Genesis 30:7-8

30:7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. ¹  30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.” ²  So she named him Naphtali. ³ 

Genesis 35:25

35:25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali.

Genesis 49:21

49:21 Naphtali is a free running doe, ⁴ 

he speaks delightful words. ⁵ 

Numbers 1:15

1:15 from Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan.”

Numbers 1:42-43

1:42 From ⁶  the descendants of Naphtali: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name. 1:43 Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Naphtali were 53,400.

Numbers 26:48-50

Naphtali

26:48 The Naphtalites by their families: from Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites; from Guni, the family of the Gunites; 26:49 from Jezer, the family of the Jezerites; from Shillem, the family of the Shillemites. 26:50 These were the families of Naphtali according to their families; and those numbered of them were 45,400. ⁷ 

Deuteronomy 33:23

Blessing on Naphtali

33:23 Of Naphtali he said:

O Naphtali, overflowing with favor,

and full of the Lord’s blessing,

possess the west and south.

Deuteronomy 33:2

33:2 He said:

A Historical Review

The Lord came from Sinai

and revealed himself ⁸  to Israel ⁹  from Seir.

He appeared in splendor ¹⁰  from Mount Paran,

and came forth with ten thousand holy ones. ¹¹ 

With his right hand he gave a fiery law ¹²  to them.

Deuteronomy 15:1

Release for Debt Slaves

15:1 At the end of every seven years you must declare a cancellation ¹³  of debts.

Deuteronomy 15:1

Release for Debt Slaves

15:1 At the end of every seven years you must declare a cancellation ¹⁴  of debts.

Deuteronomy 2:2

2:2 At this point the Lord said to me,

Deuteronomy 12:1

The Central Sanctuary

12:1 These are the statutes and ordinances you must be careful to obey as long as you live in the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, ¹⁵  has given you to possess. ¹⁶ 

[30:7]  ¹ tn Heb “and she became pregnant again and Bilhah, the servant of Rachel, bore a second son for Jacob.”

[30:8]  ² tn Heb “[with] a mighty struggle I have struggled with my sister, also I have prevailed.” The phrase “mighty struggle” reads literally “struggles of God.” The plural participle “struggles” reflects the ongoing nature of the struggle, while the divine name is used here idiomatically to emphasize the intensity of the struggle. See J. Skinner, Genesis (ICC), 387.

[30:8]  ³ sn The name Naphtali (נַפְתָּלִי, naftali) must mean something like “my struggle” in view of the statement Rachel made in the preceding clause. The name plays on this earlier statement, “[with] a mighty struggle I have struggled with my sister.”

[49:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “a doe set free.”

[49:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “the one who gives words of beauty.” The deer imagery probably does not continue into this line; Naphtali is the likely antecedent of the substantival participle, which is masculine, not feminine, in form. If the animal imagery is retained from the preceding line, the image of a talking deer is preposterous. For this reason some read the second line “the one who bears beautiful fawns,” interpreting אִמְרֵי (’imre) as a reference to young animals, not words (see HALOT 67 s.v. *אִמֵּר).

[1:42]  ⁶ tc The verse does not have the preposition, only “the descendants of Naphtali.”

[26:50]  ⁷ sn The Naphtalites decreased from 53,400 to 45,400.

[33:2]  ⁸ tn Or “rose like the sun” (NCV, TEV).

[33:2]  ⁹ tc Heb “to him.” The LXX reads “to us” (לָנוּ [lanu] for לָמוֹ [lamo]), the reading of the MT is acceptable since it no doubt has in mind Israel as a collective singular.

[33:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “he shone forth” (NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[33:2]  ¹¹ tc With slight alteration (מִמְרִבַת קָדֵשׁ [mimrivat qadesh] for the MT’s מֵרִבְבֹת קֹדֶשׁ [merivvot qodesh]) the translation would be “from Meribah Kadesh” (cf. NAB, NLT; see Deut 32:51). However, the language of holy war in the immediate context favors the reading of the MT, which views the Lord as accompanied by angelic hosts.

[33:2]  ¹² tc The mispointed Hebrew term אֵשְׁדָּת (’eshdat) should perhaps be construed as אֵשְׁהַת (’eshhat) with Smr.

[15:1]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew term שְׁמִטָּת (shÿmittat), a derivative of the verb שָׁמַט (shamat, “to release; to relinquish”), refers to the cancellation of the debt and even pledges for the debt of a borrower by his creditor. This could be a full and final remission or, more likely, one for the seventh year only. See R. Wakely, NIDOTTE 4:155-60. Here the words “of debts” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied. Cf. NAB “a relaxation of debts”; NASB, NRSV “a remission of debts.”

[15:1]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew term שְׁמִטָּת (shÿmittat), a derivative of the verb שָׁמַט (shamat, “to release; to relinquish”), refers to the cancellation of the debt and even pledges for the debt of a borrower by his creditor. This could be a full and final remission or, more likely, one for the seventh year only. See R. Wakely, NIDOTTE 4:155-60. Here the words “of debts” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied. Cf. NAB “a relaxation of debts”; NASB, NRSV “a remission of debts.”

[12:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “fathers.”

[12:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “you must be careful to obey in the land the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess all the days which you live in the land.” This adverbial statement modifies “to obey,” not “to possess,” so the order in the translation has been rearranged to make this clear.