15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield 1 and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” 2
15:2 But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, 3 what will you give me since 4 I continue to be 5 childless, and my heir 6 is 7 Eliezer of Damascus?” 8 15:3 Abram added, 9 “Since 10 you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!” 11
15:4 But look, 12 the word of the Lord came to him: “This man 13 will not be your heir, 14 but instead 15 a son 16 who comes from your own body will be 17 your heir.” 18 15:5 The Lord 19 took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars – if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”
15:6 Abram believed 20 the Lord, and the Lord 21 considered his response of faith 22 as proof of genuine loyalty. 23
15:7 The Lord said 24 to him, “I am the Lord 25 who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans 26 to give you this land to possess.” 15:8 But 27 Abram 28 said, “O sovereign Lord, 29 by what 30 can I know that I am to possess it?”
15:9 The Lord 31 said to him, “Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 15:10 So Abram 32 took all these for him and then cut them in two 33 and placed each half opposite the other, 34 but he did not cut the birds in half. 15:11 When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
15:12 When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep, 35 and great terror overwhelmed him. 36 15:13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain 37 that your descendants will be strangers 38 in a foreign country. 39 They will be enslaved and oppressed 40 for four hundred years. 15:14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. 41 Afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15:15 But as for you, 42 you will go to your ancestors 43 in peace and be buried at a good old age. 44 15:16 In the fourth generation 45 your descendants 46 will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” 47
15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch 48 passed between the animal parts. 49 15:18 That day the Lord made a covenant 50 with Abram: “To your descendants I give 51 this land, from the river of Egypt 52 to the great river, the Euphrates River – 15:19 the land 53 of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 15:20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 15:21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.” 54
16:1 Now Sarai, 55 Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, 56 but she had an Egyptian servant 57 named Hagar. 58 16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Since 59 the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with 60 my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.” 61 Abram did what 62 Sarai told him.
16:3 So after Abram had lived 63 in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram’s wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, 64 to her husband to be his wife. 65 16:4 He had sexual relations with 66 Hagar, and she became pregnant. 67 Once Hagar realized she was pregnant, she despised Sarai. 68 16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me! 69 I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, 70 but when she realized 71 that she was pregnant, she despised me. 72 May the Lord judge between you and me!” 73
16:6 Abram said to Sarai, “Since your 74 servant is under your authority, 75 do to her whatever you think best.” 76 Then Sarai treated Hagar 77 harshly, 78 so she ran away from Sarai. 79
16:7 The Lord’s angel 80 found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert – the spring that is along the road to Shur. 81 16:8 He said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She replied, “I’m running away from 82 my mistress, Sarai.”
16:9 Then the Lord’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit 83 to her authority. 16:10 I will greatly multiply your descendants,” the Lord’s angel added, 84 “so that they will be too numerous to count.” 85 16:11 Then the Lord’s angel said to her,
“You are now 86 pregnant
and are about to give birth 87 to a son.
You are to name him Ishmael, 88
for the Lord has heard your painful groans. 89
16:12 He will be a wild donkey 90 of a man.
He will be hostile to everyone, 91
and everyone will be hostile to him. 92
He will live away from 93 his brothers.”
16:13 So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,” 94 for she said, “Here I have seen one who sees me!” 95 16:14 That is why the well was called 96 Beer Lahai Roi. 97 (It is located 98 between Kadesh and Bered.)
16:15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, whom Abram named Ishmael. 99 16:16 (Now 100 Abram was 86 years old 101 when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.) 102
17:1 When Abram was 99 years old, 103 the Lord appeared to him and said, 104 “I am the sovereign God. 105 Walk 106 before me 107 and be blameless. 108 17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant 109 between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” 110
17:3 Abram bowed down with his face to the ground, 111 and God said to him, 112 17:4 “As for me, 113 this 114 is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 17:5 No longer will your name be 115 Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham 116 because I will make you 117 the father of a multitude of nations. 17:6 I will make you 118 extremely 119 fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. 120 17:7 I will confirm 121 my covenant as a perpetual 122 covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 123 17:8 I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing 124 – to you and your descendants after you as a permanent 125 possession. I will be their God.”
17:9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep 126 the covenantal requirement 127 I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 17:10 This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep: 128 Every male among you must be circumcised. 129 17:11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder 130 of the covenant between me and you. 17:12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old 131 must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants. 17:13 They must indeed be circumcised, 132 whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant 133 will be visible in your flesh as a permanent 134 reminder. 17:14 Any uncircumcised male 135 who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off 136 from his people – he has failed to carry out my requirement.” 137
17:15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for your wife, you must no longer call her Sarai; 138 Sarah 139 will be her name. 17:16 I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations. 140 Kings of countries 141 will come from her!”
17:17 Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed 142 as he said to himself, 143 “Can 144 a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old? 145 Can Sarah 146 bear a child at the age of ninety?” 147 17:18 Abraham said to God, “O that 148 Ishmael might live before you!” 149
17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. 150 I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual 151 covenant for his descendants after him. 17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. 152 I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. 153 He will become the father of twelve princes; 154 I will make him into a great nation. 17:21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year.” 17:22 When he finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. 155
17:23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) 156 and circumcised them 157 on that very same day, just as God had told him to do. 17:24 Now Abraham was 99 years old 158 when he was circumcised; 159 17:25 his son Ishmael was thirteen years old 160 when he was circumcised. 17:26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the very same day. 17:27 All the men of his household, whether born in his household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham 161 by the oaks 162 of Mamre while 163 he was sitting at the entrance 164 to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 18:2 Abraham 165 looked up 166 and saw 167 three men standing across 168 from him. When he saw them 169 he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low 170 to the ground. 171
18:3 He said, “My lord, 172 if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. 173 18:4 Let a little water be brought so that 174 you may all 175 wash your feet and rest under the tree. 18:5 And let me get 176 a bit of food 177 so that you may refresh yourselves 178 since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.” 179 “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.”
18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take 180 three measures 181 of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.” 182 18:7 Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, 183 who quickly prepared it. 184 18:8 Abraham 185 then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food 186 before them. They ate while 187 he was standing near them under a tree.
18:9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, 188 in the tent.” 18:10 One of them 189 said, “I will surely return 190 to you when the season comes round again, 191 and your wife Sarah will have a son!” 192 (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. 193 18:11 Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; 194 Sarah had long since passed menopause.) 195 18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, 196 “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, 197 especially when my husband is old too?” 198
18:13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why 199 did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really 200 have a child when I am old?’ 18:14 Is anything impossible 201 for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.” 202 18:15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.” 203
18:16 When the men got up to leave, 204 they looked out over 205 Sodom. (Now 206 Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.) 207 18:17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 208 18:18 After all, Abraham 209 will surely become 210 a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 211 using his name. 18:19 I have chosen him 212 so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep 213 the way of the Lord by doing 214 what is right and just. Then the Lord will give 215 to Abraham what he promised 216 him.”
18:20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against 217 Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant 218 18:21 that I must go down 219 and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. 220 If not, 221 I want to know.”
18:22 The two men turned 222 and headed 223 toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord. 224 18:23 Abraham approached and said, “Will you sweep away the godly along with the wicked? 18:24 What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare 225 the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it? 18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge 226 of the whole earth do what is right?” 227
18:26 So the Lord replied, “If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
18:27 Then Abraham asked, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord 228 (although I am but dust and ashes), 229 18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy 230 the whole city because five are lacking?” 231 He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
18:29 Abraham 232 spoke to him again, 233 “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”
18:30 Then Abraham 234 said, “May the Lord not be angry 235 so that I may speak! 236 What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
18:31 Abraham 237 said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
18:32 Finally Abraham 238 said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
18:33 The Lord went on his way 239 when he had finished speaking 240 to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. 241
19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while 242 Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. 243 When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.
19:2 He said, “Here, my lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house. Stay the night 244 and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.” 245 “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.” 246
19:3 But he urged 247 them persistently, so they turned aside with him and entered his house. He prepared a feast for them, including bread baked without yeast, and they ate. 19:4 Before they could lie down to sleep, 248 all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house. 249 19:5 They shouted to Lot, 250 “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex 251 with them!”
19:6 Lot went outside to them, shutting the door behind him. 19:7 He said, “No, my brothers! Don’t act so wickedly! 252 19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never had sexual relations with 253 a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever you please. 254 Only don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection 255 of my roof.” 256
19:9 “Out of our way!” 257 they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, 258 and now he dares to judge us! 259 We’ll do more harm 260 to you than to them!” They kept 261 pressing in on Lot until they were close enough 262 to break down the door.
19:10 So the men inside 263 reached out 264 and pulled Lot back into the house 265 as they shut the door. 19:11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, from the youngest to the oldest, 266 with blindness. The men outside 267 wore themselves out trying to find the door. 19:12 Then the two visitors 268 said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? 269 Do you have 270 any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? 271 Get them out of this 272 place 19:13 because we are about to destroy 273 it. The outcry against this place 274 is so great before the Lord that he 275 has sent us to destroy it.”
19:14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters. 276 He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy 277 the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. 278
19:15 At dawn 279 the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, 280 or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!” 281 19:16 When Lot 282 hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. 283 They led them away and placed them 284 outside the city. 19:17 When they had brought them outside, they 285 said, “Run 286 for your lives! Don’t look 287 behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! 288 Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”
19:18 But Lot said to them, “No, please, Lord! 289 19:19 Your 290 servant has found favor with you, 291 and you have shown me great 292 kindness 293 by sparing 294 my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because 295 this disaster will overtake 296 me and I’ll die. 297 19:20 Look, this town 298 over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. 299 Let me go there. 300 It’s just a little place, isn’t it? 301 Then I’ll survive.” 302
19:21 “Very well,” he replied, 303 “I will grant this request too 304 and will not overthrow 305 the town you mentioned. 19:22 Run there quickly, 306 for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.) 307
19:23 The sun had just risen 308 over the land as Lot reached Zoar. 309 19:24 Then the Lord rained down 310 sulfur and fire 311 on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. 312 19:25 So he overthrew those cities and all that region, 313 including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew 314 from the ground. 19:26 But Lot’s 315 wife looked back longingly 316 and was turned into a pillar of salt.
19:27 Abraham got up early in the morning and went 317 to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 19:28 He looked out toward 318 Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. 319 As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace. 320
19:29 So when God destroyed 321 the cities of the region, 322 God honored 323 Abraham’s request. He removed Lot 324 from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed 325 the cities Lot had lived in.
19:30 Lot went up from Zoar with his two daughters and settled in the mountains because he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 19:31 Later the older daughter said 326 to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby 327 to have sexual relations with us, 328 according to the way of all the world. 19:32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with wine 329 so we can have sexual relations 330 with him and preserve 331 our family line through our father.” 332
19:33 So that night they made their father drunk with wine, 333 and the older daughter 334 came and had sexual relations with her father. 335 But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. 336 19:34 So in the morning the older daughter 337 said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. 338 Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 339 19:35 So they made their father drunk 340 that night as well, and the younger one came and had sexual relations with him. 341 But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. 342
19:36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 19:37 The older daughter 343 gave birth to a son and named him Moab. 344 He is the ancestor of the Moabites of today. 19:38 The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben-Ammi. 345 He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.
20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev 346 region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident 347 in Gerar, 20:2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.
20:3 But God appeared 348 to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead 349 because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” 350
20:4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, 351 would you really slaughter an innocent nation? 352 20:5 Did Abraham 353 not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, 354 ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience 355 and with innocent hands!”
20:6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. 356 That is why I have kept you 357 from sinning against me and why 358 I did not allow you to touch her. 20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed 359 he is a prophet 360 and he will pray for you; thus you will live. 361 But if you don’t give her back, 362 know that you will surely die 363 along with all who belong to you.”
20:8 Early in the morning 364 Abimelech summoned 365 all his servants. When he told them about all these things, 366 they 367 were terrified. 20:9 Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? 368 You have done things to me that should not be done!” 369 20:10 Then Abimelech asked 370 Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?” 371
20:11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought, 372 ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of 373 my wife.’ 20:12 What’s more, 374 she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife. 20:13 When God made me wander 375 from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: 376 Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”
20:14 So Abimelech gave 377 sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him. 20:15 Then Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you; live wherever you please.” 378
20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver 379 to your ‘brother.’ 380 This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” 381
20:17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children. 20:18 For the Lord 382 had caused infertility to strike every woman 383 in the household of Abimelech because he took 384 Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
21:1 The Lord visited 385 Sarah just as he had said he would and did 386 for Sarah what he had promised. 387 21:2 So Sarah became pregnant 388 and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the appointed time that God had told him. 21:3 Abraham named his son – whom Sarah bore to him – Isaac. 389 21:4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, 390 Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded him to do. 391 21:5 (Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.) 392
21:6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. 393 Everyone who hears about this 394 will laugh 395 with me.” 21:7 She went on to say, 396 “Who would 397 have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son for him in his old age!”
21:8 The child grew and was weaned. Abraham prepared 398 a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 399 21:9 But Sarah noticed 400 the son of Hagar the Egyptian – the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham – mocking. 401 21:10 So she said to Abraham, “Banish 402 that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac!”
21:11 Sarah’s demand displeased Abraham greatly because Ishmael was his son. 403 21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset 404 about the boy or your slave wife. Do 405 all that Sarah is telling 406 you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. 407 21:13 But I will also make the son of the slave wife into a great nation, for he is your descendant too.”
21:14 Early in the morning Abraham took 408 some food 409 and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, 410 and sent her away. So she went wandering 411 aimlessly through the wilderness 412 of Beer Sheba. 21:15 When the water in the skin was gone, she shoved 413 the child under one of the shrubs. 21:16 Then she went and sat down by herself across from him at quite a distance, about a bowshot 414 away; for she thought, 415 “I refuse to watch the child die.” 416 So she sat across from him and wept uncontrollably. 417
21:17 But God heard the boy’s voice. 418 The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and asked her, “What is the matter, 419 Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard 420 the boy’s voice right where he is crying. 21:18 Get up! Help the boy up and hold him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 21:19 Then God enabled Hagar to see a well of water. 421 She went over and filled the skin with water, and then gave the boy a drink.
21:20 God was with the boy as he grew. He lived in the wilderness and became an archer. 21:21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran. 422 His mother found a wife for him from the land of Egypt. 423
21:22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you 424 in all that you do. 21:23 Now swear to me right here in God’s name 425 that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. 426 Show me, and the land 427 where you are staying, 428 the same loyalty 429 that I have shown you.” 430
21:24 Abraham said, “I swear to do this.” 431 21:25 But Abraham lodged a complaint 432 against Abimelech concerning a well 433 that Abimelech’s servants had seized. 434 21:26 “I do not know who has done this thing,” Abimelech replied. “Moreover, 435 you did not tell me. I did not hear about it until today.”
21:27 Abraham took some sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a treaty. 436 21:28 Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs apart from the flock by themselves. 21:29 Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these 437 seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” 21:30 He replied, “You must take these seven ewe lambs from my hand as legal proof 438 that I dug this well.” 439 21:31 That is why he named that place 440 Beer Sheba, 441 because the two of them swore 442 an oath there.
21:32 So they made a treaty 443 at Beer Sheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returned 444 to the land of the Philistines. 445 21:33 Abraham 446 planted a tamarisk tree 447 in Beer Sheba. There he worshiped the Lord, 448 the eternal God. 21:34 So Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for quite some time. 449
22:1 Some time after these things God tested 450 Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham 451 replied. 22:2 God 452 said, “Take your son – your only son, whom you love, Isaac 453 – and go to the land of Moriah! 454 Offer him up there as a burnt offering 455 on one of the mountains which I will indicate to 456 you.”
22:3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. 457 He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out 458 for the place God had spoken to him about.
22:4 On the third day Abraham caught sight of 459 the place in the distance. 22:5 So he 460 said to his servants, “You two stay 461 here with the donkey while 462 the boy and I go up there. We will worship 463 and then return to you.” 464
22:6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. Then he took the fire and the knife in his hand, 465 and the two of them walked on together. 22:7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, 466 “My father?” “What is it, 467 my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said, 468 “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 22:8 “God will provide 469 for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham replied. The two of them continued on together.
22:9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there 470 and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up 471 his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 22:10 Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter 472 his son. 22:11 But the Lord’s angel 473 called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” 474 the angel said. 475 “Do not do anything to him, for now I know 476 that you fear 477 God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”
22:13 Abraham looked up 478 and saw 479 behind him 480 a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he 481 went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord provides.” 482 It is said to this day, 483 “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.” 484
22:15 The Lord’s angel called to Abraham a second time from heaven 22:16 and said, “‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ 485 decrees the Lord, 486 ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 22:17 I will indeed bless you, 487 and I will greatly multiply 488 your descendants 489 so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession 490 of the strongholds 491 of their enemies. 22:18 Because you have obeyed me, 492 all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 493 using the name of your descendants.’”
22:19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set out together 494 for Beer Sheba where Abraham stayed. 495
22:20 After these things Abraham was told, “Milcah 496 also has borne children to your brother Nahor – 22:21 Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram), 497 22:22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 22:23 (Now 498 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.) These were the eight sons Milcah bore to Abraham’s brother Nahor. 22:24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore him children – Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. 499 23:2 Then she 500 died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 501
23:3 Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife 502 and said to the sons of Heth, 503 23:4 “I am a temporary settler 504 among you. Grant 505 me ownership 506 of a burial site among you so that I may 507 bury my dead.” 508
23:5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, 509 23:6 “Listen, sir, 510 you are a mighty prince 511 among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you 512 from burying your dead.”
23:7 Abraham got up and bowed down to the local people, 513 the sons of Heth. 23:8 Then he said to them, “If you agree 514 that I may bury my dead, 515 then hear me out. 516 Ask 517 Ephron the son of Zohar 23:9 if he will sell 518 me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me publicly 519 for the full price, 520 so that I may own it as a burial site.”
23:10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite 521 replied to Abraham in the hearing 522 of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate 523 of his city – 23:11 “No, my lord! Hear me out. I sell 524 you both the field and the cave that is in it. 525 In the presence of my people 526 I sell it to you. Bury your dead.”
23:12 Abraham bowed before the local people 23:13 and said to Ephron in their hearing, “Hear me, if you will. I pay 527 to you the price 528 of the field. Take it from me so that I may 529 bury my dead there.”
23:14 Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 23:15 “Hear me, my lord. The land is worth 530 400 pieces of silver, 531 but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”
23:16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price 532 and weighed 533 out for him 534 the price 535 that Ephron had quoted 536 in the hearing of the sons of Heth – 400 pieces of silver, according to the standard measurement at the time. 537
23:17 So Abraham secured 538 Ephron’s field in Machpelah, next to Mamre, including the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border, 23:18 as his property in the presence of the sons of Heth before all who entered the gate of Ephron’s city. 539
23:19 After this Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah next to Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 23:20 So Abraham secured the field and the cave that was in it as a burial site 540 from the sons of Heth.
24:1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years, 541 and the Lord had blessed him 542 in everything. 24:2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior one 543 in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh 544 24:3 so that I may make you solemnly promise 545 by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire 546 a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living. 24:4 You must go instead to my country and to my relatives 547 to find 548 a wife for my son Isaac.”
24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me 549 to this land? Must I then 550 take your son back to the land from which you came?”
24:6 “Be careful 551 never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him. 552 24:7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives, 553 promised me with a solemn oath, 554 ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel 555 before you so that you may find 556 a wife for my son from there. 24:8 But if the woman is not willing to come back with you, 557 you will be free 558 from this oath of mine. But you must not take my son back there!” 24:9 So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and gave his solemn promise he would carry out his wishes. 559
24:10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all kinds of gifts from his master at his disposal. 560 He journeyed 561 to the region of Aram Naharaim 562 and the city of Nahor. 24:11 He made the camels kneel down by the well 563 outside the city. It was evening, 564 the time when the women would go out to draw water. 24:12 He prayed, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, guide me today. 565 Be faithful 566 to my master Abraham. 24:13 Here I am, standing by the spring, 567 and the daughters of the people 568 who live in the town are coming out to draw water. 24:14 I will say to a young woman, ‘Please lower your jar so I may drink.’ May the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac reply, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ 569 In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.” 570
24:15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah 571 with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah (Milcah was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor). 572 24:16 Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. 573 She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up. 24:17 Abraham’s servant 574 ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a sip of water from your jug.” 24:18 “Drink, my lord,” she replied, and quickly lowering 575 her jug to her hands, she gave him a drink. 24:19 When she had done so, 576 she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have drunk as much as they want.” 24:20 She quickly emptied 577 her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw more water until she had drawn enough for all his camels. 24:21 Silently the man watched her with interest to determine 578 if the Lord had made his journey successful 579 or not.
24:22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka 580 and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels 581 and gave them to her. 582 24:23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. 583 “Tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”
24:24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom Milcah bore to Nahor. 584 24:25 We have plenty of straw and feed,” she added, 585 “and room for you 586 to spend the night.”
24:26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord, 24:27 saying “Praised be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love 587 for my master! The Lord has led me 588 to the house 589 of my master’s relatives!” 590
24:28 The young woman ran and told her mother’s household all about 591 these things. 24:29 (Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban.) 592 Laban rushed out to meet the man at the spring. 24:30 When he saw the bracelets on his sister’s wrists and the nose ring 593 and heard his sister Rebekah say, 594 “This is what the man said to me,” he went out to meet the man. There he was, standing 595 by the camels near the spring. 24:31 Laban said to him, 596 “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord! 597 Why are you standing out here when I have prepared 598 the house and a place for the camels?”
24:32 So Abraham’s servant 599 went to the house and unloaded 600 the camels. Straw and feed were given 601 to the camels, and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet. 602 24:33 When food was served, 603 he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I want to say.” 604 “Tell us,” Laban said. 605
24:34 “I am the servant of Abraham,” he began. 24:35 “The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy. 606 The Lord 607 has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 24:36 My master’s wife Sarah bore a son to him 608 when she was old, 609 and my master 610 has given him everything he owns. 24:37 My master made me swear an oath. He said, ‘You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 24:38 but you must go to the family of my father and to my relatives to find 611 a wife for my son.’ 24:39 But I said to my master, ‘What if the woman does not want to go 612 with me?’ 613 24:40 He answered, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, 614 will send his angel with you. He will make your journey a success and you will find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family. 24:41 You will be free from your oath 615 if you go to my relatives and they will not give her to you. Then you will be free from your oath.’ 24:42 When I came to the spring today, I prayed, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you have decided to make my journey successful, 616 may events unfold as follows: 617 24:43 Here I am, standing by the spring. 618 When 619 the young woman goes out to draw water, I’ll say, “Give me a little water to drink from your jug.” 24:44 Then she will reply to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too.” May that woman be the one whom the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’
24:45 “Before I finished praying in my heart, 620 along came Rebekah 621 with her water jug on her shoulder! She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 24:46 She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels water. 24:47 Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘The daughter of Bethuel the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to Nahor.’ 622 I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 24:48 Then I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right path to find the granddaughter 623 of my master’s brother for his son. 24:49 Now, if you will show faithful love to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me as well, so that I may go on my way.” 624
24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the Lord’s doing. 625 Our wishes are of no concern. 626 24:51 Rebekah stands here before you. Take her and go so that she may become 627 the wife of your master’s son, just as the Lord has decided.” 628
24:52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. 24:53 Then he 629 brought out gold, silver jewelry, and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and to her mother. 24:54 After this, he and the men who were with him ate a meal and stayed there overnight. 630
When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me leave now so I can return to my master.” 631 24:55 But Rebekah’s 632 brother and her mother replied, “Let the girl stay with us a few more days, perhaps ten. Then she can go.” 24:56 But he said to them, “Don’t detain me – the Lord 633 has granted me success on my journey. Let me leave now so I may return 634 to my master.” 24:57 Then they said, “We’ll call the girl and find out what she wants to do.” 635 24:58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want 636 to go with this man?” She replied, “I want to go.”
24:59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, accompanied by her female attendant, with Abraham’s servant and his men. 24:60 They blessed Rebekah with these words: 637
“Our sister, may you become the mother 638 of thousands of ten thousands!
May your descendants possess the strongholds 639 of their enemies.”
24:61 Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with 640 the man. So Abraham’s servant 641 took Rebekah and left.
24:62 Now 642 Isaac came from 643 Beer Lahai Roi, 644 for 645 he was living in the Negev. 646 24:63 He 647 went out to relax 648 in the field in the early evening. 649 Then he looked up 650 and saw that 651 there were camels approaching. 24:64 Rebekah looked up 652 and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel 24:65 and asked 653 Abraham’s servant, 654 “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied. 655 So she took her veil and covered herself.
24:66 The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. 24:67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah 656 into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her 657 as his wife and loved her. 658 So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. 659
25:1 Abraham had taken 660 another 661 wife, named Keturah. 25:2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 25:3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. 662 The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 25:4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants 663 of Keturah.
25:5 Everything he owned Abraham left to his son Isaac. 25:6 But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines 664 and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. 665
25:7 Abraham lived a total of 666 175 years. 25:8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life. 667 He joined his ancestors. 668 25:9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah 669 near Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar, the Hethite. 25:10 This was the field Abraham had purchased from the sons of Heth. 670 There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 25:11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed 671 his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi. 672
25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, 673 whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham.
25:13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names according to their records: 674 Nebaioth (Ishmael’s firstborn), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 25:14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 25:15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 25:16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names by their settlements and their camps – twelve princes 675 according to their clans.
25:17 Ishmael lived a total of 676 137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors. 677 25:18 His descendants 678 settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next 679 to Egypt all the way 680 to Asshur. 681 They settled 682 away from all their relatives. 683
25:19 This is the account of Isaac, 684 the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac. 25:20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, 685 the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. 686
25:21 Isaac prayed to 687 the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 25:22 But the children struggled 688 inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” 689 So she asked the Lord, 690 25:23 and the Lord said to her,
“Two nations 691 are in your womb,
and two peoples will be separated from within you.
One people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.”
25:24 When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, 692 there were 693 twins in her womb. 25:25 The first came out reddish 694 all over, 695 like a hairy 696 garment, so they named him Esau. 697 25:26 When his brother came out with 698 his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. 699 Isaac was sixty years old 700 when they were born.
25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled 701 hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. 702 25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, 703 but Rebekah loved 704 Jacob.
25:29 Now Jacob cooked some stew, 705 and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished. 25:30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed 706 me some of the red stuff – yes, this red stuff – because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called 707 Edom.) 708
25:31 But Jacob replied, “First 709 sell me your birthright.” 25:32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” 710 25:33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” 711 So Esau 712 swore an oath to him and sold his birthright 713 to Jacob.
25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. 714 So Esau despised his birthright. 715
26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred 716 in the days of Abraham. 717 Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar. 26:2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; 718 settle down in the land that I will point out to you. 719 26:3 Stay 720 in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, 721 for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, 722 and I will fulfill 723 the solemn promise I made 724 to your father Abraham. 26:4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them 725 all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. 726 26:5 All this will come to pass 727 because Abraham obeyed me 728 and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” 729 26:6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.
26:7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, “She is my sister.” 730 He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, 731 “The men of this place will kill me to get 732 Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”
26:8 After Isaac 733 had been there a long time, 734 Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed 735 Isaac caressing 736 his wife Rebekah. 26:9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really 737 your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.” 738
26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? 739 One of the men 740 might easily have had sexual relations with 741 your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!” 26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches 742 this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” 743
26:12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, 744 because the Lord blessed him. 745 26:13 The man became wealthy. 746 His influence continued to grow 747 until he became very prominent. 26:14 He had 748 so many sheep 749 and cattle 750 and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous 751 of him. 26:15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled up 752 all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham.
26:16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere, 753 for you have become much more powerful 754 than we are.” 26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. 755 26:18 Isaac reopened 756 the wells that had been dug 757 back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up 758 after Abraham died. Isaac 759 gave these wells 760 the same names his father had given them. 761
26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing 762 water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled 763 with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac 764 named the well 765 Esek 766 because they argued with him about it. 767 26:21 His servants 768 dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it 769 Sitnah. 770 26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac 771 named it 772 Rehoboth, 773 saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”
26:23 From there Isaac 774 went up to Beer Sheba. 26:24 The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” 26:25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped 775 the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. 776
26:26 Now Abimelech had come 777 to him from Gerar along with 778 Ahuzzah his friend 779 and Phicol the commander of his army. 26:27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me 780 and sent me away from you.” 26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see 781 that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be 782 a pact between us 783 – between us 784 and you. Allow us to make 785 a treaty with you 26:29 so that 786 you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed 787 you, but have always treated you well 788 before sending you away 789 in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.” 790
26:30 So Isaac 791 held a feast for them and they celebrated. 792 26:31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. 793 Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms. 794
26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported. 795 26:33 So he named it Shibah; 796 that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba 797 to this day.
26:34 When 798 Esau was forty years old, 799 he married 800 Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, as well as Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 26:35 They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety. 801
27:1 When 802 Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, 803 he called his older 804 son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau 805 replied. 27:2 Isaac 806 said, “Since 807 I am so old, I could die at any time. 808 27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game 809 for me. 27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then 810 I will eat it so that I may bless you 811 before I die.”
27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. 812 When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, 813 27:6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father tell your brother Esau, 27:7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare for me some tasty food. Then I will eat 814 it and bless you 815 in the presence of the Lord 816 before I die.’ 27:8 Now then, my son, do 817 exactly what I tell you! 818 27:9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare 819 them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. 27:10 Then you will take 820 it to your father. Thus he will eat it 821 and 822 bless you before he dies.”
27:11 “But Esau my brother is a hairy man,” Jacob protested to his mother Rebekah, “and I have smooth skin! 823 27:12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him 824 and I’ll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.” 27:13 So his mother told him, “Any curse against you will fall on me, 825 my son! Just obey me! 826 Go and get them for me!”
27:14 So he went and got the goats 827 and brought them to his mother. She 828 prepared some tasty food, just the way his father loved it. 27:15 Then Rebekah took her older son Esau’s best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 27:16 She put the skins of the young goats 829 on his hands 830 and the smooth part of his neck. 27:17 Then she handed 831 the tasty food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.
27:18 He went to his father and said, “My father!” Isaac 832 replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?” 833 27:19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up 834 and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” 835 27:20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world 836 did you find it so quickly, 837 my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” 838 he replied. 839 27:21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you, 840 my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.” 841 27:22 So Jacob went over to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s.” 27:23 He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau’s hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob. 842 27:24 Then he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “I am,” Jacob 843 replied. 27:25 Isaac 844 said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. 845 Then I will bless you.” 846 So Jacob 847 brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac 848 drank. 27:26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 27:27 So Jacob 849 went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent 850 of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,
“Yes, 851 my son smells
like the scent of an open field
which the Lord has blessed.
27:28 May God give you
the dew of the sky 852
and the richness 853 of the earth,
and plenty of grain and new wine.
27:29 May peoples serve you
and nations bow down to you.
You will be 854 lord 855 over your brothers,
and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. 856
May those who curse you be cursed,
and those who bless you be blessed.”
27:30 Isaac had just finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left 857 his father’s 858 presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt. 859 27:31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau 860 said to him, “My father, get up 861 and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.” 862 27:32 His father Isaac asked, 863 “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,” 864 he replied, “Esau!” 27:33 Isaac began to shake violently 865 and asked, “Then who else hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it just before you arrived, and I blessed him. 866 He will indeed be blessed!”
27:34 When Esau heard 867 his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly. 868 He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” 27:35 But Isaac 869 replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away 870 your blessing.” 27:36 Esau exclaimed, “‘Jacob’ is the right name for him! 871 He has tripped me up 872 two times! He took away my birthright, and now, look, he has taken away my blessing!” Then he asked, “Have you not kept back a blessing for me?”
27:37 Isaac replied to Esau, “Look! I have made him lord over you. I have made all his relatives his servants and provided him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?” 27:38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!” 873 Then Esau wept loudly. 874
27:39 So his father Isaac said to him,
“Indeed, 875 your home will be
away from the richness 876 of the earth,
and away from the dew of the sky above.
27:40 You will live by your sword
but you will serve your brother.
When you grow restless,
you will tear off his yoke
from your neck.” 877
27:41 So Esau hated 878 Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. 879 Esau said privately, 880 “The time 881 of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill 882 my brother Jacob!”
27:42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said, 883 she quickly summoned 884 her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you. 885 27:43 Now then, my son, do what I say. 886 Run away immediately 887 to my brother Laban in Haran. 27:44 Live with him for a little while 888 until your brother’s rage subsides. 27:45 Stay there 889 until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I’ll send someone to bring you back from there. 890 Why should I lose both of you in one day?” 891
27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressed 892 because of these daughters of Heth. 893 If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!” 894
28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman! 895 28:2 Leave immediately 896 for Paddan Aram! Go to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and find yourself a wife there, among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. 28:3 May the sovereign God 897 bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! 898 Then you will become 899 a large nation. 900 28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham 901 so that you may possess the land 902 God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” 903 28:5 So Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean and brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
28:6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan Aram to find a wife there. 904 As he blessed him, 905 Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” 906 28:7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram. 28:8 Then Esau realized 907 that the Canaanite women 908 were displeasing to 909 his father Isaac. 28:9 So Esau went to Ishmael and married 910 Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, along with the wives he already had.
28:10 Meanwhile Jacob left Beer Sheba and set out for Haran. 28:11 He reached a certain place 911 where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. 912 He took one of the stones 913 and placed it near his head. 914 Then he fell asleep 915 in that place 28:12 and had a dream. 916 He saw 917 a stairway 918 erected on the earth with its top reaching to the heavens. The angels of God were going up and coming down it 28:13 and the Lord stood at its top. He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac. 919 I will give you and your descendants the ground 920 you are lying on. 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, 921 and you will spread out 922 to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 923 using your name and that of your descendants. 924 28:15 I am with you! 925 I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!”
28:16 Then Jacob woke up 926 and thought, 927 “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not realize it!” 28:17 He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is nothing else than the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!”
28:18 Early 928 in the morning Jacob 929 took the stone he had placed near his head 930 and set it up as a sacred stone. 931 Then he poured oil on top of it. 28:19 He called that place Bethel, 932 although the former name of the town was Luz. 28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God is with me and protects me on this journey I am taking and gives me food 933 to eat and clothing to wear, 28:21 and I return safely to my father’s home, 934 then the Lord will become my God. 28:22 Then this stone 935 that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely 936 give you back a tenth of everything you give me.” 937
29:1 So Jacob moved on 938 and came to the land of the eastern people. 939 29:2 He saw 940 in the field a well with 941 three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now 942 a large stone covered the mouth of the well. 29:3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds 943 would roll the stone off the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place over the well’s mouth.
29:4 Jacob asked them, “My brothers, where are you from?” They replied, “We’re from Haran.” 29:5 So he said to them, “Do you know Laban, the grandson 944 of Nahor?” “We know him,” 945 they said. 29:6 “Is he well?” 946 Jacob asked. They replied, “He is well. 947 Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” 29:7 Then Jacob 948 said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, 949 it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” 950 29:8 “We can’t,” they said, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well. Then we water 951 the sheep.”
29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was tending them. 952 29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, 953 and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he 954 went over 955 and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. 956 29:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep loudly. 957 29:12 When Jacob explained 958 to Rachel that he was a relative of her father 959 and the son of Rebekah, she ran and told her father. 29:13 When Laban heard this news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he rushed out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob 960 told Laban how he was related to him. 961 29:14 Then Laban said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” 962 So Jacob 963 stayed with him for a month. 964
29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work 965 for me for nothing because you are my relative? 966 Tell me what your wages should be.” 29:16 (Now Laban had two daughters; 967 the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. 29:17 Leah’s eyes were tender, 968 but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.) 969 29:18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with 970 Rachel, he said, “I’ll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel.” 29:19 Laban replied, “I’d rather give her to you than to another man. 971 Stay with me.” 29:20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. 972 But they seemed like only a few days to him 973 because his love for her was so great. 974
29:21 Finally Jacob said 975 to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. 976 I want to have marital relations with her.” 977 29:22 So Laban invited all the people 978 of that place and prepared a feast. 29:23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leah 979 to Jacob, 980 and Jacob 981 had marital relations with her. 982 29:24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) 983
29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! 984 So Jacob 985 said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! 986 Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked 987 me?” 29:26 “It is not our custom here,” 988 Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriage 989 before the firstborn. 29:27 Complete my older daughter’s bridal week. 990 Then we will give you the younger one 991 too, in exchange for seven more years of work.” 992
29:28 Jacob did as Laban said. 993 When Jacob 994 completed Leah’s bridal week, 995 Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 996 29:29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) 997 29:30 Jacob 998 had marital relations 999 with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban 1000 for seven more years. 1001
29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, 1002 he enabled her to become pregnant 1003 while Rachel remained childless. 29:32 So Leah became pregnant 1004 and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, 1005 for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. 1006 Surely my husband will love me now.”
29:33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved, 1007 he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. 1008
29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, 1009 because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. 1010
29:35 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” That is why she named him Judah. 1011 Then she stopped having children.
30:1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she 1012 became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children 1013 or I’ll die!” 30:2 Jacob became furious 1014 with Rachel and exclaimed, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” 1015 30:3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with 1016 her so that she can bear 1017 children 1018 for me 1019 and I can have a family through her.” 1020
30:4 So Rachel 1021 gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with 1022 her. 30:5 Bilhah became pregnant 1023 and gave Jacob a son. 1024 30:6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayer 1025 and given me a son.” That is why 1026 she named him Dan. 1027
30:7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. 1028 30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.” 1029 So she named him Naphtali. 1030
30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave 1031 her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 30:10 Soon Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son. 1032 30:11 Leah said, “How fortunate!” 1033 So she named him Gad. 1034
30:12 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son. 1035 30:13 Leah said, “How happy I am, 1036 for women 1037 will call me happy!” So she named him Asher. 1038
30:14 At the time 1039 of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants 1040 in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 30:15 But Leah replied, 1041 “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,” 1042 Rachel said, “he may sleep 1043 with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 30:16 When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep 1044 with me because I have paid for your services 1045 with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relations 1046 with her that night. 30:17 God paid attention 1047 to Leah; she became pregnant 1048 and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. 1049 30:18 Then Leah said, “God has granted me a reward 1050 because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.” 1051 So she named him Issachar. 1052
30:19 Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time. 1053 30:20 Then Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me because I have given him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. 1054
30:21 After that she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
30:22 Then God took note of 1055 Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. 1056 30:23 She became pregnant 1057 and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” 1058 30:24 She named him Joseph, 1059 saying, “May the Lord give me yet another son.”
30:25 After Rachel had given birth 1060 to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send 1061 me on my way so that I can go 1062 home to my own country. 1063 30:26 Let me take my wives and my children whom I have acquired by working for you. 1064 Then I’ll depart, 1065 because you know how hard I’ve worked for you.” 1066
30:27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, 1067 for I have learned by divination 1068 that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.” 30:28 He added, “Just name your wages – I’ll pay whatever you want.” 1069
30:29 “You know how I have worked for you,” Jacob replied, 1070 “and how well your livestock have fared under my care. 1071 30:30 Indeed, 1072 you had little before I arrived, 1073 but now your possessions have increased many times over. 1074 The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked. 1075 But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?” 1076
30:31 So Laban asked, 1077 “What should I give you?” “You don’t need to give me a thing,” 1078 Jacob replied, 1079 “but if you agree to this one condition, 1080 I will continue to care for 1081 your flocks and protect them: 30:32 Let me walk among 1082 all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, 1083 and the spotted or speckled goats. 1084 These animals will be my wages. 1085 30:33 My integrity will testify for me 1086 later on. 1087 When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on, 1088 if I have in my possession any goat that is not speckled or spotted or any sheep that is not dark-colored, it will be considered stolen.” 1089 30:34 “Agreed!” said Laban, “It will be as you say.” 1090
30:35 So that day Laban 1091 removed the male goats that were streaked or spotted, all the female goats that were speckled or spotted (all that had any white on them), and all the dark-colored lambs, and put them in the care 1092 of his sons. 30:36 Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, 1093 while 1094 Jacob was taking care of the rest of Laban’s flocks.
30:37 But Jacob took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees. He made white streaks by peeling them, making the white inner wood in the branches visible. 30:38 Then he set up the peeled branches in all the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. He set up the branches in front of the flocks when they were in heat and came to drink. 1095 30:39 When the sheep mated 1096 in front of the branches, they 1097 gave birth to young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 30:40 Jacob removed these lambs, but he made the rest of the flock face 1098 the streaked and completely dark-colored animals in Laban’s flock. So he made separate flocks for himself and did not mix them with Laban’s flocks. 30:41 When the stronger females were in heat, 1099 Jacob would set up the branches in the troughs in front of the flock, so they would mate near the branches. 30:42 But if the animals were weaker, he did not set the branches there. 1100 So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban 1101 and the stronger animals to Jacob. 30:43 In this way Jacob 1102 became extremely prosperous. He owned 1103 large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.
31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, 1104 “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich 1105 at our father’s expense!” 1106 31:2 When Jacob saw the look on Laban’s face, he could tell his attitude toward him had changed. 1107
31:3 The Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers 1108 and to your relatives. I will be with you.” 1109 31:4 So Jacob sent a message for Rachel and Leah 1110 to come to the field 1111 where his flocks were. 1112 31:5 There he said to them, “I can tell that your father’s attitude toward me has changed, 1113 but the God of my father has been with me. 31:6 You know that I’ve worked for your father as hard as I could, 1114 31:7 but your father has humiliated 1115 me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not permitted him to do me any harm. 31:8 If he said, 1116 ‘The speckled animals 1117 will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to speckled offspring. But if he said, ‘The streaked animals will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to streaked offspring. 31:9 In this way God has snatched away your father’s livestock and given them to me.
31:10 “Once 1118 during breeding season I saw 1119 in a dream that the male goats mating with 1120 the flock were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 31:11 In the dream the angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ ‘Here I am!’ I replied. 31:12 Then he said, ‘Observe 1121 that all the male goats mating with 1122 the flock are streaked, speckled, or spotted, for I have observed all that Laban has done to you. 31:13 I am the God of Bethel, 1123 where you anointed 1124 the sacred stone and made a vow to me. 1125 Now leave this land immediately 1126 and return to your native land.’”
31:14 Then Rachel and Leah replied to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance 1127 in our father’s house? 31:15 Hasn’t he treated us like foreigners? He not only sold us, but completely wasted 1128 the money paid for us! 1129 31:16 Surely all the wealth that God snatched away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So now do everything God has told you.”
31:17 So Jacob immediately put his children and his wives on the camels. 1130 31:18 He took 1131 away all the livestock he had acquired in Paddan Aram and all his moveable property that he had accumulated. Then he set out toward the land of Canaan to return to his father Isaac. 1132
31:19 While Laban had gone to shear his sheep, 1133 Rachel stole the household idols 1134 that belonged to her father. 31:20 Jacob also deceived 1135 Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was leaving. 1136 31:21 He left 1137 with all he owned. He quickly crossed 1138 the Euphrates River 1139 and headed for 1140 the hill country of Gilead.
31:22 Three days later Laban discovered Jacob had left. 1141 31:23 So he took his relatives 1142 with him and pursued Jacob 1143 for seven days. 1144 He caught up with 1145 him in the hill country of Gilead. 31:24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and warned him, 1146 “Be careful 1147 that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.” 1148
31:25 Laban overtook Jacob, and when Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead, Laban and his relatives set up camp there too. 1149 31:26 “What have you done?” Laban demanded of Jacob. “You’ve deceived me 1150 and carried away my daughters as if they were captives of war! 1151 31:27 Why did you run away secretly 1152 and deceive me? 1153 Why didn’t you tell me so I could send you off with a celebration complete with singing, tambourines, and harps? 1154 31:28 You didn’t even allow me to kiss my daughters and my grandchildren 1155 good-bye. You have acted foolishly! 31:29 I have 1156 the power to do you harm, but the God of your father told me last night, ‘Be careful 1157 that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.’ 1158 31:30 Now I understand that 1159 you have gone away 1160 because you longed desperately 1161 for your father’s house. Yet why did you steal my gods?” 1162
31:31 “I left secretly because I was afraid!” 1163 Jacob replied to Laban. “I thought 1164 you might take your daughters away from me by force. 1165 31:32 Whoever has taken your gods will be put to death! 1166 In the presence of our relatives 1167 identify whatever is yours and take it.” 1168 (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.) 1169
31:33 So Laban entered Jacob’s tent, and Leah’s tent, and the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find the idols. 1170 Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s. 1171 31:34 (Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them inside her camel’s saddle 1172 and sat on them.) 1173 Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them. 1174 31:35 Rachel 1175 said to her father, “Don’t be angry, 1176 my lord. I cannot stand up 1177 in your presence because I am having my period.” 1178 So he searched thoroughly, 1179 but did not find the idols.
31:36 Jacob became angry 1180 and argued with Laban. “What did I do wrong?” he demanded of Laban. 1181 “What sin of mine prompted you to chase after me in hot pursuit? 1182 31:37 When you searched through all my goods, did you find anything that belonged to you? 1183 Set it here before my relatives and yours, 1184 and let them settle the dispute between the two of us! 1185
31:38 “I have been with you for the past twenty years. Your ewes and female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. 31:39 Animals torn by wild beasts I never brought to you; I always absorbed the loss myself. 1186 You always made me pay for every missing animal, 1187 whether it was taken by day or at night. 31:40 I was consumed by scorching heat 1188 during the day and by piercing cold 1189 at night, and I went without sleep. 1190 31:41 This was my lot 1191 for twenty years in your house: I worked like a slave 1192 for you – fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, but you changed my wages ten times! 31:42 If the God of my father – the God of Abraham, the one whom Isaac fears 1193 – had not been with me, you would certainly have sent me away empty-handed! But God saw how I was oppressed and how hard I worked, 1194 and he rebuked you last night.”
31:43 Laban replied 1195 to Jacob, “These women 1196 are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, 1197 and these flocks are my flocks. All that you see belongs to me. But how can I harm these daughters of mine today 1198 or the children to whom they have given birth? 31:44 So now, come, let’s make a formal agreement, 1199 you and I, and it will be 1200 proof that we have made peace.” 1201
31:45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a memorial pillar. 31:46 Then he 1202 said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” So they brought stones and put them in a pile. 1203 They ate there by the pile of stones. 31:47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, 1204 but Jacob called it Galeed. 1205
31:48 Laban said, “This pile of stones is a witness of our agreement 1206 today.” That is why it was called Galeed. 31:49 It was also called Mizpah 1207 because he said, “May the Lord watch 1208 between us 1209 when we are out of sight of one another. 1210 31:50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one else is with us, realize 1211 that God is witness to your actions.” 1212
31:51 “Here is this pile of stones and this pillar I have set up between me and you,” Laban said to Jacob. 1213 31:52 “This pile of stones and the pillar are reminders that I will not pass beyond this pile to come to harm you and that you will not pass beyond this pile and this pillar to come to harm me. 1214 31:53 May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor, 1215 the gods of their father, judge between us.” Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared. 1216 31:54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice 1217 on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat the meal. 1218 They ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain.
31:55 (32:1) 1219 Early in the morning Laban kissed 1220 his grandchildren 1221 and his daughters goodbye and blessed them. Then Laban left and returned home. 1222
32:1 So Jacob went on his way and the angels of God 1223 met him. 32:2 When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, 1224 “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. 1225
32:3 Jacob sent messengers on ahead 1226 to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the region 1227 of Edom. 32:4 He commanded them, “This is what you must say to my lord Esau: ‘This is what your servant 1228 Jacob says: I have been staying with Laban until now. 32:5 I have oxen, donkeys, sheep, and male and female servants. I have sent 1229 this message 1230 to inform my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight.’”
32:6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you and has four hundred men with him.” 32:7 Jacob was very afraid and upset. So he divided the people who were with him into two camps, as well as the flocks, herds, and camels. 32:8 “If Esau attacks one camp,” 1231 he thought, 1232 “then the other camp will be able to escape.” 1233
32:9 Then Jacob prayed, 1234 “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you said 1235 to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.’ 1236 32:10 I am not worthy of all the faithful love 1237 you have shown 1238 your servant. With only my walking stick 1239 I crossed the Jordan, 1240 but now I have become two camps. 32:11 Rescue me, 1241 I pray, from the hand 1242 of my brother Esau, 1243 for I am afraid he will come 1244 and attack me, as well as the mothers with their children. 1245 32:12 But you 1246 said, ‘I will certainly make you prosper 1247 and will make 1248 your descendants like the sand on the seashore, too numerous to count.’” 1249
32:13 Jacob 1250 stayed there that night. Then he sent 1251 as a gift 1252 to his brother Esau 32:14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 32:15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 32:16 He entrusted them to 1253 his servants, who divided them into herds. 1254 He told his servants, “Pass over before me, and keep some distance between one herd and the next.” 32:17 He instructed the servant leading the first herd, 1255 “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong? 1256 Where are you going? Whose herds are you driving?’ 1257 32:18 then you must say, 1258 ‘They belong 1259 to your servant Jacob. 1260 They have been sent as a gift to my lord Esau. 1261 In fact Jacob himself is behind us.’” 1262
32:19 He also gave these instructions to the second and third servants, as well as all those who were following the herds, saying, “You must say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 1263 32:20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’” 1264 Jacob thought, 1265 “I will first appease him 1266 by sending a gift ahead of me. 1267 After that I will meet him. 1268 Perhaps he will accept me.” 1269 32:21 So the gifts were sent on ahead of him 1270 while he spent that night in the camp. 1271
32:22 During the night Jacob quickly took 1272 his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons 1273 and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 1274 32:23 He took them and sent them across the stream along with all his possessions. 1275 32:24 So Jacob was left alone. Then a man 1276 wrestled 1277 with him until daybreak. 1278 32:25 When the man 1279 saw that he could not defeat Jacob, 1280 he struck 1281 the socket of his hip so the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him.
32:26 Then the man 1282 said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” 1283 “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, 1284 “unless you bless me.” 1285 32:27 The man asked him, 1286 “What is your name?” 1287 He answered, “Jacob.” 32:28 “No longer will your name be Jacob,” the man told him, 1288 “but Israel, 1289 because you have fought 1290 with God and with men and have prevailed.”
32:29 Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.” 1291 “Why 1292 do you ask my name?” the man replied. 1293 Then he blessed 1294 Jacob 1295 there. 32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, 1296 explaining, 1297 “Certainly 1298 I have seen God face to face 1299 and have survived.” 1300
32:31 The sun rose 1301 over him as he crossed over Penuel, 1302 but 1303 he was limping because of his hip. 32:32 That is why to this day 1304 the Israelites do not eat the sinew which is attached to the socket of the hip, because he struck 1305 the socket of Jacob’s hip near the attached sinew.
33:1 Jacob looked up 1306 and saw that Esau was coming 1307 along with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants. 33:2 He put the servants and their children in front, with Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph behind them. 1308 33:3 But Jacob 1309 himself went on ahead of them, and he bowed toward the ground seven times as he approached 1310 his brother. 33:4 But Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, hugged his neck, and kissed him. Then they both wept. 33:5 When Esau 1311 looked up 1312 and saw the women and the children, he asked, “Who are these people with you?” Jacob 1313 replied, “The children whom God has graciously given 1314 your servant.” 33:6 The female servants came forward with their children and bowed down. 1315 33:7 Then Leah came forward with her children and they bowed down. Finally Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down.
33:8 Esau 1316 then asked, “What did you intend 1317 by sending all these herds to meet me?” 1318 Jacob 1319 replied, “To find favor in your sight, my lord.” 33:9 But Esau said, “I have plenty, my brother. Keep what belongs to you.” 33:10 “No, please take them,” Jacob said. 1320 “If I have found favor in your sight, accept 1321 my gift from my hand. Now that I have seen your face and you have accepted me, 1322 it is as if I have seen the face of God. 1323 33:11 Please take my present 1324 that was brought to you, for God has been generous 1325 to me and I have all I need.” 1326 When Jacob urged him, he took it. 1327
33:12 Then Esau 1328 said, “Let’s be on our way! 1329 I will go in front of you.” 33:13 But Jacob 1330 said to him, “My lord knows that the children are young, 1331 and that I have to look after the sheep and cattle that are nursing their young. 1332 If they are driven too hard for even a single day, all the animals will die. 33:14 Let my lord go on ahead of his servant. I will travel more slowly, at the pace of the herds and the children, 1333 until I come to my lord at Seir.”
33:15 So Esau said, “Let me leave some of my men with you.” 1334 “Why do that?” Jacob replied. 1335 “My lord has already been kind enough to me.” 1336
33:16 So that same day Esau made his way back 1337 to Seir. 33:17 But 1338 Jacob traveled to Succoth 1339 where he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was called 1340 Succoth. 1341
33:18 After he left Paddan Aram, Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped near 1342 the city. 33:19 Then he purchased the portion of the field where he had pitched his tent; he bought it 1343 from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of money. 1344 33:20 There he set up an altar and called it “The God of Israel is God.” 1345
1 sn The noun “shield” recalls the words of Melchizedek in 14:20. If God is the shield, then God will deliver. Abram need not fear reprisals from those he has fought.
2 tn Heb “your reward [in] great abundance.” When the phrase הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ (harbeh mÿod) follows a noun it invariably modifies the noun and carries the nuance “very great” or “in great abundance.” (See its use in Gen 41:49; Deut 3:5; Josh 22:8; 2 Sam 8:8; 12:2; 1 Kgs 4:29; 10:10-11; 2 Chr 14:13; 32:27; Jer 40:12.) Here the noun “reward” is in apposition to “shield” and refers by metonymy to God as the source of the reward. Some translate here “your reward will be very great” (cf. NASB, NRSV), taking the statement as an independent clause and understanding the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a substitute for a finite verb. However, the construction הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ is never used this way elsewhere, where it either modifies a noun (see the texts listed above) or serves as an adverb in relation to a finite verb (see Josh 13:1; 1 Sam 26:21; 2 Sam 12:30; 2 Kgs 21:16; 1 Chr 20:2; Neh 2:2).
3 tn The Hebrew text has אֲדֹנָי יֱהוִה (’adonay yehvih, “Master,
4 tn The vav (ו) disjunctive at the beginning of the clause is circumstantial, expressing the cause or reason.
5 tn Heb “I am going.”
6 tn Heb “the son of the acquisition of my house.”
7 tn The pronoun is anaphoric here, equivalent to the verb “to be” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 23, §115).
8 sn The sentence in the Hebrew text employs a very effective wordplay on the name Damascus: “The son of the acquisition (בֶּן־מֶשֶׁק, ben-mesheq) of my house is Eliezer of Damascus (דַּמֶּשֶׁק, dammesheq).” The words are not the same; they have different sibilants. But the sound play gives the impression that “in the nomen is the omen.” Eliezer the Damascene will be Abram’s heir if Abram dies childless because “Damascus” seems to mean that. See M. F. Unger, “Some Comments on the Text of Genesis 15:2-3,” JBL 72 (1953): 49-50; H. L. Ginsberg, “Abram’s ‘Damascene’ Steward,” BASOR 200 (1970): 31-32.
9 tn Heb “And Abram said.”
10 tn The construction uses הֵן (hen) to introduce the foundational clause (“since…”), and וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh) to introduce the main clause (“then look…”).
11 tn Heb “is inheriting me.”
12 tn The disjunctive draws attention to God’s response and the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, translated “look”) mirrors Abram’s statement in v. 3 and highlights the fact that God responded to Abram.
13 tn The subject of the verb is the demonstrative pronoun, which can be translated “this one” or “this man.” That the
14 tn Heb “inherit you.”
15 tn The Hebrew כִּי־אִם (ki-’im) forms a very strong adversative.
16 tn Heb “he who”; the implied referent (Abram’s unborn son who will be his heir) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 tn The pronoun could also be an emphatic subject: “whoever comes out of your body, he will inherit you.”
18 tn Heb “will inherit you.”
19 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
20 tn The nonconsecutive vav (ו) is on a perfect verbal form. If the composer of the narrative had wanted to show simple sequence, he would have used the vav consecutive with the preterite. The perfect with vav conjunctive (where one expects the preterite with vav consecutive) in narrative contexts can have a variety of discourse functions, but here it probably serves to highlight Abram’s response to God’s promise. For a detailed discussion of the vav + perfect construction in Hebrew narrative, see R. Longacre, “Weqatal Forms in Biblical Hebrew Prose: A Discourse-modular Approach,” Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, 50-98. The Hebrew verb אָמַן (’aman) means “to confirm, to support” in the Qal verbal stem. Its derivative nouns refer to something or someone that/who provides support, such as a “pillar,” “nurse,” or “guardian, trustee.” In the Niphal stem it comes to mean “to be faithful, to be reliable, to be dependable,” or “to be firm, to be sure.” In the Hiphil, the form used here, it takes on a declarative sense: “to consider something reliable [or “dependable”].” Abram regarded the God who made this promise as reliable and fully capable of making it a reality.
21 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
22 tn Heb “and he reckoned it to him.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix refers back to Abram’s act of faith, mentioned in the preceding clause. On third feminine singular pronouns referring back to verbal ideas see GKC 440-41 §135.p. Some propose taking the suffix as proleptic, anticipating the following feminine noun (“righteousness”). In this case one might translate: “and he reckoned it to him – [namely] righteousness.” See O. P. Robertson, “Genesis 15:6: A New Covenant Exposition of an Old Covenant Text,” WTJ 42 (1980): 259-89.
23 tn Or “righteousness”; or “evidence of steadfast commitment.” The noun is an adverbial accusative. The verb translated “considered” (Heb “reckoned”) also appears with צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “righteousness”) in Ps 106:31. Alluding to the events recorded in Numbers 25, the psalmist notes that Phinehas’ actions were “credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come.” Reference is made to the unconditional, eternal covenant with which God rewarded Phinehas’ loyalty (Num 25:12-13). So צְדָקָה seems to carry by metonymy the meaning “loyal, rewardable behavior” here, a nuance that fits nicely in Genesis 15, where God responds to Abram’s faith by formally ratifying his promise to give Abram and his descendants the land. (See R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 40.) In Phoenician and Old Aramaic inscriptions cognate nouns glossed as “correct, justifiable conduct” sometimes carry this same semantic nuance (DNWSI 2:962).
24 tn Heb “And he said.”
25 sn I am the
26 sn The phrase of the Chaldeans is a later editorial clarification for the readers, designating the location of Ur. From all evidence there would have been no Chaldeans in existence at this early date; they are known in the time of the neo-Babylonian empire in the first millennium
27 tn Here the vav carries adversative force and is translated “but.”
28 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
29 tn See note on the phrase “sovereign
30 tn Or “how.”
31 tn Heb “He”; the referent (the
32 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
33 tn Heb “in the middle.”
34 tn Heb “to meet its neighbor.”
35 tn Heb “a deep sleep fell on Abram.”
36 tn Heb “and look, terror, a great darkness was falling on him.”
37 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, with the Qal infinitive absolute followed by the imperfect from יָדַע (yada’, “know”). The imperfect here has an obligatory or imperatival force.
38 tn The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger, “sojourner, stranger”) is related to the verb גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to stay for awhile”). Abram’s descendants will stay in a land as resident aliens without rights of citizenship.
39 tn Heb “in a land not theirs.”
40 tn Heb “and they will serve them and they will oppress them.” The verb עִנּוּ, (’innu, a Piel form from עָנָה, ’anah, “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly”), is used in Exod 1:11 to describe the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt.
41 tn The participle דָּן (dan, from דִּין, din) is used here for the future: “I am judging” = “I will surely judge.” The judgment in this case will be condemnation and punishment. The translation “execute judgment on” implies that the judgment will certainly be carried out.
42 tn The vav with the pronoun before the verb calls special attention to the subject in contrast to the preceding subject.
43 sn You will go to your ancestors. This is a euphemistic expression for death.
44 tn Heb “in a good old age.”
45 sn The term generation is being used here in its widest sense to refer to a full life span. When the chronological factors are considered and the genealogies tabulated, there are four hundred years of bondage. This suggests that in this context a generation is equivalent to one hundred years.
46 tn Heb “they”; the referent (“your descendants”) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
47 tn Heb “is not yet complete.”
48 sn A smoking pot with a flaming torch. These same implements were used in Mesopotamian rituals designed to ward off evil (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 113-14).
49 tn Heb “these pieces.”
50 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
51 tn The perfect verbal form is understood as instantaneous (“I here and now give”). Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, indicating certitude (“I have given” meaning it is as good as done, i.e., “I will surely give”).
52 sn The river of Egypt is a wadi (a seasonal stream) on the northeastern border of Egypt, not to the River Nile.
53 tn The words “the land” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
54 tn Each of the names in the list has the Hebrew definite article, which is used here generically for the class of people identified.
55 tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of a new episode in the story.
56 sn On the cultural background of the story of Sarai’s childlessness see J. Van Seters, “The Problem of Childlessness in Near Eastern Law and the Patriarchs of Israel,” JBL 87 (1968): 401-8.
57 tn The Hebrew term שִׁפְחָה (shifkhah, translated “servant” here and in vv. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8) refers to a menial female servant.
58 sn The passage records the birth of Ishmael to Abram through an Egyptian woman. The story illustrates the limits of Abram’s faith as he tries to obtain a son through social custom. The barrenness of Sarai poses a challenge to Abram’s faith, just as the famine did in chap. 12. As in chap. 12, an Egyptian figures prominently. (Perhaps Hagar was obtained as a slave during Abram’s stay in Egypt.)
59 tn Heb “look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) introduces the foundational clause for the imperative to follow.
60 tn Heb “enter to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual relations (also in v. 4).
61 tn Heb “perhaps I will be built from her.” Sarai hopes to have a family established through this surrogate mother.
62 tn Heb “listened to the voice of,” which is an idiom meaning “obeyed.”
63 tn Heb “at the end of ten years, to live, Abram.” The prepositional phrase introduces the temporal clause, the infinitive construct serves as the verb, and the name “Abram” is the subject.
64 tn Heb “the Egyptian, her female servant.”
65 sn To be his wife. Hagar became a slave wife, not on equal standing with Sarai. However, if Hagar produced the heir, she would be the primary wife in the eyes of society. When this eventually happened, Hagar become insolent, prompting Sarai’s anger.
66 tn Heb “entered to.” See the note on the same expression in v. 2.
67 tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 5)
68 tn Heb “and she saw that she was pregnant and her mistress was despised in her eyes.” The Hebrew verb קָלַל (qalal) means “to despise, to treat lightly, to treat with contempt.” In Hagar’s opinion Sarai had been demoted.
69 tn Heb “my wrong is because of you.”
70 tn Heb “I placed my female servant in your bosom.”
71 tn Heb “saw.”
72 tn Heb “I was despised in her eyes.” The passive verb has been translated as active for stylistic reasons. Sarai was made to feel supplanted and worthless by Hagar the servant girl.
73 tn Heb “me and you.”
74 tn The clause is introduced with the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), introducing a foundational clause for the coming imperative: “since…do.”
75 tn Heb “in your hand.”
76 tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”
77 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
78 tn In the Piel stem the verb עָנָה (’anah) means “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly, to mistreat.”
79 tn Heb “and she fled from her presence.” The referent of “her” (Sarai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
80 tn Heb “the messenger of the
81 tn Heb “And the angel of the
82 tn Heb “from the presence of.”
83 tn The imperative וְהִתְעַנִּי (vÿhit’anni) is the Hitpael of עָנָה (’anah, here translated “submit”), the same word used for Sarai’s harsh treatment of her. Hagar is instructed not only to submit to Sarai’s authority, but to whatever mistreatment that involves. God calls for Hagar to humble herself.
84 tn Heb “The
85 tn Heb “cannot be numbered because of abundance.”
86 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) focuses on her immediate situation: “Here you are pregnant.”
87 tn The active participle refers here to something that is about to happen.
88 sn The name Ishmael consists of the imperfect or jussive form of the Hebrew verb with the theophoric element added as the subject. It means “God hears” or “may God hear.”
89 tn Heb “affliction,” which must refer here to Hagar’s painful groans of anguish.
90 sn A wild donkey of a man. The prophecy is not an insult. The wild donkey lived a solitary existence in the desert away from society. Ishmael would be free-roaming, strong, and like a bedouin; he would enjoy the freedom his mother sought.
91 tn Heb “His hand will be against everyone.” The “hand” by metonymy represents strength. His free-roaming life style would put him in conflict with those who follow social conventions. There would not be open warfare, only friction because of his antagonism to their way of life.
92 tn Heb “And the hand of everyone will be against him.”
93 tn Heb “opposite, across from.” Ishmael would live on the edge of society (cf. NASB “to the east of”). Some take this as an idiom meaning “be at odds with” (cf. NRSV, NLT) or “live in hostility toward” (cf. NIV).
94 tn Heb “God of my seeing.” The pronominal suffix may be understood either as objective (“who sees me,” as in the translation) or subjective (“whom I see”).
95 tn Heb “after one who sees me.”
96 tn The verb does not have an expressed subject and so is rendered as passive in the translation.
97 sn The Hebrew name Beer Lahai Roi (בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי, bÿ’er lakhay ro’i) means “The well of the Living One who sees me.” The text suggests that God takes up the cause of those who are oppressed.
98 tn Heb “look.” The words “it is located” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
99 tn Heb “and Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.”
100 tn The disjunctive clause gives information that is parenthetical to the narrative.
101 tn Heb “the son of eighty-six years.”
102 tn The Hebrew text adds, “for Abram.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons; it is somewhat redundant given the three occurrences of Abram’s name in this and the previous verse.
103 tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”
104 tn Heb “appeared to Abram and said to him.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) and the final phrase “to him” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.
105 tn The name אֵל שַׁדַּי (’el shadday, “El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72. Shaddai/El Shaddai is the sovereign king of the world who grants, blesses, and judges. In the Book of Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness. The patriarchs knew God primarily as El Shaddai (Exod 6:3). While the origin and meaning of this name are uncertain (see discussion below) its significance is clear. The name is used in contexts where God appears as the source of fertility and life. In Gen 17:1-8 he appeared to Abram, introduced himself as El Shaddai, and announced his intention to make the patriarch fruitful. In the role of El Shaddai God repeated these words (now elevated to the status of a decree) to Jacob (35:11). Earlier Isaac had pronounced a blessing on Jacob in which he asked El Shaddai to make Jacob fruitful (28:3). Jacob later prayed that his sons would be treated with mercy when they returned to Egypt with Benjamin (43:14). The fertility theme is not as apparent here, though one must remember that Jacob viewed Benjamin as the sole remaining son of the favored and once-barren Rachel (see 29:31; 30:22-24; 35:16-18). It is quite natural that he would appeal to El Shaddai to preserve Benjamin’s life, for it was El Shaddai’s miraculous power which made it possible for Rachel to give him sons in the first place. In 48:3 Jacob, prior to blessing Joseph’s sons, told him how El Shaddai appeared to him at Bethel (see Gen 28) and promised to make him fruitful. When blessing Joseph on his deathbed Jacob referred to Shaddai (we should probably read “El Shaddai,” along with a few Hebrew
106 tn Or “Live out your life.” The Hebrew verb translated “walk” is the Hitpael; it means “to walk back and forth; to walk about; to live out one’s life.”
107 tn Or “in my presence.”
108 tn There are two imperatives here: “walk…and be blameless [or “perfect”].” The second imperative may be purely sequential (see the translation) or consequential: “walk before me and then you will be blameless.” How one interprets the sequence depends on the meaning of “walk before”: (1) If it simply refers in a neutral way to serving the
109 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative indicates consequence. If Abram is blameless, then the
110 tn Heb “I will multiply you exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
111 tn Heb “And Abram fell on his face.” This expression probably means that Abram sank to his knees and put his forehead to the ground, although it is possible that he completely prostrated himself. In either case the posture indicates humility and reverence.
112 tn Heb “God spoke to him, saying.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
113 tn Heb “I.”
114 tn Heb “is” (הִנֵּה, hinneh).
115 tn Heb “will your name be called.”
116 sn Your name will be Abraham. The renaming of Abram was a sign of confirmation to the patriarch. Every time the name was used it would be a reminder of God’s promise. “Abram” means “exalted father,” probably referring to Abram’s father Terah. The name looks to the past; Abram came from noble lineage. The name “Abraham” is a dialectical variant of the name Abram. But its significance is in the wordplay with אַב־הֲמוֹן (’av-hamon, “the father of a multitude,” which sounds like אַבְרָהָם, ’avraham, “Abraham”). The new name would be a reminder of God’s intention to make Abraham the father of a multitude. For a general discussion of renaming, see O. Eissfeldt, “Renaming in the Old Testament,” Words and Meanings, 70-83.
117 tn The perfect verbal form is used here in a rhetorical manner to emphasize God’s intention.
118 tn This verb starts a series of perfect verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive to express God’s intentions.
119 tn Heb “exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
120 tn Heb “and I will make you into nations, and kings will come out from you.”
121 tn The verb קוּם (qum, “to arise, to stand up”) in the Hiphil verbal stem means “to confirm, to give effect to, to carry out” (i.e., a covenant or oath; see BDB 878-79 s.v. קוּם).
122 tn Or “as an eternal.”
123 tn Heb “to be to you for God and to your descendants after you.”
124 tn The verbal root is גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to reside temporarily,” i.e., as a resident alien). It is the land in which Abram resides, but does not yet possess as his very own.
125 tn Or “as an eternal.”
126 tn The imperfect tense could be translated “you shall keep” as a binding command; but the obligatory nuance (“must”) captures the binding sense better.
127 tn Heb “my covenant.” The Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) can refer to (1) the agreement itself between two parties (see v. 7), (2) the promise made by one party to another (see vv. 2-3, 7), (3) an obligation placed by one party on another, or (4) a reminder of the agreement. In vv. 9-10 the word refers to a covenantal obligation which God gives to Abraham and his descendants.
128 tn Heb “This is my covenant that you must keep between me and you and your descendants after you.”
