Genesis 27:1--39:23

Jacob Cheats Esau out of the Blessing

27:1 When ¹  Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, ²  he called his older ³  son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau ⁴  replied. 27:2 Isaac ⁵  said, “Since ⁶  I am so old, I could die at any time. ⁷  27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game ⁸  for me. 27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then ⁹  I will eat it so that I may bless you ¹⁰  before I die.”

27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. ¹¹  When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, ¹²  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 ¹³  it and bless you ¹⁴  in the presence of the Lord ¹⁵  before I die.’ 27:8 Now then, my son, do ¹⁶  exactly what I tell you! ¹⁷  27:9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare ¹⁸  them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. 27:10 Then you will take ¹⁹  it to your father. Thus he will eat it ²⁰  and ²¹  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! ²²  27:12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him ²³  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, ²⁴  my son! Just obey me! ²⁵  Go and get them for me!”

27:14 So he went and got the goats ²⁶  and brought them to his mother. She ²⁷  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 ²⁸  on his hands ²⁹  and the smooth part of his neck. 27:17 Then she handed ³⁰  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 ³¹  replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?” ³²  27:19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up ³³  and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” ³⁴  27:20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world ³⁵  did you find it so quickly, ³⁶  my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” ³⁷  he replied. ³⁸  27:21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you, ³⁹  my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.” ⁴⁰  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. ⁴¹  27:24 Then he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “I am,” Jacob ⁴²  replied. 27:25 Isaac ⁴³  said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. ⁴⁴  Then I will bless you.” ⁴⁵  So Jacob ⁴⁶  brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac ⁴⁷  drank. 27:26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 27:27 So Jacob ⁴⁸  went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent ⁴⁹  of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,

“Yes, ⁵⁰  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 ⁵¹ 

and the richness ⁵²  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 ⁵³  lord ⁵⁴  over your brothers,

and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. ⁵⁵ 

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 ⁵⁶  his father’s ⁵⁷  presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt. ⁵⁸  27:31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau ⁵⁹  said to him, “My father, get up ⁶⁰  and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.” ⁶¹  27:32 His father Isaac asked, ⁶²  “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,” ⁶³  he replied, “Esau!” 27:33 Isaac began to shake violently ⁶⁴  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. ⁶⁵  He will indeed be blessed!”

27:34 When Esau heard ⁶⁶  his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly. ⁶⁷  He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” 27:35 But Isaac ⁶⁸  replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away ⁶⁹  your blessing.” 27:36 Esau exclaimed, “‘Jacob’ is the right name for him! ⁷⁰  He has tripped me up ⁷¹  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!” ⁷²  Then Esau wept loudly. ⁷³ 

27:39 So his father Isaac said to him,

“Indeed, ⁷⁴  your home will be

away from the richness ⁷⁵  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.” ⁷⁶ 

27:41 So Esau hated ⁷⁷  Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. ⁷⁸  Esau said privately, ⁷⁹  “The time ⁸⁰  of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill ⁸¹  my brother Jacob!”

27:42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said, ⁸²  she quickly summoned ⁸³  her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you. ⁸⁴  27:43 Now then, my son, do what I say. ⁸⁵  Run away immediately ⁸⁶  to my brother Laban in Haran. 27:44 Live with him for a little while ⁸⁷  until your brother’s rage subsides. 27:45 Stay there ⁸⁸  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. ⁸⁹  Why should I lose both of you in one day?” ⁹⁰ 

27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressed ⁹¹  because of these daughters of Heth. ⁹²  If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!” ⁹³ 

28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman! ⁹⁴  28:2 Leave immediately ⁹⁵  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 ⁹⁶  bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! ⁹⁷  Then you will become ⁹⁸  a large nation. ⁹⁹  28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham ¹⁰⁰  so that you may possess the land ¹⁰¹  God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” ¹⁰²  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. ¹⁰³  As he blessed him, ¹⁰⁴  Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” ¹⁰⁵  28:7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram. 28:8 Then Esau realized ¹⁰⁶  that the Canaanite women ¹⁰⁷  were displeasing to ¹⁰⁸  his father Isaac. 28:9 So Esau went to Ishmael and married ¹⁰⁹  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 ¹¹⁰  where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. ¹¹¹  He took one of the stones ¹¹²  and placed it near his head. ¹¹³  Then he fell asleep ¹¹⁴  in that place 28:12 and had a dream. ¹¹⁵  He saw ¹¹⁶  a stairway ¹¹⁷  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. ¹¹⁸  I will give you and your descendants the ground ¹¹⁹  you are lying on. 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, ¹²⁰  and you will spread out ¹²¹  to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ¹²²  using your name and that of your descendants. ¹²³  28:15 I am with you! ¹²⁴  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 ¹²⁵  and thought, ¹²⁶  “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 ¹²⁷  in the morning Jacob ¹²⁸  took the stone he had placed near his head ¹²⁹  and set it up as a sacred stone. ¹³⁰  Then he poured oil on top of it. 28:19 He called that place Bethel, ¹³¹  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 ¹³²  to eat and clothing to wear, 28:21 and I return safely to my father’s home, ¹³³  then the Lord will become my God. 28:22 Then this stone ¹³⁴  that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely ¹³⁵  give you back a tenth of everything you give me.” ¹³⁶ 

The Marriages of Jacob

29:1 So Jacob moved on ¹³⁷  and came to the land of the eastern people. ¹³⁸  29:2 He saw ¹³⁹  in the field a well with ¹⁴⁰  three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now ¹⁴¹  a large stone covered the mouth of the well. 29:3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds ¹⁴²  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 ¹⁴³  of Nahor?” “We know him,” ¹⁴⁴  they said. 29:6 “Is he well?” ¹⁴⁵  Jacob asked. They replied, “He is well. ¹⁴⁶  Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” 29:7 Then Jacob ¹⁴⁷  said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, ¹⁴⁸  it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” ¹⁴⁹  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 ¹⁵⁰  the sheep.”

29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was tending them. ¹⁵¹  29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, ¹⁵²  and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he ¹⁵³  went over ¹⁵⁴  and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. ¹⁵⁵  29:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep loudly. ¹⁵⁶  29:12 When Jacob explained ¹⁵⁷  to Rachel that he was a relative of her father ¹⁵⁸  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 ¹⁵⁹  told Laban how he was related to him. ¹⁶⁰  29:14 Then Laban said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” ¹⁶¹  So Jacob ¹⁶²  stayed with him for a month. ¹⁶³ 

29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work ¹⁶⁴  for me for nothing because you are my relative? ¹⁶⁵  Tell me what your wages should be.” 29:16 (Now Laban had two daughters; ¹⁶⁶  the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. 29:17 Leah’s eyes were tender, ¹⁶⁷  but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.) ¹⁶⁸  29:18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with ¹⁶⁹  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. ¹⁷⁰  Stay with me.” 29:20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. ¹⁷¹  But they seemed like only a few days to him ¹⁷²  because his love for her was so great. ¹⁷³ 

29:21 Finally Jacob said ¹⁷⁴  to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. ¹⁷⁵  I want to have marital relations with her.” ¹⁷⁶  29:22 So Laban invited all the people ¹⁷⁷  of that place and prepared a feast. 29:23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leah ¹⁷⁸  to Jacob, ¹⁷⁹  and Jacob ¹⁸⁰  had marital relations with her. ¹⁸¹  29:24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) ¹⁸² 

29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! ¹⁸³  So Jacob ¹⁸⁴  said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! ¹⁸⁵  Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked ¹⁸⁶  me?” 29:26 “It is not our custom here,” ¹⁸⁷  Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriage ¹⁸⁸  before the firstborn. 29:27 Complete my older daughter’s bridal week. ¹⁸⁹  Then we will give you the younger one ¹⁹⁰  too, in exchange for seven more years of work.” ¹⁹¹ 

29:28 Jacob did as Laban said. ¹⁹²  When Jacob ¹⁹³  completed Leah’s bridal week, ¹⁹⁴  Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. ¹⁹⁵  29:29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) ¹⁹⁶  29:30 Jacob ¹⁹⁷  had marital relations ¹⁹⁸  with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban ¹⁹⁹  for seven more years. ²⁰⁰ 

The Family of Jacob

29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, ²⁰¹  he enabled her to become pregnant ²⁰²  while Rachel remained childless. 29:32 So Leah became pregnant ²⁰³  and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, ²⁰⁴  for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. ²⁰⁵  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, ²⁰⁶  he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. ²⁰⁷ 

29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, ²⁰⁸  because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. ²⁰⁹ 

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. ²¹⁰  Then she stopped having children.

30:1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she ²¹¹  became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children ²¹²  or I’ll die!” 30:2 Jacob became furious ²¹³  with Rachel and exclaimed, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” ²¹⁴  30:3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with ²¹⁵  her so that she can bear ²¹⁶  children ²¹⁷  for me ²¹⁸  and I can have a family through her.” ²¹⁹ 

30:4 So Rachel ²²⁰  gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with ²²¹  her. 30:5 Bilhah became pregnant ²²²  and gave Jacob a son. ²²³  30:6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayer ²²⁴  and given me a son.” That is why ²²⁵  she named him Dan. ²²⁶ 

30:7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. ²²⁷  30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.” ²²⁸  So she named him Naphtali. ²²⁹ 

30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave ²³⁰  her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 30:10 Soon Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son. ²³¹  30:11 Leah said, “How fortunate!” ²³²  So she named him Gad. ²³³ 

30:12 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son. ²³⁴  30:13 Leah said, “How happy I am, ²³⁵  for women ²³⁶  will call me happy!” So she named him Asher. ²³⁷ 

30:14 At the time ²³⁸  of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants ²³⁹  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, ²⁴⁰  “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,” ²⁴¹  Rachel said, “he may sleep ²⁴²  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 ²⁴³  with me because I have paid for your services ²⁴⁴  with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relations ²⁴⁵  with her that night. 30:17 God paid attention ²⁴⁶  to Leah; she became pregnant ²⁴⁷  and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. ²⁴⁸  30:18 Then Leah said, “God has granted me a reward ²⁴⁹  because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.” ²⁵⁰  So she named him Issachar. ²⁵¹ 

30:19 Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time. ²⁵²  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. ²⁵³ 

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

30:22 Then God took note of ²⁵⁴  Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. ²⁵⁵  30:23 She became pregnant ²⁵⁶  and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” ²⁵⁷  30:24 She named him Joseph, ²⁵⁸  saying, “May the Lord give me yet another son.”

The Flocks of Jacob

30:25 After Rachel had given birth ²⁵⁹  to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send ²⁶⁰  me on my way so that I can go ²⁶¹  home to my own country. ²⁶²  30:26 Let me take my wives and my children whom I have acquired by working for you. ²⁶³  Then I’ll depart, ²⁶⁴  because you know how hard I’ve worked for you.” ²⁶⁵ 

30:27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, ²⁶⁶  for I have learned by divination ²⁶⁷  that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.” 30:28 He added, “Just name your wages – I’ll pay whatever you want.” ²⁶⁸ 

30:29 “You know how I have worked for you,” Jacob replied, ²⁶⁹  “and how well your livestock have fared under my care. ²⁷⁰  30:30 Indeed, ²⁷¹  you had little before I arrived, ²⁷²  but now your possessions have increased many times over. ²⁷³  The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked. ²⁷⁴  But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?” ²⁷⁵ 

30:31 So Laban asked, ²⁷⁶  “What should I give you?” “You don’t need to give me a thing,” ²⁷⁷  Jacob replied, ²⁷⁸  “but if you agree to this one condition, ²⁷⁹  I will continue to care for ²⁸⁰  your flocks and protect them: 30:32 Let me walk among ²⁸¹  all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, ²⁸²  and the spotted or speckled goats. ²⁸³  These animals will be my wages. ²⁸⁴  30:33 My integrity will testify for me ²⁸⁵  later on. ²⁸⁶  When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on, ²⁸⁷  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.” ²⁸⁸  30:34 “Agreed!” said Laban, “It will be as you say.” ²⁸⁹ 

30:35 So that day Laban ²⁹⁰  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 ²⁹¹  of his sons. 30:36 Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, ²⁹²  while ²⁹³  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. ²⁹⁴  30:39 When the sheep mated ²⁹⁵  in front of the branches, they ²⁹⁶  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 ²⁹⁷  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, ²⁹⁸  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. ²⁹⁹  So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban ³⁰⁰  and the stronger animals to Jacob. 30:43 In this way Jacob ³⁰¹  became extremely prosperous. He owned ³⁰²  large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.

Jacob’s Flight from Laban

31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, ³⁰³  “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich ³⁰⁴  at our father’s expense!” ³⁰⁵  31:2 When Jacob saw the look on Laban’s face, he could tell his attitude toward him had changed. ³⁰⁶ 

31:3 The Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers ³⁰⁷  and to your relatives. I will be with you.” ³⁰⁸  31:4 So Jacob sent a message for Rachel and Leah ³⁰⁹  to come to the field ³¹⁰  where his flocks were. ³¹¹  31:5 There he said to them, “I can tell that your father’s attitude toward me has changed, ³¹²  but the God of my father has been with me. 31:6 You know that I’ve worked for your father as hard as I could, ³¹³  31:7 but your father has humiliated ³¹⁴  me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not permitted him to do me any harm. 31:8 If he said, ³¹⁵  ‘The speckled animals ³¹⁶  will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to speckled offspring. But if he said, ‘The streaked animals will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to streaked offspring. 31:9 In this way God has snatched away your father’s livestock and given them to me.

31:10 “Once ³¹⁷  during breeding season I saw ³¹⁸  in a dream that the male goats mating with ³¹⁹  the flock were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 31:11 In the dream the angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ ‘Here I am!’ I replied. 31:12 Then he said, ‘Observe ³²⁰  that all the male goats mating with ³²¹  the flock are streaked, speckled, or spotted, for I have observed all that Laban has done to you. 31:13 I am the God of Bethel, ³²²  where you anointed ³²³  the sacred stone and made a vow to me. ³²⁴  Now leave this land immediately ³²⁵  and return to your native land.’”

31:14 Then Rachel and Leah replied to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance ³²⁶  in our father’s house? 31:15 Hasn’t he treated us like foreigners? He not only sold us, but completely wasted ³²⁷  the money paid for us! ³²⁸  31:16 Surely all the wealth that God snatched away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So now do everything God has told you.”

31:17 So Jacob immediately put his children and his wives on the camels. ³²⁹  31:18 He took ³³⁰  away all the livestock he had acquired in Paddan Aram and all his moveable property that he had accumulated. Then he set out toward the land of Canaan to return to his father Isaac. ³³¹ 

31:19 While Laban had gone to shear his sheep, ³³²  Rachel stole the household idols ³³³  that belonged to her father. 31:20 Jacob also deceived ³³⁴  Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was leaving. ³³⁵  31:21 He left ³³⁶  with all he owned. He quickly crossed ³³⁷  the Euphrates River ³³⁸  and headed for ³³⁹  the hill country of Gilead.

31:22 Three days later Laban discovered Jacob had left. ³⁴⁰  31:23 So he took his relatives ³⁴¹  with him and pursued Jacob ³⁴²  for seven days. ³⁴³  He caught up with ³⁴⁴  him in the hill country of Gilead. 31:24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and warned him, ³⁴⁵  “Be careful ³⁴⁶  that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.” ³⁴⁷ 

31:25 Laban overtook Jacob, and when Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead, Laban and his relatives set up camp there too. ³⁴⁸  31:26 “What have you done?” Laban demanded of Jacob. “You’ve deceived me ³⁴⁹  and carried away my daughters as if they were captives of war! ³⁵⁰  31:27 Why did you run away secretly ³⁵¹  and deceive me? ³⁵²  Why didn’t you tell me so I could send you off with a celebration complete with singing, tambourines, and harps? ³⁵³  31:28 You didn’t even allow me to kiss my daughters and my grandchildren ³⁵⁴  good-bye. You have acted foolishly! 31:29 I have ³⁵⁵  the power to do you harm, but the God of your father told me last night, ‘Be careful ³⁵⁶  that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.’ ³⁵⁷  31:30 Now I understand that ³⁵⁸  you have gone away ³⁵⁹  because you longed desperately ³⁶⁰  for your father’s house. Yet why did you steal my gods?” ³⁶¹ 

31:31 “I left secretly because I was afraid!” ³⁶²  Jacob replied to Laban. “I thought ³⁶³  you might take your daughters away from me by force. ³⁶⁴  31:32 Whoever has taken your gods will be put to death! ³⁶⁵  In the presence of our relatives ³⁶⁶  identify whatever is yours and take it.” ³⁶⁷  (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.) ³⁶⁸ 

31:33 So Laban entered Jacob’s tent, and Leah’s tent, and the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find the idols. ³⁶⁹  Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s. ³⁷⁰  31:34 (Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them inside her camel’s saddle ³⁷¹  and sat on them.) ³⁷²  Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them. ³⁷³  31:35 Rachel ³⁷⁴  said to her father, “Don’t be angry, ³⁷⁵  my lord. I cannot stand up ³⁷⁶  in your presence because I am having my period.” ³⁷⁷  So he searched thoroughly, ³⁷⁸  but did not find the idols.

31:36 Jacob became angry ³⁷⁹  and argued with Laban. “What did I do wrong?” he demanded of Laban. ³⁸⁰  “What sin of mine prompted you to chase after me in hot pursuit? ³⁸¹  31:37 When you searched through all my goods, did you find anything that belonged to you? ³⁸²  Set it here before my relatives and yours, ³⁸³  and let them settle the dispute between the two of us! ³⁸⁴ 

31:38 “I have been with you for the past twenty years. Your ewes and female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. 31:39 Animals torn by wild beasts I never brought to you; I always absorbed the loss myself. ³⁸⁵  You always made me pay for every missing animal, ³⁸⁶  whether it was taken by day or at night. 31:40 I was consumed by scorching heat ³⁸⁷  during the day and by piercing cold ³⁸⁸  at night, and I went without sleep. ³⁸⁹  31:41 This was my lot ³⁹⁰  for twenty years in your house: I worked like a slave ³⁹¹  for you – fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, but you changed my wages ten times! 31:42 If the God of my father – the God of Abraham, the one whom Isaac fears ³⁹²  – had not been with me, you would certainly have sent me away empty-handed! But God saw how I was oppressed and how hard I worked, ³⁹³  and he rebuked you last night.”

