Genesis 15:1--33:20

The Cutting of the Covenant

15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield ¹  and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” ² 

15:2 But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, ³  what will you give me since ⁴  I continue to be ⁵  childless, and my heir ⁶  is ⁷  Eliezer of Damascus?” ⁸  15:3 Abram added, ⁹  “Since ¹⁰  you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!” ¹¹ 

15:4 But look, ¹²  the word of the Lord came to him: “This man ¹³  will not be your heir, ¹⁴  but instead ¹⁵  a son ¹⁶  who comes from your own body will be ¹⁷  your heir.” ¹⁸  15:5 The Lord ¹⁹  took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars – if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”

15:6 Abram believed ²⁰  the Lord, and the Lord ²¹  considered his response of faith ²²  as proof of genuine loyalty. ²³ 

15:7 The Lord said ²⁴  to him, “I am the Lord ²⁵  who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans ²⁶  to give you this land to possess.” 15:8 But ²⁷  Abram ²⁸  said, “O sovereign Lord, ²⁹  by what ³⁰  can I know that I am to possess it?”

15:9 The Lord ³¹  said to him, “Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 15:10 So Abram ³²  took all these for him and then cut them in two ³³  and placed each half opposite the other, ³⁴  but he did not cut the birds in half. 15:11 When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

15:12 When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep, ³⁵  and great terror overwhelmed him. ³⁶  15:13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain ³⁷  that your descendants will be strangers ³⁸  in a foreign country. ³⁹  They will be enslaved and oppressed ⁴⁰  for four hundred years. 15:14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. ⁴¹  Afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15:15 But as for you, ⁴²  you will go to your ancestors ⁴³  in peace and be buried at a good old age. ⁴⁴  15:16 In the fourth generation ⁴⁵  your descendants ⁴⁶  will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” ⁴⁷ 

15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch ⁴⁸  passed between the animal parts. ⁴⁹  15:18 That day the Lord made a covenant ⁵⁰  with Abram: “To your descendants I give ⁵¹  this land, from the river of Egypt ⁵²  to the great river, the Euphrates River – 15:19 the land ⁵³  of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 15:20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 15:21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.” ⁵⁴ 

The Birth of Ishmael

16:1 Now Sarai, ⁵⁵  Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, ⁵⁶  but she had an Egyptian servant ⁵⁷  named Hagar. ⁵⁸  16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Since ⁵⁹  the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with ⁶⁰  my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.” ⁶¹  Abram did what ⁶²  Sarai told him.

16:3 So after Abram had lived ⁶³  in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram’s wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, ⁶⁴  to her husband to be his wife. ⁶⁵  16:4 He had sexual relations with ⁶⁶  Hagar, and she became pregnant. ⁶⁷  Once Hagar realized she was pregnant, she despised Sarai. ⁶⁸  16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me! ⁶⁹  I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, ⁷⁰  but when she realized ⁷¹  that she was pregnant, she despised me. ⁷²  May the Lord judge between you and me!” ⁷³ 

16:6 Abram said to Sarai, “Since your ⁷⁴  servant is under your authority, ⁷⁵  do to her whatever you think best.” ⁷⁶  Then Sarai treated Hagar ⁷⁷  harshly, ⁷⁸  so she ran away from Sarai. ⁷⁹ 

16:7 The Lord’s angel ⁸⁰  found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert – the spring that is along the road to Shur. ⁸¹  16:8 He said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She replied, “I’m running away from ⁸²  my mistress, Sarai.”

16:9 Then the Lord’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit ⁸³  to her authority. 16:10 I will greatly multiply your descendants,” the Lord’s angel added, ⁸⁴  “so that they will be too numerous to count.” ⁸⁵  16:11 Then the Lord’s angel said to her,

“You are now ⁸⁶  pregnant

and are about to give birth ⁸⁷  to a son.

You are to name him Ishmael, ⁸⁸ 

for the Lord has heard your painful groans. ⁸⁹ 

16:12 He will be a wild donkey ⁹⁰  of a man.

He will be hostile to everyone, ⁹¹ 

and everyone will be hostile to him. ⁹² 

He will live away from ⁹³  his brothers.”

16:13 So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,” ⁹⁴  for she said, “Here I have seen one who sees me!” ⁹⁵  16:14 That is why the well was called ⁹⁶  Beer Lahai Roi. ⁹⁷  (It is located ⁹⁸  between Kadesh and Bered.)

16:15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, whom Abram named Ishmael. ⁹⁹  16:16 (Now ¹⁰⁰  Abram was 86 years old ¹⁰¹  when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.) ¹⁰² 

The Sign of the Covenant

17:1 When Abram was 99 years old, ¹⁰³  the Lord appeared to him and said, ¹⁰⁴  “I am the sovereign God. ¹⁰⁵  Walk ¹⁰⁶  before me ¹⁰⁷  and be blameless. ¹⁰⁸  17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant ¹⁰⁹  between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” ¹¹⁰ 

17:3 Abram bowed down with his face to the ground, ¹¹¹  and God said to him, ¹¹²  17:4 “As for me, ¹¹³  this ¹¹⁴  is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 17:5 No longer will your name be ¹¹⁵  Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham ¹¹⁶  because I will make you ¹¹⁷  the father of a multitude of nations. 17:6 I will make you ¹¹⁸  extremely ¹¹⁹  fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. ¹²⁰  17:7 I will confirm ¹²¹  my covenant as a perpetual ¹²²  covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ¹²³  17:8 I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing ¹²⁴  – to you and your descendants after you as a permanent ¹²⁵  possession. I will be their God.”

17:9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep ¹²⁶  the covenantal requirement ¹²⁷  I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 17:10 This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep: ¹²⁸  Every male among you must be circumcised. ¹²⁹  17:11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder ¹³⁰  of the covenant between me and you. 17:12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old ¹³¹  must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants. 17:13 They must indeed be circumcised, ¹³²  whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant ¹³³  will be visible in your flesh as a permanent ¹³⁴  reminder. 17:14 Any uncircumcised male ¹³⁵  who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off ¹³⁶  from his people – he has failed to carry out my requirement.” ¹³⁷ 

17:15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for your wife, you must no longer call her Sarai; ¹³⁸  Sarah ¹³⁹  will be her name. 17:16 I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations. ¹⁴⁰  Kings of countries ¹⁴¹  will come from her!”

17:17 Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed ¹⁴²  as he said to himself, ¹⁴³  “Can ¹⁴⁴  a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old? ¹⁴⁵  Can Sarah ¹⁴⁶  bear a child at the age of ninety?” ¹⁴⁷  17:18 Abraham said to God, “O that ¹⁴⁸  Ishmael might live before you!” ¹⁴⁹ 

17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. ¹⁵⁰  I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual ¹⁵¹  covenant for his descendants after him. 17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. ¹⁵²  I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. ¹⁵³  He will become the father of twelve princes; ¹⁵⁴  I will make him into a great nation. 17:21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year.” 17:22 When he finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. ¹⁵⁵ 

17:23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) ¹⁵⁶  and circumcised them ¹⁵⁷  on that very same day, just as God had told him to do. 17:24 Now Abraham was 99 years old ¹⁵⁸  when he was circumcised; ¹⁵⁹  17:25 his son Ishmael was thirteen years old ¹⁶⁰  when he was circumcised. 17:26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the very same day. 17:27 All the men of his household, whether born in his household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

Three Special Visitors

18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham ¹⁶¹  by the oaks ¹⁶²  of Mamre while ¹⁶³  he was sitting at the entrance ¹⁶⁴  to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 18:2 Abraham ¹⁶⁵  looked up ¹⁶⁶  and saw ¹⁶⁷  three men standing across ¹⁶⁸  from him. When he saw them ¹⁶⁹  he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low ¹⁷⁰  to the ground. ¹⁷¹ 

18:3 He said, “My lord, ¹⁷²  if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. ¹⁷³  18:4 Let a little water be brought so that ¹⁷⁴  you may all ¹⁷⁵  wash your feet and rest under the tree. 18:5 And let me get ¹⁷⁶  a bit of food ¹⁷⁷  so that you may refresh yourselves ¹⁷⁸  since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.” ¹⁷⁹  “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.”

18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take ¹⁸⁰  three measures ¹⁸¹  of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.” ¹⁸²  18:7 Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, ¹⁸³  who quickly prepared it. ¹⁸⁴  18:8 Abraham ¹⁸⁵  then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food ¹⁸⁶  before them. They ate while ¹⁸⁷  he was standing near them under a tree.

18:9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, ¹⁸⁸  in the tent.” 18:10 One of them ¹⁸⁹  said, “I will surely return ¹⁹⁰  to you when the season comes round again, ¹⁹¹  and your wife Sarah will have a son!” ¹⁹²  (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. ¹⁹³  18:11 Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; ¹⁹⁴  Sarah had long since passed menopause.) ¹⁹⁵  18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, ¹⁹⁶  “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, ¹⁹⁷  especially when my husband is old too?” ¹⁹⁸ 

18:13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why ¹⁹⁹  did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really ²⁰⁰  have a child when I am old?’ 18:14 Is anything impossible ²⁰¹  for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.” ²⁰²  18:15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.” ²⁰³ 

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

18:16 When the men got up to leave, ²⁰⁴  they looked out over ²⁰⁵  Sodom. (Now ²⁰⁶  Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.) ²⁰⁷  18:17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? ²⁰⁸  18:18 After all, Abraham ²⁰⁹  will surely become ²¹⁰  a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ²¹¹  using his name. 18:19 I have chosen him ²¹²  so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep ²¹³  the way of the Lord by doing ²¹⁴  what is right and just. Then the Lord will give ²¹⁵  to Abraham what he promised ²¹⁶  him.”

18:20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against ²¹⁷  Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant ²¹⁸  18:21 that I must go down ²¹⁹  and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. ²²⁰  If not, ²²¹  I want to know.”

18:22 The two men turned ²²²  and headed ²²³  toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord. ²²⁴  18:23 Abraham approached and said, “Will you sweep away the godly along with the wicked? 18:24 What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare ²²⁵  the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it? 18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge ²²⁶  of the whole earth do what is right?” ²²⁷ 

18:26 So the Lord replied, “If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

18:27 Then Abraham asked, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord ²²⁸  (although I am but dust and ashes), ²²⁹  18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy ²³⁰  the whole city because five are lacking?” ²³¹  He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

18:29 Abraham ²³²  spoke to him again, ²³³  “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”

18:30 Then Abraham ²³⁴  said, “May the Lord not be angry ²³⁵  so that I may speak! ²³⁶  What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

18:31 Abraham ²³⁷  said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”

18:32 Finally Abraham ²³⁸  said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

18:33 The Lord went on his way ²³⁹  when he had finished speaking ²⁴⁰  to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. ²⁴¹ 

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while ²⁴²  Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. ²⁴³  When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.

19:2 He said, “Here, my lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house. Stay the night ²⁴⁴  and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.” ²⁴⁵  “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.” ²⁴⁶ 

19:3 But he urged ²⁴⁷  them persistently, so they turned aside with him and entered his house. He prepared a feast for them, including bread baked without yeast, and they ate. 19:4 Before they could lie down to sleep, ²⁴⁸  all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house. ²⁴⁹  19:5 They shouted to Lot, ²⁵⁰  “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex ²⁵¹  with them!”

19:6 Lot went outside to them, shutting the door behind him. 19:7 He said, “No, my brothers! Don’t act so wickedly! ²⁵²  19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never had sexual relations with ²⁵³  a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever you please. ²⁵⁴  Only don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection ²⁵⁵  of my roof.” ²⁵⁶ 

19:9 “Out of our way!” ²⁵⁷  they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, ²⁵⁸  and now he dares to judge us! ²⁵⁹  We’ll do more harm ²⁶⁰  to you than to them!” They kept ²⁶¹  pressing in on Lot until they were close enough ²⁶²  to break down the door.

19:10 So the men inside ²⁶³  reached out ²⁶⁴  and pulled Lot back into the house ²⁶⁵  as they shut the door. 19:11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, from the youngest to the oldest, ²⁶⁶  with blindness. The men outside ²⁶⁷  wore themselves out trying to find the door. 19:12 Then the two visitors ²⁶⁸  said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? ²⁶⁹  Do you have ²⁷⁰  any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? ²⁷¹  Get them out of this ²⁷²  place 19:13 because we are about to destroy ²⁷³  it. The outcry against this place ²⁷⁴  is so great before the Lord that he ²⁷⁵  has sent us to destroy it.”

19:14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters. ²⁷⁶  He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy ²⁷⁷  the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. ²⁷⁸ 

19:15 At dawn ²⁷⁹  the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, ²⁸⁰  or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!” ²⁸¹  19:16 When Lot ²⁸²  hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. ²⁸³  They led them away and placed them ²⁸⁴  outside the city. 19:17 When they had brought them outside, they ²⁸⁵  said, “Run ²⁸⁶  for your lives! Don’t look ²⁸⁷  behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! ²⁸⁸  Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”

19:18 But Lot said to them, “No, please, Lord! ²⁸⁹  19:19 Your ²⁹⁰  servant has found favor with you, ²⁹¹  and you have shown me great ²⁹²  kindness ²⁹³  by sparing ²⁹⁴  my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because ²⁹⁵  this disaster will overtake ²⁹⁶  me and I’ll die. ²⁹⁷  19:20 Look, this town ²⁹⁸  over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. ²⁹⁹  Let me go there. ³⁰⁰  It’s just a little place, isn’t it? ³⁰¹  Then I’ll survive.” ³⁰² 

19:21 “Very well,” he replied, ³⁰³  “I will grant this request too ³⁰⁴  and will not overthrow ³⁰⁵  the town you mentioned. 19:22 Run there quickly, ³⁰⁶  for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.) ³⁰⁷ 

19:23 The sun had just risen ³⁰⁸  over the land as Lot reached Zoar. ³⁰⁹  19:24 Then the Lord rained down ³¹⁰  sulfur and fire ³¹¹  on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. ³¹²  19:25 So he overthrew those cities and all that region, ³¹³  including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew ³¹⁴  from the ground. 19:26 But Lot’s ³¹⁵  wife looked back longingly ³¹⁶  and was turned into a pillar of salt.

19:27 Abraham got up early in the morning and went ³¹⁷  to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 19:28 He looked out toward ³¹⁸  Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. ³¹⁹  As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace. ³²⁰ 

19:29 So when God destroyed ³²¹  the cities of the region, ³²²  God honored ³²³  Abraham’s request. He removed Lot ³²⁴  from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed ³²⁵  the cities Lot had lived in.

19:30 Lot went up from Zoar with his two daughters and settled in the mountains because he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 19:31 Later the older daughter said ³²⁶  to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby ³²⁷  to have sexual relations with us, ³²⁸  according to the way of all the world. 19:32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with wine ³²⁹  so we can have sexual relations ³³⁰  with him and preserve ³³¹  our family line through our father.” ³³² 

19:33 So that night they made their father drunk with wine, ³³³  and the older daughter ³³⁴  came and had sexual relations with her father. ³³⁵  But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. ³³⁶  19:34 So in the morning the older daughter ³³⁷  said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. ³³⁸  Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” ³³⁹  19:35 So they made their father drunk ³⁴⁰  that night as well, and the younger one came and had sexual relations with him. ³⁴¹  But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. ³⁴² 

19:36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 19:37 The older daughter ³⁴³  gave birth to a son and named him Moab. ³⁴⁴  He is the ancestor of the Moabites of today. 19:38 The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben-Ammi. ³⁴⁵  He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.

Abraham and Abimelech

20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev ³⁴⁶  region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident ³⁴⁷  in Gerar, 20:2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.

20:3 But God appeared ³⁴⁸  to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead ³⁴⁹  because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” ³⁵⁰ 

20:4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, ³⁵¹  would you really slaughter an innocent nation? ³⁵²  20:5 Did Abraham ³⁵³  not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ³⁵⁴  ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience ³⁵⁵  and with innocent hands!”

20:6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. ³⁵⁶  That is why I have kept you ³⁵⁷  from sinning against me and why ³⁵⁸  I did not allow you to touch her. 20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed ³⁵⁹  he is a prophet ³⁶⁰  and he will pray for you; thus you will live. ³⁶¹  But if you don’t give her back, ³⁶²  know that you will surely die ³⁶³  along with all who belong to you.”

20:8 Early in the morning ³⁶⁴  Abimelech summoned ³⁶⁵  all his servants. When he told them about all these things, ³⁶⁶  they ³⁶⁷  were terrified. 20:9 Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? ³⁶⁸  You have done things to me that should not be done!” ³⁶⁹  20:10 Then Abimelech asked ³⁷⁰  Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?” ³⁷¹ 

20:11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought, ³⁷²  ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of ³⁷³  my wife.’ 20:12 What’s more, ³⁷⁴  she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife. 20:13 When God made me wander ³⁷⁵  from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: ³⁷⁶  Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”

20:14 So Abimelech gave ³⁷⁷  sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him. 20:15 Then Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you; live wherever you please.” ³⁷⁸ 

20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver ³⁷⁹  to your ‘brother.’ ³⁸⁰  This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” ³⁸¹ 

20:17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children. 20:18 For the Lord ³⁸²  had caused infertility to strike every woman ³⁸³  in the household of Abimelech because he took ³⁸⁴  Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

The Birth of Isaac

21:1 The Lord visited ³⁸⁵  Sarah just as he had said he would and did ³⁸⁶  for Sarah what he had promised. ³⁸⁷  21:2 So Sarah became pregnant ³⁸⁸  and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the appointed time that God had told him. 21:3 Abraham named his son – whom Sarah bore to him – Isaac. ³⁸⁹  21:4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, ³⁹⁰  Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded him to do. ³⁹¹  21:5 (Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.) ³⁹² 

21:6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. ³⁹³  Everyone who hears about this ³⁹⁴  will laugh ³⁹⁵  with me.” 21:7 She went on to say, ³⁹⁶  “Who would ³⁹⁷  have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son for him in his old age!”

21:8 The child grew and was weaned. Abraham prepared ³⁹⁸  a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. ³⁹⁹  21:9 But Sarah noticed ⁴⁰⁰  the son of Hagar the Egyptian – the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham – mocking. ⁴⁰¹  21:10 So she said to Abraham, “Banish ⁴⁰²  that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac!”

21:11 Sarah’s demand displeased Abraham greatly because Ishmael was his son. ⁴⁰³  21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset ⁴⁰⁴  about the boy or your slave wife. Do ⁴⁰⁵  all that Sarah is telling ⁴⁰⁶  you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. ⁴⁰⁷  21:13 But I will also make the son of the slave wife into a great nation, for he is your descendant too.”

21:14 Early in the morning Abraham took ⁴⁰⁸  some food ⁴⁰⁹  and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, ⁴¹⁰  and sent her away. So she went wandering ⁴¹¹  aimlessly through the wilderness ⁴¹²  of Beer Sheba. 21:15 When the water in the skin was gone, she shoved ⁴¹³  the child under one of the shrubs. 21:16 Then she went and sat down by herself across from him at quite a distance, about a bowshot ⁴¹⁴  away; for she thought, ⁴¹⁵  “I refuse to watch the child die.” ⁴¹⁶  So she sat across from him and wept uncontrollably. ⁴¹⁷ 

21:17 But God heard the boy’s voice. ⁴¹⁸  The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and asked her, “What is the matter, ⁴¹⁹  Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard ⁴²⁰  the boy’s voice right where he is crying. 21:18 Get up! Help the boy up and hold him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 21:19 Then God enabled Hagar to see a well of water. ⁴²¹  She went over and filled the skin with water, and then gave the boy a drink.

21:20 God was with the boy as he grew. He lived in the wilderness and became an archer. 21:21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran. ⁴²²  His mother found a wife for him from the land of Egypt. ⁴²³ 

21:22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you ⁴²⁴  in all that you do. 21:23 Now swear to me right here in God’s name ⁴²⁵  that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. ⁴²⁶  Show me, and the land ⁴²⁷  where you are staying, ⁴²⁸  the same loyalty ⁴²⁹  that I have shown you.” ⁴³⁰ 

21:24 Abraham said, “I swear to do this.” ⁴³¹  21:25 But Abraham lodged a complaint ⁴³²  against Abimelech concerning a well ⁴³³  that Abimelech’s servants had seized. ⁴³⁴  21:26 “I do not know who has done this thing,” Abimelech replied. “Moreover, ⁴³⁵  you did not tell me. I did not hear about it until today.”

21:27 Abraham took some sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a treaty. ⁴³⁶  21:28 Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs apart from the flock by themselves. 21:29 Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these ⁴³⁷  seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” 21:30 He replied, “You must take these seven ewe lambs from my hand as legal proof ⁴³⁸  that I dug this well.” ⁴³⁹  21:31 That is why he named that place ⁴⁴⁰  Beer Sheba, ⁴⁴¹  because the two of them swore ⁴⁴²  an oath there.

21:32 So they made a treaty ⁴⁴³  at Beer Sheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returned ⁴⁴⁴  to the land of the Philistines. ⁴⁴⁵  21:33 Abraham ⁴⁴⁶  planted a tamarisk tree ⁴⁴⁷  in Beer Sheba. There he worshiped the Lord, ⁴⁴⁸  the eternal God. 21:34 So Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for quite some time. ⁴⁴⁹ 

The Sacrifice of Isaac

22:1 Some time after these things God tested ⁴⁵⁰  Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham ⁴⁵¹  replied. 22:2 God ⁴⁵²  said, “Take your son – your only son, whom you love, Isaac ⁴⁵³  – and go to the land of Moriah! ⁴⁵⁴  Offer him up there as a burnt offering ⁴⁵⁵  on one of the mountains which I will indicate to ⁴⁵⁶  you.”

22:3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. ⁴⁵⁷  He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out ⁴⁵⁸  for the place God had spoken to him about.

22:4 On the third day Abraham caught sight of ⁴⁵⁹  the place in the distance. 22:5 So he ⁴⁶⁰  said to his servants, “You two stay ⁴⁶¹  here with the donkey while ⁴⁶²  the boy and I go up there. We will worship ⁴⁶³  and then return to you.” ⁴⁶⁴ 

22:6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. Then he took the fire and the knife in his hand, ⁴⁶⁵  and the two of them walked on together. 22:7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, ⁴⁶⁶  “My father?” “What is it, ⁴⁶⁷  my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said, ⁴⁶⁸  “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 22:8 “God will provide ⁴⁶⁹  for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham replied. The two of them continued on together.

22:9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there ⁴⁷⁰  and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up ⁴⁷¹  his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 22:10 Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter ⁴⁷²  his son. 22:11 But the Lord’s angel ⁴⁷³  called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” ⁴⁷⁴  the angel said. ⁴⁷⁵  “Do not do anything to him, for now I know ⁴⁷⁶  that you fear ⁴⁷⁷  God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”

22:13 Abraham looked up ⁴⁷⁸  and saw ⁴⁷⁹  behind him ⁴⁸⁰  a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he ⁴⁸¹  went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord provides.” ⁴⁸²  It is said to this day, ⁴⁸³  “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.” ⁴⁸⁴ 

22:15 The Lord’s angel called to Abraham a second time from heaven 22:16 and said, “‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ ⁴⁸⁵  decrees the Lord, ⁴⁸⁶  ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 22:17 I will indeed bless you, ⁴⁸⁷  and I will greatly multiply ⁴⁸⁸  your descendants ⁴⁸⁹  so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession ⁴⁹⁰  of the strongholds ⁴⁹¹  of their enemies. 22:18 Because you have obeyed me, ⁴⁹²  all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ⁴⁹³  using the name of your descendants.’”

22:19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set out together ⁴⁹⁴  for Beer Sheba where Abraham stayed. ⁴⁹⁵ 

22:20 After these things Abraham was told, “Milcah ⁴⁹⁶  also has borne children to your brother Nahor – 22:21 Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram), ⁴⁹⁷  22:22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 22:23 (Now ⁴⁹⁸  Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.) These were the eight sons Milcah bore to Abraham’s brother Nahor. 22:24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore him children – Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

The Death of Sarah

23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. ⁴⁹⁹  23:2 Then she ⁵⁰⁰  died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. ⁵⁰¹ 

23:3 Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife ⁵⁰²  and said to the sons of Heth, ⁵⁰³  23:4 “I am a temporary settler ⁵⁰⁴  among you. Grant ⁵⁰⁵  me ownership ⁵⁰⁶  of a burial site among you so that I may ⁵⁰⁷  bury my dead.” ⁵⁰⁸ 

23:5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, ⁵⁰⁹  23:6 “Listen, sir, ⁵¹⁰  you are a mighty prince ⁵¹¹  among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you ⁵¹²  from burying your dead.”

23:7 Abraham got up and bowed down to the local people, ⁵¹³  the sons of Heth. 23:8 Then he said to them, “If you agree ⁵¹⁴  that I may bury my dead, ⁵¹⁵  then hear me out. ⁵¹⁶  Ask ⁵¹⁷  Ephron the son of Zohar 23:9 if he will sell ⁵¹⁸  me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me publicly ⁵¹⁹  for the full price, ⁵²⁰  so that I may own it as a burial site.”

23:10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite ⁵²¹  replied to Abraham in the hearing ⁵²²  of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate ⁵²³  of his city – 23:11 “No, my lord! Hear me out. I sell ⁵²⁴  you both the field and the cave that is in it. ⁵²⁵  In the presence of my people ⁵²⁶  I sell it to you. Bury your dead.”

23:12 Abraham bowed before the local people 23:13 and said to Ephron in their hearing, “Hear me, if you will. I pay ⁵²⁷  to you the price ⁵²⁸  of the field. Take it from me so that I may ⁵²⁹  bury my dead there.”

23:14 Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 23:15 “Hear me, my lord. The land is worth ⁵³⁰  400 pieces of silver, ⁵³¹  but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”

23:16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price ⁵³²  and weighed ⁵³³  out for him ⁵³⁴  the price ⁵³⁵  that Ephron had quoted ⁵³⁶  in the hearing of the sons of Heth – 400 pieces of silver, according to the standard measurement at the time. ⁵³⁷ 

23:17 So Abraham secured ⁵³⁸  Ephron’s field in Machpelah, next to Mamre, including the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border, 23:18 as his property in the presence of the sons of Heth before all who entered the gate of Ephron’s city. ⁵³⁹ 

23:19 After this Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah next to Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 23:20 So Abraham secured the field and the cave that was in it as a burial site ⁵⁴⁰  from the sons of Heth.

The Wife for Isaac

24:1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years, ⁵⁴¹  and the Lord had blessed him ⁵⁴²  in everything. 24:2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior one ⁵⁴³  in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh ⁵⁴⁴  24:3 so that I may make you solemnly promise ⁵⁴⁵  by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire ⁵⁴⁶  a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living. 24:4 You must go instead to my country and to my relatives ⁵⁴⁷  to find ⁵⁴⁸  a wife for my son Isaac.”

24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me ⁵⁴⁹  to this land? Must I then ⁵⁵⁰  take your son back to the land from which you came?”

24:6 “Be careful ⁵⁵¹  never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him. ⁵⁵²  24:7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives, ⁵⁵³  promised me with a solemn oath, ⁵⁵⁴  ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel ⁵⁵⁵  before you so that you may find ⁵⁵⁶  a wife for my son from there. 24:8 But if the woman is not willing to come back with you, ⁵⁵⁷  you will be free ⁵⁵⁸  from this oath of mine. But you must not take my son back there!” 24:9 So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and gave his solemn promise he would carry out his wishes. ⁵⁵⁹ 

24:10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all kinds of gifts from his master at his disposal. ⁵⁶⁰  He journeyed ⁵⁶¹  to the region of Aram Naharaim ⁵⁶²  and the city of Nahor. 24:11 He made the camels kneel down by the well ⁵⁶³  outside the city. It was evening, ⁵⁶⁴  the time when the women would go out to draw water. 24:12 He prayed, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, guide me today. ⁵⁶⁵  Be faithful ⁵⁶⁶  to my master Abraham. 24:13 Here I am, standing by the spring, ⁵⁶⁷  and the daughters of the people ⁵⁶⁸  who live in the town are coming out to draw water. 24:14 I will say to a young woman, ‘Please lower your jar so I may drink.’ May the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac reply, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ ⁵⁶⁹  In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.” ⁵⁷⁰ 

24:15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah ⁵⁷¹  with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah (Milcah was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor). ⁵⁷²  24:16 Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. ⁵⁷³  She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up. 24:17 Abraham’s servant ⁵⁷⁴  ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a sip of water from your jug.” 24:18 “Drink, my lord,” she replied, and quickly lowering ⁵⁷⁵  her jug to her hands, she gave him a drink. 24:19 When she had done so, ⁵⁷⁶  she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have drunk as much as they want.” 24:20 She quickly emptied ⁵⁷⁷  her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw more water until she had drawn enough for all his camels. 24:21 Silently the man watched her with interest to determine ⁵⁷⁸  if the Lord had made his journey successful ⁵⁷⁹  or not.

24:22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka ⁵⁸⁰  and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels ⁵⁸¹  and gave them to her. ⁵⁸²  24:23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. ⁵⁸³  “Tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”

24:24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom Milcah bore to Nahor. ⁵⁸⁴  24:25 We have plenty of straw and feed,” she added, ⁵⁸⁵  “and room for you ⁵⁸⁶  to spend the night.”

24:26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord, 24:27 saying “Praised be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love ⁵⁸⁷  for my master! The Lord has led me ⁵⁸⁸  to the house ⁵⁸⁹  of my master’s relatives!” ⁵⁹⁰ 

24:28 The young woman ran and told her mother’s household all about ⁵⁹¹  these things. 24:29 (Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban.) ⁵⁹²  Laban rushed out to meet the man at the spring. 24:30 When he saw the bracelets on his sister’s wrists and the nose ring ⁵⁹³  and heard his sister Rebekah say, ⁵⁹⁴  “This is what the man said to me,” he went out to meet the man. There he was, standing ⁵⁹⁵  by the camels near the spring. 24:31 Laban said to him, ⁵⁹⁶  “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord! ⁵⁹⁷  Why are you standing out here when I have prepared ⁵⁹⁸  the house and a place for the camels?”

24:32 So Abraham’s servant ⁵⁹⁹  went to the house and unloaded ⁶⁰⁰  the camels. Straw and feed were given ⁶⁰¹  to the camels, and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet. ⁶⁰²  24:33 When food was served, ⁶⁰³  he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I want to say.” ⁶⁰⁴  “Tell us,” Laban said. ⁶⁰⁵ 

24:34 “I am the servant of Abraham,” he began. 24:35 “The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy. ⁶⁰⁶  The Lord ⁶⁰⁷  has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 24:36 My master’s wife Sarah bore a son to him ⁶⁰⁸  when she was old, ⁶⁰⁹  and my master ⁶¹⁰  has given him everything he owns. 24:37 My master made me swear an oath. He said, ‘You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 24:38 but you must go to the family of my father and to my relatives to find ⁶¹¹  a wife for my son.’ 24:39 But I said to my master, ‘What if the woman does not want to go ⁶¹²  with me?’ ⁶¹³  24:40 He answered, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, ⁶¹⁴  will send his angel with you. He will make your journey a success and you will find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family. 24:41 You will be free from your oath ⁶¹⁵  if you go to my relatives and they will not give her to you. Then you will be free from your oath.’ 24:42 When I came to the spring today, I prayed, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you have decided to make my journey successful, ⁶¹⁶  may events unfold as follows: ⁶¹⁷  24:43 Here I am, standing by the spring. ⁶¹⁸  When ⁶¹⁹  the young woman goes out to draw water, I’ll say, “Give me a little water to drink from your jug.” 24:44 Then she will reply to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too.” May that woman be the one whom the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’

24:45 “Before I finished praying in my heart, ⁶²⁰  along came Rebekah ⁶²¹  with her water jug on her shoulder! She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 24:46 She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels water. 24:47 Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘The daughter of Bethuel the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to Nahor.’ ⁶²²  I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 24:48 Then I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right path to find the granddaughter ⁶²³  of my master’s brother for his son. 24:49 Now, if you will show faithful love to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me as well, so that I may go on my way.” ⁶²⁴ 

24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the Lord’s doing. ⁶²⁵  Our wishes are of no concern. ⁶²⁶  24:51 Rebekah stands here before you. Take her and go so that she may become ⁶²⁷  the wife of your master’s son, just as the Lord has decided.” ⁶²⁸ 

24:52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. 24:53 Then he ⁶²⁹  brought out gold, silver jewelry, and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and to her mother. 24:54 After this, he and the men who were with him ate a meal and stayed there overnight. ⁶³⁰ 

When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me leave now so I can return to my master.” ⁶³¹  24:55 But Rebekah’s ⁶³²  brother and her mother replied, “Let the girl stay with us a few more days, perhaps ten. Then she can go.” 24:56 But he said to them, “Don’t detain me – the Lord ⁶³³  has granted me success on my journey. Let me leave now so I may return ⁶³⁴  to my master.” 24:57 Then they said, “We’ll call the girl and find out what she wants to do.” ⁶³⁵  24:58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want ⁶³⁶  to go with this man?” She replied, “I want to go.”

24:59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, accompanied by her female attendant, with Abraham’s servant and his men. 24:60 They blessed Rebekah with these words: ⁶³⁷ 

“Our sister, may you become the mother ⁶³⁸  of thousands of ten thousands!

May your descendants possess the strongholds ⁶³⁹  of their enemies.”

24:61 Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with ⁶⁴⁰  the man. So Abraham’s servant ⁶⁴¹  took Rebekah and left.

24:62 Now ⁶⁴²  Isaac came from ⁶⁴³  Beer Lahai Roi, ⁶⁴⁴  for ⁶⁴⁵  he was living in the Negev. ⁶⁴⁶  24:63 He ⁶⁴⁷  went out to relax ⁶⁴⁸  in the field in the early evening. ⁶⁴⁹  Then he looked up ⁶⁵⁰  and saw that ⁶⁵¹  there were camels approaching. 24:64 Rebekah looked up ⁶⁵²  and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel 24:65 and asked ⁶⁵³  Abraham’s servant, ⁶⁵⁴  “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied. ⁶⁵⁵  So she took her veil and covered herself.

24:66 The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. 24:67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah ⁶⁵⁶  into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her ⁶⁵⁷  as his wife and loved her. ⁶⁵⁸  So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. ⁶⁵⁹ 

The Death of Abraham

25:1 Abraham had taken ⁶⁶⁰  another ⁶⁶¹  wife, named Keturah. 25:2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 25:3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. ⁶⁶²  The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 25:4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants ⁶⁶³  of Keturah.

25:5 Everything he owned Abraham left to his son Isaac. 25:6 But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines ⁶⁶⁴  and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. ⁶⁶⁵ 

25:7 Abraham lived a total of ⁶⁶⁶  175 years. 25:8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life. ⁶⁶⁷  He joined his ancestors. ⁶⁶⁸  25:9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah ⁶⁶⁹  near Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar, the Hethite. 25:10 This was the field Abraham had purchased from the sons of Heth. ⁶⁷⁰  There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 25:11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed ⁶⁷¹  his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi. ⁶⁷² 

The Sons of Ishmael

25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, ⁶⁷³  whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham.

25:13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names according to their records: ⁶⁷⁴  Nebaioth (Ishmael’s firstborn), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 25:14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 25:15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 25:16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names by their settlements and their camps – twelve princes ⁶⁷⁵  according to their clans.

25:17 Ishmael lived a total of ⁶⁷⁶  137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors. ⁶⁷⁷  25:18 His descendants ⁶⁷⁸  settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next ⁶⁷⁹  to Egypt all the way ⁶⁸⁰  to Asshur. ⁶⁸¹  They settled ⁶⁸²  away from all their relatives. ⁶⁸³ 

Jacob and Esau

25:19 This is the account of Isaac, ⁶⁸⁴  the son of Abraham.

Abraham became the father of Isaac. 25:20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, ⁶⁸⁵  the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. ⁶⁸⁶ 

25:21 Isaac prayed to ⁶⁸⁷  the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 25:22 But the children struggled ⁶⁸⁸  inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” ⁶⁸⁹  So she asked the Lord, ⁶⁹⁰  25:23 and the Lord said to her,

“Two nations ⁶⁹¹  are in your womb,

and two peoples will be separated from within you.

One people will be stronger than the other,

and the older will serve the younger.”

25:24 When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, ⁶⁹²  there were ⁶⁹³  twins in her womb. 25:25 The first came out reddish ⁶⁹⁴  all over, ⁶⁹⁵  like a hairy ⁶⁹⁶  garment, so they named him Esau. ⁶⁹⁷  25:26 When his brother came out with ⁶⁹⁸  his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. ⁶⁹⁹  Isaac was sixty years old ⁷⁰⁰  when they were born.

25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled ⁷⁰¹  hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. ⁷⁰²  25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, ⁷⁰³  but Rebekah loved ⁷⁰⁴  Jacob.

25:29 Now Jacob cooked some stew, ⁷⁰⁵  and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished. 25:30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed ⁷⁰⁶  me some of the red stuff – yes, this red stuff – because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called ⁷⁰⁷  Edom.) ⁷⁰⁸ 

25:31 But Jacob replied, “First ⁷⁰⁹  sell me your birthright.” 25:32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” ⁷¹⁰  25:33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” ⁷¹¹  So Esau ⁷¹²  swore an oath to him and sold his birthright ⁷¹³  to Jacob.

25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. ⁷¹⁴  So Esau despised his birthright. ⁷¹⁵ 

Isaac and Abimelech

26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred ⁷¹⁶  in the days of Abraham. ⁷¹⁷  Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar. 26:2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; ⁷¹⁸  settle down in the land that I will point out to you. ⁷¹⁹  26:3 Stay ⁷²⁰  in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, ⁷²¹  for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, ⁷²²  and I will fulfill ⁷²³  the solemn promise I made ⁷²⁴  to your father Abraham. 26:4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them ⁷²⁵  all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. ⁷²⁶  26:5 All this will come to pass ⁷²⁷  because Abraham obeyed me ⁷²⁸  and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” ⁷²⁹  26:6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.

26:7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, “She is my sister.” ⁷³⁰  He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, ⁷³¹  “The men of this place will kill me to get ⁷³²  Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”

26:8 After Isaac ⁷³³  had been there a long time, ⁷³⁴  Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed ⁷³⁵  Isaac caressing ⁷³⁶  his wife Rebekah. 26:9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really ⁷³⁷  your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.” ⁷³⁸ 

26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? ⁷³⁹  One of the men ⁷⁴⁰  might easily have had sexual relations with ⁷⁴¹  your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!” 26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches ⁷⁴²  this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” ⁷⁴³ 

26:12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, ⁷⁴⁴  because the Lord blessed him. ⁷⁴⁵  26:13 The man became wealthy. ⁷⁴⁶  His influence continued to grow ⁷⁴⁷  until he became very prominent. 26:14 He had ⁷⁴⁸  so many sheep ⁷⁴⁹  and cattle ⁷⁵⁰  and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous ⁷⁵¹  of him. 26:15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled up ⁷⁵²  all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham.

26:16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere, ⁷⁵³  for you have become much more powerful ⁷⁵⁴  than we are.” 26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. ⁷⁵⁵  26:18 Isaac reopened ⁷⁵⁶  the wells that had been dug ⁷⁵⁷  back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up ⁷⁵⁸  after Abraham died. Isaac ⁷⁵⁹  gave these wells ⁷⁶⁰  the same names his father had given them. ⁷⁶¹ 

26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing ⁷⁶²  water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled ⁷⁶³  with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac ⁷⁶⁴  named the well ⁷⁶⁵  Esek ⁷⁶⁶  because they argued with him about it. ⁷⁶⁷  26:21 His servants ⁷⁶⁸  dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it ⁷⁶⁹  Sitnah. ⁷⁷⁰  26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac ⁷⁷¹  named it ⁷⁷²  Rehoboth, ⁷⁷³  saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”

26:23 From there Isaac ⁷⁷⁴  went up to Beer Sheba. 26:24 The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” 26:25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped ⁷⁷⁵  the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. ⁷⁷⁶ 

26:26 Now Abimelech had come ⁷⁷⁷  to him from Gerar along with ⁷⁷⁸  Ahuzzah his friend ⁷⁷⁹  and Phicol the commander of his army. 26:27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me ⁷⁸⁰  and sent me away from you.” 26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see ⁷⁸¹  that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be ⁷⁸²  a pact between us ⁷⁸³  – between us ⁷⁸⁴  and you. Allow us to make ⁷⁸⁵  a treaty with you 26:29 so that ⁷⁸⁶  you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed ⁷⁸⁷  you, but have always treated you well ⁷⁸⁸  before sending you away ⁷⁸⁹  in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.” ⁷⁹⁰ 

26:30 So Isaac ⁷⁹¹  held a feast for them and they celebrated. ⁷⁹²  26:31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. ⁷⁹³  Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms. ⁷⁹⁴ 

26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported. ⁷⁹⁵  26:33 So he named it Shibah; ⁷⁹⁶  that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba ⁷⁹⁷  to this day.

26:34 When ⁷⁹⁸  Esau was forty years old, ⁷⁹⁹  he married ⁸⁰⁰  Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, as well as Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 26:35 They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety. ⁸⁰¹ 

Jacob Cheats Esau out of the Blessing

27:1 When ⁸⁰²  Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, ⁸⁰³  he called his older ⁸⁰⁴  son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau ⁸⁰⁵  replied. 27:2 Isaac ⁸⁰⁶  said, “Since ⁸⁰⁷  I am so old, I could die at any time. ⁸⁰⁸  27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game ⁸⁰⁹  for me. 27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then ⁸¹⁰  I will eat it so that I may bless you ⁸¹¹  before I die.”

27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. ⁸¹²  When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, ⁸¹³  27:6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father tell your brother Esau, 27:7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare for me some tasty food. Then I will eat ⁸¹⁴  it and bless you ⁸¹⁵  in the presence of the Lord ⁸¹⁶  before I die.’ 27:8 Now then, my son, do ⁸¹⁷  exactly what I tell you! ⁸¹⁸  27:9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare ⁸¹⁹  them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. 27:10 Then you will take ⁸²⁰  it to your father. Thus he will eat it ⁸²¹  and ⁸²²  bless you before he dies.”

27:11 “But Esau my brother is a hairy man,” Jacob protested to his mother Rebekah, “and I have smooth skin! ⁸²³  27:12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him ⁸²⁴  and I’ll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.” 27:13 So his mother told him, “Any curse against you will fall on me, ⁸²⁵  my son! Just obey me! ⁸²⁶  Go and get them for me!”

27:14 So he went and got the goats ⁸²⁷  and brought them to his mother. She ⁸²⁸  prepared some tasty food, just the way his father loved it. 27:15 Then Rebekah took her older son Esau’s best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 27:16 She put the skins of the young goats ⁸²⁹  on his hands ⁸³⁰  and the smooth part of his neck. 27:17 Then she handed ⁸³¹  the tasty food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.

27:18 He went to his father and said, “My father!” Isaac ⁸³²  replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?” ⁸³³  27:19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up ⁸³⁴  and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” ⁸³⁵  27:20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world ⁸³⁶  did you find it so quickly, ⁸³⁷  my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” ⁸³⁸  he replied. ⁸³⁹  27:21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you, ⁸⁴⁰  my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.” ⁸⁴¹  27:22 So Jacob went over to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s.” 27:23 He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau’s hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob. ⁸⁴²  27:24 Then he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “I am,” Jacob ⁸⁴³  replied. 27:25 Isaac ⁸⁴⁴  said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. ⁸⁴⁵  Then I will bless you.” ⁸⁴⁶  So Jacob ⁸⁴⁷  brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac ⁸⁴⁸  drank. 27:26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 27:27 So Jacob ⁸⁴⁹  went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent ⁸⁵⁰  of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,

“Yes, ⁸⁵¹  my son smells

like the scent of an open field

which the Lord has blessed.

27:28 May God give you

the dew of the sky ⁸⁵² 

and the richness ⁸⁵³  of the earth,

and plenty of grain and new wine.

27:29 May peoples serve you

and nations bow down to you.

You will be ⁸⁵⁴  lord ⁸⁵⁵  over your brothers,

and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. ⁸⁵⁶ 

May those who curse you be cursed,

and those who bless you be blessed.”

27:30 Isaac had just finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left ⁸⁵⁷  his father’s ⁸⁵⁸  presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt. ⁸⁵⁹  27:31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau ⁸⁶⁰  said to him, “My father, get up ⁸⁶¹  and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.” ⁸⁶²  27:32 His father Isaac asked, ⁸⁶³  “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,” ⁸⁶⁴  he replied, “Esau!” 27:33 Isaac began to shake violently ⁸⁶⁵  and asked, “Then who else hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it just before you arrived, and I blessed him. ⁸⁶⁶  He will indeed be blessed!”

27:34 When Esau heard ⁸⁶⁷  his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly. ⁸⁶⁸  He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” 27:35 But Isaac ⁸⁶⁹  replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away ⁸⁷⁰  your blessing.” 27:36 Esau exclaimed, “‘Jacob’ is the right name for him! ⁸⁷¹  He has tripped me up ⁸⁷²  two times! He took away my birthright, and now, look, he has taken away my blessing!” Then he asked, “Have you not kept back a blessing for me?”

27:37 Isaac replied to Esau, “Look! I have made him lord over you. I have made all his relatives his servants and provided him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?” 27:38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!” ⁸⁷³  Then Esau wept loudly. ⁸⁷⁴ 

27:39 So his father Isaac said to him,

“Indeed, ⁸⁷⁵  your home will be

away from the richness ⁸⁷⁶  of the earth,

and away from the dew of the sky above.

27:40 You will live by your sword

but you will serve your brother.

When you grow restless,

you will tear off his yoke

from your neck.” ⁸⁷⁷ 

27:41 So Esau hated ⁸⁷⁸  Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. ⁸⁷⁹  Esau said privately, ⁸⁸⁰  “The time ⁸⁸¹  of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill ⁸⁸²  my brother Jacob!”

27:42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said, ⁸⁸³  she quickly summoned ⁸⁸⁴  her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you. ⁸⁸⁵  27:43 Now then, my son, do what I say. ⁸⁸⁶  Run away immediately ⁸⁸⁷  to my brother Laban in Haran. 27:44 Live with him for a little while ⁸⁸⁸  until your brother’s rage subsides. 27:45 Stay there ⁸⁸⁹  until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I’ll send someone to bring you back from there. ⁸⁹⁰  Why should I lose both of you in one day?” ⁸⁹¹ 

27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressed ⁸⁹²  because of these daughters of Heth. ⁸⁹³  If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!” ⁸⁹⁴ 

28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman! ⁸⁹⁵  28:2 Leave immediately ⁸⁹⁶  for Paddan Aram! Go to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and find yourself a wife there, among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. 28:3 May the sovereign God ⁸⁹⁷  bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! ⁸⁹⁸  Then you will become ⁸⁹⁹  a large nation. ⁹⁰⁰  28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham ⁹⁰¹  so that you may possess the land ⁹⁰²  God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” ⁹⁰³  28:5 So Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean and brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

28:6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan Aram to find a wife there. ⁹⁰⁴  As he blessed him, ⁹⁰⁵  Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” ⁹⁰⁶  28:7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram. 28:8 Then Esau realized ⁹⁰⁷  that the Canaanite women ⁹⁰⁸  were displeasing to ⁹⁰⁹  his father Isaac. 28:9 So Esau went to Ishmael and married ⁹¹⁰  Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, along with the wives he already had.

Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

28:10 Meanwhile Jacob left Beer Sheba and set out for Haran. 28:11 He reached a certain place ⁹¹¹  where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. ⁹¹²  He took one of the stones ⁹¹³  and placed it near his head. ⁹¹⁴  Then he fell asleep ⁹¹⁵  in that place 28:12 and had a dream. ⁹¹⁶  He saw ⁹¹⁷  a stairway ⁹¹⁸  erected on the earth with its top reaching to the heavens. The angels of God were going up and coming down it 28:13 and the Lord stood at its top. He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac. ⁹¹⁹  I will give you and your descendants the ground ⁹²⁰  you are lying on. 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, ⁹²¹  and you will spread out ⁹²²  to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ⁹²³  using your name and that of your descendants. ⁹²⁴  28:15 I am with you! ⁹²⁵  I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!”

28:16 Then Jacob woke up ⁹²⁶  and thought, ⁹²⁷  “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not realize it!” 28:17 He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is nothing else than the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!”

28:18 Early ⁹²⁸  in the morning Jacob ⁹²⁹  took the stone he had placed near his head ⁹³⁰  and set it up as a sacred stone. ⁹³¹  Then he poured oil on top of it. 28:19 He called that place Bethel, ⁹³²  although the former name of the town was Luz. 28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God is with me and protects me on this journey I am taking and gives me food ⁹³³  to eat and clothing to wear, 28:21 and I return safely to my father’s home, ⁹³⁴  then the Lord will become my God. 28:22 Then this stone ⁹³⁵  that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely ⁹³⁶  give you back a tenth of everything you give me.” ⁹³⁷ 

The Marriages of Jacob

29:1 So Jacob moved on ⁹³⁸  and came to the land of the eastern people. ⁹³⁹  29:2 He saw ⁹⁴⁰  in the field a well with ⁹⁴¹  three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now ⁹⁴²  a large stone covered the mouth of the well. 29:3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds ⁹⁴³  would roll the stone off the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place over the well’s mouth.

29:4 Jacob asked them, “My brothers, where are you from?” They replied, “We’re from Haran.” 29:5 So he said to them, “Do you know Laban, the grandson ⁹⁴⁴  of Nahor?” “We know him,” ⁹⁴⁵  they said. 29:6 “Is he well?” ⁹⁴⁶  Jacob asked. They replied, “He is well. ⁹⁴⁷  Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” 29:7 Then Jacob ⁹⁴⁸  said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, ⁹⁴⁹  it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” ⁹⁵⁰  29:8 “We can’t,” they said, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well. Then we water ⁹⁵¹  the sheep.”

29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was tending them. ⁹⁵²  29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, ⁹⁵³  and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he ⁹⁵⁴  went over ⁹⁵⁵  and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. ⁹⁵⁶  29:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep loudly. ⁹⁵⁷  29:12 When Jacob explained ⁹⁵⁸  to Rachel that he was a relative of her father ⁹⁵⁹  and the son of Rebekah, she ran and told her father. 29:13 When Laban heard this news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he rushed out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob ⁹⁶⁰  told Laban how he was related to him. ⁹⁶¹  29:14 Then Laban said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” ⁹⁶²  So Jacob ⁹⁶³  stayed with him for a month. ⁹⁶⁴ 

29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work ⁹⁶⁵  for me for nothing because you are my relative? ⁹⁶⁶  Tell me what your wages should be.” 29:16 (Now Laban had two daughters; ⁹⁶⁷  the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. 29:17 Leah’s eyes were tender, ⁹⁶⁸  but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.) ⁹⁶⁹  29:18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with ⁹⁷⁰  Rachel, he said, “I’ll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel.” 29:19 Laban replied, “I’d rather give her to you than to another man. ⁹⁷¹  Stay with me.” 29:20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. ⁹⁷²  But they seemed like only a few days to him ⁹⁷³  because his love for her was so great. ⁹⁷⁴ 

29:21 Finally Jacob said ⁹⁷⁵  to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. ⁹⁷⁶  I want to have marital relations with her.” ⁹⁷⁷  29:22 So Laban invited all the people ⁹⁷⁸  of that place and prepared a feast. 29:23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leah ⁹⁷⁹  to Jacob, ⁹⁸⁰  and Jacob ⁹⁸¹  had marital relations with her. ⁹⁸²  29:24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) ⁹⁸³ 

29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! ⁹⁸⁴  So Jacob ⁹⁸⁵  said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! ⁹⁸⁶  Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked ⁹⁸⁷  me?” 29:26 “It is not our custom here,” ⁹⁸⁸  Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriage ⁹⁸⁹  before the firstborn. 29:27 Complete my older daughter’s bridal week. ⁹⁹⁰  Then we will give you the younger one ⁹⁹¹  too, in exchange for seven more years of work.” ⁹⁹² 

29:28 Jacob did as Laban said. ⁹⁹³  When Jacob ⁹⁹⁴  completed Leah’s bridal week, ⁹⁹⁵  Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. ⁹⁹⁶  29:29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) ⁹⁹⁷  29:30 Jacob ⁹⁹⁸  had marital relations ⁹⁹⁹  with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban ¹⁰⁰⁰  for seven more years. ¹⁰⁰¹ 

The Family of Jacob

29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, ¹⁰⁰²  he enabled her to become pregnant ¹⁰⁰³  while Rachel remained childless. 29:32 So Leah became pregnant ¹⁰⁰⁴  and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, ¹⁰⁰⁵  for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. ¹⁰⁰⁶  Surely my husband will love me now.”

29:33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved, ¹⁰⁰⁷  he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. ¹⁰⁰⁸ 

29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, ¹⁰⁰⁹  because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. ¹⁰¹⁰ 

29:35 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” That is why she named him Judah. ¹⁰¹¹  Then she stopped having children.

30:1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she ¹⁰¹²  became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children ¹⁰¹³  or I’ll die!” 30:2 Jacob became furious ¹⁰¹⁴  with Rachel and exclaimed, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” ¹⁰¹⁵  30:3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with ¹⁰¹⁶  her so that she can bear ¹⁰¹⁷  children ¹⁰¹⁸  for me ¹⁰¹⁹  and I can have a family through her.” ¹⁰²⁰ 

30:4 So Rachel ¹⁰²¹  gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with ¹⁰²²  her. 30:5 Bilhah became pregnant ¹⁰²³  and gave Jacob a son. ¹⁰²⁴  30:6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayer ¹⁰²⁵  and given me a son.” That is why ¹⁰²⁶  she named him Dan. ¹⁰²⁷ 

30:7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. ¹⁰²⁸  30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.” ¹⁰²⁹  So she named him Naphtali. ¹⁰³⁰ 

30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave ¹⁰³¹  her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 30:10 Soon Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son. ¹⁰³²  30:11 Leah said, “How fortunate!” ¹⁰³³  So she named him Gad. ¹⁰³⁴ 

30:12 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son. ¹⁰³⁵  30:13 Leah said, “How happy I am, ¹⁰³⁶  for women ¹⁰³⁷  will call me happy!” So she named him Asher. ¹⁰³⁸ 

30:14 At the time ¹⁰³⁹  of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants ¹⁰⁴⁰  in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 30:15 But Leah replied, ¹⁰⁴¹  “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,” ¹⁰⁴²  Rachel said, “he may sleep ¹⁰⁴³  with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 30:16 When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep ¹⁰⁴⁴  with me because I have paid for your services ¹⁰⁴⁵  with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relations ¹⁰⁴⁶  with her that night. 30:17 God paid attention ¹⁰⁴⁷  to Leah; she became pregnant ¹⁰⁴⁸  and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. ¹⁰⁴⁹  30:18 Then Leah said, “God has granted me a reward ¹⁰⁵⁰  because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.” ¹⁰⁵¹  So she named him Issachar. ¹⁰⁵² 

30:19 Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time. ¹⁰⁵³  30:20 Then Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me because I have given him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. ¹⁰⁵⁴ 

30:21 After that she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

30:22 Then God took note of ¹⁰⁵⁵  Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. ¹⁰⁵⁶  30:23 She became pregnant ¹⁰⁵⁷  and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” ¹⁰⁵⁸  30:24 She named him Joseph, ¹⁰⁵⁹  saying, “May the Lord give me yet another son.”

The Flocks of Jacob

30:25 After Rachel had given birth ¹⁰⁶⁰  to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send ¹⁰⁶¹  me on my way so that I can go ¹⁰⁶²  home to my own country. ¹⁰⁶³  30:26 Let me take my wives and my children whom I have acquired by working for you. ¹⁰⁶⁴  Then I’ll depart, ¹⁰⁶⁵  because you know how hard I’ve worked for you.” ¹⁰⁶⁶ 

30:27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, ¹⁰⁶⁷  for I have learned by divination ¹⁰⁶⁸  that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.” 30:28 He added, “Just name your wages – I’ll pay whatever you want.” ¹⁰⁶⁹ 

30:29 “You know how I have worked for you,” Jacob replied, ¹⁰⁷⁰  “and how well your livestock have fared under my care. ¹⁰⁷¹  30:30 Indeed, ¹⁰⁷²  you had little before I arrived, ¹⁰⁷³  but now your possessions have increased many times over. ¹⁰⁷⁴  The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked. ¹⁰⁷⁵  But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?” ¹⁰⁷⁶ 

30:31 So Laban asked, ¹⁰⁷⁷  “What should I give you?” “You don’t need to give me a thing,” ¹⁰⁷⁸  Jacob replied, ¹⁰⁷⁹  “but if you agree to this one condition, ¹⁰⁸⁰  I will continue to care for ¹⁰⁸¹  your flocks and protect them: 30:32 Let me walk among ¹⁰⁸²  all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, ¹⁰⁸³  and the spotted or speckled goats. ¹⁰⁸⁴  These animals will be my wages. ¹⁰⁸⁵  30:33 My integrity will testify for me ¹⁰⁸⁶  later on. ¹⁰⁸⁷  When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on, ¹⁰⁸⁸  if I have in my possession any goat that is not speckled or spotted or any sheep that is not dark-colored, it will be considered stolen.” ¹⁰⁸⁹  30:34 “Agreed!” said Laban, “It will be as you say.” ¹⁰⁹⁰ 

30:35 So that day Laban ¹⁰⁹¹  removed the male goats that were streaked or spotted, all the female goats that were speckled or spotted (all that had any white on them), and all the dark-colored lambs, and put them in the care ¹⁰⁹²  of his sons. 30:36 Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, ¹⁰⁹³  while ¹⁰⁹⁴  Jacob was taking care of the rest of Laban’s flocks.

30:37 But Jacob took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees. He made white streaks by peeling them, making the white inner wood in the branches visible. 30:38 Then he set up the peeled branches in all the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. He set up the branches in front of the flocks when they were in heat and came to drink. ¹⁰⁹⁵  30:39 When the sheep mated ¹⁰⁹⁶  in front of the branches, they ¹⁰⁹⁷  gave birth to young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 30:40 Jacob removed these lambs, but he made the rest of the flock face ¹⁰⁹⁸  the streaked and completely dark-colored animals in Laban’s flock. So he made separate flocks for himself and did not mix them with Laban’s flocks. 30:41 When the stronger females were in heat, ¹⁰⁹⁹  Jacob would set up the branches in the troughs in front of the flock, so they would mate near the branches. 30:42 But if the animals were weaker, he did not set the branches there. ¹¹⁰⁰  So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban ¹¹⁰¹  and the stronger animals to Jacob. 30:43 In this way Jacob ¹¹⁰²  became extremely prosperous. He owned ¹¹⁰³  large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.

Jacob’s Flight from Laban

31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, ¹¹⁰⁴  “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich ¹¹⁰⁵  at our father’s expense!” ¹¹⁰⁶  31:2 When Jacob saw the look on Laban’s face, he could tell his attitude toward him had changed. ¹¹⁰⁷ 

31:3 The Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers ¹¹⁰⁸  and to your relatives. I will be with you.” ¹¹⁰⁹  31:4 So Jacob sent a message for Rachel and Leah ¹¹¹⁰  to come to the field ¹¹¹¹  where his flocks were. ¹¹¹²  31:5 There he said to them, “I can tell that your father’s attitude toward me has changed, ¹¹¹³  but the God of my father has been with me. 31:6 You know that I’ve worked for your father as hard as I could, ¹¹¹⁴  31:7 but your father has humiliated ¹¹¹⁵  me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not permitted him to do me any harm. 31:8 If he said, ¹¹¹⁶  ‘The speckled animals ¹¹¹⁷  will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to speckled offspring. But if he said, ‘The streaked animals will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to streaked offspring. 31:9 In this way God has snatched away your father’s livestock and given them to me.

31:10 “Once ¹¹¹⁸  during breeding season I saw ¹¹¹⁹  in a dream that the male goats mating with ¹¹²⁰  the flock were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 31:11 In the dream the angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ ‘Here I am!’ I replied. 31:12 Then he said, ‘Observe ¹¹²¹  that all the male goats mating with ¹¹²²  the flock are streaked, speckled, or spotted, for I have observed all that Laban has done to you. 31:13 I am the God of Bethel, ¹¹²³  where you anointed ¹¹²⁴  the sacred stone and made a vow to me. ¹¹²⁵  Now leave this land immediately ¹¹²⁶  and return to your native land.’”

31:14 Then Rachel and Leah replied to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance ¹¹²⁷  in our father’s house? 31:15 Hasn’t he treated us like foreigners? He not only sold us, but completely wasted ¹¹²⁸  the money paid for us! ¹¹²⁹  31:16 Surely all the wealth that God snatched away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So now do everything God has told you.”

31:17 So Jacob immediately put his children and his wives on the camels. ¹¹³⁰  31:18 He took ¹¹³¹  away all the livestock he had acquired in Paddan Aram and all his moveable property that he had accumulated. Then he set out toward the land of Canaan to return to his father Isaac. ¹¹³² 

31:19 While Laban had gone to shear his sheep, ¹¹³³  Rachel stole the household idols ¹¹³⁴  that belonged to her father. 31:20 Jacob also deceived ¹¹³⁵  Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was leaving. ¹¹³⁶  31:21 He left ¹¹³⁷  with all he owned. He quickly crossed ¹¹³⁸  the Euphrates River ¹¹³⁹  and headed for ¹¹⁴⁰  the hill country of Gilead.

31:22 Three days later Laban discovered Jacob had left. ¹¹⁴¹  31:23 So he took his relatives ¹¹⁴²  with him and pursued Jacob ¹¹⁴³  for seven days. ¹¹⁴⁴  He caught up with ¹¹⁴⁵  him in the hill country of Gilead. 31:24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and warned him, ¹¹⁴⁶  “Be careful ¹¹⁴⁷  that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.” ¹¹⁴⁸ 

31:25 Laban overtook Jacob, and when Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead, Laban and his relatives set up camp there too. ¹¹⁴⁹  31:26 “What have you done?” Laban demanded of Jacob. “You’ve deceived me ¹¹⁵⁰  and carried away my daughters as if they were captives of war! ¹¹⁵¹  31:27 Why did you run away secretly ¹¹⁵²  and deceive me? ¹¹⁵³  Why didn’t you tell me so I could send you off with a celebration complete with singing, tambourines, and harps? ¹¹⁵⁴  31:28 You didn’t even allow me to kiss my daughters and my grandchildren ¹¹⁵⁵  good-bye. You have acted foolishly! 31:29 I have ¹¹⁵⁶  the power to do you harm, but the God of your father told me last night, ‘Be careful ¹¹⁵⁷  that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.’ ¹¹⁵⁸  31:30 Now I understand that ¹¹⁵⁹  you have gone away ¹¹⁶⁰  because you longed desperately ¹¹⁶¹  for your father’s house. Yet why did you steal my gods?” ¹¹⁶² 

31:31 “I left secretly because I was afraid!” ¹¹⁶³  Jacob replied to Laban. “I thought ¹¹⁶⁴  you might take your daughters away from me by force. ¹¹⁶⁵  31:32 Whoever has taken your gods will be put to death! ¹¹⁶⁶  In the presence of our relatives ¹¹⁶⁷  identify whatever is yours and take it.” ¹¹⁶⁸  (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.) ¹¹⁶⁹ 

31:33 So Laban entered Jacob’s tent, and Leah’s tent, and the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find the idols. ¹¹⁷⁰  Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s. ¹¹⁷¹  31:34 (Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them inside her camel’s saddle ¹¹⁷²  and sat on them.) ¹¹⁷³  Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them. ¹¹⁷⁴  31:35 Rachel ¹¹⁷⁵  said to her father, “Don’t be angry, ¹¹⁷⁶  my lord. I cannot stand up ¹¹⁷⁷  in your presence because I am having my period.” ¹¹⁷⁸  So he searched thoroughly, ¹¹⁷⁹  but did not find the idols.

31:36 Jacob became angry ¹¹⁸⁰  and argued with Laban. “What did I do wrong?” he demanded of Laban. ¹¹⁸¹  “What sin of mine prompted you to chase after me in hot pursuit? ¹¹⁸²  31:37 When you searched through all my goods, did you find anything that belonged to you? ¹¹⁸³  Set it here before my relatives and yours, ¹¹⁸⁴  and let them settle the dispute between the two of us! ¹¹⁸⁵ 

31:38 “I have been with you for the past twenty years. Your ewes and female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. 31:39 Animals torn by wild beasts I never brought to you; I always absorbed the loss myself. ¹¹⁸⁶  You always made me pay for every missing animal, ¹¹⁸⁷  whether it was taken by day or at night. 31:40 I was consumed by scorching heat ¹¹⁸⁸  during the day and by piercing cold ¹¹⁸⁹  at night, and I went without sleep. ¹¹⁹⁰  31:41 This was my lot ¹¹⁹¹  for twenty years in your house: I worked like a slave ¹¹⁹²  for you – fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, but you changed my wages ten times! 31:42 If the God of my father – the God of Abraham, the one whom Isaac fears ¹¹⁹³  – had not been with me, you would certainly have sent me away empty-handed! But God saw how I was oppressed and how hard I worked, ¹¹⁹⁴  and he rebuked you last night.”

31:43 Laban replied ¹¹⁹⁵  to Jacob, “These women ¹¹⁹⁶  are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, ¹¹⁹⁷  and these flocks are my flocks. All that you see belongs to me. But how can I harm these daughters of mine today ¹¹⁹⁸  or the children to whom they have given birth? 31:44 So now, come, let’s make a formal agreement, ¹¹⁹⁹  you and I, and it will be ¹²⁰⁰  proof that we have made peace.” ¹²⁰¹ 

31:45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a memorial pillar. 31:46 Then he ¹²⁰²  said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” So they brought stones and put them in a pile. ¹²⁰³  They ate there by the pile of stones. 31:47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, ¹²⁰⁴  but Jacob called it Galeed. ¹²⁰⁵ 

31:48 Laban said, “This pile of stones is a witness of our agreement ¹²⁰⁶  today.” That is why it was called Galeed. 31:49 It was also called Mizpah ¹²⁰⁷  because he said, “May the Lord watch ¹²⁰⁸  between us ¹²⁰⁹  when we are out of sight of one another. ¹²¹⁰  31:50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one else is with us, realize ¹²¹¹  that God is witness to your actions.” ¹²¹² 

31:51 “Here is this pile of stones and this pillar I have set up between me and you,” Laban said to Jacob. ¹²¹³  31:52 “This pile of stones and the pillar are reminders that I will not pass beyond this pile to come to harm you and that you will not pass beyond this pile and this pillar to come to harm me. ¹²¹⁴  31:53 May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor, ¹²¹⁵  the gods of their father, judge between us.” Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared. ¹²¹⁶  31:54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice ¹²¹⁷  on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat the meal. ¹²¹⁸  They ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain.

31:55 (32:1) ¹²¹⁹  Early in the morning Laban kissed ¹²²⁰  his grandchildren ¹²²¹  and his daughters goodbye and blessed them. Then Laban left and returned home. ¹²²² 

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

32:1 So Jacob went on his way and the angels of God ¹²²³  met him. 32:2 When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, ¹²²⁴  “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. ¹²²⁵ 

32:3 Jacob sent messengers on ahead ¹²²⁶  to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the region ¹²²⁷  of Edom. 32:4 He commanded them, “This is what you must say to my lord Esau: ‘This is what your servant ¹²²⁸  Jacob says: I have been staying with Laban until now. 32:5 I have oxen, donkeys, sheep, and male and female servants. I have sent ¹²²⁹  this message ¹²³⁰  to inform my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight.’”

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.” 32:7 Jacob was very afraid and upset. So he divided the people who were with him into two camps, as well as the flocks, herds, and camels. 32:8 “If Esau attacks one camp,” ¹²³¹  he thought, ¹²³²  “then the other camp will be able to escape.” ¹²³³ 

32:9 Then Jacob prayed, ¹²³⁴  “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you said ¹²³⁵  to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.’ ¹²³⁶  32:10 I am not worthy of all the faithful love ¹²³⁷  you have shown ¹²³⁸  your servant. With only my walking stick ¹²³⁹  I crossed the Jordan, ¹²⁴⁰  but now I have become two camps. 32:11 Rescue me, ¹²⁴¹  I pray, from the hand ¹²⁴²  of my brother Esau, ¹²⁴³  for I am afraid he will come ¹²⁴⁴  and attack me, as well as the mothers with their children. ¹²⁴⁵  32:12 But you ¹²⁴⁶  said, ‘I will certainly make you prosper ¹²⁴⁷  and will make ¹²⁴⁸  your descendants like the sand on the seashore, too numerous to count.’” ¹²⁴⁹ 

32:13 Jacob ¹²⁵⁰  stayed there that night. Then he sent ¹²⁵¹  as a gift ¹²⁵²  to his brother Esau 32:14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 32:15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 32:16 He entrusted them to ¹²⁵³  his servants, who divided them into herds. ¹²⁵⁴  He told his servants, “Pass over before me, and keep some distance between one herd and the next.” 32:17 He instructed the servant leading the first herd, ¹²⁵⁵  “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong? ¹²⁵⁶  Where are you going? Whose herds are you driving?’ ¹²⁵⁷  32:18 then you must say, ¹²⁵⁸  ‘They belong ¹²⁵⁹  to your servant Jacob. ¹²⁶⁰  They have been sent as a gift to my lord Esau. ¹²⁶¹  In fact Jacob himself is behind us.’” ¹²⁶² 

32:19 He also gave these instructions to the second and third servants, as well as all those who were following the herds, saying, “You must say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. ¹²⁶³  32:20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’” ¹²⁶⁴  Jacob thought, ¹²⁶⁵  “I will first appease him ¹²⁶⁶  by sending a gift ahead of me. ¹²⁶⁷  After that I will meet him. ¹²⁶⁸  Perhaps he will accept me.” ¹²⁶⁹  32:21 So the gifts were sent on ahead of him ¹²⁷⁰  while he spent that night in the camp. ¹²⁷¹ 

32:22 During the night Jacob quickly took ¹²⁷²  his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons ¹²⁷³  and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ¹²⁷⁴  32:23 He took them and sent them across the stream along with all his possessions. ¹²⁷⁵  32:24 So Jacob was left alone. Then a man ¹²⁷⁶  wrestled ¹²⁷⁷  with him until daybreak. ¹²⁷⁸  32:25 When the man ¹²⁷⁹  saw that he could not defeat Jacob, ¹²⁸⁰  he struck ¹²⁸¹  the socket of his hip so the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him.

32:26 Then the man ¹²⁸²  said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” ¹²⁸³  “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, ¹²⁸⁴  “unless you bless me.” ¹²⁸⁵  32:27 The man asked him, ¹²⁸⁶  “What is your name?” ¹²⁸⁷  He answered, “Jacob.” 32:28 “No longer will your name be Jacob,” the man told him, ¹²⁸⁸  “but Israel, ¹²⁸⁹  because you have fought ¹²⁹⁰  with God and with men and have prevailed.”

32:29 Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.” ¹²⁹¹  “Why ¹²⁹²  do you ask my name?” the man replied. ¹²⁹³  Then he blessed ¹²⁹⁴  Jacob ¹²⁹⁵  there. 32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, ¹²⁹⁶  explaining, ¹²⁹⁷  “Certainly ¹²⁹⁸  I have seen God face to face ¹²⁹⁹  and have survived.” ¹³⁰⁰ 

32:31 The sun rose ¹³⁰¹  over him as he crossed over Penuel, ¹³⁰²  but ¹³⁰³  he was limping because of his hip. 32:32 That is why to this day ¹³⁰⁴  the Israelites do not eat the sinew which is attached to the socket of the hip, because he struck ¹³⁰⁵  the socket of Jacob’s hip near the attached sinew.

Jacob Meets Esau

33:1 Jacob looked up ¹³⁰⁶  and saw that Esau was coming ¹³⁰⁷  along with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants. 33:2 He put the servants and their children in front, with Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph behind them. ¹³⁰⁸  33:3 But Jacob ¹³⁰⁹  himself went on ahead of them, and he bowed toward the ground seven times as he approached ¹³¹⁰  his brother. 33:4 But Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, hugged his neck, and kissed him. Then they both wept. 33:5 When Esau ¹³¹¹  looked up ¹³¹²  and saw the women and the children, he asked, “Who are these people with you?” Jacob ¹³¹³  replied, “The children whom God has graciously given ¹³¹⁴  your servant.” 33:6 The female servants came forward with their children and bowed down. ¹³¹⁵  33:7 Then Leah came forward with her children and they bowed down. Finally Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down.

33:8 Esau ¹³¹⁶  then asked, “What did you intend ¹³¹⁷  by sending all these herds to meet me?” ¹³¹⁸  Jacob ¹³¹⁹  replied, “To find favor in your sight, my lord.” 33:9 But Esau said, “I have plenty, my brother. Keep what belongs to you.” 33:10 “No, please take them,” Jacob said. ¹³²⁰  “If I have found favor in your sight, accept ¹³²¹  my gift from my hand. Now that I have seen your face and you have accepted me, ¹³²²  it is as if I have seen the face of God. ¹³²³  33:11 Please take my present ¹³²⁴  that was brought to you, for God has been generous ¹³²⁵  to me and I have all I need.” ¹³²⁶  When Jacob urged him, he took it. ¹³²⁷ 

33:12 Then Esau ¹³²⁸  said, “Let’s be on our way! ¹³²⁹  I will go in front of you.” 33:13 But Jacob ¹³³⁰  said to him, “My lord knows that the children are young, ¹³³¹  and that I have to look after the sheep and cattle that are nursing their young. ¹³³²  If they are driven too hard for even a single day, all the animals will die. 33:14 Let my lord go on ahead of his servant. I will travel more slowly, at the pace of the herds and the children, ¹³³³  until I come to my lord at Seir.”

33:15 So Esau said, “Let me leave some of my men with you.” ¹³³⁴  “Why do that?” Jacob replied. ¹³³⁵  “My lord has already been kind enough to me.” ¹³³⁶ 

33:16 So that same day Esau made his way back ¹³³⁷  to Seir. 33:17 But ¹³³⁸  Jacob traveled to Succoth ¹³³⁹  where he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was called ¹³⁴⁰  Succoth. ¹³⁴¹ 

33:18 After he left Paddan Aram, Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped near ¹³⁴²  the city. 33:19 Then he purchased the portion of the field where he had pitched his tent; he bought it ¹³⁴³  from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of money. ¹³⁴⁴  33:20 There he set up an altar and called it “The God of Israel is God.” ¹³⁴⁵ 

James 1:8

1:8 since he is a double-minded individual, ¹³⁴⁶  unstable in all his ways.

[15:1]  ¹ sn The noun “shield” recalls the words of Melchizedek in 14:20. If God is the shield, then God will deliver. Abram need not fear reprisals from those he has fought.

[15:1]  ² tn Heb “your reward [in] great abundance.” When the phrase הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ (harbeh mÿod) follows a noun it invariably modifies the noun and carries the nuance “very great” or “in great abundance.” (See its use in Gen 41:49; Deut 3:5; Josh 22:8; 2 Sam 8:8; 12:2; 1 Kgs 4:29; 10:10-11; 2 Chr 14:13; 32:27; Jer 40:12.) Here the noun “reward” is in apposition to “shield” and refers by metonymy to God as the source of the reward. Some translate here “your reward will be very great” (cf. NASB, NRSV), taking the statement as an independent clause and understanding the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a substitute for a finite verb. However, the construction הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ is never used this way elsewhere, where it either modifies a noun (see the texts listed above) or serves as an adverb in relation to a finite verb (see Josh 13:1; 1 Sam 26:21; 2 Sam 12:30; 2 Kgs 21:16; 1 Chr 20:2; Neh 2:2).

[15:2]  ³ tn The Hebrew text has אֲדֹנָי יֱהוִה (’adonay yehvih, “Master, Lord”). Since the tetragrammaton (YHWH) usually is pointed with the vowels for the Hebrew word אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “master”) to avoid pronouncing the divine name, that would lead in this place to a repetition of אֲדֹנָי. So the tetragrammaton is here pointed with the vowels for the word אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, “God”) instead. That would produce the reading of the Hebrew as “Master, God” in the Jewish textual tradition. But the presence of “Master” before the holy name is rather compelling evidence that the original would have been “Master, Lord,” which is rendered here “sovereign Lord.”

[15:2]  ⁴ tn The vav (ו) disjunctive at the beginning of the clause is circumstantial, expressing the cause or reason.

[15:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “I am going.”

[15:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “the son of the acquisition of my house.”

[15:2]  ⁷ tn The pronoun is anaphoric here, equivalent to the verb “to be” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 23, §115).

[15:2]  ⁸ sn The sentence in the Hebrew text employs a very effective wordplay on the name Damascus: “The son of the acquisition (בֶּן־מֶשֶׁק, ben-mesheq) of my house is Eliezer of Damascus (דַּמֶּשֶׁק, dammesheq).” The words are not the same; they have different sibilants. But the sound play gives the impression that “in the nomen is the omen.” Eliezer the Damascene will be Abram’s heir if Abram dies childless because “Damascus” seems to mean that. See M. F. Unger, “Some Comments on the Text of Genesis 15:2-3,” JBL 72 (1953): 49-50; H. L. Ginsberg, “Abram’s ‘Damascene’ Steward,” BASOR 200 (1970): 31-32.

[15:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “And Abram said.”

[15:3]  ¹⁰ tn The construction uses הֵן (hen) to introduce the foundational clause (“since…”), and וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh) to introduce the main clause (“then look…”).

[15:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “is inheriting me.”

[15:4]  ¹² tn The disjunctive draws attention to God’s response and the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, translated “look”) mirrors Abram’s statement in v. 3 and highlights the fact that God responded to Abram.

[15:4]  ¹³ tn The subject of the verb is the demonstrative pronoun, which can be translated “this one” or “this man.” That the Lord does not mention him by name is significant; often in ancient times the use of the name would bring legitimacy to inheritance and adoption cases.

[15:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “inherit you.”

[15:4]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew כִּי־אִם (ki-’im) forms a very strong adversative.

[15:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he who”; the implied referent (Abram’s unborn son who will be his heir) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:4]  ¹⁷ tn The pronoun could also be an emphatic subject: “whoever comes out of your body, he will inherit you.”

[15:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “will inherit you.”

[15:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:6]  ²⁰ tn The nonconsecutive vav (ו) is on a perfect verbal form. If the composer of the narrative had wanted to show simple sequence, he would have used the vav consecutive with the preterite. The perfect with vav conjunctive (where one expects the preterite with vav consecutive) in narrative contexts can have a variety of discourse functions, but here it probably serves to highlight Abram’s response to God’s promise. For a detailed discussion of the vav + perfect construction in Hebrew narrative, see R. Longacre, “Weqatal Forms in Biblical Hebrew Prose: A Discourse-modular Approach,” Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, 50-98. The Hebrew verb אָמַן (’aman) means “to confirm, to support” in the Qal verbal stem. Its derivative nouns refer to something or someone that/who provides support, such as a “pillar,” “nurse,” or “guardian, trustee.” In the Niphal stem it comes to mean “to be faithful, to be reliable, to be dependable,” or “to be firm, to be sure.” In the Hiphil, the form used here, it takes on a declarative sense: “to consider something reliable [or “dependable”].” Abram regarded the God who made this promise as reliable and fully capable of making it a reality.

[15:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:6]  ²² tn Heb “and he reckoned it to him.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix refers back to Abram’s act of faith, mentioned in the preceding clause. On third feminine singular pronouns referring back to verbal ideas see GKC 440-41 §135.p. Some propose taking the suffix as proleptic, anticipating the following feminine noun (“righteousness”). In this case one might translate: “and he reckoned it to him – [namely] righteousness.” See O. P. Robertson, “Genesis 15:6: A New Covenant Exposition of an Old Covenant Text,” WTJ 42 (1980): 259-89.

[15:6]  ²³ tn Or “righteousness”; or “evidence of steadfast commitment.” The noun is an adverbial accusative. The verb translated “considered” (Heb “reckoned”) also appears with צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “righteousness”) in Ps 106:31. Alluding to the events recorded in Numbers 25, the psalmist notes that Phinehas’ actions were “credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come.” Reference is made to the unconditional, eternal covenant with which God rewarded Phinehas’ loyalty (Num 25:12-13). So צְדָקָה seems to carry by metonymy the meaning “loyal, rewardable behavior” here, a nuance that fits nicely in Genesis 15, where God responds to Abram’s faith by formally ratifying his promise to give Abram and his descendants the land. (See R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 40.) In Phoenician and Old Aramaic inscriptions cognate nouns glossed as “correct, justifiable conduct” sometimes carry this same semantic nuance (DNWSI 2:962).

[15:7]  ²⁴ tn Heb “And he said.”

[15:7]  ²⁵ sn I am the Lord. The Lord initiates the covenant-making ceremony with a declaration of who he is and what he has done for Abram. The same form appears at the beginning of the covenant made at Sinai (see Exod 20:1).

[15:7]  ²⁶ sn The phrase of the Chaldeans is a later editorial clarification for the readers, designating the location of Ur. From all evidence there would have been no Chaldeans in existence at this early date; they are known in the time of the neo-Babylonian empire in the first millennium b.c.

[15:8]  ²⁷ tn Here the vav carries adversative force and is translated “but.”

[15:8]  ²⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:8]  ²⁹ tn See note on the phrase “sovereign Lord” in 15:2.

[15:8]  ³⁰ tn Or “how.”

[15:9]  ³¹ tn Heb “He”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:10]  ³² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:10]  ³³ tn Heb “in the middle.”

[15:10]  ³⁴ tn Heb “to meet its neighbor.”

[15:12]  ³⁵ tn Heb “a deep sleep fell on Abram.”

[15:12]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and look, terror, a great darkness was falling on him.”

[15:13]  ³⁷ tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, with the Qal infinitive absolute followed by the imperfect from יָדַע (yada’, “know”). The imperfect here has an obligatory or imperatival force.

[15:13]  ³⁸ tn The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger, “sojourner, stranger”) is related to the verb גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to stay for awhile”). Abram’s descendants will stay in a land as resident aliens without rights of citizenship.

[15:13]  ³⁹ tn Heb “in a land not theirs.”

[15:13]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “and they will serve them and they will oppress them.” The verb עִנּוּ, (’innu, a Piel form from עָנָה, ’anah, “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly”), is used in Exod 1:11 to describe the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt.

[15:14]  ⁴¹ tn The participle דָּן (dan, from דִּין, din) is used here for the future: “I am judging” = “I will surely judge.” The judgment in this case will be condemnation and punishment. The translation “execute judgment on” implies that the judgment will certainly be carried out.

[15:15]  ⁴² tn The vav with the pronoun before the verb calls special attention to the subject in contrast to the preceding subject.

[15:15]  ⁴³ sn You will go to your ancestors. This is a euphemistic expression for death.

[15:15]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “in a good old age.”

[15:16]  ⁴⁵ sn The term generation is being used here in its widest sense to refer to a full life span. When the chronological factors are considered and the genealogies tabulated, there are four hundred years of bondage. This suggests that in this context a generation is equivalent to one hundred years.

[15:16]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (“your descendants”) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[15:16]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “is not yet complete.”

[15:17]  ⁴⁸ sn A smoking pot with a flaming torch. These same implements were used in Mesopotamian rituals designed to ward off evil (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 113-14).

[15:17]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “these pieces.”

[15:18]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[15:18]  ⁵¹ tn The perfect verbal form is understood as instantaneous (“I here and now give”). Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, indicating certitude (“I have given” meaning it is as good as done, i.e., “I will surely give”).

[15:18]  ⁵² sn The river of Egypt is a wadi (a seasonal stream) on the northeastern border of Egypt, not to the River Nile.

[15:19]  ⁵³ tn The words “the land” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[15:21]  ⁵⁴ tn Each of the names in the list has the Hebrew definite article, which is used here generically for the class of people identified.

[16:1]  ⁵⁵ tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of a new episode in the story.

[16:1]  ⁵⁶ sn On the cultural background of the story of Sarai’s childlessness see J. Van Seters, “The Problem of Childlessness in Near Eastern Law and the Patriarchs of Israel,” JBL 87 (1968): 401-8.

[16:1]  ⁵⁷ tn The Hebrew term שִׁפְחָה (shifkhah, translated “servant” here and in vv. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8) refers to a menial female servant.

[16:1]  ⁵⁸ sn The passage records the birth of Ishmael to Abram through an Egyptian woman. The story illustrates the limits of Abram’s faith as he tries to obtain a son through social custom. The barrenness of Sarai poses a challenge to Abram’s faith, just as the famine did in chap. 12. As in chap. 12, an Egyptian figures prominently. (Perhaps Hagar was obtained as a slave during Abram’s stay in Egypt.)

[16:2]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) introduces the foundational clause for the imperative to follow.

[16:2]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “enter to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual relations (also in v. 4).

[16:2]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “perhaps I will be built from her.” Sarai hopes to have a family established through this surrogate mother.

[16:2]  ⁶² tn Heb “listened to the voice of,” which is an idiom meaning “obeyed.”

[16:3]  ⁶³ tn Heb “at the end of ten years, to live, Abram.” The prepositional phrase introduces the temporal clause, the infinitive construct serves as the verb, and the name “Abram” is the subject.

[16:3]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “the Egyptian, her female servant.”

[16:3]  ⁶⁵ sn To be his wife. Hagar became a slave wife, not on equal standing with Sarai. However, if Hagar produced the heir, she would be the primary wife in the eyes of society. When this eventually happened, Hagar become insolent, prompting Sarai’s anger.

[16:4]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “entered to.” See the note on the same expression in v. 2.

[16:4]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 5)

[16:4]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “and she saw that she was pregnant and her mistress was despised in her eyes.” The Hebrew verb קָלַל (qalal) means “to despise, to treat lightly, to treat with contempt.” In Hagar’s opinion Sarai had been demoted.

[16:5]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “my wrong is because of you.”

[16:5]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “I placed my female servant in your bosom.”

[16:5]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “saw.”

[16:5]  ⁷² tn Heb “I was despised in her eyes.” The passive verb has been translated as active for stylistic reasons. Sarai was made to feel supplanted and worthless by Hagar the servant girl.

[16:5]  ⁷³ tn Heb “me and you.”

[16:6]  ⁷⁴ tn The clause is introduced with the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), introducing a foundational clause for the coming imperative: “since…do.”

[16:6]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “in your hand.”

[16:6]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”

[16:6]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “her”; the referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:6]  ⁷⁸ tn In the Piel stem the verb עָנָה (’anah) means “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly, to mistreat.”

[16:6]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “and she fled from her presence.” The referent of “her” (Sarai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:7]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “the messenger of the Lord.” Some identify the angel of the Lord as the preincarnate Christ because in some texts the angel is identified with the Lord himself. However, it is more likely that the angel merely represents the Lord; he can speak for the Lord because he is sent with the Lord’s full authority. In some cases the angel is clearly distinct from the Lord (see Judg 6:11-23). It is not certain if the same angel is always in view. Though the proper name following the noun “angel” makes the construction definite, this may simply indicate that a definite angel sent from the Lord is referred to in any given context. It need not be the same angel on every occasion. Note the analogous expression “the servant of the Lord,” which refers to various individuals in the OT (see BDB 714 s.v. עֶבֶד).

[16:7]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “And the angel of the Lord found her near the spring of water in the desert, near the spring on the way to Shur.”

[16:8]  ⁸² tn Heb “from the presence of.”

[16:9]  ⁸³ tn The imperative וְהִתְעַנִּי (vÿhit’anni) is the Hitpael of עָנָה (’anah, here translated “submit”), the same word used for Sarai’s harsh treatment of her. Hagar is instructed not only to submit to Sarai’s authority, but to whatever mistreatment that involves. God calls for Hagar to humble herself.

[16:10]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “The Lord’s angel said, ‘I will greatly multiply your descendants….” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[16:10]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “cannot be numbered because of abundance.”

[16:11]  ⁸⁶ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) focuses on her immediate situation: “Here you are pregnant.”

[16:11]  ⁸⁷ tn The active participle refers here to something that is about to happen.

[16:11]  ⁸⁸ sn The name Ishmael consists of the imperfect or jussive form of the Hebrew verb with the theophoric element added as the subject. It means “God hears” or “may God hear.”

[16:11]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “affliction,” which must refer here to Hagar’s painful groans of anguish.

[16:12]  ⁹⁰ sn A wild donkey of a man. The prophecy is not an insult. The wild donkey lived a solitary existence in the desert away from society. Ishmael would be free-roaming, strong, and like a bedouin; he would enjoy the freedom his mother sought.

[16:12]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “His hand will be against everyone.” The “hand” by metonymy represents strength. His free-roaming life style would put him in conflict with those who follow social conventions. There would not be open warfare, only friction because of his antagonism to their way of life.

[16:12]  ⁹² tn Heb “And the hand of everyone will be against him.”

[16:12]  ⁹³ tn Heb “opposite, across from.” Ishmael would live on the edge of society (cf. NASB “to the east of”). Some take this as an idiom meaning “be at odds with” (cf. NRSV, NLT) or “live in hostility toward” (cf. NIV).

[16:13]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “God of my seeing.” The pronominal suffix may be understood either as objective (“who sees me,” as in the translation) or subjective (“whom I see”).

[16:13]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “after one who sees me.”

[16:14]  ⁹⁶ tn The verb does not have an expressed subject and so is rendered as passive in the translation.

[16:14]  ⁹⁷ sn The Hebrew name Beer Lahai Roi (בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי, bÿ’er lakhay ro’i) means “The well of the Living One who sees me.” The text suggests that God takes up the cause of those who are oppressed.

[16:14]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “look.” The words “it is located” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[16:15]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “and Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.”

[16:16]  ¹⁰⁰ tn The disjunctive clause gives information that is parenthetical to the narrative.

[16:16]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “the son of eighty-six years.”

[16:16]  ¹⁰² tn The Hebrew text adds, “for Abram.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons; it is somewhat redundant given the three occurrences of Abram’s name in this and the previous verse.

[17:1]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”

[17:1]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “appeared to Abram and said to him.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) and the final phrase “to him” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.

[17:1]  ¹⁰⁵ tn The name אֵל שַׁדַּי (’el shadday, “El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72. Shaddai/El Shaddai is the sovereign king of the world who grants, blesses, and judges. In the Book of Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness. The patriarchs knew God primarily as El Shaddai (Exod 6:3). While the origin and meaning of this name are uncertain (see discussion below) its significance is clear. The name is used in contexts where God appears as the source of fertility and life. In Gen 17:1-8 he appeared to Abram, introduced himself as El Shaddai, and announced his intention to make the patriarch fruitful. In the role of El Shaddai God repeated these words (now elevated to the status of a decree) to Jacob (35:11). Earlier Isaac had pronounced a blessing on Jacob in which he asked El Shaddai to make Jacob fruitful (28:3). Jacob later prayed that his sons would be treated with mercy when they returned to Egypt with Benjamin (43:14). The fertility theme is not as apparent here, though one must remember that Jacob viewed Benjamin as the sole remaining son of the favored and once-barren Rachel (see 29:31; 30:22-24; 35:16-18). It is quite natural that he would appeal to El Shaddai to preserve Benjamin’s life, for it was El Shaddai’s miraculous power which made it possible for Rachel to give him sons in the first place. In 48:3 Jacob, prior to blessing Joseph’s sons, told him how El Shaddai appeared to him at Bethel (see Gen 28) and promised to make him fruitful. When blessing Joseph on his deathbed Jacob referred to Shaddai (we should probably read “El Shaddai,” along with a few Hebrew mss, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the LXX, and Syriac) as the one who provides abundant blessings, including “blessings of the breast and womb” (49:25). (The direct association of the name with “breasts” suggests the name might mean “the one of the breast” [i.e., the one who gives fertility], but the juxtaposition is probably better explained as wordplay. Note the wordplay involving the name and the root שָׁדַד, shadad, “destroy”] in Isa 13:6 and in Joel 1:15.) Outside Genesis the name Shaddai (minus the element “El” [“God”]) is normally used when God is viewed as the sovereign king who blesses/protects or curses/brings judgment. The name appears in the introduction to two of Balaam’s oracles (Num 24:4, 16) of blessing upon Israel. Naomi employs the name when accusing the Lord of treating her bitterly by taking the lives of her husband and sons (Ruth 1:20-21). In Ps 68:14; Isa 13:6; and Joel 1:15 Shaddai judges his enemies through warfare, while Ps 91:1 depicts him as the protector of his people. (In Ezek 1:24 and 10:5 the sound of the cherubs’ wings is compared to Shaddai’s powerful voice. The reference may be to the mighty divine warrior’s battle cry which accompanies his angry judgment.) Finally, the name occurs 31 times in the Book of Job. Job and his “friends” assume that Shaddai is the sovereign king of the world (11:7; 37:23a) who is the source of life (33:4b) and is responsible for maintaining justice (8:3; 34:10-12; 37:23b). He provides abundant blessings, including children (22:17-18; 29:4-6), but he can also discipline, punish, and destroy (5:17; 6:4; 21:20; 23:16). It is not surprising to see the name so often in this book, where the theme of God’s justice is primary and even called into question (24:1; 27:2). The most likely proposal is that the name means “God, the one of the mountain” (an Akkadian cognate means “mountain,” to which the Hebrew שַׁד, shad, “breast”] is probably related). For a discussion of proposed derivations see T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 70-71. The name may originally have depicted God as the sovereign judge who, in Canaanite style, ruled from a sacred mountain. Isa 14:13 and Ezek 28:14, 16 associate such a mountain with God, while Ps 48:2 refers to Zion as “Zaphon,” the Canaanite Olympus from which the high god El ruled. (In Isa 14 the Canaanite god El may be in view. Note that Isaiah pictures pagan kings as taunting the king of Babylon, suggesting that pagan mythology may provide the background for the language and imagery.)

[17:1]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Or “Live out your life.” The Hebrew verb translated “walk” is the Hitpael; it means “to walk back and forth; to walk about; to live out one’s life.”

[17:1]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Or “in my presence.”

[17:1]  ¹⁰⁸ tn There are two imperatives here: “walk…and be blameless [or “perfect”].” The second imperative may be purely sequential (see the translation) or consequential: “walk before me and then you will be blameless.” How one interprets the sequence depends on the meaning of “walk before”: (1) If it simply refers in a neutral way to serving the Lord, then the second imperative is likely sequential. (2) But if it has a positive moral connotation (“serve me faithfully”), then the second imperative probably indicates purpose (or result). For other uses of the idiom see 1 Sam 2:30, 35 and 12:2 (where it occurs twice).

[17:2]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative indicates consequence. If Abram is blameless, then the Lord will ratify the covenant. Earlier the Lord ratified part of his promise to Abram (see Gen 15:18-21), guaranteeing him that his descendants would live in the land. But the expanded form of the promise, which includes numerous descendants and eternal possession of the land, remains to be ratified. This expanded form of the promise is in view here (see vv. 2b, 4-8). See the note at Gen 15:18 and R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 35-54.

[17:2]  ¹¹⁰ tn Heb “I will multiply you exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

[17:3]  ¹¹¹ tn Heb “And Abram fell on his face.” This expression probably means that Abram sank to his knees and put his forehead to the ground, although it is possible that he completely prostrated himself. In either case the posture indicates humility and reverence.

[17:3]  ¹¹² tn Heb “God spoke to him, saying.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[17:4]  ¹¹³ tn Heb “I.”

[17:4]  ¹¹⁴ tn Heb “is” (הִנֵּה, hinneh).

[17:5]  ¹¹⁵ tn Heb “will your name be called.”

[17:5]  ¹¹⁶ sn Your name will be Abraham. The renaming of Abram was a sign of confirmation to the patriarch. Every time the name was used it would be a reminder of God’s promise. “Abram” means “exalted father,” probably referring to Abram’s father Terah. The name looks to the past; Abram came from noble lineage. The name “Abraham” is a dialectical variant of the name Abram. But its significance is in the wordplay with אַב־הֲמוֹן (’av-hamon, “the father of a multitude,” which sounds like אַבְרָהָם, ’avraham, “Abraham”). The new name would be a reminder of God’s intention to make Abraham the father of a multitude. For a general discussion of renaming, see O. Eissfeldt, “Renaming in the Old Testament,” Words and Meanings, 70-83.

[17:5]  ¹¹⁷ tn The perfect verbal form is used here in a rhetorical manner to emphasize God’s intention.

[17:6]  ¹¹⁸ tn This verb starts a series of perfect verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive to express God’s intentions.

[17:6]  ¹¹⁹ tn Heb “exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

[17:6]  ¹²⁰ tn Heb “and I will make you into nations, and kings will come out from you.”

[17:7]  ¹²¹ tn The verb קוּם (qum, “to arise, to stand up”) in the Hiphil verbal stem means “to confirm, to give effect to, to carry out” (i.e., a covenant or oath; see BDB 878-79 s.v. קוּם).

[17:7]  ¹²² tn Or “as an eternal.”

[17:7]  ¹²³ tn Heb “to be to you for God and to your descendants after you.”

[17:8]  ¹²⁴ tn The verbal root is גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to reside temporarily,” i.e., as a resident alien). It is the land in which Abram resides, but does not yet possess as his very own.

[17:8]  ¹²⁵ tn Or “as an eternal.”

[17:9]  ¹²⁶ tn The imperfect tense could be translated “you shall keep” as a binding command; but the obligatory nuance (“must”) captures the binding sense better.

[17:9]  ¹²⁷ tn Heb “my covenant.” The Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) can refer to (1) the agreement itself between two parties (see v. 7), (2) the promise made by one party to another (see vv. 2-3, 7), (3) an obligation placed by one party on another, or (4) a reminder of the agreement. In vv. 9-10 the word refers to a covenantal obligation which God gives to Abraham and his descendants.

[17:10]  ¹²⁸ tn Heb “This is my covenant that you must keep between me and you and your descendants after you.”

[17:10]  ¹²⁹ sn For a discussion of male circumcision as the sign of the covenant in this passage see M. V. Fox, “The Sign of the Covenant: Circumcision in the Light of the Priestly ‘ot Etiologies,” RB 81 (1974): 557-96.

[17:11]  ¹³⁰ tn Or “sign.”

[17:12]  ¹³¹ tn Heb “the son of eight days.”

[17:13]  ¹³² tn The emphatic construction employs the Niphal imperfect tense (collective singular) and the Niphal infinitive.

[17:13]  ¹³³ tn Heb “my covenant.” Here in v. 13 the Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) refers to the outward, visible sign, or reminder, of the covenant. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.

[17:13]  ¹³⁴ tn Or “an eternal.”

[17:14]  ¹³⁵ tn The disjunctive clause calls attention to the “uncircumcised male” and what will happen to him.

[17:14]  ¹³⁶ tn Heb “that person will be cut off.” The words “that person” have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[17:14]  ¹³⁷ tn Heb “he has broken my covenant.” The noun בְּרִית (bÿrit) here refers to the obligation required by God in conjunction with the covenantal agreement. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.

[17:15]  ¹³⁸ tn Heb “[As for] Sarai your wife, you must not call her name Sarai, for Sarah [will be] her name.”

[17:15]  ¹³⁹ sn Sarah. The name change seems to be a dialectical variation, both spellings meaning “princess” or “queen.” Like the name Abram, the name Sarai symbolized the past. The new name Sarah, like the name Abraham, would be a reminder of what God intended to do for Sarah in the future.

[17:16]  ¹⁴⁰ tn Heb “she will become nations.”

[17:16]  ¹⁴¹ tn Heb “peoples.”

[17:17]  ¹⁴² sn Laughed. The Hebrew verb used here provides the basis for the naming of Isaac: “And he laughed” is וַיִּצְחָק (vayyitskhaq); the name “Isaac” is יִצְחָק (yitskhaq), “he laughs.” Abraham’s (and Sarah’s, see 18:12) laughter signals disbelief, but when the boy is born, the laughter signals surprise and joy.

[17:17]  ¹⁴³ tn Heb “And he fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart.”

[17:17]  ¹⁴⁴ tn The imperfect verbal form here carries a potential nuance, as it expresses the disbelief of Abraham.

[17:17]  ¹⁴⁵ tn Heb “to the son of a hundred years.”

[17:17]  ¹⁴⁶ sn It is important to note that even though Abraham staggers at the announcement of the birth of a son, finding it almost too incredible, he nonetheless calls his wife Sarah, the new name given to remind him of the promise of God (v. 15).

[17:17]  ¹⁴⁷ tn Heb “the daughter of ninety years.”

[17:18]  ¹⁴⁸ tn The wish is introduced with the Hebrew particle לוּ (lu), “O that.”

[17:18]  ¹⁴⁹ tn Or “live with your blessing.”

[17:19]  ¹⁵⁰ tn Heb “will call his name Isaac.” The name means “he laughs,” or perhaps “may he laugh” (see the note on the word “laughed” in v. 17).

[17:19]  ¹⁵¹ tn Or “as an eternal.”

[17:20]  ¹⁵² sn The Hebrew verb translated “I have heard you” forms a wordplay with the name Ishmael, which means “God hears.” See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.

[17:20]  ¹⁵³ tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

[17:20]  ¹⁵⁴ tn For a discussion of the Hebrew word translated “princes,” see E. A. Speiser, “Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi’,” CBQ 25 (1963): 111-17.

[17:22]  ¹⁵⁵ tn Heb “And when he finished speaking with him, God went up from Abraham.” The sequence of pronouns and proper names has been modified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[17:23]  ¹⁵⁶ tn Heb “Ishmael his son and all born in his house and all bought with money, every male among the men of the house of Abraham.”

[17:23]  ¹⁵⁷ tn Heb “circumcised the flesh of their foreskin.” The Hebrew expression is somewhat pleonastic and has been simplified in the translation.

[17:24]  ¹⁵⁸ tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”

[17:24]  ¹⁵⁹ tn Heb “circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin” (also in v. 25).

[17:25]  ¹⁶⁰ tn Heb “the son of thirteen years.”

[18:1]  ¹⁶¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ¹⁶² tn Or “terebinths.”

[18:1]  ¹⁶³ tn The disjunctive clause here is circumstantial to the main clause.

[18:1]  ¹⁶⁴ tn The Hebrew noun translated “entrance” is an adverbial accusative of place.

[18:2]  ¹⁶⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:2]  ¹⁶⁶ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”

[18:2]  ¹⁶⁷ tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) draws attention to what he saw. The drawn-out description focuses the reader’s attention on Abraham’s deliberate, fixed gaze and indicates that what he is seeing is significant.

[18:2]  ¹⁶⁸ tn The Hebrew preposition עַל (’al) indicates the three men were nearby, but not close by, for Abraham had to run to meet them.

[18:2]  ¹⁶⁹ tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.

[18:2]  ¹⁷⁰ tn The form וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ (vayyishtakhu, “and bowed low”) is from the verb הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה (hishtakhavah, “to worship, bow low to the ground”). It is probably from a root חָוָה (khavah), though some derive it from שָׁחָה (shakhah).

[18:2]  ¹⁷¹ sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the Lord and two angels (see Gen 19:1). It is not certain how soon Abraham recognized the true identity of the visitors. His actions suggest he suspected this was something out of the ordinary, though it is possible that his lavish treatment of the visitors was done quite unwittingly. Bowing down to the ground would be reserved for obeisance of kings or worship of the Lord. Whether he was aware of it or not, Abraham’s action was most appropriate.

[18:3]  ¹⁷² tc The MT has the form אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Master”) which is reserved for God. This may reflect later scribal activity. The scribes, knowing it was the Lord, may have put the proper pointing with the word instead of the more common אֲדֹנִי (’adoni, “my master”).

[18:3]  ¹⁷³ tn Heb “do not pass by from upon your servant.”

[18:4]  ¹⁷⁴ tn The imperative after the jussive indicates purpose here.

[18:4]  ¹⁷⁵ tn The word “all” has been supplied in the translation because the Hebrew verb translated “wash” and the pronominal suffix on the word “feet” are plural, referring to all three of the visitors.

[18:5]  ¹⁷⁶ tn The Qal cohortative here probably has the nuance of polite request.

[18:5]  ¹⁷⁷ tn Heb “a piece of bread.” The Hebrew word לֶחֶם (lekhem) can refer either to bread specifically or to food in general. Based on Abraham’s directions to Sarah in v. 6, bread was certainly involved, but v. 7 indicates that Abraham had a more elaborate meal in mind.

[18:5]  ¹⁷⁸ tn Heb “strengthen your heart.” The imperative after the cohortative indicates purpose here.

[18:5]  ¹⁷⁹ tn Heb “so that you may refresh yourselves, after [which] you may be on your way – for therefore you passed by near your servant.”

[18:6]  ¹⁸⁰ tn The word “take” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the sentence lacks a verb other than the imperative “hurry.” The elliptical structure of the language reflects Abraham’s haste to get things ready quickly.

[18:6]  ¹⁸¹ sn Three measures (Heb “three seahs”) was equivalent to about twenty quarts (twenty-two liters) of flour, which would make a lot of bread. The animal prepared for the meal was far more than the three visitors needed. This was a banquet for royalty. Either it had been a lonely time for Abraham and the presence of visitors made him very happy, or he sensed this was a momentous visit.

[18:6]  ¹⁸² sn The bread was the simple, round bread made by bedouins that is normally prepared quickly for visitors.

[18:7]  ¹⁸³ tn Heb “the young man.”

[18:7]  ¹⁸⁴ tn The construction uses the Piel preterite, “he hurried,” followed by the infinitive construct; the two probably form a verbal hendiadys: “he quickly prepared.”

[18:8]  ¹⁸⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:8]  ¹⁸⁶ tn The words “the food” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.

[18:8]  ¹⁸⁷ tn The disjunctive clause is a temporal circumstantial clause subordinate to the main verb.

[18:9]  ¹⁸⁸ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) often accompanies a gesture of pointing or a focused gaze.

[18:10]  ¹⁸⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (one of the three men introduced in v. 2) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Some English translations have specified the referent as the Lord (cf. RSV, NIV) based on vv. 1, 13, but the Hebrew text merely has “he said” at this point, referring to one of the three visitors. Aside from the introductory statement in v. 1, the incident is narrated from Abraham’s point of view, and the suspense is built up for the reader as Abraham’s elaborate banquet preparations in the preceding verses suggest he suspects these are important guests. But not until the promise of a son later in this verse does it become clear who is speaking. In v. 13 the Hebrew text explicitly mentions the Lord.

[18:10]  ¹⁹⁰ tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.

[18:10]  ¹⁹¹ tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.

[18:10]  ¹⁹² tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”

[18:10]  ¹⁹³ tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).

[18:11]  ¹⁹⁴ tn Heb “days.”

[18:11]  ¹⁹⁵ tn Heb “it had ceased to be for Sarah [after] a way like women.”

[18:12]  ¹⁹⁶ tn Heb “saying.”

[18:12]  ¹⁹⁷ tn It has been suggested that this word should be translated “conception,” not “pleasure.” See A. A. McIntosh, “A Third Root ‘adah in Biblical Hebrew,” VT 24 (1974): 454-73.

[18:12]  ¹⁹⁸ tn The word “too” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[18:13]  ¹⁹⁹ tn Heb “Why, this?” The demonstrative pronoun following the interrogative pronoun is enclitic, emphasizing the Lord’s amazement: “Why on earth did Sarah laugh?”

[18:13]  ²⁰⁰ tn The Hebrew construction uses both הַאַף (ha’af) and אֻמְנָם (’umnam): “Indeed, truly, will I have a child?”

[18:14]  ²⁰¹ tn The Hebrew verb פָּלָא (pala’) means “to be wonderful, to be extraordinary, to be surpassing, to be amazing.”

[18:14]  ²⁰² sn Sarah will have a son. The passage brings God’s promise into clear focus. As long as it was a promise for the future, it really could be believed without much involvement. But now, when it seemed so impossible from the human standpoint, when the Lord fixed an exact date for the birth of the child, the promise became rather overwhelming to Abraham and Sarah. But then this was the Lord of creation, the one they had come to trust. The point of these narratives is that the creation of Abraham’s offspring, which eventually became Israel, is no less a miraculous work of creation than the creation of the world itself.

[18:15]  ²⁰³ tn Heb “And he said, ‘No, but you did laugh.’” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:16]  ²⁰⁴ tn Heb “And the men arose from there.”

[18:16]  ²⁰⁵ tn Heb “toward the face of.”

[18:16]  ²⁰⁶ tn The disjunctive parenthetical clause sets the stage for the following speech.

[18:16]  ²⁰⁷ 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.

[18:17]  ²⁰⁸ tn The active participle here refers to an action that is imminent.

[18:18]  ²⁰⁹ tn Heb “And Abraham.” The disjunctive clause is probably causal, giving a reason why God should not hide his intentions from Abraham. One could translate, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation?”

[18:18]  ²¹⁰ tn The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the finite verb that follows.

[18:18]  ²¹¹ tn Theoretically the Niphal 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 Abram were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in later 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 [or “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 18:18 (like 12:2) predicts that Abraham will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.

[18:19]  ²¹² tn Heb “For I have known him.” The verb יָדַע (yada’) here means “to recognize and treat in a special manner, to choose” (see Amos 3:2). It indicates that Abraham stood in a special covenantal relationship with the Lord.

[18:19]  ²¹³ tn Heb “and they will keep.” The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the subjective nuance of the preceding imperfect verbal form (translated “so that he may command”).

[18:19]  ²¹⁴ tn The infinitive construct here indicates manner, explaining how Abraham’s children and his household will keep the way of the Lord.

[18:19]  ²¹⁵ tn Heb “bring on.” The infinitive after לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) indicates result here.

[18:19]  ²¹⁶ tn Heb “spoke to.”

[18:20]  ²¹⁷ tn Heb “the outcry of Sodom,” which apparently refers to the outcry for divine justice from those (unidentified persons) who observe its sinful ways.

[18:20]  ²¹⁸ tn Heb “heavy.”

[18:21]  ²¹⁹ tn The cohortative indicates the Lord’s resolve.

[18:21]  ²²⁰ tn Heb “[if] according to the outcry that has come to me they have done completely.” Even the Lord, who is well aware of the human capacity to sin, finds it hard to believe that anyone could be as bad as the “outcry” against Sodom and Gomorrah suggests.

[18:21]  ²²¹ sn The short phrase if not provides a ray of hope and inspires Abraham’s intercession.

[18:22]  ²²² tn Heb “And the men turned from there.” The word “two” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied here for clarity. Gen 19:1 mentions only two individuals (described as “angels”), while Abraham had entertained three visitors (18:2). The implication is that the Lord was the third visitor, who remained behind with Abraham here. The words “from there” are not included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[18:22]  ²²³ tn Heb “went.”

[18:22]  ²²⁴ tc An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition reads “but the Lord remained standing before Abraham.” This reading is problematic because the phrase “standing before” typically indicates intercession, but the Lord would certainly not be interceding before Abraham.

[18:24]  ²²⁵ tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).

[18:25]  ²²⁶ tn Or “ruler.”

[18:25]  ²²⁷ sn Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right? For discussion of this text see J. L. Crenshaw, “Popular Questioning of the Justice of God in Ancient Israel,” ZAW 82 (1970): 380-95, and C. S. Rodd, “Shall Not the Judge of All the Earth Do What Is Just?” ExpTim 83 (1972): 137-39.

[18:27]  ²²⁸ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 30, 31, 32 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[18:27]  ²²⁹ tn The disjunctive clause is a concessive clause here, drawing out the humility as a contrast to the Lord.

[18:28]  ²³⁰ tn The Hebrew verb שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to destroy”) was used earlier to describe the effect of the flood.

[18:28]  ²³¹ tn Heb “because of five.”

[18:29]  ²³² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:29]  ²³³ tn The construction is a verbal hendiadys – the preterite (“he added”) is combined with an adverb “yet” and an infinitive “to speak.”

[18:30]  ²³⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:30]  ²³⁵ tn Heb “let it not be hot to the Lord.” This is an idiom which means “may the Lord not be angry.”

[18:30]  ²³⁶ tn After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.

[18:31]  ²³⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:32]  ²³⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:33]  ²³⁹ tn Heb “And the Lord went.”

[18:33]  ²⁴⁰ tn The infinitive construct (“speaking”) serves as the direct object of the verb “finished.”

[18:33]  ²⁴¹ tn Heb “to his place.”

[19:1]  ²⁴² tn The disjunctive clause is temporal here, indicating what Lot was doing at the time of their arrival.

[19:1]  ²⁴³ tn Heb “sitting in the gate of Sodom.” The phrase “the gate of Sodom” has been translated “the city’s gateway” for stylistic reasons.

[19:2]  ²⁴⁴ tn The imperatives have the force of invitation.

[19:2]  ²⁴⁵ tn These two verbs form a verbal hendiadys: “you can rise up early and go” means “you can go early.”

[19:2]  ²⁴⁶ sn The town square refers to the wide street area at the gate complex of the city.

[19:3]  ²⁴⁷ tn The Hebrew verb פָּצַר (patsar, “to press, to insist”) ironically foreshadows the hostile actions of the men of the city (see v. 9, where the verb also appears). The repetition of the word serves to contrast Lot to his world.

[19:4]  ²⁴⁸ tn The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) means “to lie down, to recline,” that is, “to go to bed.” Here what appears to be an imperfect is a preterite after the adverb טֶרֶם (terem). The nuance of potential (perfect) fits well.

[19:4]  ²⁴⁹ tn Heb “and the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from the young to the old, all the people from the end [of the city].” The repetition of the phrase “men of” stresses all kinds of men.

[19:5]  ²⁵⁰ tn The Hebrew text adds “and said to him.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[19:5]  ²⁵¹ tn The Hebrew verb יָדַע (yada’, “to know”) is used here in the sense of “to lie with” or “to have sex with” (as in Gen 4:1). That this is indeed the meaning is clear from Lot’s warning that they not do so wickedly, and his willingness to give them his daughters instead.

[19:7]  ²⁵² tn Heb “may my brothers not act wickedly.”

[19:8]  ²⁵³ tn Heb “who have not known.” Here this expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[19:8]  ²⁵⁴ tn Heb “according to what is good in your eyes.”

[19:8]  ²⁵⁵ tn Heb “shadow.”

[19:8]  ²⁵⁶ sn This chapter portrays Lot as a hypocrite. He is well aware of the way the men live in his city and is apparently comfortable in the midst of it. But when confronted by the angels, he finally draws the line. But he is nevertheless willing to sacrifice his daughters’ virginity to protect his guests. His opposition to the crowds leads to his rejection as a foreigner by those with whom he had chosen to live. The one who attempted to rescue his visitors ends up having to be rescued by them.

[19:9]  ²⁵⁷ tn Heb “approach out there” which could be rendered “Get out of the way, stand back!”

[19:9]  ²⁵⁸ tn Heb “to live as a resident alien.”

[19:9]  ²⁵⁹ tn Heb “and he has judged, judging.” The infinitive absolute follows the finite verbal form for emphasis. This emphasis is reflected in the translation by the phrase “dares to judge.”

[19:9]  ²⁶⁰ tn The verb “to do wickedly” is repeated here (see v. 7). It appears that whatever “wickedness” the men of Sodom had intended to do to Lot’s visitors – probably nothing short of homosexual rape – they were now ready to inflict on Lot.

[19:9]  ²⁶¹ tn Heb “and they pressed against the man, against Lot, exceedingly.”

[19:9]  ²⁶² tn Heb “and they drew near.”

[19:10]  ²⁶³ tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “inside” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[19:10]  ²⁶⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds “their hand.” These words have not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[19:10]  ²⁶⁵ tn Heb “to them into the house.”

[19:11]  ²⁶⁶ tn Heb “from the least to the greatest.”

[19:11]  ²⁶⁷ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Sodom outside the door) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:12]  ²⁶⁸ tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “visitors” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[19:12]  ²⁶⁹ tn Heb “Yet who [is there] to you here?”

[19:12]  ²⁷⁰ tn The words “Do you have” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:12]  ²⁷¹ tn Heb “a son-in-law and your sons and your daughters and anyone who (is) to you in the city.”

[19:12]  ²⁷² tn Heb “the place.” The Hebrew article serves here as a demonstrative.

[19:13]  ²⁷³ tn The Hebrew participle expresses an imminent action here.

[19:13]  ²⁷⁴ tn Heb “for their outcry.” The words “about this place” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:13]  ²⁷⁵ tn Heb “the Lord.” The repetition of the divine name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “he” for stylistic reasons.

[19:14]  ²⁷⁶ sn The language has to be interpreted in the light of the context and the social customs. The men are called “sons-in-law” (literally “the takers of his daughters”), but the daughters had not yet had sex with a man. It is better to translate the phrase “who were going to marry his daughters.” Since formal marriage contracts were binding, the husbands-to-be could already be called sons-in-law.

[19:14]  ²⁷⁷ tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.

[19:14]  ²⁷⁸ tn Heb “and he was like one taunting in the eyes of his sons-in-law.” These men mistakenly thought Lot was ridiculing them and their lifestyle. Their response illustrates how morally insensitive they had become.

[19:15]  ²⁷⁹ tn Heb “When dawn came up.”

[19:15]  ²⁸⁰ tn Heb “who are found.” The wording might imply he had other daughters living in the city, but the text does not explicitly state this.

[19:15]  ²⁸¹ tn Or “with the iniquity [i.e., punishment] of the city” (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[19:16]  ²⁸² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:16]  ²⁸³ tn Heb “in the compassion of the Lord to them.”

[19:16]  ²⁸⁴ tn Heb “brought him out and placed him.” The third masculine singular suffixes refer specifically to Lot, though his wife and daughters accompanied him (see v. 17). For stylistic reasons these have been translated as plural pronouns (“them”).

[19:17]  ²⁸⁵ tn Or “one of them”; Heb “he.” Several ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac) read the plural “they.” See also the note on “your” in v. 19.

[19:17]  ²⁸⁶ tn Heb “escape.”

[19:17]  ²⁸⁷ tn The Hebrew verb translated “look” signifies an intense gaze, not a passing glance. This same verb is used later in v. 26 to describe Lot’s wife’s self-destructive look back at the city.

[19:17]  ²⁸⁸ tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:18]  ²⁸⁹ tn Or “my lords.” See the following note on the problem of identifying the addressee here. The Hebrew term is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[19:19]  ²⁹⁰ tn The second person pronominal suffixes are singular in this verse (note “your eyes,” “you have made great,” and “you have acted”). Verse 18a seems to indicate that Lot is addressing the angels, but the use of the singular and the appearance of the divine title “Lord” (אֲדֹנָי, ’adonay) in v. 18b suggests he is speaking to God.

[19:19]  ²⁹¹ tn Heb “in your eyes.”

[19:19]  ²⁹² tn Heb “you made great your kindness.”

[19:19]  ²⁹³ sn The Hebrew word חֶסֶד (khesed) can refer to “faithful love” or to “kindness,” depending on the context. The precise nuance here is uncertain.

[19:19]  ²⁹⁴ tn The infinitive construct explains how God has shown Lot kindness.

[19:19]  ²⁹⁵ tn Heb “lest.”

[19:19]  ²⁹⁶ tn The Hebrew verb דָּבַק (davaq) normally means “to stick to, to cleave, to join.” Lot is afraid he cannot outrun the coming calamity.

[19:19]  ²⁹⁷ tn The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.

[19:20]  ²⁹⁸ tn The Hebrew word עִיר (’ir) can refer to either a city or a town, depending on the size of the place. Given that this place was described by Lot later in this verse as a “little place,” the translation uses “town.”

[19:20]  ²⁹⁹ tn Heb “Look, this town is near to flee to there. And it is little.”

[19:20]  ³⁰⁰ tn Heb “Let me escape to there.” The cohortative here expresses Lot’s request.

[19:20]  ³⁰¹ tn Heb “Is it not little?”

[19:20]  ³⁰² tn Heb “my soul will live.” After the cohortative the jussive with vav conjunctive here indicates purpose/result.

[19:21]  ³⁰³ tn Heb “And he said, ‘Look, I will grant.’” The order of the clauses has been rearranged for stylistic reasons. The referent of the speaker (“he”) is somewhat ambiguous: It could be taken as the angel to whom Lot has been speaking (so NLT; note the singular references in vv. 18-19), or it could be that Lot is speaking directly to the Lord here. Most English translations leave the referent of the pronoun unspecified and maintain the ambiguity.

[19:21]  ³⁰⁴ tn Heb “I have lifted up your face [i.e., shown you favor] also concerning this matter.”

[19:21]  ³⁰⁵ tn The negated infinitive construct indicates either the consequence of God’s granting the request (“I have granted this request, so that I will not”) or the manner in which he will grant it (“I have granted your request by not destroying”).

[19:22]  ³⁰⁶ tn Heb “Be quick! Escape to there!” The two imperatives form a verbal hendiadys, the first becoming adverbial.

[19:22]  ³⁰⁷ tn Heb “Therefore the name of the city is called Zoar.” The name of the place, צוֹעַר (tso’ar) apparently means “Little Place,” in light of the wordplay with the term “little” (מִצְעָר, mits’ar) used twice by Lot to describe the town (v. 20).

[19:23]  ³⁰⁸ sn The sun had just risen. There was very little time for Lot to escape between dawn (v. 15) and sunrise (here).

[19:23]  ³⁰⁹ tn The juxtaposition of the two disjunctive clauses indicates synchronic action. The first action (the sun’s rising) occurred as the second (Lot’s entering Zoar) took place. The disjunctive clauses also signal closure for the preceding scene.

[19:24]  ³¹⁰ tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of the next scene and highlights God’s action.

[19:24]  ³¹¹ tn Or “burning sulfur” (the traditional “fire and brimstone”).

[19:24]  ³¹² tn Heb “from the Lord from the heavens.” The words “It was sent down” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:25]  ³¹³ tn Or “and all the plain”; Heb “and all the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:25]  ³¹⁴ tn Heb “and the vegetation of the ground.”

[19:26]  ³¹⁵ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:26]  ³¹⁶ tn The Hebrew verb means “to look intently; to gaze” (see 15:5).

[19:27]  ³¹⁷ tn The words “and went” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:28]  ³¹⁸ tn Heb “upon the face of.”

[19:28]  ³¹⁹ tn Or “all the land of the plain”; Heb “and all the face of the land of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:28]  ³²⁰ tn Heb “And he saw, and look, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.”

[19:29]  ³²¹ tn The construction is a temporal clause comprised of the temporal indicator, an infinitive construct with a preposition, and the subjective genitive.

[19:29]  ³²² tn Or “of the plain”; Heb “of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:29]  ³²³ tn Heb “remembered,” but this means more than mental recollection here. Abraham’s request (Gen 18:23-32) was that the Lord not destroy the righteous with the wicked. While the requisite minimum number of righteous people (ten, v. 32) needed for God to spare the cities was not found, God nevertheless rescued the righteous before destroying the wicked.

[19:29]  ³²⁴ sn God’s removal of Lot before the judgment is paradigmatic. He typically delivers the godly before destroying their world.

[19:29]  ³²⁵ tn Heb “the overthrow when [he] overthrew.”

[19:31]  ³²⁶ tn Heb “and the firstborn said.”

[19:31]  ³²⁷ tn Or perhaps “on earth,” in which case the statement would be hyperbolic; presumably there had been some men living in the town of Zoar to which Lot and his daughters had initially fled.

[19:31]  ³²⁸ tn Heb “to enter upon us.” This is a euphemism for sexual relations.

[19:32]  ³²⁹ tn Heb “drink wine.”

[19:32]  ³³⁰ tn Heb “and we will lie down.” The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive is subordinated to the preceding cohortative and indicates purpose/result.

[19:32]  ³³¹ tn Or “that we may preserve.” Here the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates their ultimate goal.

[19:32]  ³³² tn Heb “and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”

[19:33]  ³³³ tn Heb “drink wine.”

[19:33]  ³³⁴ tn Heb “the firstborn.”

[19:33]  ³³⁵ tn Heb “and the firstborn came and lied down with her father.” The expression “lied down with” here and in the following verses is a euphemism for sexual relations.

[19:33]  ³³⁶ tn Heb “and he did not know when she lay down and when she arose.”

[19:34]  ³³⁷ tn Heb “the firstborn.”

[19:34]  ³³⁸ tn Heb “Look, I lied down with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight.”

[19:34]  ³³⁹ tn Heb “And go, lie down with him and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”

[19:35]  ³⁴⁰ tn Heb “drink wine.”

[19:35]  ³⁴¹ tn Heb “lied down with him.”

[19:35]  ³⁴² tn Heb “And he did not know when she lied down and when she arose.”

[19:37]  ³⁴³ tn Heb “the firstborn.”

[19:37]  ³⁴⁴ sn The meaning of the name Moab is not certain. The name sounds like the Hebrew phrase “from our father” (מֵאָבִינוּ, me’avinu) which the daughters used twice (vv. 32, 34). This account is probably included in the narrative in order to portray the Moabites, who later became enemies of God’s people, in a negative light.

[19:38]  ³⁴⁵ sn The name Ben-Ammi means “son of my people.” Like the account of Moab’s birth, this story is probably included in the narrative to portray the Ammonites, another perennial enemy of Israel, in a negative light.

[20:1]  ³⁴⁶ tn Or “the South [country]”; Heb “the land of the Negev.”

[20:1]  ³⁴⁷ tn Heb “and he sojourned.”

[20:3]  ³⁴⁸ tn Heb “came.”

[20:3]  ³⁴⁹ tn Heb “Look, you [are] dead.” The Hebrew construction uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with a second person pronominal particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with by the participle. It is a highly rhetorical expression.

[20:3]  ³⁵⁰ tn Heb “and she is owned by an owner.” The disjunctive clause is causal or explanatory in this case.

[20:4]  ³⁵¹ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[20:4]  ³⁵² tn Apparently Abimelech assumes that God’s judgment will fall on his entire nation. Some, finding the reference to a nation problematic, prefer to emend the text and read, “Would you really kill someone who is innocent?” See E. A. Speiser, Genesis (AB), 149.

[20:5]  ³⁵³ tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:5]  ³⁵⁴ tn Heb “and she, even she.”

[20:5]  ³⁵⁵ tn Heb “with the integrity of my heart.”

[20:6]  ³⁵⁶ tn Heb “with the integrity of your heart.”

[20:6]  ³⁵⁷ tn Heb “and I, even I, kept you.”

[20:6]  ³⁵⁸ tn Heb “therefore.”

[20:7]  ³⁵⁹ tn Or “for,” if the particle is understood as causal (as many English translations do) rather than asseverative.

[20:7]  ³⁶⁰ sn For a discussion of the term prophet see N. Walker, “What is a Nabhi?” ZAW 73 (1961): 99-100.

[20:7]  ³⁶¹ tn After the preceding jussive (or imperfect), the imperative with vav conjunctive here indicates result.

[20:7]  ³⁶² tn Heb “if there is not you returning.” The suffix on the particle becomes the subject of the negated clause.

[20:7]  ³⁶³ tn The imperfect is preceded by the infinitive absolute to make the warning emphatic.

[20:8]  ³⁶⁴ tn Heb “And Abimelech rose early in the morning and he summoned.”

[20:8]  ³⁶⁵ tn The verb קָרָא (qara’) followed by the preposition לְ (lamed) means “to summon.”

[20:8]  ³⁶⁶ tn Heb “And he spoke all these things in their ears.”

[20:8]  ³⁶⁷ tn Heb “the men.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “they” in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[20:9]  ³⁶⁸ tn Heb “How did I sin against you that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin?” The expression “great sin” refers to adultery. For discussion of the cultural background of the passage, see J. J. Rabinowitz, “The Great Sin in Ancient Egyptian Marriage Contracts,” JNES 18 (1959): 73, and W. L. Moran, “The Scandal of the ‘Great Sin’ at Ugarit,” JNES 18 (1959): 280-81.

[20:9]  ³⁶⁹ tn Heb “Deeds which should not be done you have done to me.” The imperfect has an obligatory nuance here.

[20:10]  ³⁷⁰ tn Heb “And Abimelech said to.”

[20:10]  ³⁷¹ tn Heb “What did you see that you did this thing?” The question implies that Abraham had some motive for deceiving Abimelech.

[20:11]  ³⁷² tn Heb “Because I said.”

[20:11]  ³⁷³ tn Heb “over the matter of.”

[20:12]  ³⁷⁴ tn Heb “but also.”

[20:13]  ³⁷⁵ tn The Hebrew verb is plural. This may be a case of grammatical agreement with the name for God, which is plural in form. However, when this plural name refers to the one true God, accompanying predicates are usually singular in form. Perhaps Abraham is accommodating his speech to Abimelech’s polytheistic perspective. (See GKC 463 §145.i.) If so, one should translate, “when the gods made me wander.”

[20:13]  ³⁷⁶ tn Heb “This is your loyal deed which you can do for me.”

[20:14]  ³⁷⁷ tn Heb “took and gave.”

[20:15]  ³⁷⁸ tn Heb “In the [place that is] good in your eyes live!”

[20:16]  ³⁷⁹ sn A thousand pieces [Heb “shekels”] of silver. The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of silver here 11.5 kilograms, or 400 ounces (about 25 pounds).

[20:16]  ³⁸⁰ sn To your ‘brother.’ Note the way that the king refers to Abraham. Was he being sarcastic? It was surely a rebuke to Sarah. What is amazing is how patient this king was. It is proof that the fear of God was in that place, contrary to what Abraham believed (see v. 11).

[20:16]  ³⁸¹ tn Heb “Look, it is for you a covering of the eyes, for all who are with you, and with all, and you are set right.” The exact meaning of the statement is unclear. Apparently it means that the gift of money somehow exonerates her in other people’s eyes. They will not look on her as compromised (see G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:74).

[20:18]  ³⁸² tn In the Hebrew text the clause begins with “because.”

[20:18]  ³⁸³ tn Heb had completely closed up every womb.” In the Hebrew text infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[20:18]  ³⁸⁴ tn Heb “because of.” The words “he took” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[21:1]  ³⁸⁵ sn The Hebrew verb translated “visit” (פָּקַד, paqad ) often describes divine intervention for blessing or cursing; it indicates God’s special attention to an individual or a matter, always with respect to his people’s destiny. He may visit (that is, destroy) the Amalekites; he may visit (that is, deliver) his people in Egypt. Here he visits Sarah, to allow her to have the promised child. One’s destiny is changed when the Lord “visits.” For a more detailed study of the term, see G. André, Determining the Destiny (ConBOT).

[21:1]  ³⁸⁶ tn Heb “and the Lord did.” The divine name has not been repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[21:1]  ³⁸⁷ tn Heb “spoken.”

[21:2]  ³⁸⁸ tn Or “she conceived.”

[21:3]  ³⁸⁹ tn Heb “the one born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.” The two modifying clauses, the first introduced with an article and the second with the relative pronoun, are placed in the middle of the sentence, before the name Isaac is stated. They are meant to underscore that this was indeed an actual birth to Abraham and Sarah in fulfillment of the promise.

[21:4]  ³⁹⁰ tn Heb “Isaac his son, the son of eight days.” The name “Isaac” is repeated in the translation for clarity.

[21:4]  ³⁹¹ sn Just as God had commanded him to do. With the birth of the promised child, Abraham obeyed the Lord by both naming (Gen 17:19) and circumcising Isaac (17:12).

[21:5]  ³⁹² tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause underscores how miraculous this birth was. Abraham was 100 years old. The fact that the genealogies give the ages of the fathers when their first son is born shows that this was considered a major milestone in one’s life (G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:80).

[21:6]  ³⁹³ tn Heb “Laughter God has made for me.”

[21:6]  ³⁹⁴ tn The words “about this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[21:6]  ³⁹⁵ sn Sarah’s words play on the name “Isaac” in a final triumphant manner. God prepared “laughter” (צְחֹק, ysÿkhoq ) for her, and everyone who hears about this “will laugh” (יִצְחַק, yitskhaq ) with her. The laughter now signals great joy and fulfillment, not unbelief (cf. Gen 18:12-15).

[21:7]  ³⁹⁶ tn Heb “said.”

[21:7]  ³⁹⁷ tn The perfect form of the verb is used here to describe a hypothetical situation.

[21:8]  ³⁹⁸ tn Heb “made.”

[21:8]  ³⁹⁹ sn Children were weaned closer to the age of two or three in the ancient world, because infant mortality was high. If an infant grew to this stage, it was fairly certain he or she would live. Such an event called for a celebration, especially for parents who had waited so long for a child.

[21:9]  ⁴⁰⁰ tn Heb “saw.”

[21:9]  ⁴⁰¹ tn The Piel participle used here is from the same root as the name “Isaac.” In the Piel stem the verb means “to jest; to make sport of; to play with,” not simply “to laugh,” which is the meaning of the verb in the Qal stem. What exactly Ishmael was doing is not clear. Interpreters have generally concluded that the boy was either (1) mocking Isaac (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) or (2) merely playing with Isaac as if on equal footing (cf. NAB, NRSV). In either case Sarah saw it as a threat. The same participial form was used in Gen 19:14 to describe how some in Lot’s family viewed his attempt to warn them of impending doom. It also appears later in Gen 39:14, 17, where Potiphar accuses Joseph of mocking them.

[21:10]  ⁴⁰² tn Heb “drive out.” The language may seem severe, but Sarah’s maternal instincts sensed a real danger in that Ishmael was not treating Isaac with the proper respect.

[21:11]  ⁴⁰³ tn Heb “and the word was very wrong in the eyes of Abraham on account of his son.” The verb רָעַע (ra’a’) often refers to what is morally or ethically “evil.” It usage here suggests that Abraham thought Sarah’s demand was ethically (and perhaps legally) wrong.

[21:12]  ⁴⁰⁴ tn Heb “Let it not be evil in your eyes.”

[21:12]  ⁴⁰⁵ tn Heb “listen to her voice.” The idiomatic expression means “obey; comply.” Here her advice, though harsh, is necessary and conforms to the will of God. Later (see Gen 25), when Abraham has other sons, he sends them all away as well.

[21:12]  ⁴⁰⁶ tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to an action that is underway.

[21:12]  ⁴⁰⁷ tn Or perhaps “will be named”; Heb “for in Isaac offspring will be called to you.” The exact meaning of the statement is not clear, but it does indicate that God’s covenantal promises to Abraham will be realized through Isaac, not Ishmael.

[21:14]  ⁴⁰⁸ tn Heb “and Abraham rose up early in the morning and he took.”

[21:14]  ⁴⁰⁹ tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.

[21:14]  ⁴¹⁰ tn Heb “He put upon her shoulder, and the boy [or perhaps, “and with the boy”], and he sent her away.” It is unclear how “and the boy” relates syntactically to what precedes. Perhaps the words should be rearranged and the text read, “and he put [them] on her shoulder and he gave to Hagar the boy.”

[21:14]  ⁴¹¹ tn Heb “she went and wandered.”

[21:14]  ⁴¹² tn Or “desert,” although for English readers this usually connotes a sandy desert like the Sahara rather than the arid wasteland of this region with its sparse vegetation.

[21:15]  ⁴¹³ tn Heb “threw,” but the child, who was now thirteen years old, would not have been carried, let alone thrown under a bush. The exaggerated language suggests Ishmael is limp from dehydration and is being abandoned to die. See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 2:85.

[21:16]  ⁴¹⁴ sn A bowshot would be a distance of about a hundred yards (ninety meters).

[21:16]  ⁴¹⁵ tn Heb “said.”

[21:16]  ⁴¹⁶ tn Heb “I will not look on the death of the child.” The cohortative verbal form (note the negative particle אַל,’al) here expresses her resolve to avoid the stated action.

[21:16]  ⁴¹⁷ tn Heb “and she lifted up her voice and wept” (that is, she wept uncontrollably). The LXX reads “he” (referring to Ishmael) rather than “she” (referring to Hagar), but this is probably an attempt to harmonize this verse with the following one, which refers to the boy’s cries.

[21:17]  ⁴¹⁸ sn God heard the boy’s voice. The text has not to this point indicated that Ishmael was crying out, either in pain or in prayer. But the text here makes it clear that God heard him. Ishmael is clearly central to the story. Both the mother and the Lord are focused on the child’s imminent death.

[21:17]  ⁴¹⁹ tn Heb “What to you?”

[21:17]  ⁴²⁰ sn Here the verb heard picks up the main motif of the name Ishmael (“God hears”), introduced back in chap. 16.

[21:19]  ⁴²¹ tn Heb “And God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water.” The referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:21]  ⁴²² sn The wilderness of Paran is an area in the east central region of the Sinai peninsula, northeast from the traditional site of Mt. Sinai and with the Arabah and the Gulf of Aqaba as its eastern border.

[21:21]  ⁴²³ tn Heb “And his mother took for him a wife from the land of Egypt.”

[21:22]  ⁴²⁴ sn God is with you. Abimelech and Phicol recognized that Abraham enjoyed special divine provision and protection.

[21:23]  ⁴²⁵ tn Heb “And now swear to me by God here.”

[21:23]  ⁴²⁶ tn Heb “my offspring and my descendants.”

[21:23]  ⁴²⁷ tn The word “land” refers by metonymy to the people in the land.

[21:23]  ⁴²⁸ tn The Hebrew verb means “to stay, to live, to sojourn” as a temporary resident without ownership rights.

[21:23]  ⁴²⁹ tn Or “kindness.”

[21:23]  ⁴³⁰ tn Heb “According to the loyalty which I have done with you, do with me and with the land in which you are staying.”

[21:24]  ⁴³¹ tn Heb “I swear.” No object is specified in the Hebrew text, but the content of the oath requested by Abimelech is the implied object.

[21:25]  ⁴³² tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to argue; to dispute”; it can focus on the beginning of the dispute (as here), the dispute itself, or the resolution of a dispute (Isa 1:18). Apparently the complaint was lodged before the actual oath was taken.

[21:25]  ⁴³³ tn Heb “concerning the matter of the well of water.”

[21:25]  ⁴³⁴ tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to steal; to rob; to take violently.” The statement reflects Abraham’s perspective.

[21:26]  ⁴³⁵ tn Heb “and also.”

[21:27]  ⁴³⁶ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[21:29]  ⁴³⁷ tn Heb “What are these?”

[21:30]  ⁴³⁸ tn Heb “that it be for me for a witness.”

[21:30]  ⁴³⁹ sn This well. Since the king wanted a treaty to share in Abraham’s good fortune, Abraham used the treaty to secure ownership of and protection for the well he dug. It would be useless to make a treaty to live in this territory if he had no rights to the water. Abraham consented to the treaty, but added his rider to it.

[21:31]  ⁴⁴⁰ tn Heb “that is why he called that place.” Some translations render this as an impersonal passive, “that is why that place was called.”

[21:31]  ⁴⁴¹ sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, bÿ’er shava’) means “well of the oath” or “well of the seven.” Both the verb “to swear” and the number “seven” have been used throughout the account. Now they are drawn in as part of the explanation of the significance of the name.

[21:31]  ⁴⁴² sn The verb forms a wordplay with the name Beer Sheba.

[21:32]  ⁴⁴³ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[21:32]  ⁴⁴⁴ tn Heb “arose and returned.”

[21:32]  ⁴⁴⁵ sn The Philistines mentioned here may not be ethnically related to those who lived in Palestine in the time of the judges and the united monarchy. See D. M. Howard, “Philistines,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 238.

[21:33]  ⁴⁴⁶ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:33]  ⁴⁴⁷ sn The planting of the tamarisk tree is a sign of Abraham’s intent to stay there for a long time, not a religious act. A growing tree in the Negev would be a lasting witness to God’s provision of water.

[21:33]  ⁴⁴⁸ tn Heb “he called there in the name of the Lord.” The expression refers to worshiping the Lord through prayer and sacrifice (see Gen 4:26; 12:8; 13:4; 26:25). See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:116, 281.

[21:34]  ⁴⁴⁹ tn Heb “many days.”

[22:1]  ⁴⁵⁰ sn The Hebrew verb used here means “to test; to try; to prove.” In this passage God tests Abraham to see if he would be obedient. See T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 44-48. See also J. L. Crenshaw, A Whirlpool of Torment (OBT), 9-30; and J. I. Lawlor, “The Test of Abraham,” GTJ 1 (1980): 19-35.

[22:1]  ⁴⁵¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:2]  ⁴⁵² tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:2]  ⁴⁵³ sn Take your son…Isaac. The instructions are very clear, but the details are deliberate. With every additional description the commandment becomes more challenging.

[22:2]  ⁴⁵⁴ sn There has been much debate over the location of Moriah; 2 Chr 3:1 suggests it may be the site where the temple was later built in Jerusalem.

[22:2]  ⁴⁵⁵ sn A whole burnt offering signified the complete surrender of the worshiper and complete acceptance by God. The demand for a human sacrifice was certainly radical and may have seemed to Abraham out of character for God. Abraham would have to obey without fully understanding what God was about.

[22:2]  ⁴⁵⁶ tn Heb “which I will say to.”

[22:3]  ⁴⁵⁷ tn Heb “Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his donkey.”

[22:3]  ⁴⁵⁸ tn Heb “he arose and he went.”

[22:4]  ⁴⁵⁹ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes and saw.”

[22:5]  ⁴⁶⁰ tn Heb “And Abraham.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.

[22:5]  ⁴⁶¹ tn The Hebrew verb is masculine plural, referring to the two young servants who accompanied Abraham and Isaac on the journey.

[22:5]  ⁴⁶² tn The disjunctive clause (with the compound subject preceding the verb) may be circumstantial and temporal.

[22:5]  ⁴⁶³ tn This Hebrew word literally means “to bow oneself close to the ground.” It often means “to worship.”

[22:5]  ⁴⁶⁴ sn It is impossible to know what Abraham was thinking when he said, “we will…return to you.” When he went he knew (1) that he was to sacrifice Isaac, and (2) that God intended to fulfill his earlier promises through Isaac. How he reconciled those facts is not clear in the text. Heb 11:17-19 suggests that Abraham believed God could restore Isaac to him through resurrection.

[22:6]  ⁴⁶⁵ sn He took the fire and the knife in his hand. These details anticipate the sacrifice that lies ahead.

[22:7]  ⁴⁶⁶ tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This is redundant and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[22:7]  ⁴⁶⁷ tn Heb “Here I am” (cf. Gen 22:1).

[22:7]  ⁴⁶⁸ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Here is the fire and the wood.’” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here and in the following verse the order of the introductory clauses and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[22:8]  ⁴⁶⁹ tn Heb “will see for himself.” The construction means “to look out for; to see to it; to provide.”

[22:9]  ⁴⁷⁰ sn Abraham built an altar there. The theme of Abraham’s altar building culminates here. He has been a faithful worshiper. Will he continue to worship when called upon to make such a radical sacrifice?

[22:9]  ⁴⁷¹ sn Then he tied up. This text has given rise to an important theme in Judaism known as the Aqedah, from the Hebrew word for “binding.” When sacrifices were made in the sanctuary, God remembered the binding of Isaac, for which a substitute was offered. See D. Polish, “The Binding of Isaac,” Jud 6 (1957): 17-21.

[22:10]  ⁴⁷² tn Heb “in order to slaughter.”

[22:11]  ⁴⁷³ sn Heb “the messenger of the Lord” (also in v. 15). Some identify the angel of the Lord as the preincarnate Christ because in some texts the angel is identified with the Lord himself. However, see the note on the phrase “the Lord’s angel” in Gen 16:7.

[22:12]  ⁴⁷⁴ tn Heb “Do not extend your hand toward the boy.”

[22:12]  ⁴⁷⁵ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Do not extend…’”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the context for clarity. The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[22:12]  ⁴⁷⁶ sn For now I know. The test was designed to see if Abraham would be obedient (see v. 1).

[22:12]  ⁴⁷⁷ sn In this context fear refers by metonymy to obedience that grows from faith.

[22:13]  ⁴⁷⁸ tn Heb “lifted his eyes.”

[22:13]  ⁴⁷⁹ tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to what Abraham saw and invites the audience to view the scene through his eyes.

[22:13]  ⁴⁸⁰ tc The translation follows the reading of the MT; a number of Hebrew mss, the LXX, Syriac, and Samaritan Pentateuch read “one” (אֶחָד, ’ekhad) instead of “behind him” (אַחַר, ’akhar).

[22:13]  ⁴⁸¹ tn Heb “Abraham”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[22:14]  ⁴⁸² tn Heb “the Lord sees” (יְהוָה יִרְאֶה, yÿhvah yir’eh, traditionally transliterated “Jehovah Jireh”; see the note on the word “provide” in v. 8). By so naming the place Abraham preserved in the memory of God’s people the amazing event that took place there.

[22:14]  ⁴⁸³ sn On the expression to this day see B. Childs, “A Study of the Formula ‘Until this Day’,” JBL 82 (1963): 279-92.

[22:14]  ⁴⁸⁴ sn The saying connected with these events has some ambiguity, which was probably intended. The Niphal verb could be translated (1) “in the mountain of the Lord it will be seen/provided” or (2) “in the mountain the Lord will appear.” If the temple later stood here (see the note on “Moriah” in Gen 22:2), the latter interpretation might find support, for the people went to the temple to appear before the Lord, who “appeared” to them by providing for them his power and blessings. See S. R. Driver, Genesis, 219.

[22:16]  ⁴⁸⁵ tn Heb “By myself I swear.”

[22:16]  ⁴⁸⁶ tn Heb “the oracle of the Lord.” The phrase refers to a formal oracle or decree from the Lord.

[22:17]  ⁴⁸⁷ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form (either an imperfect or cohortative) emphasizes the certainty of the blessing.

[22:17]  ⁴⁸⁸ tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).

[22:17]  ⁴⁸⁹ 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.

[22:17]  ⁴⁹⁰ tn Or “inherit.”

[22:17]  ⁴⁹¹ tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. To break through the gate complex would be to conquer the city, for the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”).

[22:18]  ⁴⁹² tn In the Hebrew text this causal clause comes at the end of the sentence. The translation alters the word order for stylistic reasons.

[22:18]  ⁴⁹³ tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 26:4). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)

[22:19]  ⁴⁹⁴ tn Heb “and they arose and went together.”

[22:19]  ⁴⁹⁵ tn Heb “and Abraham stayed in Beer Sheba. This has been translated as a relative clause for stylistic reasons.

[22:20]  ⁴⁹⁶ tn In the Hebrew text the sentence begins with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to the statement.

[22:21]  ⁴⁹⁷ sn This parenthetical note about Kemuel’s descendant is probably a later insertion by the author/compiler of Genesis and not part of the original announcement.

[22:23]  ⁴⁹⁸ tn The disjunctive clause gives information that is important but parenthetical to the narrative. Rebekah would become the wife of Isaac (Gen 24:15).

[23:1]  ⁴⁹⁹ tn Heb “And the years of Sarah were one hundred years and twenty years and seven years, the years of the life of Sarah.”

[23:2]  ⁵⁰⁰ tn Heb “Sarah.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“she”) for stylistic reasons.

[23:2]  ⁵⁰¹ sn Mourn…weep. The description here is of standard mourning rites (see K. A. Kitchen, NBD³ 149-50). They would have been carried out in the presence of the corpse, probably in Sarah’s tent. So Abraham came in to mourn; then he rose up to go and bury his dead (v. 3).

[23:3]  ⁵⁰² tn Heb “And Abraham arose from upon the face of his dead.”

[23:3]  ⁵⁰³ tn Some translate the Hebrew term “Heth” as “Hittites” here (also in vv. 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 20), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., “Hittites,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.

[23:4]  ⁵⁰⁴ tn Heb “a resident alien and a settler.”

[23:4]  ⁵⁰⁵ tn Heb “give,” which is used here as an idiom for “sell” (see v. 9). The idiom reflects the polite bartering that was done in the culture at the time.

[23:4]  ⁵⁰⁶ tn Or “possession.”

[23:4]  ⁵⁰⁷ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose.

[23:4]  ⁵⁰⁸ tn Heb “bury my dead out of my sight.” The last phrase “out of my sight” has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:5]  ⁵⁰⁹ tn Heb “answered Abraham saying to him.”

[23:6]  ⁵¹⁰ tn Heb “Hear us, my lord.”

[23:6]  ⁵¹¹ tn Heb “prince of God.” The divine name may be used here as a means of expressing the superlative, “mighty prince.” The word for “prince” probably means “tribal chief” here. See M. H. Gottstein, “Nasi’ ‘elohim (Gen 23:6),” VT 3 (1953) 298-99; and D. W. Thomas, “Consideration of Some Unusual Ways of Expressing the Superlative in Hebrew,” VT 3 (1953) 215-16.

[23:6]  ⁵¹² tn The phrase “to prevent you” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:7]  ⁵¹³ tn Heb “to the people of the land” (also in v. 12).

[23:8]  ⁵¹⁴ tn Heb “If it is with your purpose.” The Hebrew noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) here has the nuance “purpose” or perhaps “desire” (see BDB 661 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ).

[23:8]  ⁵¹⁵ tn Heb “bury my dead out of my sight.” The last phrase “out of my sight” has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:8]  ⁵¹⁶ tn Or “hear me.”

[23:8]  ⁵¹⁷ tn Heb “intercede for me with.”

[23:9]  ⁵¹⁸ tn Heb “give.” This is used here (also a second time later in this verse) as an idiom for “sell”; see the note on the word “grant” in v. 4.

[23:9]  ⁵¹⁹ tn Heb “in your presence.”

[23:9]  ⁵²⁰ tn Heb “silver.”

[23:10]  ⁵²¹ tn Or perhaps “Hittite,” but see the note on the name “Heth” in v. 3.

[23:10]  ⁵²² tn Heb “ears.” By metonymy the “ears” stand for the presence or proximity (i.e., within earshot) of the persons named.

[23:10]  ⁵²³ sn On the expression all who entered the gate see E. A. Speiser, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate,” BASOR 144 (1956): 20-23; and G. Evans, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate: A Discussion of Professor Speiser’s Paper,” BASOR 150 (1958): 28-33.

[23:11]  ⁵²⁴ tn Heb “give.” The perfect tense has here a present nuance; this is a formal, legally binding declaration. Abraham asked only for a burial site/cave within the field; Ephron agrees to sell him the entire field.

[23:11]  ⁵²⁵ tn The Hebrew text adds “to you I give [i.e., sell] it.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[23:11]  ⁵²⁶ tn Heb “in the presence of the sons of my people.”

[23:13]  ⁵²⁷ tn Heb “give.”

[23:13]  ⁵²⁸ tn Heb “silver.”

[23:13]  ⁵²⁹ tn After the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose or result.

[23:15]  ⁵³⁰ tn The word “worth” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:15]  ⁵³¹ sn Four hundred pieces of silver. The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of silver here 4.6 kilograms, or 160 ounces (about 10 pounds).

[23:16]  ⁵³² tn Heb “listened to Ephron.”

[23:16]  ⁵³³ tn Heb “and Abraham weighed out.”

[23:16]  ⁵³⁴ tn Heb “to Ephron.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:16]  ⁵³⁵ tn Heb “silver.”

[23:16]  ⁵³⁶ tn Heb “that he had spoken.” The referent (Ephron) has been specified here in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[23:16]  ⁵³⁷ tn Heb “passing for the merchant.” The final clause affirms that the measurement of silver was according to the standards used by the merchants of the time.

[23:17]  ⁵³⁸ tn Heb “And it was conveyed.” The recipient, Abraham (mentioned in the Hebrew text at the beginning of v. 18) has been placed here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:18]  ⁵³⁹ tn Heb “his city”; the referent (Ephron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:20]  ⁵⁴⁰ tn Heb “possession of a grave.”

[24:1]  ⁵⁴¹ tn Heb “days.”

[24:1]  ⁵⁴² tn Heb “Abraham.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.

[24:2]  ⁵⁴³ tn The Hebrew term זָקֵן (zaqen) may refer to the servant who is oldest in age or senior in authority (or both).

[24:2]  ⁵⁴⁴ sn Put your hand under my thigh. The taking of this oath had to do with the sanctity of the family and the continuation of the family line. See D. R. Freedman, “Put Your Hand Under My Thigh – the Patriarchal Oath,” BAR 2 (1976): 2-4, 42.

[24:3]  ⁵⁴⁵ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose.

[24:3]  ⁵⁴⁶ tn Heb “because you must not take.”

[24:4]  ⁵⁴⁷ tn Heb “for to my country and my relatives you must go.”

[24:4]  ⁵⁴⁸ tn Heb “and take.”

[24:5]  ⁵⁴⁹ tn Heb “to go after me.”

[24:5]  ⁵⁵⁰ tn In the Hebrew text the construction is emphatic; the infinitive absolute precedes the imperfect. However, it is difficult to reflect this emphasis in an English translation.

[24:6]  ⁵⁵¹ tn Heb “guard yourself.”

[24:6]  ⁵⁵² 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.

[24:7]  ⁵⁵³ tn Or “the land of my birth.”

[24:7]  ⁵⁵⁴ tn Heb “and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying.”

[24:7]  ⁵⁵⁵ tn Or “his messenger.”

[24:7]  ⁵⁵⁶ tn Heb “before you and you will take.”

[24:8]  ⁵⁵⁷ tn Heb “ to go after you.”

[24:8]  ⁵⁵⁸ sn You will be free. If the prospective bride was not willing to accompany the servant back to Canaan, the servant would be released from his oath to Abraham.

[24:9]  ⁵⁵⁹ tn Heb “and he swore to him concerning this matter.”

[24:10]  ⁵⁶⁰ tn Heb “and every good thing of his master was in his hand.” The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, explaining that he took all kinds of gifts to be used at his discretion.

[24:10]  ⁵⁶¹ tn Heb “and he arose and went.”

[24:10]  ⁵⁶² tn The words “the region of” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[24:11]  ⁵⁶³ tn Heb “well of water.”

[24:11]  ⁵⁶⁴ tn Heb “at the time of evening.”

[24:12]  ⁵⁶⁵ tn Heb “make it happen before me today.” Although a number of English translations understand this as a request for success in the task (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV) it is more likely that the servant is requesting an omen or sign from God (v. 14).

[24:12]  ⁵⁶⁶ tn Heb “act in loyal love with” or “show kindness to.”

[24:13]  ⁵⁶⁷ tn Heb “the spring of water.”

[24:13]  ⁵⁶⁸ tn Heb “the men.”

[24:14]  ⁵⁶⁹ sn I will also give your camels water. It would be an enormous test for a young woman to water ten camels. The idea is that such a woman would not only be industrious but hospitable and generous.

[24:14]  ⁵⁷⁰ tn Heb “And let the young woman to whom I say, ‘Lower your jar that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink and I will also give your camels water,’ – her you have appointed for your servant, for Isaac, and by it I will know that you have acted in faithfulness with my master.”

[24:15]  ⁵⁷¹ tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out!” Using the participle introduced with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator dramatically transports the audience back into the event and invites them to see Rebekah through the servant’s eyes.

[24:15]  ⁵⁷² tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out – [she] who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, the brother of Abraham – and her jug [was] on her shoulder.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:16]  ⁵⁷³ tn Heb “And the young woman was very good of appearance, a virgin, and a man she had not known.” Some argue that the Hebrew noun translated “virgin” (בְּתוּלָה, bÿtulah) is better understood in a general sense, “young woman” (see Joel 1:8, where the word appears to refer to one who is married). In this case the circumstantial clause (“and a man she had not known”) would be restrictive, rather than descriptive. If the term actually means “virgin,” one wonders why the circumstantial clause is necessary (see Judg 21:12 as well). Perhaps the repetition emphasizes her sexual purity as a prerequisite for her role as the mother of the covenant community.

[24:17]  ⁵⁷⁴ tn Heb “and the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:18]  ⁵⁷⁵ tn Heb “and she hurried and lowered.”

[24:19]  ⁵⁷⁶ tn Heb “when she had finished giving him a drink.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:20]  ⁵⁷⁷ tn Heb “and she hurried and emptied.”

[24:21]  ⁵⁷⁸ tn Heb “to know.”

[24:21]  ⁵⁷⁹ tn The Hebrew term צָלָה (tsalah), meaning “to make successful” in the Hiphil verbal stem, is a key term in the story (see vv. 40, 42, 56).

[24:22]  ⁵⁸⁰ sn A beka weighed about 5-6 grams (0.2 ounce).

[24:22]  ⁵⁸¹ sn A shekel weighed about 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce) although weights varied locally, so these bracelets weighed about 4 ounces (115 grams).

[24:22]  ⁵⁸² tn The words “and gave them to her” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[24:23]  ⁵⁸³ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’” The order of the introductory clause has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:24]  ⁵⁸⁴ tn Heb “whom she bore to Nahor.” The referent (Milcah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:25]  ⁵⁸⁵ tn Heb “and she said, ‘We have plenty of both straw and feed.’” The order of the introductory clause has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:25]  ⁵⁸⁶ tn Heb The words “for you” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[24:27]  ⁵⁸⁷ tn Heb “his faithfulness and his commitment.”

[24:27]  ⁵⁸⁸ tn Heb “As for me – in the way the Lord led me.”

[24:27]  ⁵⁸⁹ tn Here “house” is an adverbial accusative of termination.

[24:27]  ⁵⁹⁰ tn Heb “brothers.”

[24:28]  ⁵⁹¹ tn Heb “according to.”

[24:29]  ⁵⁹² tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause introduces the audience to Laban, who will eventually play an important role in the unfolding story.

[24:30]  ⁵⁹³ tn Heb “And it was when he saw the nose ring and the bracelets on the arms of his sister.” The word order is altered in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[24:30]  ⁵⁹⁴ tn Heb “and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying.”

[24:30]  ⁵⁹⁵ tn Heb “and look, he was standing.” The disjunctive clause with the participle following the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) invites the audience to view the scene through Laban’s eyes.

[24:31]  ⁵⁹⁶ tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified and the words “to him” supplied in the translation for clarity.

[24:31]  ⁵⁹⁷ sn Laban’s obsession with wealth is apparent; to him it represents how one is blessed by the Lord. Already the author is laying the foundation for subsequent events in the narrative, where Laban’s greed becomes his dominant characteristic.

[24:31]  ⁵⁹⁸ tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial.

[24:32]  ⁵⁹⁹ tn Heb “the man”; the referent (Abraham’s servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:32]  ⁶⁰⁰ tn Some translations (e.g., NEB, NASB, NRSV) understand Laban to be the subject of this and the following verbs or take the subject of this and the following verbs as indefinite (referring to an unnamed servant; e.g., NAB, NIV).

[24:32]  ⁶⁰¹ tn Heb “and [one] gave.” The verb without an expressed subject may be translated as passive.

[24:32]  ⁶⁰² tn Heb “and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.”

[24:33]  ⁶⁰³ tn Heb “and food was placed before him.”

[24:33]  ⁶⁰⁴ tn Heb “my words.”

[24:33]  ⁶⁰⁵ tc Some ancient textual witnesses have a plural verb, “and they said.”

[24:35]  ⁶⁰⁶ tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Abraham’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are not excluded.

[24:35]  ⁶⁰⁷ tn Heb “and he.” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:36]  ⁶⁰⁸ tn Heb “to my master.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “him” in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:36]  ⁶⁰⁹ tn Heb “after her old age.”

[24:36]  ⁶¹⁰ tn Heb “and he.” The referent (the servant’s master, Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:38]  ⁶¹¹ tn Heb “but to the house of my father you must go and to my family and you must take a wife for my son.”

[24:39]  ⁶¹² tn The imperfect is used here in a modal sense to indicate desire.

[24:39]  ⁶¹³ tn Heb “after me.”

[24:40]  ⁶¹⁴ tn The verb is the Hitpael of הָלַךְ (halakh), meaning “live one’s life” (see Gen 17:1). The statement may simply refer to serving the Lord or it may have a more positive moral connotation (“serve faithfully”).

[24:41]  ⁶¹⁵ tn Heb “my oath” (twice in this verse). From the Hebrew perspective the oath belonged to the person to whom it was sworn (Abraham), although in contemporary English an oath is typically viewed as belonging to the person who swears it (the servant).

[24:42]  ⁶¹⁶ tn Heb “if you are making successful my way on which I am going.”

[24:42]  ⁶¹⁷ tn The words “may events unfold as follows” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[24:43]  ⁶¹⁸ tn Heb “the spring of water.”

[24:43]  ⁶¹⁹ tn Heb “and it will be.”

[24:45]  ⁶²⁰ tn Heb “As for me, before I finished speaking to my heart.” The adverb טֶרֶם (terem) indicates the verb is a preterite; the infinitive that follows is the direct object.

[24:45]  ⁶²¹ tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out.” As in 24:15, the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is used here for dramatic effect.

[24:47]  ⁶²² tn Heb “whom Milcah bore to him.” The referent (Nahor) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:48]  ⁶²³ tn Heb “daughter.” Rebekah was actually the granddaughter of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. One can either translate the Hebrew term בַּת (bat) as “daughter,” in which case the term אָח (’akh) must be translated more generally as “relative” rather than “brother” (cf. NASB, NRSV) or one can translate בַּת as “granddaughter,” in which case אָח may be translated “brother” (cf. NIV).

[24:49]  ⁶²⁴ tn Heb “and I will turn to the right or to the left.” The expression apparently means that Abraham’s servant will know where he should go if there is no further business here.

[24:50]  ⁶²⁵ tn Heb “From the Lord the matter has gone out.”

[24:50]  ⁶²⁶ tn Heb “We are not able to speak to you bad or good.” This means that Laban and Bethuel could not say one way or the other what they wanted, for they viewed it as God’s will.

[24:51]  ⁶²⁷ tn Following the imperatives, the jussive with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[24:51]  ⁶²⁸ tn Heb “as the Lord has spoken.”

[24:53]  ⁶²⁹ tn Heb “the servant”; the noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:54]  ⁶³⁰ tn Heb “And they ate and drank, he and the men who [were] with him and they spent the night.”

[24:54]  ⁶³¹ tn Heb “Send me away to my master.”

[24:55]  ⁶³² tn Heb “her”; the referent (Rebekah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:56]  ⁶³³ tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, indicating a reason for the preceding request.

[24:56]  ⁶³⁴ tn After the preceding imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[24:57]  ⁶³⁵ tn Heb “and we will ask her mouth.”

[24:58]  ⁶³⁶ tn The imperfect verbal form here has a modal nuance, expressing desire.

[24:60]  ⁶³⁷ tn Heb “and said to her.”

[24:60]  ⁶³⁸ tn Heb “become thousands of ten thousands.”

[24:60]  ⁶³⁹ tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”). A similar phrase occurs in Gen 22:17.

[24:61]  ⁶⁴⁰ tn Heb “And she arose, Rebekah and her female servants, and they rode upon camels and went after.”

[24:61]  ⁶⁴¹ tn Heb “the servant”; the word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:62]  ⁶⁴² tn The disjunctive clause switches the audience’s attention to Isaac and signals a new episode in the story.

[24:62]  ⁶⁴³ tn Heb “from the way of.”

[24:62]  ⁶⁴⁴ sn The Hebrew name Beer Lahai Roi (בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי, bÿ’er lakhay ro’i) means “The well of the Living One who sees me.” See Gen 16:14.

[24:62]  ⁶⁴⁵ tn This disjunctive clause is explanatory.

[24:62]  ⁶⁴⁶ tn Or “the South [country].”

[24:63]  ⁶⁴⁷ tn Heb “Isaac”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:63]  ⁶⁴⁸ tn The meaning of this Hebrew term is uncertain (cf. NASB, NIV “to meditate”; NRSV “to walk”).

[24:63]  ⁶⁴⁹ tn Heb “at the turning of the evening.”

[24:63]  ⁶⁵⁰ tn Heb “And he lifted up his eyes.” This idiom emphasizes the careful look Isaac had at the approaching caravan.

[24:63]  ⁶⁵¹ tn Heb “and look.” The clause introduced by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) invites the audience to view the scene through Isaac’s eyes.

[24:64]  ⁶⁵² tn Heb “lifted up her eyes.”

[24:65]  ⁶⁵³ tn Heb “and she said to.”

[24:65]  ⁶⁵⁴ tn Heb “the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[24:65]  ⁶⁵⁵ tn Heb “and the servant said.” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:67]  ⁶⁵⁶ tn Heb “her”; the referent has been specified here in the translation for clarity.

[24:67]  ⁶⁵⁷ tn Heb “Rebekah”; here the proper name was replaced by the pronoun (“her”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:67]  ⁶⁵⁸ tn Heb “and he took Rebekah and she became his wife and he loved her.”

[24:67]  ⁶⁵⁹ tn Heb “after his mother.” This must refer to Sarah’s death.

[25:1]  ⁶⁶⁰ tn Or “took.”

[25:1]  ⁶⁶¹ tn Heb “And Abraham added and took.”

[25:3]  ⁶⁶² sn The names Sheba and Dedan appear in Gen 10:7 as descendants of Ham through Cush and Raamah. Since these two names are usually interpreted to be place names, one plausible suggestion is that some of Abraham’s descendants lived in those regions and took names linked with it.

[25:4]  ⁶⁶³ tn Or “sons.”

[25:6]  ⁶⁶⁴ tn Heb “the sons of the concubines who [belonged] to Abraham.”

[25:6]  ⁶⁶⁵ tn Heb “And he sent them away from upon Isaac his son, while he was still living, eastward to the land of the east.”

[25:7]  ⁶⁶⁶ tn Heb “and these are the days of the years of the lifetime of Abraham that he lived.” The normal genealogical formula is expanded here due to the importance of the life of Abraham.

[25:8]  ⁶⁶⁷ tn Heb “old and full.”

[25:8]  ⁶⁶⁸ tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.

[25:9]  ⁶⁶⁹ sn The cave of Machpelah was the place Abraham had purchased as a burial place for his wife Sarah (Gen 23:17-18).

[25:10]  ⁶⁷⁰ tn See the note on the phrase “sons of Heth” in Gen 23:3.

[25:11]  ⁶⁷¹ sn God blessed Isaac. The Hebrew verb “bless” in this passage must include all the gifts that God granted to Isaac. But fertility was not one of them, at least not for twenty years, because Rebekah was barren as well (see v. 21).

[25:11]  ⁶⁷² sn Beer Lahai Roi. See the note on this place name in Gen 24:62.

[25:12]  ⁶⁷³ sn This is the account of Ishmael. The Book of Genesis tends to tidy up the family records at every turning point. Here, before proceeding with the story of Isaac’s family, the narrative traces Ishmael’s family line. Later, before discussing Jacob’s family, the narrative traces Esau’s family line (see Gen 36).

[25:13]  ⁶⁷⁴ tn The meaning of this line is not easily understood. The sons of Ishmael are listed here “by their names” and “according to their descendants.”

[25:16]  ⁶⁷⁵ tn Or “tribal chieftains.”

[25:17]  ⁶⁷⁶ tn Heb “And these are the days of the years of Ishmael.”

[25:17]  ⁶⁷⁷ tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.

[25:18]  ⁶⁷⁸ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Ishmael’s descendants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:18]  ⁶⁷⁹ tn Heb “which is by the face of,” or near the border. The territory ran along the border of Egypt.

[25:18]  ⁶⁸⁰ tn Heb “as you go.”

[25:18]  ⁶⁸¹ sn The name Asshur refers here to a tribal area in the Sinai.

[25:18]  ⁶⁸² tn Heb “he fell.”

[25:18]  ⁶⁸³ tn Heb “upon the face of all his brothers.” This last expression, obviously alluding to the earlier oracle about Ishmael (Gen 16:12), could mean that the descendants of Ishmael lived in hostility to others or that they lived in a territory that was opposite the lands of their relatives. While there is some ambiguity about the meaning, the line probably does give a hint of the Ishmaelite-Israelite conflicts to come.

[25:19]  ⁶⁸⁴ sn This is the account of Isaac. What follows for several chapters is not the account of Isaac, except briefly, but the account of Jacob and Esau. The next chapters tell what became of Isaac and his family.

[25:20]  ⁶⁸⁵ tn Heb “And Isaac was the son of forty years when he took Rebekah.”

[25:20]  ⁶⁸⁶ sn Some valuable information is provided here. We learn here that Isaac married thirty-five years before Abraham died, that Rebekah was barren for twenty years, and that Abraham would have lived to see Jacob and Esau begin to grow up. The death of Abraham was recorded in the first part of the chapter as a “tidying up” of one generation before beginning the account of the next.

[25:21]  ⁶⁸⁷ tn The Hebrew verb עָתַר (’atar), translated “prayed [to]” here, appears in the story of God’s judgment on Egypt in which Moses asked the Lord to remove the plagues. The cognate word in Arabic means “to slaughter for sacrifice,” and the word is used in Zeph 3:10 to describe worshipers who bring offerings. Perhaps some ritual accompanied Isaac’s prayer here.

[25:22]  ⁶⁸⁸ tn The Hebrew word used here suggests a violent struggle that was out of the ordinary.

[25:22]  ⁶⁸⁹ tn Heb “If [it is] so, why [am] I this [way]?” Rebekah wanted to know what was happening to her, but the question itself reflects a growing despair over the struggle of the unborn children.

[25:22]  ⁶⁹⁰ sn Asked the Lord. In other passages (e.g., 1 Sam 9:9) this expression refers to inquiring of a prophet, but no details are provided here.

[25:23]  ⁶⁹¹ sn By metonymy the two children in her womb are described as two nations of which the two children, Jacob and Esau, would become the fathers. The language suggests there would be a struggle between these nations, with one being stronger than the other. The oracle reveals that all of Jacob’s scheming was unnecessary in the final analysis. He would have become the dominant nation without using deception to steal his brother’s blessing.

[25:24]  ⁶⁹² tn Heb “And her days were filled to give birth.”

[25:24]  ⁶⁹³ tn Heb “look!” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene as if they were actually present at the birth.

[25:25]  ⁶⁹⁴ sn Reddish. The Hebrew word translated “reddish” is אַדְמוֹנִי (’admoni), which forms a wordplay on the Edomites, Esau’s descendants. The writer sees in Esau’s appearance at birth a sign of what was to come. After all, the reader has already been made aware of the “nations” that were being born.

[25:25]  ⁶⁹⁵ tn Heb “all of him.”

[25:25]  ⁶⁹⁶ sn Hairy. Here is another wordplay involving the descendants of Esau. The Hebrew word translated “hairy” is שֵׂעָר (se’ar); the Edomites will later live in Mount Seir, perhaps named for its wooded nature.

[25:25]  ⁶⁹⁷ tn Heb “And they called his name Esau.” The name “Esau” (עֵשָׂו, ’esav) is not etymologically related to שֵׂעָר (se’ar), but it draws on some of the sounds.

[25:26]  ⁶⁹⁸ tn The disjunctive clause describes an important circumstance accompanying the birth. Whereas Esau was passive at birth, Jacob was active.

[25:26]  ⁶⁹⁹ tn Heb “And he called his name Jacob.” Some ancient witnesses read “they called his name Jacob” (see v. 25). In either case the subject is indefinite.

[25:26]  ⁷⁰⁰ tn Heb “the son of sixty years.”

[25:27]  ⁷⁰¹ tn Heb “knowing.”

[25:27]  ⁷⁰² tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Jacob with Esau and draws attention to the striking contrasts. In contrast to Esau, a man of the field, Jacob was civilized, as the phrase “living in tents” signifies. Whereas Esau was a skillful hunter, Jacob was calm and even-tempered (תָּם, tam), which normally has the idea of “blameless.”

[25:28]  ⁷⁰³ tn Heb “the taste of game was in his mouth.” The word for “game,” “venison” is here the same Hebrew word as “hunter” in the last verse. Here it is a metonymy, referring to that which the hunter kills.

[25:28]  ⁷⁰⁴ tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Rebekah with Jacob and draws attention to the contrast. The verb here is a participle, drawing attention to Rebekah’s continuing, enduring love for her son.

[25:29]  ⁷⁰⁵ sn Jacob cooked some stew. There are some significant words and wordplays in this story that help clarify the points of the story. The verb “cook” is זִיד (zid), which sounds like the word for “hunter” (צַיִד, tsayid). This is deliberate, for the hunter becomes the hunted in this story. The word זִיד means “to cook, to boil,” but by the sound play with צַיִד it comes to mean “set a trap by cooking.” The usage of the word shows that it can also have the connotation of acting presumptuously (as in boiling over). This too may be a comment on the scene. For further discussion of the rhetorical devices in the Jacob narratives, see J. P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis (SSN).

[25:30]  ⁷⁰⁶ tn The rare term לָעַט (la’at), translated “feed,” is used in later Hebrew for feeding animals (see Jastrow, 714). If this nuance was attached to the word in the biblical period, then it may depict Esau in a negative light, comparing him to a hungry animal. Famished Esau comes in from the hunt, only to enter the trap. He can only point at the red stew and ask Jacob to feed him.

[25:30]  ⁷⁰⁷ tn The verb has no expressed subject and so is given a passive translation.

[25:30]  ⁷⁰⁸ sn Esau’s descendants would eventually be called Edom. Edom was the place where they lived, so-named probably because of the reddish nature of the hills. The writer can use the word “red” to describe the stew that Esau gasped for to convey the nature of Esau and his descendants. They were a lusty, passionate, and profane people who lived for the moment. Again, the wordplay is meant to capture the “omen in the nomen.”

[25:31]  ⁷⁰⁹ tn Heb “today.”

[25:32]  ⁷¹⁰ tn Heb “And what is this to me, a birthright?”

[25:33]  ⁷¹¹ tn Heb “Swear to me today.”

[25:33]  ⁷¹² tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:33]  ⁷¹³ sn And sold his birthright. There is evidence from Hurrian culture that rights of inheritance were occasionally sold or transferred. Here Esau is portrayed as a profane person who would at the moment rather have a meal than the right to inherit. He will soon forget this trade and seek his father’s blessing in spite of it.

[25:34]  ⁷¹⁴ sn The style here is typical of Hebrew narrative; after the tension is resolved with the dialogue, the working out of it is recorded in a rapid sequence of verbs (“gave”; “ate”; “drank”; “got up”; “went out”). See also Gen 3:1-7 for another example.

[25:34]  ⁷¹⁵ sn So Esau despised his birthright. This clause, which concludes the episode, is a summary statement which reveals the underlying significance of Esau’s actions. “To despise” means to treat something as worthless or with contempt. Esau’s willingness to sell his birthright was evidence that he considered it to be unimportant.

[26:1]  ⁷¹⁶ tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”

[26:1]  ⁷¹⁷ sn This account is parallel to two similar stories about Abraham (see Gen 12:10-20; 20:1-18). Many scholars do not believe there were three similar incidents, only one that got borrowed and duplicated. Many regard the account about Isaac as the original, which then was attached to the more important person, Abraham, with supernatural elements being added. For a critique of such an approach, see R. Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, 47-62. It is more likely that the story illustrates the proverb “like father, like son” (see T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 53). In typical human fashion the son follows his father’s example of lying to avoid problems. The appearance of similar events reported in a similar way underscores the fact that the blessing has now passed to Isaac, even if he fails as his father did.

[26:2]  ⁷¹⁸ sn Do not go down to Egypt. The words echo Gen 12:10, which reports that “Abram went down to Egypt,” but state the opposite.

[26:2]  ⁷¹⁹ tn Heb “say to you.”

[26:3]  ⁷²⁰ 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.

[26:3]  ⁷²¹ tn After the imperative “stay” the two prefixed verb forms with prefixed conjunction here indicate consequence.

[26:3]  ⁷²² 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.

[26:3]  ⁷²³ 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.

[26:3]  ⁷²⁴ tn Heb “the oath which I swore.”

[26:4]  ⁷²⁵ tn Heb “your descendants.”

[26:4]  ⁷²⁶ tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 22:18). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)

[26:5]  ⁷²⁷ tn The words “All this will come to pass” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons.

[26:5]  ⁷²⁸ tn Heb “listened to my voice.”

[26:5]  ⁷²⁹ sn My charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. The language of this verse is clearly interpretive, for Abraham did not have all these laws. The terms are legal designations for sections of the Mosaic law and presuppose the existence of the law. Some Rabbinic views actually conclude that Abraham had fulfilled the whole law before it was given (see m. Qiddushin 4:14). Some scholars argue that this story could only have been written after the law was given (C. Westermann, Genesis, 2:424-25). But the simplest explanation is that the narrator (traditionally taken to be Moses the Lawgiver) elaborated on the simple report of Abraham’s obedience by using terms with which the Israelites were familiar. In this way he depicts Abraham as the model of obedience to God’s commands, whose example Israel should follow.

[26:7]  ⁷³⁰ sn Rebekah, unlike Sarah, was not actually her husband’s sister.

[26:7]  ⁷³¹ tn Heb “lest.” The words “for he thought to himself” are supplied because the next clause is written with a first person pronoun, showing that Isaac was saying or thinking this.

[26:7]  ⁷³² tn Heb “kill me on account of.”

[26:8]  ⁷³³ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:8]  ⁷³⁴ tn Heb “and it happened when the days were long to him there.”

[26:8]  ⁷³⁵ tn Heb “look, Isaac.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene through Abimelech’s eyes.

[26:8]  ⁷³⁶ tn Or “fondling.”

[26:9]  ⁷³⁷ tn Heb “Surely, look!” See N. H. Snaith, “The meaning of Hebrew ‘ak,” VT 14 (1964): 221-25.

[26:9]  ⁷³⁸ tn Heb “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’” Since the verb “said” probably means “said to myself” (i.e., “thought”) here, the direct discourse in the Hebrew statement has been converted to indirect discourse in the translation. In addition the simple prepositional phrase “on account of her” has been clarified in the translation as “to get her” (cf. v. 7).

[26:10]  ⁷³⁹ tn Heb “What is this you have done to us?” The Hebrew demonstrative pronoun “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to us?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).

[26:10]  ⁷⁴⁰ tn Heb “people.”

[26:10]  ⁷⁴¹ tn The Hebrew verb means “to lie down.” Here the expression “lie with” or “sleep with” is euphemistic for “have sexual relations with.”

[26:11]  ⁷⁴² tn Heb “strikes.” Here the verb has the nuance “to harm in any way.” It would include assaulting the woman or killing the man.

[26:11]  ⁷⁴³ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the imperfect makes the construction emphatic.

[26:12]  ⁷⁴⁴ tn Heb “a hundredfold.”

[26:12]  ⁷⁴⁵ tn This final clause explains why Isaac had such a bountiful harvest.

[26:13]  ⁷⁴⁶ tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Isaac’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are included.

[26:13]  ⁷⁴⁷ tn Heb “and he went, going and becoming great.” The construction stresses that his growth in possessions and power continued steadily.

[26:14]  ⁷⁴⁸ tn Heb “and there was to him.”

[26:14]  ⁷⁴⁹ tn Heb “possessions of sheep.”

[26:14]  ⁷⁵⁰ tn Heb “possessions of cattle.”

[26:14]  ⁷⁵¹ tn The Hebrew verb translated “became jealous” refers here to intense jealousy or envy that leads to hostile action (see v. 15).

[26:15]  ⁷⁵² tn Heb “and the Philistines stopped them up and filled them with dirt.”

[26:16]  ⁷⁵³ tn Heb “Go away from us.”

[26:16]  ⁷⁵⁴ sn You have become much more powerful. This explanation for the expulsion of Isaac from Philistine territory foreshadows the words used later by the Egyptians to justify their oppression of Israel (see Exod 1:9).

[26:17]  ⁷⁵⁵ tn Heb “and he camped in the valley of Gerar and he lived there.”

[26:18]  ⁷⁵⁶ tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”

[26:18]  ⁷⁵⁷ tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.

[26:18]  ⁷⁵⁸ tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.

[26:18]  ⁷⁵⁹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:18]  ⁷⁶⁰ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:18]  ⁷⁶¹ tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”

[26:19]  ⁷⁶² tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).

[26:20]  ⁷⁶³ tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.

[26:20]  ⁷⁶⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:20]  ⁷⁶⁵ tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”

[26:20]  ⁷⁶⁶ sn The name Esek means “argument” in Hebrew. The following causal clause explains that Isaac gave the well this name as a reminder of the conflict its discovery had created. In the Hebrew text there is a wordplay, for the name is derived from the verb translated “argued.”

[26:20]  ⁷⁶⁷ tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:21]  ⁷⁶⁸ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:21]  ⁷⁶⁹ tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:21]  ⁷⁷⁰ sn The name Sitnah (שִׂטְנָה, sitnah) is derived from a Hebrew verbal root meaning “to oppose; to be an adversary” (cf. Job 1:6). The name was a reminder that the digging of this well caused “opposition” from the Philistines.

[26:22]  ⁷⁷¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:22]  ⁷⁷² tn Heb “and he called its name.”

[26:22]  ⁷⁷³ sn The name Rehoboth (רְהֹבוֹת, rehovot) is derived from a verbal root meaning “to make room.” The name was a reminder that God had made room for them. The story shows Isaac’s patience with the opposition; it also shows how God’s blessing outdistanced the men of Gerar. They could not stop it or seize it any longer.

[26:23]  ⁷⁷⁴ tn Heb “and he went up from there”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:25]  ⁷⁷⁵ tn Heb “called in the name of.” The expression refers to worshiping the Lord through prayer and sacrifice (see Gen 4:26; 12:8; 13:4; 21:33). See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:116.

[26:25]  ⁷⁷⁶ tn Heb “and they dug there, the servants of Isaac, a well.”

[26:26]  ⁷⁷⁷ 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.”

[26:26]  ⁷⁷⁸ tn Heb “and.”

[26:26]  ⁷⁷⁹ 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.

[26:27]  ⁷⁸⁰ tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, expressing the reason for his question.

[26:28]  ⁷⁸¹ tn The infinitive absolute before the verb emphasizes the clarity of their perception.

[26:28]  ⁷⁸² tn Heb “And we said, ‘Let there be.’” The direct discourse in the Hebrew text has been rendered as indirect discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:28]  ⁷⁸³ tn The pronoun “us” here is inclusive – it refers to the Philistine contingent on the one hand and Isaac on the other.

[26:28]  ⁷⁸⁴ tn The pronoun “us” here is exclusive – it refers to just the Philistine contingent (the following “you” refers to Isaac).

[26:28]  ⁷⁸⁵ tn The translation assumes that the cohortative expresses their request. Another option is to understand the cohortative as indicating resolve: “We want to make.’”

[26:29]  ⁷⁸⁶ tn The oath formula is used: “if you do us harm” means “so that you will not do.”

[26:29]  ⁷⁸⁷ tn Heb “touched.”

[26:29]  ⁷⁸⁸ tn Heb “and just as we have done only good with you.”

[26:29]  ⁷⁸⁹ tn Heb “and we sent you away.”

[26:29]  ⁷⁹⁰ tn The Philistine leaders are making an observation, not pronouncing a blessing, so the translation reads “you are blessed” rather than “may you be blessed” (cf. NAB).

[26:30]  ⁷⁹¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:30]  ⁷⁹² tn Heb “and they ate and drank.”

[26:31]  ⁷⁹³ tn Heb “and they got up early and they swore an oath, a man to his brother.”

[26:31]  ⁷⁹⁴ tn Heb “and they went from him in peace.”

[26:32]  ⁷⁹⁵ tn Heb “and they said to him, ‘We have found water.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:33]  ⁷⁹⁶ sn The name Shibah (שִׁבְעָה, shiv’ah) means (or at least sounds like) the word meaning “oath.” The name was a reminder of the oath sworn by Isaac and the Philistines to solidify their treaty.

[26:33]  ⁷⁹⁷ sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, bÿ’er shava’) means “well of an oath” or “well of seven.” According to Gen 21:31 Abraham gave Beer Sheba its name when he made a treaty with the Philistines. Because of the parallels between this earlier story and the account in 26:26-33, some scholars see chaps. 21 and 26 as two versions (or doublets) of one original story. However, if one takes the text as it stands, it appears that Isaac made a later treaty agreement with the people of the land that was similar to his father’s. Abraham dug a well at the site and named the place Beer Sheba; Isaac dug another well there and named the well Shibah. Later generations then associated the name Beer Sheba with Isaac, even though Abraham gave the place its name at an earlier time.

[26:34]  ⁷⁹⁸ tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making this clause subordinate to the next.

[26:34]  ⁷⁹⁹ tn Heb “the son of forty years.”

[26:34]  ⁸⁰⁰ tn Heb “took as a wife.”

[26:35]  ⁸⁰¹ tn Heb “And they were [a source of ] bitterness in spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.”

[27:1]  ⁸⁰² tn The clause begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making it subordinate to the main clause that follows later in the sentence.

[27:1]  ⁸⁰³ tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”

[27:1]  ⁸⁰⁴ tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).

[27:1]  ⁸⁰⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:2]  ⁸⁰⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaac) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:2]  ⁸⁰⁷ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here introduces a logically foundational statement, upon which the coming instruction will be based.

[27:2]  ⁸⁰⁸ tn Heb “I do not know the day of my death.”

[27:3]  ⁸⁰⁹ tn The Hebrew word is to be spelled either צַיִד (tsayid) following the marginal reading (Qere), or צֵידָה (tsedah) following the consonantal text (Kethib). Either way it is from the same root as the imperative צוּדָה (tsudah, “hunt down”).

[27:4]  ⁸¹⁰ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:4]  ⁸¹¹ tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The use of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as the subject emphasizes that the blessing will be made with all Isaac’s desire and vitality. The conjunction “so that” closely relates the meal to the blessing, suggesting that this will be a ritual meal in conjunction with the giving of a formal blessing.

[27:5]  ⁸¹² tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a conjunction with the subject, followed by the predicate) here introduces a new scene in the story.

[27:5]  ⁸¹³ tc The LXX adds here “to his father,” which may have been accidentally omitted in the MT.

[27:7]  ⁸¹⁴ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:7]  ⁸¹⁵ tn The cohortative, with the prefixed conjunction, also expresses logical sequence. See vv. 4, 19, 27.

[27:7]  ⁸¹⁶ tn In her report to Jacob, Rebekah plays down Isaac’s strong desire to bless Esau by leaving out נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”), but by adding the phrase “in the presence of the Lord,” she stresses how serious this matter is.

[27:8]  ⁸¹⁷ tn Heb “listen to my voice.” The Hebrew idiom means “to comply; to obey.”

[27:8]  ⁸¹⁸ tn Heb “to that which I am commanding you.”

[27:9]  ⁸¹⁹ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:10]  ⁸²⁰ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive. It carries forward the tone of instruction initiated by the command to “go…and get” in the preceding verse.

[27:10]  ⁸²¹ tn The form is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; it carries the future nuance of the preceding verbs of instruction, but by switching the subject to Jacob, indicates the expected result of the subterfuge.

[27:10]  ⁸²² tn Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[27:11]  ⁸²³ tn Heb “And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, ‘Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, but I am a smooth [skinned] man.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:12]  ⁸²⁴ tn Heb “Perhaps my father will feel me and I will be in his eyes like a mocker.” The Hebrew expression “I will be in his eyes like” means “I would appear to him as.”

[27:13]  ⁸²⁵ tn Heb “upon me your curse.”

[27:13]  ⁸²⁶ tn Heb “only listen to my voice.”

[27:14]  ⁸²⁷ tn The words “the goats” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:14]  ⁸²⁸ tn Heb “his mother.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “she” in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:16]  ⁸²⁹ tn In the Hebrew text the object (“the skins of the young goats”) precedes the verb. The disjunctive clause draws attention to this key element in the subterfuge.

[27:16]  ⁸³⁰ tn The word “hands” probably includes the forearms here. How the skins were attached is not specified in the Hebrew text; cf. NLT “she made him a pair of gloves.”

[27:17]  ⁸³¹ tn Heb “gave…into the hand of.”

[27:18]  ⁸³² tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:18]  ⁸³³ sn Which are you, my son? Isaac’s first question shows that the deception is going to require more subterfuge than Rebekah had anticipated. Jacob will have to pull off the deceit.

[27:19]  ⁸³⁴ tn Heb “get up and sit.” This may mean simply “sit up,” or it may indicate that he was to get up from his couch and sit at a table.

[27:19]  ⁸³⁵ tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.” These words, though not reported by Rebekah to Jacob (see v. 7) accurately reflect what Isaac actually said to Esau (see v. 4). Perhaps Jacob knew more than Rebekah realized, but it is more likely that this was an idiom for sincere blessing with which Jacob was familiar. At any rate, his use of the precise wording was a nice, convincing touch.

[27:20]  ⁸³⁶ tn Heb “What is this?” The enclitic pronoun “this” adds emphasis to the question, which is comparable to the English rhetorical question, “How in the world?”

[27:20]  ⁸³⁷ tn Heb “you hastened to find.” In translation the infinitive becomes the main verb and the first verb becomes adverbial.

[27:20]  ⁸³⁸ tn Heb “caused to meet before me.”

[27:20]  ⁸³⁹ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Because the Lord your God….’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:21]  ⁸⁴⁰ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:21]  ⁸⁴¹ tn Heb “Are you this one, Esau, my son, or not?” On the use of the interrogative particle here, see BDB 210 s.v. הֲ.

[27:23]  ⁸⁴² tn Heb “and he blessed him.” The referents of the pronouns “he” (Isaac) and “him” (Jacob) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:24]  ⁸⁴³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ⁸⁴⁴ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ⁸⁴⁵ tn Heb “Bring near to me and I will eat of the wild game, my son.” Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[27:25]  ⁸⁴⁶ tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The presence of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as subject emphasizes Isaac’s heartfelt desire to do this. The conjunction indicates that the ritual meal must be first eaten before the formal blessing may be given.

