Genesis 32:1-32

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

32:1 So Jacob went on his way and the angels of God ¹  met him. 32:2 When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, ²  “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. ³ 

32:3 Jacob sent messengers on ahead ⁴  to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the region ⁵  of Edom. 32:4 He commanded them, “This is what you must say to my lord Esau: ‘This is what your servant ⁶  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 ⁷  this message ⁸  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,” ⁹  he thought, ¹⁰  “then the other camp will be able to escape.” ¹¹ 

32:9 Then Jacob prayed, ¹²  “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you said ¹³  to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.’ ¹⁴  32:10 I am not worthy of all the faithful love ¹⁵  you have shown ¹⁶  your servant. With only my walking stick ¹⁷  I crossed the Jordan, ¹⁸  but now I have become two camps. 32:11 Rescue me, ¹⁹  I pray, from the hand ²⁰  of my brother Esau, ²¹  for I am afraid he will come ²²  and attack me, as well as the mothers with their children. ²³  32:12 But you ²⁴  said, ‘I will certainly make you prosper ²⁵  and will make ²⁶  your descendants like the sand on the seashore, too numerous to count.’” ²⁷ 

32:13 Jacob ²⁸  stayed there that night. Then he sent ²⁹  as a gift ³⁰  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 ³¹  his servants, who divided them into herds. ³²  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, ³³  “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong? ³⁴  Where are you going? Whose herds are you driving?’ ³⁵  32:18 then you must say, ³⁶  ‘They belong ³⁷  to your servant Jacob. ³⁸  They have been sent as a gift to my lord Esau. ³⁹  In fact Jacob himself is behind us.’” ⁴⁰ 

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. ⁴¹  32:20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’” ⁴²  Jacob thought, ⁴³  “I will first appease him ⁴⁴  by sending a gift ahead of me. ⁴⁵  After that I will meet him. ⁴⁶  Perhaps he will accept me.” ⁴⁷  32:21 So the gifts were sent on ahead of him ⁴⁸  while he spent that night in the camp. ⁴⁹ 

32:22 During the night Jacob quickly took ⁵⁰  his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons ⁵¹  and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ⁵²  32:23 He took them and sent them across the stream along with all his possessions. ⁵³  32:24 So Jacob was left alone. Then a man ⁵⁴  wrestled ⁵⁵  with him until daybreak. ⁵⁶  32:25 When the man ⁵⁷  saw that he could not defeat Jacob, ⁵⁸  he struck ⁵⁹  the socket of his hip so the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him.

32:26 Then the man ⁶⁰  said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” ⁶¹  “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, ⁶²  “unless you bless me.” ⁶³  32:27 The man asked him, ⁶⁴  “What is your name?” ⁶⁵  He answered, “Jacob.” 32:28 “No longer will your name be Jacob,” the man told him, ⁶⁶  “but Israel, ⁶⁷  because you have fought ⁶⁸  with God and with men and have prevailed.”

32:29 Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.” ⁶⁹  “Why ⁷⁰  do you ask my name?” the man replied. ⁷¹  Then he blessed ⁷²  Jacob ⁷³  there. 32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, ⁷⁴  explaining, ⁷⁵  “Certainly ⁷⁶  I have seen God face to face ⁷⁷  and have survived.” ⁷⁸ 

32:31 The sun rose ⁷⁹  over him as he crossed over Penuel, ⁸⁰  but ⁸¹  he was limping because of his hip. 32:32 That is why to this day ⁸²  the Israelites do not eat the sinew which is attached to the socket of the hip, because he struck ⁸³  the socket of Jacob’s hip near the attached sinew.

Genesis 23:1

The Death of Sarah

23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. ⁸⁴ 

Genesis 23:1

The Death of Sarah

23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. ⁸⁵ 

Genesis 25:1--31:18

The Death of Abraham

25:1 Abraham had taken ⁸⁶  another ⁸⁷  wife, named Keturah. 25:2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 25:3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. ⁸⁸  The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 25:4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants ⁸⁹  of Keturah.

25:5 Everything he owned Abraham left to his son Isaac. 25:6 But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines ⁹⁰  and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. ⁹¹ 

25:7 Abraham lived a total of ⁹²  175 years. 25:8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life. ⁹³  He joined his ancestors. ⁹⁴  25:9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah ⁹⁵  near Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar, the Hethite. 25:10 This was the field Abraham had purchased from the sons of Heth. ⁹⁶  There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 25:11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed ⁹⁷  his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi. ⁹⁸ 

The Sons of Ishmael

25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, ⁹⁹  whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham.

25:13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names according to their records: ¹⁰⁰  Nebaioth (Ishmael’s firstborn), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 25:14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 25:15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 25:16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names by their settlements and their camps – twelve princes ¹⁰¹  according to their clans.

25:17 Ishmael lived a total of ¹⁰²  137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors. ¹⁰³  25:18 His descendants ¹⁰⁴  settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next ¹⁰⁵  to Egypt all the way ¹⁰⁶  to Asshur. ¹⁰⁷  They settled ¹⁰⁸  away from all their relatives. ¹⁰⁹ 

Jacob and Esau

25:19 This is the account of Isaac, ¹¹⁰  the son of Abraham.

Abraham became the father of Isaac. 25:20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, ¹¹¹  the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. ¹¹² 

25:21 Isaac prayed to ¹¹³  the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 25:22 But the children struggled ¹¹⁴  inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” ¹¹⁵  So she asked the Lord, ¹¹⁶  25:23 and the Lord said to her,

“Two nations ¹¹⁷  are in your womb,

and two peoples will be separated from within you.

One people will be stronger than the other,

and the older will serve the younger.”

25:24 When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, ¹¹⁸  there were ¹¹⁹  twins in her womb. 25:25 The first came out reddish ¹²⁰  all over, ¹²¹  like a hairy ¹²²  garment, so they named him Esau. ¹²³  25:26 When his brother came out with ¹²⁴  his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. ¹²⁵  Isaac was sixty years old ¹²⁶  when they were born.

25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled ¹²⁷  hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. ¹²⁸  25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, ¹²⁹  but Rebekah loved ¹³⁰  Jacob.

25:29 Now Jacob cooked some stew, ¹³¹  and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished. 25:30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed ¹³²  me some of the red stuff – yes, this red stuff – because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called ¹³³  Edom.) ¹³⁴ 

25:31 But Jacob replied, “First ¹³⁵  sell me your birthright.” 25:32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” ¹³⁶  25:33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” ¹³⁷  So Esau ¹³⁸  swore an oath to him and sold his birthright ¹³⁹  to Jacob.

25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. ¹⁴⁰  So Esau despised his birthright. ¹⁴¹ 

Isaac and Abimelech

26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred ¹⁴²  in the days of Abraham. ¹⁴³  Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar. 26:2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; ¹⁴⁴  settle down in the land that I will point out to you. ¹⁴⁵  26:3 Stay ¹⁴⁶  in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, ¹⁴⁷  for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, ¹⁴⁸  and I will fulfill ¹⁴⁹  the solemn promise I made ¹⁵⁰  to your father Abraham. 26:4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them ¹⁵¹  all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. ¹⁵²  26:5 All this will come to pass ¹⁵³  because Abraham obeyed me ¹⁵⁴  and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” ¹⁵⁵  26:6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.

26:7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, “She is my sister.” ¹⁵⁶  He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, ¹⁵⁷  “The men of this place will kill me to get ¹⁵⁸  Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”

26:8 After Isaac ¹⁵⁹  had been there a long time, ¹⁶⁰  Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed ¹⁶¹  Isaac caressing ¹⁶²  his wife Rebekah. 26:9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really ¹⁶³  your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.” ¹⁶⁴ 

26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? ¹⁶⁵  One of the men ¹⁶⁶  might easily have had sexual relations with ¹⁶⁷  your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!” 26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches ¹⁶⁸  this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” ¹⁶⁹ 

26:12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, ¹⁷⁰  because the Lord blessed him. ¹⁷¹  26:13 The man became wealthy. ¹⁷²  His influence continued to grow ¹⁷³  until he became very prominent. 26:14 He had ¹⁷⁴  so many sheep ¹⁷⁵  and cattle ¹⁷⁶  and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous ¹⁷⁷  of him. 26:15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled up ¹⁷⁸  all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham.

