Genesis 27:11 Commentary and Bible Study

But Jacob sees a problem. ‘Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man and I am a smooth man. My father possibly will feel me and I shall seem a deceiver, and I shall be cursed and not blessed’, so our strategy will backfire. They were convinced that Isaac was going to give the full Abrahamic blessing to Esau. Actually Isaac had no intention of giving the full Abrahamic blessing to Esau. It is fairly certain that Isaac was going to give half the Abrahamic blessing to Esau. A disastrous half – even that was wrong – but he had convinced himself that Esau was so admirable, that he should have the headship of the family and Jacob would have the promise of blessing for the line of the Redeemer. They thought he was going to give it all to Esau, but even half is quite wrong. Jacob’s hesitation is not based on any moral objection but only on the practicalities of the operation and the likelihood of his deception being detected. Though Rebekah must take the primary responsibility as the inventor of this plan, and as his mother who ought to have set him an example, Jacob should not have followed her so easily.