Genesis 35 — Hebrew and Greek compared
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Same 13 Similar 4 Different 6 Divergent 5 Disparate 2
Disparate in this chapter: 35:4, 35:22a
Each verse is rendered independently from the Hebrew (Rabbinic reading tradition) and from the Greek (Saints reading tradition). The badge classifies the relationship between the two readings; the note beneath records the source document’s comparison and attributed interpretation. Each column retains its own verse references where numbering differs.
The Settlement of Israel
35:1 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:1 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and settle there; and make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”
Greek · Saints priority
35:1 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and settle there; and make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
35:2 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments.”
Greek · Saints priority
35:2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments.”
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
35:3 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:3 “Let us arise and go up to Bethel. I will make an altar there to the God who answered me in the day of my distress and was with me on the road I traveled.”
Greek · Saints priority
35:3 “Let us arise and go up to Bethel. Let us make an altar there to the God who heard me in the day of distress, who was with me and preserved me on the road I traveled.”
I will make/let us make differs, and Greek includes preserved me [G35].
35:4 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:4 So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods they possessed, and the rings that were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree near Shechem.
Greek · Saints priority
35:4 So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods they possessed, and the rings that were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree near Shechem, and destroyed them to this day.
Hebrew records hiding the foreign gods and earrings beneath the tree; Greek adds their destruction or lasting removal. That added outcome changes the account of disposing of cult objects. The text does not specify a destruction technique. [G35]
35:5 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:5 They set out, and a terror from God fell on the surrounding cities, so they did not pursue Jacob’s sons.
Greek · Saints priority
35:5 Then Israel set out from Shechem, and the terror of God fell upon the cities all around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Israel.
Greek explicitly names Israel’s departure from Shechem and calls the sons Israel’s [G35].
35:6 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:6 And Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him.
Greek · Saints priority
35:6 And Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him.
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
35:7 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:7 He built an altar there and named the place El-bethel, because God had revealed Himself to him there when he fled from his brother.
Greek · Saints priority
35:7 He built an altar there and named the place Bethel, because God had appeared to him there when he fled from Esau his brother.
El-bethel/Bethel differs; Greek explicitly names Esau. Hebrew’s plural-form construction is not made into an unsupported claim of different gods [H35; G35].
35:8 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:8 Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried below Bethel under the oak; and he called its name Allon-Bacuth.
Greek · Saints priority
35:8 Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died below Bethel under the oak. Jacob named it Oak of Mourning.
Hebrew explicitly records burial below Bethel; Rahlfs–Hanhart places Deborah’s death there and has no separate burial verb. Greek also names Jacob and translates Allon-bacuth as Oak of Mourning. The unsupported Greek burial clause is removed. [G35]
35:9 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:9 God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him.
Greek · Saints priority
35:9 God appeared to Jacob again in Luz, when he came from Mesopotamia of Syria, and God blessed him.
Greek includes Luz and repeats God as the blessing’s subject [G35].
35:10 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So He named him Israel.
Greek · Saints priority
35:10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; you shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.”
Rahlfs–Hanhart includes the opening Your name is Jacob, which is restored. It lacks the Hebrew concluding statement So He named him Israel. [G35]
35:11 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:11 God said to him, “I am El Shaddai. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and an assembly of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your loins.”
Greek · Saints priority
35:11 God said to him, “I am your God. Increase and multiply. Nations and assemblies of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your loins.”
Divine designation and singular/plural nation and assembly differ [G35].
35:12 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:12 “The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your seed after you.”
Greek · Saints priority
35:12 “The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I have given to you; it shall be yours, and I will give this land to your seed after you.”
Hebrew will give and Greek have given differ in temporal presentation. Greek also explicitly adds it shall be yours; this clause is restored. Both retain the promise to Jacob’s seed. [G35]
35:13 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:13 Then God went up from him at the place where He had spoken with him.
Greek · Saints priority
35:13 Then God went up from him at the place where He had spoken with him.
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
35:14 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He had spoken with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil upon it.
Greek · Saints priority
35:14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He had spoken with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil upon it.
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
35:15 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:15 So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him, Bethel.
Greek · Saints priority
35:15 So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him, Bethel.
