CHAPTER 27

27:1-20 And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I. 2 And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death: 3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; 4 And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die. 5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. 6 And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, 7 Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death. 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee. 9 Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth: 10 And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death. 11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: 12 My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. 13 And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them. 14 And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved. 15 And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son: 16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: 17 And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. 18 And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? 19 And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. 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.

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. (Gen. 27:1-20) BLESSED JACOB IN THE PLACE OF ESAU. — Since a great patriarch asks his son, before he dies, to bring him the game and food that he likes, considering this a great favor, and promises his blessing, we believe that this text does not in any way lack a prophetic meaning.  And more so considering that his wife gives him the youngest son in a hurry, preferred of her, to receive that blessing. Other things that are narrated there are enough for us to understand or seek greater things in them. [Questions on Genesis, 79]

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. (Gen. 27:1) Et vocavit filium suum seniorem Esaü et dixit (And he called Esau his eldest son, and told him). The word seniorem is not used here to indicate an advanced age, but a relatively higher age.

(Gen. 27:3) Nunc ergo sume vas tuum pharetramque and arcum (Take your weapons, your quiver and your bow). We do not read vasa (vessels), but vas (vessel). The meaning of this word is rather obscure, if one does not recognize a phrase, by virtue of which one would already express pharetram (quiver). It would be, then, to explain the word vas (bow), that Isaac would have joined pharetramque et arcum (quiver and bow); and so saying: sume vas tuum id is pharetram (take your vessel and quiver); and he would have added et arcum (bow), to designate a second object different from the quiver already expressed by vas. Or the word vas designates at the same time the quiver and the bow, and the singular is put for the plural; This is how it is said: accipe vestem tuam, take your clothing, to signify several garments; The soldier is also called soldier to designate several soldiers. We could bring many more examples.

Ibid: Exi in campum venare mihi venationem (Go to the fields, and kill for me some game).

(Gen. 27:9) "Run to the flock of sheep, and bring me two of the best kids.” These two species of animals are designated under the common name of sheep, because they were grazing together. [Locutions]

JEROME OF STRIDON. 27:11 ESAU MY BROTHER IS A HAIRY MAN, AND I AM A WEAK MAN. Where we read hairy, the Hebrew writes SEIR. From where we read later the Seir mountains, and this name also given to the region where Esau lived. We have already spoken in this regard.

27:15 REBECCA TOOK THE CLOTHES OF HER ELDEST SON ESAU, WHO WERE THE OBJECT OF GREAT VENERATION IN THE HOUSE. — Here again the Hebrews say that the firstborn made the office of priests, and that they had a sacred garment, of which they had come back to offer victims to God, before Aaron was chosen for the priesthood. [Hebrew Questions on Genesis]

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM OF CONSTANTINOPLE. (Gen. 27:1-10) His eyes, weakened by old age, says the text, no longer distinguish objects. And he called Esau, his eldest son, and said to him, "Son, you see that I am very old, and that I do not know the day of my end; take your weapons, your quiver, and your bow, and go out into the plain, and hunt, and hunt for me one of those things which I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat it; and bless you, before I die. Here, my beloved, I beseech you, notice the ineffable wisdom of God; see how the father only follows his natural affection by giving this order to Esau, and as the Almighty, the wise Lord, commands Rebekah to fulfill his prediction, thereby showing us what virtue and gentleness are worth. Esau had for him his birthright and the affection of his father, and he believed himself the first; he has lost everything, because he did not want to add to what was beyond him the good that was to come from him. Jacob, on the contrary, with his own virtue, and also the help of grace from on high, even in spite of his father, surprises, seizes his blessing. There is nothing stronger than the man supported by the hand of God. Be therefore careful, attentive; notice the excellence of this conduct, notice as one who leans on divine grace, finds at every moment a great co-operator who works in his interests, to the point of transferring to him the paternal blessing; on the contrary, the other loses everything, he loses himself because his morals are bad. Now, says the text, Rebekah heard Isaac speaking to Esau, his son; and Esau having gone out into the fields to hunt that her father had asked her, Rebekah told her youngest son. (Gen. 27:6) Why does scripture say to her youngest son? it is because there is above: Isaac called his eldest son. Scripture wants to let us know now who Rebekah is addressing, and the text says: His youngest son, that is, Jacob. I heard, said she, your father speaking to Esau, your brother, and saying to him, Bring me out of your hunt, and make me a dish, that I may eat it, and bless you. before the Lord, before dying. (Gen. 27:7) This is what I heard your father say to your brother Esau. Follow now, my son, the advice I give you; Go to the flock, and bring me two children, tender and good, so that I may do to your father one of those dishes that he loves, and that after you have presented it to him, and that he have eaten, your father bless you before dying. (Gen. 27:8-10)

