Jacob made a vow: vow refers to a solemn promise to give to God some service in exchange for certain prayers or wishes being granted. See Num 21.2.

If God will be with me: this is the first wish. Jacob addresses God in the third person, but this may need to be expressed in the second person; for example, “God, if you will be with me….”

Keep me in this way that I go is Jacob’s second wish. Revised Standard Version renders the Hebrew literally. We may translate, for example, “if you will protect me during my journey [to Haran].” As noted in the comments on verse 5, Jacob’s journey covered a distance of some 800 kilometers (500 miles), a very long way. Some translations bring out this fact here by saying “care for me on this long journey I am making.”

The third request is give me bread to eat and clothing to wear. Bread is used here for food generally: “if you will give me food and clothing.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Laban’s response on hearing Jacob’s account is Surely you are my bone and my flesh! Surely translates an emphatic particle that can also be rendered “Certainly,” “There is no question,” “Without doubt.”

My bone and my flesh has the same sense as the expression used by Adam in 2.23. By using this idiom Laban recognizes Jacob as his relative or close kinsman. Good News Translation and others employ an English equivalent, “my own flesh and blood.” Bible en français courant says “You certainly are of my family, the same blood as I,” and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “Truly you are a person of my own blood.” We may also say, for example, “You are really part of my family” or “We-two are from the same ancestor.”

This part of the narrative closes with And he stayed with him a month; that is, “Jacob remained in Laban’s house for a month.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The last wish is so that I come again to my father’s house in peace. Jacob asks that he be able to return home safely. It should be noticed that, aside from asking for food and clothing, each of these requests is set forth in the promises made to Jacob by the LORD in verse 15.

Having stated his wishes or requests to the LORD, Jacob promises to do three things in return. The first is the LORD shall be my God. Here again Jacob addresses the LORD in the third person, which must often be shifted to second person by saying, for example, “you will be my God,” or in many cases “you will be the God I will serve [worship].”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The text from this verse to verse 19 is another instance of a negotiation between two parties, in this case Jacob and Laban. For a previous instance see 23.3-18. In his relationship with Laban, Jacob was neither a slave nor a hired worker; so some agreement or contract was necessary if Jacob was to stay and work with Laban.

This episode opens with Laban asking Jacob a rhetorical question: Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? This question expects a negative reply. “Should you work for me for nothing? No!” In many languages it will be more natural to use a negative statement, “You should not work for me for nothing,” or a positive statement, “You should be paid for working for me.” Laban’s question assumes Jacob will work or has accepted that he will work for his uncle. However, this fact is not stated until verse 18. It may be necessary, therefore, to make this clear at the beginning of verse 15 by saying, for example, “Then Laban spoke with Jacob about his work….” It is not stated, but we may quite naturally assume from the text that Jacob had already begun to work for Laban during the month that is referred to in verse 14. If this is the case, then the negotiation that is reported here takes place to sort out a problem that has already arisen. One translation that reflects this understanding of the situation moves the time expression “for one month” from the end of verse 14 to the beginning of this episode as part of a time transition: “After Jacob had been working for his uncle Laban for one month, Laban said to him, ‘You can’t work for me without pay.’ ”

Kinsman translates the Hebrew for “brother.” See comments on verse 12. Here the translation may follow Good News Translation “my relative,” or else give the actual relationship, “my nephew.” Note that Good News Translation has switched the two clauses so that the cause clause follows the result clause. This may serve as a model for some languages.

Tell me, what shall your wages be?: the reply to this question comes in verse 18. Wages refers to payment or reward given in exchange for services. We may translate “Tell me how much I should pay you,” “What wages do you ask?” or “How much money will you want?”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The second part of Jacob’s vow or promise is this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. The text makes clear that the stone and not the place generally is to be God’s house. The sense of God’s house is “a place for worshiping God,” “a place to pray to God.” Accordingly we may translate this sentence, for example, “This stone I have set up as a marker will be the place where people come to worship you.”

And of all that thou givest me I will give the tenth to thee completes the three promises or vows made by Jacob to God. The regular practice of the tithe, which came much later, is discussed in Deut 14.22-29; 26.12-15. In some languages to give a tenth requires saying something like “Out of every ten things you give me I will give back one to you.” In other languages this is best expressed by using the idea of dividing everything into ten parts; for example, “I will divide everything that you give me into ten heaps, and give one heap back to you.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

And that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram: that in Revised Standard Version introduces the third clause containing the information that Esau had learned. Good News Translation repeats “learned” for the third time in the form of “found out.” What he found out was that Jacob had obeyed his parents.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women …: Revised Standard Version uses a time clause. The Hebrew form is the same as in the opening of Gen 28.6. We may translate as in Revised Standard Version or say, for example, “Esau saw that…,” or as in Good News Translation, “Esau then understood that….” Some translations make the connection to verses 6 and 7 even stronger by saying “From this Esau understood….”

Did not please Isaac his father is literally “were not pleasing in the eyes of Isaac his father.” This thought may be expressed, for example, as “were not pleasing to,” “were not acceptable to,” or “were disagreeable to.” See Good News Translation “Isaac did not approve of.” Revised English Bible has “his father disliked Canaanite women,” and New Jerusalem Bible “his father disapproved of….”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Esau went to Ishmael and took to wife: as a result of his parents’ dislike of the Canaanite women, Esau tries to improve relations with them by marrying one of his cousins. To bring out the link with the previous verse, some translations begin “So he went….” Went to Ishmael means “went where Ishmael lived” or “went where Ishmael was.” Some translations say “went to visit Ishmael.” In this context Ishmael may also be taken to mean “Ishmael and his family” or “the clan of Ishmael.” Took to wife means “married a woman.”

Besides the wives he had is placed at the end of the Hebrew sentence. Good News Translation does not represent this phrase in its translation. As it has been clearly said that Esau had other wives (26.34), it will probably be sufficient to say here “he married another woman” or “he took yet another wife.” One translation that follows the Hebrew order concludes the verse by saying, after the name and relationships of the woman, “and she became Esau’s third wife.”

Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth: Mahalath is identified as the daughter of Ishmael and the sister of Nebaioth. Furthermore Ishmael is identified as Abraham’s son. For a model wording of these relationships, see Good News Translation. Since Nebaioth is named in 25.13 as the “first-born of Ishmael,” it will be necessary in some languages to say “younger sister of Nebaioth.”

In some languages there is too much information in verse 9 for a natural sentence. A model translation from one of these languages says “So he went to the clan of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, and married another wife, whose name was Mahalath. This woman was the daughter of Ishmael and the sister of Nebaioth.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .