Genesis 27:15 - Exposition

And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau ,—literally, the robes of Esau her son the elder—the desirable , i.e. the handsome ones. The בֶּגֶד was an outer garment worn by the Oriental ( Genesis 39:12 , Genesis 39:13 , Genesis 39:15 ; Genesis 41:42 ),—στολὴ, LXX .,—and was often made of beautiful and costly materials (cf. 1 Kings 22:10 ). That the clothes mentioned as belonging to Esau were sacerdotal robes possessed by him as heir of the patriarchal priesthood (Jewish Rabbis), though regarded by many as a probable conjecture (Ainsworth, Bush, Candlish, Clarke, Wordsworth, 'Speaker's Commentary,' Inglis), is devoid of proof, and may be pronounced unlikely, since the firstborn did not serve in the priesthood while his father lived (Willet, Alford). They were probably festive garments of the princely hunter (Kalisch)— which were with her in the house,— not because Esau saw that his wives were displeasing to his parents (Mercerus, Willet), or because they were sacred garments (Ainsworth, Poole), but probably because Esau, though married, had not yet quitted the patriarchal household (Kalisch)— and put them upon Jacob her younger son. The verb, being in the hiphil, conveys the sense of causing Jacob to clothe himself, which entirely removes the impression that Jacob was a purely involuntary agent in this deceitful and deeply dishonorable affair.