129 sn For a discussion of male circumcision as the sign of the covenant in this passage see M. V. Fox, “The Sign of the Covenant: Circumcision in the Light of the Priestly ‘ot Etiologies,” RB 81 (1974): 557-96.
130 tn Or “sign.”
131 tn Heb “the son of eight days.”
132 tn The emphatic construction employs the Niphal imperfect tense (collective singular) and the Niphal infinitive.
133 tn Heb “my covenant.” Here in v. 13 the Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) refers to the outward, visible sign, or reminder, of the covenant. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.
134 tn Or “an eternal.”
135 tn The disjunctive clause calls attention to the “uncircumcised male” and what will happen to him.
136 tn Heb “that person will be cut off.” The words “that person” have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
137 tn Heb “he has broken my covenant.” The noun בְּרִית (bÿrit) here refers to the obligation required by God in conjunction with the covenantal agreement. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.
138 tn Heb “[As for] Sarai your wife, you must not call her name Sarai, for Sarah [will be] her name.”
139 sn Sarah. The name change seems to be a dialectical variation, both spellings meaning “princess” or “queen.” Like the name Abram, the name Sarai symbolized the past. The new name Sarah, like the name Abraham, would be a reminder of what God intended to do for Sarah in the future.
140 tn Heb “she will become nations.”
141 tn Heb “peoples.”
142 sn Laughed. The Hebrew verb used here provides the basis for the naming of Isaac: “And he laughed” is וַיִּצְחָק (vayyitskhaq); the name “Isaac” is יִצְחָק (yitskhaq), “he laughs.” Abraham’s (and Sarah’s, see 18:12) laughter signals disbelief, but when the boy is born, the laughter signals surprise and joy.
143 tn Heb “And he fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart.”
144 tn The imperfect verbal form here carries a potential nuance, as it expresses the disbelief of Abraham.
145 tn Heb “to the son of a hundred years.”
146 sn It is important to note that even though Abraham staggers at the announcement of the birth of a son, finding it almost too incredible, he nonetheless calls his wife Sarah, the new name given to remind him of the promise of God (v. 15).
147 tn Heb “the daughter of ninety years.”
148 tn The wish is introduced with the Hebrew particle לוּ (lu), “O that.”
149 tn Or “live with your blessing.”
150 tn Heb “will call his name Isaac.” The name means “he laughs,” or perhaps “may he laugh” (see the note on the word “laughed” in v. 17).
151 tn Or “as an eternal.”
152 sn The Hebrew verb translated “I have heard you” forms a wordplay with the name Ishmael, which means “God hears.” See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.
153 tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
154 tn For a discussion of the Hebrew word translated “princes,” see E. A. Speiser, “Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi’,” CBQ 25 (1963): 111-17.
155 tn Heb “And when he finished speaking with him, God went up from Abraham.” The sequence of pronouns and proper names has been modified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
156 tn Heb “Ishmael his son and all born in his house and all bought with money, every male among the men of the house of Abraham.”
157 tn Heb “circumcised the flesh of their foreskin.” The Hebrew expression is somewhat pleonastic and has been simplified in the translation.
158 tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”
159 tn Heb “circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin” (also in v. 25).
160 tn Heb “the son of thirteen years.”
161 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
162 tn Or “terebinths.”
163 tn The disjunctive clause here is circumstantial to the main clause.
164 tn The Hebrew noun translated “entrance” is an adverbial accusative of place.
165 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
166 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”
167 tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) draws attention to what he saw. The drawn-out description focuses the reader’s attention on Abraham’s deliberate, fixed gaze and indicates that what he is seeing is significant.
168 tn The Hebrew preposition עַל (’al) indicates the three men were nearby, but not close by, for Abraham had to run to meet them.
169 tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
170 tn The form וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ (vayyishtakhu, “and bowed low”) is from the verb הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה (hishtakhavah, “to worship, bow low to the ground”). It is probably from a root חָוָה (khavah), though some derive it from שָׁחָה (shakhah).
171 sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the
172 tc The MT has the form אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Master”) which is reserved for God. This may reflect later scribal activity. The scribes, knowing it was the
173 tn Heb “do not pass by from upon your servant.”
174 tn The imperative after the jussive indicates purpose here.
175 tn The word “all” has been supplied in the translation because the Hebrew verb translated “wash” and the pronominal suffix on the word “feet” are plural, referring to all three of the visitors.
176 tn The Qal cohortative here probably has the nuance of polite request.
177 tn Heb “a piece of bread.” The Hebrew word לֶחֶם (lekhem) can refer either to bread specifically or to food in general. Based on Abraham’s directions to Sarah in v. 6, bread was certainly involved, but v. 7 indicates that Abraham had a more elaborate meal in mind.
178 tn Heb “strengthen your heart.” The imperative after the cohortative indicates purpose here.
179 tn Heb “so that you may refresh yourselves, after [which] you may be on your way – for therefore you passed by near your servant.”
180 tn The word “take” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the sentence lacks a verb other than the imperative “hurry.” The elliptical structure of the language reflects Abraham’s haste to get things ready quickly.
181 sn Three measures (Heb “three seahs”) was equivalent to about twenty quarts (twenty-two liters) of flour, which would make a lot of bread. The animal prepared for the meal was far more than the three visitors needed. This was a banquet for royalty. Either it had been a lonely time for Abraham and the presence of visitors made him very happy, or he sensed this was a momentous visit.
182 sn The bread was the simple, round bread made by bedouins that is normally prepared quickly for visitors.
183 tn Heb “the young man.”
184 tn The construction uses the Piel preterite, “he hurried,” followed by the infinitive construct; the two probably form a verbal hendiadys: “he quickly prepared.”
185 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
186 tn The words “the food” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
187 tn The disjunctive clause is a temporal circumstantial clause subordinate to the main verb.
188 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) often accompanies a gesture of pointing or a focused gaze.
189 tn Heb “he”; the referent (one of the three men introduced in v. 2) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Some English translations have specified the referent as the
190 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.
191 tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.
192 tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”
193 tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).
194 tn Heb “days.”
195 tn Heb “it had ceased to be for Sarah [after] a way like women.”
196 tn Heb “saying.”
197 tn It has been suggested that this word should be translated “conception,” not “pleasure.” See A. A. McIntosh, “A Third Root ‘adah in Biblical Hebrew,” VT 24 (1974): 454-73.
198 tn The word “too” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
199 tn Heb “Why, this?” The demonstrative pronoun following the interrogative pronoun is enclitic, emphasizing the
200 tn The Hebrew construction uses both הַאַף (ha’af) and אֻמְנָם (’umnam): “Indeed, truly, will I have a child?”
201 tn The Hebrew verb פָּלָא (pala’) means “to be wonderful, to be extraordinary, to be surpassing, to be amazing.”
202 sn Sarah will have a son. The passage brings God’s promise into clear focus. As long as it was a promise for the future, it really could be believed without much involvement. But now, when it seemed so impossible from the human standpoint, when the
203 tn Heb “And he said, ‘No, but you did laugh.’” The referent (the
204 tn Heb “And the men arose from there.”
205 tn Heb “toward the face of.”
206 tn The disjunctive parenthetical clause sets the stage for the following speech.
207 tn The Piel of שָׁלַח (shalakh) means “to lead out, to send out, to expel”; here it is used in the friendly sense of seeing the visitors on their way.
208 tn The active participle here refers to an action that is imminent.
209 tn Heb “And Abraham.” The disjunctive clause is probably causal, giving a reason why God should not hide his intentions from Abraham. One could translate, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation?”
210 tn The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the finite verb that follows.
211 tn Theoretically the Niphal can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Abram were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in later formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless [i.e., “pronounce blessings upon”] themselves [or “one another”].” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 18:18 (like 12:2) predicts that Abraham will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.
212 tn Heb “For I have known him.” The verb יָדַע (yada’) here means “to recognize and treat in a special manner, to choose” (see Amos 3:2). It indicates that Abraham stood in a special covenantal relationship with the
213 tn Heb “and they will keep.” The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the subjective nuance of the preceding imperfect verbal form (translated “so that he may command”).
214 tn The infinitive construct here indicates manner, explaining how Abraham’s children and his household will keep the way of the
215 tn Heb “bring on.” The infinitive after לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) indicates result here.
216 tn Heb “spoke to.”
217 tn Heb “the outcry of Sodom,” which apparently refers to the outcry for divine justice from those (unidentified persons) who observe its sinful ways.
218 tn Heb “heavy.”
219 tn The cohortative indicates the
220 tn Heb “[if] according to the outcry that has come to me they have done completely.” Even the
221 sn The short phrase if not provides a ray of hope and inspires Abraham’s intercession.
222 tn Heb “And the men turned from there.” The word “two” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied here for clarity. Gen 19:1 mentions only two individuals (described as “angels”), while Abraham had entertained three visitors (18:2). The implication is that the
223 tn Heb “went.”
224 tc An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition reads “but the
225 tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).
226 tn Or “ruler.”
227 sn Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right? For discussion of this text see J. L. Crenshaw, “Popular Questioning of the Justice of God in Ancient Israel,” ZAW 82 (1970): 380-95, and C. S. Rodd, “Shall Not the Judge of All the Earth Do What Is Just?” ExpTim 83 (1972): 137-39.
228 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 30, 31, 32 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
229 tn The disjunctive clause is a concessive clause here, drawing out the humility as a contrast to the
230 tn The Hebrew verb שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to destroy”) was used earlier to describe the effect of the flood.
231 tn Heb “because of five.”
232 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
233 tn The construction is a verbal hendiadys – the preterite (“he added”) is combined with an adverb “yet” and an infinitive “to speak.”
234 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
235 tn Heb “let it not be hot to the
236 tn After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.
237 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
238 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
239 tn Heb “And the
240 tn The infinitive construct (“speaking”) serves as the direct object of the verb “finished.”
241 tn Heb “to his place.”
242 tn The disjunctive clause is temporal here, indicating what Lot was doing at the time of their arrival.
243 tn Heb “sitting in the gate of Sodom.” The phrase “the gate of Sodom” has been translated “the city’s gateway” for stylistic reasons.
244 tn The imperatives have the force of invitation.
245 tn These two verbs form a verbal hendiadys: “you can rise up early and go” means “you can go early.”
246 sn The town square refers to the wide street area at the gate complex of the city.
247 tn The Hebrew verb פָּצַר (patsar, “to press, to insist”) ironically foreshadows the hostile actions of the men of the city (see v. 9, where the verb also appears). The repetition of the word serves to contrast Lot to his world.
248 tn The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) means “to lie down, to recline,” that is, “to go to bed.” Here what appears to be an imperfect is a preterite after the adverb טֶרֶם (terem). The nuance of potential (perfect) fits well.
249 tn Heb “and the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from the young to the old, all the people from the end [of the city].” The repetition of the phrase “men of” stresses all kinds of men.
250 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said to him.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
251 tn The Hebrew verb יָדַע (yada’, “to know”) is used here in the sense of “to lie with” or “to have sex with” (as in Gen 4:1). That this is indeed the meaning is clear from Lot’s warning that they not do so wickedly, and his willingness to give them his daughters instead.
252 tn Heb “may my brothers not act wickedly.”
253 tn Heb “who have not known.” Here this expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
254 tn Heb “according to what is good in your eyes.”
255 tn Heb “shadow.”
256 sn This chapter portrays Lot as a hypocrite. He is well aware of the way the men live in his city and is apparently comfortable in the midst of it. But when confronted by the angels, he finally draws the line. But he is nevertheless willing to sacrifice his daughters’ virginity to protect his guests. His opposition to the crowds leads to his rejection as a foreigner by those with whom he had chosen to live. The one who attempted to rescue his visitors ends up having to be rescued by them.
257 tn Heb “approach out there” which could be rendered “Get out of the way, stand back!”
258 tn Heb “to live as a resident alien.”
259 tn Heb “and he has judged, judging.” The infinitive absolute follows the finite verbal form for emphasis. This emphasis is reflected in the translation by the phrase “dares to judge.”
260 tn The verb “to do wickedly” is repeated here (see v. 7). It appears that whatever “wickedness” the men of Sodom had intended to do to Lot’s visitors – probably nothing short of homosexual rape – they were now ready to inflict on Lot.
261 tn Heb “and they pressed against the man, against Lot, exceedingly.”
262 tn Heb “and they drew near.”
263 tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “inside” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
264 tn The Hebrew text adds “their hand.” These words have not been translated for stylistic reasons.
265 tn Heb “to them into the house.”
266 tn Heb “from the least to the greatest.”
267 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Sodom outside the door) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
268 tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “visitors” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
269 tn Heb “Yet who [is there] to you here?”
270 tn The words “Do you have” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
271 tn Heb “a son-in-law and your sons and your daughters and anyone who (is) to you in the city.”
272 tn Heb “the place.” The Hebrew article serves here as a demonstrative.
273 tn The Hebrew participle expresses an imminent action here.
274 tn Heb “for their outcry.” The words “about this place” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
275 tn Heb “the
276 sn The language has to be interpreted in the light of the context and the social customs. The men are called “sons-in-law” (literally “the takers of his daughters”), but the daughters had not yet had sex with a man. It is better to translate the phrase “who were going to marry his daughters.” Since formal marriage contracts were binding, the husbands-to-be could already be called sons-in-law.
277 tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.
278 tn Heb “and he was like one taunting in the eyes of his sons-in-law.” These men mistakenly thought Lot was ridiculing them and their lifestyle. Their response illustrates how morally insensitive they had become.
279 tn Heb “When dawn came up.”
280 tn Heb “who are found.” The wording might imply he had other daughters living in the city, but the text does not explicitly state this.
281 tn Or “with the iniquity [i.e., punishment] of the city” (cf. NASB, NRSV).
282 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
283 tn Heb “in the compassion of the
284 tn Heb “brought him out and placed him.” The third masculine singular suffixes refer specifically to Lot, though his wife and daughters accompanied him (see v. 17). For stylistic reasons these have been translated as plural pronouns (“them”).
285 tn Or “one of them”; Heb “he.” Several ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac) read the plural “they.” See also the note on “your” in v. 19.
286 tn Heb “escape.”
287 tn The Hebrew verb translated “look” signifies an intense gaze, not a passing glance. This same verb is used later in v. 26 to describe Lot’s wife’s self-destructive look back at the city.
288 tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
289 tn Or “my lords.” See the following note on the problem of identifying the addressee here. The Hebrew term is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
290 tn The second person pronominal suffixes are singular in this verse (note “your eyes,” “you have made great,” and “you have acted”). Verse 18a seems to indicate that Lot is addressing the angels, but the use of the singular and the appearance of the divine title “Lord” (אֲדֹנָי, ’adonay) in v. 18b suggests he is speaking to God.
291 tn Heb “in your eyes.”
292 tn Heb “you made great your kindness.”
293 sn The Hebrew word חֶסֶד (khesed) can refer to “faithful love” or to “kindness,” depending on the context. The precise nuance here is uncertain.
294 tn The infinitive construct explains how God has shown Lot kindness.
295 tn Heb “lest.”
296 tn The Hebrew verb דָּבַק (davaq) normally means “to stick to, to cleave, to join.” Lot is afraid he cannot outrun the coming calamity.
297 tn The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.
298 tn The Hebrew word עִיר (’ir) can refer to either a city or a town, depending on the size of the place. Given that this place was described by Lot later in this verse as a “little place,” the translation uses “town.”
299 tn Heb “Look, this town is near to flee to there. And it is little.”
300 tn Heb “Let me escape to there.” The cohortative here expresses Lot’s request.
301 tn Heb “Is it not little?”
302 tn Heb “my soul will live.” After the cohortative the jussive with vav conjunctive here indicates purpose/result.
303 tn Heb “And he said, ‘Look, I will grant.’” The order of the clauses has been rearranged for stylistic reasons. The referent of the speaker (“he”) is somewhat ambiguous: It could be taken as the angel to whom Lot has been speaking (so NLT; note the singular references in vv. 18-19), or it could be that Lot is speaking directly to the
304 tn Heb “I have lifted up your face [i.e., shown you favor] also concerning this matter.”
305 tn The negated infinitive construct indicates either the consequence of God’s granting the request (“I have granted this request, so that I will not”) or the manner in which he will grant it (“I have granted your request by not destroying”).
306 tn Heb “Be quick! Escape to there!” The two imperatives form a verbal hendiadys, the first becoming adverbial.
307 tn Heb “Therefore the name of the city is called Zoar.” The name of the place, צוֹעַר (tso’ar) apparently means “Little Place,” in light of the wordplay with the term “little” (מִצְעָר, mits’ar) used twice by Lot to describe the town (v. 20).
308 sn The sun had just risen. There was very little time for Lot to escape between dawn (v. 15) and sunrise (here).
309 tn The juxtaposition of the two disjunctive clauses indicates synchronic action. The first action (the sun’s rising) occurred as the second (Lot’s entering Zoar) took place. The disjunctive clauses also signal closure for the preceding scene.
310 tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of the next scene and highlights God’s action.
311 tn Or “burning sulfur” (the traditional “fire and brimstone”).
312 tn Heb “from the
313 tn Or “and all the plain”; Heb “and all the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
314 tn Heb “and the vegetation of the ground.”
315 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
316 tn The Hebrew verb means “to look intently; to gaze” (see 15:5).
317 tn The words “and went” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
318 tn Heb “upon the face of.”
319 tn Or “all the land of the plain”; Heb “and all the face of the land of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
320 tn Heb “And he saw, and look, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.”
321 tn The construction is a temporal clause comprised of the temporal indicator, an infinitive construct with a preposition, and the subjective genitive.
322 tn Or “of the plain”; Heb “of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
323 tn Heb “remembered,” but this means more than mental recollection here. Abraham’s request (Gen 18:23-32) was that the
324 sn God’s removal of Lot before the judgment is paradigmatic. He typically delivers the godly before destroying their world.
325 tn Heb “the overthrow when [he] overthrew.”
326 tn Heb “and the firstborn said.”
327 tn Or perhaps “on earth,” in which case the statement would be hyperbolic; presumably there had been some men living in the town of Zoar to which Lot and his daughters had initially fled.
328 tn Heb “to enter upon us.” This is a euphemism for sexual relations.
329 tn Heb “drink wine.”
330 tn Heb “and we will lie down.” The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive is subordinated to the preceding cohortative and indicates purpose/result.
331 tn Or “that we may preserve.” Here the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates their ultimate goal.
332 tn Heb “and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”
333 tn Heb “drink wine.”
334 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
335 tn Heb “and the firstborn came and lied down with her father.” The expression “lied down with” here and in the following verses is a euphemism for sexual relations.
336 tn Heb “and he did not know when she lay down and when she arose.”
337 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
338 tn Heb “Look, I lied down with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight.”
339 tn Heb “And go, lie down with him and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”
340 tn Heb “drink wine.”
341 tn Heb “lied down with him.”
342 tn Heb “And he did not know when she lied down and when she arose.”
343 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
344 sn The meaning of the name Moab is not certain. The name sounds like the Hebrew phrase “from our father” (מֵאָבִינוּ, me’avinu) which the daughters used twice (vv. 32, 34). This account is probably included in the narrative in order to portray the Moabites, who later became enemies of God’s people, in a negative light.
345 sn The name Ben-Ammi means “son of my people.” Like the account of Moab’s birth, this story is probably included in the narrative to portray the Ammonites, another perennial enemy of Israel, in a negative light.
346 tn Or “the South [country]”; Heb “the land of the Negev.”
347 tn Heb “and he sojourned.”
348 tn Heb “came.”
349 tn Heb “Look, you [are] dead.” The Hebrew construction uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with a second person pronominal particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with by the participle. It is a highly rhetorical expression.
350 tn Heb “and she is owned by an owner.” The disjunctive clause is causal or explanatory in this case.
351 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
352 tn Apparently Abimelech assumes that God’s judgment will fall on his entire nation. Some, finding the reference to a nation problematic, prefer to emend the text and read, “Would you really kill someone who is innocent?” See E. A. Speiser, Genesis (AB), 149.
353 tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
354 tn Heb “and she, even she.”
355 tn Heb “with the integrity of my heart.”
356 tn Heb “with the integrity of your heart.”
357 tn Heb “and I, even I, kept you.”
358 tn Heb “therefore.”
359 tn Or “for,” if the particle is understood as causal (as many English translations do) rather than asseverative.
360 sn For a discussion of the term prophet see N. Walker, “What is a Nabhi?” ZAW 73 (1961): 99-100.
361 tn After the preceding jussive (or imperfect), the imperative with vav conjunctive here indicates result.
362 tn Heb “if there is not you returning.” The suffix on the particle becomes the subject of the negated clause.
363 tn The imperfect is preceded by the infinitive absolute to make the warning emphatic.
364 tn Heb “And Abimelech rose early in the morning and he summoned.”
365 tn The verb קָרָא (qara’) followed by the preposition לְ (lamed) means “to summon.”
366 tn Heb “And he spoke all these things in their ears.”
367 tn Heb “the men.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “they” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
368 tn Heb “How did I sin against you that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin?” The expression “great sin” refers to adultery. For discussion of the cultural background of the passage, see J. J. Rabinowitz, “The Great Sin in Ancient Egyptian Marriage Contracts,” JNES 18 (1959): 73, and W. L. Moran, “The Scandal of the ‘Great Sin’ at Ugarit,” JNES 18 (1959): 280-81.
369 tn Heb “Deeds which should not be done you have done to me.” The imperfect has an obligatory nuance here.
370 tn Heb “And Abimelech said to.”
371 tn Heb “What did you see that you did this thing?” The question implies that Abraham had some motive for deceiving Abimelech.
372 tn Heb “Because I said.”
373 tn Heb “over the matter of.”
374 tn Heb “but also.”
375 tn The Hebrew verb is plural. This may be a case of grammatical agreement with the name for God, which is plural in form. However, when this plural name refers to the one true God, accompanying predicates are usually singular in form. Perhaps Abraham is accommodating his speech to Abimelech’s polytheistic perspective. (See GKC 463 §145.i.) If so, one should translate, “when the gods made me wander.”
376 tn Heb “This is your loyal deed which you can do for me.”
377 tn Heb “took and gave.”
378 tn Heb “In the [place that is] good in your eyes live!”
379 sn A thousand pieces [Heb “shekels”] of silver. The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of silver here 11.5 kilograms, or 400 ounces (about 25 pounds).
380 sn To your ‘brother.’ Note the way that the king refers to Abraham. Was he being sarcastic? It was surely a rebuke to Sarah. What is amazing is how patient this king was. It is proof that the fear of God was in that place, contrary to what Abraham believed (see v. 11).
381 tn Heb “Look, it is for you a covering of the eyes, for all who are with you, and with all, and you are set right.” The exact meaning of the statement is unclear. Apparently it means that the gift of money somehow exonerates her in other people’s eyes. They will not look on her as compromised (see G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:74).
382 tn In the Hebrew text the clause begins with “because.”
383 tn Heb had completely closed up every womb.” In the Hebrew text infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
384 tn Heb “because of.” The words “he took” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
385 sn The Hebrew verb translated “visit” (פָּקַד, paqad ) often describes divine intervention for blessing or cursing; it indicates God’s special attention to an individual or a matter, always with respect to his people’s destiny. He may visit (that is, destroy) the Amalekites; he may visit (that is, deliver) his people in Egypt. Here he visits Sarah, to allow her to have the promised child. One’s destiny is changed when the
386 tn Heb “and the
387 tn Heb “spoken.”
388 tn Or “she conceived.”
