Discovery BoxGenesis 26:1--28:22
Context26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred 1 in the days of Abraham. 2 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; 3 settle down in the land that I will point out to you. 4 26:3 Stay 5 in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, 6 for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, 7 and I will fulfill 8 the solemn promise I made 9 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 10 all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. 11 26:5 All this will come to pass 12 because Abraham obeyed me 13 and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” 14 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.” 15 He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, 16 “The men of this place will kill me to get 17 Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”
26:8 After Isaac 18 had been there a long time, 19 Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed 20 Isaac caressing 21 his wife Rebekah. 26:9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really 22 your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.” 23
26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? 24 One of the men 25 might easily have had sexual relations with 26 your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!” 26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches 27 this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” 28
26:12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, 29 because the Lord blessed him. 30 26:13 The man became wealthy. 31 His influence continued to grow 32 until he became very prominent. 26:14 He had 33 so many sheep 34 and cattle 35 and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous 36 of him. 26:15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled up 37 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, 38 for you have become much more powerful 39 than we are.” 26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. 40 26:18 Isaac reopened 41 the wells that had been dug 42 back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up 43 after Abraham died. Isaac 44 gave these wells 45 the same names his father had given them. 46
26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing 47 water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled 48 with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac 49 named the well 50 Esek 51 because they argued with him about it. 52 26:21 His servants 53 dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it 54 Sitnah. 55 26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac 56 named it 57 Rehoboth, 58 saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”
26:23 From there Isaac 59 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 60 the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. 61
26:26 Now Abimelech had come 62 to him from Gerar along with 63 Ahuzzah his friend 64 and Phicol the commander of his army. 26:27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me 65 and sent me away from you.” 26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see 66 that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be 67 a pact between us 68 – between us 69 and you. Allow us to make 70 a treaty with you 26:29 so that 71 you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed 72 you, but have always treated you well 73 before sending you away 74 in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.” 75
26:30 So Isaac 76 held a feast for them and they celebrated. 77 26:31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. 78 Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms. 79
26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported. 80 26:33 So he named it Shibah; 81 that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba 82 to this day.
26:34 When 83 Esau was forty years old, 84 he married 85 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. 86
27:1 When 87 Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, 88 he called his older 89 son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau 90 replied. 27:2 Isaac 91 said, “Since 92 I am so old, I could die at any time. 93 27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game 94 for me. 27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then 95 I will eat it so that I may bless you 96 before I die.”
27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. 97 When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, 98 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 99 it and bless you 100 in the presence of the Lord 101 before I die.’ 27:8 Now then, my son, do 102 exactly what I tell you! 103 27:9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare 104 them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. 27:10 Then you will take 105 it to your father. Thus he will eat it 106 and 107 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! 108 27:12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him 109 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, 110 my son! Just obey me! 111 Go and get them for me!”
27:14 So he went and got the goats 112 and brought them to his mother. She 113 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 114 on his hands 115 and the smooth part of his neck. 27:17 Then she handed 116 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 117 replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?” 118 27:19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up 119 and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” 120 27:20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world 121 did you find it so quickly, 122 my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” 123 he replied. 124 27:21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you, 125 my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.” 126 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. 127 27:24 Then he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “I am,” Jacob 128 replied. 27:25 Isaac 129 said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. 130 Then I will bless you.” 131 So Jacob 132 brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac 133 drank. 27:26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 27:27 So Jacob 134 went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent 135 of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,
“Yes, 136 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 137
and the richness 138 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 139 lord 140 over your brothers,
and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. 141
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 142 his father’s 143 presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt. 144 27:31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau 145 said to him, “My father, get up 146 and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.” 147 27:32 His father Isaac asked, 148 “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,” 149 he replied, “Esau!” 27:33 Isaac began to shake violently 150 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. 151 He will indeed be blessed!”