[27:25]  ⁸⁴⁷ tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ⁸⁴⁸ tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ⁸⁴⁹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ⁸⁵⁰ tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ⁸⁵¹ tn Heb “see.”

[27:28]  ⁸⁵² tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”

[27:28]  ⁸⁵³ tn Heb “and from the fatness.”

[27:29]  ⁸⁵⁴ tn Heb “and be.” The verb is an imperative, which is used rhetorically in this oracle of blessing. It is an invitation to exercise authority his brothers and indicates that he is granted such authority by the patriarch of the family. Furthermore, the blessing enables the recipient to accomplish this.

[27:29]  ⁸⁵⁵ tn The Hebrew word is גְבִיר (gevir, “lord, mighty one”). The one being blessed will be stronger and therefore more powerful than his brother. See Gen 25:23. The feminine form of this rare noun means “mistress” or “queen-mother.”

[27:29]  ⁸⁵⁶ tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[27:30]  ⁸⁵⁷ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite form of the verb makes the construction emphatic.

[27:30]  ⁸⁵⁸ tn Heb “the presence of Isaac his father.” The repetition of the proper name (“Isaac”) was

[27:30]  ⁸⁵⁹ tn Heb “and Esau his brother came from his hunt.”

[27:31]  ⁸⁶⁰ tn Heb “and he said to his father”; the referent of “he” (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity, while the words “his father” have been replaced by the pronoun “him” for stylistic reasons.

[27:31]  ⁸⁶¹ tn Or “arise” (i.e., sit up).

[27:31]  ⁸⁶² tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.”

[27:32]  ⁸⁶³ tn Heb “said.”

[27:32]  ⁸⁶⁴ tn Heb “and he said, ‘I [am] your son, your firstborn.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.

[27:33]  ⁸⁶⁵ tn Heb “and Isaac trembled with a great trembling to excess.” The verb “trembled” is joined with a cognate accusative, which is modified by an adjective “great,” and a prepositional phrase “to excess.” All of this is emphatic, showing the violence of Isaac’s reaction to the news.

[27:33]  ⁸⁶⁶ tn Heb “Who then is he who hunted game and brought [it] to me so that I ate from all before you arrived and blessed him?”

[27:34]  ⁸⁶⁷ tn The temporal clause is introduced with the temporal indicator and has the infinitive as its verb.

[27:34]  ⁸⁶⁸ tn Heb “and he yelled [with] a great and bitter yell to excess.”

[27:35]  ⁸⁶⁹ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:35]  ⁸⁷⁰ tn Or “took”; “received.”

[27:36]  ⁸⁷¹ tn Heb “Is he not rightly named Jacob?” The rhetorical question, since it expects a positive reply, has been translated as a declarative statement.

[27:36]  ⁸⁷² sn He has tripped me up. When originally given, the name Jacob was a play on the word “heel” (see Gen 25:26). The name (since it is a verb) probably means something like “may he protect,” that is, as a rearguard, dogging the heels. This name was probably chosen because of the immediate association with the incident of grabbing the heel. Esau gives the name “Jacob” a negative connotation here, the meaning “to trip up; to supplant.”

[27:38]  ⁸⁷³ tn Heb “Bless me, me also, my father.” The words “my father” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:38]  ⁸⁷⁴ tn Heb “and Esau lifted his voice and wept.”

[27:39]  ⁸⁷⁵ tn Heb “look.”

[27:39]  ⁸⁷⁶ tn Heb “from the fatness.”

[27:40]  ⁸⁷⁷ sn You will tear off his yoke from your neck. It may be that this prophetic blessing found its fulfillment when Jerusalem fell and Edom got its revenge. The oracle makes Edom subservient to Israel and suggests the Edomites would live away from the best land and be forced to sustain themselves by violent measures.

[27:41]  ⁸⁷⁸ tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.

[27:41]  ⁸⁷⁹ tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”

[27:41]  ⁸⁸⁰ tn Heb “said in his heart.” The expression may mean “said to himself.” Even if this is the case, v. 42 makes it clear that he must have shared his intentions with someone, because the news reached Rebekah.

[27:41]  ⁸⁸¹ tn Heb “days.”

[27:41]  ⁸⁸² tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.

[27:42]  ⁸⁸³ tn Heb “and the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah.”

[27:42]  ⁸⁸⁴ tn Heb “she sent and called for.”

[27:42]  ⁸⁸⁵ tn Heb “is consoling himself with respect to you to kill you.” The only way Esau had of dealing with his anger at the moment was to plan to kill his brother after the death of Isaac.

[27:43]  ⁸⁸⁶ tn Heb “listen to my voice.”

[27:43]  ⁸⁸⁷ tn Heb “arise, flee.”

[27:44]  ⁸⁸⁸ 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.

[27:45]  ⁸⁸⁹ tn The words “stay there” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:45]  ⁸⁹⁰ 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.

[27:45]  ⁸⁹¹ tn If Jacob stayed, he would be killed and Esau would be forced to run away.

[27:46]  ⁸⁹² tn Heb “loathe my life.” The Hebrew verb translated “loathe” refers to strong disgust (see Lev 20:23).

[27:46]  ⁸⁹³ tn Some translate the Hebrew term “Heth” as “Hittites” here (see also Gen 23:3), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., “Hittites,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.

[27:46]  ⁸⁹⁴ tn Heb “If Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, why to me life?”

[28:1]  ⁸⁹⁵ tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”

[28:2]  ⁸⁹⁶ tn Heb “Arise! Go!” The first of the two imperatives is adverbial and stresses the immediacy of the departure.

[28:3]  ⁸⁹⁷ tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.

[28:3]  ⁸⁹⁸ tn Heb “and make you fruitful and multiply you.” See Gen 17:6, 20 for similar terminology.

[28:3]  ⁸⁹⁹ tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here indicates consequence. The collocation הָיָה + preposition לְ (hayah + lÿ) means “become.”

[28:3]  ⁹⁰⁰ tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”

[28:4]  ⁹⁰¹ tn Heb “and may he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you.” The name “Abraham” is an objective genitive here; this refers to the blessing that God gave to Abraham.

[28:4]  ⁹⁰² tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[28:4]  ⁹⁰³ tn Heb “the land of your sojournings,” that is, the land where Jacob had been living as a resident alien, as his future descendants would after him.

[28:6]  ⁹⁰⁴ tn Heb “to take for himself from there a wife.”

[28:6]  ⁹⁰⁵ tn The infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffix form a temporal clause.

[28:6]  ⁹⁰⁶ tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”

[28:8]  ⁹⁰⁷ tn Heb “saw.”

[28:8]  ⁹⁰⁸ tn Heb “the daughters of Canaan.”

[28:8]  ⁹⁰⁹ tn Heb “evil in the eyes of.”

[28:9]  ⁹¹⁰ tn Heb “took for a wife.”

[28:11]  ⁹¹¹ tn Heb “the place.” The article may indicate simply that the place is definite in the mind of the narrator. However, as the story unfolds the place is transformed into a holy place. See A. P. Ross, “Jacob’s Vision: The Founding of Bethel,” BSac 142 (1985): 224-37.

[28:11]  ⁹¹² tn Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.”

[28:11]  ⁹¹³ tn Heb “he took from the stones of the place,” which here means Jacob took one of the stones (see v. 18).

[28:11]  ⁹¹⁴ tn Heb “and he put [it at] the place of his head.” The text does not actually say the stone was placed under his head to serve as a pillow, although most interpreters and translators assume this. It is possible the stone served some other purpose. Jacob does not seem to have been a committed monotheist yet (see v. 20-21) so he may have believed it contained some spiritual power. Note that later in the story he anticipates the stone becoming the residence of God (see v. 22). Many cultures throughout the world view certain types of stones as magical and/or sacred. See J. G. Fraser, Folklore in the Old Testament, 231-37.

[28:11]  ⁹¹⁵ tn Heb “lay down.”

[28:12]  ⁹¹⁶ tn Heb “and dreamed.”

[28:12]  ⁹¹⁷ tn Heb “and look.” The scene which Jacob witnessed is described in three clauses introduced with הִנֵּה (hinneh). In this way the narrator invites the reader to witness the scene through Jacob’s eyes. J. P. Fokkelman points out that the particle goes with a lifted arm and an open mouth: “There, a ladder! Oh, angels! and look, the Lord himself” (Narrative Art in Genesis [SSN], 51-52).

[28:12]  ⁹¹⁸ tn The Hebrew noun סֻלָּם (sullam, “ladder, stairway”) occurs only here in the OT, but there appears to be an Akkadian cognate simmiltu (with metathesis of the second and third consonants and a feminine ending) which has a specialized meaning of “stairway, ramp.” See H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 34. For further discussion see C. Houtman, “What Did Jacob See in His Dream at Bethel? Some Remarks on Genesis 28:10-22,” VT 27 (1977): 337-52; J. G. Griffiths, “The Celestial Ladder and the Gate of Heaven,” ExpTim 76 (1964/65): 229-30; and A. R. Millard, “The Celestial Ladder and the Gate of Heaven,” ExpTim 78 (1966/67): 86-87.

[28:13]  ⁹¹⁹ 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.

[28:13]  ⁹²⁰ 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.

[28:14]  ⁹²¹ tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.

[28:14]  ⁹²² tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.

[28:14]  ⁹²³ 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.

[28:14]  ⁹²⁴ tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”

[28:15]  ⁹²⁵ 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).

[28:16]  ⁹²⁶ tn Heb “woke up from his sleep.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[28:16]  ⁹²⁷ tn Heb “said.”

[28:18]  ⁹²⁸ tn Heb “and he got up early…and he took.”

[28:18]  ⁹²⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:18]  ⁹³⁰ tn See the note on this phrase in v. 11.

[28:18]  ⁹³¹ tn Heb “standing stone.”

[28:19]  ⁹³² tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew (see v. 17).

[28:20]  ⁹³³ tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.

[28:21]  ⁹³⁴ tn Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.”

[28:22]  ⁹³⁵ tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.

[28:22]  ⁹³⁶ tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.

[28:22]  ⁹³⁷ tn Heb “and all which you give to me I will surely give a tenth of it to you.” The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/object) highlights this statement as well.

[29:1]  ⁹³⁸ 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.

[29:1]  ⁹³⁹ tn Heb “the land of the sons of the east.”

[29:2]  ⁹⁴⁰ tn Heb “and he saw, and look.” As in Gen 28:12-15, the narrator uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here and in the next clause to draw the reader into the story.

[29:2]  ⁹⁴¹ tn Heb “and look, there.”

[29:2]  ⁹⁴² tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the noun with the prefixed conjunction) provides supplemental information that is important to the story.

[29:3]  ⁹⁴³ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the shepherds) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:5]  ⁹⁴⁴ tn Heb “son.”

[29:5]  ⁹⁴⁵ tn Heb “and they said, ‘We know.’” The word “him” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the translation several introductory clauses throughout this section have been placed after the direct discourse they introduce for stylistic reasons as well.

[29:6]  ⁹⁴⁶ tn Heb “and he said to them, ‘Is there peace to him?’”

[29:6]  ⁹⁴⁷ tn Heb “peace.”

[29:7]  ⁹⁴⁸ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:7]  ⁹⁴⁹ tn Heb “the day is great.”

[29:7]  ⁹⁵⁰ tn Heb “water the sheep and go and pasture [them].” The verbal forms are imperatives, but Jacob would hardly be giving direct orders to someone else’s shepherds. The nuance here is probably one of advice.

[29:8]  ⁹⁵¹ tn The perfect verbal forms with the vav (ו) consecutive carry on the sequence begun by the initial imperfect form.

[29:9]  ⁹⁵² tn Heb “was a shepherdess.”

[29:10]  ⁹⁵³ tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother” (twice in this verse).

[29:10]  ⁹⁵⁴ tn Heb “Jacob.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[29:10]  ⁹⁵⁵ tn Heb “drew near, approached.”

[29:10]  ⁹⁵⁶ tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother.” The text says nothing initially about the beauty of Rachel. But the reader is struck by the repetition of “Laban the brother of his mother.” G. J. Wenham is no doubt correct when he observes that Jacob’s primary motive at this stage is to ingratiate himself with Laban (Genesis [WBC], 2:231).

[29:11]  ⁹⁵⁷ tn Heb “and he lifted up his voice and wept.” The idiom calls deliberate attention to the fact that Jacob wept out loud.

[29:12]  ⁹⁵⁸ tn Heb “declared.”

[29:12]  ⁹⁵⁹ tn Heb “that he [was] the brother of her father.”

[29:13]  ⁹⁶⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:13]  ⁹⁶¹ tn Heb “and he told to Laban all these things.” This might mean Jacob told Laban how he happened to be there, but Laban’s response (see v. 14) suggests “all these things” refers to what Jacob had previously told Rachel (see v. 12).

[29:14]  ⁹⁶² tn Heb “indeed, my bone and my flesh are you.” The expression sounds warm enough, but the presence of “indeed” may suggest that Laban had to be convinced of Jacob’s identity before permitting him to stay. To be one’s “bone and flesh” is to be someone’s blood relative. For example, the phrase describes the relationship between Abimelech and the Shechemites (Judg 9:2; his mother was a Shechemite); David and the Israelites (2 Sam 5:1); David and the elders of Judah (2 Sam 19:12,); and David and his nephew Amasa (2 Sam 19:13, see 2 Sam 17:2; 1 Chr 2:16-17).

[29:14]  ⁹⁶³ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:14]  ⁹⁶⁴ tn Heb “a month of days.”

[29:15]  ⁹⁶⁵ tn The verb is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; the nuance in the question is deliberative.

[29:15]  ⁹⁶⁶ tn Heb “my brother.” The term “brother” is used in a loose sense; actually Jacob was Laban’s nephew.

[29:16]  ⁹⁶⁷ tn Heb “and to Laban [there were] two daughters.” The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a conjunction and a prepositional phrase) provides supplemental material that is important to the story. Since this material is parenthetical in nature, vv. 16-17 have been set in parentheses in the translation.

[29:17]  ⁹⁶⁸ tn Heb “and the eyes of Leah were tender.” The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a conjunction and a noun) continues the parenthesis begun in v. 16. It is not clear what is meant by “tender” (or “delicate”) eyes. The expression may mean she had appealing eyes (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT), though some suggest that they were plain, not having the brightness normally expected. Either way, she did not measure up to her gorgeous sister.

[29:17]  ⁹⁶⁹ tn Heb “and Rachel was beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance.”

[29:18]  ⁹⁷⁰ tn Heb “Jacob loved.”

[29:19]  ⁹⁷¹ tn Heb “Better my giving her to you than my giving her to another man.”

[29:20]  ⁹⁷² tn Heb “in exchange for Rachel.”

[29:20]  ⁹⁷³ sn But they seemed like only a few days to him. This need not mean that the time passed quickly. More likely it means that the price seemed insignificant when compared to what he was getting in the bargain.

[29:20]  ⁹⁷⁴ tn Heb “because of his love for her.” The words “was so great” are supplied for stylistic reasons.

[29:21]  ⁹⁷⁵ tn Heb “and Jacob said.”

[29:21]  ⁹⁷⁶ tn Heb “my days are fulfilled.”

[29:21]  ⁹⁷⁷ tn Heb “and I will go in to her.” The verb is a cohortative; it may be subordinated to the preceding request, “that I may go in,” or it may be an independent clause expressing his desire. The verb “go in” in this context refers to sexual intercourse (i.e., the consummation of the marriage).

[29:22]  ⁹⁷⁸ tn Heb “men.”

[29:23]  ⁹⁷⁹ tn Heb “and it happened in the evening that he took Leah his daughter and brought her.”

[29:23]  ⁹⁸⁰ tn Heb “to him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:23]  ⁹⁸¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:23]  ⁹⁸² tn Heb “went in to her.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse, i.e., the consummation of the marriage.

[29:24]  ⁹⁸³ tn Heb “and Laban gave to her Zilpah his female servant, to Leah his daughter [for] a servant.” This clause gives information parenthetical to the narrative.

[29:25]  ⁹⁸⁴ tn Heb “and it happened in the morning that look, it was Leah.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes.

[29:25]  ⁹⁸⁵ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:25]  ⁹⁸⁶ tn Heb What is this you have done to me?” The use of the pronoun “this” is enclitic, adding emphasis to the question: “What in the world have you done to me?”

[29:25]  ⁹⁸⁷ sn The Hebrew verb translated tricked here (רָמָה, ramah) is cognate to the noun used in Gen 27:35 to describe Jacob’s deception of Esau. Jacob is discovering that what goes around, comes around. See J. A. Diamond, “The Deception of Jacob: A New Perspective on an Ancient Solution to the Problem,” VT 34 (1984): 211-13.

[29:26]  ⁹⁸⁸ tn Heb “and Laban said, ‘It is not done so in our place.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[29:26]  ⁹⁸⁹ tn Heb “to give the younger.” The words “daughter” and “in marriage” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[29:27]  ⁹⁹⁰ tn Heb “fulfill the period of seven of this one.” The referent of “this one” has been specified in the translation as “my older daughter” for clarity.

[29:27]  ⁹⁹¹ tn Heb “this other one.”

[29:27]  ⁹⁹² tn Heb “and we will give to you also this one in exchange for labor which you will work with me, still seven other years.”

[29:28]  ⁹⁹³ tn Heb “and Jacob did so.” The words “as Laban said” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[29:28]  ⁹⁹⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:28]  ⁹⁹⁵ tn Heb “the seven of this one.” The referent of “this one” has been specified in the translation as Leah to avoid confusion with Rachel, mentioned later in the verse.

[29:28]  ⁹⁹⁶ tn Heb “and he gave to him Rachel his daughter for him for a wife.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:29]  ⁹⁹⁷ tn Heb “and Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his female servant, for her for a servant.”

[29:30]  ⁹⁹⁸ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:30]  ⁹⁹⁹ tn Heb “went in also to Rachel.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse, i.e., the consummation of the marriage.

[29:30]  ¹⁰⁰⁰ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:30]  ¹⁰⁰¹ tn Heb “and he loved also Rachel, more than Leah, and he served with him still seven other years.”

[29:31]  ¹⁰⁰² tn Heb “hated.” The rhetorical device of overstatement is used (note v. 30, which says simply that Jacob loved Rachel more than he did Leah) to emphasize that Rachel, as Jacob’s true love and the primary object of his affections, had an advantage over Leah.

[29:31]  ¹⁰⁰³ tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”

[29:32]  ¹⁰⁰⁴ tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).

[29:32]  ¹⁰⁰⁵ sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”

[29:32]  ¹⁰⁰⁶ tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”

[29:33]  ¹⁰⁰⁷ tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.

[29:33]  ¹⁰⁰⁸ sn The name Simeon (שִׁמְעוֹן, shim’on) is derived from the verbal root שָׁמַע (shama’) and means “hearing.” The name is appropriate since it is reminder that the Lord “heard” about Leah’s unloved condition and responded with pity.

[29:34]  ¹⁰⁰⁹ tn Heb “will be joined to me.”

[29:34]  ¹⁰¹⁰ sn The name Levi (לֵוִי, levi), the precise meaning of which is debated, was appropriate because it sounds like the verb לָוָה (lavah, “to join”), used in the statement recorded earlier in the verse.

[29:35]  ¹⁰¹¹ sn The name Judah (יְהוּדָה, yÿhudah) means “he will be praised” and reflects the sentiment Leah expresses in the statement recorded earlier in the verse. For further discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names ‘Israel’ and ‘Judah’ with an Excursus on the Etymology of Todah and Torah,” JBL 46 (1927): 151-85; and A. R. Millard, “The Meaning of the Name Judah,” ZAW 86 (1974): 216-18.

[30:1]  ¹⁰¹² tn Heb “Rachel.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:1]  ¹⁰¹³ tn Heb “sons.”

[30:2]  ¹⁰¹⁴ tn Heb “and the anger of Jacob was hot.”

[30:2]  ¹⁰¹⁵ tn Heb “who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb.”

[30:3]  ¹⁰¹⁶ tn Heb “go in to.” The expression “go in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.

[30:3]  ¹⁰¹⁷ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates the immediate purpose of the proposed activity.

[30:3]  ¹⁰¹⁸ tn The word “children” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:3]  ¹⁰¹⁹ tn Heb “upon my knees.” This is an idiomatic way of saying that Bilhah will be simply a surrogate mother. Rachel will adopt the child as her own.

[30:3]  ¹⁰²⁰ tn Heb “and I will be built up, even I, from her.” The prefixed verbal form with the conjunction is subordinated to the preceding prefixed verbal form and gives the ultimate purpose for the proposed action. The idiom of “built up” here refers to having a family (see Gen 16:2, as well as Ruth 4:11 and BDB 125 s.v. בָנָה).

[30:4]  ¹⁰²¹ tn Heb “and she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:4]  ¹⁰²² tn Heb “went in to.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.

[30:5]  ¹⁰²³ tn Or “Bilhah conceived” (also in v. 7).

[30:5]  ¹⁰²⁴ tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a son.”

[30:6]  ¹⁰²⁵ tn Heb “and also he has heard my voice.” The expression means that God responded positively to Rachel’s cry and granted her request.

[30:6]  ¹⁰²⁶ tn Or “therefore.”

[30:6]  ¹⁰²⁷ sn The name Dan means “he vindicated” or “he judged.” The name plays on the verb used in the statement which appears earlier in the verse. The verb translated “vindicated” is from דִּין (din, “to judge, to vindicate”), the same verbal root from which the name is derived. Rachel sensed that God was righting the wrong.

[30:7]  ¹⁰²⁸ tn Heb “and she became pregnant again and Bilhah, the servant of Rachel, bore a second son for Jacob.”

[30:8]  ¹⁰²⁹ tn Heb “[with] a mighty struggle I have struggled with my sister, also I have prevailed.” The phrase “mighty struggle” reads literally “struggles of God.” The plural participle “struggles” reflects the ongoing nature of the struggle, while the divine name is used here idiomatically to emphasize the intensity of the struggle. See J. Skinner, Genesis (ICC), 387.

[30:8]  ¹⁰³⁰ sn The name Naphtali (נַפְתָּלִי, naftali) must mean something like “my struggle” in view of the statement Rachel made in the preceding clause. The name plays on this earlier statement, “[with] a mighty struggle I have struggled with my sister.”

[30:9]  ¹⁰³¹ tn Heb “she took her servant Zilpah and gave her.” The verbs “took” and “gave” are treated as a hendiadys in the translation: “she gave.”

[30:10]  ¹⁰³² tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore for Jacob a son.”

[30:11]  ¹⁰³³ tc The statement in the Kethib (consonantal text) appears to mean literally “with good fortune,” if one takes the initial בְּ (bet) as a preposition indicating accompaniment. The Qere (marginal reading) means “good fortune has arrived.”

[30:11]  ¹⁰³⁴ sn The name Gad (גָּד, gad) means “good fortune.” The name reflects Leah’s feeling that good fortune has come her way, as expressed in her statement recorded earlier in the verse.

[30:12]  ¹⁰³⁵ tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore a second son for Jacob.”

[30:13]  ¹⁰³⁶ tn The Hebrew statement apparently means “with my happiness.”

[30:13]  ¹⁰³⁷ tn Heb “daughters.”

[30:13]  ¹⁰³⁸ sn The name Asher (אָשֶׁר, ’asher) apparently means “happy one.” The name plays on the words used in the statement which appears earlier in the verse. Both the Hebrew noun and verb translated “happy” and “call me happy,” respectively, are derived from the same root as the name Asher.

[30:14]  ¹⁰³⁹ tn Heb “during the days.”

[30:14]  ¹⁰⁴⁰ sn Mandrake plants were popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac in the culture of the time.

[30:15]  ¹⁰⁴¹ tn Heb “and she said to her”; the referent of the pronoun “she” (Leah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:15]  ¹⁰⁴² tn Heb “therefore.”

[30:15]  ¹⁰⁴³ tn Heb “lie down.” The expression “lie down with” in this context (here and in the following verse) refers to sexual intercourse. The imperfect verbal form has a permissive nuance here.

[30:16]  ¹⁰⁴⁴ tn Heb “must come in to me.” The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. She has acquired him for the night and feels he is obligated to have sexual relations with her.

[30:16]  ¹⁰⁴⁵ tn Heb “I have surely hired.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form for emphasis. The name Issachar (see v. 18) seems to be related to this expression.

[30:16]  ¹⁰⁴⁶ tn This is the same Hebrew verb (שָׁכַב, shakhav) translated “sleep with” in v. 15. In direct discourse the more euphemistic “sleep with” was used, but here in the narrative “marital relations” reflects more clearly the emphasis on sexual intercourse.

[30:17]  ¹⁰⁴⁷ tn Heb “listened to.”

[30:17]  ¹⁰⁴⁸ tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 19).

[30:17]  ¹⁰⁴⁹ tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a fifth son,” i.e., this was the fifth son that Leah had given Jacob.

[30:18]  ¹⁰⁵⁰ tn Heb “God has given my reward.”

[30:18]  ¹⁰⁵¹ tn The words “as a wife” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity (cf. v. 9).

[30:18]  ¹⁰⁵² sn The name Issachar (יְשָּׁשכָר, yishakhar) appears to mean “man of reward” or possibly “there is reward.” The name plays on the word used in the statement made earlier in the verse. The Hebrew noun translated “reward” is derived from the same root as the name Issachar. The irony is that Rachel thought the mandrakes would work for her, and she was willing to trade one night for them. But in that one night Leah became pregnant.

[30:19]  ¹⁰⁵³ tn Heb “and she bore a sixth son for Jacob,” i.e., this was the sixth son that Leah had given Jacob.

[30:20]  ¹⁰⁵⁴ sn The name Zebulun (זְבֻלוּן, zevulun) apparently means “honor.” The name plays on the verb used in the statement made earlier in the verse. The Hebrew verb translated “will honor” and the name Zebulun derive from the same root.

[30:22]  ¹⁰⁵⁵ tn Heb “remembered.”

[30:22]  ¹⁰⁵⁶ tn Heb “and God listened to her and opened up her womb.” Since “God” is the subject of the previous clause, the noun has been replaced by the pronoun “he” in the translation for stylistic reasons

[30:23]  ¹⁰⁵⁷ tn Or “conceived.”

[30:23]  ¹⁰⁵⁸ tn Heb “my reproach.” A “reproach” is a cutting taunt or painful ridicule, but here it probably refers by metonymy to Rachel’s barren condition, which was considered shameful in this culture and was the reason why she was the object of taunting and ridicule.

[30:24]  ¹⁰⁵⁹ sn The name Joseph (יוֹסֵף, yoseph) means “may he add.” The name expresses Rachel’s desire to have an additional son. In Hebrew the name sounds like the verb (אָסַף,’asasf) translated “taken away” in the earlier statement made in v. 23. So the name, while reflecting Rachel’s hope, was also a reminder that God had removed her shame.

[30:25]  ¹⁰⁶⁰ tn The perfect verbal form is translated as a past perfect because Rachel’s giving birth to Joseph preceded Jacob’s conversation with Laban.

[30:25]  ¹⁰⁶¹ tn The imperatival form here expresses a request.

[30:25]  ¹⁰⁶² tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[30:25]  ¹⁰⁶³ tn Heb “to my place and to my land.”

[30:26]  ¹⁰⁶⁴ tn Heb “give my wives and my children, for whom I have served you.” In one sense Laban had already “given” Jacob his two daughters as wives (Gen 29:21, 28). Here Jacob was asking for permission to take his own family along with him on the journey back to Canaan.

[30:26]  ¹⁰⁶⁵ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[30:26]  ¹⁰⁶⁶ tn Heb “for you, you know my service [with] which I have served you.”

[30:27]  ¹⁰⁶⁷ tn The words “please stay here” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[30:27]  ¹⁰⁶⁸ tn Or perhaps “I have grown rich and the Lord has blessed me” (cf. NEB). See J. Finkelstein, “An Old Babylonian Herding Contract and Genesis 31:38f.,” JAOS 88 (1968): 34, n. 19.

[30:28]  ¹⁰⁶⁹ tn Heb “set your wage for me so I may give [it].”

[30:29]  ¹⁰⁷⁰ tn Heb “and he said to him, ‘You know how I have served you.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons, and the referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:29]  ¹⁰⁷¹ tn Heb “and how your cattle were with me.”

[30:30]  ¹⁰⁷² tn Or “for.”

[30:30]  ¹⁰⁷³ tn Heb “before me.”

[30:30]  ¹⁰⁷⁴ tn Heb “and it has broken out with respect to abundance.”

[30:30]  ¹⁰⁷⁵ tn Heb “at my foot.”

[30:30]  ¹⁰⁷⁶ tn Heb “How long [until] I do, also I, for my house?”

[30:31]  ¹⁰⁷⁷ tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:31]  ¹⁰⁷⁸ tn The negated imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance.

[30:31]  ¹⁰⁷⁹ tn The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:31]  ¹⁰⁸⁰ tn Heb “If you do for me this thing.”

[30:31]  ¹⁰⁸¹ tn Heb “I will return, I will tend,” an idiom meaning “I will continue tending.”

[30:32]  ¹⁰⁸² tn Heb “pass through.”

[30:32]  ¹⁰⁸³ tn Or “every black lamb”; Heb “and every dark sheep among the lambs.”

[30:32]  ¹⁰⁸⁴ tn Heb “and the spotted and speckled among the goats.”

[30:32]  ¹⁰⁸⁵ tn Heb “and it will be my wage.” The referent collective singular pronoun (“it) has been specified as “these animals” in the translation for clarity.

[30:33]  ¹⁰⁸⁶ tn Heb “will answer on my behalf.”

[30:33]  ¹⁰⁸⁷ tn Heb “on the following day,” or “tomorrow.”

[30:33]  ¹⁰⁸⁸ tn Heb “when you come concerning my wage before you.”

[30:33]  ¹⁰⁸⁹ tn Heb “every one which is not speckled and spotted among the lambs and dark among the goats, stolen it is with me.”

[30:34]  ¹⁰⁹⁰ tn Heb “and Laban said, ‘Good, let it be according to your word.’” On the asseverative use of the particle לוּ (lu) here, see HALOT 521 s.v. לוּ.

[30:35]  ¹⁰⁹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:35]  ¹⁰⁹² tn Heb “and he gave [them] into the hand.”

[30:36]  ¹⁰⁹³ tn Heb “and he put a journey of three days between himself and Jacob.”

[30:36]  ¹⁰⁹⁴ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the vav with subject) is circumstantial/temporal; Laban removed the animals while Jacob was taking care of the rest.

[30:38]  ¹⁰⁹⁵ sn He put the branches in front of the flocks…when they came to drink. It was generally believed that placing such “visual aids” before the animals as they were mating, it was possible to influence the appearance of their offspring. E. A. Speiser notes that “Jacob finds a way to outwit his father-in-law, through prenatal conditioning of the flock by visual aids – in conformance with universal folk beliefs” (Genesis [AB], 238). Nevertheless, in spite of Jacob’s efforts at animal husbandry, he still attributes the resulting success to God (see 31:5).

[30:39]  ¹⁰⁹⁶ tn The Hebrew verb used here can mean “to be in heat” (see v. 38) or “to mate; to conceive; to become pregnant.” The latter nuance makes better sense in this verse, for the next clause describes them giving birth.

[30:39]  ¹⁰⁹⁷ tn Heb “the sheep.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“they”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:40]  ¹⁰⁹⁸ tn Heb “and he set the faces of.”

[30:41]  ¹⁰⁹⁹ tn Heb “and at every breeding-heat of the flock.”

[30:42]  ¹¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “he did not put [them] in.” The referent of the [understood] direct object, “them,” has been specified as “the branches” in the translation for clarity.

[30:42]  ¹¹⁰¹ tn Heb “were for Laban.”

[30:43]  ¹¹⁰² tn Heb “the man”; Jacob’s name has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[30:43]  ¹¹⁰³ tn Heb “and there were to him.”

[31:1]  ¹¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “and he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying.”

[31:1]  ¹¹⁰⁵ sn The Hebrew word translated “gotten rich” (כָּבוֹד, cavod) has the basic idea of “weight.” If one is heavy with possessions, then that one is wealthy (13:2). Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph all became wealthy when they left the promised land. Jacob’s wealth foreshadows what will happen to Israel when they leave the land of Egypt (Exod 12:35-38).

[31:1]  ¹¹⁰⁶ tn Heb “and from that which belonged to our father he has gained all this wealth.”

[31:2]  ¹¹⁰⁷ tn Heb “and Jacob saw the face of Laban, and look, he was not with him as formerly.” Jacob knew from the expression on Laban’s face that his attitude toward him had changed – Jacob had become persona non grata.

[31:3]  ¹¹⁰⁸ tn Or perhaps “ancestors” (so NRSV), although the only “ancestors” Jacob had there were his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac.

[31:3]  ¹¹⁰⁹ sn I will be with you. Though Laban was no longer “with him,” the Lord promised to be.

[31:4]  ¹¹¹⁰ tn Heb “sent and called for Rachel and for Leah.” Jacob did not go in person, but probably sent a servant with a message for his wives to meet him in the field.

[31:4]  ¹¹¹¹ tn Heb “the field.” The word is an adverbial accusative, indicating that this is where Jacob wanted them to meet him. The words “to come to” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.

[31:4]  ¹¹¹² tn Heb “to his flock.”

[31:5]  ¹¹¹³ tn Heb “I see the face of your father, that he is not toward me as formerly.”

[31:6]  ¹¹¹⁴ tn Heb “with all my strength.”

[31:7]  ¹¹¹⁵ tn This rare verb means “to make a fool of” someone. It involves deceiving someone so that their public reputation suffers (see Exod 8:25).

[31:8]  ¹¹¹⁶ tn In the protasis (“if” section) of this conditional clause, the imperfect verbal form has a customary nuance – whatever he would say worked to Jacob’s benefit.

[31:8]  ¹¹¹⁷ tn Heb “speckled” (twice this verse). The word “animals” (after the first occurrence of “speckled”) and “offspring” (after the second) have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. The same two terms (“animals” and “offspring”) have been supplied after the two occurrences of “streaked” later in this verse.

[31:10]  ¹¹¹⁸ tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator, “and it happened at the time of.”

[31:10]  ¹¹¹⁹ tn Heb “in the time of the breeding of the flock I lifted up my eyes and I saw.”

[31:10]  ¹¹²⁰ tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.

[31:12]  ¹¹²¹ tn Heb “lift up (now) your eyes and see.”

[31:12]  ¹¹²² tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.

[31:13]  ¹¹²³ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[31:13]  ¹¹²⁴ 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 Lord as an anointing. Jacob had consecrated the place.

[31:13]  ¹¹²⁵ sn And made a vow to me. The second clause reminds Jacob of the vow he made to the Lord when he anointed the stone (Gen 28:20-22). God is now going to take him back to the land, and so he will have to fulfill his vow.

[31:13]  ¹¹²⁶ tn Heb “arise, leave!” The first imperative draws attention to the need for immediate action.

[31:14]  ¹¹²⁷ tn The two nouns may form a hendiadys, meaning “a share in the inheritance” or “a portion to inherit.”

[31:15]  ¹¹²⁸ tn Heb “and he devoured, even devouring.” The infinitive absolute (following the finite verb here) is used for emphasis.

[31:15]  ¹¹²⁹ tn Heb “our money.” The word “money” is used figuratively here; it means the price paid for Leah and Rachel. A literal translation (“our money”) makes it sound as if Laban wasted money that belonged to Rachel and Leah, rather than the money paid for them.

[31:17]  ¹¹³⁰ tn Heb “and Jacob arose and he lifted up his sons and his wives on to the camels.”

[31:18]  ¹¹³¹ tn Heb “drove,” but this is subject to misunderstanding in contemporary English.

[31:18]  ¹¹³² tn Heb “and he led away all his cattle and all his moveable property which he acquired, the cattle he obtained, which he acquired in Paddan Aram to go to Isaac his father to the land of Canaan.”

[31:19]  ¹¹³³ 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.

[31:19]  ¹¹³⁴ 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.

[31:20]  ¹¹³⁵ tn Heb “stole the heart of,” an expression which apparently means “to deceive.” The repetition of the verb “to steal” shows that Jacob and Rachel are kindred spirits. Any thought that Laban would have resigned himself to their departure was now out of the question.

[31:20]  ¹¹³⁶ tn Heb “fleeing,” which reflects Jacob’s viewpoint.

[31:21]  ¹¹³⁷ tn Heb “and he fled.”

[31:21]  ¹¹³⁸ tn Heb “he arose and crossed.” The first verb emphasizes that he wasted no time in getting across.

[31:21]  ¹¹³⁹ tn Heb “the river”; the referent (the Euphrates) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[31:21]  ¹¹⁴⁰ tn Heb “he set his face.”

[31:22]  ¹¹⁴¹ tn Heb “and it was told to Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled.”

[31:23]  ¹¹⁴² tn Heb “his brothers.”

[31:23]  ¹¹⁴³ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[31:23]  ¹¹⁴⁴ tn Heb “and he pursued after him a journey of seven days.”

[31:23]  ¹¹⁴⁵ tn Heb “drew close to.”

[31:24]  ¹¹⁴⁶ tn Heb “said to him.”

[31:24]  ¹¹⁴⁷ tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.

[31:24]  ¹¹⁴⁸ tn Heb “lest you speak with Jacob from good to evil.” The precise meaning of the expression, which occurs only here and in v. 29, is uncertain. Since Laban proceeded to speak to Jacob at length, it cannot mean to maintain silence. Nor does it seem to be a prohibition against criticism (see vv. 26-30). Most likely it refers to a formal pronouncement, whether it be a blessing or a curse. Laban was to avoid saying anything to Jacob that would be intended to enhance him or to harm him.

[31:25]  ¹¹⁴⁹ tn Heb “and Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban pitched with his brothers in the hill country of Gilead.” The juxtaposition of disjunctive clauses (note the pattern conjunction + subject + verb in both clauses) indicates synchronism of action.

[31:26]  ¹¹⁵⁰ tn Heb “and you have stolen my heart.” This expression apparently means “to deceive” (see v. 20).

[31:26]  ¹¹⁵¹ tn Heb “and you have led away my daughters like captives of a sword.”

[31:27]  ¹¹⁵² tn Heb “Why did you hide in order to flee?” The verb “hide” and the infinitive “to flee” form a hendiadys, the infinitive becoming the main verb and the other the adverb: “flee secretly.”

[31:27]  ¹¹⁵³ tn Heb “and steal me.”

[31:27]  ¹¹⁵⁴ tn Heb “And [why did] you not tell me so I could send you off with joy and with songs, with a tambourine and with a harp?”

[31:28]  ¹¹⁵⁵ tn Heb “my sons and my daughters.” Here “sons” refers to “grandsons,” and has been translated “grandchildren” since at least one granddaughter, Dinah, was involved. The order has been reversed in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:29]  ¹¹⁵⁶ tn Heb “there is to my hand.”

[31:29]  ¹¹⁵⁷ tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.

[31:29]  ¹¹⁵⁸ tn Heb “from speaking with Jacob from good to evil.” The precise meaning of the expression, which occurs only here and in v. 24, is uncertain. See the note on the same phrase in v. 24.

[31:30]  ¹¹⁵⁹ tn Heb “and now.” The words “I understand that” have been supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[31:30]  ¹¹⁶⁰ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the certainty of the action.

[31:30]  ¹¹⁶¹ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of emotion involved.

[31:30]  ¹¹⁶² 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.

[31:31]  ¹¹⁶³ tn Heb “and Jacob answered and said to Laban, ‘Because I was afraid.’” This statement is a not a response to the question about Laban’s household gods that immediately precedes, but to the earlier question about Jacob’s motivation for leaving so quickly and secretly (see v. 27). For this reason the words “I left secretly” are supplied in the translation to indicate the connection to Laban’s earlier question in v. 27. Additionally the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse have been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:31]  ¹¹⁶⁴ tn Heb “for I said.”

[31:31]  ¹¹⁶⁵ tn Heb “lest you steal your daughters from with me.”

[31:32]  ¹¹⁶⁶ tn Heb “With whomever you find your gods, he will not live.”

[31:32]  ¹¹⁶⁷ tn Heb “brothers.”

[31:32]  ¹¹⁶⁸ tn Heb “recognize for yourself what is with me and take for yourself.”

[31:32]  ¹¹⁶⁹ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides supplemental material that is important to the story. Since this material is parenthetical in nature, it has been placed in parentheses in the translation.

[31:33]  ¹¹⁷⁰ tn No direct object is specified for the verb “find” in the Hebrew text. The words “the idols” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[31:33]  ¹¹⁷¹ tn Heb “and he went out from the tent of Leah and went into the tent of Rachel.”

[31:34]  ¹¹⁷² tn The “camel’s saddle” was probably some sort of basket-saddle, a cushioned saddle with a basket bound on. Cf. NAB “inside a camel cushion.”

[31:34]  ¹¹⁷³ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides another parenthetical statement necessary to the storyline.

[31:34]  ¹¹⁷⁴ tn The word “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[31:35]  ¹¹⁷⁵ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[31:35]  ¹¹⁷⁶ tn Heb “let it not be hot in the eyes of my lord.” This idiom refers to anger, in this case as a result of Rachel’s failure to stand in the presence of her father as a sign of respect.

[31:35]  ¹¹⁷⁷ tn Heb “I am unable to rise.”

[31:35]  ¹¹⁷⁸ tn Heb “the way of women is to me.” This idiom refers to a woman’s menstrual period.

[31:35]  ¹¹⁷⁹ tn The word “thoroughly” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[31:36]  ¹¹⁸⁰ tn Heb “it was hot to Jacob.” This idiom refers to anger.

[31:36]  ¹¹⁸¹ tn Heb “and Jacob answered and said to Laban, ‘What is my sin?’” The proper name “Jacob” has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation and the order of the introductory clause and direct discourse rearranged for stylistic reasons.

[31:36]  ¹¹⁸² tn Heb “What is my sin that you have hotly pursued after me.” The Hebrew verb translated “pursue hotly” is used elsewhere of soldiers chasing defeated enemies (1 Sam 17:53).

[31:37]  ¹¹⁸³ tn Heb “what did you find from all the goods of your house?”

[31:37]  ¹¹⁸⁴ tn Heb “your relatives.” The word “relatives” has not been repeated in the translation here for stylistic reasons.

[31:37]  ¹¹⁸⁵ tn Heb “that they may decide between us two.”

[31:39]  ¹¹⁸⁶ tn The imperfect verbal form indicates that this was a customary or typical action.

[31:39]  ¹¹⁸⁷ tn Heb “from my hand you exacted it.” The imperfect verbal form again indicates that this was a customary or typical action. The words “for every missing animal” are supplied in the translation for clarity; the following clause in Hebrew, “stolen by day or stolen by night,” probably means “stolen by wild beasts” and refers to the same animals “torn by wild beasts” in the previous clause, although it may refer to animals stolen by people. The translation used here, “missing,” is ambiguous enough to cover either eventuality.

[31:40]  ¹¹⁸⁸ tn Or “by drought.”

[31:40]  ¹¹⁸⁹ tn Heb “frost, ice,” though when contrasted with the חֹרֶב (khorev, “drought, parching heat”) of the day, “piercing cold” is more appropriate as a contrast.

[31:40]  ¹¹⁹⁰ tn Heb “and my sleep fled from my eyes.”

[31:41]  ¹¹⁹¹ tn Heb “this to me.”

[31:41]  ¹¹⁹² tn Heb “served you,” but in this accusatory context the meaning is more “worked like a slave.”

[31:42]  ¹¹⁹³ tn Heb “the fear of Isaac,” that is, the one whom Isaac feared and respected. For further discussion of this title see M. Malul, “More on pahad yitschaq (Gen. 31:42,53) and the Oath by the Thigh,” VT 35 (1985): 192-200.

[31:42]  ¹¹⁹⁴ tn Heb “My oppression and the work of my hands God saw.”

[31:43]  ¹¹⁹⁵ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[31:43]  ¹¹⁹⁶ tn Heb “daughters.”

[31:43]  ¹¹⁹⁷ tn Heb “children.”

[31:43]  ¹¹⁹⁸ tn Heb “but to my daughters what can I do to these today?”

[31:44]  ¹¹⁹⁹ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[31:44]  ¹²⁰⁰ tn The verb הָיָה (hayah) followed by the preposition לְ (lÿ) means “become.”

[31:44]  ¹²⁰¹ tn Heb “and it will become a witness between me and you.”

[31:46]  ¹²⁰² tn Heb “Jacob”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:46]  ¹²⁰³ sn The Hebrew word for “pile” is גַּל (gal), which sounds like the name “Galeed” (גַּלְעֵד, gal’ed). See v. 48.

[31:47]  ¹²⁰⁴ sn Jegar Sahadutha. Laban the Aramean gave the place an Aramaic name which means “witness pile” or “the pile is a witness.”

[31:47]  ¹²⁰⁵ sn Galeed also means “witness pile” or “the pile is a witness,” but this name is Canaanite or Western Semitic and closer to later Hebrew. Jacob, though certainly capable of speaking Aramaic, here prefers to use the western dialect.

[31:48]  ¹²⁰⁶ tn Heb “a witness between me and you.”

[31:49]  ¹²⁰⁷ tn Heb “and Mizpah.”

[31:49]  ¹²⁰⁸ sn The name Mizpah (מִצְפָּה, mitspah), which means “watchpost,” sounds like the verb translated “may he watch” (יִצֶף, yitsef). Neither Laban nor Jacob felt safe with each other, and so they agreed to go their separate ways, trusting the Lord to keep watch at the border. Jacob did not need this treaty, but Laban, perhaps because he had lost his household gods, felt he did.

[31:49]  ¹²⁰⁹ tn Heb “between me and you.”

[31:49]  ¹²¹⁰ tn Heb “for we will be hidden, each man from his neighbor.”

[31:50]  ¹²¹¹ tn Heb “see.”

[31:50]  ¹²¹² tn Heb “between me and you.”

[31:51]  ¹²¹³ tn Heb “and Laban said to Jacob, ‘Behold this heap and behold the pillar which I have set between men and you.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:52]  ¹²¹⁴ tn Heb “This pile is a witness and the pillar is a witness, if I go past this pile to you and if you go past this pile and this pillar to me for harm.”

[31:53]  ¹²¹⁵ 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.

[31:53]  ¹²¹⁶ tn Heb “by the fear of his father Isaac.” See the note on the word “fears” in v. 42.

[31:54]  ¹²¹⁷ tn The construction is a cognate accusative with the verb, expressing a specific sacrifice.

[31:54]  ¹²¹⁸ tn Heb “bread, food.” Presumably this was a type of peace offering, where the person bringing the offering ate the animal being sacrificed.

[31:55]  ¹²¹⁹ sn Beginning with 31:55, the verse numbers in the English Bible through 32:32 differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 31:55 ET = 32:1 HT, 32:1 ET = 32:2 HT, etc., through 32:32 ET = 32:33 HT. From 33:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.

[31:55]  ¹²²⁰ tn Heb “and Laban got up early in the morning and he kissed.”

[31:55]  ¹²²¹ tn Heb “his sons.”

[31:55]  ¹²²² tn Heb “to his place.”

[32:1]  ¹²²³ 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.

[32:2]  ¹²²⁴ tn Heb “and Jacob said when he saw them.”

[32:2]  ¹²²⁵ sn The name Mahanaim apparently means “two camps.” Perhaps the two camps were those of God and of Jacob.

[32:3]  ¹²²⁶ tn Heb “before him.”

[32:3]  ¹²²⁷ tn Heb “field.”

[32:4]  ¹²²⁸ sn Your servant. The narrative recounts Jacob’s groveling in fear before Esau as he calls his brother his “lord,” as if to minimize what had been done twenty years ago.

[32:5]  ¹²²⁹ tn Or “I am sending.” The form is a preterite with the vav consecutive; it could be rendered as an English present tense – as the Hebrew perfect/preterite allows – much like an epistolary aorist in Greek. The form assumes the temporal perspective of the one who reads the message.

[32:5]  ¹²³⁰ tn The words “this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:8]  ¹²³¹ tn Heb “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.”

[32:8]  ¹²³² tn Heb “and he said, ‘If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.” The Hebrew verb אָמַר (’amar) here represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “he thought.” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:8]  ¹²³³ tn Heb “the surviving camp will be for escape.” The word “escape” is a feminine noun. The term most often refers to refugees from war.

[32:9]  ¹²³⁴ tn Heb “said.”

[32:9]  ¹²³⁵ tn Heb “the one who said.”

[32:9]  ¹²³⁶ tn Heb “I will cause good” or “I will treat well [or “favorably”].” The idea includes more than prosperity, though that is its essential meaning. Here the form is subordinated to the preceding imperative and indicates purpose or result. Jacob is reminding God of his promise in the hope that God will honor his word.

[32:10]  ¹²³⁷ tn Heb “the loving deeds and faithfulness” (see 24:27, 49).

[32:10]  ¹²³⁸ tn Heb “you have done with.”

[32:10]  ¹²³⁹ tn Heb “for with my staff.” The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally translated “staff,” has been rendered as “walking stick” because a “staff” in contemporary English refers typically to the support personnel in an organization.

[32:10]  ¹²⁴⁰ tn Heb “this Jordan.”

[32:11]  ¹²⁴¹ tn The imperative has the force of a prayer here, not a command.

[32:11]  ¹²⁴² tn The “hand” here is a metonymy for “power.”

[32:11]  ¹²⁴³ tn Heb “from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau.”

[32:11]  ¹²⁴⁴ tn Heb “for I am afraid of him, lest he come.”

[32:11]  ¹²⁴⁵ sn Heb “me, [the] mother upon [the] sons.” The first person pronoun “me” probably means here “me and mine,” as the following clause suggests.

[32:12]  ¹²⁴⁶ tn Heb “But you, you said.” One of the occurrences of the pronoun “you” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.

[32:12]  ¹²⁴⁷ tn Or “will certainly deal well with you.” The infinitive absolute appears before the imperfect, underscoring God’s promise to bless. The statement is more emphatic than in v. 9.

[32:12]  ¹²⁴⁸ tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the nuance of the preceding verb forward.

[32:12]  ¹²⁴⁹ tn Heb “which cannot be counted because of abundance.” The imperfect verbal form indicates potential here.

[32:13]  ¹²⁵⁰ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:13]  ¹²⁵¹ tn Heb “and he took from that which was going into his hand,” meaning that he took some of what belonged to him.

[32:13]  ¹²⁵² sn The Hebrew noun translated gift can in some contexts refer to the tribute paid by a subject to his lord. Such a nuance is possible here, because Jacob refers to Esau as his lord and to himself as Esau’s servant (v. 4).

[32:16]  ¹²⁵³ tn Heb “and he put them in the hand of.”

[32:16]  ¹²⁵⁴ tn Heb “a herd, a herd, by itself,” or “each herd by itself.” The distributive sense is expressed by repetition.

[32:17]  ¹²⁵⁵ tn Heb “the first”; this has been specified as “the servant leading the first herd” in the translation for clarity.

[32:17]  ¹²⁵⁶ tn Heb “to whom are you?”

[32:17]  ¹²⁵⁷ tn Heb “and to whom are these before you?”

[32:18]  ¹²⁵⁸ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; it has the nuance of an imperfect of instruction.

[32:18]  ¹²⁵⁹ tn The words “they belong” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:18]  ¹²⁶⁰ tn Heb “to your servant, to Jacob.”

[32:18]  ¹²⁶¹ tn Heb “to my lord, to Esau.”

[32:18]  ¹²⁶² tn Heb “and look, also he [is] behind us.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:19]  ¹²⁶³ tn Heb “And he commanded also the second, also the third, also all the ones going after the herds, saying: ‘According to this word you will speak when you find him.’”

[32:20]  ¹²⁶⁴ tn Heb “and look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.”

[32:20]  ¹²⁶⁵ tn Heb “for he said.” The referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “thought.”

[32:20]  ¹²⁶⁶ tn Heb “I will appease his face.” The cohortative here expresses Jacob’s resolve. In the Book of Leviticus the Hebrew verb translated “appease” has the idea of removing anger due to sin or guilt, a nuance that fits this passage very well. Jacob wanted to buy Esau off with a gift of more than five hundred and fifty animals.

[32:20]  ¹²⁶⁷ tn Heb “with a gift going before me.”

[32:20]  ¹²⁶⁸ tn Heb “I will see his face.”

[32:20]  ¹²⁶⁹ tn Heb “Perhaps he will lift up my face.” In this context the idiom refers to acceptance.

[32:21]  ¹²⁷⁰ tn Heb “and the gift passed over upon his face.”

[32:21]  ¹²⁷¹ tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial/temporal.

[32:22]  ¹²⁷² tn Heb “and he arose in that night and he took.” The first verb is adverbial, indicating that he carried out the crossing right away.

[32:22]  ¹²⁷³ tn The Hebrew term used here is יֶלֶד (yeled) which typically describes male offspring. Some translations render the term “children” but this is a problem because by this time Jacob had twelve children in all, including one daughter, Dinah, born to Leah (Gen 30:21). Benjamin, his twelfth son and thirteenth child, was not born until later (Gen 35:16-19).

[32:22]  ¹²⁷⁴ sn Hebrew narrative style often includes a summary statement of the whole passage followed by a more detailed report of the event. Here v. 22 is the summary statement, while v. 23 begins the detailed account.

[32:23]  ¹²⁷⁵ tn Heb “and he sent across what he had.”

[32:24]  ¹²⁷⁶ sn Reflecting Jacob’s perspective at the beginning of the encounter, the narrator calls the opponent simply “a man.” Not until later in the struggle does Jacob realize his true identity.

[32:24]  ¹²⁷⁷ sn The verb translated “wrestled” (וַיֵּאָבֵק, vayye’aveq) sounds in Hebrew like the names “Jacob” (יַעֲקֹב, ya’aqov) and “Jabbok” (יַבֹּק, yabboq). In this way the narrator links the setting, the main action, and the main participant together in the mind of the reader or hearer.

[32:24]  ¹²⁷⁸ tn Heb “until the rising of the dawn.”

[32:25]  ¹²⁷⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:25]  ¹²⁸⁰ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:25]  ¹²⁸¹ tn Or “injured”; traditionally “touched.” The Hebrew verb translated “struck” has the primary meanings “to touch; to reach; to strike.” It can, however, carry the connotation “to harm; to molest; to injure.” God’s “touch” cripples Jacob – it would be comparable to a devastating blow.

[32:26]  ¹²⁸² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:26]  ¹²⁸³ tn Heb “dawn has arisen.”

[32:26]  ¹²⁸⁴ tn Heb “and he said, ‘I will not let you go.’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:26]  ¹²⁸⁵ sn Jacob wrestled with a man thinking him to be a mere man, and on that basis was equal to the task. But when it had gone on long enough, the night visitor touched Jacob and crippled him. Jacob’s request for a blessing can only mean that he now knew that his opponent was supernatural. Contrary to many allegorical interpretations of the passage that make fighting equivalent to prayer, this passage shows that Jacob stopped fighting, and then asked for a blessing.

[32:27]  ¹²⁸⁶ tn Heb “and he said to him.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:27]  ¹²⁸⁷ sn What is your name? The question is rhetorical, since the Lord obviously knew Jacob’s identity. But since the Lord is going to change Jacob’s name, this question is designed to bring focus Jacob’s attention on all that his name had come to signify.

[32:28]  ¹²⁸⁸ tn Heb “and he said.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:28]  ¹²⁸⁹ sn The name Israel is a common construction, using a verb with a theophoric element (אֵל, ’el) that usually indicates the subject of the verb. Here it means “God fights.” This name will replace the name Jacob; it will be both a promise and a call for faith. In essence, the Lord was saying that Jacob would have victory and receive the promises because God would fight for him.

[32:28]  ¹²⁹⁰ sn You have fought. The explanation of the name Israel includes a sound play. In Hebrew the verb translated “you have fought” (שָׂרִיתָ, sarita) sounds like the name “Israel” (יִשְׂרָאֵל, yisra’el ), meaning “God fights” (although some interpret the meaning as “he fights [with] God”). The name would evoke the memory of the fight and what it meant. A. Dillmann says that ever after this the name would tell the Israelites that, when Jacob contended successfully with God, he won the battle with man (Genesis, 2:279). To be successful with God meant that he had to be crippled in his own self-sufficiency (A. P. Ross, “Jacob at the Jabboq, Israel at Peniel,” BSac 142 [1985]: 51-62).

[32:29]  ¹²⁹¹ sn Tell me your name. In primitive thought to know the name of a deity or supernatural being would enable one to use it for magical manipulation or power (A. S. Herbert, Genesis 12-50 [TBC], 108). For a thorough structural analysis of the passage discussing the plays on the names and the request of Jacob, see R. Barthes, “The Struggle with the Angel: Textual Analysis of Genesis 32:23-33,” Structural Analysis and Biblical Exegesis (PTMS), 21-33.

[32:29]  ¹²⁹² tn The question uses the enclitic pronoun “this” to emphasize the import of the question.

[32:29]  ¹²⁹³ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Why is it that you ask my name?’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:29]  ¹²⁹⁴ tn The verb here means that the Lord endowed Jacob with success; he would be successful in everything he did, including meeting Esau.

[32:29]  ¹²⁹⁵ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:30]  ¹²⁹⁶ sn The name Peniel means “face of God.” Since Jacob saw God face to face here, the name is appropriate.

[32:30]  ¹²⁹⁷ tn The word “explaining” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:30]  ¹²⁹⁸ tn Or “because.”

[32:30]  ¹²⁹⁹ sn I have seen God face to face. See the note on the name “Peniel” earlier in the verse.

[32:30]  ¹³⁰⁰ tn Heb “and my soul [= life] has been preserved.”

[32:31]  ¹³⁰¹ tn Heb “shone.”

[32:31]  ¹³⁰² sn The name is spelled Penuel here, apparently a variant spelling of Peniel (see v. 30).

[32:31]  ¹³⁰³ tn The disjunctive clause draws attention to an important fact: He may have crossed the stream, but he was limping.

[32:32]  ¹³⁰⁴ sn On the use of the expression to this day, see B. S. Childs, “A Study of the Formula ‘Until This Day’,” JBL 82 (1963): 279-92.

[32:32]  ¹³⁰⁵ tn Or “because the socket of Jacob’s hip was struck.” Some translations render this as an impersonal passive. On the translation of the word “struck” see the note on this term in v. 25.

[33:1]  ¹³⁰⁶ tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his eyes.”

[33:1]  ¹³⁰⁷ tn Or “and look, Esau was coming.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes.

[33:2]  ¹³⁰⁸ sn This kind of ranking according to favoritism no doubt fed the jealousy over Joseph that later becomes an important element in the narrative. It must have been painful to the family to see that they were expendable.

[33:3]  ¹³⁰⁹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:3]  ¹³¹⁰ tn Heb “until his drawing near unto his brother.” The construction uses the preposition with the infinitive construct to express a temporal clause.

[33:5]  ¹³¹¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:5]  ¹³¹² tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”

[33:5]  ¹³¹³ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:5]  ¹³¹⁴ tn The Hebrew verb means “to be gracious; to show favor”; here it carries the nuance “to give graciously.”

[33:6]  ¹³¹⁵ tn Heb “and the female servants drew near, they and their children and they bowed down.”

[33:8]  ¹³¹⁶ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:8]  ¹³¹⁷ tn Heb “Who to you?”

[33:8]  ¹³¹⁸ tn Heb “all this camp which I met.”

[33:8]  ¹³¹⁹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:10]  ¹³²⁰ tn Heb “and Jacob said, ‘No, please.’” The words “take them” have been supplied in the translation for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse rearranged for stylistic reasons.

[33:10]  ¹³²¹ tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, expressing a contingent future nuance in the “then” section of the conditional sentence.

[33:10]  ¹³²² tn The verbal form is the preterite with a vav (ו) consecutive, indicating result here.

[33:10]  ¹³²³ tn Heb “for therefore I have seen your face like seeing the face of God and you have accepted me.”

[33:11]  ¹³²⁴ tn Heb “blessing.” It is as if Jacob is trying to repay what he stole from his brother twenty years earlier.

[33:11]  ¹³²⁵ tn Or “gracious,” but in the specific sense of prosperity.

[33:11]  ¹³²⁶ tn Heb “all.”

[33:11]  ¹³²⁷ tn Heb “and he urged him and he took.” The referent of the first pronoun in the sequence (“he”) has been specified as “Jacob” in the translation for clarity.

[33:12]  ¹³²⁸ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:12]  ¹³²⁹ tn Heb “let us travel and let us go.” The two cohortatives are used in combination with the sense, “let’s travel along, get going, be on our way.”

[33:13]  ¹³³⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:13]  ¹³³¹ tn Heb “weak.”

[33:13]  ¹³³² tn Heb “and the sheep and the cattle nursing [are] upon me.”

[33:14]  ¹³³³ tn Heb “and I, I will move along according to my leisure at the foot of the property which is before me and at the foot of the children.”

[33:15]  ¹³³⁴ tn The cohortative verbal form here indicates a polite offer of help.

[33:15]  ¹³³⁵ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Why this?’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[33:15]  ¹³³⁶ tn Heb “I am finding favor in the eyes of my lord.”

[33:16]  ¹³³⁷ tn Heb “returned on his way.”

[33:17]  ¹³³⁸ tn The disjunctive clause contrasts Jacob’s action with Esau’s.

[33:17]  ¹³³⁹ sn But Jacob traveled to Succoth. There are several reasons why Jacob chose not to go to Mt. Seir after Esau. First, as he said, his herds and children probably could not keep up with the warriors. Second, he probably did not fully trust his brother. The current friendliness could change, and he could lose everything. And third, God did tell him to return to his land, not Seir. But Jacob is still not able to deal truthfully, probably because of fear of Esau.

[33:17]  ¹³⁴⁰ tn Heb “why he called.” One could understand “Jacob” as the subject of the verb, but it is more likely that the subject is indefinite, in which case the verb is better translated as passive.

[33:17]  ¹³⁴¹ sn The name Succoth means “shelters,” an appropriate name in light of the shelters Jacob built there for his livestock.

[33:18]  ¹³⁴² tn Heb “in front of.”

[33:19]  ¹³⁴³ tn The words “he bought it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 19 is one long sentence.

[33:19]  ¹³⁴⁴ tn The Hebrew word קְשִׂיטָה (qÿsitah) is generally understood to refer to a unit of money, but the value is unknown. (However, cf. REB, which renders the term as “sheep”).

[33:20]  ¹³⁴⁵ tn Heb “God, the God of Israel.” Rather than translating the name, a number of modern translations merely transliterate it from the Hebrew as “El Elohe Israel” (cf. NIV, NRSV, REB). It is not entirely clear how the name should be interpreted grammatically. One option is to supply an equative verb, as in the translation: “The God of Israel [is] God.” Another interpretive option is “the God of Israel [is] strong [or “mighty”].” Buying the land and settling down for a while was a momentous step for the patriarch, so the commemorative naming of the altar is significant.

[1:8]  ¹³⁴⁶ tn Grk “a man of two minds,” continuing the description of the person in v. 7, giving the reason that he cannot expect to receive anything. The word for “man” or “individual” is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” But it sometimes is used generically to mean “anyone,” “a person,” as here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 2).