Genesis 4:2

4:2 Then she gave birth ¹  to his brother Abel. ²  Abel took care of the flocks, while Cain cultivated the ground. ³ 

Genesis 27:6

27:6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father tell your brother Esau,

Genesis 27:11

27:11 “But Esau my brother is a hairy man,” Jacob protested to his mother Rebekah, “and I have smooth skin! ⁴ 

Genesis 27:23

27:23 He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau’s hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob. ⁵ 

Genesis 27:43

27:43 Now then, my son, do what I say. ⁶  Run away immediately ⁷  to my brother Laban in Haran.

Genesis 32:13

32:13 Jacob ⁸  stayed there that night. Then he sent ⁹  as a gift ¹⁰  to his brother Esau

Genesis 38:30

38:30 Afterward his brother came out – the one who had the scarlet thread on his hand – and he was named Zerah. ¹¹ 

Genesis 43:4

43:4 If you send ¹²  our brother with us, we’ll go down and buy food for you.

[4:2]  ¹ tn Heb “And she again gave birth.”

[4:2]  ² sn The name Abel is not defined here in the text, but the tone is ominous. Abel’s name, the Hebrew word הֶבֶל (hevel), means “breath, vapor, vanity,” foreshadowing Abel’s untimely and premature death.

[4:2]  ³ tn Heb “and Abel was a shepherd of the flock, and Cain was a worker of the ground.” The designations of the two occupations are expressed with active participles, רֹעֵה (ro’eh, “shepherd”) and עֹבֵד (’oved, “worker”). Abel is occupied with sheep, whereas Cain is living under the curse, cultivating the ground.

[27:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, ‘Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, but I am a smooth [skinned] man.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[27:23]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he blessed him.” The referents of the pronouns “he” (Isaac) and “him” (Jacob) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:43]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “listen to my voice.”

[27:43]  ¹¹ tn Heb “arise, flee.”

[32:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and he took from that which was going into his hand,” meaning that he took some of what belonged to him.

[32:13]  ¹⁵ sn The Hebrew noun translated gift can in some contexts refer to the tribute paid by a subject to his lord. Such a nuance is possible here, because Jacob refers to Esau as his lord and to himself as Esau’s servant (v. 4).

[38:30]  ¹⁶ sn Perhaps the child was named Zerah because of the scarlet thread. Though the Hebrew word used for “scarlet thread” in v. 28 is not related to the name Zerah, there is a related root in Babylonian and western Aramaic that means “scarlet” or “scarlet thread.” In Hebrew the name appears to be derived from a root meaning “to shine.” The name could have originally meant something like “shining one” or “God has shined.” Zerah became the head of a tribe (Num 26:20) from whom Achan descended (Josh 7:1).

[43:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “if there is you sending,” that is, “if you send.”