27:34 When Esau heard 152 his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly. 153 He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” 27:35 But Isaac 154 replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away 155 your blessing.” 27:36 Esau exclaimed, “‘Jacob’ is the right name for him! 156 He has tripped me up 157 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!” 158 Then Esau wept loudly. 159
27:39 So his father Isaac said to him,
“Indeed, 160 your home will be
away from the richness 161 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.” 162
27:41 So Esau hated 163 Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. 164 Esau said privately, 165 “The time 166 of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill 167 my brother Jacob!”
27:42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said, 168 she quickly summoned 169 her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you. 170 27:43 Now then, my son, do what I say. 171 Run away immediately 172 to my brother Laban in Haran. 27:44 Live with him for a little while 173 until your brother’s rage subsides. 27:45 Stay there 174 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. 175 Why should I lose both of you in one day?” 176
27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressed 177 because of these daughters of Heth. 178 If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!” 179
28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman! 180 28:2 Leave immediately 181 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 182 bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! 183 Then you will become 184 a large nation. 185 28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham 186 so that you may possess the land 187 God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” 188 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. 189 As he blessed him, 190 Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” 191 28:7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram. 28:8 Then Esau realized 192 that the Canaanite women 193 were displeasing to 194 his father Isaac. 28:9 So Esau went to Ishmael and married 195 Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, along with the wives he already had.
28:10 Meanwhile Jacob left Beer Sheba and set out for Haran. 28:11 He reached a certain place 196 where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. 197 He took one of the stones 198 and placed it near his head. 199 Then he fell asleep 200 in that place 28:12 and had a dream. 201 He saw 202 a stairway 203 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. 204 I will give you and your descendants the ground 205 you are lying on. 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, 206 and you will spread out 207 to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 208 using your name and that of your descendants. 209 28:15 I am with you! 210 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 211 and thought, 212 “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 213 in the morning Jacob 214 took the stone he had placed near his head 215 and set it up as a sacred stone. 216 Then he poured oil on top of it. 28:19 He called that place Bethel, 217 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 218 to eat and clothing to wear, 28:21 and I return safely to my father’s home, 219 then the Lord will become my God. 28:22 Then this stone 220 that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely 221 give you back a tenth of everything you give me.” 222
[26:1] 1 tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”
[26:1] 2 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] 3 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.
[26:3] 5 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] 6 tn After the imperative “stay” the two prefixed verb forms with prefixed conjunction here indicate consequence.
[26:3] 7 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] 8 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] 9 tn Heb “the oath which I swore.”
[26:4] 10 tn Heb “your descendants.”
[26:4] 11 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] 12 tn The words “All this will come to pass” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons.
[26:5] 13 tn Heb “listened to my voice.”
[26:5] 14 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] 15 sn Rebekah, unlike Sarah, was not actually her husband’s sister.
[26:7] 16 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] 17 tn Heb “kill me on account of.”
[26:8] 18 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:8] 19 tn Heb “and it happened when the days were long to him there.”
[26:8] 20 tn Heb “look, Isaac.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene through Abimelech’s eyes.
[26:9] 22 tn Heb “Surely, look!” See N. H. Snaith, “The meaning of Hebrew ‘ak,” VT 14 (1964): 221-25.
[26:9] 23 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] 24 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] 26 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] 27 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] 28 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the imperfect makes the construction emphatic.
[26:12] 29 tn Heb “a hundredfold.”
[26:12] 30 tn This final clause explains why Isaac had such a bountiful harvest.
[26:13] 31 tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Isaac’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are included.
[26:13] 32 tn Heb “and he went, going and becoming great.” The construction stresses that his growth in possessions and power continued steadily.
[26:14] 33 tn Heb “and there was to him.”
[26:14] 34 tn Heb “possessions of sheep.”
[26:14] 35 tn Heb “possessions of cattle.”
[26:14] 36 tn The Hebrew verb translated “became jealous” refers here to intense jealousy or envy that leads to hostile action (see v. 15).
