Genesis 30-31

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Genesis 30:1 tn Heb “Rachel.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
2. Genesis 30:1 tn Heb “sons.”
3. Genesis 30:2 tn Heb “and the anger of Jacob was hot.”
4. Genesis 30:2 tn Heb “who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb.”
5. Genesis 30:3 tn The Hebrew collocation of the verb בּוֹא (boʾ) and the preposition אֶל (ʾel) means “come to” or “approach,” but is also used as a euphemism for sexual relations. Similarly the translation employs a euphemism. For more on this phrase as a euphemism see the note at 2 Sam 12:24.
6. Genesis 30:3 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates the immediate purpose of the proposed activity.
7. Genesis 30:3 tn The word “children” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
8. Genesis 30:3 tn Heb “upon my knees.” This is an idiomatic way of saying that Bilhah will be simply a surrogate mother. Rachel will adopt the child as her own.
9. Genesis 30:3 tn Heb “and I will be built up, even I, from her.” The prefixed verbal form with the conjunction is subordinated to the preceding prefixed verbal form and gives the ultimate purpose for the proposed action. The idiom of “built up” here refers to having a family (see Gen 16:2, as well as Ruth 4:11 and BDB 125 s.v. בָּנָה).
10. Genesis 30:4 tn Heb “and she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11. Genesis 30:4 tn Heb “came to.” The expression בּוֹא אֶל (boʾ ʾel) means “come to” or “approach,” but is also used as a euphemism for sexual relations.
12. Genesis 30:5 tn Or “Bilhah conceived” (also in v. 7).
13. Genesis 30:5 tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a son.”
14. Genesis 30:6 tn Heb “and also he has heard my voice.” The expression means that God responded positively to Rachel’s cry and granted her request.
15. Genesis 30:6 tn Or “therefore.”
16. Genesis 30:6 sn The name Dan means “he vindicated” or “he judged.” The name plays on the verb used in the statement which appears earlier in the verse. The verb translated “vindicated” is from דִּין (din, “to judge, to vindicate”), the same verbal root from which the name is derived. Rachel sensed that God was righting the wrong.
17. Genesis 30:7 tn Heb “and she became pregnant again and Bilhah, the servant of Rachel, bore a second son for Jacob.”
18. Genesis 30:8 tn Heb “[with] a mighty struggle I have struggled with my sister, also I have prevailed.” The phrase “mighty struggle” reads literally “struggles of God.” The plural participle “struggles” reflects the ongoing nature of the struggle, while the divine name is used here idiomatically to emphasize the intensity of the struggle. See J. Skinner, Genesis (ICC), 387.
19. Genesis 30:8 sn The name Naphtali (נַפְתָּלִי, naftali) must mean something like “my struggle” in view of the statement Rachel made in the preceding clause. The name plays on this earlier statement, “[with] a mighty struggle I have struggled with my sister.”
20. Genesis 30:9 tn Heb “she took her servant Zilpah and gave her.” The verbs “took” and “gave” are treated as a hendiadys in the translation: “she gave.”
21. Genesis 30:10 tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore for Jacob a son.”
22. Genesis 30:11 tc The statement in the Kethib (consonantal text) appears to mean literally “with good fortune,” if one takes the initial ב (bet) as a preposition indicating accompaniment. The Qere (marginal reading) means “good fortune has arrived.”
23. Genesis 30:11 sn The name Gad (גָּד, gad) means “good fortune.” The name reflects Leah’s feeling that good fortune has come her way, as expressed in her statement recorded earlier in the verse.
24. Genesis 30:12 tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore a second son for Jacob.”
25. Genesis 30:13 tn The Hebrew statement apparently means “with my happiness.”
26. Genesis 30:13 tn Heb “daughters.”
27. Genesis 30:13 sn The name Asher (אָשֶׁר, ʾasher) apparently means “happy one.” The name plays on the words used in the statement which appears earlier in the verse. Both the Hebrew noun and verb translated “happy” and “call me happy,” respectively, are derived from the same root as the name Asher.
28. Genesis 30:14 tn Heb “during the days.”
29. Genesis 30:14 sn Mandrake plants were popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac in the culture of the time.
