Kejadian 17:1-27
Konteks17:1 When Abram was 99 years old, 1 the Lord appeared to him and said, 2 “I am the sovereign God. 3 Walk 4 before me 5 and be blameless. 6 17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant 7 between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” 8
17:3 Abram bowed down with his face to the ground, 9 and God said to him, 10 17:4 “As for me, 11 this 12 is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 17:5 No longer will your name be 13 Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham 14 because I will make you 15 the father of a multitude of nations. 17:6 I will make you 16 extremely 17 fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. 18 17:7 I will confirm 19 my covenant as a perpetual 20 covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 21 17:8 I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing 22 – to you and your descendants after you as a permanent 23 possession. I will be their God.”
17:9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep 24 the covenantal requirement 25 I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 17:10 This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep: 26 Every male among you must be circumcised. 27 17:11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder 28 of the covenant between me and you. 17:12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old 29 must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants. 17:13 They must indeed be circumcised, 30 whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant 31 will be visible in your flesh as a permanent 32 reminder. 17:14 Any uncircumcised male 33 who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off 34 from his people – he has failed to carry out my requirement.” 35
17:15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for your wife, you must no longer call her Sarai; 36 Sarah 37 will be her name. 17:16 I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations. 38 Kings of countries 39 will come from her!”
17:17 Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed 40 as he said to himself, 41 “Can 42 a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old? 43 Can Sarah 44 bear a child at the age of ninety?” 45 17:18 Abraham said to God, “O that 46 Ishmael might live before you!” 47
17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. 48 I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual 49 covenant for his descendants after him. 17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. 50 I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. 51 He will become the father of twelve princes; 52 I will make him into a great nation. 17:21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year.” 17:22 When he finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. 53
17:23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) 54 and circumcised them 55 on that very same day, just as God had told him to do. 17:24 Now Abraham was 99 years old 56 when he was circumcised; 57 17:25 his son Ishmael was thirteen years old 58 when he was circumcised. 17:26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the very same day. 17:27 All the men of his household, whether born in his household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
Kejadian 25:1--29:35
Konteks25:1 Abraham had taken 59 another 60 wife, named Keturah. 25:2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 25:3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. 61 The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 25:4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants 62 of Keturah.
25:5 Everything he owned Abraham left to his son Isaac. 25:6 But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines 63 and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. 64
25:7 Abraham lived a total of 65 175 years. 25:8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life. 66 He joined his ancestors. 67 25:9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah 68 near Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar, the Hethite. 25:10 This was the field Abraham had purchased from the sons of Heth. 69 There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 25:11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed 70 his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi. 71
25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, 72 whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham.
25:13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names according to their records: 73 Nebaioth (Ishmael’s firstborn), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 25:14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 25:15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 25:16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names by their settlements and their camps – twelve princes 74 according to their clans.
25:17 Ishmael lived a total of 75 137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors. 76 25:18 His descendants 77 settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next 78 to Egypt all the way 79 to Asshur. 80 They settled 81 away from all their relatives. 82
25:19 This is the account of Isaac, 83 the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac. 25:20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, 84 the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. 85
25:21 Isaac prayed to 86 the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 25:22 But the children struggled 87 inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” 88 So she asked the Lord, 89 25:23 and the Lord said to her,
“Two nations 90 are in your womb,
and two peoples will be separated from within you.
One people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.”
25:24 When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, 91 there were 92 twins in her womb. 25:25 The first came out reddish 93 all over, 94 like a hairy 95 garment, so they named him Esau. 96 25:26 When his brother came out with 97 his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. 98 Isaac was sixty years old 99 when they were born.
25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled 100 hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. 101 25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, 102 but Rebekah loved 103 Jacob.
25:29 Now Jacob cooked some stew, 104 and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished. 25:30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed 105 me some of the red stuff – yes, this red stuff – because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called 106 Edom.) 107
25:31 But Jacob replied, “First 108 sell me your birthright.” 25:32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” 109 25:33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” 110 So Esau 111 swore an oath to him and sold his birthright 112 to Jacob.
25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. 113 So Esau despised his birthright. 114
26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred 115 in the days of Abraham. 116 Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar. 26:2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; 117 settle down in the land that I will point out to you. 118 26:3 Stay 119 in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, 120 for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, 121 and I will fulfill 122 the solemn promise I made 123 to your father Abraham. 26:4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them 124 all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. 125 26:5 All this will come to pass 126 because Abraham obeyed me 127 and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” 128 26:6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.
26:7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, “She is my sister.” 129 He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, 130 “The men of this place will kill me to get 131 Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”
26:8 After Isaac 132 had been there a long time, 133 Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed 134 Isaac caressing 135 his wife Rebekah. 26:9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really 136 your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.” 137
26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? 138 One of the men 139 might easily have had sexual relations with 140 your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!” 26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches 141 this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” 142
26:12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, 143 because the Lord blessed him. 144 26:13 The man became wealthy. 145 His influence continued to grow 146 until he became very prominent. 26:14 He had 147 so many sheep 148 and cattle 149 and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous 150 of him. 26:15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled up 151 all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham.
26:16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere, 152 for you have become much more powerful 153 than we are.” 26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. 154 26:18 Isaac reopened 155 the wells that had been dug 156 back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up 157 after Abraham died. Isaac 158 gave these wells 159 the same names his father had given them. 160
26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing 161 water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled 162 with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac 163 named the well 164 Esek 165 because they argued with him about it. 166 26:21 His servants 167 dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it 168 Sitnah. 169 26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac 170 named it 171 Rehoboth, 172 saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”
26:23 From there Isaac 173 went up to Beer Sheba. 26:24 The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” 26:25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped 174 the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. 175
26:26 Now Abimelech had come 176 to him from Gerar along with 177 Ahuzzah his friend 178 and Phicol the commander of his army. 26:27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me 179 and sent me away from you.” 26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see 180 that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be 181 a pact between us 182 – between us 183 and you. Allow us to make 184 a treaty with you 26:29 so that 185 you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed 186 you, but have always treated you well 187 before sending you away 188 in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.” 189
26:30 So Isaac 190 held a feast for them and they celebrated. 191 26:31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. 192 Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms. 193
26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported. 194 26:33 So he named it Shibah; 195 that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba 196 to this day.
26:34 When 197 Esau was forty years old, 198 he married 199 Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, as well as Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 26:35 They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety. 200
27:1 When 201 Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, 202 he called his older 203 son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau 204 replied. 27:2 Isaac 205 said, “Since 206 I am so old, I could die at any time. 207 27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game 208 for me. 27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then 209 I will eat it so that I may bless you 210 before I die.”
27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. 211 When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, 212 27:6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father tell your brother Esau, 27:7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare for me some tasty food. Then I will eat 213 it and bless you 214 in the presence of the Lord 215 before I die.’ 27:8 Now then, my son, do 216 exactly what I tell you! 217 27:9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare 218 them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. 27:10 Then you will take 219 it to your father. Thus he will eat it 220 and 221 bless you before he dies.”
27:11 “But Esau my brother is a hairy man,” Jacob protested to his mother Rebekah, “and I have smooth skin! 222 27:12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him 223 and I’ll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.” 27:13 So his mother told him, “Any curse against you will fall on me, 224 my son! Just obey me! 225 Go and get them for me!”
27:14 So he went and got the goats 226 and brought them to his mother. She 227 prepared some tasty food, just the way his father loved it. 27:15 Then Rebekah took her older son Esau’s best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 27:16 She put the skins of the young goats 228 on his hands 229 and the smooth part of his neck. 27:17 Then she handed 230 the tasty food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.
27:18 He went to his father and said, “My father!” Isaac 231 replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?” 232 27:19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up 233 and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” 234 27:20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world 235 did you find it so quickly, 236 my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” 237 he replied. 238 27:21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you, 239 my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.” 240 27:22 So Jacob went over to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s.” 27:23 He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau’s hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob. 241 27:24 Then he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “I am,” Jacob 242 replied. 27:25 Isaac 243 said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. 244 Then I will bless you.” 245 So Jacob 246 brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac 247 drank. 27:26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 27:27 So Jacob 248 went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent 249 of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,
“Yes, 250 my son smells
like the scent of an open field
which the Lord has blessed.
27:28 May God give you
the dew of the sky 251
and the richness 252 of the earth,
and plenty of grain and new wine.
27:29 May peoples serve you
and nations bow down to you.
You will be 253 lord 254 over your brothers,
and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. 255
May those who curse you be cursed,
and those who bless you be blessed.”
27:30 Isaac had just finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left 256 his father’s 257 presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt. 258 27:31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau 259 said to him, “My father, get up 260 and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.” 261 27:32 His father Isaac asked, 262 “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,” 263 he replied, “Esau!” 27:33 Isaac began to shake violently 264 and asked, “Then who else hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it just before you arrived, and I blessed him. 265 He will indeed be blessed!”
27:34 When Esau heard 266 his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly. 267 He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” 27:35 But Isaac 268 replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away 269 your blessing.” 27:36 Esau exclaimed, “‘Jacob’ is the right name for him! 270 He has tripped me up 271 two times! He took away my birthright, and now, look, he has taken away my blessing!” Then he asked, “Have you not kept back a blessing for me?”
27:37 Isaac replied to Esau, “Look! I have made him lord over you. I have made all his relatives his servants and provided him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?” 27:38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!” 272 Then Esau wept loudly. 273
27:39 So his father Isaac said to him,
“Indeed, 274 your home will be
away from the richness 275 of the earth,
and away from the dew of the sky above.
27:40 You will live by your sword
but you will serve your brother.
When you grow restless,
you will tear off his yoke
from your neck.” 276
27:41 So Esau hated 277 Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. 278 Esau said privately, 279 “The time 280 of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill 281 my brother Jacob!”
27:42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said, 282 she quickly summoned 283 her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you. 284 27:43 Now then, my son, do what I say. 285 Run away immediately 286 to my brother Laban in Haran. 27:44 Live with him for a little while 287 until your brother’s rage subsides. 27:45 Stay there 288 until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I’ll send someone to bring you back from there. 289 Why should I lose both of you in one day?” 290
27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressed 291 because of these daughters of Heth. 292 If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!” 293
28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman! 294 28:2 Leave immediately 295 for Paddan Aram! Go to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and find yourself a wife there, among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. 28:3 May the sovereign God 296 bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! 297 Then you will become 298 a large nation. 299 28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham 300 so that you may possess the land 301 God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” 302 28:5 So Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean and brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
28:6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan Aram to find a wife there. 303 As he blessed him, 304 Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” 305 28:7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram. 28:8 Then Esau realized 306 that the Canaanite women 307 were displeasing to 308 his father Isaac. 28:9 So Esau went to Ishmael and married 309 Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, along with the wives he already had.
28:10 Meanwhile Jacob left Beer Sheba and set out for Haran. 28:11 He reached a certain place 310 where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. 311 He took one of the stones 312 and placed it near his head. 313 Then he fell asleep 314 in that place 28:12 and had a dream. 315 He saw 316 a stairway 317 erected on the earth with its top reaching to the heavens. The angels of God were going up and coming down it 28:13 and the Lord stood at its top. He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac. 318 I will give you and your descendants the ground 319 you are lying on. 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, 320 and you will spread out 321 to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 322 using your name and that of your descendants. 323 28:15 I am with you! 324 I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!”
28:16 Then Jacob woke up 325 and thought, 326 “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not realize it!” 28:17 He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is nothing else than the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!”
28:18 Early 327 in the morning Jacob 328 took the stone he had placed near his head 329 and set it up as a sacred stone. 330 Then he poured oil on top of it. 28:19 He called that place Bethel, 331 although the former name of the town was Luz. 28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God is with me and protects me on this journey I am taking and gives me food 332 to eat and clothing to wear, 28:21 and I return safely to my father’s home, 333 then the Lord will become my God. 28:22 Then this stone 334 that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely 335 give you back a tenth of everything you give me.” 336
29:1 So Jacob moved on 337 and came to the land of the eastern people. 338 29:2 He saw 339 in the field a well with 340 three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now 341 a large stone covered the mouth of the well. 29:3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds 342 would roll the stone off the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place over the well’s mouth.
29:4 Jacob asked them, “My brothers, where are you from?” They replied, “We’re from Haran.” 29:5 So he said to them, “Do you know Laban, the grandson 343 of Nahor?” “We know him,” 344 they said. 29:6 “Is he well?” 345 Jacob asked. They replied, “He is well. 346 Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” 29:7 Then Jacob 347 said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, 348 it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” 349 29:8 “We can’t,” they said, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well. Then we water 350 the sheep.”
29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was tending them. 351 29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, 352 and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he 353 went over 354 and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. 355 29:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep loudly. 356 29:12 When Jacob explained 357 to Rachel that he was a relative of her father 358 and the son of Rebekah, she ran and told her father. 29:13 When Laban heard this news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he rushed out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob 359 told Laban how he was related to him. 360 29:14 Then Laban said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” 361 So Jacob 362 stayed with him for a month. 363
29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work 364 for me for nothing because you are my relative? 365 Tell me what your wages should be.” 29:16 (Now Laban had two daughters; 366 the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. 29:17 Leah’s eyes were tender, 367 but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.) 368 29:18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with 369 Rachel, he said, “I’ll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel.” 29:19 Laban replied, “I’d rather give her to you than to another man. 370 Stay with me.” 29:20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. 371 But they seemed like only a few days to him 372 because his love for her was so great. 373
29:21 Finally Jacob said 374 to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. 375 I want to have marital relations with her.” 376 29:22 So Laban invited all the people 377 of that place and prepared a feast. 29:23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leah 378 to Jacob, 379 and Jacob 380 had marital relations with her. 381 29:24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) 382
29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! 383 So Jacob 384 said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! 385 Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked 386 me?” 29:26 “It is not our custom here,” 387 Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriage 388 before the firstborn. 29:27 Complete my older daughter’s bridal week. 389 Then we will give you the younger one 390 too, in exchange for seven more years of work.” 391
29:28 Jacob did as Laban said. 392 When Jacob 393 completed Leah’s bridal week, 394 Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 395 29:29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) 396 29:30 Jacob 397 had marital relations 398 with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban 399 for seven more years. 400
29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, 401 he enabled her to become pregnant 402 while Rachel remained childless. 29:32 So Leah became pregnant 403 and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, 404 for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. 405 Surely my husband will love me now.”
29:33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved, 406 he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. 407
29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, 408 because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. 409
29:35 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” That is why she named him Judah. 410 Then she stopped having children.
Kejadian 32:1--33:20
Konteks32:1 So Jacob went on his way and the angels of God 411 met him. 32:2 When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, 412 “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. 413
32:3 Jacob sent messengers on ahead 414 to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the region 415 of Edom. 32:4 He commanded them, “This is what you must say to my lord Esau: ‘This is what your servant 416 Jacob says: I have been staying with Laban until now. 32:5 I have oxen, donkeys, sheep, and male and female servants. I have sent 417 this message 418 to inform my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight.’”
32:6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you and has four hundred men with him.” 32:7 Jacob was very afraid and upset. So he divided the people who were with him into two camps, as well as the flocks, herds, and camels. 32:8 “If Esau attacks one camp,” 419 he thought, 420 “then the other camp will be able to escape.” 421
32:9 Then Jacob prayed, 422 “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you said 423 to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.’ 424 32:10 I am not worthy of all the faithful love 425 you have shown 426 your servant. With only my walking stick 427 I crossed the Jordan, 428 but now I have become two camps. 32:11 Rescue me, 429 I pray, from the hand 430 of my brother Esau, 431 for I am afraid he will come 432 and attack me, as well as the mothers with their children. 433 32:12 But you 434 said, ‘I will certainly make you prosper 435 and will make 436 your descendants like the sand on the seashore, too numerous to count.’” 437
32:13 Jacob 438 stayed there that night. Then he sent 439 as a gift 440 to his brother Esau 32:14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 32:15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 32:16 He entrusted them to 441 his servants, who divided them into herds. 442 He told his servants, “Pass over before me, and keep some distance between one herd and the next.” 32:17 He instructed the servant leading the first herd, 443 “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong? 444 Where are you going? Whose herds are you driving?’ 445 32:18 then you must say, 446 ‘They belong 447 to your servant Jacob. 448 They have been sent as a gift to my lord Esau. 449 In fact Jacob himself is behind us.’” 450
32:19 He also gave these instructions to the second and third servants, as well as all those who were following the herds, saying, “You must say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 451 32:20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’” 452 Jacob thought, 453 “I will first appease him 454 by sending a gift ahead of me. 455 After that I will meet him. 456 Perhaps he will accept me.” 457 32:21 So the gifts were sent on ahead of him 458 while he spent that night in the camp. 459
32:22 During the night Jacob quickly took 460 his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons 461 and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 462 32:23 He took them and sent them across the stream along with all his possessions. 463 32:24 So Jacob was left alone. Then a man 464 wrestled 465 with him until daybreak. 466 32:25 When the man 467 saw that he could not defeat Jacob, 468 he struck 469 the socket of his hip so the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him.
32:26 Then the man 470 said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” 471 “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, 472 “unless you bless me.” 473 32:27 The man asked him, 474 “What is your name?” 475 He answered, “Jacob.” 32:28 “No longer will your name be Jacob,” the man told him, 476 “but Israel, 477 because you have fought 478 with God and with men and have prevailed.”
32:29 Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.” 479 “Why 480 do you ask my name?” the man replied. 481 Then he blessed 482 Jacob 483 there. 32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, 484 explaining, 485 “Certainly 486 I have seen God face to face 487 and have survived.” 488
32:31 The sun rose 489 over him as he crossed over Penuel, 490 but 491 he was limping because of his hip. 32:32 That is why to this day 492 the Israelites do not eat the sinew which is attached to the socket of the hip, because he struck 493 the socket of Jacob’s hip near the attached sinew.
33:1 Jacob looked up 494 and saw that Esau was coming 495 along with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants. 33:2 He put the servants and their children in front, with Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph behind them. 496 33:3 But Jacob 497 himself went on ahead of them, and he bowed toward the ground seven times as he approached 498 his brother. 33:4 But Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, hugged his neck, and kissed him. Then they both wept. 33:5 When Esau 499 looked up 500 and saw the women and the children, he asked, “Who are these people with you?” Jacob 501 replied, “The children whom God has graciously given 502 your servant.” 33:6 The female servants came forward with their children and bowed down. 503 33:7 Then Leah came forward with her children and they bowed down. Finally Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down.
33:8 Esau 504 then asked, “What did you intend 505 by sending all these herds to meet me?” 506 Jacob 507 replied, “To find favor in your sight, my lord.” 33:9 But Esau said, “I have plenty, my brother. Keep what belongs to you.” 33:10 “No, please take them,” Jacob said. 508 “If I have found favor in your sight, accept 509 my gift from my hand. Now that I have seen your face and you have accepted me, 510 it is as if I have seen the face of God. 511 33:11 Please take my present 512 that was brought to you, for God has been generous 513 to me and I have all I need.” 514 When Jacob urged him, he took it. 515
33:12 Then Esau 516 said, “Let’s be on our way! 517 I will go in front of you.” 33:13 But Jacob 518 said to him, “My lord knows that the children are young, 519 and that I have to look after the sheep and cattle that are nursing their young. 520 If they are driven too hard for even a single day, all the animals will die. 33:14 Let my lord go on ahead of his servant. I will travel more slowly, at the pace of the herds and the children, 521 until I come to my lord at Seir.”
33:15 So Esau said, “Let me leave some of my men with you.” 522 “Why do that?” Jacob replied. 523 “My lord has already been kind enough to me.” 524
33:16 So that same day Esau made his way back 525 to Seir. 33:17 But 526 Jacob traveled to Succoth 527 where he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was called 528 Succoth. 529
33:18 After he left Paddan Aram, Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped near 530 the city. 33:19 Then he purchased the portion of the field where he had pitched his tent; he bought it 531 from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of money. 532 33:20 There he set up an altar and called it “The God of Israel is God.” 533
[17:1] 1 tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”
[17:1] 2 tn Heb “appeared to Abram and said to him.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) and the final phrase “to him” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.
[17:1] 3 tn The name אֵל שַׁדַּי (’el shadday, “El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72. Shaddai/El Shaddai is the sovereign king of the world who grants, blesses, and judges. In the Book of Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness. The patriarchs knew God primarily as El Shaddai (Exod 6:3). While the origin and meaning of this name are uncertain (see discussion below) its significance is clear. The name is used in contexts where God appears as the source of fertility and life. In Gen 17:1-8 he appeared to Abram, introduced himself as El Shaddai, and announced his intention to make the patriarch fruitful. In the role of El Shaddai God repeated these words (now elevated to the status of a decree) to Jacob (35:11). Earlier Isaac had pronounced a blessing on Jacob in which he asked El Shaddai to make Jacob fruitful (28:3). Jacob later prayed that his sons would be treated with mercy when they returned to Egypt with Benjamin (43:14). The fertility theme is not as apparent here, though one must remember that Jacob viewed Benjamin as the sole remaining son of the favored and once-barren Rachel (see 29:31; 30:22-24; 35:16-18). It is quite natural that he would appeal to El Shaddai to preserve Benjamin’s life, for it was El Shaddai’s miraculous power which made it possible for Rachel to give him sons in the first place. In 48:3 Jacob, prior to blessing Joseph’s sons, told him how El Shaddai appeared to him at Bethel (see Gen 28) and promised to make him fruitful. When blessing Joseph on his deathbed Jacob referred to Shaddai (we should probably read “El Shaddai,” along with a few Hebrew
[17:1] 4 tn Or “Live out your life.” The Hebrew verb translated “walk” is the Hitpael; it means “to walk back and forth; to walk about; to live out one’s life.”
[17:1] 5 tn Or “in my presence.”
[17:1] 6 tn There are two imperatives here: “walk…and be blameless [or “perfect”].” The second imperative may be purely sequential (see the translation) or consequential: “walk before me and then you will be blameless.” How one interprets the sequence depends on the meaning of “walk before”: (1) If it simply refers in a neutral way to serving the
[17:2] 7 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative indicates consequence. If Abram is blameless, then the
[17:2] 8 tn Heb “I will multiply you exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
[17:3] 9 tn Heb “And Abram fell on his face.” This expression probably means that Abram sank to his knees and put his forehead to the ground, although it is possible that he completely prostrated himself. In either case the posture indicates humility and reverence.
[17:3] 10 tn Heb “God spoke to him, saying.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[17:4] 12 tn Heb “is” (הִנֵּה, hinneh).
[17:5] 13 tn Heb “will your name be called.”
[17:5] 14 sn Your name will be Abraham. The renaming of Abram was a sign of confirmation to the patriarch. Every time the name was used it would be a reminder of God’s promise. “Abram” means “exalted father,” probably referring to Abram’s father Terah. The name looks to the past; Abram came from noble lineage. The name “Abraham” is a dialectical variant of the name Abram. But its significance is in the wordplay with אַב־הֲמוֹן (’av-hamon, “the father of a multitude,” which sounds like אַבְרָהָם, ’avraham, “Abraham”). The new name would be a reminder of God’s intention to make Abraham the father of a multitude. For a general discussion of renaming, see O. Eissfeldt, “Renaming in the Old Testament,” Words and Meanings, 70-83.
[17:5] 15 tn The perfect verbal form is used here in a rhetorical manner to emphasize God’s intention.
[17:6] 16 tn This verb starts a series of perfect verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive to express God’s intentions.
[17:6] 17 tn Heb “exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
[17:6] 18 tn Heb “and I will make you into nations, and kings will come out from you.”
[17:7] 19 tn The verb קוּם (qum, “to arise, to stand up”) in the Hiphil verbal stem means “to confirm, to give effect to, to carry out” (i.e., a covenant or oath; see BDB 878-79 s.v. קוּם).
[17:7] 20 tn Or “as an eternal.”
[17:7] 21 tn Heb “to be to you for God and to your descendants after you.”
[17:8] 22 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] 23 tn Or “as an eternal.”
[17:9] 24 tn The imperfect tense could be translated “you shall keep” as a binding command; but the obligatory nuance (“must”) captures the binding sense better.
[17:9] 25 tn Heb “my covenant.” The Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) can refer to (1) the agreement itself between two parties (see v. 7), (2) the promise made by one party to another (see vv. 2-3, 7), (3) an obligation placed by one party on another, or (4) a reminder of the agreement. In vv. 9-10 the word refers to a covenantal obligation which God gives to Abraham and his descendants.
[17:10] 26 tn Heb “This is my covenant that you must keep between me and you and your descendants after you.”
[17:10] 27 sn For a discussion of male circumcision as the sign of the covenant in this passage see M. V. Fox, “The Sign of the Covenant: Circumcision in the Light of the Priestly ‘ot Etiologies,” RB 81 (1974): 557-96.
[17:12] 29 tn Heb “the son of eight days.”
[17:13] 30 tn The emphatic construction employs the Niphal imperfect tense (collective singular) and the Niphal infinitive.
[17:13] 31 tn Heb “my covenant.” Here in v. 13 the Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) refers to the outward, visible sign, or reminder, of the covenant. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.
[17:13] 32 tn Or “an eternal.”
[17:14] 33 tn The disjunctive clause calls attention to the “uncircumcised male” and what will happen to him.
[17:14] 34 tn Heb “that person will be cut off.” The words “that person” have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[17:14] sn The meaning of “cut off” has been discussed at great length. An entire tractate in the Mishnah is devoted to this subject (tractate Keritot). Being ostracized from the community is involved at the least, but it is not certain whether this refers to the death penalty.
[17:14] 35 tn Heb “he has broken my covenant.” The noun בְּרִית (bÿrit) here refers to the obligation required by God in conjunction with the covenantal agreement. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.
[17:15] 36 tn Heb “[As for] Sarai your wife, you must not call her name Sarai, for Sarah [will be] her name.”
[17:15] 37 sn Sarah. The name change seems to be a dialectical variation, both spellings meaning “princess” or “queen.” Like the name Abram, the name Sarai symbolized the past. The new name Sarah, like the name Abraham, would be a reminder of what God intended to do for Sarah in the future.
[17:16] 38 tn Heb “she will become nations.”
[17:17] 40 sn Laughed. The Hebrew verb used here provides the basis for the naming of Isaac: “And he laughed” is וַיִּצְחָק (vayyitskhaq); the name “Isaac” is יִצְחָק (yitskhaq), “he laughs.” Abraham’s (and Sarah’s, see 18:12) laughter signals disbelief, but when the boy is born, the laughter signals surprise and joy.
[17:17] 41 tn Heb “And he fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart.”
[17:17] 42 tn The imperfect verbal form here carries a potential nuance, as it expresses the disbelief of Abraham.
[17:17] 43 tn Heb “to the son of a hundred years.”
[17:17] 44 sn It is important to note that even though Abraham staggers at the announcement of the birth of a son, finding it almost too incredible, he nonetheless calls his wife Sarah, the new name given to remind him of the promise of God (v. 15).
[17:17] 45 tn Heb “the daughter of ninety years.”
[17:18] 46 tn The wish is introduced with the Hebrew particle לוּ (lu), “O that.”
[17:18] 47 tn Or “live with your blessing.”
[17:19] 48 tn Heb “will call his name Isaac.” The name means “he laughs,” or perhaps “may he laugh” (see the note on the word “laughed” in v. 17).
[17:19] 49 tn Or “as an eternal.”
[17:20] 50 sn The Hebrew verb translated “I have heard you” forms a wordplay with the name Ishmael, which means “God hears.” See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.
[17:20] 51 tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
[17:20] 52 tn For a discussion of the Hebrew word translated “princes,” see E. A. Speiser, “Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi’,” CBQ 25 (1963): 111-17.
[17:22] 53 tn Heb “And when he finished speaking with him, God went up from Abraham.” The sequence of pronouns and proper names has been modified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[17:22] sn God went up from him. The text draws attention to God’s dramatic exit and in so doing brings full closure to the scene.
[17:23] 54 tn Heb “Ishmael his son and all born in his house and all bought with money, every male among the men of the house of Abraham.”
[17:23] 55 tn Heb “circumcised the flesh of their foreskin.” The Hebrew expression is somewhat pleonastic and has been simplified in the translation.
[17:24] 56 tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”
[17:24] 57 tn Heb “circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin” (also in v. 25).
[17:25] 58 tn Heb “the son of thirteen years.”
[25:1] sn Abraham had taken another wife. These events are not necessarily in chronological order following the events of the preceding chapter. They are listed here to summarize Abraham’s other descendants before the narrative of his death.
[25:1] 60 tn Heb “And Abraham added and took.”
[25:3] 61 sn The names Sheba and Dedan appear in Gen 10:7 as descendants of Ham through Cush and Raamah. Since these two names are usually interpreted to be place names, one plausible suggestion is that some of Abraham’s descendants lived in those regions and took names linked with it.
[25:6] 63 tn Heb “the sons of the concubines who [belonged] to Abraham.”
[25:6] 64 tn Heb “And he sent them away from upon Isaac his son, while he was still living, eastward to the land of the east.”
[25:7] 65 tn Heb “and these are the days of the years of the lifetime of Abraham that he lived.” The normal genealogical formula is expanded here due to the importance of the life of Abraham.
[25:8] 66 tn Heb “old and full.”
[25:8] 67 tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.
[25:9] 68 sn The cave of Machpelah was the place Abraham had purchased as a burial place for his wife Sarah (Gen 23:17-18).
[25:10] 69 tn See the note on the phrase “sons of Heth” in Gen 23:3.
[25:11] 70 sn God blessed Isaac. The Hebrew verb “bless” in this passage must include all the gifts that God granted to Isaac. But fertility was not one of them, at least not for twenty years, because Rebekah was barren as well (see v. 21).
[25:11] 71 sn Beer Lahai Roi. See the note on this place name in Gen 24:62.
[25:12] 72 sn This is the account of Ishmael. The Book of Genesis tends to tidy up the family records at every turning point. Here, before proceeding with the story of Isaac’s family, the narrative traces Ishmael’s family line. Later, before discussing Jacob’s family, the narrative traces Esau’s family line (see Gen 36).
[25:13] 73 tn The meaning of this line is not easily understood. The sons of Ishmael are listed here “by their names” and “according to their descendants.”
[25:16] 74 tn Or “tribal chieftains.”
[25:17] 75 tn Heb “And these are the days of the years of Ishmael.”
[25:17] 76 tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.
[25:18] 77 tn Heb “they”; the referent (Ishmael’s descendants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[25:18] 78 tn Heb “which is by the face of,” or near the border. The territory ran along the border of Egypt.
[25:18] 79 tn Heb “as you go.”
[25:18] 80 sn The name Asshur refers here to a tribal area in the Sinai.
[25:18] 82 tn Heb “upon the face of all his brothers.” This last expression, obviously alluding to the earlier oracle about Ishmael (Gen 16:12), could mean that the descendants of Ishmael lived in hostility to others or that they lived in a territory that was opposite the lands of their relatives. While there is some ambiguity about the meaning, the line probably does give a hint of the Ishmaelite-Israelite conflicts to come.
