translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: GEN

label: NET translator note

text: Heb “and he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying.”


text: Heb “and from that which belonged to our father he has gained all this wealth.”


text: Heb “and Jacob saw the face of Laban, and look, he was not with him as formerly.” Jacob knew from the expression on Laban’s face that his attitude toward him had changed – Jacob had become persona non grata .


text: Or perhaps “ancestors” (so NRSV), although the only “ancestors” Jacob had there were his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac.


text: Heb “sent and called for Rachel and for Leah.” Jacob did not go in person, but probably sent a servant with a message for his wives to meet him in the field.


text: Heb “the field.” The word is an adverbial accusative, indicating that this is where Jacob wanted them to meet him. The words “to come to” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.


text: Heb “to his flock.”


text: Heb “I see the face of your father, that he is not toward me as formerly.”


text: Heb “with all my strength.”


text: This rare verb means “to make a fool of” someone. It involves deceiving someone so that their public reputation suffers (see Exod 8:25 ).


text: In the protasis (“if” section) of this conditional clause, the imperfect verbal form has a customary nuance – whatever he would say worked to Jacob’s benefit.


text: Heb “speckled” (twice this verse). The word “animals” (after the first occurrence of “speckled”) and “offspring” (after the second) have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. The same two terms (“animals” and “offspring”) have been supplied after the two occurrences of “streaked” later in this verse.


text: The sentence begins with the temporal indicator, “and it happened at the time of.”


text: Heb “in the time of the breeding of the flock I lifted up my eyes and I saw.”


text: Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.


text: Heb “lift up (now) your eyes and see.”


text: For location see Map4-G4 ; Map5-C1 ; Map6-E3 ; Map7-D1 ; Map8-G3 .


text: Heb “arise, leave!” The first imperative draws attention to the need for immediate action. sn Leave this land immediately . The decision to leave was a wise one in view of the changed attitude in Laban and his sons. But more than that, it was the will of God. Jacob needed to respond to God’s call – the circumstances simply made it easier.


text: The two nouns may form a hendiadys, meaning “a share in the inheritance” or “a portion to inherit.”


text: Heb “and he devoured, even devouring.” The infinitive absolute (following the finite verb here) is used for emphasis. sn He sold us and…wasted our money . The precise nature of Rachel’s and Leah’s complaint is not entirely clear. Since Jacob had to work to pay for them, they probably mean that their father has cheated Jacob and therefore cheated them as well. See M. Burrows, “The Complaint of Laban’s Daughters,” JAOS 57 (1937): 250-76.


text: Heb “our money.” The word “money” is used figuratively here; it means the price paid for Leah and Rachel. A literal translation (“our money”) makes it sound as if Laban wasted money that belonged to Rachel and Leah, rather than the money paid for them.


text: Heb “and Jacob arose and he lifted up his sons and his wives on to the camels.”


text: Heb “drove,” but this is subject to misunderstanding in contemporary English.


text: Heb “and he led away all his cattle and all his moveable property which he acquired, the cattle he obtained, which he acquired in Paddan Aram to go to Isaac his father to the land of Canaan.”


text: 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.


text: 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.


text: Heb “stole the heart of,” an expression which apparently means “to deceive.” The repetition of the verb “to steal” shows that Jacob and Rachel are kindred spirits. Any thought that Laban would have resigned himself to their departure was now out of the question.


text: Heb “fleeing,” which reflects Jacob’s viewpoint.


text: Heb “and he fled.”


text: Heb “he arose and crossed.” The first verb emphasizes that he wasted no time in getting across.


text: Heb “the river”; the referent (the Euphrates) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: Heb “he set his face.”


text: Heb “and it was told to Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled.”


text: Heb “his brothers.”


text: Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: Heb “and he pursued after him a journey of seven days.”


text: Heb “drew close to.”


text: Heb “said to him.”


text: Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.


text: Heb “lest you speak with Jacob from good to evil.” The precise meaning of the expression, which occurs only here and in v. 29 , is uncertain. Since Laban proceeded to speak to Jacob at length, it cannot mean to maintain silence. Nor does it seem to be a prohibition against criticism (see vv. 26-30 ). Most likely it refers to a formal pronouncement, whether it be a blessing or a curse. Laban was to avoid saying anything to Jacob that would be intended to enhance him or to harm him.


text: Heb “and Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban pitched with his brothers in the hill country of Gilead.” The juxtaposition of disjunctive clauses (note the pattern conjunction + subject + verb in both clauses) indicates synchronism of action.


text: Heb “and you have stolen my heart.” This expression apparently means “to deceive” (see v. 20 ).


text: Heb “and you have led away my daughters like captives of a sword.”


text: Heb “Why did you hide in order to flee?” The verb “hide” and the infinitive “to flee” form a hendiadys, the infinitive becoming the main verb and the other the adverb: “flee secretly.”


text: Heb “and steal me.”


text: Heb “And [why did] you not tell me so I could send you off with joy and with songs, with a tambourine and with a harp?”


text: Heb “my sons and my daughters.” Here “sons” refers to “grandsons,” and has been translated “grandchildren” since at least one granddaughter, Dinah, was involved. The order has been reversed in the translation for stylistic reasons.


text: Heb “there is to my hand.”


text: Heb “from speaking with Jacob from good to evil.” The precise meaning of the expression, which occurs only here and in v. 24 , is uncertain. See the note on the same phrase in v. 24 .


text: Heb “and now.” The words “I understand that” have been supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.


text: The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the certainty of the action.


text: The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of emotion involved.


text: Heb “and Jacob answered and said to Laban, ‘Because I was afraid.’” This statement is a not a response to the question about Laban’s household gods that immediately precedes, but to the earlier question about Jacob’s motivation for leaving so quickly and secretly (see v. 27 ). For this reason the words “I left secretly” are supplied in the translation to indicate the connection to Laban’s earlier question in v. 27 . Additionally the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse have been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.


text: Heb “for I said.”


text: Heb “lest you steal your daughters from with me.”


text: Heb “With whomever you find your gods, he will not live.”


text: Heb “brothers.”


text: Heb “recognize for yourself what is with me and take for yourself.”


text: The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a vav [ ו ] conjunction) provides supplemental material that is important to the story. Since this material is parenthetical in nature, it has been placed in parentheses in the translation.


text: No direct object is specified for the verb “find” in the Hebrew text. The words “the idols” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.


text: Heb “and he went out from the tent of Leah and went into the tent of Rachel.”


text: The “camel’s saddle” was probably some sort of basket-saddle, a cushioned saddle with a basket bound on. Cf. NAB “inside a camel cushion.”


text: The disjunctive clause (introduced by a vav [ ו ] conjunction) provides another parenthetical statement necessary to the storyline.


text: The word “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.


text: Heb “she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: Heb “let it not be hot in the eyes of my lord.” This idiom refers to anger, in this case as a result of Rachel’s failure to stand in the presence of her father as a sign of respect.


text: Heb “I am unable to rise.”


text: Heb “the way of women is to me.” This idiom refers to a woman’s menstrual period.


text: The word “thoroughly” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.


text: Heb “it was hot to Jacob.” This idiom refers to anger.


text: Heb “and Jacob answered and said to Laban, ‘What is my sin?’” The proper name “Jacob” has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation and the order of the introductory clause and direct discourse rearranged for stylistic reasons.


text: Heb “What is my sin that you have hotly pursued after me.” The Hebrew verb translated “pursue hotly” is used elsewhere of soldiers chasing defeated enemies ( 1 Sam 17:53 ).


text: Heb “what did you find from all the goods of your house?”


text: Heb “your relatives.” The word “relatives” has not been repeated in the translation here for stylistic reasons.


text: Heb “that they may decide between us two.”


text: The imperfect verbal form indicates that this was a customary or typical action.


text: Heb “from my hand you exacted it.” The imperfect verbal form again indicates that this was a customary or typical action. The words “for every missing animal” are supplied in the translation for clarity; the following clause in Hebrew, “stolen by day or stolen by night,” probably means “stolen by wild beasts” and refers to the same animals “torn by wild beasts” in the previous clause, although it may refer to animals stolen by people. The translation used here, “missing,” is ambiguous enough to cover either eventuality.


text: Or “by drought.”


text: Heb “frost, ice,” though when contrasted with the חֹרֶב ( khorev , “drought, parching heat”) of the day, “piercing cold” is more appropriate as a contrast.


text: Heb “and my sleep fled from my eyes.”


text: Heb “this to me.”


text: Heb “served you,” but in this accusatory context the meaning is more “worked like a slave.”


text: Heb “the fear of Isaac,” that is, the one whom Isaac feared and respected. For further discussion of this title see M. Malul, “More on pahad yitschaq ( Gen. 31:42,53 ) and the Oath by the Thigh,” VT 35 (1985): 192-200.


text: Heb “My oppression and the work of my hands God saw.”


text: Heb “answered and said.”


text: Heb “daughters.”


text: Heb “children.”


text: Heb “but to my daughters what can I do to these today?”


text: Heb “cut a covenant.”


text: The verb הָיָה ( hayah ) followed by the preposition לְ ( lÿ ) means “become.”


text: Heb “and it will become a witness between me and you.”


text: Heb “Jacob”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.


text: Heb “a witness between me and you.”


text: Heb “and Mizpah.”


text: Heb “between me and you.”


text: Heb “for we will be hidden, each man from his neighbor.”


text: Heb “see.”


text: Heb “and Laban said to Jacob, ‘Behold this heap and behold the pillar which I have set between men and you.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.


text: Heb “This pile is a witness and the pillar is a witness, if I go past this pile to you and if you go past this pile and this pillar to me for harm.”


text: The God of Abraham and the god of Nahor . The Hebrew verb translated “judge” is plural, suggesting that Laban has more than one “god” in mind. The Samaritan Pentateuch and the LXX, apparently in an effort to make the statement monotheistic, have a singular verb. In this case one could translate, “May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” However, Laban had a polytheistic world view, as evidenced by his possession of household idols (cf. 31:19 ). The translation uses “God” when referring to Abraham’s God, for Genesis makes it clear that Abraham worshiped the one true God. It employs “god” when referring to Nahor’s god, for in the Hebrew text Laban refers to a different god here, probably one of the local deities.


text: Heb “by the fear of his father Isaac.” See the note on the word “fears” in v. 42 .


text: The construction is a cognate accusative with the verb, expressing a specific sacrifice.


text: Heb “bread, food.” Presumably this was a type of peace offering, where the person bringing the offering ate the animal being sacrificed.


text: Heb “and Laban got up early in the morning and he kissed.”


text: Heb “his sons.”


text: Heb “to his place.”