Kejadian 31:31

31:31 “I left secretly because I was afraid!” ¹  Jacob replied to Laban. “I thought ²  you might take your daughters away from me by force. ³ 

Kejadian 45:20

45:20 Don’t worry ⁴  about your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt will be yours.’”

Kejadian 49:15

49:15 When he sees ⁵  a good resting place,

and the pleasant land,

he will bend his shoulder to the burden

and become a slave laborer. ⁶ 

[31:31]  ¹ tn Heb “and Jacob answered and said to Laban, ‘Because I was afraid.’” This statement is a not a response to the question about Laban’s household gods that immediately precedes, but to the earlier question about Jacob’s motivation for leaving so quickly and secretly (see v. 27). For this reason the words “I left secretly” are supplied in the translation to indicate the connection to Laban’s earlier question in v. 27. Additionally the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse have been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:31]  ² tn Heb “for I said.”

[31:31]  ³ tn Heb “lest you steal your daughters from with me.”

[45:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “let not your eye regard.”

[49:15]  ⁵ tn The verb forms in this verse (“sees,” “will bend,” and “[will] become”) are preterite; they is used in a rhetorical manner, describing the future as if it had already transpired.

[49:15]  ⁶ sn The oracle shows that the tribe of Issachar will be willing to trade liberty for the material things of life. Issachar would work (become a slave laborer) for the Canaanites, a reversal of the oracle on Canaan. See C. M. Carmichael, “Some Sayings in Genesis 49,” JBL 88 (1969): 435-44; and S. Gevirtz, “The Issachar Oracle in the Testament of Jacob,” ErIsr 12 (1975): 104-12.