² tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Rebekah with Jacob and draws attention to the contrast. The verb here is a participle, drawing attention to Rebekah’s continuing, enduring love for her son.

¹ sn Deborah. This woman had been Rebekah’s nurse, but later attached herself to Jacob. She must have been about 180 years old when she died.

¹ tn Heb “and the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah.”

¹ tn Heb “And they were [a source of] bitterness in spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.”

¹ sn Rebekah, unlike Sarah, was not actually her husband’s sister.

¹ tn Heb “And Isaac was the son of forty years when he took Rebekah.”

³ tn Heb “and he took Rebekah and she became his wife and he loved her.”

¹ tn Heb “her”; the referent (Rebekah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying.”

¹ tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out!” Using the participle introduced with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator dramatically transports the audience back into the event and invites them to see Rebekah through the servant’s eyes.

² tn Heb “Rebekah”; here the proper name was replaced by the pronoun (“her”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹ tn Heb “And she arose, Rebekah and her female servants, and they rode upon camels and went after.”

² tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out.” As in 24:15, the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is used here for dramatic effect.

¹ tn The disjunctive clause gives information that is important but parenthetical to the narrative. Rebekah would become the wife of Isaac (Gen 24:15).

¹ 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 20 years and he never sees Rebekah again.

² sn A wandering Aramean. This is a reference to Jacob whose mother Rebekah was an Aramean (Gen 24:10; 25:20, 26) and who himself lived in Aram for at least twenty years (Gen 31:41-42).

³ tn Heb “said in his heart.” The expression may mean “said to himself.” Even if this is the case, v. 42 makes it clear that he must have shared his intentions with someone because the news reached Rebekah.

² sn Which are you, my son? Isaac’s first question shows that the deception is going to require more subterfuge than Rebekah had anticipated. Jacob will have to pull off the deceit.

² tn Heb “If [it is] so, why [am] I this [way]?” Rebekah wanted to know what was happening to her, but the question itself reflects a growing despair over the struggle of the unborn children.

² tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.” These words, though not reported by Rebekah to Jacob (see v. 7) accurately reflect what Isaac actually said to Esau (see v. 4). Perhaps Jacob knew more than Rebekah realized, but it is more likely that this was an idiom for sincere blessing with which Jacob was familiar. At any rate, his use of the precise wording was a nice, convincing touch.