Genesis 27:37

Gen 27:37 And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?

Ver. 37. I have made him thy Lord.] {See Trapp on "Gen 27:29"} This Isaac did, as he was the minister and prophet of God.

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.

27:37 There was no going back. Isaac had declared an oracle from God, who had made Jacob to be Esau’s master (see Rom 9:11-13).

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

For Isaac did this as he was the minister and Prophet of God.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 37. I have made him thy lord] See Clarke on Ge 27:28.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

37. Behold, I have made him thy Lord. Isaac now more openly confirms what I have before said, that since God was the author of the blessing, it could neither be vain nor evanescent. For he does not here magnificently boast of his dignity, but keeps himself within the bounds and measure of a servant, and denies that he is at liberty to alter anything. For he always considers, (which is the truth,) that when he sustains the character of God’s representative, it is not lawful for him to proceed further than the command will bear him. Hence, indeed, Esau ought to have learned from whence he had fallen by his own fault, in order that he might have humbled himself, and might rather have joined himself with his brother, in order to become a partaker of his blessing, as his inferior, than have desired anything separately for himself. But a depraved cupidity carries him away, so that he, forgetful of the kingdom of God, pursues and cares for nothing except his own private advantage. Again, we must notice Isaac’s manner of speaking, by which he claims a certain force and efficacy for his benediction, as if his word carried with it dominion, abundance of corn and wine, and whatever else God had promised to Abraham. For God, in requiring the faithful to depend on himself alone, would nevertheless have them to rest securely upon the word, which, at his command, is declared to them by the tongue of men. In this way they are said to remit sins, who are only the messengers and interpreters of free forgiveness.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

And Isaac answered and said unto Esau,.... Giving an account of the blessing be had bestowed upon his brother:

behold, I have made him thy lord; the lord of his posterity, who would be subdued and become tributary to his seed:

and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; the Edomites, who sprung from his brother Esau, who, according to this prophetic blessing, became servants to David, who was a son of Jacob's; see Gill on Gen 27:29,

and with corn and wine have I sustained him; promised him a fruitful country, the land of Canaan, abounding with all good things, particularly with corn and wine, which are put for all the rest:

and what shall I do now unto thee, my son? what is there remains? what can be bestowed upon thee? there is nothing left; dominion over others, even over all nations, yea, over thyself and thy posterity, and plenty of all good things, are given already to Jacob; what is there to be done for thee, or thou canst expect?

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

Brethren, or relations; (Menochius) for Isaac had no other children but these two. He never married any other woman but the beautiful and virtuous Rebecca. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The blessing of Abraham is not at my disposal, but God’s, who hath manifested his mind and will by my error; it cannot be divided into several hands, nor imparted to one, who, though my son, yet hath made himself unworthy of it.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And Isaac answered and said unto Esau (repeating the substance of the Messing already conferred on Jacob), Behold, I have made him thy lord, literally, behold, a lord (vide on ver. 29) have I constituted him to thee; Isaac hereby intimating that in pronouncing the words of blessing he had been speaking under a celestial impulse, and therefore with absolute authorityand all his brethren have I given to him for servants (for the fulfillment vide, (2Sa_8:14) and with corn and wine have I sustained him: i.e. declared that by these he shall be sustained or supported (cf. ver. 28)and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?

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

הן גביר AND BEHOLD I HAVE MADE HIM THY MASTER — This blessing is the seventh in the series of blessings which Isaac gave to Jacob (cf. w. 28. 29) and yet he (Isaac) singles it out as though it were the chief blessing? But the explanation is, he said to him (Esau): “What benefit will a blessing be to you? If you acquire property, it will belong to him, for “Behold, I have made him thy master״, and whatever a servant acquires becomes the property of his master (Genesis Rabbah 67:5).

ולכה אפוא מה אעשה בני AND WHAT SHALL I DO NOW UNTO THEE [MY SON?] — Where here (איפה) shall I look for something that I can do for you?

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

AND ALL HIS BRETHREN HAVE I GIVEN HIM AS SERVANTS. This is not the blessing, Be lord over thy brethren, for Isaac had already said, Behold, I have made him thy lord. However, it is possible that Jacob be the lord and they not be his servants, just as the verse says, For Judah ‘gavar’ above his brethren. does not indicate a master and servant relationship. Similarly, the word gvir (lord) does not indicate such a relationship. But the source for his saying, I have given to him as servants, comes from his expression, And let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee, for this refers to the bowing of the servant to his masters, just as he says, Let people serve thee, and then repeats, And nations bow down to thee. The meaning of the expression, And all his brothers, is the same as that of thy brothers and thy mother’s sons. These he mentions in the plural in order to allude to all of Esau’s offspring. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra says that it refers to the children of Abraham’s concubines.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

ויען, concerning the exclamation that Yitzchok had not even reserved a small blessing for Esau, he answered: הן גביר שמתיו לך, ואת כל אחיו נתתי לו, seeing that I have appointed him as senior to you and to all his brothers, (compare verse 29) i.e. to Esau’s brothers (kin)

סמכתיו, I have appointed him as central, i.e. have decreed that all his family be close to him for all times (compare the word תסמכני in Psalms 51,14 ורוח נדיבה תסמכני, “let a vigorous spirit sustain me.” This can only be effective if all the relatives are close by. It is also possible that the meaning of the word סמכתיו is סעד, משען support of a financial and psychological type. If so, the prefix ב in the word סמכתיו would be missing, as if Yitzchok had said: ובדגן ותירוש, “and with corn and wine,” instead of ודגן ותירוש.

ולכה איפוא, as for you, now מה אעשה, what can I do? What kind of a blessing remains for you after all this? The formulation is similar to Isaiah 22,16 מה לך איפוא, “what have you here?”

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.