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Genesis 27

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1 Now when Isaac was old and his eyes had become clouded so that he was not able to see, he sent for Esau, his first son, and said to him, My son: and he said, Here am I.

2 And he said, See now, I am old, and my death may take place at any time:

3 So take your arrows and your bow and go out to the field and get meat for me;

4 And make me food, good to the taste, such as is pleasing to me, and put it before me, so that I may have a meal and give you my blessing before death comes to me.

5 Now Isaac's words to his son were said in Rebekah's hearing. Then Esau went out to get the meat.

6 And Rebekah said to Jacob, her son, Your father said to your brother Esau in my hearing,

7 Go and get some roe's meat and make me a good meal, so that I may be full, and give you my blessing before the Lord before my death.

8 Now, my son, do what I say.

9 Go to the flock and get me two fat young goats; and I will make of them a meal to your father's taste:

10 And you will take it to him, so that he may have a good meal and give you his blessing before his death.

11 And Jacob said to Rebekah, his mother, But Esau my brother is covered with hair, while I am smooth:

12 If by chance my father puts his hand on me, it will seem to him that I am tricking him, and he will put a curse on me in place of a blessing.

13 And his mother said, Let the curse be on me, my son: only do as I say, and go and get them for me.

14 So he went and got them and took them to his mother: and she made a meal to his father's taste.

15 And Rebekah took the fair robes of her oldest son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob, her younger son:

16 And she put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck:

17 And she gave into the hand of Jacob, her son, the meat and the bread which she had made ready.

18 And he came to his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I: who are you, my son?

19 And Jacob said, I am Esau, your oldest son; I have done as you said: come now, be seated and take of my meat, so that you may give me a blessing.

20 And Isaac said, How is it that you have got it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the Lord your God made it come my way.

21 And Isaac said, Come near so that I may put my hand on you, my son, and see if you are truly my son Esau or not.

22 And Jacob went near his father Isaac: and he put his hands on him; and he said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.

23 And he did not make out who he was, because his hands were covered with hair like his brother Esau's hands: so he gave him a blessing.

24 And he said, Are you truly my son Esau? And he said, I am.

25 And he said, Put it before me and I will take of my son's meat, so that I may give you a blessing. And he Put it before him and he took it; and he gave him wine, and he had a drink.

26 And his father Isaac said to him, Come near now, my son, and give me a kiss.

27 And he came near and gave him a kiss; and smelling the smell of his clothing, he gave him a blessing, and said, See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field on which the blessing of the Lord has come:

28 May God give you the dew of heaven, and the good things of the earth, and grain and wine in full measure:

29 Let peoples be your servants, and nations go down before you: be lord over your brothers, and let your mother's sons go down before you: a curse be on everyone by whom you are cursed, and a blessing on those who give you a blessing.

30 And when Isaac had come to the end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob had not long gone away from Isaac his father, Esau came in from the field.

31 And he made ready a meal, good to the taste, and took it to his father, and said to him, Let my father get up and take of his son's meat, so that you may give me a blessing.

32 And Isaac his father said to him, Who are you? And he said, I am your oldest son, Esau.

33 And in great fear Isaac said, Who then is he who got meat and put it before me, and I took it all before you came, and gave him a blessing, and his it will be?

34 And hearing the words of his father, Esau gave a great and bitter cry, and said to his father, Give a blessing to me, even to me, O my father!

35 And he said, Your brother came with deceit, and took away your blessing.

36 And he said, Is it because he is named Jacob that he has twice taken my place? for he took away my birthright, and now he has taken away my blessing. And he said, Have you not kept a blessing for me?

37 And Isaac answering said, But I have made him your master, and have given him all his brothers for servants; I have made him strong with grain and wine: what then am I to do for you, my son?

38 And Esau said to his father, Is that the only blessing you have, my father? give a blessing to me, even me! And Esau was overcome with weeping.

39 Then Isaac his father made answer and said to him, Far from the fertile places of the earth, and far from the dew of heaven on high will your living-place be:

40 By your sword will you get your living and you will be your brother's servant; but when your power is increased his yoke will be broken from off your neck.

41 So Esau was full of hate for Jacob because of his father's blessing; and he said in his heart, The days of weeping for my father are near; then I will put my brother Jacob to death.

42 Then Rebekah, hearing what Esau had said, sent for Jacob, her younger son, and said to him, It seems that your brother Esau is purposing to put you to death.

43 So now, my son, do what I say: go quickly to Haran, to my brother Laban;

44 And be there with him for a little time, till your brother's wrath is turned away;

45 Till the memory of what you have done to him is past and he is no longer angry: then I will send word for you to come back; are the two of you to be taken from me in one day?

46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, My life is a weariness to me because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob takes a wife from among the daughters of Heth, such as these, the women of this land, of what use will my life be to me?

