Discovery BoxGenesis 16:1--19:38
Context16:1 Now Sarai, 1 Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, 2 but she had an Egyptian servant 3 named Hagar. 4 16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Since 5 the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with 6 my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.” 7 Abram did what 8 Sarai told him.
16:3 So after Abram had lived 9 in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram’s wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, 10 to her husband to be his wife. 11 16:4 He had sexual relations with 12 Hagar, and she became pregnant. 13 Once Hagar realized she was pregnant, she despised Sarai. 14 16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me! 15 I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, 16 but when she realized 17 that she was pregnant, she despised me. 18 May the Lord judge between you and me!” 19
16:6 Abram said to Sarai, “Since your 20 servant is under your authority, 21 do to her whatever you think best.” 22 Then Sarai treated Hagar 23 harshly, 24 so she ran away from Sarai. 25
16:7 The Lord’s angel 26 found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert – the spring that is along the road to Shur. 27 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 28 my mistress, Sarai.”
16:9 Then the Lord’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit 29 to her authority. 16:10 I will greatly multiply your descendants,” the Lord’s angel added, 30 “so that they will be too numerous to count.” 31 16:11 Then the Lord’s angel said to her,
“You are now 32 pregnant
and are about to give birth 33 to a son.
You are to name him Ishmael, 34
for the Lord has heard your painful groans. 35
16:12 He will be a wild donkey 36 of a man.
He will be hostile to everyone, 37
and everyone will be hostile to him. 38
He will live away from 39 his brothers.”
16:13 So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,” 40 for she said, “Here I have seen one who sees me!” 41 16:14 That is why the well was called 42 Beer Lahai Roi. 43 (It is located 44 between Kadesh and Bered.)
16:15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, whom Abram named Ishmael. 45 16:16 (Now 46 Abram was 86 years old 47 when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.) 48
17:1 When Abram was 99 years old, 49 the Lord appeared to him and said, 50 “I am the sovereign God. 51 Walk 52 before me 53 and be blameless. 54 17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant 55 between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” 56
17:3 Abram bowed down with his face to the ground, 57 and God said to him, 58 17:4 “As for me, 59 this 60 is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 17:5 No longer will your name be 61 Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham 62 because I will make you 63 the father of a multitude of nations. 17:6 I will make you 64 extremely 65 fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. 66 17:7 I will confirm 67 my covenant as a perpetual 68 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. 69 17:8 I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing 70 – to you and your descendants after you as a permanent 71 possession. I will be their God.”
17:9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep 72 the covenantal requirement 73 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: 74 Every male among you must be circumcised. 75 17:11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder 76 of the covenant between me and you. 17:12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old 77 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, 78 whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant 79 will be visible in your flesh as a permanent 80 reminder. 17:14 Any uncircumcised male 81 who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off 82 from his people – he has failed to carry out my requirement.” 83
17:15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for your wife, you must no longer call her Sarai; 84 Sarah 85 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. 86 Kings of countries 87 will come from her!”
17:17 Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed 88 as he said to himself, 89 “Can 90 a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old? 91 Can Sarah 92 bear a child at the age of ninety?” 93 17:18 Abraham said to God, “O that 94 Ishmael might live before you!” 95
17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. 96 I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual 97 covenant for his descendants after him. 17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. 98 I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. 99 He will become the father of twelve princes; 100 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. 101
17:23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) 102 and circumcised them 103 on that very same day, just as God had told him to do. 17:24 Now Abraham was 99 years old 104 when he was circumcised; 105 17:25 his son Ishmael was thirteen years old 106 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.
18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham 107 by the oaks 108 of Mamre while 109 he was sitting at the entrance 110 to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 18:2 Abraham 111 looked up 112 and saw 113 three men standing across 114 from him. When he saw them 115 he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low 116 to the ground. 117
18:3 He said, “My lord, 118 if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. 119 18:4 Let a little water be brought so that 120 you may all 121 wash your feet and rest under the tree. 18:5 And let me get 122 a bit of food 123 so that you may refresh yourselves 124 since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.” 125 “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.”
18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take 126 three measures 127 of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.” 128 18:7 Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, 129 who quickly prepared it. 130 18:8 Abraham 131 then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food 132 before them. They ate while 133 he was standing near them under a tree.
18:9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, 134 in the tent.” 18:10 One of them 135 said, “I will surely return 136 to you when the season comes round again, 137 and your wife Sarah will have a son!” 138 (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. 139 18:11 Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; 140 Sarah had long since passed menopause.) 141 18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, 142 “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, 143 especially when my husband is old too?” 144
18:13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why 145 did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really 146 have a child when I am old?’ 18:14 Is anything impossible 147 for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.” 148 18:15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.” 149
18:16 When the men got up to leave, 150 they looked out over 151 Sodom. (Now 152 Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.) 153 18:17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 154 18:18 After all, Abraham 155 will surely become 156 a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 157 using his name. 18:19 I have chosen him 158 so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep 159 the way of the Lord by doing 160 what is right and just. Then the Lord will give 161 to Abraham what he promised 162 him.”
18:20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against 163 Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant 164 18:21 that I must go down 165 and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. 166 If not, 167 I want to know.”
18:22 The two men turned 168 and headed 169 toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord. 170 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 171 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 172 of the whole earth do what is right?” 173
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 174 (although I am but dust and ashes), 175 18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy 176 the whole city because five are lacking?” 177 He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
18:29 Abraham 178 spoke to him again, 179 “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”
18:30 Then Abraham 180 said, “May the Lord not be angry 181 so that I may speak! 182 What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
18:31 Abraham 183 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 184 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 185 when he had finished speaking 186 to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. 187
19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while 188 Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. 189 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 190 and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.” 191 “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.” 192
19:3 But he urged 193 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, 194 all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house. 195 19:5 They shouted to Lot, 196 “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex 197 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! 198 19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never had sexual relations with 199 a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever you please. 200 Only don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection 201 of my roof.” 202
19:9 “Out of our way!” 203 they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, 204 and now he dares to judge us! 205 We’ll do more harm 206 to you than to them!” They kept 207 pressing in on Lot until they were close enough 208 to break down the door.
19:10 So the men inside 209 reached out 210 and pulled Lot back into the house 211 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, 212 with blindness. The men outside 213 wore themselves out trying to find the door. 19:12 Then the two visitors 214 said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? 215 Do you have 216 any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? 217 Get them out of this 218 place 19:13 because we are about to destroy 219 it. The outcry against this place 220 is so great before the Lord that he 221 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. 222 He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy 223 the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. 224
19:15 At dawn 225 the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, 226 or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!” 227 19:16 When Lot 228 hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. 229 They led them away and placed them 230 outside the city. 19:17 When they had brought them outside, they 231 said, “Run 232 for your lives! Don’t look 233 behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! 234 Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”
19:18 But Lot said to them, “No, please, Lord! 235 19:19 Your 236 servant has found favor with you, 237 and you have shown me great 238 kindness 239 by sparing 240 my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because 241 this disaster will overtake 242 me and I’ll die. 243 19:20 Look, this town 244 over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. 245 Let me go there. 246 It’s just a little place, isn’t it? 247 Then I’ll survive.” 248
19:21 “Very well,” he replied, 249 “I will grant this request too 250 and will not overthrow 251 the town you mentioned. 19:22 Run there quickly, 252 for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.) 253
19:23 The sun had just risen 254 over the land as Lot reached Zoar. 255 19:24 Then the Lord rained down 256 sulfur and fire 257 on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. 258 19:25 So he overthrew those cities and all that region, 259 including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew 260 from the ground. 19:26 But Lot’s 261 wife looked back longingly 262 and was turned into a pillar of salt.
19:27 Abraham got up early in the morning and went 263 to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 19:28 He looked out toward 264 Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. 265 As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace. 266
19:29 So when God destroyed 267 the cities of the region, 268 God honored 269 Abraham’s request. He removed Lot 270 from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed 271 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 272 to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby 273 to have sexual relations with us, 274 according to the way of all the world. 19:32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with wine 275 so we can have sexual relations 276 with him and preserve 277 our family line through our father.” 278
19:33 So that night they made their father drunk with wine, 279 and the older daughter 280 came and had sexual relations with her father. 281 But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. 282 19:34 So in the morning the older daughter 283 said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. 284 Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 285 19:35 So they made their father drunk 286 that night as well, and the younger one came and had sexual relations with him. 287 But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. 288
19:36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 19:37 The older daughter 289 gave birth to a son and named him Moab. 290 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. 291 He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.
Genesis 25:1--34:31
Context25:1 Abraham had taken 292 another 293 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. 294 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 295 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 296 and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. 297
25:7 Abraham lived a total of 298 175 years. 25:8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life. 299 He joined his ancestors. 300 25:9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah 301 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. 302 There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 25:11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed 303 his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi. 304
25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, 305 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: 306 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 307 according to their clans.
25:17 Ishmael lived a total of 308 137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors. 309 25:18 His descendants 310 settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next 311 to Egypt all the way 312 to Asshur. 313 They settled 314 away from all their relatives. 315
25:19 This is the account of Isaac, 316 the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac. 25:20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, 317 the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. 318
25:21 Isaac prayed to 319 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 320 inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” 321 So she asked the Lord, 322 25:23 and the Lord said to her,
“Two nations 323 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, 324 there were 325 twins in her womb. 25:25 The first came out reddish 326 all over, 327 like a hairy 328 garment, so they named him Esau. 329 25:26 When his brother came out with 330 his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. 331 Isaac was sixty years old 332 when they were born.
25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled 333 hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. 334 25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, 335 but Rebekah loved 336 Jacob.
25:29 Now Jacob cooked some stew, 337 and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished. 25:30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed 338 me some of the red stuff – yes, this red stuff – because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called 339 Edom.) 340
25:31 But Jacob replied, “First 341 sell me your birthright.” 25:32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” 342 25:33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” 343 So Esau 344 swore an oath to him and sold his birthright 345 to Jacob.
25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. 346 So Esau despised his birthright. 347
26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred 348 in the days of Abraham. 349 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; 350 settle down in the land that I will point out to you. 351 26:3 Stay 352 in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, 353 for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, 354 and I will fulfill 355 the solemn promise I made 356 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 357 all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. 358 26:5 All this will come to pass 359 because Abraham obeyed me 360 and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” 361 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.” 362 He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, 363 “The men of this place will kill me to get 364 Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”
26:8 After Isaac 365 had been there a long time, 366 Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed 367 Isaac caressing 368 his wife Rebekah. 26:9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really 369 your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.” 370
26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? 371 One of the men 372 might easily have had sexual relations with 373 your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!” 26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches 374 this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” 375
26:12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, 376 because the Lord blessed him. 377 26:13 The man became wealthy. 378 His influence continued to grow 379 until he became very prominent. 26:14 He had 380 so many sheep 381 and cattle 382 and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous 383 of him. 26:15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled up 384 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, 385 for you have become much more powerful 386 than we are.” 26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. 387 26:18 Isaac reopened 388 the wells that had been dug 389 back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up 390 after Abraham died. Isaac 391 gave these wells 392 the same names his father had given them. 393
26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing 394 water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled 395 with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac 396 named the well 397 Esek 398 because they argued with him about it. 399 26:21 His servants 400 dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it 401 Sitnah. 402 26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac 403 named it 404 Rehoboth, 405 saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”
26:23 From there Isaac 406 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 407 the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. 408
26:26 Now Abimelech had come 409 to him from Gerar along with 410 Ahuzzah his friend 411 and Phicol the commander of his army. 26:27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me 412 and sent me away from you.” 26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see 413 that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be 414 a pact between us 415 – between us 416 and you. Allow us to make 417 a treaty with you 26:29 so that 418 you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed 419 you, but have always treated you well 420 before sending you away 421 in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.” 422
26:30 So Isaac 423 held a feast for them and they celebrated. 424 26:31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. 425 Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms. 426
26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported. 427 26:33 So he named it Shibah; 428 that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba 429 to this day.
26:34 When 430 Esau was forty years old, 431 he married 432 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. 433
27:1 When 434 Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, 435 he called his older 436 son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau 437 replied. 27:2 Isaac 438 said, “Since 439 I am so old, I could die at any time. 440 27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game 441 for me. 27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then 442 I will eat it so that I may bless you 443 before I die.”
27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. 444 When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, 445 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 446 it and bless you 447 in the presence of the Lord 448 before I die.’ 27:8 Now then, my son, do 449 exactly what I tell you! 450 27:9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare 451 them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. 27:10 Then you will take 452 it to your father. Thus he will eat it 453 and 454 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! 455 27:12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him 456 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, 457 my son! Just obey me! 458 Go and get them for me!”
27:14 So he went and got the goats 459 and brought them to his mother. She 460 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 461 on his hands 462 and the smooth part of his neck. 27:17 Then she handed 463 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 464 replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?” 465 27:19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up 466 and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” 467 27:20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world 468 did you find it so quickly, 469 my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” 470 he replied. 471 27:21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you, 472 my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.” 473 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. 474 27:24 Then he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “I am,” Jacob 475 replied. 27:25 Isaac 476 said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. 477 Then I will bless you.” 478 So Jacob 479 brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac 480 drank. 27:26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 27:27 So Jacob 481 went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent 482 of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,
“Yes, 483 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 484
and the richness 485 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 486 lord 487 over your brothers,
and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. 488
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 489 his father’s 490 presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt. 491 27:31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau 492 said to him, “My father, get up 493 and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.” 494 27:32 His father Isaac asked, 495 “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,” 496 he replied, “Esau!” 27:33 Isaac began to shake violently 497 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. 498 He will indeed be blessed!”
27:34 When Esau heard 499 his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly. 500 He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” 27:35 But Isaac 501 replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away 502 your blessing.” 27:36 Esau exclaimed, “‘Jacob’ is the right name for him! 503 He has tripped me up 504 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!” 505 Then Esau wept loudly. 506
27:39 So his father Isaac said to him,
“Indeed, 507 your home will be
away from the richness 508 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.” 509
27:41 So Esau hated 510 Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. 511 Esau said privately, 512 “The time 513 of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill 514 my brother Jacob!”
27:42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said, 515 she quickly summoned 516 her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you. 517 27:43 Now then, my son, do what I say. 518 Run away immediately 519 to my brother Laban in Haran. 27:44 Live with him for a little while 520 until your brother’s rage subsides. 27:45 Stay there 521 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. 522 Why should I lose both of you in one day?” 523
27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressed 524 because of these daughters of Heth. 525 If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!” 526
28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman! 527 28:2 Leave immediately 528 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 529 bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! 530 Then you will become 531 a large nation. 532 28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham 533 so that you may possess the land 534 God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” 535 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. 536 As he blessed him, 537 Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” 538 28:7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram. 28:8 Then Esau realized 539 that the Canaanite women 540 were displeasing to 541 his father Isaac. 28:9 So Esau went to Ishmael and married 542 Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, along with the wives he already had.
28:10 Meanwhile Jacob left Beer Sheba and set out for Haran. 28:11 He reached a certain place 543 where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. 544 He took one of the stones 545 and placed it near his head. 546 Then he fell asleep 547 in that place 28:12 and had a dream. 548 He saw 549 a stairway 550 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. 551 I will give you and your descendants the ground 552 you are lying on. 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, 553 and you will spread out 554 to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 555 using your name and that of your descendants. 556 28:15 I am with you! 557 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 558 and thought, 559 “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 560 in the morning Jacob 561 took the stone he had placed near his head 562 and set it up as a sacred stone. 563 Then he poured oil on top of it. 28:19 He called that place Bethel, 564 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 565 to eat and clothing to wear, 28:21 and I return safely to my father’s home, 566 then the Lord will become my God. 28:22 Then this stone 567 that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely 568 give you back a tenth of everything you give me.” 569
29:1 So Jacob moved on 570 and came to the land of the eastern people. 571 29:2 He saw 572 in the field a well with 573 three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now 574 a large stone covered the mouth of the well. 29:3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds 575 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 576 of Nahor?” “We know him,” 577 they said. 29:6 “Is he well?” 578 Jacob asked. They replied, “He is well. 579 Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” 29:7 Then Jacob 580 said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, 581 it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” 582 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 583 the sheep.”
29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was tending them. 584 29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, 585 and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he 586 went over 587 and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. 588 29:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep loudly. 589 29:12 When Jacob explained 590 to Rachel that he was a relative of her father 591 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 592 told Laban how he was related to him. 593 29:14 Then Laban said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” 594 So Jacob 595 stayed with him for a month. 596
29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work 597 for me for nothing because you are my relative? 598 Tell me what your wages should be.” 29:16 (Now Laban had two daughters; 599 the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. 29:17 Leah’s eyes were tender, 600 but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.) 601 29:18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with 602 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. 603 Stay with me.” 29:20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. 604 But they seemed like only a few days to him 605 because his love for her was so great. 606
29:21 Finally Jacob said 607 to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. 608 I want to have marital relations with her.” 609 29:22 So Laban invited all the people 610 of that place and prepared a feast. 29:23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leah 611 to Jacob, 612 and Jacob 613 had marital relations with her. 614 29:24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) 615
29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! 616 So Jacob 617 said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! 618 Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked 619 me?” 29:26 “It is not our custom here,” 620 Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriage 621 before the firstborn. 29:27 Complete my older daughter’s bridal week. 622 Then we will give you the younger one 623 too, in exchange for seven more years of work.” 624
29:28 Jacob did as Laban said. 625 When Jacob 626 completed Leah’s bridal week, 627 Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 628 29:29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) 629 29:30 Jacob 630 had marital relations 631 with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban 632 for seven more years. 633
29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, 634 he enabled her to become pregnant 635 while Rachel remained childless. 29:32 So Leah became pregnant 636 and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, 637 for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. 638 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, 639 he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. 640
29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, 641 because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. 642
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. 643 Then she stopped having children.
30:1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she 644 became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children 645 or I’ll die!” 30:2 Jacob became furious 646 with Rachel and exclaimed, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” 647 30:3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with 648 her so that she can bear 649 children 650 for me 651 and I can have a family through her.” 652
30:4 So Rachel 653 gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with 654 her. 30:5 Bilhah became pregnant 655 and gave Jacob a son. 656 30:6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayer 657 and given me a son.” That is why 658 she named him Dan. 659
30:7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. 660 30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.” 661 So she named him Naphtali. 662
30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave 663 her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 30:10 Soon Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son. 664 30:11 Leah said, “How fortunate!” 665 So she named him Gad. 666
30:12 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son. 667 30:13 Leah said, “How happy I am, 668 for women 669 will call me happy!” So she named him Asher. 670
30:14 At the time 671 of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants 672 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, 673 “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,” 674 Rachel said, “he may sleep 675 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 676 with me because I have paid for your services 677 with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relations 678 with her that night. 30:17 God paid attention 679 to Leah; she became pregnant 680 and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. 681 30:18 Then Leah said, “God has granted me a reward 682 because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.” 683 So she named him Issachar. 684
30:19 Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time. 685 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. 686
30:21 After that she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
30:22 Then God took note of 687 Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. 688 30:23 She became pregnant 689 and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” 690 30:24 She named him Joseph, 691 saying, “May the Lord give me yet another son.”
30:25 After Rachel had given birth 692 to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send 693 me on my way so that I can go 694 home to my own country. 695 30:26 Let me take my wives and my children whom I have acquired by working for you. 696 Then I’ll depart, 697 because you know how hard I’ve worked for you.” 698
30:27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, 699 for I have learned by divination 700 that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.” 30:28 He added, “Just name your wages – I’ll pay whatever you want.” 701
30:29 “You know how I have worked for you,” Jacob replied, 702 “and how well your livestock have fared under my care. 703 30:30 Indeed, 704 you had little before I arrived, 705 but now your possessions have increased many times over. 706 The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked. 707 But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?” 708
30:31 So Laban asked, 709 “What should I give you?” “You don’t need to give me a thing,” 710 Jacob replied, 711 “but if you agree to this one condition, 712 I will continue to care for 713 your flocks and protect them: 30:32 Let me walk among 714 all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, 715 and the spotted or speckled goats. 716 These animals will be my wages. 717 30:33 My integrity will testify for me 718 later on. 719 When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on, 720 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.” 721 30:34 “Agreed!” said Laban, “It will be as you say.” 722
30:35 So that day Laban 723 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 724 of his sons. 30:36 Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, 725 while 726 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. 727 30:39 When the sheep mated 728 in front of the branches, they 729 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 730 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, 731 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. 732 So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban 733 and the stronger animals to Jacob. 30:43 In this way Jacob 734 became extremely prosperous. He owned 735 large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.
31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, 736 “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich 737 at our father’s expense!” 738 31:2 When Jacob saw the look on Laban’s face, he could tell his attitude toward him had changed. 739
31:3 The Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers 740 and to your relatives. I will be with you.” 741 31:4 So Jacob sent a message for Rachel and Leah 742 to come to the field 743 where his flocks were. 744 31:5 There he said to them, “I can tell that your father’s attitude toward me has changed, 745 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, 746 31:7 but your father has humiliated 747 me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not permitted him to do me any harm. 31:8 If he said, 748 ‘The speckled animals 749 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 750 during breeding season I saw 751 in a dream that the male goats mating with 752 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 753 that all the male goats mating with 754 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, 755 where you anointed 756 the sacred stone and made a vow to me. 757 Now leave this land immediately 758 and return to your native land.’”
31:14 Then Rachel and Leah replied to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance 759 in our father’s house? 31:15 Hasn’t he treated us like foreigners? He not only sold us, but completely wasted 760 the money paid for us! 761 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. 762 31:18 He took 763 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. 764
31:19 While Laban had gone to shear his sheep, 765 Rachel stole the household idols 766 that belonged to her father. 31:20 Jacob also deceived 767 Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was leaving. 768 31:21 He left 769 with all he owned. He quickly crossed 770 the Euphrates River 771 and headed for 772 the hill country of Gilead.
31:22 Three days later Laban discovered Jacob had left. 773 31:23 So he took his relatives 774 with him and pursued Jacob 775 for seven days. 776 He caught up with 777 him in the hill country of Gilead. 31:24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and warned him, 778 “Be careful 779 that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.” 780
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. 781 31:26 “What have you done?” Laban demanded of Jacob. “You’ve deceived me 782 and carried away my daughters as if they were captives of war! 783 31:27 Why did you run away secretly 784 and deceive me? 785 Why didn’t you tell me so I could send you off with a celebration complete with singing, tambourines, and harps? 786 31:28 You didn’t even allow me to kiss my daughters and my grandchildren 787 good-bye. You have acted foolishly! 31:29 I have 788 the power to do you harm, but the God of your father told me last night, ‘Be careful 789 that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.’ 790 31:30 Now I understand that 791 you have gone away 792 because you longed desperately 793 for your father’s house. Yet why did you steal my gods?” 794
31:31 “I left secretly because I was afraid!” 795 Jacob replied to Laban. “I thought 796 you might take your daughters away from me by force. 797 31:32 Whoever has taken your gods will be put to death! 798 In the presence of our relatives 799 identify whatever is yours and take it.” 800 (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.) 801
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. 802 Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s. 803 31:34 (Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them inside her camel’s saddle 804 and sat on them.) 805 Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them. 806 31:35 Rachel 807 said to her father, “Don’t be angry, 808 my lord. I cannot stand up 809 in your presence because I am having my period.” 810 So he searched thoroughly, 811 but did not find the idols.
31:36 Jacob became angry 812 and argued with Laban. “What did I do wrong?” he demanded of Laban. 813 “What sin of mine prompted you to chase after me in hot pursuit? 814 31:37 When you searched through all my goods, did you find anything that belonged to you? 815 Set it here before my relatives and yours, 816 and let them settle the dispute between the two of us! 817
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. 818 You always made me pay for every missing animal, 819 whether it was taken by day or at night. 31:40 I was consumed by scorching heat 820 during the day and by piercing cold 821 at night, and I went without sleep. 822 31:41 This was my lot 823 for twenty years in your house: I worked like a slave 824 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 825 – 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, 826 and he rebuked you last night.”
31:43 Laban replied 827 to Jacob, “These women 828 are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, 829 and these flocks are my flocks. All that you see belongs to me. But how can I harm these daughters of mine today 830 or the children to whom they have given birth? 31:44 So now, come, let’s make a formal agreement, 831 you and I, and it will be 832 proof that we have made peace.” 833
31:45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a memorial pillar. 31:46 Then he 834 said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” So they brought stones and put them in a pile. 835 They ate there by the pile of stones. 31:47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, 836 but Jacob called it Galeed. 837
31:48 Laban said, “This pile of stones is a witness of our agreement 838 today.” That is why it was called Galeed. 31:49 It was also called Mizpah 839 because he said, “May the Lord watch 840 between us 841 when we are out of sight of one another. 842 31:50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one else is with us, realize 843 that God is witness to your actions.” 844
31:51 “Here is this pile of stones and this pillar I have set up between me and you,” Laban said to Jacob. 845 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. 846 31:53 May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor, 847 the gods of their father, judge between us.” Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared. 848 31:54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice 849 on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat the meal. 850 They ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain.
31:55 (32:1) 851 Early in the morning Laban kissed 852 his grandchildren 853 and his daughters goodbye and blessed them. Then Laban left and returned home. 854
32:1 So Jacob went on his way and the angels of God 855 met him. 32:2 When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, 856 “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. 857
32:3 Jacob sent messengers on ahead 858 to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the region 859 of Edom. 32:4 He commanded them, “This is what you must say to my lord Esau: ‘This is what your servant 860 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 861 this message 862 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,” 863 he thought, 864 “then the other camp will be able to escape.” 865
32:9 Then Jacob prayed, 866 “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you said 867 to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.’ 868 32:10 I am not worthy of all the faithful love 869 you have shown 870 your servant. With only my walking stick 871 I crossed the Jordan, 872 but now I have become two camps. 32:11 Rescue me, 873 I pray, from the hand 874 of my brother Esau, 875 for I am afraid he will come 876 and attack me, as well as the mothers with their children. 877 32:12 But you 878 said, ‘I will certainly make you prosper 879 and will make 880 your descendants like the sand on the seashore, too numerous to count.’” 881
32:13 Jacob 882 stayed there that night. Then he sent 883 as a gift 884 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 885 his servants, who divided them into herds. 886 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, 887 “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong? 888 Where are you going? Whose herds are you driving?’ 889 32:18 then you must say, 890 ‘They belong 891 to your servant Jacob. 892 They have been sent as a gift to my lord Esau. 893 In fact Jacob himself is behind us.’” 894
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. 895 32:20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’” 896 Jacob thought, 897 “I will first appease him 898 by sending a gift ahead of me. 899 After that I will meet him. 900 Perhaps he will accept me.” 901 32:21 So the gifts were sent on ahead of him 902 while he spent that night in the camp. 903
32:22 During the night Jacob quickly took 904 his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons 905 and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 906 32:23 He took them and sent them across the stream along with all his possessions. 907 32:24 So Jacob was left alone. Then a man 908 wrestled 909 with him until daybreak. 910 32:25 When the man 911 saw that he could not defeat Jacob, 912 he struck 913 the socket of his hip so the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him.
32:26 Then the man 914 said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” 915 “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, 916 “unless you bless me.” 917 32:27 The man asked him, 918 “What is your name?” 919 He answered, “Jacob.” 32:28 “No longer will your name be Jacob,” the man told him, 920 “but Israel, 921 because you have fought 922 with God and with men and have prevailed.”
32:29 Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.” 923 “Why 924 do you ask my name?” the man replied. 925 Then he blessed 926 Jacob 927 there. 32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, 928 explaining, 929 “Certainly 930 I have seen God face to face 931 and have survived.” 932
32:31 The sun rose 933 over him as he crossed over Penuel, 934 but 935 he was limping because of his hip. 32:32 That is why to this day 936 the Israelites do not eat the sinew which is attached to the socket of the hip, because he struck 937 the socket of Jacob’s hip near the attached sinew.
33:1 Jacob looked up 938 and saw that Esau was coming 939 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. 940 33:3 But Jacob 941 himself went on ahead of them, and he bowed toward the ground seven times as he approached 942 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 943 looked up 944 and saw the women and the children, he asked, “Who are these people with you?” Jacob 945 replied, “The children whom God has graciously given 946 your servant.” 33:6 The female servants came forward with their children and bowed down. 947 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 948 then asked, “What did you intend 949 by sending all these herds to meet me?” 950 Jacob 951 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. 952 “If I have found favor in your sight, accept 953 my gift from my hand. Now that I have seen your face and you have accepted me, 954 it is as if I have seen the face of God. 955 33:11 Please take my present 956 that was brought to you, for God has been generous 957 to me and I have all I need.” 958 When Jacob urged him, he took it. 959
33:12 Then Esau 960 said, “Let’s be on our way! 961 I will go in front of you.” 33:13 But Jacob 962 said to him, “My lord knows that the children are young, 963 and that I have to look after the sheep and cattle that are nursing their young. 964 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, 965 until I come to my lord at Seir.”
33:15 So Esau said, “Let me leave some of my men with you.” 966 “Why do that?” Jacob replied. 967 “My lord has already been kind enough to me.” 968
33:16 So that same day Esau made his way back 969 to Seir. 33:17 But 970 Jacob traveled to Succoth 971 where he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was called 972 Succoth. 973
33:18 After he left Paddan Aram, Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped near 974 the city. 33:19 Then he purchased the portion of the field where he had pitched his tent; he bought it 975 from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of money. 976 33:20 There he set up an altar and called it “The God of Israel is God.” 977
34:1 Now Dinah, Leah’s daughter whom she bore to Jacob, went to meet 978 the young women 979 of the land. 34:2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, who ruled that area, saw her, he grabbed her, forced himself on her, 980 and sexually assaulted her. 981 34:3 Then he became very attached 982 to Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. He fell in love with the young woman and spoke romantically to her. 983 34:4 Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Acquire this young girl as my wife.” 984 34:5 When 985 Jacob heard that Shechem 986 had violated his daughter Dinah, his sons were with the livestock in the field. So Jacob remained silent 987 until they came in.
34:6 Then Shechem’s father Hamor went to speak with Jacob about Dinah. 988 34:7 Now Jacob’s sons had come in from the field when they heard the news. 989 They 990 were offended 991 and very angry because Shechem 992 had disgraced Israel 993 by sexually assaulting 994 Jacob’s daughter, a crime that should not be committed. 995
34:8 But Hamor made this appeal to them: “My son Shechem is in love with your daughter. 996 Please give her to him as his wife. 34:9 Intermarry with us. 997 Let us marry your daughters, and take our daughters as wives for yourselves. 998 34:10 You may live 999 among us, and the land will be open to you. 1000 Live in it, travel freely in it, 1001 and acquire property in it.”
34:11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s 1002 father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your sight, and whatever you require of me 1003 I’ll give. 1004 34:12 You can make the bride price and the gift I must bring very expensive, 1005 and I’ll give 1006 whatever you ask 1007 of me. Just give me the young woman as my wife!”
34:13 Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully when they spoke because Shechem 1008 had violated their sister Dinah. 34:14 They said to them, “We cannot give 1009 our sister to a man who is not circumcised, for it would be a disgrace 1010 to us. 34:15 We will give you our consent on this one condition: You must become 1011 like us by circumcising 1012 all your males. 34:16 Then we will give 1013 you our daughters to marry, 1014 and we will take your daughters as wives for ourselves, and we will live among you and become one people. 34:17 But if you do not agree to our terms 1015 by being circumcised, then we will take 1016 our sister 1017 and depart.”
34:18 Their offer pleased Hamor and his son Shechem. 1018 34:19 The young man did not delay in doing what they asked 1019 because he wanted Jacob’s daughter Dinah 1020 badly. (Now he was more important 1021 than anyone in his father’s household.) 1022 34:20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate 1023 of their city and spoke to the men of their city, 34:21 “These men are at peace with us. So let them live in the land and travel freely in it, for the land is wide enough 1024 for them. We will take their daughters for wives, and we will give them our daughters to marry. 1025 34:22 Only on this one condition will these men consent to live with us and become one people: They demand 1026 that every male among us be circumcised just as they are circumcised. 34:23 If we do so, 1027 won’t their livestock, their property, and all their animals become ours? So let’s consent to their demand, so they will live among us.”
34:24 All the men who assembled at the city gate 1028 agreed with 1029 Hamor and his son Shechem. Every male who assembled at the city gate 1030 was circumcised. 34:25 In three days, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword 1031 and went to the unsuspecting city 1032 and slaughtered every male. 34:26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword, took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and left. 34:27 Jacob’s sons killed them 1033 and looted the city because their sister had been violated. 1034 34:28 They took their flocks, herds, and donkeys, as well as everything in the city and in the surrounding fields. 1035 34:29 They captured as plunder 1036 all their wealth, all their little ones, and their wives, including everything in the houses.
34:30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought ruin 1037 on me by making me a foul odor 1038 among the inhabitants of the land – among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I 1039 am few in number; they will join forces against me and attack me, and both I and my family will be destroyed!” 34:31 But Simeon and Levi replied, 1040 “Should he treat our sister like a common prostitute?”
Genesis 17:12-14
Context17:12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old 1041 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, 1042 whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant 1043 will be visible in your flesh as a permanent 1044 reminder. 17:14 Any uncircumcised male 1045 who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off 1046 from his people – he has failed to carry out my requirement.” 1047
Genesis 29:7-8
Context29:7 Then Jacob 1048 said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, 1049 it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” 1050 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 1051 the sheep.”
Genesis 30:30-33
Context30:30 Indeed, 1052 you had little before I arrived, 1053 but now your possessions have increased many times over. 1054 The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked. 1055 But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?” 1056
30:31 So Laban asked, 1057 “What should I give you?” “You don’t need to give me a thing,” 1058 Jacob replied, 1059 “but if you agree to this one condition, 1060 I will continue to care for 1061 your flocks and protect them: 30:32 Let me walk among 1062 all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, 1063 and the spotted or speckled goats. 1064 These animals will be my wages. 1065 30:33 My integrity will testify for me 1066 later on. 1067 When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on, 1068 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.” 1069
Genesis 31:5-9
Context31:5 There he said to them, “I can tell that your father’s attitude toward me has changed, 1070 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, 1071 31:7 but your father has humiliated 1072 me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not permitted him to do me any harm. 31:8 If he said, 1073 ‘The speckled animals 1074 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.
Genesis 37:36
Context37:36 Now 1075 in Egypt the Midianites 1076 sold Joseph 1077 to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard. 1078
Genesis 50:11
Context50:11 When the Canaanites who lived in the land saw them mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a very sad occasion 1079 for the Egyptians.” That is why its name was called 1080 Abel Mizraim, 1081 which is beyond the Jordan.
Jeremiah 50:18
Context50:18 So I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all, say: 1082
‘I will punish the king of Babylon and his land
just as I punished the king of Assyria.
[16:1] 1 tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of a new episode in the story.
[16:1] 2 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] 3 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] 4 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] 5 tn Heb “look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) introduces the foundational clause for the imperative to follow.
[16:2] 6 tn Heb “enter to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual relations (also in v. 4).
[16:2] 7 tn Heb “perhaps I will be built from her.” Sarai hopes to have a family established through this surrogate mother.
[16:2] 8 tn Heb “listened to the voice of,” which is an idiom meaning “obeyed.”
[16:3] 9 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] 10 tn Heb “the Egyptian, her female servant.”
[16:3] 11 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] 13 tn Heb “entered to.” See the note on the same expression in v. 2.
[16:4] 14 tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 5)
[16:4] 15 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] 17 tn Heb “my wrong is because of you.”
[16:5] 18 tn Heb “I placed my female servant in your bosom.”
[16:5] 20 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] 21 tn Heb “me and you.”
[16:6] 21 tn The clause is introduced with the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), introducing a foundational clause for the coming imperative: “since…do.”
[16:6] 22 tn Heb “in your hand.”
[16:6] 23 tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”
[16:6] 24 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[16:6] 25 tn In the Piel stem the verb עָנָה (’anah) means “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly, to mistreat.”
[16:6] 26 tn Heb “and she fled from her presence.” The referent of “her” (Sarai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[16:7] 25 tn Heb “the messenger of the
[16:7] 26 tn Heb “And the angel of the
[16:8] 29 tn Heb “from the presence of.”
[16:9] 33 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] 37 tn Heb “The
[16:10] 38 tn Heb “cannot be numbered because of abundance.”
[16:11] 41 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) focuses on her immediate situation: “Here you are pregnant.”
[16:11] 42 tn The active participle refers here to something that is about to happen.
[16:11] 43 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] 44 tn Heb “affliction,” which must refer here to Hagar’s painful groans of anguish.
[16:12] 45 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] 46 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] 47 tn Heb “And the hand of everyone will be against him.”
[16:12] 48 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] 49 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] 50 tn Heb “after one who sees me.”
[16:14] 53 tn The verb does not have an expressed subject and so is rendered as passive in the translation.
[16:14] 54 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] 55 tn Heb “look.” The words “it is located” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[16:15] 57 tn Heb “and Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.”
[16:16] 61 tn The disjunctive clause gives information that is parenthetical to the narrative.
[16:16] 62 tn Heb “the son of eighty-six years.”
[16:16] 63 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] 65 tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”
[17:1] 66 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] 67 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
[17:1] 68 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] 69 tn Or “in my presence.”
[17:1] 70 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
[17:2] 69 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative indicates consequence. If Abram is blameless, then the
[17:2] 70 tn Heb “I will multiply you exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
[17:3] 73 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] 74 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] 78 tn Heb “is” (הִנֵּה, hinneh).
[17:5] 81 tn Heb “will your name be called.”
[17:5] 82 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] 83 tn The perfect verbal form is used here in a rhetorical manner to emphasize God’s intention.
[17:6] 85 tn This verb starts a series of perfect verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive to express God’s intentions.
[17:6] 86 tn Heb “exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
[17:6] 87 tn Heb “and I will make you into nations, and kings will come out from you.”
[17:7] 89 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] 90 tn Or “as an eternal.”
[17:7] 91 tn Heb “to be to you for God and to your descendants after you.”
[17:8] 93 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] 94 tn Or “as an eternal.”
[17:9] 97 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] 98 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] 101 tn Heb “This is my covenant that you must keep between me and you and your descendants after you.”
[17:10] 102 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.
[17:12] 109 tn Heb “the son of eight days.”
[17:13] 113 tn The emphatic construction employs the Niphal imperfect tense (collective singular) and the Niphal infinitive.
[17:13] 114 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] 115 tn Or “an eternal.”
[17:14] 117 tn The disjunctive clause calls attention to the “uncircumcised male” and what will happen to him.
[17:14] 118 tn Heb “that person will be cut off.” The words “that person” have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[17:14] 119 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] 121 tn Heb “[As for] Sarai your wife, you must not call her name Sarai, for Sarah [will be] her name.”
[17:15] 122 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] 125 tn Heb “she will become nations.”
[17:17] 129 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] 130 tn Heb “And he fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart.”
[17:17] 131 tn The imperfect verbal form here carries a potential nuance, as it expresses the disbelief of Abraham.
[17:17] 132 tn Heb “to the son of a hundred years.”
[17:17] 133 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] 134 tn Heb “the daughter of ninety years.”
[17:18] 133 tn The wish is introduced with the Hebrew particle לוּ (lu), “O that.”
[17:18] 134 tn Or “live with your blessing.”
[17:19] 137 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] 138 tn Or “as an eternal.”
[17:20] 141 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] 142 tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
[17:20] 143 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] 145 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] 149 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] 150 tn Heb “circumcised the flesh of their foreskin.” The Hebrew expression is somewhat pleonastic and has been simplified in the translation.
[17:24] 153 tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”
[17:24] 154 tn Heb “circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin” (also in v. 25).
[17:25] 157 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
[18:3] 169 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
[18:3] 170 tn Heb “do not pass by from upon your servant.”
[18:4] 173 tn The imperative after the jussive indicates purpose here.
[18:4] 174 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] 177 tn The Qal cohortative here probably has the nuance of polite request.
[18:5] 178 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] 179 tn Heb “strengthen your heart.” The imperative after the cohortative indicates purpose here.
[18:5] 180 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] 181 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] 182 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] 183 sn The bread was the simple, round bread made by bedouins that is normally prepared quickly for visitors.
[18:7] 185 tn Heb “the young man.”
[18:7] 186 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] 189 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:8] 190 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] 191 tn The disjunctive clause is a temporal circumstantial clause subordinate to the main verb.
[18:9] 193 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) often accompanies a gesture of pointing or a focused gaze.
[18:10] 197 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
[18:10] 198 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.
[18:10] 199 tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.
[18:10] 200 tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”
[18:10] 201 tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).
[18:11] 202 tn Heb “it had ceased to be for Sarah [after] a way like women.”
[18:12] 206 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] 207 tn The word “too” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[18:13] 209 tn Heb “Why, this?” The demonstrative pronoun following the interrogative pronoun is enclitic, emphasizing the
[18:13] 210 tn The Hebrew construction uses both הַאַף (ha’af) and אֻמְנָם (’umnam): “Indeed, truly, will I have a child?”
[18:14] 213 tn The Hebrew verb פָּלָא (pala’) means “to be wonderful, to be extraordinary, to be surpassing, to be amazing.”
[18:14] 214 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
[18:15] 217 tn Heb “And he said, ‘No, but you did laugh.’” The referent (the
[18:16] 221 tn Heb “And the men arose from there.”
[18:16] 222 tn Heb “toward the face of.”
[18:16] 223 tn The disjunctive parenthetical clause sets the stage for the following speech.
[18:16] 224 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] 225 tn The active participle here refers to an action that is imminent.
[18:18] 229 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] 230 tn The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the finite verb that follows.
[18:18] 231 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] 233 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
[18:19] 234 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] 235 tn The infinitive construct here indicates manner, explaining how Abraham’s children and his household will keep the way of the
[18:19] 236 tn Heb “bring on.” The infinitive after לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) indicates result here.
[18:19] 237 tn Heb “spoke to.”
[18:20] 237 tn Heb “the outcry of Sodom,” which apparently refers to the outcry for divine justice from those (unidentified persons) who observe its sinful ways.
[18:21] 241 tn The cohortative indicates the
[18:21] 242 tn Heb “[if] according to the outcry that has come to me they have done completely.” Even the
[18:21] 243 sn The short phrase if not provides a ray of hope and inspires Abraham’s intercession.
[18:22] 245 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
[18:22] 247 tc An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition reads “but the
[18:24] 249 tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).
[18:25] 254 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] 257 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 30, 31, 32 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[18:27] 258 tn The disjunctive clause is a concessive clause here, drawing out the humility as a contrast to the
[18:28] 261 tn The Hebrew verb שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to destroy”) was used earlier to describe the effect of the flood.
[18:28] 262 tn Heb “because of five.”
[18:29] 265 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:29] 266 tn The construction is a verbal hendiadys – the preterite (“he added”) is combined with an adverb “yet” and an infinitive “to speak.”
[18:30] 269 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:30] 270 tn Heb “let it not be hot to the
[18:30] 271 tn After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.
[18:31] 273 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:32] 277 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:33] 281 tn Heb “And the
[18:33] 282 tn The infinitive construct (“speaking”) serves as the direct object of the verb “finished.”
[18:33] 283 tn Heb “to his place.”
[19:1] 285 tn The disjunctive clause is temporal here, indicating what Lot was doing at the time of their arrival.
[19:1] 286 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] 289 tn The imperatives have the force of invitation.
[19:2] 290 tn These two verbs form a verbal hendiadys: “you can rise up early and go” means “you can go early.”
[19:2] 291 sn The town square refers to the wide street area at the gate complex of the city.
[19:3] 293 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] 297 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] 298 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] 301 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said to him.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
[19:5] 302 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] 305 tn Heb “may my brothers not act wickedly.”
[19:8] 309 tn Heb “who have not known.” Here this expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
[19:8] 310 tn Heb “according to what is good in your eyes.”
[19:8] 312 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] 313 tn Heb “approach out there” which could be rendered “Get out of the way, stand back!”
[19:9] 314 tn Heb “to live as a resident alien.”
[19:9] 315 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] 316 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] 317 tn Heb “and they pressed against the man, against Lot, exceedingly.”
[19:9] 318 tn Heb “and they drew near.”
[19:10] 317 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] 318 tn The Hebrew text adds “their hand.” These words have not been translated for stylistic reasons.
[19:10] 319 tn Heb “to them into the house.”
[19:11] 321 tn Heb “from the least to the greatest.”
[19:11] 322 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Sodom outside the door) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[19:12] 325 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] 326 tn Heb “Yet who [is there] to you here?”