389 tn Heb “the one born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.” The two modifying clauses, the first introduced with an article and the second with the relative pronoun, are placed in the middle of the sentence, before the name Isaac is stated. They are meant to underscore that this was indeed an actual birth to Abraham and Sarah in fulfillment of the promise.
390 tn Heb “Isaac his son, the son of eight days.” The name “Isaac” is repeated in the translation for clarity.
391 sn Just as God had commanded him to do. With the birth of the promised child, Abraham obeyed the
392 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause underscores how miraculous this birth was. Abraham was 100 years old. The fact that the genealogies give the ages of the fathers when their first son is born shows that this was considered a major milestone in one’s life (G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:80).
393 tn Heb “Laughter God has made for me.”
394 tn The words “about this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
395 sn Sarah’s words play on the name “Isaac” in a final triumphant manner. God prepared “laughter” (צְחֹק, ysÿkhoq ) for her, and everyone who hears about this “will laugh” (יִצְחַק, yitskhaq ) with her. The laughter now signals great joy and fulfillment, not unbelief (cf. Gen 18:12-15).
396 tn Heb “said.”
397 tn The perfect form of the verb is used here to describe a hypothetical situation.
398 tn Heb “made.”
399 sn Children were weaned closer to the age of two or three in the ancient world, because infant mortality was high. If an infant grew to this stage, it was fairly certain he or she would live. Such an event called for a celebration, especially for parents who had waited so long for a child.
400 tn Heb “saw.”
401 tn The Piel participle used here is from the same root as the name “Isaac.” In the Piel stem the verb means “to jest; to make sport of; to play with,” not simply “to laugh,” which is the meaning of the verb in the Qal stem. What exactly Ishmael was doing is not clear. Interpreters have generally concluded that the boy was either (1) mocking Isaac (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) or (2) merely playing with Isaac as if on equal footing (cf. NAB, NRSV). In either case Sarah saw it as a threat. The same participial form was used in Gen 19:14 to describe how some in Lot’s family viewed his attempt to warn them of impending doom. It also appears later in Gen 39:14, 17, where Potiphar accuses Joseph of mocking them.
402 tn Heb “drive out.” The language may seem severe, but Sarah’s maternal instincts sensed a real danger in that Ishmael was not treating Isaac with the proper respect.
403 tn Heb “and the word was very wrong in the eyes of Abraham on account of his son.” The verb רָעַע (ra’a’) often refers to what is morally or ethically “evil.” It usage here suggests that Abraham thought Sarah’s demand was ethically (and perhaps legally) wrong.
404 tn Heb “Let it not be evil in your eyes.”
405 tn Heb “listen to her voice.” The idiomatic expression means “obey; comply.” Here her advice, though harsh, is necessary and conforms to the will of God. Later (see Gen 25), when Abraham has other sons, he sends them all away as well.
406 tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to an action that is underway.
407 tn Or perhaps “will be named”; Heb “for in Isaac offspring will be called to you.” The exact meaning of the statement is not clear, but it does indicate that God’s covenantal promises to Abraham will be realized through Isaac, not Ishmael.
408 tn Heb “and Abraham rose up early in the morning and he took.”
409 tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.
410 tn Heb “He put upon her shoulder, and the boy [or perhaps, “and with the boy”], and he sent her away.” It is unclear how “and the boy” relates syntactically to what precedes. Perhaps the words should be rearranged and the text read, “and he put [them] on her shoulder and he gave to Hagar the boy.”
411 tn Heb “she went and wandered.”
412 tn Or “desert,” although for English readers this usually connotes a sandy desert like the Sahara rather than the arid wasteland of this region with its sparse vegetation.
413 tn Heb “threw,” but the child, who was now thirteen years old, would not have been carried, let alone thrown under a bush. The exaggerated language suggests Ishmael is limp from dehydration and is being abandoned to die. See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 2:85.
414 sn A bowshot would be a distance of about a hundred yards (ninety meters).
415 tn Heb “said.”
416 tn Heb “I will not look on the death of the child.” The cohortative verbal form (note the negative particle אַל,’al) here expresses her resolve to avoid the stated action.
417 tn Heb “and she lifted up her voice and wept” (that is, she wept uncontrollably). The LXX reads “he” (referring to Ishmael) rather than “she” (referring to Hagar), but this is probably an attempt to harmonize this verse with the following one, which refers to the boy’s cries.
418 sn God heard the boy’s voice. The text has not to this point indicated that Ishmael was crying out, either in pain or in prayer. But the text here makes it clear that God heard him. Ishmael is clearly central to the story. Both the mother and the
419 tn Heb “What to you?”
420 sn Here the verb heard picks up the main motif of the name Ishmael (“God hears”), introduced back in chap. 16.
421 tn Heb “And God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water.” The referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
422 sn The wilderness of Paran is an area in the east central region of the Sinai peninsula, northeast from the traditional site of Mt. Sinai and with the Arabah and the Gulf of Aqaba as its eastern border.
423 tn Heb “And his mother took for him a wife from the land of Egypt.”
424 sn God is with you. Abimelech and Phicol recognized that Abraham enjoyed special divine provision and protection.
425 tn Heb “And now swear to me by God here.”
426 tn Heb “my offspring and my descendants.”
427 tn The word “land” refers by metonymy to the people in the land.
428 tn The Hebrew verb means “to stay, to live, to sojourn” as a temporary resident without ownership rights.
429 tn Or “kindness.”
430 tn Heb “According to the loyalty which I have done with you, do with me and with the land in which you are staying.”
431 tn Heb “I swear.” No object is specified in the Hebrew text, but the content of the oath requested by Abimelech is the implied object.
432 tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to argue; to dispute”; it can focus on the beginning of the dispute (as here), the dispute itself, or the resolution of a dispute (Isa 1:18). Apparently the complaint was lodged before the actual oath was taken.
433 tn Heb “concerning the matter of the well of water.”
434 tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to steal; to rob; to take violently.” The statement reflects Abraham’s perspective.
435 tn Heb “and also.”
436 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
437 tn Heb “What are these?”
438 tn Heb “that it be for me for a witness.”
439 sn This well. Since the king wanted a treaty to share in Abraham’s good fortune, Abraham used the treaty to secure ownership of and protection for the well he dug. It would be useless to make a treaty to live in this territory if he had no rights to the water. Abraham consented to the treaty, but added his rider to it.
440 tn Heb “that is why he called that place.” Some translations render this as an impersonal passive, “that is why that place was called.”
441 sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, bÿ’er shava’) means “well of the oath” or “well of the seven.” Both the verb “to swear” and the number “seven” have been used throughout the account. Now they are drawn in as part of the explanation of the significance of the name.
442 sn The verb forms a wordplay with the name Beer Sheba.
443 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
444 tn Heb “arose and returned.”
445 sn The Philistines mentioned here may not be ethnically related to those who lived in Palestine in the time of the judges and the united monarchy. See D. M. Howard, “Philistines,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 238.
446 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
447 sn The planting of the tamarisk tree is a sign of Abraham’s intent to stay there for a long time, not a religious act. A growing tree in the Negev would be a lasting witness to God’s provision of water.
448 tn Heb “he called there in the name of the
449 tn Heb “many days.”
450 sn The Hebrew verb used here means “to test; to try; to prove.” In this passage God tests Abraham to see if he would be obedient. See T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 44-48. See also J. L. Crenshaw, A Whirlpool of Torment (OBT), 9-30; and J. I. Lawlor, “The Test of Abraham,” GTJ 1 (1980): 19-35.
451 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
452 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
453 sn Take your son…Isaac. The instructions are very clear, but the details are deliberate. With every additional description the commandment becomes more challenging.
454 sn There has been much debate over the location of Moriah; 2 Chr 3:1 suggests it may be the site where the temple was later built in Jerusalem.
455 sn A whole burnt offering signified the complete surrender of the worshiper and complete acceptance by God. The demand for a human sacrifice was certainly radical and may have seemed to Abraham out of character for God. Abraham would have to obey without fully understanding what God was about.
456 tn Heb “which I will say to.”
457 tn Heb “Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his donkey.”
458 tn Heb “he arose and he went.”
459 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes and saw.”
460 tn Heb “And Abraham.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.
461 tn The Hebrew verb is masculine plural, referring to the two young servants who accompanied Abraham and Isaac on the journey.
462 tn The disjunctive clause (with the compound subject preceding the verb) may be circumstantial and temporal.
463 tn This Hebrew word literally means “to bow oneself close to the ground.” It often means “to worship.”
464 sn It is impossible to know what Abraham was thinking when he said, “we will…return to you.” When he went he knew (1) that he was to sacrifice Isaac, and (2) that God intended to fulfill his earlier promises through Isaac. How he reconciled those facts is not clear in the text. Heb 11:17-19 suggests that Abraham believed God could restore Isaac to him through resurrection.
465 sn He took the fire and the knife in his hand. These details anticipate the sacrifice that lies ahead.
466 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This is redundant and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
467 tn Heb “Here I am” (cf. Gen 22:1).
468 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Here is the fire and the wood.’” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here and in the following verse the order of the introductory clauses and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
469 tn Heb “will see for himself.” The construction means “to look out for; to see to it; to provide.”
470 sn Abraham built an altar there. The theme of Abraham’s altar building culminates here. He has been a faithful worshiper. Will he continue to worship when called upon to make such a radical sacrifice?
471 sn Then he tied up. This text has given rise to an important theme in Judaism known as the Aqedah, from the Hebrew word for “binding.” When sacrifices were made in the sanctuary, God remembered the binding of Isaac, for which a substitute was offered. See D. Polish, “The Binding of Isaac,” Jud 6 (1957): 17-21.
472 tn Heb “in order to slaughter.”
473 sn Heb “the messenger of the
474 tn Heb “Do not extend your hand toward the boy.”
475 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Do not extend…’”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the context for clarity. The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
476 sn For now I know. The test was designed to see if Abraham would be obedient (see v. 1).
477 sn In this context fear refers by metonymy to obedience that grows from faith.
478 tn Heb “lifted his eyes.”
479 tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to what Abraham saw and invites the audience to view the scene through his eyes.
480 tc The translation follows the reading of the MT; a number of Hebrew
481 tn Heb “Abraham”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
482 tn Heb “the Lord sees” (יְהוָה יִרְאֶה, yÿhvah yir’eh, traditionally transliterated “Jehovah Jireh”; see the note on the word “provide” in v. 8). By so naming the place Abraham preserved in the memory of God’s people the amazing event that took place there.
483 sn On the expression to this day see B. Childs, “A Study of the Formula ‘Until this Day’,” JBL 82 (1963): 279-92.
484 sn The saying connected with these events has some ambiguity, which was probably intended. The Niphal verb could be translated (1) “in the mountain of the Lord it will be seen/provided” or (2) “in the mountain the Lord will appear.” If the temple later stood here (see the note on “Moriah” in Gen 22:2), the latter interpretation might find support, for the people went to the temple to appear before the Lord, who “appeared” to them by providing for them his power and blessings. See S. R. Driver, Genesis, 219.
485 tn Heb “By myself I swear.”
486 tn Heb “the oracle of the
487 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form (either an imperfect or cohortative) emphasizes the certainty of the blessing.
488 tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).
489 tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.
490 tn Or “inherit.”
491 tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. To break through the gate complex would be to conquer the city, for the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”).
492 tn In the Hebrew text this causal clause comes at the end of the sentence. The translation alters the word order for stylistic reasons.
493 tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 26:4). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)
494 tn Heb “and they arose and went together.”
495 tn Heb “and Abraham stayed in Beer Sheba. This has been translated as a relative clause for stylistic reasons.
496 tn In the Hebrew text the sentence begins with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to the statement.
497 sn This parenthetical note about Kemuel’s descendant is probably a later insertion by the author/compiler of Genesis and not part of the original announcement.
498 tn The disjunctive clause gives information that is important but parenthetical to the narrative. Rebekah would become the wife of Isaac (Gen 24:15).
499 tn Heb “And the years of Sarah were one hundred years and twenty years and seven years, the years of the life of Sarah.”
500 tn Heb “Sarah.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“she”) for stylistic reasons.
501 sn Mourn…weep. The description here is of standard mourning rites (see K. A. Kitchen, NBD3 149-50). They would have been carried out in the presence of the corpse, probably in Sarah’s tent. So Abraham came in to mourn; then he rose up to go and bury his dead (v. 3).
502 tn Heb “And Abraham arose from upon the face of his dead.”
503 tn Some translate the Hebrew term “Heth” as “Hittites” here (also in vv. 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 20), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., “Hittites,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.
504 tn Heb “a resident alien and a settler.”
505 tn Heb “give,” which is used here as an idiom for “sell” (see v. 9). The idiom reflects the polite bartering that was done in the culture at the time.
506 tn Or “possession.”
507 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose.
508 tn Heb “bury my dead out of my sight.” The last phrase “out of my sight” has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
509 tn Heb “answered Abraham saying to him.”
510 tn Heb “Hear us, my lord.”
511 tn Heb “prince of God.” The divine name may be used here as a means of expressing the superlative, “mighty prince.” The word for “prince” probably means “tribal chief” here. See M. H. Gottstein, “Nasi’ ‘elohim (Gen 23:6),” VT 3 (1953) 298-99; and D. W. Thomas, “Consideration of Some Unusual Ways of Expressing the Superlative in Hebrew,” VT 3 (1953) 215-16.
512 tn The phrase “to prevent you” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
513 tn Heb “to the people of the land” (also in v. 12).
514 tn Heb “If it is with your purpose.” The Hebrew noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) here has the nuance “purpose” or perhaps “desire” (see BDB 661 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ).
515 tn Heb “bury my dead out of my sight.” The last phrase “out of my sight” has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
516 tn Or “hear me.”
517 tn Heb “intercede for me with.”
518 tn Heb “give.” This is used here (also a second time later in this verse) as an idiom for “sell”; see the note on the word “grant” in v. 4.
519 tn Heb “in your presence.”
520 tn Heb “silver.”
521 tn Or perhaps “Hittite,” but see the note on the name “Heth” in v. 3.
522 tn Heb “ears.” By metonymy the “ears” stand for the presence or proximity (i.e., within earshot) of the persons named.
523 sn On the expression all who entered the gate see E. A. Speiser, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate,” BASOR 144 (1956): 20-23; and G. Evans, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate: A Discussion of Professor Speiser’s Paper,” BASOR 150 (1958): 28-33.
524 tn Heb “give.” The perfect tense has here a present nuance; this is a formal, legally binding declaration. Abraham asked only for a burial site/cave within the field; Ephron agrees to sell him the entire field.
525 tn The Hebrew text adds “to you I give [i.e., sell] it.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
526 tn Heb “in the presence of the sons of my people.”
527 tn Heb “give.”
528 tn Heb “silver.”
529 tn After the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose or result.
530 tn The word “worth” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
531 sn Four hundred pieces of silver. The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of silver here 4.6 kilograms, or 160 ounces (about 10 pounds).
532 tn Heb “listened to Ephron.”
533 tn Heb “and Abraham weighed out.”
534 tn Heb “to Ephron.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
535 tn Heb “silver.”
536 tn Heb “that he had spoken.” The referent (Ephron) has been specified here in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
537 tn Heb “passing for the merchant.” The final clause affirms that the measurement of silver was according to the standards used by the merchants of the time.
538 tn Heb “And it was conveyed.” The recipient, Abraham (mentioned in the Hebrew text at the beginning of v. 18) has been placed here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
539 tn Heb “his city”; the referent (Ephron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
540 tn Heb “possession of a grave.”
541 tn Heb “days.”
542 tn Heb “Abraham.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.
543 tn The Hebrew term זָקֵן (zaqen) may refer to the servant who is oldest in age or senior in authority (or both).
544 sn Put your hand under my thigh. The taking of this oath had to do with the sanctity of the family and the continuation of the family line. See D. R. Freedman, “Put Your Hand Under My Thigh – the Patriarchal Oath,” BAR 2 (1976): 2-4, 42.
545 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose.
546 tn Heb “because you must not take.”
547 tn Heb “for to my country and my relatives you must go.”
548 tn Heb “and take.”
549 tn Heb “to go after me.”
550 tn In the Hebrew text the construction is emphatic; the infinitive absolute precedes the imperfect. However, it is difficult to reflect this emphasis in an English translation.
551 tn Heb “guard yourself.”
552 tn The introductory clause “And Abraham said to him” has been moved to the end of the opening sentence of direct discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.
553 tn Or “the land of my birth.”
554 tn Heb “and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying.”
555 tn Or “his messenger.”
556 tn Heb “before you and you will take.”
557 tn Heb “ to go after you.”
558 sn You will be free. If the prospective bride was not willing to accompany the servant back to Canaan, the servant would be released from his oath to Abraham.
559 tn Heb “and he swore to him concerning this matter.”
560 tn Heb “and every good thing of his master was in his hand.” The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, explaining that he took all kinds of gifts to be used at his discretion.
561 tn Heb “and he arose and went.”
562 tn The words “the region of” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
563 tn Heb “well of water.”
564 tn Heb “at the time of evening.”
565 tn Heb “make it happen before me today.” Although a number of English translations understand this as a request for success in the task (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV) it is more likely that the servant is requesting an omen or sign from God (v. 14).
566 tn Heb “act in loyal love with” or “show kindness to.”
567 tn Heb “the spring of water.”
568 tn Heb “the men.”
569 sn I will also give your camels water. It would be an enormous test for a young woman to water ten camels. The idea is that such a woman would not only be industrious but hospitable and generous.
570 tn Heb “And let the young woman to whom I say, ‘Lower your jar that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink and I will also give your camels water,’ – her you have appointed for your servant, for Isaac, and by it I will know that you have acted in faithfulness with my master.”
571 tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out!” Using the participle introduced with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator dramatically transports the audience back into the event and invites them to see Rebekah through the servant’s eyes.
572 tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out – [she] who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, the brother of Abraham – and her jug [was] on her shoulder.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
573 tn Heb “And the young woman was very good of appearance, a virgin, and a man she had not known.” Some argue that the Hebrew noun translated “virgin” (בְּתוּלָה, bÿtulah) is better understood in a general sense, “young woman” (see Joel 1:8, where the word appears to refer to one who is married). In this case the circumstantial clause (“and a man she had not known”) would be restrictive, rather than descriptive. If the term actually means “virgin,” one wonders why the circumstantial clause is necessary (see Judg 21:12 as well). Perhaps the repetition emphasizes her sexual purity as a prerequisite for her role as the mother of the covenant community.
574 tn Heb “and the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
575 tn Heb “and she hurried and lowered.”
576 tn Heb “when she had finished giving him a drink.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
577 tn Heb “and she hurried and emptied.”
578 tn Heb “to know.”
579 tn The Hebrew term צָלָה (tsalah), meaning “to make successful” in the Hiphil verbal stem, is a key term in the story (see vv. 40, 42, 56).
580 sn A beka weighed about 5-6 grams (0.2 ounce).
581 sn A shekel weighed about 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce) although weights varied locally, so these bracelets weighed about 4 ounces (115 grams).
582 tn The words “and gave them to her” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
583 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’” The order of the introductory clause has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
584 tn Heb “whom she bore to Nahor.” The referent (Milcah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
585 tn Heb “and she said, ‘We have plenty of both straw and feed.’” The order of the introductory clause has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
586 tn Heb The words “for you” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
587 tn Heb “his faithfulness and his commitment.”
588 tn Heb “As for me – in the way the
589 tn Here “house” is an adverbial accusative of termination.
590 tn Heb “brothers.”
591 tn Heb “according to.”
592 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause introduces the audience to Laban, who will eventually play an important role in the unfolding story.
593 tn Heb “And it was when he saw the nose ring and the bracelets on the arms of his sister.” The word order is altered in the translation for the sake of clarity.
594 tn Heb “and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying.”
595 tn Heb “and look, he was standing.” The disjunctive clause with the participle following the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) invites the audience to view the scene through Laban’s eyes.
596 tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified and the words “to him” supplied in the translation for clarity.
597 sn Laban’s obsession with wealth is apparent; to him it represents how one is blessed by the
598 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial.
599 tn Heb “the man”; the referent (Abraham’s servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
600 tn Some translations (e.g., NEB, NASB, NRSV) understand Laban to be the subject of this and the following verbs or take the subject of this and the following verbs as indefinite (referring to an unnamed servant; e.g., NAB, NIV).
601 tn Heb “and [one] gave.” The verb without an expressed subject may be translated as passive.
602 tn Heb “and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.”
603 tn Heb “and food was placed before him.”
604 tn Heb “my words.”
605 tc Some ancient textual witnesses have a plural verb, “and they said.”
606 tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Abraham’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are not excluded.
607 tn Heb “and he.” The referent (the
608 tn Heb “to my master.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “him” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
609 tn Heb “after her old age.”
610 tn Heb “and he.” The referent (the servant’s master, Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
611 tn Heb “but to the house of my father you must go and to my family and you must take a wife for my son.”
612 tn The imperfect is used here in a modal sense to indicate desire.
613 tn Heb “after me.”
614 tn The verb is the Hitpael of הָלַךְ (halakh), meaning “live one’s life” (see Gen 17:1). The statement may simply refer to serving the
615 tn Heb “my oath” (twice in this verse). From the Hebrew perspective the oath belonged to the person to whom it was sworn (Abraham), although in contemporary English an oath is typically viewed as belonging to the person who swears it (the servant).
616 tn Heb “if you are making successful my way on which I am going.”
617 tn The words “may events unfold as follows” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
618 tn Heb “the spring of water.”
619 tn Heb “and it will be.”
620 tn Heb “As for me, before I finished speaking to my heart.” The adverb טֶרֶם (terem) indicates the verb is a preterite; the infinitive that follows is the direct object.
621 tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out.” As in 24:15, the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is used here for dramatic effect.
622 tn Heb “whom Milcah bore to him.” The referent (Nahor) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
623 tn Heb “daughter.” Rebekah was actually the granddaughter of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. One can either translate the Hebrew term בַּת (bat) as “daughter,” in which case the term אָח (’akh) must be translated more generally as “relative” rather than “brother” (cf. NASB, NRSV) or one can translate בַּת as “granddaughter,” in which case אָח may be translated “brother” (cf. NIV).
624 tn Heb “and I will turn to the right or to the left.” The expression apparently means that Abraham’s servant will know where he should go if there is no further business here.
625 tn Heb “From the
626 tn Heb “We are not able to speak to you bad or good.” This means that Laban and Bethuel could not say one way or the other what they wanted, for they viewed it as God’s will.
627 tn Following the imperatives, the jussive with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
628 tn Heb “as the
629 tn Heb “the servant”; the noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
630 tn Heb “And they ate and drank, he and the men who [were] with him and they spent the night.”
631 tn Heb “Send me away to my master.”
632 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Rebekah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
633 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, indicating a reason for the preceding request.
634 tn After the preceding imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
635 tn Heb “and we will ask her mouth.”
636 tn The imperfect verbal form here has a modal nuance, expressing desire.
637 tn Heb “and said to her.”
638 tn Heb “become thousands of ten thousands.”
639 tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”). A similar phrase occurs in Gen 22:17.
640 tn Heb “And she arose, Rebekah and her female servants, and they rode upon camels and went after.”
641 tn Heb “the servant”; the word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
642 tn The disjunctive clause switches the audience’s attention to Isaac and signals a new episode in the story.
643 tn Heb “from the way of.”
644 sn The Hebrew name Beer Lahai Roi (בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי, bÿ’er lakhay ro’i) means “The well of the Living One who sees me.” See Gen 16:14.
