Genesis 27-29

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. 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.
2. Genesis 27:1 tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”
3. Genesis 27:1 tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).
4. Genesis 27:1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.
5. Genesis 27:2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaac) is specified in the translation for clarity.
6. Genesis 27:2 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here introduces a logically foundational statement, upon which the coming instruction will be based.
7. Genesis 27:2 tn Heb “I do not know the day of my death.”
8. 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”).
9. Genesis 27:4 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. Genesis 27:5 tc The LXX adds here “to his father,” which may have been accidentally omitted in the MT.
13. Genesis 27:7 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
14. Genesis 27:7 tn The cohortative, with the prefixed conjunction, also expresses logical sequence. See vv. 4, 19, 27.
15. 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.
16. Genesis 27:8 tn Heb “listen to my voice.” The Hebrew idiom means “to comply; to obey.”
17. Genesis 27:8 tn Heb “to that which I am commanding you.”
18. Genesis 27:9 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
19. 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.
20. 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.
21. Genesis 27:10 tn Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.
22. 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.
23. 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.”
24. Genesis 27:13 tn Heb “upon me your curse.”
25. Genesis 27:13 tn Heb “only listen to my voice.”
26. Genesis 27:14 tn The words “the goats” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
27. Genesis 27:14 tn Heb “his mother.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “she” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
28. 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.
29. 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.”
30. Genesis 27:17 tn Heb “gave…into the hand of her . . . .”
31. Genesis 27:18 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
32. 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.
33. 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.
34. 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.
35. 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?”
36. Genesis 27:20 tn Heb “you hastened to find.” In translation the infinitive becomes the main verb and the first verb becomes adverbial.
37. Genesis 27:20 tn Heb “caused to meet before me.”
38. 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.
39. Genesis 27:21 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
40. 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.
41. 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.
42. Genesis 27:24 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
43. Genesis 27:25 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
44. 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.
45. 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.
46. Genesis 27:25 tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
47. Genesis 27:25 tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
48. Genesis 27:27 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
49. Genesis 27:27 tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
50. Genesis 27:27 tn Heb “see.”
51. Genesis 27:28 tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”
52. Genesis 27:28 tn Heb “and from the fatness.”
53. 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.
54. 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.”
55. 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.
56. Genesis 27:30 tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite form of the verb makes the construction emphatic.
57. 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.
58. Genesis 27:30 tn Heb “and Esau his brother came from his hunt.”
59. 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.
60. Genesis 27:31 tn Or “arise” (i.e., sit up).
61. Genesis 27:31 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.”
62. Genesis 27:32 tn Heb “said.”
63. 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.
64. 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.
65. 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?”
66. Genesis 27:34 tn The temporal clause is introduced with the temporal indicator and has the infinitive as its verb.
67. Genesis 27:34 tn Heb “and he yelled [with] a great and bitter yell to excess.”
68. Genesis 27:35 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
69. Genesis 27:35 tn Or “took”; “received.”
70. 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.
71. 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.”
72. 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.
73. Genesis 27:38 tn Heb “and Esau lifted his voice and wept.”
74. Genesis 27:39 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) calls for someone’s attention.
75. 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.
76. Genesis 27:39 tn Heb “from the fatness.”
77. 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.
78. Genesis 27:41 tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.
79. Genesis 27:41 tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”
80. 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.
81. Genesis 27:41 tn Heb “days.”
82. Genesis 27:41 tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.
83. Genesis 27:42 tn Heb “and the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah.”
84. Genesis 27:42 tn Heb “she sent and called for.”
85. 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.
86. Genesis 27:43 tn Heb “listen to my voice.”
87. Genesis 27:43 tn Heb “arise, flee.”
88. 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.
89. Genesis 27:45 tn The words “stay there” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
90. 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.
91. Genesis 27:45 tn If Jacob stayed, he would be killed and Esau would be forced to run away.
92. Genesis 27:46 tn Heb “loathe my life.” The Hebrew verb translated “loathe” refers to strong disgust (see Lev 20:23).
93. 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.
94. 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?”
95. Genesis 28:1 tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
96. Genesis 28:2 tn Heb “Arise! Go!” The first of the two imperatives is adverbial and stresses the immediacy of the departure.
97. Genesis 28:3 tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.
98. Genesis 28:3 tn Heb “and make you fruitful and multiply you.” See Gen 17:6, 20 for similar terminology.
99. 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.”
100. Genesis 28:3 tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”
101. 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.
102. Genesis 28:4 tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
103. 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.
104. Genesis 28:6 tn Heb “to take for himself from there a wife.”
105. Genesis 28:6 tn The infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffix form a temporal clause.
106. Genesis 28:6 tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
107. Genesis 28:8 tn Heb “saw.”
108. Genesis 28:8 tn Heb “the daughters of Canaan.”
109. Genesis 28:8 tn Heb “evil in the eyes of.”
110. Genesis 28:9 tn Heb “took for a wife.”
111. 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.
112. Genesis 28:11 tn Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.”
113. 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).
114. 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.
115. Genesis 28:11 tn Heb “lay down.”
116. Genesis 28:12 tn Heb “and dreamed.”
117. 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).
118. 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.
119. 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.
120. 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.
121. Genesis 28:14 tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.
122. Genesis 28:14 tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.
123. 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.
124. 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).
125. Genesis 28:16 tn Heb “woke up from his sleep.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
126. Genesis 28:16 tn Heb “said.”
127. Genesis 28:18 tn Heb “and he got up early…and he took.”
128. Genesis 28:18 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
129. Genesis 28:18 tn See the note on this phrase in v. 11.
130. 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.
131. Genesis 28:19 tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew (see v. 17).
132. Genesis 28:20 tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.
133. Genesis 28:21 tn Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.”
134. Genesis 28:22 tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.
135. Genesis 28:22 tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.
136. 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.
137. 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.
138. Genesis 29:1 tn Heb “the land of the sons of the east.”
139. 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.
140. Genesis 29:2 tn Heb “and look, there.”
141. Genesis 29:2 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the noun with the prefixed conjunction) provides supplemental information that is important to the story.
142. Genesis 29:3 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the shepherds) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
143. Genesis 29:5 tn Heb “son.”
144. 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.
145. Genesis 29:6 tn Heb “and he said to them, ‘Is there peace to him?’”
146. Genesis 29:6 tn Heb “peace.”
147. Genesis 29:7 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
148. Genesis 29:7 tn Heb “the day is great.”
149. 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.
150. Genesis 29:8 tn The perfect verbal forms with the vav (ו) consecutive carry on the sequence begun by the initial imperfect form.
151. Genesis 29:9 tn Heb “was a shepherdess.”
152. Genesis 29:10 tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother” (twice in this verse).
153. Genesis 29:10 tn Heb “Jacob.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
154. Genesis 29:10 tn Heb “drew near, approached.”
155. 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).
156. 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.
157. Genesis 29:12 tn Heb “declared.”
158. Genesis 29:12 tn Heb “that he [was] the brother of her father.”
159. Genesis 29:13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
160. 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).
161. 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).
162. Genesis 29:14 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
163. Genesis 29:14 tn Heb “a month of days.”
164. Genesis 29:15 tn The verb is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; the nuance in the question is deliberative.
165. Genesis 29:15 tn Heb “my brother.” The term “brother” is used in a loose sense; actually Jacob was Laban’s nephew.
166. 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.
167. 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.
168. Genesis 29:17 tn Heb “and Rachel was beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance.”
169. Genesis 29:18 tn Heb “Jacob loved.”
170. Genesis 29:19 tn Heb “Better my giving her to you than my giving her to another man.”
171. Genesis 29:20 tn Heb “in exchange for Rachel.”
172. 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.
173. Genesis 29:20 tn Heb “because of his love for her.” The words “was so great” are supplied for stylistic reasons.
174. Genesis 29:21 tn Heb “and Jacob said.”
175. Genesis 29:21 tn Heb “my days are fulfilled.”
176. 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.
177. Genesis 29:22 tn Heb “men.”
178. 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).
179. Genesis 29:23 tn Heb “to him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
180. Genesis 29:23 tn Heb “came to” or “approached,” a euphemism for sexual relations. See note at v. 21.
181. 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.
182. 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.
183. Genesis 29:25 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
184. 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?”
185. 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.
186. 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.
187. 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.
188. 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).
189. Genesis 29:27 tn Heb “this other one.”
190. 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.
191. Genesis 29:28 tn Heb “and Jacob did so.” The words “as Laban said” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
192. Genesis 29:28 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
193. 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.
194. 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.
195. Genesis 29:29 tn Heb “and Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his female servant, for her for a servant.”
196. Genesis 29:30 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
197. Genesis 29:30 tn Heb “came to” or “approached,” a euphemism for sexual relations. See note at v. 21.
198. Genesis 29:30 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
199. 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.
200. Genesis 29:31 tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”
201. Genesis 29:32 tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).
202. Genesis 29:32 sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, r^eʾuven) means “look, a son.”
203. 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.
204. Genesis 29:33 tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.
205. 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.
206. Genesis 29:34 tn Heb “will be joined to me.”
207. 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.
208. 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.