Genesis 32-34

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Genesis 32:1 sn The phrase angels of God occurs only here and in Gen 28:12 in the OT. Jacob saw a vision of angels just before he left the promised land. Now he encounters angels as he prepares to return to it. The text does not give the details of the encounter, but Jacob’s response suggests it was amicable. This location was a spot where heaven made contact with earth, and where God made his presence known to the patriarch. See C. Houtman, “Jacob at Mahanaim: Some Remarks on Genesis XXXII 2-3, ” VT 28 (1978): 37-44.
2. Genesis 32:2 tn Heb “and Jacob said when he saw them.”
3. Genesis 32:2 sn The name Mahanaim apparently means “two camps.” Perhaps the two camps were those of God and of Jacob.
4. Genesis 32:3 tn Heb “before him.”
5. Genesis 32:3 tn Heb “field.”
6. Genesis 32:4 sn Your servant. The narrative recounts Jacob’s groveling in fear before Esau as he calls his brother his “lord,” as if to minimize what had been done twenty years ago.
7. Genesis 32:4 tn Heb “Laban and have lingered until now.”
8. Genesis 32:5 tn Or “I am sending.” The form is a preterite with the vav consecutive; it could be rendered as an English present tense—as the Hebrew perfect/preterite allows—much like an epistolary aorist in Greek. The form assumes the temporal perspective of the one who reads the message.
9. Genesis 32:5 tn The words “this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
10. Genesis 32:8 tn Heb “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.”
11. Genesis 32:8 tn Heb “and he said, ‘If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.” The Hebrew verb אָמַר (ʾamar) here represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “he thought.” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
12. Genesis 32:8 tn Heb “the surviving camp will be for escape.” The word “escape” is a feminine noun. The term most often refers to refugees from war.
13. Genesis 32:9 tn Heb “said.”
14. Genesis 32:9 tn Heb “the one who said.”
15. Genesis 32:9 tn Heb “I will cause good” or “I will treat well [or “favorably”].” The idea includes more than prosperity, though that is its essential meaning. Here the form is subordinated to the preceding imperative and indicates purpose or result. Jacob is reminding God of his promise in the hope that God will honor his word.
16. Genesis 32:10 tn Heb “the loving deeds and faithfulness” (see 24:27, 49).
17. Genesis 32:10 tn Heb “you have done with.”
18. Genesis 32:10 tn Heb “for with my staff.” The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally translated “staff,” has been rendered as “walking stick” because a “staff” in contemporary English refers typically to the support personnel in an organization.
19. Genesis 32:10 tn Heb “this Jordan.”
20. Genesis 32:11 tn The imperative has the force of a prayer here, not a command.
21. Genesis 32:11 tn The “hand” here is a metonymy for “power.”
22. Genesis 32:11 tn Heb “from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau.”
23. Genesis 32:11 tn Heb “for I am afraid of him, lest he come.”
24. Genesis 32:11 sn Heb “me, [the] mother upon [the] sons.” The first person pronoun “me” probably means here “me and mine,” as the following clause suggests.
25. Genesis 32:12 tn Heb “But you, you said.” One of the occurrences of the pronoun “you” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.sn Some commentators have thought this final verse of the prayer redundant, but it actually follows the predominant form of a lament in which God is motivated to act. The primary motivation Jacob can offer to God is God’s promise, and so he falls back on that at the end of the prayer.
26. Genesis 32:12 tn Or “will certainly deal well with you.” The infinitive absolute appears before the imperfect, underscoring God’s promise to bless. The statement is more emphatic than in v. 9.
27. Genesis 32:12 tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the nuance of the preceding verb forward.
28. Genesis 32:12 tn Heb “which cannot be counted because of abundance.” The imperfect verbal form indicates potential here.
29. Genesis 32:13 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
30. Genesis 32:13 tn Heb “and he took from that which was going into his hand,” meaning that he took some of what belonged to him.
31. Genesis 32:13 sn The Hebrew noun translated gift can in some contexts refer to the tribute paid by a subject to his lord. Such a nuance is possible here, because Jacob refers to Esau as his lord and to himself as Esau’s servant (v. 4).
