Kejadian 25:26

25:26 When his brother came out with ¹  his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. ²  Isaac was sixty years old ³  when they were born.

Kejadian 12:4

12:4 So Abram left, ⁴  just as the Lord had told him to do, ⁵  and Lot went with him. (Now ⁶  Abram was 75 years old ⁷  when he departed from Haran.)

[25:26]  ¹ tn The disjunctive clause describes an important circumstance accompanying the birth. Whereas Esau was passive at birth, Jacob was active.

[25:26]  ² 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.

[25:26]  sn The name Jacob is a play on the Hebrew word for “heel” (עָקֵב, ’aqev). 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.

[25:26]  ³ tn Heb “the son of sixty years.”

[12:4]  ⁴ sn So Abram left. This is the report of Abram’s obedience to God’s command (see v. 1).

[12:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “just as the Lord said to him.”

[12:4]  ⁶ tn The disjunctive clause (note the pattern conjunction + subject + implied “to be” verb) is parenthetical, telling the age of Abram when he left Haran.

[12:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “was the son of five years and seventy year[s].”

[12:4]  sn Terah was 70 years old when he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran (Gen 11:26). Terah was 205 when he died in Haran (11:32). Abram left Haran at the age of 75 after his father died. Abram was born when Terah was 130. Abram was not the firstborn – he is placed first in the list of three because of his importance. The same is true of the list in Gen 10:1 (Shem, Ham and Japheth). Ham was the youngest son (9:24). Japheth was the older brother of Shem (10:21), so the birth order of Noah’s sons was Japheth, Shem, and Ham.