32:1 So Jacob went on his way and the angels of God 1 met him.
18:16 When the men got up to leave, 2 they looked out over 3 Sodom. (Now 4 Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.) 5
26:26 Now Abimelech had come 6 to him from Gerar along with 7 Ahuzzah his friend 8 and Phicol the commander of his army.
31:19 While Laban had gone to shear his sheep, 9 Rachel stole the household idols 10 that belonged to her father.
32:6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you and has four hundred men with him.”
1 sn The phrase angels of God occurs only here and in Gen 28:12 in the OT. Jacob saw a vision of angels just before he left the promised land. Now he encounters angels as he prepares to return to it. The text does not give the details of the encounter, but Jacob’s response suggests it was amicable. This location was a spot where heaven made contact with earth, and where God made his presence known to the patriarch. See C. Houtman, “Jacob at Mahanaim: Some Remarks on Genesis XXXII 2-3,” VT 28 (1978): 37-44.
2 tn Heb “And the men arose from there.”
3 tn Heb “toward the face of.”
4 tn The disjunctive parenthetical clause sets the stage for the following speech.
5 tn The Piel of שָׁלַח (shalakh) means “to lead out, to send out, to expel”; here it is used in the friendly sense of seeing the visitors on their way.
3 tn The disjunctive clause supplies pertinent supplemental information. The past perfect is used because the following narrative records the treaty at Beer Sheba. Prior to this we are told that Isaac settled in Beer Sheba; presumably this treaty would have allowed him to do that. However, it may be that he settled there and then made the treaty by which he renamed the place Beer Sheba. In this case one may translate “Now Abimelech came to him.”
4 tn Heb “and.”
5 tn Many modern translations render the Hebrew term מֵרֵעַ (merea’) as “councillor” or “adviser,” but the term may not designate an official position but simply a close personal friend.
4 tn This disjunctive clause (note the pattern conjunction + subject + verb) introduces a new scene. In the English translation it may be subordinated to the following clause.
5 tn Or “household gods.” Some translations merely transliterate the Hebrew term תְּרָפִים (tÿrafim) as “teraphim,” which apparently refers to household idols. Some contend that possession of these idols guaranteed the right of inheritance, but it is more likely that they were viewed simply as protective deities. See M. Greenberg, “Another Look at Rachel’s Theft of the Teraphim,” JBL 81 (1962): 239-48.
5 tn Heb “and now.” The words “I understand that” have been supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
6 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the certainty of the action.
7 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of emotion involved.
8 sn Yet why did you steal my gods? This last sentence is dropped into the speech rather suddenly. See C. Mabee, “Jacob and Laban: The Structure of Judicial Proceedings,” VT 30 (1980): 192-207, and G. W. Coats, “Self-Abasement and Insult Formulas,” JBL 91 (1972): 90-92.
6 tn Heb “if you are making successful my way on which I am going.”
7 tn The words “may events unfold as follows” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.