Genesis 17:1--32:32

The Sign of the Covenant

17:1 When Abram was 99 years old, ¹  the Lord appeared to him and said, ²  “I am the sovereign God. ³  Walk ⁴  before me ⁵  and be blameless. ⁶  17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant ⁷  between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” ⁸ 

17:3 Abram bowed down with his face to the ground, ⁹  and God said to him, ¹⁰  17:4 “As for me, ¹¹  this ¹²  is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 17:5 No longer will your name be ¹³  Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham ¹⁴  because I will make you ¹⁵  the father of a multitude of nations. 17:6 I will make you ¹⁶  extremely ¹⁷  fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. ¹⁸  17:7 I will confirm ¹⁹  my covenant as a perpetual ²⁰  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. ²¹  17:8 I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing ²²  – to you and your descendants after you as a permanent ²³  possession. I will be their God.”

17:9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep ²⁴  the covenantal requirement ²⁵  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: ²⁶  Every male among you must be circumcised. ²⁷  17:11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder ²⁸  of the covenant between me and you. 17:12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old ²⁹  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, ³⁰  whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant ³¹  will be visible in your flesh as a permanent ³²  reminder. 17:14 Any uncircumcised male ³³  who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off ³⁴  from his people – he has failed to carry out my requirement.” ³⁵ 

17:15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for your wife, you must no longer call her Sarai; ³⁶  Sarah ³⁷  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. ³⁸  Kings of countries ³⁹  will come from her!”

17:17 Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed ⁴⁰  as he said to himself, ⁴¹  “Can ⁴²  a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old? ⁴³  Can Sarah ⁴⁴  bear a child at the age of ninety?” ⁴⁵  17:18 Abraham said to God, “O that ⁴⁶  Ishmael might live before you!” ⁴⁷ 

17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. ⁴⁸  I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual ⁴⁹  covenant for his descendants after him. 17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. ⁵⁰  I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. ⁵¹  He will become the father of twelve princes; ⁵²  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. ⁵³ 

17:23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) ⁵⁴  and circumcised them ⁵⁵  on that very same day, just as God had told him to do. 17:24 Now Abraham was 99 years old ⁵⁶  when he was circumcised; ⁵⁷  17:25 his son Ishmael was thirteen years old ⁵⁸  when he was circumcised. 17:26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the very same day. 17:27 All the men of his household, whether born in his household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

Three Special Visitors

18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham ⁵⁹  by the oaks ⁶⁰  of Mamre while ⁶¹  he was sitting at the entrance ⁶²  to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 18:2 Abraham ⁶³  looked up ⁶⁴  and saw ⁶⁵  three men standing across ⁶⁶  from him. When he saw them ⁶⁷  he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low ⁶⁸  to the ground. ⁶⁹ 

18:3 He said, “My lord, ⁷⁰  if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. ⁷¹  18:4 Let a little water be brought so that ⁷²  you may all ⁷³  wash your feet and rest under the tree. 18:5 And let me get ⁷⁴  a bit of food ⁷⁵  so that you may refresh yourselves ⁷⁶  since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.” ⁷⁷  “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.”

18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take ⁷⁸  three measures ⁷⁹  of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.” ⁸⁰  18:7 Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, ⁸¹  who quickly prepared it. ⁸²  18:8 Abraham ⁸³  then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food ⁸⁴  before them. They ate while ⁸⁵  he was standing near them under a tree.

18:9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, ⁸⁶  in the tent.” 18:10 One of them ⁸⁷  said, “I will surely return ⁸⁸  to you when the season comes round again, ⁸⁹  and your wife Sarah will have a son!” ⁹⁰  (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. ⁹¹  18:11 Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; ⁹²  Sarah had long since passed menopause.) ⁹³  18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, ⁹⁴  “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, ⁹⁵  especially when my husband is old too?” ⁹⁶ 

18:13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why ⁹⁷  did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really ⁹⁸  have a child when I am old?’ 18:14 Is anything impossible ⁹⁹  for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.” ¹⁰⁰  18:15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.” ¹⁰¹ 

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

18:16 When the men got up to leave, ¹⁰²  they looked out over ¹⁰³  Sodom. (Now ¹⁰⁴  Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.) ¹⁰⁵  18:17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? ¹⁰⁶  18:18 After all, Abraham ¹⁰⁷  will surely become ¹⁰⁸  a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ¹⁰⁹  using his name. 18:19 I have chosen him ¹¹⁰  so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep ¹¹¹  the way of the Lord by doing ¹¹²  what is right and just. Then the Lord will give ¹¹³  to Abraham what he promised ¹¹⁴  him.”

18:20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against ¹¹⁵  Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant ¹¹⁶  18:21 that I must go down ¹¹⁷  and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. ¹¹⁸  If not, ¹¹⁹  I want to know.”

18:22 The two men turned ¹²⁰  and headed ¹²¹  toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord. ¹²²  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 ¹²³  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 ¹²⁴  of the whole earth do what is right?” ¹²⁵ 

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 ¹²⁶  (although I am but dust and ashes), ¹²⁷  18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy ¹²⁸  the whole city because five are lacking?” ¹²⁹  He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

18:29 Abraham ¹³⁰  spoke to him again, ¹³¹  “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”

18:30 Then Abraham ¹³²  said, “May the Lord not be angry ¹³³  so that I may speak! ¹³⁴  What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

18:31 Abraham ¹³⁵  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 ¹³⁶  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 ¹³⁷  when he had finished speaking ¹³⁸  to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. ¹³⁹ 

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while ¹⁴⁰  Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. ¹⁴¹  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 ¹⁴²  and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.” ¹⁴³  “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.” ¹⁴⁴ 

19:3 But he urged ¹⁴⁵  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, ¹⁴⁶  all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house. ¹⁴⁷  19:5 They shouted to Lot, ¹⁴⁸  “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex ¹⁴⁹  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! ¹⁵⁰  19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never had sexual relations with ¹⁵¹  a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever you please. ¹⁵²  Only don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection ¹⁵³  of my roof.” ¹⁵⁴ 

19:9 “Out of our way!” ¹⁵⁵  they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, ¹⁵⁶  and now he dares to judge us! ¹⁵⁷  We’ll do more harm ¹⁵⁸  to you than to them!” They kept ¹⁵⁹  pressing in on Lot until they were close enough ¹⁶⁰  to break down the door.

19:10 So the men inside ¹⁶¹  reached out ¹⁶²  and pulled Lot back into the house ¹⁶³  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, ¹⁶⁴  with blindness. The men outside ¹⁶⁵  wore themselves out trying to find the door. 19:12 Then the two visitors ¹⁶⁶  said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? ¹⁶⁷  Do you have ¹⁶⁸  any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? ¹⁶⁹  Get them out of this ¹⁷⁰  place 19:13 because we are about to destroy ¹⁷¹  it. The outcry against this place ¹⁷²  is so great before the Lord that he ¹⁷³  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. ¹⁷⁴  He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy ¹⁷⁵  the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. ¹⁷⁶ 

19:15 At dawn ¹⁷⁷  the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, ¹⁷⁸  or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!” ¹⁷⁹  19:16 When Lot ¹⁸⁰  hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. ¹⁸¹  They led them away and placed them ¹⁸²  outside the city. 19:17 When they had brought them outside, they ¹⁸³  said, “Run ¹⁸⁴  for your lives! Don’t look ¹⁸⁵  behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! ¹⁸⁶  Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”

19:18 But Lot said to them, “No, please, Lord! ¹⁸⁷  19:19 Your ¹⁸⁸  servant has found favor with you, ¹⁸⁹  and you have shown me great ¹⁹⁰  kindness ¹⁹¹  by sparing ¹⁹²  my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because ¹⁹³  this disaster will overtake ¹⁹⁴  me and I’ll die. ¹⁹⁵  19:20 Look, this town ¹⁹⁶  over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. ¹⁹⁷  Let me go there. ¹⁹⁸  It’s just a little place, isn’t it? ¹⁹⁹  Then I’ll survive.” ²⁰⁰ 

19:21 “Very well,” he replied, ²⁰¹  “I will grant this request too ²⁰²  and will not overthrow ²⁰³  the town you mentioned. 19:22 Run there quickly, ²⁰⁴  for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.) ²⁰⁵ 

19:23 The sun had just risen ²⁰⁶  over the land as Lot reached Zoar. ²⁰⁷  19:24 Then the Lord rained down ²⁰⁸  sulfur and fire ²⁰⁹  on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. ²¹⁰  19:25 So he overthrew those cities and all that region, ²¹¹  including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew ²¹²  from the ground. 19:26 But Lot’s ²¹³  wife looked back longingly ²¹⁴  and was turned into a pillar of salt.

19:27 Abraham got up early in the morning and went ²¹⁵  to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 19:28 He looked out toward ²¹⁶  Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. ²¹⁷  As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace. ²¹⁸ 

19:29 So when God destroyed ²¹⁹  the cities of the region, ²²⁰  God honored ²²¹  Abraham’s request. He removed Lot ²²²  from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed ²²³  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 ²²⁴  to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby ²²⁵  to have sexual relations with us, ²²⁶  according to the way of all the world. 19:32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with wine ²²⁷  so we can have sexual relations ²²⁸  with him and preserve ²²⁹  our family line through our father.” ²³⁰ 

19:33 So that night they made their father drunk with wine, ²³¹  and the older daughter ²³²  came and had sexual relations with her father. ²³³  But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. ²³⁴  19:34 So in the morning the older daughter ²³⁵  said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. ²³⁶  Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” ²³⁷  19:35 So they made their father drunk ²³⁸  that night as well, and the younger one came and had sexual relations with him. ²³⁹  But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. ²⁴⁰ 

19:36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 19:37 The older daughter ²⁴¹  gave birth to a son and named him Moab. ²⁴²  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. ²⁴³  He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.

Abraham and Abimelech

20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev ²⁴⁴  region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident ²⁴⁵  in Gerar, 20:2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.

20:3 But God appeared ²⁴⁶  to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead ²⁴⁷  because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” ²⁴⁸ 

20:4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, ²⁴⁹  would you really slaughter an innocent nation? ²⁵⁰  20:5 Did Abraham ²⁵¹  not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ²⁵²  ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience ²⁵³  and with innocent hands!”

20:6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. ²⁵⁴  That is why I have kept you ²⁵⁵  from sinning against me and why ²⁵⁶  I did not allow you to touch her. 20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed ²⁵⁷  he is a prophet ²⁵⁸  and he will pray for you; thus you will live. ²⁵⁹  But if you don’t give her back, ²⁶⁰  know that you will surely die ²⁶¹  along with all who belong to you.”

20:8 Early in the morning ²⁶²  Abimelech summoned ²⁶³  all his servants. When he told them about all these things, ²⁶⁴  they ²⁶⁵  were terrified. 20:9 Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? ²⁶⁶  You have done things to me that should not be done!” ²⁶⁷  20:10 Then Abimelech asked ²⁶⁸  Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?” ²⁶⁹ 

20:11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought, ²⁷⁰  ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of ²⁷¹  my wife.’ 20:12 What’s more, ²⁷²  she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife. 20:13 When God made me wander ²⁷³  from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: ²⁷⁴  Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”

20:14 So Abimelech gave ²⁷⁵  sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him. 20:15 Then Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you; live wherever you please.” ²⁷⁶ 

20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver ²⁷⁷  to your ‘brother.’ ²⁷⁸  This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” ²⁷⁹ 

20:17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children. 20:18 For the Lord ²⁸⁰  had caused infertility to strike every woman ²⁸¹  in the household of Abimelech because he took ²⁸²  Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

The Birth of Isaac

21:1 The Lord visited ²⁸³  Sarah just as he had said he would and did ²⁸⁴  for Sarah what he had promised. ²⁸⁵  21:2 So Sarah became pregnant ²⁸⁶  and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the appointed time that God had told him. 21:3 Abraham named his son – whom Sarah bore to him – Isaac. ²⁸⁷  21:4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, ²⁸⁸  Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded him to do. ²⁸⁹  21:5 (Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.) ²⁹⁰ 

21:6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. ²⁹¹  Everyone who hears about this ²⁹²  will laugh ²⁹³  with me.” 21:7 She went on to say, ²⁹⁴  “Who would ²⁹⁵  have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son for him in his old age!”

21:8 The child grew and was weaned. Abraham prepared ²⁹⁶  a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. ²⁹⁷  21:9 But Sarah noticed ²⁹⁸  the son of Hagar the Egyptian – the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham – mocking. ²⁹⁹  21:10 So she said to Abraham, “Banish ³⁰⁰  that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac!”

21:11 Sarah’s demand displeased Abraham greatly because Ishmael was his son. ³⁰¹  21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset ³⁰²  about the boy or your slave wife. Do ³⁰³  all that Sarah is telling ³⁰⁴  you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. ³⁰⁵  21:13 But I will also make the son of the slave wife into a great nation, for he is your descendant too.”

21:14 Early in the morning Abraham took ³⁰⁶  some food ³⁰⁷  and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, ³⁰⁸  and sent her away. So she went wandering ³⁰⁹  aimlessly through the wilderness ³¹⁰  of Beer Sheba. 21:15 When the water in the skin was gone, she shoved ³¹¹  the child under one of the shrubs. 21:16 Then she went and sat down by herself across from him at quite a distance, about a bowshot ³¹²  away; for she thought, ³¹³  “I refuse to watch the child die.” ³¹⁴  So she sat across from him and wept uncontrollably. ³¹⁵ 

21:17 But God heard the boy’s voice. ³¹⁶  The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and asked her, “What is the matter, ³¹⁷  Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard ³¹⁸  the boy’s voice right where he is crying. 21:18 Get up! Help the boy up and hold him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 21:19 Then God enabled Hagar to see a well of water. ³¹⁹  She went over and filled the skin with water, and then gave the boy a drink.

21:20 God was with the boy as he grew. He lived in the wilderness and became an archer. 21:21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran. ³²⁰  His mother found a wife for him from the land of Egypt. ³²¹ 

21:22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you ³²²  in all that you do. 21:23 Now swear to me right here in God’s name ³²³  that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. ³²⁴  Show me, and the land ³²⁵  where you are staying, ³²⁶  the same loyalty ³²⁷  that I have shown you.” ³²⁸ 

21:24 Abraham said, “I swear to do this.” ³²⁹  21:25 But Abraham lodged a complaint ³³⁰  against Abimelech concerning a well ³³¹  that Abimelech’s servants had seized. ³³²  21:26 “I do not know who has done this thing,” Abimelech replied. “Moreover, ³³³  you did not tell me. I did not hear about it until today.”

21:27 Abraham took some sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a treaty. ³³⁴  21:28 Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs apart from the flock by themselves. 21:29 Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these ³³⁵  seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” 21:30 He replied, “You must take these seven ewe lambs from my hand as legal proof ³³⁶  that I dug this well.” ³³⁷  21:31 That is why he named that place ³³⁸  Beer Sheba, ³³⁹  because the two of them swore ³⁴⁰  an oath there.

21:32 So they made a treaty ³⁴¹  at Beer Sheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returned ³⁴²  to the land of the Philistines. ³⁴³  21:33 Abraham ³⁴⁴  planted a tamarisk tree ³⁴⁵  in Beer Sheba. There he worshiped the Lord, ³⁴⁶  the eternal God. 21:34 So Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for quite some time. ³⁴⁷ 

The Sacrifice of Isaac

22:1 Some time after these things God tested ³⁴⁸  Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham ³⁴⁹  replied. 22:2 God ³⁵⁰  said, “Take your son – your only son, whom you love, Isaac ³⁵¹  – and go to the land of Moriah! ³⁵²  Offer him up there as a burnt offering ³⁵³  on one of the mountains which I will indicate to ³⁵⁴  you.”

22:3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. ³⁵⁵  He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out ³⁵⁶  for the place God had spoken to him about.

22:4 On the third day Abraham caught sight of ³⁵⁷  the place in the distance. 22:5 So he ³⁵⁸  said to his servants, “You two stay ³⁵⁹  here with the donkey while ³⁶⁰  the boy and I go up there. We will worship ³⁶¹  and then return to you.” ³⁶² 

22:6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. Then he took the fire and the knife in his hand, ³⁶³  and the two of them walked on together. 22:7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, ³⁶⁴  “My father?” “What is it, ³⁶⁵  my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said, ³⁶⁶  “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 22:8 “God will provide ³⁶⁷  for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham replied. The two of them continued on together.

22:9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there ³⁶⁸  and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up ³⁶⁹  his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 22:10 Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter ³⁷⁰  his son. 22:11 But the Lord’s angel ³⁷¹  called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” ³⁷²  the angel said. ³⁷³  “Do not do anything to him, for now I know ³⁷⁴  that you fear ³⁷⁵  God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”

22:13 Abraham looked up ³⁷⁶  and saw ³⁷⁷  behind him ³⁷⁸  a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he ³⁷⁹  went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord provides.” ³⁸⁰  It is said to this day, ³⁸¹  “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.” ³⁸² 

22:15 The Lord’s angel called to Abraham a second time from heaven 22:16 and said, “‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ ³⁸³  decrees the Lord, ³⁸⁴  ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 22:17 I will indeed bless you, ³⁸⁵  and I will greatly multiply ³⁸⁶  your descendants ³⁸⁷  so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession ³⁸⁸  of the strongholds ³⁸⁹  of their enemies. 22:18 Because you have obeyed me, ³⁹⁰  all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ³⁹¹  using the name of your descendants.’”

22:19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set out together ³⁹²  for Beer Sheba where Abraham stayed. ³⁹³ 

22:20 After these things Abraham was told, “Milcah ³⁹⁴  also has borne children to your brother Nahor – 22:21 Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram), ³⁹⁵  22:22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 22:23 (Now ³⁹⁶  Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.) These were the eight sons Milcah bore to Abraham’s brother Nahor. 22:24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore him children – Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

The Death of Sarah

23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. ³⁹⁷  23:2 Then she ³⁹⁸  died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. ³⁹⁹ 

23:3 Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife ⁴⁰⁰  and said to the sons of Heth, ⁴⁰¹  23:4 “I am a temporary settler ⁴⁰²  among you. Grant ⁴⁰³  me ownership ⁴⁰⁴  of a burial site among you so that I may ⁴⁰⁵  bury my dead.” ⁴⁰⁶ 

23:5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, ⁴⁰⁷  23:6 “Listen, sir, ⁴⁰⁸  you are a mighty prince ⁴⁰⁹  among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you ⁴¹⁰  from burying your dead.”

23:7 Abraham got up and bowed down to the local people, ⁴¹¹  the sons of Heth. 23:8 Then he said to them, “If you agree ⁴¹²  that I may bury my dead, ⁴¹³  then hear me out. ⁴¹⁴  Ask ⁴¹⁵  Ephron the son of Zohar 23:9 if he will sell ⁴¹⁶  me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me publicly ⁴¹⁷  for the full price, ⁴¹⁸  so that I may own it as a burial site.”

23:10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite ⁴¹⁹  replied to Abraham in the hearing ⁴²⁰  of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate ⁴²¹  of his city – 23:11 “No, my lord! Hear me out. I sell ⁴²²  you both the field and the cave that is in it. ⁴²³  In the presence of my people ⁴²⁴  I sell it to you. Bury your dead.”

23:12 Abraham bowed before the local people 23:13 and said to Ephron in their hearing, “Hear me, if you will. I pay ⁴²⁵  to you the price ⁴²⁶  of the field. Take it from me so that I may ⁴²⁷  bury my dead there.”

23:14 Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 23:15 “Hear me, my lord. The land is worth ⁴²⁸  400 pieces of silver, ⁴²⁹  but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”

23:16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price ⁴³⁰  and weighed ⁴³¹  out for him ⁴³²  the price ⁴³³  that Ephron had quoted ⁴³⁴  in the hearing of the sons of Heth – 400 pieces of silver, according to the standard measurement at the time. ⁴³⁵ 

23:17 So Abraham secured ⁴³⁶  Ephron’s field in Machpelah, next to Mamre, including the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border, 23:18 as his property in the presence of the sons of Heth before all who entered the gate of Ephron’s city. ⁴³⁷ 

23:19 After this Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah next to Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 23:20 So Abraham secured the field and the cave that was in it as a burial site ⁴³⁸  from the sons of Heth.

The Wife for Isaac

24:1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years, ⁴³⁹  and the Lord had blessed him ⁴⁴⁰  in everything. 24:2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior one ⁴⁴¹  in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh ⁴⁴²  24:3 so that I may make you solemnly promise ⁴⁴³  by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire ⁴⁴⁴  a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living. 24:4 You must go instead to my country and to my relatives ⁴⁴⁵  to find ⁴⁴⁶  a wife for my son Isaac.”

24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me ⁴⁴⁷  to this land? Must I then ⁴⁴⁸  take your son back to the land from which you came?”

24:6 “Be careful ⁴⁴⁹  never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him. ⁴⁵⁰  24:7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives, ⁴⁵¹  promised me with a solemn oath, ⁴⁵²  ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel ⁴⁵³  before you so that you may find ⁴⁵⁴  a wife for my son from there. 24:8 But if the woman is not willing to come back with you, ⁴⁵⁵  you will be free ⁴⁵⁶  from this oath of mine. But you must not take my son back there!” 24:9 So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and gave his solemn promise he would carry out his wishes. ⁴⁵⁷ 

24:10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all kinds of gifts from his master at his disposal. ⁴⁵⁸  He journeyed ⁴⁵⁹  to the region of Aram Naharaim ⁴⁶⁰  and the city of Nahor. 24:11 He made the camels kneel down by the well ⁴⁶¹  outside the city. It was evening, ⁴⁶²  the time when the women would go out to draw water. 24:12 He prayed, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, guide me today. ⁴⁶³  Be faithful ⁴⁶⁴  to my master Abraham. 24:13 Here I am, standing by the spring, ⁴⁶⁵  and the daughters of the people ⁴⁶⁶  who live in the town are coming out to draw water. 24:14 I will say to a young woman, ‘Please lower your jar so I may drink.’ May the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac reply, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ ⁴⁶⁷  In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.” ⁴⁶⁸ 

24:15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah ⁴⁶⁹  with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah (Milcah was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor). ⁴⁷⁰  24:16 Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. ⁴⁷¹  She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up. 24:17 Abraham’s servant ⁴⁷²  ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a sip of water from your jug.” 24:18 “Drink, my lord,” she replied, and quickly lowering ⁴⁷³  her jug to her hands, she gave him a drink. 24:19 When she had done so, ⁴⁷⁴  she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have drunk as much as they want.” 24:20 She quickly emptied ⁴⁷⁵  her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw more water until she had drawn enough for all his camels. 24:21 Silently the man watched her with interest to determine ⁴⁷⁶  if the Lord had made his journey successful ⁴⁷⁷  or not.

24:22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka ⁴⁷⁸  and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels ⁴⁷⁹  and gave them to her. ⁴⁸⁰  24:23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. ⁴⁸¹  “Tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”

24:24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom Milcah bore to Nahor. ⁴⁸²  24:25 We have plenty of straw and feed,” she added, ⁴⁸³  “and room for you ⁴⁸⁴  to spend the night.”

24:26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord, 24:27 saying “Praised be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love ⁴⁸⁵  for my master! The Lord has led me ⁴⁸⁶  to the house ⁴⁸⁷  of my master’s relatives!” ⁴⁸⁸ 

24:28 The young woman ran and told her mother’s household all about ⁴⁸⁹  these things. 24:29 (Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban.) ⁴⁹⁰  Laban rushed out to meet the man at the spring. 24:30 When he saw the bracelets on his sister’s wrists and the nose ring ⁴⁹¹  and heard his sister Rebekah say, ⁴⁹²  “This is what the man said to me,” he went out to meet the man. There he was, standing ⁴⁹³  by the camels near the spring. 24:31 Laban said to him, ⁴⁹⁴  “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord! ⁴⁹⁵  Why are you standing out here when I have prepared ⁴⁹⁶  the house and a place for the camels?”

24:32 So Abraham’s servant ⁴⁹⁷  went to the house and unloaded ⁴⁹⁸  the camels. Straw and feed were given ⁴⁹⁹  to the camels, and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet. ⁵⁰⁰  24:33 When food was served, ⁵⁰¹  he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I want to say.” ⁵⁰²  “Tell us,” Laban said. ⁵⁰³ 

24:34 “I am the servant of Abraham,” he began. 24:35 “The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy. ⁵⁰⁴  The Lord ⁵⁰⁵  has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 24:36 My master’s wife Sarah bore a son to him ⁵⁰⁶  when she was old, ⁵⁰⁷  and my master ⁵⁰⁸  has given him everything he owns. 24:37 My master made me swear an oath. He said, ‘You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 24:38 but you must go to the family of my father and to my relatives to find ⁵⁰⁹  a wife for my son.’ 24:39 But I said to my master, ‘What if the woman does not want to go ⁵¹⁰  with me?’ ⁵¹¹  24:40 He answered, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, ⁵¹²  will send his angel with you. He will make your journey a success and you will find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family. 24:41 You will be free from your oath ⁵¹³  if you go to my relatives and they will not give her to you. Then you will be free from your oath.’ 24:42 When I came to the spring today, I prayed, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you have decided to make my journey successful, ⁵¹⁴  may events unfold as follows: ⁵¹⁵  24:43 Here I am, standing by the spring. ⁵¹⁶  When ⁵¹⁷  the young woman goes out to draw water, I’ll say, “Give me a little water to drink from your jug.” 24:44 Then she will reply to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too.” May that woman be the one whom the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’

24:45 “Before I finished praying in my heart, ⁵¹⁸  along came Rebekah ⁵¹⁹  with her water jug on her shoulder! She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 24:46 She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels water. 24:47 Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘The daughter of Bethuel the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to Nahor.’ ⁵²⁰  I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 24:48 Then I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right path to find the granddaughter ⁵²¹  of my master’s brother for his son. 24:49 Now, if you will show faithful love to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me as well, so that I may go on my way.” ⁵²² 

24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the Lord’s doing. ⁵²³  Our wishes are of no concern. ⁵²⁴  24:51 Rebekah stands here before you. Take her and go so that she may become ⁵²⁵  the wife of your master’s son, just as the Lord has decided.” ⁵²⁶ 

24:52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. 24:53 Then he ⁵²⁷  brought out gold, silver jewelry, and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and to her mother. 24:54 After this, he and the men who were with him ate a meal and stayed there overnight. ⁵²⁸ 

When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me leave now so I can return to my master.” ⁵²⁹  24:55 But Rebekah’s ⁵³⁰  brother and her mother replied, “Let the girl stay with us a few more days, perhaps ten. Then she can go.” 24:56 But he said to them, “Don’t detain me – the Lord ⁵³¹  has granted me success on my journey. Let me leave now so I may return ⁵³²  to my master.” 24:57 Then they said, “We’ll call the girl and find out what she wants to do.” ⁵³³  24:58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want ⁵³⁴  to go with this man?” She replied, “I want to go.”

24:59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, accompanied by her female attendant, with Abraham’s servant and his men. 24:60 They blessed Rebekah with these words: ⁵³⁵ 

“Our sister, may you become the mother ⁵³⁶  of thousands of ten thousands!

May your descendants possess the strongholds ⁵³⁷  of their enemies.”

24:61 Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with ⁵³⁸  the man. So Abraham’s servant ⁵³⁹  took Rebekah and left.

24:62 Now ⁵⁴⁰  Isaac came from ⁵⁴¹  Beer Lahai Roi, ⁵⁴²  for ⁵⁴³  he was living in the Negev. ⁵⁴⁴  24:63 He ⁵⁴⁵  went out to relax ⁵⁴⁶  in the field in the early evening. ⁵⁴⁷  Then he looked up ⁵⁴⁸  and saw that ⁵⁴⁹  there were camels approaching. 24:64 Rebekah looked up ⁵⁵⁰  and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel 24:65 and asked ⁵⁵¹  Abraham’s servant, ⁵⁵²  “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied. ⁵⁵³  So she took her veil and covered herself.

24:66 The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. 24:67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah ⁵⁵⁴  into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her ⁵⁵⁵  as his wife and loved her. ⁵⁵⁶  So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. ⁵⁵⁷ 

The Death of Abraham

25:1 Abraham had taken ⁵⁵⁸  another ⁵⁵⁹  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. ⁵⁶⁰  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 ⁵⁶¹  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 ⁵⁶²  and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. ⁵⁶³ 

25:7 Abraham lived a total of ⁵⁶⁴  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. ⁵⁶⁵  He joined his ancestors. ⁵⁶⁶  25:9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah ⁵⁶⁷  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. ⁵⁶⁸  There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 25:11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed ⁵⁶⁹  his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi. ⁵⁷⁰ 

The Sons of Ishmael

25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, ⁵⁷¹  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: ⁵⁷²  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 ⁵⁷³  according to their clans.

25:17 Ishmael lived a total of ⁵⁷⁴  137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors. ⁵⁷⁵  25:18 His descendants ⁵⁷⁶  settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next ⁵⁷⁷  to Egypt all the way ⁵⁷⁸  to Asshur. ⁵⁷⁹  They settled ⁵⁸⁰  away from all their relatives. ⁵⁸¹ 

Jacob and Esau

25:19 This is the account of Isaac, ⁵⁸²  the son of Abraham.

Abraham became the father of Isaac. 25:20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, ⁵⁸³  the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. ⁵⁸⁴ 

25:21 Isaac prayed to ⁵⁸⁵  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 ⁵⁸⁶  inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” ⁵⁸⁷  So she asked the Lord, ⁵⁸⁸  25:23 and the Lord said to her,

“Two nations ⁵⁸⁹  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, ⁵⁹⁰  there were ⁵⁹¹  twins in her womb. 25:25 The first came out reddish ⁵⁹²  all over, ⁵⁹³  like a hairy ⁵⁹⁴  garment, so they named him Esau. ⁵⁹⁵  25:26 When his brother came out with ⁵⁹⁶  his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. ⁵⁹⁷  Isaac was sixty years old ⁵⁹⁸  when they were born.

25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled ⁵⁹⁹  hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. ⁶⁰⁰  25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, ⁶⁰¹  but Rebekah loved ⁶⁰²  Jacob.

25:29 Now Jacob cooked some stew, ⁶⁰³  and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished. 25:30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed ⁶⁰⁴  me some of the red stuff – yes, this red stuff – because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called ⁶⁰⁵  Edom.) ⁶⁰⁶ 

25:31 But Jacob replied, “First ⁶⁰⁷  sell me your birthright.” 25:32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” ⁶⁰⁸  25:33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” ⁶⁰⁹  So Esau ⁶¹⁰  swore an oath to him and sold his birthright ⁶¹¹  to Jacob.

25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. ⁶¹²  So Esau despised his birthright. ⁶¹³ 

Isaac and Abimelech

26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred ⁶¹⁴  in the days of Abraham. ⁶¹⁵  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; ⁶¹⁶  settle down in the land that I will point out to you. ⁶¹⁷  26:3 Stay ⁶¹⁸  in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, ⁶¹⁹  for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, ⁶²⁰  and I will fulfill ⁶²¹  the solemn promise I made ⁶²²  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 ⁶²³  all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. ⁶²⁴  26:5 All this will come to pass ⁶²⁵  because Abraham obeyed me ⁶²⁶  and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” ⁶²⁷  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.” ⁶²⁸  He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, ⁶²⁹  “The men of this place will kill me to get ⁶³⁰  Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”

26:8 After Isaac ⁶³¹  had been there a long time, ⁶³²  Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed ⁶³³  Isaac caressing ⁶³⁴  his wife Rebekah. 26:9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really ⁶³⁵  your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.” ⁶³⁶ 

26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? ⁶³⁷  One of the men ⁶³⁸  might easily have had sexual relations with ⁶³⁹  your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!” 26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches ⁶⁴⁰  this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” ⁶⁴¹ 

26:12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, ⁶⁴²  because the Lord blessed him. ⁶⁴³  26:13 The man became wealthy. ⁶⁴⁴  His influence continued to grow ⁶⁴⁵  until he became very prominent. 26:14 He had ⁶⁴⁶  so many sheep ⁶⁴⁷  and cattle ⁶⁴⁸  and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous ⁶⁴⁹  of him. 26:15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled up ⁶⁵⁰  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, ⁶⁵¹  for you have become much more powerful ⁶⁵²  than we are.” 26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. ⁶⁵³  26:18 Isaac reopened ⁶⁵⁴  the wells that had been dug ⁶⁵⁵  back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up ⁶⁵⁶  after Abraham died. Isaac ⁶⁵⁷  gave these wells ⁶⁵⁸  the same names his father had given them. ⁶⁵⁹ 

26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing ⁶⁶⁰  water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled ⁶⁶¹  with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac ⁶⁶²  named the well ⁶⁶³  Esek ⁶⁶⁴  because they argued with him about it. ⁶⁶⁵  26:21 His servants ⁶⁶⁶  dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it ⁶⁶⁷  Sitnah. ⁶⁶⁸  26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac ⁶⁶⁹  named it ⁶⁷⁰  Rehoboth, ⁶⁷¹  saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”

26:23 From there Isaac ⁶⁷²  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 ⁶⁷³  the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. ⁶⁷⁴ 

26:26 Now Abimelech had come ⁶⁷⁵  to him from Gerar along with ⁶⁷⁶  Ahuzzah his friend ⁶⁷⁷  and Phicol the commander of his army. 26:27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me ⁶⁷⁸  and sent me away from you.” 26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see ⁶⁷⁹  that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be ⁶⁸⁰  a pact between us ⁶⁸¹  – between us ⁶⁸²  and you. Allow us to make ⁶⁸³  a treaty with you 26:29 so that ⁶⁸⁴  you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed ⁶⁸⁵  you, but have always treated you well ⁶⁸⁶  before sending you away ⁶⁸⁷  in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.” ⁶⁸⁸ 

26:30 So Isaac ⁶⁸⁹  held a feast for them and they celebrated. ⁶⁹⁰  26:31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. ⁶⁹¹  Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms. ⁶⁹² 

26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported. ⁶⁹³  26:33 So he named it Shibah; ⁶⁹⁴  that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba ⁶⁹⁵  to this day.

26:34 When ⁶⁹⁶  Esau was forty years old, ⁶⁹⁷  he married ⁶⁹⁸  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. ⁶⁹⁹ 

Jacob Cheats Esau out of the Blessing

27:1 When ⁷⁰⁰  Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, ⁷⁰¹  he called his older ⁷⁰²  son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau ⁷⁰³  replied. 27:2 Isaac ⁷⁰⁴  said, “Since ⁷⁰⁵  I am so old, I could die at any time. ⁷⁰⁶  27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game ⁷⁰⁷  for me. 27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then ⁷⁰⁸  I will eat it so that I may bless you ⁷⁰⁹  before I die.”

27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. ⁷¹⁰  When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, ⁷¹¹  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 ⁷¹²  it and bless you ⁷¹³  in the presence of the Lord ⁷¹⁴  before I die.’ 27:8 Now then, my son, do ⁷¹⁵  exactly what I tell you! ⁷¹⁶  27:9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare ⁷¹⁷  them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. 27:10 Then you will take ⁷¹⁸  it to your father. Thus he will eat it ⁷¹⁹  and ⁷²⁰  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! ⁷²¹  27:12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him ⁷²²  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, ⁷²³  my son! Just obey me! ⁷²⁴  Go and get them for me!”

27:14 So he went and got the goats ⁷²⁵  and brought them to his mother. She ⁷²⁶  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 ⁷²⁷  on his hands ⁷²⁸  and the smooth part of his neck. 27:17 Then she handed ⁷²⁹  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 ⁷³⁰  replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?” ⁷³¹  27:19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up ⁷³²  and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” ⁷³³  27:20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world ⁷³⁴  did you find it so quickly, ⁷³⁵  my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” ⁷³⁶  he replied. ⁷³⁷  27:21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you, ⁷³⁸  my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.” ⁷³⁹  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. ⁷⁴⁰  27:24 Then he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “I am,” Jacob ⁷⁴¹  replied. 27:25 Isaac ⁷⁴²  said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. ⁷⁴³  Then I will bless you.” ⁷⁴⁴  So Jacob ⁷⁴⁵  brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac ⁷⁴⁶  drank. 27:26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 27:27 So Jacob ⁷⁴⁷  went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent ⁷⁴⁸  of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,

“Yes, ⁷⁴⁹  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 ⁷⁵⁰ 

and the richness ⁷⁵¹  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 ⁷⁵²  lord ⁷⁵³  over your brothers,

and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. ⁷⁵⁴ 

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 ⁷⁵⁵  his father’s ⁷⁵⁶  presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt. ⁷⁵⁷  27:31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau ⁷⁵⁸  said to him, “My father, get up ⁷⁵⁹  and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.” ⁷⁶⁰  27:32 His father Isaac asked, ⁷⁶¹  “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,” ⁷⁶²  he replied, “Esau!” 27:33 Isaac began to shake violently ⁷⁶³  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. ⁷⁶⁴  He will indeed be blessed!”

27:34 When Esau heard ⁷⁶⁵  his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly. ⁷⁶⁶  He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” 27:35 But Isaac ⁷⁶⁷  replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away ⁷⁶⁸  your blessing.” 27:36 Esau exclaimed, “‘Jacob’ is the right name for him! ⁷⁶⁹  He has tripped me up ⁷⁷⁰  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!” ⁷⁷¹  Then Esau wept loudly. ⁷⁷² 

27:39 So his father Isaac said to him,

“Indeed, ⁷⁷³  your home will be

away from the richness ⁷⁷⁴  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.” ⁷⁷⁵ 

27:41 So Esau hated ⁷⁷⁶  Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. ⁷⁷⁷  Esau said privately, ⁷⁷⁸  “The time ⁷⁷⁹  of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill ⁷⁸⁰  my brother Jacob!”

27:42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said, ⁷⁸¹  she quickly summoned ⁷⁸²  her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you. ⁷⁸³  27:43 Now then, my son, do what I say. ⁷⁸⁴  Run away immediately ⁷⁸⁵  to my brother Laban in Haran. 27:44 Live with him for a little while ⁷⁸⁶  until your brother’s rage subsides. 27:45 Stay there ⁷⁸⁷  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. ⁷⁸⁸  Why should I lose both of you in one day?” ⁷⁸⁹ 

27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressed ⁷⁹⁰  because of these daughters of Heth. ⁷⁹¹  If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!” ⁷⁹² 

28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman! ⁷⁹³  28:2 Leave immediately ⁷⁹⁴  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 ⁷⁹⁵  bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! ⁷⁹⁶  Then you will become ⁷⁹⁷  a large nation. ⁷⁹⁸  28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham ⁷⁹⁹  so that you may possess the land ⁸⁰⁰  God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” ⁸⁰¹  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. ⁸⁰²  As he blessed him, ⁸⁰³  Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” ⁸⁰⁴  28:7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram. 28:8 Then Esau realized ⁸⁰⁵  that the Canaanite women ⁸⁰⁶  were displeasing to ⁸⁰⁷  his father Isaac. 28:9 So Esau went to Ishmael and married ⁸⁰⁸  Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, along with the wives he already had.

Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

28:10 Meanwhile Jacob left Beer Sheba and set out for Haran. 28:11 He reached a certain place ⁸⁰⁹  where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. ⁸¹⁰  He took one of the stones ⁸¹¹  and placed it near his head. ⁸¹²  Then he fell asleep ⁸¹³  in that place 28:12 and had a dream. ⁸¹⁴  He saw ⁸¹⁵  a stairway ⁸¹⁶  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. ⁸¹⁷  I will give you and your descendants the ground ⁸¹⁸  you are lying on. 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, ⁸¹⁹  and you will spread out ⁸²⁰  to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ⁸²¹  using your name and that of your descendants. ⁸²²  28:15 I am with you! ⁸²³  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 ⁸²⁴  and thought, ⁸²⁵  “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 ⁸²⁶  in the morning Jacob ⁸²⁷  took the stone he had placed near his head ⁸²⁸  and set it up as a sacred stone. ⁸²⁹  Then he poured oil on top of it. 28:19 He called that place Bethel, ⁸³⁰  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 ⁸³¹  to eat and clothing to wear, 28:21 and I return safely to my father’s home, ⁸³²  then the Lord will become my God. 28:22 Then this stone ⁸³³  that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely ⁸³⁴  give you back a tenth of everything you give me.” ⁸³⁵ 

The Marriages of Jacob

29:1 So Jacob moved on ⁸³⁶  and came to the land of the eastern people. ⁸³⁷  29:2 He saw ⁸³⁸  in the field a well with ⁸³⁹  three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now ⁸⁴⁰  a large stone covered the mouth of the well. 29:3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds ⁸⁴¹  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 ⁸⁴²  of Nahor?” “We know him,” ⁸⁴³  they said. 29:6 “Is he well?” ⁸⁴⁴  Jacob asked. They replied, “He is well. ⁸⁴⁵  Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” 29:7 Then Jacob ⁸⁴⁶  said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, ⁸⁴⁷  it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” ⁸⁴⁸  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 ⁸⁴⁹  the sheep.”

