Genesis 19:1--30:43

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while ¹  Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. ²  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 ³  and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.” ⁴  “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.” ⁵ 

19:3 But he urged ⁶  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, ⁷  all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house. ⁸  19:5 They shouted to Lot, ⁹  “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex ¹⁰  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! ¹¹  19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never had sexual relations with ¹²  a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever you please. ¹³  Only don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection ¹⁴  of my roof.” ¹⁵ 

19:9 “Out of our way!” ¹⁶  they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, ¹⁷  and now he dares to judge us! ¹⁸  We’ll do more harm ¹⁹  to you than to them!” They kept ²⁰  pressing in on Lot until they were close enough ²¹  to break down the door.

19:10 So the men inside ²²  reached out ²³  and pulled Lot back into the house ²⁴  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, ²⁵  with blindness. The men outside ²⁶  wore themselves out trying to find the door. 19:12 Then the two visitors ²⁷  said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? ²⁸  Do you have ²⁹  any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? ³⁰  Get them out of this ³¹  place 19:13 because we are about to destroy ³²  it. The outcry against this place ³³  is so great before the Lord that he ³⁴  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. ³⁵  He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy ³⁶  the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. ³⁷ 

19:15 At dawn ³⁸  the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, ³⁹  or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!” ⁴⁰  19:16 When Lot ⁴¹  hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. ⁴²  They led them away and placed them ⁴³  outside the city. 19:17 When they had brought them outside, they ⁴⁴  said, “Run ⁴⁵  for your lives! Don’t look ⁴⁶  behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! ⁴⁷  Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”

19:18 But Lot said to them, “No, please, Lord! ⁴⁸  19:19 Your ⁴⁹  servant has found favor with you, ⁵⁰  and you have shown me great ⁵¹  kindness ⁵²  by sparing ⁵³  my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because ⁵⁴  this disaster will overtake ⁵⁵  me and I’ll die. ⁵⁶  19:20 Look, this town ⁵⁷  over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. ⁵⁸  Let me go there. ⁵⁹  It’s just a little place, isn’t it? ⁶⁰  Then I’ll survive.” ⁶¹ 

19:21 “Very well,” he replied, ⁶²  “I will grant this request too ⁶³  and will not overthrow ⁶⁴  the town you mentioned. 19:22 Run there quickly, ⁶⁵  for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.) ⁶⁶ 

19:23 The sun had just risen ⁶⁷  over the land as Lot reached Zoar. ⁶⁸  19:24 Then the Lord rained down ⁶⁹  sulfur and fire ⁷⁰  on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. ⁷¹  19:25 So he overthrew those cities and all that region, ⁷²  including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew ⁷³  from the ground. 19:26 But Lot’s ⁷⁴  wife looked back longingly ⁷⁵  and was turned into a pillar of salt.

19:27 Abraham got up early in the morning and went ⁷⁶  to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 19:28 He looked out toward ⁷⁷  Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. ⁷⁸  As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace. ⁷⁹ 

19:29 So when God destroyed ⁸⁰  the cities of the region, ⁸¹  God honored ⁸²  Abraham’s request. He removed Lot ⁸³  from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed ⁸⁴  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 ⁸⁵  to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby ⁸⁶  to have sexual relations with us, ⁸⁷  according to the way of all the world. 19:32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with wine ⁸⁸  so we can have sexual relations ⁸⁹  with him and preserve ⁹⁰  our family line through our father.” ⁹¹ 

19:33 So that night they made their father drunk with wine, ⁹²  and the older daughter ⁹³  came and had sexual relations with her father. ⁹⁴  But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. ⁹⁵  19:34 So in the morning the older daughter ⁹⁶  said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. ⁹⁷  Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” ⁹⁸  19:35 So they made their father drunk ⁹⁹  that night as well, and the younger one came and had sexual relations with him. ¹⁰⁰  But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. ¹⁰¹ 

19:36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 19:37 The older daughter ¹⁰²  gave birth to a son and named him Moab. ¹⁰³  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. ¹⁰⁴  He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.

Abraham and Abimelech

20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev ¹⁰⁵  region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident ¹⁰⁶  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 ¹⁰⁷  to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead ¹⁰⁸  because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” ¹⁰⁹ 

20:4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, ¹¹⁰  would you really slaughter an innocent nation? ¹¹¹  20:5 Did Abraham ¹¹²  not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ¹¹³  ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience ¹¹⁴  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. ¹¹⁵  That is why I have kept you ¹¹⁶  from sinning against me and why ¹¹⁷  I did not allow you to touch her. 20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed ¹¹⁸  he is a prophet ¹¹⁹  and he will pray for you; thus you will live. ¹²⁰  But if you don’t give her back, ¹²¹  know that you will surely die ¹²²  along with all who belong to you.”

20:8 Early in the morning ¹²³  Abimelech summoned ¹²⁴  all his servants. When he told them about all these things, ¹²⁵  they ¹²⁶  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? ¹²⁷  You have done things to me that should not be done!” ¹²⁸  20:10 Then Abimelech asked ¹²⁹  Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?” ¹³⁰ 

20:11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought, ¹³¹  ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of ¹³²  my wife.’ 20:12 What’s more, ¹³³  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 ¹³⁴  from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: ¹³⁵  Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”

20:14 So Abimelech gave ¹³⁶  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.” ¹³⁷ 

20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver ¹³⁸  to your ‘brother.’ ¹³⁹  This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” ¹⁴⁰ 

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 ¹⁴¹  had caused infertility to strike every woman ¹⁴²  in the household of Abimelech because he took ¹⁴³  Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

The Birth of Isaac

21:1 The Lord visited ¹⁴⁴  Sarah just as he had said he would and did ¹⁴⁵  for Sarah what he had promised. ¹⁴⁶  21:2 So Sarah became pregnant ¹⁴⁷  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. ¹⁴⁸  21:4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, ¹⁴⁹  Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded him to do. ¹⁵⁰  21:5 (Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.) ¹⁵¹ 

21:6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. ¹⁵²  Everyone who hears about this ¹⁵³  will laugh ¹⁵⁴  with me.” 21:7 She went on to say, ¹⁵⁵  “Who would ¹⁵⁶  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 ¹⁵⁷  a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. ¹⁵⁸  21:9 But Sarah noticed ¹⁵⁹  the son of Hagar the Egyptian – the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham – mocking. ¹⁶⁰  21:10 So she said to Abraham, “Banish ¹⁶¹  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. ¹⁶²  21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset ¹⁶³  about the boy or your slave wife. Do ¹⁶⁴  all that Sarah is telling ¹⁶⁵  you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. ¹⁶⁶  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 ¹⁶⁷  some food ¹⁶⁸  and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, ¹⁶⁹  and sent her away. So she went wandering ¹⁷⁰  aimlessly through the wilderness ¹⁷¹  of Beer Sheba. 21:15 When the water in the skin was gone, she shoved ¹⁷²  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 ¹⁷³  away; for she thought, ¹⁷⁴  “I refuse to watch the child die.” ¹⁷⁵  So she sat across from him and wept uncontrollably. ¹⁷⁶ 

21:17 But God heard the boy’s voice. ¹⁷⁷  The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and asked her, “What is the matter, ¹⁷⁸  Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard ¹⁷⁹  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. ¹⁸⁰  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. ¹⁸¹  His mother found a wife for him from the land of Egypt. ¹⁸² 

21:22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you ¹⁸³  in all that you do. 21:23 Now swear to me right here in God’s name ¹⁸⁴  that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. ¹⁸⁵  Show me, and the land ¹⁸⁶  where you are staying, ¹⁸⁷  the same loyalty ¹⁸⁸  that I have shown you.” ¹⁸⁹ 

21:24 Abraham said, “I swear to do this.” ¹⁹⁰  21:25 But Abraham lodged a complaint ¹⁹¹  against Abimelech concerning a well ¹⁹²  that Abimelech’s servants had seized. ¹⁹³  21:26 “I do not know who has done this thing,” Abimelech replied. “Moreover, ¹⁹⁴  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. ¹⁹⁵  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 ¹⁹⁶  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 ¹⁹⁷  that I dug this well.” ¹⁹⁸  21:31 That is why he named that place ¹⁹⁹  Beer Sheba, ²⁰⁰  because the two of them swore ²⁰¹  an oath there.

21:32 So they made a treaty ²⁰²  at Beer Sheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returned ²⁰³  to the land of the Philistines. ²⁰⁴  21:33 Abraham ²⁰⁵  planted a tamarisk tree ²⁰⁶  in Beer Sheba. There he worshiped the Lord, ²⁰⁷  the eternal God. 21:34 So Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for quite some time. ²⁰⁸ 

The Sacrifice of Isaac

22:1 Some time after these things God tested ²⁰⁹  Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham ²¹⁰  replied. 22:2 God ²¹¹  said, “Take your son – your only son, whom you love, Isaac ²¹²  – and go to the land of Moriah! ²¹³  Offer him up there as a burnt offering ²¹⁴  on one of the mountains which I will indicate to ²¹⁵  you.”

22:3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. ²¹⁶  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 ²¹⁷  for the place God had spoken to him about.

22:4 On the third day Abraham caught sight of ²¹⁸  the place in the distance. 22:5 So he ²¹⁹  said to his servants, “You two stay ²²⁰  here with the donkey while ²²¹  the boy and I go up there. We will worship ²²²  and then return to you.” ²²³ 

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, ²²⁴  and the two of them walked on together. 22:7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, ²²⁵  “My father?” “What is it, ²²⁶  my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said, ²²⁷  “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 22:8 “God will provide ²²⁸  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 ²²⁹  and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up ²³⁰  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 ²³¹  his son. 22:11 But the Lord’s angel ²³²  called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” ²³³  the angel said. ²³⁴  “Do not do anything to him, for now I know ²³⁵  that you fear ²³⁶  God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”

22:13 Abraham looked up ²³⁷  and saw ²³⁸  behind him ²³⁹  a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he ²⁴⁰  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.” ²⁴¹  It is said to this day, ²⁴²  “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.” ²⁴³ 

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,’ ²⁴⁴  decrees the Lord, ²⁴⁵  ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 22:17 I will indeed bless you, ²⁴⁶  and I will greatly multiply ²⁴⁷  your descendants ²⁴⁸  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 ²⁴⁹  of the strongholds ²⁵⁰  of their enemies. 22:18 Because you have obeyed me, ²⁵¹  all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ²⁵²  using the name of your descendants.’”

22:19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set out together ²⁵³  for Beer Sheba where Abraham stayed. ²⁵⁴ 

22:20 After these things Abraham was told, “Milcah ²⁵⁵  also has borne children to your brother Nahor – 22:21 Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram), ²⁵⁶  22:22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 22:23 (Now ²⁵⁷  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. ²⁵⁸  23:2 Then she ²⁵⁹  died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. ²⁶⁰ 

23:3 Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife ²⁶¹  and said to the sons of Heth, ²⁶²  23:4 “I am a temporary settler ²⁶³  among you. Grant ²⁶⁴  me ownership ²⁶⁵  of a burial site among you so that I may ²⁶⁶  bury my dead.” ²⁶⁷ 

23:5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, ²⁶⁸  23:6 “Listen, sir, ²⁶⁹  you are a mighty prince ²⁷⁰  among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you ²⁷¹  from burying your dead.”

23:7 Abraham got up and bowed down to the local people, ²⁷²  the sons of Heth. 23:8 Then he said to them, “If you agree ²⁷³  that I may bury my dead, ²⁷⁴  then hear me out. ²⁷⁵  Ask ²⁷⁶  Ephron the son of Zohar 23:9 if he will sell ²⁷⁷  me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me publicly ²⁷⁸  for the full price, ²⁷⁹  so that I may own it as a burial site.”

23:10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite ²⁸⁰  replied to Abraham in the hearing ²⁸¹  of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate ²⁸²  of his city – 23:11 “No, my lord! Hear me out. I sell ²⁸³  you both the field and the cave that is in it. ²⁸⁴  In the presence of my people ²⁸⁵  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 ²⁸⁶  to you the price ²⁸⁷  of the field. Take it from me so that I may ²⁸⁸  bury my dead there.”

23:14 Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 23:15 “Hear me, my lord. The land is worth ²⁸⁹  400 pieces of silver, ²⁹⁰  but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”

23:16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price ²⁹¹  and weighed ²⁹²  out for him ²⁹³  the price ²⁹⁴  that Ephron had quoted ²⁹⁵  in the hearing of the sons of Heth – 400 pieces of silver, according to the standard measurement at the time. ²⁹⁶ 

23:17 So Abraham secured ²⁹⁷  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. ²⁹⁸ 

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 ²⁹⁹  from the sons of Heth.

The Wife for Isaac

24:1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years, ³⁰⁰  and the Lord had blessed him ³⁰¹  in everything. 24:2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior one ³⁰²  in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh ³⁰³  24:3 so that I may make you solemnly promise ³⁰⁴  by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire ³⁰⁵  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 ³⁰⁶  to find ³⁰⁷  a wife for my son Isaac.”

24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me ³⁰⁸  to this land? Must I then ³⁰⁹  take your son back to the land from which you came?”

24:6 “Be careful ³¹⁰  never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him. ³¹¹  24:7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives, ³¹²  promised me with a solemn oath, ³¹³  ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel ³¹⁴  before you so that you may find ³¹⁵  a wife for my son from there. 24:8 But if the woman is not willing to come back with you, ³¹⁶  you will be free ³¹⁷  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. ³¹⁸ 

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. ³¹⁹  He journeyed ³²⁰  to the region of Aram Naharaim ³²¹  and the city of Nahor. 24:11 He made the camels kneel down by the well ³²²  outside the city. It was evening, ³²³  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. ³²⁴  Be faithful ³²⁵  to my master Abraham. 24:13 Here I am, standing by the spring, ³²⁶  and the daughters of the people ³²⁷  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.’ ³²⁸  In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.” ³²⁹ 

24:15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah ³³⁰  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). ³³¹  24:16 Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. ³³²  She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up. 24:17 Abraham’s servant ³³³  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 ³³⁴  her jug to her hands, she gave him a drink. 24:19 When she had done so, ³³⁵  she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have drunk as much as they want.” 24:20 She quickly emptied ³³⁶  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 ³³⁷  if the Lord had made his journey successful ³³⁸  or not.

24:22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka ³³⁹  and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels ³⁴⁰  and gave them to her. ³⁴¹  24:23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. ³⁴²  “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. ³⁴³  24:25 We have plenty of straw and feed,” she added, ³⁴⁴  “and room for you ³⁴⁵  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 ³⁴⁶  for my master! The Lord has led me ³⁴⁷  to the house ³⁴⁸  of my master’s relatives!” ³⁴⁹ 

24:28 The young woman ran and told her mother’s household all about ³⁵⁰  these things. 24:29 (Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban.) ³⁵¹  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 ³⁵²  and heard his sister Rebekah say, ³⁵³  “This is what the man said to me,” he went out to meet the man. There he was, standing ³⁵⁴  by the camels near the spring. 24:31 Laban said to him, ³⁵⁵  “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord! ³⁵⁶  Why are you standing out here when I have prepared ³⁵⁷  the house and a place for the camels?”

24:32 So Abraham’s servant ³⁵⁸  went to the house and unloaded ³⁵⁹  the camels. Straw and feed were given ³⁶⁰  to the camels, and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet. ³⁶¹  24:33 When food was served, ³⁶²  he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I want to say.” ³⁶³  “Tell us,” Laban said. ³⁶⁴ 

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. ³⁶⁵  The Lord ³⁶⁶  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 ³⁶⁷  when she was old, ³⁶⁸  and my master ³⁶⁹  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 ³⁷⁰  a wife for my son.’ 24:39 But I said to my master, ‘What if the woman does not want to go ³⁷¹  with me?’ ³⁷²  24:40 He answered, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, ³⁷³  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 ³⁷⁴  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, ³⁷⁵  may events unfold as follows: ³⁷⁶  24:43 Here I am, standing by the spring. ³⁷⁷  When ³⁷⁸  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, ³⁷⁹  along came Rebekah ³⁸⁰  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.’ ³⁸¹  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 ³⁸²  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.” ³⁸³ 

24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the Lord’s doing. ³⁸⁴  Our wishes are of no concern. ³⁸⁵  24:51 Rebekah stands here before you. Take her and go so that she may become ³⁸⁶  the wife of your master’s son, just as the Lord has decided.” ³⁸⁷ 

24:52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. 24:53 Then he ³⁸⁸  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. ³⁸⁹ 

When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me leave now so I can return to my master.” ³⁹⁰  24:55 But Rebekah’s ³⁹¹  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 ³⁹²  has granted me success on my journey. Let me leave now so I may return ³⁹³  to my master.” 24:57 Then they said, “We’ll call the girl and find out what she wants to do.” ³⁹⁴  24:58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want ³⁹⁵  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: ³⁹⁶ 

“Our sister, may you become the mother ³⁹⁷  of thousands of ten thousands!

May your descendants possess the strongholds ³⁹⁸  of their enemies.”

24:61 Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with ³⁹⁹  the man. So Abraham’s servant ⁴⁰⁰  took Rebekah and left.

24:62 Now ⁴⁰¹  Isaac came from ⁴⁰²  Beer Lahai Roi, ⁴⁰³  for ⁴⁰⁴  he was living in the Negev. ⁴⁰⁵  24:63 He ⁴⁰⁶  went out to relax ⁴⁰⁷  in the field in the early evening. ⁴⁰⁸  Then he looked up ⁴⁰⁹  and saw that ⁴¹⁰  there were camels approaching. 24:64 Rebekah looked up ⁴¹¹  and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel 24:65 and asked ⁴¹²  Abraham’s servant, ⁴¹³  “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied. ⁴¹⁴  So she took her veil and covered herself.

24:66 The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. 24:67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah ⁴¹⁵  into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her ⁴¹⁶  as his wife and loved her. ⁴¹⁷  So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. ⁴¹⁸ 

The Death of Abraham

25:1 Abraham had taken ⁴¹⁹  another ⁴²⁰  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. ⁴²¹  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 ⁴²²  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 ⁴²³  and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. ⁴²⁴ 

25:7 Abraham lived a total of ⁴²⁵  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. ⁴²⁶  He joined his ancestors. ⁴²⁷  25:9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah ⁴²⁸  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. ⁴²⁹  There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 25:11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed ⁴³⁰  his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi. ⁴³¹ 

The Sons of Ishmael

25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, ⁴³²  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: ⁴³³  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 ⁴³⁴  according to their clans.

25:17 Ishmael lived a total of ⁴³⁵  137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors. ⁴³⁶  25:18 His descendants ⁴³⁷  settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next ⁴³⁸  to Egypt all the way ⁴³⁹  to Asshur. ⁴⁴⁰  They settled ⁴⁴¹  away from all their relatives. ⁴⁴² 

Jacob and Esau

25:19 This is the account of Isaac, ⁴⁴³  the son of Abraham.

Abraham became the father of Isaac. 25:20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, ⁴⁴⁴  the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. ⁴⁴⁵ 

25:21 Isaac prayed to ⁴⁴⁶  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 ⁴⁴⁷  inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” ⁴⁴⁸  So she asked the Lord, ⁴⁴⁹  25:23 and the Lord said to her,

“Two nations ⁴⁵⁰  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, ⁴⁵¹  there were ⁴⁵²  twins in her womb. 25:25 The first came out reddish ⁴⁵³  all over, ⁴⁵⁴  like a hairy ⁴⁵⁵  garment, so they named him Esau. ⁴⁵⁶  25:26 When his brother came out with ⁴⁵⁷  his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. ⁴⁵⁸  Isaac was sixty years old ⁴⁵⁹  when they were born.

25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled ⁴⁶⁰  hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. ⁴⁶¹  25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, ⁴⁶²  but Rebekah loved ⁴⁶³  Jacob.

25:29 Now Jacob cooked some stew, ⁴⁶⁴  and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished. 25:30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed ⁴⁶⁵  me some of the red stuff – yes, this red stuff – because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called ⁴⁶⁶  Edom.) ⁴⁶⁷ 

25:31 But Jacob replied, “First ⁴⁶⁸  sell me your birthright.” 25:32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” ⁴⁶⁹  25:33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” ⁴⁷⁰  So Esau ⁴⁷¹  swore an oath to him and sold his birthright ⁴⁷²  to Jacob.

25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. ⁴⁷³  So Esau despised his birthright. ⁴⁷⁴ 

Isaac and Abimelech

26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred ⁴⁷⁵  in the days of Abraham. ⁴⁷⁶  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; ⁴⁷⁷  settle down in the land that I will point out to you. ⁴⁷⁸  26:3 Stay ⁴⁷⁹  in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, ⁴⁸⁰  for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, ⁴⁸¹  and I will fulfill ⁴⁸²  the solemn promise I made ⁴⁸³  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 ⁴⁸⁴  all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. ⁴⁸⁵  26:5 All this will come to pass ⁴⁸⁶  because Abraham obeyed me ⁴⁸⁷  and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” ⁴⁸⁸  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.” ⁴⁸⁹  He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, ⁴⁹⁰  “The men of this place will kill me to get ⁴⁹¹  Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”

26:8 After Isaac ⁴⁹²  had been there a long time, ⁴⁹³  Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed ⁴⁹⁴  Isaac caressing ⁴⁹⁵  his wife Rebekah. 26:9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really ⁴⁹⁶  your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.” ⁴⁹⁷ 

26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? ⁴⁹⁸  One of the men ⁴⁹⁹  might easily have had sexual relations with ⁵⁰⁰  your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!” 26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches ⁵⁰¹  this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” ⁵⁰² 

26:12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, ⁵⁰³  because the Lord blessed him. ⁵⁰⁴  26:13 The man became wealthy. ⁵⁰⁵  His influence continued to grow ⁵⁰⁶  until he became very prominent. 26:14 He had ⁵⁰⁷  so many sheep ⁵⁰⁸  and cattle ⁵⁰⁹  and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous ⁵¹⁰  of him. 26:15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled up ⁵¹¹  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, ⁵¹²  for you have become much more powerful ⁵¹³  than we are.” 26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. ⁵¹⁴  26:18 Isaac reopened ⁵¹⁵  the wells that had been dug ⁵¹⁶  back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up ⁵¹⁷  after Abraham died. Isaac ⁵¹⁸  gave these wells ⁵¹⁹  the same names his father had given them. ⁵²⁰ 

26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing ⁵²¹  water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled ⁵²²  with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac ⁵²³  named the well ⁵²⁴  Esek ⁵²⁵  because they argued with him about it. ⁵²⁶  26:21 His servants ⁵²⁷  dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it ⁵²⁸  Sitnah. ⁵²⁹  26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac ⁵³⁰  named it ⁵³¹  Rehoboth, ⁵³²  saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”

26:23 From there Isaac ⁵³³  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 ⁵³⁴  the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. ⁵³⁵ 

26:26 Now Abimelech had come ⁵³⁶  to him from Gerar along with ⁵³⁷  Ahuzzah his friend ⁵³⁸  and Phicol the commander of his army. 26:27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me ⁵³⁹  and sent me away from you.” 26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see ⁵⁴⁰  that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be ⁵⁴¹  a pact between us ⁵⁴²  – between us ⁵⁴³  and you. Allow us to make ⁵⁴⁴  a treaty with you 26:29 so that ⁵⁴⁵  you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed ⁵⁴⁶  you, but have always treated you well ⁵⁴⁷  before sending you away ⁵⁴⁸  in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.” ⁵⁴⁹ 

26:30 So Isaac ⁵⁵⁰  held a feast for them and they celebrated. ⁵⁵¹  26:31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. ⁵⁵²  Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms. ⁵⁵³ 

26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported. ⁵⁵⁴  26:33 So he named it Shibah; ⁵⁵⁵  that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba ⁵⁵⁶  to this day.

26:34 When ⁵⁵⁷  Esau was forty years old, ⁵⁵⁸  he married ⁵⁵⁹  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. ⁵⁶⁰ 

Jacob Cheats Esau out of the Blessing

27:1 When ⁵⁶¹  Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, ⁵⁶²  he called his older ⁵⁶³  son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau ⁵⁶⁴  replied. 27:2 Isaac ⁵⁶⁵  said, “Since ⁵⁶⁶  I am so old, I could die at any time. ⁵⁶⁷  27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game ⁵⁶⁸  for me. 27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then ⁵⁶⁹  I will eat it so that I may bless you ⁵⁷⁰  before I die.”

27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. ⁵⁷¹  When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, ⁵⁷²  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 ⁵⁷³  it and bless you ⁵⁷⁴  in the presence of the Lord ⁵⁷⁵  before I die.’ 27:8 Now then, my son, do ⁵⁷⁶  exactly what I tell you! ⁵⁷⁷  27:9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare ⁵⁷⁸  them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. 27:10 Then you will take ⁵⁷⁹  it to your father. Thus he will eat it ⁵⁸⁰  and ⁵⁸¹  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! ⁵⁸²  27:12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him ⁵⁸³  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, ⁵⁸⁴  my son! Just obey me! ⁵⁸⁵  Go and get them for me!”

27:14 So he went and got the goats ⁵⁸⁶  and brought them to his mother. She ⁵⁸⁷  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 ⁵⁸⁸  on his hands ⁵⁸⁹  and the smooth part of his neck. 27:17 Then she handed ⁵⁹⁰  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 ⁵⁹¹  replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?” ⁵⁹²  27:19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up ⁵⁹³  and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” ⁵⁹⁴  27:20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world ⁵⁹⁵  did you find it so quickly, ⁵⁹⁶  my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” ⁵⁹⁷  he replied. ⁵⁹⁸  27:21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you, ⁵⁹⁹  my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.” ⁶⁰⁰  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. ⁶⁰¹  27:24 Then he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “I am,” Jacob ⁶⁰²  replied. 27:25 Isaac ⁶⁰³  said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. ⁶⁰⁴  Then I will bless you.” ⁶⁰⁵  So Jacob ⁶⁰⁶  brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac ⁶⁰⁷  drank. 27:26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 27:27 So Jacob ⁶⁰⁸  went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent ⁶⁰⁹  of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,

“Yes, ⁶¹⁰  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 ⁶¹¹ 

and the richness ⁶¹²  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 ⁶¹³  lord ⁶¹⁴  over your brothers,

and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. ⁶¹⁵ 

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 ⁶¹⁶  his father’s ⁶¹⁷  presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt. ⁶¹⁸  27:31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau ⁶¹⁹  said to him, “My father, get up ⁶²⁰  and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.” ⁶²¹  27:32 His father Isaac asked, ⁶²²  “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,” ⁶²³  he replied, “Esau!” 27:33 Isaac began to shake violently ⁶²⁴  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. ⁶²⁵  He will indeed be blessed!”

27:34 When Esau heard ⁶²⁶  his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly. ⁶²⁷  He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” 27:35 But Isaac ⁶²⁸  replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away ⁶²⁹  your blessing.” 27:36 Esau exclaimed, “‘Jacob’ is the right name for him! ⁶³⁰  He has tripped me up ⁶³¹  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!” ⁶³²  Then Esau wept loudly. ⁶³³ 

27:39 So his father Isaac said to him,

“Indeed, ⁶³⁴  your home will be

away from the richness ⁶³⁵  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.” ⁶³⁶ 

27:41 So Esau hated ⁶³⁷  Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. ⁶³⁸  Esau said privately, ⁶³⁹  “The time ⁶⁴⁰  of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill ⁶⁴¹  my brother Jacob!”

27:42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said, ⁶⁴²  she quickly summoned ⁶⁴³  her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you. ⁶⁴⁴  27:43 Now then, my son, do what I say. ⁶⁴⁵  Run away immediately ⁶⁴⁶  to my brother Laban in Haran. 27:44 Live with him for a little while ⁶⁴⁷  until your brother’s rage subsides. 27:45 Stay there ⁶⁴⁸  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. ⁶⁴⁹  Why should I lose both of you in one day?” ⁶⁵⁰ 

27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressed ⁶⁵¹  because of these daughters of Heth. ⁶⁵²  If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!” ⁶⁵³ 

28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman! ⁶⁵⁴  28:2 Leave immediately ⁶⁵⁵  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 ⁶⁵⁶  bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! ⁶⁵⁷  Then you will become ⁶⁵⁸  a large nation. ⁶⁵⁹  28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham ⁶⁶⁰  so that you may possess the land ⁶⁶¹  God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” ⁶⁶²  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. ⁶⁶³  As he blessed him, ⁶⁶⁴  Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” ⁶⁶⁵  28:7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram. 28:8 Then Esau realized ⁶⁶⁶  that the Canaanite women ⁶⁶⁷  were displeasing to ⁶⁶⁸  his father Isaac. 28:9 So Esau went to Ishmael and married ⁶⁶⁹  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 ⁶⁷⁰  where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. ⁶⁷¹  He took one of the stones ⁶⁷²  and placed it near his head. ⁶⁷³  Then he fell asleep ⁶⁷⁴  in that place 28:12 and had a dream. ⁶⁷⁵  He saw ⁶⁷⁶  a stairway ⁶⁷⁷  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. ⁶⁷⁸  I will give you and your descendants the ground ⁶⁷⁹  you are lying on. 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, ⁶⁸⁰  and you will spread out ⁶⁸¹  to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ⁶⁸²  using your name and that of your descendants. ⁶⁸³  28:15 I am with you! ⁶⁸⁴  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 ⁶⁸⁵  and thought, ⁶⁸⁶  “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 ⁶⁸⁷  in the morning Jacob ⁶⁸⁸  took the stone he had placed near his head ⁶⁸⁹  and set it up as a sacred stone. ⁶⁹⁰  Then he poured oil on top of it. 28:19 He called that place Bethel, ⁶⁹¹  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 ⁶⁹²  to eat and clothing to wear, 28:21 and I return safely to my father’s home, ⁶⁹³  then the Lord will become my God. 28:22 Then this stone ⁶⁹⁴  that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely ⁶⁹⁵  give you back a tenth of everything you give me.” ⁶⁹⁶ 

The Marriages of Jacob

29:1 So Jacob moved on ⁶⁹⁷  and came to the land of the eastern people. ⁶⁹⁸  29:2 He saw ⁶⁹⁹  in the field a well with ⁷⁰⁰  three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now ⁷⁰¹  a large stone covered the mouth of the well. 29:3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds ⁷⁰²  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 ⁷⁰³  of Nahor?” “We know him,” ⁷⁰⁴  they said. 29:6 “Is he well?” ⁷⁰⁵  Jacob asked. They replied, “He is well. ⁷⁰⁶  Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” 29:7 Then Jacob ⁷⁰⁷  said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, ⁷⁰⁸  it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” ⁷⁰⁹  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 ⁷¹⁰  the sheep.”

29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was tending them. ⁷¹¹  29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, ⁷¹²  and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he ⁷¹³  went over ⁷¹⁴  and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. ⁷¹⁵  29:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep loudly. ⁷¹⁶  29:12 When Jacob explained ⁷¹⁷  to Rachel that he was a relative of her father ⁷¹⁸  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 ⁷¹⁹  told Laban how he was related to him. ⁷²⁰  29:14 Then Laban said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” ⁷²¹  So Jacob ⁷²²  stayed with him for a month. ⁷²³ 

29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work ⁷²⁴  for me for nothing because you are my relative? ⁷²⁵  Tell me what your wages should be.” 29:16 (Now Laban had two daughters; ⁷²⁶  the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. 29:17 Leah’s eyes were tender, ⁷²⁷  but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.) ⁷²⁸  29:18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with ⁷²⁹  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. ⁷³⁰  Stay with me.” 29:20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. ⁷³¹  But they seemed like only a few days to him ⁷³²  because his love for her was so great. ⁷³³ 

29:21 Finally Jacob said ⁷³⁴  to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. ⁷³⁵  I want to have marital relations with her.” ⁷³⁶  29:22 So Laban invited all the people ⁷³⁷  of that place and prepared a feast. 29:23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leah ⁷³⁸  to Jacob, ⁷³⁹  and Jacob ⁷⁴⁰  had marital relations with her. ⁷⁴¹  29:24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) ⁷⁴² 

29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! ⁷⁴³  So Jacob ⁷⁴⁴  said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! ⁷⁴⁵  Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked ⁷⁴⁶  me?” 29:26 “It is not our custom here,” ⁷⁴⁷  Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriage ⁷⁴⁸  before the firstborn. 29:27 Complete my older daughter’s bridal week. ⁷⁴⁹  Then we will give you the younger one ⁷⁵⁰  too, in exchange for seven more years of work.” ⁷⁵¹ 

29:28 Jacob did as Laban said. ⁷⁵²  When Jacob ⁷⁵³  completed Leah’s bridal week, ⁷⁵⁴  Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. ⁷⁵⁵  29:29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) ⁷⁵⁶  29:30 Jacob ⁷⁵⁷  had marital relations ⁷⁵⁸  with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban ⁷⁵⁹  for seven more years. ⁷⁶⁰ 

The Family of Jacob

29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, ⁷⁶¹  he enabled her to become pregnant ⁷⁶²  while Rachel remained childless. 29:32 So Leah became pregnant ⁷⁶³  and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, ⁷⁶⁴  for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. ⁷⁶⁵  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, ⁷⁶⁶  he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. ⁷⁶⁷ 

29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, ⁷⁶⁸  because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. ⁷⁶⁹ 

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. ⁷⁷⁰  Then she stopped having children.

30:1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she ⁷⁷¹  became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children ⁷⁷²  or I’ll die!” 30:2 Jacob became furious ⁷⁷³  with Rachel and exclaimed, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” ⁷⁷⁴  30:3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with ⁷⁷⁵  her so that she can bear ⁷⁷⁶  children ⁷⁷⁷  for me ⁷⁷⁸  and I can have a family through her.” ⁷⁷⁹ 

30:4 So Rachel ⁷⁸⁰  gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with ⁷⁸¹  her. 30:5 Bilhah became pregnant ⁷⁸²  and gave Jacob a son. ⁷⁸³  30:6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayer ⁷⁸⁴  and given me a son.” That is why ⁷⁸⁵  she named him Dan. ⁷⁸⁶ 

30:7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. ⁷⁸⁷  30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.” ⁷⁸⁸  So she named him Naphtali. ⁷⁸⁹ 

30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave ⁷⁹⁰  her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 30:10 Soon Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son. ⁷⁹¹  30:11 Leah said, “How fortunate!” ⁷⁹²  So she named him Gad. ⁷⁹³ 

30:12 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son. ⁷⁹⁴  30:13 Leah said, “How happy I am, ⁷⁹⁵  for women ⁷⁹⁶  will call me happy!” So she named him Asher. ⁷⁹⁷ 

30:14 At the time ⁷⁹⁸  of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants ⁷⁹⁹  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, ⁸⁰⁰  “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,” ⁸⁰¹  Rachel said, “he may sleep ⁸⁰²  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 ⁸⁰³  with me because I have paid for your services ⁸⁰⁴  with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relations ⁸⁰⁵  with her that night. 30:17 God paid attention ⁸⁰⁶  to Leah; she became pregnant ⁸⁰⁷  and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. ⁸⁰⁸  30:18 Then Leah said, “God has granted me a reward ⁸⁰⁹  because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.” ⁸¹⁰  So she named him Issachar. ⁸¹¹ 

30:19 Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time. ⁸¹²  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. ⁸¹³ 

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

30:22 Then God took note of ⁸¹⁴  Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. ⁸¹⁵  30:23 She became pregnant ⁸¹⁶  and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” ⁸¹⁷  30:24 She named him Joseph, ⁸¹⁸  saying, “May the Lord give me yet another son.”

The Flocks of Jacob

30:25 After Rachel had given birth ⁸¹⁹  to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send ⁸²⁰  me on my way so that I can go ⁸²¹  home to my own country. ⁸²²  30:26 Let me take my wives and my children whom I have acquired by working for you. ⁸²³  Then I’ll depart, ⁸²⁴  because you know how hard I’ve worked for you.” ⁸²⁵ 

30:27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, ⁸²⁶  for I have learned by divination ⁸²⁷  that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.” 30:28 He added, “Just name your wages – I’ll pay whatever you want.” ⁸²⁸ 

30:29 “You know how I have worked for you,” Jacob replied, ⁸²⁹  “and how well your livestock have fared under my care. ⁸³⁰  30:30 Indeed, ⁸³¹  you had little before I arrived, ⁸³²  but now your possessions have increased many times over. ⁸³³  The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked. ⁸³⁴  But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?” ⁸³⁵ 

30:31 So Laban asked, ⁸³⁶  “What should I give you?” “You don’t need to give me a thing,” ⁸³⁷  Jacob replied, ⁸³⁸  “but if you agree to this one condition, ⁸³⁹  I will continue to care for ⁸⁴⁰  your flocks and protect them: 30:32 Let me walk among ⁸⁴¹  all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, ⁸⁴²  and the spotted or speckled goats. ⁸⁴³  These animals will be my wages. ⁸⁴⁴  30:33 My integrity will testify for me ⁸⁴⁵  later on. ⁸⁴⁶  When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on, ⁸⁴⁷  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.” ⁸⁴⁸  30:34 “Agreed!” said Laban, “It will be as you say.” ⁸⁴⁹ 

30:35 So that day Laban ⁸⁵⁰  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 ⁸⁵¹  of his sons. 30:36 Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, ⁸⁵²  while ⁸⁵³  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. ⁸⁵⁴  30:39 When the sheep mated ⁸⁵⁵  in front of the branches, they ⁸⁵⁶  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 ⁸⁵⁷  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, ⁸⁵⁸  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. ⁸⁵⁹  So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban ⁸⁶⁰  and the stronger animals to Jacob. 30:43 In this way Jacob ⁸⁶¹  became extremely prosperous. He owned ⁸⁶²  large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.

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

[19:1]  ² 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]  ³ tn The imperatives have the force of invitation.

[19:2]  ⁴ tn These two verbs form a verbal hendiadys: “you can rise up early and go” means “you can go early.”

[19:2]  ⁵ sn The town square refers to the wide street area at the gate complex of the city.

[19:3]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text adds “and said to him.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[19:5]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “may my brothers not act wickedly.”

[19:8]  ¹² tn Heb “who have not known.” Here this expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[19:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “according to what is good in your eyes.”

[19:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “shadow.”

[19:8]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “approach out there” which could be rendered “Get out of the way, stand back!”

[19:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “to live as a resident alien.”

[19:9]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and they pressed against the man, against Lot, exceedingly.”

[19:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “and they drew near.”

[19:10]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn The Hebrew text adds “their hand.” These words have not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[19:10]  ²⁴ tn Heb “to them into the house.”

[19:11]  ²⁵ tn Heb “from the least to the greatest.”

[19:11]  ²⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Sodom outside the door) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:12]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Yet who [is there] to you here?”

[19:12]  ²⁹ tn The words “Do you have” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:12]  ³⁰ tn Heb “a son-in-law and your sons and your daughters and anyone who (is) to you in the city.”

[19:12]  ³¹ tn Heb “the place.” The Hebrew article serves here as a demonstrative.

[19:13]  ³² tn The Hebrew participle expresses an imminent action here.

[19:13]  ³³ tn Heb “for their outcry.” The words “about this place” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:13]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ 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]  ³⁶ tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.

[19:14]  ³⁷ 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]  ³⁸ tn Heb “When dawn came up.”

[19:15]  ³⁹ 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]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “with the iniquity [i.e., punishment] of the city” (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[19:16]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:16]  ⁴² tn Heb “in the compassion of the Lord to them.”

[19:16]  ⁴³ 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]  ⁴⁴ 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]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “escape.”

[19:17]  ⁴⁶ 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]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:18]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “my lords.” See the following note on the problem of identifying the addressee here. The Hebrew term is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[19:19]  ⁴⁹ 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]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “in your eyes.”

[19:19]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “you made great your kindness.”

[19:19]  ⁵² 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]  ⁵³ tn The infinitive construct explains how God has shown Lot kindness.

[19:19]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “lest.”

[19:19]  ⁵⁵ 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]  ⁵⁶ tn The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.

[19:20]  ⁵⁷ 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]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “Look, this town is near to flee to there. And it is little.”

[19:20]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “Let me escape to there.” The cohortative here expresses Lot’s request.

[19:20]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “Is it not little?”

[19:20]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “my soul will live.” After the cohortative the jussive with vav conjunctive here indicates purpose/result.

[19:21]  ⁶² 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]  ⁶³ tn Heb “I have lifted up your face [i.e., shown you favor] also concerning this matter.”

[19:21]  ⁶⁴ 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]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “Be quick! Escape to there!” The two imperatives form a verbal hendiadys, the first becoming adverbial.

[19:22]  ⁶⁶ 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]  ⁶⁷ sn The sun had just risen. There was very little time for Lot to escape between dawn (v. 15) and sunrise (here).

[19:23]  ⁶⁸ 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]  ⁶⁹ tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of the next scene and highlights God’s action.

[19:24]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “burning sulfur” (the traditional “fire and brimstone”).

[19:24]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “from the Lord from the heavens.” The words “It was sent down” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:25]  ⁷² tn Or “and all the plain”; Heb “and all the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:25]  ⁷³ tn Heb “and the vegetation of the ground.”

[19:26]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:26]  ⁷⁵ tn The Hebrew verb means “to look intently; to gaze” (see 15:5).

[19:27]  ⁷⁶ tn The words “and went” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:28]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “upon the face of.”

[19:28]  ⁷⁸ 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]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “And he saw, and look, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.”

[19:29]  ⁸⁰ tn The construction is a temporal clause comprised of the temporal indicator, an infinitive construct with a preposition, and the subjective genitive.

[19:29]  ⁸¹ tn Or “of the plain”; Heb “of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:29]  ⁸² 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]  ⁸³ sn God’s removal of Lot before the judgment is paradigmatic. He typically delivers the godly before destroying their world.

[19:29]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “the overthrow when [he] overthrew.”

[19:31]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “and the firstborn said.”

[19:31]  ⁸⁶ 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]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “to enter upon us.” This is a euphemism for sexual relations.

[19:32]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “drink wine.”

[19:32]  ⁸⁹ 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]  ⁹⁰ tn Or “that we may preserve.” Here the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates their ultimate goal.

[19:32]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”

[19:33]  ⁹² tn Heb “drink wine.”

[19:33]  ⁹³ tn Heb “the firstborn.”

[19:33]  ⁹⁴ 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]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “and he did not know when she lay down and when she arose.”

[19:34]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “the firstborn.”

[19:34]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “Look, I lied down with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight.”

[19:34]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “And go, lie down with him and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”

[19:35]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “drink wine.”

[19:35]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “lied down with him.”

[19:35]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “And he did not know when she lied down and when she arose.”

[19:37]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “the firstborn.”

[19:37]  ¹⁰³ 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]  ¹⁰⁴ 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]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Or “the South [country]”; Heb “the land of the Negev.”

[20:1]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Heb “and he sojourned.”

[20:3]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Heb “came.”

[20:3]  ¹⁰⁸ 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]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “and she is owned by an owner.” The disjunctive clause is causal or explanatory in this case.

[20:4]  ¹¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[20:4]  ¹¹¹ 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]  ¹¹² tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:5]  ¹¹³ tn Heb “and she, even she.”

[20:5]  ¹¹⁴ tn Heb “with the integrity of my heart.”

[20:6]  ¹¹⁵ tn Heb “with the integrity of your heart.”

[20:6]  ¹¹⁶ tn Heb “and I, even I, kept you.”

[20:6]  ¹¹⁷ tn Heb “therefore.”

[20:7]  ¹¹⁸ tn Or “for,” if the particle is understood as causal (as many English translations do) rather than asseverative.

[20:7]  ¹¹⁹ sn For a discussion of the term prophet see N. Walker, “What is a Nabhi?” ZAW 73 (1961): 99-100.

[20:7]  ¹²⁰ tn After the preceding jussive (or imperfect), the imperative with vav conjunctive here indicates result.

[20:7]  ¹²¹ tn Heb “if there is not you returning.” The suffix on the particle becomes the subject of the negated clause.

[20:7]  ¹²² tn The imperfect is preceded by the infinitive absolute to make the warning emphatic.

[20:8]  ¹²³ tn Heb “And Abimelech rose early in the morning and he summoned.”

[20:8]  ¹²⁴ tn The verb קָרָא (qara’) followed by the preposition לְ (lamed) means “to summon.”

[20:8]  ¹²⁵ tn Heb “And he spoke all these things in their ears.”

[20:8]  ¹²⁶ tn Heb “the men.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “they” in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[20:9]  ¹²⁷ 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]  ¹²⁸ tn Heb “Deeds which should not be done you have done to me.” The imperfect has an obligatory nuance here.

