¹ tn Heb “Asshur” (so NEB, NIV).

² tn Heb “On that very day Noah entered, and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and the wife of Noah, and the three wives of his sons with him into the ark.”

³ tn Heb “He”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Heb “the messenger of the Lord.” Some identify the angel of the Lord as the preincarnate Christ because in some texts the angel is identified with the Lord himself. However, it is more likely that the angel merely represents the Lord; he can speak for the Lord because he is sent with the Lord’s full authority. In some cases the angel is clearly distinct from the Lord (see Judg 6:11-23). It is not certain if the same angel is always in view. Though the proper name following the noun “angel” makes the construction definite, this may simply indicate that a definite angel sent from the Lord is referred to in any given context. It need not be the same angel on every occasion. Note the analogous expression “the servant of the Lord,” which refers to various individuals in the OT (see BDB 714 s.v. עֶבֶד).

⁵ tn Heb “And the angel of the Lord found her near the spring of water in the desert, near the spring on the way to Shur.”

⁶ tn Heb “took for a wife.”

⁷ tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his eyes.”

⁸ tn Or “and look, Esau was coming.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes.

⁹ tn Heb “they arose and went down to Egypt.” The first verb has an adverbial function and emphasizes that they departed right away.