24:6 “Be careful 1 never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him. 2 24:7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives, 3 promised me with a solemn oath, 4 ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel 5 before you so that you may find 6 a wife for my son from there.
1 tn Heb “guard yourself.”
2 tn The introductory clause “And Abraham said to him” has been moved to the end of the opening sentence of direct discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.
3 tn Or “the land of my birth.”
4 tn Heb “and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying.”
5 tn Or “his messenger.”
6 tn Heb “before you and you will take.”
7 tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur) means “to live temporarily without ownership of land.” Abraham’s family will not actually possess the land of Canaan until the Israelite conquest hundreds of years later.
8 tn After the imperative “stay” the two prefixed verb forms with prefixed conjunction here indicate consequence.
9 tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.
10 tn The Hiphil stem of the verb קוּם (qum) here means “to fulfill, to bring to realization.” For other examples of this use of this verb form, see Lev 26:9; Num 23:19; Deut 8:18; 9:5; 1 Sam 1:23; 1 Kgs 6:12; Jer 11:5.
11 tn Heb “the oath which I swore.”
12 tn Heb “a few days.” Rebekah probably downplays the length of time Jacob will be gone, perhaps to encourage him and assure him that things will settle down soon. She probably expects Esau’s anger to die down quickly. However, Jacob ends up being gone twenty years and he never sees Rebekah again.
13 tn The words “stay there” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
14 tn Heb “and I will send and I will take you from there.” The verb “send” has no object in the Hebrew text; one must be supplied in the translation. Either “someone” or “a message” could be supplied, but since in those times a message would require a messenger, “someone” has been used.
15 tn If Jacob stayed, he would be killed and Esau would be forced to run away.
16 tn Heb “the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.” The Hebrew word for “father” can typically be used in a broader sense than the English word, in this case referring to Abraham (who was Jacob’s grandfather). For stylistic reasons and for clarity, the words “your father” are supplied with “Isaac” in the translation.
17 tn The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (’erets) can mean “[the] earth,” “land,” “region,” “piece of ground,” or “ground” depending on the context. Here the term specifically refers to the plot of ground on which Jacob was lying, but at the same time this stands by metonymy for the entire land of Canaan.
18 tn Heb “Look, I [am] with you.” The clause is a nominal clause; the verb to be supplied could be present (as in the translation) or future, “Look, I [will be] with you” (cf. NEB).
19 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
20 sn You anointed the sacred stone. In Gen 28:18 the text simply reported that Jacob poured oil on top of the stone. Now that pouring is interpreted by the
21 sn And made a vow to me. The second clause reminds Jacob of the vow he made to the
22 tn Heb “arise, leave!” The first imperative draws attention to the need for immediate action.
23 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
24 tn The translation “made him move” for the verb μετοικίζω (metoikizw) is given by L&N 85.83. The verb has the idea of “resettling” someone (BDAG 643 s.v.); see v. 43, where it reappears.
25 tn Grk “And he.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
26 tn Grk “He did not give him an inheritance in it.” This could be understood to mean that God did not give something else to Abraham as an inheritance while he was living there. The point of the text is that God did not give any of the land to him as an inheritance, and the translation makes this clear.
27 tn Grk “a step of a foot” (cf. Deut 2:5).
28 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
29 sn An allusion to Gen 12:7; 13:15; 15:2, 18; 17:8; 24:7; 48:4. On the theological importance of the promise and to his descendants after him, see Rom 4 and Gal 3.
30 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
31 tn Or “settled as a resident alien.”
32 tn Or “heirs with him.”
33 tn Grk “now.”