23:19 After this Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah next to Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.
25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled 3 hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. 4
“Yes, 7 my son smells
like the scent of an open field
which the Lord has blessed.
1 tn Heb “they returned and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh).” The two verbs together form a verbal hendiadys, the first serving as the adverb: “they returned and came” means “they came again.” Most English translations do not treat this as a hendiadys, but translate “they turned back” or something similar. Since in the context, however, “came again to” does not simply refer to travel but an assault against the place, the present translation expresses this as “attacked…again.”
2 sn The cave of Machpelah was the place Abraham had purchased as a burial place for his wife Sarah (Gen 23:17-18).
3 tn Heb “knowing.”
4 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.”
4 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Heb “see.”