32:1 So Jacob went on his way and the angels of God 1 met him. 32:2 When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, 2 “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. 3
32:3 Jacob sent messengers on ahead 4 to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the region 5 of Edom. 32:4 He commanded them, “This is what you must say to my lord Esau: ‘This is what your servant 6 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 7 this message 8 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,” 9 he thought, 10 “then the other camp will be able to escape.” 11
32:9 Then Jacob prayed, 12 “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you said 13 to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.’ 14 32:10 I am not worthy of all the faithful love 15 you have shown 16 your servant. With only my walking stick 17 I crossed the Jordan, 18 but now I have become two camps. 32:11 Rescue me, 19 I pray, from the hand 20 of my brother Esau, 21 for I am afraid he will come 22 and attack me, as well as the mothers with their children. 23 32:12 But you 24 said, ‘I will certainly make you prosper 25 and will make 26 your descendants like the sand on the seashore, too numerous to count.’” 27
32:13 Jacob 28 stayed there that night. Then he sent 29 as a gift 30 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 31 his servants, who divided them into herds. 32 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, 33 “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong? 34 Where are you going? Whose herds are you driving?’ 35 32:18 then you must say, 36 ‘They belong 37 to your servant Jacob. 38 They have been sent as a gift to my lord Esau. 39 In fact Jacob himself is behind us.’” 40
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. 41 32:20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’” 42 Jacob thought, 43 “I will first appease him 44 by sending a gift ahead of me. 45 After that I will meet him. 46 Perhaps he will accept me.” 47 32:21 So the gifts were sent on ahead of him 48 while he spent that night in the camp. 49
32:22 During the night Jacob quickly took 50 his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons 51 and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 52 32:23 He took them and sent them across the stream along with all his possessions. 53 32:24 So Jacob was left alone. Then a man 54 wrestled 55 with him until daybreak. 56 32:25 When the man 57 saw that he could not defeat Jacob, 58 he struck 59 the socket of his hip so the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him.
32:26 Then the man 60 said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” 61 “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, 62 “unless you bless me.” 63 32:27 The man asked him, 64 “What is your name?” 65 He answered, “Jacob.” 32:28 “No longer will your name be Jacob,” the man told him, 66 “but Israel, 67 because you have fought 68 with God and with men and have prevailed.”
32:29 Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.” 69 “Why 70 do you ask my name?” the man replied. 71 Then he blessed 72 Jacob 73 there. 32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, 74 explaining, 75 “Certainly 76 I have seen God face to face 77 and have survived.” 78
32:31 The sun rose 79 over him as he crossed over Penuel, 80 but 81 he was limping because of his hip. 32:32 That is why to this day 82 the Israelites do not eat the sinew which is attached to the socket of the hip, because he struck 83 the socket of Jacob’s hip near the attached sinew.
23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. 84
23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. 85
25:1 Abraham had taken 86 another 87 wife, named Keturah. 25:2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 25:3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. 88 The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 25:4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants 89 of Keturah.
25:5 Everything he owned Abraham left to his son Isaac. 25:6 But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines 90 and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. 91
25:7 Abraham lived a total of 92 175 years. 25:8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life. 93 He joined his ancestors. 94 25:9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah 95 near Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar, the Hethite. 25:10 This was the field Abraham had purchased from the sons of Heth. 96 There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 25:11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed 97 his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi. 98
25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, 99 whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham.
25:13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names according to their records: 100 Nebaioth (Ishmael’s firstborn), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 25:14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 25:15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 25:16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names by their settlements and their camps – twelve princes 101 according to their clans.
25:17 Ishmael lived a total of 102 137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors. 103 25:18 His descendants 104 settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next 105 to Egypt all the way 106 to Asshur. 107 They settled 108 away from all their relatives. 109
25:19 This is the account of Isaac, 110 the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac. 25:20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, 111 the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. 112
25:21 Isaac prayed to 113 the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 25:22 But the children struggled 114 inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” 115 So she asked the Lord, 116 25:23 and the Lord said to her,
“Two nations 117 are in your womb,
and two peoples will be separated from within you.
One people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.”
25:24 When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, 118 there were 119 twins in her womb. 25:25 The first came out reddish 120 all over, 121 like a hairy 122 garment, so they named him Esau. 123 25:26 When his brother came out with 124 his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. 125 Isaac was sixty years old 126 when they were born.
25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled 127 hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. 128 25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, 129 but Rebekah loved 130 Jacob.
25:29 Now Jacob cooked some stew, 131 and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished. 25:30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed 132 me some of the red stuff – yes, this red stuff – because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called 133 Edom.) 134
25:31 But Jacob replied, “First 135 sell me your birthright.” 25:32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” 136 25:33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” 137 So Esau 138 swore an oath to him and sold his birthright 139 to Jacob.
25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. 140 So Esau despised his birthright. 141
26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred 142 in the days of Abraham. 143 Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar. 26:2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; 144 settle down in the land that I will point out to you. 145 26:3 Stay 146 in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, 147 for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, 148 and I will fulfill 149 the solemn promise I made 150 to your father Abraham. 26:4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them 151 all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. 152 26:5 All this will come to pass 153 because Abraham obeyed me 154 and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” 155 26:6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.
26:7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, “She is my sister.” 156 He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, 157 “The men of this place will kill me to get 158 Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”
26:8 After Isaac 159 had been there a long time, 160 Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed 161 Isaac caressing 162 his wife Rebekah. 26:9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really 163 your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.” 164
26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? 165 One of the men 166 might easily have had sexual relations with 167 your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!” 26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches 168 this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” 169
26:12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, 170 because the Lord blessed him. 171 26:13 The man became wealthy. 172 His influence continued to grow 173 until he became very prominent. 26:14 He had 174 so many sheep 175 and cattle 176 and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous 177 of him. 26:15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled up 178 all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham.
26:16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere, 179 for you have become much more powerful 180 than we are.” 26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. 181 26:18 Isaac reopened 182 the wells that had been dug 183 back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up 184 after Abraham died. Isaac 185 gave these wells 186 the same names his father had given them. 187
26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing 188 water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled 189 with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac 190 named the well 191 Esek 192 because they argued with him about it. 193 26:21 His servants 194 dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it 195 Sitnah. 196 26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac 197 named it 198 Rehoboth, 199 saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”
26:23 From there Isaac 200 went up to Beer Sheba. 26:24 The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” 26:25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped 201 the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. 202
26:26 Now Abimelech had come 203 to him from Gerar along with 204 Ahuzzah his friend 205 and Phicol the commander of his army. 26:27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me 206 and sent me away from you.” 26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see 207 that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be 208 a pact between us 209 – between us 210 and you. Allow us to make 211 a treaty with you 26:29 so that 212 you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed 213 you, but have always treated you well 214 before sending you away 215 in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.” 216
26:30 So Isaac 217 held a feast for them and they celebrated. 218 26:31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. 219 Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms. 220
26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported. 221 26:33 So he named it Shibah; 222 that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba 223 to this day.
26:34 When 224 Esau was forty years old, 225 he married 226 Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, as well as Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 26:35 They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety. 227
27:1 When 228 Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, 229 he called his older 230 son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau 231 replied. 27:2 Isaac 232 said, “Since 233 I am so old, I could die at any time. 234 27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game 235 for me. 27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then 236 I will eat it so that I may bless you 237 before I die.”
27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. 238 When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, 239 27:6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father tell your brother Esau, 27:7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare for me some tasty food. Then I will eat 240 it and bless you 241 in the presence of the Lord 242 before I die.’ 27:8 Now then, my son, do 243 exactly what I tell you! 244 27:9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare 245 them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. 27:10 Then you will take 246 it to your father. Thus he will eat it 247 and 248 bless you before he dies.”
27:11 “But Esau my brother is a hairy man,” Jacob protested to his mother Rebekah, “and I have smooth skin! 249 27:12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him 250 and I’ll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.” 27:13 So his mother told him, “Any curse against you will fall on me, 251 my son! Just obey me! 252 Go and get them for me!”
27:14 So he went and got the goats 253 and brought them to his mother. She 254 prepared some tasty food, just the way his father loved it. 27:15 Then Rebekah took her older son Esau’s best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 27:16 She put the skins of the young goats 255 on his hands 256 and the smooth part of his neck. 27:17 Then she handed 257 the tasty food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.
27:18 He went to his father and said, “My father!” Isaac 258 replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?” 259 27:19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up 260 and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” 261 27:20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world 262 did you find it so quickly, 263 my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” 264 he replied. 265 27:21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you, 266 my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.” 267 27:22 So Jacob went over to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s.” 27:23 He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau’s hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob. 268 27:24 Then he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “I am,” Jacob 269 replied. 27:25 Isaac 270 said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. 271 Then I will bless you.” 272 So Jacob 273 brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac 274 drank. 27:26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 27:27 So Jacob 275 went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent 276 of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,
“Yes, 277 my son smells
like the scent of an open field
which the Lord has blessed.
27:28 May God give you
the dew of the sky 278
and the richness 279 of the earth,
and plenty of grain and new wine.
27:29 May peoples serve you
and nations bow down to you.
You will be 280 lord 281 over your brothers,
and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. 282
May those who curse you be cursed,
and those who bless you be blessed.”
27:30 Isaac had just finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left 283 his father’s 284 presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt. 285 27:31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau 286 said to him, “My father, get up 287 and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.” 288 27:32 His father Isaac asked, 289 “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,” 290 he replied, “Esau!” 27:33 Isaac began to shake violently 291 and asked, “Then who else hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it just before you arrived, and I blessed him. 292 He will indeed be blessed!”
27:34 When Esau heard 293 his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly. 294 He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” 27:35 But Isaac 295 replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away 296 your blessing.” 27:36 Esau exclaimed, “‘Jacob’ is the right name for him! 297 He has tripped me up 298 two times! He took away my birthright, and now, look, he has taken away my blessing!” Then he asked, “Have you not kept back a blessing for me?”
27:37 Isaac replied to Esau, “Look! I have made him lord over you. I have made all his relatives his servants and provided him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?” 27:38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!” 299 Then Esau wept loudly. 300
27:39 So his father Isaac said to him,
“Indeed, 301 your home will be
away from the richness 302 of the earth,
and away from the dew of the sky above.
27:40 You will live by your sword
but you will serve your brother.
When you grow restless,
you will tear off his yoke
from your neck.” 303
27:41 So Esau hated 304 Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. 305 Esau said privately, 306 “The time 307 of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill 308 my brother Jacob!”
27:42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said, 309 she quickly summoned 310 her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you. 311 27:43 Now then, my son, do what I say. 312 Run away immediately 313 to my brother Laban in Haran. 27:44 Live with him for a little while 314 until your brother’s rage subsides. 27:45 Stay there 315 until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I’ll send someone to bring you back from there. 316 Why should I lose both of you in one day?” 317
27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressed 318 because of these daughters of Heth. 319 If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!” 320
28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman! 321 28:2 Leave immediately 322 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 323 bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! 324 Then you will become 325 a large nation. 326 28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham 327 so that you may possess the land 328 God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” 329 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. 330 As he blessed him, 331 Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” 332 28:7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram. 28:8 Then Esau realized 333 that the Canaanite women 334 were displeasing to 335 his father Isaac. 28:9 So Esau went to Ishmael and married 336 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 337 where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. 338 He took one of the stones 339 and placed it near his head. 340 Then he fell asleep 341 in that place 28:12 and had a dream. 342 He saw 343 a stairway 344 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. 345 I will give you and your descendants the ground 346 you are lying on. 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, 347 and you will spread out 348 to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 349 using your name and that of your descendants. 350 28:15 I am with you! 351 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 352 and thought, 353 “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 354 in the morning Jacob 355 took the stone he had placed near his head 356 and set it up as a sacred stone. 357 Then he poured oil on top of it. 28:19 He called that place Bethel, 358 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 359 to eat and clothing to wear, 28:21 and I return safely to my father’s home, 360 then the Lord will become my God. 28:22 Then this stone 361 that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely 362 give you back a tenth of everything you give me.” 363
29:1 So Jacob moved on 364 and came to the land of the eastern people. 365 29:2 He saw 366 in the field a well with 367 three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now 368 a large stone covered the mouth of the well. 29:3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds 369 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 370 of Nahor?” “We know him,” 371 they said. 29:6 “Is he well?” 372 Jacob asked. They replied, “He is well. 373 Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” 29:7 Then Jacob 374 said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, 375 it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” 376 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 377 the sheep.”
29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was tending them. 378 29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, 379 and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he 380 went over 381 and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. 382 29:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep loudly. 383 29:12 When Jacob explained 384 to Rachel that he was a relative of her father 385 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 386 told Laban how he was related to him. 387 29:14 Then Laban said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” 388 So Jacob 389 stayed with him for a month. 390
29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work 391 for me for nothing because you are my relative? 392 Tell me what your wages should be.” 29:16 (Now Laban had two daughters; 393 the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. 29:17 Leah’s eyes were tender, 394 but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.) 395 29:18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with 396 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. 397 Stay with me.” 29:20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. 398 But they seemed like only a few days to him 399 because his love for her was so great. 400
29:21 Finally Jacob said 401 to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. 402 I want to have marital relations with her.” 403 29:22 So Laban invited all the people 404 of that place and prepared a feast. 29:23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leah 405 to Jacob, 406 and Jacob 407 had marital relations with her. 408 29:24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) 409
29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! 410 So Jacob 411 said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! 412 Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked 413 me?” 29:26 “It is not our custom here,” 414 Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriage 415 before the firstborn. 29:27 Complete my older daughter’s bridal week. 416 Then we will give you the younger one 417 too, in exchange for seven more years of work.” 418
29:28 Jacob did as Laban said. 419 When Jacob 420 completed Leah’s bridal week, 421 Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 422 29:29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) 423 29:30 Jacob 424 had marital relations 425 with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban 426 for seven more years. 427
29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, 428 he enabled her to become pregnant 429 while Rachel remained childless. 29:32 So Leah became pregnant 430 and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, 431 for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. 432 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, 433 he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. 434
29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, 435 because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. 436
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. 437 Then she stopped having children.
30:1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she 438 became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children 439 or I’ll die!” 30:2 Jacob became furious 440 with Rachel and exclaimed, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” 441 30:3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with 442 her so that she can bear 443 children 444 for me 445 and I can have a family through her.” 446
30:4 So Rachel 447 gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with 448 her. 30:5 Bilhah became pregnant 449 and gave Jacob a son. 450 30:6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayer 451 and given me a son.” That is why 452 she named him Dan. 453
30:7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. 454 30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.” 455 So she named him Naphtali. 456
30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave 457 her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 30:10 Soon Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son. 458 30:11 Leah said, “How fortunate!” 459 So she named him Gad. 460
30:12 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son. 461 30:13 Leah said, “How happy I am, 462 for women 463 will call me happy!” So she named him Asher. 464
30:14 At the time 465 of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants 466 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, 467 “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,” 468 Rachel said, “he may sleep 469 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 470 with me because I have paid for your services 471 with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relations 472 with her that night. 30:17 God paid attention 473 to Leah; she became pregnant 474 and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. 475 30:18 Then Leah said, “God has granted me a reward 476 because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.” 477 So she named him Issachar. 478
30:19 Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time. 479 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. 480
30:21 After that she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
30:22 Then God took note of 481 Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. 482 30:23 She became pregnant 483 and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” 484 30:24 She named him Joseph, 485 saying, “May the Lord give me yet another son.”
30:25 After Rachel had given birth 486 to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send 487 me on my way so that I can go 488 home to my own country. 489 30:26 Let me take my wives and my children whom I have acquired by working for you. 490 Then I’ll depart, 491 because you know how hard I’ve worked for you.” 492
30:27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, 493 for I have learned by divination 494 that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.” 30:28 He added, “Just name your wages – I’ll pay whatever you want.” 495
30:29 “You know how I have worked for you,” Jacob replied, 496 “and how well your livestock have fared under my care. 497 30:30 Indeed, 498 you had little before I arrived, 499 but now your possessions have increased many times over. 500 The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked. 501 But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?” 502
30:31 So Laban asked, 503 “What should I give you?” “You don’t need to give me a thing,” 504 Jacob replied, 505 “but if you agree to this one condition, 506 I will continue to care for 507 your flocks and protect them: 30:32 Let me walk among 508 all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, 509 and the spotted or speckled goats. 510 These animals will be my wages. 511 30:33 My integrity will testify for me 512 later on. 513 When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on, 514 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.” 515 30:34 “Agreed!” said Laban, “It will be as you say.” 516
30:35 So that day Laban 517 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 518 of his sons. 30:36 Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, 519 while 520 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. 521 30:39 When the sheep mated 522 in front of the branches, they 523 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 524 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, 525 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. 526 So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban 527 and the stronger animals to Jacob. 30:43 In this way Jacob 528 became extremely prosperous. He owned 529 large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.
31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, 530 “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich 531 at our father’s expense!” 532 31:2 When Jacob saw the look on Laban’s face, he could tell his attitude toward him had changed. 533
31:3 The Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers 534 and to your relatives. I will be with you.” 535 31:4 So Jacob sent a message for Rachel and Leah 536 to come to the field 537 where his flocks were. 538 31:5 There he said to them, “I can tell that your father’s attitude toward me has changed, 539 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, 540 31:7 but your father has humiliated 541 me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not permitted him to do me any harm. 31:8 If he said, 542 ‘The speckled animals 543 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 544 during breeding season I saw 545 in a dream that the male goats mating with 546 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 547 that all the male goats mating with 548 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, 549 where you anointed 550 the sacred stone and made a vow to me. 551 Now leave this land immediately 552 and return to your native land.’”
31:14 Then Rachel and Leah replied to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance 553 in our father’s house? 31:15 Hasn’t he treated us like foreigners? He not only sold us, but completely wasted 554 the money paid for us! 555 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. 556 31:18 He took 557 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. 558
12:32 (13:1) 559 You 560 must be careful to do everything I am commanding you. Do not add to it or subtract from it! 561
1 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.
2 tn Heb “and Jacob said when he saw them.”
3 sn The name Mahanaim apparently means “two camps.” Perhaps the two camps were those of God and of Jacob.
4 tn Heb “before him.”
5 tn Heb “field.”
6 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.
7 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.
8 tn The words “this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
9 tn Heb “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.”
10 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.
11 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.
12 tn Heb “said.”
13 tn Heb “the one who said.”
14 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.
15 tn Heb “the loving deeds and faithfulness” (see 24:27, 49).
16 tn Heb “you have done with.”
17 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.
18 tn Heb “this Jordan.”
19 tn The imperative has the force of a prayer here, not a command.
20 tn The “hand” here is a metonymy for “power.”
21 tn Heb “from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau.”
22 tn Heb “for I am afraid of him, lest he come.”
23 sn Heb “me, [the] mother upon [the] sons.” The first person pronoun “me” probably means here “me and mine,” as the following clause suggests.
24 tn Heb “But you, you said.” One of the occurrences of the pronoun “you” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.
25 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.
26 tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the nuance of the preceding verb forward.
27 tn Heb “which cannot be counted because of abundance.” The imperfect verbal form indicates potential here.
28 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
29 tn Heb “and he took from that which was going into his hand,” meaning that he took some of what belonged to him.
30 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).
31 tn Heb “and he put them in the hand of.”
32 tn Heb “a herd, a herd, by itself,” or “each herd by itself.” The distributive sense is expressed by repetition.
33 tn Heb “the first”; this has been specified as “the servant leading the first herd” in the translation for clarity.
34 tn Heb “to whom are you?”
35 tn Heb “and to whom are these before you?”
36 tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; it has the nuance of an imperfect of instruction.
37 tn The words “they belong” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
38 tn Heb “to your servant, to Jacob.”
39 tn Heb “to my lord, to Esau.”
40 tn Heb “and look, also he [is] behind us.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
41 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.’”
42 tn Heb “and look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.”
43 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.”
44 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.
45 tn Heb “with a gift going before me.”
46 tn Heb “I will see his face.”
47 tn Heb “Perhaps he will lift up my face.” In this context the idiom refers to acceptance.
48 tn Heb “and the gift passed over upon his face.”
49 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial/temporal.
50 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.
51 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).
52 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.
53 tn Heb “and he sent across what he had.”
54 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.
55 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.
56 tn Heb “until the rising of the dawn.”
57 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
58 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
59 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.
60 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
61 tn Heb “dawn has arisen.”
62 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.
63 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.
64 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.
65 sn What is your name? The question is rhetorical, since the
66 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.
67 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
68 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).
69 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.
70 tn The question uses the enclitic pronoun “this” to emphasize the import of the question.
71 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.
72 tn The verb here means that the
73 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
74 sn The name Peniel means “face of God.” Since Jacob saw God face to face here, the name is appropriate.
