Genesis 29:2

29:2 He saw ¹  in the field a well with ²  three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now ³  a large stone covered the mouth of the well.

Genesis 29:10

29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, ⁴  and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he ⁵  went over ⁶  and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. ⁷ 

Genesis 31:13

31:13 I am the God of Bethel, ⁸  where you anointed ⁹  the sacred stone and made a vow to me. ¹⁰  Now leave this land immediately ¹¹  and return to your native land.’”

Genesis 35:14

35:14 So Jacob set up a sacred stone pillar in the place where God spoke with him. ¹²  He poured out a drink offering on it, and then he poured oil on it. ¹³ 

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¹ 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.

² tn Heb “and look, there.”

³ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the noun with the prefixed conjunction) provides supplemental information that is important to the story.

⁴ tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother” (twice in this verse).

⁵ tn Heb “Jacob.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁶ tn Heb “drew near, approached.”

⁷ 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).

⁸ map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.

⁹ 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.

¹⁰ 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.

¹¹ 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.

¹² tn Heb “and Jacob set up a sacred pillar in the place where he spoke with him, a sacred pillar of stone” (see the notes on the term “sacred stone” in Gen 28:18). This passage stands parallel to Gen 28:18-19, where Jacob set up a sacred stone, poured oil on it, and called the place Bethel. Some commentators see these as two traditions referring to the same event, but it is more likely that Jacob reconsecrated the place in fulfillment of the vow he had made here earlier. In support of this is the fact that the present narrative alludes to and is built on the previous one.

¹³ tn The verb נָסַךְ (nasakh) means “to pour out, to make libations,” and the noun נֶסֶךְ (nesekh) is a “drink-offering,” usually of wine or of blood. The verb יָצַק (yatsaq) means “to pour out,” often of anointing oil, but of other elements as well.