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 .

There is nothing in the Hebrew text to mark a resumption of the story of Jacob’s journey or to make a transition from the statement in verse 5 that “he [Jacob] went to Paddan-aram.” In some languages, however, it will be necessary to indicate the relationship of verse 10 to verse 5 at this point. The transition may be indicated in two ways for the text as we have it:
(1) We may regard verse 5 as the brief statement of Jacob’s journey, and then 28.10–29.14 as telling in more detail what happened on that journey. In this case we may add at the beginning of verse 10 something like “Now this is the story of what happened to Jacob as he traveled to Paddan-aram [Mesopotamia].”
(2) We may regard the verbs “sent” and “went” in verse 5 as referring to the beginning of Jacob’s journey, and verse 10 as continuing the action from Gen 28.5. In this case we may translate in verse 5 “Isaac sent Jacob away; and he set out for Paddan-aram…” or “Isaac sent Jacob away to go to Paddan-aram….” Then, if necessary, we may begin verse 10 by saying “When Jacob left Beersheba he went….”

Jacob left Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran: Beer-sheba is the last mentioned location of Isaac in 26.23.

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 .

He came to a certain place: as the Hebrew sentence states literally, Jacob spends the night “in the place” because the sun had set. Note that Good News Translation says in its text “a holy place” and in its footnote “a place.” The presence of the definite article in the Hebrew may suggest that this spot was already known to be sacred, perhaps the location of a shrine. However, it is unlikely that the narrator has two meanings in mind. Jacob seems to be unaware that this place is sacred until after his dream (verse 16). Most modern translations say “a place” or “a certain place.” However, Revised English Bible has “a certain shrine.” It may be more satisfactory here to say “a special place.”

Stayed there that night: this translates a verb meaning to “pass the night,” “stop for the night.” Since the overnighting is outdoors, some languages have special terms to express this.

Because the sun had set: this suggests that Jacob had not chosen this spot but was there when it grew dark, and so had to spend the night. One translation that brings this out well says “On his way he came to a place just as the sun was setting, and he camped there for the night.”

Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head: the stone served to rest his head on, and some translations compare it to a pillow; for example, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “He took for a pillow one of the stones in that place,” Revised English Bible “… using it as a pillow,” New Jerusalem Bible “he made it his pillow.” Some translators may find it necessary to modify the order so that Jacob places the stone under his head after lying down; for example, “He lay down and put the stone under his head.” One clear and very brief translation of the last part of verse 11 is “He lay down, pillowed on a stone, and slept.”

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 he dreamed that there was a ladder: this may need to be adjusted to say, as in Good News Translation, “He dreamed that he saw….” Some translations prefer to say “While he was asleep he had a dream….” Ladder is an inadequate translation of the Hebrew in the context of angels going up and coming down. The word intends to convey the image of a stairway or ramp with wide steps. The New Revised Standard Version footnote says “Or stairway or ramp.” Such long stairways were well known in Babylonian temple towers except, of course, that they did not actually reach heaven.

Set up on the earth: that is, the foot of the stairway rested on the ground. Note Good News Translation‘s rendering. We may also say “that went from the ground to the sky.” In some languages the most natural way to speak about the stairway is to say “The bottom end was on the earth and the top end reached right up to heaven.”

And the top of it reached to heaven: in many languages the term or expression chosen to translate heaven will mean both “sky” and “place where God dwells.” But for languages in which there are different terms, “sky” is probably more appropriate in this context. At this point of the description of the dream, we have a picture of how the stairway is located in space, in which “reaching to the sky” is paired with “standing on the ground.” The fact that the place is holy and a “gateway to heaven” is something that Jacob discovers later, as he contemplates his dream after he has woken up.

And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it: behold indicates most probably that what is about to be said is both vivid and unusual. See 22.11 for “angel of the LORD.” Here angels is plural and God translates ʾelohim. The words used to translate ascending and descending should be appropriate for going up and down on a stairway or on a series of steps, and the verb forms should describe continuous movement.

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 .

Behold serves the same function as in verse 12. It is repeated often in dreams.

The LORD stood above it: the Revised Standard Version footnote gives the alternative meaning “beside him.” See also Good News Translation footnote. New Revised Standard Version has reversed Revised Standard Version and placed “beside him” in its text. This is the preferred position; the picture is of the LORD standing beside the sleeping Jacob. Some translators feel that it is necessary to emphasize for their readers that this appearance of the LORD is still within Jacob’s dream: “The LORD appeared in the dream and stood close to him” or “In that dream Jacob saw the LORD standing there….”

I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father: for the words I am the LORD, see 15.7. Since Abraham is not literally the father of Jacob, some translations prefer to say “your grandfather Abraham.” For the sense of the God of Abraham, see 26.24.

The land on which you lie: the promise of the land is now given to Jacob, as it had been to Abraham earlier. If taken literally this expression would mean only the ground where Jacob’s body is resting, but the sense is not so restricted. It may be necessary in some cases to say, for example, “I will give you and your descendants all this land, even where you are lying” or “I will give you and your descendants this land of Canaan on which you are lying.”

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 .

Stay with him a while: a while is literally “some days,” a manner of speaking of an indefinite time. The length of time will be until your brother’s fury turns away. In some languages this thought is best expressed in figurative terms: for example, “until his heart becomes cool again,” “until his liver is no longer hot,” “until his innermost is calm again.” In other languages people naturally say “until he calms down” or “until he settles down.”

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 .