Kejadian 28:1-22

28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman! ¹  28:2 Leave immediately ²  for Paddan Aram! Go to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and find yourself a wife there, among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. 28:3 May the sovereign God ³  bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! ⁴  Then you will become ⁵  a large nation. ⁶  28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham ⁷  so that you may possess the land ⁸  God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” ⁹  28:5 So Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean and brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

28:6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan Aram to find a wife there. ¹⁰  As he blessed him, ¹¹  Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” ¹²  28:7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram. 28:8 Then Esau realized ¹³  that the Canaanite women ¹⁴  were displeasing to ¹⁵  his father Isaac. 28:9 So Esau went to Ishmael and married ¹⁶  Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, along with the wives he already had.

Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

28:10 Meanwhile Jacob left Beer Sheba and set out for Haran. 28:11 He reached a certain place ¹⁷  where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. ¹⁸  He took one of the stones ¹⁹  and placed it near his head. ²⁰  Then he fell asleep ²¹  in that place 28:12 and had a dream. ²²  He saw ²³  a stairway ²⁴  erected on the earth with its top reaching to the heavens. The angels of God were going up and coming down it 28:13 and the Lord stood at its top. He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac. ²⁵  I will give you and your descendants the ground ²⁶  you are lying on. 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, ²⁷  and you will spread out ²⁸  to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ²⁹  using your name and that of your descendants. ³⁰  28:15 I am with you! ³¹  I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!”

28:16 Then Jacob woke up ³²  and thought, ³³  “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not realize it!” 28:17 He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is nothing else than the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!”

28:18 Early ³⁴  in the morning Jacob ³⁵  took the stone he had placed near his head ³⁶  and set it up as a sacred stone. ³⁷  Then he poured oil on top of it. 28:19 He called that place Bethel, ³⁸  although the former name of the town was Luz. 28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God is with me and protects me on this journey I am taking and gives me food ³⁹  to eat and clothing to wear, 28:21 and I return safely to my father’s home, ⁴⁰  then the Lord will become my God. 28:22 Then this stone ⁴¹  that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely ⁴²  give you back a tenth of everything you give me.” ⁴³ 

Kejadian 1:6

1:6 God said, “Let there be an expanse ⁴⁴  in the midst of the waters and let it separate water ⁴⁵  from water.

Kejadian 9:23-24

9:23 Shem and Japheth took the garment ⁴⁶  and placed it on their shoulders. Then they walked in backwards and covered up their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned ⁴⁷  the other way so they did not see their father’s nakedness.

9:24 When Noah awoke from his drunken stupor ⁴⁸  he learned ⁴⁹  what his youngest son had done ⁵⁰  to him.

Yesaya 41:9

41:9 you whom I am bringing back ⁵¹  from the earth’s extremities,

and have summoned from the remote regions –

I told you, “You are my servant.”

I have chosen you and not rejected you.

Yesaya 41:1

The Lord Challenges the Nations

41:1 “Listen to me in silence, you coastlands! ⁵² 

Let the nations find renewed strength!

Let them approach and then speak;

let us come together for debate! ⁵³ 

Kolose 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ⁵⁴  brothers and sisters ⁵⁵  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ⁵⁶  from God our Father! ⁵⁷ 

Kolose 1:9

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ⁵⁸  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ⁵⁹  to fill ⁶⁰  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Efesus 4:4

4:4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you too were called to the one hope of your calling,

Ibrani 9:15

9:15 And so he is the mediator ⁶¹  of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance he has promised, ⁶²  since he died ⁶³  to set them free from the violations committed under the first covenant.

Ibrani 9:1

The Arrangement and Ritual of the Earthly Sanctuary

9:1 Now the first covenant, ⁶⁴  in fact, had regulations for worship and its earthly sanctuary.

Pengkhotbah 2:9

2:9 So ⁶⁵  I was far wealthier ⁶⁶  than all my predecessors in Jerusalem,

yet I maintained my objectivity: ⁶⁷ 

Pengkhotbah 2:2

2:2 I said of partying, ⁶⁸  “It is folly,”

and of self-indulgent pleasure, ⁶⁹  “It accomplishes nothing!” ⁷⁰ 

Pengkhotbah 1:10

1:10 Is there anything about which someone can say, “Look at this! It is new!”? ⁷¹ 

It was already ⁷²  done long ago, ⁷³  before our time. ⁷⁴ 

Wahyu 17:14

17:14 They will make war with the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those accompanying ⁷⁵  the Lamb are the called, chosen, and faithful.”

