Genesis 29:21-30:24

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Genesis 29:21 tn Heb “and Jacob said.”
2. Genesis 29:21 tn Heb “my days are fulfilled.”
3. Genesis 29:21 tn Heb “I want to approach.” The verb בּוֹא (boʾ) with the preposition אֶל (ʾel) means “come to” or “approach,” but is also used as a euphemism for sexual relations. The verb is a cohortative; it may be subordinated to the preceding request, “so that I may sleep with,” or it may be an independent clause expressing his desire.
4. Genesis 29:22 tn Heb “men.”
5. Genesis 29:23 tn Heb “and it happened in the evening that he took Leah his daughter and brought her.”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).
6. Genesis 29:23 tn Heb “to him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7. Genesis 29:23 tn Heb “came to” or “approached,” a euphemism for sexual relations. See note at v. 21.
8. Genesis 29:24 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.
9. Genesis 29:25 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.
10. Genesis 29:25 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11. Genesis 29:25 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?”
12. Genesis 29:25 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.
13. Genesis 29:26 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.
14. Genesis 29:26 tn Heb “to give the younger.” The words “daughter” and “in marriage” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
15. Genesis 29:27 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.sn Bridal week. An ancient Hebrew marriage ceremony included an entire week of festivities (cf. Judg 14:12).
16. Genesis 29:27 tn Heb “this other one.”
17. Genesis 29:27 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.”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.
18. Genesis 29:28 tn Heb “and Jacob did so.” The words “as Laban said” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
19. Genesis 29:28 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20. Genesis 29:28 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.
21. Genesis 29:28 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.
22. Genesis 29:29 tn Heb “and Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his female servant, for her for a servant.”
23. Genesis 29:30 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
24. Genesis 29:30 tn Heb “came to” or “approached,” a euphemism for sexual relations. See note at v. 21.
25. Genesis 29:30 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
26. Genesis 29:31 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.
27. Genesis 29:31 tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”
28. Genesis 29:32 tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).
29. Genesis 29:32 sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, r^eʾuven) means “look, a son.”
30. Genesis 29:32 tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”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 Lord has “looked” with pity on her oppressed condition. See further S. R. Driver, Genesis, 273.
31. Genesis 29:33 tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.
32. Genesis 29:33 sn The name Simeon (שִׁמְעוֹן, shimʿon) is derived from the verbal root שָׁמַע (shamaʿ) and means “hearing.” The name is appropriate since it is reminder that the Lord “heard” about Leah’s unloved condition and responded with pity.
33. Genesis 29:34 tn Heb “will be joined to me.”
34. Genesis 29:34 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.
35. Genesis 29:35 sn The name Judah (יְהוּדָה, y^ehudah) 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.
36. Genesis 30:1 tn Heb “Rachel.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
37. Genesis 30:1 tn Heb “sons.”
38. Genesis 30:2 tn Heb “and the anger of Jacob was hot.”
39. Genesis 30:2 tn Heb “who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb.”
40. Genesis 30:3 tn The Hebrew collocation of the verb בּוֹא (boʾ) and the preposition אֶל (ʾel) means “come to” or “approach,” but is also used as a euphemism for sexual relations. Similarly the translation employs a euphemism. For more on this phrase as a euphemism see the note at 2 Sam 12:24.
41. Genesis 30:3 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates the immediate purpose of the proposed activity.
42. Genesis 30:3 tn The word “children” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
43. Genesis 30:3 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.
44. Genesis 30:3 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. בָּנָה).
45. Genesis 30:4 tn Heb “and she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
46. Genesis 30:4 tn Heb “came to.” The expression בּוֹא אֶל (boʾ ʾel) means “come to” or “approach,” but is also used as a euphemism for sexual relations.
47. Genesis 30:5 tn Or “Bilhah conceived” (also in v. 7).
48. Genesis 30:5 tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a son.”
49. Genesis 30:6 tn Heb “and also he has heard my voice.” The expression means that God responded positively to Rachel’s cry and granted her request.
50. Genesis 30:6 tn Or “therefore.”
51. Genesis 30:6 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.
52. Genesis 30:7 tn Heb “and she became pregnant again and Bilhah, the servant of Rachel, bore a second son for Jacob.”
53. Genesis 30:8 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.
54. Genesis 30:8 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.”
55. Genesis 30:9 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.”
56. Genesis 30:10 tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore for Jacob a son.”
57. Genesis 30:11 tc The statement in the Kethib (consonantal text) appears to mean literally “with good fortune,” if one takes the initial ב (bet) as a preposition indicating accompaniment. The Qere (marginal reading) means “good fortune has arrived.”
58. Genesis 30:11 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.
59. Genesis 30:12 tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore a second son for Jacob.”
60. Genesis 30:13 tn The Hebrew statement apparently means “with my happiness.”
61. Genesis 30:13 tn Heb “daughters.”
62. Genesis 30:13 sn The name Asher (אָשֶׁר, ʾasher) 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.
63. Genesis 30:14 tn Heb “during the days.”
64. Genesis 30:14 sn Mandrake plants were popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac in the culture of the time.
65. Genesis 30:15 tn Heb “and she said to her”; the referent of the pronoun “she” (Leah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
66. Genesis 30:15 tn Heb “therefore.”
67. Genesis 30:15 tn Heb “lie down with.” The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) “to lie down” can be a euphemism for going to bed for sexual relations.
68. Genesis 30:16 tn Heb “must come to me.” The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. The expression בּוֹא אֶל (boʾ ʾel) means “come to” or “approach,” but is also used as a euphemism for sexual relations.
69. Genesis 30:16 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.
70. Genesis 30:16 tn Heb “lay down with.” See note at v. 15.
71. Genesis 30:17 tn Heb “listened to.”
72. Genesis 30:17 tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 19).
73. Genesis 30:17 tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a fifth son,” i.e., this was the fifth son that Leah had given Jacob.
74. Genesis 30:18 tn Heb “God has given my reward.”
75. Genesis 30:18 tn The words “as a wife” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity (cf. v. 9).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.
76. Genesis 30:18 sn The name Issachar (יִשָּׁשכָר, yissakhar) 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.
77. Genesis 30:19 tn Heb “and she bore a sixth son for Jacob,” i.e., this was the sixth son that Leah had given Jacob.
78. Genesis 30:20 sn The name Zebulun (זְבֻלוּן, z^evulun) 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.
79. Genesis 30:22 tn Heb “remembered.”
80. Genesis 30:22 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.
81. Genesis 30:23 tn Or “conceived.”
82. Genesis 30:23 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.
83. Genesis 30:24 sn The name Joseph (יוֹסֵף, yosef) means “may he add.” The name expresses Rachel’s desire to have an additional son. In Hebrew the name sounds like the verb (אָסַף, ʾasaf) 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.