¹ tn Heb “I, look, I confirm.” The particle הִנְנִי (hinni) used with the participle מֵקִים (meqim) gives the sense of immediacy or imminence, as if to say, “Look! I am now confirming.”

² tn The three pronominal suffixes (translated “you,” “your,” and “you”) are masculine plural. As v. 8 indicates, Noah and his sons are addressed.

³ tn Heb “for all the land which you see to you I will give it and to your descendants.”

⁴ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) often accompanies a gesture of pointing or a focused gaze.

⁵ tn In the Hebrew text the sentence begins with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to the statement.

⁶ tn Heb “said.”

⁷ tn Heb “and he said, ‘I [am] your son, your firstborn.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.

⁸ tn Heb “a few days.” Rebekah probably downplays the length of time Jacob will be gone, perhaps to encourage him and assure him that things will settle down soon. She probably expects Esau’s anger to die down quickly. However, Jacob ends up being gone twenty years and he never sees Rebekah again.

⁹ tn Heb “set your wage for me so I may give [it].”

¹⁰ tn Heb “with all my strength.”

¹¹ tn Heb “and he said to him.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹² sn What is your name? The question is rhetorical, since the Lord obviously knew Jacob’s identity. But since the Lord is going to change Jacob’s name, this question is designed to bring focus Jacob’s attention on all that his name had come to signify.

¹³ tn Heb “form marriage alliances with us.”

sn Intermarry with us. This includes the idea of becoming allied by marriage. The incident foreshadows the temptations Israel would eventually face when they entered the promised land (see Deut 7:3; Josh 23:12).

¹⁴ tn Heb “Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.” In the translation the words “let…marry” and “as wives” are supplied for clarity.

¹⁵ tn Heb “and they said to him.” In context this is best understood as an exclamation.

¹⁶ tn Heb “arise, return,” meaning “get up and go back,” or “go back immediately.”

¹⁷ sn The man refers to the Egyptian official, whom the reader or hearer of the narrative knows is Joseph. In this context both the sons and Jacob refer to him simply as “the man” (see vv. 3-7).

¹⁸ tn Heb “and he said, ‘peace to you.’” Here the statement has the force of “everything is fine,” or perhaps even “calm down.” The referent of “he” (the man in charge of Joseph’ household) has been specified in the translation for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.

¹⁹ sn Your God and the God of your father…This is the first clear reference in the story to the theme of divine providence – that God works through the human actions to do his will.

²⁰ tn Heb “your money came to me.”

²¹ tn The cohortative after the imperative indicates purpose here.

²² tn Heb “that I may set my eyes upon him.”

²³ tn Heb “he made you swear on oath.”

²⁴ tn The verb means “command,” but they would hardly be commanding him. It probably means they sent their father’s instructions to Joseph.