# Translations of Esau's Blessing/Curse



## Michael (Feb 25, 2007)

Please share your thoughts on the various translations of Gen 27:39


_ESV:_ Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:
"Behold, *away from* the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be,
and *away from* the dew of heaven on high." 

_NASB:_ Then Isaac his father answered and said to him,
"Behold, *away from* the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling,
And *away from* the dew of heaven from above."


...compared to:

_KJV:_ And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling *shall be* the fatness of the earth, *and of* the dew of heaven from above;

_NKJV:_ Gen 27:39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: 
“ Behold, your dwelling *shall be* of the fatness of the earth, 
*And of* the dew of heaven from above."

_Geneva Bible (1599, restored):_ Then Isaac his father answered, and said unto him, Behold, the fatness of the earth *shall be* thy dwelling place, and *thou shalt have of* the dew of heaven from above.


Many thanks,
Michael


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## JKLeoPCA (Feb 25, 2007)

I am sure there are better scholars here than I, but I just think you off a bit on the bold highlight.

Allow me to change this up just a bit, and lets look at them this way...

_ESV:_ Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:
"Behold, *away from* the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be,
and *away from* the dew of heaven on high." 

_NASB:_ Then Isaac his father answered and said to him,
"Behold, *away from* the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling,
And *away from* the dew of heaven from above."


...compared to:

_KJV:_ And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness *of* the earth, and *of* the dew of heaven from above;

_NKJV:_ Gen 27:39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: 
“ Behold, your dwelling shall be *of* the fatness of the earth, 
And *of* the dew of heaven from above."

_Geneva Bible (1599, restored):_ Then Isaac his father answered, and said unto him, Behold, the fatness *of* the earth shall be thy dwelling place, and thou shalt have *of* the dew of heaven from above.

The Bold I added to *of*, is what I believe is related to the *away from*, in the previous versions. The import seems to be that *of*, as in from the scraps *of* the earth, and the scraps *of* the dew of heaven. The _of_ used, as I understand it, litterally means _from_, or _away from_. Some refer to this as a anti-blessing. God will give these things to Jacob, but Esau will have to live by them.


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## MW (Feb 25, 2007)

They appear to be taking the Hebrew prefix differently. Heb. 11 says Isaac blessed both men. The difference is that superiority (right of the firstborn) was bequeathed to Jacob, which was utlimately manifested in Christ. One might also point to the fact that Esau's dwelling is not said to be given by God.


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## VictorBravo (Feb 25, 2007)

I looked at the passage in the Septuagint. It uses the preposition "apo" in both places. Although that usually means something like separation, it also can mean something like "origin" or "of the place where something is".

I never noticed the ambiguity. My ASV follows the AV "of" but also has a note "or away from."


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