Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: “Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above.
Parallel translations
- WEB Isaac his father answered him, “Behold, of the fatness of the earth will be your dwelling, and of the dew of the sky from above.
- KJV And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;
- BSB His father Isaac answered him: “Behold, your dwelling place shall be away from the richness of the land, away from the dew of heaven above.
- NASB Then his father Isaac answered and said to him, “Behold, away from the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling, And away from the dew of heaven from above.
- NLT Finally, his father, Isaac, said to him, “You will live away from the richness of the earth, and away from the dew of the heaven above.
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
Isaac gives Esau a word about dwelling away from earth's richness and heaven's dew.
Overview
Isaac's words to Esau are often understood as a contrast to Jacob's blessing, foretelling a harder, less fruitful dwelling, though the Hebrew is debated and some render it as 'away from the fatness.' The lesser word fits Esau's position outside the covenant line. It anticipates the distinct destiny of Esau's descendants, the Edomites.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Gen 27:28God give you of the dew of the sky, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and new wine.
- Heb 11:20By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come.
- Josh 24:4I gave to Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave to Esau Mount Seir, to possess it. Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
- Gen 36:6–8Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, with his livestock, all his animals, and all his possessions, which he had gathered in the land of Canaan, and went into a land away from his brother Jacob.
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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 27:39 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.