Commentaria in Genesim
On the contrary, Cham, cursed by his father Noe, such he proved in all his posterity of the Chanaanites. Thus the curse of parents was efficacious; and Ruben, cursed by Jacob for incest, turned out such: the same befell Levi and Simeon, Gen. chap. XLIX, verses 4 and 5. Whence St. Ambrose infers above: “Let the pious honour his father for grace, the ungrateful for fear.”
37. ALL HIS BRETHREN.—All kinsmen and blood relations, either from thee, O Esau, or from Ismael, and my other brethren, the sons of Cetura, who are to be born: for of these, as I am head and prince, so shall Jacob be.
WHAT SHALL I DO?—Esau demanded a blessing like Jacob’s, and one due to the firstborn: this Isaac could not give; whence the Apostle, Heb. xii, asserts that Esau sought it with tears, but in vain, nor did he obtain it; another therefore, such as Isaac gave him.
39. IN THE FATNESS OF THE EARTH, AND IN THE DEW OF HEAVEN FROM ABOVE SHALL THY BLESSING BE.—The Hebrew is, thy seat shall be, or thy habitation, as if to say: Thou shalt dwell in a fat and fertile land, which God will make fruitful by sending dew and rain.
You see here that Isaac’s blessing is a prophecy, which was fulfilled in chap. xxxiii, verse 9. Again, this is the least of the blessings given to Jacob, namely plenty of wine and wheat; for such, not another, was due to an earthly and carnal man.
40. THOU SHALT LIVE BY THE SWORD.—Thou shalt occupy a fertile land; yet thou shalt live not so much by farming as by plunder and rapine, not so much thou as thy posterity. How rapacious and warlike the Idumeans were, Josephus teaches, book IV De Bello Judaico.
AND SHALT SERVE THY BROTHER (under David), AND THE TIME SHALL COME WHEN (in which, or when) THOU SHALT SHAKE OFF AND LOOSE HIS YOKE.—Namely in the time of Joram, son of Josaphat, the Idumeans rebelled against the Jews, IV Kings viii, and remained free from the yoke of the Jews for 800 years, until Hyrcanus, who again subdued them; and again Herod, son of Antipater the Idumean, obtained the kingdom of Judah, and held it in himself and his posterity until the destruction of Jerusalem, for 150 years. Hence it came about that in the time of Titus and Vespasian the Idumeans with the Romans stormed and laid waste Jerusalem. See Josephus, book XIV of the Antiquities, at the beginning, and book I of the Jewish War. Morally St. Ambrose, book II De Jacob, chap. iii: “A good father, he says, having two sons, one intemperate, the other sober, in order to provide for both, set the sober over the intemperate, and ordained the foolish to obey the prudent, that by the rule of the one ruling he might improve his affection.” A memorable example St. Augustine has, book XXII De Civitate, viii, of ten children cursed by their mother, who were soon struck with a horrible trembling of the limbs, and therefore wandered through almost the whole Roman world: of whom two were cured at the relics of St. Stephen.
Second, because by this blessing of the dying father the firstborn and heirs of the promise made to Abraham were declared, as Jacob here was declared. So Rupert.
YOUR BLESSING—due to you by right of nature, and destined to you by me, but God has transferred it to your brother.
36. RIGHTLY (properly, truly, fitly: so the Hebrew) IS HIS NAME CALLED JACOB: FOR HE HATH SUPPLANTED ME THIS SECOND TIME.—Jacob is the same as holding the heel and supplanting. So he was called from the fact that at birth he held the heel of his brother. Whereby it was signified that he would supplant his brother, as in fact he did; first, by craftily buying the birthright of Esau, chap. xxv, verse 31; second, here by snatching from him his father’s blessing. The Arabic translates emphatically: because he hath jacobed me a second time. To jacob is a word frequent among the Arabs signifying to supplant, and to wear something down to the dregs and the last, taken from the Hebrew akab and iaacob, that is, to supplant and supplanter.
41. ESAU THEREFORE ALWAYS HATED JACOB.—Note here: After the blessing of his father was received, Jacob is at once tempted, suffers persecution, and finally is driven from his father’s house, so that one might think the blessing had profited him nothing, nay had harmed him: but the event taught that it had profited him.
