Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her older son: garments translates a general word for clothing and probably included Esau’s robe and sandals. In Hebrew the word rendered best refers to the special clothes that Esau would wear on occasions when people wear their best clothing, “his best suit of clothes,” as we may say.

Which were with her in the house: that is, “which were kept in her house” or “which Esau kept in his mother’s house.” In some languages this information should be given before the first clause, since it refers to a situation that began much earlier: “Esau’s good clothes were in the house with Rebekah; so Rebekah got them and….”

And put them on Jacob her younger son: it may be necessary to begin a new sentence here; for example, “She put them on her younger son Jacob.” The meaning is not that she dressed Jacob as if he were a small child. The Hebrew verb translated “put … on” is in the causative form and so has the sense “She had Jacob put them on” or “She made Jacob dress in them.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .