Kejadian 27:1-46
Konteks27:1 When 1 Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, 2 he called his older 3 son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau 4 replied. 27:2 Isaac 5 said, “Since 6 I am so old, I could die at any time. 7 27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game 8 for me. 27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then 9 I will eat it so that I may bless you 10 before I die.”
27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. 11 When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, 12 27:6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father tell your brother Esau, 27:7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare for me some tasty food. Then I will eat 13 it and bless you 14 in the presence of the Lord 15 before I die.’ 27:8 Now then, my son, do 16 exactly what I tell you! 17 27:9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare 18 them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. 27:10 Then you will take 19 it to your father. Thus he will eat it 20 and 21 bless you before he dies.”
27:11 “But Esau my brother is a hairy man,” Jacob protested to his mother Rebekah, “and I have smooth skin! 22 27:12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him 23 and I’ll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.” 27:13 So his mother told him, “Any curse against you will fall on me, 24 my son! Just obey me! 25 Go and get them for me!”
27:14 So he went and got the goats 26 and brought them to his mother. She 27 prepared some tasty food, just the way his father loved it. 27:15 Then Rebekah took her older son Esau’s best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 27:16 She put the skins of the young goats 28 on his hands 29 and the smooth part of his neck. 27:17 Then she handed 30 the tasty food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.
27:18 He went to his father and said, “My father!” Isaac 31 replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?” 32 27:19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up 33 and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” 34 27:20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world 35 did you find it so quickly, 36 my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” 37 he replied. 38 27:21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you, 39 my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.” 40 27:22 So Jacob went over to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s.” 27:23 He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau’s hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob. 41 27:24 Then he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “I am,” Jacob 42 replied. 27:25 Isaac 43 said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. 44 Then I will bless you.” 45 So Jacob 46 brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac 47 drank. 27:26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 27:27 So Jacob 48 went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent 49 of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,
“Yes, 50 my son smells
like the scent of an open field
which the Lord has blessed.
27:28 May God give you
the dew of the sky 51
and the richness 52 of the earth,
and plenty of grain and new wine.
27:29 May peoples serve you
and nations bow down to you.
You will be 53 lord 54 over your brothers,
and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. 55
May those who curse you be cursed,
and those who bless you be blessed.”
27:30 Isaac had just finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left 56 his father’s 57 presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt. 58 27:31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau 59 said to him, “My father, get up 60 and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.” 61 27:32 His father Isaac asked, 62 “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,” 63 he replied, “Esau!” 27:33 Isaac began to shake violently 64 and asked, “Then who else hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it just before you arrived, and I blessed him. 65 He will indeed be blessed!”
27:34 When Esau heard 66 his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly. 67 He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” 27:35 But Isaac 68 replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away 69 your blessing.” 27:36 Esau exclaimed, “‘Jacob’ is the right name for him! 70 He has tripped me up 71 two times! He took away my birthright, and now, look, he has taken away my blessing!” Then he asked, “Have you not kept back a blessing for me?”
27:37 Isaac replied to Esau, “Look! I have made him lord over you. I have made all his relatives his servants and provided him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?” 27:38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!” 72 Then Esau wept loudly. 73
27:39 So his father Isaac said to him,
“Indeed, 74 your home will be
away from the richness 75 of the earth,
and away from the dew of the sky above.
27:40 You will live by your sword
but you will serve your brother.
When you grow restless,
you will tear off his yoke
from your neck.” 76
27:41 So Esau hated 77 Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. 78 Esau said privately, 79 “The time 80 of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill 81 my brother Jacob!”
27:42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said, 82 she quickly summoned 83 her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you. 84 27:43 Now then, my son, do what I say. 85 Run away immediately 86 to my brother Laban in Haran. 27:44 Live with him for a little while 87 until your brother’s rage subsides. 27:45 Stay there 88 until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I’ll send someone to bring you back from there. 89 Why should I lose both of you in one day?” 90
27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressed 91 because of these daughters of Heth. 92 If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!” 93
Kejadian 31:1-55
Konteks31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, 94 “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich 95 at our father’s expense!” 96 31:2 When Jacob saw the look on Laban’s face, he could tell his attitude toward him had changed. 97
31:3 The Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers 98 and to your relatives. I will be with you.” 99 31:4 So Jacob sent a message for Rachel and Leah 100 to come to the field 101 where his flocks were. 102 31:5 There he said to them, “I can tell that your father’s attitude toward me has changed, 103 but the God of my father has been with me. 31:6 You know that I’ve worked for your father as hard as I could, 104 31:7 but your father has humiliated 105 me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not permitted him to do me any harm. 31:8 If he said, 106 ‘The speckled animals 107 will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to speckled offspring. But if he said, ‘The streaked animals will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to streaked offspring. 31:9 In this way God has snatched away your father’s livestock and given them to me.
