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Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man.
Genesis 27:11 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:
  • BSB Jacob answered his mother Rebekah, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am smooth-skinned.
  • NKJV And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man.
  • NASB But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man and I am a smooth man.
  • NLT “But look,” Jacob replied to Rebekah, “my brother, Esau, is a hairy man, and my skin is smooth.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Jacob objects that he is smooth-skinned while Esau is hairy.

Overview

Jacob's concern is not the morality of deceiving his father but the risk of being caught. His response reveals a conscience troubled mainly by consequences. The detail about the brothers' differing skin sets up the disguise his mother will devise.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 1

  • Gen 25:25The first came out red all over, like a hairy garment. They named him Esau.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (11)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 27:11YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.

How Genesis 27:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.