29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was tending them. ⁸⁵⁰  29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, ⁸⁵¹  and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he ⁸⁵²  went over ⁸⁵³  and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. ⁸⁵⁴  29:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep loudly. ⁸⁵⁵  29:12 When Jacob explained ⁸⁵⁶  to Rachel that he was a relative of her father ⁸⁵⁷  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 ⁸⁵⁸  told Laban how he was related to him. ⁸⁵⁹  29:14 Then Laban said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” ⁸⁶⁰  So Jacob ⁸⁶¹  stayed with him for a month. ⁸⁶² 

29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work ⁸⁶³  for me for nothing because you are my relative? ⁸⁶⁴  Tell me what your wages should be.” 29:16 (Now Laban had two daughters; ⁸⁶⁵  the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. 29:17 Leah’s eyes were tender, ⁸⁶⁶  but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.) ⁸⁶⁷  29:18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with ⁸⁶⁸  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. ⁸⁶⁹  Stay with me.” 29:20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. ⁸⁷⁰  But they seemed like only a few days to him ⁸⁷¹  because his love for her was so great. ⁸⁷² 

29:21 Finally Jacob said ⁸⁷³  to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. ⁸⁷⁴  I want to have marital relations with her.” ⁸⁷⁵  29:22 So Laban invited all the people ⁸⁷⁶  of that place and prepared a feast. 29:23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leah ⁸⁷⁷  to Jacob, ⁸⁷⁸  and Jacob ⁸⁷⁹  had marital relations with her. ⁸⁸⁰  29:24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) ⁸⁸¹ 

29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! ⁸⁸²  So Jacob ⁸⁸³  said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! ⁸⁸⁴  Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked ⁸⁸⁵  me?” 29:26 “It is not our custom here,” ⁸⁸⁶  Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriage ⁸⁸⁷  before the firstborn. 29:27 Complete my older daughter’s bridal week. ⁸⁸⁸  Then we will give you the younger one ⁸⁸⁹  too, in exchange for seven more years of work.” ⁸⁹⁰ 

29:28 Jacob did as Laban said. ⁸⁹¹  When Jacob ⁸⁹²  completed Leah’s bridal week, ⁸⁹³  Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. ⁸⁹⁴  29:29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) ⁸⁹⁵  29:30 Jacob ⁸⁹⁶  had marital relations ⁸⁹⁷  with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban ⁸⁹⁸  for seven more years. ⁸⁹⁹ 

The Family of Jacob

29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, ⁹⁰⁰  he enabled her to become pregnant ⁹⁰¹  while Rachel remained childless. 29:32 So Leah became pregnant ⁹⁰²  and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, ⁹⁰³  for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. ⁹⁰⁴  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, ⁹⁰⁵  he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. ⁹⁰⁶ 

29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, ⁹⁰⁷  because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. ⁹⁰⁸ 

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. ⁹⁰⁹  Then she stopped having children.

30:1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she ⁹¹⁰  became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children ⁹¹¹  or I’ll die!” 30:2 Jacob became furious ⁹¹²  with Rachel and exclaimed, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” ⁹¹³  30:3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with ⁹¹⁴  her so that she can bear ⁹¹⁵  children ⁹¹⁶  for me ⁹¹⁷  and I can have a family through her.” ⁹¹⁸ 

30:4 So Rachel ⁹¹⁹  gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with ⁹²⁰  her. 30:5 Bilhah became pregnant ⁹²¹  and gave Jacob a son. ⁹²²  30:6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayer ⁹²³  and given me a son.” That is why ⁹²⁴  she named him Dan. ⁹²⁵ 

30:7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. ⁹²⁶  30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.” ⁹²⁷  So she named him Naphtali. ⁹²⁸ 

30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave ⁹²⁹  her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 30:10 Soon Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son. ⁹³⁰  30:11 Leah said, “How fortunate!” ⁹³¹  So she named him Gad. ⁹³² 

30:12 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son. ⁹³³  30:13 Leah said, “How happy I am, ⁹³⁴  for women ⁹³⁵  will call me happy!” So she named him Asher. ⁹³⁶ 

30:14 At the time ⁹³⁷  of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants ⁹³⁸  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, ⁹³⁹  “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,” ⁹⁴⁰  Rachel said, “he may sleep ⁹⁴¹  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 ⁹⁴²  with me because I have paid for your services ⁹⁴³  with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relations ⁹⁴⁴  with her that night. 30:17 God paid attention ⁹⁴⁵  to Leah; she became pregnant ⁹⁴⁶  and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. ⁹⁴⁷  30:18 Then Leah said, “God has granted me a reward ⁹⁴⁸  because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.” ⁹⁴⁹  So she named him Issachar. ⁹⁵⁰ 

30:19 Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time. ⁹⁵¹  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. ⁹⁵² 

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

30:22 Then God took note of ⁹⁵³  Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. ⁹⁵⁴  30:23 She became pregnant ⁹⁵⁵  and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” ⁹⁵⁶  30:24 She named him Joseph, ⁹⁵⁷  saying, “May the Lord give me yet another son.”

The Flocks of Jacob

30:25 After Rachel had given birth ⁹⁵⁸  to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send ⁹⁵⁹  me on my way so that I can go ⁹⁶⁰  home to my own country. ⁹⁶¹  30:26 Let me take my wives and my children whom I have acquired by working for you. ⁹⁶²  Then I’ll depart, ⁹⁶³  because you know how hard I’ve worked for you.” ⁹⁶⁴ 

30:27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, ⁹⁶⁵  for I have learned by divination ⁹⁶⁶  that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.” 30:28 He added, “Just name your wages – I’ll pay whatever you want.” ⁹⁶⁷ 

30:29 “You know how I have worked for you,” Jacob replied, ⁹⁶⁸  “and how well your livestock have fared under my care. ⁹⁶⁹  30:30 Indeed, ⁹⁷⁰  you had little before I arrived, ⁹⁷¹  but now your possessions have increased many times over. ⁹⁷²  The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked. ⁹⁷³  But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?” ⁹⁷⁴ 

30:31 So Laban asked, ⁹⁷⁵  “What should I give you?” “You don’t need to give me a thing,” ⁹⁷⁶  Jacob replied, ⁹⁷⁷  “but if you agree to this one condition, ⁹⁷⁸  I will continue to care for ⁹⁷⁹  your flocks and protect them: 30:32 Let me walk among ⁹⁸⁰  all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, ⁹⁸¹  and the spotted or speckled goats. ⁹⁸²  These animals will be my wages. ⁹⁸³  30:33 My integrity will testify for me ⁹⁸⁴  later on. ⁹⁸⁵  When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on, ⁹⁸⁶  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.” ⁹⁸⁷  30:34 “Agreed!” said Laban, “It will be as you say.” ⁹⁸⁸ 

30:35 So that day Laban ⁹⁸⁹  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 ⁹⁹⁰  of his sons. 30:36 Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, ⁹⁹¹  while ⁹⁹²  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. ⁹⁹³  30:39 When the sheep mated ⁹⁹⁴  in front of the branches, they ⁹⁹⁵  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 ⁹⁹⁶  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, ⁹⁹⁷  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. ⁹⁹⁸  So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban ⁹⁹⁹  and the stronger animals to Jacob. 30:43 In this way Jacob ¹⁰⁰⁰  became extremely prosperous. He owned ¹⁰⁰¹  large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.

Jacob’s Flight from Laban

31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, ¹⁰⁰²  “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich ¹⁰⁰³  at our father’s expense!” ¹⁰⁰⁴  31:2 When Jacob saw the look on Laban’s face, he could tell his attitude toward him had changed. ¹⁰⁰⁵ 

31:3 The Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers ¹⁰⁰⁶  and to your relatives. I will be with you.” ¹⁰⁰⁷  31:4 So Jacob sent a message for Rachel and Leah ¹⁰⁰⁸  to come to the field ¹⁰⁰⁹  where his flocks were. ¹⁰¹⁰  31:5 There he said to them, “I can tell that your father’s attitude toward me has changed, ¹⁰¹¹  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, ¹⁰¹²  31:7 but your father has humiliated ¹⁰¹³  me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not permitted him to do me any harm. 31:8 If he said, ¹⁰¹⁴  ‘The speckled animals ¹⁰¹⁵  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 ¹⁰¹⁶  during breeding season I saw ¹⁰¹⁷  in a dream that the male goats mating with ¹⁰¹⁸  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 ¹⁰¹⁹  that all the male goats mating with ¹⁰²⁰  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, ¹⁰²¹  where you anointed ¹⁰²²  the sacred stone and made a vow to me. ¹⁰²³  Now leave this land immediately ¹⁰²⁴  and return to your native land.’”

31:14 Then Rachel and Leah replied to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance ¹⁰²⁵  in our father’s house? 31:15 Hasn’t he treated us like foreigners? He not only sold us, but completely wasted ¹⁰²⁶  the money paid for us! ¹⁰²⁷  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. ¹⁰²⁸  31:18 He took ¹⁰²⁹  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. ¹⁰³⁰ 

31:19 While Laban had gone to shear his sheep, ¹⁰³¹  Rachel stole the household idols ¹⁰³²  that belonged to her father. 31:20 Jacob also deceived ¹⁰³³  Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was leaving. ¹⁰³⁴  31:21 He left ¹⁰³⁵  with all he owned. He quickly crossed ¹⁰³⁶  the Euphrates River ¹⁰³⁷  and headed for ¹⁰³⁸  the hill country of Gilead.

31:22 Three days later Laban discovered Jacob had left. ¹⁰³⁹  31:23 So he took his relatives ¹⁰⁴⁰  with him and pursued Jacob ¹⁰⁴¹  for seven days. ¹⁰⁴²  He caught up with ¹⁰⁴³  him in the hill country of Gilead. 31:24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and warned him, ¹⁰⁴⁴  “Be careful ¹⁰⁴⁵  that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.” ¹⁰⁴⁶ 

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. ¹⁰⁴⁷  31:26 “What have you done?” Laban demanded of Jacob. “You’ve deceived me ¹⁰⁴⁸  and carried away my daughters as if they were captives of war! ¹⁰⁴⁹  31:27 Why did you run away secretly ¹⁰⁵⁰  and deceive me? ¹⁰⁵¹  Why didn’t you tell me so I could send you off with a celebration complete with singing, tambourines, and harps? ¹⁰⁵²  31:28 You didn’t even allow me to kiss my daughters and my grandchildren ¹⁰⁵³  good-bye. You have acted foolishly! 31:29 I have ¹⁰⁵⁴  the power to do you harm, but the God of your father told me last night, ‘Be careful ¹⁰⁵⁵  that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.’ ¹⁰⁵⁶  31:30 Now I understand that ¹⁰⁵⁷  you have gone away ¹⁰⁵⁸  because you longed desperately ¹⁰⁵⁹  for your father’s house. Yet why did you steal my gods?” ¹⁰⁶⁰ 

31:31 “I left secretly because I was afraid!” ¹⁰⁶¹  Jacob replied to Laban. “I thought ¹⁰⁶²  you might take your daughters away from me by force. ¹⁰⁶³  31:32 Whoever has taken your gods will be put to death! ¹⁰⁶⁴  In the presence of our relatives ¹⁰⁶⁵  identify whatever is yours and take it.” ¹⁰⁶⁶  (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.) ¹⁰⁶⁷ 

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. ¹⁰⁶⁸  Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s. ¹⁰⁶⁹  31:34 (Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them inside her camel’s saddle ¹⁰⁷⁰  and sat on them.) ¹⁰⁷¹  Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them. ¹⁰⁷²  31:35 Rachel ¹⁰⁷³  said to her father, “Don’t be angry, ¹⁰⁷⁴  my lord. I cannot stand up ¹⁰⁷⁵  in your presence because I am having my period.” ¹⁰⁷⁶  So he searched thoroughly, ¹⁰⁷⁷  but did not find the idols.

31:36 Jacob became angry ¹⁰⁷⁸  and argued with Laban. “What did I do wrong?” he demanded of Laban. ¹⁰⁷⁹  “What sin of mine prompted you to chase after me in hot pursuit? ¹⁰⁸⁰  31:37 When you searched through all my goods, did you find anything that belonged to you? ¹⁰⁸¹  Set it here before my relatives and yours, ¹⁰⁸²  and let them settle the dispute between the two of us! ¹⁰⁸³ 

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. ¹⁰⁸⁴  You always made me pay for every missing animal, ¹⁰⁸⁵  whether it was taken by day or at night. 31:40 I was consumed by scorching heat ¹⁰⁸⁶  during the day and by piercing cold ¹⁰⁸⁷  at night, and I went without sleep. ¹⁰⁸⁸  31:41 This was my lot ¹⁰⁸⁹  for twenty years in your house: I worked like a slave ¹⁰⁹⁰  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 ¹⁰⁹¹  – 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, ¹⁰⁹²  and he rebuked you last night.”

31:43 Laban replied ¹⁰⁹³  to Jacob, “These women ¹⁰⁹⁴  are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, ¹⁰⁹⁵  and these flocks are my flocks. All that you see belongs to me. But how can I harm these daughters of mine today ¹⁰⁹⁶  or the children to whom they have given birth? 31:44 So now, come, let’s make a formal agreement, ¹⁰⁹⁷  you and I, and it will be ¹⁰⁹⁸  proof that we have made peace.” ¹⁰⁹⁹ 

31:45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a memorial pillar. 31:46 Then he ¹¹⁰⁰  said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” So they brought stones and put them in a pile. ¹¹⁰¹  They ate there by the pile of stones. 31:47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, ¹¹⁰²  but Jacob called it Galeed. ¹¹⁰³ 

31:48 Laban said, “This pile of stones is a witness of our agreement ¹¹⁰⁴  today.” That is why it was called Galeed. 31:49 It was also called Mizpah ¹¹⁰⁵  because he said, “May the Lord watch ¹¹⁰⁶  between us ¹¹⁰⁷  when we are out of sight of one another. ¹¹⁰⁸  31:50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one else is with us, realize ¹¹⁰⁹  that God is witness to your actions.” ¹¹¹⁰ 

31:51 “Here is this pile of stones and this pillar I have set up between me and you,” Laban said to Jacob. ¹¹¹¹  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. ¹¹¹²  31:53 May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor, ¹¹¹³  the gods of their father, judge between us.” Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared. ¹¹¹⁴  31:54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice ¹¹¹⁵  on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat the meal. ¹¹¹⁶  They ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain.

31:55 (32:1) ¹¹¹⁷  Early in the morning Laban kissed ¹¹¹⁸  his grandchildren ¹¹¹⁹  and his daughters goodbye and blessed them. Then Laban left and returned home. ¹¹²⁰ 

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

32:1 So Jacob went on his way and the angels of God ¹¹²¹  met him. 32:2 When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, ¹¹²²  “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. ¹¹²³ 

32:3 Jacob sent messengers on ahead ¹¹²⁴  to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the region ¹¹²⁵  of Edom. 32:4 He commanded them, “This is what you must say to my lord Esau: ‘This is what your servant ¹¹²⁶  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 ¹¹²⁷  this message ¹¹²⁸  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,” ¹¹²⁹  he thought, ¹¹³⁰  “then the other camp will be able to escape.” ¹¹³¹ 

32:9 Then Jacob prayed, ¹¹³²  “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you said ¹¹³³  to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.’ ¹¹³⁴  32:10 I am not worthy of all the faithful love ¹¹³⁵  you have shown ¹¹³⁶  your servant. With only my walking stick ¹¹³⁷  I crossed the Jordan, ¹¹³⁸  but now I have become two camps. 32:11 Rescue me, ¹¹³⁹  I pray, from the hand ¹¹⁴⁰  of my brother Esau, ¹¹⁴¹  for I am afraid he will come ¹¹⁴²  and attack me, as well as the mothers with their children. ¹¹⁴³  32:12 But you ¹¹⁴⁴  said, ‘I will certainly make you prosper ¹¹⁴⁵  and will make ¹¹⁴⁶  your descendants like the sand on the seashore, too numerous to count.’” ¹¹⁴⁷ 

32:13 Jacob ¹¹⁴⁸  stayed there that night. Then he sent ¹¹⁴⁹  as a gift ¹¹⁵⁰  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 ¹¹⁵¹  his servants, who divided them into herds. ¹¹⁵²  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, ¹¹⁵³  “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong? ¹¹⁵⁴  Where are you going? Whose herds are you driving?’ ¹¹⁵⁵  32:18 then you must say, ¹¹⁵⁶  ‘They belong ¹¹⁵⁷  to your servant Jacob. ¹¹⁵⁸  They have been sent as a gift to my lord Esau. ¹¹⁵⁹  In fact Jacob himself is behind us.’” ¹¹⁶⁰ 

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. ¹¹⁶¹  32:20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’” ¹¹⁶²  Jacob thought, ¹¹⁶³  “I will first appease him ¹¹⁶⁴  by sending a gift ahead of me. ¹¹⁶⁵  After that I will meet him. ¹¹⁶⁶  Perhaps he will accept me.” ¹¹⁶⁷  32:21 So the gifts were sent on ahead of him ¹¹⁶⁸  while he spent that night in the camp. ¹¹⁶⁹ 

32:22 During the night Jacob quickly took ¹¹⁷⁰  his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons ¹¹⁷¹  and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ¹¹⁷²  32:23 He took them and sent them across the stream along with all his possessions. ¹¹⁷³  32:24 So Jacob was left alone. Then a man ¹¹⁷⁴  wrestled ¹¹⁷⁵  with him until daybreak. ¹¹⁷⁶  32:25 When the man ¹¹⁷⁷  saw that he could not defeat Jacob, ¹¹⁷⁸  he struck ¹¹⁷⁹  the socket of his hip so the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him.

32:26 Then the man ¹¹⁸⁰  said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” ¹¹⁸¹  “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, ¹¹⁸²  “unless you bless me.” ¹¹⁸³  32:27 The man asked him, ¹¹⁸⁴  “What is your name?” ¹¹⁸⁵  He answered, “Jacob.” 32:28 “No longer will your name be Jacob,” the man told him, ¹¹⁸⁶  “but Israel, ¹¹⁸⁷  because you have fought ¹¹⁸⁸  with God and with men and have prevailed.”

32:29 Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.” ¹¹⁸⁹  “Why ¹¹⁹⁰  do you ask my name?” the man replied. ¹¹⁹¹  Then he blessed ¹¹⁹²  Jacob ¹¹⁹³  there. 32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, ¹¹⁹⁴  explaining, ¹¹⁹⁵  “Certainly ¹¹⁹⁶  I have seen God face to face ¹¹⁹⁷  and have survived.” ¹¹⁹⁸ 

32:31 The sun rose ¹¹⁹⁹  over him as he crossed over Penuel, ¹²⁰⁰  but ¹²⁰¹  he was limping because of his hip. 32:32 That is why to this day ¹²⁰²  the Israelites do not eat the sinew which is attached to the socket of the hip, because he struck ¹²⁰³  the socket of Jacob’s hip near the attached sinew.

Genesis 23:1

The Death of Sarah

23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. ¹²⁰⁴ 

Genesis 23:1

The Death of Sarah

23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. ¹²⁰⁵ 

Genesis 39:1

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

39:1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. ¹²⁰⁶  An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, ¹²⁰⁷  purchased him from ¹²⁰⁸  the Ishmaelites who had brought him there.

Genesis 39:1

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

39:1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. ¹²⁰⁹  An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, ¹²¹⁰  purchased him from ¹²¹¹  the Ishmaelites who had brought him there.

Deuteronomy 4:1

The Privileges of the Covenant

4:1 Now, Israel, pay attention to the statutes and ordinances ¹²¹²  I am about to teach you, so that you might live and go on to enter and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, ¹²¹³  is giving you.

Deuteronomy 12:32

Idolatry and False Prophets

12:32 (13:1) ¹²¹⁴  You ¹²¹⁵  must be careful to do everything I am commanding you. Do not add to it or subtract from it! ¹²¹⁶ 

Isaiah 8:20

8:20 Then you must recall the Lord’s instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. ¹²¹⁷  Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened. ¹²¹⁸ 

Matthew 28:20

28:20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, ¹²¹⁹  I am with you ¹²²⁰  always, to the end of the age.” ¹²²¹ 

Matthew 28:1

The Resurrection

28:1 Now after the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

Colossians 4:2

Exhortation to Pray for the Success of Paul’s Mission

4:2 Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.

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

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

[17:1]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Or “in my presence.”

[17:1]  ⁶ tn There are two imperatives here: “walk…and be blameless [or “perfect”].” The second imperative may be purely sequential (see the translation) or consequential: “walk before me and then you will be blameless.” How one interprets the sequence depends on the meaning of “walk before”: (1) If it simply refers in a neutral way to serving the Lord, then the second imperative is likely sequential. (2) But if it has a positive moral connotation (“serve me faithfully”), then the second imperative probably indicates purpose (or result). For other uses of the idiom see 1 Sam 2:30, 35 and 12:2 (where it occurs twice).

[17:2]  ⁷ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative indicates consequence. If Abram is blameless, then the Lord will ratify the covenant. Earlier the Lord ratified part of his promise to Abram (see Gen 15:18-21), guaranteeing him that his descendants would live in the land. But the expanded form of the promise, which includes numerous descendants and eternal possession of the land, remains to be ratified. This expanded form of the promise is in view here (see vv. 2b, 4-8). See the note at Gen 15:18 and R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 35-54.

[17:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “I will multiply you exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

[17:3]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I.”

[17:4]  ¹² tn Heb “is” (הִנֵּה, hinneh).

[17:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “will your name be called.”

[17:5]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn The perfect verbal form is used here in a rhetorical manner to emphasize God’s intention.

[17:6]  ¹⁶ tn This verb starts a series of perfect verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive to express God’s intentions.

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

[17:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and I will make you into nations, and kings will come out from you.”

[17:7]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Or “as an eternal.”

[17:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “to be to you for God and to your descendants after you.”

[17:8]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn Or “as an eternal.”

[17:9]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ tn Heb “This is my covenant that you must keep between me and you and your descendants after you.”

[17:10]  ²⁷ sn For a discussion of male circumcision as the sign of the covenant in this passage see M. V. Fox, “The Sign of the Covenant: Circumcision in the Light of the Priestly ‘ot Etiologies,” RB 81 (1974): 557-96.

[17:11]  ²⁸ tn Or “sign.”

[17:12]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the son of eight days.”

[17:13]  ³⁰ tn The emphatic construction employs the Niphal imperfect tense (collective singular) and the Niphal infinitive.

[17:13]  ³¹ 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]  ³² tn Or “an eternal.”

[17:14]  ³³ tn The disjunctive clause calls attention to the “uncircumcised male” and what will happen to him.

[17:14]  ³⁴ tn Heb “that person will be cut off.” The words “that person” have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[17:14]  ³⁵ 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]  ³⁶ tn Heb “[As for] Sarai your wife, you must not call her name Sarai, for Sarah [will be] her name.”

[17:15]  ³⁷ 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]  ³⁸ tn Heb “she will become nations.”

[17:16]  ³⁹ tn Heb “peoples.”

[17:17]  ⁴⁰ 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]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “And he fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart.”

[17:17]  ⁴² tn The imperfect verbal form here carries a potential nuance, as it expresses the disbelief of Abraham.

[17:17]  ⁴³ tn Heb “to the son of a hundred years.”

[17:17]  ⁴⁴ 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]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “the daughter of ninety years.”

[17:18]  ⁴⁶ tn The wish is introduced with the Hebrew particle לוּ (lu), “O that.”

[17:18]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “live with your blessing.”

[17:19]  ⁴⁸ 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]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “as an eternal.”

[17:20]  ⁵⁰ 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]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

[17:20]  ⁵² 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]  ⁵³ 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]  ⁵⁴ 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]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “circumcised the flesh of their foreskin.” The Hebrew expression is somewhat pleonastic and has been simplified in the translation.

[17:24]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”

[17:24]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin” (also in v. 25).

[17:25]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “the son of thirteen years.”

[18:1]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “terebinths.”

[18:1]  ⁶¹ tn The disjunctive clause here is circumstantial to the main clause.

[18:1]  ⁶² tn The Hebrew noun translated “entrance” is an adverbial accusative of place.

[18:2]  ⁶³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:2]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”

[18:2]  ⁶⁵ 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]  ⁶⁶ 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]  ⁶⁷ tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.

[18:2]  ⁶⁸ 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]  ⁶⁹ sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the Lord and two angels (see Gen 19:1). It is not certain how soon Abraham recognized the true identity of the visitors. His actions suggest he suspected this was something out of the ordinary, though it is possible that his lavish treatment of the visitors was done quite unwittingly. Bowing down to the ground would be reserved for obeisance of kings or worship of the Lord. Whether he was aware of it or not, Abraham’s action was most appropriate.

[18:3]  ⁷⁰ tc The MT has the form אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Master”) which is reserved for God. This may reflect later scribal activity. The scribes, knowing it was the Lord, may have put the proper pointing with the word instead of the more common אֲדֹנִי (’adoni, “my master”).

[18:3]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “do not pass by from upon your servant.”

[18:4]  ⁷² tn The imperative after the jussive indicates purpose here.

[18:4]  ⁷³ 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]  ⁷⁴ tn The Qal cohortative here probably has the nuance of polite request.

[18:5]  ⁷⁵ 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]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “strengthen your heart.” The imperative after the cohortative indicates purpose here.

[18:5]  ⁷⁷ 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]  ⁷⁸ 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]  ⁷⁹ 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]  ⁸⁰ sn The bread was the simple, round bread made by bedouins that is normally prepared quickly for visitors.

[18:7]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “the young man.”

[18:7]  ⁸² 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]  ⁸³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:8]  ⁸⁴ 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]  ⁸⁵ tn The disjunctive clause is a temporal circumstantial clause subordinate to the main verb.

[18:9]  ⁸⁶ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) often accompanies a gesture of pointing or a focused gaze.

[18:10]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (one of the three men introduced in v. 2) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Some English translations have specified the referent as the Lord (cf. RSV, NIV) based on vv. 1, 13, but the Hebrew text merely has “he said” at this point, referring to one of the three visitors. Aside from the introductory statement in v. 1, the incident is narrated from Abraham’s point of view, and the suspense is built up for the reader as Abraham’s elaborate banquet preparations in the preceding verses suggest he suspects these are important guests. But not until the promise of a son later in this verse does it become clear who is speaking. In v. 13 the Hebrew text explicitly mentions the Lord.

[18:10]  ⁸⁸ tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.

[18:10]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.

[18:10]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”

[18:10]  ⁹¹ tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).

[18:11]  ⁹² tn Heb “days.”

[18:11]  ⁹³ tn Heb “it had ceased to be for Sarah [after] a way like women.”

[18:12]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “saying.”

[18:12]  ⁹⁵ 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]  ⁹⁶ tn The word “too” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[18:13]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “Why, this?” The demonstrative pronoun following the interrogative pronoun is enclitic, emphasizing the Lord’s amazement: “Why on earth did Sarah laugh?”

[18:13]  ⁹⁸ tn The Hebrew construction uses both הַאַף (ha’af) and אֻמְנָם (’umnam): “Indeed, truly, will I have a child?”

[18:14]  ⁹⁹ tn The Hebrew verb פָּלָא (pala’) means “to be wonderful, to be extraordinary, to be surpassing, to be amazing.”

[18:14]  ¹⁰⁰ sn Sarah will have a son. The passage brings God’s promise into clear focus. As long as it was a promise for the future, it really could be believed without much involvement. But now, when it seemed so impossible from the human standpoint, when the Lord fixed an exact date for the birth of the child, the promise became rather overwhelming to Abraham and Sarah. But then this was the Lord of creation, the one they had come to trust. The point of these narratives is that the creation of Abraham’s offspring, which eventually became Israel, is no less a miraculous work of creation than the creation of the world itself.

[18:15]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “And he said, ‘No, but you did laugh.’” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:16]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “And the men arose from there.”

[18:16]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “toward the face of.”

[18:16]  ¹⁰⁴ tn The disjunctive parenthetical clause sets the stage for the following speech.

[18:16]  ¹⁰⁵ 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]  ¹⁰⁶ tn The active participle here refers to an action that is imminent.

[18:18]  ¹⁰⁷ 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]  ¹⁰⁸ tn The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the finite verb that follows.

[18:18]  ¹⁰⁹ 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]  ¹¹⁰ tn Heb “For I have known him.” The verb יָדַע (yada’) here means “to recognize and treat in a special manner, to choose” (see Amos 3:2). It indicates that Abraham stood in a special covenantal relationship with the Lord.

[18:19]  ¹¹¹ 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]  ¹¹² tn The infinitive construct here indicates manner, explaining how Abraham’s children and his household will keep the way of the Lord.

[18:19]  ¹¹³ tn Heb “bring on.” The infinitive after לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) indicates result here.

[18:19]  ¹¹⁴ tn Heb “spoke to.”

[18:20]  ¹¹⁵ tn Heb “the outcry of Sodom,” which apparently refers to the outcry for divine justice from those (unidentified persons) who observe its sinful ways.

[18:20]  ¹¹⁶ tn Heb “heavy.”

[18:21]  ¹¹⁷ tn The cohortative indicates the Lord’s resolve.

[18:21]  ¹¹⁸ tn Heb “[if] according to the outcry that has come to me they have done completely.” Even the Lord, who is well aware of the human capacity to sin, finds it hard to believe that anyone could be as bad as the “outcry” against Sodom and Gomorrah suggests.

[18:21]  ¹¹⁹ sn The short phrase if not provides a ray of hope and inspires Abraham’s intercession.

[18:22]  ¹²⁰ tn Heb “And the men turned from there.” The word “two” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied here for clarity. Gen 19:1 mentions only two individuals (described as “angels”), while Abraham had entertained three visitors (18:2). The implication is that the Lord was the third visitor, who remained behind with Abraham here. The words “from there” are not included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[18:22]  ¹²¹ tn Heb “went.”

[18:22]  ¹²² tc An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition reads “but the Lord remained standing before Abraham.” This reading is problematic because the phrase “standing before” typically indicates intercession, but the Lord would certainly not be interceding before Abraham.

[18:24]  ¹²³ tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).

[18:25]  ¹²⁴ tn Or “ruler.”

[18:25]  ¹²⁵ 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]  ¹²⁶ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 30, 31, 32 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[18:27]  ¹²⁷ tn The disjunctive clause is a concessive clause here, drawing out the humility as a contrast to the Lord.

[18:28]  ¹²⁸ tn The Hebrew verb שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to destroy”) was used earlier to describe the effect of the flood.

[18:28]  ¹²⁹ tn Heb “because of five.”

[18:29]  ¹³⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:29]  ¹³¹ tn The construction is a verbal hendiadys – the preterite (“he added”) is combined with an adverb “yet” and an infinitive “to speak.”

[18:30]  ¹³² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:30]  ¹³³ tn Heb “let it not be hot to the Lord.” This is an idiom which means “may the Lord not be angry.”

[18:30]  ¹³⁴ tn After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.

[18:31]  ¹³⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:32]  ¹³⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:33]  ¹³⁷ tn Heb “And the Lord went.”

[18:33]  ¹³⁸ tn The infinitive construct (“speaking”) serves as the direct object of the verb “finished.”

[18:33]  ¹³⁹ tn Heb “to his place.”

[19:1]  ¹⁴⁰ tn The disjunctive clause is temporal here, indicating what Lot was doing at the time of their arrival.

[19:1]  ¹⁴¹ 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]  ¹⁴² tn The imperatives have the force of invitation.

[19:2]  ¹⁴³ tn These two verbs form a verbal hendiadys: “you can rise up early and go” means “you can go early.”

[19:2]  ¹⁴⁴ sn The town square refers to the wide street area at the gate complex of the city.

[19:3]  ¹⁴⁵ 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]  ¹⁴⁶ 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]  ¹⁴⁷ 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]  ¹⁴⁸ tn The Hebrew text adds “and said to him.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[19:5]  ¹⁴⁹ 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]  ¹⁵⁰ tn Heb “may my brothers not act wickedly.”

[19:8]  ¹⁵¹ tn Heb “who have not known.” Here this expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[19:8]  ¹⁵² tn Heb “according to what is good in your eyes.”

[19:8]  ¹⁵³ tn Heb “shadow.”

[19:8]  ¹⁵⁴ 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]  ¹⁵⁵ tn Heb “approach out there” which could be rendered “Get out of the way, stand back!”

[19:9]  ¹⁵⁶ tn Heb “to live as a resident alien.”

[19:9]  ¹⁵⁷ 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]  ¹⁵⁸ 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]  ¹⁵⁹ tn Heb “and they pressed against the man, against Lot, exceedingly.”

[19:9]  ¹⁶⁰ tn Heb “and they drew near.”

[19:10]  ¹⁶¹ 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]  ¹⁶² tn The Hebrew text adds “their hand.” These words have not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[19:10]  ¹⁶³ tn Heb “to them into the house.”

[19:11]  ¹⁶⁴ tn Heb “from the least to the greatest.”

[19:11]  ¹⁶⁵ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Sodom outside the door) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:12]  ¹⁶⁶ 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]  ¹⁶⁷ tn Heb “Yet who [is there] to you here?”

[19:12]  ¹⁶⁸ tn The words “Do you have” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:12]  ¹⁶⁹ tn Heb “a son-in-law and your sons and your daughters and anyone who (is) to you in the city.”

[19:12]  ¹⁷⁰ tn Heb “the place.” The Hebrew article serves here as a demonstrative.

[19:13]  ¹⁷¹ tn The Hebrew participle expresses an imminent action here.

[19:13]  ¹⁷² tn Heb “for their outcry.” The words “about this place” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:13]  ¹⁷³ tn Heb “the Lord.” The repetition of the divine name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “he” for stylistic reasons.

[19:14]  ¹⁷⁴ 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]  ¹⁷⁵ tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.

[19:14]  ¹⁷⁶ 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]  ¹⁷⁷ tn Heb “When dawn came up.”

[19:15]  ¹⁷⁸ 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]  ¹⁷⁹ tn Or “with the iniquity [i.e., punishment] of the city” (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[19:16]  ¹⁸⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:16]  ¹⁸¹ tn Heb “in the compassion of the Lord to them.”

[19:16]  ¹⁸² 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]  ¹⁸³ 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]  ¹⁸⁴ tn Heb “escape.”

[19:17]  ¹⁸⁵ 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]  ¹⁸⁶ tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:18]  ¹⁸⁷ tn Or “my lords.” See the following note on the problem of identifying the addressee here. The Hebrew term is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[19:19]  ¹⁸⁸ 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]  ¹⁸⁹ tn Heb “in your eyes.”

[19:19]  ¹⁹⁰ tn Heb “you made great your kindness.”

[19:19]  ¹⁹¹ 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]  ¹⁹² tn The infinitive construct explains how God has shown Lot kindness.

[19:19]  ¹⁹³ tn Heb “lest.”

[19:19]  ¹⁹⁴ 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]  ¹⁹⁵ tn The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.

[19:20]  ¹⁹⁶ 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]  ¹⁹⁷ tn Heb “Look, this town is near to flee to there. And it is little.”

[19:20]  ¹⁹⁸ tn Heb “Let me escape to there.” The cohortative here expresses Lot’s request.

[19:20]  ¹⁹⁹ tn Heb “Is it not little?”

[19:20]  ²⁰⁰ tn Heb “my soul will live.” After the cohortative the jussive with vav conjunctive here indicates purpose/result.

[19:21]  ²⁰¹ tn Heb “And he said, ‘Look, I will grant.’” The order of the clauses has been rearranged for stylistic reasons. The referent of the speaker (“he”) is somewhat ambiguous: It could be taken as the angel to whom Lot has been speaking (so NLT; note the singular references in vv. 18-19), or it could be that Lot is speaking directly to the Lord here. Most English translations leave the referent of the pronoun unspecified and maintain the ambiguity.

[19:21]  ²⁰² tn Heb “I have lifted up your face [i.e., shown you favor] also concerning this matter.”

[19:21]  ²⁰³ 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]  ²⁰⁴ tn Heb “Be quick! Escape to there!” The two imperatives form a verbal hendiadys, the first becoming adverbial.

[19:22]  ²⁰⁵ 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]  ²⁰⁶ sn The sun had just risen. There was very little time for Lot to escape between dawn (v. 15) and sunrise (here).

[19:23]  ²⁰⁷ 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]  ²⁰⁸ tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of the next scene and highlights God’s action.

[19:24]  ²⁰⁹ tn Or “burning sulfur” (the traditional “fire and brimstone”).

[19:24]  ²¹⁰ tn Heb “from the Lord from the heavens.” The words “It was sent down” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:25]  ²¹¹ tn Or “and all the plain”; Heb “and all the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:25]  ²¹² tn Heb “and the vegetation of the ground.”

[19:26]  ²¹³ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:26]  ²¹⁴ tn The Hebrew verb means “to look intently; to gaze” (see 15:5).

[19:27]  ²¹⁵ tn The words “and went” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:28]  ²¹⁶ tn Heb “upon the face of.”

[19:28]  ²¹⁷ 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]  ²¹⁸ tn Heb “And he saw, and look, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.”

[19:29]  ²¹⁹ tn The construction is a temporal clause comprised of the temporal indicator, an infinitive construct with a preposition, and the subjective genitive.

[19:29]  ²²⁰ tn Or “of the plain”; Heb “of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:29]  ²²¹ tn Heb “remembered,” but this means more than mental recollection here. Abraham’s request (Gen 18:23-32) was that the Lord not destroy the righteous with the wicked. While the requisite minimum number of righteous people (ten, v. 32) needed for God to spare the cities was not found, God nevertheless rescued the righteous before destroying the wicked.

[19:29]  ²²² sn God’s removal of Lot before the judgment is paradigmatic. He typically delivers the godly before destroying their world.

[19:29]  ²²³ tn Heb “the overthrow when [he] overthrew.”

[19:31]  ²²⁴ tn Heb “and the firstborn said.”

[19:31]  ²²⁵ 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]  ²²⁶ tn Heb “to enter upon us.” This is a euphemism for sexual relations.

[19:32]  ²²⁷ tn Heb “drink wine.”

[19:32]  ²²⁸ 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]  ²²⁹ tn Or “that we may preserve.” Here the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates their ultimate goal.

[19:32]  ²³⁰ tn Heb “and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”

[19:33]  ²³¹ tn Heb “drink wine.”

[19:33]  ²³² tn Heb “the firstborn.”

[19:33]  ²³³ 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]  ²³⁴ tn Heb “and he did not know when she lay down and when she arose.”

[19:34]  ²³⁵ tn Heb “the firstborn.”

[19:34]  ²³⁶ tn Heb “Look, I lied down with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight.”

[19:34]  ²³⁷ tn Heb “And go, lie down with him and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”

[19:35]  ²³⁸ tn Heb “drink wine.”

[19:35]  ²³⁹ tn Heb “lied down with him.”

[19:35]  ²⁴⁰ tn Heb “And he did not know when she lied down and when she arose.”

[19:37]  ²⁴¹ tn Heb “the firstborn.”

[19:37]  ²⁴² 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]  ²⁴³ sn The name Ben-Ammi means “son of my people.” Like the account of Moab’s birth, this story is probably included in the narrative to portray the Ammonites, another perennial enemy of Israel, in a negative light.

[20:1]  ²⁴⁴ tn Or “the South [country]”; Heb “the land of the Negev.”

[20:1]  ²⁴⁵ tn Heb “and he sojourned.”

[20:3]  ²⁴⁶ tn Heb “came.”

[20:3]  ²⁴⁷ tn Heb “Look, you [are] dead.” The Hebrew construction uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with a second person pronominal particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with by the participle. It is a highly rhetorical expression.

[20:3]  ²⁴⁸ tn Heb “and she is owned by an owner.” The disjunctive clause is causal or explanatory in this case.

[20:4]  ²⁴⁹ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[20:4]  ²⁵⁰ tn Apparently Abimelech assumes that God’s judgment will fall on his entire nation. Some, finding the reference to a nation problematic, prefer to emend the text and read, “Would you really kill someone who is innocent?” See E. A. Speiser, Genesis (AB), 149.

[20:5]  ²⁵¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:5]  ²⁵² tn Heb “and she, even she.”

[20:5]  ²⁵³ tn Heb “with the integrity of my heart.”

[20:6]  ²⁵⁴ tn Heb “with the integrity of your heart.”

[20:6]  ²⁵⁵ tn Heb “and I, even I, kept you.”

[20:6]  ²⁵⁶ tn Heb “therefore.”

[20:7]  ²⁵⁷ tn Or “for,” if the particle is understood as causal (as many English translations do) rather than asseverative.

[20:7]  ²⁵⁸ sn For a discussion of the term prophet see N. Walker, “What is a Nabhi?” ZAW 73 (1961): 99-100.

[20:7]  ²⁵⁹ tn After the preceding jussive (or imperfect), the imperative with vav conjunctive here indicates result.

[20:7]  ²⁶⁰ tn Heb “if there is not you returning.” The suffix on the particle becomes the subject of the negated clause.

[20:7]  ²⁶¹ tn The imperfect is preceded by the infinitive absolute to make the warning emphatic.

[20:8]  ²⁶² tn Heb “And Abimelech rose early in the morning and he summoned.”

[20:8]  ²⁶³ tn The verb קָרָא (qara’) followed by the preposition לְ (lamed) means “to summon.”

[20:8]  ²⁶⁴ tn Heb “And he spoke all these things in their ears.”

[20:8]  ²⁶⁵ tn Heb “the men.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “they” in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[20:9]  ²⁶⁶ tn Heb “How did I sin against you that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin?” The expression “great sin” refers to adultery. For discussion of the cultural background of the passage, see J. J. Rabinowitz, “The Great Sin in Ancient Egyptian Marriage Contracts,” JNES 18 (1959): 73, and W. L. Moran, “The Scandal of the ‘Great Sin’ at Ugarit,” JNES 18 (1959): 280-81.

[20:9]  ²⁶⁷ tn Heb “Deeds which should not be done you have done to me.” The imperfect has an obligatory nuance here.

[20:10]  ²⁶⁸ tn Heb “And Abimelech said to.”

[20:10]  ²⁶⁹ tn Heb “What did you see that you did this thing?” The question implies that Abraham had some motive for deceiving Abimelech.

[20:11]  ²⁷⁰ tn Heb “Because I said.”

[20:11]  ²⁷¹ tn Heb “over the matter of.”

[20:12]  ²⁷² tn Heb “but also.”

[20:13]  ²⁷³ tn The Hebrew verb is plural. This may be a case of grammatical agreement with the name for God, which is plural in form. However, when this plural name refers to the one true God, accompanying predicates are usually singular in form. Perhaps Abraham is accommodating his speech to Abimelech’s polytheistic perspective. (See GKC 463 §145.i.) If so, one should translate, “when the gods made me wander.”

[20:13]  ²⁷⁴ tn Heb “This is your loyal deed which you can do for me.”

[20:14]  ²⁷⁵ tn Heb “took and gave.”

[20:15]  ²⁷⁶ tn Heb “In the [place that is] good in your eyes live!”

[20:16]  ²⁷⁷ sn A thousand pieces [Heb “shekels”] of silver. The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of silver here 11.5 kilograms, or 400 ounces (about 25 pounds).

[20:16]  ²⁷⁸ sn To your ‘brother.’ Note the way that the king refers to Abraham. Was he being sarcastic? It was surely a rebuke to Sarah. What is amazing is how patient this king was. It is proof that the fear of God was in that place, contrary to what Abraham believed (see v. 11).

[20:16]  ²⁷⁹ tn Heb “Look, it is for you a covering of the eyes, for all who are with you, and with all, and you are set right.” The exact meaning of the statement is unclear. Apparently it means that the gift of money somehow exonerates her in other people’s eyes. They will not look on her as compromised (see G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:74).

[20:18]  ²⁸⁰ tn In the Hebrew text the clause begins with “because.”

[20:18]  ²⁸¹ tn Heb had completely closed up every womb.” In the Hebrew text infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[20:18]  ²⁸² tn Heb “because of.” The words “he took” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[21:1]  ²⁸³ sn The Hebrew verb translated “visit” (פָּקַד, paqad ) often describes divine intervention for blessing or cursing; it indicates God’s special attention to an individual or a matter, always with respect to his people’s destiny. He may visit (that is, destroy) the Amalekites; he may visit (that is, deliver) his people in Egypt. Here he visits Sarah, to allow her to have the promised child. One’s destiny is changed when the Lord “visits.” For a more detailed study of the term, see G. André, Determining the Destiny (ConBOT).

[21:1]  ²⁸⁴ tn Heb “and the Lord did.” The divine name has not been repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[21:1]  ²⁸⁵ tn Heb “spoken.”

[21:2]  ²⁸⁶ tn Or “she conceived.”

[21:3]  ²⁸⁷ tn Heb “the one born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.” The two modifying clauses, the first introduced with an article and the second with the relative pronoun, are placed in the middle of the sentence, before the name Isaac is stated. They are meant to underscore that this was indeed an actual birth to Abraham and Sarah in fulfillment of the promise.

[21:4]  ²⁸⁸ tn Heb “Isaac his son, the son of eight days.” The name “Isaac” is repeated in the translation for clarity.

[21:4]  ²⁸⁹ sn Just as God had commanded him to do. With the birth of the promised child, Abraham obeyed the Lord by both naming (Gen 17:19) and circumcising Isaac (17:12).

[21:5]  ²⁹⁰ tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause underscores how miraculous this birth was. Abraham was 100 years old. The fact that the genealogies give the ages of the fathers when their first son is born shows that this was considered a major milestone in one’s life (G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:80).

[21:6]  ²⁹¹ tn Heb “Laughter God has made for me.”

[21:6]  ²⁹² tn The words “about this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[21:6]  ²⁹³ sn Sarah’s words play on the name “Isaac” in a final triumphant manner. God prepared “laughter” (צְחֹק, ysÿkhoq ) for her, and everyone who hears about this “will laugh” (יִצְחַק, yitskhaq ) with her. The laughter now signals great joy and fulfillment, not unbelief (cf. Gen 18:12-15).

[21:7]  ²⁹⁴ tn Heb “said.”

[21:7]  ²⁹⁵ tn The perfect form of the verb is used here to describe a hypothetical situation.

[21:8]  ²⁹⁶ tn Heb “made.”

[21:8]  ²⁹⁷ sn Children were weaned closer to the age of two or three in the ancient world, because infant mortality was high. If an infant grew to this stage, it was fairly certain he or she would live. Such an event called for a celebration, especially for parents who had waited so long for a child.

[21:9]  ²⁹⁸ tn Heb “saw.”

[21:9]  ²⁹⁹ tn The Piel participle used here is from the same root as the name “Isaac.” In the Piel stem the verb means “to jest; to make sport of; to play with,” not simply “to laugh,” which is the meaning of the verb in the Qal stem. What exactly Ishmael was doing is not clear. Interpreters have generally concluded that the boy was either (1) mocking Isaac (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) or (2) merely playing with Isaac as if on equal footing (cf. NAB, NRSV). In either case Sarah saw it as a threat. The same participial form was used in Gen 19:14 to describe how some in Lot’s family viewed his attempt to warn them of impending doom. It also appears later in Gen 39:14, 17, where Potiphar accuses Joseph of mocking them.

[21:10]  ³⁰⁰ tn Heb “drive out.” The language may seem severe, but Sarah’s maternal instincts sensed a real danger in that Ishmael was not treating Isaac with the proper respect.

[21:11]  ³⁰¹ tn Heb “and the word was very wrong in the eyes of Abraham on account of his son.” The verb רָעַע (ra’a’) often refers to what is morally or ethically “evil.” It usage here suggests that Abraham thought Sarah’s demand was ethically (and perhaps legally) wrong.

[21:12]  ³⁰² tn Heb “Let it not be evil in your eyes.”

[21:12]  ³⁰³ tn Heb “listen to her voice.” The idiomatic expression means “obey; comply.” Here her advice, though harsh, is necessary and conforms to the will of God. Later (see Gen 25), when Abraham has other sons, he sends them all away as well.

[21:12]  ³⁰⁴ tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to an action that is underway.

[21:12]  ³⁰⁵ tn Or perhaps “will be named”; Heb “for in Isaac offspring will be called to you.” The exact meaning of the statement is not clear, but it does indicate that God’s covenantal promises to Abraham will be realized through Isaac, not Ishmael.

[21:14]  ³⁰⁶ tn Heb “and Abraham rose up early in the morning and he took.”

[21:14]  ³⁰⁷ tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.

[21:14]  ³⁰⁸ tn Heb “He put upon her shoulder, and the boy [or perhaps, “and with the boy”], and he sent her away.” It is unclear how “and the boy” relates syntactically to what precedes. Perhaps the words should be rearranged and the text read, “and he put [them] on her shoulder and he gave to Hagar the boy.”

[21:14]  ³⁰⁹ tn Heb “she went and wandered.”

[21:14]  ³¹⁰ tn Or “desert,” although for English readers this usually connotes a sandy desert like the Sahara rather than the arid wasteland of this region with its sparse vegetation.

[21:15]  ³¹¹ tn Heb “threw,” but the child, who was now thirteen years old, would not have been carried, let alone thrown under a bush. The exaggerated language suggests Ishmael is limp from dehydration and is being abandoned to die. See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 2:85.

[21:16]  ³¹² sn A bowshot would be a distance of about a hundred yards (ninety meters).

[21:16]  ³¹³ tn Heb “said.”

[21:16]  ³¹⁴ tn Heb “I will not look on the death of the child.” The cohortative verbal form (note the negative particle אַל,’al) here expresses her resolve to avoid the stated action.

[21:16]  ³¹⁵ tn Heb “and she lifted up her voice and wept” (that is, she wept uncontrollably). The LXX reads “he” (referring to Ishmael) rather than “she” (referring to Hagar), but this is probably an attempt to harmonize this verse with the following one, which refers to the boy’s cries.

[21:17]  ³¹⁶ sn God heard the boy’s voice. The text has not to this point indicated that Ishmael was crying out, either in pain or in prayer. But the text here makes it clear that God heard him. Ishmael is clearly central to the story. Both the mother and the Lord are focused on the child’s imminent death.

[21:17]  ³¹⁷ tn Heb “What to you?”

[21:17]  ³¹⁸ sn Here the verb heard picks up the main motif of the name Ishmael (“God hears”), introduced back in chap. 16.

[21:19]  ³¹⁹ tn Heb “And God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water.” The referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:21]  ³²⁰ sn The wilderness of Paran is an area in the east central region of the Sinai peninsula, northeast from the traditional site of Mt. Sinai and with the Arabah and the Gulf of Aqaba as its eastern border.

[21:21]  ³²¹ tn Heb “And his mother took for him a wife from the land of Egypt.”

[21:22]  ³²² sn God is with you. Abimelech and Phicol recognized that Abraham enjoyed special divine provision and protection.

[21:23]  ³²³ tn Heb “And now swear to me by God here.”

[21:23]  ³²⁴ tn Heb “my offspring and my descendants.”

[21:23]  ³²⁵ tn The word “land” refers by metonymy to the people in the land.

[21:23]  ³²⁶ tn The Hebrew verb means “to stay, to live, to sojourn” as a temporary resident without ownership rights.

[21:23]  ³²⁷ tn Or “kindness.”

[21:23]  ³²⁸ tn Heb “According to the loyalty which I have done with you, do with me and with the land in which you are staying.”

[21:24]  ³²⁹ tn Heb “I swear.” No object is specified in the Hebrew text, but the content of the oath requested by Abimelech is the implied object.

[21:25]  ³³⁰ tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to argue; to dispute”; it can focus on the beginning of the dispute (as here), the dispute itself, or the resolution of a dispute (Isa 1:18). Apparently the complaint was lodged before the actual oath was taken.

[21:25]  ³³¹ tn Heb “concerning the matter of the well of water.”

[21:25]  ³³² tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to steal; to rob; to take violently.” The statement reflects Abraham’s perspective.

[21:26]  ³³³ tn Heb “and also.”

[21:27]  ³³⁴ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[21:29]  ³³⁵ tn Heb “What are these?”

[21:30]  ³³⁶ tn Heb “that it be for me for a witness.”

[21:30]  ³³⁷ sn This well. Since the king wanted a treaty to share in Abraham’s good fortune, Abraham used the treaty to secure ownership of and protection for the well he dug. It would be useless to make a treaty to live in this territory if he had no rights to the water. Abraham consented to the treaty, but added his rider to it.

[21:31]  ³³⁸ tn Heb “that is why he called that place.” Some translations render this as an impersonal passive, “that is why that place was called.”

[21:31]  ³³⁹ sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, bÿ’er shava’) means “well of the oath” or “well of the seven.” Both the verb “to swear” and the number “seven” have been used throughout the account. Now they are drawn in as part of the explanation of the significance of the name.

[21:31]  ³⁴⁰ sn The verb forms a wordplay with the name Beer Sheba.

[21:32]  ³⁴¹ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[21:32]  ³⁴² tn Heb “arose and returned.”

[21:32]  ³⁴³ sn The Philistines mentioned here may not be ethnically related to those who lived in Palestine in the time of the judges and the united monarchy. See D. M. Howard, “Philistines,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 238.

[21:33]  ³⁴⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:33]  ³⁴⁵ sn The planting of the tamarisk tree is a sign of Abraham’s intent to stay there for a long time, not a religious act. A growing tree in the Negev would be a lasting witness to God’s provision of water.

[21:33]  ³⁴⁶ tn Heb “he called there in the name of the Lord.” The expression refers to worshiping the Lord through prayer and sacrifice (see Gen 4:26; 12:8; 13:4; 26:25). See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:116, 281.

[21:34]  ³⁴⁷ tn Heb “many days.”

[22:1]  ³⁴⁸ sn The Hebrew verb used here means “to test; to try; to prove.” In this passage God tests Abraham to see if he would be obedient. See T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 44-48. See also J. L. Crenshaw, A Whirlpool of Torment (OBT), 9-30; and J. I. Lawlor, “The Test of Abraham,” GTJ 1 (1980): 19-35.

[22:1]  ³⁴⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:2]  ³⁵⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:2]  ³⁵¹ sn Take your son…Isaac. The instructions are very clear, but the details are deliberate. With every additional description the commandment becomes more challenging.

[22:2]  ³⁵² sn There has been much debate over the location of Moriah; 2 Chr 3:1 suggests it may be the site where the temple was later built in Jerusalem.

[22:2]  ³⁵³ sn A whole burnt offering signified the complete surrender of the worshiper and complete acceptance by God. The demand for a human sacrifice was certainly radical and may have seemed to Abraham out of character for God. Abraham would have to obey without fully understanding what God was about.

[22:2]  ³⁵⁴ tn Heb “which I will say to.”

[22:3]  ³⁵⁵ tn Heb “Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his donkey.”

[22:3]  ³⁵⁶ tn Heb “he arose and he went.”

[22:4]  ³⁵⁷ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes and saw.”

[22:5]  ³⁵⁸ tn Heb “And Abraham.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.

[22:5]  ³⁵⁹ tn The Hebrew verb is masculine plural, referring to the two young servants who accompanied Abraham and Isaac on the journey.

[22:5]  ³⁶⁰ tn The disjunctive clause (with the compound subject preceding the verb) may be circumstantial and temporal.

[22:5]  ³⁶¹ tn This Hebrew word literally means “to bow oneself close to the ground.” It often means “to worship.”

[22:5]  ³⁶² sn It is impossible to know what Abraham was thinking when he said, “we will…return to you.” When he went he knew (1) that he was to sacrifice Isaac, and (2) that God intended to fulfill his earlier promises through Isaac. How he reconciled those facts is not clear in the text. Heb 11:17-19 suggests that Abraham believed God could restore Isaac to him through resurrection.

[22:6]  ³⁶³ sn He took the fire and the knife in his hand. These details anticipate the sacrifice that lies ahead.

[22:7]  ³⁶⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This is redundant and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[22:7]  ³⁶⁵ tn Heb “Here I am” (cf. Gen 22:1).

[22:7]  ³⁶⁶ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Here is the fire and the wood.’” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here and in the following verse the order of the introductory clauses and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[22:8]  ³⁶⁷ tn Heb “will see for himself.” The construction means “to look out for; to see to it; to provide.”

[22:9]  ³⁶⁸ sn Abraham built an altar there. The theme of Abraham’s altar building culminates here. He has been a faithful worshiper. Will he continue to worship when called upon to make such a radical sacrifice?

[22:9]  ³⁶⁹ sn Then he tied up. This text has given rise to an important theme in Judaism known as the Aqedah, from the Hebrew word for “binding.” When sacrifices were made in the sanctuary, God remembered the binding of Isaac, for which a substitute was offered. See D. Polish, “The Binding of Isaac,” Jud 6 (1957): 17-21.

[22:10]  ³⁷⁰ tn Heb “in order to slaughter.”

[22:11]  ³⁷¹ sn Heb “the messenger of the Lord” (also in v. 15). Some identify the angel of the Lord as the preincarnate Christ because in some texts the angel is identified with the Lord himself. However, see the note on the phrase “the Lord’s angel” in Gen 16:7.

[22:12]  ³⁷² tn Heb “Do not extend your hand toward the boy.”

[22:12]  ³⁷³ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Do not extend…’”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the context for clarity. The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[22:12]  ³⁷⁴ sn For now I know. The test was designed to see if Abraham would be obedient (see v. 1).

[22:12]  ³⁷⁵ sn In this context fear refers by metonymy to obedience that grows from faith.

[22:13]  ³⁷⁶ tn Heb “lifted his eyes.”

[22:13]  ³⁷⁷ tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to what Abraham saw and invites the audience to view the scene through his eyes.

[22:13]  ³⁷⁸ tc The translation follows the reading of the MT; a number of Hebrew mss, the LXX, Syriac, and Samaritan Pentateuch read “one” (אֶחָד, ’ekhad) instead of “behind him” (אַחַר, ’akhar).

[22:13]  ³⁷⁹ tn Heb “Abraham”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[22:14]  ³⁸⁰ tn Heb “the Lord sees” (יְהוָה יִרְאֶה, yÿhvah yir’eh, traditionally transliterated “Jehovah Jireh”; see the note on the word “provide” in v. 8). By so naming the place Abraham preserved in the memory of God’s people the amazing event that took place there.

[22:14]  ³⁸¹ sn On the expression to this day see B. Childs, “A Study of the Formula ‘Until this Day’,” JBL 82 (1963): 279-92.

[22:14]  ³⁸² sn The saying connected with these events has some ambiguity, which was probably intended. The Niphal verb could be translated (1) “in the mountain of the Lord it will be seen/provided” or (2) “in the mountain the Lord will appear.” If the temple later stood here (see the note on “Moriah” in Gen 22:2), the latter interpretation might find support, for the people went to the temple to appear before the Lord, who “appeared” to them by providing for them his power and blessings. See S. R. Driver, Genesis, 219.

[22:16]  ³⁸³ tn Heb “By myself I swear.”

[22:16]  ³⁸⁴ tn Heb “the oracle of the Lord.” The phrase refers to a formal oracle or decree from the Lord.

[22:17]  ³⁸⁵ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form (either an imperfect or cohortative) emphasizes the certainty of the blessing.

[22:17]  ³⁸⁶ tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).

[22:17]  ³⁸⁷ tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.

[22:17]  ³⁸⁸ tn Or “inherit.”

[22:17]  ³⁸⁹ tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. To break through the gate complex would be to conquer the city, for the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”).

[22:18]  ³⁹⁰ tn In the Hebrew text this causal clause comes at the end of the sentence. The translation alters the word order for stylistic reasons.

[22:18]  ³⁹¹ tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 26:4). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)

[22:19]  ³⁹² tn Heb “and they arose and went together.”

[22:19]  ³⁹³ tn Heb “and Abraham stayed in Beer Sheba. This has been translated as a relative clause for stylistic reasons.

[22:20]  ³⁹⁴ tn In the Hebrew text the sentence begins with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to the statement.

[22:21]  ³⁹⁵ sn This parenthetical note about Kemuel’s descendant is probably a later insertion by the author/compiler of Genesis and not part of the original announcement.

[22:23]  ³⁹⁶ tn The disjunctive clause gives information that is important but parenthetical to the narrative. Rebekah would become the wife of Isaac (Gen 24:15).

[23:1]  ³⁹⁷ tn Heb “And the years of Sarah were one hundred years and twenty years and seven years, the years of the life of Sarah.”

[23:2]  ³⁹⁸ tn Heb “Sarah.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“she”) for stylistic reasons.

[23:2]  ³⁹⁹ sn Mourn…weep. The description here is of standard mourning rites (see K. A. Kitchen, NBD³ 149-50). They would have been carried out in the presence of the corpse, probably in Sarah’s tent. So Abraham came in to mourn; then he rose up to go and bury his dead (v. 3).

[23:3]  ⁴⁰⁰ tn Heb “And Abraham arose from upon the face of his dead.”

[23:3]  ⁴⁰¹ tn Some translate the Hebrew term “Heth” as “Hittites” here (also in vv. 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 20), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., “Hittites,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.

[23:4]  ⁴⁰² tn Heb “a resident alien and a settler.”

[23:4]  ⁴⁰³ tn Heb “give,” which is used here as an idiom for “sell” (see v. 9). The idiom reflects the polite bartering that was done in the culture at the time.

[23:4]  ⁴⁰⁴ tn Or “possession.”

[23:4]  ⁴⁰⁵ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose.

[23:4]  ⁴⁰⁶ tn Heb “bury my dead out of my sight.” The last phrase “out of my sight” has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:5]  ⁴⁰⁷ tn Heb “answered Abraham saying to him.”

[23:6]  ⁴⁰⁸ tn Heb “Hear us, my lord.”

[23:6]  ⁴⁰⁹ tn Heb “prince of God.” The divine name may be used here as a means of expressing the superlative, “mighty prince.” The word for “prince” probably means “tribal chief” here. See M. H. Gottstein, “Nasi’ ‘elohim (Gen 23:6),” VT 3 (1953) 298-99; and D. W. Thomas, “Consideration of Some Unusual Ways of Expressing the Superlative in Hebrew,” VT 3 (1953) 215-16.

[23:6]  ⁴¹⁰ tn The phrase “to prevent you” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:7]  ⁴¹¹ tn Heb “to the people of the land” (also in v. 12).

[23:8]  ⁴¹² tn Heb “If it is with your purpose.” The Hebrew noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) here has the nuance “purpose” or perhaps “desire” (see BDB 661 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ).

[23:8]  ⁴¹³ tn Heb “bury my dead out of my sight.” The last phrase “out of my sight” has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:8]  ⁴¹⁴ tn Or “hear me.”

[23:8]  ⁴¹⁵ tn Heb “intercede for me with.”

[23:9]  ⁴¹⁶ tn Heb “give.” This is used here (also a second time later in this verse) as an idiom for “sell”; see the note on the word “grant” in v. 4.

[23:9]  ⁴¹⁷ tn Heb “in your presence.”

[23:9]  ⁴¹⁸ tn Heb “silver.”

[23:10]  ⁴¹⁹ tn Or perhaps “Hittite,” but see the note on the name “Heth” in v. 3.

[23:10]  ⁴²⁰ tn Heb “ears.” By metonymy the “ears” stand for the presence or proximity (i.e., within earshot) of the persons named.

[23:10]  ⁴²¹ sn On the expression all who entered the gate see E. A. Speiser, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate,” BASOR 144 (1956): 20-23; and G. Evans, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate: A Discussion of Professor Speiser’s Paper,” BASOR 150 (1958): 28-33.

[23:11]  ⁴²² tn Heb “give.” The perfect tense has here a present nuance; this is a formal, legally binding declaration. Abraham asked only for a burial site/cave within the field; Ephron agrees to sell him the entire field.

[23:11]  ⁴²³ tn The Hebrew text adds “to you I give [i.e., sell] it.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[23:11]  ⁴²⁴ tn Heb “in the presence of the sons of my people.”

[23:13]  ⁴²⁵ tn Heb “give.”

[23:13]  ⁴²⁶ tn Heb “silver.”

[23:13]  ⁴²⁷ tn After the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose or result.

[23:15]  ⁴²⁸ tn The word “worth” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:15]  ⁴²⁹ sn Four hundred pieces of silver. The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of silver here 4.6 kilograms, or 160 ounces (about 10 pounds).

[23:16]  ⁴³⁰ tn Heb “listened to Ephron.”

[23:16]  ⁴³¹ tn Heb “and Abraham weighed out.”

[23:16]  ⁴³² tn Heb “to Ephron.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:16]  ⁴³³ tn Heb “silver.”

[23:16]  ⁴³⁴ tn Heb “that he had spoken.” The referent (Ephron) has been specified here in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[23:16]  ⁴³⁵ tn Heb “passing for the merchant.” The final clause affirms that the measurement of silver was according to the standards used by the merchants of the time.

[23:17]  ⁴³⁶ tn Heb “And it was conveyed.” The recipient, Abraham (mentioned in the Hebrew text at the beginning of v. 18) has been placed here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:18]  ⁴³⁷ tn Heb “his city”; the referent (Ephron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:20]  ⁴³⁸ tn Heb “possession of a grave.”

[24:1]  ⁴³⁹ tn Heb “days.”

[24:1]  ⁴⁴⁰ tn Heb “Abraham.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.

[24:2]  ⁴⁴¹ tn The Hebrew term זָקֵן (zaqen) may refer to the servant who is oldest in age or senior in authority (or both).

[24:2]  ⁴⁴² sn Put your hand under my thigh. The taking of this oath had to do with the sanctity of the family and the continuation of the family line. See D. R. Freedman, “Put Your Hand Under My Thigh – the Patriarchal Oath,” BAR 2 (1976): 2-4, 42.

[24:3]  ⁴⁴³ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose.

[24:3]  ⁴⁴⁴ tn Heb “because you must not take.”

[24:4]  ⁴⁴⁵ tn Heb “for to my country and my relatives you must go.”

[24:4]  ⁴⁴⁶ tn Heb “and take.”

[24:5]  ⁴⁴⁷ tn Heb “to go after me.”

[24:5]  ⁴⁴⁸ tn In the Hebrew text the construction is emphatic; the infinitive absolute precedes the imperfect. However, it is difficult to reflect this emphasis in an English translation.

[24:6]  ⁴⁴⁹ tn Heb “guard yourself.”

[24:6]  ⁴⁵⁰ tn The introductory clause “And Abraham said to him” has been moved to the end of the opening sentence of direct discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:7]  ⁴⁵¹ tn Or “the land of my birth.”

[24:7]  ⁴⁵² tn Heb “and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying.”

[24:7]  ⁴⁵³ tn Or “his messenger.”

[24:7]  ⁴⁵⁴ tn Heb “before you and you will take.”

[24:8]  ⁴⁵⁵ tn Heb “ to go after you.”

[24:8]  ⁴⁵⁶ sn You will be free. If the prospective bride was not willing to accompany the servant back to Canaan, the servant would be released from his oath to Abraham.

[24:9]  ⁴⁵⁷ tn Heb “and he swore to him concerning this matter.”

[24:10]  ⁴⁵⁸ tn Heb “and every good thing of his master was in his hand.” The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, explaining that he took all kinds of gifts to be used at his discretion.

[24:10]  ⁴⁵⁹ tn Heb “and he arose and went.”

[24:10]  ⁴⁶⁰ tn The words “the region of” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[24:11]  ⁴⁶¹ tn Heb “well of water.”

[24:11]  ⁴⁶² tn Heb “at the time of evening.”

[24:12]  ⁴⁶³ tn Heb “make it happen before me today.” Although a number of English translations understand this as a request for success in the task (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV) it is more likely that the servant is requesting an omen or sign from God (v. 14).

[24:12]  ⁴⁶⁴ tn Heb “act in loyal love with” or “show kindness to.”

[24:13]  ⁴⁶⁵ tn Heb “the spring of water.”

[24:13]  ⁴⁶⁶ tn Heb “the men.”

[24:14]  ⁴⁶⁷ sn I will also give your camels water. It would be an enormous test for a young woman to water ten camels. The idea is that such a woman would not only be industrious but hospitable and generous.

[24:14]  ⁴⁶⁸ tn Heb “And let the young woman to whom I say, ‘Lower your jar that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink and I will also give your camels water,’ – her you have appointed for your servant, for Isaac, and by it I will know that you have acted in faithfulness with my master.”

[24:15]  ⁴⁶⁹ tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out!” Using the participle introduced with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator dramatically transports the audience back into the event and invites them to see Rebekah through the servant’s eyes.

[24:15]  ⁴⁷⁰ tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out – [she] who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, the brother of Abraham – and her jug [was] on her shoulder.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:16]  ⁴⁷¹ tn Heb “And the young woman was very good of appearance, a virgin, and a man she had not known.” Some argue that the Hebrew noun translated “virgin” (בְּתוּלָה, bÿtulah) is better understood in a general sense, “young woman” (see Joel 1:8, where the word appears to refer to one who is married). In this case the circumstantial clause (“and a man she had not known”) would be restrictive, rather than descriptive. If the term actually means “virgin,” one wonders why the circumstantial clause is necessary (see Judg 21:12 as well). Perhaps the repetition emphasizes her sexual purity as a prerequisite for her role as the mother of the covenant community.

[24:17]  ⁴⁷² tn Heb “and the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:18]  ⁴⁷³ tn Heb “and she hurried and lowered.”

[24:19]  ⁴⁷⁴ tn Heb “when she had finished giving him a drink.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:20]  ⁴⁷⁵ tn Heb “and she hurried and emptied.”

[24:21]  ⁴⁷⁶ tn Heb “to know.”

[24:21]  ⁴⁷⁷ tn The Hebrew term צָלָה (tsalah), meaning “to make successful” in the Hiphil verbal stem, is a key term in the story (see vv. 40, 42, 56).

[24:22]  ⁴⁷⁸ sn A beka weighed about 5-6 grams (0.2 ounce).

[24:22]  ⁴⁷⁹ sn A shekel weighed about 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce) although weights varied locally, so these bracelets weighed about 4 ounces (115 grams).

[24:22]  ⁴⁸⁰ tn The words “and gave them to her” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[24:23]  ⁴⁸¹ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’” The order of the introductory clause has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:24]  ⁴⁸² tn Heb “whom she bore to Nahor.” The referent (Milcah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:25]  ⁴⁸³ tn Heb “and she said, ‘We have plenty of both straw and feed.’” The order of the introductory clause has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:25]  ⁴⁸⁴ tn Heb The words “for you” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[24:27]  ⁴⁸⁵ tn Heb “his faithfulness and his commitment.”

[24:27]  ⁴⁸⁶ tn Heb “As for me – in the way the Lord led me.”

[24:27]  ⁴⁸⁷ tn Here “house” is an adverbial accusative of termination.

[24:27]  ⁴⁸⁸ tn Heb “brothers.”

[24:28]  ⁴⁸⁹ tn Heb “according to.”

[24:29]  ⁴⁹⁰ tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause introduces the audience to Laban, who will eventually play an important role in the unfolding story.

[24:30]  ⁴⁹¹ tn Heb “And it was when he saw the nose ring and the bracelets on the arms of his sister.” The word order is altered in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[24:30]  ⁴⁹² tn Heb “and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying.”

[24:30]  ⁴⁹³ tn Heb “and look, he was standing.” The disjunctive clause with the participle following the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) invites the audience to view the scene through Laban’s eyes.

[24:31]  ⁴⁹⁴ tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified and the words “to him” supplied in the translation for clarity.

[24:31]  ⁴⁹⁵ sn Laban’s obsession with wealth is apparent; to him it represents how one is blessed by the Lord. Already the author is laying the foundation for subsequent events in the narrative, where Laban’s greed becomes his dominant characteristic.

[24:31]  ⁴⁹⁶ tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial.

[24:32]  ⁴⁹⁷ tn Heb “the man”; the referent (Abraham’s servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:32]  ⁴⁹⁸ tn Some translations (e.g., NEB, NASB, NRSV) understand Laban to be the subject of this and the following verbs or take the subject of this and the following verbs as indefinite (referring to an unnamed servant; e.g., NAB, NIV).

[24:32]  ⁴⁹⁹ tn Heb “and [one] gave.” The verb without an expressed subject may be translated as passive.

[24:32]  ⁵⁰⁰ tn Heb “and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.”

[24:33]  ⁵⁰¹ tn Heb “and food was placed before him.”

[24:33]  ⁵⁰² tn Heb “my words.”

[24:33]  ⁵⁰³ tc Some ancient textual witnesses have a plural verb, “and they said.”

[24:35]  ⁵⁰⁴ tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Abraham’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are not excluded.

[24:35]  ⁵⁰⁵ tn Heb “and he.” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:36]  ⁵⁰⁶ tn Heb “to my master.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “him” in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:36]  ⁵⁰⁷ tn Heb “after her old age.”

[24:36]  ⁵⁰⁸ tn Heb “and he.” The referent (the servant’s master, Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:38]  ⁵⁰⁹ tn Heb “but to the house of my father you must go and to my family and you must take a wife for my son.”

[24:39]  ⁵¹⁰ tn The imperfect is used here in a modal sense to indicate desire.

[24:39]  ⁵¹¹ tn Heb “after me.”

[24:40]  ⁵¹² tn The verb is the Hitpael of הָלַךְ (halakh), meaning “live one’s life” (see Gen 17:1). The statement may simply refer to serving the Lord or it may have a more positive moral connotation (“serve faithfully”).

[24:41]  ⁵¹³ tn Heb “my oath” (twice in this verse). From the Hebrew perspective the oath belonged to the person to whom it was sworn (Abraham), although in contemporary English an oath is typically viewed as belonging to the person who swears it (the servant).

[24:42]  ⁵¹⁴ tn Heb “if you are making successful my way on which I am going.”

[24:42]  ⁵¹⁵ tn The words “may events unfold as follows” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[24:43]  ⁵¹⁶ tn Heb “the spring of water.”

[24:43]  ⁵¹⁷ tn Heb “and it will be.”

[24:45]  ⁵¹⁸ tn Heb “As for me, before I finished speaking to my heart.” The adverb טֶרֶם (terem) indicates the verb is a preterite; the infinitive that follows is the direct object.

[24:45]  ⁵¹⁹ tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out.” As in 24:15, the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is used here for dramatic effect.

[24:47]  ⁵²⁰ tn Heb “whom Milcah bore to him.” The referent (Nahor) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:48]  ⁵²¹ tn Heb “daughter.” Rebekah was actually the granddaughter of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. One can either translate the Hebrew term בַּת (bat) as “daughter,” in which case the term אָח (’akh) must be translated more generally as “relative” rather than “brother” (cf. NASB, NRSV) or one can translate בַּת as “granddaughter,” in which case אָח may be translated “brother” (cf. NIV).

[24:49]  ⁵²² tn Heb “and I will turn to the right or to the left.” The expression apparently means that Abraham’s servant will know where he should go if there is no further business here.

[24:50]  ⁵²³ tn Heb “From the Lord the matter has gone out.”

[24:50]  ⁵²⁴ tn Heb “We are not able to speak to you bad or good.” This means that Laban and Bethuel could not say one way or the other what they wanted, for they viewed it as God’s will.

[24:51]  ⁵²⁵ tn Following the imperatives, the jussive with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[24:51]  ⁵²⁶ tn Heb “as the Lord has spoken.”

[24:53]  ⁵²⁷ tn Heb “the servant”; the noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:54]  ⁵²⁸ tn Heb “And they ate and drank, he and the men who [were] with him and they spent the night.”

[24:54]  ⁵²⁹ tn Heb “Send me away to my master.”

[24:55]  ⁵³⁰ tn Heb “her”; the referent (Rebekah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:56]  ⁵³¹ tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, indicating a reason for the preceding request.

[24:56]  ⁵³² tn After the preceding imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[24:57]  ⁵³³ tn Heb “and we will ask her mouth.”

[24:58]  ⁵³⁴ tn The imperfect verbal form here has a modal nuance, expressing desire.

[24:60]  ⁵³⁵ tn Heb “and said to her.”

[24:60]  ⁵³⁶ tn Heb “become thousands of ten thousands.”

[24:60]  ⁵³⁷ tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”). A similar phrase occurs in Gen 22:17.

[24:61]  ⁵³⁸ tn Heb “And she arose, Rebekah and her female servants, and they rode upon camels and went after.”

[24:61]  ⁵³⁹ tn Heb “the servant”; the word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:62]  ⁵⁴⁰ tn The disjunctive clause switches the audience’s attention to Isaac and signals a new episode in the story.

[24:62]  ⁵⁴¹ tn Heb “from the way of.”

[24:62]  ⁵⁴² sn The Hebrew name Beer Lahai Roi (בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי, bÿ’er lakhay ro’i) means “The well of the Living One who sees me.” See Gen 16:14.

[24:62]  ⁵⁴³ tn This disjunctive clause is explanatory.

[24:62]  ⁵⁴⁴ tn Or “the South [country].”

[24:63]  ⁵⁴⁵ tn Heb “Isaac”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:63]  ⁵⁴⁶ tn The meaning of this Hebrew term is uncertain (cf. NASB, NIV “to meditate”; NRSV “to walk”).

[24:63]  ⁵⁴⁷ tn Heb “at the turning of the evening.”

[24:63]  ⁵⁴⁸ tn Heb “And he lifted up his eyes.” This idiom emphasizes the careful look Isaac had at the approaching caravan.

[24:63]  ⁵⁴⁹ tn Heb “and look.” The clause introduced by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) invites the audience to view the scene through Isaac’s eyes.

[24:64]  ⁵⁵⁰ tn Heb “lifted up her eyes.”

[24:65]  ⁵⁵¹ tn Heb “and she said to.”

[24:65]  ⁵⁵² tn Heb “the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[24:65]  ⁵⁵³ tn Heb “and the servant said.” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:67]  ⁵⁵⁴ tn Heb “her”; the referent has been specified here in the translation for clarity.

[24:67]  ⁵⁵⁵ tn Heb “Rebekah”; here the proper name was replaced by the pronoun (“her”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:67]  ⁵⁵⁶ tn Heb “and he took Rebekah and she became his wife and he loved her.”

[24:67]  ⁵⁵⁷ tn Heb “after his mother.” This must refer to Sarah’s death.

[25:1]  ⁵⁵⁸ tn Or “took.”

[25:1]  ⁵⁵⁹ tn Heb “And Abraham added and took.”

[25:3]  ⁵⁶⁰ sn The names Sheba and Dedan appear in Gen 10:7 as descendants of Ham through Cush and Raamah. Since these two names are usually interpreted to be place names, one plausible suggestion is that some of Abraham’s descendants lived in those regions and took names linked with it.

[25:4]  ⁵⁶¹ tn Or “sons.”

[25:6]  ⁵⁶² tn Heb “the sons of the concubines who [belonged] to Abraham.”

[25:6]  ⁵⁶³ 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]  ⁵⁶⁴ 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]  ⁵⁶⁵ tn Heb “old and full.”

[25:8]  ⁵⁶⁶ 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]  ⁵⁶⁷ 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]  ⁵⁶⁸ tn See the note on the phrase “sons of Heth” in Gen 23:3.

[25:11]  ⁵⁶⁹ 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]  ⁵⁷⁰ sn Beer Lahai Roi. See the note on this place name in Gen 24:62.

[25:12]  ⁵⁷¹ 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]  ⁵⁷² 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]  ⁵⁷³ tn Or “tribal chieftains.”

[25:17]  ⁵⁷⁴ tn Heb “And these are the days of the years of Ishmael.”

[25:17]  ⁵⁷⁵ 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]  ⁵⁷⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Ishmael’s descendants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:18]  ⁵⁷⁷ tn Heb “which is by the face of,” or near the border. The territory ran along the border of Egypt.

[25:18]  ⁵⁷⁸ tn Heb “as you go.”

[25:18]  ⁵⁷⁹ sn The name Asshur refers here to a tribal area in the Sinai.

[25:18]  ⁵⁸⁰ tn Heb “he fell.”

[25:18]  ⁵⁸¹ 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]  ⁵⁸² 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]  ⁵⁸³ tn Heb “And Isaac was the son of forty years when he took Rebekah.”

[25:20]  ⁵⁸⁴ 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]  ⁵⁸⁵ tn The Hebrew verb עָתַר (’atar), translated “prayed [to]” here, appears in the story of God’s judgment on Egypt in which Moses asked the Lord to remove the plagues. The cognate word in Arabic means “to slaughter for sacrifice,” and the word is used in Zeph 3:10 to describe worshipers who bring offerings. Perhaps some ritual accompanied Isaac’s prayer here.

[25:22]  ⁵⁸⁶ tn The Hebrew word used here suggests a violent struggle that was out of the ordinary.

[25:22]  ⁵⁸⁷ 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]  ⁵⁸⁸ sn Asked the Lord. In other passages (e.g., 1 Sam 9:9) this expression refers to inquiring of a prophet, but no details are provided here.

[25:23]  ⁵⁸⁹ 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]  ⁵⁹⁰ tn Heb “And her days were filled to give birth.”

[25:24]  ⁵⁹¹ 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]  ⁵⁹² 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]  ⁵⁹³ tn Heb “all of him.”

[25:25]  ⁵⁹⁴ 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]  ⁵⁹⁵ 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]  ⁵⁹⁶ tn The disjunctive clause describes an important circumstance accompanying the birth. Whereas Esau was passive at birth, Jacob was active.

[25:26]  ⁵⁹⁷ 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]  ⁵⁹⁸ tn Heb “the son of sixty years.”

[25:27]  ⁵⁹⁹ tn Heb “knowing.”

[25:27]  ⁶⁰⁰ 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]  ⁶⁰¹ 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]  ⁶⁰² 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]  ⁶⁰³ 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]  ⁶⁰⁴ 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]  ⁶⁰⁵ tn The verb has no expressed subject and so is given a passive translation.

[25:30]  ⁶⁰⁶ sn Esau’s descendants would eventually be called Edom. Edom was the place where they lived, so-named probably because of the reddish nature of the hills. The writer can use the word “red” to describe the stew that Esau gasped for to convey the nature of Esau and his descendants. They were a lusty, passionate, and profane people who lived for the moment. Again, the wordplay is meant to capture the “omen in the nomen.”

[25:31]  ⁶⁰⁷ tn Heb “today.”

[25:32]  ⁶⁰⁸ tn Heb “And what is this to me, a birthright?”

[25:33]  ⁶⁰⁹ tn Heb “Swear to me today.”

[25:33]  ⁶¹⁰ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:33]  ⁶¹¹ 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]  ⁶¹² 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]  ⁶¹³ 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]  ⁶¹⁴ tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”

[26:1]  ⁶¹⁵ 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]  ⁶¹⁶ 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]  ⁶¹⁷ tn Heb “say to you.”

[26:3]  ⁶¹⁸ 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]  ⁶¹⁹ tn After the imperative “stay” the two prefixed verb forms with prefixed conjunction here indicate consequence.

[26:3]  ⁶²⁰ 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]  ⁶²¹ 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]  ⁶²² tn Heb “the oath which I swore.”

[26:4]  ⁶²³ tn Heb “your descendants.”

[26:4]  ⁶²⁴ 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]  ⁶²⁵ tn The words “All this will come to pass” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons.

[26:5]  ⁶²⁶ tn Heb “listened to my voice.”

[26:5]  ⁶²⁷ 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]  ⁶²⁸ sn Rebekah, unlike Sarah, was not actually her husband’s sister.

[26:7]  ⁶²⁹ 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]  ⁶³⁰ tn Heb “kill me on account of.”

[26:8]  ⁶³¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:8]  ⁶³² tn Heb “and it happened when the days were long to him there.”

[26:8]  ⁶³³ tn Heb “look, Isaac.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene through Abimelech’s eyes.

[26:8]  ⁶³⁴ tn Or “fondling.”

[26:9]  ⁶³⁵ tn Heb “Surely, look!” See N. H. Snaith, “The meaning of Hebrew ‘ak,” VT 14 (1964): 221-25.

[26:9]  ⁶³⁶ 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]  ⁶³⁷ 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]  ⁶³⁸ tn Heb “people.”

[26:10]  ⁶³⁹ 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]  ⁶⁴⁰ 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]  ⁶⁴¹ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the imperfect makes the construction emphatic.

[26:12]  ⁶⁴² tn Heb “a hundredfold.”

[26:12]  ⁶⁴³ tn This final clause explains why Isaac had such a bountiful harvest.

[26:13]  ⁶⁴⁴ tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Isaac’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are included.

[26:13]  ⁶⁴⁵ tn Heb “and he went, going and becoming great.” The construction stresses that his growth in possessions and power continued steadily.

[26:14]  ⁶⁴⁶ tn Heb “and there was to him.”

[26:14]  ⁶⁴⁷ tn Heb “possessions of sheep.”

[26:14]  ⁶⁴⁸ tn Heb “possessions of cattle.”

[26:14]  ⁶⁴⁹ tn The Hebrew verb translated “became jealous” refers here to intense jealousy or envy that leads to hostile action (see v. 15).

[26:15]  ⁶⁵⁰ tn Heb “and the Philistines stopped them up and filled them with dirt.”

[26:16]  ⁶⁵¹ tn Heb “Go away from us.”

[26:16]  ⁶⁵² 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]  ⁶⁵³ tn Heb “and he camped in the valley of Gerar and he lived there.”

[26:18]  ⁶⁵⁴ tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”

[26:18]  ⁶⁵⁵ tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.

[26:18]  ⁶⁵⁶ tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.

[26:18]  ⁶⁵⁷ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:18]  ⁶⁵⁸ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:18]  ⁶⁵⁹ tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”

[26:19]  ⁶⁶⁰ tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).

[26:20]  ⁶⁶¹ tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.

[26:20]  ⁶⁶² tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:20]  ⁶⁶³ tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”

[26:20]  ⁶⁶⁴ 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]  ⁶⁶⁵ tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:21]  ⁶⁶⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:21]  ⁶⁶⁷ tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:21]  ⁶⁶⁸ 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]  ⁶⁶⁹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:22]  ⁶⁷⁰ tn Heb “and he called its name.”

[26:22]  ⁶⁷¹ 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]  ⁶⁷² tn Heb “and he went up from there”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:25]  ⁶⁷³ tn Heb “called in the name of.” The expression refers to worshiping the Lord through prayer and sacrifice (see Gen 4:26; 12:8; 13:4; 21:33). See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:116.

[26:25]  ⁶⁷⁴ tn Heb “and they dug there, the servants of Isaac, a well.”

[26:26]  ⁶⁷⁵ 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]  ⁶⁷⁶ tn Heb “and.”

[26:26]  ⁶⁷⁷ 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]  ⁶⁷⁸ tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, expressing the reason for his question.

[26:28]  ⁶⁷⁹ tn The infinitive absolute before the verb emphasizes the clarity of their perception.

[26:28]  ⁶⁸⁰ 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]  ⁶⁸¹ tn The pronoun “us” here is inclusive – it refers to the Philistine contingent on the one hand and Isaac on the other.

[26:28]  ⁶⁸² tn The pronoun “us” here is exclusive – it refers to just the Philistine contingent (the following “you” refers to Isaac).

[26:28]  ⁶⁸³ 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]  ⁶⁸⁴ tn The oath formula is used: “if you do us harm” means “so that you will not do.”

[26:29]  ⁶⁸⁵ tn Heb “touched.”

[26:29]  ⁶⁸⁶ tn Heb “and just as we have done only good with you.”

[26:29]  ⁶⁸⁷ tn Heb “and we sent you away.”

[26:29]  ⁶⁸⁸ 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]  ⁶⁸⁹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:30]  ⁶⁹⁰ tn Heb “and they ate and drank.”

[26:31]  ⁶⁹¹ tn Heb “and they got up early and they swore an oath, a man to his brother.”

[26:31]  ⁶⁹² tn Heb “and they went from him in peace.”

[26:32]  ⁶⁹³ 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]  ⁶⁹⁴ 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]  ⁶⁹⁵ 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]  ⁶⁹⁶ tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making this clause subordinate to the next.

[26:34]  ⁶⁹⁷ tn Heb “the son of forty years.”

[26:34]  ⁶⁹⁸ tn Heb “took as a wife.”

[26:35]  ⁶⁹⁹ tn Heb “And they were [a source of ] bitterness in spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.”

[27:1]  ⁷⁰⁰ 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]  ⁷⁰¹ tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”

[27:1]  ⁷⁰² tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).

[27:1]  ⁷⁰³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:2]  ⁷⁰⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaac) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:2]  ⁷⁰⁵ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here introduces a logically foundational statement, upon which the coming instruction will be based.

[27:2]  ⁷⁰⁶ tn Heb “I do not know the day of my death.”

[27:3]  ⁷⁰⁷ 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]  ⁷⁰⁸ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:4]  ⁷⁰⁹ 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]  ⁷¹⁰ 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]  ⁷¹¹ tc The LXX adds here “to his father,” which may have been accidentally omitted in the MT.

[27:7]  ⁷¹² tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:7]  ⁷¹³ tn The cohortative, with the prefixed conjunction, also expresses logical sequence. See vv. 4, 19, 27.

[27:7]  ⁷¹⁴ tn In her report to Jacob, Rebekah plays down Isaac’s strong desire to bless Esau by leaving out נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”), but by adding the phrase “in the presence of the Lord,” she stresses how serious this matter is.

[27:8]  ⁷¹⁵ tn Heb “listen to my voice.” The Hebrew idiom means “to comply; to obey.”

[27:8]  ⁷¹⁶ tn Heb “to that which I am commanding you.”

[27:9]  ⁷¹⁷ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:10]  ⁷¹⁸ 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]  ⁷¹⁹ 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]  ⁷²⁰ tn Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[27:11]  ⁷²¹ 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]  ⁷²² 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]  ⁷²³ tn Heb “upon me your curse.”

[27:13]  ⁷²⁴ 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]  ⁷²⁷ 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]  ⁷²⁸ 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]  ⁷²⁹ tn Heb “gave…into the hand of.”

[27:18]  ⁷³⁰ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:18]  ⁷³¹ 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]  ⁷³² 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]  ⁷³³ 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]  ⁷³⁴ 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]  ⁷³⁵ tn Heb “you hastened to find.” In translation the infinitive becomes the main verb and the first verb becomes adverbial.

[27:20]  ⁷³⁶ tn Heb “caused to meet before me.”

[27:20]  ⁷³⁷ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Because the Lord your God….’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:21]  ⁷³⁸ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:21]  ⁷³⁹ 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]  ⁷⁴⁰ 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]  ⁷⁴¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ⁷⁴² tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ⁷⁴³ 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]  ⁷⁴⁴ 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]  ⁷⁴⁵ tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ⁷⁴⁶ tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ⁷⁴⁷ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ⁷⁴⁸ tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ⁷⁴⁹ tn Heb “see.”

[27:28]  ⁷⁵⁰ tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”

[27:28]  ⁷⁵¹ tn Heb “and from the fatness.”

[27:29]  ⁷⁵² 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]  ⁷⁵³ 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]  ⁷⁵⁴ 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]  ⁷⁵⁵ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite form of the verb makes the construction emphatic.

[27:30]  ⁷⁵⁶ tn Heb “the presence of Isaac his father.” The repetition of the proper name (“Isaac”) was

[27:30]  ⁷⁵⁷ tn Heb “and Esau his brother came from his hunt.”

[27:31]  ⁷⁵⁸ 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]  ⁷⁵⁹ tn Or “arise” (i.e., sit up).

[27:31]  ⁷⁶⁰ tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.”

[27:32]  ⁷⁶¹ tn Heb “said.”

[27:32]  ⁷⁶² 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]  ⁷⁶³ 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]  ⁷⁶⁴ 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]  ⁷⁶⁵ tn The temporal clause is introduced with the temporal indicator and has the infinitive as its verb.

[27:34]  ⁷⁶⁶ tn Heb “and he yelled [with] a great and bitter yell to excess.”

[27:35]  ⁷⁶⁷ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:35]  ⁷⁶⁸ tn Or “took”; “received.”

[27:36]  ⁷⁶⁹ 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]  ⁷⁷⁰ 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]  ⁷⁷¹ tn Heb “Bless me, me also, my father.” The words “my father” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:38]  ⁷⁷² tn Heb “and Esau lifted his voice and wept.”

[27:39]  ⁷⁷³ tn Heb “look.”

[27:39]  ⁷⁷⁴ tn Heb “from the fatness.”

[27:40]  ⁷⁷⁵ 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]  ⁷⁷⁶ tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.

[27:41]  ⁷⁷⁷ tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”

[27:41]  ⁷⁷⁸ 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]  ⁷⁷⁹ tn Heb “days.”

[27:41]  ⁷⁸⁰ tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.

[27:42]  ⁷⁸¹ tn Heb “and the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah.”

[27:42]  ⁷⁸² tn Heb “she sent and called for.”

[27:42]  ⁷⁸³ 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]  ⁷⁸⁴ tn Heb “listen to my voice.”

[27:43]  ⁷⁸⁵ tn Heb “arise, flee.”

[27:44]  ⁷⁸⁶ 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]  ⁷⁸⁷ tn The words “stay there” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:45]  ⁷⁸⁸ 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]  ⁷⁸⁹ tn If Jacob stayed, he would be killed and Esau would be forced to run away.

[27:46]  ⁷⁹⁰ tn Heb “loathe my life.” The Hebrew verb translated “loathe” refers to strong disgust (see Lev 20:23).

[27:46]  ⁷⁹¹ 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]  ⁷⁹² 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]  ⁷⁹³ tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”

[28:2]  ⁷⁹⁴ tn Heb “Arise! Go!” The first of the two imperatives is adverbial and stresses the immediacy of the departure.

[28:3]  ⁷⁹⁵ tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.

[28:3]  ⁷⁹⁶ tn Heb “and make you fruitful and multiply you.” See Gen 17:6, 20 for similar terminology.

[28:3]  ⁷⁹⁷ tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here indicates consequence. The collocation הָיָה + preposition לְ (hayah + lÿ) means “become.”

[28:3]  ⁷⁹⁸ tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”

[28:4]  ⁷⁹⁹ 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]  ⁸⁰⁰ tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[28:4]  ⁸⁰¹ 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]  ⁸⁰² tn Heb “to take for himself from there a wife.”

[28:6]  ⁸⁰³ tn The infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffix form a temporal clause.

[28:6]  ⁸⁰⁴ tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”

[28:8]  ⁸⁰⁵ tn Heb “saw.”

[28:8]  ⁸⁰⁶ tn Heb “the daughters of Canaan.”

[28:8]  ⁸⁰⁷ tn Heb “evil in the eyes of.”

[28:9]  ⁸⁰⁸ tn Heb “took for a wife.”

[28:11]  ⁸⁰⁹ 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]  ⁸¹⁰ tn Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.”

[28:11]  ⁸¹¹ tn Heb “he took from the stones of the place,” which here means Jacob took one of the stones (see v. 18).

[28:11]  ⁸¹² 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]  ⁸¹³ tn Heb “lay down.”

[28:12]  ⁸¹⁴ tn Heb “and dreamed.”

[28:12]  ⁸¹⁵ tn Heb “and look.” The scene which Jacob witnessed is described in three clauses introduced with הִנֵּה (hinneh). In this way the narrator invites the reader to witness the scene through Jacob’s eyes. J. P. Fokkelman points out that the particle goes with a lifted arm and an open mouth: “There, a ladder! Oh, angels! and look, the Lord himself” (Narrative Art in Genesis [SSN], 51-52).

[28:12]  ⁸¹⁶ 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]  ⁸¹⁷ 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]  ⁸¹⁸ 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]  ⁸¹⁹ tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.

[28:14]  ⁸²⁰ tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.

[28:14]  ⁸²¹ 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]  ⁸²² tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”

[28:15]  ⁸²³ 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]  ⁸²⁴ tn Heb “woke up from his sleep.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[28:16]  ⁸²⁵ tn Heb “said.”

[28:18]  ⁸²⁶ tn Heb “and he got up early…and he took.”

[28:18]  ⁸²⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:18]  ⁸²⁸ tn See the note on this phrase in v. 11.

[28:18]  ⁸²⁹ tn Heb “standing stone.”

[28:19]  ⁸³⁰ tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew (see v. 17).

[28:20]  ⁸³¹ tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.

[28:21]  ⁸³² tn Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.”

[28:22]  ⁸³³ tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.

[28:22]  ⁸³⁴ tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.

[28:22]  ⁸³⁵ 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]  ⁸³⁶ 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]  ⁸³⁷ tn Heb “the land of the sons of the east.”

[29:2]  ⁸³⁸ 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]  ⁸³⁹ tn Heb “and look, there.”

[29:2]  ⁸⁴⁰ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the noun with the prefixed conjunction) provides supplemental information that is important to the story.

[29:3]  ⁸⁴¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the shepherds) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:5]  ⁸⁴² tn Heb “son.”

[29:5]  ⁸⁴³ 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]  ⁸⁴⁴ tn Heb “and he said to them, ‘Is there peace to him?’”

[29:6]  ⁸⁴⁵ tn Heb “peace.”

[29:7]  ⁸⁴⁶ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:7]  ⁸⁴⁷ tn Heb “the day is great.”

[29:7]  ⁸⁴⁸ 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]  ⁸⁴⁹ tn The perfect verbal forms with the vav (ו) consecutive carry on the sequence begun by the initial imperfect form.

[29:9]  ⁸⁵⁰ tn Heb “was a shepherdess.”

[29:10]  ⁸⁵¹ tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother” (twice in this verse).

[29:10]  ⁸⁵² tn Heb “Jacob.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[29:10]  ⁸⁵³ tn Heb “drew near, approached.”

[29:10]  ⁸⁵⁴ 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]  ⁸⁵⁵ 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]  ⁸⁵⁶ tn Heb “declared.”

[29:12]  ⁸⁵⁷ tn Heb “that he [was] the brother of her father.”

[29:13]  ⁸⁵⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:13]  ⁸⁵⁹ 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]  ⁸⁶⁰ 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]  ⁸⁶¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:14]  ⁸⁶² tn Heb “a month of days.”

[29:15]  ⁸⁶³ tn The verb is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; the nuance in the question is deliberative.

[29:15]  ⁸⁶⁴ tn Heb “my brother.” The term “brother” is used in a loose sense; actually Jacob was Laban’s nephew.

[29:16]  ⁸⁶⁵ 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]  ⁸⁶⁶ 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]  ⁸⁶⁷ tn Heb “and Rachel was beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance.”

[29:18]  ⁸⁶⁸ tn Heb “Jacob loved.”

[29:19]  ⁸⁶⁹ tn Heb “Better my giving her to you than my giving her to another man.”

[29:20]  ⁸⁷⁰ tn Heb “in exchange for Rachel.”

[29:20]  ⁸⁷¹ 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]  ⁸⁷² tn Heb “because of his love for her.” The words “was so great” are supplied for stylistic reasons.

[29:21]  ⁸⁷³ tn Heb “and Jacob said.”

[29:21]  ⁸⁷⁴ tn Heb “my days are fulfilled.”

[29:21]  ⁸⁷⁵ tn Heb “and I will go in to her.” The verb is a cohortative; it may be subordinated to the preceding request, “that I may go in,” or it may be an independent clause expressing his desire. The verb “go in” in this context refers to sexual intercourse (i.e., the consummation of the marriage).

[29:22]  ⁸⁷⁶ tn Heb “men.”

[29:23]  ⁸⁷⁷ tn Heb “and it happened in the evening that he took Leah his daughter and brought her.”

[29:23]  ⁸⁷⁸ tn Heb “to him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:23]  ⁸⁷⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:23]  ⁸⁸⁰ 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]  ⁸⁸¹ 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]  ⁸⁸² 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]  ⁸⁸³ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:25]  ⁸⁸⁴ 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]  ⁸⁸⁵ 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]  ⁸⁸⁶ 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]  ⁸⁸⁷ 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]  ⁸⁸⁸ 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]  ⁸⁸⁹ tn Heb “this other one.”

[29:27]  ⁸⁹⁰ 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]  ⁸⁹¹ tn Heb “and Jacob did so.” The words “as Laban said” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[29:28]  ⁸⁹² tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:28]  ⁸⁹³ 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]  ⁸⁹⁴ 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]  ⁸⁹⁵ tn Heb “and Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his female servant, for her for a servant.”

[29:30]  ⁸⁹⁶ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:30]  ⁸⁹⁷ 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]  ⁸⁹⁸ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:30]  ⁸⁹⁹ tn Heb “and he loved also Rachel, more than Leah, and he served with him still seven other years.”

[29:31]  ⁹⁰⁰ 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]  ⁹⁰¹ tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”

[29:32]  ⁹⁰² tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).

[29:32]  ⁹⁰³ sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”

[29:32]  ⁹⁰⁴ tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”

[29:33]  ⁹⁰⁵ tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.

[29:33]  ⁹⁰⁶ sn The name Simeon (שִׁמְעוֹן, shim’on) is derived from the verbal root שָׁמַע (shama’) and means “hearing.” The name is appropriate since it is reminder that the Lord “heard” about Leah’s unloved condition and responded with pity.

[29:34]  ⁹⁰⁷ tn Heb “will be joined to me.”

[29:34]  ⁹⁰⁸ 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]  ⁹⁰⁹ 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]  ⁹¹⁰ tn Heb “Rachel.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:1]  ⁹¹¹ tn Heb “sons.”

[30:2]  ⁹¹² tn Heb “and the anger of Jacob was hot.”

[30:2]  ⁹¹³ tn Heb “who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb.”

[30:3]  ⁹¹⁴ tn Heb “go in to.” The expression “go in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.

[30:3]  ⁹¹⁵ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates the immediate purpose of the proposed activity.

[30:3]  ⁹¹⁶ tn The word “children” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:3]  ⁹¹⁷ 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]  ⁹¹⁸ 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]  ⁹¹⁹ tn Heb “and she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:4]  ⁹²⁰ tn Heb “went in to.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.

[30:5]  ⁹²¹ tn Or “Bilhah conceived” (also in v. 7).

[30:5]  ⁹²² tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a son.”

[30:6]  ⁹²³ 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]  ⁹²⁴ tn Or “therefore.”

[30:6]  ⁹²⁵ 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]  ⁹²⁶ tn Heb “and she became pregnant again and Bilhah, the servant of Rachel, bore a second son for Jacob.”

[30:8]  ⁹²⁷ 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]  ⁹²⁸ 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]  ⁹²⁹ 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]  ⁹³⁰ tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore for Jacob a son.”

[30:11]  ⁹³¹ 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]  ⁹³² 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]  ⁹³³ tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore a second son for Jacob.”

[30:13]  ⁹³⁴ tn The Hebrew statement apparently means “with my happiness.”

[30:13]  ⁹³⁵ tn Heb “daughters.”

[30:13]  ⁹³⁶ 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]  ⁹³⁷ tn Heb “during the days.”

[30:14]  ⁹³⁸ sn Mandrake plants were popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac in the culture of the time.

[30:15]  ⁹³⁹ tn Heb “and she said to her”; the referent of the pronoun “she” (Leah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:15]  ⁹⁴⁰ tn Heb “therefore.”

[30:15]  ⁹⁴¹ 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]  ⁹⁴² 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]  ⁹⁴³ 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]  ⁹⁴⁴ 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]  ⁹⁴⁵ tn Heb “listened to.”

[30:17]  ⁹⁴⁶ tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 19).

[30:17]  ⁹⁴⁷ tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a fifth son,” i.e., this was the fifth son that Leah had given Jacob.

[30:18]  ⁹⁴⁸ tn Heb “God has given my reward.”

[30:18]  ⁹⁴⁹ tn The words “as a wife” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity (cf. v. 9).

[30:18]  ⁹⁵⁰ 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]  ⁹⁵¹ tn Heb “and she bore a sixth son for Jacob,” i.e., this was the sixth son that Leah had given Jacob.

[30:20]  ⁹⁵² 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]  ⁹⁵³ tn Heb “remembered.”

[30:22]  ⁹⁵⁴ 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]  ⁹⁵⁵ tn Or “conceived.”

[30:23]  ⁹⁵⁶ 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]  ⁹⁵⁷ 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]  ⁹⁵⁸ 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]  ⁹⁵⁹ tn The imperatival form here expresses a request.

[30:25]  ⁹⁶⁰ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[30:25]  ⁹⁶¹ tn Heb “to my place and to my land.”

[30:26]  ⁹⁶² 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]  ⁹⁶³ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[30:26]  ⁹⁶⁴ tn Heb “for you, you know my service [with] which I have served you.”

[30:27]  ⁹⁶⁵ tn The words “please stay here” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[30:27]  ⁹⁶⁶ tn Or perhaps “I have grown rich and the Lord has blessed me” (cf. NEB). See J. Finkelstein, “An Old Babylonian Herding Contract and Genesis 31:38f.,” JAOS 88 (1968): 34, n. 19.

[30:28]  ⁹⁶⁷ tn Heb “set your wage for me so I may give [it].”

[30:29]  ⁹⁶⁸ 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]  ⁹⁶⁹ tn Heb “and how your cattle were with me.”

[30:30]  ⁹⁷⁰ tn Or “for.”

[30:30]  ⁹⁷¹ tn Heb “before me.”

[30:30]  ⁹⁷² tn Heb “and it has broken out with respect to abundance.”

[30:30]  ⁹⁷³ tn Heb “at my foot.”

[30:30]  ⁹⁷⁴ tn Heb “How long [until] I do, also I, for my house?”

[30:31]  ⁹⁷⁵ tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:31]  ⁹⁷⁶ tn The negated imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance.

[30:31]  ⁹⁷⁷ tn The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:31]  ⁹⁷⁸ tn Heb “If you do for me this thing.”

[30:31]  ⁹⁷⁹ tn Heb “I will return, I will tend,” an idiom meaning “I will continue tending.”

[30:32]  ⁹⁸⁰ tn Heb “pass through.”

[30:32]  ⁹⁸¹ tn Or “every black lamb”; Heb “and every dark sheep among the lambs.”

[30:32]  ⁹⁸² tn Heb “and the spotted and speckled among the goats.”

[30:32]  ⁹⁸³ 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]  ⁹⁸⁴ tn Heb “will answer on my behalf.”

[30:33]  ⁹⁸⁵ tn Heb “on the following day,” or “tomorrow.”

[30:33]  ⁹⁸⁶ tn Heb “when you come concerning my wage before you.”

[30:33]  ⁹⁸⁷ 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]  ⁹⁸⁸ 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]  ⁹⁸⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:35]  ⁹⁹⁰ tn Heb “and he gave [them] into the hand.”

[30:36]  ⁹⁹¹ tn Heb “and he put a journey of three days between himself and Jacob.”

[30:36]  ⁹⁹² 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]  ⁹⁹³ 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]  ⁹⁹⁴ 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]  ⁹⁹⁵ tn Heb “the sheep.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“they”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:40]  ⁹⁹⁶ tn Heb “and he set the faces of.”

[30:41]  ⁹⁹⁷ tn Heb “and at every breeding-heat of the flock.”

[30:42]  ⁹⁹⁸ 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]  ⁹⁹⁹ tn Heb “were for Laban.”

[30:43]  ¹⁰⁰⁰ tn Heb “the man”; Jacob’s name has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[30:43]  ¹⁰⁰¹ tn Heb “and there were to him.”

[31:1]  ¹⁰⁰² tn Heb “and he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying.”

[31:1]  ¹⁰⁰³ 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]  ¹⁰⁰⁴ tn Heb “and from that which belonged to our father he has gained all this wealth.”

[31:2]  ¹⁰⁰⁵ 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]  ¹⁰⁰⁶ tn Or perhaps “ancestors” (so NRSV), although the only “ancestors” Jacob had there were his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac.

[31:3]  ¹⁰⁰⁷ sn I will be with you. Though Laban was no longer “with him,” the Lord promised to be.

[31:4]  ¹⁰⁰⁸ 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]  ¹⁰⁰⁹ 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]  ¹⁰¹⁰ tn Heb “to his flock.”

[31:5]  ¹⁰¹¹ tn Heb “I see the face of your father, that he is not toward me as formerly.”

[31:6]  ¹⁰¹² tn Heb “with all my strength.”

[31:7]  ¹⁰¹³ 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]  ¹⁰¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁰¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁰¹⁶ tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator, “and it happened at the time of.”

[31:10]  ¹⁰¹⁷ tn Heb “in the time of the breeding of the flock I lifted up my eyes and I saw.”

[31:10]  ¹⁰¹⁸ tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.

[31:12]  ¹⁰¹⁹ tn Heb “lift up (now) your eyes and see.”

[31:12]  ¹⁰²⁰ tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.

[31:13]  ¹⁰²¹ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[31:13]  ¹⁰²² sn You anointed the sacred stone. In Gen 28:18 the text simply reported that Jacob poured oil on top of the stone. Now that pouring is interpreted by the Lord as an anointing. Jacob had consecrated the place.

[31:13]  ¹⁰²³ sn And made a vow to me. The second clause reminds Jacob of the vow he made to the Lord when he anointed the stone (Gen 28:20-22). God is now going to take him back to the land, and so he will have to fulfill his vow.

[31:13]  ¹⁰²⁴ tn Heb “arise, leave!” The first imperative draws attention to the need for immediate action.

[31:14]  ¹⁰²⁵ tn The two nouns may form a hendiadys, meaning “a share in the inheritance” or “a portion to inherit.”

[31:15]  ¹⁰²⁶ tn Heb “and he devoured, even devouring.” The infinitive absolute (following the finite verb here) is used for emphasis.

[31:15]  ¹⁰²⁷ 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]  ¹⁰²⁸ tn Heb “and Jacob arose and he lifted up his sons and his wives on to the camels.”

[31:18]  ¹⁰²⁹ tn Heb “drove,” but this is subject to misunderstanding in contemporary English.

[31:18]  ¹⁰³⁰ 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]  ¹⁰³¹ 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]  ¹⁰³² 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]  ¹⁰³³ 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]  ¹⁰³⁴ tn Heb “fleeing,” which reflects Jacob’s viewpoint.

[31:21]  ¹⁰³⁵ tn Heb “and he fled.”

[31:21]  ¹⁰³⁶ tn Heb “he arose and crossed.” The first verb emphasizes that he wasted no time in getting across.

[31:21]  ¹⁰³⁷ tn Heb “the river”; the referent (the Euphrates) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[31:21]  ¹⁰³⁸ tn Heb “he set his face.”

[31:22]  ¹⁰³⁹ tn Heb “and it was told to Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled.”

[31:23]  ¹⁰⁴⁰ tn Heb “his brothers.”

[31:23]  ¹⁰⁴¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[31:23]  ¹⁰⁴² tn Heb “and he pursued after him a journey of seven days.”

[31:23]  ¹⁰⁴³ tn Heb “drew close to.”

[31:24]  ¹⁰⁴⁴ tn Heb “said to him.”

[31:24]  ¹⁰⁴⁵ tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.

[31:24]  ¹⁰⁴⁶ 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]  ¹⁰⁴⁷ 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]  ¹⁰⁴⁸ tn Heb “and you have stolen my heart.” This expression apparently means “to deceive” (see v. 20).

[31:26]  ¹⁰⁴⁹ tn Heb “and you have led away my daughters like captives of a sword.”

[31:27]  ¹⁰⁵⁰ 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]  ¹⁰⁵¹ tn Heb “and steal me.”

[31:27]  ¹⁰⁵² 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]  ¹⁰⁵³ 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]  ¹⁰⁵⁴ tn Heb “there is to my hand.”

[31:29]  ¹⁰⁵⁵ tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.

[31:29]  ¹⁰⁵⁶ 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]  ¹⁰⁵⁷ tn Heb “and now.” The words “I understand that” have been supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[31:30]  ¹⁰⁵⁸ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the certainty of the action.

[31:30]  ¹⁰⁵⁹ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of emotion involved.

[31:30]  ¹⁰⁶⁰ 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]  ¹⁰⁶¹ 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]  ¹⁰⁶² tn Heb “for I said.”

[31:31]  ¹⁰⁶³ tn Heb “lest you steal your daughters from with me.”

[31:32]  ¹⁰⁶⁴ tn Heb “With whomever you find your gods, he will not live.”

[31:32]  ¹⁰⁶⁵ tn Heb “brothers.”

[31:32]  ¹⁰⁶⁶ tn Heb “recognize for yourself what is with me and take for yourself.”

[31:32]  ¹⁰⁶⁷ 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]  ¹⁰⁶⁸ 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]  ¹⁰⁶⁹ tn Heb “and he went out from the tent of Leah and went into the tent of Rachel.”

[31:34]  ¹⁰⁷⁰ 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]  ¹⁰⁷¹ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides another parenthetical statement necessary to the storyline.

[31:34]  ¹⁰⁷² tn The word “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[31:35]  ¹⁰⁷³ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[31:35]  ¹⁰⁷⁴ 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]  ¹⁰⁷⁵ tn Heb “I am unable to rise.”

[31:35]  ¹⁰⁷⁶ tn Heb “the way of women is to me.” This idiom refers to a woman’s menstrual period.

[31:35]  ¹⁰⁷⁷ tn The word “thoroughly” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[31:36]  ¹⁰⁷⁸ tn Heb “it was hot to Jacob.” This idiom refers to anger.

[31:36]  ¹⁰⁷⁹ 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]  ¹⁰⁸⁰ 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]  ¹⁰⁸¹ tn Heb “what did you find from all the goods of your house?”

[31:37]  ¹⁰⁸² tn Heb “your relatives.” The word “relatives” has not been repeated in the translation here for stylistic reasons.

[31:37]  ¹⁰⁸³ tn Heb “that they may decide between us two.”

[31:39]  ¹⁰⁸⁴ tn The imperfect verbal form indicates that this was a customary or typical action.

[31:39]  ¹⁰⁸⁵ 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]  ¹⁰⁸⁶ tn Or “by drought.”

[31:40]  ¹⁰⁸⁷ 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]  ¹⁰⁸⁸ tn Heb “and my sleep fled from my eyes.”

[31:41]  ¹⁰⁸⁹ tn Heb “this to me.”

[31:41]  ¹⁰⁹⁰ tn Heb “served you,” but in this accusatory context the meaning is more “worked like a slave.”

[31:42]  ¹⁰⁹¹ 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]  ¹⁰⁹² tn Heb “My oppression and the work of my hands God saw.”

[31:43]  ¹⁰⁹³ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[31:43]  ¹⁰⁹⁴ tn Heb “daughters.”

[31:43]  ¹⁰⁹⁵ tn Heb “children.”

[31:43]  ¹⁰⁹⁶ tn Heb “but to my daughters what can I do to these today?”

[31:44]  ¹⁰⁹⁷ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[31:44]  ¹⁰⁹⁸ tn The verb הָיָה (hayah) followed by the preposition לְ (lÿ) means “become.”

[31:44]  ¹⁰⁹⁹ tn Heb “and it will become a witness between me and you.”

[31:46]  ¹¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “Jacob”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:46]  ¹¹⁰¹ sn The Hebrew word for “pile” is גַּל (gal), which sounds like the name “Galeed” (גַּלְעֵד, gal’ed). See v. 48.

[31:47]  ¹¹⁰² sn Jegar Sahadutha. Laban the Aramean gave the place an Aramaic name which means “witness pile” or “the pile is a witness.”

[31:47]  ¹¹⁰³ 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]  ¹¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “a witness between me and you.”

[31:49]  ¹¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “and Mizpah.”

[31:49]  ¹¹⁰⁶ sn The name Mizpah (מִצְפָּה, mitspah), which means “watchpost,” sounds like the verb translated “may he watch” (יִצֶף, yitsef). Neither Laban nor Jacob felt safe with each other, and so they agreed to go their separate ways, trusting the Lord to keep watch at the border. Jacob did not need this treaty, but Laban, perhaps because he had lost his household gods, felt he did.

[31:49]  ¹¹⁰⁷ tn Heb “between me and you.”

[31:49]  ¹¹⁰⁸ tn Heb “for we will be hidden, each man from his neighbor.”

[31:50]  ¹¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “see.”

[31:50]  ¹¹¹⁰ tn Heb “between me and you.”

[31:51]  ¹¹¹¹ 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]  ¹¹¹² 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]  ¹¹¹³ 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]  ¹¹¹⁴ tn Heb “by the fear of his father Isaac.” See the note on the word “fears” in v. 42.

[31:54]  ¹¹¹⁵ tn The construction is a cognate accusative with the verb, expressing a specific sacrifice.

[31:54]  ¹¹¹⁶ 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]  ¹¹¹⁷ 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]  ¹¹¹⁸ tn Heb “and Laban got up early in the morning and he kissed.”

[31:55]  ¹¹¹⁹ tn Heb “his sons.”

[31:55]  ¹¹²⁰ tn Heb “to his place.”

[32:1]  ¹¹²¹ 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]  ¹¹²² tn Heb “and Jacob said when he saw them.”

[32:2]  ¹¹²³ sn The name Mahanaim apparently means “two camps.” Perhaps the two camps were those of God and of Jacob.

[32:3]  ¹¹²⁴ tn Heb “before him.”

[32:3]  ¹¹²⁵ tn Heb “field.”

[32:4]  ¹¹²⁶ 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]  ¹¹²⁷ 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]  ¹¹²⁸ tn The words “this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:8]  ¹¹²⁹ tn Heb “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.”

[32:8]  ¹¹³⁰ 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]  ¹¹³¹ 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]  ¹¹³² tn Heb “said.”

[32:9]  ¹¹³³ tn Heb “the one who said.”

[32:9]  ¹¹³⁴ 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]  ¹¹³⁵ tn Heb “the loving deeds and faithfulness” (see 24:27, 49).

[32:10]  ¹¹³⁶ tn Heb “you have done with.”

[32:10]  ¹¹³⁷ 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]  ¹¹³⁸ tn Heb “this Jordan.”

[32:11]  ¹¹³⁹ tn The imperative has the force of a prayer here, not a command.

[32:11]  ¹¹⁴⁰ tn The “hand” here is a metonymy for “power.”

[32:11]  ¹¹⁴¹ tn Heb “from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau.”

[32:11]  ¹¹⁴² tn Heb “for I am afraid of him, lest he come.”

[32:11]  ¹¹⁴³ 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]  ¹¹⁴⁴ tn Heb “But you, you said.” One of the occurrences of the pronoun “you” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.

[32:12]  ¹¹⁴⁵ 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]  ¹¹⁴⁶ tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the nuance of the preceding verb forward.

[32:12]  ¹¹⁴⁷ tn Heb “which cannot be counted because of abundance.” The imperfect verbal form indicates potential here.

[32:13]  ¹¹⁴⁸ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:13]  ¹¹⁴⁹ 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]  ¹¹⁵⁰ 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]  ¹¹⁵¹ tn Heb “and he put them in the hand of.”

[32:16]  ¹¹⁵² tn Heb “a herd, a herd, by itself,” or “each herd by itself.” The distributive sense is expressed by repetition.

[32:17]  ¹¹⁵³ tn Heb “the first”; this has been specified as “the servant leading the first herd” in the translation for clarity.

[32:17]  ¹¹⁵⁴ tn Heb “to whom are you?”

[32:17]  ¹¹⁵⁵ tn Heb “and to whom are these before you?”

[32:18]  ¹¹⁵⁶ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; it has the nuance of an imperfect of instruction.

[32:18]  ¹¹⁵⁷ tn The words “they belong” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:18]  ¹¹⁵⁸ tn Heb “to your servant, to Jacob.”

[32:18]  ¹¹⁵⁹ tn Heb “to my lord, to Esau.”

[32:18]  ¹¹⁶⁰ 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]  ¹¹⁶¹ 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]  ¹¹⁶² tn Heb “and look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.”

[32:20]  ¹¹⁶³ 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]  ¹¹⁶⁴ 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]  ¹¹⁶⁵ tn Heb “with a gift going before me.”

[32:20]  ¹¹⁶⁶ tn Heb “I will see his face.”

[32:20]  ¹¹⁶⁷ tn Heb “Perhaps he will lift up my face.” In this context the idiom refers to acceptance.

[32:21]  ¹¹⁶⁸ tn Heb “and the gift passed over upon his face.”

[32:21]  ¹¹⁶⁹ tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial/temporal.

[32:22]  ¹¹⁷⁰ 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]  ¹¹⁷¹ 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]  ¹¹⁷² 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]  ¹¹⁷³ tn Heb “and he sent across what he had.”

[32:24]  ¹¹⁷⁴ 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]  ¹¹⁷⁵ 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]  ¹¹⁷⁶ tn Heb “until the rising of the dawn.”

[32:25]  ¹¹⁷⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:25]  ¹¹⁷⁸ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:25]  ¹¹⁷⁹ 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]  ¹¹⁸⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:26]  ¹¹⁸¹ tn Heb “dawn has arisen.”

[32:26]  ¹¹⁸² 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]  ¹¹⁸³ 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]  ¹¹⁸⁴ 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]  ¹¹⁸⁵ sn What is your name? The question is rhetorical, since the Lord obviously knew Jacob’s identity. But since the Lord is going to change Jacob’s name, this question is designed to bring focus Jacob’s attention on all that his name had come to signify.

[32:28]  ¹¹⁸⁶ 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]  ¹¹⁸⁷ sn The name Israel is a common construction, using a verb with a theophoric element (אֵל, ’el) that usually indicates the subject of the verb. Here it means “God fights.” This name will replace the name Jacob; it will be both a promise and a call for faith. In essence, the Lord was saying that Jacob would have victory and receive the promises because God would fight for him.

[32:28]  ¹¹⁸⁸ 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]  ¹¹⁸⁹ 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]  ¹¹⁹⁰ tn The question uses the enclitic pronoun “this” to emphasize the import of the question.

[32:29]  ¹¹⁹¹ 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]  ¹¹⁹² tn The verb here means that the Lord endowed Jacob with success; he would be successful in everything he did, including meeting Esau.

[32:29]  ¹¹⁹³ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:30]  ¹¹⁹⁴ sn The name Peniel means “face of God.” Since Jacob saw God face to face here, the name is appropriate.

[32:30]  ¹¹⁹⁵ tn The word “explaining” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:30]  ¹¹⁹⁶ tn Or “because.”

[32:30]  ¹¹⁹⁷ sn I have seen God face to face. See the note on the name “Peniel” earlier in the verse.

[32:30]  ¹¹⁹⁸ tn Heb “and my soul [= life] has been preserved.”

[32:31]  ¹¹⁹⁹ tn Heb “shone.”

[32:31]  ¹²⁰⁰ sn The name is spelled Penuel here, apparently a variant spelling of Peniel (see v. 30).

[32:31]  ¹²⁰¹ tn The disjunctive clause draws attention to an important fact: He may have crossed the stream, but he was limping.

[32:32]  ¹²⁰² 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]  ¹²⁰³ 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.

[23:1]  ¹²⁰⁴ tn Heb “And the years of Sarah were one hundred years and twenty years and seven years, the years of the life of Sarah.”

[23:1]  ¹²⁰⁵ tn Heb “And the years of Sarah were one hundred years and twenty years and seven years, the years of the life of Sarah.”

[39:1]  ¹²⁰⁶ tn The disjunctive clause resumes the earlier narrative pertaining to Joseph by recapitulating the event described in 37:36. The perfect verbal form is given a past perfect translation to restore the sequence of the narrative for the reader.

[39:1]  ¹²⁰⁷ sn Captain of the guard. See the note on this phrase in Gen 37:36.

[39:1]  ¹²⁰⁸ tn Heb “from the hand of.”

[39:1]  ¹²⁰⁹ tn The disjunctive clause resumes the earlier narrative pertaining to Joseph by recapitulating the event described in 37:36. The perfect verbal form is given a past perfect translation to restore the sequence of the narrative for the reader.

[39:1]  ¹²¹⁰ sn Captain of the guard. See the note on this phrase in Gen 37:36.

[39:1]  ¹²¹¹ tn Heb “from the hand of.”

[4:1]  ¹²¹² tn These technical Hebrew terms (חֻקִּים [khuqqim] and מִשְׁפָּטִים [mishpatim]) occur repeatedly throughout the Book of Deuteronomy to describe the covenant stipulations to which Israel had been called to subscribe (see, in this chapter alone, vv. 1, 5, 6, 8). The word חֻקִּים derives from the verb חֹק (khoq, “to inscribe; to carve”) and מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim) from שָׁפַט (shafat, “to judge”). They are virtually synonymous and are used interchangeably in Deuteronomy.

[4:1]  ¹²¹³ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 31, 37).

[12:32]  ¹²¹⁴ sn Beginning with 12:32, the verse numbers through 13:18 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 12:32 ET = 13:1 HT, 13:1 ET = 13:2 HT, 13:2 ET = 13:3 HT, etc., through 13:18 ET = 13:19 HT. With 14:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.

[12:32]  ¹²¹⁵ tn This verse highlights a phenomenon found throughout Deuteronomy, but most especially in chap. 12, namely, the alternation of grammatical singular and plural forms of the pronoun (known as Numeruswechsel in German scholarship). Critical scholarship in general resolves the “problem” by suggesting varying literary traditions – one favorable to the singular pronoun and the other to the plural – which appear in the (obviously rough) redacted text at hand. Even the ancient versions were troubled by the lack of harmony of grammatical number and in this verse, for example, offered a number of alternate readings. The MT reads “Everything I am commanding you (plural) you (plural) must be careful to do; you (singular) must not add to it nor should you (singular) subtract form it.” Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate suggest singular for the first two pronouns but a few Smr mss propose plural for the last two. What both ancient and modern scholars tend to overlook, however, is the covenantal theological tone of the Book of Deuteronomy, one that views Israel as a collective body (singular) made up of many individuals (plural). See M. Weinfeld, Deuteronomy 1–11 (AB), 15-16; J. A. Thompson, Deuteronomy (TOTC), 21-23.

[12:32]  ¹²¹⁶ sn Do not add to it or subtract from it. This prohibition makes at least two profound theological points: (1) This work by Moses is of divine origination (i.e., it is inspired) and therefore can tolerate no human alteration; and (2) the work is complete as it stands (i.e., it is canonical).

[8:20]  ¹²¹⁷ tn Heb “to [the] instruction and to [the] testimony.” The words “then you must recall” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 19-20a are one long sentence, reading literally, “When they say to you…, to the instruction and to the testimony.” On the identity of the “instruction” and “testimony” see the notes at v. 16.

[8:20]  ¹²¹⁸ tn Heb “If they do not speak according to this word, [it is] because it has no light of dawn.” The literal translation suggests that “this word” refers to the instruction/testimony. However, it is likely that אִם־לֹא (’im-lo’) is asseverative here, as in 5:9. In this case “this word” refers to the quotation recorded in v. 19. For a discussion of the problem see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 230, n. 9. The singular pronoun in the second half of the verse is collective, referring back to the nation (see v. 19b).

[28:20]  ¹²¹⁹ tn The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has been translated here as “remember” (BDAG 468 s.v. 1.c).

[28:20]  ¹²²⁰ sn I am with you. Matthew’s Gospel begins with the prophecy that the Savior’s name would be “Emmanuel, that is, ‘God with us,’” (1:23, in which the author has linked Isa 7:14 and 8:8, 10 together) and it ends with Jesus’ promise to be with his disciples forever. The Gospel of Matthew thus forms an inclusio about Jesus in his relationship to his people that suggests his deity.

[28:20]  ¹²²¹ tc Most mss (A^c Θ Ë¹³ Ï it sy) have ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”) at the end of v. 20. Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, no good reason exists for the omission of the particle in significant and early witnesses such as א A* B D W ˹ 33 al lat sa.