32. Genesis 32:16 tn Heb “and he put them in the hand of.”
33. Genesis 32:16 tn Heb “a herd, a herd, by itself,” or “each herd by itself.” The distributive sense is expressed by repetition.
34. Genesis 32:17 tn Heb “the first”; this has been specified as “the servant leading the first herd” in the translation for clarity.
35. Genesis 32:17 tn Heb “to whom are you?”
36. Genesis 32:17 tn Heb “and to whom are these before you?”
37. Genesis 32:18 tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; it has the nuance of an imperfect of instruction.
38. Genesis 32:18 tn The words “they belong” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
39. Genesis 32:18 tn Heb “to your servant, to Jacob.”
40. Genesis 32:18 tn Heb “to my lord, to Esau.”
41. Genesis 32:18 tn Heb “and look, also he [is] behind us.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
42. Genesis 32:19 tn Heb “And he commanded also the second, also the third, also all the ones going after the herds, saying: ‘According to this word you will speak when you find him.’”
43. Genesis 32:20 tn Heb “and look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.”
44. Genesis 32:20 tn Heb “for he said.” The referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew verb אָמַר (ʾamar), traditionally represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “thought.”
45. Genesis 32:20 tn Heb “I will appease his face.” The cohortative here expresses Jacob’s resolve. In the Book of Leviticus the Hebrew verb translated “appease” has the idea of removing anger due to sin or guilt, a nuance that fits this passage very well. Jacob wanted to buy Esau off with a gift of more than 550 animals.
46. Genesis 32:20 tn Heb “with a gift going before me.”
47. Genesis 32:20 tn Heb “I will see his face.”
48. Genesis 32:20 tn Heb “Perhaps he will lift up my face.” In this context the idiom refers to acceptance.
49. Genesis 32:21 tn Heb “and the gift passed over upon his face.”
50. Genesis 32:21 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial/temporal.
51. Genesis 32:22 tn Heb “and he arose in that night and he took.” The first verb is adverbial, indicating that he carried out the crossing right away.
52. Genesis 32:22 tn The Hebrew term used here is יֶלֶד (yeled) which typically describes male offspring. Some translations render the term “children” but this is a problem because by this time Jacob had twelve children in all, including one daughter, Dinah, born to Leah (Gen 30:21). Benjamin, his twelfth son and thirteenth child, was not born until later (Gen 35:16-19).
53. Genesis 32:22 sn Hebrew narrative style often includes a summary statement of the whole passage followed by a more detailed report of the event. Here v. 22 is the summary statement, while v. 23 begins the detailed account.
54. Genesis 32:23 tn Heb “and he sent across what he had.”
55. Genesis 32:24 sn Reflecting Jacob’s perspective at the beginning of the encounter, the narrator calls the opponent simply “a man.” Not until later in the struggle does Jacob realize his true identity.
56. Genesis 32:24 sn The verb translated “wrestled” (וַיֵּאָבֵק, vayyeʾaveq) sounds in Hebrew like the names “Jacob” (יַעֲקֹב, yaʿaqov) and “Jabbok” (יַבֹּק, yabboq). In this way the narrator links the setting, the main action, and the main participant together in the mind of the reader or hearer.
57. Genesis 32:24 tn Heb “until the rising of the dawn.”
58. Genesis 32:25 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
59. Genesis 32:25 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
60. Genesis 32:25 tn Or “injured”; traditionally “touched.” The Hebrew verb translated “struck” has the primary meanings “to touch; to reach; to strike.” It can, however, carry the connotation “to harm; to molest; to injure.” God’s “touch” cripples Jacob—it would be comparable to a devastating blow.
61. Genesis 32:26 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
62. Genesis 32:26 tn Heb “dawn has arisen.”
63. Genesis 32:26 tn Heb “and he said, ‘I will not let you go.’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
64. Genesis 32:26 sn Jacob wrestled with a man thinking him to be a mere man, and on that basis was equal to the task. But when it had gone on long enough, the night visitor touched Jacob and crippled him. Jacob’s request for a blessing can only mean that he now knew that his opponent was supernatural. Contrary to many allegorical interpretations of the passage that make fighting equivalent to prayer, this passage shows that Jacob stopped fighting, and then asked for a blessing.
65. Genesis 32:27 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.
66. Genesis 32:27 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 focus Jacob’s attention on all that his name had come to signify.
67. Genesis 32:28 tn Heb “and he said.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
68. Genesis 32:28 sn The name Israel is a common construction, using a verb with a theophoric element (אֵל, ʾel) that usually indicates the subject of the verb. Here it means “God fights.” This name will replace the name Jacob; it will be both a promise and a call for faith. In essence, the Lord was saying that Jacob would have victory and receive the promises because God would fight for him.
69. Genesis 32:28 sn You have fought. The explanation of the name Israel includes a sound play. In Hebrew the verb translated “you have fought” (שָׂרִיתָ, sarita) sounds like the name “Israel” (יִשְׂרָאֵל, yisraʾel), meaning “God fights” (although some interpret the meaning as “he fights [with] God”). The name would evoke the memory of the fight and what it meant. A. Dillmann says that ever after this the name would tell the Israelites that, when Jacob contended successfully with God, he won the battle with man (Genesis, 2:279). To be successful with God meant that he had to be crippled in his own self-sufficiency (A. P. Ross, “Jacob at the Jabboq, Israel at Peniel,” BSac 142 [1985]: 51-62).
70. Genesis 32:29 sn Tell me your name. In primitive thought to know the name of a deity or supernatural being would enable one to use it for magical manipulation or power (A. S. Herbert, Genesis 12-50 [TBC], 108). For a thorough structural analysis of the passage discussing the plays on the names and the request of Jacob, see R. Barthes, “The Struggle with the Angel: Textual Analysis of Genesis 32:23-33, ” Structural Analysis and Biblical Exegesis (PTMS), 21-33.
71. Genesis 32:29 tn The question uses the enclitic pronoun “this” to emphasize the import of the question.
72. Genesis 32:29 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Why is it that you ask my name?’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
73. Genesis 32:29 tn The verb here means that the Lord endowed Jacob with success; he would be successful in everything he did, including meeting Esau.
74. Genesis 32:29 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
75. Genesis 32:30 sn The name Peniel means “face of God.” Since Jacob saw God face-to-face here, the name is appropriate.
76. Genesis 32:30 tn The word “explaining” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
77. Genesis 32:30 tn Or “because.”
78. Genesis 32:30 sn I have seen God face-to-face. See the note on the name “Peniel” earlier in the verse.
79. Genesis 32:30 tn Heb “and my soul [= life] has been preserved.”sn I have survived. It was commonly understood that no one could see God and live (Gen 48:16; Exod 19:21; 24:10; Judg 6:11, 22). On the surface Jacob seems to be saying that he saw God and survived. But the statement may have a double meaning, in light of his prayer for deliverance in v. 11. Jacob recognizes that he has survived his encounter with God and that his safety has now been guaranteed.
80. Genesis 32:31 tn Heb “shone.”
81. Genesis 32:31 sn The name is spelled Penuel here, apparently a variant spelling of Peniel (see v. 30).
82. Genesis 32:31 tn The disjunctive clause draws attention to an important fact: He may have crossed the stream, but he was limping.
83. Genesis 32:32 sn On the use of the expression to this day, see B. S. Childs, “A Study of the Formula ‘Until This Day’,” JBL 82 (1963): 279-92.
84. Genesis 32:32 tn Or “because the socket of Jacob’s hip was struck.” Some translations render this as an impersonal passive. On the translation of the word “struck” see the note on this term in v. 25.
85. Genesis 33:1 tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his eyes.”
86. Genesis 33:1 tn Or “and look, Esau was coming.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes.
87. Genesis 33:2 sn This kind of ranking according to favoritism no doubt fed the jealousy over Joseph that later becomes an important element in the narrative. It must have been painful to the family to see that they were expendable.
88. Genesis 33:3 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
89. Genesis 33:3 tn Heb “until his drawing near unto his brother.” The construction uses the preposition with the infinitive construct to express a temporal clause.
90. Genesis 33:5 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
91. Genesis 33:5 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”
92. Genesis 33:5 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
93. Genesis 33:5 tn The Hebrew verb means “to be gracious; to show favor”; here it carries the nuance “to give graciously.”
