Genesis 27:28

Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven,.... Or "shall" or "will give thee" (x), seeing he was blessed of God, and the blessed seed should spring from him, as well as his posterity should

Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: God give thee of the dew. To an Oriental mind this phraseology implied the highest flow of prosperity.

God give thee, or, will give; for it is both a prayer and a prophecy. He mentions the dew rather than the rain, because it was of more constant use and necessity in those parts than the rain, which fell considerably but twice in a year, the first being called the former, and the other the latter rain. And under this and the following blessings, which are but temporal, are comprehended all manner of blessings, both spiritual, temporal, and eternal, according to the usage of that time and state of the church. The fatness of the earth; a fat and fruitfill land, which Canaan was, abounding with all sorts of precious fruits. Compare 32:13,14.

Genesis 27:28 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:Ver. 28. God give thee of the dew.] For that country was dry and thirsty. They had rain, say some, but twice a year; the former in seedtime, and the latter rain in May. The blessings here bestowed are plenty, victory, domestical preeminency, and outward prosperity. Esau likewise hath the like, but not with a God give thee. But beyond all these, "some better thing" was provided and promised. Erant enim speculum, et pignus coelestium. The Church of Rome borrows her mark from the market plenty, or cheapness, &c.; she vaunts of her temporal felicity, and makes a catalogue of the strange victories which the Catholics have had. Immo vix unquam fuerunt Haeretici superiores, quando iusto proelio dimicatum est, saith Bellarmine. Upon one of the Easter holidays, saith George Marsh, martyr, Master Sherburn and Master More sent for me, persuading me much to leave mine opinions, saying, all the bringers up and favourers of that religion had ill luck, and were either put to death, or in prison, and in danger of life. Again, the favourers of the religion now used, had wondrous good luck and prosperity in all things. These wizards, these "disputers of this world," as the apostle calls them, either knew not, or believed not, that the Church is the heir of the Cross, Ecclesia haeres Crucis, as an ancient speaketh; that opposition is, as Calvin wrote to the French king, Evangelii genius , - the bad genius that dogs the gospel; that truth breeds hatred, as the fair nymphs did the ill favoured fawns and satyrs, and seldom goes without a scratched face. Some halcyons the Church hath here, as in Constantine’ s time ( Repugnante contra temetipsam tua faelicitate, saith Salvian, in his first book to the Catholic Church); but grace she shall be sure of here, "with persecution"; and glory hereafter without interruption. As for outward things, aut aderunt sane, aut non oberunt; either she shall have them, or be as well without them. God shall be her cornucopia; her All-sufficient; her "shield and exceeding great reward." Sine Deo, omnis copia est egestas. Bell., tom. ii. lib. iv. cap. ult. Act. and Mon., fol. 1421. Veritas odium parit. - Ter.

(28) Therefore God give thee.—Heb., And the Elohim give thee. Here, as not unfrequently is the case, the name Elohim follows immediately upon that of Jehovah. As the blessings of dew and fertile land are the gifts of the God of nature, the use of the title Elohim is in accordance with the general rule. The fatness of the earth.—Heb., the fatnesses: that is, the fat places. In the countries where Esau and Jacob were to have their homes, the land varies from districts of extraordinary fertility to regions of barren rock and sterile sand. It was these rich fields which Isaac’s blessing conveyed to Jacob. Wine.—Not the word used in Genesis 27:25, but tirosh, the unfermented juice of the grape. It thus goes properly with corn, both being the natural produce of the field.

Verse 28. God give thee of the dew of heaven] Bp. Newton's view of these predictions is so correct and appropriate, as to leave no wish for any thing farther on the subject. "It is here foretold, and in Genesis 27:39, of these two brethren, that as to situation, and other temporal advantages, they should be much alike. It was said to Jacob: God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine; and much the same is said to Esau, Genesis 27:39: Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above. The spiritual blessing, or the promise of the blessed seed, could be given only to ONE; but temporal good things might be imparted to both. Mount Seir, and the adjacent country, was at first in the possession of the Edomites; they afterwards extended themselves farther into Arabia, and into the southern parts of Judea. But wherever they were situated, we find in fact that the Edomites, in temporal advantages, were little inferior to the Israelites. Esau had cattle and beasts and substance in abundance, and he went to dwell in Seir of his own accord; but he would hardly have removed thither with so many cattle, had it been such a barren and desolate country as some would represent it. The Edomites had dukes and kings reigning over them, while the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. When the Israelites, on their return, desired leave to pass through the territories of Edom, it appears that the country abounded with FRUITFUL FIELDS and VINEYARDS: Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country; we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells; Numbers 20:17. And the prophecy of Malachi, which is generally alleged as a proof of the barrenness of the country, is rather a proof of the contrary: I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness, Malachi 1:3; for this implies that the country was fruitful before, and that its present unfruitfulness was rather an effect of war, than any natural defect in the soil. If the country is unfruitful now, neither is Judea what it was formerly." As there was but little rain in Judea, except what was termed the early rain, which fell about the beginning of spring, and the latter rain, which fell about September, the lack of this was supplied by the copious dews which fell both morning and evening, or rather through the whole of the night. And we may judge, says Calmet, of the abundance of those dews by what fell on Gideon's fleece, Judges 6:38, which being wrung filled a bowl. And Hushai compares an army ready to fall upon its enemies to a dew falling on the ground, 2 Samuel 17:12, which gives us the idea that this fluid fell in great profusion, so as to saturate every thing.

28. And God give thee] The blessing of the firstborn in this and the following verse is solemnly pronounced by Isaac. It is irrevocable; see Genesis 27:33. It invokes (a) blessings of fertility upon the soil, (b) blessings of victory over other nations, (c) blessings of predominance over kindred tribes and clans. This invocation is closed by the short and solemn utterance of a curse against the foe, and of a benediction upon the friend. the dew of heaven] The blessing from above, cf. Genesis 49:25, “with blessings of heaven above.” In a hot country the dew falling heavily by night is a source of fruitfulness to the land; and gives refreshing coolness to the atmosphere. Cf. Deuteronomy 33:13; Deuteronomy 33:28; Zechariah 8:12. the fatness of the earth] The other side of the blessing of prosperity is supplied by the fertility of the soil, for which the Heb. expression is “the fat things.” By “the earth” is clearly indicated a parallel to “the heaven” in the previous clause. There is no need for supposing, as some scholars have done, that Isaac here identifies Canaan with “the earth.” See Numbers 13:20; Nehemiah 9:25; Nehemiah 9:35, “fat land”; Isaiah 28:1, “fat valley”; Ezekiel 34:14, “fat pasture.” plenty of corn and wine] The two most typical illustrations of agricultural wealth; cf. Exodus 22:5; Numbers 20:17. We find “corn,” “wine,” and “oil,” represented as the three blessings of the soil in Deuteronomy 7:13; and “corn” and “wine” in Deuteronomy 33:28; Psalms 4:7.

28. Dew of heaven — Of the greatest importance to the fruitfulness of a land like Palestine. Comp. Genesis 49:25; Deuteronomy 33:13; Deuteronomy 33:28; Hosea 14:6.