26:16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere, ¹⁷⁹  for you have become much more powerful ¹⁸⁰  than we are.” 26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. ¹⁸¹  26:18 Isaac reopened ¹⁸²  the wells that had been dug ¹⁸³  back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up ¹⁸⁴  after Abraham died. Isaac ¹⁸⁵  gave these wells ¹⁸⁶  the same names his father had given them. ¹⁸⁷ 

26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing ¹⁸⁸  water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled ¹⁸⁹  with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac ¹⁹⁰  named the well ¹⁹¹  Esek ¹⁹²  because they argued with him about it. ¹⁹³  26:21 His servants ¹⁹⁴  dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it ¹⁹⁵  Sitnah. ¹⁹⁶  26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac ¹⁹⁷  named it ¹⁹⁸  Rehoboth, ¹⁹⁹  saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”

26:23 From there Isaac ²⁰⁰  went up to Beer Sheba. 26:24 The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” 26:25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped ²⁰¹  the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. ²⁰² 

26:26 Now Abimelech had come ²⁰³  to him from Gerar along with ²⁰⁴  Ahuzzah his friend ²⁰⁵  and Phicol the commander of his army. 26:27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me ²⁰⁶  and sent me away from you.” 26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see ²⁰⁷  that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be ²⁰⁸  a pact between us ²⁰⁹  – between us ²¹⁰  and you. Allow us to make ²¹¹  a treaty with you 26:29 so that ²¹²  you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed ²¹³  you, but have always treated you well ²¹⁴  before sending you away ²¹⁵  in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.” ²¹⁶ 

26:30 So Isaac ²¹⁷  held a feast for them and they celebrated. ²¹⁸  26:31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. ²¹⁹  Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms. ²²⁰ 

26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported. ²²¹  26:33 So he named it Shibah; ²²²  that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba ²²³  to this day.

26:34 When ²²⁴  Esau was forty years old, ²²⁵  he married ²²⁶  Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, as well as Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 26:35 They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety. ²²⁷ 

Jacob Cheats Esau out of the Blessing

27:1 When ²²⁸  Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, ²²⁹  he called his older ²³⁰  son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau ²³¹  replied. 27:2 Isaac ²³²  said, “Since ²³³  I am so old, I could die at any time. ²³⁴  27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game ²³⁵  for me. 27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then ²³⁶  I will eat it so that I may bless you ²³⁷  before I die.”

27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. ²³⁸  When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, ²³⁹  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 ²⁴⁰  it and bless you ²⁴¹  in the presence of the Lord ²⁴²  before I die.’ 27:8 Now then, my son, do ²⁴³  exactly what I tell you! ²⁴⁴  27:9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare ²⁴⁵  them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. 27:10 Then you will take ²⁴⁶  it to your father. Thus he will eat it ²⁴⁷  and ²⁴⁸  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! ²⁴⁹  27:12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him ²⁵⁰  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, ²⁵¹  my son! Just obey me! ²⁵²  Go and get them for me!”

27:14 So he went and got the goats ²⁵³  and brought them to his mother. She ²⁵⁴  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 ²⁵⁵  on his hands ²⁵⁶  and the smooth part of his neck. 27:17 Then she handed ²⁵⁷  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 ²⁵⁸  replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?” ²⁵⁹  27:19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up ²⁶⁰  and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” ²⁶¹  27:20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world ²⁶²  did you find it so quickly, ²⁶³  my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” ²⁶⁴  he replied. ²⁶⁵  27:21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you, ²⁶⁶  my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.” ²⁶⁷  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. ²⁶⁸  27:24 Then he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “I am,” Jacob ²⁶⁹  replied. 27:25 Isaac ²⁷⁰  said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. ²⁷¹  Then I will bless you.” ²⁷²  So Jacob ²⁷³  brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac ²⁷⁴  drank. 27:26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 27:27 So Jacob ²⁷⁵  went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent ²⁷⁶  of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,

“Yes, ²⁷⁷  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 ²⁷⁸ 

and the richness ²⁷⁹  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 ²⁸⁰  lord ²⁸¹  over your brothers,

and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. ²⁸² 

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 ²⁸³  his father’s ²⁸⁴  presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt. ²⁸⁵  27:31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau ²⁸⁶  said to him, “My father, get up ²⁸⁷  and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.” ²⁸⁸  27:32 His father Isaac asked, ²⁸⁹  “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,” ²⁹⁰  he replied, “Esau!” 27:33 Isaac began to shake violently ²⁹¹  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. ²⁹²  He will indeed be blessed!”

27:34 When Esau heard ²⁹³  his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly. ²⁹⁴  He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” 27:35 But Isaac ²⁹⁵  replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away ²⁹⁶  your blessing.” 27:36 Esau exclaimed, “‘Jacob’ is the right name for him! ²⁹⁷  He has tripped me up ²⁹⁸  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!” ²⁹⁹  Then Esau wept loudly. ³⁰⁰ 

27:39 So his father Isaac said to him,

“Indeed, ³⁰¹  your home will be

away from the richness ³⁰²  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.” ³⁰³ 

27:41 So Esau hated ³⁰⁴  Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. ³⁰⁵  Esau said privately, ³⁰⁶  “The time ³⁰⁷  of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill ³⁰⁸  my brother Jacob!”

27:42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said, ³⁰⁹  she quickly summoned ³¹⁰  her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you. ³¹¹  27:43 Now then, my son, do what I say. ³¹²  Run away immediately ³¹³  to my brother Laban in Haran. 27:44 Live with him for a little while ³¹⁴  until your brother’s rage subsides. 27:45 Stay there ³¹⁵  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. ³¹⁶  Why should I lose both of you in one day?” ³¹⁷ 

27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressed ³¹⁸  because of these daughters of Heth. ³¹⁹  If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!” ³²⁰ 

28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman! ³²¹  28:2 Leave immediately ³²²  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 ³²³  bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! ³²⁴  Then you will become ³²⁵  a large nation. ³²⁶  28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham ³²⁷  so that you may possess the land ³²⁸  God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” ³²⁹  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. ³³⁰  As he blessed him, ³³¹  Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” ³³²  28:7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram. 28:8 Then Esau realized ³³³  that the Canaanite women ³³⁴  were displeasing to ³³⁵  his father Isaac. 28:9 So Esau went to Ishmael and married ³³⁶  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 ³³⁷  where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. ³³⁸  He took one of the stones ³³⁹  and placed it near his head. ³⁴⁰  Then he fell asleep ³⁴¹  in that place 28:12 and had a dream. ³⁴²  He saw ³⁴³  a stairway ³⁴⁴  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. ³⁴⁵  I will give you and your descendants the ground ³⁴⁶  you are lying on. 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, ³⁴⁷  and you will spread out ³⁴⁸  to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ³⁴⁹  using your name and that of your descendants. ³⁵⁰  28:15 I am with you! ³⁵¹  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 ³⁵²  and thought, ³⁵³  “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 ³⁵⁴  in the morning Jacob ³⁵⁵  took the stone he had placed near his head ³⁵⁶  and set it up as a sacred stone. ³⁵⁷  Then he poured oil on top of it. 28:19 He called that place Bethel, ³⁵⁸  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 ³⁵⁹  to eat and clothing to wear, 28:21 and I return safely to my father’s home, ³⁶⁰  then the Lord will become my God. 28:22 Then this stone ³⁶¹  that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely ³⁶²  give you back a tenth of everything you give me.” ³⁶³ 

The Marriages of Jacob

29:1 So Jacob moved on ³⁶⁴  and came to the land of the eastern people. ³⁶⁵  29:2 He saw ³⁶⁶  in the field a well with ³⁶⁷  three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now ³⁶⁸  a large stone covered the mouth of the well. 29:3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds ³⁶⁹  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 ³⁷⁰  of Nahor?” “We know him,” ³⁷¹  they said. 29:6 “Is he well?” ³⁷²  Jacob asked. They replied, “He is well. ³⁷³  Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” 29:7 Then Jacob ³⁷⁴  said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, ³⁷⁵  it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” ³⁷⁶  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 ³⁷⁷  the sheep.”

29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was tending them. ³⁷⁸  29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, ³⁷⁹  and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he ³⁸⁰  went over ³⁸¹  and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. ³⁸²  29:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep loudly. ³⁸³  29:12 When Jacob explained ³⁸⁴  to Rachel that he was a relative of her father ³⁸⁵  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 ³⁸⁶  told Laban how he was related to him. ³⁸⁷  29:14 Then Laban said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” ³⁸⁸  So Jacob ³⁸⁹  stayed with him for a month. ³⁹⁰ 

29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work ³⁹¹  for me for nothing because you are my relative? ³⁹²  Tell me what your wages should be.” 29:16 (Now Laban had two daughters; ³⁹³  the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. 29:17 Leah’s eyes were tender, ³⁹⁴  but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.) ³⁹⁵  29:18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with ³⁹⁶  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. ³⁹⁷  Stay with me.” 29:20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. ³⁹⁸  But they seemed like only a few days to him ³⁹⁹  because his love for her was so great. ⁴⁰⁰ 

29:21 Finally Jacob said ⁴⁰¹  to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. ⁴⁰²  I want to have marital relations with her.” ⁴⁰³  29:22 So Laban invited all the people ⁴⁰⁴  of that place and prepared a feast. 29:23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leah ⁴⁰⁵  to Jacob, ⁴⁰⁶  and Jacob ⁴⁰⁷  had marital relations with her. ⁴⁰⁸  29:24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) ⁴⁰⁹ 

29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! ⁴¹⁰  So Jacob ⁴¹¹  said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! ⁴¹²  Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked ⁴¹³  me?” 29:26 “It is not our custom here,” ⁴¹⁴  Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriage ⁴¹⁵  before the firstborn. 29:27 Complete my older daughter’s bridal week. ⁴¹⁶  Then we will give you the younger one ⁴¹⁷  too, in exchange for seven more years of work.” ⁴¹⁸ 

29:28 Jacob did as Laban said. ⁴¹⁹  When Jacob ⁴²⁰  completed Leah’s bridal week, ⁴²¹  Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. ⁴²²  29:29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) ⁴²³  29:30 Jacob ⁴²⁴  had marital relations ⁴²⁵  with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban ⁴²⁶  for seven more years. ⁴²⁷ 

The Family of Jacob

29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, ⁴²⁸  he enabled her to become pregnant ⁴²⁹  while Rachel remained childless. 29:32 So Leah became pregnant ⁴³⁰  and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, ⁴³¹  for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. ⁴³²  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, ⁴³³  he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. ⁴³⁴ 

29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, ⁴³⁵  because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. ⁴³⁶ 

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. ⁴³⁷  Then she stopped having children.

30:1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she ⁴³⁸  became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children ⁴³⁹  or I’ll die!” 30:2 Jacob became furious ⁴⁴⁰  with Rachel and exclaimed, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” ⁴⁴¹  30:3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with ⁴⁴²  her so that she can bear ⁴⁴³  children ⁴⁴⁴  for me ⁴⁴⁵  and I can have a family through her.” ⁴⁴⁶ 

30:4 So Rachel ⁴⁴⁷  gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with ⁴⁴⁸  her. 30:5 Bilhah became pregnant ⁴⁴⁹  and gave Jacob a son. ⁴⁵⁰  30:6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayer ⁴⁵¹  and given me a son.” That is why ⁴⁵²  she named him Dan. ⁴⁵³ 

30:7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. ⁴⁵⁴  30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.” ⁴⁵⁵  So she named him Naphtali. ⁴⁵⁶ 

30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave ⁴⁵⁷  her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 30:10 Soon Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son. ⁴⁵⁸  30:11 Leah said, “How fortunate!” ⁴⁵⁹  So she named him Gad. ⁴⁶⁰ 

30:12 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son. ⁴⁶¹  30:13 Leah said, “How happy I am, ⁴⁶²  for women ⁴⁶³  will call me happy!” So she named him Asher. ⁴⁶⁴ 

30:14 At the time ⁴⁶⁵  of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants ⁴⁶⁶  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, ⁴⁶⁷  “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,” ⁴⁶⁸  Rachel said, “he may sleep ⁴⁶⁹  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 ⁴⁷⁰  with me because I have paid for your services ⁴⁷¹  with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relations ⁴⁷²  with her that night. 30:17 God paid attention ⁴⁷³  to Leah; she became pregnant ⁴⁷⁴  and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. ⁴⁷⁵  30:18 Then Leah said, “God has granted me a reward ⁴⁷⁶  because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.” ⁴⁷⁷  So she named him Issachar. ⁴⁷⁸ 

30:19 Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time. ⁴⁷⁹  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. ⁴⁸⁰ 

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

30:22 Then God took note of ⁴⁸¹  Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. ⁴⁸²  30:23 She became pregnant ⁴⁸³  and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” ⁴⁸⁴  30:24 She named him Joseph, ⁴⁸⁵  saying, “May the Lord give me yet another son.”

The Flocks of Jacob

30:25 After Rachel had given birth ⁴⁸⁶  to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send ⁴⁸⁷  me on my way so that I can go ⁴⁸⁸  home to my own country. ⁴⁸⁹  30:26 Let me take my wives and my children whom I have acquired by working for you. ⁴⁹⁰  Then I’ll depart, ⁴⁹¹  because you know how hard I’ve worked for you.” ⁴⁹² 

30:27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, ⁴⁹³  for I have learned by divination ⁴⁹⁴  that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.” 30:28 He added, “Just name your wages – I’ll pay whatever you want.” ⁴⁹⁵ 

30:29 “You know how I have worked for you,” Jacob replied, ⁴⁹⁶  “and how well your livestock have fared under my care. ⁴⁹⁷  30:30 Indeed, ⁴⁹⁸  you had little before I arrived, ⁴⁹⁹  but now your possessions have increased many times over. ⁵⁰⁰  The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked. ⁵⁰¹  But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?” ⁵⁰² 

30:31 So Laban asked, ⁵⁰³  “What should I give you?” “You don’t need to give me a thing,” ⁵⁰⁴  Jacob replied, ⁵⁰⁵  “but if you agree to this one condition, ⁵⁰⁶  I will continue to care for ⁵⁰⁷  your flocks and protect them: 30:32 Let me walk among ⁵⁰⁸  all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, ⁵⁰⁹  and the spotted or speckled goats. ⁵¹⁰  These animals will be my wages. ⁵¹¹  30:33 My integrity will testify for me ⁵¹²  later on. ⁵¹³  When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on, ⁵¹⁴  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.” ⁵¹⁵  30:34 “Agreed!” said Laban, “It will be as you say.” ⁵¹⁶ 

30:35 So that day Laban ⁵¹⁷  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 ⁵¹⁸  of his sons. 30:36 Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, ⁵¹⁹  while ⁵²⁰  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. ⁵²¹  30:39 When the sheep mated ⁵²²  in front of the branches, they ⁵²³  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 ⁵²⁴  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, ⁵²⁵  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. ⁵²⁶  So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban ⁵²⁷  and the stronger animals to Jacob. 30:43 In this way Jacob ⁵²⁸  became extremely prosperous. He owned ⁵²⁹  large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.

Jacob’s Flight from Laban

31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, ⁵³⁰  “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich ⁵³¹  at our father’s expense!” ⁵³²  31:2 When Jacob saw the look on Laban’s face, he could tell his attitude toward him had changed. ⁵³³ 

31:3 The Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers ⁵³⁴  and to your relatives. I will be with you.” ⁵³⁵  31:4 So Jacob sent a message for Rachel and Leah ⁵³⁶  to come to the field ⁵³⁷  where his flocks were. ⁵³⁸  31:5 There he said to them, “I can tell that your father’s attitude toward me has changed, ⁵³⁹  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, ⁵⁴⁰  31:7 but your father has humiliated ⁵⁴¹  me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not permitted him to do me any harm. 31:8 If he said, ⁵⁴²  ‘The speckled animals ⁵⁴³  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 ⁵⁴⁴  during breeding season I saw ⁵⁴⁵  in a dream that the male goats mating with ⁵⁴⁶  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 ⁵⁴⁷  that all the male goats mating with ⁵⁴⁸  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, ⁵⁴⁹  where you anointed ⁵⁵⁰  the sacred stone and made a vow to me. ⁵⁵¹  Now leave this land immediately ⁵⁵²  and return to your native land.’”

31:14 Then Rachel and Leah replied to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance ⁵⁵³  in our father’s house? 31:15 Hasn’t he treated us like foreigners? He not only sold us, but completely wasted ⁵⁵⁴  the money paid for us! ⁵⁵⁵  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. ⁵⁵⁶  31:18 He took ⁵⁵⁷  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. ⁵⁵⁸ 

Deuteronomy 12:32

Idolatry and False Prophets

12:32 (13:1) ⁵⁵⁹  You ⁵⁶⁰  must be careful to do everything I am commanding you. Do not add to it or subtract from it! ⁵⁶¹ 

Matthew 28:20

28:20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, ⁵⁶²  I am with you ⁵⁶³  always, to the end of the age.” ⁵⁶⁴ 

Matthew 28:2

28:2 Suddenly there was a severe earthquake, for an angel of the Lord ⁵⁶⁵  descending from heaven came and rolled away the stone and sat on it.

Matthew 2:15

2:15 He stayed there until Herod ⁵⁶⁶  died. In this way what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet was fulfilled: “I called my Son out of Egypt.” ⁵⁶⁷ 

Matthew 4:7

4:7 Jesus said to him, “Once again it is written: ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’” ⁵⁶⁸ 

[32:1]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “and Jacob said when he saw them.”

[32:2]  ³ sn The name Mahanaim apparently means “two camps.” Perhaps the two camps were those of God and of Jacob.

[32:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “before him.”

[32:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “field.”

[32:4]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn The words “this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.”

[32:8]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Heb “said.”

[32:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “the one who said.”

[32:9]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the loving deeds and faithfulness” (see 24:27, 49).

[32:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “you have done with.”

[32:10]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “this Jordan.”

[32:11]  ¹⁹ tn The imperative has the force of a prayer here, not a command.

[32:11]  ²⁰ tn The “hand” here is a metonymy for “power.”

[32:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau.”

[32:11]  ²² tn Heb “for I am afraid of him, lest he come.”

[32:11]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Heb “But you, you said.” One of the occurrences of the pronoun “you” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.

[32:12]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the nuance of the preceding verb forward.

[32:12]  ²⁷ tn Heb “which cannot be counted because of abundance.” The imperfect verbal form indicates potential here.

[32:13]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:13]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ tn Heb “and he put them in the hand of.”

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

[32:17]  ³³ tn Heb “the first”; this has been specified as “the servant leading the first herd” in the translation for clarity.

