Genesis 3:10

3:10 The man replied, ¹  “I heard you moving about ²  in the orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”

Genesis 27:34

27:34 When Esau heard ³  his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly. ⁴  He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!”

Genesis 31:1

Jacob’s Flight from Laban

31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, ⁵  “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich ⁶  at our father’s expense!” ⁷ 

Genesis 34:5

34:5 When ⁸  Jacob heard that Shechem ⁹  had violated his daughter Dinah, his sons were with the livestock in the field. So Jacob remained silent ¹⁰  until they came in.

Genesis 35:22

35:22 While Israel was living in that land, Reuben had sexual relations with ¹¹  Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard about it.

Jacob had twelve sons:

Genesis 41:15

41:15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, ¹²  and there is no one who can interpret ¹³  it. But I have heard about you, that ¹⁴  you can interpret dreams.” ¹⁵ 

Genesis 43:25

43:25 They got their gifts ready for Joseph’s arrival ¹⁶  at noon, for they had heard ¹⁷  that they were to have a meal ¹⁸  there.

---

¹ tn Heb “and he said.”

² tn Heb “your sound.” If one sees a storm theophany here (see the note on the word “time” in v. 8), then one could translate, “your powerful voice.”

³ tn The temporal clause is introduced with the temporal indicator and has the infinitive as its verb.

⁴ tn Heb “and he yelled [with] a great and bitter yell to excess.”

⁵ tn Heb “and he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying.”

⁶ sn The Hebrew word translated “gotten rich” (כָּבוֹד, cavod) 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).

⁷ tn Heb “and from that which belonged to our father he has gained all this wealth.”

⁸ tn The two disjunctive clauses in this verse (“Now Jacob heard…and his sons were”) are juxtaposed to indicate synchronic action.

⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ sn The expected response would be anger or rage; but Jacob remained silent. He appears too indifferent or confused to act decisively. When the leader does not act decisively, the younger zealots will, and often with disastrous results.

¹¹ tn Heb “and Reuben went and lay with.” The expression “lay with” is a euphemism for having sexual intercourse.

sn Reuben’s act of having sexual relations with Bilhah probably had other purposes than merely satisfying his sexual desire. By having sex with Bilhah, Reuben (Leah’s oldest son) would have prevented Bilhah from succeeding Rachel as the favorite wife, and by sleeping with his father’s concubine he would also be attempting to take over leadership of the clan – something Absalom foolishly attempted later on in Israel’s history (2 Sam 16:21-22).

¹² tn Heb “dreamed a dream.”

¹³ tn Heb “there is no one interpreting.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “saying.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “you hear a dream to interpret it,” which may mean, “you only have to hear a dream to be able to interpret it.”

¹⁶ tn The construction uses the infinitive construct after the preposition, followed by the subjective genitive.

¹⁷ tn The action precedes the action of preparing the gift, and so must be translated as past perfect.

¹⁸ tn Heb “eat bread.” The imperfect verbal form is used here as a historic future (future from the perspective of the past).