Genesis 28 — Hebrew and Greek compared
Each card keeps the independently rendered source readings above their shared comparison and reception notes. The badge records the source’s governing classification; disparate readings are marked in red. Each reading retains its original reference.
Chapter 28
Jacob Sent to Laban
Verse 28:1 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
28:1 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, saying, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
28:1 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, saying, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites.”
Classification & Notes
Same — The corresponding meaning and content agree.
Verse 28:2 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
28:2 “Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and take a wife there from the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
28:2 “Arise, flee to Mesopotamia, to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and take a wife there from the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.”
Classification & Notes
Different — Hebrew says go to Paddan-aram; Greek says flee to Mesopotamia. Rahlfs–Hanhart does not add of Syria here, although that qualification appears in 28:6–7. [G28]
Verse 28:3 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
28:3 “May El Shaddai bless you, make you fruitful, and multiply you, so you become an assembly of peoples.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
28:3 “May my God bless you, increase you, and multiply you, so you become assemblies of nations.”
Classification & Notes
Different — El Shaddai/my God and assembly/assemblies differ. Assemblies is plural in the consulted Greek [G28]. This does not by itself identify a later institution.
Verse 28:4 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
28:4 “And may He give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your seed with you, so that you may inherit the land of your sojourning, which God gave to Abraham.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
28:4 “And may He give the blessing of Abraham my father to you and to your seed after you, so that you may inherit the land of your sojourning, which God gave to Abraham.”
Classification & Notes
Different — Greek calls Abraham my father in Isaac’s speech, not your father, and has after you where Hebrew has with you. The possessive is corrected to Rahlfs–Hanhart. [G28]
Verse 28:5 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
28:5 So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went into Paddan-aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
28:5 So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went into Mesopotamia, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
Classification & Notes
Similar — The regional name is Paddan-aram in Hebrew and Mesopotamia in Greek.
Verse 28:6 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
28:6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away into Paddan-aram to take a wife for himself from there, and that as he blessed him, he gave him a charge, saying, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites,”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
28:6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and that Jacob had gone to Mesopotamia of Syria to take a wife. In blessing him, Isaac had commanded, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
Classification & Notes
Similar — The regional name is Paddan-aram in Hebrew and Mesopotamia in Greek.
Verse 28:7 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
28:7 And Jacob obeyed his father and his mother and went into Paddan-aram.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
28:7 And Jacob obeyed his father and his mother and went into Mesopotamia of Syria.
Classification & Notes
Similar — Paddan-aram and Mesopotamia of Syria are corresponding regional designations. The full Greek designation is retained. [G28]
Verse 28:8 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
28:8 Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan displeased Isaac his father.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
28:8 Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan displeased Isaac his father.
Classification & Notes
Same — The corresponding meaning and content agree.
Verse 28:9 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
28:9 and Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife, in addition to the wives he already had.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
28:9 and Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife, in addition to the wives he already had.
Classification & Notes
Same — The corresponding meaning and content agree.
Jacob’s Stairway to Heaven
Verse 28:10 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
28:10 Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and journeyed toward Haran.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
28:10 Now Jacob went out from the Well of the Oath and journeyed toward Haran.
Classification & Notes
Similar — The Hebrew proper name corresponds to the Greek descriptive well name.
Verse 28:11 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
28:11 And he came to a certain place and stayed the night there, for the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down to sleep in that place.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
28:11 And he came to a certain place and stayed the night there, for the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down to sleep in that place.
Classification & Notes
Same — A stone is taken from the local stones; verse 18 explicitly refers back to the stone. The plural source phrase does not require multiple pillows.
Verse 28:12 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
28:12 And he dreamed, and behold, a stairway was set up on the earth, and its top reached into heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending upon it!
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
28:12 And he dreamed, and behold, a stairway was set up on the earth, and its top reached into heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending upon it!
Classification & Notes
Same — Ladder and stairway are possible English descriptions of the ascent structure. Saints: John 1:51 alludes to the ascending and descending angels, applying the image to the Son of Man [S28].
Verse 28:13 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
28:13 YHWH stood above it and said, “I am YHWH, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and your seed.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
28:13 And the Lord stood firm upon it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac; fear not. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your seed.”
Classification & Notes
Divergent — Greek includes fear not. Rahlfs–Hanhart also includes Lord in the self-identification, corresponding to Hebrew YHWH; the former claim of an omission is withdrawn. Hebrew above it can also be understood beside or over him; that spatial ambiguity remains open. [G28]
Verse 28:14 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
28:14 “Your seed shall be like the dust of the earth. You shall spread westward, eastward, northward, and southward, and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and your seed.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
28:14 “Your seed shall be like the sand of the earth. It shall spread toward the sea, the south, the north, and the east, and all the tribes of the earth shall be blessed in you and your seed.”
Classification & Notes
Different — Hebrew has dust of the earth; Rahlfs–Hanhart has sand of the earth, correcting the draft’s sand of the sea. The directional sequence also differs: sea denotes west. [G28]
Verse 28:15 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
28:15 “I am with you and will guard you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
28:15 “I am with you, guarding you on every road you travel. I will bring you back to this land, for I will never abandon you until I have done all that I have spoken to you.”
Classification & Notes
Similar — The protection and return promise agrees; until does not itself state that God abandons Jacob afterward.
Verse 28:16 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
28:16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely YHWH is in this place, and I did not know it!”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
28:16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it!”
Classification & Notes
Same — The corresponding meaning and content agree.
Verse 28:17 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
28:17 And he was afraid and said, “How fearful is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
28:17 And he was afraid and said, “How fearful is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
Classification & Notes
Same — The corresponding meaning and content agree.
Verse 28:18 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
28:18 So Jacob arose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
28:18 So Jacob arose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it.
Classification & Notes
Same — The corresponding meaning and content agree.
Verse 28:19 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
28:19 He named that place Bethel; previously the city had been called Luz.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
28:19 Jacob named that place House of God; previously the city had been called Oulamlous.
Classification & Notes
Different — Bethel and House of God correspond, while Hebrew Luz and Greek Oulamlous differ in form. Rahlfs–Hanhart’s Oulamlous replaces the draft’s Oulammaus; the Greek name is not silently harmonized to Luz. [G28]
Verse 28:20 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
28:20 Then Jacob vowed a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and guard me on this way in which I go, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on,”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
28:20 Then Jacob vowed a vow, saying, “If the Lord God will be with me, and guard me on this way in which I go, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on,”
Classification & Notes
Different — Hebrew has God; Greek has Lord God. The unnecessary English article before God in the Hebrew column is removed. [G28]
Verse 28:21 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
28:21 “and I return in peace to my father’s house, then YHWH shall be my God.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
28:21 “and He brings me back safely to my father’s house, then the Lord shall be my God.”
Classification & Notes
Similar — Hebrew describes Jacob’s return; Greek explicitly makes God its agent. Where the vow’s condition ends remains an interpretive question.
Verse 28:22 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
28:22 “And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, shall be the house of God; and of all that You give me, I will surely tithe a tenth to You.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
28:22 “And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, shall be to me the house of God; and of all that You give me, I will surely tithe a tenth to You.”
Classification & Notes
Similar — Greek explicitly includes for me. The tithe vow agrees.