Genesis 1:5

1:5 God called ¹  the light “day” and the darkness ²  “night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day. ³ 

Genesis 19:22

19:22 Run there quickly, ⁴  for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.) ⁵ 

Genesis 25:30

25:30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed ⁶  me some of the red stuff – yes, this red stuff – because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called ⁷  Edom.) ⁸ 

Genesis 31:48

31:48 Laban said, “This pile of stones is a witness of our agreement ⁹  today.” That is why it was called Galeed.

Genesis 33:17

33:17 But ¹⁰  Jacob traveled to Succoth ¹¹  where he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was called ¹²  Succoth. ¹³ 

Genesis 35:18

35:18 With her dying breath, ¹⁴  she named him Ben-Oni. ¹⁵  But his father called him Benjamin instead. ¹⁶ 

[1:5]  ¹ tn Heb “he called to,” meaning “he named.”

[1:5]  ² tn Heb “and the darkness he called night.” The words “he called” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:5]  ³ tn Another option is to translate, “Evening came, and then morning came.” This formula closes the six days of creation. It seems to follow the Jewish order of reckoning time: from evening to morning. Day one started with the dark, continued through the creation of light, and ended with nightfall. Another alternative would be to translate, “There was night and then there was day, one day.”

[19:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “Be quick! Escape to there!” The two imperatives form a verbal hendiadys, the first becoming adverbial.

[19:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “Therefore the name of the city is called Zoar.” The name of the place, צוֹעַר (tso’ar) apparently means “Little Place,” in light of the wordplay with the term “little” (מִצְעָר, mits’ar) used twice by Lot to describe the town (v. 20).

[25:30]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn The verb has no expressed subject and so is given a passive translation.

[25:30]  ⁹ 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.”

[31:48]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a witness between me and you.”

[33:17]  ¹³ tn The disjunctive clause contrasts Jacob’s action with Esau’s.

[33:17]  ¹⁴ sn But Jacob traveled to Succoth. There are several reasons why Jacob chose not to go to Mt. Seir after Esau. First, as he said, his herds and children probably could not keep up with the warriors. Second, he probably did not fully trust his brother. The current friendliness could change, and he could lose everything. And third, God did tell him to return to his land, not Seir. But Jacob is still not able to deal truthfully, probably because of fear of Esau.

[33:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “why he called.” One could understand “Jacob” as the subject of the verb, but it is more likely that the subject is indefinite, in which case the verb is better translated as passive.

[33:17]  ¹⁶ sn The name Succoth means “shelters,” an appropriate name in light of the shelters Jacob built there for his livestock.

[35:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in the going out of her life, for she was dying.” Rachel named the child with her dying breath.

[35:18]  ¹⁷ sn The name Ben-Oni means “son of my suffering.” It is ironic that Rachel’s words to Jacob in Gen 30:1, “Give me children or I’ll die,” take a different turn here, for it was having the child that brought about her death.

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