Genesis 25:26

25:26 When his brother came out with ¹  his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. ²  Isaac was sixty years old ³  when they were born.

Genesis 27:40

27:40 You will live by your sword

but you will serve your brother.

When you grow restless,

you will tear off his yoke

from your neck.” ⁴ 

Genesis 28:2

28:2 Leave immediately ⁵  for Paddan Aram! Go to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and find yourself a wife there, among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.

Genesis 32:6

32:6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you and has four hundred men with him.”

Genesis 34:11

34:11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s ⁶  father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your sight, and whatever you require of me ⁷  I’ll give. ⁸ 

Genesis 35:7

35:7 He built an altar there and named the place El Bethel ⁹  because there God had revealed himself ¹⁰  to him when he was fleeing from his brother.

Genesis 37:13

37:13 Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers ¹¹  are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I will send you to them.” “I’m ready,” ¹²  Joseph replied. ¹³ 

Genesis 43:3

43:3 But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned ¹⁴  us, ‘You will not see my face ¹⁵  unless your brother is with you.’

Genesis 44:33

44:33 “So now, please let your servant remain as my lord’s slave instead of the boy. As for the boy, let him go back with his brothers.

Genesis 45:16

45:16 Now it was reported ¹⁶  in the household of Pharaoh, “Joseph’s brothers have arrived.” It pleased ¹⁷  Pharaoh and his servants.

Genesis 49:8

49:8 Judah, ¹⁸  your brothers will praise you.

Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies,

your father’s sons will bow down before you.

[25:26]  ¹ tn The disjunctive clause describes an important circumstance accompanying the birth. Whereas Esau was passive at birth, Jacob was active.

[25:26]  ² tn Heb “And he called his name Jacob.” Some ancient witnesses read “they called his name Jacob” (see v. 25). In either case the subject is indefinite.

[25:26]  ³ tn Heb “the son of sixty years.”

[27:40]  ⁴ sn You will tear off his yoke from your neck. It may be that this prophetic blessing found its fulfillment when Jerusalem fell and Edom got its revenge. The oracle makes Edom subservient to Israel and suggests the Edomites would live away from the best land and be forced to sustain themselves by violent measures.

[28:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “Arise! Go!” The first of the two imperatives is adverbial and stresses the immediacy of the departure.

[34:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “her”; the referent (Dinah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “whatever you say.”

[34:11]  ¹² tn Or “pay.”

[35:7]  ¹³ sn The name El-Bethel means “God of Bethel.”

[35:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “revealed themselves.” The verb נִגְלוּ (niglu), translated “revealed himself,” is plural, even though one expects the singular form with the plural of majesty. Perhaps אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is here a numerical plural, referring both to God and the angelic beings that appeared to Jacob. See the note on the word “know” in Gen 3:5.

[37:13]  ¹⁶ tn The text uses an interrogative clause: “Are not your brothers,” which means “your brothers are.”

[37:13]  ¹⁷ sn With these words Joseph is depicted here as an obedient son who is ready to do what his father commands.

[37:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Here I am.’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.

[43:3]  ¹⁹ tn The infinitive absolute with the finite verb stresses the point. The primary meaning of the verb is “to witness; to testify.” It alludes to Joseph’s oath, which was tantamount to a threat or warning.

[43:3]  ²⁰ tn The idiom “see my face” means “have an audience with me.”

[45:16]  ²² tn Heb “and the sound was heard.”

[45:16]  ²³ tn Heb “was good in the eyes of.”

[49:8]  ²⁵ sn There is a wordplay here; the name Judah (יְהוּדָה, yÿhudah) sounds in Hebrew like the verb translated praise (יוֹדוּךָ, yodukha). The wordplay serves to draw attention to the statement as having special significance.