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BSB § He instructed the one in the lead, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong, where are you going, and whose animals are these before you?’
OEB He gave those in front this command: ‘When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, “To whom do you belong? And where are you going? And whose are these before you?”
WEB He commanded the foremost, saying, “When Esau, my brother, meets you, and asks you, saying, ‘Whose are you? Where are you going? Whose are these before you?’
WMB (Same as above)
NET He instructed the servant leading the first herd, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong? Where are you going? Whose herds are you driving?’
LSV And he commands the first, saying, “When my brother Esau meets you, and has asked you, saying, Whose [are] you? And to where do you go? And whose [are] these before you?
FBV He gave these instructions to those with the first herd: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who is your master, and where are you going, and whose are these animals with you?’
T4T He said to the servant who was going with the first group, “When my brother Esau meets you, and he asks you, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and to whom do these animals in front of you belong?’
LEB And he instructed the foremost, saying, “When Esau my brother comes upon you and asks you, saying, ‘Whose are you and where are you going? To whom do these animals belong ahead of you?’
BBE And he gave orders to the first, saying, When my brother Esau comes to you and says, Whose servant are you, and where are you going, and whose are these herds?
MOF No MOF GEN book available
JPS (32-18) And he commanded the foremost, saying: 'When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying: Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?
ASV And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?
DRA And he commanded the first, saying: If thou meet my brother Esau, and he ask thee: Whose art thou? or whither goest thou? or whose are these before thee?
YLT And he commandeth the first, saying, 'When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and hath asked thee, saying, Whose [art] thou? and whither goest thou? and whose [are] these before thee?
DBY And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meets thee, and asks thee, saying, Whose art thou, and where goest thou, and whose are these before thee?
RV And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?
WBS And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau, my brother, meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?
KJB-1769 And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?
KJB-1611 And he commanded the formost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?
BB And he commaunded the formost, saying: If Esau my brother meete thee, and aske thee, saying, whose art thou? and whyther goest thou? and whose are these that go before thee?
(And he commanded the formost, saying: If Esau my brother meet thee, and ask thee, saying, whose art thou? and whyther goest thou? and whose are these that go before thee?)
GNV And he commanded the formost, saying, If Esau my brother meete thee, and aske thee, saying, Whose seruant art thou? And whither goest thou? And whose are these before thee?
(And he commanded the formost, saying, If Esau my brother meet thee, and ask thee, saying, Whose servant art thou? And whither goest thou? And whose are these before thee? )
CB and commaunded the first and sayde: When my brother Esau meteth the, and axeth the: Whose art thou? & whyther goest thou? and whose are these that thou dryuest before the?
(and commanded the first and said: When my brother Esau meteth them, and axeth the: Whose art thou? and whyther goest thou? and whose are these that thou/you drivest before the?)
WYC And he comaundide to the formere, and seide, If thou schalt mete my brothir Esau, and he schal axe thee, whos man thou art, ether whidir thou goist, ether whos ben these thingis whiche thou suest,
(And he commanded to the formere, and said, If thou/you shalt meet my brothir Esau, and he shall axe thee, whos man thou/you art, ether whidir thou/you goist, ether whos been these things which thou/you suest,)
LUT und tat sie unter die Hand seiner Knechte, je eine Herde besonders, und sprach zu ihnen: Gehet vor mir hin und lasset Raum zwischen einer Herde nach der andern.
(und tat they/she/them under the Hand his Knechte, each/ever one Herde besonders, and spoke to ihnen: Gehet before/in_front_of to_me there and lasset Raum zwischen einer Herde after the andern.)
CLV Et præcepit priori, dicens: Si obvium habueris fratrem meum Esau, et interrogaverit te: Cujus es? aut, Quo vadis? aut, Cujus sunt ista quæ sequeris?
(And ordered priori, dicens: When/But_if obvium habueris brother mine Esau, and interrogaverit te: Cuyus es? aut, Quo vadis? aut, Cuyus are ista which sequeris? )
BRN And he gave them to his servants each drove apart; and he said to his servants, Go on before me, and put a space between drove and drove.
BrLXX Καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτὰ τοῖς παισὶν αὐτοῦ ποίμνιον κατὰ μόνας· εἶπε δὲ τοῖς παισὶν αὐτοῦ, προπορεύεσθε ἔμπροσθέν μου, καὶ διάστημα ποιεῖτε ἀνὰ μέσον ποίμνης καὶ ποίμνης.