[20:10]  ¹²⁹ tn Heb “And Abimelech said to.”

[20:10]  ¹³⁰ tn Heb “What did you see that you did this thing?” The question implies that Abraham had some motive for deceiving Abimelech.

[20:11]  ¹³¹ tn Heb “Because I said.”

[20:11]  ¹³² tn Heb “over the matter of.”

[20:12]  ¹³³ tn Heb “but also.”

[20:13]  ¹³⁴ 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]  ¹³⁵ tn Heb “This is your loyal deed which you can do for me.”

[20:14]  ¹³⁶ tn Heb “took and gave.”

[20:15]  ¹³⁷ tn Heb “In the [place that is] good in your eyes live!”

[20:16]  ¹³⁸ 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]  ¹³⁹ 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]  ¹⁴⁰ 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]  ¹⁴¹ tn In the Hebrew text the clause begins with “because.”

[20:18]  ¹⁴² tn Heb had completely closed up every womb.” In the Hebrew text infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[20:18]  ¹⁴³ tn Heb “because of.” The words “he took” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[21:1]  ¹⁴⁴ 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]  ¹⁴⁵ tn Heb “and the Lord did.” The divine name has not been repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[21:1]  ¹⁴⁶ tn Heb “spoken.”

[21:2]  ¹⁴⁷ tn Or “she conceived.”

[21:3]  ¹⁴⁸ 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]  ¹⁴⁹ tn Heb “Isaac his son, the son of eight days.” The name “Isaac” is repeated in the translation for clarity.

[21:4]  ¹⁵⁰ 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]  ¹⁵¹ 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]  ¹⁵² tn Heb “Laughter God has made for me.”

[21:6]  ¹⁵³ tn The words “about this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[21:6]  ¹⁵⁴ 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]  ¹⁵⁵ tn Heb “said.”

[21:7]  ¹⁵⁶ tn The perfect form of the verb is used here to describe a hypothetical situation.

[21:8]  ¹⁵⁷ tn Heb “made.”

[21:8]  ¹⁵⁸ 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]  ¹⁵⁹ tn Heb “saw.”

[21:9]  ¹⁶⁰ 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]  ¹⁶¹ 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]  ¹⁶² 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]  ¹⁶³ tn Heb “Let it not be evil in your eyes.”

[21:12]  ¹⁶⁴ 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]  ¹⁶⁵ tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to an action that is underway.

[21:12]  ¹⁶⁶ 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]  ¹⁶⁷ tn Heb “and Abraham rose up early in the morning and he took.”

[21:14]  ¹⁶⁸ tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.

[21:14]  ¹⁶⁹ 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]  ¹⁷⁰ tn Heb “she went and wandered.”

[21:14]  ¹⁷¹ 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]  ¹⁷² 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]  ¹⁷³ sn A bowshot would be a distance of about a hundred yards (ninety meters).

[21:16]  ¹⁷⁴ tn Heb “said.”

[21:16]  ¹⁷⁵ 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]  ¹⁷⁶ 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]  ¹⁷⁷ 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]  ¹⁷⁸ tn Heb “What to you?”

[21:17]  ¹⁷⁹ sn Here the verb heard picks up the main motif of the name Ishmael (“God hears”), introduced back in chap. 16.

[21:19]  ¹⁸⁰ 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]  ¹⁸¹ 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]  ¹⁸² tn Heb “And his mother took for him a wife from the land of Egypt.”

[21:22]  ¹⁸³ sn God is with you. Abimelech and Phicol recognized that Abraham enjoyed special divine provision and protection.

[21:23]  ¹⁸⁴ tn Heb “And now swear to me by God here.”

[21:23]  ¹⁸⁵ tn Heb “my offspring and my descendants.”

[21:23]  ¹⁸⁶ tn The word “land” refers by metonymy to the people in the land.

[21:23]  ¹⁸⁷ tn The Hebrew verb means “to stay, to live, to sojourn” as a temporary resident without ownership rights.

[21:23]  ¹⁸⁸ tn Or “kindness.”

[21:23]  ¹⁸⁹ 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]  ¹⁹⁰ 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]  ¹⁹¹ 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]  ¹⁹² tn Heb “concerning the matter of the well of water.”

[21:25]  ¹⁹³ tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to steal; to rob; to take violently.” The statement reflects Abraham’s perspective.

[21:26]  ¹⁹⁴ tn Heb “and also.”

[21:27]  ¹⁹⁵ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[21:29]  ¹⁹⁶ tn Heb “What are these?”

[21:30]  ¹⁹⁷ tn Heb “that it be for me for a witness.”

[21:30]  ¹⁹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹⁹ 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]  ²⁰⁰ 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]  ²⁰¹ sn The verb forms a wordplay with the name Beer Sheba.

[21:32]  ²⁰² tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[21:32]  ²⁰³ tn Heb “arose and returned.”

[21:32]  ²⁰⁴ 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]  ²⁰⁵ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:33]  ²⁰⁶ 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]  ²⁰⁷ 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]  ²⁰⁸ tn Heb “many days.”

[22:1]  ²⁰⁹ 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]  ²¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:2]  ²¹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:2]  ²¹² 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]  ²¹³ 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]  ²¹⁴ 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]  ²¹⁵ tn Heb “which I will say to.”

[22:3]  ²¹⁶ tn Heb “Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his donkey.”

[22:3]  ²¹⁷ tn Heb “he arose and he went.”

[22:4]  ²¹⁸ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes and saw.”

[22:5]  ²¹⁹ tn Heb “And Abraham.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.

[22:5]  ²²⁰ tn The Hebrew verb is masculine plural, referring to the two young servants who accompanied Abraham and Isaac on the journey.

[22:5]  ²²¹ tn The disjunctive clause (with the compound subject preceding the verb) may be circumstantial and temporal.

[22:5]  ²²² tn This Hebrew word literally means “to bow oneself close to the ground.” It often means “to worship.”

[22:5]  ²²³ 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]  ²²⁴ sn He took the fire and the knife in his hand. These details anticipate the sacrifice that lies ahead.

[22:7]  ²²⁵ tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This is redundant and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[22:7]  ²²⁶ tn Heb “Here I am” (cf. Gen 22:1).

[22:7]  ²²⁷ 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]  ²²⁸ tn Heb “will see for himself.” The construction means “to look out for; to see to it; to provide.”

[22:9]  ²²⁹ 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]  ²³⁰ 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]  ²³¹ tn Heb “in order to slaughter.”

[22:11]  ²³² 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]  ²³³ tn Heb “Do not extend your hand toward the boy.”

[22:12]  ²³⁴ 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]  ²³⁵ sn For now I know. The test was designed to see if Abraham would be obedient (see v. 1).

[22:12]  ²³⁶ sn In this context fear refers by metonymy to obedience that grows from faith.

[22:13]  ²³⁷ tn Heb “lifted his eyes.”

[22:13]  ²³⁸ 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]  ²³⁹ 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]  ²⁴⁰ tn Heb “Abraham”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[22:14]  ²⁴¹ 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]  ²⁴² 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]  ²⁴³ 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]  ²⁴⁴ tn Heb “By myself I swear.”

[22:16]  ²⁴⁵ tn Heb “the oracle of the Lord.” The phrase refers to a formal oracle or decree from the Lord.

[22:17]  ²⁴⁶ 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]  ²⁴⁷ tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).

[22:17]  ²⁴⁸ 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]  ²⁴⁹ tn Or “inherit.”

[22:17]  ²⁵⁰ 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]  ²⁵¹ 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]  ²⁵² 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]  ²⁵³ tn Heb “and they arose and went together.”

[22:19]  ²⁵⁴ tn Heb “and Abraham stayed in Beer Sheba. This has been translated as a relative clause for stylistic reasons.

[22:20]  ²⁵⁵ tn In the Hebrew text the sentence begins with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to the statement.

[22:21]  ²⁵⁶ 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]  ²⁵⁷ 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]  ²⁵⁸ 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]  ²⁵⁹ tn Heb “Sarah.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“she”) for stylistic reasons.

[23:2]  ²⁶⁰ 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]  ²⁶¹ tn Heb “And Abraham arose from upon the face of his dead.”

[23:3]  ²⁶² 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]  ²⁶³ tn Heb “a resident alien and a settler.”

[23:4]  ²⁶⁴ 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]  ²⁶⁵ tn Or “possession.”

[23:4]  ²⁶⁶ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose.

[23:4]  ²⁶⁷ 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]  ²⁶⁸ tn Heb “answered Abraham saying to him.”

[23:6]  ²⁶⁹ tn Heb “Hear us, my lord.”

[23:6]  ²⁷⁰ 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]  ²⁷¹ tn The phrase “to prevent you” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:7]  ²⁷² tn Heb “to the people of the land” (also in v. 12).

[23:8]  ²⁷³ 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]  ²⁷⁴ 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]  ²⁷⁵ tn Or “hear me.”

[23:8]  ²⁷⁶ tn Heb “intercede for me with.”

[23:9]  ²⁷⁷ 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]  ²⁷⁸ tn Heb “in your presence.”

[23:9]  ²⁷⁹ tn Heb “silver.”

[23:10]  ²⁸⁰ tn Or perhaps “Hittite,” but see the note on the name “Heth” in v. 3.

[23:10]  ²⁸¹ tn Heb “ears.” By metonymy the “ears” stand for the presence or proximity (i.e., within earshot) of the persons named.

[23:10]  ²⁸² 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]  ²⁸³ 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]  ²⁸⁴ 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]  ²⁸⁵ tn Heb “in the presence of the sons of my people.”

[23:13]  ²⁸⁶ tn Heb “give.”

[23:13]  ²⁸⁷ tn Heb “silver.”

[23:13]  ²⁸⁸ tn After the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose or result.

[23:15]  ²⁸⁹ tn The word “worth” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:15]  ²⁹⁰ 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]  ²⁹¹ tn Heb “listened to Ephron.”

[23:16]  ²⁹² tn Heb “and Abraham weighed out.”

[23:16]  ²⁹³ tn Heb “to Ephron.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:16]  ²⁹⁴ tn Heb “silver.”

[23:16]  ²⁹⁵ tn Heb “that he had spoken.” The referent (Ephron) has been specified here in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[23:16]  ²⁹⁶ 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]  ²⁹⁷ 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]  ²⁹⁸ tn Heb “his city”; the referent (Ephron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:20]  ²⁹⁹ tn Heb “possession of a grave.”

[24:1]  ³⁰⁰ tn Heb “days.”

[24:1]  ³⁰¹ tn Heb “Abraham.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.

[24:2]  ³⁰² tn The Hebrew term זָקֵן (zaqen) may refer to the servant who is oldest in age or senior in authority (or both).

[24:2]  ³⁰³ 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]  ³⁰⁴ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose.

[24:3]  ³⁰⁵ tn Heb “because you must not take.”

[24:4]  ³⁰⁶ tn Heb “for to my country and my relatives you must go.”

[24:4]  ³⁰⁷ tn Heb “and take.”

[24:5]  ³⁰⁸ tn Heb “to go after me.”

[24:5]  ³⁰⁹ 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]  ³¹⁰ tn Heb “guard yourself.”

[24:6]  ³¹¹ 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]  ³¹² tn Or “the land of my birth.”

[24:7]  ³¹³ tn Heb “and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying.”

[24:7]  ³¹⁴ tn Or “his messenger.”

[24:7]  ³¹⁵ tn Heb “before you and you will take.”

