32:13 Jacob 11 stayed there that night. Then he sent 12 as a gift 13 to his brother Esau
1 sn In days one to three there is a naming by God; in days five and six there is a blessing by God. But on day four there is neither. It could be a mere stylistic variation. But it could also be a deliberate design to avoid naming “sun” and “moon” or promoting them beyond what they are, things that God made to serve in his creation.
2 tn The Hebrew text simply has “night” as an adverbial accusative.
3 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Heb “he divided himself…he and his servants.”
5 tn Heb “left.” Directions in ancient Israel were given in relation to the east rather than the north.
3 tn The imperfect verbal form indicates that this was a customary or typical action.
4 tn Heb “from my hand you exacted it.” The imperfect verbal form again indicates that this was a customary or typical action. The words “for every missing animal” are supplied in the translation for clarity; the following clause in Hebrew, “stolen by day or stolen by night,” probably means “stolen by wild beasts” and refers to the same animals “torn by wild beasts” in the previous clause, although it may refer to animals stolen by people. The translation used here, “missing,” is ambiguous enough to cover either eventuality.
4 tn Or “by drought.”
5 tn Heb “frost, ice,” though when contrasted with the חֹרֶב (khorev, “drought, parching heat”) of the day, “piercing cold” is more appropriate as a contrast.
6 tn Heb “and my sleep fled from my eyes.”
5 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Heb “and he took from that which was going into his hand,” meaning that he took some of what belonged to him.
7 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).
6 tn Heb “and the gift passed over upon his face.”
7 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial/temporal.
7 tn Heb “and we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he, each according to the interpretation of his dream we dreamed.”
8 tn Heb “in visions of the night.” The plural form has the singular meaning, probably as a plural of intensity.