Why Isaac's Eyes Dimmed - The Bribe From Esau

Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Toldot 8:1

Another interpretation of (Genesis 27:1): "And it came to pass, when Isaac was old, that his eyes were too dim to see." This is what Scripture says (Proverbs 17:8): "A bribe is a stone of favor in the eyes of its owner; wherever he turns, he prospers." Do not read it thus, but rather: the stone is the bribe in the eyes of its owner. Come and see what was said of the burnt offering of the Holy One, blessed be He: it was not fitting that his eyes should be dimmed. A man who gives up his soul for the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, and was bound upon the altar—should his eyes have been dimmed? Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, said: I have written in My Torah (Exodus 23:8), "And you shall take no bribe." Why? (Deuteronomy 16:19) "For the bribe blinds the eyes of the wise." And he took a bribe from Esau, so I dimmed his eyes. And if Isaac the Righteous, because he took a bribe from his son, his eyes were dimmed, one who takes a bribe from others—how much the more so! Therefore it is said, "A bribe is a stone of favor." Therefore (Genesis 27:1), "And it came to pass, when Isaac was old, and his eyes grew dim." A word of deceit was surely not stated here.

Themes

Biblical References