Genesis 26:28

26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see ¹  that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be ²  a pact between us ³  – between us ⁴  and you. Allow us to make ⁵  a treaty with you

Genesis 31:53

31:53 May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor, ⁶  the gods of their father, judge between us.” Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared. ⁷ 

[26:28]  ¹ tn The infinitive absolute before the verb emphasizes the clarity of their perception.

[26:28]  ² tn Heb “And we said, ‘Let there be.’” The direct discourse in the Hebrew text has been rendered as indirect discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:28]  ³ tn The pronoun “us” here is inclusive – it refers to the Philistine contingent on the one hand and Isaac on the other.

[26:28]  ⁴ tn The pronoun “us” here is exclusive – it refers to just the Philistine contingent (the following “you” refers to Isaac).

[26:28]  ⁵ tn The translation assumes that the cohortative expresses their request. Another option is to understand the cohortative as indicating resolve: “We want to make.’”

[31:53]  ⁶ tn The God of Abraham and the god of Nahor. The Hebrew verb translated “judge” is plural, suggesting that Laban has more than one “god” in mind. The Samaritan Pentateuch and the LXX, apparently in an effort to make the statement monotheistic, have a singular verb. In this case one could translate, “May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” However, Laban had a polytheistic world view, as evidenced by his possession of household idols (cf. 31:19). The translation uses “God” when referring to Abraham’s God, for Genesis makes it clear that Abraham worshiped the one true God. It employs “god” when referring to Nahor’s god, for in the Hebrew text Laban refers to a different god here, probably one of the local deities.

[31:53]  ⁷ tn Heb “by the fear of his father Isaac.” See the note on the word “fears” in v. 42.