Genesis 27:3
in Genesis 27Take your weapons—your quiver and bow—and go out into the field to hunt some game for me.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me venison;
KJV
Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;
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This verse in Genesis 27
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThy weapons - The original word כלי keley signifies vessels and instruments of any kind; and is probably used here for a hunting spear, javelin, sword, etc. Quiver - תלי teli, from תלה talah, to hang or suspend. Had not the Septuagint translated the word φαρετραν, and the Vulgate pharetram, a quiver, I should rather have supposed some kind of shield was meant; but either can be suspended on the arm or from the shoulder.
This site's exposition
hunt some game for me
on Genesis 27:3-4
Isaac ties the blessing to a meal he wants first, and at 25:28 the narrator had already said that Isaac loved Esau for the game he brought home. Food had cost this family once before, when Esau sold his birthright for stew at 25:29 to 34. Hebrews 12:16 calls him godless for that sale.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Notice in this, dearly beloved, God's ineffable wisdom: Whereas the father gave evidence of natural affection by giving these directions to Esau, the wise and resourceful Lord caused his own prediction to be brought to pass by means of Rebekah, thus teaching us the power of virtue and mildness of manner. I mean, one son considered himself to hold pride of place by birthright and by his father's preference for him, and yet he was suddenly found to be bereft of all this. The other son, on the contrary, being endowed with homely virtues and enjoying the help of favor from above, won his father's blessing against his will. Nothing is more powerful than the person helped by that mighty right hand.In any case, look carefully at all this so as to learn the extraordinary nature of God's designs: One man enjoyed favor from that source and was accorded great cooperation in everything so that the father's blessing was transferred to him. The other lost everything, forfeiting what was his because of the evil of his ways.
The fact that the prophet asks Esau for food by giving him an order signifies the call that the Word addresses to the first people when he asks them for the fruit of the works of justice, that justice which was considered to be a nourishment for the Father. In fact, the words "go out to the field, and hunt game for me" signify worldly life.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Note, It is fit, if the less be blessed of the greater, that the greater should be served and honoured by the less. He says, That my soul may bless thee before I die. Note, (1.) Prayer is the work of the soul, and not of the lips only; as the soul must be employed in blessing God ( Ps. ciii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Now therefore, take, I pray thee, thy weapons,....
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַתָּה֙ | veatah | and therefore | H6258 → | 433 times |
| שָׂא־ | sa'- | take up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| נָ֣א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| כֵלֶ֔יךָ | kheleikha | weapons your | H3627 → | 325 times |
| תֶּלְיְךָ֖ | telyekha | quiver your | H8522 → | |
| וְקַשְׁתֶּ֑ךָ | vekashtecha | and bow your | H7198 → | 76 times |
| וְצֵא֙ | vetze' | and go out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה | hasadeh | the field | H7704 → | 334 times |
| וְצ֥וּדָה | vetzudah | and hunt ! | H6679 → | 18 times |
| לִּ֖י | li | for <the> me | ||
| צָֽיִד׃ | tzeid | wild game | H6718 → | 19 times |
וְעַתָּה֙and therefore
veatahH6258 →433 times
שָׂא־take up
sa'-H5375 →656 times
נָ֣אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
כֵלֶ֔יךָweapons your
kheleikhaH3627 →325 times
תֶּלְיְךָ֖quiver your
telyekhaH8522 →
וְקַשְׁתֶּ֑ךָand bow your
vekashtechaH7198 →76 times
וְצֵא֙and go out
vetze'H3318 →1067 times
הַשָּׂדֶ֔הthe field
hasadehH7704 →334 times
וְצ֥וּדָהand hunt !
vetzudahH6679 →18 times
לִּ֖יfor <the> me
li
צָֽיִד׃wild game
tzeidH6718 →19 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Corinthians 6:12“Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 10:23–33
“Everything is permissible,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible,” but not everything is edifying.
- 1 Corinthians 9:27
No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
- Hebrews 12:15–16
See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God, and that no root of bitterness springs up to cause trouble and defile many.
- Romans 14:14–23
I am convinced and fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.
- 1 Corinthians 8:7–13
But not everyone has this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that they eat such food as if it were sacrificed to an idol. And since their conscience is weak, it…
- 1 Corinthians 10:23–33
Through
Genesis 10:9He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; so it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD.”
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 28:22
In the time of his distress, King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the LORD.
- Genesis 25:27
When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.
- Genesis 13:13
But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD.
- 2 Chronicles 28:22
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Hippolytus of Rome, ON THE BLESSINGS OF ISAAC AND JACOB 3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 53.3-4; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.