Blessing Stolen and Returned

In this article, we aim to demonstrate that the blessing of the firstborn, which Jacob took from his brother Esau, did not bring him the easy life of prosperity and dominion over others that he so earnestly sought. However, the blessing of Abraham, received from his father before leaving for Paddan Aram, brought exactly what was promised—God’s presence, many children, and land to live in. (Make sure to read Part I of this study, titled “Exchanging future leadership for a bowl of soup.”) Moreover, we argue that Jacob returned the firstborn blessing to Esau, establishing himself as a repentant man worthy of becoming the father of God’s people, Israel.

What Goes Around Comes Around

Upon arriving in Paddan Aram, Jacob reached Laban’s camp after meeting his future love, Rachel, at a well and assisting her there. Initially, Jacob received a warm welcome at Laban’s home (Gen 29:13-14), but he soon would discover that things were not as they seemed.

Jacob fell deeply in love with Rachel and worked seven long years to marry her at Laban’s demand. However, Laban deceived Jacob, giving him Leah instead of Rachel on their wedding night. Once their marriage was sealed through their sexual union, the truth emerged the next morning. Jacob got a taste of his own medicine. He too was savagely tricked.

A week later, Jacob married Rachel, but at a steep extra cost: he had to work another seven years to meet his evil uncle’s demands (Gen 29:15-30) before he could consider leaving Laban’s camp to establish his own independent household elsewhere.

Like Jacob’s grandmother Sarah and mother Rebekah, Rachel struggled to conceive. On the other hand, God favored Leah, despite Jacob’s disdain, by bestowing upon her numerous children. Naturally, this sparked years of rivalry and competition between Leah and Rachel for Jacob’s love and attention (Gen 29:31-35). Jacob’s life was far from happy and harmonious. No doubt Jacob had to comfort Rachel, whom he loved deeply and who was devastated by her infertility. It caused significant strain in their once-loving relationship. We read:

“When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, ‘Give me children, or I’ll die!’ Jacob became angry with her and said, ‘Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?’” (Gen 30:1-2)

Only after Leah gave birth to her seventh child, Dinah, did Rachel finally conceive and give birth to Joseph, a son whose unfortunate fate would later cause Jacob and his beloved Rachel unimaginable grief and suffering.

Despite the hardships Jacob faced in Paddan Aram, it would be a mistake to assume the stolen blessing was without effect. The power of the stolen blessing transformed Jacob’s limited resources into tremendous wealth and passive income (Gen 30:25-43). We read:

“The man [Jacob] became exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.” (Gen 30:43)

Even though the blessing was not Jacob’s, it possessed a power that no human faults could hinder.

Time Was Up

At some point it became evident that it was time for Jacob and his family to leave and never come back. His desire to leave was confirmed by a divine command (Gen 31:1-3). The blessing of Abraham, which Isaac had passed to Jacob, was powerfully at work. God spoke to Jacob:

“I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land” (Gen 31:13).

Laban was unwilling to let Jacob go, forcing him to flee, just as he had once fled from Esau. Now he had to run in the opposite direction. It is important to understand that the original and intended readers of the Book of Genesis were ancient Israelites who had recently escaped slavery in Egypt. Jacob’s servitude to Laban resonated with them because they also knew how hard it was to escape their master.

When Jacob confronted Laban, he boldly recounted the suffering he endured:

“I have been with you for twenty years now… This was my situation: the heat consumed me in the daytime and the cold at night, and sleep fled from my eyes. It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the Fear of Isaac had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you” (Gen 31:38-42).

Jacob’s trials did not end with this confrontation (some still came after he reconciled with Esau). Shechem, son of Hamor, the ruler of the area, sexually assaulted Jacob’s daughter Dinah, causing him further trauma. The situation spiralled out of control, and Jacob’s sons, through deceit, went on a killing rampage in the Hivite camp (Gen 34:1-31). Here again deceit plays a central role. Now it is not Jacob, but some of his children act in the way he once did. After Shechem, a Hivite prince, defiles Dinah, Jacob’s daughter, he seeks to marry her. Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, deceive Shechem and his father, Hamor, by agreeing to the marriage on the condition that all Hivite males be circumcised. While the Hivites recover from the circumcision, Simeon and Levi attack, killing all the males, including Shechem and Hamor, and plundering the city. Their deceitful plan avenges Dinah’s rape but leads to atrocious violence against many innocent people.

The deepest anguish Jacob endured was the belief that his cherished son, Joseph—born to his beloved Rachel—had been torn apart by wild animals while fulfilling Jacob’s request to deliver food to his brothers. To conceal their grave sin against Joseph, his brothers deceived their father, presenting Joseph’s bloodied garment as false evidence of his death.

Overall, it is clear that Jacob experienced a very rough life both before reuniting with Esau and afterward. When Jacob meets Pharaoh, after reuniting with Joseph, he tells him that:

“…few and unpleasant have been the years of my life…” (Gen 47:9, וּמְעַט וְרָעִים הָיוּ יְמֵי שְׁנֵי חַיַּי, pronounced: u-m’at v’ra’im hayu y’mei sh’nei chayyai).

Returning the Stolen Blessing

Jacob sent a message to his brother Esau, instructing his servants to seek an audience with Esau and say:

“This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your slave/servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there until now… Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes’” (Gen 32:4-5).

Jacob humbly referred to himself as Esau’s slave (עֶבֶד, pronounced: eved). The modern word “servant” is correct but obscures the original meaning to some degree. Jacob acknowledges his brother’s authority and dominion over him. However, when the messengers returned, they brought troubling news:

“We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him” (Gen 32:6).

Fear gripped Jacob, convinced that Esau was coming to kill him in revenge for his treachery twenty years earlier. He divided his people and possessions into two groups, hoping at least one might survive an attack (Gen 32:7-8). Then Jacob called upon the God of his grandfather Abraham and father Isaac, boldly asking Him to fulfill His promise to make his descendants as numerous as the sand of the sea (Gen 32:9-12). In an act of repentance, Jacob sought to return the stolen blessing by selecting generous gifts of livestock for Esau:

“…from what he had with him he selected a gift for his brother Esau: 200 female goats and 20 male goats, 200 ewes and 20 rams, 30 female camels with their young, 40 cows and 10 bulls, and 20 female donkeys and 10 male donkeys.” (Gen 32:13-15).

The proportions of the animals were carefully chosen to ensure Esau’s herds would prosper exponentially, both physically and symbolically returning the stolen blessing of the firstborn.

Even though Jacob feared for his life and the lives of his loved ones, his trust in God’s promise ultimately prevailed. But not until Jacob wrestled with a mysterious figure who blessed him and changed his name to Israel (Gen 32:22-31, יִשְׂרָאֵל, pronounced: Yisra’el). This encounter was a rare divine intervention to ensure that Jacob, the father of God’s people Israel, would not change his mind about meeting Esau. Had he done so, he would have remained a supplanter of his brother, a thief. God’s special messenger declared to Jacob/Israel that, having wrestled with God, he would from now on overcome people. Despite his fear, Jacob persevered and continued his journey towards the promised land, where he would soon face his much-dreaded brother Esau.

The Reconciliation

Jacob’s approach reflected his priorities:

“…he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants. He put the female servants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother” (Gen 33:1-3).

Rather than hiding, Jacob went ahead, bowing seven times to acknowledge Esau’s full and rightful claim to the blessing of the firstborn he had stolen. What followed left Jacob speechless: Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. Then they wept together (Gen 33:4). The translation obscures several more Hebrew insights.

Esau said, “I already have plenty/abundance (רָב, pronounced: rav), my brother. Keep what you have for yourself” (Gen 33:9).

Esau seems to have deliberately used the Hebrew word “רָב” (rav), meaning “much” or “abundance,” invoking the word of the Lord spoken to their mother Rebekah many years ago: “And the older will serve the younger/or vice versa (וְרַב יַעֲבֹד צָעִיר, pronounced: v’rav ya’avod tza’ir)” (Gen 25:23). (See the first part of this study for a detailed explanation).

Perhaps most significantly, Jacob used two distinct Hebrew terms to describe his animal gifts to Esau:

‘If I have found favor in your eyes, accept my gift (מִנְחָתִי, pronounced: minchati)…’ (Gen 33:10).

The root of מִנְחָה (minchah) is related to a gift, offering, or tribute given to someone, often in a religious or ceremonial context.

‘Please accept my blessing (בִּרְכָתִי, pronounced: birchati) that was brought to you…’ (Gen 33:11).

Jacob first asks Esau to accept his gift (מִנְחָתִי, minchati), but then shifts to “my blessing” (בִּרְכָתִי, birchati), explicitly acknowledging the stolen blessing he is now returning. Unfortunately, many translations (NIV, NLT, CSB, NASB, RSV, CEB) fail to capture the distinction between gift and blessing, using words like “present” or “gift” instead (Gen. 33:11). Others, such as the YLT, NKJV, ESV, and KJV, accurately use the word “blessing.” By doing so, the first group of translations neglects to recognize that Jacob is offering back to Esau the blessing of the firstborn, which he had previously taken from him.

Conclusion