the great love of the mother, or rather the dispensation of God, for it was he who gave him this advice, and who took care to make everything succeed. Did you understand the excellent advice of the mother? See now the circumspection of Jacob; see how his answer indicates the sweetness of his manners. In fact, says the text: Jacob said to his mother, "My brother Esau is hairy, and I have no hair; if my father comes to touch me, and he sees it, I'm afraid he does not believe that I wanted to deceive him, and so I do not draw his curse on me, instead of his blessing. (Gen. 27:11-12) Great is the honesty of the child, and great is his respect for his father. I am afraid, he says, that the opposite of what I desire does not happen; that I do not seem to wish to oppose my father, and that instead of his blessing, I do not attract his curse. What is this admirable Rebekah doing, full of love for her son? As it was not only her will she followed; as it only served the accomplishment of the will. Divine, she makes every effort to banish the fear of her child's heart, to reassure him, to bring him to realize his purpose. And she does not tell him that he can cheat on her. father, that his father will see nothing; what does she tell him? May this curse fall upon me, my son; only obey my voice, and bring me what I ask you. (Gen. 27:13) If anything happens that you fear, she says, you do not. will not suffer; therefore, be without fear, rest assured: Obey my voice, and do what I advise you. This is the characteristic of maternal love. For her child, she exposes herself to everything. She dispelled the fear of her son. He went out, took and brought to his mother what she asked for, and made dishes as Isaac loved them. Rebekah then took, says the text, the most beautiful garment of her eldest son, which she kept in. the house, and she put on Jacob, the youngest of her sons, and with the skin of the kids she covered his arms and their hands. parts of her neck, which were bare, and she put the dishes and breads, which she had made, into the hands of her file; Jacob, who carried it to his father. (Gen. 27:14-17) See, I conjure you here, Rebekah's great love, and, at the same time, his rare wisdom. The text said above that the eldest is hairy and that the youngest has no hair. That's why, says the. text, she clothed him with an Esau garment, and wrapped him in skin, and after having her, at every point, equipped to deceive his father, she put into his hands the dishes and bread, so that he carried them to the patriarch. Consider, here again, how everything has come through grace from above. As soon as we offer to God what comes from us, we obtain in abundance the cooperation of the Lord. It is so that we do not fall into nonchalance and dejection, that he also wants us to do something, it is only on this condition that he gives us his gifts; he does not want help from above to operate alone, we must work on our side. Now, it does not require that we do everything; he knows our weakness; the Lord in his goodness, rejoices to find an opportunity to be generous to us, and he expects us to do what is in our power. You have here the proof; because Jacob and Rebekah did what they had to do; that the child obeyed the advice of his mother; that the mother did all that depended on her, the Lord, full of goodness, put herself to work, and cares to make succeed, to make easy, what was there more difficult, namely that Isaac did not notice the trick. For when the child brought the food to his father, he said to him, Who are you, my son? And Jacob said to his father, I am Esau, your eldest son; I did what you told me; get up, sit down, and eat from my hunt, so that you may give me your blessing. (Gen. 27:19) Consider here, I conjured you, Jacob's anxiety, in pronouncing these words. He had first said to his mother, "I am afraid to draw the curse on me instead of the blessing. What fear should he have when he played such a scene? But since it was God working with him, everything succeeded. What, then, will we say? God cooperated with such a lie? Born do not just consider the fact, my beloved, but notice the purpose; notice that there was no temporal interest here, pursued by avarice; it was the blessing of his father that the young son wanted to attract him. Besides, if you never want to see the facts, without considering the goal, take care that the former patriarch does not seem to you the murderer of his son, and Phinée a homicide. But Abraham was not the murderer of his son; he loved her as much as a father can love; and Phinehas was not a homicide, but a man full of zeal, both did what was pleasing to God. Also, the one for having obeyed, deserved, of the Lord, a great reward: the other is celebrated for his zeal. In fact, says the psalmist, Phineas arose, and he appeased. (Ps. 105:30) So, if a murder, slain sons are facts approved in their history, because they conformed to the will of God; if we do not stop at the reality of the facts, but at the goal we had proposed, with the intention, all the more reason, here, this intention is it, what deserves to be considered.

