Kejadian 29:6--30:24
Konteks29:6 “Is he well?” 1 Jacob asked. They replied, “He is well. 2 Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” 29:7 Then Jacob 3 said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, 4 it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” 5 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 6 the sheep.”
29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was tending them. 7 29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, 8 and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he 9 went over 10 and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. 11 29:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep loudly. 12 29:12 When Jacob explained 13 to Rachel that he was a relative of her father 14 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 15 told Laban how he was related to him. 16 29:14 Then Laban said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” 17 So Jacob 18 stayed with him for a month. 19
29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work 20 for me for nothing because you are my relative? 21 Tell me what your wages should be.” 29:16 (Now Laban had two daughters; 22 the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. 29:17 Leah’s eyes were tender, 23 but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.) 24 29:18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with 25 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. 26 Stay with me.” 29:20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. 27 But they seemed like only a few days to him 28 because his love for her was so great. 29
29:21 Finally Jacob said 30 to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. 31 I want to have marital relations with her.” 32 29:22 So Laban invited all the people 33 of that place and prepared a feast. 29:23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leah 34 to Jacob, 35 and Jacob 36 had marital relations with her. 37 29:24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) 38
29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! 39 So Jacob 40 said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! 41 Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked 42 me?” 29:26 “It is not our custom here,” 43 Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriage 44 before the firstborn. 29:27 Complete my older daughter’s bridal week. 45 Then we will give you the younger one 46 too, in exchange for seven more years of work.” 47
29:28 Jacob did as Laban said. 48 When Jacob 49 completed Leah’s bridal week, 50 Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 51 29:29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) 52 29:30 Jacob 53 had marital relations 54 with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban 55 for seven more years. 56
29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, 57 he enabled her to become pregnant 58 while Rachel remained childless. 29:32 So Leah became pregnant 59 and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, 60 for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. 61 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, 62 he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. 63
29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, 64 because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. 65
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. 66 Then she stopped having children.
30:1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she 67 became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children 68 or I’ll die!” 30:2 Jacob became furious 69 with Rachel and exclaimed, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” 70 30:3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with 71 her so that she can bear 72 children 73 for me 74 and I can have a family through her.” 75
30:4 So Rachel 76 gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with 77 her. 30:5 Bilhah became pregnant 78 and gave Jacob a son. 79 30:6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayer 80 and given me a son.” That is why 81 she named him Dan. 82
30:7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. 83 30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.” 84 So she named him Naphtali. 85
30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave 86 her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 30:10 Soon Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son. 87 30:11 Leah said, “How fortunate!” 88 So she named him Gad. 89
30:12 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son. 90 30:13 Leah said, “How happy I am, 91 for women 92 will call me happy!” So she named him Asher. 93
30:14 At the time 94 of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants 95 in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 30:15 But Leah replied, 96 “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,” 97 Rachel said, “he may sleep 98 with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 30:16 When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep 99 with me because I have paid for your services 100 with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relations 101 with her that night. 30:17 God paid attention 102 to Leah; she became pregnant 103 and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. 104 30:18 Then Leah said, “God has granted me a reward 105 because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.” 106 So she named him Issachar. 107
30:19 Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time. 108 30:20 Then Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me because I have given him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. 109
30:21 After that she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
30:22 Then God took note of 110 Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. 111 30:23 She became pregnant 112 and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” 113 30:24 She named him Joseph, 114 saying, “May the Lord give me yet another son.”
Kejadian 35:16-18
Konteks35:16 They traveled on from Bethel, and when Ephrath was still some distance away, 115 Rachel went into labor 116 – and her labor was hard. 35:17 When her labor was at its hardest, 117 the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you are having another son.” 118 35:18 With her dying breath, 119 she named him Ben-Oni. 120 But his father called him Benjamin instead. 121
[29:6] 1 tn Heb “and he said to them, ‘Is there peace to him?’”
[29:7] 3 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:7] 4 tn Heb “the day is great.”
[29:7] 5 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] 6 tn The perfect verbal forms with the vav (ו) consecutive carry on the sequence begun by the initial imperfect form.
[29:9] 7 tn Heb “was a shepherdess.”
[29:10] 8 tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother” (twice in this verse).
[29:10] 9 tn Heb “Jacob.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[29:10] 10 tn Heb “drew near, approached.”
[29:10] 11 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] 12 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] 14 tn Heb “that he [was] the brother of her father.”
[29:13] 15 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:13] 16 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] 17 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] 18 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:14] 19 tn Heb “a month of days.”
[29:15] 20 tn The verb is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; the nuance in the question is deliberative.
[29:15] 21 tn Heb “my brother.” The term “brother” is used in a loose sense; actually Jacob was Laban’s nephew.
[29:16] 22 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] 23 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] 24 tn Heb “and Rachel was beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance.”
[29:18] 25 tn Heb “Jacob loved.”
[29:19] 26 tn Heb “Better my giving her to you than my giving her to another man.”
[29:20] 27 tn Heb “in exchange for Rachel.”
[29:20] 28 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] 29 tn Heb “because of his love for her.” The words “was so great” are supplied for stylistic reasons.
[29:21] 30 tn Heb “and Jacob said.”
[29:21] 31 tn Heb “my days are fulfilled.”
[29:21] 32 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] 34 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] 35 tn Heb “to him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:23] 36 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:23] 37 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] 38 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] 39 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] 40 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:25] 41 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] 42 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] 43 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] 44 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] 45 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] 46 tn Heb “this other one.”
[29:27] 47 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] 48 tn Heb “and Jacob did so.” The words “as Laban said” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[29:28] 49 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:28] 50 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] 51 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] 52 tn Heb “and Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his female servant, for her for a servant.”
[29:30] 53 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:30] 54 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] 55 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:30] 56 tn Heb “and he loved also Rachel, more than Leah, and he served with him still seven other years.”
[29:31] 57 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] 58 tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”
[29:32] 59 tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).
[29:32] 60 sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”
[29:32] 61 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] 62 tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.
[29:33] 63 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] 64 tn Heb “will be joined to me.”
[29:34] 65 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] 66 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.
[30:1] 67 tn Heb “Rachel.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[30:2] 69 tn Heb “and the anger of Jacob was hot.”
[30:2] 70 tn Heb “who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb.”
[30:3] 71 tn Heb “go in to.” The expression “go in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.
[30:3] 72 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates the immediate purpose of the proposed activity.
[30:3] 73 tn The word “children” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[30:3] 74 tn Heb “upon my knees.” This is an idiomatic way of saying that Bilhah will be simply a surrogate mother. Rachel will adopt the child as her own.
[30:3] 75 tn Heb “and I will be built up, even I, from her.” The prefixed verbal form with the conjunction is subordinated to the preceding prefixed verbal form and gives the ultimate purpose for the proposed action. The idiom of “built up” here refers to having a family (see Gen 16:2, as well as Ruth 4:11 and BDB 125 s.v. בָנָה).
[30:4] 76 tn Heb “and she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[30:4] 77 tn Heb “went in to.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.
[30:5] 78 tn Or “Bilhah conceived” (also in v. 7).
[30:5] 79 tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a son.”
[30:6] 80 tn Heb “and also he has heard my voice.” The expression means that God responded positively to Rachel’s cry and granted her request.
[30:6] 82 sn The name Dan means “he vindicated” or “he judged.” The name plays on the verb used in the statement which appears earlier in the verse. The verb translated “vindicated” is from דִּין (din, “to judge, to vindicate”), the same verbal root from which the name is derived. Rachel sensed that God was righting the wrong.
[30:7] 83 tn Heb “and she became pregnant again and Bilhah, the servant of Rachel, bore a second son for Jacob.”
[30:8] 84 tn Heb “[with] a mighty struggle I have struggled with my sister, also I have prevailed.” The phrase “mighty struggle” reads literally “struggles of God.” The plural participle “struggles” reflects the ongoing nature of the struggle, while the divine name is used here idiomatically to emphasize the intensity of the struggle. See J. Skinner, Genesis (ICC), 387.
[30:8] 85 sn The name Naphtali (נַפְתָּלִי, naftali) must mean something like “my struggle” in view of the statement Rachel made in the preceding clause. The name plays on this earlier statement, “[with] a mighty struggle I have struggled with my sister.”
[30:9] 86 tn Heb “she took her servant Zilpah and gave her.” The verbs “took” and “gave” are treated as a hendiadys in the translation: “she gave.”
[30:10] 87 tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore for Jacob a son.”
[30:11] 88 tc The statement in the Kethib (consonantal text) appears to mean literally “with good fortune,” if one takes the initial בְּ (bet) as a preposition indicating accompaniment. The Qere (marginal reading) means “good fortune has arrived.”
[30:11] 89 sn The name Gad (גָּד, gad) means “good fortune.” The name reflects Leah’s feeling that good fortune has come her way, as expressed in her statement recorded earlier in the verse.
[30:12] 90 tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore a second son for Jacob.”
[30:13] 91 tn The Hebrew statement apparently means “with my happiness.”
[30:13] 92 tn Heb “daughters.”
[30:13] 93 sn The name Asher (אָשֶׁר, ’asher) apparently means “happy one.” The name plays on the words used in the statement which appears earlier in the verse. Both the Hebrew noun and verb translated “happy” and “call me happy,” respectively, are derived from the same root as the name Asher.
[30:14] 94 tn Heb “during the days.”
[30:14] 95 sn Mandrake plants were popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac in the culture of the time.
[30:15] 96 tn Heb “and she said to her”; the referent of the pronoun “she” (Leah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[30:15] 97 tn Heb “therefore.”
[30:15] 98 tn Heb “lie down.” The expression “lie down with” in this context (here and in the following verse) refers to sexual intercourse. The imperfect verbal form has a permissive nuance here.
[30:16] 99 tn Heb “must come in to me.” The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. She has acquired him for the night and feels he is obligated to have sexual relations with her.
[30:16] 100 tn Heb “I have surely hired.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form for emphasis. The name Issachar (see v. 18) seems to be related to this expression.
[30:16] 101 tn This is the same Hebrew verb (שָׁכַב, shakhav) translated “sleep with” in v. 15. In direct discourse the more euphemistic “sleep with” was used, but here in the narrative “marital relations” reflects more clearly the emphasis on sexual intercourse.
[30:17] 102 tn Heb “listened to.”
[30:17] 103 tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 19).
[30:17] 104 tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a fifth son,” i.e., this was the fifth son that Leah had given Jacob.
[30:18] 105 tn Heb “God has given my reward.”
[30:18] 106 tn The words “as a wife” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity (cf. v. 9).
[30:18] sn Leah seems to regard the act of giving her servant Zilpah to her husband as a sacrifice, for which (she believes) God is now rewarding her with the birth of a son.
[30:18] 107 sn The name Issachar (יְשָּׁשכָר, yishakhar) appears to mean “man of reward” or possibly “there is reward.” The name plays on the word used in the statement made earlier in the verse. The Hebrew noun translated “reward” is derived from the same root as the name Issachar. The irony is that Rachel thought the mandrakes would work for her, and she was willing to trade one night for them. But in that one night Leah became pregnant.
[30:19] 108 tn Heb “and she bore a sixth son for Jacob,” i.e., this was the sixth son that Leah had given Jacob.
[30:20] 109 sn The name Zebulun (זְבֻלוּן, zevulun) apparently means “honor.” The name plays on the verb used in the statement made earlier in the verse. The Hebrew verb translated “will honor” and the name Zebulun derive from the same root.
[30:22] 110 tn Heb “remembered.”
[30:22] 111 tn Heb “and God listened to her and opened up her womb.” Since “God” is the subject of the previous clause, the noun has been replaced by the pronoun “he” in the translation for stylistic reasons
[30:23] 112 tn Or “conceived.”
[30:23] 113 tn Heb “my reproach.” A “reproach” is a cutting taunt or painful ridicule, but here it probably refers by metonymy to Rachel’s barren condition, which was considered shameful in this culture and was the reason why she was the object of taunting and ridicule.
[30:24] 114 sn The name Joseph (יוֹסֵף, yoseph) means “may he add.” The name expresses Rachel’s desire to have an additional son. In Hebrew the name sounds like the verb (אָסַף,’asasf) translated “taken away” in the earlier statement made in v. 23. So the name, while reflecting Rachel’s hope, was also a reminder that God had removed her shame.
[35:16] 115 tn Heb “and there was still a stretch of the land to go to Ephrath.”
[35:16] 116 tn Normally the verb would be translated “she gave birth,” but because that obviously had not happened yet, it is better to translate the verb as ingressive, “began to give birth” (cf. NIV) or “went into labor.”
[35:17] 117 tn The construction uses a Hiphil infinitive, which E. A. Speiser classifies as an elative Hiphil. The contrast is with the previous Piel: there “she had hard labor,” and here, “her labor was at its hardest.” Failure to see this, Speiser notes, has led to redundant translations and misunderstandings (Genesis [AB], 273).
[35:17] 118 sn Another son. The episode recalls and fulfills the prayer of Rachel at the birth of Joseph (Gen 30:24): “may he add” another son.
[35:18] 119 tn Heb “in the going out of her life, for she was dying.” Rachel named the child with her dying breath.
[35:18] 120 sn The name Ben-Oni means “son of my suffering.” It is ironic that Rachel’s words to Jacob in Gen 30:1, “Give me children or I’ll die,” take a different turn here, for it was having the child that brought about her death.
[35:18] 121 tn The disjunctive clause is contrastive.
[35:18] sn His father called him Benjamin. There was a preference for giving children good or positive names in the ancient world, and “son of my suffering” would not do (see the incident in 1 Chr 4:9-10), because it would be a reminder of the death of Rachel (in this connection, see also D. Daube, “The Night of Death,” HTR 61 [1968]: 629-32). So Jacob named him Benjamin, which means “son of the [or “my”] right hand.” The name Benjamin appears in the Mari texts. There have been attempts to connect this name to the resident tribe listed at Mari, “sons of the south” (since the term “right hand” can also mean “south” in Hebrew), but this assumes a different reading of the story. See J. Muilenburg, “The Birth of Benjamin,” JBL 75 (1956): 194-201.
untuk mendengarkan pasal yang sedang Anda tampilkan. [