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Genesis 27 · a question people ask

Why couldn't Isaac take the blessing back?

In the text

Genesis doesn't explain. It records Isaac's words: "Yes, he will be blessed" (27:33), and "I have made him your lord… What then will I do for you, my son?" (27:37). Hebrews says, "By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come" (Hebrews 11:20), and of Esau, "he found no place for a change of mind though he sought it diligently with tears" (Hebrews 12:17).

The verses

“Isaac trembled violently, and said, “Who, then, is he who has taken venison, and brought it to me, and I have eaten of all before you came, and have blessed him? Yes, he will be blessed.””
Genesis 27:33 · World English Bible
“Isaac answered Esau, “Behold, I have made him your lord, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants. I have sustained him with grain and new wine. What then will I do for you, my son?””
Genesis 27:37 · World English Bible
“By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come.”
Hebrews 11:20 · World English Bible
“For you know that even when he afterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for a change of mind though he sought it diligently with tears.”
Hebrews 12:17 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Genesis 27

Genesis 27: The stolen blessing

Rebekah and Jacob deceived blind Isaac, and Jacob took the blessing meant for Esau. Isaac trembled but said, "Yes, he will be blessed." Esau said Jacob was rightly named, for he had supplanted him twice; he wept, and planned to kill his brother, and Rebekah told Jacob to flee to Laban for what she called "a few days".

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions