Genesis 27 · Parashat Toldot

And it came to pass, that when Yiżĥaq was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called ῾Esav his eldest son, and said to him, My son: and he said to him, Here I am.

And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:

now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and catch me some venison;

and make me savoury food, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat, that my soul may bless thee before I die.

And Rivqa heard when Yiżĥaq spoke to ῾Esav his son. And ῾Esav went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.

And Rivqa spoke to Ya῾aqov her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak to ῾Esav thy brother, saying,

Bring me venison, and make me savoury food, that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death.

Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.

Go now to the flock, and fetch me from there two good kids of the goats; and I will make them into savoury food for thy father, such as he loves:

and thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.

And Ya῾aqov said to Rivqa his mother, Behold, ῾Esav my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:

my father perhaps will feel me, and I shall seem to him a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.

And his mother said to him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.

And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury food, such as his father loved.

And Rivqa took the best clothes of her eldest son ῾Esav, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Ya῾aqov her younger son:

and she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:

and she gave the savoury food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Ya῾aqov.

And he came to his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I: who art thou, my son?

And Ya῾aqov said to his father, I am ῾Esav thy firstborn; I have done according as thou didst tell me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.

And Yiżĥaq said to his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because, the Lord thy God sent me good speed.

And Yiżĥaq said to Ya῾aqov, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou art really my son ῾Esav or not.

And Ya῾aqov went near to Yiżĥaq his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Ya῾aqov’s voice, but the hands are the hands of ῾Esav.

And he recognised him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother ῾Esav’s hands: so he blessed him.

And he said, Art thou really my son ῾Esav? And he said, I am.

And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank.

And his father Yiżĥaq said to him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.

And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelt the smell of his garments, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed:

therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:

let peoples serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be those that curse thee, and blessed be those that bless thee.

And it came to pass, as soon as Yiżĥaq had made an end of blessing Ya῾aqov, and Ya῾aqov was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Yiżĥaq his father, that ῾Esav his brother came in from his hunting.

And he also had made savoury food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison, that thy soul may bless me.

And Yiżĥaq his father said to him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn ῾Esav.

And Yiżĥaq trembled very much, and said, Who then is he that has taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? moreover, he shall be blessed.

And when ῾Esav heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceedingly bitter cry, and said to his father, Bless me, me also, O my father.

And he said, Thy brother came with cunning and has taken away thy blessing.

And he said, Is not he rightly named Ya῾aqov? for he has supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he has taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?

And Yiżĥaq answered and said to ῾Esav, 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 for thee, my son?

And ῾Esav said to his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father.

And ῾Esav raised his voice, and wept. And Yiżĥaq his father answered and said to him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;

and by thy sword shalt thou live, and thou shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.

And ῾Esav hated Ya῾aqov because of the blessing with which his father blessed him: and ῾Esav said in his heart, When the days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Ya῾aqov.

And these words of ῾Esav, her elder son, were told to Rivqa: and she sent and called Ya῾aqov her younger son, and said to him, Behold, thy brother ῾Esav comforts himself, purposing to kill thee.

Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee to Lavan my brother, to Ḥaran;

and dwell with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away;

until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from there: why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?

And Rivqa said to Yiżĥaq, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Ḥet: if Ya῾aqov take a wife of the daughters of Ḥet, such as these, of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life be to me?