31:10 “Once 108 during breeding season I saw 109 in a dream that the male goats mating with 110 the flock were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 31:11 In the dream the angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ ‘Here I am!’ I replied. 31:12 Then he said, ‘Observe 111 that all the male goats mating with 112 the flock are streaked, speckled, or spotted, for I have observed all that Laban has done to you. 31:13 I am the God of Bethel, 113 where you anointed 114 the sacred stone and made a vow to me. 115 Now leave this land immediately 116 and return to your native land.’”
31:14 Then Rachel and Leah replied to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance 117 in our father’s house? 31:15 Hasn’t he treated us like foreigners? He not only sold us, but completely wasted 118 the money paid for us! 119 31:16 Surely all the wealth that God snatched away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So now do everything God has told you.”
31:17 So Jacob immediately put his children and his wives on the camels. 120 31:18 He took 121 away all the livestock he had acquired in Paddan Aram and all his moveable property that he had accumulated. Then he set out toward the land of Canaan to return to his father Isaac. 122
31:19 While Laban had gone to shear his sheep, 123 Rachel stole the household idols 124 that belonged to her father. 31:20 Jacob also deceived 125 Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was leaving. 126 31:21 He left 127 with all he owned. He quickly crossed 128 the Euphrates River 129 and headed for 130 the hill country of Gilead.
31:22 Three days later Laban discovered Jacob had left. 131 31:23 So he took his relatives 132 with him and pursued Jacob 133 for seven days. 134 He caught up with 135 him in the hill country of Gilead. 31:24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and warned him, 136 “Be careful 137 that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.” 138
31:25 Laban overtook Jacob, and when Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead, Laban and his relatives set up camp there too. 139 31:26 “What have you done?” Laban demanded of Jacob. “You’ve deceived me 140 and carried away my daughters as if they were captives of war! 141 31:27 Why did you run away secretly 142 and deceive me? 143 Why didn’t you tell me so I could send you off with a celebration complete with singing, tambourines, and harps? 144 31:28 You didn’t even allow me to kiss my daughters and my grandchildren 145 good-bye. You have acted foolishly! 31:29 I have 146 the power to do you harm, but the God of your father told me last night, ‘Be careful 147 that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.’ 148 31:30 Now I understand that 149 you have gone away 150 because you longed desperately 151 for your father’s house. Yet why did you steal my gods?” 152
31:31 “I left secretly because I was afraid!” 153 Jacob replied to Laban. “I thought 154 you might take your daughters away from me by force. 155 31:32 Whoever has taken your gods will be put to death! 156 In the presence of our relatives 157 identify whatever is yours and take it.” 158 (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.) 159
31:33 So Laban entered Jacob’s tent, and Leah’s tent, and the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find the idols. 160 Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s. 161 31:34 (Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them inside her camel’s saddle 162 and sat on them.) 163 Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them. 164 31:35 Rachel 165 said to her father, “Don’t be angry, 166 my lord. I cannot stand up 167 in your presence because I am having my period.” 168 So he searched thoroughly, 169 but did not find the idols.
31:36 Jacob became angry 170 and argued with Laban. “What did I do wrong?” he demanded of Laban. 171 “What sin of mine prompted you to chase after me in hot pursuit? 172 31:37 When you searched through all my goods, did you find anything that belonged to you? 173 Set it here before my relatives and yours, 174 and let them settle the dispute between the two of us! 175
31:38 “I have been with you for the past twenty years. Your ewes and female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. 31:39 Animals torn by wild beasts I never brought to you; I always absorbed the loss myself. 176 You always made me pay for every missing animal, 177 whether it was taken by day or at night. 31:40 I was consumed by scorching heat 178 during the day and by piercing cold 179 at night, and I went without sleep. 180 31:41 This was my lot 181 for twenty years in your house: I worked like a slave 182 for you – fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, but you changed my wages ten times! 31:42 If the God of my father – the God of Abraham, the one whom Isaac fears 183 – had not been with me, you would certainly have sent me away empty-handed! But God saw how I was oppressed and how hard I worked, 184 and he rebuked you last night.”
31:43 Laban replied 185 to Jacob, “These women 186 are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, 187 and these flocks are my flocks. All that you see belongs to me. But how can I harm these daughters of mine today 188 or the children to whom they have given birth? 31:44 So now, come, let’s make a formal agreement, 189 you and I, and it will be 190 proof that we have made peace.” 191
31:45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a memorial pillar. 31:46 Then he 192 said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” So they brought stones and put them in a pile. 193 They ate there by the pile of stones. 31:47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, 194 but Jacob called it Galeed. 195
31:48 Laban said, “This pile of stones is a witness of our agreement 196 today.” That is why it was called Galeed. 31:49 It was also called Mizpah 197 because he said, “May the Lord watch 198 between us 199 when we are out of sight of one another. 200 31:50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one else is with us, realize 201 that God is witness to your actions.” 202
31:51 “Here is this pile of stones and this pillar I have set up between me and you,” Laban said to Jacob. 203 31:52 “This pile of stones and the pillar are reminders that I will not pass beyond this pile to come to harm you and that you will not pass beyond this pile and this pillar to come to harm me. 204 31:53 May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor, 205 the gods of their father, judge between us.” Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared. 206 31:54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice 207 on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat the meal. 208 They ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain.
31:55 (32:1) 209 Early in the morning Laban kissed 210 his grandchildren 211 and his daughters goodbye and blessed them. Then Laban left and returned home. 212
[27:1] 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.
[27:1] 2 tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”
[27:1] 3 tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).
[27:1] 4 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:2] 5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaac) is specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:2] 6 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here introduces a logically foundational statement, upon which the coming instruction will be based.
[27:2] 7 tn Heb “I do not know the day of my death.”
[27:3] 8 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”).
[27:4] 9 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:4] 10 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.
[27:5] 11 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a conjunction with the subject, followed by the predicate) here introduces a new scene in the story.
[27:5] 12 tc The LXX adds here “to his father,” which may have been accidentally omitted in the MT.
[27:7] 13 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:7] 14 tn The cohortative, with the prefixed conjunction, also expresses logical sequence. See vv. 4, 19, 27.
[27:7] 15 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
[27:8] 16 tn Heb “listen to my voice.” The Hebrew idiom means “to comply; to obey.”
[27:8] 17 tn Heb “to that which I am commanding you.”
[27:9] 18 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:10] 19 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.
[27:10] 20 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.
[27:10] 21 tn Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[27:11] 22 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.
[27:12] 23 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.”
[27:13] 24 tn Heb “upon me your curse.”
[27:13] 25 tn Heb “only listen to my voice.”
[27:14] 26 tn The words “the goats” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:14] 27 tn Heb “his mother.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “she” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:16] 28 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.
[27:16] 29 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.”
[27:17] 30 tn Heb “gave…into the hand of.”
[27:18] 31 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:18] 32 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.
[27:19] 33 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.
[27:19] 34 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.
[27:20] 35 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?”
[27:20] 36 tn Heb “you hastened to find.” In translation the infinitive becomes the main verb and the first verb becomes adverbial.
[27:20] 37 tn Heb “caused to meet before me.”
[27:20] 38 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Because the
[27:21] 39 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
[27:21] 40 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.
[27:23] 41 tn Heb “and he blessed him.” The referents of the pronouns “he” (Isaac) and “him” (Jacob) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:24] 42 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:25] 43 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:25] 44 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.
[27:25] 45 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.
[27:25] 46 tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:25] 47 tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:27] 48 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:27] 49 tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:28] 51 tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”
[27:28] 52 tn Heb “and from the fatness.”
[27:29] 53 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 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.
[27:29] 54 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.”
[27:29] 55 tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[27:30] 56 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite form of the verb makes the construction emphatic.
[27:30] 57 tn Heb “the presence of Isaac his father.” The repetition of the proper name (“Isaac”) was
[27:30] 58 tn Heb “and Esau his brother came from his hunt.”
[27:31] 59 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.
[27:31] 60 tn Or “arise” (i.e., sit up).
[27:31] 61 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.”
[27:32] 63 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.
[27:33] 64 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.
[27:33] 65 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?”
[27:34] 66 tn The temporal clause is introduced with the temporal indicator and has the infinitive as its verb.
[27:34] 67 tn Heb “and he yelled [with] a great and bitter yell to excess.”
[27:35] 68 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[27:35] 69 tn Or “took”; “received.”
[27:36] 70 tn Heb “Is he not rightly named Jacob?” The rhetorical question, since it expects a positive reply, has been translated as a declarative statement.
[27:36] 71 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.”
[27:38] 72 tn Heb “Bless me, me also, my father.” The words “my father” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:38] 73 tn Heb “and Esau lifted his voice and wept.”
[27:39] 75 tn Heb “from the fatness.”
[27:40] 76 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.
[27:41] 77 tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.
[27:41] 78 tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”
[27:41] 79 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.
[27:41] 81 tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.
[27:42] 82 tn Heb “and the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah.”
[27:42] 83 tn Heb “she sent and called for.”
[27:42] 84 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.
[27:43] 85 tn Heb “listen to my voice.”
[27:43] 86 tn Heb “arise, flee.”
[27:44] 87 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 twenty years and he never sees Rebekah again.
[27:45] 88 tn The words “stay there” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[27:45] 89 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.
[27:45] 90 tn If Jacob stayed, he would be killed and Esau would be forced to run away.
[27:46] 91 tn Heb “loathe my life.” The Hebrew verb translated “loathe” refers to strong disgust (see Lev 20:23).
[27:46] 92 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.
[27:46] 93 tn Heb “If Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, why to me life?”
[31:1] 94 tn Heb “and he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying.”
[31:1] 95 sn The Hebrew word translated “gotten rich” (כָּבוֹד, cavod) 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).
[31:1] 96 tn Heb “and from that which belonged to our father he has gained all this wealth.”
[31:2] 97 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.
[31:3] 98 tn Or perhaps “ancestors” (so NRSV), although the only “ancestors” Jacob had there were his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac.
[31:3] 99 sn I will be with you. Though Laban was no longer “with him,” the
[31:4] 100 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.
[31:4] 101 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.
[31:4] 102 tn Heb “to his flock.”
[31:5] 103 tn Heb “I see the face of your father, that he is not toward me as formerly.”
[31:6] 104 tn Heb “with all my strength.”
[31:7] 105 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).
[31:8] 106 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.
[31:8] 107 tn Heb “speckled” (twice this verse). The word “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.
[31:10] 108 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator, “and it happened at the time of.”
[31:10] 109 tn Heb “in the time of the breeding of the flock I lifted up my eyes and I saw.”
[31:10] 110 tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.
[31:12] 111 tn Heb “lift up (now) your eyes and see.”
[31:12] 112 tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.
[31:13] 113 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[31:13] 114 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
[31:13] 115 sn And made a vow to me. The second clause reminds Jacob of the vow he made to the
[31:13] 116 tn Heb “arise, leave!” The first imperative draws attention to the need for immediate action.
[31:13] 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.
[31:14] 117 tn The two nouns may form a hendiadys, meaning “a share in the inheritance” or “a portion to inherit.”
[31:15] 118 tn Heb “and he devoured, even devouring.” The infinitive absolute (following the finite verb here) is used for emphasis.
[31:15] 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.
[31:15] 119 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.
[31:17] 120 tn Heb “and Jacob arose and he lifted up his sons and his wives on to the camels.”
[31:18] 121 tn Heb “drove,” but this is subject to misunderstanding in contemporary English.
[31:18] 122 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.”
[31:19] 123 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.
[31:19] 124 tn Or “household gods.” Some translations merely transliterate the Hebrew term תְּרָפִים (tÿrafim) 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.
[31:20] 125 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.
[31:20] 126 tn Heb “fleeing,” which reflects Jacob’s viewpoint.
[31:21] 127 tn Heb “and he fled.”
[31:21] 128 tn Heb “he arose and crossed.” The first verb emphasizes that he wasted no time in getting across.
[31:21] 129 tn Heb “the river”; the referent (the Euphrates) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[31:21] 130 tn Heb “he set his face.”
[31:22] 131 tn Heb “and it was told to Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled.”
[31:23] 132 tn Heb “his brothers.”
[31:23] 133 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[31:23] 134 tn Heb “and he pursued after him a journey of seven days.”
[31:23] 135 tn Heb “drew close to.”
[31:24] 136 tn Heb “said to him.”
[31:24] 137 tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.
[31:24] 138 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.
[31:25] 139 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 conjunction + subject + verb in both clauses) indicates synchronism of action.
[31:26] 140 tn Heb “and you have stolen my heart.” This expression apparently means “to deceive” (see v. 20).
[31:26] 141 tn Heb “and you have led away my daughters like captives of a sword.”
[31:27] 142 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.”
[31:27] 143 tn Heb “and steal me.”
[31:27] 144 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?”
[31:28] 145 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.