[24:8]  ³¹⁶ tn Heb “ to go after you.”

[24:8]  ³¹⁷ 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]  ³¹⁸ tn Heb “and he swore to him concerning this matter.”

[24:10]  ³¹⁹ 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]  ³²⁰ tn Heb “and he arose and went.”

[24:10]  ³²¹ tn The words “the region of” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[24:11]  ³²² tn Heb “well of water.”

[24:11]  ³²³ tn Heb “at the time of evening.”

[24:12]  ³²⁴ 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]  ³²⁵ tn Heb “act in loyal love with” or “show kindness to.”

[24:13]  ³²⁶ tn Heb “the spring of water.”

[24:13]  ³²⁷ tn Heb “the men.”

[24:14]  ³²⁸ 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]  ³²⁹ 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]  ³³⁰ 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]  ³³¹ 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]  ³³² 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]  ³³³ tn Heb “and the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:18]  ³³⁴ tn Heb “and she hurried and lowered.”

[24:19]  ³³⁵ tn Heb “when she had finished giving him a drink.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:20]  ³³⁶ tn Heb “and she hurried and emptied.”

[24:21]  ³³⁷ tn Heb “to know.”

[24:21]  ³³⁸ 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]  ³³⁹ sn A beka weighed about 5-6 grams (0.2 ounce).

[24:22]  ³⁴⁰ 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]  ³⁴¹ tn The words “and gave them to her” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[24:23]  ³⁴² 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]  ³⁴³ tn Heb “whom she bore to Nahor.” The referent (Milcah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:25]  ³⁴⁴ 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]  ³⁴⁵ tn Heb The words “for you” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[24:27]  ³⁴⁶ tn Heb “his faithfulness and his commitment.”

[24:27]  ³⁴⁷ tn Heb “As for me – in the way the Lord led me.”

[24:27]  ³⁴⁸ tn Here “house” is an adverbial accusative of termination.

[24:27]  ³⁴⁹ tn Heb “brothers.”

[24:28]  ³⁵⁰ tn Heb “according to.”

[24:29]  ³⁵¹ tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause introduces the audience to Laban, who will eventually play an important role in the unfolding story.

[24:30]  ³⁵² 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]  ³⁵³ tn Heb “and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying.”

[24:30]  ³⁵⁴ 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]  ³⁵⁵ tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified and the words “to him” supplied in the translation for clarity.

[24:31]  ³⁵⁶ 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]  ³⁵⁷ tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial.

[24:32]  ³⁵⁸ tn Heb “the man”; the referent (Abraham’s servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:32]  ³⁵⁹ 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]  ³⁶⁰ tn Heb “and [one] gave.” The verb without an expressed subject may be translated as passive.

[24:32]  ³⁶¹ tn Heb “and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.”

[24:33]  ³⁶² tn Heb “and food was placed before him.”

[24:33]  ³⁶³ tn Heb “my words.”

[24:33]  ³⁶⁴ tc Some ancient textual witnesses have a plural verb, “and they said.”

[24:35]  ³⁶⁵ tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Abraham’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are not excluded.

[24:35]  ³⁶⁶ tn Heb “and he.” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:36]  ³⁶⁷ tn Heb “to my master.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “him” in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:36]  ³⁶⁸ tn Heb “after her old age.”

[24:36]  ³⁶⁹ tn Heb “and he.” The referent (the servant’s master, Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:38]  ³⁷⁰ 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]  ³⁷¹ tn The imperfect is used here in a modal sense to indicate desire.

[24:39]  ³⁷² tn Heb “after me.”

[24:40]  ³⁷³ 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]  ³⁷⁴ 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]  ³⁷⁵ tn Heb “if you are making successful my way on which I am going.”

[24:42]  ³⁷⁶ tn The words “may events unfold as follows” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[24:43]  ³⁷⁷ tn Heb “the spring of water.”

[24:43]  ³⁷⁸ tn Heb “and it will be.”

[24:45]  ³⁷⁹ 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]  ³⁸⁰ tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out.” As in 24:15, the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is used here for dramatic effect.

[24:47]  ³⁸¹ tn Heb “whom Milcah bore to him.” The referent (Nahor) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:48]  ³⁸² 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]  ³⁸³ 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]  ³⁸⁴ tn Heb “From the Lord the matter has gone out.”

[24:50]  ³⁸⁵ 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]  ³⁸⁶ tn Following the imperatives, the jussive with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[24:51]  ³⁸⁷ tn Heb “as the Lord has spoken.”

[24:53]  ³⁸⁸ tn Heb “the servant”; the noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:54]  ³⁸⁹ tn Heb “And they ate and drank, he and the men who [were] with him and they spent the night.”

[24:54]  ³⁹⁰ tn Heb “Send me away to my master.”

[24:55]  ³⁹¹ tn Heb “her”; the referent (Rebekah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:56]  ³⁹² tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, indicating a reason for the preceding request.

[24:56]  ³⁹³ tn After the preceding imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[24:57]  ³⁹⁴ tn Heb “and we will ask her mouth.”

[24:58]  ³⁹⁵ tn The imperfect verbal form here has a modal nuance, expressing desire.

[24:60]  ³⁹⁶ tn Heb “and said to her.”

[24:60]  ³⁹⁷ tn Heb “become thousands of ten thousands.”

[24:60]  ³⁹⁸ 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]  ³⁹⁹ tn Heb “And she arose, Rebekah and her female servants, and they rode upon camels and went after.”

[24:61]  ⁴⁰⁰ tn Heb “the servant”; the word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:62]  ⁴⁰¹ tn The disjunctive clause switches the audience’s attention to Isaac and signals a new episode in the story.

[24:62]  ⁴⁰² tn Heb “from the way of.”

[24:62]  ⁴⁰³ 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]  ⁴⁰⁴ tn This disjunctive clause is explanatory.

[24:62]  ⁴⁰⁵ tn Or “the South [country].”

[24:63]  ⁴⁰⁶ tn Heb “Isaac”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:63]  ⁴⁰⁷ tn The meaning of this Hebrew term is uncertain (cf. NASB, NIV “to meditate”; NRSV “to walk”).

[24:63]  ⁴⁰⁸ tn Heb “at the turning of the evening.”

[24:63]  ⁴⁰⁹ tn Heb “And he lifted up his eyes.” This idiom emphasizes the careful look Isaac had at the approaching caravan.

[24:63]  ⁴¹⁰ 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]  ⁴¹¹ tn Heb “lifted up her eyes.”

[24:65]  ⁴¹² tn Heb “and she said to.”

[24:65]  ⁴¹³ tn Heb “the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[24:65]  ⁴¹⁴ 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]  ⁴¹⁵ tn Heb “her”; the referent has been specified here in the translation for clarity.

[24:67]  ⁴¹⁶ tn Heb “Rebekah”; here the proper name was replaced by the pronoun (“her”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:67]  ⁴¹⁷ tn Heb “and he took Rebekah and she became his wife and he loved her.”

[24:67]  ⁴¹⁸ tn Heb “after his mother.” This must refer to Sarah’s death.

[25:1]  ⁴¹⁹ tn Or “took.”

[25:1]  ⁴²⁰ tn Heb “And Abraham added and took.”

[25:3]  ⁴²¹ 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]  ⁴²² tn Or “sons.”

[25:6]  ⁴²³ tn Heb “the sons of the concubines who [belonged] to Abraham.”

[25:6]  ⁴²⁴ 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]  ⁴²⁵ 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]  ⁴²⁶ tn Heb “old and full.”

[25:8]  ⁴²⁷ 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]  ⁴²⁸ 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]  ⁴²⁹ tn See the note on the phrase “sons of Heth” in Gen 23:3.

[25:11]  ⁴³⁰ 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]  ⁴³¹ sn Beer Lahai Roi. See the note on this place name in Gen 24:62.

[25:12]  ⁴³² 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]  ⁴³³ 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]  ⁴³⁴ tn Or “tribal chieftains.”

[25:17]  ⁴³⁵ tn Heb “And these are the days of the years of Ishmael.”

[25:17]  ⁴³⁶ 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]  ⁴³⁷ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Ishmael’s descendants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:18]  ⁴³⁸ tn Heb “which is by the face of,” or near the border. The territory ran along the border of Egypt.

[25:18]  ⁴³⁹ tn Heb “as you go.”

[25:18]  ⁴⁴⁰ sn The name Asshur refers here to a tribal area in the Sinai.

[25:18]  ⁴⁴¹ tn Heb “he fell.”

[25:18]  ⁴⁴² 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]  ⁴⁴³ 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]  ⁴⁴⁴ tn Heb “And Isaac was the son of forty years when he took Rebekah.”

[25:20]  ⁴⁴⁵ 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]  ⁴⁴⁶ 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]  ⁴⁴⁷ tn The Hebrew word used here suggests a violent struggle that was out of the ordinary.

[25:22]  ⁴⁴⁸ 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]  ⁴⁴⁹ 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]  ⁴⁵⁰ 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]  ⁴⁵¹ tn Heb “And her days were filled to give birth.”

[25:24]  ⁴⁵² 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]  ⁴⁵³ 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]  ⁴⁵⁴ tn Heb “all of him.”

[25:25]  ⁴⁵⁵ 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]  ⁴⁵⁶ 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]  ⁴⁵⁷ tn The disjunctive clause describes an important circumstance accompanying the birth. Whereas Esau was passive at birth, Jacob was active.

[25:26]  ⁴⁵⁸ 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]  ⁴⁵⁹ tn Heb “the son of sixty years.”

[25:27]  ⁴⁶⁰ tn Heb “knowing.”

[25:27]  ⁴⁶¹ 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]  ⁴⁶² 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]  ⁴⁶³ 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]  ⁴⁶⁴ 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]  ⁴⁶⁵ 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]  ⁴⁶⁶ tn The verb has no expressed subject and so is given a passive translation.

[25:30]  ⁴⁶⁷ 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]  ⁴⁶⁸ tn Heb “today.”

[25:32]  ⁴⁶⁹ tn Heb “And what is this to me, a birthright?”

[25:33]  ⁴⁷⁰ tn Heb “Swear to me today.”

[25:33]  ⁴⁷¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:33]  ⁴⁷² 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]  ⁴⁷³ 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]  ⁴⁷⁴ 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]  ⁴⁷⁵ tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”

[26:1]  ⁴⁷⁶ 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]  ⁴⁷⁷ 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]  ⁴⁷⁸ tn Heb “say to you.”

[26:3]  ⁴⁷⁹ 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]  ⁴⁸⁰ tn After the imperative “stay” the two prefixed verb forms with prefixed conjunction here indicate consequence.

[26:3]  ⁴⁸¹ 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]  ⁴⁸² 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]  ⁴⁸³ tn Heb “the oath which I swore.”

[26:4]  ⁴⁸⁴ tn Heb “your descendants.”

[26:4]  ⁴⁸⁵ 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]  ⁴⁸⁶ tn The words “All this will come to pass” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons.

[26:5]  ⁴⁸⁷ tn Heb “listened to my voice.”

[26:5]  ⁴⁸⁸ 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]  ⁴⁸⁹ sn Rebekah, unlike Sarah, was not actually her husband’s sister.

[26:7]  ⁴⁹⁰ 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]  ⁴⁹¹ tn Heb “kill me on account of.”

[26:8]  ⁴⁹² tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:8]  ⁴⁹³ tn Heb “and it happened when the days were long to him there.”

[26:8]  ⁴⁹⁴ 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]  ⁴⁹⁵ tn Or “fondling.”

[26:9]  ⁴⁹⁶ tn Heb “Surely, look!” See N. H. Snaith, “The meaning of Hebrew ‘ak,” VT 14 (1964): 221-25.

[26:9]  ⁴⁹⁷ 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]  ⁴⁹⁸ 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]  ⁴⁹⁹ tn Heb “people.”

[26:10]  ⁵⁰⁰ 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]  ⁵⁰¹ 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]  ⁵⁰² tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the imperfect makes the construction emphatic.

[26:12]  ⁵⁰³ tn Heb “a hundredfold.”

[26:12]  ⁵⁰⁴ tn This final clause explains why Isaac had such a bountiful harvest.

[26:13]  ⁵⁰⁵ tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Isaac’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are included.

[26:13]  ⁵⁰⁶ tn Heb “and he went, going and becoming great.” The construction stresses that his growth in possessions and power continued steadily.

[26:14]  ⁵⁰⁷ tn Heb “and there was to him.”

[26:14]  ⁵⁰⁸ tn Heb “possessions of sheep.”

[26:14]  ⁵⁰⁹ tn Heb “possessions of cattle.”

[26:14]  ⁵¹⁰ tn The Hebrew verb translated “became jealous” refers here to intense jealousy or envy that leads to hostile action (see v. 15).

[26:15]  ⁵¹¹ tn Heb “and the Philistines stopped them up and filled them with dirt.”

[26:16]  ⁵¹² tn Heb “Go away from us.”

[26:16]  ⁵¹³ 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]  ⁵¹⁴ tn Heb “and he camped in the valley of Gerar and he lived there.”

[26:18]  ⁵¹⁵ tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”

[26:18]  ⁵¹⁶ tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.

[26:18]  ⁵¹⁷ tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.

[26:18]  ⁵¹⁸ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:18]  ⁵¹⁹ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:18]  ⁵²⁰ tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”

[26:19]  ⁵²¹ tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).

[26:20]  ⁵²² tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.

[26:20]  ⁵²³ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:20]  ⁵²⁴ tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”

[26:20]  ⁵²⁵ 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]  ⁵²⁶ tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:21]  ⁵²⁷ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:21]  ⁵²⁸ tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:21]  ⁵²⁹ 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]  ⁵³⁰ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:22]  ⁵³¹ tn Heb “and he called its name.”

[26:22]  ⁵³² 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]  ⁵³³ tn Heb “and he went up from there”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:25]  ⁵³⁴ 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]  ⁵³⁵ tn Heb “and they dug there, the servants of Isaac, a well.”

[26:26]  ⁵³⁶ 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]  ⁵³⁷ tn Heb “and.”

[26:26]  ⁵³⁸ 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]  ⁵³⁹ tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, expressing the reason for his question.

[26:28]  ⁵⁴⁰ tn The infinitive absolute before the verb emphasizes the clarity of their perception.

[26:28]  ⁵⁴¹ 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]  ⁵⁴² tn The pronoun “us” here is inclusive – it refers to the Philistine contingent on the one hand and Isaac on the other.

[26:28]  ⁵⁴³ tn The pronoun “us” here is exclusive – it refers to just the Philistine contingent (the following “you” refers to Isaac).

[26:28]  ⁵⁴⁴ 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]  ⁵⁴⁵ tn The oath formula is used: “if you do us harm” means “so that you will not do.”

[26:29]  ⁵⁴⁶ tn Heb “touched.”

[26:29]  ⁵⁴⁷ tn Heb “and just as we have done only good with you.”

[26:29]  ⁵⁴⁸ tn Heb “and we sent you away.”

[26:29]  ⁵⁴⁹ 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]  ⁵⁵⁰ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:30]  ⁵⁵¹ tn Heb “and they ate and drank.”

[26:31]  ⁵⁵² tn Heb “and they got up early and they swore an oath, a man to his brother.”

[26:31]  ⁵⁵³ tn Heb “and they went from him in peace.”

[26:32]  ⁵⁵⁴ 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]  ⁵⁵⁵ 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]  ⁵⁵⁶ 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]  ⁵⁵⁷ tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making this clause subordinate to the next.

[26:34]  ⁵⁵⁸ tn Heb “the son of forty years.”

[26:34]  ⁵⁵⁹ tn Heb “took as a wife.”

[26:35]  ⁵⁶⁰ tn Heb “And they were [a source of ] bitterness in spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.”

[27:1]  ⁵⁶¹ 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]  ⁵⁶² tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”

[27:1]  ⁵⁶³ tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).

[27:1]  ⁵⁶⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:2]  ⁵⁶⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaac) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:2]  ⁵⁶⁶ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here introduces a logically foundational statement, upon which the coming instruction will be based.

[27:2]  ⁵⁶⁷ tn Heb “I do not know the day of my death.”

[27:3]  ⁵⁶⁸ 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]  ⁵⁶⁹ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:4]  ⁵⁷⁰ 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]  ⁵⁷¹ 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]  ⁵⁷² tc The LXX adds here “to his father,” which may have been accidentally omitted in the MT.

[27:7]  ⁵⁷³ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:7]  ⁵⁷⁴ tn The cohortative, with the prefixed conjunction, also expresses logical sequence. See vv. 4, 19, 27.

[27:7]  ⁵⁷⁵ 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]  ⁵⁷⁶ tn Heb “listen to my voice.” The Hebrew idiom means “to comply; to obey.”

[27:8]  ⁵⁷⁷ tn Heb “to that which I am commanding you.”

[27:9]  ⁵⁷⁸ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:10]  ⁵⁷⁹ 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]  ⁵⁸⁰ 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]  ⁵⁸¹ tn Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[27:11]  ⁵⁸² 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]  ⁵⁸³ 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]  ⁵⁸⁴ tn Heb “upon me your curse.”

[27:13]  ⁵⁸⁵ tn Heb “only listen to my voice.”

[27:14]  ⁵⁸⁶ tn The words “the goats” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:14]  ⁵⁸⁷ tn Heb “his mother.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “she” in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:16]  ⁵⁸⁸ 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]  ⁵⁸⁹ 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]  ⁵⁹⁰ tn Heb “gave…into the hand of.”

[27:18]  ⁵⁹¹ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:18]  ⁵⁹² 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]  ⁵⁹³ 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]  ⁵⁹⁴ 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]  ⁵⁹⁵ 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]  ⁵⁹⁶ tn Heb “you hastened to find.” In translation the infinitive becomes the main verb and the first verb becomes adverbial.

[27:20]  ⁵⁹⁷ tn Heb “caused to meet before me.”

[27:20]  ⁵⁹⁸ 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]  ⁵⁹⁹ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:21]  ⁶⁰⁰ 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]  ⁶⁰¹ 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]  ⁶⁰² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ⁶⁰³ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ⁶⁰⁴ 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]  ⁶⁰⁵ 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]  ⁶⁰⁶ tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ⁶⁰⁷ tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ⁶⁰⁸ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ⁶⁰⁹ tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ⁶¹⁰ tn Heb “see.”

[27:28]  ⁶¹¹ tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”

[27:28]  ⁶¹² tn Heb “and from the fatness.”

[27:29]  ⁶¹³ 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]  ⁶¹⁴ 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]  ⁶¹⁵ 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]  ⁶¹⁶ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite form of the verb makes the construction emphatic.

[27:30]  ⁶¹⁷ tn Heb “the presence of Isaac his father.” The repetition of the proper name (“Isaac”) was

[27:30]  ⁶¹⁸ tn Heb “and Esau his brother came from his hunt.”

[27:31]  ⁶¹⁹ 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]  ⁶²⁰ tn Or “arise” (i.e., sit up).

[27:31]  ⁶²¹ tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.”

[27:32]  ⁶²² tn Heb “said.”

[27:32]  ⁶²³ 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]  ⁶²⁴ 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]  ⁶²⁵ 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]  ⁶²⁶ tn The temporal clause is introduced with the temporal indicator and has the infinitive as its verb.

[27:34]  ⁶²⁷ tn Heb “and he yelled [with] a great and bitter yell to excess.”

[27:35]  ⁶²⁸ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:35]  ⁶²⁹ tn Or “took”; “received.”

[27:36]  ⁶³⁰ 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]  ⁶³¹ 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]  ⁶³² tn Heb “Bless me, me also, my father.” The words “my father” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:38]  ⁶³³ tn Heb “and Esau lifted his voice and wept.”

[27:39]  ⁶³⁴ tn Heb “look.”

[27:39]  ⁶³⁵ tn Heb “from the fatness.”

[27:40]  ⁶³⁶ 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]  ⁶³⁷ tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.

[27:41]  ⁶³⁸ tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”

[27:41]  ⁶³⁹ 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]  ⁶⁴⁰ tn Heb “days.”

[27:41]  ⁶⁴¹ tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.

[27:42]  ⁶⁴² tn Heb “and the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah.”

[27:42]  ⁶⁴³ tn Heb “she sent and called for.”

[27:42]  ⁶⁴⁴ 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]  ⁶⁴⁵ tn Heb “listen to my voice.”

[27:43]  ⁶⁴⁶ tn Heb “arise, flee.”

[27:44]  ⁶⁴⁷ 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]  ⁶⁴⁸ tn The words “stay there” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:45]  ⁶⁴⁹ 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]  ⁶⁵⁰ tn If Jacob stayed, he would be killed and Esau would be forced to run away.

[27:46]  ⁶⁵¹ tn Heb “loathe my life.” The Hebrew verb translated “loathe” refers to strong disgust (see Lev 20:23).

[27:46]  ⁶⁵² 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]  ⁶⁵³ 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]  ⁶⁵⁴ tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”

[28:2]  ⁶⁵⁵ tn Heb “Arise! Go!” The first of the two imperatives is adverbial and stresses the immediacy of the departure.

[28:3]  ⁶⁵⁶ tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.

[28:3]  ⁶⁵⁷ tn Heb “and make you fruitful and multiply you.” See Gen 17:6, 20 for similar terminology.

[28:3]  ⁶⁵⁸ tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here indicates consequence. The collocation הָיָה + preposition לְ (hayah + lÿ) means “become.”

[28:3]  ⁶⁵⁹ tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”

[28:4]  ⁶⁶⁰ 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]  ⁶⁶¹ tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[28:4]  ⁶⁶² 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]  ⁶⁶³ tn Heb “to take for himself from there a wife.”

[28:6]  ⁶⁶⁴ tn The infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffix form a temporal clause.

[28:6]  ⁶⁶⁵ tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”

[28:8]  ⁶⁶⁶ tn Heb “saw.”

[28:8]  ⁶⁶⁷ tn Heb “the daughters of Canaan.”

[28:8]  ⁶⁶⁸ tn Heb “evil in the eyes of.”

[28:9]  ⁶⁶⁹ tn Heb “took for a wife.”

[28:11]  ⁶⁷⁰ 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]  ⁶⁷¹ tn Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.”

[28:11]  ⁶⁷² tn Heb “he took from the stones of the place,” which here means Jacob took one of the stones (see v. 18).

[28:11]  ⁶⁷³ 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]  ⁶⁷⁴ tn Heb “lay down.”

[28:12]  ⁶⁷⁵ tn Heb “and dreamed.”