[25:19] 83 sn This is the account of Isaac. What follows for several chapters is not the account of Isaac, except briefly, but the account of Jacob and Esau. The next chapters tell what became of Isaac and his family.
[25:20] 84 tn Heb “And Isaac was the son of forty years when he took Rebekah.”
[25:20] 85 sn Some valuable information is provided here. We learn here that Isaac married thirty-five years before Abraham died, that Rebekah was barren for twenty years, and that Abraham would have lived to see Jacob and Esau begin to grow up. The death of Abraham was recorded in the first part of the chapter as a “tidying up” of one generation before beginning the account of the next.
[25:21] 86 tn The Hebrew verb עָתַר (’atar), translated “prayed [to]” here, appears in the story of God’s judgment on Egypt in which Moses asked the
[25:22] 87 tn The Hebrew word used here suggests a violent struggle that was out of the ordinary.
[25:22] 88 tn Heb “If [it is] so, why [am] I this [way]?” Rebekah wanted to know what was happening to her, but the question itself reflects a growing despair over the struggle of the unborn children.
[25:22] 89 sn Asked the
[25:23] 90 sn By metonymy the two children in her womb are described as two nations of which the two children, Jacob and Esau, would become the fathers. The language suggests there would be a struggle between these nations, with one being stronger than the other. The oracle reveals that all of Jacob’s scheming was unnecessary in the final analysis. He would have become the dominant nation without using deception to steal his brother’s blessing.
[25:24] 91 tn Heb “And her days were filled to give birth.”
[25:24] 92 tn Heb “look!” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene as if they were actually present at the birth.
[25:25] 93 sn Reddish. The Hebrew word translated “reddish” is אַדְמוֹנִי (’admoni), which forms a wordplay on the Edomites, Esau’s descendants. The writer sees in Esau’s appearance at birth a sign of what was to come. After all, the reader has already been made aware of the “nations” that were being born.
[25:25] 94 tn Heb “all of him.”
[25:25] 95 sn Hairy. Here is another wordplay involving the descendants of Esau. The Hebrew word translated “hairy” is שֵׂעָר (se’ar); the Edomites will later live in Mount Seir, perhaps named for its wooded nature.
[25:25] 96 tn Heb “And they called his name Esau.” The name “Esau” (עֵשָׂו, ’esav) is not etymologically related to שֵׂעָר (se’ar), but it draws on some of the sounds.
[25:26] 97 tn The disjunctive clause describes an important circumstance accompanying the birth. Whereas Esau was passive at birth, Jacob was active.
[25:26] 98 tn Heb “And he called his name Jacob.” Some ancient witnesses read “they called his name Jacob” (see v. 25). In either case the subject is indefinite.
[25:26] sn The name Jacob is a play on the Hebrew word for “heel” (עָקֵב, ’aqev). The name (since it is a verb) probably means something like “may he protect,” that is, as a rearguard, dogging the heels. It did not have a negative connotation until Esau redefined it. This name was probably chosen because of the immediate association with the incident of grabbing the heel. After receiving such an oracle, the parents would have preserved in memory almost every detail of the unusual births.
[25:26] 99 tn Heb “the son of sixty years.”
[25:27] 101 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.”
[25:28] 102 tn Heb “the taste of game was in his mouth.” The word for “game,” “venison” is here the same Hebrew word as “hunter” in the last verse. Here it is a metonymy, referring to that which the hunter kills.
[25:28] 103 tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Rebekah with Jacob and draws attention to the contrast. The verb here is a participle, drawing attention to Rebekah’s continuing, enduring love for her son.
[25:29] 104 sn Jacob cooked some stew. There are some significant words and wordplays in this story that help clarify the points of the story. The verb “cook” is זִיד (zid), which sounds like the word for “hunter” (צַיִד, tsayid). This is deliberate, for the hunter becomes the hunted in this story. The word זִיד means “to cook, to boil,” but by the sound play with צַיִד it comes to mean “set a trap by cooking.” The usage of the word shows that it can also have the connotation of acting presumptuously (as in boiling over). This too may be a comment on the scene. For further discussion of the rhetorical devices in the Jacob narratives, see J. P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis (SSN).
[25:30] 105 tn The rare term לָעַט (la’at), translated “feed,” is used in later Hebrew for feeding animals (see Jastrow, 714). If this nuance was attached to the word in the biblical period, then it may depict Esau in a negative light, comparing him to a hungry animal. Famished Esau comes in from the hunt, only to enter the trap. He can only point at the red stew and ask Jacob to feed him.
[25:30] 106 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so is given a passive translation.
[25:30] 107 sn Esau’s descendants would eventually be called Edom. Edom was the place where they lived, so-named probably because of the reddish nature of the hills. The writer can use the word “red” to describe the stew that Esau gasped for to convey the nature of Esau and his descendants. They were a lusty, passionate, and profane people who lived for the moment. Again, the wordplay is meant to capture the “omen in the nomen.”
[25:32] 109 tn Heb “And what is this to me, a birthright?”
[25:33] 110 tn Heb “Swear to me today.”
[25:33] 111 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[25:33] 112 sn And sold his birthright. There is evidence from Hurrian culture that rights of inheritance were occasionally sold or transferred. Here Esau is portrayed as a profane person who would at the moment rather have a meal than the right to inherit. He will soon forget this trade and seek his father’s blessing in spite of it.
[25:34] 113 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] 114 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.
[26:1] 115 tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”
[26:1] 116 sn This account is parallel to two similar stories about Abraham (see Gen 12:10-20; 20:1-18). Many scholars do not believe there were three similar incidents, only one that got borrowed and duplicated. Many regard the account about Isaac as the original, which then was attached to the more important person, Abraham, with supernatural elements being added. For a critique of such an approach, see R. Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, 47-62. It is more likely that the story illustrates the proverb “like father, like son” (see T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 53). In typical human fashion the son follows his father’s example of lying to avoid problems. The appearance of similar events reported in a similar way underscores the fact that the blessing has now passed to Isaac, even if he fails as his father did.
[26:2] 117 sn Do not go down to Egypt. The words echo Gen 12:10, which reports that “Abram went down to Egypt,” but state the opposite.
[26:2] 118 tn Heb “say to you.”
[26:3] 119 tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur) means “to live temporarily without ownership of land.” Abraham’s family will not actually possess the land of Canaan until the Israelite conquest hundreds of years later.
[26:3] 120 tn After the imperative “stay” the two prefixed verb forms with prefixed conjunction here indicate consequence.
[26:3] sn I will be with you and I will bless you. The promise of divine presence is a promise to intervene to protect and to bless.
[26:3] 121 tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.
[26:3] sn To you and to your descendants. The Abrahamic blessing will pass to Isaac. Everything included in that blessing will now belong to the son, and in turn will be passed on to his sons. But there is a contingency involved: If they are to enjoy the full blessings, they will have to obey the word of the
[26:3] 122 tn The Hiphil stem of the verb קוּם (qum) here means “to fulfill, to bring to realization.” For other examples of this use of this verb form, see Lev 26:9; Num 23:19; Deut 8:18; 9:5; 1 Sam 1:23; 1 Kgs 6:12; Jer 11:5.
[26:3] 123 tn Heb “the oath which I swore.”
[26:3] sn The solemn promise I made. See Gen 15:18-20; 22:16-18.
[26:4] 124 tn Heb “your descendants.”
[26:4] 125 tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 22:18). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)
[26:5] 126 tn The words “All this will come to pass” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons.
[26:5] 127 tn Heb “listened to my voice.”
[26:5] 128 sn My charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. The language of this verse is clearly interpretive, for Abraham did not have all these laws. The terms are legal designations for sections of the Mosaic law and presuppose the existence of the law. Some Rabbinic views actually conclude that Abraham had fulfilled the whole law before it was given (see m. Qiddushin 4:14). Some scholars argue that this story could only have been written after the law was given (C. Westermann, Genesis, 2:424-25). But the simplest explanation is that the narrator (traditionally taken to be Moses the Lawgiver) elaborated on the simple report of Abraham’s obedience by using terms with which the Israelites were familiar. In this way he depicts Abraham as the model of obedience to God’s commands, whose example Israel should follow.
[26:7] 129 sn Rebekah, unlike Sarah, was not actually her husband’s sister.
[26:7] 130 tn Heb “lest.” The words “for he thought to himself” are supplied because the next clause is written with a first person pronoun, showing that Isaac was saying or thinking this.
[26:7] 131 tn Heb “kill me on account of.”
[26:8] 132 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:8] 133 tn Heb “and it happened when the days were long to him there.”
[26:8] 134 tn Heb “look, Isaac.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene through Abimelech’s eyes.
[26:8] sn The Hebrew word מְצַחֵק (mÿtsakheq), from the root צָחַק (tsakhaq, “laugh”), forms a sound play with the name “Isaac” right before it. Here it depicts an action, probably caressing or fondling, that indicated immediately that Rebekah was Isaac’s wife, not his sister. Isaac’s deception made a mockery of God’s covenantal promise. Ignoring God’s promise to protect and bless him, Isaac lied to protect himself and acted in bad faith to the men of Gerar.
[26:9] 136 tn Heb “Surely, look!” See N. H. Snaith, “The meaning of Hebrew ‘ak,” VT 14 (1964): 221-25.
[26:9] 137 tn Heb “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’” Since the verb “said” probably means “said to myself” (i.e., “thought”) here, the direct discourse in the Hebrew statement has been converted to indirect discourse in the translation. In addition the simple prepositional phrase “on account of her” has been clarified in the translation as “to get her” (cf. v. 7).
[26:10] 138 tn Heb “What is this you have done to us?” The Hebrew demonstrative pronoun “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to us?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).
[26:10] 140 tn The Hebrew verb means “to lie down.” Here the expression “lie with” or “sleep with” is euphemistic for “have sexual relations with.”
[26:11] 141 tn Heb “strikes.” Here the verb has the nuance “to harm in any way.” It would include assaulting the woman or killing the man.
[26:11] 142 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the imperfect makes the construction emphatic.
[26:12] 143 tn Heb “a hundredfold.”
[26:12] 144 tn This final clause explains why Isaac had such a bountiful harvest.
[26:13] 145 tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Isaac’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are included.
[26:13] 146 tn Heb “and he went, going and becoming great.” The construction stresses that his growth in possessions and power continued steadily.
[26:14] 147 tn Heb “and there was to him.”
[26:14] 148 tn Heb “possessions of sheep.”
[26:14] 149 tn Heb “possessions of cattle.”