   

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Arcana Coelestia #3540

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3540. And the skins of the kids of the she-goats she caused to be put. That this signifies the external truths of domestic good, is evident from the signification of “skins,” as being external things (concerning which below); and from the signification of the “kids of the she-goats,” because from a home flock, as being the truths of domestic good (concerning which n. 3518, 3519, where also it appears what domestic good is, and what the truths thence derived). Every good has its own truths, and every truth has its own good, which must be conjoined together in order for them to be anything. That “skins” signify things external is because skins are the outermosts of the animal in which its interiors are terminated, in like manner as is the case with the skin or cuticles in man. This signification is derived from the representation in the other life, there being those there who belong to the province of the skin, concerning whom of the Lord’s Divine mercy something will be said when we speak concerning the Grand Man at the end of the following chapters. They are such as are only in external good and its truths. Hence the “skin” of man, and also of beasts, signifies what is external; which is also manifest from the Word, as in Jeremiah:

For the multitude of thine iniquity are thy skirts uncovered, and thy heels suffer violence. Can the Ethiopian change his skin, and the leopard his spots? Then can ye also do good that are taught to do evil (Jeremiah 13:22-23); where “skirts” are external truths; “heels,” outermost goods (that the “heel,” and “shoes,” are the lowest natural things may be seen above, n. 259, 1748); and because these truths and goods are from evil, as here said, they are compared to an “Ethiopian,” or a black, and his “skin,” and also to a “leopard” and his “spots.”

[2] In Moses:

If in pledging thou shalt have pledged thy neighbor’s garment, thou shalt restore it unto Him before the sun goes down; for that is his only covering; it is his garment for his skin wherein he shall lie down (Exodus 22:26-27).

As all the laws in the Word, even those which are civic and forensic, have a correspondence with the laws of good and truth in heaven, and were thence enacted, such is the case with this law also; otherwise it would be impossible to discover why a pledged garment should be restored before the sun went down; and why it is said that his garment is for his skin wherein he shall lie down. But from the internal sense the correspondence is manifest, being that our companions are not to be defrauded of external truths, which are the doctrinal things according to which they live, and rituals (that a “garment” signifies such truths, may be seen above, n. 297, 1073, 2576); but the “sun” is the good of love or of life which is therefrom (n. 1529, 1530, 2441, 2495); that this should not perish, is signified by the garment being restored before the sun went down; and because these external truths are the externals of the interior things, or their termination, it is said that “his garment is for his skin wherein he shall lie down.”

[3] As “skins” signified external things, it was commanded that the covering of the Tent should be of the skins of red rams, and over these the skins of badgers (Exodus 26:14); for the Tent was representative of the three heavens, thus of the celestial and spiritual things of the Lord’s kingdom. The curtains which were round about represented natural things that are external (n. 3478), which are the “skins of rams and of badgers,” and as external things are those which cover internal ones, or in other words natural things are those which cover spiritual and celestial ones, just as the body covers its soul, therefore this was commanded; and in like manner that when the camp set forward Aaron and his sons should cover the ark of the testimony with the veil of covering, and should put over this covering the skin of a badger; and that upon the table and the things which were upon it they should spread a cloth of scarlet double-dyed, and should cover it with badger’s skin as a covering; likewise that they should put the lampstand and all its vessels under a covering of badger’s skin; and should put all the vessels wherewith they ministered under a cloth of blue, and should cover them with a covering of badger’s skin (Numbers 4:5-12). Whoever thinks of the Word holily may know that Divine things are represented by all these things: by the ark, the table, the lampstand, and the vessels wherewith they ministered; also by the coverings of scarlet double-dyed and blue; and also by the coverings of badgers’ skins; and that by all these things are represented the Divine things that are within the external ones.

[4] Inasmuch as the prophets represented those who teach, and hence the teaching of good and truth from the Word (n. 2534), and Elijah the Word itself (n. 2762), in like manner John, who for this reason is called the Elias that was to come (Matthew 17:10-13); therefore in order that they might represent the Word as it is in its external form, that is, in the letter, Elijah was girded with a girdle of skin about his loins (2 Kings 1:8); and John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a girdle of skin about his loins (Matthew 3:4). And inasmuch as the skin of man and beast signified external things, which are natural things in their relation to spiritual and celestial ones; and as in the Ancient Church it was customary to speak and write by significatives, therefore also in Job, which is a book of the Ancient Church, “skin” has the same signification, as may be seen from several passages in that book, and also from this:

I know my Redeemer, He liveth, and at the last He will arise above the dust, and afterward these shall be encompassed with my skin, and from my flesh I shall see God (Job 19:25-26).

To be “encompassed with skin” denotes by the natural, such as man has with him after death (see n. 3539); “from the flesh to see God” is to do so from what is our own, vivified (that this is “flesh” may be seen above, n. 148, 149, 780). That the book of Job is a book of the Ancient Church is evident as before said from its representative and significative style; but it is not of those books which are called the Law and the Prophets, because it has not an internal sense which treats solely of the Lord and of His kingdom; for this is the one thing that makes a book of the genuine Word.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for the permission to use this translation.