10:21 And sons were also born 5 to Shem (the older brother of Japheth), 6 the father of all the sons of Eber.
29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was tending them. 21
31:19 While Laban had gone to shear his sheep, 22 Rachel stole the household idols 23 that belonged to her father.
36:9 This is the account of Esau, the father 27 of the Edomites, in the hill country of Seir.
44:27 “Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife gave me two sons. 31
45:25 So they went up from Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. 32
1 tn Heb “he fathered.”
2 tn Here and in vv. 10, 13, 16, 19 the word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
3 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
4 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
5 tn Heb “And to Shem was born.”
6 tn Or “whose older brother was Japheth.” Some translations render Japheth as the older brother, understanding the adjective הַגָּדוֹל (haggadol, “older”) as modifying Japheth. However, in Hebrew when a masculine singular definite attributive adjective follows the sequence masculine singular construct noun + proper name, the adjective invariably modifies the noun in construct, not the proper name. Such is the case here. See Deut 11:7; Judg 1:13; 2:7; 3:9; 9:5; 2 Kgs 15:35; 2 Chr 27:3; Neh 3:30; Jer 13:9; 36:10; Ezek 10:19; 11:1.
7 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
8 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
9 tc The reading of the MT is followed in vv. 11-12; the LXX reads, “And [= when] Arphaxad had lived thirty-five years, [and] he fathered [= became the father of] Cainan. And after he fathered [= became the father of] Cainan, Arphaxad lived four hundred and thirty years and fathered [= had] [other] sons and daughters, and [then] he died. And [= when] Cainan had lived one hundred and thirty years, [and] he fathered [= became the father of] Sala [= Shelah]. And after he fathered [= became the father of] Sala [= Shelah], Cainan lived three hundred and thirty years and fathered [= had] [other] sons and daughters, and [then] he died.” See also the note on “Shelah” in Gen 10:24; the LXX reading also appears to lie behind Luke 3:35-36.
10 tn Here and in vv. 16, 19, 21, 23, 25 the word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
11 sn The phrase of the Chaldeans is a later editorial clarification for the readers, designating the location of Ur. From all evidence there would have been no Chaldeans in existence at this early date; they are known in the time of the neo-Babylonian empire in the first millennium
12 tn Heb “upon the face of Terah his father.”
13 tn Heb “I.”
14 tn Heb “is” (הִנֵּה, hinneh).
15 tn The disjunctive clause gives information that is important but parenthetical to the narrative. Rebekah would become the wife of Isaac (Gen 24:15).
16 sn The names Sheba and Dedan appear in Gen 10:7 as descendants of Ham through Cush and Raamah. Since these two names are usually interpreted to be place names, one plausible suggestion is that some of Abraham’s descendants lived in those regions and took names linked with it.
17 tn 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.
18 tn 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.
19 tn Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.
20 tn Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.”
21 tn Heb “was a shepherdess.”
22 tn This disjunctive clause (note the pattern conjunction + subject + verb) introduces a new scene. In the English translation it may be subordinated to the following clause.
23 tn Or “household gods.” Some translations merely transliterate the Hebrew term תְּרָפִים (tÿrafim) as “teraphim,” which apparently refers to household idols. Some contend that possession of these idols guaranteed the right of inheritance, but it is more likely that they were viewed simply as protective deities. See M. Greenberg, “Another Look at Rachel’s Theft of the Teraphim,” JBL 81 (1962): 239-48.
24 tn Heb “in the going out of her life, for she was dying.” Rachel named the child with her dying breath.
25 sn The name Ben-Oni means “son of my suffering.” It is ironic that Rachel’s words to Jacob in Gen 30:1, “Give me children or I’ll die,” take a different turn here, for it was having the child that brought about her death.
26 tn The disjunctive clause is contrastive.
sn His father called him Benjamin. There was a preference for giving children good or positive names in the ancient world, and “son of my suffering” would not do (see the incident in 1 Chr 4:9-10), because it would be a reminder of the death of Rachel (in this connection, see also D. Daube, “The Night of Death,” HTR 61 [1968]: 629-32). So Jacob named him Benjamin, which means “son of the [or “my”] right hand.” The name Benjamin appears in the Mari texts. There have been attempts to connect this name to the resident tribe listed at Mari, “sons of the south” (since the term “right hand” can also mean “south” in Hebrew), but this assumes a different reading of the story. See J. Muilenburg, “The Birth of Benjamin,” JBL 75 (1956): 194-201.
27 sn The term father in genealogical records needs to be carefully defined. It can refer to a literal father, a grandfather, a political overlord, or a founder.
28 tn Heb “And it was told to Tamar, saying.”
29 tn The active participle indicates the action was in progress or about to begin.
30 tn Heb “and they bowed low and they bowed down.” The use of synonyms here emphasizes the brothers’ humility.
31 tn Heb “that two sons my wife bore to me.”
32 tn Heb “and they entered the land of Canaan to their father.”