Genesis 35:4 New English Translation
4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their possession[a] and the rings that were in their ears.[b] Jacob buried them[c] under the oak[d] near Shechem
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- Genesis 35:4 tn Heb “in their hand.”
- Genesis 35:4 tn Or “the rings that were in the ears of the idols.” The third person plural suffix on the word בְּאָזְנֵיהֶם (beʾoznehem, “in their ears”) could refer to the members of Jacob’s household or the “gods” which they possessed. Most exegetes understand it to refer to the people, but Victor Hurowitz, “Who Lost an Earring? Genesis 35:4 Reconsidered,” CBQ 62 (2000): 28-32, argues that the earrings were in the ears of the idols.sn On the basis of a comparison with Gen 34 and Num 31, G. J. Wenham (Genesis [WBC], 2:324) argues that the foreign gods and the rings could have been part of the plunder that came from the destruction of Shechem. Whereas if the rings were in the ears of the idols, then getting rid of the idols while not keeping the rings (even for monetary value) emphasizes the extent of putting away the foreign gods and purifying themselves. N. Fox has suggested that ear rings in the idols related to the gods hearing prayers while ear rings in the people symbolized obedience (John Walton, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary I, 119). If so, giving the earrings further symbolized the breaking of relationship with these false gods.
- Genesis 35:4 sn Jacob buried them. On the burial of the gods, see E. Nielson, “The Burial of the Foreign Gods,” ST 8 (1954/55): 102-22.
- Genesis 35:4 tn Or “terebinth.”
New English Translation (NET)
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