Limitless Word
and prepare a delicious meal for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die.”
Genesis 27:4 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat, and that my soul may bless you before I die.”
  • KJV And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.
  • BSB Then prepare a tasty dish that I love and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you before I die.”
  • NKJV And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”
  • NLT Prepare my favorite dish, and bring it here for me to eat. Then I will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my firstborn son, before I die.”

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 asks Esau to prepare a tasty meal so he can bless him before he dies.

Overview

Isaac links the solemn blessing to a meal he loves, revealing how his appetite and partiality shaped his intentions. The blessing was understood to convey real, God-rooted destiny upon the heir. Isaac's plan to bless Esau runs counter to God's revealed word, exposing human weakness against which divine sovereignty will work.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 18

  • Heb 11:20By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come.
  • Gen 48:9Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” He said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.”
  • Gen 49:28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them and blessed them. He blessed everyone according to his blessing.
  • Gen 27:25He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless you.” He brought it near to him, and he ate. He brought him wine, and he drank.
  • Luke 24:51While he blessed them, he withdrew from them, and was carried up into heaven.
  • Luke 2:34and Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, his mother, “Behold, this child is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which is spoken against.
  • Josh 22:6So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away; and they went to their tents.
  • Josh 14:13Joshua blessed him; and he gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance.
  • Gen 27:7‘Bring me venison, and make me savory food, that I may eat, and bless you before Yahweh before my death.’
  • Gen 48:15–20He blessed Joseph, and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day,
  • Gen 27:27He came near, and kissed him. He smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him, and said, “Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which Yahweh has blessed.
  • Deut 33:1–29This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.
  • Lev 9:22–23Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people, and blessed them; and he came down from offering the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings.
  • Gen 14:19He blessed him, and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth:
  • Gen 27:23He didn’t recognize him, because his hands were hairy, like his brother, Esau’s hands. So he blessed him.
  • Gen 27:31He also made savory food, and brought it to his father. He said to his father, “Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison, that your soul may bless me.”
  • Gen 24:60They blessed Rebekah, and said to her, “Our sister, may you be the mother of thousands of ten thousands, and let your offspring possess the gate of those who hate them.”
  • Gen 28:3May God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be a company of peoples,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

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 27:4YouTube · 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 27:4 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.