94. Genesis 33:6 tn Heb “and the female servants drew near, they and their children and they bowed down.”
95. Genesis 33:8 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
96. Genesis 33:8 tn Heb “Who to you?”
97. Genesis 33:8 tn Heb “all this camp which I met.”
98. Genesis 33:8 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
99. Genesis 33:10 tn Heb “and Jacob said, ‘No, please.’” The words “take them” have been supplied in the translation for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse rearranged for stylistic reasons.
100. Genesis 33:10 tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, expressing a contingent future nuance in the “then” section of the conditional sentence.
101. Genesis 33:10 tn The verbal form is the preterite with a vav (ו) consecutive, indicating result here.
102. Genesis 33:10 tn Heb “for therefore I have seen your face like seeing the face of God and you have accepted me.”sn This is an allusion to the preceding episode (32:22-31) in which Jacob saw the face of God and realized his prayer was answered.
103. Genesis 33:11 tn Heb “blessing.” It is as if Jacob is trying to repay what he stole from his brother twenty years earlier.
104. Genesis 33:11 tn Or “gracious,” but in the specific sense of prosperity.
105. Genesis 33:11 tn Heb “all.”
106. Genesis 33:11 tn Heb “and he urged him and he took.” The referent of the first pronoun in the sequence (“he”) has been specified as “Jacob” in the translation for clarity.
107. Genesis 33:12 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
108. Genesis 33:12 tn Heb “let us travel and let us go.” The two cohortatives are used in combination with the sense, “let’s travel along, get going, be on our way.”
109. Genesis 33:13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
110. Genesis 33:13 tn Heb “weak.”
111. Genesis 33:13 tn Heb “and the sheep and the cattle nursing [are] upon me.”
112. Genesis 33:14 tn Heb “and I, I will move along according to my leisure at the foot of the property which is before me and at the foot of the children.”
113. Genesis 33:15 tn The cohortative verbal form here indicates a polite offer of help.
114. Genesis 33:15 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Why this?’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
115. Genesis 33:15 tn Heb “I am finding favor in the eyes of my lord.”
116. Genesis 33:16 tn Heb “returned on his way.”
117. Genesis 33:17 tn The disjunctive clause contrasts Jacob’s action with Esau’s.
118. Genesis 33:17 sn But Jacob traveled to Sukkoth. There are several reasons why Jacob chose not to go to Mt. Seir after Esau. First, as he said, his herds and children probably could not keep up with the warriors. Second, he probably did not fully trust his brother. The current friendliness could change, and he could lose everything. And third, God did tell him to return to his land, not Seir. But Jacob is still not able to deal truthfully, probably because of fear of Esau.
119. Genesis 33:17 tn Heb “why he called.” One could understand “Jacob” as the subject of the verb, but it is more likely that the subject is indefinite, in which case the verb is better translated as passive.
120. Genesis 33:17 sn The name Sukkoth means “shelters,” an appropriate name in light of the shelters Jacob built there for his livestock.
121. Genesis 33:18 tn Heb “in front of.”
122. Genesis 33:19 tn The words “he bought it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 19 is one long sentence.
123. Genesis 33:19 tn The Hebrew word קְשִׂיטָה (q^esitah) is generally understood to refer to a unit of money, but the value is unknown. (However, cf. REB, which renders the term as “sheep”).
124. Genesis 33:20 tn Heb “God, the God of Israel.” Rather than translating the name, a number of modern translations merely transliterate it from the Hebrew as “El Elohe Israel” (cf. NIV, NRSV, REB). It is not entirely clear how the name should be interpreted grammatically. One option is to supply an equative verb, as in the translation: “The God of Israel [is] God.” Another interpretive option is “the God of Israel [is] strong [or “mighty”].” Buying the land and settling down for a while was a momentous step for the patriarch, so the commemorative naming of the altar is significant.
125. Genesis 34:1 tn Heb “went out to see.” The verb “to see,” followed by the preposition ב (bet), here has the idea of “look over.” The young girl wanted to meet these women and see what they were like.
126. Genesis 34:1 tn Heb “daughters.”
127. Genesis 34:2 tn Heb “and he took her and lay with her.” The suffixed form following the verb appears to be the sign of the accusative instead of the preposition, but see BDB 1012 s.v. שָׁכַב.
128. Genesis 34:2 tn The verb עָנָה (ʿanah) in the Piel stem can have various shades of meaning, depending on the context: “to defile; to mistreat; to violate; to rape; to shame; to afflict.” Here it means that Shechem violated or humiliated Dinah by raping her.
129. Genesis 34:3 tn Heb “his soul stuck to [or “joined with”],” meaning Shechem became very attached to Dinah emotionally.
130. Genesis 34:3 tn Heb “and he spoke to the heart of the young woman,” which apparently refers in this context to tender, romantic speech (Hos 2:14). Another option is to translate the expression “he reassured the young woman” (see Judg 19:3, 2 Sam 19:7; cf. NEB “comforted her”).
131. Genesis 34:4 tn Heb “Take for me this young woman for a wife.”
132. Genesis 34:5 tn The two disjunctive clauses in this verse (“Now Jacob heard…and his sons were”) are juxtaposed to indicate synchronic action.
133. Genesis 34:5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
134. Genesis 34:5 sn The expected response would be anger or rage, but Jacob remained silent. He appears too indifferent or confused to act decisively. When the leader does not act decisively, the younger zealots will, and often with disastrous results.
135. Genesis 34:6 tn Heb “went out to Jacob to speak with him.” The words “about Dinah” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
136. Genesis 34:7 tn Heb “when they heard.” The words “the news” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
137. Genesis 34:7 tn Heb “the men.” This sounds as if a new group has been introduced into the narrative, so it has been translated as “they” to indicate that it refers to Jacob’s sons, mentioned in the first part of the verse.
138. Genesis 34:7 tn The Hebrew verb עָצַב (ʿatsav) can carry one of three semantic nuances depending on the context: (1) “to be injured” (Ps 56:5; Eccl 10:9; 1 Chr 4:10); (2) “to experience emotional pain; to be depressed emotionally; to be worried” (2 Sam 19:2; Isa 54:6; Neh 8:10-11); (3) “to be embarrassed; to be insulted; to be offended” (to the point of anger at another or oneself; Gen 6:6; 45:5; 1 Sam 20:3, 34; 1 Kgs 1:6; Isa 63:10; Ps 78:40). This third category develops from the second by metonymy. In certain contexts emotional pain leads to embarrassment and/or anger. In this last use the subject sometimes directs his anger against the source of grief (see especially Gen 6:6). The third category fits best in Gen 34:7 because Jacob’s sons were not merely wounded emotionally. On the contrary, Shechem’s action prompted them to strike out in judgment against the source of their distress.
139. Genesis 34:7 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
140. Genesis 34:7 tn Heb “a disgraceful thing he did against Israel.”
141. Genesis 34:7 tn Heb “by lying with the daughter of Jacob.” The infinitive here explains the preceding verb, indicating exactly how he had disgraced Jacob. The expression “to lie with” is a euphemism for sexual relations, or in this case, sexual assault.
142. Genesis 34:7 tn Heb “and so it should not be done.” The negated imperfect has an obligatory nuance here, but there is also a generalizing tone. The narrator emphasizes that this particular type of crime (sexual assault) is especially reprehensible.
143. Genesis 34:8 tn Heb “Shechem my son, his soul is attached to your daughter.” The verb means “to love” in the sense of being emotionally attached to or drawn to someone. This is a slightly different way of saying what was reported earlier (v. 3). However, there is no mention here of the offense. Even though Hamor is speaking to Dinah’s brothers, he refers to her as their daughter (see v. 17).
144. Genesis 34:9 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).
145. Genesis 34:9 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.
146. Genesis 34:10 tn The imperfect verbal form has a permissive nuance here.
147. Genesis 34:10 tn Heb “before you.”
148. Genesis 34:10 tn The verb seems to carry the basic meaning “travel about freely,” although the substantival participial form refers to a trader (see E. A. Speiser, “The Verb sḥr in Genesis and Early Hebrew Movements,” BASOR 164 [1961]: 23-28); cf. NIV, NRSV “trade in it.”
149. Genesis 34:11 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Dinah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
150. Genesis 34:11 tn Heb “whatever you say.”
151. Genesis 34:11 tn Or “pay.”
152. Genesis 34:12 tn Heb “Make very great upon me the bride price and gift.” The imperatives are used in a rhetorical manner. Shechem’s point is that he will pay the price, no matter how expensive it might be.