[26:14] 150 tn The Hebrew verb translated “became jealous” refers here to intense jealousy or envy that leads to hostile action (see v. 15).
[26:15] 151 tn Heb “and the Philistines stopped them up and filled them with dirt.”
[26:16] 152 tn Heb “Go away from us.”
[26:16] 153 sn You have become much more powerful. This explanation for the expulsion of Isaac from Philistine territory foreshadows the words used later by the Egyptians to justify their oppression of Israel (see Exod 1:9).
[26:17] 154 tn Heb “and he camped in the valley of Gerar and he lived there.”
[26:17] sn This valley was actually a wadi (a dry river bed where the water would flow in the rainy season, but this would have been rare in the Negev). The water table under it would have been higher than in the desert because of water soaking in during the torrents, making it easier to find water when digging wells. However, this does not minimize the blessing of the
[26:18] 155 tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”
[26:18] 156 tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.
[26:18] 157 tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.
[26:18] 158 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:18] 159 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:18] 160 tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”
[26:19] 161 tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).
[26:20] 162 tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.
[26:20] 163 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:20] 164 tn Heb “and he called the name of the well.”
[26:20] 165 sn The name Esek means “argument” in Hebrew. The following causal clause explains that Isaac gave the well this name as a reminder of the conflict its discovery had created. In the Hebrew text there is a wordplay, for the name is derived from the verb translated “argued.”
[26:20] 166 tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[26:21] 167 tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:21] 168 tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:21] 169 sn The name Sitnah (שִׂטְנָה, sitnah) is derived from a Hebrew verbal root meaning “to oppose; to be an adversary” (cf. Job 1:6). The name was a reminder that the digging of this well caused “opposition” from the Philistines.
[26:22] 170 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:22] 171 tn Heb “and he called its name.”
[26:22] 172 sn The name Rehoboth (רְהֹבוֹת, rehovot) is derived from a verbal root meaning “to make room.” The name was a reminder that God had made room for them. The story shows Isaac’s patience with the opposition; it also shows how God’s blessing outdistanced the men of Gerar. They could not stop it or seize it any longer.
[26:23] 173 tn Heb “and he went up from there”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:25] 174 tn Heb “called in the name of.” The expression refers to worshiping the
[26:25] 175 tn Heb “and they dug there, the servants of Isaac, a well.”
[26:26] 176 tn The disjunctive clause supplies pertinent supplemental information. The past perfect is used because the following narrative records the treaty at Beer Sheba. Prior to this we are told that Isaac settled in Beer Sheba; presumably this treaty would have allowed him to do that. However, it may be that he settled there and then made the treaty by which he renamed the place Beer Sheba. In this case one may translate “Now Abimelech came to him.”
[26:26] 178 tn Many modern translations render the Hebrew term מֵרֵעַ (merea’) as “councillor” or “adviser,” but the term may not designate an official position but simply a close personal friend.
[26:27] 179 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, expressing the reason for his question.
[26:28] 180 tn The infinitive absolute before the verb emphasizes the clarity of their perception.
[26:28] 181 tn Heb “And we said, ‘Let there be.’” The direct discourse in the Hebrew text has been rendered as indirect discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[26:28] 182 tn The pronoun “us” here is inclusive – it refers to the Philistine contingent on the one hand and Isaac on the other.
[26:28] 183 tn The pronoun “us” here is exclusive – it refers to just the Philistine contingent (the following “you” refers to Isaac).
[26:28] 184 tn The translation assumes that the cohortative expresses their request. Another option is to understand the cohortative as indicating resolve: “We want to make.’”
[26:29] 185 tn The oath formula is used: “if you do us harm” means “so that you will not do.”
[26:29] 187 tn Heb “and just as we have done only good with you.”
[26:29] 188 tn Heb “and we sent you away.”
[26:29] 189 tn The Philistine leaders are making an observation, not pronouncing a blessing, so the translation reads “you are blessed” rather than “may you be blessed” (cf. NAB).
[26:30] 190 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:30] 191 tn Heb “and they ate and drank.”
[26:31] 192 tn Heb “and they got up early and they swore an oath, a man to his brother.”
[26:31] 193 tn Heb “and they went from him in peace.”
[26:32] 194 tn Heb “and they said to him, ‘We have found water.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[26:33] 195 sn The name Shibah (שִׁבְעָה, shiv’ah) means (or at least sounds like) the word meaning “oath.” The name was a reminder of the oath sworn by Isaac and the Philistines to solidify their treaty.
[26:33] 196 sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, bÿ’er shava’) means “well of an oath” or “well of seven.” According to Gen 21:31 Abraham gave Beer Sheba its name when he made a treaty with the Philistines. Because of the parallels between this earlier story and the account in 26:26-33, some scholars see chaps. 21 and 26 as two versions (or doublets) of one original story. However, if one takes the text as it stands, it appears that Isaac made a later treaty agreement with the people of the land that was similar to his father’s. Abraham dug a well at the site and named the place Beer Sheba; Isaac dug another well there and named the well Shibah. Later generations then associated the name Beer Sheba with Isaac, even though Abraham gave the place its name at an earlier time.
[26:34] 197 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making this clause subordinate to the next.
[26:34] 198 tn Heb “the son of forty years.”
[26:34] 199 tn Heb “took as a wife.”
[26:35] 200 tn Heb “And they were [a source of ] bitterness in spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.”
[27:1] 201 tn The clause begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making it subordinate to the main clause that follows later in the sentence.
[27:1] 202 tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”
[27:1] 203 tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).
[27:1] 204 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:2] 205 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaac) is specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:2] 206 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here introduces a logically foundational statement, upon which the coming instruction will be based.
[27:2] 207 tn Heb “I do not know the day of my death.”
[27:3] 208 tn The Hebrew word is to be spelled either צַיִד (tsayid) following the marginal reading (Qere), or צֵידָה (tsedah) following the consonantal text (Kethib). Either way it is from the same root as the imperative צוּדָה (tsudah, “hunt down”).
[27:4] 209 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:4] 210 tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The use of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as the subject emphasizes that the blessing will be made with all Isaac’s desire and vitality. The conjunction “so that” closely relates the meal to the blessing, suggesting that this will be a ritual meal in conjunction with the giving of a formal blessing.
[27:5] 211 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a conjunction with the subject, followed by the predicate) here introduces a new scene in the story.
[27:5] 212 tc The LXX adds here “to his father,” which may have been accidentally omitted in the MT.
[27:7] 213 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:7] 214 tn The cohortative, with the prefixed conjunction, also expresses logical sequence. See vv. 4, 19, 27.
[27:7] 215 tn In her report to Jacob, Rebekah plays down Isaac’s strong desire to bless Esau by leaving out נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”), but by adding the phrase “in the presence of the
[27:8] 216 tn Heb “listen to my voice.” The Hebrew idiom means “to comply; to obey.”
[27:8] 217 tn Heb “to that which I am commanding you.”
[27:9] 218 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:10] 219 tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive. It carries forward the tone of instruction initiated by the command to “go…and get” in the preceding verse.
[27:10] 220 tn The form is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; it carries the future nuance of the preceding verbs of instruction, but by switching the subject to Jacob, indicates the expected result of the subterfuge.
[27:10] 221 tn Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[27:11] 222 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.
[27:12] 223 tn Heb “Perhaps my father will feel me and I will be in his eyes like a mocker.” The Hebrew expression “I will be in his eyes like” means “I would appear to him as.”
[27:13] 224 tn Heb “upon me your curse.”
[27:13] 225 tn Heb “only listen to my voice.”
[27:14] 226 tn The words “the goats” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:14] 227 tn Heb “his mother.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “she” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:16] 228 tn In the Hebrew text the object (“the skins of the young goats”) precedes the verb. The disjunctive clause draws attention to this key element in the subterfuge.
[27:16] 229 tn The word “hands” probably includes the forearms here. How the skins were attached is not specified in the Hebrew text; cf. NLT “she made him a pair of gloves.”
[27:17] 230 tn Heb “gave…into the hand of.”
[27:18] 231 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:18] 232 sn Which are you, my son? Isaac’s first question shows that the deception is going to require more subterfuge than Rebekah had anticipated. Jacob will have to pull off the deceit.
[27:19] 233 tn Heb “get up and sit.” This may mean simply “sit up,” or it may indicate that he was to get up from his couch and sit at a table.
[27:19] 234 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.” These words, though not reported by Rebekah to Jacob (see v. 7) accurately reflect what Isaac actually said to Esau (see v. 4). Perhaps Jacob knew more than Rebekah realized, but it is more likely that this was an idiom for sincere blessing with which Jacob was familiar. At any rate, his use of the precise wording was a nice, convincing touch.
[27:20] 235 tn Heb “What is this?” The enclitic pronoun “this” adds emphasis to the question, which is comparable to the English rhetorical question, “How in the world?”
[27:20] 236 tn Heb “you hastened to find.” In translation the infinitive becomes the main verb and the first verb becomes adverbial.
[27:20] 237 tn Heb “caused to meet before me.”
[27:20] 238 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Because the
[27:21] 239 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:21] 240 tn Heb “Are you this one, Esau, my son, or not?” On the use of the interrogative particle here, see BDB 210 s.v. הֲ.
[27:23] 241 tn Heb “and he blessed him.” The referents of the pronouns “he” (Isaac) and “him” (Jacob) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:24] 242 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:25] 243 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:25] 244 tn Heb “Bring near to me and I will eat of the wild game, my son.” Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[27:25] 245 tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The presence of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as subject emphasizes Isaac’s heartfelt desire to do this. The conjunction indicates that the ritual meal must be first eaten before the formal blessing may be given.
[27:25] 246 tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:25] 247 tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:27] 248 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:27] 249 tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:28] 251 tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”
[27:28] 252 tn Heb “and from the fatness.”
[27:29] 253 tn Heb “and be.” The verb is an imperative, which is used rhetorically in this oracle of blessing. It is an invitation to exercise authority his brothers and indicates that he is granted such authority by the patriarch of the family. Furthermore, the blessing enables the recipient to accomplish this.
[27:29] 254 tn The Hebrew word is גְבִיר (gevir, “lord, mighty one”). The one being blessed will be stronger and therefore more powerful than his brother. See Gen 25:23. The feminine form of this rare noun means “mistress” or “queen-mother.”
[27:29] 255 tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[27:30] 256 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite form of the verb makes the construction emphatic.
[27:30] 257 tn Heb “the presence of Isaac his father.” The repetition of the proper name (“Isaac”) was
[27:30] 258 tn Heb “and Esau his brother came from his hunt.”
