And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau.
Parallel translations
- WEB Isaac his father said to him, “Who are you?” He said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”
- BSB But his father Isaac replied, “Who are you?” “I am Esau, your firstborn son,” he answered.
- NKJV And his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”
- NASB His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” And he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”
- NLT But Isaac asked him, “Who are you?” Esau replied, “It’s your son, your firstborn son, Esau.”
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
When Isaac asks who he is, Esau identifies himself as the firstborn.
Overview
Esau's answer shatters the assumption under which Isaac had acted. The simple statement reveals that the blessing went to the wrong son in Isaac's intent. This triggers Isaac's violent realization in the following verse.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Gen 27:18And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?
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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 27:32 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.