Genesis 25:6

25:6 But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines ¹  and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. ² 

Genesis 29:1

The Marriages of Jacob

29:1 So Jacob moved on ³  and came to the land of the eastern people. ⁴ 

Numbers 23:7

23:7 Then Balaam ⁵  uttered ⁶  his oracle, saying,

“Balak, the king of Moab, brought me ⁷  from Aram,

out of the mountains of the east, saying,

‘Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me;

come, denounce Israel.’ ⁸ 

[25:6]  ¹ tn Heb “the sons of the concubines who [belonged] to Abraham.”

[25:6]  ² tn Heb “And he sent them away from upon Isaac his son, while he was still living, eastward to the land of the east.”

[29:1]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “the land of the sons of the east.”

[23:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “took up.”

[23:7]  ⁷ tn The passage calls for a past tense translation; since the verb form is a prefixed conjugation, this tense should be classified as a preterite without the vav (ו). Such forms do occur, especially in the ancient poetic passages.

[23:7]  ⁸ sn The opening lines seem to be a formula for the seer to identify himself and the occasion for the oracle. The tension is laid out early; Balaam knows that God has intended to bless Israel, but he has been paid to curse them.