So, do not stop at the lies pronounced by Jacob; see only the will of God; he wanted the prediction to be fulfilled, and he disposed everything for that purpose. And what will show you that it is God who has made everything easy, even the most difficult, the just man has not suspected fraud; he allowed himself to be caught by Jacob's words; he eats his food, and rewards it with his blessings. Esau did not come back from the hunt until all was done. It is to show us that the will of God alone leads everything. Isaac said to his son, "How could you, my son, find it so early?" He said to him, "Because the Lord God has delivered it before me." (Gen. 27:20) Jacob was still in trouble and his fright, at its height. But all these events have been accomplished, so that we may know by facts that the Lord is not content to show us his solicitude, the care he takes from us; he still wants us to deserve his favors, by the ardor of our zeal. Do not be afraid to run in front of this fight of Jacob, my beloved ones; consider that he had everything to lose, that he was full of terror, trembling, that he feared that this blessing would expose him to all the rigors of the curse. [Homilies on Genesis]

27:21-33 And Isaac said to Jacob, Draw night to me, and I will feel thee, son, if thou art my son Esau or not. 22And Jacob drew nigh to his father Isaac, and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. 23And he knew him not, for his hands were as the hands of his brother Esau, hairy; and he blessed him, 24and he said, Art thou my son Esau? and he said, I am. 25And he said, Bring hither, and I will eat of thy venison, son, that my soul may bless thee; and he brought it near to him, and he ate, and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26And Isaac his father said to him, Draw nigh to me, and kiss me, son. 27 And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed: 28 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: 29 Let people 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 every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee. 30 And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison, that thy soul may bless me. 32 And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau. 33 And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.

AMBROSIASTER. (Verse 27) IF THE WILL OF THE RIGHTEOUS MAN IS GOOD, WHY DID NOT ISAAC BLESS ESAU AS HE WISHED, BUT JACOB WHOM HE WOULD NOT BLESS? — The will of the just man is good, considered in his conscience; but as to foresight, it remains alien to unfortunate events. For God alone can judge things to come. That is why the righteous one, to consider only the outside, believed that his eldest son deserved to be blessed preferably. But God, who knows what is most secret, can see that the younger deserves this blessing, to show that this blessing was not a human favor but a grace from God; for it is not to the merit of man, but to the dignity of employment, that the blessing of God is attached. We see in the book of Numbers that God said to Moses and Aaron, who were priests, “Call upon my name on the children of Israel, and I, the Lord, will bless them (Num. 6:27).” Thus grace is transmitted to men by the ministry of those whom God chooses for this purpose, without the will of the priest being an obstacle or an advantage; God only takes into account the character of the person who asks for the blessing. Let us understand the greatness of the priestly dignity. The Evangelist, speaking of Caiaphas, said that high priest, who carried the wickedness to the last restrictions by having the death of the Savior. “He did not say that of himself, but this prophecy, because he was high priest of this year (Jn. 11:51).” We see that the Spirit of graces is not attached to the person, whether worthy or not, but to the succession of the priestly order. Therefore, whatever may be the merit of a man, he has no power to bless unless he is chosen and ordained to fulfill this sacred function; but it is always from God that the blessing receives its efficacy. [Questions on the Old and New Testaments, Question 11]

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. (Gen. 27:33) THE ECSTASY OF ISAAC. — Where the Latin codices say: expavit autem Isaac pavore magno valde (but Isaac began to tremble with a great fear), the Greek codices say: ἐξέστη δὲ Ισαακ ἔκστασιν μεγάλην σφόδρα (Isaac was cast into a very great ecstasy). In this text it is understood, therefore, a commotion so great that would produce a kind of mental alienation. This alienation is properly called ecstasy. And since ecstasy usually occurs in the revelations of very important things, we must understand that in this revelation a spiritual admonition was given to confirm the blessing that Isaac had to give to his youngest son, against whom he should rather have been angry, since he deceived him. The same case occurs when, concerning Adam, the great mystery of which the Apostle speaks is prophesied with these words: And the two will be one flesh, a mystery that is realized between Christ and the Church (Eph. 5:31-32.). There it is affirmed that this fact preceded an ecstasy (Cf. Gen 2:21). [Questions on Genesis, 80]

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM OF CONSTANTINOPLE. Then said the text, Isaac said, Come near me, that I may touch you, my son, and that I may know whether you are my son Esau, or not. (Gen. 27:21) It was because the voice left a little uncertainty; but as the event led by the Lord had to be accomplished, God did not allow us to see the trick. Jacob approached his father, and Isaac, having touched him, said, For the voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau, and he did not recognize him. (Gen. 27:22) Do you see how the text shows us that everything emanates from the grace of God? It is God who made Isaac not perceive anything, and that Jacob would enjoy the paternal blessing. . And he did not recognize him, says the text, because his hands were like Esau's hands. (Gen. 27:24) And he said to him, Are you my son? Esau? See, again; as the divine Scripture shows us that the just man has suspicions. Indeed, says the text: Isaac said: Are you my son Esau? A detail which also aims to make us know that the father did not listen to the affection of nature, but that God, who foresees the future, and who glorifies the virtue of his servants, is the one who has arranged everything here . And Jacob said, I am. Indeed, after Isaac said, Are you my son Esau? I am, says the text. Bring me to eat from your hunt, my son, so that I may bless you; it is hardly finally, if Jacob begins to breathe. And he brought his food to his father, and brought him wine, and Isaac drank, and said unto him, Come near to me, my son, and come and kiss me; He went up to him, and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the good smell that came out of his clothes, and said to him, blessing him. (Gen. 27:25-27) See the care of the divine Scripture; after this questioning: Are you Esau? and this answer, I am, Isaac still touches him, the voice having almost made him suspect the feint; and he asks him again, Are you my son Esau? And Jacob said, I am; and then he brings him the dishes and Isaac eats. So, says the text: He kissed him and blessed him. And, so that one does not imagine that he has blessed him in the person of Esau, so that one. Even though he has blessed him whom he has kissed, the divine Scripture tells us that he has kissed him; and that he blessed him whom he kissed. And as soon as he. He smelled the good smell, which came out of his clothes, he said to him while blessing him: the smell that comes out of my son is like the smell of a field full of fruit, which the Lord has blessed. May God give you the dew of heaven and the fat of the earth, and the abundance of wheat and wine. (Gen. 27:27-28) May the Lord God grant you all this, to you who brought me these dishes, who have received from me the kiss. May the peoples be subject to you! See, he asks for him, by his prayers, first the necessary; then the dominion over the peoples, and he predicts to him his future prosperity, and the enlargement of those who will emerge from him. And let the princes adore you! These prayers do not require that only peoples be subject to it, but the princes themselves; And be the lord of your brother. See the righteous man serving even without knowing it, the will of God. All, indeed, was so arranged that the virtuous son received the blessing which his virtues deserved. May the sons of your father adore you! It is the habit of Scripture to give the name of sons to all generations. It is as if he were saying, those who come out of the race of Esau; for Isaac had no other son than these two. He who curses you, let him curse himself, and bless him who is blessed with blessings. This is the crown of blessing; here is the sum of all the goods, to be blessed. Have you understood the clemency of God? He who feared to receive the curse, instead of blessing, not only carries away all the treasure of his father's blessings, but the curse is pronounced against those who would attempt to curse him. Let us learn from this that whoever disposes of what belongs to him, in a manner consistent with the will of God, is assured of help from above, so much so that his will becomes a fact that is realized. Who would not admire the ineffable disposition of the divine wisdom, which does not allow Esau to return from the hunt before the outcome of this story, before Jacob withdrew, rich of all the blessings of his father; this is what Moses wanted to show us, adding: And after Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and after Jacob had gone out, having left Isaac his father, behold, Esau his brother returned from the hunt. (Gen. 27:30)

See how immediately after the exit of one, the other arrives, and there is no mere chance. Providence wanted him to bring, without suspecting anything, his hunt for his father, and that it was from his father that he should learn everything that had happened. For if he had met his brother, perhaps he would have killed him, yielding to his fury; for if, later, he could have had this thought, much more, at the very moment, would he have tried to commit the crime. But there was the hand of God, who kept the youngest of the two brothers; it was God who made him worthy of the blessing, and deprived the other, and the blessing and the birthright. And when Esau came, said the scripture, he prepared his hunt, and brought him to be a father, and said unto him, Arise, father, and eat of your son's hunt, that ye may give me your blessing.  (Gen. 27:31) See the new trouble which here confounds the spirit of the just man; for when he heard these words, Isaac said to him, Who are you? And he answered him, I am your eldest son Esau. See the pride he is showing at this moment; it is not enough for him to say: I am Esau, but he adds: Your eldest son. And Isaac was greatly astonished, and said, Who is he that brought me already that which he had taken to hunt, and which made me eat all things before you came? give him my blessing, and he will be blessed. (Gen. 27:33) See the perplexity in which the righteous man finds himself. He recounts the fact, and he adds, with a rigor that hurts the heart of the other: And I gave him my blessing, and he will be blessed. It was God Himself who made the language of the righteous man speak. It was necessary that the other, perfectly informed about what had happened, was well convinced that it would serve him nothing, neither his birthright, nor his hunting. [Homilies on Genesis]

