GEN 27

Genesis 27:44

WEB

Stay with him a few days, until your brother’s fury turns away—

BSB

Stay with him for a while, until your brother’s fury subsides—

KJV

And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away;

Matthew Henry

Verses 41–46

Genesis 27:41–46

Here is, I. The malice Esau bore to Jacob upon account of the blessing which he had obtained, Gen 27:41. Thus he went in the way of Cain, who slew his brother because he had gained that acceptance with God of which he had rendered himself unworthy. Esau's hatred of Jacob was, 1. A causeless hatred. He hated him for no other reason but because his father blessed him and God loved him. Note, The happiness of saints is the envy of sinners. Whom Heaven blesses, hell curses. 2. It was a cruel hatred. Nothing less would satisfy him than to slay his brother. It is the blood of the saints that persecutors thirst after: I will slay my brother. How could he say that word without horror? How could he call him brother, and yet vow his death? Note, The rage of persecutors will not be tied up by any bonds, no, not the strongest and most sacred. 3. It was a politic hatred. He expected his father would soon die, and then titles must be tried and interests contested between the brothers, which would give him a fair opportunity for revenge. He thinks it not enough to live by his sword himself (Gen 27:40), unless his brother die by it. He is loth to grieve his father while he lives, and therefore puts off the intended murder till his death, not caring how much he then grieved his surviving mother. Note, (1.) Those are bad children to whom their good parents are a burden, and who, upon any account, long for the days of mourning for them. (2.) Bad men are long held in by external restraints from doing the mischief they would do, and so their wicked purposes come to nought. (3.) Those who think to defeat God's purposes will undoubtedly be disappointed themselves. Esau aimed to prevent Jacob, or his seed, from having the dominion, by taking away his life before he was married; but who can disannul what God has spoken? Men may fret at God's counsels, but cannot change them.

II. The method Rebekah took to prevent the mischief.

1. She gave Jacob warning of his danger, and advised him to withdraw for a while, and shift for his own safety. She tells him what she heard of Esau's design, that he comforted himself with the hope of an opportunity to kill his brother, Gen 27:42. Would one think that such a bloody barbarous thought as this could be a comfort to a man? If Esau could have kept his design to himself his mother would not have suspected it; but men's impudence in sin is often their infatuation; and they cannot accomplish their wickedness because their rage is too violent to be concealed, and a bird of the air carries the voice. Observe here, (1.) What Rebekah feared - lest she should be deprived of them both in one day (Gen 27:45), deprived, not only of the murdered, but of the murderer, who either by the magistrate, or by the immediate hand of God, would by sacrificed to justice, which she herself must acquiesce in, and not obstruct: or, if not so, yet thenceforward she would be deprived of all joy and comfort in him. Those that are lost to virtue are in a manner lost to all their friends. With what pleasure can a child be looked upon that can be looked upon as no other than a child of the devil? (2.) What Rebekah hoped - that, if Jacob for a while kept out of sight, the affront which his brother resented so fiercely would by degrees go out of mind. The strength of passions is weakened and taken off by the distances both of time and place. She promised herself that his brother's anger would turn away. Note, Yielding pacifies great offences; and even those that have a good cause, and God on their side, must yet use this with other prudent expedients for their own preservation.

2. She impressed Isaac with an apprehension of the necessity of Jacob's going among her relations upon another account, which was to take a wife, Gen 27:46. She would not tell him of Esau's wicked design against the life of Jacob, lest it should trouble him; but prudently took another way to gain her point. Isaac saw as uneasy as he was to Esau's being unequally yoked with Hittites; and therefore, with a very good colour of reason, she moves to have Jacob married to one that was better principled. Note, One miscarriage should serve as a warning to prevent another; those are careless indeed that stumble twice at the same stone. Yet Rebekah seems to have expressed herself somewhat too warmly in the matter, when she said, What good will my life do me if Jacob marry a Canaanite? Thanks be to God, all our comfort is not lodged in one hand; we may do the work of life, and enjoy the comforts of life, though every thing do not fall out to our mind, and though our relations be not in all respects agreeable to us. Perhaps Rebekah spoke with this concern because she saw it necessary, for the quickening of Isaac, to give speedy orders in this matter. Observe, Though Jacob was himself very towardly, and well fixed in his religion, yet he had need to be put out of the way of temptation. Even he was in danger both of following the bad example of his brother and of being drawn into a snare by it. We must not presume too far upon the wisdom and resolution, no, not of those children that are most hopeful and promising; but care must be taken to keep them out of harm's way.

Cross-references: Gen 27:41 · Gen 27:40 · Gen 27:42 · Gen 27:45 · Gen 27:46

Hebrew interlinear

H3427

יָשַׁבyâshab/yaw-shab'/

v — sit, dwell, remain, settle, marry

Derivation: a primitive root;

properly, to sit down (specifically as judge. in ambush, in quiet); by implication, to dwell, to remain; causatively, to settle, to marry

KJV: (make to) abide(-ing), continue, (cause to, make to) dwell(-ing), ease self, endure, establish, × fail, habitation, haunt, (make to) inhabit(-ant), make to keep (house), lurking, × marry(-ing), (bring again to) place, remain, return, seat, set(-tle), (down-) sit(-down, still, -ting down, -ting (place) -uate), take, tarry.

יָשַׁב

vb — sit

יָשַׁב 1090 vb. sit, remain, dwell

Qal

1.

a. sit

b. sit, sit down

c. sit down

d. sit = be set (as a jewel)

2.

a. remain, stay, tarry

b. with special emphasis of qualifying phr.

3. dwell, have one’s abode

4. of a land or city, sit, abide, seated in its place, fig. for be inhabited

Niph. be inhabited, of land

Pi. and they shall set their encampments in thee

Hiph.

1. cause to sit

2. cause to abide

3.

a. cause to dwell

b. cause cities to be inhabited

4. marry (prop. give a dwelling to)

Hoph. and ye be made to dwell alone in the midst of the land

H5973

עִםʻim/eem/

prep — with, equally with

Derivation: from 6004;

adverb or preposition, with (i.e. in conjunction with), in varied applications; specifically, equally with; often with prepositional prefix (and then usually unrepresented in English)

KJV: accompanying, against, and, as (× long as), before, beside, by (reason of), for all, from (among, between), in, like, more than, of, (un-) to, with(-al).

מֵעִם

from with

מֵעִם 72 from with or beside

עִם

prep — with

עִם prep. with

1. of fellowship and companionship

a. of aid

b. Of actions done jointly with another

c. If the common action be of the nature of a contest or combat, with in the sense of against

d. Of dealing with a person, or of the relation in which one stands with, or towards, another

e. Of a common lot together with the wicked

f. Of equality or resemblance generally aid

g. Of time, as long as

2. Of a locality, close to, beside

3. Of persons, עִם is spec.

a. in the house or family or service of

b. In possession of

c. In the custody or care of

d. Beside = except

e. With = friendly with

4. Idiom. of a thought or purpose present with one

5. Metaph. together with = in spite of, notwithstanding

H3117

יוֹםyôwm/yome/

n-m — day

Derivation: from an unused root meaning to be hot;

a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)

KJV: age, always, chronicals, continually(-ance), daily, ((birth-), each, to) day, (now a, two) days (agone), elder, × end, evening, (for) ever(-lasting, -more), × full, life, as (so) long as (... live), (even) now, old, outlived, perpetually, presently, remaineth, × required, season, × since, space, then, (process of) time, as at other times, in trouble, weather, (as) when, (a, the, within a) while (that), × whole ( age), (full) year(-ly), younger.

יוֹם

n.m — day

יוֹם 2285 n.m. day

1. day, opp. night

2. Day as division of time

3. יוֹם י׳ day of Yahweh, chiefly as time of his coming in judgment, involving often blessedness for righteous

4. Pl. days of anyone

5. Days

6. יוֹם = time

7. Phrases

H259

אֶחָדʼechâd/ekh-awd'/

a — united, one, first

Derivation: a numeral from 258;

properly, united, i.e. one; or (as an ordinal) first

KJV: a, alike, alone, altogether, and, any(-thing), apiece, a certain, (dai-) ly, each (one), eleven, every, few, first, highway, a man, once, one, only, other, some, together,

אֶחָד

adj.num — one

אֶחָד 972 adj.num. one

1. one

2. = each, every

3. = a certain

4. = indef. art.

5. only, & (fem.) once

6. oneanother, onethe other

7. as ordinal first

8. in combin.

H5704

עַדʻad/ad/

prep — as far, long, much, as, even unto, during, while, until, equally with

Derivation: properly, the same as 5703 (used as a preposition, adverb or conjunction; especially with a preposition);

as far (or long, or much) as, whether of space (even unto) or time (during, while, until) or degree (equally with)

KJV: against, and, as, at, before, by (that), even (to), for(-asmuch as), (hither-) to, how long, into, as long (much) as, (so) that, till, toward, until, when, while, ( as) yet.

עַד

prep — as far as

עַד, in poetry עֲדֵי prep. as far as, even to, up to, until, while

I. prep.

1. of space

2. Of time

3. Of degree

II. conj.

1. until

2. While

3. Of degree, to the point that, so that even (rare)

III. עַד לְ, a strengthened form for עַד. Thus

1. of space

2. Of time

3. Of degree

H834

אֲשֶׁרʼăsher/ash-er'/

r — who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

Derivation: a primitive relative pronoun (of every gender and number);

who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.

