Genesis 27:20

Gen 27:20 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.

Ver. 20. How is it that thou hast found it so quickly?] A man may very well ask our common Protestants this question concerning the faith they so much boast of, but came by it too quickly to be fight. They were never yet in the furnace of mortification, - felt the spirit of bondage, the terrors of God in their consciences. Their faith is like Jonah’s gourd, that grew up in a night; or a bullet in a mould, that is made in a moment. Let ours be like the water of Bethlehem, much longed for, and hardly come by, &c. {2Sa 23:15}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gen 27:20. The Lord thy God brought it to me — Is this Jacob? It is certainly written not for our imitation, but our admonition. Here we see how one lie draws on another. Let him that standeth, take heed lest he fall.

Now let us see how Isaac gave Jacob his blessing.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27:20-27 Isaac voiced his suspicion three times but was finally deceived by his senses, which were not functioning well (see study note on 27:1-4).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(20) Because the Lord thy God brought it to me.—Jacob does not keep up his acting well here, for it was not in accordance with Esau’s character to see anything providential in his success in hunting. This may have helped to arouse Isaac’s suspicions, who immediately proceeds to examine him.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20. How is it … quickly] Isaac’s question implies a second shadow of doubt. This time it arises not from the voice, but from the disquieting thought of the extraordinary rapidity of the huntsman’s good fortune.

Because the Lord thy God] Jacob takes a third step in deceitfulness. To the lie and the vaunt of Gen_27:19 he now adds the profanity of claiming the Divine assistance. But, at least, he says “the Lord thy God”: his conscience does not quite permit him to say “the Lord my God.”

sent me good speed] Lit. “caused it opportunely to come into my presence,” the same word as in Gen_24:12. Lat. voluntas Dei fuit ut cito occurreret mihi quod volebam. The reference to the Divine Name adds to the deceit a taint of pious hypocrisy.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Isaac said unto his son,.... Supposing him to be Esau:

how is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? that is, the venison; that he had met with it so soon in, the field, and got it dressed and ready in so short a time, which was not common, and seemed to be too little for doing all this in it, and so still created some suspicion of deceit:

and he said, because the Lord thy God brought it to me; which was another falsehood; for it was not the Lord, but his mother brought it to him: and this seems to be the most marvellous of all, that so good a man should dare to bring the name of the Lord God into this affair; indeed he does not say the Lord my God, or our God, but thy God; which some think was done on purpose, the more to cover the deceit, because they suppose that Esau, whom Jacob impersonated, was an idolater, but this is not so evident; rather it looks as if Jacob had not the confidence to call the Lord his God with a lie in his mouth.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

20. The Lord thy God brought it to me — The bold and daring way in which Jacob utters his falsehoods here, and this use of the name Jehovah, is amazing. Isaac seems to have detected Jacob’s voice, and he became suspicious. But he probably mistrusted his own hearing as he did his eyesight. “The scene of the fraud,” says Kalisch, “is described with a psychological skill which rivets the interest, and excites the admiration of the reader.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 20, 21. And Isaac (still dissatisfied, but still resolving to proceed with caution) said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? Giving expression to a natural surprise at the speedy success which had attended Esau"s hunting expedition; an interrogation to which Jacob replied With daring boldness (Murphy), with consummate effrontery (Bush), not without perjury (Calvin), and even with reckless blasphemy (Kalisch, Alford). And he said, Because the Lord thy God brought it to me. Literally, caused it to come before me; by the concurrence, of course, of his pro vide nce; which, though in one sense true, yet as used by Jacob was an impious falsehood. Solemn as this declaration was, it failed to lull the suspicions or allay the disquiet of the aged invalid.

And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, the very thing which Jacob had suggested as likely to happen (ver. 12)whether thou be my very son Esau (literally, this, my son Esau) or not.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Lord thy God brought it to me - Is this Jacob? It is certainly written not for our imitation, but our admonition, Let him that, standeth, take heed lest he fall. Now let us see how Isaac gave Jacob his blessing. 27-1. He kissed him; in token of particular affection to him. Those that are blessed of God are kissed with the kisses of his mouth, and they do by love and loyalty kiss the son, Psalm ii, 12. 2. He praised him. Upon occasion of the sweet smell of his garments he said, See the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed - That is, like that of the most fragrant flowers and spices. Three things Jacob is here blessed with, (1.) Plenty, ver. 28. Heaven and earth concurring to make him rich. (2.) Power, ver. 29. Particularly dominion over his brethren, viz. Esau and his posterity. (3.) Prevalency with God, and a great interest in heaven, Cursed be every one that curseth thee - Let God be a friend to all thy friends, and an enemy to all thine enemies. Now, certainly more is comprised in this blessing than appears at first; it must amount to an entail of the promise of the Messiah: that was in the patriarchal dialect the blessing; something spiritual doubtless is included in it. First, That from him should come the Messiah, that should have a sovereign dominion on earth. See Num. xxiv, 19. Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, the star and scepter, Num. xxiv, 17. Jacob's dominion over Esau was to be only typical of this, chap. xlix, 10. Secondly, That from him should come the church that should be particularly owned and favoured by Heaven. It was part of the blessing of Abraham when he was first called to be the father of the faithful, chap. xii, 3. I will bless them that bless thee; therefore when Isaac afterwards confirmed the blessing to Jacob, he called it the blessing of Abraham, chap. xxviii, 4.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

He said

"Jacob replied"

brought it to me

This is an idiom meaning that God caused it to happen. AT: "helped me to succeed while hunting" (See: Idiom)

whether you are my true son Esau or not

"if you are really my son Esau"

translationWords

Isaac

Yahweh

God

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

ויאמר יצחק, because of the sound of Yaakov’s voice his mind had been alerted so that he began to examine the person standing before him more closely. The fact that so little time had elapsed since he instructed Esau to go hunting made him suspicious that it might not be Esau standing there.

כי הקרה ה' אלוקיך, “your merit has assisted me to accomplish my mission so quickly, seeing that what I did was for your sake.”

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.