27:34-41 And it came to pass when Esau heard the words of his father Isaac, he cried out with a great and very bitter cry, and said, Bless, I pray thee, me also, father. 35And he said to him, Thy brother has come with subtlety, and taken thy blessing. 36And he said, Rightly was his name called Jacob, for lo! this second time has he supplanted me; he has both taken my birthright, and now he has taken my blessing; and Esau said to his father, Hast thou not left a blessing for me, father? 37And Isaac answered and said to Esau, If I have made him thy lord, and have made all his brethren his servants, and have strengthened him with corn and wine, what then shall I do for thee, son? 38And Esau said to his father, Hast thou only one blessing, father? Bless, I pray thee, me also, father. And Isaac being troubled, Esau cried aloud and wept. 39And Isaac 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. 40And thou shalt live by thy sword, and shalt serve thy brother; and there shall be a time when thou shalt break and loosen his yoke from off thy neck. 41And Esau was angry with Jacob because of the blessing, with which his father blessed him; and Esau said in his mind, Let the days of my father's mourning draw nigh, that I may slay my brother Jacob.

JEROME OF STRIDON. 27:36 ESAU SAID, HE IS RIGHTLY CALLED JACOB. HE HAS SUPPLANTED ME A SECOND TIME. Jacob translates as supplantor. Esau refers to the name, because of the skill with which he was deceived by his brother. Before, Jacob had received this name, because at birth he had seized the sole of his brother's foot.

27:40 YOU WILL SERVE YOUR BROTHER, AND A DAY WILL COME THAT YOU WILL LAY DOWN AND BREAK THE YOKE HE HAS IMPOSED ON YOU. This is to announce that the Idumeans will be under the servitude of the Jews, and that a time will come that they will scourge the yoke of servitude and oppose their empire. According to the Septuagint, who says: "A time will come that you will lay down and break the yoke," the thought seems suspended, it is incomplete. [Hebrew Questions on Genesis]

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM OF CONSTANTINOPLE. Esau, at the words of his father's silk, said the text, uttered a loud cry, full of bitterness. (Gen. 27:34) What does that mean, a loud shout, full of bitterness? He showed his indignation, the anger with which he was seized at this news, beyond all expression. And he said to him, Give me also your blessing, my father; Isaac answered him, "Your brother came to surprise me, and he received the blessing due to you. (Gen. 27:35) Your brother, he says, has come before you, and he has seized all the blessing, all the privileges that accompany him. And what proves to you that the grace from on high co-operated with the ruse, which deceived the righteous man, are the very words which he uses to confess the fact: Your brother came to surprise me. He seems to apologize to his son, that he wants to explain to him; it was without my knowledge that I gave him the blessings; I was ready to spread abundance over you; but now he has come to surprise me, and he has received the blessing due to you: What was prepared for you, he took it; it is not my fault. It is with reason, said Esau, that he was called Jacob, that is to say, supplicant, for this is the second time he has supplanted me; he has already taken away my birthright, and now he is robbing me of the blessing due to me. (Gen. 27:36) It is not wrong, he says, that he bears the name of Jacob, which means indeed supplanting; he has proved that he was, by depriving me, of my birthright and my blessing. What does Esau now say to Isaac? Have you not reserved for me, too, a blessing, my father? Isaac answered him, "Know," said he, "that I have poured on him all the blessings. I have established your lord. (Gen. 27:37) See him announce to him, from his first words, servitude and subjection. I have established your Lord, and have subjected all his brethren to his dominion; I have established it in the possession of wheat and wine, and after that, what shall I do for you, my son? I have nothing left since I have made him your lord, since I have subjected all his brothers to him, and my prayers have asked for him the abundance of all the necessary things. What remains to me? Esau divided him, "Have you only one blessing, father? bless me, too. (Gen. 27:38) As he heard his father say to him, "I have blessed him, and he will be blessed; When Isaac revealed to him all the consequences of the blessing, then he said to him, 'Bless me, my father too; do you have only one blessing? Can not you bless me, too? me that you love so much, me your firstborn, me that you sent to the hunt? These words touched his father. Isaac was touched, says the text; Esau uttered loud cries with sobs. He saw his father confused, unable or unwilling to revoke what had been done, and he shouted, and he cried, to touch his father more and more. Isaac took pity on him and said to him, "Your blessing shall be in the fat of the earth, and in the dew of the heaven which comes from on high; you will live by the sword; you will serve your brother, and the time will come that you will shake off his yoke, and you will get rid of it." (Gen. 27:39-40) Since, he says, you, too, want my blessing, learn that he is not it is not possible to act against the divine will; but I ask for you, by my prayers, that you enjoy the dew of heaven know that you will live in the fighting, because you will live with the sword, you will serve your brother.

Now, let no one be astonished at this story, seeing, soon afterward, his brother who is wandering away, because of the fear he inspires in him, and going to a foreign land. It must not be concluded from this beginning that the prediction will not be fulfilled. Indeed, when the Lord makes a promise; whatever may be the obstacles that seem to upset its effects at first, we must not be troubled, for it is impossible for the promises to be fruitless until the end. What happens is that the righteous, glorified by all means, make more manifest, in all eyes, the abundance of the virtue of the Lord. This reflection applies to every just man; you will always see it confirmed, if you read carefully the history of each of them. This is what is manifest now again. Do not stop to consider that first he fled; but think about the glory that will come later. See after a while, this elder brother, hand holding so terrible, show him all kinds of respect and veneration. Consider what an excess of glory has been his share, after the trials he has endured on a foreign land; it is at this point that his children have become a multitude, who has given his name, his glorious name to a whole people. Now the divine Scripture, wishing to show us the indignation of a brother who was rolling homicidal thoughts; Esau, says the text, hated Jacob because of this blessing he had received from his father. And what shows us that it was not just a sudden anger, it is the expression of Scripture that marks the excess of malignity: hated, says the text, that is to say persisted in hatred, so much so that the feeling hidden deep in his heart, the text expresses it with these words: And he said in his heart: The time of my father's death will come, and then I will kill my brother Jacob. In truth, anger is no less mad than delirium.see how this demon throws his victims into delirium, absolutely deprives them of reason, persuades them to do the opposite of what advise them the eyes, they see nothing, they do not do anything in a reasonable way, they seem to have no more meaning or judgment, so those who are angry do not recognize the people present; remember neither their parents, nor their friends, nor their knowledge, nor what they owe to themselves, nor anything, the anger subjugates them, they fall in the precipice. Is there any more miserable than these vanquished, these captives of anger, who hasten to run to murder? That is why Blessed Paul, to root out the root of this evil, makes these suggestions heard: All fury, all anger, all cries, must, as well as all malice, be banished from you. (Eph. 4:31) Not only, he says I do not wish you to warm up, to get angry, but I do not want you to cry out, talking to your neighbor; for the cry is the child of wrath. When this evil awakens in the interior of our being, when the heart is inflated, from that moment on the tongue no longer makes any sound of peaceful words; the violence of passion manifests itself, and one shouts when speaking to one's neighbor. So that blessed Paul, wishing, by his advice, to assure to those who listen to him, an uninterrupted tranquility, says to them: All passion (that is to say whatever the cause which moves you) and all anger, and every kind of cry must disappear among you. Then, as he wants to dry up the root of this evil, to prevent the sad fruit, he says: as well as all malice. For he who does not know anger, is always in a harbor, safe from the waves of this world, and he fears neither storm nor shipwreck; he sails on a quiet wave; he stays in a peaceful harbor; for him, present life is far from anything that upsets and disturbs hearts; and, besides, he makes sure, by all means, immortal lesbians, the ineffable treasures. May we all obtain them, by the grace and mercy of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom belongs, as to the Father, as to the Holy Spirit, glory, honor, empire, now and always and for ever and ever. Amen. [Homilies on Genesis]

27:42-46 And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; 44 And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away; 45 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 thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day? 46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. (Gen. 27:42-46) HOW DID REBECCA KNOW ESAU'S MURDEROUS PLANS? — How were they announced, or reported to Rebekah, of Esau's death threats against his brother (Cf. Gen. 27:41)? For the Scripture affirms that he thought about it within himself. The explanation is that by this we know that all things were revealed to them by the influence of God. Therefore, the fact that Isaac wanted to bless his younger son instead of the eldest is something that holds a great mystery. [Questions on Genesis, 81]

