30:14 At the time 7 of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants 8 in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
1 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative (with the prefixed conjunction) indicates purpose or result.
2 tn The cohortative, with the prefixed conjunction, also expresses logical sequence. See vv. 4, 19, 27.
3 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
4 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the referent of “he” (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity, while the words “his father” have been replaced by the pronoun “him” for stylistic reasons.
5 tn Or “arise” (i.e., sit up).
6 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.”
7 tn Heb “during the days.”
8 sn Mandrake plants were popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac in the culture of the time.