Genesis 25:27

_AND THE BOYS GREW: AND ESAU WAS A CUNNING HUNTER, A MAN OF THE FIELD; AND JACOB WAS A PLAIN MAN, DWELLING IN TENTS._ The boys grew - from the first opposite to each other in character, manners, and habits. A CUNNING HUNTER - i:e., skillful, well versant in all the arts and wiles by which the prey might be entangled and subdued. A MAN OF THE FIELD - i:e., loving to roam about; leading a roving, unsettled mode of life. JACOB WAS A PLAIN MAN, [Hebrew, _ TAAM_ (H8535)] - used hero to describe the mild, peaceful disposition of Jacob, in contrast to the wild, reckless, violent character of his brother. But the word, in a moral sense, denotes uprightness, integrity, perfection: and although Jacob was very far from being a perfect man, 'the term,' as Gerlach suggests, 'may have reference to his relation to God. In the more quiet life of a herdsman he walks before God, and li

27._And the boys grew_. Moses now briefly describes the manners of them both. He does not, indeed, commend Jacob on account of those rare and excellent qualities, which are especially worthy of praise and of remembrance, but only says that he was _simple_. The word תם (_tam_,) although generally taken for _upright _and _sincere_, is here put antithetically. After the sacred writer has stated that Esau was robust, and addicted to hunting, he places on the opposite side the mild disposition of Jacob, who loved the quiet of home so much, that he might seem to be indolent; just as the Greeks call those persons οἰκόσιτους _oikositous_, who, dwelling at home, give no evidence of their industry. In short, the comparison implies that Moses praises Esau on account of his vigor, but speaks of Jacob as being addicted to domestic leisure; and that he describes t

27,28 Esau hunted the beasts of the field with dexterity and success, till he became a conqueror, ruling over his neighbours. Jacob was a plain man, one that liked the true delights of retirement, better than all pretended pleasures. He was a stranger and a pilgrim in his spirit, and a shepherd all his days. Isaac and Rebekah had but these two children, one was the father's darling, and the other the mother's. And though godly parents must feel their affections most drawn over towards a godly child, yet they will not show partiality. Let their affections lead them to do what is just and equal to every child, or evils will arise....

Verse Genesis 25:27. _A MAN OF THE FIELD_] איש שדה _ish sadeh_, one who supported himself and family by _hunting_ and by _agriculture_. _JACOB_ WAS _A PLAIN MAN_] איש תם _ish tam_, a perfect or upright man; _dwelling in tents _- subsisting by breeding and tending cattle, which was considered in those early times the most _perfect_ employment; and in this sense the word תם _tam_, should be here understood, as in its _moral_ meaning it certainly could not be applied to Jacob till after his name was changed, after which time only his character stands fair and unblemished. See Genesis 32:26-1....

- LIII. Birth of Esau and Jacob 20. פדן _padān_, Paddan, “plowed field;” related: “cut, plow.” 25. עשׂי _‛__êśâv_, ‘Esaw, “hairy, or made.” 26. יעקב _ya‛ăqôb_, Ja’aqob, “he shall take the heel.” 27. תם _tām_, “perfect, peaceful, plain.” The epithet refers to disposition, and contrasts the comparatively civilized character of Jacob with the rude temper of Esau. 30. אדים _'ědôm_, Edom, “red.” The ninth document here begins with the usual phrase, and continues to the end of the thirty-fifth chapter. It contains the history of the second of the three patriarchs, or rather, indeed, as the opening ph

AND THE BOYS GREW,.... In stature, became strong and fit for business, and betook themselves to different employments: AND ESAU WAS A CUNNING HUNTER, A MAN OF THE FIELD: whose business lay in tilling and sowing it, which his father Isaac followed sometimes; or rather he chose to range about the field and hunt after beasts and birds, in which he was very expert, and contrived traps and snares to catch them in; and this course of life was most agreeable to his temper and disposition, being active, fierce, and cruel; according to the Targum of Jonathan, he was also a hunter and slayer of men, Nimrod and Henoch his son: AND JACOB WAS A PLAIN MAN; an honest plain hearted man, whose heart and tongue went together; a quiet man, that gave no disturbance to others; a godly man, sincere, upright, and perfect, that had the truth of grace and holiness in him, as well as the perfect righteousness o...

IX. THE GENERATIONS OF ISAAC CHAPTER 25:19-34 Esau and Jacob _ 1. Rebekah barren and the answered prayer (Genesis 25:19)_ 2. The birth of Esau and Jacob (Genesis 25:23) 3. The growth of the boys (Genesis 25:27) 4. Esau sells his birthright (Genesis 25:29) It was 25 years after Abraham entered Canaan before Isaac was born. It was 20 years after Isaac's marriage before the birth of Esau and Jacob. The barren condition of Rebekah led Isaac to exercise faith and to cast himself upon the Lord for help. And He answered him. God delights to take up what is weak and barren and manifest H

THE BIRTH OF JACOB AND ESAU. JACOB TAKES ADVANTAGE OF ESAU TO SECURE HIS BIRTHRIGHT. At this point we pass to the story of Jacob. In the present section Genesis 25:19 f., Genesis 25:26_ b_ belong to P, the rest to Jeremiah Genesis 25:21 is from J, and so in the judgment of most critics Genesis 25:29, though some assign it to E. Like Sarah and Rachel, Rebekah is for long without a child. P fixes the interval from marriage to motherhood as thirty years, but in view of the untrustworthiness of his chronological statements elsewhere no dependence can be placed on them here. Before their birth the mother's life is made int

CUNNING. knowing or skilled in. A MAN OF THE FIELD. "The field is the world. " PLAIN. upright or pure. Job 1:1; Job 1:8; Job 2:3, &c....

_a cunning hunter_ That is a skilful, expert hunter. The word "cunning" is used in its old English sense, with no idea of craft or deceit; see 1 Samuel 16:16. The Heb. means having a knowledge of the chase. LXX εἰδὼς κυνηγεῖν, Lat. _gnarus venandi_. _a man of the field_ i.e. a man who spends his days in the open country. But this meaning is missed by the versions, LXX ἄγροικος, Lat. _agricola_. _a plain man_ i.e., as R.V. marg., _quiet_or _harmless_, Lat. _integer_. "Plain," in Old English, is used for "simple," "honest": cf. "For he [Antonius] was a _plaine_man, without subletie" (North's Plutarch, _Antonius_, p. 979); "_Plaine_, faithful, true, and enimy of shame" (Spenser, _F. Q_., i. 6, § 20). The meaning seems to be that of a solid, simple, home-abiding man. LXX ἄπλαστος, Lat. _simplex_. Cf. the German fr