Wahyu 19:9

19:9 Then ⁷⁶  the angel ⁷⁷  said to me, “Write the following: Blessed are those who are invited to the banquet at the wedding celebration of the Lamb!” He also said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

[28:1]  ¹ tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”

[28:2]  ² tn Heb “Arise! Go!” The first of the two imperatives is adverbial and stresses the immediacy of the departure.

[28:3]  ³ tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.

[28:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “and make you fruitful and multiply you.” See Gen 17:6, 20 for similar terminology.

[28:3]  ⁵ tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here indicates consequence. The collocation הָיָה + preposition לְ (hayah + lÿ) means “become.”

[28:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”

[28:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “and may he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you.” The name “Abraham” is an objective genitive here; this refers to the blessing that God gave to Abraham.

[28:4]  ⁸ tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[28:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “the land of your sojournings,” that is, the land where Jacob had been living as a resident alien, as his future descendants would after him.

[28:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to take for himself from there a wife.”

[28:6]  ¹¹ tn The infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffix form a temporal clause.

[28:6]  ¹² tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”

[28:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “saw.”

[28:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the daughters of Canaan.”

[28:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “evil in the eyes of.”

[28:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “took for a wife.”

[28:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the place.” The article may indicate simply that the place is definite in the mind of the narrator. However, as the story unfolds the place is transformed into a holy place. See A. P. Ross, “Jacob’s Vision: The Founding of Bethel,” BSac 142 (1985): 224-37.

[28:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.”

[28:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he took from the stones of the place,” which here means Jacob took one of the stones (see v. 18).

[28:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and he put [it at] the place of his head.” The text does not actually say the stone was placed under his head to serve as a pillow, although most interpreters and translators assume this. It is possible the stone served some other purpose. Jacob does not seem to have been a committed monotheist yet (see v. 20-21) so he may have believed it contained some spiritual power. Note that later in the story he anticipates the stone becoming the residence of God (see v. 22). Many cultures throughout the world view certain types of stones as magical and/or sacred. See J. G. Fraser, Folklore in the Old Testament, 231-37.

[28:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “lay down.”

[28:12]  ²² tn Heb “and dreamed.”

[28:12]  ²³ 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).

[28:12]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew noun סֻלָּם (sullam, “ladder, stairway”) occurs only here in the OT, but there appears to be an Akkadian cognate simmiltu (with metathesis of the second and third consonants and a feminine ending) which has a specialized meaning of “stairway, ramp.” See H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 34. For further discussion see C. Houtman, “What Did Jacob See in His Dream at Bethel? Some Remarks on Genesis 28:10-22,” VT 27 (1977): 337-52; J. G. Griffiths, “The Celestial Ladder and the Gate of Heaven,” ExpTim 76 (1964/65): 229-30; and A. R. Millard, “The Celestial Ladder and the Gate of Heaven,” ExpTim 78 (1966/67): 86-87.

[28:13]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.” The Hebrew word for “father” can typically be used in a broader sense than the English word, in this case referring to Abraham (who was Jacob’s grandfather). For stylistic reasons and for clarity, the words “your father” are supplied with “Isaac” in the translation.

[28:13]  ²⁶ tn The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (’erets) can mean “[the] earth,” “land,” “region,” “piece of ground,” or “ground” depending on the context. Here the term specifically refers to the plot of ground on which Jacob was lying, but at the same time this stands by metonymy for the entire land of Canaan.

[28:14]  ²⁷ tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.

[28:14]  ²⁸ tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.

[28:14]  ²⁹ tn Theoretically the Niphal stem can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Jacob were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in other formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless (i.e., pronounce blessings upon) themselves/one another.” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 28:14 predicts that Jacob will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae (see Gen 12:2 and 18:18 as well, where Abram/Abraham receives this promise). For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.

