Genesis 25:19-35:26

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Genesis 25:19 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.
2. Genesis 25:20 tn Heb “And Isaac was the son of forty years when he took Rebekah.”
3. Genesis 25:20 sn Some valuable information is provided here. We learn here that Isaac married thirty-five years before Abraham died, that Rebekah was barren for 20 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.
4. Genesis 25:21 tn The Hebrew verb עָתַר (ʿatar), translated “prayed” here, appears in the story of God’s judgment on Egypt in which Moses asked the Lord to remove the plagues. The cognate word in Arabic means “to slaughter for sacrifice,” and the word is used in Zeph 3:10 to describe worshipers who bring offerings. Perhaps some ritual accompanied Isaac’s prayer here.
5. Genesis 25:22 tn The Hebrew word used here suggests a violent struggle that was out of the ordinary.
6. Genesis 25:22 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.
7. Genesis 25:22 sn Asked the Lord. In other passages (e.g., 1 Sam 9:9) this expression refers to inquiring of a prophet, but no details are provided here.
8. Genesis 25:23 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.
9. Genesis 25:24 tn Heb “And her days were filled to give birth.”
10. Genesis 25:24 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.
11. Genesis 25:25 sn Reddish. The Hebrew word translated “reddish” is אַדְמוֹנִי (ʾadmoni), 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.
12. Genesis 25:25 tn Heb “all of him.”
13. Genesis 25:25 sn Hairy. Here is another wordplay involving the descendants of Esau. The Hebrew word translated “hairy” is שֵׂעָר (seʿar); the Edomites will later live in Mount Seir, perhaps named for its wooded nature.
14. Genesis 25:25 tn Heb “And they called his name Esau.” The name “Esau” (עֵשָׂו, ʿesav) is not etymologically related to שֵׂעָר (seʿar), but it draws on some of the sounds.
15. Genesis 25:26 tn The disjunctive clause describes an important circumstance accompanying the birth. Whereas Esau was passive at birth, Jacob was active.
16. Genesis 25:26 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.sn The name Jacob is a play on the Hebrew word for “heel” (עָקֵב, ʿaqev). 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.
17. Genesis 25:26 tn Heb “the son of sixty years.”
18. Genesis 25:27 tn Heb “knowing.”
19. Genesis 25:27 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.”
20. Genesis 25:28 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.
21. Genesis 25:28 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.
22. Genesis 25:29 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).
23. Genesis 25:30 tn The rare term לָעַט (laʿat), 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.
24. Genesis 25:30 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so is given a passive translation.
25. Genesis 25:30 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.”
26. Genesis 25:31 tn Heb “today.”
27. Genesis 25:32 tn Heb “And what is this to me, a birthright?”
28. Genesis 25:33 tn Heb “Swear to me today.”
29. Genesis 25:33 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
30. Genesis 25:33 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.
31. Genesis 25:34 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.
32. Genesis 25:34 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.
33. Genesis 26:1 tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”
34. Genesis 26:1 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.
35. Genesis 26:2 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.
36. Genesis 26:2 tn Heb “say to you.”
37. Genesis 26:3 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.
38. Genesis 26:3 tn After the imperative “stay” the two prefixed verb forms with prefixed conjunction here indicate consequence.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.
39. Genesis 26:3 tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zeraʿ) 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.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 Lord. And so obedience is enjoined here with the example of how well Abraham obeyed.
40. Genesis 26:3 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.
41. Genesis 26:3 tn Heb “the oath which I swore.”sn The solemn promise I made. See Gen 15:18-20; 22:16-18.
42. Genesis 26:4 tn Heb “your descendants.”
43. Genesis 26:4 tn The Hitpael is understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another.” It could possibly it could mean “they may find/receive blessing;” see the note at 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. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. For the meaning of the Niphal in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant see notes at Gen 12:3; 18:18; 28:14. NASB presents the traditional passive rendering “will be blessed” with a note that it may mean “bless themselves.”
44. Genesis 26:5 tn The words “All this will come to pass” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons.
45. Genesis 26:5 tn Heb “listened to my voice.”
46. Genesis 26:5 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.
47. Genesis 26:7 sn Rebekah, unlike Sarah, was not actually her husband’s sister.
48. Genesis 26:7 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.
49. Genesis 26:7 tn Heb “kill me on account of.”
50. Genesis 26:8 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
51. Genesis 26:8 tn Heb “and it happened when the days were long to him there.”
52. Genesis 26:8 tn Heb “window and saw, and look, Isaac.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene through Abimelech’s eyes.
53. Genesis 26:8 tn Or “fondling.”sn The Hebrew word מְצַחֵק (m^etsakheq), 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.
54. Genesis 26:9 tn Heb “Surely, look!” See N. H. Snaith, “The meaning of the Hebrew אַךְ,” VT 14 (1964): 221-25.
55. Genesis 26:9 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).
56. Genesis 26:10 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).
57. Genesis 26:10 tn Heb “people.”tc The LXX reads τις τοῦ γένους μου (tis tou genous mou) “one of my kin.”
58. Genesis 26:10 tn Heb “almost lied down with.” The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) “to lie down” can imply going to bed to sleep or be a euphemism for sexual relations. Here the verb is modified by the prepositional phrase with כ (kaf; “like, as”) and מְעַט (meʿat; “little, brief”). When כִּמְעַט (kimʿat) modifies a perfect verb it means that someone almost did something (Ps 73:2; 119:87; Prov 5:14); with an imperfect verb it means to do something soon. This verse uses a perfect verb. Most translations employ a modal translation: “one of the people might easily (or “might soon”) have laid with your wife.” But the perfect verb is not typically modal, unless marked by other factors. The vav plus perfect consecutive (or veqatal) may be modal; or the perfect may be modal if signaled by another word such as אִם (ʾim; “if”) or לוּ or לוּלֵא (lu or luleʾ; “would that,” “unless”). If כִּמְעַט (kimʿat), which is not commonly used, can mark the perfect verb as modal, then “one of the people might have gone to bed with her” would be an appropriate translation. The options “it might have happened” and “it nearly happened” are fairly close in meaning.
59. Genesis 26:11 tn Heb “strikes.” Here the verb has the nuance “to harm in any way.” It would include assaulting the woman or killing the man.
60. Genesis 26:11 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the imperfect makes the construction emphatic.
61. Genesis 26:12 tn Heb “a hundredfold.”
62. Genesis 26:12 tn This final clause explains why Isaac had such a bountiful harvest.
63. Genesis 26:13 tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Isaac’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are included.
64. Genesis 26:13 tn Heb “and he went, going and becoming great.” The construction stresses that his growth in possessions and power continued steadily.
65. Genesis 26:14 tn Heb “and there was to him.”
66. Genesis 26:14 tn Heb “possessions of sheep.”
67. Genesis 26:14 tn Heb “possessions of cattle.”
68. Genesis 26:14 tn The Hebrew verb translated “became jealous of” refers here to intense jealousy or envy that leads to hostile action (see v. 15).
69. Genesis 26:15 tn Heb “and the Philistines stopped them up and filled them with dirt.”
70. Genesis 26:16 tn Heb “Go away from us.”
71. Genesis 26:16 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).
72. Genesis 26:17 tn Heb “and he camped in the Valley of Gerar and he lived there.”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 Lord, for the men of the region knew this too, but did not have the same results.
73. Genesis 26:18 tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”
74. Genesis 26:18 tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.
75. Genesis 26:18 tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.
76. Genesis 26:18 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
77. Genesis 26:18 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
78. Genesis 26:18 tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”
79. Genesis 26:19 tn Heb “living.” This expression refers to a well supplied by subterranean streams (see Song 4:15).
80. Genesis 26:20 tn The Hebrew verb translated “quarreled” describes a conflict that often has legal ramifications.
81. Genesis 26:20 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
82. Genesis 26:20 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.”
83. Genesis 26:20 tn The words “about it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
84. Genesis 26:21 tn Heb “they”; the referent (Isaac’s servants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
85. Genesis 26:21 tn Heb “and he called its name.” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
86. Genesis 26:21 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.
87. Genesis 26:22 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
88. Genesis 26:22 tn Heb “and he called its name.”
89. Genesis 26:22 sn The name Rehoboth (רְהֹבוֹת, r^ehovot) 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.
90. Genesis 26:23 tn Heb “and he went up from there”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
91. Genesis 26:25 tn Heb “called in the name of.” The expression refers to worshiping the Lord through prayer and sacrifice (see Gen 4:26; 12:8; 13:4; 21:33). See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:116.
92. Genesis 26:25 tn Heb “and they dug there, the servants of Isaac, a well.”
93. Genesis 26:26 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.”
94. Genesis 26:26 tn Heb “and.”
95. Genesis 26:26 tn Many modern translations render the Hebrew term מֵרֵעַ (mereaʾ) as “councillor” or “adviser,” but the term may not designate an official position but simply a close personal friend.
96. Genesis 26:27 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, expressing the reason for his question.
97. Genesis 26:28 tn The infinitive absolute before the verb emphasizes the clarity of their perception.
98. Genesis 26:28 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.
99. Genesis 26:28 tn The pronoun “us” here is inclusive—it refers to the Philistine contingent on the one hand and Isaac on the other.
100. Genesis 26:28 tn The pronoun “us” here is exclusive—it refers to just the Philistine contingent (the following “you” refers to Isaac).
101. Genesis 26:28 tn The translation assumes that the cohortative expresses their request. Another option is to understand the cohortative as indicating resolve: “We want to make.’”
102. Genesis 26:29 tn The oath formula is used: “if you do us harm” means “so that you will not do.”
103. Genesis 26:29 tn Heb “touched.”
104. Genesis 26:29 tn Heb “and just as we have done only good with you.”
105. Genesis 26:29 tn Heb “and we sent you away.”
106. Genesis 26:29 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).
107. Genesis 26:30 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
108. Genesis 26:30 tn Heb “and they ate and drank.”
109. Genesis 26:31 tn Heb “and they got up early and they swore an oath, a man to his brother.”
110. Genesis 26:31 tn Heb “and they went from him in peace.”
111. Genesis 26:32 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.
112. Genesis 26:33 sn The name Shibah (שִׁבְעָה, shivʿah) 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.
113. Genesis 26:33 sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, b^eʾer shavaʿ) 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.
114. Genesis 26:34 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making this clause subordinate to the next.
115. Genesis 26:34 tn Heb “the son of forty years.”
116. Genesis 26:34 tn Heb “took as a wife.”
117. Genesis 26:35 tn Heb “And they were [a source of ] bitterness in spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.”
118. Genesis 27:1 tn The clause begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making it subordinate to the main clause that follows later in the sentence.
119. Genesis 27:1 tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”
120. Genesis 27:1 tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).
121. Genesis 27:1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.
122. Genesis 27:2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaac) is specified in the translation for clarity.
123. Genesis 27:2 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here introduces a logically foundational statement, upon which the coming instruction will be based.
124. Genesis 27:2 tn Heb “I do not know the day of my death.”
125. Genesis 27:3 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”).
126. Genesis 27:4 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
127. Genesis 27:4 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.
128. Genesis 27:5 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a conjunction with the subject, followed by the predicate) here introduces a new scene in the story.
129. Genesis 27:5 tc The LXX adds here “to his father,” which may have been accidentally omitted in the MT.
130. Genesis 27:7 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
131. Genesis 27:7 tn The cohortative, with the prefixed conjunction, also expresses logical sequence. See vv. 4, 19, 27.
132. Genesis 27:7 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 Lord,” she stresses how serious this matter is.
133. Genesis 27:8 tn Heb “listen to my voice.” The Hebrew idiom means “to comply; to obey.”
134. Genesis 27:8 tn Heb “to that which I am commanding you.”
135. Genesis 27:9 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
136. Genesis 27:10 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.
137. Genesis 27:10 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.
138. Genesis 27:10 tn Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.
139. Genesis 27:11 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.
140. Genesis 27:12 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.”
141. Genesis 27:13 tn Heb “upon me your curse.”
142. Genesis 27:13 tn Heb “only listen to my voice.”
143. Genesis 27:14 tn The words “the goats” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
144. Genesis 27:14 tn Heb “his mother.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “she” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
145. Genesis 27:16 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.
146. Genesis 27:16 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.”
147. Genesis 27:17 tn Heb “gave…into the hand of her . . . .”
148. Genesis 27:18 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
149. Genesis 27:18 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.
150. Genesis 27:19 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.
151. Genesis 27:19 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.
152. Genesis 27:20 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?”
153. Genesis 27:20 tn Heb “you hastened to find.” In translation the infinitive becomes the main verb and the first verb becomes adverbial.
154. Genesis 27:20 tn Heb “caused to meet before me.”
155. Genesis 27:20 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Because the Lord your God….’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
156. Genesis 27:21 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
157. Genesis 27:21 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.
158. Genesis 27:23 tn Heb “and he blessed him.” The referents of the pronouns “he” (Isaac) and “him” (Jacob) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
159. Genesis 27:24 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
160. Genesis 27:25 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
161. Genesis 27:25 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.
162. Genesis 27:25 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.
163. Genesis 27:25 tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
164. Genesis 27:25 tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
165. Genesis 27:27 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
166. Genesis 27:27 tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
167. Genesis 27:27 tn Heb “see.”
168. Genesis 27:28 tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”
169. Genesis 27:28 tn Heb “and from the fatness.”
170. Genesis 27:29 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 over 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.
171. Genesis 27:29 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.”
172. Genesis 27:29 tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
173. Genesis 27:30 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite form of the verb makes the construction emphatic.
174. Genesis 27:30 tn Heb “the presence of Isaac his father.” The repetition of the proper name (“Isaac”) was replaced by the referent (“his father’s…”) for stylistic reasons.
175. Genesis 27:30 tn Heb “and Esau his brother came from his hunt.”
176. Genesis 27:31 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.
177. Genesis 27:31 tn Or “arise” (i.e., sit up).
178. Genesis 27:31 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.”
179. Genesis 27:32 tn Heb “said.”
180. Genesis 27:32 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.
181. Genesis 27:33 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.
182. Genesis 27:33 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?”
183. Genesis 27:34 tn The temporal clause is introduced with the temporal indicator and has the infinitive as its verb.
184. Genesis 27:34 tn Heb “and he yelled [with] a great and bitter yell to excess.”
185. Genesis 27:35 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
186. Genesis 27:35 tn Or “took”; “received.”
187. Genesis 27:36 tn Heb “Is he not rightly named Jacob?” The rhetorical question, since it expects a positive reply, has been translated as a declarative statement.
188. Genesis 27:36 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.”
189. Genesis 27:38 tn Heb “Bless me, me also, my father.” The words “my father” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
190. Genesis 27:38 tn Heb “and Esau lifted his voice and wept.”
191. Genesis 27:39 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) calls for someone’s attention.
192. Genesis 27:39 tn Or “next to.” The preposition מִן (min) generally indicates the source of something or separation from something, and so is often rendered “from.” Older translations (KJV, ASV, Douay-Rheims, Young’s, JPS) took the preposition as indicating source: “of the fatness of the earth.” More recent translations (NASB, NIV, ESV, NLV) take it as separative: “away from the fatness.” In Jacob’s blessing the preposition works with the verb “give” and indicates source. In Esau’s blessing the preposition functions in a nominal clause and modifies “your dwelling.” HALOT says that מִן can point “to the place… where something can be found” and thus means “in” in Gen 2:8; Lev 14:41; 2 Sam 5:13; Ezra 1:4; Job 30:30; Isa 5:26; 23:7 (HALOT 597, s.v.). In combination with the verb “to dwell,” the preposition מִן means “by,” “next to,” or “across from” (Ruth 2:14; 1 Sam 20:25; Ezek 16:46; Jonah 4:5). The closest parallel for the noun “dwelling” is Gen 10:30 where מִן as “away from” is not possible (rather “at” or “beginning at.”) sn In contrast to Jacob, to whom God will give some of earth’s fatness and heaven’s dew, Esau will dwell next to these. Esau himself continues to dwell with Isaac in Canaan, so perhaps he dwells “at” or “in” the richness of the land. But the land of his descendants, Edom, is more arid and might be considered “next to” or “across from” Canaan. The main contrast seems to be that God will give Jacob something, while Esau will have access to two of the same things. “Grain” and “wine” are not repeated for Esau, which may also reflect different conditions in Edom and Canaan.
193. Genesis 27:39 tn Heb “from the fatness.”
194. Genesis 27:40 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.
195. Genesis 27:41 tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.
196. Genesis 27:41 tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”
197. Genesis 27:41 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.
198. Genesis 27:41 tn Heb “days.”
199. Genesis 27:41 tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.
200. Genesis 27:42 tn Heb “and the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah.”
201. Genesis 27:42 tn Heb “she sent and called for.”
202. Genesis 27:42 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.
203. Genesis 27:43 tn Heb “listen to my voice.”
204. Genesis 27:43 tn Heb “arise, flee.”
205. Genesis 27:44 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 20 years and he never sees Rebekah again.
206. Genesis 27:45 tn The words “stay there” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
207. Genesis 27:45 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.
208. Genesis 27:45 tn If Jacob stayed, he would be killed and Esau would be forced to run away.
209. Genesis 27:46 tn Heb “loathe my life.” The Hebrew verb translated “loathe” refers to strong disgust (see Lev 20:23).
210. Genesis 27:46 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.
211. Genesis 27:46 tn Heb “If Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, why to me life?”
212. Genesis 28:1 tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
213. Genesis 28:2 tn Heb “Arise! Go!” The first of the two imperatives is adverbial and stresses the immediacy of the departure.
214. Genesis 28:3 tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.
215. Genesis 28:3 tn Heb “and make you fruitful and multiply you.” See Gen 17:6, 20 for similar terminology.
216. Genesis 28:3 tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here indicates consequence. The collocation הָיָה plus preposition ל (hayah plus lamed) means “become.”
217. Genesis 28:3 tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”
218. Genesis 28:4 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.
219. Genesis 28:4 tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
220. Genesis 28:4 tn Heb “the land of your sojournings,” that is, the land where Jacob had been living as a resident foreigner, as his future descendants would after him.
221. Genesis 28:6 tn Heb “to take for himself from there a wife.”
222. Genesis 28:6 tn The infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffix form a temporal clause.
223. Genesis 28:6 tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
224. Genesis 28:8 tn Heb “saw.”
225. Genesis 28:8 tn Heb “the daughters of Canaan.”
226. Genesis 28:8 tn Heb “evil in the eyes of.”
227. Genesis 28:9 tn Heb “took for a wife.”
228. Genesis 28:11 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.
229. Genesis 28:11 tn Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.”
230. Genesis 28:11 tn Heb “he took from the stones of the place,” which here means Jacob took one of the stones (see v. 18).
231. Genesis 28:11 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.
232. Genesis 28:11 tn Heb “lay down.”
233. Genesis 28:12 tn Heb “and dreamed.”
234. Genesis 28:12 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 Lord himself” (Narrative Art in Genesis [SSN], 51-52).
235. Genesis 28:12 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.
236. Genesis 28:13 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.
237. Genesis 28:13 tn The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (ʾerets) 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.
238. Genesis 28:14 tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.
239. Genesis 28:14 tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.
240. Genesis 28:14 tn The translation understands the Niphal stem to be middle voice here; the normal passive for בָּרַךְ (barakh) is Pual. The middle voice may be expressed here as “they may consider themselves blessed,” “they may receive/find blessing,” “the may become blessed.” See the notes at 12:3 and 18:18.
241. Genesis 28:15 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).
242. Genesis 28:16 tn Heb “woke up from his sleep.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
243. Genesis 28:16 tn Heb “said.”
244. Genesis 28:18 tn Heb “and he got up early…and he took.”
245. Genesis 28:18 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
246. Genesis 28:18 tn See the note on this phrase in v. 11.
247. Genesis 28:18 tn Heb “standing stone.”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 Lord “stood.” (In Hebrew the word translated “sacred stone” is derived from the verb translated “erected” in v. 12 and “stood” in v. 13.) Since the top of the stairway reached the heavens where the Lord stood, Jacob poured oil on the top of the stone. See C. F. Graesser, “Standing Stones in Ancient Palestine,” BA 35 (1972): 34-63; and E. Stockton, “Sacred Pillars in the Bible,” ABR 20 (1972): 16-32.
248. Genesis 28:19 tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew (see v. 17).
249. Genesis 28:20 tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.
250. Genesis 28:21 tn Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.”
251. Genesis 28:22 tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.
252. Genesis 28:22 tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.
253. Genesis 28:22 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.
254. Genesis 29:1 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.
255. Genesis 29:1 tn Heb “the land of the sons of the east.”
256. Genesis 29:2 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.
257. Genesis 29:2 tn Heb “and look, there.”
258. Genesis 29:2 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the noun with the prefixed conjunction) provides supplemental information that is important to the story.
259. Genesis 29:3 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the shepherds) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
260. Genesis 29:5 tn Heb “son.”
261. Genesis 29:5 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.
262. Genesis 29:6 tn Heb “and he said to them, ‘Is there peace to him?’”
263. Genesis 29:6 tn Heb “peace.”
264. Genesis 29:7 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
265. Genesis 29:7 tn Heb “the day is great.”
266. Genesis 29:7 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.
267. Genesis 29:8 tn The perfect verbal forms with the vav (ו) consecutive carry on the sequence begun by the initial imperfect form.
268. Genesis 29:9 tn Heb “was a shepherdess.”
269. Genesis 29:10 tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother” (twice in this verse).
270. Genesis 29:10 tn Heb “Jacob.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
271. Genesis 29:10 tn Heb “drew near, approached.”
272. Genesis 29:10 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).
273. Genesis 29:11 tn Heb “and he lifted up his voice and wept.” The idiom calls deliberate attention to the fact that Jacob wept out loud.
274. Genesis 29:12 tn Heb “declared.”
275. Genesis 29:12 tn Heb “that he [was] the brother of her father.”
276. Genesis 29:13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
277. Genesis 29:13 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).
278. Genesis 29:14 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).
279. Genesis 29:14 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
280. Genesis 29:14 tn Heb “a month of days.”
281. Genesis 29:15 tn The verb is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; the nuance in the question is deliberative.
282. Genesis 29:15 tn Heb “my brother.” The term “brother” is used in a loose sense; actually Jacob was Laban’s nephew.
283. Genesis 29:16 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.
284. Genesis 29:17 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.
285. Genesis 29:17 tn Heb “and Rachel was beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance.”
286. Genesis 29:18 tn Heb “Jacob loved.”
287. Genesis 29:19 tn Heb “Better my giving her to you than my giving her to another man.”
288. Genesis 29:20 tn Heb “in exchange for Rachel.”
289. Genesis 29:20 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.
290. Genesis 29:20 tn Heb “because of his love for her.” The words “was so great” are supplied for stylistic reasons.
291. Genesis 29:21 tn Heb “and Jacob said.”
292. Genesis 29:21 tn Heb “my days are fulfilled.”
293. 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.
294. Genesis 29:22 tn Heb “men.”
295. 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).
296. Genesis 29:23 tn Heb “to him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
297. Genesis 29:23 tn Heb “came to” or “approached,” a euphemism for sexual relations. See note at v. 21.
298. 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.
299. 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.
300. Genesis 29:25 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
301. 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?”
302. 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.
303. 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.
304. 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.
305. 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).
306. Genesis 29:27 tn Heb “this other one.”
307. 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.
308. Genesis 29:28 tn Heb “and Jacob did so.” The words “as Laban said” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
309. Genesis 29:28 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
310. 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.
311. 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.
312. Genesis 29:29 tn Heb “and Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his female servant, for her for a servant.”
313. Genesis 29:30 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
314. Genesis 29:30 tn Heb “came to” or “approached,” a euphemism for sexual relations. See note at v. 21.
315. Genesis 29:30 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
316. 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.
317. Genesis 29:31 tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”
318. Genesis 29:32 tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).
319. Genesis 29:32 sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, r^eʾuven) means “look, a son.”
320. 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.
321. Genesis 29:33 tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.
322. 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.
323. Genesis 29:34 tn Heb “will be joined to me.”
324. 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.
325. 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.
326. Genesis 30:1 tn Heb “Rachel.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
327. Genesis 30:1 tn Heb “sons.”
328. Genesis 30:2 tn Heb “and the anger of Jacob was hot.”
329. Genesis 30:2 tn Heb “who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb.”
330. 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.
331. Genesis 30:3 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates the immediate purpose of the proposed activity.
332. Genesis 30:3 tn The word “children” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
333. 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.
334. 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).
335. Genesis 30:4 tn Heb “and she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
336. 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.
337. Genesis 30:5 tn Or “Bilhah conceived” (also in v. 7).
338. Genesis 30:5 tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a son.”
339. 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.
340. Genesis 30:6 tn Or “therefore.”
341. 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.
342. Genesis 30:7 tn Heb “and she became pregnant again and Bilhah, the servant of Rachel, bore a second son for Jacob.”
343. 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.
344. 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.”
345. 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.”
346. Genesis 30:10 tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore for Jacob a son.”
347. 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.”
348. 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.
349. Genesis 30:12 tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore a second son for Jacob.”
350. Genesis 30:13 tn The Hebrew statement apparently means “with my happiness.”
351. Genesis 30:13 tn Heb “daughters.”
352. 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.
353. Genesis 30:14 tn Heb “during the days.”
354. Genesis 30:14 sn Mandrake plants were popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac in the culture of the time.
355. 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.
356. Genesis 30:15 tn Heb “therefore.”
357. 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.
358. 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.
359. 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.
360. Genesis 30:16 tn Heb “lay down with.” See note at v. 15.
361. Genesis 30:17 tn Heb “listened to.”
362. Genesis 30:17 tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 19).
363. 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.
364. Genesis 30:18 tn Heb “God has given my reward.”
365. 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.
366. 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.
367. 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.
368. 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.
369. Genesis 30:22 tn Heb “remembered.”
370. 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.
371. Genesis 30:23 tn Or “conceived.”
372. 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.
373. 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.
374. Genesis 30:25 tn The perfect verbal form is translated as a past perfect because Rachel’s giving birth to Joseph preceded Jacob’s conversation with Laban.
375. Genesis 30:25 tn The imperatival form here expresses a request.sn For Jacob to ask to leave would mean that seven more years had passed. Thus all Jacob’s children were born within the range of seven years of each other, with Joseph coming right at the end of the seven years.
376. Genesis 30:25 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
377. Genesis 30:25 tn Heb “to my place and to my land.”
378. Genesis 30:26 tn Heb “give my wives and my children, for whom I have served you.” In one sense Laban had already “given” Jacob his two daughters as wives (Gen 29:21, 28). Here Jacob was asking for permission to take his own family along with him on the journey back to Canaan.
379. Genesis 30:26 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
380. Genesis 30:26 tn Heb “for you, you know my service [with] which I have served you.”
381. Genesis 30:27 tn The words “stay here” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
382. Genesis 30:27 tn Or perhaps “I have grown rich and the Lord has blessed me” (cf. NEB). See J. Finkelstein, “An Old Babylonian Herding Contract and Genesis 31:38f.,” JAOS 88 (1968): 34, n. 19.
383. Genesis 30:28 tn Heb “set your wage for me so I may give [it].”
384. Genesis 30:29 tn Heb “and he said to him, ‘You know how I have served you.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons, and the referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
385. Genesis 30:29 tn Heb “and how your cattle were with me.”
386. Genesis 30:30 tn Or “for.”
387. Genesis 30:30 tn Heb “before me.”
388. Genesis 30:30 tn Heb “and it has broken out with respect to abundance.”
389. Genesis 30:30 tn Heb “at my foot.”
390. Genesis 30:30 tn Heb “How long [until] I do, also I, for my house?”
391. Genesis 30:31 tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
392. Genesis 30:31 tn The negated imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance.
393. Genesis 30:31 tn The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
394. Genesis 30:31 tn Heb “If you do for me this thing.”
395. Genesis 30:31 tn Heb “I will return, I will tend,” an idiom meaning “I will continue tending.”
396. Genesis 30:32 tn Heb “pass through.”
397. Genesis 30:32 tn Or “every black lamb”; Heb “and every dark sheep among the lambs.”
398. Genesis 30:32 tn Heb “and the spotted and speckled among the goats.”
399. Genesis 30:32 tn Heb “and it will be my wage.” The referent collective singular pronoun (“it) has been specified as “these animals” in the translation for clarity.
400. Genesis 30:33 tn Heb “will answer on my behalf.”
401. Genesis 30:33 tn Heb “on the following day,” or “tomorrow.”
402. Genesis 30:33 tn Heb “when you come concerning my wage before you.”sn Only the wage we agreed on. Jacob would have to be considered completely honest here, for he would have no control over the kind of animals born; and there could be no disagreement over which animals were his wages.
403. Genesis 30:33 tn Heb “every one which is not speckled and spotted among the lambs and dark among the goats, stolen it is with me.”
404. Genesis 30:34 tn Heb “and Laban said, ‘Good, let it be according to your word.’” On the asseverative use of the particle לוּ (lu) here, see HALOT 521 s.v. לוּ.
405. Genesis 30:35 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
406. Genesis 30:35 tn Heb “and he gave [them] into the hand.”
407. Genesis 30:36 tn Heb “and he put a journey of three days between himself and Jacob.”sn Three days’ traveling distance from Jacob. E. A. Speiser observes, “Laban is delighted with the terms, and promptly proceeds to violate the spirit of the bargain by removing to a safe distance all the grown animals that would be likely to produce the specified spots” (Genesis [AB], 238). Laban apparently thought that by separating out the spotted, striped, and dark colored animals he could minimize the production of spotted, striped, or dark offspring that would then belong to Jacob.
408. Genesis 30:36 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the vav [ו] with subject) is circumstantial; Laban removed the animals while Jacob was taking care of the rest.
409. Genesis 30:38 sn He put the branches in front of the flocks…when they came to drink. It was generally believed that placing such “visual aids” before the animals as they were mating, it was possible to influence the appearance of their offspring. E. A. Speiser notes that “Jacob finds a way to outwit his father-in-law, through prenatal conditioning of the flock by visual aids—in conformance with universal folk beliefs” (Genesis [AB], 238). Nevertheless, in spite of Jacob’s efforts at animal husbandry, he still attributes the resulting success to God (see 31:5).
410. Genesis 30:39 tn The Hebrew verb used here can mean “to be in heat” (see v. 38) or “to mate; to conceive; to become pregnant.” The latter nuance makes better sense in this verse, for the next clause describes them giving birth.
411. Genesis 30:39 tn Heb “the sheep.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“they”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
412. Genesis 30:40 tn Heb “and he set the faces of.”
413. Genesis 30:41 tn Heb “and at every breeding-heat of the flock, the strong females.”
414. Genesis 30:42 tn Heb “he did not put [them] in.” The referent of the [understood] direct object, “them,” has been specified as “the branches” in the translation for clarity.
415. Genesis 30:42 tn Heb “were for Laban.”
416. Genesis 30:43 tn Heb “the man”; Jacob’s name has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
417. Genesis 30:43 tn Heb “and there were to him.”
418. Genesis 31:1 tn Heb “and he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying.”
419. Genesis 31:1 sn The Hebrew word translated “gotten rich” (כָּבוֹד, kavod) has the basic idea of “weight.” If one is heavy with possessions, then that one is wealthy (13:2). Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph all became wealthy when they left the promised land. Jacob’s wealth foreshadows what will happen to Israel when they leave the land of Egypt (Exod 12:35-38).
420. Genesis 31:1 tn Heb “and from that which belonged to our father he has gained all this wealth.”
421. Genesis 31:2 tn Heb “and Jacob saw the face of Laban, and look, he was not with him as formerly.” Jacob knew from the expression on Laban’s face that his attitude toward him had changed—Jacob had become persona non grata.
422. Genesis 31:3 tn Or perhaps “ancestors” (so NRSV), although the only “ancestors” Jacob had there were his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac.
423. Genesis 31:3 sn I will be with you. Though Laban was no longer “with him,” the Lord promised to be.
424. Genesis 31:4 tn Heb “sent and called for Rachel and for Leah.” Jacob did not go in person, but probably sent a servant with a message for his wives to meet him in the field.
425. Genesis 31:4 tn Heb “the field.” The word is an adverbial accusative, indicating that this is where Jacob wanted them to meet him. The words “to come to” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.
426. Genesis 31:4 tn Heb “to his flock.”
427. Genesis 31:5 tn Heb “I see the face of your father, that he is not toward me as formerly.”
428. Genesis 31:6 tn Heb “with all my strength.”
429. Genesis 31:7 tn This rare verb means “to make a fool of” someone. It involves deceiving someone so that their public reputation suffers (see Exod 8:25).
430. Genesis 31:8 tn In the protasis (“if” section) of this conditional clause, the imperfect verbal form has a customary nuance—whatever he would say worked to Jacob’s benefit.
431. Genesis 31:8 tn Heb “speckled” (twice in this verse). The words “animals” (after the first occurrence of “speckled”) and “offspring” (after the second) have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. The same two terms (“animals” and “offspring”) have been supplied after the two occurrences of “streaked” later in this verse.
432. Genesis 31:10 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator, “and it happened at the time of.”
433. Genesis 31:10 tn Heb “in the time of the breeding of the flock I lifted up my eyes and I saw.”
434. Genesis 31:10 tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.
435. Genesis 31:12 tn Heb “said, ‘Lift up (now) your eyes and see.”
436. Genesis 31:12 tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.
437. Genesis 31:13 sn You anointed the sacred stone. In Gen 28:18 the text simply reported that Jacob poured oil on top of the stone. Now that pouring is interpreted by the Lord as an anointing. Jacob had consecrated the place.
438. Genesis 31:13 sn And made a vow to me. The second clause reminds Jacob of the vow he made to the Lord when he anointed the stone (Gen 28:20-22). God is now going to take him back to the land, and so he will have to fulfill his vow.
439. Genesis 31:13 tn Heb “arise, leave!” The first imperative draws attention to the need for immediate action.sn Leave this land immediately. The decision to leave was a wise one in view of the changed attitude in Laban and his sons. But more than that, it was the will of God. Jacob needed to respond to God’s call—the circumstances simply made it easier.
440. Genesis 31:14 tn The two nouns may form a hendiadys, meaning “a share in the inheritance” or “a portion to inherit.”
441. Genesis 31:15 tn Heb “and he devoured, even devouring.” The infinitive absolute (following the finite verb here) is used for emphasis.sn He sold us and…wasted our money. The precise nature of Rachel’s and Leah’s complaint is not entirely clear. Since Jacob had to work to pay for them, they probably mean that their father has cheated Jacob and therefore cheated them as well. See M. Burrows, “The Complaint of Laban’s Daughters,” JAOS 57 (1937): 250-76.
442. Genesis 31:15 tn Heb “our money.” The word “money” is used figuratively here; it means the price paid for Leah and Rachel. A literal translation (“our money”) makes it sound as if Laban wasted money that belonged to Rachel and Leah, rather than the money paid for them.
443. Genesis 31:17 tn Heb “and Jacob arose and he lifted up his sons and his wives on to the camels.”
444. Genesis 31:18 tn Heb “drove away,” but this is subject to misunderstanding in contemporary English.
445. Genesis 31:18 tn Heb “and he led away all his cattle and all his moveable property which he acquired, the cattle he obtained, which he acquired in Paddan Aram to go to Isaac his father to the land of Canaan.”
446. Genesis 31:19 tn This disjunctive clause (note the pattern conjunction + subject + verb) introduces a new scene. In the English translation it may be subordinated to the following clause.
447. Genesis 31:19 tn Or “household gods.” Some translations merely transliterate the Hebrew term תְּרָפִים (t^erafim) as “teraphim,” which apparently refers to household idols. Some contend that possession of these idols guaranteed the right of inheritance, but it is more likely that they were viewed simply as protective deities. See M. Greenberg, “Another Look at Rachel’s Theft of the Teraphim,” JBL 81 (1962): 239-48.
448. Genesis 31:20 tn Heb “stole the heart of,” an expression which apparently means “to deceive.” The repetition of the verb “to steal” shows that Jacob and Rachel are kindred spirits. Any thought that Laban would have resigned himself to their departure was now out of the question.
449. Genesis 31:20 tn Heb “fleeing,” which reflects Jacob’s viewpoint.
450. Genesis 31:21 tn Heb “and he fled.”
451. Genesis 31:21 tn Heb “he arose and crossed.” The first verb emphasizes that he wasted no time in getting across.
452. Genesis 31:21 tn Heb “the river”; the referent (the Euphrates) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
453. Genesis 31:21 tn Heb “he set his face.”
454. Genesis 31:22 tn Heb “and it was told to Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled.”
455. Genesis 31:23 tn Heb “his brothers.”
456. Genesis 31:23 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
457. Genesis 31:23 tn Heb “and he pursued after him a journey of seven days.”
458. Genesis 31:23 tn Heb “drew close to.”
459. Genesis 31:24 tn Heb “said to him.”
460. Genesis 31:24 tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.
461. Genesis 31:24 tn Heb “lest you speak with Jacob from good to evil.” The precise meaning of the expression, which occurs only here and in v. 29, is uncertain. Since Laban proceeded to speak to Jacob at length, it cannot mean to maintain silence. Nor does it seem to be a prohibition against criticism (see vv. 26-30). Most likely it refers to a formal pronouncement, whether it be a blessing or a curse. Laban was to avoid saying anything to Jacob that would be intended to enhance him or to harm him.
462. Genesis 31:25 tn Heb “and Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban pitched with his brothers in the hill country of Gilead.” The juxtaposition of disjunctive clauses (note the pattern vav plus subject plus verb in both clauses) indicates synchronism of action.
463. Genesis 31:26 tn Heb “and you have stolen my heart.” This expression apparently means “to deceive” (see v. 20).
464. Genesis 31:26 tn Heb “and you have led away my daughters like captives of a sword.”
465. Genesis 31:27 tn Heb “Why did you hide in order to flee?” The verb “hide” and the infinitive “to flee” form a hendiadys, the infinitive becoming the main verb and the other the adverb: “flee secretly.”
466. Genesis 31:27 tn Heb “and steal me.”
467. Genesis 31:27 tn Heb “And [why did] you not tell me so I could send you off with joy and with songs, with a tambourine and with a harp?”
468. Genesis 31:28 tn Heb “my sons and my daughters.” Here “sons” refers to “grandsons,” and has been translated “grandchildren” since at least one granddaughter, Dinah, was involved. The order has been reversed in the translation for stylistic reasons.
469. Genesis 31:29 tn Heb “There is to the power of my hand.”
470. Genesis 31:29 tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.
471. Genesis 31:29 tn Heb “from speaking with Jacob from good to evil.” The precise meaning of the expression, which occurs only here and in v. 24, is uncertain. See the note on the same phrase in v. 24.
472. Genesis 31:30 tn Heb “and now.” The words “I understand that” have been supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
473. Genesis 31:30 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the certainty of the action.
474. Genesis 31:30 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of emotion involved.
475. Genesis 31:30 sn Yet why did you steal my gods? This last sentence is dropped into the speech rather suddenly. See C. Mabee, “Jacob and Laban: The Structure of Judicial Proceedings,” VT 30 (1980): 192-207, and G. W. Coats, “Self-Abasement and Insult Formulas,” JBL 91 (1972): 90-92.
476. Genesis 31:31 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.
477. Genesis 31:31 tn Heb “for I said.”
478. Genesis 31:31 tn Heb “lest you steal your daughters from with me.”
479. Genesis 31:32 tn Heb “With whomever you find your gods, he will not live.”
480. Genesis 31:32 tn Heb “brothers.”
481. Genesis 31:32 tn Heb “recognize for yourself what is with me and take for yourself.”
482. Genesis 31:32 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides supplemental material that is important to the story. Since this material is parenthetical in nature, it has been placed in parentheses in the translation.
483. Genesis 31:33 tn No direct object is specified for the verb “find” in the Hebrew text. The words “the idols” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.
484. Genesis 31:33 tn Heb “and he went out from the tent of Leah and went into the tent of Rachel.”
485. Genesis 31:34 tn The “camel’s saddle” was probably some sort of basket-saddle, a cushioned saddle with a basket bound on. Cf. NAB “inside a camel cushion.”
486. Genesis 31:34 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides another parenthetical statement necessary to the storyline.
487. Genesis 31:34 tn The word “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
488. Genesis 31:35 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
489. Genesis 31:35 tn Heb “let it not be hot in the eyes of my lord.” This idiom refers to anger, in this case as a result of Rachel’s failure to stand in the presence of her father as a sign of respect.
490. Genesis 31:35 tn Heb “I am unable to rise.”
491. Genesis 31:35 tn Heb “the way of women is to me.” This idiom refers to a woman’s menstrual period.
492. Genesis 31:35 tn The word “thoroughly” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.
493. Genesis 31:36 tn Heb “it was hot to Jacob.” This idiom refers to anger.
494. Genesis 31:36 tn Heb “and Jacob answered and said to Laban, ‘What is my sin?’” The proper name “Jacob” has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation and the order of the introductory clause and direct discourse rearranged for stylistic reasons.
495. Genesis 31:36 tn Heb “What is my sin that you have hotly pursued after me.” The Hebrew verb translated “pursue hotly” is used elsewhere of soldiers chasing defeated enemies (1 Sam 17:53).
496. Genesis 31:37 tn Heb “what did you find from all the goods of your house?”
497. Genesis 31:37 tn Heb “your relatives.” The word “relatives” has not been repeated in the translation here for stylistic reasons.
498. Genesis 31:37 tn Heb “that they may decide between us two.”
499. Genesis 31:39 tn The imperfect verbal form indicates that this was a customary or typical action.
500. Genesis 31:39 tn Heb “from my hand you exacted it.” The imperfect verbal form again indicates that this was a customary or typical action. The words “for every missing animal” are supplied in the translation for clarity; the following clause in Hebrew, “stolen by day or stolen by night,” probably means “stolen by wild beasts” and refers to the same animals “torn by wild beasts” in the previous clause, although it may refer to animals stolen by people. The translation used here, “missing,” is ambiguous enough to cover either eventuality.
501. Genesis 31:40 tn Or “by drought.”
502. Genesis 31:40 tn Heb “frost, ice,” though when contrasted with the חֹרֶב (khorev, “drought, parching heat”) of the day, “piercing cold” is more appropriate as a contrast.
503. Genesis 31:40 tn Heb “and my sleep fled from my eyes.”
504. Genesis 31:41 tn Heb “this to me.”
505. Genesis 31:41 tn Heb “served you,” but in this accusatory context the meaning is more “worked like a slave.”
506. Genesis 31:42 tn Heb “the fear of Isaac,” that is, the one whom Isaac feared and respected. For further discussion of this title see M. Malul, “More on pahad yitschaq (Gen. 31:42, 53) and the Oath by the Thigh,” VT 35 (1985): 192-200.
507. Genesis 31:42 tn Heb “My oppression and the work of my hands God saw.”
508. Genesis 31:43 tn Heb “answered and said.”
509. Genesis 31:43 tn Heb “daughters.”
510. Genesis 31:43 tn Heb “children.”
511. Genesis 31:43 tn Heb “but to my daughters what can I do to these today?”
512. Genesis 31:44 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
513. Genesis 31:44 tn The verb הָיָה (hayah) followed by the preposition ל (lamed) means “become.”
514. Genesis 31:44 tn Heb “and it will become a witness between me and you.”
515. Genesis 31:46 tn Heb “Jacob”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
516. Genesis 31:46 sn The Hebrew word for “pile” is גַּל (gal), which sounds like the name “Galeed” (גַּלְעֵד, galʿed). See v. 48.
517. Genesis 31:47 sn Jegar Sahadutha. Laban the Aramean gave the place an Aramaic name which means “witness pile” or “the pile is a witness.”
518. Genesis 31:47 sn Galeed also means “witness pile” or “the pile is a witness,” but this name is Canaanite or Western Semitic and closer to later Hebrew. Jacob, though certainly capable of speaking Aramaic, here prefers to use the western dialect.
519. Genesis 31:48 tn Heb “a witness between me and you.”
520. Genesis 31:49 tn Heb “and Mizpah.”
521. Genesis 31:49 sn The name Mizpah (מִצְפָּה, mitspah), which means “watchpost,” sounds like the verb translated “may he watch” (יִצֶף, yitsef). Neither Laban nor Jacob felt safe with each other, and so they agreed to go their separate ways, trusting the Lord to keep watch at the border. Jacob did not need this treaty, but Laban, perhaps because he had lost his household gods, felt he did.
522. Genesis 31:49 tn Heb “between me and you.”
523. Genesis 31:49 tn Heb “for we will be hidden, each man from his neighbor.”
524. Genesis 31:50 tn Heb “see.”
525. Genesis 31:50 tn Heb “between me and you.”
526. Genesis 31:51 tn Heb “and Laban said to Jacob, ‘Behold this heap and behold the pillar which I have set between me and you.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
527. Genesis 31:52 tn Heb “This pile is a witness, and the pillar is a witness: surely I will not pass by this pile to you, and surely you will not pass by this pile and this pillar to me, for harm.”
528. Genesis 31:53 tn The God of Abraham and the god of Nahor. The Hebrew verb translated “judge” is plural, suggesting that Laban has more than one “god” in mind. Smr and the LXX, apparently in an effort to make the statement monotheistic, have a singular verb. In this case one could translate, “May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” However, Laban had a polytheistic world view, as evidenced by his possession of household idols (cf. 31:19). The translation uses “God” when referring to Abraham’s God, for Genesis makes it clear that Abraham worshiped the one true God. It employs “god” when referring to Nahor’s god, for in the Hebrew text Laban refers to a different god here, probably one of the local deities.
529. Genesis 31:53 tn Heb “by the fear of his father Isaac.” See the note on the word “fears” in v. 42.
530. Genesis 31:54 tn The construction is a cognate accusative with the verb, expressing a specific sacrifice.
531. Genesis 31:54 tn Heb “bread, food.” Presumably this was a type of peace offering, where the person bringing the offering ate the animal being sacrificed.
532. Genesis 31:55 sn Beginning with 31:55, the verse numbers in the English Bible through 32:32 differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 31:55 ET = 32:1 HT, 32:1 ET = 32:2 HT, etc., through 32:32 ET = 32:33 HT. From 33:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
533. Genesis 31:55 tn Heb “and Laban got up early in the morning and he kissed.”
534. Genesis 31:55 tn Heb “his sons.”
535. Genesis 31:55 tn Heb “to his place.”
536. Genesis 32:1 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.
537. Genesis 32:2 tn Heb “and Jacob said when he saw them.”
538. Genesis 32:2 sn The name Mahanaim apparently means “two camps.” Perhaps the two camps were those of God and of Jacob.
539. Genesis 32:3 tn Heb “before him.”
540. Genesis 32:3 tn Heb “field.”
541. Genesis 32:4 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.
542. Genesis 32:4 tn Heb “Laban and have lingered until now.”
543. Genesis 32:5 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.
544. Genesis 32:5 tn The words “this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
545. Genesis 32:8 tn Heb “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.”
546. Genesis 32:8 tn Heb “and he said, ‘If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.” The Hebrew verb אָמַר (ʾamar) 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.
547. Genesis 32:8 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.
548. Genesis 32:9 tn Heb “said.”
549. Genesis 32:9 tn Heb “the one who said.”
550. Genesis 32:9 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.
551. Genesis 32:10 tn Heb “the loving deeds and faithfulness” (see 24:27, 49).
552. Genesis 32:10 tn Heb “you have done with.”
553. Genesis 32:10 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.
554. Genesis 32:10 tn Heb “this Jordan.”
555. Genesis 32:11 tn The imperative has the force of a prayer here, not a command.
556. Genesis 32:11 tn The “hand” here is a metonymy for “power.”
557. Genesis 32:11 tn Heb “from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau.”
558. Genesis 32:11 tn Heb “for I am afraid of him, lest he come.”
559. Genesis 32:11 sn Heb “me, [the] mother upon [the] sons.” The first person pronoun “me” probably means here “me and mine,” as the following clause suggests.
560. Genesis 32:12 tn Heb “But you, you said.” One of the occurrences of the pronoun “you” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.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.
561. Genesis 32:12 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.
562. Genesis 32:12 tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the nuance of the preceding verb forward.
563. Genesis 32:12 tn Heb “which cannot be counted because of abundance.” The imperfect verbal form indicates potential here.
564. Genesis 32:13 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
565. Genesis 32:13 tn Heb “and he took from that which was going into his hand,” meaning that he took some of what belonged to him.
566. Genesis 32:13 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).
567. Genesis 32:16 tn Heb “and he put them in the hand of.”
568. Genesis 32:16 tn Heb “a herd, a herd, by itself,” or “each herd by itself.” The distributive sense is expressed by repetition.
569. Genesis 32:17 tn Heb “the first”; this has been specified as “the servant leading the first herd” in the translation for clarity.
570. Genesis 32:17 tn Heb “to whom are you?”
571. Genesis 32:17 tn Heb “and to whom are these before you?”
572. Genesis 32:18 tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; it has the nuance of an imperfect of instruction.
573. Genesis 32:18 tn The words “they belong” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
574. Genesis 32:18 tn Heb “to your servant, to Jacob.”
575. Genesis 32:18 tn Heb “to my lord, to Esau.”
576. Genesis 32:18 tn Heb “and look, also he [is] behind us.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
577. Genesis 32:19 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.’”
578. Genesis 32:20 tn Heb “and look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.”
579. Genesis 32:20 tn Heb “for he said.” The referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew verb אָמַר (ʾamar), traditionally represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “thought.”
580. Genesis 32:20 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 550 animals.
581. Genesis 32:20 tn Heb “with a gift going before me.”
582. Genesis 32:20 tn Heb “I will see his face.”
583. Genesis 32:20 tn Heb “Perhaps he will lift up my face.” In this context the idiom refers to acceptance.
584. Genesis 32:21 tn Heb “and the gift passed over upon his face.”
585. Genesis 32:21 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial/temporal.
586. Genesis 32:22 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.
587. Genesis 32:22 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).
588. Genesis 32:22 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.
589. Genesis 32:23 tn Heb “and he sent across what he had.”
590. Genesis 32:24 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.
591. Genesis 32:24 sn The verb translated “wrestled” (וַיֵּאָבֵק, vayyeʾaveq) sounds in Hebrew like the names “Jacob” (יַעֲקֹב, yaʿaqov) 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.
592. Genesis 32:24 tn Heb “until the rising of the dawn.”
593. Genesis 32:25 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
594. Genesis 32:25 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
595. Genesis 32:25 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.
596. Genesis 32:26 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
597. Genesis 32:26 tn Heb “dawn has arisen.”
598. Genesis 32:26 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.
599. Genesis 32:26 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.
600. Genesis 32:27 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.
601. Genesis 32:27 sn What is your name? The question is rhetorical, since the Lord obviously knew Jacob’s identity. But since the Lord is going to change Jacob’s name, this question is designed to focus Jacob’s attention on all that his name had come to signify.
602. Genesis 32:28 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.
603. Genesis 32:28 sn The name Israel is a common construction, using a verb with a theophoric element (אֵל, ʾel) 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 Lord was saying that Jacob would have victory and receive the promises because God would fight for him.
604. Genesis 32:28 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, yisraʾel), 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).
605. Genesis 32:29 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.
606. Genesis 32:29 tn The question uses the enclitic pronoun “this” to emphasize the import of the question.
607. Genesis 32:29 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.
608. Genesis 32:29 tn The verb here means that the Lord endowed Jacob with success; he would be successful in everything he did, including meeting Esau.
609. Genesis 32:29 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
610. Genesis 32:30 sn The name Peniel means “face of God.” Since Jacob saw God face-to-face here, the name is appropriate.
611. Genesis 32:30 tn The word “explaining” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
612. Genesis 32:30 tn Or “because.”
613. Genesis 32:30 sn I have seen God face-to-face. See the note on the name “Peniel” earlier in the verse.
614. Genesis 32:30 tn Heb “and my soul [= life] has been preserved.”sn I have survived. It was commonly understood that no one could see God and live (Gen 48:16; Exod 19:21; 24:10; 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.
615. Genesis 32:31 tn Heb “shone.”
616. Genesis 32:31 sn The name is spelled Penuel here, apparently a variant spelling of Peniel (see v. 30).
617. Genesis 32:31 tn The disjunctive clause draws attention to an important fact: He may have crossed the stream, but he was limping.
618. Genesis 32:32 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.
619. Genesis 32:32 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.
620. Genesis 33:1 tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his eyes.”
621. Genesis 33:1 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.
622. Genesis 33:2 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.
623. Genesis 33:3 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
624. Genesis 33:3 tn Heb “until his drawing near unto his brother.” The construction uses the preposition with the infinitive construct to express a temporal clause.
625. Genesis 33:5 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
626. Genesis 33:5 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”
627. Genesis 33:5 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
628. Genesis 33:5 tn The Hebrew verb means “to be gracious; to show favor”; here it carries the nuance “to give graciously.”
629. Genesis 33:6 tn Heb “and the female servants drew near, they and their children and they bowed down.”
630. Genesis 33:8 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
631. Genesis 33:8 tn Heb “Who to you?”
632. Genesis 33:8 tn Heb “all this camp which I met.”
633. Genesis 33:8 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
634. Genesis 33:10 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.
635. Genesis 33:10 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.
636. Genesis 33:10 tn The verbal form is the preterite with a vav (ו) consecutive, indicating result here.
637. Genesis 33:10 tn Heb “for therefore I have seen your face like seeing the face of God and you have accepted me.”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.
638. Genesis 33:11 tn Heb “blessing.” It is as if Jacob is trying to repay what he stole from his brother twenty years earlier.
639. Genesis 33:11 tn Or “gracious,” but in the specific sense of prosperity.
640. Genesis 33:11 tn Heb “all.”
641. Genesis 33:11 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.
642. Genesis 33:12 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
643. Genesis 33:12 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.”
644. Genesis 33:13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
645. Genesis 33:13 tn Heb “weak.”
646. Genesis 33:13 tn Heb “and the sheep and the cattle nursing [are] upon me.”
647. Genesis 33:14 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.”
648. Genesis 33:15 tn The cohortative verbal form here indicates a polite offer of help.
649. Genesis 33:15 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.
650. Genesis 33:15 tn Heb “I am finding favor in the eyes of my lord.”
651. Genesis 33:16 tn Heb “returned on his way.”
652. Genesis 33:17 tn The disjunctive clause contrasts Jacob’s action with Esau’s.
653. Genesis 33:17 sn But Jacob traveled to Sukkoth. 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.
654. Genesis 33:17 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.
655. Genesis 33:17 sn The name Sukkoth means “shelters,” an appropriate name in light of the shelters Jacob built there for his livestock.
656. Genesis 33:18 tn Heb “in front of.”
657. Genesis 33:19 tn The words “he bought it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 19 is one long sentence.
658. Genesis 33:19 tn The Hebrew word קְשִׂיטָה (q^esitah) is generally understood to refer to a unit of money, but the value is unknown. (However, cf. REB, which renders the term as “sheep”).
659. Genesis 33:20 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.
660. Genesis 34:1 tn Heb “went out to see.” The verb “to see,” followed by the preposition ב (bet), here has the idea of “look over.” The young girl wanted to meet these women and see what they were like.
661. Genesis 34:1 tn Heb “daughters.”
662. Genesis 34:2 tn Heb “and he took her and lay with her.” The suffixed form following the verb appears to be the sign of the accusative instead of the preposition, but see BDB 1012 s.v. שָׁכַב.
663. Genesis 34:2 tn The verb עָנָה (ʿanah) in the Piel stem can have various shades of meaning, depending on the context: “to defile; to mistreat; to violate; to rape; to shame; to afflict.” Here it means that Shechem violated or humiliated Dinah by raping her.
664. Genesis 34:3 tn Heb “his soul stuck to [or “joined with”],” meaning Shechem became very attached to Dinah emotionally.
665. Genesis 34:3 tn Heb “and he spoke to the heart of the young woman,” which apparently refers in this context to tender, romantic speech (Hos 2:14). Another option is to translate the expression “he reassured the young woman” (see Judg 19:3, 2 Sam 19:7; cf. NEB “comforted her”).
666. Genesis 34:4 tn Heb “Take for me this young woman for a wife.”
667. Genesis 34:5 tn The two disjunctive clauses in this verse (“Now Jacob heard…and his sons were”) are juxtaposed to indicate synchronic action.
668. Genesis 34:5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
669. Genesis 34:5 sn The expected response would be anger or rage, but Jacob remained silent. He appears too indifferent or confused to act decisively. When the leader does not act decisively, the younger zealots will, and often with disastrous results.
670. Genesis 34:6 tn Heb “went out to Jacob to speak with him.” The words “about Dinah” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
671. Genesis 34:7 tn Heb “when they heard.” The words “the news” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
672. Genesis 34:7 tn Heb “the men.” This sounds as if a new group has been introduced into the narrative, so it has been translated as “they” to indicate that it refers to Jacob’s sons, mentioned in the first part of the verse.
673. Genesis 34:7 tn The Hebrew verb עָצַב (ʿatsav) can carry one of three semantic nuances depending on the context: (1) “to be injured” (Ps 56:5; Eccl 10:9; 1 Chr 4:10); (2) “to experience emotional pain; to be depressed emotionally; to be worried” (2 Sam 19:2; Isa 54:6; Neh 8:10-11); (3) “to be embarrassed; to be insulted; to be offended” (to the point of anger at another or oneself; Gen 6:6; 45:5; 1 Sam 20:3, 34; 1 Kgs 1:6; Isa 63:10; Ps 78:40). This third category develops from the second by metonymy. In certain contexts emotional pain leads to embarrassment and/or anger. In this last use the subject sometimes directs his anger against the source of grief (see especially Gen 6:6). The third category fits best in Gen 34:7 because Jacob’s sons were not merely wounded emotionally. On the contrary, Shechem’s action prompted them to strike out in judgment against the source of their distress.
674. Genesis 34:7 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
675. Genesis 34:7 tn Heb “a disgraceful thing he did against Israel.”
676. Genesis 34:7 tn Heb “by lying with the daughter of Jacob.” The infinitive here explains the preceding verb, indicating exactly how he had disgraced Jacob. The expression “to lie with” is a euphemism for sexual relations, or in this case, sexual assault.
677. Genesis 34:7 tn Heb “and so it should not be done.” The negated imperfect has an obligatory nuance here, but there is also a generalizing tone. The narrator emphasizes that this particular type of crime (sexual assault) is especially reprehensible.
678. Genesis 34:8 tn Heb “Shechem my son, his soul is attached to your daughter.” The verb means “to love” in the sense of being emotionally attached to or drawn to someone. This is a slightly different way of saying what was reported earlier (v. 3). However, there is no mention here of the offense. Even though Hamor is speaking to Dinah’s brothers, he refers to her as their daughter (see v. 17).
679. Genesis 34:9 tn Heb “form marriage alliances with us.”sn Intermarry with us. This includes the idea of becoming allied by marriage. The incident foreshadows the temptations Israel would eventually face when they entered the promised land (see Deut 7:3; Josh 23:12).
680. Genesis 34:9 tn Heb “Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.” In the translation the words “let…marry” and “as wives” are supplied for clarity.
681. Genesis 34:10 tn The imperfect verbal form has a permissive nuance here.
682. Genesis 34:10 tn Heb “before you.”
683. Genesis 34:10 tn The verb seems to carry the basic meaning “travel about freely,” although the substantival participial form refers to a trader (see E. A. Speiser, “The Verb sḥr in Genesis and Early Hebrew Movements,” BASOR 164 [1961]: 23-28); cf. NIV, NRSV “trade in it.”
684. Genesis 34:11 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Dinah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
685. Genesis 34:11 tn Heb “whatever you say.”
686. Genesis 34:11 tn Or “pay.”
687. Genesis 34:12 tn Heb “Make very great upon me the bride price and gift.” The imperatives are used in a rhetorical manner. Shechem’s point is that he will pay the price, no matter how expensive it might be.
688. Genesis 34:12 tn The cohortative expresses Shechem’s resolve to have Dinah as his wife.
689. Genesis 34:12 tn Heb “say.”
690. Genesis 34:13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
691. Genesis 34:14 tn Heb “we are not able to do this thing, to give.” The second infinitive is in apposition to the first, explaining what they are not able to do.
692. Genesis 34:14 tn The Hebrew word translated “disgrace” usually means “ridicule; taunt; reproach.” It can also refer to the reason the condition of shame or disgrace causes ridicule or a reproach.
693. Genesis 34:15 tn Heb “if you are like us.”
694. Genesis 34:15 tn The infinitive here explains how they would become like them.
695. Genesis 34:16 tn The perfect verbal form with the vav (ו) consecutive introduces the apodosis of the conditional sentence.
696. Genesis 34:16 tn The words “to marry” (and the words “as wives” in the following clause) are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
697. Genesis 34:17 tn Heb “listen to us.”
698. Genesis 34:17 tn The perfect verbal form with the vav (ו) consecutive introduces the apodosis of the conditional sentence.
699. Genesis 34:17 tn Heb “daughter.” Jacob’s sons call Dinah their daughter, even though she was their sister (see v. 8). This has been translated as “sister” for clarity.
700. Genesis 34:18 tn Heb “and their words were good in the eyes of Hamor and in the eyes of Shechem son of Hamor.”
701. Genesis 34:19 tn Heb “doing the thing.”
702. Genesis 34:19 tn Heb “Jacob’s daughter.” The proper name “Dinah” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
703. Genesis 34:19 tn The Hebrew verb כָּבֵד (kaved), translated “was…important,” has the primary meaning “to be heavy,” but here carries a secondary sense of “to be important” (that is, “heavy” in honor or respect).
704. Genesis 34:19 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause explains why the community would respond to him (see vv. 20-24).
705. Genesis 34:20 sn The gate. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the location for conducting important public business.
706. Genesis 34:21 tn Heb “wide on both hands,” that is, in both directions.
707. Genesis 34:21 tn The words “to marry” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
708. Genesis 34:22 tn Heb “when every one of our males is circumcised.”
709. Genesis 34:23 tn The words “If we do so” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
710. Genesis 34:24 tn Heb “all those going out the gate of his city.”
711. Genesis 34:24 tn Heb “listened to.”
712. Genesis 34:24 tn Heb “all those going out the gate of his city.”
713. Genesis 34:25 tn Heb “a man his sword.”
714. Genesis 34:25 tn Heb “and they came upon the city, [which was] secure.” In this case “secure” means the city was caught unprepared and at peace, not expecting an attack.
715. Genesis 34:27 tn Heb “came upon the slain.” Because of this statement the preceding phrase “Jacob’s sons” is frequently taken to mean the other sons of Jacob besides Simeon and Levi, but the text does not clearly affirm this.
716. Genesis 34:27 tn Heb “because they violated their sister.” The plural verb is active in form, but with no expressed subject, it may be translated passive.
717. Genesis 34:28 tn Heb “and what was in the city and what was in the field they took.”
718. Genesis 34:29 tn Heb “they took captive and they plundered,” that is, “they captured as plunder.”
719. Genesis 34:30 tn The traditional translation is “troubled me” (KJV, ASV), but the verb refers to personal or national disaster and suggests complete ruin (see Josh 7:25, Judg 11:35, Prov 11:17). The remainder of the verse describes the “trouble” Simeon and Levi had caused.
720. Genesis 34:30 tn In the causative stem the Hebrew verb בָּאַשׁ (baʾash) means “to cause to stink, to have a foul smell.” In the contexts in which it is used it describes foul smells, stenches, or things that are odious. Jacob senses that the people in the land will find this act terribly repulsive. See P. R. Ackroyd, “The Hebrew Root באשׁ,” JTS 2 (1951): 31-36.
721. Genesis 34:30 tn Jacob speaks in the first person as the head and representative of the entire family.
722. Genesis 34:31 tn Heb “but they said.” The referent of “they” (Simeon and Levi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
723. Genesis 35:1 tn Heb “arise, go up.” The first imperative gives the command a sense of urgency.
724. Genesis 35:1 sn God is calling on Jacob to fulfill his vow he made when he fled from…Esau (see Gen 28:20-22).
725. Genesis 35:2 tn Heb “which are in your midst.”
726. Genesis 35:2 sn The actions of removing false gods, becoming ritually clean, and changing garments would become necessary steps in Israel when approaching the Lord in worship.
727. Genesis 35:3 tn Heb “let us arise and let us go up.” The first cohortative gives the statement a sense of urgency.
728. Genesis 35:3 tn The cohortative with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose or consequence.
729. Genesis 35:3 tn Heb “day of distress.” See Ps 20:1 which utilizes similar language.
730. Genesis 35:3 tn Heb “in the way in which I went.” Jacob alludes here to God’s promise to be with him (see Gen 28:20).
731. Genesis 35:4 tn Heb “in their hand.”
732. Genesis 35:4 tn Or “the rings that were in the ears of the idols.” The third person plural suffix on the word בְּאָזְנֵיהֶם (b^eʾoznehem, “in their ears”) could refer to the members of Jacob’s household or the “gods” which they possessed. Most exegetes understand it to refer to the people, but Victor Hurowitz, “Who Lost an Earring? Genesis 35:4 Reconsidered,” CBQ 62 (2000): 28-32, argues that the earrings were in the ears of the idols.sn On the basis of a comparison with Gen 34 and Num 31, G. J. Wenham (Genesis [WBC], 2:324) argues that the foreign gods and the rings could have been part of the plunder that came from the destruction of Shechem. Whereas if the rings were in the ears of the idols, then getting rid of the idols while not keeping the rings (even for monetary value) emphasizes the extent of putting away the foreign gods and purifying themselves. N. Fox has suggested that ear rings in the idols related to the gods hearing prayers while ear rings in the people symbolized obedience (John Walton, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary I, 119). If so, giving the earrings further symbolized the breaking of relationship with these false gods.
733. Genesis 35:4 sn Jacob buried them. On the burial of the gods, see E. Nielson, “The Burial of the Foreign Gods,” ST 8 (1954/55): 102-22.
734. Genesis 35:4 tn Or “terebinth.”
735. Genesis 35:5 tn Heb “and they journeyed.”
736. Genesis 35:5 tn Heb “and the fear of God was upon the cities which were round about them.” The expression “fear of God” apparently refers (1) to a fear of God (objective genitive; God is the object of their fear). (2) But it could mean “fear from God,” that is, fear which God placed in them (cf. NRSV “a terror from God”). Another option (3) is that the divine name is used as a superlative here, referring to “tremendous fear” (cf. NEB “were panic-stricken”; NASB “a great terror”).
737. Genesis 35:6 tn Heb “and Jacob came to Luz which is in the land of Canaan—it is Bethel—he and all the people who were with him.”
738. Genesis 35:7 sn The name El Bethel means “God of Bethel.”
739. Genesis 35:7 tn Heb “revealed themselves.” The verb נִגְלוּ (niglu), translated “revealed himself,” is plural, even though one expects the singular form with the plural of majesty. Perhaps אֱלֹהִים (ʾelohim) is here a numerical plural, referring both to God and the angelic beings that appeared to Jacob. See the note on the word “know” in Gen 3:5.
740. Genesis 35:8 sn Deborah. This woman had been Rebekah’s nurse, but later attached herself to Jacob. She must have been about 180 years old when she died.
741. Genesis 35:8 tn “and he called its name.” There is no expressed subject, so the verb can be translated as passive.
742. Genesis 35:8 tn Or “Allon Bacuth,” if one transliterates the Hebrew name (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). An oak tree was revered in the ancient world and often designated as a shrine or landmark. This one was named for the weeping (mourning) occasioned by the death of Deborah.
743. Genesis 35:10 tn Heb “and he called his name Israel.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.sn The name Israel means “God fights” (although some interpret the meaning as “he fights [with] God”). See Gen 32:28.
744. Genesis 35:11 tn The name אֵל שַׁדַּי (ʾel 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 its significance is clear. The name is used in contexts where God appears as the source of fertility and life. For a fuller discussion see the note on “Sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.
745. Genesis 35:11 tn Heb “A nation and a company of nations will be from you and kings from your loins will come out.”sn A nation…will descend from you. The promise is rooted in the Abrahamic promise (see Gen 17). God confirms what Isaac told Jacob (see Gen 28:3-4). Here, though, for the first time Jacob is promised kings as descendants.
746. Genesis 35:12 tn The Hebrew verb translated “gave” refers to the Abrahamic promise of the land. However, the actual possession of that land lay in the future. The decree of the Lord made it certain, but it has the sense “promised to give.”
747. Genesis 35:12 tn Heb “and to your offspring after you.”
748. Genesis 35:13 tn Heb “went up from upon him in the place.”
749. Genesis 35:14 tn Heb “and Jacob set up a sacred pillar in the place where he spoke with him, a sacred pillar of stone” (see the notes on the term “sacred stone” in Gen 28:18). This passage stands parallel to Gen 28:18-19, where Jacob set up a sacred stone, poured oil on it, and called the place Bethel. Some commentators see these as two traditions referring to the same event, but it is more likely that Jacob reconsecrated the place in fulfillment of the vow he had made here earlier. In support of this is the fact that the present narrative alludes to and is built on the previous one.
750. Genesis 35:14 tn The verb נָסַךְ (nasakh) means “to pour out, to make libations,” and the noun נֶסֶךְ (nesekh) is a “drink-offering,” usually of wine or of blood. The verb יָצַק (yatsaq) means “to pour out,” often of anointing oil, but of other elements as well.
751. Genesis 35:15 sn Called the name of the place. In view of the previous naming of Bethel in Gen 28:19, here Jacob was confirming or affirming the name through an official ritual marking the fulfillment of the vow. This place now did become Bethel, the house of God.
752. Genesis 35:15 tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew.
753. Genesis 35:16 tn Heb “and there was still a stretch of the land to go to Ephrath.”
754. Genesis 35:16 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.”
755. Genesis 35:17 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).
756. Genesis 35:17 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.
757. Genesis 35:18 tn Heb “in the going out of her life, for she was dying.” Rachel named the child with her dying breath.
758. Genesis 35:18 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.
759. Genesis 35:18 tn The disjunctive clause is contrastive.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.
760. Genesis 35:19 sn This explanatory note links the earlier name Ephrath with the later name Bethlehem.
761. Genesis 35:20 tn Heb “standing stone.”
762. Genesis 35:20 tn Or perhaps “it is known as” (cf. NEB).
763. Genesis 35:21 sn The location of Migdal Eder is not given. It appears to be somewhere between Bethlehem and Hebron. Various traditions have identified it as at the shepherds’ fields near Bethlehem (the Hebrew name Migdal Eder means “tower of the flock”; see Mic 4:8) or located it near Solomon’s pools.
764. Genesis 35:22 tn Heb “lay down with.” The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) “to lie down” can imply going to bed to sleep or be a euphemism for sexual relations.sn Reuben’s act of having sexual relations with Bilhah probably had other purposes than merely satisfying his sexual desire. By having sex with Bilhah, Reuben (Leah’s oldest son) would have prevented Bilhah from succeeding Rachel as the favorite wife, and by sleeping with his father’s concubine he would also be attempting to take over leadership of the clan—something Absalom foolishly attempted later on in Israel’s history (2 Sam 16:21-22).