Genesis 13:6

13:6 But the land could ¹  not support them while they were living side by side. ²  Because their possessions were so great, they were not able to live ³  alongside one another.

Genesis 13:11

13:11 Lot chose for himself the whole region of the Jordan and traveled ⁴  toward the east.

So the relatives separated from each other. ⁵ 

Genesis 17:8

17:8 I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing ⁶  – to you and your descendants after you as a permanent ⁷  possession. I will be their God.”

Genesis 25:23

25:23 and the Lord said to her,

“Two nations ⁸  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.”

Genesis 28:4

28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham ⁹  so that you may possess the land ¹⁰  God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” ¹¹ 

Genesis 32:3

32:3 Jacob sent messengers on ahead ¹²  to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the region ¹³  of Edom.

¹ tn The potential nuance for the perfect tense is necessary here, and supported by the parallel clause that actually uses “to be able.”

² tn The infinitive construct לָשֶׁבֶת (lashevet, from יָשַׁב, yashav) explains what it was that the land could not support: “the land could not support them to live side by side.” See further J. C. de Moor, “Lexical Remarks Concerning Yahad and Yahdaw,” VT 7 (1957): 350-55.

³ tn The same infinitive occurs here, serving as the object of the verb.

⁴ tn Heb “Lot traveled.” The proper name has not been repeated in the translation at this point for stylistic reasons.

⁵ tn Heb “a man from upon his brother.”

⁶ tn The verbal root is גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to reside temporarily,” i.e., as a resident alien). It is the land in which Abram resides, but does not yet possess as his very own.

⁷ tn Or “as an eternal.”

⁸ 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.

⁹ 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.

¹⁰ tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹¹ 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.

¹² tn Heb “before him.”

¹³ tn Heb “field.”