[26:15] 37 tn Heb “and the Philistines stopped them up and filled them with dirt.”
[26:16] 38 tn Heb “Go away from us.”
[26:16] 39 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] 40 tn Heb “and he camped in the valley of Gerar and he lived there.”
[26:18] 41 tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”
[26:18] 42 tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.
[26:18] 43 tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.
[26:18] 44 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:18] 45 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:18] 46 tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”
[26:19] 47 tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).
[26:20] 48 tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.
[26:20] 49 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:20] 50 tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”
[26:20] 51 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] 52 tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[26:21] 53 tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:21] 54 tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:21] 55 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] 56 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:22] 57 tn Heb “and he called its name.”
[26:22] 58 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] 59 tn Heb “and he went up from there”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:25] 60 tn Heb “called in the name of.” The expression refers to worshiping the
[26:25] 61 tn Heb “and they dug there, the servants of Isaac, a well.”
[26:26] 62 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] 64 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] 65 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, expressing the reason for his question.
[26:28] 66 tn The infinitive absolute before the verb emphasizes the clarity of their perception.
[26:28] 67 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] 68 tn The pronoun “us” here is inclusive – it refers to the Philistine contingent on the one hand and Isaac on the other.
[26:28] 69 tn The pronoun “us” here is exclusive – it refers to just the Philistine contingent (the following “you” refers to Isaac).
[26:28] 70 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] 71 tn The oath formula is used: “if you do us harm” means “so that you will not do.”
[26:29] 73 tn Heb “and just as we have done only good with you.”
[26:29] 74 tn Heb “and we sent you away.”
[26:29] 75 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] 76 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:30] 77 tn Heb “and they ate and drank.”
[26:31] 78 tn Heb “and they got up early and they swore an oath, a man to his brother.”
[26:31] 79 tn Heb “and they went from him in peace.”
[26:32] 80 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] 81 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] 82 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] 83 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making this clause subordinate to the next.
[26:34] 84 tn Heb “the son of forty years.”
[26:34] 85 tn Heb “took as a wife.”
[26:35] 86 tn Heb “And they were [a source of ] bitterness in spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.”
[27:1] 87 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] 88 tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”
[27:1] 89 tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).
[27:1] 90 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:2] 91 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaac) is specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:2] 92 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here introduces a logically foundational statement, upon which the coming instruction will be based.
[27:2] 93 tn Heb “I do not know the day of my death.”
[27:3] 94 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] 95 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:4] 96 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] 97 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] 98 tc The LXX adds here “to his father,” which may have been accidentally omitted in the MT.
[27:7] 99 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:7] 100 tn The cohortative, with the prefixed conjunction, also expresses logical sequence. See vv. 4, 19, 27.
[27:7] 101 tn In her report to Jacob, Rebekah plays down Isaac’s strong desire to bless Esau by leaving out נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”), but by adding the phrase “in the presence of the
[27:8] 102 tn Heb “listen to my voice.” The Hebrew idiom means “to comply; to obey.”
[27:8] 103 tn Heb “to that which I am commanding you.”
[27:9] 104 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:10] 105 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] 106 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] 107 tn Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[27:11] 108 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] 109 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] 110 tn Heb “upon me your curse.”
[27:13] 111 tn Heb “only listen to my voice.”
[27:14] 112 tn The words “the goats” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:14] 113 tn Heb “his mother.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “she” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:16] 114 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] 115 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] 116 tn Heb “gave…into the hand of.”
[27:18] 117 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:18] 118 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] 119 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] 120 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] 121 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] 122 tn Heb “you hastened to find.” In translation the infinitive becomes the main verb and the first verb becomes adverbial.
[27:20] 123 tn Heb “caused to meet before me.”
