“If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear [pahad] of Isaac, had not been for me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, so He rendered judgment last night.” (Genesis 31:42)

“[Laban said] The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac. (Genesis 31:53)

Found only in these two verses in Scripture, we discover an interesting description of God. The backstory has it that Jacob fled his fraternal twin brother Esau in fear and landed in his uncle Laban’s sphere of influence. After spending 20 years in servitude to Laban and acquiring his two daughters as his wives, and after God blessed his animal husbandry efforts, Jacob prospered to the point where he was no longer indebted to his uncle.

Just before Jacob returned to the land of his father Isaac and grandfather Abraham to face his estranged brother Esau, we come across the final conversation between him and Laban. Jacob refers to the “God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac.” This seems an odd thing to say, because Jacob’s father was, in fact, Isaac. Jacob may have had reason to fear his father, for 20 years earlier he deceived Isaac into giving him the coveted birthright and blessing that was rightfully Esau’s. However, the construction of the sentence leads us to see that Jacob was possibly referring to God as “The Fear of Isaac.”

We can see this in Genesis 31:53, where “Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac.” The contrast is unmistakable: Laban appealed to pagan gods. To be sure, Laban referenced the God of Abraham, but he also referenced the gods (plural) of Nahor (Abraham’s brother, also Laban’s grandfather), and the gods (plural) of their father (Terah)! While the OT routinely refers to the true God with “elohim” used as a plural of majesty, never is “elohim” used in that sense with pagan gods. This is further supported by Jacob’s contrasting response in swearing “by the fear of his father Isaac” (using a singular construct).

Jacob clearly came to know the true God as the “Fear of Isaac.” He is the one to be respected and feared above and apart from any other gods (or concepts of the divine). Jacob was committed to standing or falling on His belief in and submission to Him. The Law of Moses later encapsulated this succinctly: “Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul …” (Deut 10:12).

Lord, I commit to live in submission to You, for You are “The fear of Isaac.”