What Does Genesis 27:13 Mean in the King James?
And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Jacob’s “obedience” is framed as hearing: the voice he receives immediately becomes the action he takes.
THE MEANING
A promise takes the named consequence onto the speaker while directing the listener’s next move. You hear both reassurance, “Upon me be thy curse”, and pressure in “only obey my voice”: the cost is claimed by one person, while the action is required of another.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The claim that someone else taking the cost makes obedience consequence-free is unsettled here: Jacob is still the one sent to act.
THE ROOT
שְׁמַע
shemaʿ
GROWS FROM
שמע
Hear and respond; listen with action.
The KJV’s “obey” names the response carried in the Hebrew command: hearing that moves into action. The voice is not merely received; Jacob is told to hear it, then go and fetch.
ALSO GROWS
shomea: One who hears or listens.
שֹׁמֵעַ
The listener comes from the same root, tying the act of hearing to the person who receives the voice.
shemuah: A report or something heard.
שְׁמוּעָה
A message is what reaches the ear; in this verse, the voice heard carries a command into action.
קִלְלָתְךָ
qillālatekha
GROWS FROM
קלל
Be light or slight; by extension, treat as contemptible or curse.
The word for “curse” comes from a root whose range includes being slight or treated as light. Her assurance does not erase the named consequence: she places it upon herself while directing Jacob to act.
ALSO GROWS
qalal: To be light or slight; to treat as insignificant.
קָלַל
This root sense adds a shade of diminishment to the curse she says will fall upon her.
qelalah: A curse or imprecation.
קְלָלָה
This is the noun behind “thy curse,” making the consequence she claims explicit.
THE PATTERN
A voice is shown as truly heard when it shapes what follows.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.THE THREAD
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:Both verses build “obey my voice” on שמע (shamaʿ), meaning “hear and respond.” Exodus makes the movement explicit: hearing the voice takes form in keeping the covenant; Genesis compresses that movement into a command to hear, then go.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us