Genesis 30:43--31:1

30:43 In this way Jacob ¹  became extremely prosperous. He owned ²  large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.

Jacob’s Flight from Laban

31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, ³  “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich ⁴  at our father’s expense!” ⁵ 

Genesis 31:16

31:16 Surely all the wealth that God snatched away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So now do everything God has told you.”

Genesis 33:11

33:11 Please take my present ⁶  that was brought to you, for God has been generous ⁷  to me and I have all I need.” ⁸  When Jacob urged him, he took it. ⁹ 

Job 6:22

Friends’ Fears

6:22 “Have I ¹⁰  ever said, ¹¹  ‘Give me something,

and from your fortune ¹²  make gifts ¹³  in my favor’?

[30:43]  ¹ tn Heb “the man”; Jacob’s name has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[30:43]  ² tn Heb “and there were to him.”

[31:1]  ³ tn Heb “and he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying.”

[31:1]  ⁴ sn The Hebrew word translated “gotten rich” (כָּבוֹד, cavod) has the basic idea of “weight.” If one is heavy with possessions, then that one is wealthy (13:2). Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph all became wealthy when they left the promised land. Jacob’s wealth foreshadows what will happen to Israel when they leave the land of Egypt (Exod 12:35-38).

[31:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “and from that which belonged to our father he has gained all this wealth.”

[33:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “blessing.” It is as if Jacob is trying to repay what he stole from his brother twenty years earlier.

[33:11]  ⁷ tn Or “gracious,” but in the specific sense of prosperity.

[33:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “all.”

[33:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “and he urged him and he took.” The referent of the first pronoun in the sequence (“he”) has been specified as “Jacob” in the translation for clarity.

[6:22]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew הֲכִי (hakhi) literally says “Is it because….”

[6:22]  ¹¹ sn For the next two verses Job lashes out in sarcasm against his friends. If he had asked for charity, for their wealth, he might have expected their cold response. But all he wanted was sympathy and understanding (H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 63).

[6:22]  ¹² tn The word כֹּחַ (koakh) basically means “strength, force”; but like the synonym חַיִל (khayil), it can also mean “wealth, fortune.” E. Dhorme notes that to the Semitic mind, riches bring power (Job, 90).

[6:22]  ¹³ tn Or “bribes.” The verb שִׁחֲדוּ (shikhadu) means “give a שֹׁחַד (shokhad, “bribe”).” The significance is simply “make a gift” (especially in the sense of corrupting an official [Ezek 16:33]). For the spelling of the form in view of the guttural, see GKC 169 §64.a.