Kejadian 22:9

22:9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there ¹  and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up ²  his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood.

Kejadian 28:11

28:11 He reached a certain place ³  where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. ⁴  He took one of the stones ⁵  and placed it near his head. ⁶  Then he fell asleep ⁷  in that place

Kejadian 31:34

31:34 (Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them inside her camel’s saddle ⁸  and sat on them.) ⁹  Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them. ¹⁰ 

Kejadian 39:8

39:8 But he refused, saying ¹¹  to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not give any thought ¹²  to his household with me here, ¹³  and everything that he owns he has put into my care. ¹⁴ 

[22:9]  ¹ sn Abraham built an altar there. The theme of Abraham’s altar building culminates here. He has been a faithful worshiper. Will he continue to worship when called upon to make such a radical sacrifice?

[22:9]  ² sn Then he tied up. This text has given rise to an important theme in Judaism known as the Aqedah, from the Hebrew word for “binding.” When sacrifices were made in the sanctuary, God remembered the binding of Isaac, for which a substitute was offered. See D. Polish, “The Binding of Isaac,” Jud 6 (1957): 17-21.

[28:11]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.”

[28:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “he took from the stones of the place,” which here means Jacob took one of the stones (see v. 18).

[28:11]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “lay down.”

[31:34]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides another parenthetical statement necessary to the storyline.

[31:34]  ¹⁰ tn The word “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[39:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he said.”

[39:8]  ¹² tn Heb “know.”

[39:8]  ¹³ tn The word “here” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[39:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.