Genesis 31:47

31:47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, ¹  but Jacob called it Galeed. ² 

Genesis 25:27

25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled ³  hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. ⁴ 

Genesis 25:34

25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. ⁵  So Esau despised his birthright. ⁶ 

Genesis 30:36

30:36 Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, ⁷  while ⁸  Jacob was taking care of the rest of Laban’s flocks.

Genesis 31:25

31:25 Laban overtook Jacob, and when Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead, Laban and his relatives set up camp there too. ⁹ 

Genesis 33:17

33:17 But ¹⁰  Jacob traveled to Succoth ¹¹  where he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was called ¹²  Succoth. ¹³ 

Genesis 34:5

34:5 When ¹⁴  Jacob heard that Shechem ¹⁵  had violated his daughter Dinah, his sons were with the livestock in the field. So Jacob remained silent ¹⁶  until they came in.

Genesis 35:29

35:29 Then Isaac breathed his last and joined his ancestors. ¹⁷  He died an old man who had lived a full life. ¹⁸  His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

[31:47]  ¹ sn Jegar Sahadutha. Laban the Aramean gave the place an Aramaic name which means “witness pile” or “the pile is a witness.”

[31:47]  ² sn Galeed also means “witness pile” or “the pile is a witness,” but this name is Canaanite or Western Semitic and closer to later Hebrew. Jacob, though certainly capable of speaking Aramaic, here prefers to use the western dialect.

[25:27]  ³ tn Heb “knowing.”

[25:27]  ⁴ tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Jacob with Esau and draws attention to the striking contrasts. In contrast to Esau, a man of the field, Jacob was civilized, as the phrase “living in tents” signifies. Whereas Esau was a skillful hunter, Jacob was calm and even-tempered (תָּם, tam), which normally has the idea of “blameless.”

[25:34]  ⁵ sn The style here is typical of Hebrew narrative; after the tension is resolved with the dialogue, the working out of it is recorded in a rapid sequence of verbs (“gave”; “ate”; “drank”; “got up”; “went out”). See also Gen 3:1-7 for another example.

[25:34]  ⁶ sn So Esau despised his birthright. This clause, which concludes the episode, is a summary statement which reveals the underlying significance of Esau’s actions. “To despise” means to treat something as worthless or with contempt. Esau’s willingness to sell his birthright was evidence that he considered it to be unimportant.

[30:36]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he put a journey of three days between himself and Jacob.”

[30:36]  ⁸ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the vav with subject) is circumstantial/temporal; Laban removed the animals while Jacob was taking care of the rest.

[31:25]  ⁹ tn Heb “and Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban pitched with his brothers in the hill country of Gilead.” The juxtaposition of disjunctive clauses (note the pattern conjunction + subject + verb in both clauses) indicates synchronism of action.

[33:17]  ¹¹ tn The disjunctive clause contrasts Jacob’s action with Esau’s.

[33:17]  ¹² sn But Jacob traveled to Succoth. There are several reasons why Jacob chose not to go to Mt. Seir after Esau. First, as he said, his herds and children probably could not keep up with the warriors. Second, he probably did not fully trust his brother. The current friendliness could change, and he could lose everything. And third, God did tell him to return to his land, not Seir. But Jacob is still not able to deal truthfully, probably because of fear of Esau.

[33:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “why he called.” One could understand “Jacob” as the subject of the verb, but it is more likely that the subject is indefinite, in which case the verb is better translated as passive.

[33:17]  ¹⁴ sn The name Succoth means “shelters,” an appropriate name in light of the shelters Jacob built there for his livestock.

[34:5]  ¹³ tn The two disjunctive clauses in this verse (“Now Jacob heard…and his sons were”) are juxtaposed to indicate synchronic action.

[34:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:5]  ¹⁵ sn The expected response would be anger or rage; but Jacob remained silent. He appears too indifferent or confused to act decisively. When the leader does not act decisively, the younger zealots will, and often with disastrous results.

[35:29]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and Isaac expired and died and he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.

[35:29]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “old and full of years.”