Genesis 27:39

Gen 27:39 And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;

Ver. 39. Answered and said unto him.] Dixit, non benedixit; quia potius fuit praedictio futurae conditionis, quam benedictio, saith Pareus. And whereas we read, "Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven"; Castalio renders it thus: Tua quidem sedes a terrae pinguitudine, et a supero coeli rore aberit. For Mishmanne, saith he, signifieth ab pinguitudine, sive sine pinguitudine: as it doth also, Psa 109:24, "My flesh faileth from fatness," that is, for lack of fatness, or, without fatness." {a} So the sense he sets upon this text is, Thou shalt dwell far from the fatness of the earth, in a barren country, &c. For Isaac could not give Esau what he had given Jacob afore: and this was what Esau so grieved at, and threatened his brother for. Or if he could, what cause had Esau so to take on? why should it trouble me, that another partakes of the sunlight with me, when I have never the less? &c. Objection. But the apostle saith, "Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau". {Heb 11:20} Solution. It was a blessing, no doubt, that Edom should shake off Israel’s yoke; as it follows, Gen 27:40, and happened, 2Ki 8:20.

{a} Sic dicimus Ab re, απο τροπου, απο πατριδος: et composite, Amens, abesse, απογινεσθαι.

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 27:39. The fatness of the earth — Mount Seir, the heritage of Esau, was a fertile place, refreshed with dews and showers. By thy sword shalt thou live — That is, thou shalt be warlike, and live upon spoil. This was remarkably fulfilled both in Esau himself, and his posterity. He was a cunning hunter, a man of the field, and his descendants got possession of mount Seir by force and violence, expelling thence the Horites, the former inhabitants, Deu 2:22. They were almost continually at war with the Jews, both before and after the Babylonish captivity. Josephus says, they were so fond of broils, that they went to war as others would do to a banquet. Thou shalt serve thy brother — God never permitted the Edomites to lord it over the Israelites, although he made use of almost all the other neighbouring nations successively to oppress them. When thou shalt have dominion — Shalt gain strength, become powerful, and appoint a king of thy own. Thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck — “When the sons of Jacob,” says the Jerusalem Targum here, “attend to the law, and observe the precepts, they shall impose a yoke of servitude upon thy neck; but when they shall turn away themselves from studying the law, and neglect the precepts, behold, then thou shalt shake off the yoke of servitude.” This is no bad exposition of the passage: for it was David who brought the Edomites under the yoke, and in his time the Jews in a great degree observed the law. But in the reign of Jehoram, when they were very corrupt, “the Edomites revolted from under the dominion of Judah, making themselves a king,” 2Ch 21:8; 2Ch 21:10. We may observe here, although Esau obtained a blessing, it was far short of Jacob’s. There is nothing in it that points at Christ, nothing that brings either Esau or his posterity into the Church of God, and without that, “the fatness of the earth” and the plunder of the field will stand him in little stead. Thus Isaac, by faith, blessed them both according as their lot should be. And surely the exact accomplishment of these prophetic declarations, which were fulfilled many hundreds of years after the death of Moses who recorded them, must, if properly considered, give us a high idea of the Holy Scriptures, and convince us that they are truly the words of that BEING who knoweth the end from the beginning.

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

27:39-40 All that remained for Esau was a promise of hardship and struggle (cp. 3:17-19; 16:11-12).

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

said to him

"said to Esau"

Look, the place

"Pay attention, because what I am about to say is both true and important: the place"

far from the richness of the earth

This is a figure of speech referring to the earth's fertility. AT: "far from the fertile soil" (See: Metaphor)

your ... you

In Gen 27:39-40 these pronouns are singular and refer to Esau, but what Isaac says also applies to Esau's descendants (See: Synecdoche)

dew of the sky above

"Dew" is drops of water that form on the plants during the night. This can be made explicit in the translation. AT: "the night mist from the sky to water your crops" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

By your sword you will live

Here "sword" stands for violence. AT: "You will rob and kill people in order to get what you need to live" (See: Metonymy)

you will shake his yoke from off your neck

This speaks about someone having a master as if the master's control over the person were a yoke that the person had to carry. AT: "you will free yourself from his control" (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

Isaac

heaven

sword

servant

rebel

yoke

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

Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth--The first part is a promise of temporal prosperity, made in the same terms as Jacob's [Gen 27:28] --the second part refers to the roving life of hunting freebooters, which he and his descendants should lead. Though Esau was not personally subject to his brother, his posterity were tributary to the Israelites, till the reign of Joram when they revolted and established a kingdom of their own (Kg2 8:20; Ch2 21:8-10).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

39. Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth. At length Esau obtains what he had asked. For, perceiving himself to be cast down from the rank and honor of primogeniture, he chooses rather to have prosperity in the world, separated from the holy people, than to submit to the yoke of his younger brother. But it may be thought that Isaac contradicts himself, in offering a new benediction, when he had before declared, that he had given to his son Jacob all that was placed at his disposal. I answer, that what has been before said concerning Ishmael must be noted in this place. For God, though he hearkened to Abraham’s prayer for Ishmael, so far as concerned the present life, yet immediately restricts his promise, by adding the exception implied in the declaration, that in Isaac only should the seed be called. I do not, however, doubt, that the holy man, when he perceived that his younger son Jacob was the divinely ordained heir of a happy life, would endeavor to retain his firstborn, Esau, in the bond of fraternal connection, in order that he might not depart from the holy and elect flock of the Church. But now, when he sees him obstinately tending in another direction, he declares what will be his future condition. Meanwhile the spiritual blessing remains in its integrity with Jacob alone, to whom Esau refusing to attach himself, voluntarily becomes an exile from the kingdom of God. The prophecy uttered by Malachi, (Malachi 1:3,) may seem to be contradictory to this statement. For, comparing the two brothers, Esau and Jacob, with each other, he teaches that Esau was hated, inasmuch as a possession was given to him in the deserts; and yet Isaac promises him a fertile land. There is a twofold solution: either that the Prophet, speaking comparatively, may with truth call Idumea a desert in comparison with the land of Canaan, which was far more fruitful; or else that he was referring to his own times. For although the devastations of both lands had been terrible, yet the land of Canaan in a short time flourished again, while the territory of Edom was condemned to perpetual sterility, and given up to dragons. Therefore, although God, with respect to his own people, banished Esau to desert mountains, he yet gave to him a land sufficiently fertile in itself to render the promise by no means nugatory. For that mountainous region both had its own natural fruitfulness, and was so watered by the dew of heaven, that it would yield sustenance to its inhabitants.

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.

(39) Isaac his father answered.—Unwillingly, and only after repeated entreaty and earnest expostulation, and even tears, upon Esau’s side, does Isaac bring himself to the effort to lessen in any way the painful consequences to his favourite son of his brother having robbed him of the blessing. Plainly, he felt that he had endeavoured to do what was wrong, and was afraid lest he should still be found resisting God’s will.

Thy dwelling shall be the fatness.—Heb., thy dwelling shall be of the fat places of the earth. (See Note on Gen_27:28.) But most modern expositors consider that the preposition should not be translated “of,” but from, that is:—

“Behold thy dwelling shall be away from the fat places of the earth,

And away from the dew of heaven from above,

And by (Heb., upon—depending upon) thy sword thou shalt live,” &c.

By this rendering the parts of the blessing agree together. Those who have fertile lands live by agriculture, but the inhabitants of sterile regions must look to more adventurous enterprises for a living. So the Swiss, like the Greeks of old, long served as mercenaries in the armies of other states. Idumæa, though not destitute of fruitful tracts, and even famous for its orchards, was, as a whole, sterile and unproductive, and the people were restless and unquiet. Moreover, Isaac had already given the corn-land and vineyards to Jacob (Gen_27:37), and had no second gift of them in his power. It is no answer to this to say that as the same preposition is used in Gen_27:28, it cannot have a contrary sense in the two blessings. It there follows a verb of giving, and necessarily has a partitive signification. Here there is nothing absolutely to settle its meaning, and we are left to the general sense. Possibly, Isaac may have purposely used an ambiguous word; but the meaning as a whole is clear. Esau was to inhabit a land which by its barrenness would force him to a life of adventure, military service, and freebooting.

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

39. Behold, &c.] Isaac’s utterance again takes the form of poetry. His prediction as to Esau’s future is contained in 6 strophes; 1 and 2 refer to the physical conditions of the nation’s existence; 3 to its manner of life; 4 to its temporary subjection to Israel; 5 to its revolt; 6 to its ultimate independence.

of] Better, as R.V. marg., away from. The Heb. preposition min, “from,” admits of both renderings. The oracle is intentionally ambiguous. In Gen_27:28 (“of the dew … of the fatness”) there can be no doubt the preposition is used in its partitive sense, (a) The English versions in this verse translate min by “of,” as in Gen_27:28. It might be expected that a preposition used by the same person, with the same nouns, and in a similar context in the same passage, would be identical in meaning. According to this rendering, Isaac promises to Esau a country blessed with rich soil and favourable physical conditions: but he cannot promise a settled or happy government; only a struggle for existence, a temporary servitude, and final freedom. This interpretation, however, seems to miss the point of Isaac’s prediction as to the future material conditions of Esau’s lot. The land of Edom was rugged and mountainous; Esau will live by the sword, not by the fertility of the soil.

(b) It is better to follow the margin, “away from”; cf. 2Sa_1:22. Isaac has really only one blessing; cf. Gen_27:33. Esau’s future will not be as Jacob’s. His country in Mount Seir will not be rich and fertile, like the land of Canaan. His people will not be peaceful cultivators of the soil; they will dwell in the mountains, and get their livelihood as robbers. Edom will serve Israel; but only for a time. This is the climax of the prediction. In spite of hardships, in spite of social inferiority, and in spite of subjugation, Edom shall at last win freedom. According to this interpretation, Isaac’s words contain no soft blessing; but a stern, truthful, continuous prediction, describing (1) the barrenness and aridity of the soil of Edom, (2) the warlike temper of the people, (3) their subjugation to Israel, (4) their ultimate revolt and freedom.

The blessing of Jacob excludes the blessing of Esau; but does not shut out the hope of successful rebellion against the favoured brother. The play of words, produced by the different use of the same preposition, is what might be expected in the language of an ancient oracle; and is quite congenial to the genius of Heb. literature. For the oracular and different use of the same words, cf. Gen_40:13; Gen_40:19.

fatness … dew of heaven] See note on Gen_27:28.

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 his father answered and said unto him,.... Being willing to bestow what he could upon him, without lessening or breaking in upon the grant made to Jacob:

behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above: this agrees with part of the blessing of Jacob, only the clauses are inverted, and no mention made of corn and wine; the land of Edom not being so fat and fruitful as the land of Canaan. Castalio renders the words very differently, "thy habitation shall be from the fatness of the earth, or without the fatness of the earth, and without the dew of heaven from above" (c); or otherwise he thinks Esau would have the same blessing with Jacob, and so would have no occasion of complaint or grief, or to have hated his brother and sought his life; to which may be added, that the land of Edom, which Esau and his posterity inhabited, was a very desert country, see Mal 1:3.

(c) See the Bishop of Clogher's Chronology of the Hebrew Bible, p. 142.

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

Moved; yet not so as to repent of what he had done; for Esau found no place of repentance in his father’s breast, although with tears he had sought it, (Hebrew xii. 17.) desiring to obtain the blessing of the first-born. (Haydock) --- In the fat, &c. Idumea was a barren country; and hence some would translate the Hebrew, "far from the fat...shall they dwelling be; but thou shalt live by the sword." Thus min often means from, as well as for in: my flesh is changed on account of the want of oil, Psalm cviii. 24. Hebrew, a pinguedine. (Calmet) --- But all the ancient versions agree with the Vulgate. So that we may say, the blessing of God made those barren regions supply the wants of the people abundantly; and so the Idumeans were to live by the sword, they would seize the rich habitations of their neighbours, (Haydock) and thus obtain a country rendered fertile without their labour. (Menochius)

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).

In a country competently fruitful and refreshed with convenient dews and showers.

Object. Thus Esau seems to have the same blessing which was before given to Jacob.

Answ. 1. Though it may seem to be the same as to the fertility of the soil, in which divers other parts of the world did and do equal the land of Canaan; yet there is an observable difference in the manner of Isaac’s expression. When he speaks of Esau, he only saith:

Thy dwelling shall be the fatness, & c. But when he speaks to Jacob, he saith: God give thee, or shall give thee of the fatness, &c.; which words being, as it may seem, purposely omitted concerning Esau, and so emphatically expressed concerning Jacob, seem to intimate, especially if compared with many other scriptures where that phrase is applied to good men, that Esau’s fat soil was rather taken by himself than given by God; or if given by God to him, it was only by his general providence, by which he giveth food to all creatures; whereas Jacob’s fat and fruitful soil was derived to him and his by God’s special gift, as a token of his singular kindness, and pledge of greater blessings:

2. This is but one branch of the blessing; the other part, which concerns dignity and superiority, is expressly given to Jacob, Gen 27:29, and denied to Esau, Gen 27:40.

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

39. His father answered — Isaac’s words now again take the form of prophecy, and, moved by the grief of his beloved son, and strong desire on his own part, he says:

Behold, of the fatness of the land shall be thy dwelling,

And of the dew of the heavens from above,

And upon thy sword shalt thou live,

And thy brother shalt thou serve,

And it shall be when thou shalt rove at large

That thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.

