Genesis 29:1

The Marriages of Jacob

29:1 So Jacob moved on ¹  and came to the land of the eastern people. ² 

Genesis 24:32

24:32 So Abraham’s servant ³  went to the house and unloaded ⁴  the camels. Straw and feed were given ⁵  to the camels, and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet. ⁶ 

Genesis 49:10

49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, ⁷ 

until he comes to whom it belongs; ⁸ 

the nations will obey him. ⁹ 

Genesis 49:33

49:33 When Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet up onto the bed, breathed his last breath, and went ¹⁰  to his people.

[29:1]  ¹ tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his feet.” This unusual expression suggests that Jacob had a new lease on life now that God had promised him the blessing he had so desperately tried to gain by his own efforts. The text portrays him as having a new step in his walk.

[29:1]  ² tn Heb “the land of the sons of the east.”

[24:32]  ³ tn Heb “the man”; the referent (Abraham’s servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:32]  ⁴ tn Some translations (e.g., NEB, NASB, NRSV) understand Laban to be the subject of this and the following verbs or take the subject of this and the following verbs as indefinite (referring to an unnamed servant; e.g., NAB, NIV).

[24:32]  ⁵ tn Heb “and [one] gave.” The verb without an expressed subject may be translated as passive.

[24:32]  ⁶ tn Heb “and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.”

[49:10]  ⁵ tn Or perhaps “from his descendants,” taking the expression “from between his feet” as a euphemism referring to the genitals. In this case the phrase refers by metonymy to those who come forth from his genitals, i.e., his descendants.

[49:10]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew form שִׁילֹה (shiloh) is a major interpretive problem. There are at least four major options (with many variations and less likely alternatives): (1) Some prefer to leave the text as it is, reading “Shiloh” and understanding it as the place where the ark rested for a while in the time of the Judges. (2) By repointing the text others arrive at the translation “until the [or “his”] ruler comes,” a reference to a Davidic ruler or the Messiah. (3) Another possibility that does not require emendation of the consonantal text, but only repointing, is “until tribute is brought to him” (so NEB, JPS, NRSV), which has the advantage of providing good parallelism with the following line, “the nations will obey him.” (4) The interpretation followed in the present translation, “to whom it [belongs]” (so RSV, NIV, REB), is based on the ancient versions. Again, this would refer to the Davidic dynasty or, ultimately, to the Messiah.

[49:10]  ⁷ tn “and to him [will be] the obedience of the nations.” For discussion of this verse see J. Blenkinsopp, “The Oracle of Judah and the Messianic Entry,” JBL 80 (1961): 55-64; and E. M. Good, “The ‘Blessing’ on Judah,” JBL 82 (1963): 427-32.

[49:33]  ⁷ tn Heb “was gathered.”