75 tn The word “explaining” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
76 tn Or “because.”
77 sn I have seen God face to face. See the note on the name “Peniel” earlier in the verse.
78 tn Heb “and my soul [= life] has been preserved.”
79 tn Heb “shone.”
80 sn The name is spelled Penuel here, apparently a variant spelling of Peniel (see v. 30).
81 tn The disjunctive clause draws attention to an important fact: He may have crossed the stream, but he was limping.
82 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.
83 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.
84 tn Heb “And the years of Sarah were one hundred years and twenty years and seven years, the years of the life of Sarah.”
85 tn Heb “And the years of Sarah were one hundred years and twenty years and seven years, the years of the life of Sarah.”
86 tn Or “took.”
87 tn Heb “And Abraham added and took.”
88 sn The names Sheba and Dedan appear in Gen 10:7 as descendants of Ham through Cush and Raamah. Since these two names are usually interpreted to be place names, one plausible suggestion is that some of Abraham’s descendants lived in those regions and took names linked with it.
89 tn Or “sons.”
90 tn Heb “the sons of the concubines who [belonged] to Abraham.”
91 tn Heb “And he sent them away from upon Isaac his son, while he was still living, eastward to the land of the east.”
92 tn Heb “and these are the days of the years of the lifetime of Abraham that he lived.” The normal genealogical formula is expanded here due to the importance of the life of Abraham.
93 tn Heb “old and full.”
94 tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.
95 sn The cave of Machpelah was the place Abraham had purchased as a burial place for his wife Sarah (Gen 23:17-18).
96 tn See the note on the phrase “sons of Heth” in Gen 23:3.
97 sn God blessed Isaac. The Hebrew verb “bless” in this passage must include all the gifts that God granted to Isaac. But fertility was not one of them, at least not for twenty years, because Rebekah was barren as well (see v. 21).
98 sn Beer Lahai Roi. See the note on this place name in Gen 24:62.
99 sn This is the account of Ishmael. The Book of Genesis tends to tidy up the family records at every turning point. Here, before proceeding with the story of Isaac’s family, the narrative traces Ishmael’s family line. Later, before discussing Jacob’s family, the narrative traces Esau’s family line (see Gen 36).
100 tn The meaning of this line is not easily understood. The sons of Ishmael are listed here “by their names” and “according to their descendants.”
101 tn Or “tribal chieftains.”
102 tn Heb “And these are the days of the years of Ishmael.”
103 tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.
104 tn Heb “they”; the referent (Ishmael’s descendants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
105 tn Heb “which is by the face of,” or near the border. The territory ran along the border of Egypt.
106 tn Heb “as you go.”
107 sn The name Asshur refers here to a tribal area in the Sinai.
108 tn Heb “he fell.”
109 tn Heb “upon the face of all his brothers.” This last expression, obviously alluding to the earlier oracle about Ishmael (Gen 16:12), could mean that the descendants of Ishmael lived in hostility to others or that they lived in a territory that was opposite the lands of their relatives. While there is some ambiguity about the meaning, the line probably does give a hint of the Ishmaelite-Israelite conflicts to come.
110 sn This is the account of Isaac. What follows for several chapters is not the account of Isaac, except briefly, but the account of Jacob and Esau. The next chapters tell what became of Isaac and his family.
111 tn Heb “And Isaac was the son of forty years when he took Rebekah.”
112 sn Some valuable information is provided here. We learn here that Isaac married thirty-five years before Abraham died, that Rebekah was barren for twenty years, and that Abraham would have lived to see Jacob and Esau begin to grow up. The death of Abraham was recorded in the first part of the chapter as a “tidying up” of one generation before beginning the account of the next.
113 tn The Hebrew verb עָתַר (’atar), translated “prayed [to]” here, appears in the story of God’s judgment on Egypt in which Moses asked the
114 tn The Hebrew word used here suggests a violent struggle that was out of the ordinary.
115 tn Heb “If [it is] so, why [am] I this [way]?” Rebekah wanted to know what was happening to her, but the question itself reflects a growing despair over the struggle of the unborn children.
116 sn Asked the
117 sn By metonymy the two children in her womb are described as two nations of which the two children, Jacob and Esau, would become the fathers. The language suggests there would be a struggle between these nations, with one being stronger than the other. The oracle reveals that all of Jacob’s scheming was unnecessary in the final analysis. He would have become the dominant nation without using deception to steal his brother’s blessing.
118 tn Heb “And her days were filled to give birth.”
119 tn Heb “look!” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene as if they were actually present at the birth.
120 sn Reddish. The Hebrew word translated “reddish” is אַדְמוֹנִי (’admoni), which forms a wordplay on the Edomites, Esau’s descendants. The writer sees in Esau’s appearance at birth a sign of what was to come. After all, the reader has already been made aware of the “nations” that were being born.
121 tn Heb “all of him.”
122 sn Hairy. Here is another wordplay involving the descendants of Esau. The Hebrew word translated “hairy” is שֵׂעָר (se’ar); the Edomites will later live in Mount Seir, perhaps named for its wooded nature.
123 tn Heb “And they called his name Esau.” The name “Esau” (עֵשָׂו, ’esav) is not etymologically related to שֵׂעָר (se’ar), but it draws on some of the sounds.
124 tn The disjunctive clause describes an important circumstance accompanying the birth. Whereas Esau was passive at birth, Jacob was active.
125 tn Heb “And he called his name Jacob.” Some ancient witnesses read “they called his name Jacob” (see v. 25). In either case the subject is indefinite.
126 tn Heb “the son of sixty years.”
127 tn Heb “knowing.”
128 tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Jacob with Esau and draws attention to the striking contrasts. In contrast to Esau, a man of the field, Jacob was civilized, as the phrase “living in tents” signifies. Whereas Esau was a skillful hunter, Jacob was calm and even-tempered (תָּם, tam), which normally has the idea of “blameless.”
129 tn Heb “the taste of game was in his mouth.” The word for “game,” “venison” is here the same Hebrew word as “hunter” in the last verse. Here it is a metonymy, referring to that which the hunter kills.
130 tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Rebekah with Jacob and draws attention to the contrast. The verb here is a participle, drawing attention to Rebekah’s continuing, enduring love for her son.
131 sn Jacob cooked some stew. There are some significant words and wordplays in this story that help clarify the points of the story. The verb “cook” is זִיד (zid), which sounds like the word for “hunter” (צַיִד, tsayid). This is deliberate, for the hunter becomes the hunted in this story. The word זִיד means “to cook, to boil,” but by the sound play with צַיִד it comes to mean “set a trap by cooking.” The usage of the word shows that it can also have the connotation of acting presumptuously (as in boiling over). This too may be a comment on the scene. For further discussion of the rhetorical devices in the Jacob narratives, see J. P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis (SSN).
132 tn The rare term לָעַט (la’at), translated “feed,” is used in later Hebrew for feeding animals (see Jastrow, 714). If this nuance was attached to the word in the biblical period, then it may depict Esau in a negative light, comparing him to a hungry animal. Famished Esau comes in from the hunt, only to enter the trap. He can only point at the red stew and ask Jacob to feed him.
