Genesis 27: “The Voice Is Jacob’s, but the Hands Are Esau’s”
1. Isaac’s Old Age and Intention to Bless
“When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his elder son, and said to him, ‘My son.’ He answered, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and hunt game for me, and prepare for me savoury food, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may bless you before I die.’” (Gen 27:1–4)
Isaac’s blindness introduces the theme of perception — both physical and spiritual.
He intends to bless Esau, unaware that God had chosen Jacob (cf. Gen 25:23).
Good intention, limited discernment.
St Bede the Venerable notes:
“His eyes were dim, but his heart still sought to bless; and yet God allowed this frailty that His purpose might stand.” (Commentary on Genesis, 27)
Divine providence works not through perfection but through obedience within imperfection.
Isaac’s blessing is more than paternal affection — it is covenantal inheritance.
In the patriarchal tradition, to bless was to pass on divine promise.
2. Rebekah’s Hearing and Plan
“Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, ‘I heard your father speak to your brother Esau… Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you.’” (vv. 5–8)
Rebekah acts decisively. She knows the prophecy: “The elder shall serve the younger.” (Gen 25:23)
Yet instead of waiting for God to fulfil it in His way, she schemes to secure it by human cunning.
St John Chrysostom reflects:
“The prophecy did not need deceit, yet God turned deceit to His design. For the will of man cannot frustrate the counsel of God.” (Homilies on Genesis LIV.1)
The motive is faith, but the method is flawed — faith mixed with fear.
3. Jacob’s Hesitation
“Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, ‘Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him, and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing.’” (vv. 11–12)
Jacob’s objection is practical, not moral — he fears being caught, not sinning.
The seeds of his later conversion are not yet planted.
St Augustine remarks:
“Jacob desired the blessing rightly, but sought it wrongly. Grace chose him, not because of his deceit, but in spite of it.” (City of God XVI.37)
Faith’s desire must be purified; only later will Jacob learn to receive blessing through struggle, not trickery.
4. Rebekah’s Determination
“His mother said to him, ‘Upon me be your curse, my son; only obey my voice, and go, fetch them to me.’” (v. 13)
Rebekah takes the risk upon herself — a tragic echo of Eve persuading Adam.
Yet, unlike Eve, she acts to preserve a promise rather than break a command.
Her zeal is misdirected faith.
St Ambrose comments:
“She believed the word of God, but doubted His timing. So she hastened the promise by deception, not patience.” (On Jacob and the Happy Life 3)
The Church learns here to trust the promise without resorting to worldly tactics.
5. The Disguise
“Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her elder son… and put them on Jacob her younger son, and the skins of the kids she put upon his hands and upon the smooth part of his neck.” (vv. 15–16)
The disguise is strikingly symbolic.
Jacob is clothed in his brother’s garments — a visible image of substitution.
St Bede interprets spiritually:
“Jacob clothed in Esau’s raiment prefigures the sinner clothed in Christ. For we receive the Father’s blessing when He feels upon us the likeness of His beloved Son.” (Commentary on Genesis, 27)
Thus, even this deceit foreshadows redemption: the unworthy blessed through the worthy.
6. The Approach to Isaac
“So he went in to his father, and said, ‘My father.’ And he said, ‘Here I am; who are you, my son?’ Jacob said to his father, ‘I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me.’” (vv. 18–19)
Jacob lies outright, yet the narrative emphasises Isaac’s blindness — a spiritual metaphor for discernment clouded by partiality.
Isaac loves Esau for his game (v. 4); his senses overrule his spirit.
St John Chrysostom:
“Even the righteous can be deceived when affection blinds judgement; but God’s wisdom corrects affection without destroying love.” (Homilies on Genesis LIV.2)
7. The Testing of the Voice
“Isaac said to Jacob, ‘Come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.’ So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, ‘The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.’” (vv. 21–22)
This phrase became proverbial in Christian thought: “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s.”
It represents divided reality — appearance and substance at odds.
St Augustine applies it to hypocrites:
“They have the voice of Jacob, speaking the words of faith, but the hands of Esau, doing the works of sin.” (Sermon 9.3)
But in another sense, the Fathers saw in it the Church’s mystery: the human voice of Christ (Jacob’s voice) united with the power of God (Esau’s hands) — one person, two natures.
8. The Blessing Granted
“He blessed him and said, ‘See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed! May God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers.’” (vv. 27–29)
The blessing invokes both material and spiritual fruitfulness — heaven’s dew (grace) and earth’s abundance (providence).
Isaac speaks more than he understands: the Spirit gives prophetic words beyond human intent.
St Bede notes:
“The field which the Lord has blessed is the Church, fruitful in the dew of grace and the corn of the Eucharist.” (Commentary on Genesis, 27)
Even through deception, God’s purpose proceeds — grace uses crooked lines to draw straight truth.
