בראשית כה:כח - ויאהב יצחק את עשו כי ציד בפיו ורבקה אהבת את יעקב.
Bereshit 25:28 records that Yitzhak loved/favored Esav, and the Torah explains that this favoritism was because of the "game in his mouth." Who does the phrase “his mouth” refer to: Esav’s mouth or Yitzhak’s mouth? Also, how does the "game in the mouth" explain Yitzhak's love/ favoritism of Esav?
Rashi (on 25:28) quotes two explanations. One, the phrase "game in his mouth," refers to game in the mouth of Yitzhak that Esav regularly brought Yitzhak food that he got from hunting, and Yitzhak loved Esav due to these gifts of food. This explanation is difficult for two reasons. One, Yitzhak desired to eat mataamin, 27:4,7, which is meat after it had been seasoned and cooked. Rivka when she helped Yaakov to trick Yitzhak said that she would prepare mataamin for Yitzhak, 27:9,14,17, and when Esav came to Yitzhak to be blessed, Esav stated that he brought the mataamin, 27:31. We see that Yitzhak did not like raw meat. Two, is food really the reason why a father would favor one son over another?
Rashi's second explanation of 25:28 is from the Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 63:10) that the phrase his mouth in 25:28 is referring to Esav's mouth, as Esav tricked Yitzhak by his speech that Yitzhak would think that Esav was a loving son. Following this idea, S. R. Hirsch (1989, p. 427) suggests that the phrase "game in his mouth," could mean that Esav "enthralled Yitzhak with tales of adventures and deeds of derring-do at his hunting," and that Esav's "lusty active nature" appealed to Yitzhak.
Ibn Ezra (on 25:28, see also Altar, 2004, p. 130) explains that the phrase "game in his mouth," refers to Esav’s mouth that Esav would literally bring home some of his hunt in his mouth, like an animal, a wild animal. We see this uncouth behavior again when he demands the soup from Yaakov, 25:30, "let me gulp down some of this red red stuff," (Altar, 2004, p. 131, translation). With this understanding, the Torah is presenting a grotesque portrayal of Esav from the beginning of the story.
Why would Yitzhak love Esav because Esav had game in his mouth? My thought is that Yitzhak's love of Esav was due to the oracle that Rivka heard from G-d about her sons, 25:23. The third phrase in the oracle was that one brother would be mightier than the other, and presumably the mightier of the two would be the dominant brother. Yitzhak believed that the dominant brother was going to be Esav since he thought that Esav the hunter would dominate Yaakov, the one who sat in tents, 25:27. For Yitzhak, Esav's uncouth behavior was an indication that Esav was destined to be the dominant brother. Could such an uncouth successful hunter lose a physical brawl to a person who lived in the tents? Hence, it was Esav's behavior of having game in his mouth that led Yitzhak to love him since he thought it indicated that Esav was the blessed son by G-d. Note, Yitzhak was correct that the brothers would have a physical fight to determine who would be the dominant brother, 32:22-32, see our discussion on the verses, Who fought with Yaakov?, just that he was incorrect who would win the fight.
This idea is based on the understanding that Rivka told Yitzhak the oracle, which is very reasonable, and this is indicated by the blessing that Yitzhak intended to give Esav but gave to Yaakov by mistake. 27:29 records that as part of the blessing, Yitzhak stated that Yaakov would be “the master of his brother,” and that “your mother’s son would bow down to you.” After Esav asked for another blessing, Yitzhak said there was no other blessing since he had blessed Yaakov that he would be Esav’s master, 27:37. The most Yitzhak was able to bless Esav was that Esav would be able to break free from Yaakov’s rule, 27:40. If the blessing was for material goods, then Yitzhak could have also blessed Esav for material goods. Accordingly, the main blessing that Yitzhak had intended for Esav was to bless Esav that he was to be the dominant brother. Note, this blessing was unrelated to the covenantal blessing in 28:3,4, see our discussion on 28:3,4, "Endogamy"
It is strange for a father to bless one son to be dominant over another son. Why not bless both sons? It is true that a king picks one son to be his successor, but here there was no kingdom to be ruled. Instead, Yitzhak gave this blessing for one brother to be dominant because he knew that the oracle had stated that one brother would be mightier and dominate the other.
