Genesis 28:12-13

28:12 and had a dream. ¹  He saw ²  a stairway ³  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. ⁴  I will give you and your descendants the ground ⁵  you are lying on.

Genesis 32:7

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.

Genesis 32:24

32:24 So Jacob was left alone. Then a man ⁶  wrestled ⁷  with him until daybreak. ⁸ 

Psalms 46:1

Psalm 46 ⁹ 

For the music director; by the Korahites; according to the alamoth style; ¹⁰  a song.

46:1 God is our strong refuge; ¹¹ 

he is truly our helper in times of trouble. ¹² 

Psalms 50:15

50:15 Pray to me when you are in trouble! ¹³ 

I will deliver you, and you will honor me!” ¹⁴ 

Psalms 66:13-14

66:13 I will enter ¹⁵  your temple with burnt sacrifices;

I will fulfill the vows I made to you,

66:14 which my lips uttered

and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.

Psalms 91:15

91:15 When he calls out to me, I will answer him.

I will be with him when he is in trouble;

I will rescue him and bring him honor.

Psalms 103:1-5

Psalm 103 ¹⁶ 

By David.

103:1 Praise the Lord, O my soul!

With all that is within me, praise ¹⁷  his holy name!

103:2 Praise the Lord, O my soul!

Do not forget all his kind deeds! ¹⁸ 

103:3 He is the one who forgives all your sins,

who heals all your diseases, ¹⁹ 

103:4 who delivers ²⁰  your life from the Pit, ²¹ 

who crowns you with his loyal love and compassion,

103:5 who satisfies your life with good things, ²² 

so your youth is renewed like an eagle’s. ²³ 

Psalms 107:6

107:6 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;

he delivered them from their troubles.

Psalms 107:8

107:8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,

and for the amazing things he has done for people! ²⁴ 

Psalms 116:1-2

Psalm 116 ²⁵ 

116:1 I love the Lord

because he heard my plea for mercy, ²⁶ 

116:2 and listened to me. ²⁷ 

As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help. ²⁸ 

Psalms 116:16-18

116:16 Yes, Lord! I am indeed your servant;

I am your lowest slave. ²⁹ 

You saved me from death. ³⁰ 

116:17 I will present a thank offering to you,

and call on the name of the Lord.

116:18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord

before all his people,

Psalms 118:19-22

118:19 Open for me the gates of the just king’s temple! ³¹ 

I will enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.

118:20 This is the Lord’s gate –

the godly enter through it.

118:21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me,

and have become my deliverer.

118:22 The stone which the builders discarded ³² 

has become the cornerstone. ³³ 

Isaiah 30:19

30:19 For people will live in Zion;

in Jerusalem ³⁴  you will weep no more. ³⁵ 

When he hears your cry of despair, he will indeed show you mercy;

when he hears it, he will respond to you. ³⁶ 

[28:12]  ¹ tn Heb “and dreamed.”

[28:12]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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.

[32:24]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “until the rising of the dawn.”

[46:1]  ⁹ sn Psalm 46. In this so-called “Song Of Zion” God’s people confidently affirm that they are secure because the great warrior-king dwells within Jerusalem and protects it from the nations that cause such chaos in the earth. A refrain (vv. 7, 11) concludes the song’s two major sections.

[46:1]  ¹⁰ sn The meaning of the Hebrew term עֲלָמוֹת (alamoth, which means “young women”) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. Cf. 1 Chr 15:20.

[46:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “our refuge and strength,” which is probably a hendiadys meaning “our strong refuge” (see Ps 71:7). Another option is to translate, “our refuge and source of strength.”

[46:1]  ¹² tn Heb “a helper in times of trouble he is found [to be] greatly.” The perfect verbal form has a generalizing function here. The adverb מְאֹד (mÿ’od, “greatly”) has an emphasizing function.

[50:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “call [to] me in a day of trouble.”

[50:15]  ¹⁴ sn In vv. 7-15 the Lord makes it clear that he was not rebuking Israel because they had failed to offer sacrifices (v. 8a). On the contrary, they had been faithful in doing so (v. 8b). However, their understanding of the essence of their relationship with God was confused. Apparently they believed that he needed/desired such sacrifices and that offering them would ensure their prosperity. But the Lord owns all the animals of the world and did not need Israel’s meager sacrifices (vv. 9-13). Other aspects of the relationship were more important to the Lord. He desired Israel to be thankful for his blessings (v. 14a), to demonstrate gratitude for his intervention by repaying the vows they made to him (v. 14b), and to acknowledge their absolute dependence on him (v. 15a). Rather than viewing their sacrifices as somehow essential to God’s well-being, they needed to understand their dependence on him.

[66:13]  ¹⁵ sn Here the psalmist switches to the singular; he speaks as the representative of the nation.

[103:1]  ¹⁶ sn Psalm 103. The psalmist praises God for his mercy and willingness to forgive his people.

[103:1]  ¹⁷ tn The verb “praise” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the preceding line).

[103:2]  ¹⁸ tn Or “his benefits” (see 2 Chr 32:25, where the noun is also used of kind deeds performed by the Lord).

[103:3]  ¹⁹ tn This relatively rare noun refers to deadly diseases (see Deut 29:22; Jer 14:18; 16:4; 2 Chr 21:19).

[103:4]  ²⁰ tn Or “redeems.”

[103:4]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 55:24.

[103:5]  ²² tc Heb “who satisfies with the good of your ornaments.” The text as it stands makes little, if any, sense. The translation assumes an emendation of עֶדְיֵךְ (’ed’ekh, “your ornaments”) to עֹדֵכִי (’odekhiy, “your duration; your continuance”) that is, “your life” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 18).

[103:5]  ²³ sn The expression your youth is renewed like an eagle’s may allude to the phenomenon of molting, whereby the eagle grows new feathers.

[107:8]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and [for] his amazing deeds for the sons of man.”

[116:1]  ²⁵ sn Psalm 116. The psalmist thanks the Lord for delivering him from a life threatening crisis and promises to tell the entire covenant community what God has done for him.

[116:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “I love because the Lord heard my voice, my pleas.” It is possible that “the Lord” originally appeared directly after “I love” and was later accidentally misplaced. The translation assumes the prefixed verbal form is a preterite. The psalmist recalls that God heard his cry for help (note the perfect in v. 2a and the narrative in vv. 3-4).

[116:2]  ²⁷ tn Heb “because he turned his ear to me.”

[116:2]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and in my days I will cry out.”

[116:16]  ²⁹ tn Heb “I am your servant, the son of your female servant.” The phrase “son of a female servant” (see also Ps 86:16) is used of a son born to a secondary wife or concubine (Exod 23:12). In some cases the child’s father is the master of the house (see Gen 21:10, 13; Judg 9:18). The use of the expression here certainly does not imply that the Lord has such a secondary wife or concubine! It is used metaphorically and idiomatically to emphasize the psalmist’s humility before the Lord and his status as the Lord’s servant.

[116:16]  ³⁰ tn Heb “you have loosed my bonds.” In this context the imagery refers to deliverance from death (see v. 3).

[118:19]  ³¹ tn Heb “the gates of justice.” The gates of the Lord’s temple are referred to here, as v. 20 makes clear. They are called “gates of justice” because they are the entrance to the just king’s palace. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[118:22]  ³² tn Or “rejected.”

[118:22]  ³³ tn Heb “the head of the corner.”

[30:19]  ³⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[30:19]  ³⁵ tn Heb “For people in Zion will live, in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.” The phrase “in Jerusalem” could be taken with what precedes. Some prefer to emend יֵשֵׁב (yeshev, “will live,” a Qal imperfect) to יֹשֵׁב (yoshev, a Qal active participle) and translate “For [you] people in Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.”

[30:19]  ³⁶ tn Heb “he will indeed show you mercy at the sound of your crying out; when he hears, he will answer you.”