[32:17]  ³⁴ tn Heb “to whom are you?”

[32:17]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and to whom are these before you?”

[32:18]  ³⁶ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; it has the nuance of an imperfect of instruction.

[32:18]  ³⁷ tn The words “they belong” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:18]  ³⁸ tn Heb “to your servant, to Jacob.”

[32:18]  ³⁹ tn Heb “to my lord, to Esau.”

[32:18]  ⁴⁰ 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]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² tn Heb “and look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.”

[32:20]  ⁴³ 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]  ⁴⁴ 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]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “with a gift going before me.”

[32:20]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “I will see his face.”

[32:20]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “Perhaps he will lift up my face.” In this context the idiom refers to acceptance.

[32:21]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “and the gift passed over upon his face.”

[32:21]  ⁴⁹ tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial/temporal.

[32:22]  ⁵⁰ 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]  ⁵¹ 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]  ⁵² 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]  ⁵³ tn Heb “and he sent across what he had.”

[32:24]  ⁵⁴ 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]  ⁵⁵ 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]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “until the rising of the dawn.”

[32:25]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:25]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:25]  ⁵⁹ 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]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:26]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “dawn has arisen.”

[32:26]  ⁶² 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]  ⁶³ 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]  ⁶⁴ 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]  ⁶⁵ 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]  ⁶⁶ 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]  ⁶⁷ 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]  ⁶⁸ 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]  ⁶⁹ 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]  ⁷⁰ tn The question uses the enclitic pronoun “this” to emphasize the import of the question.

[32:29]  ⁷¹ 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]  ⁷² 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]  ⁷³ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:30]  ⁷⁴ sn The name Peniel means “face of God.” Since Jacob saw God face to face here, the name is appropriate.

[32:30]  ⁷⁵ tn The word “explaining” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:30]  ⁷⁶ tn Or “because.”

[32:30]  ⁷⁷ sn I have seen God face to face. See the note on the name “Peniel” earlier in the verse.

[32:30]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “and my soul [= life] has been preserved.”

[32:31]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “shone.”

[32:31]  ⁸⁰ sn The name is spelled Penuel here, apparently a variant spelling of Peniel (see v. 30).

[32:31]  ⁸¹ tn The disjunctive clause draws attention to an important fact: He may have crossed the stream, but he was limping.

[32:32]  ⁸² 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]  ⁸³ tn Or “because the socket of Jacob’s hip was struck.” Some translations render this as an impersonal passive. On the translation of the word “struck” see the note on this term in v. 25.

[23:1]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “And the years of Sarah were one hundred years and twenty years and seven years, the years of the life of Sarah.”

[23:1]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “And the years of Sarah were one hundred years and twenty years and seven years, the years of the life of Sarah.”

[25:1]  ⁸⁶ tn Or “took.”

[25:1]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “And Abraham added and took.”

[25:3]  ⁸⁸ sn The names Sheba and Dedan appear in Gen 10:7 as descendants of Ham through Cush and Raamah. Since these two names are usually interpreted to be place names, one plausible suggestion is that some of Abraham’s descendants lived in those regions and took names linked with it.

[25:4]  ⁸⁹ tn Or “sons.”

[25:6]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “the sons of the concubines who [belonged] to Abraham.”

[25:6]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “And he sent them away from upon Isaac his son, while he was still living, eastward to the land of the east.”

[25:7]  ⁹² tn Heb “and these are the days of the years of the lifetime of Abraham that he lived.” The normal genealogical formula is expanded here due to the importance of the life of Abraham.

[25:8]  ⁹³ tn Heb “old and full.”

[25:8]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.

[25:9]  ⁹⁵ sn The cave of Machpelah was the place Abraham had purchased as a burial place for his wife Sarah (Gen 23:17-18).

[25:10]  ⁹⁶ tn See the note on the phrase “sons of Heth” in Gen 23:3.

[25:11]  ⁹⁷ sn God blessed Isaac. The Hebrew verb “bless” in this passage must include all the gifts that God granted to Isaac. But fertility was not one of them, at least not for twenty years, because Rebekah was barren as well (see v. 21).

[25:11]  ⁹⁸ sn Beer Lahai Roi. See the note on this place name in Gen 24:62.

[25:12]  ⁹⁹ sn This is the account of Ishmael. The Book of Genesis tends to tidy up the family records at every turning point. Here, before proceeding with the story of Isaac’s family, the narrative traces Ishmael’s family line. Later, before discussing Jacob’s family, the narrative traces Esau’s family line (see Gen 36).

[25:13]  ¹⁰⁰ tn The meaning of this line is not easily understood. The sons of Ishmael are listed here “by their names” and “according to their descendants.”

[25:16]  ¹⁰¹ tn Or “tribal chieftains.”

[25:17]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “And these are the days of the years of Ishmael.”

[25:17]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.

[25:18]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Ishmael’s descendants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:18]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “which is by the face of,” or near the border. The territory ran along the border of Egypt.

[25:18]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Heb “as you go.”

[25:18]  ¹⁰⁷ sn The name Asshur refers here to a tribal area in the Sinai.

[25:18]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Heb “he fell.”

[25:18]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “upon the face of all his brothers.” This last expression, obviously alluding to the earlier oracle about Ishmael (Gen 16:12), could mean that the descendants of Ishmael lived in hostility to others or that they lived in a territory that was opposite the lands of their relatives. While there is some ambiguity about the meaning, the line probably does give a hint of the Ishmaelite-Israelite conflicts to come.

[25:19]  ¹¹⁰ sn This is the account of Isaac. What follows for several chapters is not the account of Isaac, except briefly, but the account of Jacob and Esau. The next chapters tell what became of Isaac and his family.

[25:20]  ¹¹¹ tn Heb “And Isaac was the son of forty years when he took Rebekah.”

[25:20]  ¹¹² sn Some valuable information is provided here. We learn here that Isaac married thirty-five years before Abraham died, that Rebekah was barren for twenty years, and that Abraham would have lived to see Jacob and Esau begin to grow up. The death of Abraham was recorded in the first part of the chapter as a “tidying up” of one generation before beginning the account of the next.

[25:21]  ¹¹³ tn The Hebrew verb עָתַר (’atar), translated “prayed [to]” here, appears in the story of God’s judgment on Egypt in which Moses asked the Lord to remove the plagues. The cognate word in Arabic means “to slaughter for sacrifice,” and the word is used in Zeph 3:10 to describe worshipers who bring offerings. Perhaps some ritual accompanied Isaac’s prayer here.

[25:22]  ¹¹⁴ tn The Hebrew word used here suggests a violent struggle that was out of the ordinary.

[25:22]  ¹¹⁵ tn Heb “If [it is] so, why [am] I this [way]?” Rebekah wanted to know what was happening to her, but the question itself reflects a growing despair over the struggle of the unborn children.

[25:22]  ¹¹⁶ sn Asked the Lord. In other passages (e.g., 1 Sam 9:9) this expression refers to inquiring of a prophet, but no details are provided here.

[25:23]  ¹¹⁷ sn By metonymy the two children in her womb are described as two nations of which the two children, Jacob and Esau, would become the fathers. The language suggests there would be a struggle between these nations, with one being stronger than the other. The oracle reveals that all of Jacob’s scheming was unnecessary in the final analysis. He would have become the dominant nation without using deception to steal his brother’s blessing.

[25:24]  ¹¹⁸ tn Heb “And her days were filled to give birth.”

[25:24]  ¹¹⁹ tn Heb “look!” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene as if they were actually present at the birth.

[25:25]  ¹²⁰ sn Reddish. The Hebrew word translated “reddish” is אַדְמוֹנִי (’admoni), which forms a wordplay on the Edomites, Esau’s descendants. The writer sees in Esau’s appearance at birth a sign of what was to come. After all, the reader has already been made aware of the “nations” that were being born.

[25:25]  ¹²¹ tn Heb “all of him.”

[25:25]  ¹²² sn Hairy. Here is another wordplay involving the descendants of Esau. The Hebrew word translated “hairy” is שֵׂעָר (se’ar); the Edomites will later live in Mount Seir, perhaps named for its wooded nature.

[25:25]  ¹²³ tn Heb “And they called his name Esau.” The name “Esau” (עֵשָׂו, ’esav) is not etymologically related to שֵׂעָר (se’ar), but it draws on some of the sounds.

[25:26]  ¹²⁴ tn The disjunctive clause describes an important circumstance accompanying the birth. Whereas Esau was passive at birth, Jacob was active.

[25:26]  ¹²⁵ tn Heb “And he called his name Jacob.” Some ancient witnesses read “they called his name Jacob” (see v. 25). In either case the subject is indefinite.

[25:26]  ¹²⁶ tn Heb “the son of sixty years.”

[25:27]  ¹²⁷ tn Heb “knowing.”

[25:27]  ¹²⁸ tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Jacob with Esau and draws attention to the striking contrasts. In contrast to Esau, a man of the field, Jacob was civilized, as the phrase “living in tents” signifies. Whereas Esau was a skillful hunter, Jacob was calm and even-tempered (תָּם, tam), which normally has the idea of “blameless.”

[25:28]  ¹²⁹ tn Heb “the taste of game was in his mouth.” The word for “game,” “venison” is here the same Hebrew word as “hunter” in the last verse. Here it is a metonymy, referring to that which the hunter kills.

[25:28]  ¹³⁰ tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Rebekah with Jacob and draws attention to the contrast. The verb here is a participle, drawing attention to Rebekah’s continuing, enduring love for her son.

[25:29]  ¹³¹ sn Jacob cooked some stew. There are some significant words and wordplays in this story that help clarify the points of the story. The verb “cook” is זִיד (zid), which sounds like the word for “hunter” (צַיִד, tsayid). This is deliberate, for the hunter becomes the hunted in this story. The word זִיד means “to cook, to boil,” but by the sound play with צַיִד it comes to mean “set a trap by cooking.” The usage of the word shows that it can also have the connotation of acting presumptuously (as in boiling over). This too may be a comment on the scene. For further discussion of the rhetorical devices in the Jacob narratives, see J. P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis (SSN).

[25:30]  ¹³² tn The rare term לָעַט (la’at), translated “feed,” is used in later Hebrew for feeding animals (see Jastrow, 714). If this nuance was attached to the word in the biblical period, then it may depict Esau in a negative light, comparing him to a hungry animal. Famished Esau comes in from the hunt, only to enter the trap. He can only point at the red stew and ask Jacob to feed him.

[25:30]  ¹³³ tn The verb has no expressed subject and so is given a passive translation.

[25:30]  ¹³⁴ sn Esau’s descendants would eventually be called Edom. Edom was the place where they lived, so-named probably because of the reddish nature of the hills. The writer can use the word “red” to describe the stew that Esau gasped for to convey the nature of Esau and his descendants. They were a lusty, passionate, and profane people who lived for the moment. Again, the wordplay is meant to capture the “omen in the nomen.”

[25:31]  ¹³⁵ tn Heb “today.”

[25:32]  ¹³⁶ tn Heb “And what is this to me, a birthright?”

[25:33]  ¹³⁷ tn Heb “Swear to me today.”

[25:33]  ¹³⁸ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:33]  ¹³⁹ sn And sold his birthright. There is evidence from Hurrian culture that rights of inheritance were occasionally sold or transferred. Here Esau is portrayed as a profane person who would at the moment rather have a meal than the right to inherit. He will soon forget this trade and seek his father’s blessing in spite of it.

[25:34]  ¹⁴⁰ sn The style here is typical of Hebrew narrative; after the tension is resolved with the dialogue, the working out of it is recorded in a rapid sequence of verbs (“gave”; “ate”; “drank”; “got up”; “went out”). See also Gen 3:1-7 for another example.

[25:34]  ¹⁴¹ sn So Esau despised his birthright. This clause, which concludes the episode, is a summary statement which reveals the underlying significance of Esau’s actions. “To despise” means to treat something as worthless or with contempt. Esau’s willingness to sell his birthright was evidence that he considered it to be unimportant.

[26:1]  ¹⁴² tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”

[26:1]  ¹⁴³ sn This account is parallel to two similar stories about Abraham (see Gen 12:10-20; 20:1-18). Many scholars do not believe there were three similar incidents, only one that got borrowed and duplicated. Many regard the account about Isaac as the original, which then was attached to the more important person, Abraham, with supernatural elements being added. For a critique of such an approach, see R. Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, 47-62. It is more likely that the story illustrates the proverb “like father, like son” (see T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 53). In typical human fashion the son follows his father’s example of lying to avoid problems. The appearance of similar events reported in a similar way underscores the fact that the blessing has now passed to Isaac, even if he fails as his father did.

[26:2]  ¹⁴⁴ sn Do not go down to Egypt. The words echo Gen 12:10, which reports that “Abram went down to Egypt,” but state the opposite.

[26:2]  ¹⁴⁵ tn Heb “say to you.”

[26:3]  ¹⁴⁶ tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur) means “to live temporarily without ownership of land.” Abraham’s family will not actually possess the land of Canaan until the Israelite conquest hundreds of years later.

[26:3]  ¹⁴⁷ tn After the imperative “stay” the two prefixed verb forms with prefixed conjunction here indicate consequence.

[26:3]  ¹⁴⁸ tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.

[26:3]  ¹⁴⁹ tn The Hiphil stem of the verb קוּם (qum) here means “to fulfill, to bring to realization.” For other examples of this use of this verb form, see Lev 26:9; Num 23:19; Deut 8:18; 9:5; 1 Sam 1:23; 1 Kgs 6:12; Jer 11:5.

[26:3]  ¹⁵⁰ tn Heb “the oath which I swore.”

[26:4]  ¹⁵¹ tn Heb “your descendants.”

[26:4]  ¹⁵² tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 22:18). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)

[26:5]  ¹⁵³ tn The words “All this will come to pass” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons.

[26:5]  ¹⁵⁴ tn Heb “listened to my voice.”

[26:5]  ¹⁵⁵ sn My charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. The language of this verse is clearly interpretive, for Abraham did not have all these laws. The terms are legal designations for sections of the Mosaic law and presuppose the existence of the law. Some Rabbinic views actually conclude that Abraham had fulfilled the whole law before it was given (see m. Qiddushin 4:14). Some scholars argue that this story could only have been written after the law was given (C. Westermann, Genesis, 2:424-25). But the simplest explanation is that the narrator (traditionally taken to be Moses the Lawgiver) elaborated on the simple report of Abraham’s obedience by using terms with which the Israelites were familiar. In this way he depicts Abraham as the model of obedience to God’s commands, whose example Israel should follow.

[26:7]  ¹⁵⁶ sn Rebekah, unlike Sarah, was not actually her husband’s sister.

[26:7]  ¹⁵⁷ tn Heb “lest.” The words “for he thought to himself” are supplied because the next clause is written with a first person pronoun, showing that Isaac was saying or thinking this.

[26:7]  ¹⁵⁸ tn Heb “kill me on account of.”

[26:8]  ¹⁵⁹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:8]  ¹⁶⁰ tn Heb “and it happened when the days were long to him there.”

[26:8]  ¹⁶¹ tn Heb “look, Isaac.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene through Abimelech’s eyes.

[26:8]  ¹⁶² tn Or “fondling.”

[26:9]  ¹⁶³ tn Heb “Surely, look!” See N. H. Snaith, “The meaning of Hebrew ‘ak,” VT 14 (1964): 221-25.

[26:9]  ¹⁶⁴ tn Heb “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’” Since the verb “said” probably means “said to myself” (i.e., “thought”) here, the direct discourse in the Hebrew statement has been converted to indirect discourse in the translation. In addition the simple prepositional phrase “on account of her” has been clarified in the translation as “to get her” (cf. v. 7).

[26:10]  ¹⁶⁵ tn Heb “What is this you have done to us?” The Hebrew demonstrative pronoun “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to us?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).

[26:10]  ¹⁶⁶ tn Heb “people.”

[26:10]  ¹⁶⁷ tn The Hebrew verb means “to lie down.” Here the expression “lie with” or “sleep with” is euphemistic for “have sexual relations with.”

[26:11]  ¹⁶⁸ tn Heb “strikes.” Here the verb has the nuance “to harm in any way.” It would include assaulting the woman or killing the man.

[26:11]  ¹⁶⁹ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the imperfect makes the construction emphatic.

[26:12]  ¹⁷⁰ tn Heb “a hundredfold.”

[26:12]  ¹⁷¹ tn This final clause explains why Isaac had such a bountiful harvest.

[26:13]  ¹⁷² tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Isaac’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are included.

[26:13]  ¹⁷³ tn Heb “and he went, going and becoming great.” The construction stresses that his growth in possessions and power continued steadily.

[26:14]  ¹⁷⁴ tn Heb “and there was to him.”

[26:14]  ¹⁷⁵ tn Heb “possessions of sheep.”

[26:14]  ¹⁷⁶ tn Heb “possessions of cattle.”

[26:14]  ¹⁷⁷ tn The Hebrew verb translated “became jealous” refers here to intense jealousy or envy that leads to hostile action (see v. 15).

[26:15]  ¹⁷⁸ tn Heb “and the Philistines stopped them up and filled them with dirt.”

[26:16]  ¹⁷⁹ tn Heb “Go away from us.”

[26:16]  ¹⁸⁰ sn You have become much more powerful. This explanation for the expulsion of Isaac from Philistine territory foreshadows the words used later by the Egyptians to justify their oppression of Israel (see Exod 1:9).

[26:17]  ¹⁸¹ tn Heb “and he camped in the valley of Gerar and he lived there.”

[26:18]  ¹⁸² tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”

[26:18]  ¹⁸³ tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.

[26:18]  ¹⁸⁴ tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.

[26:18]  ¹⁸⁵ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:18]  ¹⁸⁶ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:18]  ¹⁸⁷ tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”

[26:19]  ¹⁸⁸ tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).

[26:20]  ¹⁸⁹ tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.