[28:12]  ⁶⁷⁶ 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]  ⁶⁷⁷ 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]  ⁶⁷⁸ 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]  ⁶⁷⁹ 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]  ⁶⁸⁰ tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.

[28:14]  ⁶⁸¹ tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.

[28:14]  ⁶⁸² 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]  ⁶⁸³ tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”

[28:15]  ⁶⁸⁴ 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]  ⁶⁸⁵ tn Heb “woke up from his sleep.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[28:16]  ⁶⁸⁶ tn Heb “said.”

[28:18]  ⁶⁸⁷ tn Heb “and he got up early…and he took.”

[28:18]  ⁶⁸⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:18]  ⁶⁸⁹ tn See the note on this phrase in v. 11.

[28:18]  ⁶⁹⁰ tn Heb “standing stone.”

[28:19]  ⁶⁹¹ tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew (see v. 17).

[28:20]  ⁶⁹² tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.

[28:21]  ⁶⁹³ tn Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.”

[28:22]  ⁶⁹⁴ tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.

[28:22]  ⁶⁹⁵ tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.

[28:22]  ⁶⁹⁶ 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]  ⁶⁹⁷ 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]  ⁶⁹⁸ tn Heb “the land of the sons of the east.”

[29:2]  ⁶⁹⁹ 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]  ⁷⁰⁰ tn Heb “and look, there.”

[29:2]  ⁷⁰¹ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the noun with the prefixed conjunction) provides supplemental information that is important to the story.

[29:3]  ⁷⁰² tn Heb “they”; the referent (the shepherds) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:5]  ⁷⁰³ tn Heb “son.”

[29:5]  ⁷⁰⁴ 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]  ⁷⁰⁵ tn Heb “and he said to them, ‘Is there peace to him?’”

[29:6]  ⁷⁰⁶ tn Heb “peace.”

[29:7]  ⁷⁰⁷ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:7]  ⁷⁰⁸ tn Heb “the day is great.”

[29:7]  ⁷⁰⁹ 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]  ⁷¹⁰ tn The perfect verbal forms with the vav (ו) consecutive carry on the sequence begun by the initial imperfect form.

[29:9]  ⁷¹¹ tn Heb “was a shepherdess.”

[29:10]  ⁷¹² tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother” (twice in this verse).

[29:10]  ⁷¹³ tn Heb “Jacob.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[29:10]  ⁷¹⁴ tn Heb “drew near, approached.”

[29:10]  ⁷¹⁵ 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]  ⁷¹⁶ 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]  ⁷¹⁷ tn Heb “declared.”

[29:12]  ⁷¹⁸ tn Heb “that he [was] the brother of her father.”

[29:13]  ⁷¹⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:13]  ⁷²⁰ 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]  ⁷²¹ 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]  ⁷²² tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:14]  ⁷²³ tn Heb “a month of days.”

[29:15]  ⁷²⁴ tn The verb is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; the nuance in the question is deliberative.

[29:15]  ⁷²⁵ tn Heb “my brother.” The term “brother” is used in a loose sense; actually Jacob was Laban’s nephew.

[29:16]  ⁷²⁶ 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]  ⁷²⁷ 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]  ⁷²⁸ tn Heb “and Rachel was beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance.”

[29:18]  ⁷²⁹ tn Heb “Jacob loved.”

[29:19]  ⁷³⁰ tn Heb “Better my giving her to you than my giving her to another man.”

[29:20]  ⁷³¹ tn Heb “in exchange for Rachel.”

[29:20]  ⁷³² 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]  ⁷³³ tn Heb “because of his love for her.” The words “was so great” are supplied for stylistic reasons.

[29:21]  ⁷³⁴ tn Heb “and Jacob said.”

[29:21]  ⁷³⁵ tn Heb “my days are fulfilled.”

[29:21]  ⁷³⁶ 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]  ⁷³⁷ tn Heb “men.”

[29:23]  ⁷³⁸ tn Heb “and it happened in the evening that he took Leah his daughter and brought her.”

[29:23]  ⁷³⁹ tn Heb “to him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:23]  ⁷⁴⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:23]  ⁷⁴¹ 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]  ⁷⁴² 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]  ⁷⁴³ 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]  ⁷⁴⁴ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:25]  ⁷⁴⁵ 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]  ⁷⁴⁶ 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]  ⁷⁴⁷ 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]  ⁷⁴⁸ 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]  ⁷⁴⁹ 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]  ⁷⁵⁰ tn Heb “this other one.”

[29:27]  ⁷⁵¹ 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]  ⁷⁵² tn Heb “and Jacob did so.” The words “as Laban said” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[29:28]  ⁷⁵³ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:28]  ⁷⁵⁴ 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]  ⁷⁵⁵ 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]  ⁷⁵⁶ tn Heb “and Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his female servant, for her for a servant.”

[29:30]  ⁷⁵⁷ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:30]  ⁷⁵⁸ 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]  ⁷⁵⁹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:30]  ⁷⁶⁰ tn Heb “and he loved also Rachel, more than Leah, and he served with him still seven other years.”

[29:31]  ⁷⁶¹ 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]  ⁷⁶² tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”

[29:32]  ⁷⁶³ tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).

[29:32]  ⁷⁶⁴ sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”

[29:32]  ⁷⁶⁵ tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”

[29:33]  ⁷⁶⁶ tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.

[29:33]  ⁷⁶⁷ 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]  ⁷⁶⁸ tn Heb “will be joined to me.”

[29:34]  ⁷⁶⁹ 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]  ⁷⁷⁰ 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]  ⁷⁷¹ tn Heb “Rachel.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:1]  ⁷⁷² tn Heb “sons.”

[30:2]  ⁷⁷³ tn Heb “and the anger of Jacob was hot.”

[30:2]  ⁷⁷⁴ tn Heb “who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb.”

[30:3]  ⁷⁷⁵ tn Heb “go in to.” The expression “go in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.

[30:3]  ⁷⁷⁶ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates the immediate purpose of the proposed activity.

[30:3]  ⁷⁷⁷ tn The word “children” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:3]  ⁷⁷⁸ 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]  ⁷⁷⁹ 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]  ⁷⁸⁰ tn Heb “and she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:4]  ⁷⁸¹ tn Heb “went in to.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.

[30:5]  ⁷⁸² tn Or “Bilhah conceived” (also in v. 7).

[30:5]  ⁷⁸³ tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a son.”

[30:6]  ⁷⁸⁴ 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]  ⁷⁸⁵ tn Or “therefore.”

[30:6]  ⁷⁸⁶ 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]  ⁷⁸⁷ tn Heb “and she became pregnant again and Bilhah, the servant of Rachel, bore a second son for Jacob.”

[30:8]  ⁷⁸⁸ 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]  ⁷⁸⁹ 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]  ⁷⁹⁰ 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]  ⁷⁹¹ tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore for Jacob a son.”

[30:11]  ⁷⁹² 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]  ⁷⁹³ 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]  ⁷⁹⁴ tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore a second son for Jacob.”

[30:13]  ⁷⁹⁵ tn The Hebrew statement apparently means “with my happiness.”

[30:13]  ⁷⁹⁶ tn Heb “daughters.”

[30:13]  ⁷⁹⁷ 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]  ⁷⁹⁸ tn Heb “during the days.”

[30:14]  ⁷⁹⁹ sn Mandrake plants were popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac in the culture of the time.

[30:15]  ⁸⁰⁰ tn Heb “and she said to her”; the referent of the pronoun “she” (Leah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:15]  ⁸⁰¹ tn Heb “therefore.”

[30:15]  ⁸⁰² 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]  ⁸⁰³ 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]  ⁸⁰⁴ 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]  ⁸⁰⁵ 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]  ⁸⁰⁶ tn Heb “listened to.”

[30:17]  ⁸⁰⁷ tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 19).

[30:17]  ⁸⁰⁸ tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a fifth son,” i.e., this was the fifth son that Leah had given Jacob.

[30:18]  ⁸⁰⁹ tn Heb “God has given my reward.”

[30:18]  ⁸¹⁰ tn The words “as a wife” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity (cf. v. 9).

[30:18]  ⁸¹¹ 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]  ⁸¹² tn Heb “and she bore a sixth son for Jacob,” i.e., this was the sixth son that Leah had given Jacob.

[30:20]  ⁸¹³ 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]  ⁸¹⁴ tn Heb “remembered.”

[30:22]  ⁸¹⁵ 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]  ⁸¹⁶ tn Or “conceived.”

[30:23]  ⁸¹⁷ 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]  ⁸¹⁸ 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]  ⁸¹⁹ 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]  ⁸²⁰ tn The imperatival form here expresses a request.

[30:25]  ⁸²¹ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[30:25]  ⁸²² tn Heb “to my place and to my land.”

[30:26]  ⁸²³ 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]  ⁸²⁴ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[30:26]  ⁸²⁵ tn Heb “for you, you know my service [with] which I have served you.”

[30:27]  ⁸²⁶ tn The words “please stay here” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[30:27]  ⁸²⁷ 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]  ⁸²⁸ tn Heb “set your wage for me so I may give [it].”

[30:29]  ⁸²⁹ 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]  ⁸³⁰ tn Heb “and how your cattle were with me.”

[30:30]  ⁸³¹ tn Or “for.”

[30:30]  ⁸³² tn Heb “before me.”

[30:30]  ⁸³³ tn Heb “and it has broken out with respect to abundance.”

[30:30]  ⁸³⁴ tn Heb “at my foot.”

[30:30]  ⁸³⁵ tn Heb “How long [until] I do, also I, for my house?”

[30:31]  ⁸³⁶ tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:31]  ⁸³⁷ tn The negated imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance.

[30:31]  ⁸³⁸ tn The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:31]  ⁸³⁹ tn Heb “If you do for me this thing.”

[30:31]  ⁸⁴⁰ tn Heb “I will return, I will tend,” an idiom meaning “I will continue tending.”

[30:32]  ⁸⁴¹ tn Heb “pass through.”

[30:32]  ⁸⁴² tn Or “every black lamb”; Heb “and every dark sheep among the lambs.”

[30:32]  ⁸⁴³ tn Heb “and the spotted and speckled among the goats.”

[30:32]  ⁸⁴⁴ 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]  ⁸⁴⁵ tn Heb “will answer on my behalf.”

[30:33]  ⁸⁴⁶ tn Heb “on the following day,” or “tomorrow.”

[30:33]  ⁸⁴⁷ tn Heb “when you come concerning my wage before you.”

[30:33]  ⁸⁴⁸ 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]  ⁸⁴⁹ 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]  ⁸⁵⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:35]  ⁸⁵¹ tn Heb “and he gave [them] into the hand.”

[30:36]  ⁸⁵² tn Heb “and he put a journey of three days between himself and Jacob.”

[30:36]  ⁸⁵³ 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]  ⁸⁵⁴ 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]  ⁸⁵⁵ 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]  ⁸⁵⁶ tn Heb “the sheep.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“they”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:40]  ⁸⁵⁷ tn Heb “and he set the faces of.”

[30:41]  ⁸⁵⁸ tn Heb “and at every breeding-heat of the flock.”

[30:42]  ⁸⁵⁹ 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]  ⁸⁶⁰ tn Heb “were for Laban.”

[30:43]  ⁸⁶¹ tn Heb “the man”; Jacob’s name has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[30:43]  ⁸⁶² tn Heb “and there were to him.”