Genesis 31:53
The God of Abraham, and the God of Nachor, the God of their father, judge between us. And Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac.
Open Genesis 31:53 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Deus Abraham, et Deus Nachor, judicet inter nos, Deus patris eorum. Juravit ergo Jacob per timorem patris sui Isaac :
- Septuagint (Swete)
- ὁ θεὸς Ἀβραὰμ καὶ ὁ θεὸς Ναχὼρ κρινεῖ ἀνὰ μὲσον ἡμῶν.
- Hebrew (WLC)
- אֱלֹהֵ֨י אַבְרָהָ֜ם וֵֽאלֹהֵ֤י נָחוֹר֙ יִשְׁפְּט֣וּ בֵינֵ֔ינוּ אֱלֹהֵ֖י אֲבִיהֶ֑ם וַיִּשָּׁבַ֣ע יַעֲקֹ֔ב בְּפַ֖חַד אָבִ֥יו יִצְחָֽק
Haydock's commentary
God of Nachor. Hebrew uses Elohim, which is often applied to idols, such as Nachor worshipped along with the true God. (Calmet)
Jacob swears by the one only God, whom his father revered. (Menochius)
The God of their father, is omitted in the Septuagint and is deemed an interpolation by Kennicott. The Samaritan reads again the God of Abraham. (Haydock)
From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.
The Fathers on this verse
St Augustine Letter XLVI
XVIII. May a Christian buy and use vegetables or fruit which he knows to have been brought from the garden of a temple or of the priests of an idol? That you may not be put to trouble in searching the Scriptures concerning the oath of which I have spoken and the idols, I resolved to set before you those texts which, by the Lord’s help, I have found; but if you have found anything better or more to the purpose in Scripture, be so good as let me know. For example, when Laban said to Jacob, “The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor judge betwixt us,” Scripture does not declare which god is meant. Again, when Abimelech came to Isaac, and he and those who were with him sware to Isaac, we are not told what kind of oath it was. As to the idols, Gideon was commanded by the Lord to make a whole burnt-offering of the bullock which he killed. …