Bible Commentaries
Go deeper in Scripture
Browse trusted public-domain commentary alongside DiscipleDeck Bible study. References inside each commentary open Bible previews in place.
27,299 commentary entries
The Pulpit Commentary
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 27:40
And by thy sword shalt thou live,—literally, upon thy sword shalt thou be, i.e. thy maintenance shall depend on thy sword; a prediction that Esau's descendants should be a warlike and tumultuous people of predatory habi…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 27:41-46
The stolen blessing: a domestic drama.-4. Rebekah and Esau, or fratricide frustrated. I. THE MURDEROUS DESIGN OF ESAU. 1. The ostensible reason. "Because of the blessing wherewith his father had blessed Jacob." No argum…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 27:41
And Esau hated Jacob—a proof that he was not penitent, however disappointed and remorseful (cf. Obadiah 1:10, Obadiah 1:11; 1 John 3:12, 1 John 3:15)—because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him:—notwithstan…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 27:41-46
EXPOSITION
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 27:42
And these (literally, the) words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah:—not likely by revelation, but by some one to whom he had made known his secret purpose (Proverbs 29:11)—and she sent and called Jacob her youn…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 27:43-45
Now therefore, my son, obey my voice;—i.e. be guided by my counsel; a request Rebekah might perhaps feel herself justified in making, not only by her maternal solicitude for Jacob's welfare, but also from the successful…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 27:46
And Rebekah said to Isaac (perhaps already discerning in the contemplated flight to Haran the prospect of a suitable matrimonial alliance for the heir of the promise, and secretly desiring to suggest such a thought to h…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 27:46
Rebekah, the disappointed. "What good shall my life do me?" Rebekah as a mother doubtless promised herself much joy in her children. They grew up. Esau becomes wayward, Jacob becomes a wanderer. Rebekah yielded to favor…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 28:1-9
Life with, and life without, God. The divergence of the two representative men is seen in this short statement of their marriage relations. 1. Domestic life under the blessing of God and apart from that blessing. 2. The…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 28:1-9
EXPOSITION
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 28:1
And Isaac called Jacob (to his bed-side), and blessed him,—in enlarged form, renewing the benediction previously given (Genesis 27:27)—and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan (cf. Genesi…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 28:1-9
Jacob and Esau, or diverging paths. I. JACOB'S JOURNEY TO PADAN-ARAM. 1. The path of duty. Entered on in obedience to his mother's wish and his father's commandment, it was an evidence of filial piety. It is the token o…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 28:2
Arise, go to Padan-aram (vide Genesis 14:10; Genesis 25:20; Genesis 27:43), to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father;—(vide Genesis 14:24). If yet alive, Bethuel must have been very old, since he was Isaac's cousin,…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 28:3
And God Almighty—El Shaddai (vide Genesis 17:1)—bless thee,—the Abrahamic benediction in its fullest form was given by El Shaddai (vide Genesis 17:1-8)—and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be—lite…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 28:4
And give thee the Blessing of Abraham,—i.e. promised to Abraham (vide Genesis 12:2; Genesis 22:17, Genesis 22:18). The additions of τοῦ παρός μου (LXX.), אביךְ = τοῦ πατρὸς σου (Samaritan), are unwarranted—to thee,…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 28:5
And Isaac sent away Jacob (Rebekah only counseled, Isaac commanded): and he went to Padan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethel the Syrian (vide Hosea 12:12), the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother. The historian he…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 28:6-9
When (literally, and) Esau saw that Issue had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-aram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge,—literally, in his blessing him (forming a pa…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 28:10-22
Jacob at Bethel, or heaven opened. I. THE LONELY SLEEPER. 1. His desolate condition. Exiled from home, fleeing from the murderous resentment of a brother, o'er-canopied by the star-lit firmament, remote from human habit…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 28:10-22
EXPOSITION
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 28:10
And Jacob went out from Beersheba,—in obedience to his father's commandment to seek a wife (Genesis 28:2), but also in compliance with his mother's counsel to evade the wrath of Esau (Genesis 27:43; cf. Hosea 12:12. On…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 28:10-22
Jacob's dream. Where revelations had been vouchsafed it was supposed that they would be repeated. The stony pillow on which the weary head rested may be changed by the visitation of Divine grace into the meeting-place o…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 28:11
And he lighted upon a certain place,—literally, he struck upon the place; i.e. either the place best suited for him to rest in (Inglis), or the place appointed for him by God (Ainsworth, Bush), or more probably the well…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 28:12
And he dreamed. This dream, which has been pronounced "beautifully ingenious," "clever" and "philosophical," the work of a later Hebrew poet and not of Jacob (De Wette), was not wonderful considering the state of mind a…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 28:12
A stairway to heaven. "And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. Jacob in fear of his life leaves home. The last kiss of his mother is taken. During the day Jacob goes…