Genesis 25:28

25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, ¹  but Rebekah loved ²  Jacob.

Genesis 27:14

27:14 So he went and got the goats ³  and brought them to his mother. She ⁴  prepared some tasty food, just the way his father loved it.

Genesis 29:18

29:18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with ⁵  Rachel, he said, “I’ll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel.”

Genesis 29:20

29:20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. ⁶  But they seemed like only a few days to him ⁷  because his love for her was so great. ⁸ 

Genesis 34:3

34:3 Then he became very attached ⁹  to Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. He fell in love with the young woman and spoke romantically to her. ¹⁰ 

Genesis 24:67

24:67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah ¹¹  into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her ¹²  as his wife and loved her. ¹³  So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. ¹⁴ 

Genesis 27:4

27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then ¹⁵  I will eat it so that I may bless you ¹⁶  before I die.”

Genesis 27:9

27:9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare ¹⁷  them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them.

Genesis 29:30

29:30 Jacob ¹⁸  had marital relations ¹⁹  with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban ²⁰  for seven more years. ²¹ 

Genesis 29:32

29:32 So Leah became pregnant ²²  and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, ²³  for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. ²⁴  Surely my husband will love me now.”

Genesis 37:3-4

37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons ²⁵  because he was a son born to him late in life, ²⁶  and he made a special ²⁷  tunic for him. 37:4 When Joseph’s ²⁸  brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, ²⁹  they hated Joseph ³⁰  and were not able to speak to him kindly. ³¹ 

Genesis 44:20

44:20 We said to my lord, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young boy who was born when our father was old. ³²  The boy’s ³³  brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left, ³⁴  and his father loves him.’

Genesis 22:2

22:2 God ³⁵  said, “Take your son – your only son, whom you love, Isaac ³⁶  – and go to the land of Moriah! ³⁷  Offer him up there as a burnt offering ³⁸  on one of the mountains which I will indicate to ³⁹  you.”

[25:28]  ¹ 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]  ² 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.

[27:14]  ³ tn The words “the goats” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “his mother.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “she” in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[29:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “Jacob loved.”

[29:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “in exchange for Rachel.”

[29:20]  ⁸ sn But they seemed like only a few days to him. This need not mean that the time passed quickly. More likely it means that the price seemed insignificant when compared to what he was getting in the bargain.

[29:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “because of his love for her.” The words “was so great” are supplied for stylistic reasons.

[34:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “his soul stuck to [or “joined with”],” meaning Shechem became very attached to Dinah emotionally.

[34:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he spoke to the heart of the young woman,” which apparently refers in this context to tender, romantic speech (Hos 2:14). Another option is to translate the expression “he reassured the young woman” (see Judg 19:3, 2 Sam 19:7; cf. NEB “comforted her”).

[24:67]  ¹¹ tn Heb “her”; the referent has been specified here in the translation for clarity.

[24:67]  ¹² tn Heb “Rebekah”; here the proper name was replaced by the pronoun (“her”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:67]  ¹³ tn Heb “and he took Rebekah and she became his wife and he loved her.”

[24:67]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “after his mother.” This must refer to Sarah’s death.

[27:4]  ¹³ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[27:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The use of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as the subject emphasizes that the blessing will be made with all Isaac’s desire and vitality. The conjunction “so that” closely relates the meal to the blessing, suggesting that this will be a ritual meal in conjunction with the giving of a formal blessing.

[27:9]  ¹⁵ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.

[29:30]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:30]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “went in also to Rachel.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse, i.e., the consummation of the marriage.

[29:30]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:30]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and he loved also Rachel, more than Leah, and he served with him still seven other years.”

[29:32]  ¹⁹ tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).

[29:32]  ²⁰ sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”

[29:32]  ²¹ tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”

[37:3]  ²¹ tn The disjunctive clause provides supplemental information vital to the story. It explains in part the brothers’ animosity toward Joseph.

[37:3]  ²² tn Heb “a son of old age was he to him.” This expression means “a son born to him when he [i.e., Jacob] was old.”

[37:3]  ²³ tn It is not clear what this tunic was like, because the meaning of the Hebrew word that describes it is uncertain. The idea that it was a coat of many colors comes from the Greek translation of the OT. An examination of cognate terms in Semitic suggests it was either a coat or tunic with long sleeves (cf. NEB, NRSV), or a tunic that was richly embroidered (cf. NIV). It set Joseph apart as the favored one.

[37:4]  ²³ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:4]  ²⁴ tn Heb “of his brothers.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “them.”

[37:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:4]  ²⁶ tn Heb “speak to him for peace.”

[44:20]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and a small boy of old age,” meaning that he was born when his father was elderly.

[44:20]  ²⁶ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the boy just mentioned) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[44:20]  ²⁷ tn Heb “he, only he, to his mother is left.”

[22:2]  ²⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:2]  ²⁸ sn Take your son…Isaac. The instructions are very clear, but the details are deliberate. With every additional description the commandment becomes more challenging.

[22:2]  ²⁹ sn There has been much debate over the location of Moriah; 2 Chr 3:1 suggests it may be the site where the temple was later built in Jerusalem.

[22:2]  ³⁰ sn A whole burnt offering signified the complete surrender of the worshiper and complete acceptance by God. The demand for a human sacrifice was certainly radical and may have seemed to Abraham out of character for God. Abraham would have to obey without fully understanding what God was about.

[22:2]  ³¹ tn Heb “which I will say to.”