Bible Strands
Genesis 27:33
Isaac began to tremble violently and said, “Who was it, then, who hunted the game and brought it to me? Before you came in, I ate it all and blessed him—and indeed, he will be blessed!”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Isaac speaks to Esau immediately after consuming the prepared meal and pronouncing a blessing on Jacob, who was disguised as the firstborn.
The words — The text records חֲרָדָה (charahdah) for trembling paired with גְּדֹלָה (gedolah) for great, describing Isaac’s violent physical reaction. It also includes מִי (mi) for who, marking his sudden inquiry into the deception.
The thread — The motif of trembling appears in Job 21:6 alongside terror, while Genesis 28:3 records a prayer for fruitfulness and multiplication. Romans 11:29 notes that God’s gifts and call remain irrevocable.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that a spoken blessing stands regardless of human deception. It requires the reader to acknowledge the tension between human action and divine sovereignty.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.
Cross-references
- Genesis 28:3 May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a company of peoples.
- Job 21:6 When I remember, terror takes hold, and my body trembles in horror.
- Romans 11:29 For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable.
- Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.
- Job 37:1 “At this my heart also pounds and leaps from its place.
- Psalms 55:5 Fear and trembling grip me, and horror has overwhelmed me.
- John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.
- John 10:28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.
- Romans 5:20 The law came in so that the trespass would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more,
- Hebrews 11:20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future.