40
By your swordוְעַל חַרְבְּךָyou will live,תִחְיֶהand your brotherוְאֶת אָחִיךָyou will serve;תַּעֲבֹדbut it will beוְהָיָהwhenכַּאֲשֶׁרyou break looseתָּרִידthat you will tearוּפָרַקְתָּhis yokeעֻלּוֹfromמֵעַלyour neck.”צַוָּארֶךָ
Genesis 27:40
Study it in the app“By your sword you will live, and your brother you will serve; but it will be when you break loose that you will tear his yoke from your neck.””
With the Hebrew beneath
Genesis 27:40, word by word
- By your swordחַרְבְּcharb
sword
A sword; or war.
Where else “charb” appears- you will liveתִחְיֶהtichye
live
To have breath and remain in this world, not die.
Where else “tichye” appears- and your brotherאָחִיachi
brother
A son of the same father or the same mother.
Where else “achi” appears- you will serveתַּעֲבֹדtaavod
serve
To serve a person.
Where else “taavod” appears- but it will beהָיָהhaya
happen
For something to occur or take place; many stories open with this word.
Where else “haya” appears- you break looseתָּרִידtarid
roam freely
A rare verb of uncertain sense: "roam free", "be restless".
Where else “tarid” appears- that you will tearפָרַקְתָּfarakta
tear off
To tear something off.
Where else “farakta” appears- his yokeעֻלּul
yoke
Yoke: the wooden piece joining two oxen; figuratively, being subject to another.
Where else “ul” appears- your neckצַוָּארֶtsavare
neck
The neck.
Where else “tsavare” appears
The context
39Isaac his father answered and said to him, “Look, away from the richness of the earth will be your dwelling, and away from the dew of the heavens from above.
40 · This verse (above)
41Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill Jacob my brother.”
To study Genesis 27 in a group
1. What it says
How did Jacob receive Isaac’s blessing, and how did Esau react (vv. 18-34)?
2. What it means
What consequences did Jacob’s deceiving his father bring to the family (vv. 41-45)?
3. How I live it
How can you pursue what you need without resorting to deception?