[31:29] 146 tn Heb “there is to my hand.”
[31:29] 147 tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.
[31:29] 148 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.
[31:30] 149 tn Heb “and now.” The words “I understand that” have been supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
[31:30] 150 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the certainty of the action.
[31:30] 151 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of emotion involved.
[31:30] 152 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.
[31:31] 153 tn Heb “and Jacob answered and said to Laban, ‘Because I was afraid.’” This statement is a not a response to the question about Laban’s household gods that immediately precedes, but to the earlier question about Jacob’s motivation for leaving so quickly and secretly (see v. 27). For this reason the words “I left secretly” are supplied in the translation to indicate the connection to Laban’s earlier question in v. 27. Additionally the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse have been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[31:31] 154 tn Heb “for I said.”
[31:31] 155 tn Heb “lest you steal your daughters from with me.”
[31:32] 156 tn Heb “With whomever you find your gods, he will not live.”
[31:32] 157 tn Heb “brothers.”
[31:32] 158 tn Heb “recognize for yourself what is with me and take for yourself.”
[31:32] 159 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.
[31:33] 160 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.
[31:33] 161 tn Heb “and he went out from the tent of Leah and went into the tent of Rachel.”
[31:34] 162 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.”
[31:34] 163 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides another parenthetical statement necessary to the storyline.
[31:34] 164 tn The word “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
[31:35] 165 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[31:35] 166 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.
[31:35] 167 tn Heb “I am unable to rise.”
[31:35] 168 tn Heb “the way of women is to me.” This idiom refers to a woman’s menstrual period.
[31:35] 169 tn The word “thoroughly” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.
[31:36] 170 tn Heb “it was hot to Jacob.” This idiom refers to anger.
[31:36] 171 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.
[31:36] 172 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).
[31:37] 173 tn Heb “what did you find from all the goods of your house?”
[31:37] 174 tn Heb “your relatives.” The word “relatives” has not been repeated in the translation here for stylistic reasons.
[31:37] 175 tn Heb “that they may decide between us two.”
[31:39] 176 tn The imperfect verbal form indicates that this was a customary or typical action.
[31:39] 177 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.
[31:40] 178 tn Or “by drought.”
[31:40] 179 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.
[31:40] 180 tn Heb “and my sleep fled from my eyes.”
[31:41] 181 tn Heb “this to me.”
[31:41] 182 tn Heb “served you,” but in this accusatory context the meaning is more “worked like a slave.”
[31:42] 183 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.
[31:42] 184 tn Heb “My oppression and the work of my hands God saw.”
[31:43] 185 tn Heb “answered and said.”
[31:43] 186 tn Heb “daughters.”
[31:43] 187 tn Heb “children.”
[31:43] 188 tn Heb “but to my daughters what can I do to these today?”
[31:44] 189 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
[31:44] 190 tn The verb הָיָה (hayah) followed by the preposition לְ (lÿ) means “become.”
[31:44] 191 tn Heb “and it will become a witness between me and you.”
[31:46] 192 tn Heb “Jacob”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[31:46] 193 sn The Hebrew word for “pile” is גַּל (gal), which sounds like the name “Galeed” (גַּלְעֵד, gal’ed). See v. 48.
[31:47] 194 sn Jegar Sahadutha. Laban the Aramean gave the place an Aramaic name which means “witness pile” or “the pile is a witness.”
[31:47] 195 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.
[31:48] 196 tn Heb “a witness between me and you.”
[31:49] 197 tn Heb “and Mizpah.”
[31:49] 198 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
[31:49] 199 tn Heb “between me and you.”
[31:49] 200 tn Heb “for we will be hidden, each man from his neighbor.”
[31:50] 202 tn Heb “between me and you.”
[31:51] 203 tn Heb “and Laban said to Jacob, ‘Behold this heap and behold the pillar which I have set between men and you.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[31:52] 204 tn Heb “This pile is a witness and the pillar is a witness, if I go past this pile to you and if you go past this pile and this pillar to me for harm.”
[31:53] 205 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. The Samaritan Pentateuch 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.
[31:53] 206 tn Heb “by the fear of his father Isaac.” See the note on the word “fears” in v. 42.
[31:54] 207 tn The construction is a cognate accusative with the verb, expressing a specific sacrifice.
[31:54] 208 tn Heb “bread, food.” Presumably this was a type of peace offering, where the person bringing the offering ate the animal being sacrificed.
[31:55] 209 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.
[31:55] 210 tn Heb “and Laban got up early in the morning and he kissed.”