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
The Wife of Israel
35:21 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:21 [aligned with RH 35:16a] Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond Migdal-eder.
Greek · Saints priority
35:16a [aligned with MT 35:21] Jacob departed from Bethel and pitched his tent beyond the Tower of Gader.
Hebrew 35:21 places Israel’s journey beyond Migdal-eder after Rachel’s burial; Rahlfs–Hanhart places Jacob’s tower journey at 35:16a, before it, with no separate verse 21. The paired row preserves each source reference and shows the reordered narrative; Jacob and Israel also differ in name. [H35; G35]
35:16 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:16 [aligned with RH 35:16b] They journeyed from Bethel. While there was still some distance to Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and her labor was hard.
Greek · Saints priority
35:16b [aligned with MT 35:16] When he drew near Chabratha, on the way into the land of Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and her labor was hard.
Hebrew expresses a distance; Greek retains Chabratha as a place expression. Its precise geographic force remains open. Greek verse 16 is split only for alignment [H35; G35].
35:17 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:17 And it came to pass during her difficult labor, that the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for this is also a son for you.”
Greek · Saints priority
35:17 And it came to pass during her difficult labor, that the midwife said to her, “Take courage, for this is also a son for you.”
Do not fear/take courage are corresponding reassurances.
35:18 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:18 As her life was departing, for she was dying, she named him Ben-oni; but his father named him Benjamin.
Greek · Saints priority
35:18 As her life was departing, for she was dying, she named him Son of My Sorrow; but his father named him Benjamin.
Greek translates the first name’s meaning. The life/soul expression is preserved without a separate philosophical explanation [G35].
35:19 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
Greek · Saints priority
35:19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
35:20 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:20 And Jacob set up a pillar over her grave; this is the pillar of Rachel’s monument until this day.
Greek · Saints priority
35:20 And Jacob set up a pillar over her grave; this is the pillar of Rachel’s monument until this day.
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
The Sons of Israel
35:22a Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:22a While Israel was living in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard of it.
Greek · Saints priority
35:22a While Israel was living in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine. Israel heard of it, and it seemed evil to him.
Rahlfs–Hanhart 35:22 adds that Reuben’s act seemed evil to Israel, explicitly supplying the father’s adverse judgment. Hebrew 35:22a records that he heard. The Greek is now labeled 35:22a, correcting the earlier transcription’s verse 21; the addition does not prove deliberate suppression in Hebrew. [H35; G35]
35:22b Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:22b Now Jacob’s sons were twelve:
Greek · Saints priority
35:22b Now Jacob’s sons were twelve:
The final clause of verse 22 in both source editions gives Jacob twelve sons. The a/b labels are editorial subdivisions for alignment, not additional canonical verses. [H35; G35]
35:23 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:23 The sons of Leah: Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
Greek · Saints priority
35:23 The sons of Leah: Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
35:24 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
Greek · Saints priority
35:24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
35:25 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s slave woman: Dan and Naphtali.
Greek · Saints priority
35:25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s slave woman: Dan and Naphtali.
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
35:26 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:26 And the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s slave woman: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan-aram.
Greek · Saints priority
35:26 And the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s slave woman: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Mesopotamia of Syria.
The regional names correspond. The summary must be read with Benjamin’s birth narrative; it is not silently rewritten to solve that tension.
The Father of Israel
35:27 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:27 Jacob came to Isaac his father at Mamre, Kiriath-arba, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac had lived as foreigners.
Greek · Saints priority
35:27 Jacob came to Isaac his father at Mamre, to the city of the plain, which is Hebron in the land of Canaan, where Abraham and Isaac had lived as foreigners.
Kiriath-arba/city of the plain differs, and Greek includes in the land of Canaan [G35].
35:28 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:28 And the days of Isaac in which he lived were one hundred and eighty years.
Greek · Saints priority
35:28 And the days of Isaac in which he lived were one hundred and eighty years.
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
35:29 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
35:29 Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Greek · Saints priority
35:29 His strength failed, and he died and was added to his family, old and full of days. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
The death and gathering formulas correspond. Greek has an unexpressed subject, supplied from the preceding verse [G35].
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Saints Translation · Companion comparison edition · working draft awaiting specialist review.