28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman! 1 28:2 Leave immediately 2 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 3 bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! 4 Then you will become 5 a large nation. 6 28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham 7 so that you may possess the land 8 God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” 9 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. 10 As he blessed him, 11 Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” 12 28:7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram. 28:8 Then Esau realized 13 that the Canaanite women 14 were displeasing to 15 his father Isaac. 28:9 So Esau went to Ishmael and married 16 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 17 where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. 18 He took one of the stones 19 and placed it near his head. 20 Then he fell asleep 21 in that place 28:12 and had a dream. 22 He saw 23 a stairway 24 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. 25 I will give you and your descendants the ground 26 you are lying on. 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, 27 and you will spread out 28 to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 29 using your name and that of your descendants. 30 28:15 I am with you! 31 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 32 and thought, 33 “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 34 in the morning Jacob 35 took the stone he had placed near his head 36 and set it up as a sacred stone. 37 Then he poured oil on top of it. 28:19 He called that place Bethel, 38 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 39 to eat and clothing to wear, 28:21 and I return safely to my father’s home, 40 then the Lord will become my God. 28:22 Then this stone 41 that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely 42 give you back a tenth of everything you give me.” 43
29:1 So Jacob moved on 44 and came to the land of the eastern people. 45 29:2 He saw 46 in the field a well with 47 three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now 48 a large stone covered the mouth of the well. 29:3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds 49 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 50 of Nahor?” “We know him,” 51 they said. 29:6 “Is he well?” 52 Jacob asked. They replied, “He is well. 53 Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” 29:7 Then Jacob 54 said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, 55 it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” 56 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 57 the sheep.”
29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was tending them. 58 29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, 59 and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he 60 went over 61 and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. 62 29:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep loudly. 63 29:12 When Jacob explained 64 to Rachel that he was a relative of her father 65 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 66 told Laban how he was related to him. 67 29:14 Then Laban said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” 68 So Jacob 69 stayed with him for a month. 70
29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work 71 for me for nothing because you are my relative? 72 Tell me what your wages should be.” 29:16 (Now Laban had two daughters; 73 the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. 29:17 Leah’s eyes were tender, 74 but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.) 75 29:18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with 76 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. 77 Stay with me.” 29:20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. 78 But they seemed like only a few days to him 79 because his love for her was so great. 80
29:21 Finally Jacob said 81 to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. 82 I want to have marital relations with her.” 83 29:22 So Laban invited all the people 84 of that place and prepared a feast. 29:23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leah 85 to Jacob, 86 and Jacob 87 had marital relations with her. 88 29:24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) 89
29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! 90 So Jacob 91 said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! 92 Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked 93 me?” 29:26 “It is not our custom here,” 94 Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriage 95 before the firstborn. 29:27 Complete my older daughter’s bridal week. 96 Then we will give you the younger one 97 too, in exchange for seven more years of work.” 98
29:28 Jacob did as Laban said. 99 When Jacob 100 completed Leah’s bridal week, 101 Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 102 29:29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) 103 29:30 Jacob 104 had marital relations 105 with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban 106 for seven more years. 107
29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, 108 he enabled her to become pregnant 109 while Rachel remained childless. 29:32 So Leah became pregnant 110 and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, 111 for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. 112 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, 113 he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. 114
29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, 115 because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. 116
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. 117 Then she stopped having children.
30:1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she 118 became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children 119 or I’ll die!” 30:2 Jacob became furious 120 with Rachel and exclaimed, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” 121 30:3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with 122 her so that she can bear 123 children 124 for me 125 and I can have a family through her.” 126
30:4 So Rachel 127 gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with 128 her. 30:5 Bilhah became pregnant 129 and gave Jacob a son. 130 30:6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayer 131 and given me a son.” That is why 132 she named him Dan. 133
30:7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. 134 30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.” 135 So she named him Naphtali. 136
30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave 137 her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 30:10 Soon Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son. 138 30:11 Leah said, “How fortunate!” 139 So she named him Gad. 140
30:12 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son. 141 30:13 Leah said, “How happy I am, 142 for women 143 will call me happy!” So she named him Asher. 144
30:14 At the time 145 of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants 146 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, 147 “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,” 148 Rachel said, “he may sleep 149 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 150 with me because I have paid for your services 151 with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relations 152 with her that night. 30:17 God paid attention 153 to Leah; she became pregnant 154 and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. 155 30:18 Then Leah said, “God has granted me a reward 156 because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.” 157 So she named him Issachar. 158
30:19 Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time. 159 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. 160
30:21 After that she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
30:22 Then God took note of 161 Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. 162 30:23 She became pregnant 163 and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” 164 30:24 She named him Joseph, 165 saying, “May the Lord give me yet another son.”
30:25 After Rachel had given birth 166 to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send 167 me on my way so that I can go 168 home to my own country. 169 30:26 Let me take my wives and my children whom I have acquired by working for you. 170 Then I’ll depart, 171 because you know how hard I’ve worked for you.” 172
30:27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, 173 for I have learned by divination 174 that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.” 30:28 He added, “Just name your wages – I’ll pay whatever you want.” 175
30:29 “You know how I have worked for you,” Jacob replied, 176 “and how well your livestock have fared under my care. 177 30:30 Indeed, 178 you had little before I arrived, 179 but now your possessions have increased many times over. 180 The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked. 181 But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?” 182
30:31 So Laban asked, 183 “What should I give you?” “You don’t need to give me a thing,” 184 Jacob replied, 185 “but if you agree to this one condition, 186 I will continue to care for 187 your flocks and protect them: 30:32 Let me walk among 188 all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, 189 and the spotted or speckled goats. 190 These animals will be my wages. 191 30:33 My integrity will testify for me 192 later on. 193 When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on, 194 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.” 195 30:34 “Agreed!” said Laban, “It will be as you say.” 196
30:35 So that day Laban 197 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 198 of his sons. 30:36 Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, 199 while 200 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. 201 30:39 When the sheep mated 202 in front of the branches, they 203 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 204 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, 205 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. 206 So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban 207 and the stronger animals to Jacob. 30:43 In this way Jacob 208 became extremely prosperous. He owned 209 large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.
31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, 210 “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich 211 at our father’s expense!” 212 31:2 When Jacob saw the look on Laban’s face, he could tell his attitude toward him had changed. 213
31:3 The Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers 214 and to your relatives. I will be with you.” 215 31:4 So Jacob sent a message for Rachel and Leah 216 to come to the field 217 where his flocks were. 218 31:5 There he said to them, “I can tell that your father’s attitude toward me has changed, 219 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, 220 31:7 but your father has humiliated 221 me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not permitted him to do me any harm. 31:8 If he said, 222 ‘The speckled animals 223 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 224 during breeding season I saw 225 in a dream that the male goats mating with 226 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 227 that all the male goats mating with 228 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, 229 where you anointed 230 the sacred stone and made a vow to me. 231 Now leave this land immediately 232 and return to your native land.’”
31:14 Then Rachel and Leah replied to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance 233 in our father’s house? 31:15 Hasn’t he treated us like foreigners? He not only sold us, but completely wasted 234 the money paid for us! 235 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. 236 31:18 He took 237 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. 238
31:19 While Laban had gone to shear his sheep, 239 Rachel stole the household idols 240 that belonged to her father. 31:20 Jacob also deceived 241 Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was leaving. 242 31:21 He left 243 with all he owned. He quickly crossed 244 the Euphrates River 245 and headed for 246 the hill country of Gilead.
31:22 Three days later Laban discovered Jacob had left. 247 31:23 So he took his relatives 248 with him and pursued Jacob 249 for seven days. 250 He caught up with 251 him in the hill country of Gilead. 31:24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and warned him, 252 “Be careful 253 that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.” 254
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. 255 31:26 “What have you done?” Laban demanded of Jacob. “You’ve deceived me 256 and carried away my daughters as if they were captives of war! 257 31:27 Why did you run away secretly 258 and deceive me? 259 Why didn’t you tell me so I could send you off with a celebration complete with singing, tambourines, and harps? 260 31:28 You didn’t even allow me to kiss my daughters and my grandchildren 261 good-bye. You have acted foolishly! 31:29 I have 262 the power to do you harm, but the God of your father told me last night, ‘Be careful 263 that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.’ 264 31:30 Now I understand that 265 you have gone away 266 because you longed desperately 267 for your father’s house. Yet why did you steal my gods?” 268
31:31 “I left secretly because I was afraid!” 269 Jacob replied to Laban. “I thought 270 you might take your daughters away from me by force. 271 31:32 Whoever has taken your gods will be put to death! 272 In the presence of our relatives 273 identify whatever is yours and take it.” 274 (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.) 275
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. 276 Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s. 277 31:34 (Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them inside her camel’s saddle 278 and sat on them.) 279 Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them. 280 31:35 Rachel 281 said to her father, “Don’t be angry, 282 my lord. I cannot stand up 283 in your presence because I am having my period.” 284 So he searched thoroughly, 285 but did not find the idols.
31:36 Jacob became angry 286 and argued with Laban. “What did I do wrong?” he demanded of Laban. 287 “What sin of mine prompted you to chase after me in hot pursuit? 288 31:37 When you searched through all my goods, did you find anything that belonged to you? 289 Set it here before my relatives and yours, 290 and let them settle the dispute between the two of us! 291
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. 292 You always made me pay for every missing animal, 293 whether it was taken by day or at night. 31:40 I was consumed by scorching heat 294 during the day and by piercing cold 295 at night, and I went without sleep. 296 31:41 This was my lot 297 for twenty years in your house: I worked like a slave 298 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 299 – 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, 300 and he rebuked you last night.”