133 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so is given a passive translation.
134 sn Esau’s descendants would eventually be called Edom. Edom was the place where they lived, so-named probably because of the reddish nature of the hills. The writer can use the word “red” to describe the stew that Esau gasped for to convey the nature of Esau and his descendants. They were a lusty, passionate, and profane people who lived for the moment. Again, the wordplay is meant to capture the “omen in the nomen.”
135 tn Heb “today.”
136 tn Heb “And what is this to me, a birthright?”
137 tn Heb “Swear to me today.”
138 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
139 sn And sold his birthright. There is evidence from Hurrian culture that rights of inheritance were occasionally sold or transferred. Here Esau is portrayed as a profane person who would at the moment rather have a meal than the right to inherit. He will soon forget this trade and seek his father’s blessing in spite of it.
140 sn The style here is typical of Hebrew narrative; after the tension is resolved with the dialogue, the working out of it is recorded in a rapid sequence of verbs (“gave”; “ate”; “drank”; “got up”; “went out”). See also Gen 3:1-7 for another example.
141 sn So Esau despised his birthright. This clause, which concludes the episode, is a summary statement which reveals the underlying significance of Esau’s actions. “To despise” means to treat something as worthless or with contempt. Esau’s willingness to sell his birthright was evidence that he considered it to be unimportant.
142 tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”
143 sn This account is parallel to two similar stories about Abraham (see Gen 12:10-20; 20:1-18). Many scholars do not believe there were three similar incidents, only one that got borrowed and duplicated. Many regard the account about Isaac as the original, which then was attached to the more important person, Abraham, with supernatural elements being added. For a critique of such an approach, see R. Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, 47-62. It is more likely that the story illustrates the proverb “like father, like son” (see T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 53). In typical human fashion the son follows his father’s example of lying to avoid problems. The appearance of similar events reported in a similar way underscores the fact that the blessing has now passed to Isaac, even if he fails as his father did.
144 sn Do not go down to Egypt. The words echo Gen 12:10, which reports that “Abram went down to Egypt,” but state the opposite.
145 tn Heb “say to you.”
146 tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur) means “to live temporarily without ownership of land.” Abraham’s family will not actually possess the land of Canaan until the Israelite conquest hundreds of years later.
147 tn After the imperative “stay” the two prefixed verb forms with prefixed conjunction here indicate consequence.
148 tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.
149 tn The Hiphil stem of the verb קוּם (qum) here means “to fulfill, to bring to realization.” For other examples of this use of this verb form, see Lev 26:9; Num 23:19; Deut 8:18; 9:5; 1 Sam 1:23; 1 Kgs 6:12; Jer 11:5.
150 tn Heb “the oath which I swore.”
151 tn Heb “your descendants.”
152 tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 22:18). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)
153 tn The words “All this will come to pass” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons.
154 tn Heb “listened to my voice.”
155 sn My charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. The language of this verse is clearly interpretive, for Abraham did not have all these laws. The terms are legal designations for sections of the Mosaic law and presuppose the existence of the law. Some Rabbinic views actually conclude that Abraham had fulfilled the whole law before it was given (see m. Qiddushin 4:14). Some scholars argue that this story could only have been written after the law was given (C. Westermann, Genesis, 2:424-25). But the simplest explanation is that the narrator (traditionally taken to be Moses the Lawgiver) elaborated on the simple report of Abraham’s obedience by using terms with which the Israelites were familiar. In this way he depicts Abraham as the model of obedience to God’s commands, whose example Israel should follow.
156 sn Rebekah, unlike Sarah, was not actually her husband’s sister.
157 tn Heb “lest.” The words “for he thought to himself” are supplied because the next clause is written with a first person pronoun, showing that Isaac was saying or thinking this.
158 tn Heb “kill me on account of.”
159 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
160 tn Heb “and it happened when the days were long to him there.”
161 tn Heb “look, Isaac.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene through Abimelech’s eyes.
162 tn Or “fondling.”
163 tn Heb “Surely, look!” See N. H. Snaith, “The meaning of Hebrew ‘ak,” VT 14 (1964): 221-25.
164 tn Heb “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’” Since the verb “said” probably means “said to myself” (i.e., “thought”) here, the direct discourse in the Hebrew statement has been converted to indirect discourse in the translation. In addition the simple prepositional phrase “on account of her” has been clarified in the translation as “to get her” (cf. v. 7).
165 tn Heb “What is this you have done to us?” The Hebrew demonstrative pronoun “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to us?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).
166 tn Heb “people.”
167 tn The Hebrew verb means “to lie down.” Here the expression “lie with” or “sleep with” is euphemistic for “have sexual relations with.”
168 tn Heb “strikes.” Here the verb has the nuance “to harm in any way.” It would include assaulting the woman or killing the man.
169 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the imperfect makes the construction emphatic.
170 tn Heb “a hundredfold.”
171 tn This final clause explains why Isaac had such a bountiful harvest.
172 tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Isaac’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are included.
173 tn Heb “and he went, going and becoming great.” The construction stresses that his growth in possessions and power continued steadily.
174 tn Heb “and there was to him.”
175 tn Heb “possessions of sheep.”
176 tn Heb “possessions of cattle.”
177 tn The Hebrew verb translated “became jealous” refers here to intense jealousy or envy that leads to hostile action (see v. 15).
178 tn Heb “and the Philistines stopped them up and filled them with dirt.”
179 tn Heb “Go away from us.”
180 sn You have become much more powerful. This explanation for the expulsion of Isaac from Philistine territory foreshadows the words used later by the Egyptians to justify their oppression of Israel (see Exod 1:9).
181 tn Heb “and he camped in the valley of Gerar and he lived there.”
182 tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”
183 tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.
184 tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.
185 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
186 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
187 tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”
188 tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).
189 tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.
190 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
191 tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”
192 sn The name Esek means “argument” in Hebrew. The following causal clause explains that Isaac gave the well this name as a reminder of the conflict its discovery had created. In the Hebrew text there is a wordplay, for the name is derived from the verb translated “argued.”
193 tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
194 tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
195 tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
196 sn The name Sitnah (שִׂטְנָה, sitnah) is derived from a Hebrew verbal root meaning “to oppose; to be an adversary” (cf. Job 1:6). The name was a reminder that the digging of this well caused “opposition” from the Philistines.
197 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
198 tn Heb “and he called its name.”
199 sn The name Rehoboth (רְהֹבוֹת, rehovot) is derived from a verbal root meaning “to make room.” The name was a reminder that God had made room for them. The story shows Isaac’s patience with the opposition; it also shows how God’s blessing outdistanced the men of Gerar. They could not stop it or seize it any longer.
200 tn Heb “and he went up from there”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
201 tn Heb “called in the name of.” The expression refers to worshiping the
202 tn Heb “and they dug there, the servants of Isaac, a well.”
203 tn The disjunctive clause supplies pertinent supplemental information. The past perfect is used because the following narrative records the treaty at Beer Sheba. Prior to this we are told that Isaac settled in Beer Sheba; presumably this treaty would have allowed him to do that. However, it may be that he settled there and then made the treaty by which he renamed the place Beer Sheba. In this case one may translate “Now Abimelech came to him.”
