Genesis 10:9

10:9 He was a mighty hunter ¹  before the Lord. ²  (That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.”)

Genesis 25:28

25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, ³  but Rebekah loved ⁴  Jacob.

Genesis 27:3

27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game ⁵  for me.

Genesis 27:7

27:7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare for me some tasty food. Then I will eat ⁶  it and bless you ⁷  in the presence of the Lord ⁸  before I die.’

Genesis 25:27

25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled ⁹  hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. ¹⁰ 

Genesis 27:5

27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. ¹¹  When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, ¹² 

Genesis 27:33

27:33 Isaac began to shake violently ¹³  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. ¹⁴  He will indeed be blessed!”

[10:9]  ¹ tn The Hebrew word for “hunt” is צַיִד (tsayid), which is used on occasion for hunting men (1 Sam 24:12; Jer 16:16; Lam 3:15).

[10:9]  ² tn Another option is to take the divine name here, לִפְנֵי יִהוָה (lifne yÿhvah, “before the Lord [YHWH]”), as a means of expressing the superlative degree. In this case one may translate “Nimrod was the greatest hunter in the world.”

[25:28]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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.

[27:3]  ⁵ 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”).

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

[27:7]  ⁸ tn The cohortative, with the prefixed conjunction, also expresses logical sequence. See vv. 4, 19, 27.

[27:7]  ⁹ 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.

[25:27]  ⁹ tn Heb “knowing.”

[25:27]  ¹⁰ 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.”

[27:5]  ¹¹ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a conjunction with the subject, followed by the predicate) here introduces a new scene in the story.

[27:5]  ¹² tc The LXX adds here “to his father,” which may have been accidentally omitted in the MT.

[27:33]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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?”