KJV: × after, × alike, as (soon as), because, × every, for, + forasmuch, + from whence, + how(-soever), × if, (so) that ((thing) which, wherein), × though, + until, + whatsoever, when, where (+ -as, -in, -of, -on, -soever, -with), which, whilst, + whither(-soever), who(-m, -soever, -se). As it is indeclinable, it is often accompanied by the personal pronoun expletively, used to show the connection.

אֲשֶׁר

part. of relation — who

אֲשֶׁר part. of relation A sign of relation, bringing the clause introduced by it into relation with an antecedent clause.

בַאֲשֶׁר

adv — in which

בַאֲשֶׁר

a. in (that) which

b. adv. in (the place) where

c. conj. in that, inasmuch as

d. on account of whom?

כַּאֲשֶׁר

conj — according as

כַּאֲשֶׁר conj. according as, as, when

1. according to that which, according as, as

2. with a causal force, in so far as, since

3. with a temporal force, when

מֵאֲשֶׁר

adv — who

מֵאֲשֶׁר

a. from (or than) that which

b. adv. from (the place) where

c. conj. from (the fact) that …, since

H7725

שׁוּבshûwb/shoob/

v — turn, return, retreat, again

Derivation: a primitive root;

to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively (not necessarily with the idea of return to the starting point); generally to retreat; often adverbial, again

KJV: ((break, build, circumcise, dig, do anything, do evil, feed, lay down, lie down, lodge, make, rejoice, send, take, weep)) × again, (cause to) answer ( again), × in any case (wise), × at all, averse, bring (again, back, home again), call (to mind), carry again (back), cease, × certainly, come again (back), × consider, continually, convert, deliver (again), deny, draw back, fetch home again, × fro, get (oneself) (back) again, × give (again), go again (back, home), (go) out, hinder, let, (see) more, × needs, be past, × pay, pervert, pull in again, put (again, up again), recall, recompense, recover, refresh, relieve, render (again), requite, rescue, restore, retrieve, (cause to, make to) return, reverse, reward, say nay, send back, set again, slide back, still, × surely, take back (off), (cause to, make to) turn (again, self again, away, back, back again, backward, from, off), withdraw.

שׁוּב

vb — turn back

שׁוּב 1056 vb. turn back, return

Qal 683;—turn back, return:

1. turn back

2. return, come or go back

3. esp. return unto

4.

a. of dying

b. of revival from death

5. fig. of human relations:

a. return to leader, king

b. = change so as to appoach (in purpose, desire)

c. turn, i.e. resort to

d. return to a physical condition

e. abs. = change course of action

6. fig., specif. of spiritual relations:

a. turn back from God = apostatize

b. of י׳, turn away

c. turn back to God (= seek penitently)

d. abs. repent

e. turn back from evil

f. of י׳

g. of י׳, return (to shew favour)

7. of inanimate things (sts. personified, or treated as things of life):

8. denoting repetition, etc.

9. trans.

Pō‛l.

1. bring back

2.

a. fig. restore, refresh

b. restore, repair

3. lead away (enticingly)

4. shew turning = apostatize

Hiph. 353 cause to return, bring back

1.

a. bring back into bondage

b. put back

c. = draw back

d. = give back, restore

e. = relinguish

f. = give in payment, requital

g. bring one back (from dead)

2.

a. bring back heart

b. = refresh

3. bring back words of people

4.

a. bring back (in retribution) upon

b. pay as recompense

5. turn back, backward = repel, defeat

6.

a. turn away face

b. late, turn toward, acc. face

7. turn against

8. bring back to mind, take into consideration

9.

10. = shew a turning away from your idols (i.e. turn away)

11. reverse, revoke = repel, defeat

Hoph. my money has been returned

H2534

חֵמָהchêmâh/khay-maw'/

n-f — heat, anger, poison

Derivation: or (Daniel 11:44) חֵמָא; from 3179;

heat; figuratively, anger, poison (from its fever)

KJV: anger, bottles, hot displeasure, furious(-ly, -ry), heat, indignation, poison, rage, wrath(-ful). See 2529.

חֵמָה

n.f — heat

חֵמָה, (once חֵמָא) 121 n.f. heat, rage

1. heat:

a. fever

b. venom, poison

2. burning anger, rage:

a. of man

b. of the he-goat in Daniel's vision

a. of God

H251

אָחʼâch/awkh/

n-m — brother

Derivation: a primitive word;

a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relationship and metaphorical affinity or resemblance [like 1])

KJV: another, brother(-ly); kindred, like, other. Compare also the proper names beginning with 'Ah-' or 'Ahi-'.

אָח

n.m — brother

אָח 630 n.m. brother

1. brother, born of same mother (& father)

2. indef. = relative

3. fig. of resemblance

4. in phr. one … another

Bible49 app

Get translation compare, commentary, and interlinear study — offline, on iPhone and Mac.

See Bible49