Genesis 28:11

28:11 He reached a certain place ¹  where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. ²  He took one of the stones ³  and placed it near his head. ⁴  Then he fell asleep ⁵  in that place

Genesis 34:2

34:2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, who ruled that area, saw her, he grabbed her, forced himself on her, ⁶  and sexually assaulted her. ⁷ 

Genesis 30:16

30:16 When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep ⁸  with me because I have paid for your services ⁹  with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relations ¹⁰  with her that night.

Genesis 35:22

35:22 While Israel was living in that land, Reuben had sexual relations with ¹¹  Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard about it.

Jacob had twelve sons:

[28:11]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.”

[28:11]  ³ tn Heb “he took from the stones of the place,” which here means Jacob took one of the stones (see v. 18).

[28:11]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “lay down.”

[34:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “and he took her and lay with her.” The suffixed form following the verb appears to be the sign of the accusative instead of the preposition, but see BDB 1012 s.v. שָׁכַב.

[34:2]  ⁷ tn The verb עָנָה (’anah) in the Piel stem can have various shades of meaning, depending on the context: “to defile; to mistreat; to violate; to rape; to shame; to afflict.” Here it means that Shechem violated or humiliated Dinah by raping her.

[30:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “must come in to me.” The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. She has acquired him for the night and feels he is obligated to have sexual relations with her.

[30:16]  ¹² tn Heb “I have surely hired.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form for emphasis. The name Issachar (see v. 18) seems to be related to this expression.

[30:16]  ¹³ tn This is the same Hebrew verb (שָׁכַב, shakhav) translated “sleep with” in v. 15. In direct discourse the more euphemistic “sleep with” was used, but here in the narrative “marital relations” reflects more clearly the emphasis on sexual intercourse.

[35:22]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and Reuben went and lay with.” The expression “lay with” is a euphemism for having sexual intercourse.