204 tn Heb “and.”
205 tn Many modern translations render the Hebrew term מֵרֵעַ (merea’) as “councillor” or “adviser,” but the term may not designate an official position but simply a close personal friend.
206 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, expressing the reason for his question.
207 tn The infinitive absolute before the verb emphasizes the clarity of their perception.
208 tn Heb “And we said, ‘Let there be.’” The direct discourse in the Hebrew text has been rendered as indirect discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.
209 tn The pronoun “us” here is inclusive – it refers to the Philistine contingent on the one hand and Isaac on the other.
210 tn The pronoun “us” here is exclusive – it refers to just the Philistine contingent (the following “you” refers to Isaac).
211 tn The translation assumes that the cohortative expresses their request. Another option is to understand the cohortative as indicating resolve: “We want to make.’”
212 tn The oath formula is used: “if you do us harm” means “so that you will not do.”
213 tn Heb “touched.”
214 tn Heb “and just as we have done only good with you.”
215 tn Heb “and we sent you away.”
216 tn The Philistine leaders are making an observation, not pronouncing a blessing, so the translation reads “you are blessed” rather than “may you be blessed” (cf. NAB).
217 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
218 tn Heb “and they ate and drank.”
219 tn Heb “and they got up early and they swore an oath, a man to his brother.”
220 tn Heb “and they went from him in peace.”
221 tn Heb “and they said to him, ‘We have found water.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
222 sn The name Shibah (שִׁבְעָה, shiv’ah) means (or at least sounds like) the word meaning “oath.” The name was a reminder of the oath sworn by Isaac and the Philistines to solidify their treaty.
223 sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, bÿ’er shava’) means “well of an oath” or “well of seven.” According to Gen 21:31 Abraham gave Beer Sheba its name when he made a treaty with the Philistines. Because of the parallels between this earlier story and the account in 26:26-33, some scholars see chaps. 21 and 26 as two versions (or doublets) of one original story. However, if one takes the text as it stands, it appears that Isaac made a later treaty agreement with the people of the land that was similar to his father’s. Abraham dug a well at the site and named the place Beer Sheba; Isaac dug another well there and named the well Shibah. Later generations then associated the name Beer Sheba with Isaac, even though Abraham gave the place its name at an earlier time.
224 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making this clause subordinate to the next.
225 tn Heb “the son of forty years.”
226 tn Heb “took as a wife.”
227 tn Heb “And they were [a source of ] bitterness in spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.”
228 tn The clause begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making it subordinate to the main clause that follows later in the sentence.
229 tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”
230 tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).
231 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.
232 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaac) is specified in the translation for clarity.
233 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here introduces a logically foundational statement, upon which the coming instruction will be based.
234 tn Heb “I do not know the day of my death.”
235 tn The Hebrew word is to be spelled either צַיִד (tsayid) following the marginal reading (Qere), or צֵידָה (tsedah) following the consonantal text (Kethib). Either way it is from the same root as the imperative צוּדָה (tsudah, “hunt down”).
236 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
237 tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The use of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as the subject emphasizes that the blessing will be made with all Isaac’s desire and vitality. The conjunction “so that” closely relates the meal to the blessing, suggesting that this will be a ritual meal in conjunction with the giving of a formal blessing.
238 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a conjunction with the subject, followed by the predicate) here introduces a new scene in the story.
239 tc The LXX adds here “to his father,” which may have been accidentally omitted in the MT.
240 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
241 tn The cohortative, with the prefixed conjunction, also expresses logical sequence. See vv. 4, 19, 27.
242 tn In her report to Jacob, Rebekah plays down Isaac’s strong desire to bless Esau by leaving out נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”), but by adding the phrase “in the presence of the
243 tn Heb “listen to my voice.” The Hebrew idiom means “to comply; to obey.”
244 tn Heb “to that which I am commanding you.”
245 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
246 tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive. It carries forward the tone of instruction initiated by the command to “go…and get” in the preceding verse.
247 tn The form is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; it carries the future nuance of the preceding verbs of instruction, but by switching the subject to Jacob, indicates the expected result of the subterfuge.
248 tn Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.
249 tn Heb “And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, ‘Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, but I am a smooth [skinned] man.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
250 tn Heb “Perhaps my father will feel me and I will be in his eyes like a mocker.” The Hebrew expression “I will be in his eyes like” means “I would appear to him as.”
251 tn Heb “upon me your curse.”
252 tn Heb “only listen to my voice.”
253 tn The words “the goats” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
254 tn Heb “his mother.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “she” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
255 tn In the Hebrew text the object (“the skins of the young goats”) precedes the verb. The disjunctive clause draws attention to this key element in the subterfuge.
256 tn The word “hands” probably includes the forearms here. How the skins were attached is not specified in the Hebrew text; cf. NLT “she made him a pair of gloves.”
257 tn Heb “gave…into the hand of.”
258 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
259 sn Which are you, my son? Isaac’s first question shows that the deception is going to require more subterfuge than Rebekah had anticipated. Jacob will have to pull off the deceit.
260 tn Heb “get up and sit.” This may mean simply “sit up,” or it may indicate that he was to get up from his couch and sit at a table.
261 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.” These words, though not reported by Rebekah to Jacob (see v. 7) accurately reflect what Isaac actually said to Esau (see v. 4). Perhaps Jacob knew more than Rebekah realized, but it is more likely that this was an idiom for sincere blessing with which Jacob was familiar. At any rate, his use of the precise wording was a nice, convincing touch.
262 tn Heb “What is this?” The enclitic pronoun “this” adds emphasis to the question, which is comparable to the English rhetorical question, “How in the world?”
263 tn Heb “you hastened to find.” In translation the infinitive becomes the main verb and the first verb becomes adverbial.
264 tn Heb “caused to meet before me.”
265 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Because the
266 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
267 tn Heb “Are you this one, Esau, my son, or not?” On the use of the interrogative particle here, see BDB 210 s.v. הֲ.
268 tn Heb “and he blessed him.” The referents of the pronouns “he” (Isaac) and “him” (Jacob) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
269 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
270 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
271 tn Heb “Bring near to me and I will eat of the wild game, my son.” Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
272 tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The presence of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as subject emphasizes Isaac’s heartfelt desire to do this. The conjunction indicates that the ritual meal must be first eaten before the formal blessing may be given.
273 tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
274 tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
275 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
276 tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
277 tn Heb “see.”
278 tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”
279 tn Heb “and from the fatness.”
280 tn Heb “and be.” The verb is an imperative, which is used rhetorically in this oracle of blessing. It is an invitation to exercise authority his brothers and indicates that he is granted such authority by the patriarch of the family. Furthermore, the blessing enables the recipient to accomplish this.
281 tn The Hebrew word is גְבִיר (gevir, “lord, mighty one”). The one being blessed will be stronger and therefore more powerful than his brother. See Gen 25:23. The feminine form of this rare noun means “mistress” or “queen-mother.”