645 tn This disjunctive clause is explanatory.
646 tn Or “the South [country].”
647 tn Heb “Isaac”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
648 tn The meaning of this Hebrew term is uncertain (cf. NASB, NIV “to meditate”; NRSV “to walk”).
649 tn Heb “at the turning of the evening.”
650 tn Heb “And he lifted up his eyes.” This idiom emphasizes the careful look Isaac had at the approaching caravan.
651 tn Heb “and look.” The clause introduced by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) invites the audience to view the scene through Isaac’s eyes.
652 tn Heb “lifted up her eyes.”
653 tn Heb “and she said to.”
654 tn Heb “the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
655 tn Heb “and the servant said.” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
656 tn Heb “her”; the referent has been specified here in the translation for clarity.
657 tn Heb “Rebekah”; here the proper name was replaced by the pronoun (“her”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
658 tn Heb “and he took Rebekah and she became his wife and he loved her.”
659 tn Heb “after his mother.” This must refer to Sarah’s death.
660 tn Or “took.”
661 tn Heb “And Abraham added and took.”
662 sn The names Sheba and Dedan appear in Gen 10:7 as descendants of Ham through Cush and Raamah. Since these two names are usually interpreted to be place names, one plausible suggestion is that some of Abraham’s descendants lived in those regions and took names linked with it.
663 tn Or “sons.”
664 tn Heb “the sons of the concubines who [belonged] to Abraham.”
665 tn Heb “And he sent them away from upon Isaac his son, while he was still living, eastward to the land of the east.”
666 tn Heb “and these are the days of the years of the lifetime of Abraham that he lived.” The normal genealogical formula is expanded here due to the importance of the life of Abraham.
667 tn Heb “old and full.”
668 tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.
669 sn The cave of Machpelah was the place Abraham had purchased as a burial place for his wife Sarah (Gen 23:17-18).
670 tn See the note on the phrase “sons of Heth” in Gen 23:3.
671 sn God blessed Isaac. The Hebrew verb “bless” in this passage must include all the gifts that God granted to Isaac. But fertility was not one of them, at least not for twenty years, because Rebekah was barren as well (see v. 21).
672 sn Beer Lahai Roi. See the note on this place name in Gen 24:62.
673 sn This is the account of Ishmael. The Book of Genesis tends to tidy up the family records at every turning point. Here, before proceeding with the story of Isaac’s family, the narrative traces Ishmael’s family line. Later, before discussing Jacob’s family, the narrative traces Esau’s family line (see Gen 36).
674 tn The meaning of this line is not easily understood. The sons of Ishmael are listed here “by their names” and “according to their descendants.”
675 tn Or “tribal chieftains.”
676 tn Heb “And these are the days of the years of Ishmael.”
677 tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.
678 tn Heb “they”; the referent (Ishmael’s descendants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
679 tn Heb “which is by the face of,” or near the border. The territory ran along the border of Egypt.
680 tn Heb “as you go.”
681 sn The name Asshur refers here to a tribal area in the Sinai.
682 tn Heb “he fell.”
683 tn Heb “upon the face of all his brothers.” This last expression, obviously alluding to the earlier oracle about Ishmael (Gen 16:12), could mean that the descendants of Ishmael lived in hostility to others or that they lived in a territory that was opposite the lands of their relatives. While there is some ambiguity about the meaning, the line probably does give a hint of the Ishmaelite-Israelite conflicts to come.
684 sn This is the account of Isaac. What follows for several chapters is not the account of Isaac, except briefly, but the account of Jacob and Esau. The next chapters tell what became of Isaac and his family.
685 tn Heb “And Isaac was the son of forty years when he took Rebekah.”
686 sn Some valuable information is provided here. We learn here that Isaac married thirty-five years before Abraham died, that Rebekah was barren for twenty years, and that Abraham would have lived to see Jacob and Esau begin to grow up. The death of Abraham was recorded in the first part of the chapter as a “tidying up” of one generation before beginning the account of the next.
687 tn The Hebrew verb עָתַר (’atar), translated “prayed [to]” here, appears in the story of God’s judgment on Egypt in which Moses asked the
688 tn The Hebrew word used here suggests a violent struggle that was out of the ordinary.
689 tn Heb “If [it is] so, why [am] I this [way]?” Rebekah wanted to know what was happening to her, but the question itself reflects a growing despair over the struggle of the unborn children.
690 sn Asked the
691 sn By metonymy the two children in her womb are described as two nations of which the two children, Jacob and Esau, would become the fathers. The language suggests there would be a struggle between these nations, with one being stronger than the other. The oracle reveals that all of Jacob’s scheming was unnecessary in the final analysis. He would have become the dominant nation without using deception to steal his brother’s blessing.
692 tn Heb “And her days were filled to give birth.”
693 tn Heb “look!” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene as if they were actually present at the birth.
694 sn Reddish. The Hebrew word translated “reddish” is אַדְמוֹנִי (’admoni), which forms a wordplay on the Edomites, Esau’s descendants. The writer sees in Esau’s appearance at birth a sign of what was to come. After all, the reader has already been made aware of the “nations” that were being born.
695 tn Heb “all of him.”
696 sn Hairy. Here is another wordplay involving the descendants of Esau. The Hebrew word translated “hairy” is שֵׂעָר (se’ar); the Edomites will later live in Mount Seir, perhaps named for its wooded nature.
697 tn Heb “And they called his name Esau.” The name “Esau” (עֵשָׂו, ’esav) is not etymologically related to שֵׂעָר (se’ar), but it draws on some of the sounds.
698 tn The disjunctive clause describes an important circumstance accompanying the birth. Whereas Esau was passive at birth, Jacob was active.
699 tn Heb “And he called his name Jacob.” Some ancient witnesses read “they called his name Jacob” (see v. 25). In either case the subject is indefinite.
700 tn Heb “the son of sixty years.”
701 tn Heb “knowing.”
702 tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Jacob with Esau and draws attention to the striking contrasts. In contrast to Esau, a man of the field, Jacob was civilized, as the phrase “living in tents” signifies. Whereas Esau was a skillful hunter, Jacob was calm and even-tempered (תָּם, tam), which normally has the idea of “blameless.”
703 tn Heb “the taste of game was in his mouth.” The word for “game,” “venison” is here the same Hebrew word as “hunter” in the last verse. Here it is a metonymy, referring to that which the hunter kills.
704 tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Rebekah with Jacob and draws attention to the contrast. The verb here is a participle, drawing attention to Rebekah’s continuing, enduring love for her son.
705 sn Jacob cooked some stew. There are some significant words and wordplays in this story that help clarify the points of the story. The verb “cook” is זִיד (zid), which sounds like the word for “hunter” (צַיִד, tsayid). This is deliberate, for the hunter becomes the hunted in this story. The word זִיד means “to cook, to boil,” but by the sound play with צַיִד it comes to mean “set a trap by cooking.” The usage of the word shows that it can also have the connotation of acting presumptuously (as in boiling over). This too may be a comment on the scene. For further discussion of the rhetorical devices in the Jacob narratives, see J. P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis (SSN).
706 tn The rare term לָעַט (la’at), translated “feed,” is used in later Hebrew for feeding animals (see Jastrow, 714). If this nuance was attached to the word in the biblical period, then it may depict Esau in a negative light, comparing him to a hungry animal. Famished Esau comes in from the hunt, only to enter the trap. He can only point at the red stew and ask Jacob to feed him.
707 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so is given a passive translation.
708 sn Esau’s descendants would eventually be called Edom. Edom was the place where they lived, so-named probably because of the reddish nature of the hills. The writer can use the word “red” to describe the stew that Esau gasped for to convey the nature of Esau and his descendants. They were a lusty, passionate, and profane people who lived for the moment. Again, the wordplay is meant to capture the “omen in the nomen.”
709 tn Heb “today.”
710 tn Heb “And what is this to me, a birthright?”
711 tn Heb “Swear to me today.”
712 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
713 sn And sold his birthright. There is evidence from Hurrian culture that rights of inheritance were occasionally sold or transferred. Here Esau is portrayed as a profane person who would at the moment rather have a meal than the right to inherit. He will soon forget this trade and seek his father’s blessing in spite of it.
714 sn The style here is typical of Hebrew narrative; after the tension is resolved with the dialogue, the working out of it is recorded in a rapid sequence of verbs (“gave”; “ate”; “drank”; “got up”; “went out”). See also Gen 3:1-7 for another example.
715 sn So Esau despised his birthright. This clause, which concludes the episode, is a summary statement which reveals the underlying significance of Esau’s actions. “To despise” means to treat something as worthless or with contempt. Esau’s willingness to sell his birthright was evidence that he considered it to be unimportant.
716 tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”
717 sn This account is parallel to two similar stories about Abraham (see Gen 12:10-20; 20:1-18). Many scholars do not believe there were three similar incidents, only one that got borrowed and duplicated. Many regard the account about Isaac as the original, which then was attached to the more important person, Abraham, with supernatural elements being added. For a critique of such an approach, see R. Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, 47-62. It is more likely that the story illustrates the proverb “like father, like son” (see T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 53). In typical human fashion the son follows his father’s example of lying to avoid problems. The appearance of similar events reported in a similar way underscores the fact that the blessing has now passed to Isaac, even if he fails as his father did.
718 sn Do not go down to Egypt. The words echo Gen 12:10, which reports that “Abram went down to Egypt,” but state the opposite.
719 tn Heb “say to you.”
720 tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur) means “to live temporarily without ownership of land.” Abraham’s family will not actually possess the land of Canaan until the Israelite conquest hundreds of years later.
721 tn After the imperative “stay” the two prefixed verb forms with prefixed conjunction here indicate consequence.
722 tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.
723 tn The Hiphil stem of the verb קוּם (qum) here means “to fulfill, to bring to realization.” For other examples of this use of this verb form, see Lev 26:9; Num 23:19; Deut 8:18; 9:5; 1 Sam 1:23; 1 Kgs 6:12; Jer 11:5.
724 tn Heb “the oath which I swore.”
725 tn Heb “your descendants.”
726 tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 22:18). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)
727 tn The words “All this will come to pass” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons.
728 tn Heb “listened to my voice.”
729 sn My charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. The language of this verse is clearly interpretive, for Abraham did not have all these laws. The terms are legal designations for sections of the Mosaic law and presuppose the existence of the law. Some Rabbinic views actually conclude that Abraham had fulfilled the whole law before it was given (see m. Qiddushin 4:14). Some scholars argue that this story could only have been written after the law was given (C. Westermann, Genesis, 2:424-25). But the simplest explanation is that the narrator (traditionally taken to be Moses the Lawgiver) elaborated on the simple report of Abraham’s obedience by using terms with which the Israelites were familiar. In this way he depicts Abraham as the model of obedience to God’s commands, whose example Israel should follow.
730 sn Rebekah, unlike Sarah, was not actually her husband’s sister.
731 tn Heb “lest.” The words “for he thought to himself” are supplied because the next clause is written with a first person pronoun, showing that Isaac was saying or thinking this.
732 tn Heb “kill me on account of.”
733 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
734 tn Heb “and it happened when the days were long to him there.”
735 tn Heb “look, Isaac.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene through Abimelech’s eyes.
736 tn Or “fondling.”
737 tn Heb “Surely, look!” See N. H. Snaith, “The meaning of Hebrew ‘ak,” VT 14 (1964): 221-25.
738 tn Heb “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’” Since the verb “said” probably means “said to myself” (i.e., “thought”) here, the direct discourse in the Hebrew statement has been converted to indirect discourse in the translation. In addition the simple prepositional phrase “on account of her” has been clarified in the translation as “to get her” (cf. v. 7).
739 tn Heb “What is this you have done to us?” The Hebrew demonstrative pronoun “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to us?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).
740 tn Heb “people.”
741 tn The Hebrew verb means “to lie down.” Here the expression “lie with” or “sleep with” is euphemistic for “have sexual relations with.”
742 tn Heb “strikes.” Here the verb has the nuance “to harm in any way.” It would include assaulting the woman or killing the man.
743 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the imperfect makes the construction emphatic.
744 tn Heb “a hundredfold.”
745 tn This final clause explains why Isaac had such a bountiful harvest.
746 tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Isaac’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are included.
747 tn Heb “and he went, going and becoming great.” The construction stresses that his growth in possessions and power continued steadily.
748 tn Heb “and there was to him.”
749 tn Heb “possessions of sheep.”
750 tn Heb “possessions of cattle.”
751 tn The Hebrew verb translated “became jealous” refers here to intense jealousy or envy that leads to hostile action (see v. 15).
752 tn Heb “and the Philistines stopped them up and filled them with dirt.”
753 tn Heb “Go away from us.”
754 sn You have become much more powerful. This explanation for the expulsion of Isaac from Philistine territory foreshadows the words used later by the Egyptians to justify their oppression of Israel (see Exod 1:9).
755 tn Heb “and he camped in the valley of Gerar and he lived there.”
756 tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”
757 tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.
758 tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.
759 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
760 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
761 tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”
762 tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).
763 tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.
764 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
765 tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”
766 sn The name Esek means “argument” in Hebrew. The following causal clause explains that Isaac gave the well this name as a reminder of the conflict its discovery had created. In the Hebrew text there is a wordplay, for the name is derived from the verb translated “argued.”
767 tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
768 tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
769 tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
770 sn The name Sitnah (שִׂטְנָה, sitnah) is derived from a Hebrew verbal root meaning “to oppose; to be an adversary” (cf. Job 1:6). The name was a reminder that the digging of this well caused “opposition” from the Philistines.
771 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
772 tn Heb “and he called its name.”
773 sn The name Rehoboth (רְהֹבוֹת, rehovot) is derived from a verbal root meaning “to make room.” The name was a reminder that God had made room for them. The story shows Isaac’s patience with the opposition; it also shows how God’s blessing outdistanced the men of Gerar. They could not stop it or seize it any longer.
774 tn Heb “and he went up from there”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
775 tn Heb “called in the name of.” The expression refers to worshiping the
776 tn Heb “and they dug there, the servants of Isaac, a well.”
777 tn The disjunctive clause supplies pertinent supplemental information. The past perfect is used because the following narrative records the treaty at Beer Sheba. Prior to this we are told that Isaac settled in Beer Sheba; presumably this treaty would have allowed him to do that. However, it may be that he settled there and then made the treaty by which he renamed the place Beer Sheba. In this case one may translate “Now Abimelech came to him.”
778 tn Heb “and.”
779 tn Many modern translations render the Hebrew term מֵרֵעַ (merea’) as “councillor” or “adviser,” but the term may not designate an official position but simply a close personal friend.
780 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, expressing the reason for his question.
781 tn The infinitive absolute before the verb emphasizes the clarity of their perception.
782 tn Heb “And we said, ‘Let there be.’” The direct discourse in the Hebrew text has been rendered as indirect discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.
783 tn The pronoun “us” here is inclusive – it refers to the Philistine contingent on the one hand and Isaac on the other.
784 tn The pronoun “us” here is exclusive – it refers to just the Philistine contingent (the following “you” refers to Isaac).
785 tn The translation assumes that the cohortative expresses their request. Another option is to understand the cohortative as indicating resolve: “We want to make.’”
786 tn The oath formula is used: “if you do us harm” means “so that you will not do.”
787 tn Heb “touched.”
788 tn Heb “and just as we have done only good with you.”
789 tn Heb “and we sent you away.”
790 tn The Philistine leaders are making an observation, not pronouncing a blessing, so the translation reads “you are blessed” rather than “may you be blessed” (cf. NAB).
791 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
792 tn Heb “and they ate and drank.”
793 tn Heb “and they got up early and they swore an oath, a man to his brother.”
794 tn Heb “and they went from him in peace.”
795 tn Heb “and they said to him, ‘We have found water.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
796 sn The name Shibah (שִׁבְעָה, shiv’ah) means (or at least sounds like) the word meaning “oath.” The name was a reminder of the oath sworn by Isaac and the Philistines to solidify their treaty.
797 sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, bÿ’er shava’) means “well of an oath” or “well of seven.” According to Gen 21:31 Abraham gave Beer Sheba its name when he made a treaty with the Philistines. Because of the parallels between this earlier story and the account in 26:26-33, some scholars see chaps. 21 and 26 as two versions (or doublets) of one original story. However, if one takes the text as it stands, it appears that Isaac made a later treaty agreement with the people of the land that was similar to his father’s. Abraham dug a well at the site and named the place Beer Sheba; Isaac dug another well there and named the well Shibah. Later generations then associated the name Beer Sheba with Isaac, even though Abraham gave the place its name at an earlier time.
798 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making this clause subordinate to the next.
799 tn Heb “the son of forty years.”
800 tn Heb “took as a wife.”
801 tn Heb “And they were [a source of ] bitterness in spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.”
802 tn The clause begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making it subordinate to the main clause that follows later in the sentence.
803 tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”
804 tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).
805 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.
806 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaac) is specified in the translation for clarity.
807 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here introduces a logically foundational statement, upon which the coming instruction will be based.
808 tn Heb “I do not know the day of my death.”
809 tn The Hebrew word is to be spelled either צַיִד (tsayid) following the marginal reading (Qere), or צֵידָה (tsedah) following the consonantal text (Kethib). Either way it is from the same root as the imperative צוּדָה (tsudah, “hunt down”).
810 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
811 tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The use of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as the subject emphasizes that the blessing will be made with all Isaac’s desire and vitality. The conjunction “so that” closely relates the meal to the blessing, suggesting that this will be a ritual meal in conjunction with the giving of a formal blessing.
812 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a conjunction with the subject, followed by the predicate) here introduces a new scene in the story.
813 tc The LXX adds here “to his father,” which may have been accidentally omitted in the MT.
814 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
815 tn The cohortative, with the prefixed conjunction, also expresses logical sequence. See vv. 4, 19, 27.
816 tn In her report to Jacob, Rebekah plays down Isaac’s strong desire to bless Esau by leaving out נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”), but by adding the phrase “in the presence of the
817 tn Heb “listen to my voice.” The Hebrew idiom means “to comply; to obey.”
818 tn Heb “to that which I am commanding you.”
819 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
820 tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive. It carries forward the tone of instruction initiated by the command to “go…and get” in the preceding verse.
821 tn The form is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; it carries the future nuance of the preceding verbs of instruction, but by switching the subject to Jacob, indicates the expected result of the subterfuge.
822 tn Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.
823 tn Heb “And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, ‘Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, but I am a smooth [skinned] man.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
824 tn Heb “Perhaps my father will feel me and I will be in his eyes like a mocker.” The Hebrew expression “I will be in his eyes like” means “I would appear to him as.”
825 tn Heb “upon me your curse.”
826 tn Heb “only listen to my voice.”
827 tn The words “the goats” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
828 tn Heb “his mother.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “she” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
829 tn In the Hebrew text the object (“the skins of the young goats”) precedes the verb. The disjunctive clause draws attention to this key element in the subterfuge.
830 tn The word “hands” probably includes the forearms here. How the skins were attached is not specified in the Hebrew text; cf. NLT “she made him a pair of gloves.”
831 tn Heb “gave…into the hand of.”
832 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
833 sn Which are you, my son? Isaac’s first question shows that the deception is going to require more subterfuge than Rebekah had anticipated. Jacob will have to pull off the deceit.
834 tn Heb “get up and sit.” This may mean simply “sit up,” or it may indicate that he was to get up from his couch and sit at a table.
835 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.” These words, though not reported by Rebekah to Jacob (see v. 7) accurately reflect what Isaac actually said to Esau (see v. 4). Perhaps Jacob knew more than Rebekah realized, but it is more likely that this was an idiom for sincere blessing with which Jacob was familiar. At any rate, his use of the precise wording was a nice, convincing touch.
836 tn Heb “What is this?” The enclitic pronoun “this” adds emphasis to the question, which is comparable to the English rhetorical question, “How in the world?”
837 tn Heb “you hastened to find.” In translation the infinitive becomes the main verb and the first verb becomes adverbial.
838 tn Heb “caused to meet before me.”
839 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Because the
840 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
841 tn Heb “Are you this one, Esau, my son, or not?” On the use of the interrogative particle here, see BDB 210 s.v. הֲ.
842 tn Heb “and he blessed him.” The referents of the pronouns “he” (Isaac) and “him” (Jacob) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
843 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
844 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
845 tn Heb “Bring near to me and I will eat of the wild game, my son.” Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
846 tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The presence of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as subject emphasizes Isaac’s heartfelt desire to do this. The conjunction indicates that the ritual meal must be first eaten before the formal blessing may be given.
847 tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
848 tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
849 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
850 tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
851 tn Heb “see.”
852 tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”
853 tn Heb “and from the fatness.”
854 tn Heb “and be.” The verb is an imperative, which is used rhetorically in this oracle of blessing. It is an invitation to exercise authority his brothers and indicates that he is granted such authority by the patriarch of the family. Furthermore, the blessing enables the recipient to accomplish this.
855 tn The Hebrew word is גְבִיר (gevir, “lord, mighty one”). The one being blessed will be stronger and therefore more powerful than his brother. See Gen 25:23. The feminine form of this rare noun means “mistress” or “queen-mother.”
856 tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
857 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite form of the verb makes the construction emphatic.
858 tn Heb “the presence of Isaac his father.” The repetition of the proper name (“Isaac”) was
859 tn Heb “and Esau his brother came from his hunt.”
860 tn Heb “and he said to his father”; the referent of “he” (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity, while the words “his father” have been replaced by the pronoun “him” for stylistic reasons.
861 tn Or “arise” (i.e., sit up).
862 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.”
863 tn Heb “said.”
864 tn Heb “and he said, ‘I [am] your son, your firstborn.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.
865 tn Heb “and Isaac trembled with a great trembling to excess.” The verb “trembled” is joined with a cognate accusative, which is modified by an adjective “great,” and a prepositional phrase “to excess.” All of this is emphatic, showing the violence of Isaac’s reaction to the news.
866 tn Heb “Who then is he who hunted game and brought [it] to me so that I ate from all before you arrived and blessed him?”
867 tn The temporal clause is introduced with the temporal indicator and has the infinitive as its verb.
868 tn Heb “and he yelled [with] a great and bitter yell to excess.”
869 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
870 tn Or “took”; “received.”
871 tn Heb “Is he not rightly named Jacob?” The rhetorical question, since it expects a positive reply, has been translated as a declarative statement.
872 sn He has tripped me up. When originally given, the name Jacob was a play on the word “heel” (see Gen 25:26). The name (since it is a verb) probably means something like “may he protect,” that is, as a rearguard, dogging the heels. This name was probably chosen because of the immediate association with the incident of grabbing the heel. Esau gives the name “Jacob” a negative connotation here, the meaning “to trip up; to supplant.”
873 tn Heb “Bless me, me also, my father.” The words “my father” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
874 tn Heb “and Esau lifted his voice and wept.”
875 tn Heb “look.”
876 tn Heb “from the fatness.”
877 sn You will tear off his yoke from your neck. It may be that this prophetic blessing found its fulfillment when Jerusalem fell and Edom got its revenge. The oracle makes Edom subservient to Israel and suggests the Edomites would live away from the best land and be forced to sustain themselves by violent measures.
878 tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.
879 tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”
880 tn Heb “said in his heart.” The expression may mean “said to himself.” Even if this is the case, v. 42 makes it clear that he must have shared his intentions with someone, because the news reached Rebekah.
881 tn Heb “days.”
882 tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.
883 tn Heb “and the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah.”