(Kai edōken auta tois paisin autou poimnion kata monas; eipe de tois paisin autou, proporeuesthe emprosthen mou, kai diastaʸma poieite ana meson poimnaʸs kai poimnaʸs. )
UTN uW Translation Notes:
וַיְצַ֥ו אֶת הָרִאשׁ֖וֹן לֵאמֹ֑ר
(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_gave in/on/at/with,hand servants,his herd herd for=him/it=being_alone and=he/it_said to/towards servants,his pass_on to/for=my=face/front and,space put between drove and=between drove )
Alternate translation: “He also instructed the servant in charge of the first herd of animals,”
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes
לְמִי אַ֨תָּה֙ וְאָ֣נָה תֵלֵ֔ךְ
(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_gave in/on/at/with,hand servants,his herd herd for=him/it=being_alone and=he/it_said to/towards servants,his pass_on to/for=my=face/front and,space put between drove and=between drove )
Consider whether it is more natural in your language to use a direct or indirect quote in verses 17-20a. Alternate translation: “who your master is and where you are going”
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes
וּלְמִ֖י אֵ֥לֶּה לְפָנֶֽיךָ
(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_gave in/on/at/with,hand servants,his herd herd for=him/it=being_alone and=he/it_said to/towards servants,his pass_on to/for=my=face/front and,space put between drove and=between drove )
Alternate translation: “and asks who owns the animals that you are herding,”
BMM BibleMapper.com Maps:
Jacob Travels to Southern Canaan
Genesis 32-36
As with many of the stories of the Bible, the events of Jacob’s life are often misunderstood by readers as disjointed pericopes arranged primarily for theological and cultural purposes. Because of this, readers often fail to see that these stories follow a clear geographical progression of the patriarch throughout the land of Canaan. This realistic and coherent geographical framework behind the stories gives strong support to the belief that these stories are authentic, historical accounts of the experiences of Jacob and his ancestors. The overall framework for virtually all of Jacob’s stories is very simple: Jacob is born and raised in southern Canaan but comes into conflict with his twin brother Esau, so he flees to Paddan-aram in Mesopotamia (Genesis 25-28; see “Jacob Goes to Paddan-Aram” map). There he builds a large family and great wealth (Genesis 29-30) and eventually returns to southern Canaan, likely retracing the exact steps he followed when he fled (Genesis 31-35; see also “Jacob Returns to Canaan” map). During this time, Esau moves to the hill country of Seir, likely just south of southern Canaan (“Edom and the Land of Seir” map), and establishes his own family there, giving rise to the nation of Edom (Genesis 36). Though the primary intent of Jacob’s return was no doubt to resettle in Canaan, comments made during his reunion with Esau near Peniel may reveal that he also intended to travel even further to Seir to visit his brother there (Genesis 33:12-14). After crossing from Mahanaim to Peniel in Gilead, Jacob reunites with Esau and settles in Succoth for a time and builds a house for himself and booths for his cattle. He eventually crosses the Jordan River and enters Canaan, stopping first at the ancient city of Shechem. There Jacob’s daughter Dinah is defiled by the son of the region’s leader, and her brothers take revenge by killing all the men of the city. Thus, Jacob is forced to leave, but first he calls upon all his household to purify themselves. He collects their idols and rings and buries them beneath a tree in Shechem. Upon reaching Bethel, Jacob builds an altar and calls it El-bethel. The nurse of Jacob’s mother Rebekah also dies at Bethel and is buried under an oak below the town, leading them to call the place Allon-bacuth (“oak of weeping”). Jacob and his family leave for Bethlehem, but very soon after they start the journey Rachel gives birth to Benjamin and then dies. Jacob buries her along the way, apparently near a place called Zelzah (or perhaps Elzah; see 1 Samuel 10 and “Saul Search for His Donkeys” map). Jacob continues on and camps beyond the tower of Eder, perhaps near Bethlehem, since that seems to have been his original destination. Finally Jacob reaches Mamre and Hebron. Soon after this Isaac dies, and Esau and Jacob bury him. The story of Jacob’s journey ends at Genesis 35, and we are not explicitly told if Jacob traveled even further to Seir. Genesis 36, however, catalogs the descendants of Esau, the Edomites, perhaps indicating that Jacob did indeed fulfill the intentions he stated in Genesis 33:12-14.
Genesis 21-35
Though the patriarch Isaac moved from place to place several times within southern Canaan, compared to his father Abraham and his son Jacob, Isaac appears to have been a bit of a homebody. In fact, unless Isaac resettled in places not recorded in Scripture, the farthest extent he ever traveled appears to have been only about 90 miles (113 km). Yet, as the child of God’s promise to Abraham to build a great nation from his descendants, Isaac’s relatively simple life served as a critical bridge from Abraham to the beginnings of the twelve tribes of Israel, who were descended from Isaac’s son Jacob. It is likely that Isaac was born at Beersheba (see Genesis 21:1-24), and later Abraham offered him as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah (located at Jerusalem; see 2 Chronicles 3:1). Then Abraham, Isaac, and those with them returned to Beersheba (Genesis 22:1-19). When Isaac reached adulthood, his father sent a servant to bring back a bride for him from Aram-naharaim, far north of Canaan. When his bride, Rebekah, arrived, Isaac had just come from Beer-lahai-roi and settled in the Negev (Genesis 24:62). Later Isaac resettled with Rebekah in Beer-lahai-roi, and this may have been where their twins son Esau and Jacob were born. A famine forced Isaac to go to Gerar (Genesis 26:1-6) in “the land of the Philistines.” The distinct people group known as the Philistines in later books of the Bible did not arrive until the time of the Judges, so the term here must have referred to another people group living in this region, and this is supported by the fact that King Abimelech’s name is Semitic, not Aegean (the likely origin of the later Philistines). While Isaac was there, he repeated his father’s error (Genesis 20) by lying to the king that his wife was only his sister. Isaac also became increasingly prosperous at Gerar, so the Philistines told him to leave their region. Isaac moved away from the town of Gerar and settled further away in the valley of Gerar. There he dug a well, but the Philistines claimed it for themselves, so he called it Esek, meaning “argument.” So Isaac’s men dug another well and called it Sitnah (meaning “hostility”), but it led to more quarreling, so he dug yet another well and called it Rehoboth (meaning “open space”). The locations of these two later wells are not certain, but they may have been located near Ruheibeh as shown on this map. Then Isaac moved to Beersheba and built an altar. He also dug a well there, and King Abimelech of the Philistines came and exchanged oaths of peace with him. It was likely at Beersheba that Isaac blessed his sons Esau and Jacob, and both sons eventually left Canaan (see “Jacob Goes to Paddan-Aram” map). When Jacob later returned, he traveled to Mamre near Hebron and reunited with Isaac. Sometime after this Isaac died, and Jacob and Esau buried him there.