You shall dwell with us: dwell has the sense here of “settle,” “live,” “remain.” Some interpret Hamor’s proposal as a conditional statement: “If you will live with us….” Others translate it as a demand or request for future action: “You [plural] will live here with us….” These are both possible models for translation.

The land shall be open to you [plural]: this is literally “the land is before your [plural] face.” This is an idiom and is similar to English “make yourselves at home.” See Good News Translation “live anywhere you wish.” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy says “the country is at your disposal.”

Dwell and trade in it: the word rendered trade by Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, according to Anchor Bible and Westermann, cannot mean to buy and sell, as trade suggests. That meaning is said to be a later development in Hebrew and Jewish Aramaic, based on a similar-sounding noun meaning “merchant,” as used in 23.16. The verb rendered trade meant to circle or go in an irregular course. This sense is supported by the Koehler-Baumgartner lexicon as “move freely throughout the land.” Revised English Bible translate “move about freely,” and this is recommended to translators. For this clause and the previous one, some translations have “You can travel and stay anywhere you like in this country.”

Get property in it translates a verb whose basic meaning is to “grasp,” “take possession.” In this context it refers to acquiring or owning land or property. See Revised English Bible “acquire land of your own.” We may also say, for example, “become land owners” or “own your own land.”

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 .