884 tn Heb “she sent and called for.”
885 tn Heb “is consoling himself with respect to you to kill you.” The only way Esau had of dealing with his anger at the moment was to plan to kill his brother after the death of Isaac.
886 tn Heb “listen to my voice.”
887 tn Heb “arise, flee.”
888 tn Heb “a few days.” Rebekah probably downplays the length of time Jacob will be gone, perhaps to encourage him and assure him that things will settle down soon. She probably expects Esau’s anger to die down quickly. However, Jacob ends up being gone twenty years and he never sees Rebekah again.
889 tn The words “stay there” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
890 tn Heb “and I will send and I will take you from there.” The verb “send” has no object in the Hebrew text; one must be supplied in the translation. Either “someone” or “a message” could be supplied, but since in those times a message would require a messenger, “someone” has been used.
891 tn If Jacob stayed, he would be killed and Esau would be forced to run away.
892 tn Heb “loathe my life.” The Hebrew verb translated “loathe” refers to strong disgust (see Lev 20:23).
893 tn Some translate the Hebrew term “Heth” as “Hittites” here (see also Gen 23:3), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., “Hittites,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.
894 tn Heb “If Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, why to me life?”
895 tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
896 tn Heb “Arise! Go!” The first of the two imperatives is adverbial and stresses the immediacy of the departure.
897 tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.
898 tn Heb “and make you fruitful and multiply you.” See Gen 17:6, 20 for similar terminology.
899 tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here indicates consequence. The collocation הָיָה + preposition לְ (hayah + lÿ) means “become.”
900 tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”
901 tn Heb “and may he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you.” The name “Abraham” is an objective genitive here; this refers to the blessing that God gave to Abraham.
902 tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
903 tn Heb “the land of your sojournings,” that is, the land where Jacob had been living as a resident alien, as his future descendants would after him.
904 tn Heb “to take for himself from there a wife.”
905 tn The infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffix form a temporal clause.
906 tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
907 tn Heb “saw.”
908 tn Heb “the daughters of Canaan.”
909 tn Heb “evil in the eyes of.”
910 tn Heb “took for a wife.”
911 tn Heb “the place.” The article may indicate simply that the place is definite in the mind of the narrator. However, as the story unfolds the place is transformed into a holy place. See A. P. Ross, “Jacob’s Vision: The Founding of Bethel,” BSac 142 (1985): 224-37.
912 tn Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.”
913 tn Heb “he took from the stones of the place,” which here means Jacob took one of the stones (see v. 18).
914 tn Heb “and he put [it at] the place of his head.” The text does not actually say the stone was placed under his head to serve as a pillow, although most interpreters and translators assume this. It is possible the stone served some other purpose. Jacob does not seem to have been a committed monotheist yet (see v. 20-21) so he may have believed it contained some spiritual power. Note that later in the story he anticipates the stone becoming the residence of God (see v. 22). Many cultures throughout the world view certain types of stones as magical and/or sacred. See J. G. Fraser, Folklore in the Old Testament, 231-37.
915 tn Heb “lay down.”
916 tn Heb “and dreamed.”
917 tn Heb “and look.” The scene which Jacob witnessed is described in three clauses introduced with הִנֵּה (hinneh). In this way the narrator invites the reader to witness the scene through Jacob’s eyes. J. P. Fokkelman points out that the particle goes with a lifted arm and an open mouth: “There, a ladder! Oh, angels! and look, the
918 tn The Hebrew noun סֻלָּם (sullam, “ladder, stairway”) occurs only here in the OT, but there appears to be an Akkadian cognate simmiltu (with metathesis of the second and third consonants and a feminine ending) which has a specialized meaning of “stairway, ramp.” See H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 34. For further discussion see C. Houtman, “What Did Jacob See in His Dream at Bethel? Some Remarks on Genesis 28:10-22,” VT 27 (1977): 337-52; J. G. Griffiths, “The Celestial Ladder and the Gate of Heaven,” ExpTim 76 (1964/65): 229-30; and A. R. Millard, “The Celestial Ladder and the Gate of Heaven,” ExpTim 78 (1966/67): 86-87.
919 tn Heb “the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.” The Hebrew word for “father” can typically be used in a broader sense than the English word, in this case referring to Abraham (who was Jacob’s grandfather). For stylistic reasons and for clarity, the words “your father” are supplied with “Isaac” in the translation.
920 tn The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (’erets) can mean “[the] earth,” “land,” “region,” “piece of ground,” or “ground” depending on the context. Here the term specifically refers to the plot of ground on which Jacob was lying, but at the same time this stands by metonymy for the entire land of Canaan.
921 tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.
922 tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.
923 tn Theoretically the Niphal stem can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Jacob were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in other formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless (i.e., pronounce blessings upon) themselves/one another.” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 28:14 predicts that Jacob will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae (see Gen 12:2 and 18:18 as well, where Abram/Abraham receives this promise). For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.
924 tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”
925 tn Heb “Look, I [am] with you.” The clause is a nominal clause; the verb to be supplied could be present (as in the translation) or future, “Look, I [will be] with you” (cf. NEB).
926 tn Heb “woke up from his sleep.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
927 tn Heb “said.”
928 tn Heb “and he got up early…and he took.”
929 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
930 tn See the note on this phrase in v. 11.
931 tn Heb “standing stone.”
932 tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew (see v. 17).
933 tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.
934 tn Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.”
935 tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.
936 tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.
937 tn Heb “and all which you give to me I will surely give a tenth of it to you.” The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/object) highlights this statement as well.
938 tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his feet.” This unusual expression suggests that Jacob had a new lease on life now that God had promised him the blessing he had so desperately tried to gain by his own efforts. The text portrays him as having a new step in his walk.
939 tn Heb “the land of the sons of the east.”
940 tn Heb “and he saw, and look.” As in Gen 28:12-15, the narrator uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here and in the next clause to draw the reader into the story.
941 tn Heb “and look, there.”
942 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the noun with the prefixed conjunction) provides supplemental information that is important to the story.
943 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the shepherds) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
944 tn Heb “son.”
945 tn Heb “and they said, ‘We know.’” The word “him” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the translation several introductory clauses throughout this section have been placed after the direct discourse they introduce for stylistic reasons as well.
946 tn Heb “and he said to them, ‘Is there peace to him?’”
947 tn Heb “peace.”
948 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
949 tn Heb “the day is great.”
950 tn Heb “water the sheep and go and pasture [them].” The verbal forms are imperatives, but Jacob would hardly be giving direct orders to someone else’s shepherds. The nuance here is probably one of advice.
951 tn The perfect verbal forms with the vav (ו) consecutive carry on the sequence begun by the initial imperfect form.
952 tn Heb “was a shepherdess.”
953 tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother” (twice in this verse).
954 tn Heb “Jacob.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
955 tn Heb “drew near, approached.”
956 tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother.” The text says nothing initially about the beauty of Rachel. But the reader is struck by the repetition of “Laban the brother of his mother.” G. J. Wenham is no doubt correct when he observes that Jacob’s primary motive at this stage is to ingratiate himself with Laban (Genesis [WBC], 2:231).
957 tn Heb “and he lifted up his voice and wept.” The idiom calls deliberate attention to the fact that Jacob wept out loud.
958 tn Heb “declared.”
959 tn Heb “that he [was] the brother of her father.”
960 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
961 tn Heb “and he told to Laban all these things.” This might mean Jacob told Laban how he happened to be there, but Laban’s response (see v. 14) suggests “all these things” refers to what Jacob had previously told Rachel (see v. 12).
962 tn Heb “indeed, my bone and my flesh are you.” The expression sounds warm enough, but the presence of “indeed” may suggest that Laban had to be convinced of Jacob’s identity before permitting him to stay. To be one’s “bone and flesh” is to be someone’s blood relative. For example, the phrase describes the relationship between Abimelech and the Shechemites (Judg 9:2; his mother was a Shechemite); David and the Israelites (2 Sam 5:1); David and the elders of Judah (2 Sam 19:12,); and David and his nephew Amasa (2 Sam 19:13, see 2 Sam 17:2; 1 Chr 2:16-17).
963 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
964 tn Heb “a month of days.”
965 tn The verb is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; the nuance in the question is deliberative.
966 tn Heb “my brother.” The term “brother” is used in a loose sense; actually Jacob was Laban’s nephew.
967 tn Heb “and to Laban [there were] two daughters.” The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a conjunction and a prepositional phrase) provides supplemental material that is important to the story. Since this material is parenthetical in nature, vv. 16-17 have been set in parentheses in the translation.
968 tn Heb “and the eyes of Leah were tender.” The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a conjunction and a noun) continues the parenthesis begun in v. 16. It is not clear what is meant by “tender” (or “delicate”) eyes. The expression may mean she had appealing eyes (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT), though some suggest that they were plain, not having the brightness normally expected. Either way, she did not measure up to her gorgeous sister.
969 tn Heb “and Rachel was beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance.”
970 tn Heb “Jacob loved.”
971 tn Heb “Better my giving her to you than my giving her to another man.”
972 tn Heb “in exchange for Rachel.”
973 sn But they seemed like only a few days to him. This need not mean that the time passed quickly. More likely it means that the price seemed insignificant when compared to what he was getting in the bargain.
974 tn Heb “because of his love for her.” The words “was so great” are supplied for stylistic reasons.
975 tn Heb “and Jacob said.”
976 tn Heb “my days are fulfilled.”
977 tn Heb “and I will go in to her.” The verb is a cohortative; it may be subordinated to the preceding request, “that I may go in,” or it may be an independent clause expressing his desire. The verb “go in” in this context refers to sexual intercourse (i.e., the consummation of the marriage).
978 tn Heb “men.”
979 tn Heb “and it happened in the evening that he took Leah his daughter and brought her.”
980 tn Heb “to him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
981 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
982 tn Heb “went in to her.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse, i.e., the consummation of the marriage.
983 tn Heb “and Laban gave to her Zilpah his female servant, to Leah his daughter [for] a servant.” This clause gives information parenthetical to the narrative.
984 tn Heb “and it happened in the morning that look, it was Leah.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes.
985 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
986 tn Heb What is this you have done to me?” The use of the pronoun “this” is enclitic, adding emphasis to the question: “What in the world have you done to me?”
987 sn The Hebrew verb translated tricked here (רָמָה, ramah) is cognate to the noun used in Gen 27:35 to describe Jacob’s deception of Esau. Jacob is discovering that what goes around, comes around. See J. A. Diamond, “The Deception of Jacob: A New Perspective on an Ancient Solution to the Problem,” VT 34 (1984): 211-13.
988 tn Heb “and Laban said, ‘It is not done so in our place.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
989 tn Heb “to give the younger.” The words “daughter” and “in marriage” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
990 tn Heb “fulfill the period of seven of this one.” The referent of “this one” has been specified in the translation as “my older daughter” for clarity.
991 tn Heb “this other one.”
992 tn Heb “and we will give to you also this one in exchange for labor which you will work with me, still seven other years.”
993 tn Heb “and Jacob did so.” The words “as Laban said” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
994 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
995 tn Heb “the seven of this one.” The referent of “this one” has been specified in the translation as Leah to avoid confusion with Rachel, mentioned later in the verse.
996 tn Heb “and he gave to him Rachel his daughter for him for a wife.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
997 tn Heb “and Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his female servant, for her for a servant.”
998 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
999 tn Heb “went in also to Rachel.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse, i.e., the consummation of the marriage.
1000 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1001 tn Heb “and he loved also Rachel, more than Leah, and he served with him still seven other years.”
1002 tn Heb “hated.” The rhetorical device of overstatement is used (note v. 30, which says simply that Jacob loved Rachel more than he did Leah) to emphasize that Rachel, as Jacob’s true love and the primary object of his affections, had an advantage over Leah.
1003 tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”
1004 tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).
1005 sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”
1006 tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”
1007 tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.
1008 sn The name Simeon (שִׁמְעוֹן, shim’on) is derived from the verbal root שָׁמַע (shama’) and means “hearing.” The name is appropriate since it is reminder that the
1009 tn Heb “will be joined to me.”
1010 sn The name Levi (לֵוִי, levi), the precise meaning of which is debated, was appropriate because it sounds like the verb לָוָה (lavah, “to join”), used in the statement recorded earlier in the verse.
1011 sn The name Judah (יְהוּדָה, yÿhudah) means “he will be praised” and reflects the sentiment Leah expresses in the statement recorded earlier in the verse. For further discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names ‘Israel’ and ‘Judah’ with an Excursus on the Etymology of Todah and Torah,” JBL 46 (1927): 151-85; and A. R. Millard, “The Meaning of the Name Judah,” ZAW 86 (1974): 216-18.
1012 tn Heb “Rachel.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
1013 tn Heb “sons.”
1014 tn Heb “and the anger of Jacob was hot.”
1015 tn Heb “who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb.”
1016 tn Heb “go in to.” The expression “go in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.
1017 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates the immediate purpose of the proposed activity.
1018 tn The word “children” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
1019 tn Heb “upon my knees.” This is an idiomatic way of saying that Bilhah will be simply a surrogate mother. Rachel will adopt the child as her own.
1020 tn Heb “and I will be built up, even I, from her.” The prefixed verbal form with the conjunction is subordinated to the preceding prefixed verbal form and gives the ultimate purpose for the proposed action. The idiom of “built up” here refers to having a family (see Gen 16:2, as well as Ruth 4:11 and BDB 125 s.v. בָנָה).
1021 tn Heb “and she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1022 tn Heb “went in to.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.
1023 tn Or “Bilhah conceived” (also in v. 7).
1024 tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a son.”
1025 tn Heb “and also he has heard my voice.” The expression means that God responded positively to Rachel’s cry and granted her request.
1026 tn Or “therefore.”
1027 sn The name Dan means “he vindicated” or “he judged.” The name plays on the verb used in the statement which appears earlier in the verse. The verb translated “vindicated” is from דִּין (din, “to judge, to vindicate”), the same verbal root from which the name is derived. Rachel sensed that God was righting the wrong.
1028 tn Heb “and she became pregnant again and Bilhah, the servant of Rachel, bore a second son for Jacob.”
1029 tn Heb “[with] a mighty struggle I have struggled with my sister, also I have prevailed.” The phrase “mighty struggle” reads literally “struggles of God.” The plural participle “struggles” reflects the ongoing nature of the struggle, while the divine name is used here idiomatically to emphasize the intensity of the struggle. See J. Skinner, Genesis (ICC), 387.
1030 sn The name Naphtali (נַפְתָּלִי, naftali) must mean something like “my struggle” in view of the statement Rachel made in the preceding clause. The name plays on this earlier statement, “[with] a mighty struggle I have struggled with my sister.”
1031 tn Heb “she took her servant Zilpah and gave her.” The verbs “took” and “gave” are treated as a hendiadys in the translation: “she gave.”
1032 tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore for Jacob a son.”
1033 tc The statement in the Kethib (consonantal text) appears to mean literally “with good fortune,” if one takes the initial בְּ (bet) as a preposition indicating accompaniment. The Qere (marginal reading) means “good fortune has arrived.”
1034 sn The name Gad (גָּד, gad) means “good fortune.” The name reflects Leah’s feeling that good fortune has come her way, as expressed in her statement recorded earlier in the verse.
1035 tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore a second son for Jacob.”
1036 tn The Hebrew statement apparently means “with my happiness.”
1037 tn Heb “daughters.”
1038 sn The name Asher (אָשֶׁר, ’asher) apparently means “happy one.” The name plays on the words used in the statement which appears earlier in the verse. Both the Hebrew noun and verb translated “happy” and “call me happy,” respectively, are derived from the same root as the name Asher.
1039 tn Heb “during the days.”
1040 sn Mandrake plants were popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac in the culture of the time.
1041 tn Heb “and she said to her”; the referent of the pronoun “she” (Leah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1042 tn Heb “therefore.”
1043 tn Heb “lie down.” The expression “lie down with” in this context (here and in the following verse) refers to sexual intercourse. The imperfect verbal form has a permissive nuance here.
1044 tn Heb “must come in to me.” The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. She has acquired him for the night and feels he is obligated to have sexual relations with her.
1045 tn Heb “I have surely hired.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form for emphasis. The name Issachar (see v. 18) seems to be related to this expression.
1046 tn This is the same Hebrew verb (שָׁכַב, shakhav) translated “sleep with” in v. 15. In direct discourse the more euphemistic “sleep with” was used, but here in the narrative “marital relations” reflects more clearly the emphasis on sexual intercourse.
1047 tn Heb “listened to.”
1048 tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 19).
1049 tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a fifth son,” i.e., this was the fifth son that Leah had given Jacob.
1050 tn Heb “God has given my reward.”
1051 tn The words “as a wife” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity (cf. v. 9).
1052 sn The name Issachar (יְשָּׁשכָר, yishakhar) appears to mean “man of reward” or possibly “there is reward.” The name plays on the word used in the statement made earlier in the verse. The Hebrew noun translated “reward” is derived from the same root as the name Issachar. The irony is that Rachel thought the mandrakes would work for her, and she was willing to trade one night for them. But in that one night Leah became pregnant.
1053 tn Heb “and she bore a sixth son for Jacob,” i.e., this was the sixth son that Leah had given Jacob.
1054 sn The name Zebulun (זְבֻלוּן, zevulun) apparently means “honor.” The name plays on the verb used in the statement made earlier in the verse. The Hebrew verb translated “will honor” and the name Zebulun derive from the same root.
1055 tn Heb “remembered.”
1056 tn Heb “and God listened to her and opened up her womb.” Since “God” is the subject of the previous clause, the noun has been replaced by the pronoun “he” in the translation for stylistic reasons
1057 tn Or “conceived.”
1058 tn Heb “my reproach.” A “reproach” is a cutting taunt or painful ridicule, but here it probably refers by metonymy to Rachel’s barren condition, which was considered shameful in this culture and was the reason why she was the object of taunting and ridicule.
1059 sn The name Joseph (יוֹסֵף, yoseph) means “may he add.” The name expresses Rachel’s desire to have an additional son. In Hebrew the name sounds like the verb (אָסַף,’asasf) translated “taken away” in the earlier statement made in v. 23. So the name, while reflecting Rachel’s hope, was also a reminder that God had removed her shame.
1060 tn The perfect verbal form is translated as a past perfect because Rachel’s giving birth to Joseph preceded Jacob’s conversation with Laban.
1061 tn The imperatival form here expresses a request.
1062 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
1063 tn Heb “to my place and to my land.”
1064 tn Heb “give my wives and my children, for whom I have served you.” In one sense Laban had already “given” Jacob his two daughters as wives (Gen 29:21, 28). Here Jacob was asking for permission to take his own family along with him on the journey back to Canaan.
1065 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
1066 tn Heb “for you, you know my service [with] which I have served you.”
1067 tn The words “please stay here” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
1068 tn Or perhaps “I have grown rich and the
1069 tn Heb “set your wage for me so I may give [it].”
1070 tn Heb “and he said to him, ‘You know how I have served you.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons, and the referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1071 tn Heb “and how your cattle were with me.”
1072 tn Or “for.”
1073 tn Heb “before me.”
1074 tn Heb “and it has broken out with respect to abundance.”
1075 tn Heb “at my foot.”
1076 tn Heb “How long [until] I do, also I, for my house?”
1077 tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1078 tn The negated imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance.
1079 tn The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
1080 tn Heb “If you do for me this thing.”
1081 tn Heb “I will return, I will tend,” an idiom meaning “I will continue tending.”
1082 tn Heb “pass through.”
1083 tn Or “every black lamb”; Heb “and every dark sheep among the lambs.”
1084 tn Heb “and the spotted and speckled among the goats.”
1085 tn Heb “and it will be my wage.” The referent collective singular pronoun (“it) has been specified as “these animals” in the translation for clarity.
1086 tn Heb “will answer on my behalf.”
1087 tn Heb “on the following day,” or “tomorrow.”
1088 tn Heb “when you come concerning my wage before you.”
1089 tn Heb “every one which is not speckled and spotted among the lambs and dark among the goats, stolen it is with me.”
1090 tn Heb “and Laban said, ‘Good, let it be according to your word.’” On the asseverative use of the particle לוּ (lu) here, see HALOT 521 s.v. לוּ.
1091 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1092 tn Heb “and he gave [them] into the hand.”
1093 tn Heb “and he put a journey of three days between himself and Jacob.”
1094 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the vav with subject) is circumstantial/temporal; Laban removed the animals while Jacob was taking care of the rest.
1095 sn He put the branches in front of the flocks…when they came to drink. It was generally believed that placing such “visual aids” before the animals as they were mating, it was possible to influence the appearance of their offspring. E. A. Speiser notes that “Jacob finds a way to outwit his father-in-law, through prenatal conditioning of the flock by visual aids – in conformance with universal folk beliefs” (Genesis [AB], 238). Nevertheless, in spite of Jacob’s efforts at animal husbandry, he still attributes the resulting success to God (see 31:5).
1096 tn The Hebrew verb used here can mean “to be in heat” (see v. 38) or “to mate; to conceive; to become pregnant.” The latter nuance makes better sense in this verse, for the next clause describes them giving birth.
1097 tn Heb “the sheep.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“they”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
1098 tn Heb “and he set the faces of.”
1099 tn Heb “and at every breeding-heat of the flock.”
1100 tn Heb “he did not put [them] in.” The referent of the [understood] direct object, “them,” has been specified as “the branches” in the translation for clarity.
1101 tn Heb “were for Laban.”
1102 tn Heb “the man”; Jacob’s name has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
1103 tn Heb “and there were to him.”
1104 tn Heb “and he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying.”
1105 sn The Hebrew word translated “gotten rich” (כָּבוֹד, cavod) has the basic idea of “weight.” If one is heavy with possessions, then that one is wealthy (13:2). Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph all became wealthy when they left the promised land. Jacob’s wealth foreshadows what will happen to Israel when they leave the land of Egypt (Exod 12:35-38).
1106 tn Heb “and from that which belonged to our father he has gained all this wealth.”
1107 tn Heb “and Jacob saw the face of Laban, and look, he was not with him as formerly.” Jacob knew from the expression on Laban’s face that his attitude toward him had changed – Jacob had become persona non grata.
1108 tn Or perhaps “ancestors” (so NRSV), although the only “ancestors” Jacob had there were his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac.
1109 sn I will be with you. Though Laban was no longer “with him,” the
1110 tn Heb “sent and called for Rachel and for Leah.” Jacob did not go in person, but probably sent a servant with a message for his wives to meet him in the field.
1111 tn Heb “the field.” The word is an adverbial accusative, indicating that this is where Jacob wanted them to meet him. The words “to come to” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.
1112 tn Heb “to his flock.”
1113 tn Heb “I see the face of your father, that he is not toward me as formerly.”
1114 tn Heb “with all my strength.”
1115 tn This rare verb means “to make a fool of” someone. It involves deceiving someone so that their public reputation suffers (see Exod 8:25).
1116 tn In the protasis (“if” section) of this conditional clause, the imperfect verbal form has a customary nuance – whatever he would say worked to Jacob’s benefit.
1117 tn Heb “speckled” (twice this verse). The word “animals” (after the first occurrence of “speckled”) and “offspring” (after the second) have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. The same two terms (“animals” and “offspring”) have been supplied after the two occurrences of “streaked” later in this verse.
1118 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator, “and it happened at the time of.”
1119 tn Heb “in the time of the breeding of the flock I lifted up my eyes and I saw.”
1120 tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.
1121 tn Heb “lift up (now) your eyes and see.”
1122 tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.
1123 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
1124 sn You anointed the sacred stone. In Gen 28:18 the text simply reported that Jacob poured oil on top of the stone. Now that pouring is interpreted by the
1125 sn And made a vow to me. The second clause reminds Jacob of the vow he made to the
1126 tn Heb “arise, leave!” The first imperative draws attention to the need for immediate action.
1127 tn The two nouns may form a hendiadys, meaning “a share in the inheritance” or “a portion to inherit.”
1128 tn Heb “and he devoured, even devouring.” The infinitive absolute (following the finite verb here) is used for emphasis.
1129 tn Heb “our money.” The word “money” is used figuratively here; it means the price paid for Leah and Rachel. A literal translation (“our money”) makes it sound as if Laban wasted money that belonged to Rachel and Leah, rather than the money paid for them.
1130 tn Heb “and Jacob arose and he lifted up his sons and his wives on to the camels.”
1131 tn Heb “drove,” but this is subject to misunderstanding in contemporary English.
1132 tn Heb “and he led away all his cattle and all his moveable property which he acquired, the cattle he obtained, which he acquired in Paddan Aram to go to Isaac his father to the land of Canaan.”
1133 tn This disjunctive clause (note the pattern conjunction + subject + verb) introduces a new scene. In the English translation it may be subordinated to the following clause.
1134 tn Or “household gods.” Some translations merely transliterate the Hebrew term תְּרָפִים (tÿrafim) as “teraphim,” which apparently refers to household idols. Some contend that possession of these idols guaranteed the right of inheritance, but it is more likely that they were viewed simply as protective deities. See M. Greenberg, “Another Look at Rachel’s Theft of the Teraphim,” JBL 81 (1962): 239-48.
1135 tn Heb “stole the heart of,” an expression which apparently means “to deceive.” The repetition of the verb “to steal” shows that Jacob and Rachel are kindred spirits. Any thought that Laban would have resigned himself to their departure was now out of the question.
1136 tn Heb “fleeing,” which reflects Jacob’s viewpoint.
1137 tn Heb “and he fled.”
1138 tn Heb “he arose and crossed.” The first verb emphasizes that he wasted no time in getting across.
1139 tn Heb “the river”; the referent (the Euphrates) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1140 tn Heb “he set his face.”
1141 tn Heb “and it was told to Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled.”
1142 tn Heb “his brothers.”
1143 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1144 tn Heb “and he pursued after him a journey of seven days.”
1145 tn Heb “drew close to.”
1146 tn Heb “said to him.”
1147 tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.
1148 tn Heb “lest you speak with Jacob from good to evil.” The precise meaning of the expression, which occurs only here and in v. 29, is uncertain. Since Laban proceeded to speak to Jacob at length, it cannot mean to maintain silence. Nor does it seem to be a prohibition against criticism (see vv. 26-30). Most likely it refers to a formal pronouncement, whether it be a blessing or a curse. Laban was to avoid saying anything to Jacob that would be intended to enhance him or to harm him.
1149 tn Heb “and Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban pitched with his brothers in the hill country of Gilead.” The juxtaposition of disjunctive clauses (note the pattern conjunction + subject + verb in both clauses) indicates synchronism of action.
1150 tn Heb “and you have stolen my heart.” This expression apparently means “to deceive” (see v. 20).
1151 tn Heb “and you have led away my daughters like captives of a sword.”
1152 tn Heb “Why did you hide in order to flee?” The verb “hide” and the infinitive “to flee” form a hendiadys, the infinitive becoming the main verb and the other the adverb: “flee secretly.”
1153 tn Heb “and steal me.”
1154 tn Heb “And [why did] you not tell me so I could send you off with joy and with songs, with a tambourine and with a harp?”
1155 tn Heb “my sons and my daughters.” Here “sons” refers to “grandsons,” and has been translated “grandchildren” since at least one granddaughter, Dinah, was involved. The order has been reversed in the translation for stylistic reasons.
1156 tn Heb “there is to my hand.”
1157 tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.
1158 tn Heb “from speaking with Jacob from good to evil.” The precise meaning of the expression, which occurs only here and in v. 24, is uncertain. See the note on the same phrase in v. 24.
1159 tn Heb “and now.” The words “I understand that” have been supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
1160 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the certainty of the action.
1161 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of emotion involved.
1162 sn Yet why did you steal my gods? This last sentence is dropped into the speech rather suddenly. See C. Mabee, “Jacob and Laban: The Structure of Judicial Proceedings,” VT 30 (1980): 192-207, and G. W. Coats, “Self-Abasement and Insult Formulas,” JBL 91 (1972): 90-92.
1163 tn Heb “and Jacob answered and said to Laban, ‘Because I was afraid.’” This statement is a not a response to the question about Laban’s household gods that immediately precedes, but to the earlier question about Jacob’s motivation for leaving so quickly and secretly (see v. 27). For this reason the words “I left secretly” are supplied in the translation to indicate the connection to Laban’s earlier question in v. 27. Additionally the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse have been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
1164 tn Heb “for I said.”
1165 tn Heb “lest you steal your daughters from with me.”
1166 tn Heb “With whomever you find your gods, he will not live.”
1167 tn Heb “brothers.”
1168 tn Heb “recognize for yourself what is with me and take for yourself.”
1169 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides supplemental material that is important to the story. Since this material is parenthetical in nature, it has been placed in parentheses in the translation.
1170 tn No direct object is specified for the verb “find” in the Hebrew text. The words “the idols” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.
1171 tn Heb “and he went out from the tent of Leah and went into the tent of Rachel.”
1172 tn The “camel’s saddle” was probably some sort of basket-saddle, a cushioned saddle with a basket bound on. Cf. NAB “inside a camel cushion.”
1173 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides another parenthetical statement necessary to the storyline.
1174 tn The word “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
1175 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1176 tn Heb “let it not be hot in the eyes of my lord.” This idiom refers to anger, in this case as a result of Rachel’s failure to stand in the presence of her father as a sign of respect.
1177 tn Heb “I am unable to rise.”
1178 tn Heb “the way of women is to me.” This idiom refers to a woman’s menstrual period.
1179 tn The word “thoroughly” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.
1180 tn Heb “it was hot to Jacob.” This idiom refers to anger.
1181 tn Heb “and Jacob answered and said to Laban, ‘What is my sin?’” The proper name “Jacob” has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation and the order of the introductory clause and direct discourse rearranged for stylistic reasons.
1182 tn Heb “What is my sin that you have hotly pursued after me.” The Hebrew verb translated “pursue hotly” is used elsewhere of soldiers chasing defeated enemies (1 Sam 17:53).
1183 tn Heb “what did you find from all the goods of your house?”
1184 tn Heb “your relatives.” The word “relatives” has not been repeated in the translation here for stylistic reasons.
1185 tn Heb “that they may decide between us two.”
1186 tn The imperfect verbal form indicates that this was a customary or typical action.
1187 tn Heb “from my hand you exacted it.” The imperfect verbal form again indicates that this was a customary or typical action. The words “for every missing animal” are supplied in the translation for clarity; the following clause in Hebrew, “stolen by day or stolen by night,” probably means “stolen by wild beasts” and refers to the same animals “torn by wild beasts” in the previous clause, although it may refer to animals stolen by people. The translation used here, “missing,” is ambiguous enough to cover either eventuality.
1188 tn Or “by drought.”
1189 tn Heb “frost, ice,” though when contrasted with the חֹרֶב (khorev, “drought, parching heat”) of the day, “piercing cold” is more appropriate as a contrast.
1190 tn Heb “and my sleep fled from my eyes.”
1191 tn Heb “this to me.”
1192 tn Heb “served you,” but in this accusatory context the meaning is more “worked like a slave.”
1193 tn Heb “the fear of Isaac,” that is, the one whom Isaac feared and respected. For further discussion of this title see M. Malul, “More on pahad yitschaq (Gen. 31:42,53) and the Oath by the Thigh,” VT 35 (1985): 192-200.
1194 tn Heb “My oppression and the work of my hands God saw.”
1195 tn Heb “answered and said.”
1196 tn Heb “daughters.”
1197 tn Heb “children.”
1198 tn Heb “but to my daughters what can I do to these today?”
1199 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
1200 tn The verb הָיָה (hayah) followed by the preposition לְ (lÿ) means “become.”
1201 tn Heb “and it will become a witness between me and you.”
1202 tn Heb “Jacob”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
1203 sn The Hebrew word for “pile” is גַּל (gal), which sounds like the name “Galeed” (גַּלְעֵד, gal’ed). See v. 48.
1204 sn Jegar Sahadutha. Laban the Aramean gave the place an Aramaic name which means “witness pile” or “the pile is a witness.”
1205 sn Galeed also means “witness pile” or “the pile is a witness,” but this name is Canaanite or Western Semitic and closer to later Hebrew. Jacob, though certainly capable of speaking Aramaic, here prefers to use the western dialect.
1206 tn Heb “a witness between me and you.”
1207 tn Heb “and Mizpah.”
1208 sn The name Mizpah (מִצְפָּה, mitspah), which means “watchpost,” sounds like the verb translated “may he watch” (יִצֶף, yitsef). Neither Laban nor Jacob felt safe with each other, and so they agreed to go their separate ways, trusting the
1209 tn Heb “between me and you.”
1210 tn Heb “for we will be hidden, each man from his neighbor.”
1211 tn Heb “see.”
1212 tn Heb “between me and you.”
1213 tn Heb “and Laban said to Jacob, ‘Behold this heap and behold the pillar which I have set between men and you.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
1214 tn Heb “This pile is a witness and the pillar is a witness, if I go past this pile to you and if you go past this pile and this pillar to me for harm.”
1215 tn The God of Abraham and the god of Nahor. The Hebrew verb translated “judge” is plural, suggesting that Laban has more than one “god” in mind. The Samaritan Pentateuch and the LXX, apparently in an effort to make the statement monotheistic, have a singular verb. In this case one could translate, “May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” However, Laban had a polytheistic world view, as evidenced by his possession of household idols (cf. 31:19). The translation uses “God” when referring to Abraham’s God, for Genesis makes it clear that Abraham worshiped the one true God. It employs “god” when referring to Nahor’s god, for in the Hebrew text Laban refers to a different god here, probably one of the local deities.
1216 tn Heb “by the fear of his father Isaac.” See the note on the word “fears” in v. 42.
1217 tn The construction is a cognate accusative with the verb, expressing a specific sacrifice.
1218 tn Heb “bread, food.” Presumably this was a type of peace offering, where the person bringing the offering ate the animal being sacrificed.
1219 sn Beginning with 31:55, the verse numbers in the English Bible through 32:32 differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 31:55 ET = 32:1 HT, 32:1 ET = 32:2 HT, etc., through 32:32 ET = 32:33 HT. From 33:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
1220 tn Heb “and Laban got up early in the morning and he kissed.”
1221 tn Heb “his sons.”
1222 tn Heb “to his place.”
1223 sn The phrase angels of God occurs only here and in Gen 28:12 in the OT. Jacob saw a vision of angels just before he left the promised land. Now he encounters angels as he prepares to return to it. The text does not give the details of the encounter, but Jacob’s response suggests it was amicable. This location was a spot where heaven made contact with earth, and where God made his presence known to the patriarch. See C. Houtman, “Jacob at Mahanaim: Some Remarks on Genesis XXXII 2-3,” VT 28 (1978): 37-44.
1224 tn Heb “and Jacob said when he saw them.”
1225 sn The name Mahanaim apparently means “two camps.” Perhaps the two camps were those of God and of Jacob.
1226 tn Heb “before him.”
1227 tn Heb “field.”
1228 sn Your servant. The narrative recounts Jacob’s groveling in fear before Esau as he calls his brother his “lord,” as if to minimize what had been done twenty years ago.
1229 tn Or “I am sending.” The form is a preterite with the vav consecutive; it could be rendered as an English present tense – as the Hebrew perfect/preterite allows – much like an epistolary aorist in Greek. The form assumes the temporal perspective of the one who reads the message.
1230 tn The words “this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
1231 tn Heb “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.”
1232 tn Heb “and he said, ‘If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.” The Hebrew verb אָמַר (’amar) here represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “he thought.” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
1233 tn Heb “the surviving camp will be for escape.” The word “escape” is a feminine noun. The term most often refers to refugees from war.
1234 tn Heb “said.”
1235 tn Heb “the one who said.”
1236 tn Heb “I will cause good” or “I will treat well [or “favorably”].” The idea includes more than prosperity, though that is its essential meaning. Here the form is subordinated to the preceding imperative and indicates purpose or result. Jacob is reminding God of his promise in the hope that God will honor his word.
1237 tn Heb “the loving deeds and faithfulness” (see 24:27, 49).
1238 tn Heb “you have done with.”
1239 tn Heb “for with my staff.” The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally translated “staff,” has been rendered as “walking stick” because a “staff” in contemporary English refers typically to the support personnel in an organization.
1240 tn Heb “this Jordan.”
1241 tn The imperative has the force of a prayer here, not a command.
1242 tn The “hand” here is a metonymy for “power.”
1243 tn Heb “from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau.”
1244 tn Heb “for I am afraid of him, lest he come.”
1245 sn Heb “me, [the] mother upon [the] sons.” The first person pronoun “me” probably means here “me and mine,” as the following clause suggests.
1246 tn Heb “But you, you said.” One of the occurrences of the pronoun “you” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.
1247 tn Or “will certainly deal well with you.” The infinitive absolute appears before the imperfect, underscoring God’s promise to bless. The statement is more emphatic than in v. 9.
1248 tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the nuance of the preceding verb forward.
1249 tn Heb “which cannot be counted because of abundance.” The imperfect verbal form indicates potential here.
1250 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1251 tn Heb “and he took from that which was going into his hand,” meaning that he took some of what belonged to him.
1252 sn The Hebrew noun translated gift can in some contexts refer to the tribute paid by a subject to his lord. Such a nuance is possible here, because Jacob refers to Esau as his lord and to himself as Esau’s servant (v. 4).
1253 tn Heb “and he put them in the hand of.”
1254 tn Heb “a herd, a herd, by itself,” or “each herd by itself.” The distributive sense is expressed by repetition.
1255 tn Heb “the first”; this has been specified as “the servant leading the first herd” in the translation for clarity.
1256 tn Heb “to whom are you?”
1257 tn Heb “and to whom are these before you?”
1258 tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; it has the nuance of an imperfect of instruction.
1259 tn The words “they belong” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
1260 tn Heb “to your servant, to Jacob.”
1261 tn Heb “to my lord, to Esau.”
1262 tn Heb “and look, also he [is] behind us.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1263 tn Heb “And he commanded also the second, also the third, also all the ones going after the herds, saying: ‘According to this word you will speak when you find him.’”
1264 tn Heb “and look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.”
1265 tn Heb “for he said.” The referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “thought.”
1266 tn Heb “I will appease his face.” The cohortative here expresses Jacob’s resolve. In the Book of Leviticus the Hebrew verb translated “appease” has the idea of removing anger due to sin or guilt, a nuance that fits this passage very well. Jacob wanted to buy Esau off with a gift of more than five hundred and fifty animals.
1267 tn Heb “with a gift going before me.”
1268 tn Heb “I will see his face.”
1269 tn Heb “Perhaps he will lift up my face.” In this context the idiom refers to acceptance.
1270 tn Heb “and the gift passed over upon his face.”
1271 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial/temporal.
1272 tn Heb “and he arose in that night and he took.” The first verb is adverbial, indicating that he carried out the crossing right away.
1273 tn The Hebrew term used here is יֶלֶד (yeled) which typically describes male offspring. Some translations render the term “children” but this is a problem because by this time Jacob had twelve children in all, including one daughter, Dinah, born to Leah (Gen 30:21). Benjamin, his twelfth son and thirteenth child, was not born until later (Gen 35:16-19).
1274 sn Hebrew narrative style often includes a summary statement of the whole passage followed by a more detailed report of the event. Here v. 22 is the summary statement, while v. 23 begins the detailed account.
1275 tn Heb “and he sent across what he had.”
1276 sn Reflecting Jacob’s perspective at the beginning of the encounter, the narrator calls the opponent simply “a man.” Not until later in the struggle does Jacob realize his true identity.
1277 sn The verb translated “wrestled” (וַיֵּאָבֵק, vayye’aveq) sounds in Hebrew like the names “Jacob” (יַעֲקֹב, ya’aqov) and “Jabbok” (יַבֹּק, yabboq). In this way the narrator links the setting, the main action, and the main participant together in the mind of the reader or hearer.
1278 tn Heb “until the rising of the dawn.”
1279 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1280 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1281 tn Or “injured”; traditionally “touched.” The Hebrew verb translated “struck” has the primary meanings “to touch; to reach; to strike.” It can, however, carry the connotation “to harm; to molest; to injure.” God’s “touch” cripples Jacob – it would be comparable to a devastating blow.
1282 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1283 tn Heb “dawn has arisen.”
1284 tn Heb “and he said, ‘I will not let you go.’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
1285 sn Jacob wrestled with a man thinking him to be a mere man, and on that basis was equal to the task. But when it had gone on long enough, the night visitor touched Jacob and crippled him. Jacob’s request for a blessing can only mean that he now knew that his opponent was supernatural. Contrary to many allegorical interpretations of the passage that make fighting equivalent to prayer, this passage shows that Jacob stopped fighting, and then asked for a blessing.
1286 tn Heb “and he said to him.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1287 sn What is your name? The question is rhetorical, since the
1288 tn Heb “and he said.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
1289 sn The name Israel is a common construction, using a verb with a theophoric element (אֵל, ’el) that usually indicates the subject of the verb. Here it means “God fights.” This name will replace the name Jacob; it will be both a promise and a call for faith. In essence, the
1290 sn You have fought. The explanation of the name Israel includes a sound play. In Hebrew the verb translated “you have fought” (שָׂרִיתָ, sarita) sounds like the name “Israel” (יִשְׂרָאֵל, yisra’el ), meaning “God fights” (although some interpret the meaning as “he fights [with] God”). The name would evoke the memory of the fight and what it meant. A. Dillmann says that ever after this the name would tell the Israelites that, when Jacob contended successfully with God, he won the battle with man (Genesis, 2:279). To be successful with God meant that he had to be crippled in his own self-sufficiency (A. P. Ross, “Jacob at the Jabboq, Israel at Peniel,” BSac 142 [1985]: 51-62).
1291 sn Tell me your name. In primitive thought to know the name of a deity or supernatural being would enable one to use it for magical manipulation or power (A. S. Herbert, Genesis 12-50 [TBC], 108). For a thorough structural analysis of the passage discussing the plays on the names and the request of Jacob, see R. Barthes, “The Struggle with the Angel: Textual Analysis of Genesis 32:23-33,” Structural Analysis and Biblical Exegesis (PTMS), 21-33.
1292 tn The question uses the enclitic pronoun “this” to emphasize the import of the question.
1293 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Why is it that you ask my name?’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
1294 tn The verb here means that the
1295 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1296 sn The name Peniel means “face of God.” Since Jacob saw God face to face here, the name is appropriate.
1297 tn The word “explaining” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
1298 tn Or “because.”
1299 sn I have seen God face to face. See the note on the name “Peniel” earlier in the verse.
1300 tn Heb “and my soul [= life] has been preserved.”
1301 tn Heb “shone.”
1302 sn The name is spelled Penuel here, apparently a variant spelling of Peniel (see v. 30).
1303 tn The disjunctive clause draws attention to an important fact: He may have crossed the stream, but he was limping.
1304 sn On the use of the expression to this day, see B. S. Childs, “A Study of the Formula ‘Until This Day’,” JBL 82 (1963): 279-92.
1305 tn Or “because the socket of Jacob’s hip was struck.” Some translations render this as an impersonal passive. On the translation of the word “struck” see the note on this term in v. 25.
1306 tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his eyes.”
1307 tn Or “and look, Esau was coming.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes.
1308 sn This kind of ranking according to favoritism no doubt fed the jealousy over Joseph that later becomes an important element in the narrative. It must have been painful to the family to see that they were expendable.
1309 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1310 tn Heb “until his drawing near unto his brother.” The construction uses the preposition with the infinitive construct to express a temporal clause.
1311 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1312 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”
1313 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1314 tn The Hebrew verb means “to be gracious; to show favor”; here it carries the nuance “to give graciously.”
1315 tn Heb “and the female servants drew near, they and their children and they bowed down.”
1316 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1317 tn Heb “Who to you?”
1318 tn Heb “all this camp which I met.”
1319 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1320 tn Heb “and Jacob said, ‘No, please.’” The words “take them” have been supplied in the translation for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse rearranged for stylistic reasons.
1321 tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, expressing a contingent future nuance in the “then” section of the conditional sentence.
1322 tn The verbal form is the preterite with a vav (ו) consecutive, indicating result here.
1323 tn Heb “for therefore I have seen your face like seeing the face of God and you have accepted me.”
1324 tn Heb “blessing.” It is as if Jacob is trying to repay what he stole from his brother twenty years earlier.
1325 tn Or “gracious,” but in the specific sense of prosperity.
1326 tn Heb “all.”
1327 tn Heb “and he urged him and he took.” The referent of the first pronoun in the sequence (“he”) has been specified as “Jacob” in the translation for clarity.
1328 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1329 tn Heb “let us travel and let us go.” The two cohortatives are used in combination with the sense, “let’s travel along, get going, be on our way.”
1330 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
1331 tn Heb “weak.”
1332 tn Heb “and the sheep and the cattle nursing [are] upon me.”
1333 tn Heb “and I, I will move along according to my leisure at the foot of the property which is before me and at the foot of the children.”
1334 tn The cohortative verbal form here indicates a polite offer of help.
1335 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Why this?’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
1336 tn Heb “I am finding favor in the eyes of my lord.”
1337 tn Heb “returned on his way.”
1338 tn The disjunctive clause contrasts Jacob’s action with Esau’s.
1339 sn But Jacob traveled to Succoth. There are several reasons why Jacob chose not to go to Mt. Seir after Esau. First, as he said, his herds and children probably could not keep up with the warriors. Second, he probably did not fully trust his brother. The current friendliness could change, and he could lose everything. And third, God did tell him to return to his land, not Seir. But Jacob is still not able to deal truthfully, probably because of fear of Esau.
1340 tn Heb “why he called.” One could understand “Jacob” as the subject of the verb, but it is more likely that the subject is indefinite, in which case the verb is better translated as passive.
1341 sn The name Succoth means “shelters,” an appropriate name in light of the shelters Jacob built there for his livestock.
1342 tn Heb “in front of.”
1343 tn The words “he bought it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 19 is one long sentence.
1344 tn The Hebrew word קְשִׂיטָה (qÿsitah) is generally understood to refer to a unit of money, but the value is unknown. (However, cf. REB, which renders the term as “sheep”).
1345 tn Heb “God, the God of Israel.” Rather than translating the name, a number of modern translations merely transliterate it from the Hebrew as “El Elohe Israel” (cf. NIV, NRSV, REB). It is not entirely clear how the name should be interpreted grammatically. One option is to supply an equative verb, as in the translation: “The God of Israel [is] God.” Another interpretive option is “the God of Israel [is] strong [or “mighty”].” Buying the land and settling down for a while was a momentous step for the patriarch, so the commemorative naming of the altar is significant.
1346 tn Grk “a man of two minds,” continuing the description of the person in v. 7, giving the reason that he cannot expect to receive anything. The word for “man” or “individual” is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” But it sometimes is used generically to mean “anyone,” “a person,” as here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 2).