Note secondly the impiety and folly of Esau: for first, he is angry, nay hates his brother; second, he seeks a way of vengeance; third, he does not consider that it was done thus by God’s providence, nor that he had deserved it, but considers only what his brother had done; fourth, since he could not by right take back the blessing, he girds himself for force; fifth, he resolves not only to persecute his brother but to kill him;
sixth, he desires his father’s death: “The days will come, he says, of mourning for my father, and I will kill my brother.” Where St. Chrysostom rightly, homily 53: “Is not he, he says, who is angry with the frenzied no less frenzied?” Seventh, he conceals all this until occasion offer itself of carrying it out. How foolish was he who tried to recover the blessing by evil means, nay by adding sins to sins, when by these the curse is rather incurred: for the blessing of God is to be drawn down by good deeds.
42. HE THREATENETH.—In Hebrew mitnachem, that is, he consoles himself, that he will kill thee.
45. WHY SHALL I BE DEPRIVED OF BOTH MY SONS IN ONE DAY?—For if thou remain here, there will be fighting with thy brother, and either ye will fall by mutual wounds, or one being slain the other will be a fugitive, and so I shall be deprived of the presence and solace of both.
46. IF JACOB TAKE A WIFE OF THE STOCK OF THIS LAND (a Chanaanite or Hethite, such as Esau took, who by their wickedness and stubbornness are troublesome and hateful to me and thee), I CHOOSE NOT TO LIVE.—In Hebrew, to what purpose is life to me? as if to say: Life will be sad and bitter to me, so that I would rather choose to die than to live.
Note the prudence of Rebecca: for to prevent fratricide, she sends away the one brother; and lest she should betray to the father the crime and plot of the other, and so bring sadness to the father and his indignation on the son, she puts forward another reason for sending away her son, and that a true one, namely that she did not wish Jacob to marry some unruly and wicked Hethite, but desired him to marry some kinswoman from Haran, in which the house of her father was well conducted. This reason moved Isaac, and persuaded him to send Jacob away to Haran in the next chapter. Whence St. Ambrose, book II De Jacob, chap. iii: “Let us learn, he says, from Rebecca, how we ought to take care lest envy rouse anger, and anger rush into parricide. Let Rebecca come, that is patience, the good guardian of innocence; let her persuade us to give place. Let us retire somewhere farther, until indignation is softened by time, and forgetfulness of the offence creep in.”
This prudent and holy counsel of Rebecca and Jacob St. Gregory Nazianzen followed; for when in the Council of Constantinople enmities and dissensions of certain bishops had arisen, because Nazianzen had, without consulting them, been consecrated bishop by others, Nazianzen of his own accord yielded his place and rank, and addressed them thus: “I beseech you humbly, by the Trinity itself, that you settle all things among yourselves rightly and peaceably: but if I am the cause of dissension among you, I ought in no wise to seem more venerable than the prophet Jonas; cast me into the sea, and this tempest of troubles will be calmed among you. Gladly indeed will I suffer whatever you will, though innocent, for the sake of your concord; cast me from the throne, drive me from the world, only love truth and peace. Farewell, holy pastors, and remember my labours for ever.” Having said this, he went to the emperor Theodosius seeking dismissal: “I pray you humbly, he said, that I may be freed from these labours, let envy have an end, let the prelates cultivate peace, and that by your work: this favour I ask of you, grant me this last benefit.” Theodosius, admiring the man’s virtue, at length with difficulty assented, and allowed Nectarius to be put in his place. So Gregory the priest in the Life of Nazianzen.
Allegorically, Rebecca sending Jacob into Mesopotamia, where he begot 12 Patriarchs, signifies God the Father sending the Son to earth, where He begot the twelve Apostles. And as Jacob was sent alone with a staff, so Christ came alone, poor and humble, and wished the Apostles to be such, and so to evangelize throughout the whole world, that they might be like angels in need of nothing, as it were earthly gods. So St. Irenaeus, book IV, chap. xxxviii, and St. Augustine, sermon 79 De Tempore.