Genesis 27:1 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 27:1-5

Here is, I. Isaac's design to make his will, and to declare Esau his heir. The promise of the Messiah and the land of Canaan was a great trust, first committed to Abraham, inclusive and typical of spiritual and eternal blessings; this, by divine direction, he transmitted to Isaac. Isaac, being now old, and not knowing, or not understanding, or not duly considering, the divine oracle concerning his two sons, that the elder should serve the younger, resolves to entail all the honour and power... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 27:1

And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old ,.... He is generally thought to be about one hundred and thirty seven years of age at this time, which was just the age of his brother Ishmael when he died, Genesis 25:16 ; and might put him in mind of his own death as near at hand; though if he was no older, he lived after this forty three years, for he lived to be one hundred and eighty years old, Genesis 35:28 , and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see ; which circumstance is... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 27:1

Isaac was old - It is conjectured, on good grounds, that Isaac was now about one hundred and seventeen years of age, and Jacob about fifty-seven; though the commonly received opinion makes Isaac one hundred and thirty-seven, and Jacob seventy-seven; but see note on Genesis 31:55 , etc. And his eyes were dim - This was probably the effect of that affliction, of what kind we know not, under which Isaac now labored; and from which, as well as from the affliction, he probably recovered, as... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 27:1

Verse 1 1.And it came to pass that when Isaac was old. In this chapter Moses prosecutes, in many words, a history which does not appear to be of great utility. It amounts to this; Esau having gone out, at his father’s command, to hunt; Jacob, in his brother’s clothing, was, by the artifice of his mother, induced to obtain by stealth the blessing due by the right of nature to the firstborn. It seems even like child’s play to present to his father a kid instead of venison, to feign himself to be... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 27:1

And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, —according to the generally accepted calculation, in his one hundred and thirty-seventh year. Joseph, having been introduced to Pharaoh in his thirtieth year ( Genesis 41:46 ), and having been thirty-nine years of age ( Genesis 45:6 ) when his father, aged one hundred and thirty ( Genesis 47:9 ), came down to Egypt, must have been born before Jacob was ninety-one; consequently, as his birth occurred in the fourteenth year of Jacob's... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 27:1-14

The stolen blessing: a domestic drama. 1. Issac and Rebekah , or plotting and counterplotting . I. THE SCHEME OF ISAAC . 1. Its sinful object . The heavenly oracle having with no uncertain sound proclaimed Jacob the theocratic heir, the bestowment of the patriarchal benediction on Esau was clearly an unholy design. That Isaac, who on Mount Moriah had evinced such meek and ready acquiescence in Jehovah's will, should in old age, from partiality towards his firstborn,... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Genesis 27:1-46

- Isaac Blessing His SonsThe life of Isaac falls into three periods. During the first seventy-five years he is contemporary with his father. For sixty-one years more his son Jacob remains under the paternal roof. The remaining forty-four years are passed in the retirement of old age. The chapter before us narrates the last solemn acts of the middle period of his life.Genesis 27:1-4Isaac was old. - Joseph was in his thirtieth year when he stood before Pharaoh, and therefore thirty-nine when... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Genesis 27:1

Genesis 27:1. When Isaac was old A hundred and thirty-seven years old; but he lived forty years after this. And his eyes were dim Whereby God brought about his own purpose of bestowing the blessing on Jacob. He called Esau, his eldest son With a view to declare him his heir. The promise of the Messiah, and the land of Canaan, was a great trust, first committed to Abraham, inclusive and typical of spiritual and eternal blessings; this, by divine direction, he transmitted to Isaac. Isaac,... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Genesis 27:1-46

Jacob receives Isaac’s blessing (26:34-28:9)The custom in ancient times was for the father of the household to confirm the birthright on his firstborn son by giving his special blessing just before he died. People considered this blessing to be more than just a promise; they saw it as a prophecy that carried God’s favour. Isaac knew that God’s will was for Jacob, not Esau, to receive the firstborn’s blessing (see 25:23). Yet he was determined to give the blessing to Esau, even though Esau, by... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Genesis 27:1

old. About 137 years (same age as his brother Ishmael died at). He recovered and lived 43 years longer (Compare Genesis 35:28 ). Behold. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6 . read more