Genesis 27:1

Jacob Cheats Esau out of the Blessing

27:1 When ¹  Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, ²  he called his older ³  son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau ⁴  replied.

Genesis 27:1

Jacob Cheats Esau out of the Blessing

27:1 When ⁵  Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, ⁶  he called his older ⁷  son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau ⁸  replied.

Genesis 3:2

3:2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat ⁹  of the fruit from the trees of the orchard;

Genesis 4:15

4:15 But the Lord said to him, “All right then, ¹⁰  if anyone kills Cain, Cain will be avenged seven times as much.” ¹¹  Then the Lord put a special mark ¹²  on Cain so that no one who found him would strike him down. ¹³ 

¹ tn The clause begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making it subordinate to the main clause that follows later in the sentence.

² tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”

³ tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).

⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn The clause begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making it subordinate to the main clause that follows later in the sentence.

⁶ tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”

⁷ tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).

⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹ tn There is a notable change between what the Lord God had said and what the woman says. God said “you may freely eat” (the imperfect with the infinitive absolute, see 2:16), but the woman omits the emphatic infinitive, saying simply “we may eat.” Her words do not reflect the sense of eating to her heart’s content.

¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term לָכֵן (lakhen, “therefore”) in this context carries the sense of “Okay,” or “in that case then I will do this.”

¹¹ sn The symbolic number seven is used here to emphasize that the offender will receive severe punishment. For other rhetorical and hyperbolic uses of the expression “seven times over,” see Pss 12:6; 79:12; Prov 6:31; Isa 30:26.

¹² tn Heb “sign”; “reminder.” The term “sign” is not used in the translation because it might imply to an English reader that God hung a sign on Cain. The text does not identify what the “sign” was. It must have been some outward, visual reminder of Cain’s special protected status.

¹³ sn God becomes Cain’s protector. Here is common grace – Cain and his community will live on under God’s care, but without salvation.