translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: GEN

label: NET translator note

text: Or “took.” sn Abraham had taken another wife . These events are not necessarily in chronological order following the events of the preceding chapter. They are listed here to summarize Abraham’s other descendants before the narrative of his death.


text: Heb “And Abraham added and took.”


text: Or “sons.”


text: Heb “the sons of the concubines who [belonged] to Abraham.”


text: Heb “And he sent them away from upon Isaac his son, while he was still living, eastward to the land of the east.”


text: Heb “and these are the days of the years of the lifetime of Abraham that he lived.” The normal genealogical formula is expanded here due to the importance of the life of Abraham.


text: Heb “old and full.”


text: Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.


text: See the note on the phrase “sons of Heth” in Gen 23:3 .


text: The meaning of this line is not easily understood. The sons of Ishmael are listed here “by their names” and “according to their descendants.”


text: Or “tribal chieftains.”


text: Heb “And these are the days of the years of Ishmael.”


text: Heb “they”; the referent (Ishmael’s descendants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: Heb “which is by the face of,” or near the border. The territory ran along the border of Egypt.


text: Heb “as you go.”


text: Heb “he fell.”


text: Heb “upon the face of all his brothers.” This last expression, obviously alluding to the earlier oracle about Ishmael ( Gen 16:12 ), could mean that the descendants of Ishmael lived in hostility to others or that they lived in a territory that was opposite the lands of their relatives. While there is some ambiguity about the meaning, the line probably does give a hint of the Ishmaelite-Israelite conflicts to come.


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


text: The Hebrew verb עָתַר (’ atar ), translated “prayed [to]” here, appears in the story of God’s judgment on Egypt in which Moses asked the Lord to remove the plagues. The cognate word in Arabic means “to slaughter for sacrifice,” and the word is used in Zeph 3:10 to describe worshipers who bring offerings. Perhaps some ritual accompanied Isaac’s prayer here.


text: The Hebrew word used here suggests a violent struggle that was out of the ordinary.


text: 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.


text: Heb “And her days were filled to give birth.”


text: Heb “look!” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה ( hinneh , “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene as if they were actually present at the birth.


text: Heb “all of him.”


text: Heb “And they called his name Esau.” The name “Esau” ( עֵשָׂו , ’ esav ) is not etymologically related to שֵׂעָר ( se ’ ar ), but it draws on some of the sounds.


text: The disjunctive clause describes an important circumstance accompanying the birth. Whereas Esau was passive at birth, Jacob was active.


text: Heb “And he called his name Jacob.” Some ancient witnesses read “they called his name Jacob” (see v. 25 ). In either case the subject is indefinite. sn The name Jacob is a play on the Hebrew word for “heel” ( עָקֵב , ’ aqev ). The name (since it is a verb) probably means something like “may he protect,” that is, as a rearguard, dogging the heels. It did not have a negative connotation until Esau redefined it. This name was probably chosen because of the immediate association with the incident of grabbing the heel. After receiving such an oracle, the parents would have preserved in memory almost every detail of the unusual births.


text: Heb “the son of sixty years.”


text: Heb “knowing.”


text: 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.”


text: Heb “the taste of game was in his mouth.” The word for “game,” “venison” is here the same Hebrew word as “hunter” in the last verse. Here it is a metonymy, referring to that which the hunter kills.


text: 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.


text: The rare term לָעַט ( la ’ at ), translated “feed,” is used in later Hebrew for feeding animals (see Jastrow, 714). If this nuance was attached to the word in the biblical period, then it may depict Esau in a negative light, comparing him to a hungry animal. Famished Esau comes in from the hunt, only to enter the trap. He can only point at the red stew and ask Jacob to feed him.


text: The verb has no expressed subject and so is given a passive translation.


text: Heb “today.”


text: Heb “And what is this to me, a birthright?”


text: Heb “Swear to me today.”


text: Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.