Genesis 27–28

Footnotes

1. 1 The clause begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making it subordinate to the main clause that follows later in the sentence.
2. 2 Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”
3. 3 Heb “greater” (in terms of age).
4. 4 Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.
5. 5 Heb “he”; the referent (Isaac) is specified in the translation for clarity.
6. 6 The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here introduces a logically foundational statement, upon which the coming instruction will be based.
7. 7 Heb “I do not know the day of my death.”
8. 8 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. 9 Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
10. 10 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. 11 The disjunctive clause (introduced by a conjunction with the subject, followed by the predicate) here introduces a new scene in the story.
12. 12 The adds here “to his father,” which may have been accidentally omitted in the .
13. 13 Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
14. 14 The cohortative, with the prefixed conjunction, also expresses logical sequence. See vv. 4, 19, 27.
15. 15 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. 16 Heb “listen to my voice.” The Hebrew idiom means “to comply; to obey.”
17. 17 Heb “to that which I am commanding you.”
18. 18 Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
19. 19 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. 20 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. 21 Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.
22. 22 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. 23 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. 24 Heb “upon me your curse.”
25. 25 Heb “only listen to my voice.”
26. 26 The words “the goats” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
27. 27 Heb “his mother.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “she” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
28. 28 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. 29 The word “hands” probably includes the forearms here. How the skins were attached is not specified in the Hebrew text; cf. “she made him a pair of gloves.”
30. 30 Heb “gave … into the hand of.”
31. 31 Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
32. 32 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. 33 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. 34 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. 35 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. 36 Heb “you hastened to find.” In translation the infinitive becomes the main verb and the first verb becomes adverbial.
37. 37 Heb “caused to meet before me.”
38. 38 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. 39 Following the imperative, the cohortative (with prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
40. 40 Heb “Are you this one, Esau, my son, or not?” On the use of the interrogative particle here, see 210 הֲ.
41. 41 Heb “and he blessed him.” The referents of the pronouns “he” (Isaac) and “him” (Jacob) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
42. 42 Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
43. 43 Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
44. 44 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. 45 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. 46 Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
47. 47 Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
48. 48 Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
49. 49 Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
50. 50 Heb “see.”
51. 51 Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”
52. 52 Heb “and from the fatness.”
53. 53 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.
54. 54 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. 55 Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
56. 56 The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite form of the verb makes the construction emphatic.
57. 57 Heb “the presence of Isaac his father.” The repetition of the proper name (“Isaac”) was
58. 58 Heb “and Esau his brother came from his hunt.”
59. 59 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. 60 Or “arise” (i.e., sit up).
61. 61 Heb “so that your soul may bless me.”
62. 62 Heb “said.”
63. 63 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. 64 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. 65 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. 66 The temporal clause is introduced with the temporal indicator and has the infinitive as its verb.
67. 67 Heb “and he yelled [with] a great and bitter yell to excess.”
68. 68 Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
69. 69 Or “took”; “received.”
70. 70 Heb “Is he not rightly named Jacob?” The rhetorical question, since it expects a positive reply, has been translated as a declarative statement.
71. 71 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. 72 Heb “Bless me, me also, my father.” The words “my father” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
73. 73 Heb “and Esau lifted his voice and wept.”
74. 74 Heb “look.”
75. 75 Heb “from the fatness.”
76. 76 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.
77. 77 Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. , , ). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.
78. 78 Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”
79. 79 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.
80. 80 Heb “days.”
81. 81 The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.
82. 82 Heb “and the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah.”
83. 83 Heb “she sent and called for.”
84. 84 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.
85. 85 Heb “listen to my voice.”
86. 86 Heb “arise, flee.”
87. 87 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.
88. 88 The words “stay there” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
89. 89 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.
90. 90 If Jacob stayed, he would be killed and Esau would be forced to run away.
91. 91 Heb “loathe my life.” The Hebrew verb translated “loathe” refers to strong disgust (see Lev 20:23).
92. 92 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.
93. 93 Heb “If Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, why to me life?”
94. 1 Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
95. 2 Heb “Arise! Go!” The first of the two imperatives is adverbial and stresses the immediacy of the departure.
96. 3 Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in .
97. 4 Heb “and make you fruitful and multiply you.” See Gen 17:6, 20 for similar terminology.
98. 5 The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here indicates consequence. The collocation הָיָה + preposition לְ (hayah + lé) means “become.”
99. 6 Heb “an assembly of peoples.”
100. 7 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.
101. 8 The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
102. 9 Heb “the land of your sojournings,” that is, the land where Jacob had been living as a resident alien, as his future descendants would after him.
103. 10 Heb “to take for himself from there a wife.”
104. 11 The infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffix form a temporal clause.
105. 12 Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
106. 13 Heb “saw.”
107. 14 Heb “the daughters of Canaan.”
108. 15 Heb “evil in the eyes of.”
109. 16 Heb “took for a wife.”
110. 17 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,” 142 (1985): .
111. 18 Heb “and he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.”
112. 19 Heb “he took from the stones of the place,” which here means Jacob took one of the stones (see v. 18).
113. 20 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.
114. 21 Heb “lay down.”
115. 22 Heb “and dreamed.”
116. 23 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 [], 51–52).
117. 24 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 (), 34. For further discussion see C. Houtman, “What Did Jacob See in His Dream at Bethel? Some Remarks on Genesis 28:10–22,” 27 (1977): 337–52; J. G. Griffiths, “The Celestial Ladder and the Gate of Heaven,” 76 (1964/65): 229–30; and A. R. Millard, “The Celestial Ladder and the Gate of Heaven,” 78 (1966/67): 86–87.
118. 25 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.
119. 26 The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (’erets) 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.
120. 27 This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.
121. 28 The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.
122. 29 Theoretically the Niphal stem can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Jacob were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in other formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless (i.e., pronounce blessings upon) themselves/one another.” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 28:14 predicts that Jacob will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae (see Gen 12:2 and 18:18 as well, where Abram/Abraham receives this promise). For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.
123. 30 Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”
124. 31 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. ).
125. 32 Heb “woke up from his sleep.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
126. 33 Heb “said.”
127. 34 Heb “and he got up early … and he took.”
128. 35 Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
129. 36 See the note on this phrase in v. .
130. 37 Heb “standing stone.” 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,” 35 (1972): 34–63; and E. Stockton, “Sacred Pillars in the Bible,” 20 (1972): 16–32.
131. 38 The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew (see v. 17). For location see ; ; ; ; .
132. 39 Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.
133. 40 Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.”
134. 41 The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.
135. 42 The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.
136. 43 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.