Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain: this is the first use of the word for sacrifice in Genesis. In 8.20; 22.2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 13, we encountered the expression “burnt offering,” which referred to animals that were killed and burned up completely. In this verse the animal is killed and burned, but some of the meat is kept for eating. The sacrifice and the eating of the meat from the sacrificial animal unites Jacob and Laban, as well as their kinsmen, with God in a ritual act and so affirms and seals the agreement.

In languages that do not have a suitable expression for this kind of sacrifice, it is most often necessary to use a descriptive expression such as “slaughter an animal and burn part of it as a gift for God.” This lengthy expression may be placed in a note and a shorter form used in the translation.

Called his kinsmen … and they ate: the text his kinsmen means the relatives of Jacob, but it does not make clear who is referred to. Because of the context of making a treaty that applies to the whole passage, we take the view here that they refers to Jacob, Laban, and all their kinsmen. A translation that brings this out clearly says “Jacob killed a small goat as an offering, and he called all his relations to come and eat that meat. Jacob cooked the meat, then they all ate there beside the stones.”

And they ate bread and tarried all night: bread is often used in Hebrew as a part for the whole, with the meaning of “food” or “a meal.” The meat from the sacrifice was eaten with bread. The fuller sense of bread here is “a meal.” See Good News Translation. Tarried translates a verb meaning “to pass the night”; the same verb was used in 19.2, where Lot urged the two angels “to spend the night” at his house. See also 28.11. Eating and staying all night are not intended to be two expressions for one event but describe two separate actions. Accordingly Good News Translation is a good model: “After they had eaten….”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .