27:34 When Esau heard 7 his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly. 8 He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!”
31:25 Laban overtook Jacob, and when Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead, Laban and his relatives set up camp there too. 14
1 tn Heb “The
2 tn Heb “cannot be numbered because of abundance.”
3 tn Heb “saying.”
4 tn It has been suggested that this word should be translated “conception,” not “pleasure.” See A. A. McIntosh, “A Third Root ‘adah in Biblical Hebrew,” VT 24 (1974): 454-73.
5 tn The word “too” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
6 tn Heb “when she had finished giving him a drink.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
7 tn The temporal clause is introduced with the temporal indicator and has the infinitive as its verb.
8 tn Heb “and he yelled [with] a great and bitter yell to excess.”
9 tn Heb “Bless me, me also, my father.” The words “my father” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
10 tn Heb “and Esau lifted his voice and wept.”
11 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).
12 tn Heb “this other one.”
13 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.
14 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 conjunction + subject + verb in both clauses) indicates synchronism of action.
15 tn Heb “But you, you said.” One of the occurrences of the pronoun “you” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.
sn Some commentators have thought this final verse of the prayer redundant, but it actually follows the predominant form of a lament in which God is motivated to act. The primary motivation Jacob can offer to God is God’s promise, and so he falls back on that at the end of the prayer.
16 tn Or “will certainly deal well with you.” The infinitive absolute appears before the imperfect, underscoring God’s promise to bless. The statement is more emphatic than in v. 9.
17 tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the nuance of the preceding verb forward.
18 tn Heb “which cannot be counted because of abundance.” The imperfect verbal form indicates potential here.
19 tn The construction uses a perfect verbal form with the vav consecutive to introduce the conditional clause and then another perfect verbal form with a vav consecutive to complete the sentence: “if you take…then you will bring down.”
20 sn The expression bring down my gray hair is figurative, using a part for the whole – they would put Jacob in the grave. But the gray head signifies a long life of worry and trouble. See Gen 42:38.
21 tn Heb “evil/calamity.” The term is different than the one used in the otherwise identical statement recorded in v. 31 (see also 42:38).
22 tn Heb “to Sheol,” the dwelling place of the dead.
23 tn On the meaning of the Hebrew verb פָּלַל (palal) here, see E. A. Speiser, “The Stem pll in Hebrew,” JBL 82 (1963): 301-6. Speiser argues that this verb means “to estimate” as in Exod 21:22.
24 tn Heb “your face.”
25 tn Heb “offspring.”