Discovery BoxGenesis 48:16
Context48:16 the Angel 1 who has protected me 2
from all harm –
bless these boys.
May my name be named in them, 3
and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.
May they grow into a multitude on the earth.”
Psalms 121:5-8
Context121:5 The Lord is your protector;
the Lord is the shade at your right hand.
121:6 The sun will not harm you by day,
or the moon by night. 4
121:7 The Lord will protect you from all harm;
he will protect your life.
121:8 The Lord will protect you in all you do, 5
now and forevermore.
[48:16] 1 sn The Samaritan Pentateuch reads “king” here, but the traditional reading (“angel”) may be maintained. Jacob closely associates God with an angelic protective presence. This does not mean that Jacob viewed his God as a mere angel, but it does suggest that he was aware of an angelic presence sent by God to protect him. Here he so closely associates the two that they become virtually indistinguishable. In this culture messengers typically carried the authority of the one who sent them and could even be addressed as such. Perhaps Jacob thought that the divine blessing would be mediated through this angelic messenger.
[48:16] 2 tn The verb גָּאַל (ga’al) has the basic idea of “protect” as a near relative might do. It is used for buying someone out of bondage, marrying a deceased brother’s widow, paying off debts, avenging the family, and the like. The meanings of “deliver, protect, avenge” are most fitting when God is the subject (see A. R. Johnson, “The Primary Meaning of √גאל,” Congress Volume: Copenhagen, 1953 [VTSup], 67-77).
[48:16] 3 tn Or “be recalled through them.”
[121:6] 4 sn One hardly thinks of the moon’s rays as being physically harmful, like those of the sun. The reference to the moon may simply lend poetic balance to the verse, but it is likely that the verse reflects an ancient, primitive belief that the moon could have an adverse effect on the mind (note the English expression “moonstruck,” which reflects such a belief). Another possibility is that the sun and moon stand by metonymy for harmful forces characteristic of the day and night, respectively.
