 2 of On Jacob, chapter 3, says: "A good father, having two sons, one intemperate and the other sober, in order to look after both, placed the sober one over the intemperate, and decreed that the foolish should obey the prudent, so that by the authority of the ruler he might improve his disposition."
Verse 41: Esau's Hatred of Jacob
ESAU THEREFORE ALWAYS HATED JACOB. Note here: After receiving his father's blessing, Jacob is immediately tested, suffers persecution, and finally is driven from his father's house, so that one might think the blessing had profited him nothing, or even harmed him: but the outcome showed that it had profited him.
Note secondly the impiety and foolishness of Esau: for first, he grows angry, indeed he hates his brother; second, he seeks a way of revenge; third, he does not consider that this happened by God's providence, nor that he himself had deserved it, but only considers what his brother did; fourth, since he could not reclaim the blessing by right, he resorts to force; fifth, he resolves not only to persecute his brother but also to kill him; sixth, he desires his father's death: The days of mourning for my father will come, he says, and I will kill my brother. Where St. Chrysostom rightly says, homily 53: "Is not one who is angry at those who are raging, no less insane himself?" Seventh, he conceals all these things, until an opportunity to carry them out presents itself. How foolish he was, who tried to recover the blessing by evil means, indeed by adding sins to sins, when through such things one incurs a curse all the more: for God's blessing must be obtained by good deeds.
Verse 42: Esau Threatens Jacob
HE THREATENS. In Hebrew mitnachem, that is, he consoles himself -- that he will kill you.
Verse 45: Rebecca Fears Losing Both Sons
WHY SHOULD I BE BEREAVED OF BOTH SONS IN ONE DAY? For if you remain here, you will have to fight with your brother, and either you will fall by mutual wounds, or when one is slain the other will be a fugitive, and so I shall be deprived of the presence and comfort of both.
Verse 46: Rebecca's Prudent Counsel
IF JACOB TAKES A WIFE FROM THE STOCK OF THIS LAND (a Canaanite or Hittite woman, such as Esau married, who by their wickedness and obstinacy are troublesome and hateful to me and to you), I DO NOT WISH TO LIVE. In Hebrew: what is life to me? That is to say: Life will be so bitter and sorrowful for me that I would rather wish to die than live.
Note the prudence of Rebecca: for in order to prevent fratricide, she sends one brother away; and lest she reveal the other's crime and plotting to their father, and so bring sadness to the father and the father's indignation upon the son, she puts forward a different reason for sending her son away -- and a true one -- namely, that she does not want Jacob to marry some disobedient and wicked Hittite woman, but desires that he marry some kinswoman from Haran, where her father's household was well-conducted. This reasoning moved Isaac and persuaded him to send Jacob away to Haran in the following chapter.
Hence St. Ambrose, Book 2 of On Jacob, chapter 3: "Let us learn from Rebecca," he says, "how we must take care lest envy stir up anger, and anger rush headlong into murder. Let Rebecca come, that is, patience, the good guardian of innocence; let her persuade us to give way to wrath. Let us withdraw to some distance, until with time the indignation softens and forgetfulness of the offense steals in."
This prudent and holy counsel of Rebecca and Jacob was followed by St. Gregory of Nazianzus; for when at the Council of Constantinople rivalries and dissensions of certain bishops had arisen, because Nazianzus had been consecrated bishop by others without consulting them, Gregory voluntarily relinquished his place and rank, and addressed them thus: "I humbly beseech you by the Trinity itself, that you settle all things rightly and peacefully among yourselves: and if I am the cause of dissension among you, I should by no means appear more venerable than the prophet Jonah; cast me into the sea, and this storm of troubles among you will be calmed. I will gladly suffer whatever you wish, though I am innocent, for the sake of your concord; cast me from the throne, banish me from the world, only love truth and peace. Farewell, sacred pastors, and remember my labors always." Having said this, he went to the Emperor Theodosius seeking his dismissal: "I humbly ask," he said, "that I be freed from these labors; let there be an end to envy, let the bishops cultivate peace, and let this be through your doing: this is the gift I ask from you, this last favor grant me." Theodosius, marveling at the man's virtue, at last reluctantly agreed, and allowed Nectarius to be substituted for him. So Gregorius the Presbyter in his Life of Nazianzus.
Allegorically, Rebecca sending Jacob into Mesopotamia, where he begot the twelve Patriarchs, signifies God the Father sending His Son into the world, where He brought forth the twelve Apostles. And just as Jacob was sent alone with a staff, so Christ came alone, poor and humble, and He wished the Apostles to be the same, and so to preach the gospel throughout the whole world, that they might be like angels lacking nothing, as if they were earthly gods of a sort. So St. Irenaeus, Book 4, chapter 38, and St. Augustine, Sermon 79 On the Seasons.