Genesis 13:3

13:3 And he journeyed from place to place ¹  from the Negev as far as Bethel. ²  He returned ³  to the place where he had pitched his tent ⁴  at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai.

Genesis 18:26

18:26 So the Lord replied, “If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

Genesis 19:12-13

19:12 Then the two visitors ⁵  said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? ⁶  Do you have ⁷  any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? ⁸  Get them out of this ⁹  place 19:13 because we are about to destroy ¹⁰  it. The outcry against this place ¹¹  is so great before the Lord that he ¹²  has sent us to destroy it.”

Genesis 22:14

22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord provides.” ¹³  It is said to this day, ¹⁴  “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.” ¹⁵ 

Genesis 28:11

28:11 He reached a certain place ¹⁶  where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. ¹⁷  He took one of the stones ¹⁸  and placed it near his head. ¹⁹  Then he fell asleep ²⁰  in that place

Genesis 28:17

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!”

Genesis 32:2

32:2 When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, ²¹  “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. ²² 

Genesis 32:30

32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, ²³  explaining, ²⁴  “Certainly ²⁵  I have seen God face to face ²⁶  and have survived.” ²⁷ 

Genesis 33:17

33:17 But ²⁸  Jacob traveled to Succoth ²⁹  where he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was called ³⁰  Succoth. ³¹ 

Genesis 38:22

38:22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I couldn’t find her. Moreover, the men of the place said, ‘There has been no cult prostitute here.’”

[13:3]  ¹ tn Heb “on his journeys”; the verb and noun combination means to pick up the tents and move from camp to camp.

[13:3]  ² map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[13:3]  ³ tn The words “he returned” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[13:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “where his tent had been.”

[19:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “visitors” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[19:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “Yet who [is there] to you here?”

[19:12]  ⁷ tn The words “Do you have” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “a son-in-law and your sons and your daughters and anyone who (is) to you in the city.”

[19:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “the place.” The Hebrew article serves here as a demonstrative.

[19:13]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew participle expresses an imminent action here.

[19:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for their outcry.” The words “about this place” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the Lord.” The repetition of the divine name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “he” for stylistic reasons.

[22:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “the Lord sees” (יְהוָה יִרְאֶה, yÿhvah yir’eh, traditionally transliterated “Jehovah Jireh”; see the note on the word “provide” in v. 8). By so naming the place Abraham preserved in the memory of God’s people the amazing event that took place there.

[22:14]  ¹⁴ sn On the expression to this day see B. Childs, “A Study of the Formula ‘Until this Day’,” JBL 82 (1963): 279-92.

[22:14]  ¹⁵ sn The saying connected with these events has some ambiguity, which was probably intended. The Niphal verb could be translated (1) “in the mountain of the Lord it will be seen/provided” or (2) “in the mountain the Lord will appear.” If the temple later stood here (see the note on “Moriah” in Gen 22:2), the latter interpretation might find support, for the people went to the temple to appear before the Lord, who “appeared” to them by providing for them his power and blessings. See S. R. Driver, Genesis, 219.

[28:11]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.”

[28:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he took from the stones of the place,” which here means Jacob took one of the stones (see v. 18).

[28:11]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Heb “lay down.”

[32:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “and Jacob said when he saw them.”

[32:2]  ²² sn The name Mahanaim apparently means “two camps.” Perhaps the two camps were those of God and of Jacob.

[32:30]  ²⁵ sn The name Peniel means “face of God.” Since Jacob saw God face to face here, the name is appropriate.

[32:30]  ²⁶ tn The word “explaining” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:30]  ²⁷ tn Or “because.”

[32:30]  ²⁸ sn I have seen God face to face. See the note on the name “Peniel” earlier in the verse.

[32:30]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and my soul [= life] has been preserved.”

[33:17]  ²⁹ tn The disjunctive clause contrasts Jacob’s action with Esau’s.

[33:17]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ 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]  ³² sn The name Succoth means “shelters,” an appropriate name in light of the shelters Jacob built there for his livestock.