[27:31] 259 tn Heb “and he said to his father”; the referent of “he” (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity, while the words “his father” have been replaced by the pronoun “him” for stylistic reasons.
[27:31] 260 tn Or “arise” (i.e., sit up).
[27:31] 261 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.”
[27:32] 263 tn Heb “and he said, ‘I [am] your son, your firstborn.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.
[27:33] 264 tn Heb “and Isaac trembled with a great trembling to excess.” The verb “trembled” is joined with a cognate accusative, which is modified by an adjective “great,” and a prepositional phrase “to excess.” All of this is emphatic, showing the violence of Isaac’s reaction to the news.
[27:33] 265 tn Heb “Who then is he who hunted game and brought [it] to me so that I ate from all before you arrived and blessed him?”
[27:34] 266 tn The temporal clause is introduced with the temporal indicator and has the infinitive as its verb.
[27:34] 267 tn Heb “and he yelled [with] a great and bitter yell to excess.”
[27:35] 268 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:35] 269 tn Or “took”; “received.”
[27:36] 270 tn Heb “Is he not rightly named Jacob?” The rhetorical question, since it expects a positive reply, has been translated as a declarative statement.
[27:36] 271 sn He has tripped me up. When originally given, the name Jacob was a play on the word “heel” (see Gen 25:26). The name (since it is a verb) probably means something like “may he protect,” that is, as a rearguard, dogging the heels. This name was probably chosen because of the immediate association with the incident of grabbing the heel. Esau gives the name “Jacob” a negative connotation here, the meaning “to trip up; to supplant.”
[27:38] 272 tn Heb “Bless me, me also, my father.” The words “my father” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:38] 273 tn Heb “and Esau lifted his voice and wept.”
[27:39] 275 tn Heb “from the fatness.”
[27:40] 276 sn You will tear off his yoke from your neck. It may be that this prophetic blessing found its fulfillment when Jerusalem fell and Edom got its revenge. The oracle makes Edom subservient to Israel and suggests the Edomites would live away from the best land and be forced to sustain themselves by violent measures.
[27:41] 277 tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.
[27:41] 278 tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”
[27:41] 279 tn Heb “said in his heart.” The expression may mean “said to himself.” Even if this is the case, v. 42 makes it clear that he must have shared his intentions with someone, because the news reached Rebekah.
[27:41] 281 tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.
[27:42] 282 tn Heb “and the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah.”
[27:42] 283 tn Heb “she sent and called for.”
[27:42] 284 tn Heb “is consoling himself with respect to you to kill you.” The only way Esau had of dealing with his anger at the moment was to plan to kill his brother after the death of Isaac.
[27:43] 285 tn Heb “listen to my voice.”
[27:43] 286 tn Heb “arise, flee.”
[27:44] 287 tn Heb “a few days.” Rebekah probably downplays the length of time Jacob will be gone, perhaps to encourage him and assure him that things will settle down soon. She probably expects Esau’s anger to die down quickly. However, Jacob ends up being gone twenty years and he never sees Rebekah again.
[27:45] 288 tn The words “stay there” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:45] 289 tn Heb “and I will send and I will take you from there.” The verb “send” has no object in the Hebrew text; one must be supplied in the translation. Either “someone” or “a message” could be supplied, but since in those times a message would require a messenger, “someone” has been used.
[27:45] 290 tn If Jacob stayed, he would be killed and Esau would be forced to run away.
[27:46] 291 tn Heb “loathe my life.” The Hebrew verb translated “loathe” refers to strong disgust (see Lev 20:23).
[27:46] 292 tn Some translate the Hebrew term “Heth” as “Hittites” here (see also Gen 23:3), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., “Hittites,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.
[27:46] 293 tn Heb “If Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, why to me life?”
[28:1] 294 tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
[28:2] 295 tn Heb “Arise! Go!” The first of the two imperatives is adverbial and stresses the immediacy of the departure.
[28:3] 296 tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.
[28:3] 297 tn Heb “and make you fruitful and multiply you.” See Gen 17:6, 20 for similar terminology.
[28:3] 298 tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here indicates consequence. The collocation הָיָה + preposition לְ (hayah + lÿ) means “become.”
[28:3] 299 tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”
[28:4] 300 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] 301 tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[28:4] 302 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.
[28:6] 303 tn Heb “to take for himself from there a wife.”
[28:6] 304 tn The infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffix form a temporal clause.
[28:6] 305 tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
[28:8] 307 tn Heb “the daughters of Canaan.”
[28:8] 308 tn Heb “evil in the eyes of.”
[28:9] 309 tn Heb “took for a wife.”
[28:11] 310 tn Heb “the place.” The article may indicate simply that the place is definite in the mind of the narrator. However, as the story unfolds the place is transformed into a holy place. See A. P. Ross, “Jacob’s Vision: The Founding of Bethel,” BSac 142 (1985): 224-37.
[28:11] 311 tn Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.”
[28:11] 312 tn Heb “he took from the stones of the place,” which here means Jacob took one of the stones (see v. 18).
[28:11] 313 tn Heb “and he put [it at] the place of his head.” The text does not actually say the stone was placed under his head to serve as a pillow, although most interpreters and translators assume this. It is possible the stone served some other purpose. Jacob does not seem to have been a committed monotheist yet (see v. 20-21) so he may have believed it contained some spiritual power. Note that later in the story he anticipates the stone becoming the residence of God (see v. 22). Many cultures throughout the world view certain types of stones as magical and/or sacred. See J. G. Fraser, Folklore in the Old Testament, 231-37.
[28:11] 314 tn Heb “lay down.”
[28:12] 315 tn Heb “and dreamed.”
[28:12] 316 tn Heb “and look.” The scene which Jacob witnessed is described in three clauses introduced with הִנֵּה (hinneh). In this way the narrator invites the reader to witness the scene through Jacob’s eyes. J. P. Fokkelman points out that the particle goes with a lifted arm and an open mouth: “There, a ladder! Oh, angels! and look, the
[28:12] 317 tn The Hebrew noun סֻלָּם (sullam, “ladder, stairway”) occurs only here in the OT, but there appears to be an Akkadian cognate simmiltu (with metathesis of the second and third consonants and a feminine ending) which has a specialized meaning of “stairway, ramp.” See H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 34. For further discussion see C. Houtman, “What Did Jacob See in His Dream at Bethel? Some Remarks on Genesis 28:10-22,” VT 27 (1977): 337-52; J. G. Griffiths, “The Celestial Ladder and the Gate of Heaven,” ExpTim 76 (1964/65): 229-30; and A. R. Millard, “The Celestial Ladder and the Gate of Heaven,” ExpTim 78 (1966/67): 86-87.
[28:13] 318 tn Heb “the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.” The Hebrew word for “father” can typically be used in a broader sense than the English word, in this case referring to Abraham (who was Jacob’s grandfather). For stylistic reasons and for clarity, the words “your father” are supplied with “Isaac” in the translation.
[28:13] 319 tn The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (’erets) can mean “[the] earth,” “land,” “region,” “piece of ground,” or “ground” depending on the context. Here the term specifically refers to the plot of ground on which Jacob was lying, but at the same time this stands by metonymy for the entire land of Canaan.
[28:14] 320 tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.
[28:14] 321 tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.
[28:14] 322 tn Theoretically the Niphal stem can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Jacob were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in other formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless (i.e., pronounce blessings upon) themselves/one another.” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 28:14 predicts that Jacob will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae (see Gen 12:2 and 18:18 as well, where Abram/Abraham receives this promise). For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.
[28:14] 323 tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”
[28:15] 324 tn Heb “Look, I [am] with you.” The clause is a nominal clause; the verb to be supplied could be present (as in the translation) or future, “Look, I [will be] with you” (cf. NEB).
[28:16] 325 tn Heb “woke up from his sleep.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[28:18] 327 tn Heb “and he got up early…and he took.”
[28:18] 328 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[28:18] 329 tn See the note on this phrase in v. 11.
[28:18] 330 tn Heb “standing stone.”
[28:18] sn Sacred stone. Such a stone could be used as a boundary marker, a burial stone, or as a shrine. Here the stone is intended to be a reminder of the stairway that was “erected” and on which the
[28:19] 331 tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew (see v. 17).
[28:19] map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[28:20] 332 tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.
[28:21] 333 tn Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.”
[28:22] 334 tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.
[28:22] 335 tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.
[28:22] 336 tn Heb “and all which you give to me I will surely give a tenth of it to you.” The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/object) highlights this statement as well.
[29:1] 337 tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his feet.” This unusual expression suggests that Jacob had a new lease on life now that God had promised him the blessing he had so desperately tried to gain by his own efforts. The text portrays him as having a new step in his walk.
[29:1] 338 tn Heb “the land of the sons of the east.”
[29:2] 339 tn Heb “and he saw, and look.” As in Gen 28:12-15, the narrator uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here and in the next clause to draw the reader into the story.
[29:2] 340 tn Heb “and look, there.”
[29:2] 341 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the noun with the prefixed conjunction) provides supplemental information that is important to the story.
[29:3] 342 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the shepherds) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:5] 344 tn Heb “and they said, ‘We know.’” The word “him” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the translation several introductory clauses throughout this section have been placed after the direct discourse they introduce for stylistic reasons as well.
[29:6] 345 tn Heb “and he said to them, ‘Is there peace to him?’”
[29:7] 347 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:7] 348 tn Heb “the day is great.”
[29:7] 349 tn Heb “water the sheep and go and pasture [them].” The verbal forms are imperatives, but Jacob would hardly be giving direct orders to someone else’s shepherds. The nuance here is probably one of advice.
[29:8] 350 tn The perfect verbal forms with the vav (ו) consecutive carry on the sequence begun by the initial imperfect form.
[29:9] 351 tn Heb “was a shepherdess.”
[29:10] 352 tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother” (twice in this verse).
[29:10] 353 tn Heb “Jacob.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[29:10] 354 tn Heb “drew near, approached.”
[29:10] 355 tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother.” The text says nothing initially about the beauty of Rachel. But the reader is struck by the repetition of “Laban the brother of his mother.” G. J. Wenham is no doubt correct when he observes that Jacob’s primary motive at this stage is to ingratiate himself with Laban (Genesis [WBC], 2:231).
[29:11] 356 tn Heb “and he lifted up his voice and wept.” The idiom calls deliberate attention to the fact that Jacob wept out loud.
[29:12] 357 tn Heb “declared.”
[29:12] 358 tn Heb “that he [was] the brother of her father.”
[29:13] 359 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:13] 360 tn Heb “and he told to Laban all these things.” This might mean Jacob told Laban how he happened to be there, but Laban’s response (see v. 14) suggests “all these things” refers to what Jacob had previously told Rachel (see v. 12).
[29:14] 361 tn Heb “indeed, my bone and my flesh are you.” The expression sounds warm enough, but the presence of “indeed” may suggest that Laban had to be convinced of Jacob’s identity before permitting him to stay. To be one’s “bone and flesh” is to be someone’s blood relative. For example, the phrase describes the relationship between Abimelech and the Shechemites (Judg 9:2; his mother was a Shechemite); David and the Israelites (2 Sam 5:1); David and the elders of Judah (2 Sam 19:12,); and David and his nephew Amasa (2 Sam 19:13, see 2 Sam 17:2; 1 Chr 2:16-17).
[29:14] 362 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:14] 363 tn Heb “a month of days.”
[29:15] 364 tn The verb is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; the nuance in the question is deliberative.
[29:15] 365 tn Heb “my brother.” The term “brother” is used in a loose sense; actually Jacob was Laban’s nephew.
[29:16] 366 tn Heb “and to Laban [there were] two daughters.” The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a conjunction and a prepositional phrase) provides supplemental material that is important to the story. Since this material is parenthetical in nature, vv. 16-17 have been set in parentheses in the translation.
[29:17] 367 tn Heb “and the eyes of Leah were tender.” The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a conjunction and a noun) continues the parenthesis begun in v. 16. It is not clear what is meant by “tender” (or “delicate”) eyes. The expression may mean she had appealing eyes (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT), though some suggest that they were plain, not having the brightness normally expected. Either way, she did not measure up to her gorgeous sister.
[29:17] 368 tn Heb “and Rachel was beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance.”
[29:18] 369 tn Heb “Jacob loved.”
[29:19] 370 tn Heb “Better my giving her to you than my giving her to another man.”
[29:20] 371 tn Heb “in exchange for Rachel.”
[29:20] 372 sn But they seemed like only a few days to him. This need not mean that the time passed quickly. More likely it means that the price seemed insignificant when compared to what he was getting in the bargain.
[29:20] 373 tn Heb “because of his love for her.” The words “was so great” are supplied for stylistic reasons.
[29:21] 374 tn Heb “and Jacob said.”
[29:21] 375 tn Heb “my days are fulfilled.”
[29:21] 376 tn Heb “and I will go in to her.” The verb is a cohortative; it may be subordinated to the preceding request, “that I may go in,” or it may be an independent clause expressing his desire. The verb “go in” in this context refers to sexual intercourse (i.e., the consummation of the marriage).
[29:23] 378 tn Heb “and it happened in the evening that he took Leah his daughter and brought her.”
[29:23] sn His daughter Leah. Laban’s deception of Jacob by giving him the older daughter instead of the younger was God’s way of disciplining the deceiver who tricked his older brother. D. Kidner says this account is “the very embodiment of anti-climax, and this moment a miniature of man’s disillusion, experienced from Eden onwards” (Genesis [TOTC], 160). G. von Rad notes, “That Laban secretly gave the unloved Leah to the man in love was, to be sure, a monstrous blow, a masterpiece of shameless treachery…It was certainly a move by which he won for himself far and wide the coarsest laughter” (Genesis [OTL], 291).
[29:23] 379 tn Heb “to him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:23] 380 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:23] 381 tn Heb “went in to her.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse, i.e., the consummation of the marriage.
[29:24] 382 tn Heb “and Laban gave to her Zilpah his female servant, to Leah his daughter [for] a servant.” This clause gives information parenthetical to the narrative.
[29:25] 383 tn Heb “and it happened in the morning that look, it was Leah.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes.
[29:25] 384 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:25] 385 tn Heb What is this you have done to me?” The use of the pronoun “this” is enclitic, adding emphasis to the question: “What in the world have you done to me?”
[29:25] 386 sn The Hebrew verb translated tricked here (רָמָה, ramah) is cognate to the noun used in Gen 27:35 to describe Jacob’s deception of Esau. Jacob is discovering that what goes around, comes around. See J. A. Diamond, “The Deception of Jacob: A New Perspective on an Ancient Solution to the Problem,” VT 34 (1984): 211-13.
[29:26] 387 tn Heb “and Laban said, ‘It is not done so in our place.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[29:26] 388 tn Heb “to give the younger.” The words “daughter” and “in marriage” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
[29:27] 389 tn Heb “fulfill the period of seven of this one.” The referent of “this one” has been specified in the translation as “my older daughter” for clarity.
[29:27] sn Bridal week. An ancient Hebrew marriage ceremony included an entire week of festivities (cf. Judg 14:12).
[29:27] 390 tn Heb “this other one.”
[29:27] 391 tn Heb “and we will give to you also this one in exchange for labor which you will work with me, still seven other years.”
[29:27] sn In exchange for seven more years of work. See C. H. Gordon, “The Story of Jacob and Laban in the Light of the Nuzi Tablets,” BASOR 66 (1937): 25-27; and J. Van Seters, “Jacob’s Marriages and Ancient Near Eastern Customs: A Reassessment,” HTR 62 (1969): 377-95.
[29:28] 392 tn Heb “and Jacob did so.” The words “as Laban said” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[29:28] 393 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:28] 394 tn Heb “the seven of this one.” The referent of “this one” has been specified in the translation as Leah to avoid confusion with Rachel, mentioned later in the verse.
[29:28] 395 tn Heb “and he gave to him Rachel his daughter for him for a wife.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:29] 396 tn Heb “and Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his female servant, for her for a servant.”
[29:30] 397 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:30] 398 tn Heb “went in also to Rachel.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse, i.e., the consummation of the marriage.
[29:30] 399 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:30] 400 tn Heb “and he loved also Rachel, more than Leah, and he served with him still seven other years.”
[29:31] 401 tn Heb “hated.” The rhetorical device of overstatement is used (note v. 30, which says simply that Jacob loved Rachel more than he did Leah) to emphasize that Rachel, as Jacob’s true love and the primary object of his affections, had an advantage over Leah.
[29:31] 402 tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”
[29:32] 403 tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).
[29:32] 404 sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”
[29:32] 405 tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”
[29:32] sn Leah’s explanation of the name Reuben reflects a popular etymology, not an exact one. The name means literally “look, a son.” Playing on the Hebrew verb “look,” she observes that the
[29:33] 406 tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.
[29:33] 407 sn The name Simeon (שִׁמְעוֹן, shim’on) is derived from the verbal root שָׁמַע (shama’) and means “hearing.” The name is appropriate since it is reminder that the
[29:34] 408 tn Heb “will be joined to me.”
[29:34] 409 sn The name Levi (לֵוִי, levi), the precise meaning of which is debated, was appropriate because it sounds like the verb לָוָה (lavah, “to join”), used in the statement recorded earlier in the verse.
[29:35] 410 sn The name Judah (יְהוּדָה, yÿhudah) means “he will be praised” and reflects the sentiment Leah expresses in the statement recorded earlier in the verse. For further discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names ‘Israel’ and ‘Judah’ with an Excursus on the Etymology of Todah and Torah,” JBL 46 (1927): 151-85; and A. R. Millard, “The Meaning of the Name Judah,” ZAW 86 (1974): 216-18.
[32:1] 411 sn The phrase angels of God occurs only here and in Gen 28:12 in the OT. Jacob saw a vision of angels just before he left the promised land. Now he encounters angels as he prepares to return to it. The text does not give the details of the encounter, but Jacob’s response suggests it was amicable. This location was a spot where heaven made contact with earth, and where God made his presence known to the patriarch. See C. Houtman, “Jacob at Mahanaim: Some Remarks on Genesis XXXII 2-3,” VT 28 (1978): 37-44.
[32:2] 412 tn Heb “and Jacob said when he saw them.”
[32:2] 413 sn The name Mahanaim apparently means “two camps.” Perhaps the two camps were those of God and of Jacob.
[32:3] 414 tn Heb “before him.”
[32:4] 416 sn Your servant. The narrative recounts Jacob’s groveling in fear before Esau as he calls his brother his “lord,” as if to minimize what had been done twenty years ago.
[32:5] 417 tn Or “I am sending.” The form is a preterite with the vav consecutive; it could be rendered as an English present tense – as the Hebrew perfect/preterite allows – much like an epistolary aorist in Greek. The form assumes the temporal perspective of the one who reads the message.
[32:5] 418 tn The words “this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[32:8] 419 tn Heb “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.”
[32:8] 420 tn Heb “and he said, ‘If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.” The Hebrew verb אָמַר (’amar) here represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “he thought.” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[32:8] 421 tn Heb “the surviving camp will be for escape.” The word “escape” is a feminine noun. The term most often refers to refugees from war.
[32:9] 423 tn Heb “the one who said.”
[32:9] 424 tn Heb “I will cause good” or “I will treat well [or “favorably”].” The idea includes more than prosperity, though that is its essential meaning. Here the form is subordinated to the preceding imperative and indicates purpose or result. Jacob is reminding God of his promise in the hope that God will honor his word.
[32:10] 425 tn Heb “the loving deeds and faithfulness” (see 24:27, 49).
[32:10] 426 tn Heb “you have done with.”
[32:10] 427 tn Heb “for with my staff.” The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally translated “staff,” has been rendered as “walking stick” because a “staff” in contemporary English refers typically to the support personnel in an organization.
[32:10] 428 tn Heb “this Jordan.”
[32:11] 429 tn The imperative has the force of a prayer here, not a command.
[32:11] 430 tn The “hand” here is a metonymy for “power.”
[32:11] 431 tn Heb “from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau.”
[32:11] 432 tn Heb “for I am afraid of him, lest he come.”
[32:11] 433 sn Heb “me, [the] mother upon [the] sons.” The first person pronoun “me” probably means here “me and mine,” as the following clause suggests.
[32:12] 434 tn Heb “But you, you said.” One of the occurrences of the pronoun “you” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.
[32:12] sn Some commentators have thought this final verse of the prayer redundant, but it actually follows the predominant form of a lament in which God is motivated to act. The primary motivation Jacob can offer to God is God’s promise, and so he falls back on that at the end of the prayer.
[32:12] 435 tn Or “will certainly deal well with you.” The infinitive absolute appears before the imperfect, underscoring God’s promise to bless. The statement is more emphatic than in v. 9.
[32:12] 436 tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the nuance of the preceding verb forward.