9. Esau’s Return and Realisation
“As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob… Esau his brother came in from his hunting. He also prepared savoury food and brought it to his father… Then Isaac trembled violently.” (vv. 30–33)
Isaac’s trembling is not anger but awe: he realises that divine providence has overruled his intention.
St John Chrysostom comments:
“He trembled not at loss but at the presence of mystery. For he saw that God Himself had spoken through him.” (Homilies on Genesis LIV.3)
Isaac recognises that the true heir is already blessed — the word once uttered cannot be recalled.
10. Esau’s Cry
“When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said, ‘Bless me, even me also, O my father!’” (v. 34)
This is one of Scripture’s most poignant moments.
Esau’s tears move our hearts — yet his sorrow is not repentance but regret.
Hebrews 12:17 recalls:
“He found no chance to repent, though he sought the blessing with tears.”
St Augustine distinguishes:
“Esau wept for what he lost, not for what he was. He desired not righteousness, but reward.” (City of God XVI.37)
True repentance seeks the Giver, not the gift.
11. Isaac’s Confirmation
“I have blessed him—yes, and he shall be blessed.” (v. 33)
This firm statement shows Isaac’s surrender to divine will.
He does not retract but ratifies what God has ordained.
St Bede:
“The Spirit forced the blessing from his lips, and faith confirmed it in his heart. Thus God’s election stands, not of works, but of Him who calls.” (Commentary on Genesis, 27)
Here human resistance becomes divine consent — providence triumphs over preference.
12. Esau’s Secondary Blessing
“Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be… By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you break loose you shall break his yoke from your neck.” (vv. 39–40)
Esau’s “blessing” is more a prophecy of struggle — his descendants will live by conflict, occasionally free, yet never possessing the covenant.
The Fathers interpreted this spiritually: the carnal life may triumph for a time but serves the spirit in the end.
St Ambrose writes:
“Esau’s portion is the sword — that is, strife. Jacob’s is the dew — that is, grace. The one conquers by force, the other by faith.” (On Jacob and the Happy Life 4)
13. Rebekah’s Fear and Jacob’s Flight
“Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing… and Rebekah said to Isaac, ‘I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob marries one of these… what good will my life be to me?’” (vv. 41–46)
Rebekah’s quick thinking saves Jacob but costs her peace — she never sees him again.
Her plan achieved its aim but broke her heart.
St Bede reflects:
“She gained the blessing but lost her son’s presence, for faith mixed with impatience brings sorrow to the faithful.” (Commentary on Genesis, 27)
14. Theological Summary
| Theme | Revelation |
| Isaac’s blindness | Symbol of partial discernment; faith amid frailty |
| Rebekah’s scheme | Zeal without patience; faith mixed with fear |
| Jacob’s deception | Sin used by God to advance His purpose |
| The blessing | Covenant grace unrevoked and efficacious |
| Esau’s cry | Sorrow without repentance |
| Providence | Divine election fulfilled through human weakness |
St Augustine summarises:
“Not all that is done by men is willed by God, but nothing that is done escapes His will. He permits evil and turns it to good.” (City of God XVI.37)
15. Moral and Spiritual Application
Discern without partiality. Isaac’s affection blinded his spirit; seek clarity in prayer, not preference.
Wait for God’s timing. Rebekah teaches us that zeal without patience becomes manipulation.
Desire blessing rightly. Like Jacob, long for God’s favour, but pursue it through faith, not deceit.
Beware carnal sorrow. Esau’s tears warn against regret without conversion.
Trust providence. God’s plan endures even our errors — but holiness spares us needless pain.
16. Christ the True Firstborn and the Church Clothed in His Garments
The Fathers saw profound typology here:
| Old Testament | Fulfilment in Christ |
| Jacob clothed in Esau’s raiment | The Church clothed in Christ’s righteousness |
| The blind father blessing the disguised son | The Father beholding redeemed humanity through His Son |
| The smell of the field | The fragrance of Christ (2 Cor 2:15) |
| The meal prepared by the mother | The sacrifice of the Church offering Christ’s Body and Blood |
| The younger receiving the blessing | The Gentiles inheriting grace before Israel |
St Ambrose beautifully writes:
“We, like Jacob, approach the Father clothed in the likeness of Christ, that He may feel in us the scent of His beloved Son and bless us.” (On Isaac 10)
Thus, divine mercy transforms deception into prophecy — what was cunning becomes revelation.
17. Closing Prayer
O Lord of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
You fulfil Your promises even through our weakness.
Purify our desires, that we may seek Your blessing in truth;
teach us to trust Your timing and to rest in Your providence.
May we, clothed in Christ, stand before You as beloved children,
and bear the fragrance of His grace in all we do.
Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
St. Mary's, St. John Bosco and St. Edward's 