282 tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
283 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite form of the verb makes the construction emphatic.
284 tn Heb “the presence of Isaac his father.” The repetition of the proper name (“Isaac”) was
285 tn Heb “and Esau his brother came from his hunt.”
286 tn Heb “and he said to his father”; the referent of “he” (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity, while the words “his father” have been replaced by the pronoun “him” for stylistic reasons.
287 tn Or “arise” (i.e., sit up).
288 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.”
289 tn Heb “said.”
290 tn Heb “and he said, ‘I [am] your son, your firstborn.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.
291 tn Heb “and Isaac trembled with a great trembling to excess.” The verb “trembled” is joined with a cognate accusative, which is modified by an adjective “great,” and a prepositional phrase “to excess.” All of this is emphatic, showing the violence of Isaac’s reaction to the news.
292 tn Heb “Who then is he who hunted game and brought [it] to me so that I ate from all before you arrived and blessed him?”
293 tn The temporal clause is introduced with the temporal indicator and has the infinitive as its verb.
294 tn Heb “and he yelled [with] a great and bitter yell to excess.”
295 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
296 tn Or “took”; “received.”
297 tn Heb “Is he not rightly named Jacob?” The rhetorical question, since it expects a positive reply, has been translated as a declarative statement.
298 sn He has tripped me up. When originally given, the name Jacob was a play on the word “heel” (see Gen 25:26). The name (since it is a verb) probably means something like “may he protect,” that is, as a rearguard, dogging the heels. This name was probably chosen because of the immediate association with the incident of grabbing the heel. Esau gives the name “Jacob” a negative connotation here, the meaning “to trip up; to supplant.”
299 tn Heb “Bless me, me also, my father.” The words “my father” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
300 tn Heb “and Esau lifted his voice and wept.”
301 tn Heb “look.”
302 tn Heb “from the fatness.”
303 sn You will tear off his yoke from your neck. It may be that this prophetic blessing found its fulfillment when Jerusalem fell and Edom got its revenge. The oracle makes Edom subservient to Israel and suggests the Edomites would live away from the best land and be forced to sustain themselves by violent measures.
304 tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.
305 tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”
306 tn Heb “said in his heart.” The expression may mean “said to himself.” Even if this is the case, v. 42 makes it clear that he must have shared his intentions with someone, because the news reached Rebekah.
307 tn Heb “days.”
308 tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.
309 tn Heb “and the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah.”
310 tn Heb “she sent and called for.”
311 tn Heb “is consoling himself with respect to you to kill you.” The only way Esau had of dealing with his anger at the moment was to plan to kill his brother after the death of Isaac.
312 tn Heb “listen to my voice.”
313 tn Heb “arise, flee.”
314 tn Heb “a few days.” Rebekah probably downplays the length of time Jacob will be gone, perhaps to encourage him and assure him that things will settle down soon. She probably expects Esau’s anger to die down quickly. However, Jacob ends up being gone twenty years and he never sees Rebekah again.
315 tn The words “stay there” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
316 tn Heb “and I will send and I will take you from there.” The verb “send” has no object in the Hebrew text; one must be supplied in the translation. Either “someone” or “a message” could be supplied, but since in those times a message would require a messenger, “someone” has been used.
317 tn If Jacob stayed, he would be killed and Esau would be forced to run away.
318 tn Heb “loathe my life.” The Hebrew verb translated “loathe” refers to strong disgust (see Lev 20:23).
319 tn Some translate the Hebrew term “Heth” as “Hittites” here (see also Gen 23:3), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., “Hittites,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.
320 tn Heb “If Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, why to me life?”
321 tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
322 tn Heb “Arise! Go!” The first of the two imperatives is adverbial and stresses the immediacy of the departure.
323 tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.
324 tn Heb “and make you fruitful and multiply you.” See Gen 17:6, 20 for similar terminology.
325 tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here indicates consequence. The collocation הָיָה + preposition לְ (hayah + lÿ) means “become.”
326 tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”
327 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.
328 tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
329 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.
330 tn Heb “to take for himself from there a wife.”
331 tn The infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffix form a temporal clause.
332 tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
333 tn Heb “saw.”
334 tn Heb “the daughters of Canaan.”
335 tn Heb “evil in the eyes of.”
336 tn Heb “took for a wife.”
337 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.
338 tn Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.”
339 tn Heb “he took from the stones of the place,” which here means Jacob took one of the stones (see v. 18).
340 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.
341 tn Heb “lay down.”
342 tn Heb “and dreamed.”
343 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
344 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.
345 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.
346 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.
347 tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.
348 tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.
349 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.
350 tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”
351 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).
352 tn Heb “woke up from his sleep.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
353 tn Heb “said.”
354 tn Heb “and he got up early…and he took.”
355 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
356 tn See the note on this phrase in v. 11.
357 tn Heb “standing stone.”
358 tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew (see v. 17).
359 tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.
360 tn Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.”
361 tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.
362 tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.
363 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.
364 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.
365 tn Heb “the land of the sons of the east.”
366 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.
367 tn Heb “and look, there.”
368 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the noun with the prefixed conjunction) provides supplemental information that is important to the story.
369 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the shepherds) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
370 tn Heb “son.”
371 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.
372 tn Heb “and he said to them, ‘Is there peace to him?’”
373 tn Heb “peace.”
374 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
375 tn Heb “the day is great.”
376 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.
377 tn The perfect verbal forms with the vav (ו) consecutive carry on the sequence begun by the initial imperfect form.
378 tn Heb “was a shepherdess.”
379 tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother” (twice in this verse).
380 tn Heb “Jacob.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
381 tn Heb “drew near, approached.”
382 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).
383 tn Heb “and he lifted up his voice and wept.” The idiom calls deliberate attention to the fact that Jacob wept out loud.
384 tn Heb “declared.”
385 tn Heb “that he [was] the brother of her father.”
386 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
387 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).
388 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).
389 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
390 tn Heb “a month of days.”
391 tn The verb is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; the nuance in the question is deliberative.
392 tn Heb “my brother.” The term “brother” is used in a loose sense; actually Jacob was Laban’s nephew.
393 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.
394 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.
395 tn Heb “and Rachel was beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance.”
396 tn Heb “Jacob loved.”
397 tn Heb “Better my giving her to you than my giving her to another man.”
398 tn Heb “in exchange for Rachel.”
399 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.
400 tn Heb “because of his love for her.” The words “was so great” are supplied for stylistic reasons.
401 tn Heb “and Jacob said.”
402 tn Heb “my days are fulfilled.”
403 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).
404 tn Heb “men.”
405 tn Heb “and it happened in the evening that he took Leah his daughter and brought her.”
406 tn Heb “to him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
407 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
408 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.
409 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.
410 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.
411 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
412 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?”
413 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.
414 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.
415 tn Heb “to give the younger.” The words “daughter” and “in marriage” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
416 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.
417 tn Heb “this other one.”
418 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.”
419 tn Heb “and Jacob did so.” The words “as Laban said” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
420 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
421 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.
422 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.
423 tn Heb “and Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his female servant, for her for a servant.”
424 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
425 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.