[26:20]  ¹⁹⁰ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:20]  ¹⁹¹ tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”

[26:20]  ¹⁹² sn The name Esek means “argument” in Hebrew. The following causal clause explains that Isaac gave the well this name as a reminder of the conflict its discovery had created. In the Hebrew text there is a wordplay, for the name is derived from the verb translated “argued.”

[26:20]  ¹⁹³ tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:21]  ¹⁹⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:21]  ¹⁹⁵ tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:21]  ¹⁹⁶ sn The name Sitnah (שִׂטְנָה, sitnah) is derived from a Hebrew verbal root meaning “to oppose; to be an adversary” (cf. Job 1:6). The name was a reminder that the digging of this well caused “opposition” from the Philistines.

[26:22]  ¹⁹⁷ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:22]  ¹⁹⁸ tn Heb “and he called its name.”

[26:22]  ¹⁹⁹ sn The name Rehoboth (רְהֹבוֹת, rehovot) is derived from a verbal root meaning “to make room.” The name was a reminder that God had made room for them. The story shows Isaac’s patience with the opposition; it also shows how God’s blessing outdistanced the men of Gerar. They could not stop it or seize it any longer.

[26:23]  ²⁰⁰ tn Heb “and he went up from there”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:25]  ²⁰¹ tn Heb “called in the name of.” The expression refers to worshiping the Lord through prayer and sacrifice (see Gen 4:26; 12:8; 13:4; 21:33). See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:116.

[26:25]  ²⁰² tn Heb “and they dug there, the servants of Isaac, a well.”

[26:26]  ²⁰³ tn The disjunctive clause supplies pertinent supplemental information. The past perfect is used because the following narrative records the treaty at Beer Sheba. Prior to this we are told that Isaac settled in Beer Sheba; presumably this treaty would have allowed him to do that. However, it may be that he settled there and then made the treaty by which he renamed the place Beer Sheba. In this case one may translate “Now Abimelech came to him.”

[26:26]  ²⁰⁴ tn Heb “and.”

[26:26]  ²⁰⁵ tn Many modern translations render the Hebrew term מֵרֵעַ (merea’) as “councillor” or “adviser,” but the term may not designate an official position but simply a close personal friend.

[26:27]  ²⁰⁶ tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, expressing the reason for his question.

[26:28]  ²⁰⁷ tn The infinitive absolute before the verb emphasizes the clarity of their perception.

[26:28]  ²⁰⁸ tn Heb “And we said, ‘Let there be.’” The direct discourse in the Hebrew text has been rendered as indirect discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:28]  ²⁰⁹ tn The pronoun “us” here is inclusive – it refers to the Philistine contingent on the one hand and Isaac on the other.

[26:28]  ²¹⁰ tn The pronoun “us” here is exclusive – it refers to just the Philistine contingent (the following “you” refers to Isaac).

[26:28]  ²¹¹ tn The translation assumes that the cohortative expresses their request. Another option is to understand the cohortative as indicating resolve: “We want to make.’”

[26:29]  ²¹² tn The oath formula is used: “if you do us harm” means “so that you will not do.”

[26:29]  ²¹³ tn Heb “touched.”

[26:29]  ²¹⁴ tn Heb “and just as we have done only good with you.”

[26:29]  ²¹⁵ tn Heb “and we sent you away.”

[26:29]  ²¹⁶ tn The Philistine leaders are making an observation, not pronouncing a blessing, so the translation reads “you are blessed” rather than “may you be blessed” (cf. NAB).

[26:30]  ²¹⁷ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:30]  ²¹⁸ tn Heb “and they ate and drank.”

[26:31]  ²¹⁹ tn Heb “and they got up early and they swore an oath, a man to his brother.”

[26:31]  ²²⁰ tn Heb “and they went from him in peace.”

[26:32]  ²²¹ tn Heb “and they said to him, ‘We have found water.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:33]  ²²² sn The name Shibah (שִׁבְעָה, shiv’ah) means (or at least sounds like) the word meaning “oath.” The name was a reminder of the oath sworn by Isaac and the Philistines to solidify their treaty.

[26:33]  ²²³ sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, bÿ’er shava’) means “well of an oath” or “well of seven.” According to Gen 21:31 Abraham gave Beer Sheba its name when he made a treaty with the Philistines. Because of the parallels between this earlier story and the account in 26:26-33, some scholars see chaps. 21 and 26 as two versions (or doublets) of one original story. However, if one takes the text as it stands, it appears that Isaac made a later treaty agreement with the people of the land that was similar to his father’s. Abraham dug a well at the site and named the place Beer Sheba; Isaac dug another well there and named the well Shibah. Later generations then associated the name Beer Sheba with Isaac, even though Abraham gave the place its name at an earlier time.

[26:34]  ²²⁴ tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making this clause subordinate to the next.

[26:34]  ²²⁵ tn Heb “the son of forty years.”

[26:34]  ²²⁶ tn Heb “took as a wife.”

[26:35]  ²²⁷ tn Heb “And they were [a source of ] bitterness in spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.”

[27:1]  ²²⁸ 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]  ²²⁹ tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”

[27:1]  ²³⁰ tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).

[27:1]  ²³¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:2]  ²³² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaac) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:2]  ²³³ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here introduces a logically foundational statement, upon which the coming instruction will be based.

[27:2]  ²³⁴ tn Heb “I do not know the day of my death.”

[27:3]  ²³⁵ 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]  ²³⁶ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:4]  ²³⁷ 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]  ²³⁸ 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]  ²³⁹ tc The LXX adds here “to his father,” which may have been accidentally omitted in the MT.

[27:7]  ²⁴⁰ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:7]  ²⁴¹ tn The cohortative, with the prefixed conjunction, also expresses logical sequence. See vv. 4, 19, 27.

[27:7]  ²⁴² 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]  ²⁴³ tn Heb “listen to my voice.” The Hebrew idiom means “to comply; to obey.”

[27:8]  ²⁴⁴ tn Heb “to that which I am commanding you.”

[27:9]  ²⁴⁵ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:10]  ²⁴⁶ 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]  ²⁴⁷ 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]  ²⁴⁸ tn Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[27:11]  ²⁴⁹ 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]  ²⁵⁰ 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]  ²⁵¹ tn Heb “upon me your curse.”

[27:13]  ²⁵² tn Heb “only listen to my voice.”

[27:14]  ²⁵³ tn The words “the goats” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:14]  ²⁵⁴ tn Heb “his mother.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “she” in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:16]  ²⁵⁵ 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]  ²⁵⁶ 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]  ²⁵⁷ tn Heb “gave…into the hand of.”

[27:18]  ²⁵⁸ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:18]  ²⁵⁹ 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]  ²⁶⁰ 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]  ²⁶¹ 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]  ²⁶² 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]  ²⁶³ tn Heb “you hastened to find.” In translation the infinitive becomes the main verb and the first verb becomes adverbial.

[27:20]  ²⁶⁴ tn Heb “caused to meet before me.”

[27:20]  ²⁶⁵ 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]  ²⁶⁶ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:21]  ²⁶⁷ 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]  ²⁶⁸ 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]  ²⁶⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ²⁷⁰ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ²⁷¹ 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]  ²⁷² 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]  ²⁷³ tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:25]  ²⁷⁴ tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ²⁷⁵ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ²⁷⁶ tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:27]  ²⁷⁷ tn Heb “see.”

[27:28]  ²⁷⁸ tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”

[27:28]  ²⁷⁹ tn Heb “and from the fatness.”

[27:29]  ²⁸⁰ 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]  ²⁸¹ 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]  ²⁸² 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]  ²⁸³ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite form of the verb makes the construction emphatic.

[27:30]  ²⁸⁴ tn Heb “the presence of Isaac his father.” The repetition of the proper name (“Isaac”) was

[27:30]  ²⁸⁵ tn Heb “and Esau his brother came from his hunt.”

[27:31]  ²⁸⁶ 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]  ²⁸⁷ tn Or “arise” (i.e., sit up).

[27:31]  ²⁸⁸ tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.”

[27:32]  ²⁸⁹ tn Heb “said.”

[27:32]  ²⁹⁰ 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]  ²⁹¹ 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]  ²⁹² 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]  ²⁹³ tn The temporal clause is introduced with the temporal indicator and has the infinitive as its verb.

[27:34]  ²⁹⁴ tn Heb “and he yelled [with] a great and bitter yell to excess.”

[27:35]  ²⁹⁵ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:35]  ²⁹⁶ tn Or “took”; “received.”

[27:36]  ²⁹⁷ 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]  ²⁹⁸ 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]  ²⁹⁹ tn Heb “Bless me, me also, my father.” The words “my father” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:38]  ³⁰⁰ tn Heb “and Esau lifted his voice and wept.”

[27:39]  ³⁰¹ tn Heb “look.”

[27:39]  ³⁰² tn Heb “from the fatness.”

[27:40]  ³⁰³ 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]  ³⁰⁴ tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.

[27:41]  ³⁰⁵ tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”

[27:41]  ³⁰⁶ 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]  ³⁰⁷ tn Heb “days.”

[27:41]  ³⁰⁸ tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.

[27:42]  ³⁰⁹ tn Heb “and the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah.”

