Genesis 35:5

35:5 and they started on their journey. ¹  The surrounding cities were afraid of God, ²  and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

Genesis 35:2

35:2 So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have among you. ³  Purify yourselves and change your clothes. ⁴ 

Genesis 14:14

14:14 When Abram heard that his nephew ⁵  had been taken captive, he mobilized ⁶  his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders ⁷  as far as Dan. ⁸ 

Genesis 17:10

17:10 This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep: ⁹  Every male among you must be circumcised. ¹⁰ 

¹ tn Heb “and they journeyed.”

² tn Heb “and the fear of God was upon the cities which were round about them.” The expression “fear of God” apparently refers (1) to a fear of God (objective genitive; God is the object of their fear). (2) But it could mean “fear from God,” that is, fear which God placed in them (cf. NRSV “a terror from God”). Another option (3) is that the divine name is used as a superlative here, referring to “tremendous fear” (cf. NEB “were panic-stricken”; NASB “a great terror”).

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.

⁵ tn Heb “his brother,” by extension, “relative.” Here and in v. 16 the more specific term “nephew” has been used in the translation for clarity. Lot was the son of Haran, Abram’s brother (Gen 11:27).

⁶ tn The verb וַיָּרֶק (vayyareq) is a rare form, probably related to the word רֵיק (req, “to be empty”). If so, it would be a very figurative use: “he emptied out” (or perhaps “unsheathed”) his men. The LXX has “mustered” (cf. NEB). E. A. Speiser (Genesis [AB], 103-4) suggests reading with the Samaritan Pentateuch a verb diq, cognate with Akkadian deku, “to mobilize” troops. If this view is accepted, one must assume that a confusion of the Hebrew letters ד (dalet) and ר (resh) led to the error in the traditional Hebrew text. These two letters are easily confused in all phases of ancient Hebrew script development. The present translation is based on this view.

⁷ tn The words “the invaders” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁸ sn The use of the name Dan reflects a later perspective. The Danites did not migrate to this northern territory until centuries later (see Judg 18:29). Furthermore Dan was not even born until much later. By inserting this name a scribe has clarified the location of the region.

⁹ tn Heb “This is my covenant that you must keep between me and you and your descendants after you.”

¹⁰ sn For a discussion of male circumcision as the sign of the covenant in this passage see M. V. Fox, “The Sign of the Covenant: Circumcision in the Light of the Priestly ‘ot Etiologies,” RB 81 (1974): 557-96.