31:43 Laban replied 301 to Jacob, “These women 302 are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, 303 and these flocks are my flocks. All that you see belongs to me. But how can I harm these daughters of mine today 304 or the children to whom they have given birth? 31:44 So now, come, let’s make a formal agreement, 305 you and I, and it will be 306 proof that we have made peace.” 307
31:45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a memorial pillar. 31:46 Then he 308 said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” So they brought stones and put them in a pile. 309 They ate there by the pile of stones. 31:47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, 310 but Jacob called it Galeed. 311
31:48 Laban said, “This pile of stones is a witness of our agreement 312 today.” That is why it was called Galeed. 31:49 It was also called Mizpah 313 because he said, “May the Lord watch 314 between us 315 when we are out of sight of one another. 316 31:50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one else is with us, realize 317 that God is witness to your actions.” 318
31:51 “Here is this pile of stones and this pillar I have set up between me and you,” Laban said to Jacob. 319 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. 320 31:53 May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor, 321 the gods of their father, judge between us.” Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared. 322 31:54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice 323 on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat the meal. 324 They ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain.
31:55 (32:1) 325 Early in the morning Laban kissed 326 his grandchildren 327 and his daughters goodbye and blessed them. Then Laban left and returned home. 328
32:1 So Jacob went on his way and the angels of God 329 met him. 32:2 When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, 330 “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. 331
32:3 Jacob sent messengers on ahead 332 to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the region 333 of Edom. 32:4 He commanded them, “This is what you must say to my lord Esau: ‘This is what your servant 334 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 335 this message 336 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,” 337 he thought, 338 “then the other camp will be able to escape.” 339
32:9 Then Jacob prayed, 340 “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you said 341 to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.’ 342 32:10 I am not worthy of all the faithful love 343 you have shown 344 your servant. With only my walking stick 345 I crossed the Jordan, 346 but now I have become two camps. 32:11 Rescue me, 347 I pray, from the hand 348 of my brother Esau, 349 for I am afraid he will come 350 and attack me, as well as the mothers with their children. 351 32:12 But you 352 said, ‘I will certainly make you prosper 353 and will make 354 your descendants like the sand on the seashore, too numerous to count.’” 355
32:13 Jacob 356 stayed there that night. Then he sent 357 as a gift 358 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 359 his servants, who divided them into herds. 360 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, 361 “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong? 362 Where are you going? Whose herds are you driving?’ 363 32:18 then you must say, 364 ‘They belong 365 to your servant Jacob. 366 They have been sent as a gift to my lord Esau. 367 In fact Jacob himself is behind us.’” 368
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. 369 32:20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’” 370 Jacob thought, 371 “I will first appease him 372 by sending a gift ahead of me. 373 After that I will meet him. 374 Perhaps he will accept me.” 375 32:21 So the gifts were sent on ahead of him 376 while he spent that night in the camp. 377
32:22 During the night Jacob quickly took 378 his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons 379 and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 380 32:23 He took them and sent them across the stream along with all his possessions. 381 32:24 So Jacob was left alone. Then a man 382 wrestled 383 with him until daybreak. 384 32:25 When the man 385 saw that he could not defeat Jacob, 386 he struck 387 the socket of his hip so the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him.
32:26 Then the man 388 said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” 389 “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, 390 “unless you bless me.” 391 32:27 The man asked him, 392 “What is your name?” 393 He answered, “Jacob.” 32:28 “No longer will your name be Jacob,” the man told him, 394 “but Israel, 395 because you have fought 396 with God and with men and have prevailed.”
32:29 Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.” 397 “Why 398 do you ask my name?” the man replied. 399 Then he blessed 400 Jacob 401 there. 32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, 402 explaining, 403 “Certainly 404 I have seen God face to face 405 and have survived.” 406
32:31 The sun rose 407 over him as he crossed over Penuel, 408 but 409 he was limping because of his hip. 32:32 That is why to this day 410 the Israelites do not eat the sinew which is attached to the socket of the hip, because he struck 411 the socket of Jacob’s hip near the attached sinew.
1:1 In the beginning 412 God 413 created 414 the heavens and the earth. 415
1:1 In the beginning 416 God 417 created 418 the heavens and the earth. 419
1:2 Now 420 the earth 421 was without shape and empty, 422 and darkness 423 was over the surface of the watery deep, 424 but the Spirit of God 425 was moving 426 over the surface 427 of the water. 428
1:15 429 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn 430 over all creation, 431
1:3 Blessed 432 is 433 the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed 434 us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ.
1 tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
2 tn Heb “Arise! Go!” The first of the two imperatives is adverbial and stresses the immediacy of the departure.
3 tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.
4 tn Heb “and make you fruitful and multiply you.” See Gen 17:6, 20 for similar terminology.
5 tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here indicates consequence. The collocation הָיָה + preposition לְ (hayah + lÿ) means “become.”
6 tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”
7 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.
8 tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
9 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.
10 tn Heb “to take for himself from there a wife.”
11 tn The infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffix form a temporal clause.
12 tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
13 tn Heb “saw.”
14 tn Heb “the daughters of Canaan.”
15 tn Heb “evil in the eyes of.”
16 tn Heb “took for a wife.”
17 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.
18 tn Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.”
19 tn Heb “he took from the stones of the place,” which here means Jacob took one of the stones (see v. 18).
20 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.
21 tn Heb “lay down.”
22 tn Heb “and dreamed.”
23 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
24 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.
25 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.
26 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.
27 tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.
28 tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.
29 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.
30 tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”
31 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).
32 tn Heb “woke up from his sleep.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
33 tn Heb “said.”
34 tn Heb “and he got up early…and he took.”
35 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
36 tn See the note on this phrase in v. 11.
37 tn Heb “standing stone.”
38 tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew (see v. 17).
39 tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.
40 tn Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.”
41 tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.
42 tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.
43 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.
44 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.
45 tn Heb “the land of the sons of the east.”
46 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.
47 tn Heb “and look, there.”
48 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the noun with the prefixed conjunction) provides supplemental information that is important to the story.
49 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the shepherds) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
50 tn Heb “son.”
51 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.
52 tn Heb “and he said to them, ‘Is there peace to him?’”
53 tn Heb “peace.”
54 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
55 tn Heb “the day is great.”
56 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.
57 tn The perfect verbal forms with the vav (ו) consecutive carry on the sequence begun by the initial imperfect form.
58 tn Heb “was a shepherdess.”
59 tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother” (twice in this verse).
60 tn Heb “Jacob.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
61 tn Heb “drew near, approached.”
62 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).
63 tn Heb “and he lifted up his voice and wept.” The idiom calls deliberate attention to the fact that Jacob wept out loud.
64 tn Heb “declared.”
65 tn Heb “that he [was] the brother of her father.”
66 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
67 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).
68 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).
69 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
70 tn Heb “a month of days.”
71 tn The verb is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; the nuance in the question is deliberative.
72 tn Heb “my brother.” The term “brother” is used in a loose sense; actually Jacob was Laban’s nephew.
73 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.
74 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.
75 tn Heb “and Rachel was beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance.”
76 tn Heb “Jacob loved.”
77 tn Heb “Better my giving her to you than my giving her to another man.”
78 tn Heb “in exchange for Rachel.”
79 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.
80 tn Heb “because of his love for her.” The words “was so great” are supplied for stylistic reasons.
81 tn Heb “and Jacob said.”
82 tn Heb “my days are fulfilled.”
83 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).
84 tn Heb “men.”
85 tn Heb “and it happened in the evening that he took Leah his daughter and brought her.”
86 tn Heb “to him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
87 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
88 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.
89 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.
90 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.
91 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
92 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?”
93 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.
94 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.
95 tn Heb “to give the younger.” The words “daughter” and “in marriage” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
96 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.
97 tn Heb “this other one.”
98 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.”
99 tn Heb “and Jacob did so.” The words “as Laban said” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
100 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
101 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.
102 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.
103 tn Heb “and Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his female servant, for her for a servant.”
104 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
105 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.
106 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
107 tn Heb “and he loved also Rachel, more than Leah, and he served with him still seven other years.”
108 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.
109 tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”
110 tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).
111 sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”
112 tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”
113 tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.
114 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
115 tn Heb “will be joined to me.”
116 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.
117 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.
118 tn Heb “Rachel.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
119 tn Heb “sons.”
120 tn Heb “and the anger of Jacob was hot.”
121 tn Heb “who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb.”
122 tn Heb “go in to.” The expression “go in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.
123 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates the immediate purpose of the proposed activity.
124 tn The word “children” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
125 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.
126 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).
127 tn Heb “and she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
128 tn Heb “went in to.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.
129 tn Or “Bilhah conceived” (also in v. 7).
130 tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a son.”
131 tn Heb “and also he has heard my voice.” The expression means that God responded positively to Rachel’s cry and granted her request.
132 tn Or “therefore.”
133 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.
134 tn Heb “and she became pregnant again and Bilhah, the servant of Rachel, bore a second son for Jacob.”
135 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.
136 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.”
137 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.”
138 tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore for Jacob a son.”
139 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.”
140 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.
141 tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore a second son for Jacob.”
142 tn The Hebrew statement apparently means “with my happiness.”
143 tn Heb “daughters.”
144 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.
145 tn Heb “during the days.”
146 sn Mandrake plants were popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac in the culture of the time.
147 tn Heb “and she said to her”; the referent of the pronoun “she” (Leah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
148 tn Heb “therefore.”
149 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.
150 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.
151 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.
152 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.
153 tn Heb “listened to.”
154 tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 19).
155 tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a fifth son,” i.e., this was the fifth son that Leah had given Jacob.
156 tn Heb “God has given my reward.”
157 tn The words “as a wife” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity (cf. v. 9).
158 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.
159 tn Heb “and she bore a sixth son for Jacob,” i.e., this was the sixth son that Leah had given Jacob.
160 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.
161 tn Heb “remembered.”
162 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
163 tn Or “conceived.”
164 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.
165 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.
166 tn The perfect verbal form is translated as a past perfect because Rachel’s giving birth to Joseph preceded Jacob’s conversation with Laban.
167 tn The imperatival form here expresses a request.
168 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
169 tn Heb “to my place and to my land.”
170 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.
171 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
172 tn Heb “for you, you know my service [with] which I have served you.”
173 tn The words “please stay here” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
174 tn Or perhaps “I have grown rich and the
175 tn Heb “set your wage for me so I may give [it].”
176 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.
177 tn Heb “and how your cattle were with me.”
178 tn Or “for.”
179 tn Heb “before me.”
180 tn Heb “and it has broken out with respect to abundance.”
181 tn Heb “at my foot.”
182 tn Heb “How long [until] I do, also I, for my house?”
183 tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
184 tn The negated imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance.
185 tn The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
186 tn Heb “If you do for me this thing.”
187 tn Heb “I will return, I will tend,” an idiom meaning “I will continue tending.”
188 tn Heb “pass through.”
189 tn Or “every black lamb”; Heb “and every dark sheep among the lambs.”
190 tn Heb “and the spotted and speckled among the goats.”
191 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.
192 tn Heb “will answer on my behalf.”
193 tn Heb “on the following day,” or “tomorrow.”
194 tn Heb “when you come concerning my wage before you.”
195 tn Heb “every one which is not speckled and spotted among the lambs and dark among the goats, stolen it is with me.”
196 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.
197 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
198 tn Heb “and he gave [them] into the hand.”
199 tn Heb “and he put a journey of three days between himself and Jacob.”
200 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.
201 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).
202 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.
203 tn Heb “the sheep.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“they”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
204 tn Heb “and he set the faces of.”
205 tn Heb “and at every breeding-heat of the flock.”
206 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.
207 tn Heb “were for Laban.”
208 tn Heb “the man”; Jacob’s name has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
209 tn Heb “and there were to him.”
210 tn Heb “and he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying.”
211 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).
212 tn Heb “and from that which belonged to our father he has gained all this wealth.”
213 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.
214 tn Or perhaps “ancestors” (so NRSV), although the only “ancestors” Jacob had there were his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac.
215 sn I will be with you. Though Laban was no longer “with him,” the
216 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.
217 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.
218 tn Heb “to his flock.”
219 tn Heb “I see the face of your father, that he is not toward me as formerly.”
220 tn Heb “with all my strength.”
221 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).
222 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.
223 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.
224 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator, “and it happened at the time of.”
225 tn Heb “in the time of the breeding of the flock I lifted up my eyes and I saw.”
226 tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.
227 tn Heb “lift up (now) your eyes and see.”
228 tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.
229 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
230 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
231 sn And made a vow to me. The second clause reminds Jacob of the vow he made to the
232 tn Heb “arise, leave!” The first imperative draws attention to the need for immediate action.
233 tn The two nouns may form a hendiadys, meaning “a share in the inheritance” or “a portion to inherit.”
234 tn Heb “and he devoured, even devouring.” The infinitive absolute (following the finite verb here) is used for emphasis.
235 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.
236 tn Heb “and Jacob arose and he lifted up his sons and his wives on to the camels.”
237 tn Heb “drove,” but this is subject to misunderstanding in contemporary English.
238 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.”
239 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.
240 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.
241 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.
242 tn Heb “fleeing,” which reflects Jacob’s viewpoint.
243 tn Heb “and he fled.”
244 tn Heb “he arose and crossed.” The first verb emphasizes that he wasted no time in getting across.
245 tn Heb “the river”; the referent (the Euphrates) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
246 tn Heb “he set his face.”
247 tn Heb “and it was told to Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled.”
248 tn Heb “his brothers.”
249 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
250 tn Heb “and he pursued after him a journey of seven days.”
251 tn Heb “drew close to.”
252 tn Heb “said to him.”
253 tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.
254 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.
255 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.
256 tn Heb “and you have stolen my heart.” This expression apparently means “to deceive” (see v. 20).
257 tn Heb “and you have led away my daughters like captives of a sword.”
258 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.”
259 tn Heb “and steal me.”
260 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?”
261 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.
262 tn Heb “there is to my hand.”
263 tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.
264 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.
265 tn Heb “and now.” The words “I understand that” have been supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
266 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the certainty of the action.
267 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of emotion involved.
268 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.
269 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.
270 tn Heb “for I said.”
271 tn Heb “lest you steal your daughters from with me.”
272 tn Heb “With whomever you find your gods, he will not live.”
273 tn Heb “brothers.”
274 tn Heb “recognize for yourself what is with me and take for yourself.”
275 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.
276 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.
277 tn Heb “and he went out from the tent of Leah and went into the tent of Rachel.”
278 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.”
279 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides another parenthetical statement necessary to the storyline.
280 tn The word “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
281 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
282 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.
283 tn Heb “I am unable to rise.”
284 tn Heb “the way of women is to me.” This idiom refers to a woman’s menstrual period.
285 tn The word “thoroughly” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.
286 tn Heb “it was hot to Jacob.” This idiom refers to anger.
287 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.
288 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).
289 tn Heb “what did you find from all the goods of your house?”
290 tn Heb “your relatives.” The word “relatives” has not been repeated in the translation here for stylistic reasons.
291 tn Heb “that they may decide between us two.”