[27:42]  ³¹⁰ tn Heb “she sent and called for.”

[27:42]  ³¹¹ 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]  ³¹² tn Heb “listen to my voice.”

[27:43]  ³¹³ tn Heb “arise, flee.”

[27:44]  ³¹⁴ 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]  ³¹⁵ tn The words “stay there” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:45]  ³¹⁶ 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]  ³¹⁷ tn If Jacob stayed, he would be killed and Esau would be forced to run away.

[27:46]  ³¹⁸ tn Heb “loathe my life.” The Hebrew verb translated “loathe” refers to strong disgust (see Lev 20:23).

[27:46]  ³¹⁹ 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]  ³²⁰ 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]  ³²¹ tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”

[28:2]  ³²² tn Heb “Arise! Go!” The first of the two imperatives is adverbial and stresses the immediacy of the departure.

[28:3]  ³²³ tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.

[28:3]  ³²⁴ tn Heb “and make you fruitful and multiply you.” See Gen 17:6, 20 for similar terminology.

[28:3]  ³²⁵ tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here indicates consequence. The collocation הָיָה + preposition לְ (hayah + lÿ) means “become.”

[28:3]  ³²⁶ tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”

[28:4]  ³²⁷ 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]  ³²⁸ tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[28:4]  ³²⁹ 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]  ³³⁰ tn Heb “to take for himself from there a wife.”

[28:6]  ³³¹ tn The infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffix form a temporal clause.

[28:6]  ³³² tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”

[28:8]  ³³³ tn Heb “saw.”

[28:8]  ³³⁴ tn Heb “the daughters of Canaan.”

[28:8]  ³³⁵ tn Heb “evil in the eyes of.”

[28:9]  ³³⁶ tn Heb “took for a wife.”

[28:11]  ³³⁷ 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]  ³³⁸ tn Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.”

[28:11]  ³³⁹ tn Heb “he took from the stones of the place,” which here means Jacob took one of the stones (see v. 18).

[28:11]  ³⁴⁰ 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]  ³⁴¹ tn Heb “lay down.”

[28:12]  ³⁴² tn Heb “and dreamed.”

[28:12]  ³⁴³ 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]  ³⁴⁴ 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]  ³⁴⁵ 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]  ³⁴⁶ 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]  ³⁴⁷ tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.

[28:14]  ³⁴⁸ tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.

[28:14]  ³⁴⁹ 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]  ³⁵⁰ tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”

[28:15]  ³⁵¹ 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]  ³⁵² tn Heb “woke up from his sleep.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[28:16]  ³⁵³ tn Heb “said.”

[28:18]  ³⁵⁴ tn Heb “and he got up early…and he took.”

[28:18]  ³⁵⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:18]  ³⁵⁶ tn See the note on this phrase in v. 11.

[28:18]  ³⁵⁷ tn Heb “standing stone.”

[28:19]  ³⁵⁸ tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew (see v. 17).

[28:20]  ³⁵⁹ tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.

[28:21]  ³⁶⁰ tn Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.”

[28:22]  ³⁶¹ tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.

[28:22]  ³⁶² tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.

[28:22]  ³⁶³ 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]  ³⁶⁴ 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]  ³⁶⁵ tn Heb “the land of the sons of the east.”

[29:2]  ³⁶⁶ 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]  ³⁶⁷ tn Heb “and look, there.”

[29:2]  ³⁶⁸ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the noun with the prefixed conjunction) provides supplemental information that is important to the story.

[29:3]  ³⁶⁹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the shepherds) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:5]  ³⁷⁰ tn Heb “son.”

[29:5]  ³⁷¹ 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]  ³⁷² tn Heb “and he said to them, ‘Is there peace to him?’”

[29:6]  ³⁷³ tn Heb “peace.”

[29:7]  ³⁷⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:7]  ³⁷⁵ tn Heb “the day is great.”

[29:7]  ³⁷⁶ 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]  ³⁷⁷ tn The perfect verbal forms with the vav (ו) consecutive carry on the sequence begun by the initial imperfect form.

[29:9]  ³⁷⁸ tn Heb “was a shepherdess.”

[29:10]  ³⁷⁹ tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother” (twice in this verse).

[29:10]  ³⁸⁰ tn Heb “Jacob.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[29:10]  ³⁸¹ tn Heb “drew near, approached.”

[29:10]  ³⁸² 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]  ³⁸³ 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]  ³⁸⁴ tn Heb “declared.”

[29:12]  ³⁸⁵ tn Heb “that he [was] the brother of her father.”

[29:13]  ³⁸⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:13]  ³⁸⁷ 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]  ³⁸⁸ 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]  ³⁸⁹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:14]  ³⁹⁰ tn Heb “a month of days.”

[29:15]  ³⁹¹ tn The verb is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; the nuance in the question is deliberative.

[29:15]  ³⁹² tn Heb “my brother.” The term “brother” is used in a loose sense; actually Jacob was Laban’s nephew.

[29:16]  ³⁹³ 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]  ³⁹⁴ 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]  ³⁹⁵ tn Heb “and Rachel was beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance.”

[29:18]  ³⁹⁶ tn Heb “Jacob loved.”

[29:19]  ³⁹⁷ tn Heb “Better my giving her to you than my giving her to another man.”

[29:20]  ³⁹⁸ tn Heb “in exchange for Rachel.”

[29:20]  ³⁹⁹ 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]  ⁴⁰⁰ tn Heb “because of his love for her.” The words “was so great” are supplied for stylistic reasons.

[29:21]  ⁴⁰¹ tn Heb “and Jacob said.”

[29:21]  ⁴⁰² tn Heb “my days are fulfilled.”

[29:21]  ⁴⁰³ 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]  ⁴⁰⁴ tn Heb “men.”

[29:23]  ⁴⁰⁵ tn Heb “and it happened in the evening that he took Leah his daughter and brought her.”

[29:23]  ⁴⁰⁶ tn Heb “to him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:23]  ⁴⁰⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:23]  ⁴⁰⁸ 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]  ⁴⁰⁹ 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]  ⁴¹⁰ 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]  ⁴¹¹ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:25]  ⁴¹² 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]  ⁴¹³ 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]  ⁴¹⁴ 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]  ⁴¹⁵ 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]  ⁴¹⁶ 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]  ⁴¹⁷ tn Heb “this other one.”

[29:27]  ⁴¹⁸ 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]  ⁴¹⁹ tn Heb “and Jacob did so.” The words “as Laban said” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[29:28]  ⁴²⁰ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:28]  ⁴²¹ 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]  ⁴²² 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]  ⁴²³ tn Heb “and Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his female servant, for her for a servant.”

[29:30]  ⁴²⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:30]  ⁴²⁵ 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]  ⁴²⁶ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:30]  ⁴²⁷ tn Heb “and he loved also Rachel, more than Leah, and he served with him still seven other years.”

[29:31]  ⁴²⁸ 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]  ⁴²⁹ tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”

[29:32]  ⁴³⁰ tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).

[29:32]  ⁴³¹ sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”

[29:32]  ⁴³² tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”

[29:33]  ⁴³³ tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.

[29:33]  ⁴³⁴ 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]  ⁴³⁵ tn Heb “will be joined to me.”

[29:34]  ⁴³⁶ 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]  ⁴³⁷ 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]  ⁴³⁸ tn Heb “Rachel.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:1]  ⁴³⁹ tn Heb “sons.”

[30:2]  ⁴⁴⁰ tn Heb “and the anger of Jacob was hot.”

[30:2]  ⁴⁴¹ tn Heb “who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb.”

[30:3]  ⁴⁴² tn Heb “go in to.” The expression “go in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.

[30:3]  ⁴⁴³ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates the immediate purpose of the proposed activity.

[30:3]  ⁴⁴⁴ tn The word “children” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:3]  ⁴⁴⁵ 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]  ⁴⁴⁶ 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]  ⁴⁴⁷ tn Heb “and she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:4]  ⁴⁴⁸ tn Heb “went in to.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.

[30:5]  ⁴⁴⁹ tn Or “Bilhah conceived” (also in v. 7).

[30:5]  ⁴⁵⁰ tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a son.”

[30:6]  ⁴⁵¹ 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]  ⁴⁵² tn Or “therefore.”

[30:6]  ⁴⁵³ 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]  ⁴⁵⁴ tn Heb “and she became pregnant again and Bilhah, the servant of Rachel, bore a second son for Jacob.”

[30:8]  ⁴⁵⁵ 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]  ⁴⁵⁶ 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]  ⁴⁵⁷ 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]  ⁴⁵⁸ tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore for Jacob a son.”

[30:11]  ⁴⁵⁹ 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]  ⁴⁶⁰ 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]  ⁴⁶¹ tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore a second son for Jacob.”

[30:13]  ⁴⁶² tn The Hebrew statement apparently means “with my happiness.”

[30:13]  ⁴⁶³ tn Heb “daughters.”

[30:13]  ⁴⁶⁴ 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]  ⁴⁶⁵ tn Heb “during the days.”