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM OF CONSTANTINOPLE. Rebecca called her youngest son and told him. (Gen. 27:42) Did you understand, yesterday, the perfect wisdom of the publican, and the ineffable mercy of the Lord, and the excess of the stupidity of the Jews? Have you understood the lesson that all of us give, the prompt obedience of Blessed Matthew, and his conversion, which makes him a whole new man, because it is in our will, after the action of the grace of above, what reside our virtues and our vices; because the ardor of our zeal can raise us to the highest peak of virtue, and because, on the contrary, our numbness lets us fall into the precipices. Indeed, what distinguishes us from unreasonable beings is that we have received from the goodness of God, reason as a glorious privilege, it is due we naturally possess the knowledge of good and evil. So let no one pretend of his ignorance to neglect virtue; that none of you pretend that there is no guide to show him the way; we all have a master who suffices, it is the conscience, and no one is deprived of this help. At the same time that the man was formed, the discernment of the actions was given to him, in order to put him in a position to show, in the present life, the wisdom that he carries in him, so that as in a palester, to the labors of virtue, he can conquer the rewards that virtue deserves; and after a few short fatigues, deserve the imperishable crowns; and, after having embraced virtue in the passage of time, enjoy eternal goods in the infinite duration of ages. Instructed of these truths, my beloved ones, do not betray our noble nature; let us prove our gratitude to our magnificent benefactor; let us not pursue the pleasures of a day, to attain pain that will have no end; let us keep our gaze fixed on that eye which never sleeps, which sees in the most hidden folds of our hearts; let us regulate our conduct; clothed with the arms of the spirit, let us show the wisdom which is in us, and conquer the help from above, in order to triumph, thanks to the divine auxiliary, of our enemy every day, of our bitter enemy; in order to render useless all his machinations, and to assure us the conquest of the goods which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one, then, consider the fatigues of virtue; on the contrary, let us calculate all the profits which will reward our generous efforts, and prepare ourselves with ardor for combat; for if it is true that in the affairs of human life, animated by the fury of riches, one is quick to tempt everything; that the perils of the sea, the shipwrecks, the attacks of the pirates, do not shake, nor slow down the courage, which, however, pursues only an uncertain profit; What excuse will we be able to claim, when we are promised for our generous struggles, immortal goods, if we do not prepare ourselves with the ardent zeal of a sincere desire? How can we show so much ingratitude to our benefactor? How can we forget the presents already made, the promises received? What! losing everything, memory, we live at random and aimlessly, like herds, without any care for our soul, we, loading the belly until it burst; A sad victim of this belly, our unfortunate body suffers and sends us back the thousand evils which our intemperance attracts, the painful embarrassment of our gluttony, and we let our soul wither away with hunger? And this, though the soul is so high above the body, though the soul, once gone, there remains only a corpse. What would be necessary would be to give to one, to give the other the food that suits each of them; and we lose each one of them, because we keep no measure, fattening one more than necessary, forcing the other to starve. Hence the threatening words which the God of the universe addresses to the Jews, in the fury of his indignation. I will give you, not the famine of the bread nor the thirst for water, but the famine that wants to hear the word of the Lord (Amos 8:11), showing us that this first famine produces the thinness of the body, that the other, on the contrary, attacks the soul. Well ! what the Lord declared to them in a threatening voice, as one announces a torture, we are now the first to draw on us; and that, when God has shown us that he takes such vigilant care from us when he has foreseen everything, when, with the reading of Holy Scripture, he has again given us the exhortations of the teachers.

Therefore, I conjure you, my beloved ones, shake off all numbness, wake up at last, apply yourself, with all your zeal, to the salvation of your soul; it is through this that you will fully reconcile the benevolence of the Lord. And we will teach you, with even greater ardor, that you put our advice into practice. When the farmer sees a fertile soil of such a nature as to give much fruit, he puts himself more ardently to cultivate it; so, too, if we see your progress in the coverings of God asking you, if we see that our words become the rules of your conduct, we will do, to instruct you, even more courageous efforts, because we shall see that we do not sow on the rock, but in a rich and fertile soil.

That's why; every day we send you our words; it is for them to profit you, so that you may grow in virtue, so that when you see your progress, we rejoice. By any chance, would we pretend to speak to you to make a vain noise sound, to gather your praises, to hear you clap your hands while retiring? No, that is not our desire, far from us an ambition like that; what we want is your usefulness. The most beautiful glory for me, the most magnificent of applause, is the return of a sinner to virtue, it is the numbness shaken by our words changed into fervor. This, for me, is the most beautiful of consolations, true glory; here, for you, the incomparable profit, the wealth, the spiritual treasure. I do not pretend to dispute your zeal, and I know that, taught by God, you too can instruct others; in this thought I end here my exhortation; I repeat the teaching usually given us by the words of Blessed Moses, say better of the Holy Spirit, speaking through his mouth. I want to add a few more words and I will serve you the feast that Moses is preparing for you today. You have recently seen Jacob, who does nothing but the advice of Rebekah, to wring from his father the blessing, the laudable larch to which God himself co-operated and who succeeds. But Esau hated Jacob because of this blessing and was preparing to kill him. Such is the character of this perverse passion; it does not stop before having thrown into the precipice the unfortunate whom it possesses, it is necessary that the homicide run to its crime; the root of the homicide is envy, which Cain's work against Abel makes clear from the first days of the world. He had no pretense, small or large, against his brother; but he saw the offerings of Abel pleasing to God, his rejected by his fault, and at once envy awoke in his heart. And this root of the murder having originated in the depths of his soul, soon produced the fatal fruit, and he committed homicide. In the same way today Esau sees that his brother has received the blessing of his father, and anger and envy push him to homicide, and he meditates on the death of his brother.