292 tn The imperfect verbal form indicates that this was a customary or typical action.
293 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.
294 tn Or “by drought.”
295 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.
296 tn Heb “and my sleep fled from my eyes.”
297 tn Heb “this to me.”
298 tn Heb “served you,” but in this accusatory context the meaning is more “worked like a slave.”
299 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.
300 tn Heb “My oppression and the work of my hands God saw.”
301 tn Heb “answered and said.”
302 tn Heb “daughters.”
303 tn Heb “children.”
304 tn Heb “but to my daughters what can I do to these today?”
305 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
306 tn The verb הָיָה (hayah) followed by the preposition לְ (lÿ) means “become.”
307 tn Heb “and it will become a witness between me and you.”
308 tn Heb “Jacob”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
309 sn The Hebrew word for “pile” is גַּל (gal), which sounds like the name “Galeed” (גַּלְעֵד, gal’ed). See v. 48.
310 sn Jegar Sahadutha. Laban the Aramean gave the place an Aramaic name which means “witness pile” or “the pile is a witness.”
311 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.
312 tn Heb “a witness between me and you.”
313 tn Heb “and Mizpah.”
314 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
315 tn Heb “between me and you.”
316 tn Heb “for we will be hidden, each man from his neighbor.”
317 tn Heb “see.”
318 tn Heb “between me and you.”
319 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.
320 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.”
321 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.
322 tn Heb “by the fear of his father Isaac.” See the note on the word “fears” in v. 42.
323 tn The construction is a cognate accusative with the verb, expressing a specific sacrifice.
324 tn Heb “bread, food.” Presumably this was a type of peace offering, where the person bringing the offering ate the animal being sacrificed.
325 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.
326 tn Heb “and Laban got up early in the morning and he kissed.”
327 tn Heb “his sons.”
328 tn Heb “to his place.”
329 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.
330 tn Heb “and Jacob said when he saw them.”
331 sn The name Mahanaim apparently means “two camps.” Perhaps the two camps were those of God and of Jacob.
332 tn Heb “before him.”
333 tn Heb “field.”
334 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.
335 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.
336 tn The words “this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
337 tn Heb “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.”
338 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.
339 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.
340 tn Heb “said.”
341 tn Heb “the one who said.”
342 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.
343 tn Heb “the loving deeds and faithfulness” (see 24:27, 49).
344 tn Heb “you have done with.”
345 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.
346 tn Heb “this Jordan.”
347 tn The imperative has the force of a prayer here, not a command.
348 tn The “hand” here is a metonymy for “power.”
349 tn Heb “from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau.”
350 tn Heb “for I am afraid of him, lest he come.”
351 sn Heb “me, [the] mother upon [the] sons.” The first person pronoun “me” probably means here “me and mine,” as the following clause suggests.
352 tn Heb “But you, you said.” One of the occurrences of the pronoun “you” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.
353 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.
354 tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the nuance of the preceding verb forward.
355 tn Heb “which cannot be counted because of abundance.” The imperfect verbal form indicates potential here.
356 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
357 tn Heb “and he took from that which was going into his hand,” meaning that he took some of what belonged to him.
358 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).
359 tn Heb “and he put them in the hand of.”
360 tn Heb “a herd, a herd, by itself,” or “each herd by itself.” The distributive sense is expressed by repetition.
361 tn Heb “the first”; this has been specified as “the servant leading the first herd” in the translation for clarity.
362 tn Heb “to whom are you?”
363 tn Heb “and to whom are these before you?”
364 tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; it has the nuance of an imperfect of instruction.
365 tn The words “they belong” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
366 tn Heb “to your servant, to Jacob.”
367 tn Heb “to my lord, to Esau.”
368 tn Heb “and look, also he [is] behind us.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
369 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.’”
370 tn Heb “and look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.”
371 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.”
372 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.
373 tn Heb “with a gift going before me.”
374 tn Heb “I will see his face.”
375 tn Heb “Perhaps he will lift up my face.” In this context the idiom refers to acceptance.
376 tn Heb “and the gift passed over upon his face.”
377 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial/temporal.
378 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.
379 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).
380 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.
381 tn Heb “and he sent across what he had.”
382 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.
383 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.
384 tn Heb “until the rising of the dawn.”
385 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
386 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
387 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.
388 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
389 tn Heb “dawn has arisen.”
390 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.
391 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.
392 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.
393 sn What is your name? The question is rhetorical, since the
394 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.
395 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
396 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).
397 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.
398 tn The question uses the enclitic pronoun “this” to emphasize the import of the question.
399 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.
400 tn The verb here means that the
401 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
402 sn The name Peniel means “face of God.” Since Jacob saw God face to face here, the name is appropriate.
403 tn The word “explaining” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
404 tn Or “because.”
405 sn I have seen God face to face. See the note on the name “Peniel” earlier in the verse.
406 tn Heb “and my soul [= life] has been preserved.”
407 tn Heb “shone.”
408 sn The name is spelled Penuel here, apparently a variant spelling of Peniel (see v. 30).
409 tn The disjunctive clause draws attention to an important fact: He may have crossed the stream, but he was limping.
410 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.
411 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.
412 tn The translation assumes that the form translated “beginning” is in the absolute state rather than the construct (“in the beginning of,” or “when God created”). In other words, the clause in v. 1 is a main clause, v. 2 has three clauses that are descriptive and supply background information, and v. 3 begins the narrative sequence proper. The referent of the word “beginning” has to be defined from the context since there is no beginning or ending with God.
413 sn God. This frequently used Hebrew name for God (אֱלֹהִים,’elohim ) is a plural form. When it refers to the one true God, the singular verb is normally used, as here. The plural form indicates majesty; the name stresses God’s sovereignty and incomparability – he is the “God of gods.”
414 tn The English verb “create” captures well the meaning of the Hebrew term in this context. The verb בָּרָא (bara’) always describes the divine activity of fashioning something new, fresh, and perfect. The verb does not necessarily describe creation out of nothing (see, for example, v. 27, where it refers to the creation of man); it often stresses forming anew, reforming, renewing (see Ps 51:10; Isa 43:15, 65:17).
415 tn Or “the entire universe”; or “the sky and the dry land.” This phrase is often interpreted as a merism, referring to the entire ordered universe, including the heavens and the earth and everything in them. The “heavens and the earth” were completed in seven days (see Gen 2:1) and are characterized by fixed laws (see Jer 33:25). “Heavens” refers specifically to the sky, created on the second day (see v. 8), while “earth” refers specifically to the dry land, created on the third day (see v. 10). Both are distinct from the sea/seas (see v. 10 and Exod 20:11).
416 tn The translation assumes that the form translated “beginning” is in the absolute state rather than the construct (“in the beginning of,” or “when God created”). In other words, the clause in v. 1 is a main clause, v. 2 has three clauses that are descriptive and supply background information, and v. 3 begins the narrative sequence proper. The referent of the word “beginning” has to be defined from the context since there is no beginning or ending with God.
417 sn God. This frequently used Hebrew name for God (אֱלֹהִים,’elohim ) is a plural form. When it refers to the one true God, the singular verb is normally used, as here. The plural form indicates majesty; the name stresses God’s sovereignty and incomparability – he is the “God of gods.”
418 tn The English verb “create” captures well the meaning of the Hebrew term in this context. The verb בָּרָא (bara’) always describes the divine activity of fashioning something new, fresh, and perfect. The verb does not necessarily describe creation out of nothing (see, for example, v. 27, where it refers to the creation of man); it often stresses forming anew, reforming, renewing (see Ps 51:10; Isa 43:15, 65:17).
419 tn Or “the entire universe”; or “the sky and the dry land.” This phrase is often interpreted as a merism, referring to the entire ordered universe, including the heavens and the earth and everything in them. The “heavens and the earth” were completed in seven days (see Gen 2:1) and are characterized by fixed laws (see Jer 33:25). “Heavens” refers specifically to the sky, created on the second day (see v. 8), while “earth” refers specifically to the dry land, created on the third day (see v. 10). Both are distinct from the sea/seas (see v. 10 and Exod 20:11).
420 tn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) at the beginning of v. 2 gives background information for the following narrative, explaining the state of things when “God said…” (v. 3). Verse one is a title to the chapter, v. 2 provides information about the state of things when God spoke, and v. 3 begins the narrative per se with the typical narrative construction (vav [ו] consecutive followed by the prefixed verbal form). (This literary structure is paralleled in the second portion of the book: Gen 2:4 provides the title or summary of what follows, 2:5-6 use disjunctive clause structures to give background information for the following narrative, and 2:7 begins the narrative with the vav consecutive attached to a prefixed verbal form.) Some translate 1:2a “and the earth became,” arguing that v. 1 describes the original creation of the earth, while v. 2 refers to a judgment that reduced it to a chaotic condition. Verses 3ff. then describe the re-creation of the earth. However, the disjunctive clause at the beginning of v. 2 cannot be translated as if it were relating the next event in a sequence. If v. 2 were sequential to v. 1, the author would have used the vav consecutive followed by a prefixed verbal form and the subject.
421 tn That is, what we now call “the earth.” The creation of the earth as we know it is described in vv. 9-10. Prior to this the substance which became the earth (= dry land) lay dormant under the water.
422 tn Traditional translations have followed a more literal rendering of “waste and void.” The words describe a condition that is without form and empty. What we now know as “the earth” was actually an unfilled mass covered by water and darkness. Later תֹהוּ (tohu) and בֹּהוּ (bohu), when used in proximity, describe a situation resulting from judgment (Isa 34:11; Jer 4:23). Both prophets may be picturing judgment as the reversal of creation in which God’s judgment causes the world to revert to its primordial condition. This later use of the terms has led some to conclude that Gen 1:2 presupposes the judgment of a prior world, but it is unsound method to read the later application of the imagery (in a context of judgment) back into Gen 1:2.
423 sn Darkness. The Hebrew word simply means “darkness,” but in the Bible it has come to symbolize what opposes God, such as judgment (Exod 10:21), death (Ps 88:13), oppression (Isa 9:1), the wicked (1 Sam 2:9) and in general, sin. In Isa 45:7 it parallels “evil.” It is a fitting cover for the primeval waste, but it prepares the reader for the fact that God is about to reveal himself through his works.
424 tn The Hebrew term תְּהוֹם (tÿhom, “deep”) refers to the watery deep, the salty ocean – especially the primeval ocean that surrounds and underlies the earth (see Gen 7:11).
425 tn The traditional rendering “Spirit of God” is preserved here, as opposed to a translation like “wind from/breath of God” (cf. NRSV) or “mighty wind” (cf. NEB), taking the word “God” to represent the superlative. Elsewhere in the OT the phrase refers consistently to the divine spirit that empowers and energizes individuals (see Gen 41:38; Exod 31:3; 35:31; Num 24:2; 1 Sam 10:10; 11:6; 19:20, 23; Ezek 11:24; 2 Chr 15:1; 24:20).
426 tn The Hebrew verb has been translated “hovering” or “moving” (as a bird over her young, see Deut 32:11). The Syriac cognate term means “to brood over; to incubate.” How much of that sense might be attached here is hard to say, but the verb does depict the presence of the Spirit of God moving about mysteriously over the waters, presumably preparing for the acts of creation to follow. If one reads “mighty wind” (cf. NEB) then the verse describes how the powerful wind begins to blow in preparation for the creative act described in vv. 9-10. (God also used a wind to drive back the flood waters in Noah’s day. See Gen 8:1.)
427 tn Heb “face.”
428 sn The water. The text deliberately changes now from the term for the watery deep to the general word for water. The arena is now the life-giving water and not the chaotic abyss-like deep. The change may be merely stylistic, but it may also carry some significance. The deep carries with it the sense of the abyss, chaos, darkness – in short, that which is not good for life.
429 sn This passage has been typeset as poetry because many scholars regard this passage as poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decision to typeset it as poetry should be viewed as a tentative decision about its genre.
430 tn The Greek term πρωτότοκος (prwtotokos) could refer either to first in order of time, such as a first born child, or it could refer to one who is preeminent in rank. M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 43, expresses the meaning of the word well: “The ‘firstborn’ was either the eldest child in a family or a person of preeminent rank. The use of this term to describe the Davidic king in Ps 88:28 LXX (=Ps 89:27 EVV), ‘I will also appoint him my firstborn (πρωτότοκον), the most exalted of the kings of the earth,’ indicates that it can denote supremacy in rank as well as priority in time. But whether the πρωτό- element in the word denotes time, rank, or both, the significance of the -τοκος element as indicating birth or origin (from τίκτω, give birth to) has been virtually lost except in ref. to lit. birth.” In Col 1:15 the emphasis is on the priority of Jesus’ rank as over and above creation (cf. 1:16 and the “for” clause referring to Jesus as Creator).
431 tn The genitive construction πάσης κτίσεως (pash" ktisew") is a genitive of subordination and is therefore translated as “over all creation.” See ExSyn 103-4.
432 sn Eph 1:3-14 comprises one long sentence in Greek, with three major sections. Each section ends with a note of praise for God (vv. 6, 12, 14), focusing on a different member of the Trinity. After an opening summary of all the saints’ spiritual blessings (v. 3), the first section (vv. 4-6) offers up praise that the Father has chosen us in eternity past; the second section (vv. 7-12) offers up praise that the Son has redeemed us in the historical past (i.e., at the cross); the third section (vv. 13-14) offers up praise that the Holy Spirit has sealed us in our personal past, at the point of conversion.
433 tn There is no verb in the Greek text; either the optative (“be”) or the indicative (“is”) can be supplied. The meaning of the term εὐλογητός (euloghtos), the author’s intention at this point in the epistle, and the literary genre of this material must all come into play to determine which is the preferred nuance. εὐλογητός as an adjective can mean either that one is praised or that one is blessed, that is, in a place of favor and benefit. The meaning “blessed” would be more naturally paired with an indicative verb here and would suggest that blessedness is an intrinsic part of God’s character. The meaning “praised” would be more naturally paired with an optative verb here and would suggest that God ought to be praised. Pauline style in the epistles generally moves from statements to obligations, expressing the reality first and then the believer’s necessary response, which would favor the indicative. However, many scholars regard Eph 1:3-14 as a berakah psalm (cf. A. T. Lincoln, Ephesians [WBC], 10-11). Rooted in the OT and Jewish worship, berakah psalms were songs of praise in which the worshiper gave praise to God; this would favor the optative (although not all scholars are agreed on this genre classification here; see H. W. Hoehner, Ephesians, 153-59, for discussion and an alternate conclusion). When considered as a whole, although a decision is difficult, the indicative seems to fit all the factors better. The author seems to be pointing to who God is and what he has done for believers in this section; the indicative more naturally fits that emphasis. Cf. also 2 Cor 1:3; 1 Pet 1:3.
434 tn Or “enriched,” “conferred blessing.”