426 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
427 tn Heb “and he loved also Rachel, more than Leah, and he served with him still seven other years.”
428 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.
429 tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”
430 tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).
431 sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”
432 tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”
433 tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.
434 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
435 tn Heb “will be joined to me.”
436 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.
437 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.
438 tn Heb “Rachel.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
439 tn Heb “sons.”
440 tn Heb “and the anger of Jacob was hot.”
441 tn Heb “who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb.”
442 tn Heb “go in to.” The expression “go in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.
443 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates the immediate purpose of the proposed activity.
444 tn The word “children” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
445 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.
446 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).
447 tn Heb “and she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
448 tn Heb “went in to.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.
449 tn Or “Bilhah conceived” (also in v. 7).
450 tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a son.”
451 tn Heb “and also he has heard my voice.” The expression means that God responded positively to Rachel’s cry and granted her request.
452 tn Or “therefore.”
453 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.
454 tn Heb “and she became pregnant again and Bilhah, the servant of Rachel, bore a second son for Jacob.”
455 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.
456 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.”
457 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.”
458 tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore for Jacob a son.”
459 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.”
460 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.
461 tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore a second son for Jacob.”
462 tn The Hebrew statement apparently means “with my happiness.”
463 tn Heb “daughters.”
464 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.
465 tn Heb “during the days.”
466 sn Mandrake plants were popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac in the culture of the time.
467 tn Heb “and she said to her”; the referent of the pronoun “she” (Leah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
468 tn Heb “therefore.”
469 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.
470 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.
471 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.
472 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.
473 tn Heb “listened to.”
474 tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 19).
475 tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a fifth son,” i.e., this was the fifth son that Leah had given Jacob.
476 tn Heb “God has given my reward.”
477 tn The words “as a wife” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity (cf. v. 9).
478 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.
479 tn Heb “and she bore a sixth son for Jacob,” i.e., this was the sixth son that Leah had given Jacob.
480 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.
481 tn Heb “remembered.”
482 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
483 tn Or “conceived.”
484 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.
485 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.
486 tn The perfect verbal form is translated as a past perfect because Rachel’s giving birth to Joseph preceded Jacob’s conversation with Laban.
487 tn The imperatival form here expresses a request.
488 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
489 tn Heb “to my place and to my land.”
490 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.
491 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
492 tn Heb “for you, you know my service [with] which I have served you.”
493 tn The words “please stay here” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
494 tn Or perhaps “I have grown rich and the
495 tn Heb “set your wage for me so I may give [it].”
496 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.
497 tn Heb “and how your cattle were with me.”
498 tn Or “for.”
499 tn Heb “before me.”
500 tn Heb “and it has broken out with respect to abundance.”
501 tn Heb “at my foot.”
502 tn Heb “How long [until] I do, also I, for my house?”
503 tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
504 tn The negated imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance.
505 tn The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
506 tn Heb “If you do for me this thing.”
507 tn Heb “I will return, I will tend,” an idiom meaning “I will continue tending.”
508 tn Heb “pass through.”
509 tn Or “every black lamb”; Heb “and every dark sheep among the lambs.”
510 tn Heb “and the spotted and speckled among the goats.”
511 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.
512 tn Heb “will answer on my behalf.”
513 tn Heb “on the following day,” or “tomorrow.”
514 tn Heb “when you come concerning my wage before you.”
515 tn Heb “every one which is not speckled and spotted among the lambs and dark among the goats, stolen it is with me.”
516 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.
517 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
518 tn Heb “and he gave [them] into the hand.”
519 tn Heb “and he put a journey of three days between himself and Jacob.”
520 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.
521 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).
522 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.
523 tn Heb “the sheep.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“they”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
524 tn Heb “and he set the faces of.”
525 tn Heb “and at every breeding-heat of the flock.”
526 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.
527 tn Heb “were for Laban.”
528 tn Heb “the man”; Jacob’s name has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
529 tn Heb “and there were to him.”
530 tn Heb “and he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying.”
531 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).
532 tn Heb “and from that which belonged to our father he has gained all this wealth.”
533 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.
534 tn Or perhaps “ancestors” (so NRSV), although the only “ancestors” Jacob had there were his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac.
535 sn I will be with you. Though Laban was no longer “with him,” the
536 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.
537 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.
538 tn Heb “to his flock.”
539 tn Heb “I see the face of your father, that he is not toward me as formerly.”
540 tn Heb “with all my strength.”
541 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).
542 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.
543 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.
544 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator, “and it happened at the time of.”
545 tn Heb “in the time of the breeding of the flock I lifted up my eyes and I saw.”
546 tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.
547 tn Heb “lift up (now) your eyes and see.”
548 tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.
549 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
550 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
551 sn And made a vow to me. The second clause reminds Jacob of the vow he made to the
552 tn Heb “arise, leave!” The first imperative draws attention to the need for immediate action.
553 tn The two nouns may form a hendiadys, meaning “a share in the inheritance” or “a portion to inherit.”
554 tn Heb “and he devoured, even devouring.” The infinitive absolute (following the finite verb here) is used for emphasis.
555 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.
556 tn Heb “and Jacob arose and he lifted up his sons and his wives on to the camels.”
557 tn Heb “drove,” but this is subject to misunderstanding in contemporary English.
558 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.”
559 sn Beginning with 12:32, the verse numbers through 13:18 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 12:32 ET = 13:1 HT, 13:1 ET = 13:2 HT, 13:2 ET = 13:3 HT, etc., through 13:18 ET = 13:19 HT. With 14:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
560 tn This verse highlights a phenomenon found throughout Deuteronomy, but most especially in chap. 12, namely, the alternation of grammatical singular and plural forms of the pronoun (known as Numeruswechsel in German scholarship). Critical scholarship in general resolves the “problem” by suggesting varying literary traditions – one favorable to the singular pronoun and the other to the plural – which appear in the (obviously rough) redacted text at hand. Even the ancient versions were troubled by the lack of harmony of grammatical number and in this verse, for example, offered a number of alternate readings. The MT reads “Everything I am commanding you (plural) you (plural) must be careful to do; you (singular) must not add to it nor should you (singular) subtract form it.” Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate suggest singular for the first two pronouns but a few Smr
561 sn Do not add to it or subtract from it. This prohibition makes at least two profound theological points: (1) This work by Moses is of divine origination (i.e., it is inspired) and therefore can tolerate no human alteration; and (2) the work is complete as it stands (i.e., it is canonical).
562 tn The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has been translated here as “remember” (BDAG 468 s.v. 1.c).
563 sn I am with you. Matthew’s Gospel begins with the prophecy that the Savior’s name would be “Emmanuel, that is, ‘God with us,’” (1:23, in which the author has linked Isa 7:14 and 8:8, 10 together) and it ends with Jesus’ promise to be with his disciples forever. The Gospel of Matthew thus forms an inclusio about Jesus in his relationship to his people that suggests his deity.
564 tc Most
565 tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 1:20.
566 sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.
567 sn A quotation from Hos 11:1.
568 sn A quotation from Deut 6:16.