Genesis 27:40

And by thy sword shalt thou live,.... By what he could get by it; his land being so poor that he could not live upon it, but must be obliged to such methods for a livelihood; or his country being

And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?

By thy sword shalt thou live; by violence and rapine, in an unquiet and military posture, troubling others, and forced to defend thyself. But this, as also the following clause, though spoken to Esau, was not fulfilled in him, but in his posterity the Edomites, whose history makes good this prophecy. Thus things spoken and promised to Abraham were fulfilled in his posterity, as 22:18. When thou shalt have the dominion; when thou shalt grow potent. Some render the words thus, When thou shalt have mourned or groaned, as the same word is used ; when thou hast oppressed as long as I think fit.

Genesis 27:40 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.Ver. 40. When thou shalt have the dominion.] Cum planxeris, saith Junius; when thou hast for some time undergone hard, troublesome, and lamentable servitude, the grief whereof thou dost greatly groan under; as in David’ s time, who "cast his shoe over them". The Sodomites, those worst of men, were the first that we find in Scripture brought in bondage to others. When the Danes and other foreigners domineered in this kingdom, was it not a lamentable time? were not men’ s dearest lives sold as cheap as sparrows were among the Jews, five for two farthings? Did we but live a while in Turkey, Persia, yea, or but in France, saith one, a dram of that liberty we yet enjoy, would be as precious as a drop of cold water would have been to the rich man in hell, when he was so grievously tormented with those flames. Take we heed, lest for the abuse of this sweet mercy, God send in the Midianites to thresh out our grain, the Assyrians to drink up our milk, to make a spoil of our cattle, and to cause us to eat the bread of our souls in the peril of our lives, as our fathers did in Queen Mary’ s days.

(40) When thou shalt have the dominion.—This rendering of a rare and difficult Hebrew word is scarcely more than a guess made by two or three ancient Jewish commentators. Its real meaning here, and in Jeremiah 2:31, Hosea 11:12, is to toss the yoke—be restless and unquiet. The prophecy of Edom’s subjection to his brother was literally fulfilled, as Idumæa was for ages a mere dependency upon Judah; but in the days first of Joram, and then of Ahaz, it revolted, and recovered its freedom. It was again conquered by Hyrcanus, the nephew of Judas Maccabaeus; nor was its subject condition altered by the fact that the dynasty of the Herods was of Edomite extraction. In troubled times, then, it broke the yoke from its neck; but generally Edom served his brother.

Verse 40. By 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 younger. By thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother. Esau might be said to live much by the sword; for he was a cunning hunter, a man of the field. He and his children got possession of Mount Seir by force and violence, expelling from thence the Horites, the former inhabitants. By what means they spread themselves farther among the Arabians is not known; but it appears that upon a sedition and separation several of the Edomites came and seized upon the south-west parts of Judea, during the Babylonish captivity, and settled there ever after. Before and after this they were almost continually at war with the Jews; upon every occasion they were ready to join with their enemies; and when Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem, they encouraged him utterly to destroy the city, saying, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundations thereof. Psalms 137:7. And even long after they were subdued by the Jews, they retained the same martial spirit; for Josephus in his time gives them the character of 'a turbulent and disorderly nation, always erect to commotions, and rejoicing in changes; at the least adulation of those who beseech them, beginning war, and hasting to battles as to a feast.' And a little before the last siege of Jerusalem they came, at the entreaty of the Zealots, to assist them against the priests and people; and there, together with the Zealots, committed unheard-of cruelties, and barbarously murdered Annas, the high priest, from whose death Josephus dates the destruction of the city." See Dr. Dodd. And - when thou shalt have the dominion] It is here foretold that there was to be a time when the elder was to have dominion and shake off the yoke of the younger. The word תריד tarid, which we translate have dominion, is rather of doubtful meaning, as it may be deduced from three different roots, ירד yarad, to descend, to be brought down or brought low; דרה radah, to obtain rule or have dominion; and רוד rud, to complain; meaning either that when reduced very low God would magnify his power in their behalf, and deliver them from the yoke of their brethren; or when they should be increased so as to venture to set up a king over them, or when they mourned for their transgressions, God would turn their captivity.

40. by thy sword] The soil will not furnish means of subsistence. The life of marauders dwelling in mountain fastnesses is here depicted. They will raid their brother’s borders. They will cut off the merchants travelling with caravans and camels between the Red Sea and Syria. thou shalt serve thy brother] Cf. Genesis 25:23. The people of Edom were first subjugated by Israel in the reign of David. Cf. 2 Samuel 8:14. break loose] Better, as Driver, “become restless.” The word in the original is obscure, being found elsewhere only in Psalms 55:2, “restless”; Jeremiah 2:31, “broken loose”; Hosea 11:12 (R.V. marg. is yet unstedfast with). Probably the metaphor is that of an animal shaking itself free from restraint. The A.V. “shalt have dominion” is quite impossible. Dillmann, “when thou shalt make efforts, or strive,” as the Arabian and Ethiopian versions. Lat. tempusque veniet, cum excutias et solvas jugum ejus. shake … neck] The metaphor is that of the bull refusing the yoke. Edom successfully threw off the yoke of the kingdom of Judah in the reigns of Jehoram, 2 Kings 8:20-22, and Ahaz, 2 Kings 16:6. But freedom from the dominion of Israel was followed by submission to Assyria. Edom appears among those who paid tribute to the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III (731 b.c.), the Pul of 2 Kings 15:19-20.

40. By thy sword shalt thou live — By war and rapine. Here note how different from Jacob, whose source of support is abundance of grain and of sweet wine. Genesis 27:28.