So Jacob took the food to his father. “My father?” he said. “Yes, my son,” Isaac answered. “Who are you—Esau or Jacob?”
Parallel translations
- WEB He came to his father, and said, “My father?” He said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”
- KJV And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?
- BSB So Jacob went to his father and said, “My father.” “Here I am!” he answered. “Which one are you, my son?”
- NKJV So he went to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”
- NASB Then he came to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”
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 approaches Isaac, who asks which son has come.
Overview
Jacob initiates the deception, and Isaac's question shows his blindness already creates uncertainty. The dialogue heightens the suspense of whether the disguise will hold. From here the lie unfolds, testing both Isaac's senses and Jacob's nerve.
Cross-references & the web
No cross-references recorded for this verse.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 27:18 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.