[28:14]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”

[28:15]  ³¹ tn Heb “Look, I [am] with you.” The clause is a nominal clause; the verb to be supplied could be present (as in the translation) or future, “Look, I [will be] with you” (cf. NEB).

[28:16]  ³² tn Heb “woke up from his sleep.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[28:16]  ³³ tn Heb “said.”

[28:18]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and he got up early…and he took.”

[28:18]  ³⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:18]  ³⁶ tn See the note on this phrase in v. 11.

[28:18]  ³⁷ tn Heb “standing stone.”

[28:18]  sn Sacred stone. Such a stone could be used as a boundary marker, a burial stone, or as a shrine. Here the stone is intended to be a reminder of the stairway that was “erected” and on which the 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.

[28:19]  ³⁸ tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew (see v. 17).

[28:19]  map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[28:20]  ³⁹ tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.

[28:21]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.”

[28:22]  ⁴¹ tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.

[28:22]  ⁴² tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.

[28:22]  ⁴³ 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.

[1:6]  ⁴⁴ tn The Hebrew word refers to an expanse of air pressure between the surface of the sea and the clouds, separating water below from water above. In v. 8 it is called “sky.”

[1:6]  sn An expanse. In the poetic texts the writers envision, among other things, something rather strong and shiny, no doubt influencing the traditional translation “firmament” (cf. NRSV “dome”). Job 37:18 refers to the skies poured out like a molten mirror. Dan 12:3 and Ezek 1:22 portray it as shiny. The sky or atmosphere may have seemed like a glass dome. For a detailed study of the Hebrew conception of the heavens and sky, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World (AnBib), 37-60.

[1:6]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “the waters from the waters.”

[9:23]  ⁴⁶ tn The word translated “garment” has the Hebrew definite article on it. The article may simply indicate that the garment is definite and vivid in the mind of the narrator, but it could refer instead to Noah’s garment. Did Ham bring it out when he told his brothers?

[9:23]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “their faces [were turned] back.”

[9:24]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “his wine,” used here by metonymy for the drunken stupor it produced.

[9:24]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “he knew.”

[9:24]  ⁵⁰ tn The Hebrew verb עָשָׂה (’asah, “to do”) carries too general a sense to draw the conclusion that Ham had to have done more than look on his father’s nakedness and tell his brothers.

[41:9]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “whom I have taken hold of [i.e., to lead back].”

[41:1]  ⁵² tn Or “islands” (KJV, NIV, CEV); TEV “distant lands”; NLT “lands beyond the sea.”

[41:1]  ⁵³ tn The Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) could be translated “judgment,” but here it seems to refer to the dispute or debate between the Lord and the nations.

[1:2]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:2]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ⁵⁷ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[1:9]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.

[1:9]  ⁵⁹ tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ⁶⁰ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.

[9:15]  ⁶¹ tn The Greek word μεσίτης (mesith", “mediator”) in this context does not imply that Jesus was a mediator in the contemporary sense of the word, i.e., he worked for compromise between opposing parties. Here the term describes his function as the one who was used by God to enact a new covenant which established a new relationship between God and his people, but entirely on God’s terms.

[9:15]  ⁶² tn Grk “the promise of the eternal inheritance.”

[9:15]  ⁶³ tn Grk “a death having occurred.”

[9:1]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “the first” (referring to the covenant described in Heb 8:7, 13). In the translation the referent (covenant) has been specified for clarity.

[2:9]  ⁶⁵ tn The vav prefixed to וְגָדַלְתִּי (vÿgadalti, vav + Qal perfect first common singular from גָּדַל, gadal, “to be great; to increase”) functions in a final summarizing sense, that is, it introduces the concluding summary of 2:4-9.

[2:9]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “I became great and I surpassed” (וְהוֹסַפְתִּי וְגָדַלְתִּי, vÿgadalti vÿhosafti). This is a verbal hendiadys in which the second verb functions adverbially, modifying the first: “I became far greater.” Most translations miss the hendiadys and render the line in a woodenly literal sense (KJV, ASV, RSV, NEB, NRSV, NAB, NASB, MLB, Moffatt), while only a few recognize the presence of hendiadys here: “I became greater by far” (NIV) and “I gained more” (NJPS).