30. Genesis 30:15 tn Heb “and she said to her”; the referent of the pronoun “she” (Leah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
31. Genesis 30:15 tn Heb “therefore.”
32. Genesis 30:15 tn Heb “lie down with.” The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) “to lie down” can be a euphemism for going to bed for sexual relations.
33. Genesis 30:16 tn Heb “must come to me.” The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. The expression בּוֹא אֶל (boʾ ʾel) means “come to” or “approach,” but is also used as a euphemism for sexual relations.
34. Genesis 30:16 tn Heb “I have surely hired.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form for emphasis. The name Issachar (see v. 18) seems to be related to this expression.
35. Genesis 30:16 tn Heb “lay down with.” See note at v. 15.
36. Genesis 30:17 tn Heb “listened to.”
37. Genesis 30:17 tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 19).
38. Genesis 30:17 tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a fifth son,” i.e., this was the fifth son that Leah had given Jacob.
39. Genesis 30:18 tn Heb “God has given my reward.”
40. Genesis 30:18 tn The words “as a wife” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity (cf. v. 9).sn Leah seems to regard the act of giving her servant Zilpah to her husband as a sacrifice, for which (she believes) God is now rewarding her with the birth of a son.
41. Genesis 30:18 sn The name Issachar (יִשָּׁשכָר, yissakhar) appears to mean “man of reward” or possibly “there is reward.” The name plays on the word used in the statement made earlier in the verse. The Hebrew noun translated “reward” is derived from the same root as the name Issachar. The irony is that Rachel thought the mandrakes would work for her, and she was willing to trade one night for them. But in that one night Leah became pregnant.
42. Genesis 30:19 tn Heb “and she bore a sixth son for Jacob,” i.e., this was the sixth son that Leah had given Jacob.
43. Genesis 30:20 sn The name Zebulun (זְבֻלוּן, z^evulun) apparently means “honor.” The name plays on the verb used in the statement made earlier in the verse. The Hebrew verb translated “will honor” and the name Zebulun derive from the same root.
44. Genesis 30:22 tn Heb “remembered.”
45. Genesis 30:22 tn Heb “and God listened to her and opened up her womb.” Since “God” is the subject of the previous clause, the noun has been replaced by the pronoun “he” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
46. Genesis 30:23 tn Or “conceived.”
47. Genesis 30:23 tn Heb “my reproach.” A “reproach” is a cutting taunt or painful ridicule, but here it probably refers by metonymy to Rachel’s barren condition, which was considered shameful in this culture and was the reason why she was the object of taunting and ridicule.
48. Genesis 30:24 sn The name Joseph (יוֹסֵף, yosef) means “may he add.” The name expresses Rachel’s desire to have an additional son. In Hebrew the name sounds like the verb (אָסַף, ʾasaf) translated “taken away” in the earlier statement made in v. 23. So the name, while reflecting Rachel’s hope, was also a reminder that God had removed her shame.
49. Genesis 30:25 tn The perfect verbal form is translated as a past perfect because Rachel’s giving birth to Joseph preceded Jacob’s conversation with Laban.
50. Genesis 30:25 tn The imperatival form here expresses a request.sn For Jacob to ask to leave would mean that seven more years had passed. Thus all Jacob’s children were born within the range of seven years of each other, with Joseph coming right at the end of the seven years.
51. Genesis 30:25 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
52. Genesis 30:25 tn Heb “to my place and to my land.”
53. Genesis 30:26 tn Heb “give my wives and my children, for whom I have served you.” In one sense Laban had already “given” Jacob his two daughters as wives (Gen 29:21, 28). Here Jacob was asking for permission to take his own family along with him on the journey back to Canaan.
54. Genesis 30:26 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
55. Genesis 30:26 tn Heb “for you, you know my service [with] which I have served you.”
56. Genesis 30:27 tn The words “stay here” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
57. Genesis 30:27 tn Or perhaps “I have grown rich and the Lord has blessed me” (cf. NEB). See J. Finkelstein, “An Old Babylonian Herding Contract and Genesis 31:38f.,” JAOS 88 (1968): 34, n. 19.
58. Genesis 30:28 tn Heb “set your wage for me so I may give [it].”
59. Genesis 30:29 tn Heb “and he said to him, ‘You know how I have served you.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons, and the referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
60. Genesis 30:29 tn Heb “and how your cattle were with me.”
61. Genesis 30:30 tn Or “for.”
62. Genesis 30:30 tn Heb “before me.”
63. Genesis 30:30 tn Heb “and it has broken out with respect to abundance.”
64. Genesis 30:30 tn Heb “at my foot.”
65. Genesis 30:30 tn Heb “How long [until] I do, also I, for my house?”
66. Genesis 30:31 tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
67. Genesis 30:31 tn The negated imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance.
68. Genesis 30:31 tn The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
69. Genesis 30:31 tn Heb “If you do for me this thing.”
70. Genesis 30:31 tn Heb “I will return, I will tend,” an idiom meaning “I will continue tending.”
71. Genesis 30:32 tn Heb “pass through.”
72. Genesis 30:32 tn Or “every black lamb”; Heb “and every dark sheep among the lambs.”
73. Genesis 30:32 tn Heb “and the spotted and speckled among the goats.”
74. Genesis 30:32 tn Heb “and it will be my wage.” The referent collective singular pronoun (“it) has been specified as “these animals” in the translation for clarity.
75. Genesis 30:33 tn Heb “will answer on my behalf.”
76. Genesis 30:33 tn Heb “on the following day,” or “tomorrow.”
77. Genesis 30:33 tn Heb “when you come concerning my wage before you.”sn Only the wage we agreed on. Jacob would have to be considered completely honest here, for he would have no control over the kind of animals born; and there could be no disagreement over which animals were his wages.
78. Genesis 30:33 tn Heb “every one which is not speckled and spotted among the lambs and dark among the goats, stolen it is with me.”
79. Genesis 30:34 tn Heb “and Laban said, ‘Good, let it be according to your word.’” On the asseverative use of the particle לוּ (lu) here, see HALOT 521 s.v. לוּ.
80. Genesis 30:35 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
81. Genesis 30:35 tn Heb “and he gave [them] into the hand.”
82. Genesis 30:36 tn Heb “and he put a journey of three days between himself and Jacob.”sn Three days’ traveling distance from Jacob. E. A. Speiser observes, “Laban is delighted with the terms, and promptly proceeds to violate the spirit of the bargain by removing to a safe distance all the grown animals that would be likely to produce the specified spots” (Genesis [AB], 238). Laban apparently thought that by separating out the spotted, striped, and dark colored animals he could minimize the production of spotted, striped, or dark offspring that would then belong to Jacob.
83. Genesis 30:36 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the vav [ו] with subject) is circumstantial; Laban removed the animals while Jacob was taking care of the rest.
84. Genesis 30:38 sn He put the branches in front of the flocks…when they came to drink. It was generally believed that placing such “visual aids” before the animals as they were mating, it was possible to influence the appearance of their offspring. E. A. Speiser notes that “Jacob finds a way to outwit his father-in-law, through prenatal conditioning of the flock by visual aids—in conformance with universal folk beliefs” (Genesis [AB], 238). Nevertheless, in spite of Jacob’s efforts at animal husbandry, he still attributes the resulting success to God (see 31:5).
85. Genesis 30:39 tn The Hebrew verb used here can mean “to be in heat” (see v. 38) or “to mate; to conceive; to become pregnant.” The latter nuance makes better sense in this verse, for the next clause describes them giving birth.
86. Genesis 30:39 tn Heb “the sheep.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“they”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
87. Genesis 30:40 tn Heb “and he set the faces of.”
88. Genesis 30:41 tn Heb “and at every breeding-heat of the flock, the strong females.”
89. Genesis 30:42 tn Heb “he did not put [them] in.” The referent of the [understood] direct object, “them,” has been specified as “the branches” in the translation for clarity.
90. Genesis 30:42 tn Heb “were for Laban.”
91. Genesis 30:43 tn Heb “the man”; Jacob’s name has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
92. Genesis 30:43 tn Heb “and there were to him.”
93. Genesis 31:1 tn Heb “and he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying.”
94. Genesis 31:1 sn The Hebrew word translated “gotten rich” (כָּבוֹד, kavod) 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).
95. Genesis 31:1 tn Heb “and from that which belonged to our father he has gained all this wealth.”
96. Genesis 31:2 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.
97. Genesis 31:3 tn Or perhaps “ancestors” (so NRSV), although the only “ancestors” Jacob had there were his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac.
98. Genesis 31:3 sn I will be with you. Though Laban was no longer “with him,” the Lord promised to be.
99. Genesis 31:4 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.
100. Genesis 31:4 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.
101. Genesis 31:4 tn Heb “to his flock.”
102. Genesis 31:5 tn Heb “I see the face of your father, that he is not toward me as formerly.”
103. Genesis 31:6 tn Heb “with all my strength.”
104. Genesis 31:7 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).
105. Genesis 31:8 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.
106. Genesis 31:8 tn Heb “speckled” (twice in this verse). The words “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.
107. Genesis 31:10 tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator, “and it happened at the time of.”
108. Genesis 31:10 tn Heb “in the time of the breeding of the flock I lifted up my eyes and I saw.”
109. Genesis 31:10 tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.
110. Genesis 31:12 tn Heb “said, ‘Lift up (now) your eyes and see.”
111. Genesis 31:12 tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.
112. Genesis 31:13 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 Lord as an anointing. Jacob had consecrated the place.
113. Genesis 31:13 sn And made a vow to me. The second clause reminds Jacob of the vow he made to the Lord when he anointed the stone (Gen 28:20-22). God is now going to take him back to the land, and so he will have to fulfill his vow.
114. Genesis 31:13 tn Heb “arise, leave!” The first imperative draws attention to the need for immediate action.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.
115. Genesis 31:14 tn The two nouns may form a hendiadys, meaning “a share in the inheritance” or “a portion to inherit.”
116. Genesis 31:15 tn Heb “and he devoured, even devouring.” The infinitive absolute (following the finite verb here) is used for emphasis.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.
117. Genesis 31:15 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.
118. Genesis 31:17 tn Heb “and Jacob arose and he lifted up his sons and his wives on to the camels.”
119. Genesis 31:18 tn Heb “drove away,” but this is subject to misunderstanding in contemporary English.
120. Genesis 31:18 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.”
121. Genesis 31:19 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.
122. Genesis 31:19 tn Or “household gods.” Some translations merely transliterate the Hebrew term תְּרָפִים (t^erafim) 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.
123. Genesis 31:20 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.
124. Genesis 31:20 tn Heb “fleeing,” which reflects Jacob’s viewpoint.
125. Genesis 31:21 tn Heb “and he fled.”
126. Genesis 31:21 tn Heb “he arose and crossed.” The first verb emphasizes that he wasted no time in getting across.
127. Genesis 31:21 tn Heb “the river”; the referent (the Euphrates) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
128. Genesis 31:21 tn Heb “he set his face.”
129. Genesis 31:22 tn Heb “and it was told to Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled.”
130. Genesis 31:23 tn Heb “his brothers.”
131. Genesis 31:23 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
132. Genesis 31:23 tn Heb “and he pursued after him a journey of seven days.”
133. Genesis 31:23 tn Heb “drew close to.”
134. Genesis 31:24 tn Heb “said to him.”
135. Genesis 31:24 tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.
136. Genesis 31:24 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.
137. Genesis 31:25 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 vav plus subject plus verb in both clauses) indicates synchronism of action.
138. Genesis 31:26 tn Heb “and you have stolen my heart.” This expression apparently means “to deceive” (see v. 20).
139. Genesis 31:26 tn Heb “and you have led away my daughters like captives of a sword.”
140. Genesis 31:27 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.”
141. Genesis 31:27 tn Heb “and steal me.”
142. Genesis 31:27 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?”
143. Genesis 31:28 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.
144. Genesis 31:29 tn Heb “There is to the power of my hand.”
145. Genesis 31:29 tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.
146. Genesis 31:29 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.
147. Genesis 31:30 tn Heb “and now.” The words “I understand that” have been supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
148. Genesis 31:30 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the certainty of the action.
149. Genesis 31:30 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of emotion involved.
150. Genesis 31:30 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.
151. Genesis 31:31 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.
152. Genesis 31:31 tn Heb “for I said.”
153. Genesis 31:31 tn Heb “lest you steal your daughters from with me.”
154. Genesis 31:32 tn Heb “With whomever you find your gods, he will not live.”
155. Genesis 31:32 tn Heb “brothers.”
156. Genesis 31:32 tn Heb “recognize for yourself what is with me and take for yourself.”
157. Genesis 31:32 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.
158. Genesis 31:33 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.
159. Genesis 31:33 tn Heb “and he went out from the tent of Leah and went into the tent of Rachel.”
160. Genesis 31:34 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.”
161. Genesis 31:34 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides another parenthetical statement necessary to the storyline.
162. Genesis 31:34 tn The word “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
163. Genesis 31:35 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
164. Genesis 31:35 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.
165. Genesis 31:35 tn Heb “I am unable to rise.”
166. Genesis 31:35 tn Heb “the way of women is to me.” This idiom refers to a woman’s menstrual period.
167. Genesis 31:35 tn The word “thoroughly” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.
168. Genesis 31:36 tn Heb “it was hot to Jacob.” This idiom refers to anger.
169. Genesis 31:36 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.
170. Genesis 31:36 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).
171. Genesis 31:37 tn Heb “what did you find from all the goods of your house?”
172. Genesis 31:37 tn Heb “your relatives.” The word “relatives” has not been repeated in the translation here for stylistic reasons.
173. Genesis 31:37 tn Heb “that they may decide between us two.”
174. Genesis 31:39 tn The imperfect verbal form indicates that this was a customary or typical action.
175. Genesis 31:39 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.
176. Genesis 31:40 tn Or “by drought.”
177. Genesis 31:40 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.
178. Genesis 31:40 tn Heb “and my sleep fled from my eyes.”
179. Genesis 31:41 tn Heb “this to me.”
180. Genesis 31:41 tn Heb “served you,” but in this accusatory context the meaning is more “worked like a slave.”
181. Genesis 31:42 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.
182. Genesis 31:42 tn Heb “My oppression and the work of my hands God saw.”
183. Genesis 31:43 tn Heb “answered and said.”
184. Genesis 31:43 tn Heb “daughters.”
185. Genesis 31:43 tn Heb “children.”
186. Genesis 31:43 tn Heb “but to my daughters what can I do to these today?”
187. Genesis 31:44 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
188. Genesis 31:44 tn The verb הָיָה (hayah) followed by the preposition ל (lamed) means “become.”
189. Genesis 31:44 tn Heb “and it will become a witness between me and you.”
190. Genesis 31:46 tn Heb “Jacob”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
191. Genesis 31:46 sn The Hebrew word for “pile” is גַּל (gal), which sounds like the name “Galeed” (גַּלְעֵד, galʿed). See v. 48.
192. Genesis 31:47 sn Jegar Sahadutha. Laban the Aramean gave the place an Aramaic name which means “witness pile” or “the pile is a witness.”
193. Genesis 31:47 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.
194. Genesis 31:48 tn Heb “a witness between me and you.”
195. Genesis 31:49 tn Heb “and Mizpah.”
196. Genesis 31:49 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 Lord to keep watch at the border. Jacob did not need this treaty, but Laban, perhaps because he had lost his household gods, felt he did.
197. Genesis 31:49 tn Heb “between me and you.”
198. Genesis 31:49 tn Heb “for we will be hidden, each man from his neighbor.”
199. Genesis 31:50 tn Heb “see.”
200. Genesis 31:50 tn Heb “between me and you.”
201. Genesis 31:51 tn Heb “and Laban said to Jacob, ‘Behold this heap and behold the pillar which I have set between me and you.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
202. Genesis 31:52 tn Heb “This pile is a witness, and the pillar is a witness: surely I will not pass by this pile to you, and surely you will not pass by this pile and this pillar to me, for harm.”
203. Genesis 31:53 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. Smr 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.
204. Genesis 31:53 tn Heb “by the fear of his father Isaac.” See the note on the word “fears” in v. 42.
205. Genesis 31:54 tn The construction is a cognate accusative with the verb, expressing a specific sacrifice.
206. Genesis 31:54 tn Heb “bread, food.” Presumably this was a type of peace offering, where the person bringing the offering ate the animal being sacrificed.
207. Genesis 31:55 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.
208. Genesis 31:55 tn Heb “and Laban got up early in the morning and he kissed.”
209. Genesis 31:55 tn Heb “his sons.”
210. Genesis 31:55 tn Heb “to his place.”