Genesis 28

Notes

1. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Rulings 18, 53, 145

   Swete prints Μεσοποταμίαν Συρίας, "Mesopotamia of Syria," from Alexandrinus, where Rahlfs has "Mesopotamia" alone and the Masoretic version reads "Paddan-aram"; again at 28:6. The Greek gives the region its Greek names, Mesopotamia "between the rivers" and Syria for Aram (22:21; 28:5), so it prints as it sounds and is marked (145f). The Greek also has ἀπόδραθι, "run away," for the Masoretic version's "go," as at 27:43.

2. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Rulings 9, 18, 145

   ὁ θεός μου, "my God," where the Masoretic version reads "El Shaddai": the Greek of Genesis does not carry the name over (17:1 "I am your God"; 35:11; 48:3), so the divine name is a different name here and is marked. The Greek also has "gatherings of nations" in the plural for "an assembly of peoples" (35:11; 48:4).

3. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Ruling 52

   μετὰ σέ, "after you," where the Masoretic version reads "with you" (אִתָּךְ): the Greek makes the seed Jacob's descendants after him (as 17:7–10; 35:12), where the Hebrew sets them beside him.

4. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Rulings 54, 143

   The Greek has no word for the Masoretic version's "from there" (מִשָּׁם) after "to take for himself." It also has ἀπῴχετο, "he had made off," with Jacob as subject, for "sent him away" (the lack of "him" is seeded); the name "Jacob" is printed as the subject for clarity, since the Greek verb's subject is Jacob, not Isaac.

5. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Rulings 4, 46, 62

   κλίμαξ, "ladder" (the Masoretic version's "stairway," סֻלָּם), ἐστηριγμένη, "established," fixed fast on the land, and its head "reached into the sky." The messengers are going up and going down ἐπ’ αὐτῆς, "on it," the feminine, the ladder; the Masoretic version's בּוֹ can be "on it" or "on him," and Genesis Rabbah 68:12 records both, the messengers ascending and descending on Jacob. Jesus to Nathanael: "you will see the sky opened and the messengers of God going up and going down on the son of humans" (John 1:51), where the ladder becomes a person. The Greek lacks the second "look" (seeded).

6. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Rulings 4, 46, 52, 54, 143

   ἐπεστήρικτο ἐπ’ αὐτῆς, "had been established upon it," the ladder, where the Masoretic version reads "ADONAI stationed over him" (עָלָיו, which may be "beside him"): in the Greek the Lord stands at the head of the ladder, in the Masoretic version over or beside the sleeping Jacob. The verb repeats the "established" of 28:12. The Greek lacks "look" before the Lord (seeded) and adds "do not fear" (seeded). In the self-naming it has Ἐγὼ ὁ θεὸς Ἀβραάμ, "I am the God of Abraham," with no word for the Masoretic version's "ADONAI" ("I am ADONAI, Elohim of Abraham"); the lack is marked. It it has καθεύδεις, "you are slumbering," for "you are lying."

7. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Ruling 53

   Swete prints ὡς ἡ ἄμμος τῆς θαλάσσης, "like the sand of the sea," from Alexandrinus, where Rahlfs reads τῆς γῆς, "of the land," and the Masoretic version "like the dust of the land": the promise to Abraham at 22:17 (sand of the sea) is heard where the Masoretic version repeats 13:16 (dust of the land). The Greek has the seed as subject, "it shall be broadened" (πλατύνω, as of Japheth at 9:27), for "you shall burst out," and names the quarters in another order: the sea, the southwest, the north, the east, where the Masoretic version has seaward, eastward, northward, Negevward.

8. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Rulings 54, 143

   The Greek has ὅτι, which opens the speech, where the Masoretic version reads "Certainly" (אָכֵן); the adverb is lacking.

9. Reading↩ Back to the text

   Rulings 18, 145

   Οἶκος θεοῦ, "House of God," where the Masoretic version reads "Bethel": the Greek translates the name it spells Βαιθήλ elsewhere (12:8; 13:3; 35:1–16), so that Jacob's naming repeats his cry, "This is none other than the house of God" (28:17). It is a different name in the text, and is marked (145f).

10. Reading↩ Back to the text

    Rulings 18, 53, 54, 141, 143

    Οὐλαμμαύς, printed "Oulammaus," where the Masoretic version reads "however, Luz": the Greek takes וְאוּלָם, "however," with the name, as one name, Oulam-Luz. It is a different name, prints as it sounds and is marked (145f). The alignment marks ἦν, "was," as a plus, but the Masoretic version's English already has "was" ("Luz was the name"); nothing is added, and the seed is refused.

11. Reading↩ Back to the text

    Rulings 21, 35, 46, 148

    The Greek carries the condition through four verbs in the subjunctive, ᾖ, διαφυλάξῃ, δῷ, ἀποστρέψῃ ("if the Lord God will be with me, and will closely guard me … and will give me … and will turn me back"), and changes to the indicative at καὶ ἔσται, "then the Lord shall be to me for God": the change of mood opens the vow's apodosis here, and "then" is supplied for it (148h, extending 35). The Masoretic version's Hebrew leaves open whether the apodosis begins here (Rashi) or at 28:22 (Ibn Ezra, Ramban), and its English keeps the dash. The Greek also has the Lord as the one who turns Jacob back, "will turn me back," where the Masoretic version reads "and I return," and μετὰ σωτηρίας, "with salvation," for "in peace."

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    Rulings 2, 128

    δεκάτην ἀποδεκατώσω, "a tithe I will tithe," the noun for the Masoretic version's infinitive ("tithing I will tithe"), the Septuagint's regular way with the doubled verb; αὐτά, "them," is plural. The tithe of 14:20 is Abraham's to Melchizedek (Heb 7:2–9).