Genesis 37:1

Joseph’s Dreams

37:1 But Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, ¹  in the land of Canaan. ² 

Genesis 47:9

47:9 Jacob said to Pharaoh, “All ³  the years of my travels ⁴  are 130. All ⁵  the years of my life have been few and painful; ⁶  the years of my travels are not as long as those of my ancestors.” ⁷ 

Genesis 17:8

17:8 I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing ⁸  – to you and your descendants after you as a permanent ⁹  possession. I will be their God.”

Genesis 28:4

28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham ¹⁰  so that you may possess the land ¹¹  God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” ¹² 

Genesis 36:7

36:7 because they had too many possessions to be able to stay together and the land where they had settled ¹³  was not able to support them because of their livestock.

[37:1]  ¹ tn Heb “the land of the sojournings of his father.”

[37:1]  ² sn The next section begins with the heading This is the account of Jacob in Gen 37:2, so this verse actually forms part of the preceding section as a concluding contrast with Esau and his people. In contrast to all the settled and expanded population of Esau, Jacob was still moving about in the land without a permanent residence and without kings. Even if the Edomite king list was added later (as the reference to kings in Israel suggests), its placement here in contrast to Jacob and his descendants is important. Certainly the text deals with Esau before dealing with Jacob – that is the pattern. But the detail is so great in chap. 36 that the contrast cannot be missed.

[47:9]  ³ tn Heb “the days of.”

[47:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “sojournings.” Jacob uses a term that depicts him as one who has lived an unsettled life, temporarily residing in many different places.

[47:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “the days of.”

[47:9]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew word רַע (ra’) can sometimes mean “evil,” but that would give the wrong connotation here, where it refers to pain, difficulty, and sorrow. Jacob is thinking back through all the troubles he had to endure to get to this point.

[47:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “and they have not reached the days of the years of my fathers in the days of their sojournings.”

[17:8]  ⁵ tn The verbal root is גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to reside temporarily,” i.e., as a resident alien). It is the land in which Abram resides, but does not yet possess as his very own.

[17:8]  ⁶ tn Or “as an eternal.”

[28:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “and may he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you.” The name “Abraham” is an objective genitive here; this refers to the blessing that God gave to Abraham.

[28:4]  ⁸ tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[28:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “the land of your sojournings,” that is, the land where Jacob had been living as a resident alien, as his future descendants would after him.

[36:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “land of their settlements.”