[32:12] 437 tn Heb “which cannot be counted because of abundance.” The imperfect verbal form indicates potential here.
[32:13] 438 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[32:13] 439 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] 440 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).
[32:16] 441 tn Heb “and he put them in the hand of.”
[32:16] 442 tn Heb “a herd, a herd, by itself,” or “each herd by itself.” The distributive sense is expressed by repetition.
[32:17] 443 tn Heb “the first”; this has been specified as “the servant leading the first herd” in the translation for clarity.
[32:17] 444 tn Heb “to whom are you?”
[32:17] 445 tn Heb “and to whom are these before you?”
[32:18] 446 tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; it has the nuance of an imperfect of instruction.
[32:18] 447 tn The words “they belong” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[32:18] 448 tn Heb “to your servant, to Jacob.”
[32:18] 449 tn Heb “to my lord, to Esau.”
[32:18] 450 tn Heb “and look, also he [is] behind us.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[32:19] 451 tn Heb “And he commanded also the second, also the third, also all the ones going after the herds, saying: ‘According to this word you will speak when you find him.’”
[32:20] 452 tn Heb “and look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.”
[32:20] 453 tn Heb “for he said.” The referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “thought.”
[32:20] 454 tn Heb “I will appease his face.” The cohortative here expresses Jacob’s resolve. In the Book of Leviticus the Hebrew verb translated “appease” has the idea of removing anger due to sin or guilt, a nuance that fits this passage very well. Jacob wanted to buy Esau off with a gift of more than five hundred and fifty animals.
[32:20] 455 tn Heb “with a gift going before me.”
[32:20] 456 tn Heb “I will see his face.”
[32:20] 457 tn Heb “Perhaps he will lift up my face.” In this context the idiom refers to acceptance.
[32:21] 458 tn Heb “and the gift passed over upon his face.”
[32:21] 459 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial/temporal.
[32:22] 460 tn Heb “and he arose in that night and he took.” The first verb is adverbial, indicating that he carried out the crossing right away.
[32:22] 461 tn The Hebrew term used here is יֶלֶד (yeled) which typically describes male offspring. Some translations render the term “children” but this is a problem because by this time Jacob had twelve children in all, including one daughter, Dinah, born to Leah (Gen 30:21). Benjamin, his twelfth son and thirteenth child, was not born until later (Gen 35:16-19).
[32:22] 462 sn Hebrew narrative style often includes a summary statement of the whole passage followed by a more detailed report of the event. Here v. 22 is the summary statement, while v. 23 begins the detailed account.
[32:23] 463 tn Heb “and he sent across what he had.”
[32:24] 464 sn Reflecting Jacob’s perspective at the beginning of the encounter, the narrator calls the opponent simply “a man.” Not until later in the struggle does Jacob realize his true identity.
[32:24] 465 sn The verb translated “wrestled” (וַיֵּאָבֵק, vayye’aveq) sounds in Hebrew like the names “Jacob” (יַעֲקֹב, ya’aqov) and “Jabbok” (יַבֹּק, yabboq). In this way the narrator links the setting, the main action, and the main participant together in the mind of the reader or hearer.
[32:24] 466 tn Heb “until the rising of the dawn.”
[32:25] 467 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[32:25] 468 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[32:25] 469 tn Or “injured”; traditionally “touched.” The Hebrew verb translated “struck” has the primary meanings “to touch; to reach; to strike.” It can, however, carry the connotation “to harm; to molest; to injure.” God’s “touch” cripples Jacob – it would be comparable to a devastating blow.
[32:26] 470 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[32:26] 471 tn Heb “dawn has arisen.”
[32:26] 472 tn Heb “and he said, ‘I will not let you go.’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[32:26] 473 sn Jacob wrestled with a man thinking him to be a mere man, and on that basis was equal to the task. But when it had gone on long enough, the night visitor touched Jacob and crippled him. Jacob’s request for a blessing can only mean that he now knew that his opponent was supernatural. Contrary to many allegorical interpretations of the passage that make fighting equivalent to prayer, this passage shows that Jacob stopped fighting, and then asked for a blessing.
[32:27] 474 tn Heb “and he said to him.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[32:27] 475 sn What is your name? The question is rhetorical, since the
[32:28] 476 tn Heb “and he said.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[32:28] 477 sn The name Israel is a common construction, using a verb with a theophoric element (אֵל, ’el) that usually indicates the subject of the verb. Here it means “God fights.” This name will replace the name Jacob; it will be both a promise and a call for faith. In essence, the
[32:28] 478 sn You have fought. The explanation of the name Israel includes a sound play. In Hebrew the verb translated “you have fought” (שָׂרִיתָ, sarita) sounds like the name “Israel” (יִשְׂרָאֵל, yisra’el ), meaning “God fights” (although some interpret the meaning as “he fights [with] God”). The name would evoke the memory of the fight and what it meant. A. Dillmann says that ever after this the name would tell the Israelites that, when Jacob contended successfully with God, he won the battle with man (Genesis, 2:279). To be successful with God meant that he had to be crippled in his own self-sufficiency (A. P. Ross, “Jacob at the Jabboq, Israel at Peniel,” BSac 142 [1985]: 51-62).
[32:29] 479 sn Tell me your name. In primitive thought to know the name of a deity or supernatural being would enable one to use it for magical manipulation or power (A. S. Herbert, Genesis 12-50 [TBC], 108). For a thorough structural analysis of the passage discussing the plays on the names and the request of Jacob, see R. Barthes, “The Struggle with the Angel: Textual Analysis of Genesis 32:23-33,” Structural Analysis and Biblical Exegesis (PTMS), 21-33.
[32:29] 480 tn The question uses the enclitic pronoun “this” to emphasize the import of the question.
[32:29] 481 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Why is it that you ask my name?’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[32:29] 482 tn The verb here means that the
[32:29] 483 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[32:30] 484 sn The name Peniel means “face of God.” Since Jacob saw God face to face here, the name is appropriate.
[32:30] 485 tn The word “explaining” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[32:30] 487 sn I have seen God face to face. See the note on the name “Peniel” earlier in the verse.
[32:30] 488 tn Heb “and my soul [= life] has been preserved.”
[32:30] sn I have survived. It was commonly understood that no one could see God and live (Gen 48:16; Exod 19:21, 24:10; and Judg 6:11, 22). On the surface Jacob seems to be saying that he saw God and survived. But the statement may have a double meaning, in light of his prayer for deliverance in v. 11. Jacob recognizes that he has survived his encounter with God and that his safety has now been guaranteed.
[32:31] 490 sn The name is spelled Penuel here, apparently a variant spelling of Peniel (see v. 30).
[32:31] 491 tn The disjunctive clause draws attention to an important fact: He may have crossed the stream, but he was limping.
[32:32] 492 sn On the use of the expression to this day, see B. S. Childs, “A Study of the Formula ‘Until This Day’,” JBL 82 (1963): 279-92.
[32:32] 493 tn Or “because the socket of Jacob’s hip was struck.” Some translations render this as an impersonal passive. On the translation of the word “struck” see the note on this term in v. 25.
[33:1] 494 tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his eyes.”
[33:1] 495 tn Or “and look, Esau was coming.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes.
[33:2] 496 sn This kind of ranking according to favoritism no doubt fed the jealousy over Joseph that later becomes an important element in the narrative. It must have been painful to the family to see that they were expendable.
[33:3] 497 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[33:3] 498 tn Heb “until his drawing near unto his brother.” The construction uses the preposition with the infinitive construct to express a temporal clause.
[33:5] 499 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[33:5] 500 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”
[33:5] 501 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[33:5] 502 tn The Hebrew verb means “to be gracious; to show favor”; here it carries the nuance “to give graciously.”
[33:6] 503 tn Heb “and the female servants drew near, they and their children and they bowed down.”
[33:8] 504 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[33:8] 505 tn Heb “Who to you?”
[33:8] 506 tn Heb “all this camp which I met.”
[33:8] 507 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[33:10] 508 tn Heb “and Jacob said, ‘No, please.’” The words “take them” have been supplied in the translation for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse rearranged for stylistic reasons.
[33:10] 509 tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, expressing a contingent future nuance in the “then” section of the conditional sentence.
[33:10] 510 tn The verbal form is the preterite with a vav (ו) consecutive, indicating result here.
[33:10] 511 tn Heb “for therefore I have seen your face like seeing the face of God and you have accepted me.”
[33:10] sn This is an allusion to the preceding episode (32:22-31) in which Jacob saw the face of God and realized his prayer was answered.
[33:11] 512 tn Heb “blessing.” It is as if Jacob is trying to repay what he stole from his brother twenty years earlier.
[33:11] 513 tn Or “gracious,” but in the specific sense of prosperity.
[33:11] 515 tn Heb “and he urged him and he took.” The referent of the first pronoun in the sequence (“he”) has been specified as “Jacob” in the translation for clarity.
[33:12] 516 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[33:12] 517 tn Heb “let us travel and let us go.” The two cohortatives are used in combination with the sense, “let’s travel along, get going, be on our way.”
[33:13] 518 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[33:13] 520 tn Heb “and the sheep and the cattle nursing [are] upon me.”
[33:14] 521 tn Heb “and I, I will move along according to my leisure at the foot of the property which is before me and at the foot of the children.”
[33:15] 522 tn The cohortative verbal form here indicates a polite offer of help.
[33:15] 523 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Why this?’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[33:15] 524 tn Heb “I am finding favor in the eyes of my lord.”
[33:16] 525 tn Heb “returned on his way.”
[33:17] 526 tn The disjunctive clause contrasts Jacob’s action with Esau’s.
[33:17] 527 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] 528 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] 529 sn The name Succoth means “shelters,” an appropriate name in light of the shelters Jacob built there for his livestock.
[33:18] 530 tn Heb “in front of.”
[33:19] 531 tn The words “he bought it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 19 is one long sentence.
[33:19] 532 tn The Hebrew word קְשִׂיטָה (qÿsitah) is generally understood to refer to a unit of money, but the value is unknown. (However, cf. REB, which renders the term as “sheep”).
[33:20] 533 tn Heb “God, the God of Israel.” Rather than translating the name, a number of modern translations merely transliterate it from the Hebrew as “El Elohe Israel” (cf. NIV, NRSV, REB). It is not entirely clear how the name should be interpreted grammatically. One option is to supply an equative verb, as in the translation: “The God of Israel [is] God.” Another interpretive option is “the God of Israel [is] strong [or “mighty”].” Buying the land and settling down for a while was a momentous step for the patriarch, so the commemorative naming of the altar is significant.
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