Genesis 27:40

Genesis 27:40 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.
• New International Version (NIV)You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you grow restless you shall break his yoke from your neck."
• New King James Version (NKJV)By your sword you shall live, And you shall serve your brother; And it shall come to pass, when you become restless, That you shall break his yoke from your neck.”

Context of Genesis 27:40

38Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” So Esau lifted his voice and wept. 39Then Isaac his father answered and said to him, “Behold, away from the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling, And away from the dew of heaven from above. By your sword you shall live, And your brother you shall serve; But it shall come about when you become restless, That you will break his yoke from your neck.” 41So Esau bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42Now when the words of her elder son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she sent and called her younger son Jacob, and said to him, “Behold your brother Esau is consoling himself concerning you by planning to kill you.

Genesis 27:40 word by word

וְעַל־חַרְבְּךָ֣ תִֽחְיֶ֔ה וְאֶת־אָחִ֖יךָ תַּעֲבֹ֑ד וְהָיָה֙ כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר תָּרִ֔יד וּפָרַקְתָּ֥ עֻלּ֖וֹ מֵעַ֥ל צַוָּארֶֽךָ׃Read the interlinear

• By your swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
• And your brotherאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
• you shall serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serveH5647
• But it shall comeהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
• you becomeרוּדrûd · to roamH7300
• breakפָּרַקpâraq · to tearH6561
• his yokeעֹל‛ôl ‛ôl · yokeH5923
• from your neckצַוָּארtsavvâ'r tsavvâr tsavvârôn tsavvâ'râh · neckH6677

Cross-references for Genesis 27:40

• Genesis 32:6The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and furthermore he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”
• Matthew 10:34“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
• Genesis 25:23The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples will be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger.”
• 2 Samuel 8:14He put garrisons in Edom. In all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became servants to David. And the Lord helped David wherever he went.
• 1 Kings 11:15For it came about, when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury the slain, and had struck down every male in Edom
• 2 Kings 14:7He killed of Edom in the Valley of Salt 10,000 and took Sela by war, and named it Joktheel to this day.
• 1 Chronicles 18:11King David also dedicated these to the Lord with the silver and the gold which he had carried away from all the nations: from Edom, Moab, the sons of Ammon, the Philistines, and from Amalek.
• 2 Chronicles 25:11Now Amaziah strengthened himself and led his people forth, and went to the Valley of Salt and struck down 10,000 of the sons of Seir.
• Psalms 60:8Moab is My washbowl; Over Edom I shall throw My shoe; Shout loud, O Philistia, because of Me!”
• Obadiah 1:17But on Mount Zion there will be those who escape, And it will be holy. And the house of Jacob will possess their possessions.
• 2 Kings 8:20In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves.
• 2 Chronicles 21:8In his days Edom revolted against the rule of Judah and set up a king over themselves.
• 2 Chronicles 28:17For again the Edomites had come and attacked Judah and carried away captives.

Commentaries on Genesis 27:40

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 40By thy sword shalt thou live - This does not absolutely mean that the Edomites should have constant wars; but that they should be of a fierce and warlike disposition, gaining their sustenance by hunting, and by predatory excursions upon the possessions of others. Bishop Newton speaks on this subject with his usual good sense and judgment: "The elder branch, it is here foretold, should delight more in war and violence, but yet should be subdued by the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-46Verses 1-46 - Isaac Blessing His Sons The life of Isaac falls into three periods. During the first seventy-five years he is contemporary with his father. For sixty-one years more his son Jacob remains under the paternal roof. The remaining forty-four years are passed in the retirement of old age. The chapter before us narrates the last solemn acts of the middle period of his life. Genesis 27:1-4 Isaac was old. - Joseph was in his thirtieth year when he…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 30-40Verses 30-40 When Esau understood that Jacob had got the blessing, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry. The day is coming, when those that now make light of the blessings of the covenant, and sell their title to spiritual blessings for that which is of no value, will, in vain, ask urgently for them. Isaac, when made sensible of the deceit practised on him, trembled exceedingly. Those who follow the choice of their own affections, rather than…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 39-40All that remained for Esau was a promise of hardship and struggle (compare 3:17–19; 16:11–12).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 39-4039-40. Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth--The first part is a promise of temporal prosperity, made in the same terms as Jacob's [Ge 27:28]--the second part refers to the roving life of hunting freebooters, which he and his descendants should lead. Though Esau was not personally subject to his brother, his posterity were tributary to the Israelites, till the reign of Joram when they revolted and established a kingdom of their own (2Ki…Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 27:40

• Benedictions
• Death
• Edomites
• Family
• Isaac
• Israel
• Parents
• Sword

In the dictionaries

• Bless
• Cry
• Deceiver
• Dim
• Exceedingly
• Fatness
• Feel
• Fetch
• Hairy
• Hunt

Commentaries on Genesis 27

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings