s son Esau, and he said, "Come
near and let me feel you, so that I may know that you are really my son
Esau."

And Jacob went up close to Isaac's bed, and Isaac felt of his face, and
his neck, and his hands, and he said:

[Illustration: _"May nations bow down to you."_]

"The voice sounds like Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau. Are
you really my son Esau?"

And Jacob told a lie to his father, and said, "I am."

Then the old man ate the food that Jacob had brought to him; and he
kissed Jacob, believing him to be Esau; and he gave him the blessing,
saying to him:

"May God give you the dew of heaven, and the richness of the earth, and
plenty of grain and wine. May nations bow down to you and peoples become
your servants. May you be the master over your brother, and may your
family and descendants that shall come from you rule over his family and
his descendants. Blessed be those that bless you, and cursed be those
that curse you."

Just as soon as Jacob had received the blessing he rose up and hastened
away. He had scarcely gone out, when Esau came in from hunting, with the
dish of food that he had cooked. And he said:

"Let my father sit up and eat the food that I have brought, and give me
the blessing."

And Isaac said, "Why, who are you?"

Esau answered, "I am your son; your oldest son, Esau."

And Isaac trembled, and said, "Who then is the one that came in and
brought to me food? and I have eaten his food and have blessed him; yes,
and he shall be blessed."

When Esau heard this, he knew that he had been cheated; and he cried
aloud, with a bitter cry, "O, my father, my brother has taken away my
blessing, just as he took away my birthright! But cannot you give me
another blessing, too? Have you given everything to my brother?"

And Isaac told him all that he had said to Jacob, making him the ruler
over his brother.

But Esau begged for another blessing; and Isaac said:

"My son, your dwelling shall be of the riches of the earth and of the
dew of heaven. You shall live by your sword and your descendants shall
serve his descendants. But in time to come they shall break loose and
shall shake off the yoke of your brother's rule and shall be free."

All this came to pass many years afterward. The people who came from
Esau lived in a land called Edom, on the south of the land of Israel,
where Jacob's descendants lived. And after a time the Israelites became
rulers over the Edomites; and later st