[2:9]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “yet my wisdom stood for me,” meaning he retained his wise perspective despite his great wealth.

[2:2]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “laughter.” The term שְׂחוֹק (sÿkhoq, “laughter”) has a fourfold range of meanings: (1) “joyful laughter” (Ps 126:2; Prov 14:13; Job 8:21); (2) “frivolous laughter, merrymaking” (Eccl 2:2; 7:3, 6); (3) “pleasure, sport” (Prov 10:23; Eccl 10:19); and (4) “derision, mockery, laughingstock” (Jer 20:7; 48:26, 27, 39; Job 12:4; Lam 3:14). See HALOT 1315 s.v שְׂחוֹק; BDB 966 s.v. שְׂחֹק. In Ecclesiastes, שְׂחוֹק is always used in contexts of self-indulgent banqueting, drinking, frivolous partying and merrymaking (Eccl 2:2; 7:3, 6; 10:19). It is distinct from “healthy” joy and laughter (Ps 126:2; Job 8:21). The connotation of “frivolous merrymaking” fits this context best.

[2:2]  ⁶⁹ tn The term שִׂמְחָה (simkhah, “pleasure”) has a two-fold range of meanings in Ecclesiastes: (1) it can refer to the enjoyment of life that Qoheleth affirms is good (5:17; 8:15; 9:7; 11:8, 9) and that God gives to those who are pleasing to him (2:26; 5:19); and (2) it can refer to foolish pleasure, that is, frivolous merrymaking (2:1, 2; 7:4). The parallelism between שִׂמְחָה and שְׂחוֹק (sÿkhoq, “laughter, frivolous merrymaking”) in 2:2 suggests that the pejorative sense is in view here.

[2:2]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “What does it accomplish?” The rhetorical question “What does it accomplish?” expects a negative answer: “It accomplishes nothing!” (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 949–51). See, e.g., Gen 1:19; 18:14, 17; Deut 7:17; 1 Sam 2:25; Job 40:2; Pss 56:7[8]; 90:11; 94:16; 106:2; Eccl 3:21.

[1:10]  ⁷¹ tn Alternately, “[Even when] there is something of which someone might claim…” The terms יֵשׁ דָּבָר שֶׁיֹּאמַר (yesh davar sheyyo’mar) may be an interrogative clause without an introductory interrogative particle (GKC 473 §150.a). In questions, יֵשׁ often implies doubt about the existence of something (BDB 441 s.v. יֵשׁ 2.b). The LXX rendered it as a question, as do most English versions: “Is there anything of which it can be said…?” (KJV, ASV, RSV, MLB, NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). On the other hand, יֵשׁ is used elsewhere in the Book of Ecclesiastes as a predication of existence (“There is…”) to assert the existence of something (2:13, 21; 4:8, 9; 5:13[12]; 6:1, 11; 7:15; 8:6, 14; 9:4; 10:5). HALOT 443 s.v. יֵשׁ 2 renders יֵשׁ דָּבָר as “There is something….” This view is taken by several translations: “Even the thing of which we say…” (NAB), “Men may say of something …” (Moffatt), and “Sometimes there is a phenomena of which they say…” (NJPS).

[1:10]  ⁷² tn The perfect tense verb הָיָה (hayah) refers to a past perfect situation: It describes an action that is viewed as a remote past event from the perspective of the past. This past perfect situation is brought out by the temporal adverb כְּבָר (kÿvar, “already”; HALOT 459 s.v. I כְּבָר; BDB 460 s.v. I כְּבָר; cf. 1:10; 2:12, 16; 3:15; 4:2; 6:10; 9:6-7). The expression כְּבָר + הָיָה connotes a past perfect nuance: “it has already been” (Eccl 1:10; see BDB 460 s.v.).

[1:10]  ⁷³ sn This does not deny man’s creativity or inventiveness, only the ultimate newness of his accomplishments. For example, there is no essential difference between the first voyage to the moon and the discovery of America (different point of arrival, different vehicles of travel, but the same essential action and results).

[1:10]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “in the ages long ago before us.”

[17:14]  ⁷⁵ tn See BDAG 636 s.v. μετά A.2.a.α.

[19:9]  ⁷⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:9]  ⁷⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.