[19:12] 327 tn The words “Do you have” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[19:12] 328 tn Heb “a son-in-law and your sons and your daughters and anyone who (is) to you in the city.”
[19:12] 329 tn Heb “the place.” The Hebrew article serves here as a demonstrative.
[19:13] 329 tn The Hebrew participle expresses an imminent action here.
[19:13] 330 tn Heb “for their outcry.” The words “about this place” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[19:13] 331 tn Heb “the
[19:14] 333 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] 334 tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.
[19:14] 335 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] 337 tn Heb “When dawn came up.”
[19:15] 338 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] 339 tn Or “with the iniquity [i.e., punishment] of the city” (cf. NASB, NRSV).
[19:16] 341 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[19:16] 342 tn Heb “in the compassion of the
[19:16] 343 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] 345 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] 347 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] 348 tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
[19:18] 349 tn Or “my lords.” See the following note on the problem of identifying the addressee here. The Hebrew term is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[19:19] 353 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] 354 tn Heb “in your eyes.”
[19:19] 355 tn Heb “you made great your kindness.”
[19:19] 356 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] 357 tn The infinitive construct explains how God has shown Lot kindness.
[19:19] 359 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] 360 tn The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.
[19:20] 357 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] 358 tn Heb “Look, this town is near to flee to there. And it is little.”
[19:20] 359 tn Heb “Let me escape to there.” The cohortative here expresses Lot’s request.
[19:20] 360 tn Heb “Is it not little?”
[19:20] 361 tn Heb “my soul will live.” After the cohortative the jussive with vav conjunctive here indicates purpose/result.
[19:21] 361 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
[19:21] 362 tn Heb “I have lifted up your face [i.e., shown you favor] also concerning this matter.”
[19:21] 363 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] 365 tn Heb “Be quick! Escape to there!” The two imperatives form a verbal hendiadys, the first becoming adverbial.
[19:22] 366 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] 369 sn The sun had just risen. There was very little time for Lot to escape between dawn (v. 15) and sunrise (here).
[19:23] 370 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] 373 tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of the next scene and highlights God’s action.
[19:24] 374 tn Or “burning sulfur” (the traditional “fire and brimstone”).
[19:24] 375 tn Heb “from the
[19:25] 377 tn Or “and all the plain”; Heb “and all the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
[19:25] 378 tn Heb “and the vegetation of the ground.”
[19:26] 381 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[19:26] 382 tn The Hebrew verb means “to look intently; to gaze” (see 15:5).
[19:27] 385 tn The words “and went” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[19:28] 389 tn Heb “upon the face of.”
[19:28] 390 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] 391 tn Heb “And he saw, and look, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.”
[19:29] 393 tn The construction is a temporal clause comprised of the temporal indicator, an infinitive construct with a preposition, and the subjective genitive.
[19:29] 394 tn Or “of the plain”; Heb “of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
[19:29] 395 tn Heb “remembered,” but this means more than mental recollection here. Abraham’s request (Gen 18:23-32) was that the
[19:29] 396 sn God’s removal of Lot before the judgment is paradigmatic. He typically delivers the godly before destroying their world.
[19:29] 397 tn Heb “the overthrow when [he] overthrew.”
[19:31] 397 tn Heb “and the firstborn said.”
[19:31] 398 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] 399 tn Heb “to enter upon us.” This is a euphemism for sexual relations.
[19:32] 401 tn Heb “drink wine.”
[19:32] 402 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] 403 tn Or “that we may preserve.” Here the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates their ultimate goal.
[19:32] 404 tn Heb “and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”
[19:33] 405 tn Heb “drink wine.”
[19:33] 406 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
[19:33] 407 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] 408 tn Heb “and he did not know when she lay down and when she arose.”
[19:34] 409 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
[19:34] 410 tn Heb “Look, I lied down with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight.”
[19:34] 411 tn Heb “And go, lie down with him and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”
[19:35] 413 tn Heb “drink wine.”
[19:35] 414 tn Heb “lied down with him.”
[19:35] 415 tn Heb “And he did not know when she lied down and when she arose.”
[19:37] 417 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
[19:37] 418 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] 421 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.
[25:1] 426 tn Heb “And Abraham added and took.”
[25:3] 429 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.
[25:6] 437 tn Heb “the sons of the concubines who [belonged] to Abraham.”
[25:6] 438 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] 441 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] 445 tn Heb “old and full.”
[25:8] 446 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] 449 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] 453 tn See the note on the phrase “sons of Heth” in Gen 23:3.
[25:11] 457 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] 458 sn Beer Lahai Roi. See the note on this place name in Gen 24:62.
[25:12] 461 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] 465 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] 469 tn Or “tribal chieftains.”
[25:17] 473 tn Heb “And these are the days of the years of Ishmael.”
[25:17] 474 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] 477 tn Heb “they”; the referent (Ishmael’s descendants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[25:18] 478 tn Heb “which is by the face of,” or near the border. The territory ran along the border of Egypt.
[25:18] 479 tn Heb “as you go.”
[25:18] 480 sn The name Asshur refers here to a tribal area in the Sinai.
[25:18] 482 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] 481 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] 485 tn Heb “And Isaac was the son of forty years when he took Rebekah.”
[25:20] 486 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] 489 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
[25:22] 493 tn The Hebrew word used here suggests a violent struggle that was out of the ordinary.
[25:22] 494 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] 495 sn Asked the
[25:23] 497 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] 501 tn Heb “And her days were filled to give birth.”
[25:24] 502 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] 505 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] 506 tn Heb “all of him.”
[25:25] 507 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] 508 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] 509 tn The disjunctive clause describes an important circumstance accompanying the birth. Whereas Esau was passive at birth, Jacob was active.
[25:26] 510 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] 511 tn Heb “the son of sixty years.”
[25:27] 514 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] 517 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] 518 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] 521 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] 525 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] 526 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so is given a passive translation.
[25:30] 527 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.”
[25:32] 533 tn Heb “And what is this to me, a birthright?”
[25:33] 537 tn Heb “Swear to me today.”
[25:33] 538 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[25:33] 539 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] 541 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] 542 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] 545 tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”
[26:1] 546 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] 549 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] 550 tn Heb “say to you.”
[26:3] 553 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] 554 tn After the imperative “stay” the two prefixed verb forms with prefixed conjunction here indicate consequence.
[26:3] 555 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] 556 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] 557 tn Heb “the oath which I swore.”
[26:4] 557 tn Heb “your descendants.”
[26:4] 558 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] 561 tn The words “All this will come to pass” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons.
[26:5] 562 tn Heb “listened to my voice.”
[26:5] 563 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] 565 sn Rebekah, unlike Sarah, was not actually her husband’s sister.
[26:7] 566 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] 567 tn Heb “kill me on account of.”
[26:8] 569 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:8] 570 tn Heb “and it happened when the days were long to him there.”
[26:8] 571 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.
[26:9] 573 tn Heb “Surely, look!” See N. H. Snaith, “The meaning of Hebrew ‘ak,” VT 14 (1964): 221-25.
[26:9] 574 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] 577 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] 579 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] 581 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] 582 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the imperfect makes the construction emphatic.
[26:12] 585 tn Heb “a hundredfold.”
[26:12] 586 tn This final clause explains why Isaac had such a bountiful harvest.
[26:13] 589 tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Isaac’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are included.
[26:13] 590 tn Heb “and he went, going and becoming great.” The construction stresses that his growth in possessions and power continued steadily.
[26:14] 593 tn Heb “and there was to him.”
[26:14] 594 tn Heb “possessions of sheep.”
[26:14] 595 tn Heb “possessions of cattle.”
[26:14] 596 tn The Hebrew verb translated “became jealous” refers here to intense jealousy or envy that leads to hostile action (see v. 15).
[26:15] 597 tn Heb “and the Philistines stopped them up and filled them with dirt.”
[26:16] 601 tn Heb “Go away from us.”
[26:16] 602 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] 605 tn Heb “and he camped in the valley of Gerar and he lived there.”
[26:18] 609 tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”
[26:18] 610 tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.
[26:18] 611 tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.
[26:18] 612 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:18] 613 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:18] 614 tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”
[26:19] 613 tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).
[26:20] 617 tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.
[26:20] 618 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:20] 619 tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”
[26:20] 620 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] 621 tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[26:21] 621 tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:21] 622 tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:21] 623 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] 625 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:22] 626 tn Heb “and he called its name.”
[26:22] 627 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] 629 tn Heb “and he went up from there”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:25] 633 tn Heb “called in the name of.” The expression refers to worshiping the
[26:25] 634 tn Heb “and they dug there, the servants of Isaac, a well.”
[26:26] 637 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] 639 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] 641 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, expressing the reason for his question.
[26:28] 645 tn The infinitive absolute before the verb emphasizes the clarity of their perception.
[26:28] 646 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] 647 tn The pronoun “us” here is inclusive – it refers to the Philistine contingent on the one hand and Isaac on the other.
[26:28] 648 tn The pronoun “us” here is exclusive – it refers to just the Philistine contingent (the following “you” refers to Isaac).
[26:28] 649 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] 649 tn The oath formula is used: “if you do us harm” means “so that you will not do.”
[26:29] 651 tn Heb “and just as we have done only good with you.”
[26:29] 652 tn Heb “and we sent you away.”
[26:29] 653 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] 653 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:30] 654 tn Heb “and they ate and drank.”
[26:31] 657 tn Heb “and they got up early and they swore an oath, a man to his brother.”
[26:31] 658 tn Heb “and they went from him in peace.”
[26:32] 661 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] 665 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] 666 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] 669 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making this clause subordinate to the next.
[26:34] 670 tn Heb “the son of forty years.”
[26:34] 671 tn Heb “took as a wife.”
[26:35] 673 tn Heb “And they were [a source of ] bitterness in spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.”
[27:1] 677 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] 678 tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”
[27:1] 679 tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).
[27:1] 680 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:2] 681 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaac) is specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:2] 682 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here introduces a logically foundational statement, upon which the coming instruction will be based.
[27:2] 683 tn Heb “I do not know the day of my death.”
[27:3] 685 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] 689 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:4] 690 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] 693 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] 694 tc The LXX adds here “to his father,” which may have been accidentally omitted in the MT.
[27:7] 697 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:7] 698 tn The cohortative, with the prefixed conjunction, also expresses logical sequence. See vv. 4, 19, 27.
[27:7] 699 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
[27:8] 701 tn Heb “listen to my voice.” The Hebrew idiom means “to comply; to obey.”
[27:8] 702 tn Heb “to that which I am commanding you.”
[27:9] 705 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:10] 709 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] 710 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] 711 tn Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[27:11] 713 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] 717 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] 721 tn Heb “upon me your curse.”
[27:13] 722 tn Heb “only listen to my voice.”
[27:14] 725 tn The words “the goats” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:14] 726 tn Heb “his mother.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “she” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:16] 729 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] 730 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] 733 tn Heb “gave…into the hand of.”
[27:18] 737 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:18] 738 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] 741 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] 742 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] 745 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] 746 tn Heb “you hastened to find.” In translation the infinitive becomes the main verb and the first verb becomes adverbial.
[27:20] 747 tn Heb “caused to meet before me.”
[27:20] 748 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Because the
[27:21] 749 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:21] 750 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] 753 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] 757 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:25] 761 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:25] 762 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] 763 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] 764 tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:25] 765 tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:27] 765 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:27] 766 tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:28] 769 tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”
[27:28] 770 tn Heb “and from the fatness.”
[27:29] 773 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] 774 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] 775 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] 777 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite form of the verb makes the construction emphatic.
[27:30] 778 tn Heb “the presence of Isaac his father.” The repetition of the proper name (“Isaac”) was
[27:30] 779 tn Heb “and Esau his brother came from his hunt.”
[27:31] 781 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] 782 tn Or “arise” (i.e., sit up).
[27:31] 783 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.”
[27:32] 786 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] 789 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] 790 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] 793 tn The temporal clause is introduced with the temporal indicator and has the infinitive as its verb.
[27:34] 794 tn Heb “and he yelled [with] a great and bitter yell to excess.”
[27:35] 797 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:35] 798 tn Or “took”; “received.”
[27:36] 801 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] 802 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] 805 tn Heb “Bless me, me also, my father.” The words “my father” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:38] 806 tn Heb “and Esau lifted his voice and wept.”
[27:39] 810 tn Heb “from the fatness.”
[27:40] 813 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] 817 tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.
[27:41] 818 tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”
[27:41] 819 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] 821 tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.
[27:42] 821 tn Heb “and the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah.”
[27:42] 822 tn Heb “she sent and called for.”
[27:42] 823 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] 825 tn Heb “listen to my voice.”
[27:43] 826 tn Heb “arise, flee.”
[27:44] 829 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] 833 tn The words “stay there” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:45] 834 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] 835 tn If Jacob stayed, he would be killed and Esau would be forced to run away.
[27:46] 837 tn Heb “loathe my life.” The Hebrew verb translated “loathe” refers to strong disgust (see Lev 20:23).
[27:46] 838 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] 839 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] 841 tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
[28:2] 845 tn Heb “Arise! Go!” The first of the two imperatives is adverbial and stresses the immediacy of the departure.
[28:3] 849 tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.
[28:3] 850 tn Heb “and make you fruitful and multiply you.” See Gen 17:6, 20 for similar terminology.
[28:3] 851 tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here indicates consequence. The collocation הָיָה + preposition לְ (hayah + lÿ) means “become.”
[28:3] 852 tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”
[28:4] 853 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] 854 tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[28:4] 855 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] 857 tn Heb “to take for himself from there a wife.”
[28:6] 858 tn The infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffix form a temporal clause.
[28:6] 859 tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
[28:8] 862 tn Heb “the daughters of Canaan.”
[28:8] 863 tn Heb “evil in the eyes of.”
[28:9] 865 tn Heb “took for a wife.”
[28:11] 869 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] 870 tn Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.”
[28:11] 871 tn Heb “he took from the stones of the place,” which here means Jacob took one of the stones (see v. 18).
[28:11] 872 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] 873 tn Heb “lay down.”
[28:12] 873 tn Heb “and dreamed.”
[28:12] 874 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
[28:12] 875 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] 877 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] 878 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] 881 tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.
[28:14] 882 tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.
[28:14] 883 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] 884 tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”
[28:15] 885 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] 889 tn Heb “woke up from his sleep.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[28:18] 893 tn Heb “and he got up early…and he took.”
[28:18] 894 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[28:18] 895 tn See the note on this phrase in v. 11.
[28:18] 896 tn Heb “standing stone.”
[28:19] 897 tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew (see v. 17).
[28:20] 901 tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.
[28:21] 905 tn Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.”
[28:22] 909 tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.
[28:22] 910 tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.
[28:22] 911 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] 913 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] 914 tn Heb “the land of the sons of the east.”
[29:2] 917 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] 918 tn Heb “and look, there.”
[29:2] 919 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the noun with the prefixed conjunction) provides supplemental information that is important to the story.
[29:3] 921 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the shepherds) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:5] 926 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] 929 tn Heb “and he said to them, ‘Is there peace to him?’”
[29:7] 933 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:7] 934 tn Heb “the day is great.”
[29:7] 935 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] 937 tn The perfect verbal forms with the vav (ו) consecutive carry on the sequence begun by the initial imperfect form.
[29:9] 941 tn Heb “was a shepherdess.”
[29:10] 945 tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother” (twice in this verse).
[29:10] 946 tn Heb “Jacob.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[29:10] 947 tn Heb “drew near, approached.”
[29:10] 948 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] 949 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] 953 tn Heb “declared.”
[29:12] 954 tn Heb “that he [was] the brother of her father.”
[29:13] 957 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:13] 958 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] 961 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] 962 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:14] 963 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] 969 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] 973 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] 974 tn Heb “and Rachel was beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance.”
[29:18] 977 tn Heb “Jacob loved.”
[29:19] 981 tn Heb “Better my giving her to you than my giving her to another man.”
[29:20] 985 tn Heb “in exchange for Rachel.”
[29:20] 986 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] 987 tn Heb “because of his love for her.” The words “was so great” are supplied for stylistic reasons.
[29:21] 989 tn Heb “and Jacob said.”
[29:21] 990 tn Heb “my days are fulfilled.”
[29:21] 991 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).
[29:23] 997 tn Heb “and it happened in the evening that he took Leah his daughter and brought her.”
[29:23] 998 tn Heb “to him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:23] 999 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:23] 1000 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] 1001 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] 1005 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] 1006 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:25] 1007 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] 1008 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] 1009 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] 1010 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] 1013 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] 1014 tn Heb “this other one.”
[29:27] 1015 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] 1017 tn Heb “and Jacob did so.” The words “as Laban said” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[29:28] 1018 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:28] 1019 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] 1020 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] 1021 tn Heb “and Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his female servant, for her for a servant.”
[29:30] 1025 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:30] 1026 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] 1027 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:30] 1028 tn Heb “and he loved also Rachel, more than Leah, and he served with him still seven other years.”
[29:31] 1029 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] 1030 tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”
[29:32] 1033 tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).
[29:32] 1034 sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”
[29:32] 1035 tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”
[29:33] 1037 tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.
[29:33] 1038 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
[29:34] 1041 tn Heb “will be joined to me.”
[29:34] 1042 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] 1045 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] 1049 tn Heb “Rachel.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[30:2] 1053 tn Heb “and the anger of Jacob was hot.”
[30:2] 1054 tn Heb “who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb.”
[30:3] 1057 tn Heb “go in to.” The expression “go in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.
[30:3] 1058 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates the immediate purpose of the proposed activity.
[30:3] 1059 tn The word “children” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[30:3] 1060 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] 1061 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] 1061 tn Heb “and she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[30:4] 1062 tn Heb “went in to.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.
[30:5] 1065 tn Or “Bilhah conceived” (also in v. 7).
[30:5] 1066 tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a son.”
[30:6] 1069 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] 1070 tn Or “therefore.”
[30:6] 1071 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] 1073 tn Heb “and she became pregnant again and Bilhah, the servant of Rachel, bore a second son for Jacob.”
[30:8] 1077 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] 1078 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] 1081 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] 1085 tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore for Jacob a son.”
[30:11] 1089 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] 1090 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] 1093 tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore a second son for Jacob.”
[30:13] 1097 tn The Hebrew statement apparently means “with my happiness.”
[30:13] 1098 tn Heb “daughters.”
[30:13] 1099 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] 1101 tn Heb “during the days.”
[30:14] 1102 sn Mandrake plants were popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac in the culture of the time.
[30:15] 1105 tn Heb “and she said to her”; the referent of the pronoun “she” (Leah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[30:15] 1106 tn Heb “therefore.”
[30:15] 1107 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] 1109 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] 1110 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] 1111 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] 1113 tn Heb “listened to.”
[30:17] 1114 tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 19).
[30:17] 1115 tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a fifth son,” i.e., this was the fifth son that Leah had given Jacob.
[30:18] 1117 tn Heb “God has given my reward.”
[30:18] 1118 tn The words “as a wife” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity (cf. v. 9).
[30:18] 1119 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] 1121 tn Heb “and she bore a sixth son for Jacob,” i.e., this was the sixth son that Leah had given Jacob.
[30:20] 1125 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] 1129 tn Heb “remembered.”
[30:22] 1130 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] 1133 tn Or “conceived.”
[30:23] 1134 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] 1137 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] 1141 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] 1142 tn The imperatival form here expresses a request.
[30:25] 1143 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[30:25] 1144 tn Heb “to my place and to my land.”
[30:26] 1145 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] 1146 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[30:26] 1147 tn Heb “for you, you know my service [with] which I have served you.”
[30:27] 1149 tn The words “please stay here” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
[30:27] 1150 tn Or perhaps “I have grown rich and the
[30:28] 1153 tn Heb “set your wage for me so I may give [it].”
[30:29] 1157 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] 1158 tn Heb “and how your cattle were with me.”
[30:30] 1162 tn Heb “before me.”
[30:30] 1163 tn Heb “and it has broken out with respect to abundance.”
[30:30] 1164 tn Heb “at my foot.”
[30:30] 1165 tn Heb “How long [until] I do, also I, for my house?”
[30:31] 1165 tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[30:31] 1166 tn The negated imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance.
[30:31] 1167 tn The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[30:31] 1168 tn Heb “If you do for me this thing.”
[30:31] 1169 tn Heb “I will return, I will tend,” an idiom meaning “I will continue tending.”
[30:32] 1169 tn Heb “pass through.”
[30:32] 1170 tn Or “every black lamb”; Heb “and every dark sheep among the lambs.”
[30:32] 1171 tn Heb “and the spotted and speckled among the goats.”
[30:32] 1172 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] 1173 tn Heb “will answer on my behalf.”
[30:33] 1174 tn Heb “on the following day,” or “tomorrow.”
[30:33] 1175 tn Heb “when you come concerning my wage before you.”
[30:33] 1176 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] 1177 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] 1181 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[30:35] 1182 tn Heb “and he gave [them] into the hand.”
[30:36] 1185 tn Heb “and he put a journey of three days between himself and Jacob.”
[30:36] 1186 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] 1189 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] 1193 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] 1194 tn Heb “the sheep.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“they”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[30:40] 1197 tn Heb “and he set the faces of.”
[30:41] 1201 tn Heb “and at every breeding-heat of the flock.”
[30:42] 1205 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] 1206 tn Heb “were for Laban.”
[30:43] 1209 tn Heb “the man”; Jacob’s name has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[30:43] 1210 tn Heb “and there were to him.”
[31:1] 1213 tn Heb “and he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying.”
[31:1] 1214 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] 1215 tn Heb “and from that which belonged to our father he has gained all this wealth.”
[31:2] 1217 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] 1221 tn Or perhaps “ancestors” (so NRSV), although the only “ancestors” Jacob had there were his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac.
[31:3] 1222 sn I will be with you. Though Laban was no longer “with him,” the
[31:4] 1225 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] 1226 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] 1227 tn Heb “to his flock.”
[31:5] 1229 tn Heb “I see the face of your father, that he is not toward me as formerly.”
[31:6] 1233 tn Heb “with all my strength.”
[31:7] 1237 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] 1241 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] 1242 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] 1245 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator, “and it happened at the time of.”
[31:10] 1246 tn Heb “in the time of the breeding of the flock I lifted up my eyes and I saw.”
[31:10] 1247 tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.
[31:12] 1249 tn Heb “lift up (now) your eyes and see.”
[31:12] 1250 tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.
[31:13] 1253 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[31:13] 1254 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
[31:13] 1255 sn And made a vow to me. The second clause reminds Jacob of the vow he made to the
[31:13] 1256 tn Heb “arise, leave!” The first imperative draws attention to the need for immediate action.
[31:14] 1257 tn The two nouns may form a hendiadys, meaning “a share in the inheritance” or “a portion to inherit.”
[31:15] 1261 tn Heb “and he devoured, even devouring.” The infinitive absolute (following the finite verb here) is used for emphasis.
[31:15] 1262 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] 1265 tn Heb “and Jacob arose and he lifted up his sons and his wives on to the camels.”
[31:18] 1269 tn Heb “drove,” but this is subject to misunderstanding in contemporary English.
[31:18] 1270 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] 1273 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] 1274 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] 1277 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] 1278 tn Heb “fleeing,” which reflects Jacob’s viewpoint.
[31:21] 1281 tn Heb “and he fled.”
[31:21] 1282 tn Heb “he arose and crossed.” The first verb emphasizes that he wasted no time in getting across.
[31:21] 1283 tn Heb “the river”; the referent (the Euphrates) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[31:21] 1284 tn Heb “he set his face.”
[31:22] 1285 tn Heb “and it was told to Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled.”
[31:23] 1289 tn Heb “his brothers.”
[31:23] 1290 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[31:23] 1291 tn Heb “and he pursued after him a journey of seven days.”
[31:23] 1292 tn Heb “drew close to.”
[31:24] 1293 tn Heb “said to him.”
[31:24] 1294 tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.
[31:24] 1295 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] 1297 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] 1301 tn Heb “and you have stolen my heart.” This expression apparently means “to deceive” (see v. 20).
[31:26] 1302 tn Heb “and you have led away my daughters like captives of a sword.”
[31:27] 1305 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] 1306 tn Heb “and steal me.”
[31:27] 1307 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] 1309 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] 1313 tn Heb “there is to my hand.”
[31:29] 1314 tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.
[31:29] 1315 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] 1317 tn Heb “and now.” The words “I understand that” have been supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
[31:30] 1318 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the certainty of the action.
[31:30] 1319 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of emotion involved.
[31:30] 1320 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] 1321 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] 1322 tn Heb “for I said.”
[31:31] 1323 tn Heb “lest you steal your daughters from with me.”
[31:32] 1325 tn Heb “With whomever you find your gods, he will not live.”
[31:32] 1326 tn Heb “brothers.”
[31:32] 1327 tn Heb “recognize for yourself what is with me and take for yourself.”
[31:32] 1328 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] 1329 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] 1330 tn Heb “and he went out from the tent of Leah and went into the tent of Rachel.”
[31:34] 1333 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] 1334 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides another parenthetical statement necessary to the storyline.
[31:34] 1335 tn The word “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
[31:35] 1337 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[31:35] 1338 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] 1339 tn Heb “I am unable to rise.”
[31:35] 1340 tn Heb “the way of women is to me.” This idiom refers to a woman’s menstrual period.
[31:35] 1341 tn The word “thoroughly” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.
[31:36] 1341 tn Heb “it was hot to Jacob.” This idiom refers to anger.
[31:36] 1342 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] 1343 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] 1345 tn Heb “what did you find from all the goods of your house?”
[31:37] 1346 tn Heb “your relatives.” The word “relatives” has not been repeated in the translation here for stylistic reasons.
[31:37] 1347 tn Heb “that they may decide between us two.”
[31:39] 1349 tn The imperfect verbal form indicates that this was a customary or typical action.
[31:39] 1350 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] 1353 tn Or “by drought.”
[31:40] 1354 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] 1355 tn Heb “and my sleep fled from my eyes.”
[31:41] 1357 tn Heb “this to me.”
[31:41] 1358 tn Heb “served you,” but in this accusatory context the meaning is more “worked like a slave.”
[31:42] 1361 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] 1362 tn Heb “My oppression and the work of my hands God saw.”
[31:43] 1365 tn Heb “answered and said.”
[31:43] 1366 tn Heb “daughters.”
[31:43] 1367 tn Heb “children.”
[31:43] 1368 tn Heb “but to my daughters what can I do to these today?”
[31:44] 1369 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
[31:44] 1370 tn The verb הָיָה (hayah) followed by the preposition לְ (lÿ) means “become.”
[31:44] 1371 tn Heb “and it will become a witness between me and you.”
[31:46] 1373 tn Heb “Jacob”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[31:46] 1374 sn The Hebrew word for “pile” is גַּל (gal), which sounds like the name “Galeed” (גַּלְעֵד, gal’ed). See v. 48.
[31:47] 1377 sn Jegar Sahadutha. Laban the Aramean gave the place an Aramaic name which means “witness pile” or “the pile is a witness.”
[31:47] 1378 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] 1381 tn Heb “a witness between me and you.”
[31:49] 1385 tn Heb “and Mizpah.”
[31:49] 1386 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
[31:49] 1387 tn Heb “between me and you.”
[31:49] 1388 tn Heb “for we will be hidden, each man from his neighbor.”
[31:50] 1390 tn Heb “between me and you.”
[31:51] 1393 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] 1397 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] 1401 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] 1402 tn Heb “by the fear of his father Isaac.” See the note on the word “fears” in v. 42.
[31:54] 1405 tn The construction is a cognate accusative with the verb, expressing a specific sacrifice.
[31:54] 1406 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] 1409 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] 1410 tn Heb “and Laban got up early in the morning and he kissed.”
[31:55] 1411 tn Heb “his sons.”
[31:55] 1412 tn Heb “to his place.”
[32:1] 1413 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] 1417 tn Heb “and Jacob said when he saw them.”
[32:2] 1418 sn The name Mahanaim apparently means “two camps.” Perhaps the two camps were those of God and of Jacob.
[32:3] 1421 tn Heb “before him.”
[32:4] 1425 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] 1429 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] 1430 tn The words “this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[32:8] 1433 tn Heb “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.”
[32:8] 1434 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] 1435 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] 1438 tn Heb “the one who said.”
[32:9] 1439 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] 1441 tn Heb “the loving deeds and faithfulness” (see 24:27, 49).
[32:10] 1442 tn Heb “you have done with.”
[32:10] 1443 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] 1444 tn Heb “this Jordan.”
[32:11] 1445 tn The imperative has the force of a prayer here, not a command.
[32:11] 1446 tn The “hand” here is a metonymy for “power.”
[32:11] 1447 tn Heb “from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau.”
[32:11] 1448 tn Heb “for I am afraid of him, lest he come.”
[32:11] 1449 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] 1449 tn Heb “But you, you said.” One of the occurrences of the pronoun “you” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.
[32:12] 1450 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] 1451 tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the nuance of the preceding verb forward.
[32:12] 1452 tn Heb “which cannot be counted because of abundance.” The imperfect verbal form indicates potential here.
[32:13] 1453 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[32:13] 1454 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] 1455 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] 1457 tn Heb “and he put them in the hand of.”
[32:16] 1458 tn Heb “a herd, a herd, by itself,” or “each herd by itself.” The distributive sense is expressed by repetition.
[32:17] 1461 tn Heb “the first”; this has been specified as “the servant leading the first herd” in the translation for clarity.
[32:17] 1462 tn Heb “to whom are you?”
[32:17] 1463 tn Heb “and to whom are these before you?”
[32:18] 1465 tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; it has the nuance of an imperfect of instruction.
[32:18] 1466 tn The words “they belong” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[32:18] 1467 tn Heb “to your servant, to Jacob.”
[32:18] 1468 tn Heb “to my lord, to Esau.”
[32:18] 1469 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] 1469 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] 1473 tn Heb “and look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.”
[32:20] 1474 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] 1475 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] 1476 tn Heb “with a gift going before me.”
[32:20] 1477 tn Heb “I will see his face.”
[32:20] 1478 tn Heb “Perhaps he will lift up my face.” In this context the idiom refers to acceptance.
[32:21] 1477 tn Heb “and the gift passed over upon his face.”
[32:21] 1478 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial/temporal.
[32:22] 1481 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] 1482 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] 1483 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] 1485 tn Heb “and he sent across what he had.”
[32:24] 1489 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] 1490 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] 1491 tn Heb “until the rising of the dawn.”
[32:25] 1493 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[32:25] 1494 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[32:25] 1495 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] 1497 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[32:26] 1498 tn Heb “dawn has arisen.”
[32:26] 1499 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] 1500 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] 1501 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] 1502 sn What is your name? The question is rhetorical, since the
[32:28] 1505 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] 1506 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
[32:28] 1507 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] 1509 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] 1510 tn The question uses the enclitic pronoun “this” to emphasize the import of the question.
[32:29] 1511 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] 1512 tn The verb here means that the
[32:29] 1513 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[32:30] 1513 sn The name Peniel means “face of God.” Since Jacob saw God face to face here, the name is appropriate.
[32:30] 1514 tn The word “explaining” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[32:30] 1516 sn I have seen God face to face. See the note on the name “Peniel” earlier in the verse.
[32:30] 1517 tn Heb “and my soul [= life] has been preserved.”
[32:31] 1518 sn The name is spelled Penuel here, apparently a variant spelling of Peniel (see v. 30).
[32:31] 1519 tn The disjunctive clause draws attention to an important fact: He may have crossed the stream, but he was limping.
[32:32] 1521 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] 1522 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] 1525 tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his eyes.”
[33:1] 1526 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] 1529 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] 1533 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[33:3] 1534 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] 1537 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[33:5] 1538 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”
[33:5] 1539 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[33:5] 1540 tn The Hebrew verb means “to be gracious; to show favor”; here it carries the nuance “to give graciously.”
[33:6] 1541 tn Heb “and the female servants drew near, they and their children and they bowed down.”
[33:8] 1545 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[33:8] 1546 tn Heb “Who to you?”
[33:8] 1547 tn Heb “all this camp which I met.”
[33:8] 1548 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[33:10] 1549 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] 1550 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] 1551 tn The verbal form is the preterite with a vav (ו) consecutive, indicating result here.
[33:10] 1552 tn Heb “for therefore I have seen your face like seeing the face of God and you have accepted me.”
[33:11] 1553 tn Heb “blessing.” It is as if Jacob is trying to repay what he stole from his brother twenty years earlier.
[33:11] 1554 tn Or “gracious,” but in the specific sense of prosperity.
[33:11] 1556 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] 1557 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[33:12] 1558 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] 1561 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[33:13] 1563 tn Heb “and the sheep and the cattle nursing [are] upon me.”
[33:14] 1565 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] 1569 tn The cohortative verbal form here indicates a polite offer of help.
[33:15] 1570 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] 1571 tn Heb “I am finding favor in the eyes of my lord.”
[33:16] 1573 tn Heb “returned on his way.”
[33:17] 1577 tn The disjunctive clause contrasts Jacob’s action with Esau’s.
[33:17] 1578 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] 1579 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] 1580 sn The name Succoth means “shelters,” an appropriate name in light of the shelters Jacob built there for his livestock.
[33:18] 1581 tn Heb “in front of.”
[33:19] 1585 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] 1586 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] 1589 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.
[34:1] 1593 tn Heb “went out to see.” The verb “to see,” followed by the preposition בְּ (bÿ), here has the idea of “look over.” The young girl wanted to meet these women and see what they were like.
