Discovery BoxGenesis 9:27 
Context9:27 May God enlarge Japheth’s territory and numbers! 1
May he live 2 in the tents of Shem
and may Canaan be his slave!”
Genesis 13:12
Context13:12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, but Lot settled among the cities of the Jordan plain 3 and pitched his tents next to Sodom.
Genesis 13:18
Context13:18 So Abram moved his tents and went to live 4 by the oaks 5 of Mamre in Hebron, and he built an altar to the Lord there.
Genesis 25:27
Context25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled 6 hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. 7
1 tn Heb “may God enlarge Japheth.” The words “territory and numbers” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
sn There is a wordplay (paronomasia) on the name Japheth. The verb יַפְתְּ (yaft, “may he enlarge”) sounds like the name יֶפֶת (yefet, “Japheth”). The name itself suggested the idea. The blessing for Japheth extends beyond the son to the descendants. Their numbers and their territories will be enlarged, so much so that they will share in Shem’s territories. Again, in this oracle, Noah is looking beyond his immediate family to future generations. For a helpful study of this passage and the next chapter, see T. O. Figart, A Biblical Perspective on the Race Problem, 55-58.
2 tn In this context the prefixed verbal form is a jussive (note the distinct jussive forms both before and after this in vv. 26 and 27).
3 tn Or “the cities of the plain”; Heb “[the cities of] the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
4 tn Heb “he came and lived.”
5 tn Or “terebinths.”
6 tn Heb “knowing.”
7 tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Jacob with Esau and draws attention to the striking contrasts. In contrast to Esau, a man of the field, Jacob was civilized, as the phrase “living in tents” signifies. Whereas Esau was a skillful hunter, Jacob was calm and even-tempered (תָּם, tam), which normally has the idea of “blameless.”