[27:20] 124 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Because the
[27:21] 125 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:21] 126 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] 127 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] 128 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:25] 129 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:25] 130 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] 131 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] 132 tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:25] 133 tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:27] 134 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:27] 135 tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:28] 137 tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”
[27:28] 138 tn Heb “and from the fatness.”
[27:29] 139 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] 140 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] 141 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] 142 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite form of the verb makes the construction emphatic.
[27:30] 143 tn Heb “the presence of Isaac his father.” The repetition of the proper name (“Isaac”) was
[27:30] 144 tn Heb “and Esau his brother came from his hunt.”
[27:31] 145 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] 146 tn Or “arise” (i.e., sit up).
[27:31] 147 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.”
[27:32] 149 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] 150 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] 151 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] 152 tn The temporal clause is introduced with the temporal indicator and has the infinitive as its verb.
[27:34] 153 tn Heb “and he yelled [with] a great and bitter yell to excess.”
[27:35] 154 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:35] 155 tn Or “took”; “received.”
[27:36] 156 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] 157 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] 158 tn Heb “Bless me, me also, my father.” The words “my father” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:38] 159 tn Heb “and Esau lifted his voice and wept.”
[27:39] 161 tn Heb “from the fatness.”
[27:40] 162 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] 163 tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.
[27:41] 164 tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”
[27:41] 165 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] 167 tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.
[27:42] 168 tn Heb “and the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah.”
[27:42] 169 tn Heb “she sent and called for.”
[27:42] 170 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] 171 tn Heb “listen to my voice.”
[27:43] 172 tn Heb “arise, flee.”
[27:44] 173 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] 174 tn The words “stay there” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:45] 175 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] 176 tn If Jacob stayed, he would be killed and Esau would be forced to run away.
[27:46] 177 tn Heb “loathe my life.” The Hebrew verb translated “loathe” refers to strong disgust (see Lev 20:23).
[27:46] 178 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] 179 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] 180 tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
[28:2] 181 tn Heb “Arise! Go!” The first of the two imperatives is adverbial and stresses the immediacy of the departure.
[28:3] 182 tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.
[28:3] 183 tn Heb “and make you fruitful and multiply you.” See Gen 17:6, 20 for similar terminology.
[28:3] 184 tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here indicates consequence. The collocation הָיָה + preposition לְ (hayah + lÿ) means “become.”
[28:3] 185 tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”
[28:4] 186 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] 187 tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[28:4] 188 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] 189 tn Heb “to take for himself from there a wife.”
[28:6] 190 tn The infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffix form a temporal clause.
[28:6] 191 tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
[28:8] 193 tn Heb “the daughters of Canaan.”
[28:8] 194 tn Heb “evil in the eyes of.”
[28:9] 195 tn Heb “took for a wife.”
[28:11] 196 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] 197 tn Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.”
[28:11] 198 tn Heb “he took from the stones of the place,” which here means Jacob took one of the stones (see v. 18).
[28:11] 199 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] 200 tn Heb “lay down.”
[28:12] 201 tn Heb “and dreamed.”
[28:12] 202 tn Heb “and look.” The scene which Jacob witnessed is described in three clauses introduced with הִנֵּה (hinneh). In this way the narrator invites the reader to witness the scene through Jacob’s eyes. J. P. Fokkelman points out that the particle goes with a lifted arm and an open mouth: “There, a ladder! Oh, angels! and look, the
[28:12] 203 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] 204 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] 205 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] 206 tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.
[28:14] 207 tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.
[28:14] 208 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] 209 tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”
[28:15] 210 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] 211 tn Heb “woke up from his sleep.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[28:18] 213 tn Heb “and he got up early…and he took.”
[28:18] 214 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[28:18] 215 tn See the note on this phrase in v. 11.
[28:18] 216 tn Heb “standing stone.”
[28:19] 217 tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew (see v. 17).
[28:20] 218 tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.
[28:21] 219 tn Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.”
[28:22] 220 tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.
[28:22] 221 tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.
[28:22] 222 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.
