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Genesis 27:28
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26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.”
27 And he came near and akissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said:
“Surely, bthe smell of my son
Is like the smell of a field
Which the Lord has blessed. 
28 Therefore may aGod give you
Of bthe dew of heaven,
Of cthe fatness of the earth,
And dplenty of grain and wine. 
29 aLet peoples serve you,
And nations bow down to you.
Be master over your brethren,
And blet your mother’s sons bow down to you.
cCursed be everyone who curses you,
And blessed be those who bless you!”  

Esau’s Lost Hope

30 Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.
31 He also had made1 savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, “Let my father arise and aeat of his son’s game, that your soul may bless me.”  
32 And his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”
33 Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—aand indeed he shall be blessed.”  
34 When Esau heard the words of his father, ahe cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!”  
35 But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.”
36 And Esau said, a“Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”  
37 Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, a“Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with bgrain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?”  
38 And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice aand wept.  
39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:
“Behold, ayour dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth,
And of the dew of heaven from above. 
40 By your sword you shall live,
And ayou shall serve your brother;
And bit shall come to pass, when you become restless,
That you shall break his yoke from your neck.”  

Jacob Escapes from Esau

41 So Esau ahated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, b“The days of mourning for my father1 are at hand; cthen I will kill my brother Jacob.”  
Commentaries:
Adam Clarke
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Genesis 27:28

God give thee of the dew of heaven - Bp. Newton' s view of these predictions is so correct and appropriate, as to leave no wish for any thing farther on the subject.

"It is here foretold, and in Genesis 27:39, of these two brethren, that as to situation, and other temporal advantages, they should be much alike. It was said to Jacob: God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine; and much the same is said to Esau, Genesis 27:39 : Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above. The spiritual blessing, or the promise of the blessed seed, could be given only to One; but temporal good things might be imparted to both. Mount Seir, and the adjacent country, was at first in the possession of the Edomites; they afterwards extended themselves farther into Arabia, and into the southern parts of Judea. But wherever they were situated, we find in fact that the Edomites, in temporal advantages, were little inferior to the Israelites. Esau had cattle and beasts and substance in abundance, and he went to dwell in Seir of his own accord; but he would hardly have removed thither with so many cattle, had it been such a barren and desolate country as some would represent it. The Edomites had dukes and kings reigning over them, while the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. When the Israelites, on their return, desired leave to pass through the territories of Edom, it appears that the country abounded with Fruitful Fields and Vineyards: Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country; we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells; Numbers 20:17. And the prophecy of Malachi, which is generally alleged as a proof of the barrenness of the country, is rather a proof of the contrary: I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness, Malachi 1:3; for this implies that the country was fruitful before, and that its present unfruitfulness was rather an effect of war, than any natural defect in the soil. If the country is unfruitful now, neither is Judea what it was formerly." As there was but little rain in Judea, except what was termed the early rain, which fell about the beginning of spring, and the latter rain, which fell about September, the lack of this was supplied by the copious dews which fell both morning and evening, or rather through the whole of the night. And we may judge, says Calmet, of the abundance of those dews by what fell on Gideon' s fleece, Judges 6:38, which being wrung filled a bowl. And Hushal compares an army ready to fall upon its enemies to a dew falling on the ground, II Samuel 17:12, which gives us the idea that this fluid fell in great profusion, so as to saturate every thing. Travellers in these countries assure us that the dews fall there in an extraordinary abundance.

The fatness of the earth - What Homer calls , Ilias ix., 141, and Virgil uber glebae , Aeneid i., 531, both signifying a soil naturally fertile. Under this, therefore, and the former expressions, Isaac wishes his son all the blessings which a plentiful country can produce; for, as Le Clerc rightly observes, if the dews and seasonable rains of heaven fall upon a fruitful soil, nothing but human industry is wanting to the plentiful enjoyment of all temporal good things. Hence they are represented in the Scripture as emblems of prosperity, of plenty, and of the blessing of God, Deuteronomy 33:13, Deuteronomy 33:28; Micah 5:7; Zechariah 8:12; and, on the other hand, the withholding of these denotes barrenness, distress, and the curse of God; II Samuel 1:21. See Dodd.




Other Adam Clarke entries containing Genesis 27:28:

Genesis 27:37

 

<< Genesis 27:27   Genesis 27:29 >>

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