The fatness… of the dew — These expressions are precisely like those used in the blessing of Jacob, (Gen_27:28,) only reversed as to their order. But many of the best interpreters explain the preposition מן, as here used in a privative sense, away from, afar from the fatness and the dew, etc. This would give the whole oracle a double or doubtful meaning, one common expression, meaning in Jacob’s case a blessing and in Esau’s a curse. We exceedingly doubt that any such double entente is to be found in the prophecies of the Bible. It would imply a sort of duplicity on the part both of Isaac and of God, who inspired him to prophesy. It is true that God laid waste the mountains and heritage of Esau, (Mal_1:3,) but this is also true of the mountains and heritage of Israel at this day; so that we might argue a like double intente in Isaac’s words to Jacob. Gen_27:28. But Esau as well as Jacob for a long time enjoyed the blessing of fertile lands and refreshing dews, so that, in part, the brothers received like favours.

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

And Isaac his father (moved by the tearful earnestness of Esau) answered and said unto him, still speaking under inspiration, though it is doubtful whether what he spoke was a real, or only an apparent, blessing (vide infra)Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above. Literally, from (mi) the fatnesses (or fat places) of the earth, and from the dew of area; a substantial repetition of the temporal blessing bestowed on Jacob (ver. 28), with certain important variations, such as the omission of plenty of corn and wine at the close, and of the name of Elohim at the commencement, of the benediction (Vulgate, Luther, Calvin, Ainsworth, Rosenm "Speaker"s Commentary"); though, by assigning to the preposition a privative rather than a partitive sense, it is readily transformed into "a modified curse behold, away from the fatnesses o/the earth, &c., ;shall thy dwelling be, meaning that, in contrast to the land of Canaan, the descendants of Esau should be located in a sterile region (Tuch, Knobel, Kurtz, Delitzseh, Keil, Kalisch, Murphy). In support of this latter rendering it is urged

(1) that it is grammatically admissible;

(2) that it corresponds with the present aspect of Idumaea, which is "on the whole a dreary and unproductive land;

(3) that it agrees with the preceding statement that every blessing had already been bestowed upon Jacob; and

(4) that it explains the play upon the words "fatness" and "dew," which are hero chosen to describe a state of matter exactly the opposite to that which was declared to be the lot of Jacob. On the other hand, it is felt to be somewhat arbitrary to assign to the preposition a partitive sense in ver. 28 and a privative in ver. 39. Though called in later times. (Mal_1:3) a waste and desolate region, it may not have been originally so, or only in comparison with Canaan; while according to modern travelers the glens and mountain terraces of Edom, covered with rich soil, only want an industrious population to convert the entire region into "one of the wealthiest, as it is one of the most picturesque, countries in the world."

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

Esau likewise obtained a blessing: yet it was far short of Jacob's.

1. In Jacob's blessing the dew of heaven is put first, as that which he most valued and desired: in Esau's the fatness of the earth is put first, for that was it which he had the principal regard to.

2. Esau hath these, but Jacob hath them from God's hand. God give thee the dew of heaven, ver. 28. It was enough to have the possession, but Jacob desired it by promise.

3. Jacob shall have dominion over his brethren, for the Israelites often ruled over the Edomites. Esau shall have dominion, he shall gain some power, but shall never have dominion over his brother: we never find that the Jews were sold into the hands of the Edomites, or that they oppressed them. But the great difference is, that there is nothing in Esau's blessing that points at Christ, nothing that brings either him or his into the church, and without that the fatness of the earth, and the plunder of the field, will stand him in little stead. Thus Isaac by faith blessed them both, according as their lot should be.

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

משמני הארץ וגו THE FATNESS OF THE EARTH etc. — This refers to the Greek portions of Italy (Graeca Magna) (Genesis Rabbah 67:6).

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.

BEHOLD (‘HINEI’), OF THE FAT PLACES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE THY DWELLING. The intent of the word hinei (behold) is: “Now I could give you of the fat places of the earth and of the dew of heaven, for of these there is sufficient [abundance] for both of you to have of the fat places of the earth and of the dew of heaven, but in the matter of lordship, that will be his, and you shall serve him.” Isaac also did not give him plenty of corn and wine as he gave to his brother since he wanted to honor the one who had been blessed first above him. Later he said to Jacob, And G-d Almighty give thee the blessing of Abraham… that thou mayest inherit the land of thy sojournings, meaning that he should have the plentifulness of the corn and wine in the land of Canaan, which was Abraham’s gift, while Esau would have the dew and the fat places of the earth in another land.

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...הנה משמני הארץ, the earth which you will inherit and on which you will dwell will belong to the most productive areas of the earth, i.e. the Mountain of Seir.

ומטל השמים, your land will be rich and from above it will enjoy the dew from heaven so that this will be a blessing adequate to sustain you and will be also a blessing for him, seeing that his land will also be fruitful, productive.

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.