This understanding of 25:28 is also based on the idea that the oracle did not have a single undisputed interpretation. While many people understand the oracle as meaning the elder (Esav) would serve the younger (Yaakov), as pointed out by the Radak (on 25:23, also see Alter, 2004, p. 129) the oracle could also be understood, that Yaakov was to serve Esav, "the elder, the younger shall serve." Thus, Yitzhak attempted to infer who was to be the mightier dominant son of the oracle by their actions, and his mind it was obvious that Esav was to be the dominant son.
This idea that Yitzhak loved Esav since he thought that Esav was going to be the dominant son since he was a hunter who was also very uncouth can explain several verses in chapter 27. 27:3,4 (also see 27:25,33) record that Yitzhak requested from Esav to go hunting and to prepare the meat in order that he would bless Esav. Why was it necessary for Esav to go hunting to receive the blessing? The answer is that Esav's ability to hunt was an indication to Yitzhak that Esav was destined to be the dominant brother, and Yitzhak wanted this "proof" prior to giving the blessing. This proof for Yitzhak was stronger than his disappointment in Esav for Esav’s choice of wives, 26:35.
27:27 records that when Yitzhak smelled Yaakov's clothing (thinking that they were Esav's), immediately prior to reciting the blessing intended for Esav, Yitzhak said "See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that (asher) G-d has blessed," (Fox, 1995, p. 125, translation). This verse is usually understood to mean that Yitzhak is noting how G-d has blessed the fields, but why should a blessing of the fields be relevant at this particular time? The Bekhor Shor (on 27:27) explains that the phrase means that Yitzhak was saying that Esav had been blessed by G-d and the proof was that G-d had helped him hunt successfully so quickly. Or, Yitzhak all along thought that Esav's prowess as a hunter (that his smell was the smell of the field, see also 25:27) was a sign that Esav had been blessed by G-d, and Yitzhak was then saying that since G-d had blessed Esav, he too was going to bless Esav. With this reading, the last three words of 27:27 are somewhat separate from the previous words, the word, asher, translated above as that should be translated as who, the phrase then is “Who G-d has blessed,” and the phrase refers to Esav, who Yitzhak thought was blessed by G-d.
Finally, after Yitzhak learned that he had been tricked by Yaakov, he said that Yaakov was still to be blessed, 27:33. Maybe Yitzhak said this because he thought that blessings could not be rescinded or maybe he said this because he was somewhat impressed with Yaakov that Yaakov was able to trick him. Previously, Yitzhak thought that for sure Esav, the uncouth hunter, was destined to be the dominant brother, but maybe after Yaakov tricked him, he realized that Yaakov could be the mightier brother.
Rashi (on 25:28) quotes two explanations. One, the phrase "game in his mouth," refers to game in the mouth of Yitzhak that Esav regularly brought Yitzhak food that he got from hunting, and Yitzhak loved Esav due to these gifts of food. This explanation is difficult for two reasons. One, Yitzhak desired to eat mataamin, 27:4,7, which is meat after it had been seasoned and cooked. Rivka when she helped Yaakov to trick Yitzhak said that she would prepare mataamin for Yitzhak, 27:9,14,17, and when Esav came to Yitzhak to be blessed, Esav stated that he brought the mataamin, 27:31. We see that Yitzhak did not like raw meat. Two, is food really the reason why a father would favor one son over another?
Rashi's second explanation of 25:28 is from the Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 63:10) that the phrase his mouth in 25:28 is referring to Esav's mouth, as Esav tricked Yitzhak by his speech that Yitzhak would think that Esav was a loving son. Following this idea, S. R. Hirsch (1989, p. 427) suggests that the phrase "game in his mouth," could mean that Esav "enthralled Yitzhak with tales of adventures and deeds of derring-do at his hunting," and that Esav's "lusty active nature" appealed to Yitzhak.
Ibn Ezra (on 25:28, see also Altar, 2004, p. 130) explains that the phrase "game in his mouth," refers to Esav’s mouth that Esav would literally bring home some of his hunt in his mouth, like an animal, a wild animal. We see this uncouth behavior again when he demands the soup from Yaakov, 25:30, "let me gulp down some of this red red stuff," (Altar, 2004, p. 131, translation). With this understanding, the Torah is presenting a grotesque portrayal of Esav from the beginning of the story.