This admirable mother, in the fear inspired by this hatred, still shows all her maternal affection for her child, and she indicates to him the means of tearing herself away from her brother's hands. She called, said the text, her youngest son and said to him, "Here is Esau, your brother, who threatens to kill you; listen to my voice. (Gen. 27:42-43) Experience must show you, she tells him, that my advice is useful to you; already, for listening to my voice, you have drawn on you the treasures of your father's blessing, do the same now, listen to my voice again to escape from your brother's hands. Thus you will protect yourself from danger and you will spare me great pain. For it is quite natural to think that, if he dared to commit such an attempt, he would be punished, and there would be nothing for me, on all sides, but boundless pain. Listen to my voice, then, hasten to retire to my brother Laban in the land of Charran: you will remain with him for a few days, until the irritation, the anger of your brother against you is appeased, until that he forgets what you did to him; I will then send you back here, so as not to lose my two children in one day.

Go away, she said, To my brother Laban, you will remain with him. (Gen. 27:44-45) Indeed, it is natural to think that separation, that time will soothe resentment, extinguish anger, bring forgetfulness to what has happened, this surprise blessing. Until he forgets, she said, what you did to him. It is not surprising, she says, that he is angry; That is why it is convenient for you to be saved from his fury, to let the time pass that will be forgotten, so that you can then remain here without danger. And, in order to render her exile less painful to her son than she is forced to impose on her, first see how she console him: Go to Laban, my brother; Am I telling you to go find some unknown stranger? My brother, and you will remain with him a few days; a short time, she said, just a few days, until the anger has passed. Now her anger is boiling, she says, and the respect of a father will not hold him back; he is dominated by anger; he has no longer in the heart of fraternal love; he has but one thought, that of appeasing his resentment. I will then send you to come back here quickly, "she said; I will bring you back; so go with confidence, since I will send you back here. Because, I am quite worried; I am afraid for my two children; I do not want to be without my two children. See the wisdom of the mother. She follows a natural movement; moreover, it helps to fulfill God's prediction. At this very moment, she gives her child the same counsel as Christ to his disciples, when he warned them not to expose themselves recklessly to danger, but to retire to give foolish fury time to die out. This is the advice she gives to her son; she begins by inspiring her with confidence, her departure must not be too painful for her. And then, she imagines an honest pretext to motivate this departure; it is not necessary for him to appear in a manner that is too manifest to withdraw in the face of his brother's hatred; the father must not know the true cause of the journey, namely, the anger of Esau against Jacob.  Rebekah then said to Isaac, "Life has become a burden to me because of the daughters of Chet, whom Esau married; if Jacob marries a girl from this country, what is life for me? (Gen. 27:46)

See how she cleverly finds an honest pretense. That is, when grace from above works with us, the difficult becomes easy; what was heavy, becomes light. Rebekah had God for her, and it was he who inspired this mother with all that could be used for the future establishment, for the salvation of her son. Life, she says, has become a burden to me because of the daughters of Chet, whom Esau has married; if Jacob marries a girl from this country, what is life for me? These words seem to me to wilt the mores of Esau's wives, who were for the family of the patriarch, a great subject of sorrow. Indeed, the divine Scripture, speaking of Esau, told us above, that he had taken wives among those of Chet and Eva; these women quarreled with Isaac and Rebekah. (Gen. 26:31-35) She therefore wishes to remind him of these causes of boredom; It is as if she were saying to him: "You know how much the wives of Esau made my life bitter; what aversion I feel, for their sake, for all the girls of the country of Chet; because of them, this whole nation is odious to me; So, if it happens that Jacob, in turn, takes a wife in this nation, now what can I expect? What does life do to me? If, to these unbearable wives, Jacob adds another wife, taken among the daughters of this nation, all is lost for us. [Homilies on Genesis]