[30:14]  ⁴⁶⁶ sn Mandrake plants were popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac in the culture of the time.

[30:15]  ⁴⁶⁷ tn Heb “and she said to her”; the referent of the pronoun “she” (Leah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:15]  ⁴⁶⁸ tn Heb “therefore.”

[30:15]  ⁴⁶⁹ 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]  ⁴⁷⁰ 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]  ⁴⁷¹ 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]  ⁴⁷² 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]  ⁴⁷³ tn Heb “listened to.”

[30:17]  ⁴⁷⁴ tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 19).

[30:17]  ⁴⁷⁵ tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a fifth son,” i.e., this was the fifth son that Leah had given Jacob.

[30:18]  ⁴⁷⁶ tn Heb “God has given my reward.”

[30:18]  ⁴⁷⁷ tn The words “as a wife” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity (cf. v. 9).

[30:18]  ⁴⁷⁸ 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]  ⁴⁷⁹ tn Heb “and she bore a sixth son for Jacob,” i.e., this was the sixth son that Leah had given Jacob.

[30:20]  ⁴⁸⁰ 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]  ⁴⁸¹ tn Heb “remembered.”

[30:22]  ⁴⁸² 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]  ⁴⁸³ tn Or “conceived.”

[30:23]  ⁴⁸⁴ 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]  ⁴⁸⁵ 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]  ⁴⁸⁶ 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]  ⁴⁸⁷ tn The imperatival form here expresses a request.

[30:25]  ⁴⁸⁸ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[30:25]  ⁴⁸⁹ tn Heb “to my place and to my land.”

[30:26]  ⁴⁹⁰ 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]  ⁴⁹¹ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[30:26]  ⁴⁹² tn Heb “for you, you know my service [with] which I have served you.”

[30:27]  ⁴⁹³ tn The words “please stay here” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[30:27]  ⁴⁹⁴ 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]  ⁴⁹⁵ tn Heb “set your wage for me so I may give [it].”

[30:29]  ⁴⁹⁶ 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]  ⁴⁹⁷ tn Heb “and how your cattle were with me.”

[30:30]  ⁴⁹⁸ tn Or “for.”

[30:30]  ⁴⁹⁹ tn Heb “before me.”

[30:30]  ⁵⁰⁰ tn Heb “and it has broken out with respect to abundance.”

[30:30]  ⁵⁰¹ tn Heb “at my foot.”

[30:30]  ⁵⁰² tn Heb “How long [until] I do, also I, for my house?”

[30:31]  ⁵⁰³ tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:31]  ⁵⁰⁴ tn The negated imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance.

[30:31]  ⁵⁰⁵ tn The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:31]  ⁵⁰⁶ tn Heb “If you do for me this thing.”

[30:31]  ⁵⁰⁷ tn Heb “I will return, I will tend,” an idiom meaning “I will continue tending.”

[30:32]  ⁵⁰⁸ tn Heb “pass through.”

[30:32]  ⁵⁰⁹ tn Or “every black lamb”; Heb “and every dark sheep among the lambs.”

[30:32]  ⁵¹⁰ tn Heb “and the spotted and speckled among the goats.”

[30:32]  ⁵¹¹ 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]  ⁵¹² tn Heb “will answer on my behalf.”

[30:33]  ⁵¹³ tn Heb “on the following day,” or “tomorrow.”

[30:33]  ⁵¹⁴ tn Heb “when you come concerning my wage before you.”

[30:33]  ⁵¹⁵ 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]  ⁵¹⁶ 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]  ⁵¹⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:35]  ⁵¹⁸ tn Heb “and he gave [them] into the hand.”

[30:36]  ⁵¹⁹ tn Heb “and he put a journey of three days between himself and Jacob.”

[30:36]  ⁵²⁰ 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]  ⁵²¹ 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]  ⁵²² 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]  ⁵²³ tn Heb “the sheep.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“they”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:40]  ⁵²⁴ tn Heb “and he set the faces of.”

[30:41]  ⁵²⁵ tn Heb “and at every breeding-heat of the flock.”

[30:42]  ⁵²⁶ 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]  ⁵²⁷ tn Heb “were for Laban.”

[30:43]  ⁵²⁸ tn Heb “the man”; Jacob’s name has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[30:43]  ⁵²⁹ tn Heb “and there were to him.”

[31:1]  ⁵³⁰ tn Heb “and he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying.”

[31:1]  ⁵³¹ 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]  ⁵³² tn Heb “and from that which belonged to our father he has gained all this wealth.”

[31:2]  ⁵³³ 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]  ⁵³⁴ tn Or perhaps “ancestors” (so NRSV), although the only “ancestors” Jacob had there were his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac.

[31:3]  ⁵³⁵ sn I will be with you. Though Laban was no longer “with him,” the Lord promised to be.

[31:4]  ⁵³⁶ 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]  ⁵³⁷ 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]  ⁵³⁸ tn Heb “to his flock.”

[31:5]  ⁵³⁹ tn Heb “I see the face of your father, that he is not toward me as formerly.”

[31:6]  ⁵⁴⁰ tn Heb “with all my strength.”

[31:7]  ⁵⁴¹ 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]  ⁵⁴² 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]  ⁵⁴³ 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]  ⁵⁴⁴ tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator, “and it happened at the time of.”

[31:10]  ⁵⁴⁵ tn Heb “in the time of the breeding of the flock I lifted up my eyes and I saw.”

[31:10]  ⁵⁴⁶ tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.

[31:12]  ⁵⁴⁷ tn Heb “lift up (now) your eyes and see.”

[31:12]  ⁵⁴⁸ tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.

[31:13]  ⁵⁴⁹ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[31:13]  ⁵⁵⁰ 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]  ⁵⁵¹ 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]  ⁵⁵² tn Heb “arise, leave!” The first imperative draws attention to the need for immediate action.

[31:14]  ⁵⁵³ tn The two nouns may form a hendiadys, meaning “a share in the inheritance” or “a portion to inherit.”

[31:15]  ⁵⁵⁴ tn Heb “and he devoured, even devouring.” The infinitive absolute (following the finite verb here) is used for emphasis.

[31:15]  ⁵⁵⁵ 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]  ⁵⁵⁶ tn Heb “and Jacob arose and he lifted up his sons and his wives on to the camels.”

[31:18]  ⁵⁵⁷ tn Heb “drove,” but this is subject to misunderstanding in contemporary English.

[31:18]  ⁵⁵⁸ 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.”

[12:32]  ⁵⁵⁹ sn Beginning with 12:32, the verse numbers through 13:18 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 12:32 ET = 13:1 HT, 13:1 ET = 13:2 HT, 13:2 ET = 13:3 HT, etc., through 13:18 ET = 13:19 HT. With 14:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.

[12:32]  ⁵⁶⁰ tn This verse highlights a phenomenon found throughout Deuteronomy, but most especially in chap. 12, namely, the alternation of grammatical singular and plural forms of the pronoun (known as Numeruswechsel in German scholarship). Critical scholarship in general resolves the “problem” by suggesting varying literary traditions – one favorable to the singular pronoun and the other to the plural – which appear in the (obviously rough) redacted text at hand. Even the ancient versions were troubled by the lack of harmony of grammatical number and in this verse, for example, offered a number of alternate readings. The MT reads “Everything I am commanding you (plural) you (plural) must be careful to do; you (singular) must not add to it nor should you (singular) subtract form it.” Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate suggest singular for the first two pronouns but a few Smr mss propose plural for the last two. What both ancient and modern scholars tend to overlook, however, is the covenantal theological tone of the Book of Deuteronomy, one that views Israel as a collective body (singular) made up of many individuals (plural). See M. Weinfeld, Deuteronomy 1–11 (AB), 15-16; J. A. Thompson, Deuteronomy (TOTC), 21-23.

[12:32]  ⁵⁶¹ sn Do not add to it or subtract from it. This prohibition makes at least two profound theological points: (1) This work by Moses is of divine origination (i.e., it is inspired) and therefore can tolerate no human alteration; and (2) the work is complete as it stands (i.e., it is canonical).

[28:20]  ⁵⁶² tn The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has been translated here as “remember” (BDAG 468 s.v. 1.c).

[28:20]  ⁵⁶³ sn I am with you. Matthew’s Gospel begins with the prophecy that the Savior’s name would be “Emmanuel, that is, ‘God with us,’” (1:23, in which the author has linked Isa 7:14 and 8:8, 10 together) and it ends with Jesus’ promise to be with his disciples forever. The Gospel of Matthew thus forms an inclusio about Jesus in his relationship to his people that suggests his deity.

[28:20]  ⁵⁶⁴ tc Most mss (A^c Θ Ë¹³ Ï it sy) have ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”) at the end of v. 20. Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, no good reason exists for the omission of the particle in significant and early witnesses such as א A* B D W ˹ 33 al lat sa.

[28:2]  ⁵⁶⁵ tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 1:20.

[2:15]  ⁵⁶⁶ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.

[2:15]  ⁵⁶⁷ sn A quotation from Hos 11:1.

[4:7]  ⁵⁶⁸ sn A quotation from Deut 6:16.