Why would Yitzhak love Esav because Esav had game in his mouth? My thought is that Yitzhak's love of Esav was due to the oracle that Rivka heard from G-d about her sons, 25:23. The third phrase in the oracle was that one brother would be mightier than the other, and presumably the mightier of the two would be the dominant brother. Yitzhak believed that the dominant brother was going to be Esav since he thought that Esav the hunter would dominate Yaakov, the one who sat in tents, 25:27. For Yitzhak, Esav's uncouth behavior was an indication that Esav was destined to be the dominant brother. Could such an uncouth successful hunter lose a physical brawl to a person who lived in the tents? Hence, it was Esav's behavior of having game in his mouth that led Yitzhak to love him since he thought it indicated that Esav was the blessed son by G-d. Note, Yitzhak was correct that the brothers would have a physical fight to determine who would be the dominant brother, 32:22-32, see our discussion on the verses, Who fought with Yaakov?, just that he was incorrect who would win the fight.
This idea is based on the understanding that Rivka told Yitzhak the oracle, which is very reasonable, and this is indicated by the blessing that Yitzhak intended to give Esav but gave to Yaakov by mistake. 27:29 records that as part of the blessing, Yitzhak stated that Yaakov would be “the master of his brother,” and that “your mother’s son would bow down to you.” After Esav asked for another blessing, Yitzhak said there was no other blessing since he had blessed Yaakov that he would be Esav’s master, 27:37. The most Yitzhak was able to bless Esav was that Esav would be able to break free from Yaakov’s rule, 27:40. If the blessing was for material goods, then Yitzhak could have also blessed Esav for material goods. Accordingly, the main blessing that Yitzhak had intended for Esav was to bless Esav that he was to be the dominant brother. Note, this blessing was unrelated to the covenantal blessing in 28:3,4, see our discussion on 28:3,4, "Endogamy"
It is strange for a father to bless one son to be dominant over another son. Why not bless both sons? It is true that a king picks one son to be his successor, but here there was no kingdom to be ruled. Instead, Yitzhak gave this blessing for one brother to be dominant because he knew that the oracle had stated that one brother would be mightier and dominate the other.
This understanding of 25:28 is also based on the idea that the oracle did not have a single undisputed interpretation. While many people understand the oracle as meaning the elder (Esav) would serve the younger (Yaakov), as pointed out by the Radak (on 25:23, also see Alter, 2004, p. 129) the oracle could also be understood, that Yaakov was to serve Esav, "the elder, the younger shall serve." Thus, Yitzhak attempted to infer who was to be the mightier dominant son of the oracle by their actions, and his mind it was obvious that Esav was to be the dominant son.
This idea that Yitzhak loved Esav since he thought that Esav was going to be the dominant son since he was a hunter who was also very uncouth can explain several verses in chapter 27. 27:3,4 (also see 27:25,33) record that Yitzhak requested from Esav to go hunting and to prepare the meat in order that he would bless Esav. Why was it necessary for Esav to go hunting to receive the blessing? The answer is that Esav's ability to hunt was an indication to Yitzhak that Esav was destined to be the dominant brother, and Yitzhak wanted this "proof" prior to giving the blessing. This proof for Yitzhak was stronger than his disappointment in Esav for Esav’s choice of wives, 26:35.
27:27 records that when Yitzhak smelled Yaakov's clothing (thinking that they were Esav's), immediately prior to reciting the blessing intended for Esav, Yitzhak said "See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that (asher) G-d has blessed," (Fox, 1995, p. 125, translation). This verse is usually understood to mean that Yitzhak is noting how G-d has blessed the fields, but why should a blessing of the fields be relevant at this particular time? The Bekhor Shor (on 27:27) explains that the phrase means that Yitzhak was saying that Esav had been blessed by G-d and the proof was that G-d had helped him hunt successfully so quickly. Or, Yitzhak all along thought that Esav's prowess as a hunter (that his smell was the smell of the field, see also 25:27) was a sign that Esav had been blessed by G-d, and Yitzhak was then saying that since G-d had blessed Esav, he too was going to bless Esav. With this reading, the last three words of 27:27 are somewhat separate from the previous words, the word, asher, translated above as that should be translated as who, the phrase then is “Who G-d has blessed,” and the phrase refers to Esav, who Yitzhak thought was blessed by G-d.
Finally, after Yitzhak learned that he had been tricked by Yaakov, he said that Yaakov was still to be blessed, 27:33. Maybe Yitzhak said this because he thought that blessings could not be rescinded or maybe he said this because he was somewhat impressed with Yaakov that Yaakov was able to trick him. Previously, Yitzhak thought that for sure Esav, the uncouth hunter, was destined to be the dominant brother, but maybe after Yaakov tricked him, he realized that Yaakov could be the mightier brother.