[34:1] 1594 tn Heb “daughters.”
[34:2] 1597 tn Heb “and he took her and lay with her.” The suffixed form following the verb appears to be the sign of the accusative instead of the preposition, but see BDB 1012 s.v. שָׁכַב.
[34:2] 1598 tn The verb עָנָה (’anah) in the Piel stem can have various shades of meaning, depending on the context: “to defile; to mistreat; to violate; to rape; to shame; to afflict.” Here it means that Shechem violated or humiliated Dinah by raping her.
[34:3] 1601 tn Heb “his soul stuck to [or “joined with”],” meaning Shechem became very attached to Dinah emotionally.
[34:3] 1602 tn Heb “and he spoke to the heart of the young woman,” which apparently refers in this context to tender, romantic speech (Hos 2:14). Another option is to translate the expression “he reassured the young woman” (see Judg 19:3, 2 Sam 19:7; cf. NEB “comforted her”).
[34:4] 1605 tn Heb “Take for me this young woman for a wife.”
[34:5] 1609 tn The two disjunctive clauses in this verse (“Now Jacob heard…and his sons were”) are juxtaposed to indicate synchronic action.
[34:5] 1610 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[34:5] 1611 sn The expected response would be anger or rage; but Jacob remained silent. He appears too indifferent or confused to act decisively. When the leader does not act decisively, the younger zealots will, and often with disastrous results.
[34:6] 1613 tn Heb “went out to Jacob to speak with him.” The words “about Dinah” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[34:7] 1617 tn Heb “when they heard.” The words “the news” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[34:7] 1618 tn Heb “the men.” This sounds as if a new group has been introduced into the narrative, so it has been translated as “they” to indicate that it refers to Jacob’s sons, mentioned in the first part of the verse.
[34:7] 1619 tn The Hebrew verb עָצַב (’atsav) can carry one of three semantic nuances depending on the context: (1) “to be injured” (Ps 56:5; Eccl 10:9; 1 Chr 4:10); (2) “to experience emotional pain; to be depressed emotionally; to be worried” (2 Sam 19:2; Isa 54:6; Neh 8:10-11); (3) “to be embarrassed; to be insulted; to be offended” (to the point of anger at another or oneself; Gen 6:6; 45:5; 1 Sam 20:3, 34; 1 Kgs 1:6; Isa 63:10; Ps 78:40). This third category develops from the second by metonymy. In certain contexts emotional pain leads to embarrassment and/or anger. In this last use the subject sometimes directs his anger against the source of grief (see especially Gen 6:6). The third category fits best in Gen 34:7 because Jacob’s sons were not merely wounded emotionally. On the contrary, Shechem’s action prompted them to strike out in judgment against the source of their distress.
[34:7] 1620 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[34:7] 1621 tn Heb “a disgraceful thing he did against Israel.”
[34:7] 1622 tn Heb “by lying with the daughter of Jacob.” The infinitive here explains the preceding verb, indicating exactly how he had disgraced Jacob. The expression “to lie with” is a euphemism for sexual relations, or in this case, sexual assault.
[34:7] 1623 tn Heb “and so it should not be done.” The negated imperfect has an obligatory nuance here, but there is also a generalizing tone. The narrator emphasizes that this particular type of crime (sexual assault) is especially reprehensible.
[34:8] 1621 tn Heb “Shechem my son, his soul is attached to your daughter.” The verb means “to love” in the sense of being emotionally attached to or drawn to someone. This is a slightly different way of saying what was reported earlier (v. 3). However, there is no mention here of the offense. Even though Hamor is speaking to Dinah’s brothers, he refers to her as their daughter (see v. 17).
[34:9] 1625 tn Heb “form marriage alliances with us.”
[34:9] 1626 tn Heb “Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.” In the translation the words “let…marry” and “as wives” are supplied for clarity.
[34:10] 1629 tn The imperfect verbal form has a permissive nuance here.
[34:10] 1630 tn Heb “before you.”
[34:10] 1631 tn The verb seems to carry the basic meaning “travel about freely,” although the substantival participial form refers to a trader (see E. A. Speiser, “The Verb sh£r in Genesis and Early Hebrew Movements,” BASOR 164 [1961]: 23-28); cf. NIV, NRSV “trade in it.”
[34:11] 1633 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Dinah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[34:11] 1634 tn Heb “whatever you say.”
[34:12] 1637 tn Heb “Make very great upon me the bride price and gift.” The imperatives are used in a rhetorical manner. Shechem’s point is that he will pay the price, no matter how expensive it might be.
[34:12] 1638 tn The cohortative expresses Shechem’s resolve to have Dinah as his wife.
[34:13] 1641 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[34:14] 1645 tn Heb “we are not able to do this thing, to give.” The second infinitive is in apposition to the first, explaining what they are not able to do.
[34:14] 1646 tn The Hebrew word translated “disgrace” usually means “ridicule; taunt; reproach.” It can also refer to the reason the condition of shame or disgrace causes ridicule or a reproach.
[34:15] 1649 tn Heb “if you are like us.”
[34:15] 1650 tn The infinitive here explains how they would become like them.
[34:16] 1653 tn The perfect verbal form with the vav (ו) consecutive introduces the apodosis of the conditional sentence.
[34:16] 1654 tn The words “to marry” (and the words “as wives” in the following clause) are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[34:17] 1657 tn Heb “listen to us.”
[34:17] 1658 tn The perfect verbal form with the vav (ו) consecutive introduces the apodosis of the conditional sentence.
[34:17] 1659 tn Heb “daughter.” Jacob’s sons call Dinah their daughter, even though she was their sister (see v. 8). This has been translated as “sister” for clarity.
[34:18] 1661 tn Heb “and their words were good in the eyes of Hamor and in the eyes of Shechem son of Hamor.”
[34:19] 1665 tn Heb “doing the thing.”
[34:19] 1666 tn Heb “Jacob’s daughter.” The proper name “Dinah” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[34:19] 1667 tn The Hebrew verb כָּבֵד (kaved), translated “was…important,” has the primary meaning “to be heavy,” but here carries a secondary sense of “to be important” (that is, “heavy” in honor or respect).
[34:19] 1668 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause explains why the community would respond to him (see vv. 20-24).
[34:20] 1669 sn The gate. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the location for conducting important public business.
[34:21] 1673 tn Heb “wide on both hands,” that is, in both directions.
[34:21] 1674 tn The words “to marry” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[34:22] 1677 tn Heb “when every one of our males is circumcised.”
[34:23] 1681 tn The words “If we do so” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
[34:24] 1685 tn Heb “all those going out the gate of his city.”
[34:24] 1686 tn Heb “listened to.”
[34:24] 1687 tn Heb “all those going out the gate of his city.”
[34:25] 1689 tn Heb “a man his sword.”
[34:25] 1690 tn Heb “and they came upon the city, [which was] secure.” In this case “secure” means the city was caught unprepared and at peace, not expecting an attack.
[34:27] 1693 tn Heb “came upon the slain.” Because of this statement the preceding phrase “Jacob’s sons” is frequently taken to mean the other sons of Jacob besides Simeon and Levi, but the text does not clearly affirm this.
[34:27] 1694 tn Heb “because they violated their sister.” The plural verb is active in form, but with no expressed subject, it may be translated passive.
[34:28] 1697 tn Heb “and what was in the city and what was in the field they took.”
[34:29] 1701 tn Heb “they took captive and they plundered,” that is, “they captured as plunder.”
[34:30] 1705 tn The traditional translation is “troubled me” (KJV, ASV), but the verb refers to personal or national disaster and suggests complete ruin (see Josh 7:25, Judg 11:35, Prov 11:17). The remainder of the verse describes the “trouble” Simeon and Levi had caused.
[34:30] 1706 tn In the causative stem the Hebrew verb בָּאַשׁ (ba’ash) means “to cause to stink, to have a foul smell.” In the contexts in which it is used it describes foul smells, stenches, or things that are odious. Jacob senses that the people in the land will find this act terribly repulsive. See P. R. Ackroyd, “The Hebrew Root באשׁ,” JTS 2 (1951): 31-36.
[34:30] 1707 tn Jacob speaks in the first person as the head and representative of the entire family.
[34:31] 1709 tn Heb “but they said.” The referent of “they” (Simeon and Levi) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
[17:12] 1713 tn Heb “the son of eight days.”
[17:13] 1717 tn The emphatic construction employs the Niphal imperfect tense (collective singular) and the Niphal infinitive.
[17:13] 1718 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] 1719 tn Or “an eternal.”
[17:14] 1721 tn The disjunctive clause calls attention to the “uncircumcised male” and what will happen to him.
[17:14] 1722 tn Heb “that person will be cut off.” The words “that person” have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[17:14] 1723 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.
[29:7] 1725 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:7] 1726 tn Heb “the day is great.”
[29:7] 1727 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] 1729 tn The perfect verbal forms with the vav (ו) consecutive carry on the sequence begun by the initial imperfect form.
[30:30] 1734 tn Heb “before me.”
[30:30] 1735 tn Heb “and it has broken out with respect to abundance.”
[30:30] 1736 tn Heb “at my foot.”
[30:30] 1737 tn Heb “How long [until] I do, also I, for my house?”
[30:31] 1737 tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[30:31] 1738 tn The negated imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance.
[30:31] 1739 tn The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[30:31] 1740 tn Heb “If you do for me this thing.”
[30:31] 1741 tn Heb “I will return, I will tend,” an idiom meaning “I will continue tending.”
[30:32] 1741 tn Heb “pass through.”
[30:32] 1742 tn Or “every black lamb”; Heb “and every dark sheep among the lambs.”
[30:32] 1743 tn Heb “and the spotted and speckled among the goats.”
[30:32] 1744 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] 1745 tn Heb “will answer on my behalf.”
[30:33] 1746 tn Heb “on the following day,” or “tomorrow.”
[30:33] 1747 tn Heb “when you come concerning my wage before you.”
[30:33] 1748 tn Heb “every one which is not speckled and spotted among the lambs and dark among the goats, stolen it is with me.”
[31:5] 1749 tn Heb “I see the face of your father, that he is not toward me as formerly.”
[31:6] 1753 tn Heb “with all my strength.”
[31:7] 1757 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] 1761 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] 1762 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.
[37:36] 1765 tn The disjunctive clause formally signals closure for this episode of Joseph’s story, which will be resumed in Gen 39.
[37:36] 1766 tc The MT spells the name of the merchants as מְדָנִים (mÿdanim, “Medanites”) rather than מִדְיָנִים (midyanim, “Midianites”) as in v. 28. It is likely that the MT is corrupt at this point, with the letter yod (י) being accidentally omitted. The LXX, Vulgate, Samaritan Pentateuch, and Syriac read “Midianites” here. Some prefer to read “Medanites” both here and in v. 28, but Judg 8:24, which identifies the Midianites and Ishmaelites, favors the reading “Midianites.”
[37:36] 1767 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[37:36] 1768 sn The expression captain of the guard might indicate that Potiphar was the chief executioner.
[50:11] 1769 tn Heb “this is heavy mourning for Egypt.”
[50:11] 1770 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so it may be translated as passive.
[50:11] 1771 sn The name Abel Mizraim means “the mourning of Egypt.”
[50:18] 1773 tn Heb “Therefore thus says Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” The first person is again adopted because the
