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 Living Translation (NLT)You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. But when you decide to break free, you will shake his yoke from your neck.”

Context of Genesis 27:40

38And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. 39Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: “Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above. 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.” 41So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42And the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Surely your brother Esau comforts himself concerning you by intending 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

Words taken from the KJV.

• And by thy swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
• shalt thou liveחָיָהchâyâh · to liveH2421
• and shalt serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serveH5647
• thy brotherאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
• and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominionרוּדrûd · to roamH7300
• that thou shalt breakפָּרַקpâraq · to tearH6561
• his yokeעֹל‛ôl ‛ôl · yokeH5923
• from off thy neckצַוָּארtsavvâ'r tsavvâr tsavvârôn tsavvâ'râh · neckH6677

Cross-references for Genesis 27:40

• Genesis 32:6Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he also 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 earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.
• Genesis 25:23And the Lord said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.”
• 2 Samuel 8:14He also put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the Lord preserved David wherever he went.
• 1 Kings 11:15For it happened, when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury the slain, after he had killed every male in Edom
• 2 Kings 14:7He killed ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt, and took Sela by war, and called its name Joktheel to this day.
• 1 Chronicles 18:11King David also dedicated these to the Lord, along with the silver and gold that he had brought from all these nations—from Edom, from Moab, from the people of Ammon, from the Philistines, and from Amalek.
• 2 Chronicles 25:11Then Amaziah strengthened himself, and leading his people, he went to the Valley of Salt and killed ten thousand of the people of Seir.
• Psalms 60:8Moab is My washpot; Over Edom I will cast My shoe; Philistia, shout in triumph because of Me.”
• Obadiah 1:17“But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, And there shall be holiness; The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
• 2 Kings 8:20In his days Edom revolted against Judah’s authority, and made a king over themselves.
• 2 Chronicles 21:8In his days Edom revolted against Judah’s authority, and made a king over themselves.
• 2 Chronicles 28:17For again the Edomites had come, 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