31:43 Laban replied ³⁹⁴  to Jacob, “These women ³⁹⁵  are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, ³⁹⁶  and these flocks are my flocks. All that you see belongs to me. But how can I harm these daughters of mine today ³⁹⁷  or the children to whom they have given birth? 31:44 So now, come, let’s make a formal agreement, ³⁹⁸  you and I, and it will be ³⁹⁹  proof that we have made peace.” ⁴⁰⁰ 

31:45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a memorial pillar. 31:46 Then he ⁴⁰¹  said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” So they brought stones and put them in a pile. ⁴⁰²  They ate there by the pile of stones. 31:47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, ⁴⁰³  but Jacob called it Galeed. ⁴⁰⁴ 

31:48 Laban said, “This pile of stones is a witness of our agreement ⁴⁰⁵  today.” That is why it was called Galeed. 31:49 It was also called Mizpah ⁴⁰⁶  because he said, “May the Lord watch ⁴⁰⁷  between us ⁴⁰⁸  when we are out of sight of one another. ⁴⁰⁹  31:50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one else is with us, realize ⁴¹⁰  that God is witness to your actions.” ⁴¹¹ 

31:51 “Here is this pile of stones and this pillar I have set up between me and you,” Laban said to Jacob. ⁴¹²  31:52 “This pile of stones and the pillar are reminders that I will not pass beyond this pile to come to harm you and that you will not pass beyond this pile and this pillar to come to harm me. ⁴¹³  31:53 May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor, ⁴¹⁴  the gods of their father, judge between us.” Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared. ⁴¹⁵  31:54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice ⁴¹⁶  on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat the meal. ⁴¹⁷  They ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain.

31:55 (32:1) ⁴¹⁸  Early in the morning Laban kissed ⁴¹⁹  his grandchildren ⁴²⁰  and his daughters goodbye and blessed them. Then Laban left and returned home. ⁴²¹ 

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

32:1 So Jacob went on his way and the angels of God ⁴²²  met him. 32:2 When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, ⁴²³  “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. ⁴²⁴ 

32:3 Jacob sent messengers on ahead ⁴²⁵  to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the region ⁴²⁶  of Edom. 32:4 He commanded them, “This is what you must say to my lord Esau: ‘This is what your servant ⁴²⁷  Jacob says: I have been staying with Laban until now. 32:5 I have oxen, donkeys, sheep, and male and female servants. I have sent ⁴²⁸  this message ⁴²⁹  to inform my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight.’”

32:6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you and has four hundred men with him.” 32:7 Jacob was very afraid and upset. So he divided the people who were with him into two camps, as well as the flocks, herds, and camels. 32:8 “If Esau attacks one camp,” ⁴³⁰  he thought, ⁴³¹  “then the other camp will be able to escape.” ⁴³² 

32:9 Then Jacob prayed, ⁴³³  “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you said ⁴³⁴  to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.’ ⁴³⁵  32:10 I am not worthy of all the faithful love ⁴³⁶  you have shown ⁴³⁷  your servant. With only my walking stick ⁴³⁸  I crossed the Jordan, ⁴³⁹  but now I have become two camps. 32:11 Rescue me, ⁴⁴⁰  I pray, from the hand ⁴⁴¹  of my brother Esau, ⁴⁴²  for I am afraid he will come ⁴⁴³  and attack me, as well as the mothers with their children. ⁴⁴⁴  32:12 But you ⁴⁴⁵  said, ‘I will certainly make you prosper ⁴⁴⁶  and will make ⁴⁴⁷  your descendants like the sand on the seashore, too numerous to count.’” ⁴⁴⁸ 

32:13 Jacob ⁴⁴⁹  stayed there that night. Then he sent ⁴⁵⁰  as a gift ⁴⁵¹  to his brother Esau 32:14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 32:15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 32:16 He entrusted them to ⁴⁵²  his servants, who divided them into herds. ⁴⁵³  He told his servants, “Pass over before me, and keep some distance between one herd and the next.” 32:17 He instructed the servant leading the first herd, ⁴⁵⁴  “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong? ⁴⁵⁵  Where are you going? Whose herds are you driving?’ ⁴⁵⁶  32:18 then you must say, ⁴⁵⁷  ‘They belong ⁴⁵⁸  to your servant Jacob. ⁴⁵⁹  They have been sent as a gift to my lord Esau. ⁴⁶⁰  In fact Jacob himself is behind us.’” ⁴⁶¹ 

32:19 He also gave these instructions to the second and third servants, as well as all those who were following the herds, saying, “You must say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. ⁴⁶²  32:20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’” ⁴⁶³  Jacob thought, ⁴⁶⁴  “I will first appease him ⁴⁶⁵  by sending a gift ahead of me. ⁴⁶⁶  After that I will meet him. ⁴⁶⁷  Perhaps he will accept me.” ⁴⁶⁸  32:21 So the gifts were sent on ahead of him ⁴⁶⁹  while he spent that night in the camp. ⁴⁷⁰ 

32:22 During the night Jacob quickly took ⁴⁷¹  his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons ⁴⁷²  and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ⁴⁷³  32:23 He took them and sent them across the stream along with all his possessions. ⁴⁷⁴  32:24 So Jacob was left alone. Then a man ⁴⁷⁵  wrestled ⁴⁷⁶  with him until daybreak. ⁴⁷⁷  32:25 When the man ⁴⁷⁸  saw that he could not defeat Jacob, ⁴⁷⁹  he struck ⁴⁸⁰  the socket of his hip so the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him.

32:26 Then the man ⁴⁸¹  said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” ⁴⁸²  “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, ⁴⁸³  “unless you bless me.” ⁴⁸⁴  32:27 The man asked him, ⁴⁸⁵  “What is your name?” ⁴⁸⁶  He answered, “Jacob.” 32:28 “No longer will your name be Jacob,” the man told him, ⁴⁸⁷  “but Israel, ⁴⁸⁸  because you have fought ⁴⁸⁹  with God and with men and have prevailed.”

32:29 Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.” ⁴⁹⁰  “Why ⁴⁹¹  do you ask my name?” the man replied. ⁴⁹²  Then he blessed ⁴⁹³  Jacob ⁴⁹⁴  there. 32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, ⁴⁹⁵  explaining, ⁴⁹⁶  “Certainly ⁴⁹⁷  I have seen God face to face ⁴⁹⁸  and have survived.” ⁴⁹⁹ 

32:31 The sun rose ⁵⁰⁰  over him as he crossed over Penuel, ⁵⁰¹  but ⁵⁰²  he was limping because of his hip. 32:32 That is why to this day ⁵⁰³  the Israelites do not eat the sinew which is attached to the socket of the hip, because he struck ⁵⁰⁴  the socket of Jacob’s hip near the attached sinew.

Jacob Meets Esau

33:1 Jacob looked up ⁵⁰⁵  and saw that Esau was coming ⁵⁰⁶  along with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants. 33:2 He put the servants and their children in front, with Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph behind them. ⁵⁰⁷  33:3 But Jacob ⁵⁰⁸  himself went on ahead of them, and he bowed toward the ground seven times as he approached ⁵⁰⁹  his brother. 33:4 But Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, hugged his neck, and kissed him. Then they both wept. 33:5 When Esau ⁵¹⁰  looked up ⁵¹¹  and saw the women and the children, he asked, “Who are these people with you?” Jacob ⁵¹²  replied, “The children whom God has graciously given ⁵¹³  your servant.” 33:6 The female servants came forward with their children and bowed down. ⁵¹⁴  33:7 Then Leah came forward with her children and they bowed down. Finally Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down.

33:8 Esau ⁵¹⁵  then asked, “What did you intend ⁵¹⁶  by sending all these herds to meet me?” ⁵¹⁷  Jacob ⁵¹⁸  replied, “To find favor in your sight, my lord.” 33:9 But Esau said, “I have plenty, my brother. Keep what belongs to you.” 33:10 “No, please take them,” Jacob said. ⁵¹⁹  “If I have found favor in your sight, accept ⁵²⁰  my gift from my hand. Now that I have seen your face and you have accepted me, ⁵²¹  it is as if I have seen the face of God. ⁵²²  33:11 Please take my present ⁵²³  that was brought to you, for God has been generous ⁵²⁴  to me and I have all I need.” ⁵²⁵  When Jacob urged him, he took it. ⁵²⁶ 

33:12 Then Esau ⁵²⁷  said, “Let’s be on our way! ⁵²⁸  I will go in front of you.” 33:13 But Jacob ⁵²⁹  said to him, “My lord knows that the children are young, ⁵³⁰  and that I have to look after the sheep and cattle that are nursing their young. ⁵³¹  If they are driven too hard for even a single day, all the animals will die. 33:14 Let my lord go on ahead of his servant. I will travel more slowly, at the pace of the herds and the children, ⁵³²  until I come to my lord at Seir.”

33:15 So Esau said, “Let me leave some of my men with you.” ⁵³³  “Why do that?” Jacob replied. ⁵³⁴  “My lord has already been kind enough to me.” ⁵³⁵ 

33:16 So that same day Esau made his way back ⁵³⁶  to Seir. 33:17 But ⁵³⁷  Jacob traveled to Succoth ⁵³⁸  where he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was called ⁵³⁹  Succoth. ⁵⁴⁰ 

33:18 After he left Paddan Aram, Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped near ⁵⁴¹  the city. 33:19 Then he purchased the portion of the field where he had pitched his tent; he bought it ⁵⁴²  from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of money. ⁵⁴³  33:20 There he set up an altar and called it “The God of Israel is God.” ⁵⁴⁴ 

Dinah and the Shechemites

34:1 Now Dinah, Leah’s daughter whom she bore to Jacob, went to meet ⁵⁴⁵  the young women ⁵⁴⁶  of the land. 34:2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, who ruled that area, saw her, he grabbed her, forced himself on her, ⁵⁴⁷  and sexually assaulted her. ⁵⁴⁸  34:3 Then he became very attached ⁵⁴⁹  to Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. He fell in love with the young woman and spoke romantically to her. ⁵⁵⁰  34:4 Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Acquire this young girl as my wife.” ⁵⁵¹  34:5 When ⁵⁵²  Jacob heard that Shechem ⁵⁵³  had violated his daughter Dinah, his sons were with the livestock in the field. So Jacob remained silent ⁵⁵⁴  until they came in.

34:6 Then Shechem’s father Hamor went to speak with Jacob about Dinah. ⁵⁵⁵  34:7 Now Jacob’s sons had come in from the field when they heard the news. ⁵⁵⁶  They ⁵⁵⁷  were offended ⁵⁵⁸  and very angry because Shechem ⁵⁵⁹  had disgraced Israel ⁵⁶⁰  by sexually assaulting ⁵⁶¹  Jacob’s daughter, a crime that should not be committed. ⁵⁶² 

34:8 But Hamor made this appeal to them: “My son Shechem is in love with your daughter. ⁵⁶³  Please give her to him as his wife. 34:9 Intermarry with us. ⁵⁶⁴  Let us marry your daughters, and take our daughters as wives for yourselves. ⁵⁶⁵  34:10 You may live ⁵⁶⁶  among us, and the land will be open to you. ⁵⁶⁷  Live in it, travel freely in it, ⁵⁶⁸  and acquire property in it.”

34:11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s ⁵⁶⁹  father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your sight, and whatever you require of me ⁵⁷⁰  I’ll give. ⁵⁷¹  34:12 You can make the bride price and the gift I must bring very expensive, ⁵⁷²  and I’ll give ⁵⁷³  whatever you ask ⁵⁷⁴  of me. Just give me the young woman as my wife!”

34:13 Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully when they spoke because Shechem ⁵⁷⁵  had violated their sister Dinah. 34:14 They said to them, “We cannot give ⁵⁷⁶  our sister to a man who is not circumcised, for it would be a disgrace ⁵⁷⁷  to us. 34:15 We will give you our consent on this one condition: You must become ⁵⁷⁸  like us by circumcising ⁵⁷⁹  all your males. 34:16 Then we will give ⁵⁸⁰  you our daughters to marry, ⁵⁸¹  and we will take your daughters as wives for ourselves, and we will live among you and become one people. 34:17 But if you do not agree to our terms ⁵⁸²  by being circumcised, then we will take ⁵⁸³  our sister ⁵⁸⁴  and depart.”

34:18 Their offer pleased Hamor and his son Shechem. ⁵⁸⁵  34:19 The young man did not delay in doing what they asked ⁵⁸⁶  because he wanted Jacob’s daughter Dinah ⁵⁸⁷  badly. (Now he was more important ⁵⁸⁸  than anyone in his father’s household.) ⁵⁸⁹  34:20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate ⁵⁹⁰  of their city and spoke to the men of their city, 34:21 “These men are at peace with us. So let them live in the land and travel freely in it, for the land is wide enough ⁵⁹¹  for them. We will take their daughters for wives, and we will give them our daughters to marry. ⁵⁹²  34:22 Only on this one condition will these men consent to live with us and become one people: They demand ⁵⁹³  that every male among us be circumcised just as they are circumcised. 34:23 If we do so, ⁵⁹⁴  won’t their livestock, their property, and all their animals become ours? So let’s consent to their demand, so they will live among us.”

34:24 All the men who assembled at the city gate ⁵⁹⁵  agreed with ⁵⁹⁶  Hamor and his son Shechem. Every male who assembled at the city gate ⁵⁹⁷  was circumcised. 34:25 In three days, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword ⁵⁹⁸  and went to the unsuspecting city ⁵⁹⁹  and slaughtered every male. 34:26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword, took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and left. 34:27 Jacob’s sons killed them ⁶⁰⁰  and looted the city because their sister had been violated. ⁶⁰¹  34:28 They took their flocks, herds, and donkeys, as well as everything in the city and in the surrounding fields. ⁶⁰²  34:29 They captured as plunder ⁶⁰³  all their wealth, all their little ones, and their wives, including everything in the houses.

34:30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought ruin ⁶⁰⁴  on me by making me a foul odor ⁶⁰⁵  among the inhabitants of the land – among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I ⁶⁰⁶  am few in number; they will join forces against me and attack me, and both I and my family will be destroyed!” 34:31 But Simeon and Levi replied, ⁶⁰⁷  “Should he treat our sister like a common prostitute?”

The Return to Bethel

35:1 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up at once ⁶⁰⁸  to Bethel ⁶⁰⁹  and live there. Make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” ⁶¹⁰  35:2 So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have among you. ⁶¹¹  Purify yourselves and change your clothes. ⁶¹²  35:3 Let us go up at once ⁶¹³  to Bethel. Then I will make ⁶¹⁴  an altar there to God, who responded to me in my time of distress ⁶¹⁵  and has been with me wherever I went.” ⁶¹⁶ 

35:4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their possession ⁶¹⁷  and the rings that were in their ears. ⁶¹⁸  Jacob buried them ⁶¹⁹  under the oak ⁶²⁰  near Shechem 35:5 and they started on their journey. ⁶²¹  The surrounding cities were afraid of God, ⁶²²  and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

35:6 Jacob and all those who were with him arrived at Luz (that is, Bethel) ⁶²³  in the land of Canaan. ⁶²⁴  35:7 He built an altar there and named the place El Bethel ⁶²⁵  because there God had revealed himself ⁶²⁶  to him when he was fleeing from his brother. 35:8 (Deborah, ⁶²⁷  Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel; thus it was named ⁶²⁸  Oak of Weeping.) ⁶²⁹ 

35:9 God appeared to Jacob again after he returned from Paddan Aram and blessed him. 35:10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but your name will no longer be called Jacob; Israel will be your name.” So God named him Israel. ⁶³⁰  35:11 Then God said to him, “I am the sovereign God. ⁶³¹  Be fruitful and multiply! A nation – even a company of nations – will descend from you; kings will be among your descendants! ⁶³²  35:12 The land I gave ⁶³³  to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you. To your descendants ⁶³⁴  I will also give this land.” 35:13 Then God went up from the place ⁶³⁵  where he spoke with him. 35:14 So Jacob set up a sacred stone pillar in the place where God spoke with him. ⁶³⁶  He poured out a drink offering on it, and then he poured oil on it. ⁶³⁷  35:15 Jacob named the place ⁶³⁸  where God spoke with him Bethel. ⁶³⁹ 

35:16 They traveled on from Bethel, and when Ephrath was still some distance away, ⁶⁴⁰  Rachel went into labor ⁶⁴¹  – and her labor was hard. 35:17 When her labor was at its hardest, ⁶⁴²  the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you are having another son.” ⁶⁴³  35:18 With her dying breath, ⁶⁴⁴  she named him Ben-Oni. ⁶⁴⁵  But his father called him Benjamin instead. ⁶⁴⁶  35:19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). ⁶⁴⁷  35:20 Jacob set up a marker ⁶⁴⁸  over her grave; it is ⁶⁴⁹  the Marker of Rachel’s Grave to this day.

35:21 Then Israel traveled on and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder. ⁶⁵⁰  35:22 While Israel was living in that land, Reuben had sexual relations with ⁶⁵¹  Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard about it.

Jacob had twelve sons:

35:23 The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, as well as Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

35:24 The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.

35:25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali.

35:26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher.

These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan Aram.

35:27 So Jacob came back to his father Isaac in Mamre, ⁶⁵²  to Kiriath Arba ⁶⁵³  (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. ⁶⁵⁴  35:28 Isaac lived to be 180 years old. ⁶⁵⁵  35:29 Then Isaac breathed his last and joined his ancestors. ⁶⁵⁶  He died an old man who had lived a full life. ⁶⁵⁷  His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

The Descendants of Esau

36:1 What follows is the account of Esau (also known as Edom). ⁶⁵⁸ 

36:2 Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: ⁶⁵⁹  Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter ⁶⁶⁰  of Zibeon the Hivite, 36:3 in addition to Basemath the daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.

36:4 Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel, 36:5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

36:6 Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, all the people in his household, his livestock, his animals, and all his possessions which he had acquired in the land of Canaan and went to a land some distance away from ⁶⁶¹  Jacob his brother 36:7 because they had too many possessions to be able to stay together and the land where they had settled ⁶⁶²  was not able to support them because of their livestock. 36:8 So Esau (also known as Edom) lived in the hill country of Seir. ⁶⁶³ 

36:9 This is the account of Esau, the father ⁶⁶⁴  of the Edomites, in the hill country of Seir.

36:10 These were the names of Esau’s sons:

Eliphaz, the son of Esau’s wife Adah, and Reuel, the son of Esau’s wife Basemath.

36:11 The sons of Eliphaz were:

Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

36:12 Timna, a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz, bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These were the sons ⁶⁶⁵  of Esau’s wife Adah.

36:13 These were the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the sons ⁶⁶⁶  of Esau’s wife Basemath.

36:14 These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter ⁶⁶⁷  of Zibeon: She bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah to Esau.

36:15 These were the chiefs ⁶⁶⁸  among the descendants ⁶⁶⁹  of Esau, the sons of Eliphaz, Esau’s firstborn: chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, 36:16 chief Korah, ⁶⁷⁰  chief Gatam, chief Amalek. These were the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these were the sons ⁶⁷¹  of Adah.

36:17 These were the sons of Esau’s son Reuel: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah. These were the chiefs descended from Reuel in the land of Edom; these were the sons ⁶⁷²  of Esau’s wife Basemath.

36:18 These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah. These were the chiefs descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.

36:19 These were the sons of Esau (also known as Edom), and these were their chiefs.

36:20 These were the sons of Seir the Horite, ⁶⁷³  who were living in the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 36:21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, the descendants ⁶⁷⁴  of Seir in the land of Edom.

36:22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Homam; ⁶⁷⁵  Lotan’s sister was Timna.

36:23 These were the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, ⁶⁷⁶  and Onam.

36:24 These were the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah (who discovered the hot springs ⁶⁷⁷  in the wilderness as he pastured the donkeys of his father Zibeon).

36:25 These were the children ⁶⁷⁸  of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.

36:26 These were the sons of Dishon: ⁶⁷⁹  Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.

36:27 These were the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

36:28 These were the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.

36:29 These were the chiefs of the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah, 36:30 chief Dishon, chief Ezer, chief Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, according to their chief lists in the land of Seir.

36:31 These were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites: ⁶⁸⁰ 

36:32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom; the name of his city was Dinhabah.

36:33 When Bela died, Jobab the son of Zerah from Bozrah reigned in his place.

36:34 When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.

36:35 When Husham died, Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated the Midianites in the land of Moab, reigned in his place; the name of his city was Avith.

36:36 When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah reigned in his place.

36:37 When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth by the River ⁶⁸¹  reigned in his place.

36:38 When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place.

36:39 When Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor died, Hadad ⁶⁸²  reigned in his place; the name of his city was Pau. ⁶⁸³  His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab.

36:40 These were the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their families, according to their places, by their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth, 36:41 chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, 36:42 chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, 36:43 chief Magdiel, chief Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their settlements ⁶⁸⁴  in the land they possessed. This was Esau, the father of the Edomites.

Joseph’s Dreams

37:1 But Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, ⁶⁸⁵  in the land of Canaan. ⁶⁸⁶ 

37:2 This is the account of Jacob.

Joseph, his seventeen-year-old son, ⁶⁸⁷  was taking care of ⁶⁸⁸  the flocks with his brothers. Now he was a youngster ⁶⁸⁹  working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. ⁶⁹⁰  Joseph brought back a bad report about them ⁶⁹¹  to their father.

37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons ⁶⁹²  because he was a son born to him late in life, ⁶⁹³  and he made a special ⁶⁹⁴  tunic for him. 37:4 When Joseph’s ⁶⁹⁵  brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, ⁶⁹⁶  they hated Joseph ⁶⁹⁷  and were not able to speak to him kindly. ⁶⁹⁸ 

37:5 Joseph ⁶⁹⁹  had a dream, ⁷⁰⁰  and when he told his brothers about it, ⁷⁰¹  they hated him even more. ⁷⁰²  37:6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: ⁷⁰³  37:7 There we were, ⁷⁰⁴  binding sheaves of grain in the middle of the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose up and stood upright and your sheaves surrounded my sheaf and bowed down ⁷⁰⁵  to it!” 37:8 Then his brothers asked him, “Do you really think you will rule over us or have dominion over us?” ⁷⁰⁶  They hated him even more ⁷⁰⁷  because of his dream and because of what he said. ⁷⁰⁸ 

37:9 Then he had another dream, ⁷⁰⁹  and told it to his brothers. “Look,” ⁷¹⁰  he said. “I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 37:10 When he told his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him, saying, “What is this dream that you had? ⁷¹¹  Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come and bow down to you?” ⁷¹²  37:11 His brothers were jealous ⁷¹³  of him, but his father kept in mind what Joseph said. ⁷¹⁴ 

37:12 When his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, 37:13 Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers ⁷¹⁵  are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I will send you to them.” “I’m ready,” ⁷¹⁶  Joseph replied. ⁷¹⁷  37:14 So Jacob ⁷¹⁸  said to him, “Go now and check on ⁷¹⁹  the welfare ⁷²⁰  of your brothers and of the flocks, and bring me word.” So Jacob ⁷²¹  sent him from the valley of Hebron.

37:15 When Joseph reached Shechem, ⁷²²  a man found him wandering ⁷²³  in the field, so the man asked him, “What are you looking for?” 37:16 He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Please tell ⁷²⁴  me where they are grazing their flocks.” 37:17 The man said, “They left this area, ⁷²⁵  for I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

37:18 Now Joseph’s brothers ⁷²⁶  saw him from a distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. 37:19 They said to one another, “Here comes this master of dreams! ⁷²⁷  37:20 Come now, let’s kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wild ⁷²⁸  animal ate him. Then we’ll see how his dreams turn out!” ⁷²⁹ 

37:21 When Reuben heard this, he rescued Joseph ⁷³⁰  from their hands, ⁷³¹  saying, ⁷³²  “Let’s not take his life!” ⁷³³  37:22 Reuben continued, ⁷³⁴  “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” ⁷³⁵  (Reuben said this ⁷³⁶  so he could rescue Joseph ⁷³⁷  from them ⁷³⁸  and take him back to his father.)

37:23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him ⁷³⁹  of his tunic, the special tunic that he wore. 37:24 Then they took him and threw him into the cistern. (Now the cistern was empty; ⁷⁴⁰  there was no water in it.)

37:25 When they sat down to eat their food, they looked up ⁷⁴¹  and saw ⁷⁴²  a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh down to Egypt. ⁷⁴³  37:26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 37:27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let’s not lay a hand on him, ⁷⁴⁴  for after all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed. ⁷⁴⁵  37:28 So when the Midianite ⁷⁴⁶  merchants passed by, Joseph’s brothers pulled ⁷⁴⁷  him ⁷⁴⁸  out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites ⁷⁴⁹  then took Joseph to Egypt.

37:29 Later Reuben returned to the cistern to find that Joseph was not in it! ⁷⁵⁰  He tore his clothes, 37:30 returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy isn’t there! And I, where can I go?” 37:31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a young goat, ⁷⁵¹  and dipped the tunic in the blood. 37:32 Then they brought the special tunic to their father ⁷⁵²  and said, “We found this. Determine now whether it is your son’s tunic or not.”

37:33 He recognized it and exclaimed, “It is my son’s tunic! A wild animal has eaten him! ⁷⁵³  Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!” 37:34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, ⁷⁵⁴  and mourned for his son many days. 37:35 All his sons and daughters stood by ⁷⁵⁵  him to console him, but he refused to be consoled. “No,” he said, “I will go to the grave mourning my son.” ⁷⁵⁶  So Joseph’s ⁷⁵⁷  father wept for him.

37:36 Now ⁷⁵⁸  in Egypt the Midianites ⁷⁵⁹  sold Joseph ⁷⁶⁰  to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard. ⁷⁶¹ 

Judah and Tamar

38:1 At that time Judah left ⁷⁶²  his brothers and stayed ⁷⁶³  with an Adullamite man ⁷⁶⁴  named Hirah.

38:2 There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man ⁷⁶⁵  named Shua. ⁷⁶⁶  Judah acquired her as a wife ⁷⁶⁷  and had marital relations with her. ⁷⁶⁸  38:3 She became pregnant ⁷⁶⁹  and had a son. Judah named ⁷⁷⁰  him Er. 38:4 She became pregnant again and had another son, whom she named Onan. 38:5 Then she had ⁷⁷¹  yet another son, whom she named Shelah. She gave birth to him in Kezib. ⁷⁷² 

38:6 Judah acquired ⁷⁷³  a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar. 38:7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord killed him.

38:8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Have sexual relations with ⁷⁷⁴  your brother’s wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise ⁷⁷⁵  up a descendant for your brother.” ⁷⁷⁶  38:9 But Onan knew that the child ⁷⁷⁷  would not be considered his. ⁷⁷⁸  So whenever ⁷⁷⁹  he had sexual relations with ⁷⁸⁰  his brother’s wife, he withdrew prematurely ⁷⁸¹  so as not to give his brother a descendant. 38:10 What he did was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord ⁷⁸²  killed him too.

38:11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until Shelah my son grows up.” For he thought, ⁷⁸³  “I don’t want him to die like his brothers.” ⁷⁸⁴  So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.

38:12 After some time ⁷⁸⁵  Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. After Judah was consoled, he left for Timnah to visit his sheepshearers, along with ⁷⁸⁶  his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 38:13 Tamar was told, ⁷⁸⁷  “Look, your father-in-law is going up ⁷⁸⁸  to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 38:14 So she removed her widow’s clothes and covered herself with a veil. She wrapped herself and sat at the entrance to Enaim which is on the way to Timnah. (She did this because ⁷⁸⁹  she saw that she had not been given to Shelah as a wife, even though he had now grown up.) ⁷⁹⁰ 

38:15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute ⁷⁹¹  because she had covered her face. 38:16 He turned aside to her along the road and said, “Come on! I want to have sex with you.” ⁷⁹²  (He did not realize ⁷⁹³  it was his daughter-in-law.) She asked, “What will you give me in exchange for having sex with you?” ⁷⁹⁴  38:17 He replied, “I’ll send you a young goat from the flock.” She asked, “Will you give me a pledge until you send it?” ⁷⁹⁵  38:18 He said, “What pledge should I give you?” She replied, “Your seal, your cord, and the staff that’s in your hand.” So he gave them to her and had sex with her. ⁷⁹⁶  She became pregnant by him. 38:19 She left immediately, ⁷⁹⁷  removed her veil, and put on her widow’s clothes.

38:20 Then Judah had his friend Hirah ⁷⁹⁸  the Adullamite take a young goat to get back from the woman the items he had given in pledge, ⁷⁹⁹  but Hirah ⁸⁰⁰  could not find her. 38:21 He asked the men who were there, ⁸⁰¹  “Where is the cult prostitute ⁸⁰²  who was at Enaim by the road?” But they replied, “There has been no cult prostitute here.” 38:22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I couldn’t find her. Moreover, the men of the place said, ‘There has been no cult prostitute here.’” 38:23 Judah said, “Let her keep the things ⁸⁰³  for herself. Otherwise we will appear to be dishonest. ⁸⁰⁴  I did indeed send this young goat, but you couldn’t find her.”

38:24 After three months Judah was told, ⁸⁰⁵  “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has turned to prostitution, ⁸⁰⁶  and as a result she has become pregnant.” ⁸⁰⁷  Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!” 38:25 While they were bringing her out, she sent word ⁸⁰⁸  to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong.” ⁸⁰⁹  Then she said, “Identify ⁸¹⁰  the one to whom the seal, cord, and staff belong.” 38:26 Judah recognized them and said, “She is more upright ⁸¹¹  than I am, because I wouldn’t give her to Shelah my son.” He did not have sexual relations with her ⁸¹²  again.

38:27 When it was time for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb. 38:28 While she was giving birth, one child ⁸¹³  put out his hand, and the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 38:29 But then he drew back his hand, and his brother came out before him. ⁸¹⁴  She said, “How you have broken out of the womb!” ⁸¹⁵  So he was named Perez. ⁸¹⁶  38:30 Afterward his brother came out – the one who had the scarlet thread on his hand – and he was named Zerah. ⁸¹⁷ 

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

39:1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. ⁸¹⁸  An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, ⁸¹⁹  purchased him from ⁸²⁰  the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. 39:2 The Lord was with Joseph. He was successful ⁸²¹  and lived ⁸²²  in the household of his Egyptian master. 39:3 His master observed that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he was doing successful. ⁸²³  39:4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. ⁸²⁴  Potiphar appointed Joseph ⁸²⁵  overseer of his household and put him in charge ⁸²⁶  of everything he owned. 39:5 From the time ⁸²⁷  Potiphar ⁸²⁸  appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed ⁸²⁹  the Egyptian’s household for Joseph’s sake. The blessing of the Lord was on everything that he had, both ⁸³⁰  in his house and in his fields. ⁸³¹  39:6 So Potiphar ⁸³²  left ⁸³³  everything he had in Joseph’s care; ⁸³⁴  he gave no thought ⁸³⁵  to anything except the food he ate. ⁸³⁶ 

Now Joseph was well built and good-looking. ⁸³⁷  39:7 Soon after these things, his master’s wife took notice of ⁸³⁸  Joseph and said, “Have sex with me.” ⁸³⁹  39:8 But he refused, saying ⁸⁴⁰  to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not give any thought ⁸⁴¹  to his household with me here, ⁸⁴²  and everything that he owns he has put into my care. ⁸⁴³  39:9 There is no one greater in this household than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you because you are his wife. So how could I do ⁸⁴⁴  such a great evil and sin against God?” 39:10 Even though she continued to speak ⁸⁴⁵  to Joseph day after day, he did not respond ⁸⁴⁶  to her invitation to have sex with her. ⁸⁴⁷ 

39:11 One day ⁸⁴⁸  he went into the house to do his work when none of the household servants ⁸⁴⁹  were there in the house. 39:12 She grabbed him by his outer garment, saying, “Have sex with me!” But he left his outer garment in her hand and ran ⁸⁵⁰  outside. ⁸⁵¹  39:13 When she saw that he had left his outer garment in her hand and had run outside, 39:14 she called for her household servants and said to them, “See, my husband brought ⁸⁵²  in a Hebrew man ⁸⁵³  to us to humiliate us. ⁸⁵⁴  He tried to have sex with me, ⁸⁵⁵  but I screamed loudly. ⁸⁵⁶  39:15 When he heard me raise ⁸⁵⁷  my voice and scream, he left his outer garment beside me and ran outside.”

39:16 So she laid his outer garment beside her until his master came home. 39:17 This is what she said to him: ⁸⁵⁸  “That Hebrew slave ⁸⁵⁹  you brought to us tried to humiliate me, ⁸⁶⁰  39:18 but when I raised my voice and screamed, he left his outer garment and ran outside.”

39:19 When his master heard his wife say, ⁸⁶¹  “This is the way ⁸⁶²  your slave treated me,” ⁸⁶³  he became furious. ⁸⁶⁴  39:20 Joseph’s master took him and threw him into the prison, ⁸⁶⁵  the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. So he was there in the prison. ⁸⁶⁶ 

39:21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness. ⁸⁶⁷  He granted him favor in the sight of the prison warden. ⁸⁶⁸  39:22 The warden put all the prisoners under Joseph’s care. He was in charge of whatever they were doing. ⁸⁶⁹  39:23 The warden did not concern himself ⁸⁷⁰  with anything that was in Joseph’s ⁸⁷¹  care because the Lord was with him and whatever he was doing the Lord was making successful.

[27:1]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”

[27:1]  ³ tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).

[27:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaac) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:2]  ⁶ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here introduces a logically foundational statement, upon which the coming instruction will be based.

[27:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “I do not know the day of my death.”

[27:3]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:4]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tc The LXX adds here “to his father,” which may have been accidentally omitted in the MT.

[27:7]  ¹³ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:7]  ¹⁴ tn The cohortative, with the prefixed conjunction, also expresses logical sequence. See vv. 4, 19, 27.

[27:7]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “listen to my voice.” The Hebrew idiom means “to comply; to obey.”

[27:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “to that which I am commanding you.”

[27:9]  ¹⁸ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:10]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[27:11]  ²² 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]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Heb “upon me your curse.”

[27:13]  ²⁵ tn Heb “only listen to my voice.”

[27:14]  ²⁶ tn The words “the goats” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

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

[27:16]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ tn Heb “gave…into the hand of.”

[27:18]  ³¹ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:18]  ³² 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]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ 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]  ³⁶ tn Heb “you hastened to find.” In translation the infinitive becomes the main verb and the first verb becomes adverbial.

[27:20]  ³⁷ tn Heb “caused to meet before me.”

[27:20]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:21]  ⁴⁰ 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]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ⁴³ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ⁴⁴ 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]  ⁴⁵ 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]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “see.”

[27:28]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”

[27:28]  ⁵² tn Heb “and from the fatness.”

[27:29]  ⁵³ 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]  ⁵⁴ 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]  ⁵⁵ 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]  ⁵⁶ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite form of the verb makes the construction emphatic.

[27:30]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “the presence of Isaac his father.” The repetition of the proper name (“Isaac”) was

[27:30]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “and Esau his brother came from his hunt.”

[27:31]  ⁵⁹ 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]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “arise” (i.e., sit up).

[27:31]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.”

[27:32]  ⁶² tn Heb “said.”

[27:32]  ⁶³ 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]  ⁶⁴ 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]  ⁶⁵ 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]  ⁶⁶ tn The temporal clause is introduced with the temporal indicator and has the infinitive as its verb.

[27:34]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “and he yelled [with] a great and bitter yell to excess.”

[27:35]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:35]  ⁶⁹ tn Or “took”; “received.”

[27:36]  ⁷⁰ 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]  ⁷¹ 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]  ⁷² tn Heb “Bless me, me also, my father.” The words “my father” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:38]  ⁷³ tn Heb “and Esau lifted his voice and wept.”

[27:39]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “look.”

[27:39]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “from the fatness.”

[27:40]  ⁷⁶ 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]  ⁷⁷ tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.

[27:41]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”

[27:41]  ⁷⁹ 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]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “days.”

[27:41]  ⁸¹ tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.

[27:42]  ⁸² tn Heb “and the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah.”

[27:42]  ⁸³ tn Heb “she sent and called for.”

[27:42]  ⁸⁴ 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]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “listen to my voice.”

[27:43]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “arise, flee.”

[27:44]  ⁸⁷ 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]  ⁸⁸ tn The words “stay there” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:45]  ⁸⁹ 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]  ⁹⁰ tn If Jacob stayed, he would be killed and Esau would be forced to run away.

[27:46]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “loathe my life.” The Hebrew verb translated “loathe” refers to strong disgust (see Lev 20:23).

[27:46]  ⁹² 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]  ⁹³ 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]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”

[28:2]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “Arise! Go!” The first of the two imperatives is adverbial and stresses the immediacy of the departure.

[28:3]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.

[28:3]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “and make you fruitful and multiply you.” See Gen 17:6, 20 for similar terminology.

[28:3]  ⁹⁸ tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here indicates consequence. The collocation הָיָה + preposition לְ (hayah + lÿ) means “become.”

[28:3]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”

[28:4]  ¹⁰⁰ 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]  ¹⁰¹ tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[28:4]  ¹⁰² 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]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “to take for himself from there a wife.”

[28:6]  ¹⁰⁴ tn The infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffix form a temporal clause.

[28:6]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”

[28:8]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Heb “saw.”

[28:8]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Heb “the daughters of Canaan.”

[28:8]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Heb “evil in the eyes of.”

[28:9]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “took for a wife.”

[28:11]  ¹¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹¹ tn Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.”

[28:11]  ¹¹² tn Heb “he took from the stones of the place,” which here means Jacob took one of the stones (see v. 18).

[28:11]  ¹¹³ 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]  ¹¹⁴ tn Heb “lay down.”

[28:12]  ¹¹⁵ tn Heb “and dreamed.”

[28:12]  ¹¹⁶ 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]  ¹¹⁷ 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]  ¹¹⁸ 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]  ¹¹⁹ 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]  ¹²⁰ tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.

[28:14]  ¹²¹ tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.

[28:14]  ¹²² 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]  ¹²³ tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”

[28:15]  ¹²⁴ 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]  ¹²⁵ tn Heb “woke up from his sleep.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[28:16]  ¹²⁶ tn Heb “said.”

[28:18]  ¹²⁷ tn Heb “and he got up early…and he took.”

[28:18]  ¹²⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:18]  ¹²⁹ tn See the note on this phrase in v. 11.

[28:18]  ¹³⁰ tn Heb “standing stone.”

[28:19]  ¹³¹ tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew (see v. 17).

[28:20]  ¹³² tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.

[28:21]  ¹³³ tn Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.”

[28:22]  ¹³⁴ tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.

[28:22]  ¹³⁵ tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.

[28:22]  ¹³⁶ 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]  ¹³⁷ 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]  ¹³⁸ tn Heb “the land of the sons of the east.”

[29:2]  ¹³⁹ 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]  ¹⁴⁰ tn Heb “and look, there.”

[29:2]  ¹⁴¹ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the noun with the prefixed conjunction) provides supplemental information that is important to the story.

[29:3]  ¹⁴² tn Heb “they”; the referent (the shepherds) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:5]  ¹⁴³ tn Heb “son.”

[29:5]  ¹⁴⁴ 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]  ¹⁴⁵ tn Heb “and he said to them, ‘Is there peace to him?’”

[29:6]  ¹⁴⁶ tn Heb “peace.”

[29:7]  ¹⁴⁷ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:7]  ¹⁴⁸ tn Heb “the day is great.”

[29:7]  ¹⁴⁹ 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]  ¹⁵⁰ tn The perfect verbal forms with the vav (ו) consecutive carry on the sequence begun by the initial imperfect form.

[29:9]  ¹⁵¹ tn Heb “was a shepherdess.”

[29:10]  ¹⁵² tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother” (twice in this verse).

[29:10]  ¹⁵³ tn Heb “Jacob.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[29:10]  ¹⁵⁴ tn Heb “drew near, approached.”

[29:10]  ¹⁵⁵ 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]  ¹⁵⁶ 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]  ¹⁵⁷ tn Heb “declared.”

[29:12]  ¹⁵⁸ tn Heb “that he [was] the brother of her father.”

[29:13]  ¹⁵⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:13]  ¹⁶⁰ 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]  ¹⁶¹ 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]  ¹⁶² tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:14]  ¹⁶³ tn Heb “a month of days.”

[29:15]  ¹⁶⁴ tn The verb is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; the nuance in the question is deliberative.

[29:15]  ¹⁶⁵ tn Heb “my brother.” The term “brother” is used in a loose sense; actually Jacob was Laban’s nephew.

[29:16]  ¹⁶⁶ 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]  ¹⁶⁷ 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]  ¹⁶⁸ tn Heb “and Rachel was beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance.”

[29:18]  ¹⁶⁹ tn Heb “Jacob loved.”

[29:19]  ¹⁷⁰ tn Heb “Better my giving her to you than my giving her to another man.”

[29:20]  ¹⁷¹ tn Heb “in exchange for Rachel.”

[29:20]  ¹⁷² 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]  ¹⁷³ tn Heb “because of his love for her.” The words “was so great” are supplied for stylistic reasons.

[29:21]  ¹⁷⁴ tn Heb “and Jacob said.”

[29:21]  ¹⁷⁵ tn Heb “my days are fulfilled.”

[29:21]  ¹⁷⁶ 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]  ¹⁷⁷ tn Heb “men.”

[29:23]  ¹⁷⁸ tn Heb “and it happened in the evening that he took Leah his daughter and brought her.”

[29:23]  ¹⁷⁹ tn Heb “to him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:23]  ¹⁸⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:23]  ¹⁸¹ 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]  ¹⁸² 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]  ¹⁸³ 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]  ¹⁸⁴ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:25]  ¹⁸⁵ 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]  ¹⁸⁶ 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]  ¹⁸⁷ 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]  ¹⁸⁸ 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]  ¹⁸⁹ 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]  ¹⁹⁰ tn Heb “this other one.”

[29:27]  ¹⁹¹ 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]  ¹⁹² tn Heb “and Jacob did so.” The words “as Laban said” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[29:28]  ¹⁹³ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:28]  ¹⁹⁴ 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]  ¹⁹⁵ 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]  ¹⁹⁶ tn Heb “and Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his female servant, for her for a servant.”

[29:30]  ¹⁹⁷ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:30]  ¹⁹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹⁹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:30]  ²⁰⁰ tn Heb “and he loved also Rachel, more than Leah, and he served with him still seven other years.”

[29:31]  ²⁰¹ 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]  ²⁰² tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”

[29:32]  ²⁰³ tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).

[29:32]  ²⁰⁴ sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”

[29:32]  ²⁰⁵ tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”

[29:33]  ²⁰⁶ tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.

[29:33]  ²⁰⁷ 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]  ²⁰⁸ tn Heb “will be joined to me.”

[29:34]  ²⁰⁹ 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]  ²¹⁰ 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]  ²¹¹ tn Heb “Rachel.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:1]  ²¹² tn Heb “sons.”

[30:2]  ²¹³ tn Heb “and the anger of Jacob was hot.”

[30:2]  ²¹⁴ tn Heb “who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb.”

[30:3]  ²¹⁵ tn Heb “go in to.” The expression “go in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.

[30:3]  ²¹⁶ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates the immediate purpose of the proposed activity.

[30:3]  ²¹⁷ tn The word “children” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:3]  ²¹⁸ 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]  ²¹⁹ 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]  ²²⁰ tn Heb “and she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:4]  ²²¹ tn Heb “went in to.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.

[30:5]  ²²² tn Or “Bilhah conceived” (also in v. 7).

[30:5]  ²²³ tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a son.”

[30:6]  ²²⁴ 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]  ²²⁵ tn Or “therefore.”

[30:6]  ²²⁶ 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]  ²²⁷ tn Heb “and she became pregnant again and Bilhah, the servant of Rachel, bore a second son for Jacob.”

[30:8]  ²²⁸ 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]  ²²⁹ 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]  ²³⁰ 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]  ²³¹ tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore for Jacob a son.”

[30:11]  ²³² 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]  ²³³ 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]  ²³⁴ tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore a second son for Jacob.”

[30:13]  ²³⁵ tn The Hebrew statement apparently means “with my happiness.”

[30:13]  ²³⁶ tn Heb “daughters.”

[30:13]  ²³⁷ 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]  ²³⁸ tn Heb “during the days.”

[30:14]  ²³⁹ sn Mandrake plants were popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac in the culture of the time.

[30:15]  ²⁴⁰ tn Heb “and she said to her”; the referent of the pronoun “she” (Leah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:15]  ²⁴¹ tn Heb “therefore.”

[30:15]  ²⁴² 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]  ²⁴³ 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]  ²⁴⁴ 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]  ²⁴⁵ 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]  ²⁴⁶ tn Heb “listened to.”

[30:17]  ²⁴⁷ tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 19).

[30:17]  ²⁴⁸ tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a fifth son,” i.e., this was the fifth son that Leah had given Jacob.

[30:18]  ²⁴⁹ tn Heb “God has given my reward.”

[30:18]  ²⁵⁰ tn The words “as a wife” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity (cf. v. 9).

[30:18]  ²⁵¹ 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]  ²⁵² tn Heb “and she bore a sixth son for Jacob,” i.e., this was the sixth son that Leah had given Jacob.

[30:20]  ²⁵³ 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]  ²⁵⁴ tn Heb “remembered.”

[30:22]  ²⁵⁵ 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]  ²⁵⁶ tn Or “conceived.”

[30:23]  ²⁵⁷ 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]  ²⁵⁸ 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]  ²⁵⁹ 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]  ²⁶⁰ tn The imperatival form here expresses a request.

[30:25]  ²⁶¹ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[30:25]  ²⁶² tn Heb “to my place and to my land.”

[30:26]  ²⁶³ 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]  ²⁶⁴ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[30:26]  ²⁶⁵ tn Heb “for you, you know my service [with] which I have served you.”

[30:27]  ²⁶⁶ tn The words “please stay here” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[30:27]  ²⁶⁷ 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]  ²⁶⁸ tn Heb “set your wage for me so I may give [it].”

[30:29]  ²⁶⁹ 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]  ²⁷⁰ tn Heb “and how your cattle were with me.”

[30:30]  ²⁷¹ tn Or “for.”

[30:30]  ²⁷² tn Heb “before me.”

[30:30]  ²⁷³ tn Heb “and it has broken out with respect to abundance.”

[30:30]  ²⁷⁴ tn Heb “at my foot.”

[30:30]  ²⁷⁵ tn Heb “How long [until] I do, also I, for my house?”

[30:31]  ²⁷⁶ tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:31]  ²⁷⁷ tn The negated imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance.

[30:31]  ²⁷⁸ tn The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:31]  ²⁷⁹ tn Heb “If you do for me this thing.”

[30:31]  ²⁸⁰ tn Heb “I will return, I will tend,” an idiom meaning “I will continue tending.”

[30:32]  ²⁸¹ tn Heb “pass through.”

[30:32]  ²⁸² tn Or “every black lamb”; Heb “and every dark sheep among the lambs.”

[30:32]  ²⁸³ tn Heb “and the spotted and speckled among the goats.”

[30:32]  ²⁸⁴ 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]  ²⁸⁵ tn Heb “will answer on my behalf.”

[30:33]  ²⁸⁶ tn Heb “on the following day,” or “tomorrow.”

[30:33]  ²⁸⁷ tn Heb “when you come concerning my wage before you.”

[30:33]  ²⁸⁸ 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]  ²⁸⁹ 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]  ²⁹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:35]  ²⁹¹ tn Heb “and he gave [them] into the hand.”

[30:36]  ²⁹² tn Heb “and he put a journey of three days between himself and Jacob.”

[30:36]  ²⁹³ 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]  ²⁹⁴ 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]  ²⁹⁵ 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]  ²⁹⁶ tn Heb “the sheep.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“they”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:40]  ²⁹⁷ tn Heb “and he set the faces of.”

[30:41]  ²⁹⁸ tn Heb “and at every breeding-heat of the flock.”

[30:42]  ²⁹⁹ 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]  ³⁰⁰ tn Heb “were for Laban.”

[30:43]  ³⁰¹ tn Heb “the man”; Jacob’s name has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[30:43]  ³⁰² tn Heb “and there were to him.”

[31:1]  ³⁰³ tn Heb “and he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying.”

[31:1]  ³⁰⁴ sn The Hebrew word translated “gotten rich” (כָּבוֹד, cavod) has the basic idea of “weight.” If one is heavy with possessions, then that one is wealthy (13:2). Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph all became wealthy when they left the promised land. Jacob’s wealth foreshadows what will happen to Israel when they leave the land of Egypt (Exod 12:35-38).

[31:1]  ³⁰⁵ tn Heb “and from that which belonged to our father he has gained all this wealth.”

[31:2]  ³⁰⁶ tn Heb “and Jacob saw the face of Laban, and look, he was not with him as formerly.” Jacob knew from the expression on Laban’s face that his attitude toward him had changed – Jacob had become persona non grata.

[31:3]  ³⁰⁷ tn Or perhaps “ancestors” (so NRSV), although the only “ancestors” Jacob had there were his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac.

[31:3]  ³⁰⁸ sn I will be with you. Though Laban was no longer “with him,” the Lord promised to be.

[31:4]  ³⁰⁹ tn Heb “sent and called for Rachel and for Leah.” Jacob did not go in person, but probably sent a servant with a message for his wives to meet him in the field.

[31:4]  ³¹⁰ tn Heb “the field.” The word is an adverbial accusative, indicating that this is where Jacob wanted them to meet him. The words “to come to” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.

[31:4]  ³¹¹ tn Heb “to his flock.”

[31:5]  ³¹² tn Heb “I see the face of your father, that he is not toward me as formerly.”

[31:6]  ³¹³ tn Heb “with all my strength.”

[31:7]  ³¹⁴ tn This rare verb means “to make a fool of” someone. It involves deceiving someone so that their public reputation suffers (see Exod 8:25).

[31:8]  ³¹⁵ tn In the protasis (“if” section) of this conditional clause, the imperfect verbal form has a customary nuance – whatever he would say worked to Jacob’s benefit.

[31:8]  ³¹⁶ tn Heb “speckled” (twice this verse). The word “animals” (after the first occurrence of “speckled”) and “offspring” (after the second) have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. The same two terms (“animals” and “offspring”) have been supplied after the two occurrences of “streaked” later in this verse.

[31:10]  ³¹⁷ tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator, “and it happened at the time of.”

[31:10]  ³¹⁸ tn Heb “in the time of the breeding of the flock I lifted up my eyes and I saw.”

[31:10]  ³¹⁹ tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.

[31:12]  ³²⁰ tn Heb “lift up (now) your eyes and see.”

[31:12]  ³²¹ tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.

[31:13]  ³²² map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[31:13]  ³²³ sn You anointed the sacred stone. In Gen 28:18 the text simply reported that Jacob poured oil on top of the stone. Now that pouring is interpreted by the Lord as an anointing. Jacob had consecrated the place.

[31:13]  ³²⁴ sn And made a vow to me. The second clause reminds Jacob of the vow he made to the Lord when he anointed the stone (Gen 28:20-22). God is now going to take him back to the land, and so he will have to fulfill his vow.

[31:13]  ³²⁵ tn Heb “arise, leave!” The first imperative draws attention to the need for immediate action.

[31:14]  ³²⁶ tn The two nouns may form a hendiadys, meaning “a share in the inheritance” or “a portion to inherit.”

[31:15]  ³²⁷ tn Heb “and he devoured, even devouring.” The infinitive absolute (following the finite verb here) is used for emphasis.

[31:15]  ³²⁸ tn Heb “our money.” The word “money” is used figuratively here; it means the price paid for Leah and Rachel. A literal translation (“our money”) makes it sound as if Laban wasted money that belonged to Rachel and Leah, rather than the money paid for them.

[31:17]  ³²⁹ tn Heb “and Jacob arose and he lifted up his sons and his wives on to the camels.”

[31:18]  ³³⁰ tn Heb “drove,” but this is subject to misunderstanding in contemporary English.

[31:18]  ³³¹ tn Heb “and he led away all his cattle and all his moveable property which he acquired, the cattle he obtained, which he acquired in Paddan Aram to go to Isaac his father to the land of Canaan.”

[31:19]  ³³² tn This disjunctive clause (note the pattern conjunction + subject + verb) introduces a new scene. In the English translation it may be subordinated to the following clause.

[31:19]  ³³³ tn Or “household gods.” Some translations merely transliterate the Hebrew term תְּרָפִים (tÿrafim) as “teraphim,” which apparently refers to household idols. Some contend that possession of these idols guaranteed the right of inheritance, but it is more likely that they were viewed simply as protective deities. See M. Greenberg, “Another Look at Rachel’s Theft of the Teraphim,” JBL 81 (1962): 239-48.

[31:20]  ³³⁴ tn Heb “stole the heart of,” an expression which apparently means “to deceive.” The repetition of the verb “to steal” shows that Jacob and Rachel are kindred spirits. Any thought that Laban would have resigned himself to their departure was now out of the question.

[31:20]  ³³⁵ tn Heb “fleeing,” which reflects Jacob’s viewpoint.

[31:21]  ³³⁶ tn Heb “and he fled.”

[31:21]  ³³⁷ tn Heb “he arose and crossed.” The first verb emphasizes that he wasted no time in getting across.

[31:21]  ³³⁸ tn Heb “the river”; the referent (the Euphrates) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[31:21]  ³³⁹ tn Heb “he set his face.”

[31:22]  ³⁴⁰ tn Heb “and it was told to Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled.”

[31:23]  ³⁴¹ tn Heb “his brothers.”

[31:23]  ³⁴² tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[31:23]  ³⁴³ tn Heb “and he pursued after him a journey of seven days.”

[31:23]  ³⁴⁴ tn Heb “drew close to.”

[31:24]  ³⁴⁵ tn Heb “said to him.”

[31:24]  ³⁴⁶ tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.

[31:24]  ³⁴⁷ tn Heb “lest you speak with Jacob from good to evil.” The precise meaning of the expression, which occurs only here and in v. 29, is uncertain. Since Laban proceeded to speak to Jacob at length, it cannot mean to maintain silence. Nor does it seem to be a prohibition against criticism (see vv. 26-30). Most likely it refers to a formal pronouncement, whether it be a blessing or a curse. Laban was to avoid saying anything to Jacob that would be intended to enhance him or to harm him.

[31:25]  ³⁴⁸ tn Heb “and Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban pitched with his brothers in the hill country of Gilead.” The juxtaposition of disjunctive clauses (note the pattern conjunction + subject + verb in both clauses) indicates synchronism of action.

[31:26]  ³⁴⁹ tn Heb “and you have stolen my heart.” This expression apparently means “to deceive” (see v. 20).

[31:26]  ³⁵⁰ tn Heb “and you have led away my daughters like captives of a sword.”

[31:27]  ³⁵¹ tn Heb “Why did you hide in order to flee?” The verb “hide” and the infinitive “to flee” form a hendiadys, the infinitive becoming the main verb and the other the adverb: “flee secretly.”

[31:27]  ³⁵² tn Heb “and steal me.”

[31:27]  ³⁵³ tn Heb “And [why did] you not tell me so I could send you off with joy and with songs, with a tambourine and with a harp?”

[31:28]  ³⁵⁴ tn Heb “my sons and my daughters.” Here “sons” refers to “grandsons,” and has been translated “grandchildren” since at least one granddaughter, Dinah, was involved. The order has been reversed in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:29]  ³⁵⁵ tn Heb “there is to my hand.”

[31:29]  ³⁵⁶ tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.

[31:29]  ³⁵⁷ tn Heb “from speaking with Jacob from good to evil.” The precise meaning of the expression, which occurs only here and in v. 24, is uncertain. See the note on the same phrase in v. 24.

[31:30]  ³⁵⁸ tn Heb “and now.” The words “I understand that” have been supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[31:30]  ³⁵⁹ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the certainty of the action.

[31:30]  ³⁶⁰ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of emotion involved.

[31:30]  ³⁶¹ sn Yet why did you steal my gods? This last sentence is dropped into the speech rather suddenly. See C. Mabee, “Jacob and Laban: The Structure of Judicial Proceedings,” VT 30 (1980): 192-207, and G. W. Coats, “Self-Abasement and Insult Formulas,” JBL 91 (1972): 90-92.

[31:31]  ³⁶² tn Heb “and Jacob answered and said to Laban, ‘Because I was afraid.’” This statement is a not a response to the question about Laban’s household gods that immediately precedes, but to the earlier question about Jacob’s motivation for leaving so quickly and secretly (see v. 27). For this reason the words “I left secretly” are supplied in the translation to indicate the connection to Laban’s earlier question in v. 27. Additionally the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse have been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:31]  ³⁶³ tn Heb “for I said.”

[31:31]  ³⁶⁴ tn Heb “lest you steal your daughters from with me.”

[31:32]  ³⁶⁵ tn Heb “With whomever you find your gods, he will not live.”

[31:32]  ³⁶⁶ tn Heb “brothers.”

[31:32]  ³⁶⁷ tn Heb “recognize for yourself what is with me and take for yourself.”

[31:32]  ³⁶⁸ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides supplemental material that is important to the story. Since this material is parenthetical in nature, it has been placed in parentheses in the translation.

[31:33]  ³⁶⁹ tn No direct object is specified for the verb “find” in the Hebrew text. The words “the idols” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[31:33]  ³⁷⁰ tn Heb “and he went out from the tent of Leah and went into the tent of Rachel.”

[31:34]  ³⁷¹ tn The “camel’s saddle” was probably some sort of basket-saddle, a cushioned saddle with a basket bound on. Cf. NAB “inside a camel cushion.”

[31:34]  ³⁷² tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides another parenthetical statement necessary to the storyline.

[31:34]  ³⁷³ tn The word “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[31:35]  ³⁷⁴ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[31:35]  ³⁷⁵ tn Heb “let it not be hot in the eyes of my lord.” This idiom refers to anger, in this case as a result of Rachel’s failure to stand in the presence of her father as a sign of respect.

[31:35]  ³⁷⁶ tn Heb “I am unable to rise.”

[31:35]  ³⁷⁷ tn Heb “the way of women is to me.” This idiom refers to a woman’s menstrual period.

[31:35]  ³⁷⁸ tn The word “thoroughly” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[31:36]  ³⁷⁹ tn Heb “it was hot to Jacob.” This idiom refers to anger.

[31:36]  ³⁸⁰ tn Heb “and Jacob answered and said to Laban, ‘What is my sin?’” The proper name “Jacob” has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation and the order of the introductory clause and direct discourse rearranged for stylistic reasons.

[31:36]  ³⁸¹ tn Heb “What is my sin that you have hotly pursued after me.” The Hebrew verb translated “pursue hotly” is used elsewhere of soldiers chasing defeated enemies (1 Sam 17:53).

[31:37]  ³⁸² tn Heb “what did you find from all the goods of your house?”

[31:37]  ³⁸³ tn Heb “your relatives.” The word “relatives” has not been repeated in the translation here for stylistic reasons.

[31:37]  ³⁸⁴ tn Heb “that they may decide between us two.”

[31:39]  ³⁸⁵ tn The imperfect verbal form indicates that this was a customary or typical action.

[31:39]  ³⁸⁶ tn Heb “from my hand you exacted it.” The imperfect verbal form again indicates that this was a customary or typical action. The words “for every missing animal” are supplied in the translation for clarity; the following clause in Hebrew, “stolen by day or stolen by night,” probably means “stolen by wild beasts” and refers to the same animals “torn by wild beasts” in the previous clause, although it may refer to animals stolen by people. The translation used here, “missing,” is ambiguous enough to cover either eventuality.

[31:40]  ³⁸⁷ tn Or “by drought.”

[31:40]  ³⁸⁸ tn Heb “frost, ice,” though when contrasted with the חֹרֶב (khorev, “drought, parching heat”) of the day, “piercing cold” is more appropriate as a contrast.

[31:40]  ³⁸⁹ tn Heb “and my sleep fled from my eyes.”

[31:41]  ³⁹⁰ tn Heb “this to me.”

[31:41]  ³⁹¹ tn Heb “served you,” but in this accusatory context the meaning is more “worked like a slave.”

[31:42]  ³⁹² tn Heb “the fear of Isaac,” that is, the one whom Isaac feared and respected. For further discussion of this title see M. Malul, “More on pahad yitschaq (Gen. 31:42,53) and the Oath by the Thigh,” VT 35 (1985): 192-200.

[31:42]  ³⁹³ tn Heb “My oppression and the work of my hands God saw.”

[31:43]  ³⁹⁴ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[31:43]  ³⁹⁵ tn Heb “daughters.”

[31:43]  ³⁹⁶ tn Heb “children.”

[31:43]  ³⁹⁷ tn Heb “but to my daughters what can I do to these today?”

[31:44]  ³⁹⁸ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[31:44]  ³⁹⁹ tn The verb הָיָה (hayah) followed by the preposition לְ (lÿ) means “become.”

[31:44]  ⁴⁰⁰ tn Heb “and it will become a witness between me and you.”

[31:46]  ⁴⁰¹ tn Heb “Jacob”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:46]  ⁴⁰² sn The Hebrew word for “pile” is גַּל (gal), which sounds like the name “Galeed” (גַּלְעֵד, gal’ed). See v. 48.

[31:47]  ⁴⁰³ sn Jegar Sahadutha. Laban the Aramean gave the place an Aramaic name which means “witness pile” or “the pile is a witness.”

[31:47]  ⁴⁰⁴ sn Galeed also means “witness pile” or “the pile is a witness,” but this name is Canaanite or Western Semitic and closer to later Hebrew. Jacob, though certainly capable of speaking Aramaic, here prefers to use the western dialect.

[31:48]  ⁴⁰⁵ tn Heb “a witness between me and you.”

[31:49]  ⁴⁰⁶ tn Heb “and Mizpah.”

[31:49]  ⁴⁰⁷ sn The name Mizpah (מִצְפָּה, mitspah), which means “watchpost,” sounds like the verb translated “may he watch” (יִצֶף, yitsef). Neither Laban nor Jacob felt safe with each other, and so they agreed to go their separate ways, trusting the Lord to keep watch at the border. Jacob did not need this treaty, but Laban, perhaps because he had lost his household gods, felt he did.

[31:49]  ⁴⁰⁸ tn Heb “between me and you.”

[31:49]  ⁴⁰⁹ tn Heb “for we will be hidden, each man from his neighbor.”

[31:50]  ⁴¹⁰ tn Heb “see.”

[31:50]  ⁴¹¹ tn Heb “between me and you.”

[31:51]  ⁴¹² tn Heb “and Laban said to Jacob, ‘Behold this heap and behold the pillar which I have set between men and you.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:52]  ⁴¹³ tn Heb “This pile is a witness and the pillar is a witness, if I go past this pile to you and if you go past this pile and this pillar to me for harm.”

[31:53]  ⁴¹⁴ tn The God of Abraham and the god of Nahor. The Hebrew verb translated “judge” is plural, suggesting that Laban has more than one “god” in mind. The Samaritan Pentateuch and the LXX, apparently in an effort to make the statement monotheistic, have a singular verb. In this case one could translate, “May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” However, Laban had a polytheistic world view, as evidenced by his possession of household idols (cf. 31:19). The translation uses “God” when referring to Abraham’s God, for Genesis makes it clear that Abraham worshiped the one true God. It employs “god” when referring to Nahor’s god, for in the Hebrew text Laban refers to a different god here, probably one of the local deities.

[31:53]  ⁴¹⁵ tn Heb “by the fear of his father Isaac.” See the note on the word “fears” in v. 42.

[31:54]  ⁴¹⁶ tn The construction is a cognate accusative with the verb, expressing a specific sacrifice.

[31:54]  ⁴¹⁷ tn Heb “bread, food.” Presumably this was a type of peace offering, where the person bringing the offering ate the animal being sacrificed.

[31:55]  ⁴¹⁸ sn Beginning with 31:55, the verse numbers in the English Bible through 32:32 differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 31:55 ET = 32:1 HT, 32:1 ET = 32:2 HT, etc., through 32:32 ET = 32:33 HT. From 33:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.

[31:55]  ⁴¹⁹ tn Heb “and Laban got up early in the morning and he kissed.”

[31:55]  ⁴²⁰ tn Heb “his sons.”

[31:55]  ⁴²¹ tn Heb “to his place.”

[32:1]  ⁴²² sn The phrase angels of God occurs only here and in Gen 28:12 in the OT. Jacob saw a vision of angels just before he left the promised land. Now he encounters angels as he prepares to return to it. The text does not give the details of the encounter, but Jacob’s response suggests it was amicable. This location was a spot where heaven made contact with earth, and where God made his presence known to the patriarch. See C. Houtman, “Jacob at Mahanaim: Some Remarks on Genesis XXXII 2-3,” VT 28 (1978): 37-44.

[32:2]  ⁴²³ tn Heb “and Jacob said when he saw them.”

[32:2]  ⁴²⁴ sn The name Mahanaim apparently means “two camps.” Perhaps the two camps were those of God and of Jacob.

[32:3]  ⁴²⁵ tn Heb “before him.”

[32:3]  ⁴²⁶ tn Heb “field.”

[32:4]  ⁴²⁷ sn Your servant. The narrative recounts Jacob’s groveling in fear before Esau as he calls his brother his “lord,” as if to minimize what had been done twenty years ago.

[32:5]  ⁴²⁸ tn Or “I am sending.” The form is a preterite with the vav consecutive; it could be rendered as an English present tense – as the Hebrew perfect/preterite allows – much like an epistolary aorist in Greek. The form assumes the temporal perspective of the one who reads the message.

[32:5]  ⁴²⁹ tn The words “this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:8]  ⁴³⁰ tn Heb “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.”

[32:8]  ⁴³¹ tn Heb “and he said, ‘If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.” The Hebrew verb אָמַר (’amar) here represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “he thought.” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:8]  ⁴³² tn Heb “the surviving camp will be for escape.” The word “escape” is a feminine noun. The term most often refers to refugees from war.

[32:9]  ⁴³³ tn Heb “said.”

[32:9]  ⁴³⁴ tn Heb “the one who said.”

[32:9]  ⁴³⁵ tn Heb “I will cause good” or “I will treat well [or “favorably”].” The idea includes more than prosperity, though that is its essential meaning. Here the form is subordinated to the preceding imperative and indicates purpose or result. Jacob is reminding God of his promise in the hope that God will honor his word.

[32:10]  ⁴³⁶ tn Heb “the loving deeds and faithfulness” (see 24:27, 49).

[32:10]  ⁴³⁷ tn Heb “you have done with.”

[32:10]  ⁴³⁸ tn Heb “for with my staff.” The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally translated “staff,” has been rendered as “walking stick” because a “staff” in contemporary English refers typically to the support personnel in an organization.

[32:10]  ⁴³⁹ tn Heb “this Jordan.”

[32:11]  ⁴⁴⁰ tn The imperative has the force of a prayer here, not a command.

[32:11]  ⁴⁴¹ tn The “hand” here is a metonymy for “power.”

[32:11]  ⁴⁴² tn Heb “from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau.”

[32:11]  ⁴⁴³ tn Heb “for I am afraid of him, lest he come.”

[32:11]  ⁴⁴⁴ sn Heb “me, [the] mother upon [the] sons.” The first person pronoun “me” probably means here “me and mine,” as the following clause suggests.

[32:12]  ⁴⁴⁵ tn Heb “But you, you said.” One of the occurrences of the pronoun “you” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.

[32:12]  ⁴⁴⁶ tn Or “will certainly deal well with you.” The infinitive absolute appears before the imperfect, underscoring God’s promise to bless. The statement is more emphatic than in v. 9.

[32:12]  ⁴⁴⁷ tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the nuance of the preceding verb forward.

[32:12]  ⁴⁴⁸ tn Heb “which cannot be counted because of abundance.” The imperfect verbal form indicates potential here.

[32:13]  ⁴⁴⁹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:13]  ⁴⁵⁰ tn Heb “and he took from that which was going into his hand,” meaning that he took some of what belonged to him.

[32:13]  ⁴⁵¹ sn The Hebrew noun translated gift can in some contexts refer to the tribute paid by a subject to his lord. Such a nuance is possible here, because Jacob refers to Esau as his lord and to himself as Esau’s servant (v. 4).

[32:16]  ⁴⁵² tn Heb “and he put them in the hand of.”

[32:16]  ⁴⁵³ tn Heb “a herd, a herd, by itself,” or “each herd by itself.” The distributive sense is expressed by repetition.

[32:17]  ⁴⁵⁴ tn Heb “the first”; this has been specified as “the servant leading the first herd” in the translation for clarity.

[32:17]  ⁴⁵⁵ tn Heb “to whom are you?”

[32:17]  ⁴⁵⁶ tn Heb “and to whom are these before you?”

[32:18]  ⁴⁵⁷ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; it has the nuance of an imperfect of instruction.

[32:18]  ⁴⁵⁸ tn The words “they belong” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:18]  ⁴⁵⁹ tn Heb “to your servant, to Jacob.”

[32:18]  ⁴⁶⁰ tn Heb “to my lord, to Esau.”

[32:18]  ⁴⁶¹ tn Heb “and look, also he [is] behind us.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:19]  ⁴⁶² tn Heb “And he commanded also the second, also the third, also all the ones going after the herds, saying: ‘According to this word you will speak when you find him.’”

[32:20]  ⁴⁶³ tn Heb “and look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.”

[32:20]  ⁴⁶⁴ tn Heb “for he said.” The referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “thought.”

[32:20]  ⁴⁶⁵ tn Heb “I will appease his face.” The cohortative here expresses Jacob’s resolve. In the Book of Leviticus the Hebrew verb translated “appease” has the idea of removing anger due to sin or guilt, a nuance that fits this passage very well. Jacob wanted to buy Esau off with a gift of more than five hundred and fifty animals.

[32:20]  ⁴⁶⁶ tn Heb “with a gift going before me.”

[32:20]  ⁴⁶⁷ tn Heb “I will see his face.”

[32:20]  ⁴⁶⁸ tn Heb “Perhaps he will lift up my face.” In this context the idiom refers to acceptance.

[32:21]  ⁴⁶⁹ tn Heb “and the gift passed over upon his face.”

[32:21]  ⁴⁷⁰ tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial/temporal.

[32:22]  ⁴⁷¹ tn Heb “and he arose in that night and he took.” The first verb is adverbial, indicating that he carried out the crossing right away.

[32:22]  ⁴⁷² tn The Hebrew term used here is יֶלֶד (yeled) which typically describes male offspring. Some translations render the term “children” but this is a problem because by this time Jacob had twelve children in all, including one daughter, Dinah, born to Leah (Gen 30:21). Benjamin, his twelfth son and thirteenth child, was not born until later (Gen 35:16-19).

[32:22]  ⁴⁷³ sn Hebrew narrative style often includes a summary statement of the whole passage followed by a more detailed report of the event. Here v. 22 is the summary statement, while v. 23 begins the detailed account.

[32:23]  ⁴⁷⁴ tn Heb “and he sent across what he had.”

[32:24]  ⁴⁷⁵ sn Reflecting Jacob’s perspective at the beginning of the encounter, the narrator calls the opponent simply “a man.” Not until later in the struggle does Jacob realize his true identity.

[32:24]  ⁴⁷⁶ sn The verb translated “wrestled” (וַיֵּאָבֵק, vayye’aveq) sounds in Hebrew like the names “Jacob” (יַעֲקֹב, ya’aqov) and “Jabbok” (יַבֹּק, yabboq). In this way the narrator links the setting, the main action, and the main participant together in the mind of the reader or hearer.

[32:24]  ⁴⁷⁷ tn Heb “until the rising of the dawn.”

[32:25]  ⁴⁷⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:25]  ⁴⁷⁹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:25]  ⁴⁸⁰ tn Or “injured”; traditionally “touched.” The Hebrew verb translated “struck” has the primary meanings “to touch; to reach; to strike.” It can, however, carry the connotation “to harm; to molest; to injure.” God’s “touch” cripples Jacob – it would be comparable to a devastating blow.

[32:26]  ⁴⁸¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:26]  ⁴⁸² tn Heb “dawn has arisen.”

[32:26]  ⁴⁸³ tn Heb “and he said, ‘I will not let you go.’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:26]  ⁴⁸⁴ sn Jacob wrestled with a man thinking him to be a mere man, and on that basis was equal to the task. But when it had gone on long enough, the night visitor touched Jacob and crippled him. Jacob’s request for a blessing can only mean that he now knew that his opponent was supernatural. Contrary to many allegorical interpretations of the passage that make fighting equivalent to prayer, this passage shows that Jacob stopped fighting, and then asked for a blessing.

[32:27]  ⁴⁸⁵ tn Heb “and he said to him.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:27]  ⁴⁸⁶ sn What is your name? The question is rhetorical, since the Lord obviously knew Jacob’s identity. But since the Lord is going to change Jacob’s name, this question is designed to bring focus Jacob’s attention on all that his name had come to signify.

[32:28]  ⁴⁸⁷ tn Heb “and he said.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:28]  ⁴⁸⁸ sn The name Israel is a common construction, using a verb with a theophoric element (אֵל, ’el) that usually indicates the subject of the verb. Here it means “God fights.” This name will replace the name Jacob; it will be both a promise and a call for faith. In essence, the Lord was saying that Jacob would have victory and receive the promises because God would fight for him.

[32:28]  ⁴⁸⁹ sn You have fought. The explanation of the name Israel includes a sound play. In Hebrew the verb translated “you have fought” (שָׂרִיתָ, sarita) sounds like the name “Israel” (יִשְׂרָאֵל, yisra’el ), meaning “God fights” (although some interpret the meaning as “he fights [with] God”). The name would evoke the memory of the fight and what it meant. A. Dillmann says that ever after this the name would tell the Israelites that, when Jacob contended successfully with God, he won the battle with man (Genesis, 2:279). To be successful with God meant that he had to be crippled in his own self-sufficiency (A. P. Ross, “Jacob at the Jabboq, Israel at Peniel,” BSac 142 [1985]: 51-62).

[32:29]  ⁴⁹⁰ sn Tell me your name. In primitive thought to know the name of a deity or supernatural being would enable one to use it for magical manipulation or power (A. S. Herbert, Genesis 12-50 [TBC], 108). For a thorough structural analysis of the passage discussing the plays on the names and the request of Jacob, see R. Barthes, “The Struggle with the Angel: Textual Analysis of Genesis 32:23-33,” Structural Analysis and Biblical Exegesis (PTMS), 21-33.

[32:29]  ⁴⁹¹ tn The question uses the enclitic pronoun “this” to emphasize the import of the question.

[32:29]  ⁴⁹² tn Heb “and he said, ‘Why is it that you ask my name?’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:29]  ⁴⁹³ tn The verb here means that the Lord endowed Jacob with success; he would be successful in everything he did, including meeting Esau.

[32:29]  ⁴⁹⁴ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:30]  ⁴⁹⁵ sn The name Peniel means “face of God.” Since Jacob saw God face to face here, the name is appropriate.

[32:30]  ⁴⁹⁶ tn The word “explaining” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:30]  ⁴⁹⁷ tn Or “because.”

[32:30]  ⁴⁹⁸ sn I have seen God face to face. See the note on the name “Peniel” earlier in the verse.

[32:30]  ⁴⁹⁹ tn Heb “and my soul [= life] has been preserved.”

[32:31]  ⁵⁰⁰ tn Heb “shone.”

[32:31]  ⁵⁰¹ sn The name is spelled Penuel here, apparently a variant spelling of Peniel (see v. 30).

[32:31]  ⁵⁰² tn The disjunctive clause draws attention to an important fact: He may have crossed the stream, but he was limping.

[32:32]  ⁵⁰³ sn On the use of the expression to this day, see B. S. Childs, “A Study of the Formula ‘Until This Day’,” JBL 82 (1963): 279-92.

[32:32]  ⁵⁰⁴ tn Or “because the socket of Jacob’s hip was struck.” Some translations render this as an impersonal passive. On the translation of the word “struck” see the note on this term in v. 25.

[33:1]  ⁵⁰⁵ tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his eyes.”

[33:1]  ⁵⁰⁶ tn Or “and look, Esau was coming.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes.

[33:2]  ⁵⁰⁷ sn This kind of ranking according to favoritism no doubt fed the jealousy over Joseph that later becomes an important element in the narrative. It must have been painful to the family to see that they were expendable.

[33:3]  ⁵⁰⁸ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:3]  ⁵⁰⁹ tn Heb “until his drawing near unto his brother.” The construction uses the preposition with the infinitive construct to express a temporal clause.

[33:5]  ⁵¹⁰ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:5]  ⁵¹¹ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”

[33:5]  ⁵¹² tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:5]  ⁵¹³ tn The Hebrew verb means “to be gracious; to show favor”; here it carries the nuance “to give graciously.”

[33:6]  ⁵¹⁴ tn Heb “and the female servants drew near, they and their children and they bowed down.”

[33:8]  ⁵¹⁵ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:8]  ⁵¹⁶ tn Heb “Who to you?”

[33:8]  ⁵¹⁷ tn Heb “all this camp which I met.”

[33:8]  ⁵¹⁸ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:10]  ⁵¹⁹ tn Heb “and Jacob said, ‘No, please.’” The words “take them” have been supplied in the translation for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse rearranged for stylistic reasons.

[33:10]  ⁵²⁰ tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, expressing a contingent future nuance in the “then” section of the conditional sentence.

[33:10]  ⁵²¹ tn The verbal form is the preterite with a vav (ו) consecutive, indicating result here.

[33:10]  ⁵²² tn Heb “for therefore I have seen your face like seeing the face of God and you have accepted me.”

[33:11]  ⁵²³ tn Heb “blessing.” It is as if Jacob is trying to repay what he stole from his brother twenty years earlier.

[33:11]  ⁵²⁴ tn Or “gracious,” but in the specific sense of prosperity.

[33:11]  ⁵²⁵ tn Heb “all.”

[33:11]  ⁵²⁶ tn Heb “and he urged him and he took.” The referent of the first pronoun in the sequence (“he”) has been specified as “Jacob” in the translation for clarity.

[33:12]  ⁵²⁷ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:12]  ⁵²⁸ tn Heb “let us travel and let us go.” The two cohortatives are used in combination with the sense, “let’s travel along, get going, be on our way.”

[33:13]  ⁵²⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:13]  ⁵³⁰ tn Heb “weak.”

[33:13]  ⁵³¹ tn Heb “and the sheep and the cattle nursing [are] upon me.”

[33:14]  ⁵³² tn Heb “and I, I will move along according to my leisure at the foot of the property which is before me and at the foot of the children.”

[33:15]  ⁵³³ tn The cohortative verbal form here indicates a polite offer of help.

[33:15]  ⁵³⁴ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Why this?’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[33:15]  ⁵³⁵ tn Heb “I am finding favor in the eyes of my lord.”

[33:16]  ⁵³⁶ tn Heb “returned on his way.”

[33:17]  ⁵³⁷ tn The disjunctive clause contrasts Jacob’s action with Esau’s.

[33:17]  ⁵³⁸ sn But Jacob traveled to Succoth. There are several reasons why Jacob chose not to go to Mt. Seir after Esau. First, as he said, his herds and children probably could not keep up with the warriors. Second, he probably did not fully trust his brother. The current friendliness could change, and he could lose everything. And third, God did tell him to return to his land, not Seir. But Jacob is still not able to deal truthfully, probably because of fear of Esau.

[33:17]  ⁵³⁹ tn Heb “why he called.” One could understand “Jacob” as the subject of the verb, but it is more likely that the subject is indefinite, in which case the verb is better translated as passive.

[33:17]  ⁵⁴⁰ sn The name Succoth means “shelters,” an appropriate name in light of the shelters Jacob built there for his livestock.

[33:18]  ⁵⁴¹ tn Heb “in front of.”

[33:19]  ⁵⁴² tn The words “he bought it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 19 is one long sentence.

[33:19]  ⁵⁴³ tn The Hebrew word קְשִׂיטָה (qÿsitah) is generally understood to refer to a unit of money, but the value is unknown. (However, cf. REB, which renders the term as “sheep”).

[33:20]  ⁵⁴⁴ tn Heb “God, the God of Israel.” Rather than translating the name, a number of modern translations merely transliterate it from the Hebrew as “El Elohe Israel” (cf. NIV, NRSV, REB). It is not entirely clear how the name should be interpreted grammatically. One option is to supply an equative verb, as in the translation: “The God of Israel [is] God.” Another interpretive option is “the God of Israel [is] strong [or “mighty”].” Buying the land and settling down for a while was a momentous step for the patriarch, so the commemorative naming of the altar is significant.

[34:1]  ⁵⁴⁵ tn Heb “went out to see.” The verb “to see,” followed by the preposition בְּ (bÿ), here has the idea of “look over.” The young girl wanted to meet these women and see what they were like.

[34:1]  ⁵⁴⁶ tn Heb “daughters.”

[34:2]  ⁵⁴⁷ tn Heb “and he took her and lay with her.” The suffixed form following the verb appears to be the sign of the accusative instead of the preposition, but see BDB 1012 s.v. שָׁכַב.

[34:2]  ⁵⁴⁸ tn The verb עָנָה (’anah) in the Piel stem can have various shades of meaning, depending on the context: “to defile; to mistreat; to violate; to rape; to shame; to afflict.” Here it means that Shechem violated or humiliated Dinah by raping her.

[34:3]  ⁵⁴⁹ tn Heb “his soul stuck to [or “joined with”],” meaning Shechem became very attached to Dinah emotionally.

[34:3]  ⁵⁵⁰ tn Heb “and he spoke to the heart of the young woman,” which apparently refers in this context to tender, romantic speech (Hos 2:14). Another option is to translate the expression “he reassured the young woman” (see Judg 19:3, 2 Sam 19:7; cf. NEB “comforted her”).

[34:4]  ⁵⁵¹ tn Heb “Take for me this young woman for a wife.”

[34:5]  ⁵⁵² tn The two disjunctive clauses in this verse (“Now Jacob heard…and his sons were”) are juxtaposed to indicate synchronic action.

[34:5]  ⁵⁵³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:5]  ⁵⁵⁴ sn The expected response would be anger or rage; but Jacob remained silent. He appears too indifferent or confused to act decisively. When the leader does not act decisively, the younger zealots will, and often with disastrous results.

[34:6]  ⁵⁵⁵ tn Heb “went out to Jacob to speak with him.” The words “about Dinah” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[34:7]  ⁵⁵⁶ tn Heb “when they heard.” The words “the news” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[34:7]  ⁵⁵⁷ tn Heb “the men.” This sounds as if a new group has been introduced into the narrative, so it has been translated as “they” to indicate that it refers to Jacob’s sons, mentioned in the first part of the verse.

[34:7]  ⁵⁵⁸ tn The Hebrew verb עָצַב (’atsav) can carry one of three semantic nuances depending on the context: (1) “to be injured” (Ps 56:5; Eccl 10:9; 1 Chr 4:10); (2) “to experience emotional pain; to be depressed emotionally; to be worried” (2 Sam 19:2; Isa 54:6; Neh 8:10-11); (3) “to be embarrassed; to be insulted; to be offended” (to the point of anger at another or oneself; Gen 6:6; 45:5; 1 Sam 20:3, 34; 1 Kgs 1:6; Isa 63:10; Ps 78:40). This third category develops from the second by metonymy. In certain contexts emotional pain leads to embarrassment and/or anger. In this last use the subject sometimes directs his anger against the source of grief (see especially Gen 6:6). The third category fits best in Gen 34:7 because Jacob’s sons were not merely wounded emotionally. On the contrary, Shechem’s action prompted them to strike out in judgment against the source of their distress.

[34:7]  ⁵⁵⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:7]  ⁵⁶⁰ tn Heb “a disgraceful thing he did against Israel.”

[34:7]  ⁵⁶¹ tn Heb “by lying with the daughter of Jacob.” The infinitive here explains the preceding verb, indicating exactly how he had disgraced Jacob. The expression “to lie with” is a euphemism for sexual relations, or in this case, sexual assault.

[34:7]  ⁵⁶² tn Heb “and so it should not be done.” The negated imperfect has an obligatory nuance here, but there is also a generalizing tone. The narrator emphasizes that this particular type of crime (sexual assault) is especially reprehensible.

[34:8]  ⁵⁶³ tn Heb “Shechem my son, his soul is attached to your daughter.” The verb means “to love” in the sense of being emotionally attached to or drawn to someone. This is a slightly different way of saying what was reported earlier (v. 3). However, there is no mention here of the offense. Even though Hamor is speaking to Dinah’s brothers, he refers to her as their daughter (see v. 17).

[34:9]  ⁵⁶⁴ tn Heb “form marriage alliances with us.”

[34:9]  ⁵⁶⁵ tn Heb “Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.” In the translation the words “let…marry” and “as wives” are supplied for clarity.

[34:10]  ⁵⁶⁶ tn The imperfect verbal form has a permissive nuance here.

[34:10]  ⁵⁶⁷ tn Heb “before you.”

[34:10]  ⁵⁶⁸ tn The verb seems to carry the basic meaning “travel about freely,” although the substantival participial form refers to a trader (see E. A. Speiser, “The Verb sh£r in Genesis and Early Hebrew Movements,” BASOR 164 [1961]: 23-28); cf. NIV, NRSV “trade in it.”

[34:11]  ⁵⁶⁹ tn Heb “her”; the referent (Dinah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:11]  ⁵⁷⁰ tn Heb “whatever you say.”

[34:11]  ⁵⁷¹ tn Or “pay.”

[34:12]  ⁵⁷² tn Heb “Make very great upon me the bride price and gift.” The imperatives are used in a rhetorical manner. Shechem’s point is that he will pay the price, no matter how expensive it might be.

[34:12]  ⁵⁷³ tn The cohortative expresses Shechem’s resolve to have Dinah as his wife.

[34:12]  ⁵⁷⁴ tn Heb “say.”

[34:13]  ⁵⁷⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:14]  ⁵⁷⁶ tn Heb “we are not able to do this thing, to give.” The second infinitive is in apposition to the first, explaining what they are not able to do.

[34:14]  ⁵⁷⁷ tn The Hebrew word translated “disgrace” usually means “ridicule; taunt; reproach.” It can also refer to the reason the condition of shame or disgrace causes ridicule or a reproach.

[34:15]  ⁵⁷⁸ tn Heb “if you are like us.”

[34:15]  ⁵⁷⁹ tn The infinitive here explains how they would become like them.

[34:16]  ⁵⁸⁰ tn The perfect verbal form with the vav (ו) consecutive introduces the apodosis of the conditional sentence.

[34:16]  ⁵⁸¹ tn The words “to marry” (and the words “as wives” in the following clause) are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[34:17]  ⁵⁸² tn Heb “listen to us.”

[34:17]  ⁵⁸³ tn The perfect verbal form with the vav (ו) consecutive introduces the apodosis of the conditional sentence.

[34:17]  ⁵⁸⁴ tn Heb “daughter.” Jacob’s sons call Dinah their daughter, even though she was their sister (see v. 8). This has been translated as “sister” for clarity.

[34:18]  ⁵⁸⁵ tn Heb “and their words were good in the eyes of Hamor and in the eyes of Shechem son of Hamor.”

[34:19]  ⁵⁸⁶ tn Heb “doing the thing.”

[34:19]  ⁵⁸⁷ tn Heb “Jacob’s daughter.” The proper name “Dinah” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[34:19]  ⁵⁸⁸ tn The Hebrew verb כָּבֵד (kaved), translated “was…important,” has the primary meaning “to be heavy,” but here carries a secondary sense of “to be important” (that is, “heavy” in honor or respect).

[34:19]  ⁵⁸⁹ tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause explains why the community would respond to him (see vv. 20-24).

[34:20]  ⁵⁹⁰ sn The gate. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the location for conducting important public business.

[34:21]  ⁵⁹¹ tn Heb “wide on both hands,” that is, in both directions.

[34:21]  ⁵⁹² tn The words “to marry” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[34:22]  ⁵⁹³ tn Heb “when every one of our males is circumcised.”

[34:23]  ⁵⁹⁴ tn The words “If we do so” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[34:24]  ⁵⁹⁵ tn Heb “all those going out the gate of his city.”

[34:24]  ⁵⁹⁶ tn Heb “listened to.”

[34:24]  ⁵⁹⁷ tn Heb “all those going out the gate of his city.”

[34:25]  ⁵⁹⁸ tn Heb “a man his sword.”

[34:25]  ⁵⁹⁹ tn Heb “and they came upon the city, [which was] secure.” In this case “secure” means the city was caught unprepared and at peace, not expecting an attack.

[34:27]  ⁶⁰⁰ tn Heb “came upon the slain.” Because of this statement the preceding phrase “Jacob’s sons” is frequently taken to mean the other sons of Jacob besides Simeon and Levi, but the text does not clearly affirm this.

[34:27]  ⁶⁰¹ tn Heb “because they violated their sister.” The plural verb is active in form, but with no expressed subject, it may be translated passive.

[34:28]  ⁶⁰² tn Heb “and what was in the city and what was in the field they took.”

[34:29]  ⁶⁰³ tn Heb “they took captive and they plundered,” that is, “they captured as plunder.”

[34:30]  ⁶⁰⁴ tn The traditional translation is “troubled me” (KJV, ASV), but the verb refers to personal or national disaster and suggests complete ruin (see Josh 7:25, Judg 11:35, Prov 11:17). The remainder of the verse describes the “trouble” Simeon and Levi had caused.

[34:30]  ⁶⁰⁵ tn In the causative stem the Hebrew verb בָּאַשׁ (ba’ash) means “to cause to stink, to have a foul smell.” In the contexts in which it is used it describes foul smells, stenches, or things that are odious. Jacob senses that the people in the land will find this act terribly repulsive. See P. R. Ackroyd, “The Hebrew Root באשׁ,” JTS 2 (1951): 31-36.

[34:30]  ⁶⁰⁶ tn Jacob speaks in the first person as the head and representative of the entire family.

[34:31]  ⁶⁰⁷ tn Heb “but they said.” The referent of “they” (Simeon and Levi) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[35:1]  ⁶⁰⁸ tn Heb “arise, go up.” The first imperative gives the command a sense of urgency.

[35:1]  ⁶⁰⁹ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[35:1]  ⁶¹⁰ sn God is calling on Jacob to fulfill his vow he made when he fled from…Esau (see Gen 28:20-22).

[35:2]  ⁶¹¹ tn Heb “which are in your midst.”

[35:2]  ⁶¹² sn The actions of removing false gods, becoming ritually clean, and changing garments would become necessary steps in Israel when approaching the Lord in worship.

[35:3]  ⁶¹³ tn Heb “let us arise and let us go up.” The first cohortative gives the statement a sense of urgency.

[35:3]  ⁶¹⁴ tn The cohortative with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose or consequence.

[35:3]  ⁶¹⁵ tn Heb “day of distress.” See Ps 20:1 which utilizes similar language.

[35:3]  ⁶¹⁶ tn Heb “in the way in which I went.” Jacob alludes here to God’s promise to be with him (see Gen 28:20).

[35:4]  ⁶¹⁷ tn Heb “in their hand.”

[35:4]  ⁶¹⁸ sn On the basis of a comparison with Gen 34 and Num 31, G. J. Wenham argues that the foreign gods and the rings could have been part of the plunder that came from the destruction of Shechem (Genesis [WBC], 2:324).

[35:4]  ⁶¹⁹ sn Jacob buried them. On the burial of the gods, see E. Nielson, “The Burial of the Foreign Gods,” ST 8 (1954/55): 102-22.

[35:4]  ⁶²⁰ tn Or “terebinth.”

[35:5]  ⁶²¹ tn Heb “and they journeyed.”

[35:5]  ⁶²² tn Heb “and the fear of God was upon the cities which were round about them.” The expression “fear of God” apparently refers (1) to a fear of God (objective genitive; God is the object of their fear). (2) But it could mean “fear from God,” that is, fear which God placed in them (cf. NRSV “a terror from God”). Another option (3) is that the divine name is used as a superlative here, referring to “tremendous fear” (cf. NEB “were panic-stricken”; NASB “a great terror”).

[35:6]  ⁶²³ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[35:6]  ⁶²⁴ tn Heb “and Jacob came to Luz which is in the land of Canaan – it is Bethel – he and all the people who were with him.”

[35:7]  ⁶²⁵ sn The name El-Bethel means “God of Bethel.”

[35:7]  ⁶²⁶ tn Heb “revealed themselves.” The verb נִגְלוּ (niglu), translated “revealed himself,” is plural, even though one expects the singular form with the plural of majesty. Perhaps אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is here a numerical plural, referring both to God and the angelic beings that appeared to Jacob. See the note on the word “know” in Gen 3:5.

[35:8]  ⁶²⁷ sn Deborah. This woman had been Rebekah’s nurse, but later attached herself to Jacob. She must have been about one hundred and eighty years old when she died.

[35:8]  ⁶²⁸ tn “and he called its name.” There is no expressed subject, so the verb can be translated as passive.

[35:8]  ⁶²⁹ tn Or “Allon Bacuth,” if one transliterates the Hebrew name (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). An oak tree was revered in the ancient world and often designated as a shrine or landmark. This one was named for the weeping (mourning) occasioned by the death of Deborah.

[35:10]  ⁶³⁰ tn Heb “and he called his name Israel.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[35:11]  ⁶³¹ tn The name אֵל שַׁדַּי (’el shadday, “El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72. Shaddai/El Shaddai is the sovereign king of the world who grants, blesses, and judges. In the Book of Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness. The patriarchs knew God primarily as El Shaddai (Exod 6:3). While the origin and meaning of this name are uncertain its significance is clear. The name is used in contexts where God appears as the source of fertility and life. For a fuller discussion see the note on “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.

[35:11]  ⁶³² tn Heb “A nation and a company of nations will be from you and kings from your loins will come out.”

[35:12]  ⁶³³ tn The Hebrew verb translated “gave” refers to the Abrahamic promise of the land. However, the actual possession of that land lay in the future. The decree of the Lord made it certain; but it has the sense “promised to give.”

[35:12]  ⁶³⁴ tn Heb “and to your offspring after you.”

[35:13]  ⁶³⁵ tn Heb “went up from upon him in the place.”

[35:14]  ⁶³⁶ tn Heb “and Jacob set up a sacred pillar in the place where he spoke with him, a sacred pillar of stone” (see the notes on the term “sacred stone” in Gen 28:18). This passage stands parallel to Gen 28:18-19, where Jacob set up a sacred stone, poured oil on it, and called the place Bethel. Some commentators see these as two traditions referring to the same event, but it is more likely that Jacob reconsecrated the place in fulfillment of the vow he had made here earlier. In support of this is the fact that the present narrative alludes to and is built on the previous one.

[35:14]  ⁶³⁷ tn The verb נָסַךְ (nasakh) means “to pour out, to make libations,” and the noun נֶסֶךְ (nesekh) is a “drink-offering,” usually of wine or of blood. The verb יָצַק (yatsaq) means “to pour out,” often of anointing oil, but of other elements as well.

[35:15]  ⁶³⁸ sn Called the name of the place. In view of the previous naming of Bethel in Gen 28:19, here Jacob was confirming or affirming the name through an official ritual marking the fulfillment of the vow. This place now did become Bethel, the house of God.

[35:15]  ⁶³⁹ tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew.

[35:16]  ⁶⁴⁰ tn Heb “and there was still a stretch of the land to go to Ephrath.”

[35:16]  ⁶⁴¹ tn Normally the verb would be translated “she gave birth,” but because that obviously had not happened yet, it is better to translate the verb as ingressive, “began to give birth” (cf. NIV) or “went into labor.”

[35:17]  ⁶⁴² tn The construction uses a Hiphil infinitive, which E. A. Speiser classifies as an elative Hiphil. The contrast is with the previous Piel: there “she had hard labor,” and here, “her labor was at its hardest.” Failure to see this, Speiser notes, has led to redundant translations and misunderstandings (Genesis [AB], 273).

[35:17]  ⁶⁴³ sn Another son. The episode recalls and fulfills the prayer of Rachel at the birth of Joseph (Gen 30:24): “may he add” another son.

[35:18]  ⁶⁴⁴ tn Heb “in the going out of her life, for she was dying.” Rachel named the child with her dying breath.

[35:18]  ⁶⁴⁵ sn The name Ben-Oni means “son of my suffering.” It is ironic that Rachel’s words to Jacob in Gen 30:1, “Give me children or I’ll die,” take a different turn here, for it was having the child that brought about her death.

[35:18]  ⁶⁴⁶ tn The disjunctive clause is contrastive.

[35:19]  ⁶⁴⁷ sn This explanatory note links the earlier name Ephrath with the later name Bethlehem.

[35:20]  ⁶⁴⁸ tn Heb “standing stone.”

[35:20]  ⁶⁴⁹ tn Or perhaps “it is known as” (cf. NEB).

[35:21]  ⁶⁵⁰ sn The location of Migdal Eder is not given. It appears to be somewhere between Bethlehem and Hebron. Various traditions have identified it as at the shepherds’ fields near Bethlehem (the Hebrew name Migdal Eder means “tower of the flock”; see Mic 4:8) or located it near Solomon’s pools.

[35:22]  ⁶⁵¹ tn Heb “and Reuben went and lay with.” The expression “lay with” is a euphemism for having sexual intercourse.

[35:27]  ⁶⁵² tn This is an adverbial accusative of location.

[35:27]  ⁶⁵³ tn The name “Kiriath Arba” is in apposition to the preceding name, “Mamre.”

[35:27]  ⁶⁵⁴ tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur), traditionally rendered “to sojourn,” refers to temporary settlement without ownership rights.

[35:28]  ⁶⁵⁵ tn Heb “And the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years.”

[35:29]  ⁶⁵⁶ tn Heb “and Isaac expired and died and he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.

[35:29]  ⁶⁵⁷ tn Heb “old and full of years.”

[36:1]  ⁶⁵⁸ sn Chapter 36 records what became of Esau. It will list both his actual descendants as well as the people he subsumed under his tribal leadership, people who were aboriginal Edomites. The chapter is long and complicated (see further J. R. Bartlett, “The Edomite King-List of Genesis 36:31-39 and 1 Chronicles 1:43-50,” JTS 16 [1965]: 301-14; and W. J. Horowitz, “Were There Twelve Horite Tribes?” CBQ 35 [1973]: 69-71). In the format of the Book of Genesis, the line of Esau is “tidied up” before the account of Jacob is traced (37:2). As such the arrangement makes a strong contrast with Jacob. As F. Delitzsch says, “secular greatness in general grows up far more rapidly than spiritual greatness” (New Commentary on Genesis, 2:238). In other words, the progress of the world far out distances the progress of the righteous who are waiting for the promise.

[36:2]  ⁶⁵⁹ tn Heb “from the daughters of Canaan.”

[36:2]  ⁶⁶⁰ tn Heb “daughter,” but see Gen 36:24-25.

[36:6]  ⁶⁶¹ tn Heb “from before.”

[36:7]  ⁶⁶² tn Heb “land of their settlements.”

[36:8]  ⁶⁶³ tn Traditionally “Mount Seir,” but in this case the expression בְּהַר שֵׂעִיר (bÿhar se’ir) refers to the hill country or highlands of Seir.

[36:9]  ⁶⁶⁴ sn The term father in genealogical records needs to be carefully defined. It can refer to a literal father, a grandfather, a political overlord, or a founder.

[36:12]  ⁶⁶⁵ tn Or “grandsons” (NIV); “descendants” (NEB).

[36:13]  ⁶⁶⁶ tn Or “grandsons” (NIV); “descendants” (NEB).

[36:14]  ⁶⁶⁷ tn Heb “daughter,” but see Gen 36:24-25.

[36:15]  ⁶⁶⁸ tn Or “clan leaders” (so also throughout this chapter).

[36:15]  ⁶⁶⁹ tn Or “sons.”

[36:16]  ⁶⁷⁰ tc The Samaritan Pentateuch omits the name “Korah” (see v. 11 and 1 Chr 1:36).

[36:16]  ⁶⁷¹ tn Or “grandsons” (NIV); “descendants” (NEB).

[36:17]  ⁶⁷² tn Or “grandsons” (NIV); “descendants” (NEB).

[36:20]  ⁶⁷³ sn The same pattern of sons, grandsons, and chiefs is now listed for Seir the Horite. “Seir” is both the name of the place and the name of the ancestor of these tribes. The name “Horite” is probably not to be identified with “Hurrian.” The clan of Esau settled in this area, intermarried with these Horites and eventually dispossessed them, so that they all became known as Edomites (Deut 2:12 telescopes the whole development).

[36:21]  ⁶⁷⁴ tn Or “sons.”

[36:22]  ⁶⁷⁵ tn Heb “Hemam”; this is probably a variant spelling of “Homam” (1 Chr 1:39); cf. NRSV, NLT “Heman.”

[36:23]  ⁶⁷⁶ tn This name is given as “Shephi” in 1 Chr 1:40.

[36:24]  ⁶⁷⁷ tn The meaning of this Hebrew term is uncertain; Syriac reads “water” and Vulgate reads “hot water.”

[36:25]  ⁶⁷⁸ tn Heb “sons,” but since a daughter is included in the list, the word must be translated “children.”

[36:26]  ⁶⁷⁹ tn Heb “Dishan,” but this must be either a scribal error or variant spelling, since “Dishan” is mentioned in v. 28 (see also v. 21).

[36:31]  ⁶⁸⁰ tn Or perhaps “before any Israelite king ruled over [them].”

[36:37]  ⁶⁸¹ tn Typically the Hebrew expression “the River” refers to the Euphrates River, but it is not certain whether that is the case here. Among the modern English versions which take this as a reference to the Euphrates are NASB, NCV, NRSV, CEV, NLT. Cf. NAB, TEV “Rehoboth-on-the-River.”

[36:39]  ⁶⁸² tc Most mss of the MT read “Hadar” here; “Hadad” is the reading found in some Hebrew mss, the Samaritan Pentateuch, and Syriac (cf. also 1 Chr 1:50).

[36:39]  ⁶⁸³ tn The name of the city is given as “Pai” in 1 Chr 1:50.

[36:43]  ⁶⁸⁴ tn Or perhaps “territories”; Heb “dwelling places.”

[37:1]  ⁶⁸⁵ tn Heb “the land of the sojournings of his father.”

[37:1]  ⁶⁸⁶ sn The next section begins with the heading This is the account of Jacob in Gen 37:2, so this verse actually forms part of the preceding section as a concluding contrast with Esau and his people. In contrast to all the settled and expanded population of Esau, Jacob was still moving about in the land without a permanent residence and without kings. Even if the Edomite king list was added later (as the reference to kings in Israel suggests), its placement here in contrast to Jacob and his descendants is important. Certainly the text deals with Esau before dealing with Jacob – that is the pattern. But the detail is so great in chap. 36 that the contrast cannot be missed.

[37:2]  ⁶⁸⁷ tn Heb “a son of seventeen years.” The word “son” is in apposition to the name “Joseph.”

[37:2]  ⁶⁸⁸ tn Or “tending”; Heb “shepherding” or “feeding.”

[37:2]  ⁶⁸⁹ tn Or perhaps “a helper.” The significance of this statement is unclear. It may mean “now the lad was with,” or it may suggest Joseph was like a servant to them.

[37:2]  ⁶⁹⁰ tn Heb “and he [was] a young man with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, the wives of his father.”

[37:2]  ⁶⁹¹ tn Heb “their bad report.” The pronoun is an objective genitive, specifying that the bad or damaging report was about the brothers.

[37:3]  ⁶⁹² tn The disjunctive clause provides supplemental information vital to the story. It explains in part the brothers’ animosity toward Joseph.

[37:3]  ⁶⁹³ tn Heb “a son of old age was he to him.” This expression means “a son born to him when he [i.e., Jacob] was old.”

[37:3]  ⁶⁹⁴ tn It is not clear what this tunic was like, because the meaning of the Hebrew word that describes it is uncertain. The idea that it was a coat of many colors comes from the Greek translation of the OT. An examination of cognate terms in Semitic suggests it was either a coat or tunic with long sleeves (cf. NEB, NRSV), or a tunic that was richly embroidered (cf. NIV). It set Joseph apart as the favored one.

[37:4]  ⁶⁹⁵ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:4]  ⁶⁹⁶ tn Heb “of his brothers.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “them.”

[37:4]  ⁶⁹⁷ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:4]  ⁶⁹⁸ tn Heb “speak to him for peace.”

[37:5]  ⁶⁹⁹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:5]  ⁷⁰⁰ tn Heb “dreamed a dream.”

[37:5]  ⁷⁰¹ sn Some interpreters see Joseph as gloating over his brothers, but the text simply says he told his brothers about it (i.e., the dream). The text gives no warrant for interpreting his manner as arrogant or condescending. It seems normal that he would share a dream with the family.

[37:5]  ⁷⁰² tn The construction uses a hendiadys, “they added to hate,” meaning they hated him even more.

[37:6]  ⁷⁰³ tn Heb “hear this dream which I dreamed.”

[37:7]  ⁷⁰⁴ tn All three clauses in this dream report begin with וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and look”), which lends vividness to the report. This is represented in the translation by the expression “there we were.”

[37:7]  ⁷⁰⁵ tn The verb means “to bow down to the ground.” It is used to describe worship and obeisance to masters.

[37:8]  ⁷⁰⁶ tn Heb “Ruling, will you rule over us, or reigning, will you reign over us?” The statement has a poetic style, with the two questions being in synonymous parallelism. Both verbs in this statement are preceded by the infinitive absolute, which lends emphasis. It is as if Joseph’s brothers said, “You don’t really think you will rule over us, do you? You don’t really think you will have dominion over us, do you?”

[37:8]  ⁷⁰⁷ tn This construction is identical to the one in Gen 37:5.

[37:8]  ⁷⁰⁸ sn The response of Joseph’s brothers is understandable, given what has already been going on in the family. But here there is a hint of uneasiness – they hated him because of his dream and because of his words. The dream bothered them, as well as his telling them. And their words in the rhetorical question are ironic, for this is exactly what would happen. The dream was God’s way of revealing it.

[37:9]  ⁷⁰⁹ tn Heb “And he dreamed yet another dream.”

[37:9]  ⁷¹⁰ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Look.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse have been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons. Both clauses of the dream report begin with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), which lends vividness to the report.

[37:10]  ⁷¹¹ sn The question What is this dream that you had? expresses Jacob’s dismay at what he perceives to be Joseph’s audacity.

[37:10]  ⁷¹² tn Heb “Coming, will we come, I and your mother and your brothers, to bow down to you to the ground?” The verb “come” is preceded by the infinitive absolute, which lends emphasis. It is as if Jacob said, “You don’t really think we will come…to bow down…do you?”

[37:11]  ⁷¹³ sn Joseph’s brothers were already jealous of him, but this made it even worse. Such jealousy easily leads to action, as the next episode in the story shows. Yet dreams were considered a form of revelation, and their jealousy was not only of the favoritism of their father, but of the dreams. This is why Jacob kept the matter in mind.

[37:11]  ⁷¹⁴ tn Heb “kept the word.” The referent of the Hebrew term “word” has been specified as “what Joseph said” in the translation for clarity, and the words “in mind” have been supplied for stylistic reasons.

[37:13]  ⁷¹⁵ tn The text uses an interrogative clause: “Are not your brothers,” which means “your brothers are.”

[37:13]  ⁷¹⁶ sn With these words Joseph is depicted here as an obedient son who is ready to do what his father commands.

[37:13]  ⁷¹⁷ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Here I am.’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.

[37:14]  ⁷¹⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:14]  ⁷¹⁹ tn Heb “see.”

[37:14]  ⁷²⁰ tn Heb “peace.”

[37:14]  ⁷²¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:15]  ⁷²² tn Heb “and he [i.e., Joseph] went to Shechem.” The referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:15]  ⁷²³ tn Heb “and a man found him and look, he was wandering in the field.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and look”), the narrator invites the reader to see the action through this unnamed man’s eyes.

[37:16]  ⁷²⁴ tn The imperative in this sentence has more of the nuance of a request than a command.

[37:17]  ⁷²⁵ tn Heb “they traveled from this place.”

[37:18]  ⁷²⁶ tn Heb “and they”; the referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:19]  ⁷²⁷ tn Heb “Look, this master of dreams is coming.” The brothers’ words have a sarcastic note and indicate that they resent his dreams.

[37:20]  ⁷²⁸ tn The Hebrew word can sometimes carry the nuance “evil,” but when used of an animal it refers to a dangerous wild animal.

[37:20]  ⁷²⁹ tn Heb “what his dreams will be.”

[37:21]  ⁷³⁰ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:21]  ⁷³¹ sn From their hands. The instigators of this plot may have been the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah (see v. 2).

[37:21]  ⁷³² tn Heb “and he said.”

[37:21]  ⁷³³ tn Heb “we must not strike him down [with respect to] life.”

[37:22]  ⁷³⁴ tn Heb “and Reuben said to them.”

[37:22]  ⁷³⁵ sn The verbs translated shed, throw, and lay sound alike in Hebrew; the repetition of similar sounds draws attention to Reuben’s words.

[37:22]  ⁷³⁶ tn The words “Reuben said this” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[37:22]  ⁷³⁷ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:22]  ⁷³⁸ tn Heb “from their hands” (cf. v. 21). This expression has been translated as “them” here for stylistic reasons.

[37:23]  ⁷³⁹ tn Heb “Joseph”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[37:24]  ⁷⁴⁰ tn The disjunctive clause gives supplemental information that helps the reader or hearer to picture what happened.

[37:25]  ⁷⁴¹ tn Heb “lifted up their eyes.”

[37:25]  ⁷⁴² tn Heb “and they saw and look.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and look”), the narrator invites the reader to see the event through the eyes of the brothers.

[37:25]  ⁷⁴³ tn Heb “and their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh, going to go down to Egypt.”

[37:27]  ⁷⁴⁴ tn Heb “let not our hand be upon him.”

[37:27]  ⁷⁴⁵ tn Heb “listened.”

[37:28]  ⁷⁴⁶ sn On the close relationship between Ishmaelites (v. 25) and Midianites, see Judg 8:24.

[37:28]  ⁷⁴⁷ tn Heb “they drew and they lifted up.” The referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity; otherwise the reader might assume the Midianites had pulled Joseph from the cistern (but cf. NAB).

[37:28]  ⁷⁴⁸ tn Heb “Joseph” (both here and in the following clause); the proper name has been replaced both times by the pronoun “him” in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[37:28]  ⁷⁴⁹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Ishmaelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:29]  ⁷⁵⁰ tn Heb “and look, Joseph was not in the cistern.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and look”), the narrator invites the reader to see the situation through Reuben’s eyes.

[37:31]  ⁷⁵¹ sn It was with two young goats that Jacob deceived his father (Gen 27:9); now with a young goat his sons continue the deception that dominates this family.

[37:32]  ⁷⁵² tn Heb “and they sent the special tunic and they brought [it] to their father.” The text as it stands is problematic. It sounds as if they sent the tunic on ahead and then came and brought it to their father. Some emend the second verb to a Qal form and read “and they came.” In this case, they sent the tunic on ahead.

[37:33]  ⁷⁵³ sn A wild animal has eaten him. Jacob draws this conclusion on his own without his sons actually having to lie with their words (see v. 20). Dipping the tunic in the goat’s blood was the only deception needed.

[37:34]  ⁷⁵⁴ tn Heb “and put sackcloth on his loins.”

[37:35]  ⁷⁵⁵ tn Heb “arose, stood”; which here suggests that they stood by him in his time of grief.

[37:35]  ⁷⁵⁶ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Indeed I will go down to my son mourning to Sheol.’” Sheol was viewed as the place where departed spirits went after death.

[37:35]  ⁷⁵⁷ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:36]  ⁷⁵⁸ tn The disjunctive clause formally signals closure for this episode of Joseph’s story, which will be resumed in Gen 39.

[37:36]  ⁷⁵⁹ tc The MT spells the name of the merchants as מְדָנִים (mÿdanim, “Medanites”) rather than מִדְיָנִים (midyanim, “Midianites”) as in v. 28. It is likely that the MT is corrupt at this point, with the letter yod (י) being accidentally omitted. The LXX, Vulgate, Samaritan Pentateuch, and Syriac read “Midianites” here. Some prefer to read “Medanites” both here and in v. 28, but Judg 8:24, which identifies the Midianites and Ishmaelites, favors the reading “Midianites.”

[37:36]  ⁷⁶⁰ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:36]  ⁷⁶¹ sn The expression captain of the guard might indicate that Potiphar was the chief executioner.

[38:1]  ⁷⁶² tn Heb “went down from.”

[38:1]  ⁷⁶³ tn Heb “and he turned aside unto.”

[38:1]  ⁷⁶⁴ tn Heb “a man, an Adullamite.”

[38:2]  ⁷⁶⁵ tn Heb “a man, a Canaanite.”

[38:2]  ⁷⁶⁶ tn Heb “and his name was Shua.”

[38:2]  ⁷⁶⁷ tn Heb “and he took her.”

[38:2]  ⁷⁶⁸ tn Heb “and he went to her.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:3]  ⁷⁶⁹ tn Or “she conceived” (also in the following verse).

[38:3]  ⁷⁷⁰ tc Some mss read this verb as feminine, “she called,” to match the pattern of the next two verses. But the MT, “he called,” should probably be retained as the more difficult reading.

[38:5]  ⁷⁷¹ tn Heb “and she added again and she gave birth.” The first verb and the adverb emphasize that she gave birth once more.

[38:5]  ⁷⁷² tn Or “and he [i.e., Judah] was in Kezib when she gave birth to him.”

[38:6]  ⁷⁷³ tn Heb “and Judah took.”

[38:8]  ⁷⁷⁴ tn Heb “go to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:8]  ⁷⁷⁵ tn The imperative with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose.

[38:8]  ⁷⁷⁶ sn Raise up a descendant for your brother. The purpose of this custom, called the levirate system, was to ensure that no line of the family would become extinct. The name of the deceased was to be maintained through this custom of having a child by the nearest relative. See M. Burrows, “Levirate Marriage in Israel,” JBL 59 (1940): 23-33.

[38:9]  ⁷⁷⁷ tn Heb “offspring.”

[38:9]  ⁷⁷⁸ tn Heb “would not be his,” that is, legally speaking. Under the levirate system the child would be legally considered the child of his deceased brother.

[38:9]  ⁷⁷⁹ tn The construction shows that this was a repeated practice and not merely one action.

[38:9]  ⁷⁸⁰ tn Heb “he went to.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:9]  ⁷⁸¹ tn Heb “he spoiled [his semen] to the ground.” Onan withdrew prematurely and ejaculated on the ground to prevent his brother’s widow from becoming pregnant.

[38:10]  ⁷⁸² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[38:11]  ⁷⁸³ tn Heb “said.”

[38:11]  ⁷⁸⁴ tn Heb “Otherwise he will die, also he, like his brothers.”

[38:12]  ⁷⁸⁵ sn After some time. There is not enough information in the narrative to know how long this was. The text says “the days increased.” It was long enough for Shelah to mature and for Tamar to realize she would not have him.

[38:12]  ⁷⁸⁶ tn Heb “and he went up to the shearers of his sheep, he and.”

[38:13]  ⁷⁸⁷ tn Heb “And it was told to Tamar, saying.”

[38:13]  ⁷⁸⁸ tn The active participle indicates the action was in progress or about to begin.

[38:14]  ⁷⁸⁹ tn The Hebrew text simply has “because,” connecting this sentence to what precedes. For stylistic reasons the words “she did this” are supplied in the translation and a new sentence begun.

[38:14]  ⁷⁹⁰ tn Heb “she saw that Shelah had grown up, but she was not given to him as a wife.”

[38:15]  ⁷⁹¹ tn Heb “he reckoned her for a prostitute,” which was what Tamar had intended for him to do. She obviously had some idea of his inclinations, or she would not have tried this risky plan.

[38:16]  ⁷⁹² tn Heb “I will go to you.” The imperfect verbal form probably indicates his desire here. The expression “go to” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:16]  ⁷⁹³ tn Heb “for he did not know that.”

[38:16]  ⁷⁹⁴ tn Heb “when you come to me.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:17]  ⁷⁹⁵ tn Heb “until you send.”

[38:18]  ⁷⁹⁶ tn Heb “and he went to her.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:19]  ⁷⁹⁷ tn Heb “and she arose and left,” the first verb in the pair emphasizing that she wasted no time.

[38:20]  ⁷⁹⁸ tn Heb “sent by the hand of his friend.” Here the name of the friend (“Hirah”) has been included in the translation for clarity.

[38:20]  ⁷⁹⁹ tn Heb “to receive the pledge from the woman’s hand.”

[38:20]  ⁸⁰⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Judah’s friend Hirah the Adullamite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[38:21]  ⁸⁰¹ tn Heb “the men of her place,” that is, who lived at the place where she had been.

[38:21]  ⁸⁰² sn The Hebrew noun translated “cult prostitute” is derived from a verb meaning “to be set apart; to be distinct.” Thus the term refers to a woman who did not marry, but was dedicated to temple service as a cult prostitute. The masculine form of this noun is used for male cult prostitutes. Judah thought he had gone to an ordinary prostitute (v. 15); but Hirah went looking for a cult prostitute, perhaps because it had been a sheep-shearing festival. For further discussion see E. M. Yamauchi, “Cultic Prostitution,” Orient and Occident (AOAT), 213-23.

[38:23]  ⁸⁰³ tn The words “the things” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[38:23]  ⁸⁰⁴ tn Heb “we will become contemptible.” The Hebrew word בּוּז (buz) describes the contempt that a respectable person would have for someone who is worthless, foolish, or disreputable.

[38:24]  ⁸⁰⁵ tn Heb “it was told to Judah, saying.”

[38:24]  ⁸⁰⁶ tn Or “has been sexually promiscuous.” The verb may refer here to loose or promiscuous activity, not necessarily prostitution.

[38:24]  ⁸⁰⁷ tn Heb “and also look, she is with child by prostitution.”

[38:25]  ⁸⁰⁸ tn Heb “she was being brought out and she sent.” The juxtaposition of two clauses, both of which place the subject before the predicate, indicates synchronic action.

[38:25]  ⁸⁰⁹ tn Heb “who these to him.”

[38:25]  ⁸¹⁰ tn Or “ recognize; note.” This same Hebrew verb (נָכַר, nakhar) is used at the beginning of v. 26, where it is translated “recognized.”

[38:26]  ⁸¹¹ tn Traditionally “more righteous”; cf. NCV, NRSV, NLT “more in the right.”

[38:26]  ⁸¹² tn Heb “and he did not add again to know her.” Here “know” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:28]  ⁸¹³ tn The word “child” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[38:29]  ⁸¹⁴ tn Heb “Look, his brother came out.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through the midwife’s eyes. The words “before him” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[38:29]  ⁸¹⁵ tn Heb “How you have made a breach for yourself!” The Hebrew verb translated “make a breach” frequently occurs, as here, with a cognate accusative. The event provided the meaningful name Perez, “he who breaks through.”

[38:29]  ⁸¹⁶ sn The name Perez means “he who breaks through,” referring to Perez reaching out his hand at birth before his brother was born. The naming signified the completion of Tamar’s struggle and also depicted the destiny of the tribe of Perez who later became dominant (Gen 46:12 and Num 26:20). Judah and his brothers had sold Joseph into slavery, thinking they could thwart God’s plan that the elder brothers should serve the younger. God demonstrated that principle through these births in Judah’s own family, affirming that the elder will serve the younger, and that Joseph’s leadership could not so easily be set aside. See J. Goldin, “The Youngest Son; or, Where Does Genesis 38 Belong?” JBL 96 (1977): 27-44.

[38:30]  ⁸¹⁷ sn Perhaps the child was named Zerah because of the scarlet thread. Though the Hebrew word used for “scarlet thread” in v. 28 is not related to the name Zerah, there is a related root in Babylonian and western Aramaic that means “scarlet” or “scarlet thread.” In Hebrew the name appears to be derived from a root meaning “to shine.” The name could have originally meant something like “shining one” or “God has shined.” Zerah became the head of a tribe (Num 26:20) from whom Achan descended (Josh 7:1).

[39:1]  ⁸¹⁸ tn The disjunctive clause resumes the earlier narrative pertaining to Joseph by recapitulating the event described in 37:36. The perfect verbal form is given a past perfect translation to restore the sequence of the narrative for the reader.

[39:1]  ⁸¹⁹ sn Captain of the guard. See the note on this phrase in Gen 37:36.

[39:1]  ⁸²⁰ tn Heb “from the hand of.”

[39:2]  ⁸²¹ tn Heb “and he was a prosperous man.” This does not mean that Joseph became wealthy, but that he was successful in what he was doing, or making progress in his situation (see 24:21).

[39:2]  ⁸²² tn Heb “and he was.”

[39:3]  ⁸²³ tn The Hebrew text adds “in his hand,” a phrase not included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[39:4]  ⁸²⁴ sn The Hebrew verb translated became his personal attendant refers to higher domestic service, usually along the lines of a personal attendant. Here Joseph is made the household steward, a position well-attested in Egyptian literature.

[39:4]  ⁸²⁵ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[39:4]  ⁸²⁶ tn Heb “put into his hand.”

[39:5]  ⁸²⁷ tn Heb “and it was from then.”

[39:5]  ⁸²⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[39:5]  ⁸²⁹ sn The Hebrew word translated blessed carries the idea of enrichment, prosperity, success. It is the way believers describe success at the hand of God. The text illustrates the promise made to Abraham that whoever blesses his descendants will be blessed (Gen 12:1-3).

[39:5]  ⁸³⁰ tn Heb “in the house and in the field.” The word “both” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[39:5]  ⁸³¹ sn The passage gives us a good picture of Joseph as a young man who was responsible and faithful, both to his master and to his God. This happened within a very short time of his being sold into Egypt. It undermines the view that Joseph was a liar, a tattletale, and an arrogant adolescent.

[39:6]  ⁸³² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Potiphar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[39:6]  ⁸³³ sn The Hebrew verb translated left indicates he relinquished the care of it to Joseph. This is stronger than what was said earlier. Apparently Potiphar had come to trust Joseph so much that he knew it was in better care with Joseph than with anyone else.

[39:6]  ⁸³⁴ tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.

[39:6]  ⁸³⁵ tn Heb “did not know.”

[39:6]  ⁸³⁶ sn The expression except the food he ate probably refers to Potiphar’s private affairs and should not be limited literally to what he ate.

[39:6]  ⁸³⁷ tn Heb “handsome of form and handsome of appearance.” The same Hebrew expressions were used in Gen 29:17 for Rachel.

[39:7]  ⁸³⁸ tn Heb “she lifted up her eyes toward,” an expression that emphasizes her deliberate and careful scrutiny of him.

[39:7]  ⁸³⁹ tn Heb “lie with me.” Here the expression “lie with” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[39:8]  ⁸⁴⁰ tn Heb “and he said.”

[39:8]  ⁸⁴¹ tn Heb “know.”

[39:8]  ⁸⁴² tn The word “here” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[39:8]  ⁸⁴³ tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.

[39:9]  ⁸⁴⁴ tn The nuance of potential imperfect fits this context.

[39:10]  ⁸⁴⁵ tn The verse begins with the temporal indicator, followed by the infinitive construct with the preposition כְּ (kÿ). This clause could therefore be taken as temporal.

[39:10]  ⁸⁴⁶ tn Heb “listen to.”

[39:10]  ⁸⁴⁷ tn Heb “to lie beside her to be with her.” Here the expression “to lie beside” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[39:11]  ⁸⁴⁸ tn Heb “and it was about this day.”

[39:11]  ⁸⁴⁹ tn Heb “the men of the house.”

[39:12]  ⁸⁵⁰ tn Heb “he fled and he went out.” The construction emphasizes the point that Joseph got out of there quickly.

[39:12]  ⁸⁵¹ sn For discussion of this episode, see A. M. Honeyman, “The Occasion of Joseph’s Temptation,” VT 2 (1952): 85-87.

[39:14]  ⁸⁵² tn The verb has no expressed subject, and so it could be treated as a passive (“a Hebrew man was brought in”; cf. NIV). But it is clear from the context that her husband brought Joseph into the household, so Potiphar is the apparent referent here. Thus the translation supplies “my husband” as the referent of the unspecified pronominal subject of the verb (cf. NEB, NRSV).

[39:14]  ⁸⁵³ sn A Hebrew man. Potiphar’s wife raises the ethnic issue when talking to her servants about what their boss had done.

[39:14]  ⁸⁵⁴ tn Heb “to make fun of us.” The verb translated “to humiliate us” here means to hold something up for ridicule, or to toy with something harmfully. Attempted rape would be such an activity, for it would hold the victim in contempt.

[39:14]  ⁸⁵⁵ tn Heb “he came to me to lie with me.” Here the expression “lie with” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[39:14]  ⁸⁵⁶ tn Heb “and I cried out with a loud voice.”

[39:15]  ⁸⁵⁷ tn Heb “that I raised.”

[39:17]  ⁸⁵⁸ tn Heb “and she spoke to him according to these words, saying.”

[39:17]  ⁸⁵⁹ sn That Hebrew slave. Now, when speaking to her husband, Potiphar’s wife refers to Joseph as a Hebrew slave, a very demeaning description.

[39:17]  ⁸⁶⁰ tn Heb “came to me to make fun of me.” The statement needs no explanation because of the connotations of “came to me” and “to make fun of me.” See the note on the expression “humiliate us” in v. 14.

[39:19]  ⁸⁶¹ tn Heb “and when his master heard the words of his wife which she spoke to him, saying.”

[39:19]  ⁸⁶² tn Heb “according to these words.”

[39:19]  ⁸⁶³ tn Heb “did to me.”

[39:19]  ⁸⁶⁴ tn Heb “his anger burned.”

[39:20]  ⁸⁶⁵ tn Heb “the house of roundness,” suggesting that the prison might have been a fortress or citadel.

[39:20]  ⁸⁶⁶ sn The story of Joseph is filled with cycles and repetition: He has two dreams (chap. 37), he interprets two dreams in prison (chap. 40) and the two dreams of Pharaoh (chap. 41), his brothers make two trips to see him (chaps. 42-43), and here, for the second time (see 37:24), he is imprisoned for no good reason, with only his coat being used as evidence. For further discussion see H. Jacobsen, “A Legal Note on Potiphar’s Wife,” HTR 69 (1976): 177.

[39:21]  ⁸⁶⁷ tn Heb “and he extended to him loyal love.”

[39:21]  ⁸⁶⁸ tn Or “the chief jailer” (also in the following verses).

[39:22]  ⁸⁶⁹ tn Heb “all which they were doing there, he was doing.” This probably means that Joseph was in charge of everything that went on in the prison.

[39:23]  ⁸⁷⁰ tn Heb “was not looking at anything.”

[39:23]  ⁸⁷¹ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.