Genesis 24:24

24:24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom Milcah bore to Nahor. ¹ 

Genesis 24:29

24:29 (Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban.) ²  Laban rushed out to meet the man at the spring.

Genesis 31:53

31:53 May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor, ³  the gods of their father, judge between us.” Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared. ⁴ 

¹ tn Heb “whom she bore to Nahor.” The referent (Milcah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause introduces the audience to Laban, who will eventually play an important role in the unfolding story.

³ tn The God of Abraham and the god of Nahor. The Hebrew verb translated “judge” is plural, suggesting that Laban has more than one “god” in mind. The Samaritan Pentateuch and the LXX, apparently in an effort to make the statement monotheistic, have a singular verb. In this case one could translate, “May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” However, Laban had a polytheistic world view, as evidenced by his possession of household idols (cf. 31:19). The translation uses “God” when referring to Abraham’s God, for Genesis makes it clear that Abraham worshiped the one true God. It employs “god” when referring to Nahor’s god, for in the Hebrew text Laban refers to a different god here, probably one of the local deities.

⁴ tn Heb “by the fear of his father Isaac.” See the note on the word “fears” in v. 42.