29:1 So Jacob moved on 4 and came to the land of the eastern people. 5
2:8 The Lord God planted an orchard 6 in the east, 7 in Eden; 8 and there he placed the man he had formed. 9
12:8 Then he moved from there to the hill country east of Bethel 13 and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and worshiped the Lord. 14
So the relatives separated from each other. 20
13:14 After Lot had departed, the Lord said to Abram, 25 “Look 26 from the place where you stand to the north, south, east, and west.
1 tn Heb “the sons of the concubines who [belonged] to Abraham.”
2 tn Heb “And he sent them away from upon Isaac his son, while he was still living, eastward to the land of the east.”
3 tn Heb “as you go.”
5 tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his feet.” This unusual expression suggests that Jacob had a new lease on life now that God had promised him the blessing he had so desperately tried to gain by his own efforts. The text portrays him as having a new step in his walk.
6 tn Heb “the land of the sons of the east.”
7 tn Traditionally “garden,” but the subsequent description of this “garden” makes it clear that it is an orchard of fruit trees.
8 tn Heb “from the east” or “off east.”
9 sn The name Eden (עֵדֶן, ’eden) means “pleasure” in Hebrew.
10 tn The perfect verbal form here requires the past perfect translation since it describes an event that preceded the event described in the main clause.
9 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Or perhaps “from the east” (NRSV) or “in the east.”
11 tn Heb “in the land of Shinar.”
11 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
12 tn Heb “he called in the name of the
13 tn The verb with the vav (ו) consecutive is made subordinate to the next verb forming a temporal clause. This avoids any tautology with the previous verse that already stated that the
14 tn Or “placed in front.” Directions in ancient Israel were given in relation to the east rather than the north.
15 tn The Hebrew word is traditionally transliterated “the cherubim.”
16 tn Heb “the flame of the sword that turns round and round.” The noun “flame” is qualified by the genitive of specification, “the sword,” which in turn is modified by the attributive participle “whirling.” The Hitpael of the verb “turn” has an iterative function here, indicating repeated action. The form is used in Job 37:12 of swirling clouds and in Judg 7:13 of a tumbling roll of bread. Verse 24 depicts the sword as moving from side to side to prevent anyone from passing or as whirling around, ready to cut to shreds anyone who tries to pass.
15 tn Heb “Lot traveled.” The proper name has not been repeated in the translation at this point for stylistic reasons.
16 tn Heb “a man from upon his brother.”
17 tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.
18 tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.
19 tn Theoretically the Niphal stem can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Jacob were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in other formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless (i.e., pronounce blessings upon) themselves/one another.” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 28:14 predicts that Jacob will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae (see Gen 12:2 and 18:18 as well, where Abram/Abraham receives this promise). For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.
20 tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”
19 tn Heb “and the
20 tn Heb “lift up your eyes and see.”