153. Genesis 34:12 tn The cohortative expresses Shechem’s resolve to have Dinah as his wife.
154. Genesis 34:12 tn Heb “say.”
155. Genesis 34:13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
156. Genesis 34:14 tn Heb “we are not able to do this thing, to give.” The second infinitive is in apposition to the first, explaining what they are not able to do.
157. Genesis 34:14 tn The Hebrew word translated “disgrace” usually means “ridicule; taunt; reproach.” It can also refer to the reason the condition of shame or disgrace causes ridicule or a reproach.
158. Genesis 34:15 tn Heb “if you are like us.”
159. Genesis 34:15 tn The infinitive here explains how they would become like them.
160. Genesis 34:16 tn The perfect verbal form with the vav (ו) consecutive introduces the apodosis of the conditional sentence.
161. Genesis 34:16 tn The words “to marry” (and the words “as wives” in the following clause) are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
162. Genesis 34:17 tn Heb “listen to us.”
163. Genesis 34:17 tn The perfect verbal form with the vav (ו) consecutive introduces the apodosis of the conditional sentence.
164. Genesis 34:17 tn Heb “daughter.” Jacob’s sons call Dinah their daughter, even though she was their sister (see v. 8). This has been translated as “sister” for clarity.
165. Genesis 34:18 tn Heb “and their words were good in the eyes of Hamor and in the eyes of Shechem son of Hamor.”
166. Genesis 34:19 tn Heb “doing the thing.”
167. Genesis 34:19 tn Heb “Jacob’s daughter.” The proper name “Dinah” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
168. Genesis 34:19 tn The Hebrew verb כָּבֵד (kaved), translated “was…important,” has the primary meaning “to be heavy,” but here carries a secondary sense of “to be important” (that is, “heavy” in honor or respect).
169. Genesis 34:19 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause explains why the community would respond to him (see vv. 20-24).
170. Genesis 34:20 sn The gate. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the location for conducting important public business.
171. Genesis 34:21 tn Heb “wide on both hands,” that is, in both directions.
172. Genesis 34:21 tn The words “to marry” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
173. Genesis 34:22 tn Heb “when every one of our males is circumcised.”
174. Genesis 34:23 tn The words “If we do so” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
175. Genesis 34:24 tn Heb “all those going out the gate of his city.”
176. Genesis 34:24 tn Heb “listened to.”
177. Genesis 34:24 tn Heb “all those going out the gate of his city.”
178. Genesis 34:25 tn Heb “a man his sword.”
179. Genesis 34:25 tn Heb “and they came upon the city, [which was] secure.” In this case “secure” means the city was caught unprepared and at peace, not expecting an attack.
180. Genesis 34:27 tn Heb “came upon the slain.” Because of this statement the preceding phrase “Jacob’s sons” is frequently taken to mean the other sons of Jacob besides Simeon and Levi, but the text does not clearly affirm this.
181. Genesis 34:27 tn Heb “because they violated their sister.” The plural verb is active in form, but with no expressed subject, it may be translated passive.
182. Genesis 34:28 tn Heb “and what was in the city and what was in the field they took.”
183. Genesis 34:29 tn Heb “they took captive and they plundered,” that is, “they captured as plunder.”
184. Genesis 34:30 tn The traditional translation is “troubled me” (KJV, ASV), but the verb refers to personal or national disaster and suggests complete ruin (see Josh 7:25, Judg 11:35, Prov 11:17). The remainder of the verse describes the “trouble” Simeon and Levi had caused.
185. Genesis 34:30 tn In the causative stem the Hebrew verb בָּאַשׁ (baʾash) means “to cause to stink, to have a foul smell.” In the contexts in which it is used it describes foul smells, stenches, or things that are odious. Jacob senses that the people in the land will find this act terribly repulsive. See P. R. Ackroyd, “The Hebrew Root באשׁ,” JTS 2 (1951): 31-36.
186. Genesis 34:30 tn Jacob speaks in the first person as the head and representative of the entire family.
187. Genesis 34:31 tn Heb “but they said.” The referent of “they” (Simeon and Levi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.