Genesis 27:23

Summary

The verse states that Isaac did not recognize the person before him because his hands felt hairy like those of his brother Esau, and as a result Isaac proceeded to bless him. The sentence gives the cause (hairy hands) before the resulting action (the blessing).

Key words

hikkiro ("he recognized him", H5234A) — hiphil perfect of the root for "to know/discern," here negated by lo (H3808), indicating a completed failure of recognition, with the object built directly into the verb via the suffix. ki ("for", H3588A) — a subordinating particle introducing the causal clause that explains why recognition failed; it links the negated verb to the explanation that follows. yadav ("his hands", H3027G) — dual construct form of "hand," marking that both hands are meant as a pair, followed by the comparative preposition ki ("like", H9004) linking to Esau's hands. se'irot ("hairy", H8163A) — feminine plural adjective agreeing with the dual/plural sense of "hands," placed at the end of the clause, describing the physical trait that caused the confusion. vayevarekhehu ("and he blessed him", H1288) — piel verb in the narrative (vav-consecutive) form, marking the next sequential action; the piel stem intensifies the act of blessing, and the object suffix attaches the recipient directly to the verb.

What the text says

The Hebrew clause is built as: negated verb + object suffix ("did not recognize him") followed by a ki-clause of causation ("for his hands were like the hands of Esau his brother, hairy"), and closed by a vav-consecutive verb ("and he blessed him"). The construct chain yadav... ki-yede 'Esav... se'irot places the adjective "hairy" at the very end, after the comparison to Esau's hands, so the syntax first establishes the comparison and only then supplies the defining trait. The dual form of "hands" (yadav, yede) marks that the hands are treated as a natural pair rather than as separate objects. The narrative vav on vayevarekhehu signals that the blessing follows directly and sequentially from the failure to recognize, without any intervening action described in the text.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate renders the causal clause more interpretively: instead of a direct comparison ("his hands were hairy like the hands of Esau"), it states "quia pilosae manus similitudinem majoris expresserant" ("because his hairy hands had produced the resemblance of the elder"), reformulating the comparison into a statement about resemblance rather than a direct simile as in the Hebrew and the LXX (ὡς αἱ χεῖρες Ἠσαύ, "as the hands of Esau"). The LXX and Hebrew otherwise track closely in structure and content.