Genesis 28:20

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 ¹  to eat and clothing to wear,

Genesis 35:1-3

The Return to Bethel

35:1 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up at once ²  to Bethel ³  and live there. Make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” ⁴  35:2 So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have among you. ⁵  Purify yourselves and change your clothes. ⁶  35:3 Let us go up at once ⁷  to Bethel. Then I will make ⁸  an altar there to God, who responded to me in my time of distress ⁹  and has been with me wherever I went.” ¹⁰ 

Numbers 15:3

15:3 and you make an offering by fire to the Lord from the herd or from the flock (whether a burnt offering or a sacrifice for discharging a vow or as a freewill offering or in your solemn feasts) to create a pleasing aroma to the Lord,

Numbers 15:8

15:8 And when you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or a sacrifice for discharging a vow or as a peace offering to the Lord,

Deuteronomy 23:21-23

23:21 When you make a vow to the Lord your God you must not delay in fulfilling it, for otherwise he ¹¹  will surely ¹²  hold you accountable as a sinner. ¹³  23:22 If you refrain from making a vow, it will not be sinful. 23:23 Whatever you vow, you must be careful to do what you have promised, such as what you have vowed to the Lord your God as a freewill offering.

Psalms 50:14

50:14 Present to God a thank-offering!

Repay your vows to the sovereign One! ¹⁴ 

Proverbs 7:14

7:14 “I have ¹⁵  fresh meat at home; ¹⁶ 

today I have fulfilled my vows!

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5

5:4 When you make a vow ¹⁷  to God, do not delay in paying it. ¹⁸ 

For God ¹⁹  takes no pleasure in fools:

Pay what you vow!

5:5 It is better for you not to vow

than to vow and not pay it. ²⁰ 

¹ tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.

² tn Heb “arise, go up.” The first imperative gives the command a sense of urgency.

³ map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.

⁴ sn God is calling on Jacob to fulfill his vow he made when he fled from…Esau (see Gen 28:20-22).

³ tn Heb “which are in your midst.”

⁴ sn The actions of removing false gods, becoming ritually clean, and changing garments would become necessary steps in Israel when approaching the Lord in worship.

⁴ tn Heb “let us arise and let us go up.” The first cohortative gives the statement a sense of urgency.

⁵ tn The cohortative with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose or consequence.

⁶ tn Heb “day of distress.” See Ps 20:1 which utilizes similar language.

⁷ tn Heb “in the way in which I went.” Jacob alludes here to God’s promise to be with him (see Gen 28:20).

⁵ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

⁶ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which is reflected in the translation by “surely.”

⁷ tn Heb “and it will be a sin to you”; NIV, NCV, NLT “be guilty of sin.”

⁶ tn Heb “Most High.” This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.

⁷ tn Heb “with me.”

⁸ tn Heb “I have peace offerings.” The peace offerings refer to the meat left over from the votive offering made at the sanctuary (e.g., Lev 7:11-21). Apparently the sacrificial worship meant as little to this woman spiritually as does Christmas to modern hypocrites who follow in her pattern. By expressing that she has peace offerings, she could be saying nothing more than that she has fresh meat for a meal at home, or that she was ceremonially clean, perhaps after her period. At any rate, it is all probably a ruse for winning a customer.

⁸ tn Heb “vow a vow.” The phrase תִּדֹּר נֶדֶר (tiddor neder, “to vow a vow”) is a Hebrew idiom in which the root נדר is repeated for emphasis. The construction is a cognate accusative (see IBHS 166-67 §10.2.1f). The verb נָדַר (nadar, “to vow”) refers to the action of making a solemn promise to the Lord to perform an action or offer a sacrifice, e.g., Lev 27:8; Num 6:21; 30:11; Deut 23:23-24; Jonah 2:10; Mal 1:14; Pss 76:12; 132:2; see HALOT 674 s.v. נדר. The noun נֶדֶר (“vow”) was a gift or offering promised to be given to the Lord (Num 30:3; Deut 12:11; 23:19; Isa 19:12; Nah 2:1 [ET 1:15]; Ps 61:6, 9); see HALOT 674–75 s.v. נֵדֶר. It usually was a sacrifice or free-will offering (Deut 12:6; Ps 66:13) that was often promised during times of pressure (Judg 11:30; 1 Sam 1:11; 2 Sam 15:7-8; Pss 22:25; 66:13; 116:14, 18; Jonah 2:9).

⁹ tn The term לְשַׁלְּמוֹ (lÿshallÿmo, preposition + Piel infinitive construct from שָׁלַם, shalam + 3rd person masculine singular suffix) is derived from the root שׁלם which is used in a general sense of paying a debt (2 Kgs 4:7; Ps 37:21; Prov 22:27; Job 41:3), and more specifically of fulfilling a vow to the Lord (Deut 23:22; 2 Sam 15:7; Pss 22:26; 50:14; 61:9; 66:13; 76:12; 116:14, 18; Prov 7:14; Job 22:27; Isa 19:21; Jonah 2:10; Nah 2:1); see HALOT 1535 s.v. שׁלם 3a; BDB 1022 s.v. שָׁלֵם 4. An Israelite was never required to make a vow, but once made, it had to be paid (Lev 22:18-25; 27:1-13; Num 15:2-10; Nah 1:15 [2:1 HT]).

¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (“God”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹ tn The word “it” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.