1:11 God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: 1 plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, 2 and 3 trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.” It was so.
1:14 God said, “Let there be lights 4 in the expanse 5 of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs 6 to indicate seasons and days and years,
1:28 God blessed 7 them and said 8 to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! 9 Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.” 10 1:29 Then God said, “I now 11 give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the entire earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 12
“This one at last 13 is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
this one will be called 14 ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of 15 man.” 16
3:16 To the woman he said,
“I will greatly increase 19 your labor pains; 20
with pain you will give birth to children.
You will want to control your husband, 21
but he will dominate 22 you.”
4:1 Now 23 the man had marital relations with 24 his wife Eve, and she became pregnant 25 and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, “I have created 26 a man just as the Lord did!” 27
4:23 Lamech said to his wives,
“Adah and Zillah! Listen to me!
You wives of Lamech, hear my words!
I have killed a man for wounding me,
a young man 28 for hurting me.
16:6 Abram said to Sarai, “Since your 45 servant is under your authority, 46 do to her whatever you think best.” 47 Then Sarai treated Hagar 48 harshly, 49 so she ran away from Sarai. 50
“You are now 51 pregnant
and are about to give birth 52 to a son.
You are to name him Ishmael, 53
for the Lord has heard your painful groans. 54
17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. 55 I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual 56 covenant for his descendants after him.
18:30 Then Abraham 62 said, “May the Lord not be angry 63 so that I may speak! 64 What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
18:31 Abraham 65 said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
18:32 Finally Abraham 66 said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
20:3 But God appeared 79 to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead 80 because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” 81
20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver 85 to your ‘brother.’ 86 This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” 87
24:45 “Before I finished praying in my heart, 115 along came Rebekah 116 with her water jug on her shoulder! She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 24:46 She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels water.
When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me leave now so I can return to my master.” 118
“Two nations 124 are in your womb,
and two peoples will be separated from within you.
One people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.”
27:1 When 130 Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, 131 he called his older 132 son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau 133 replied.
27:41 So Esau hated 144 Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. 145 Esau said privately, 146 “The time 147 of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill 148 my brother Jacob!”
27:42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said, 149 she quickly summoned 150 her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you. 151
29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! 157 So Jacob 158 said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! 159 Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked 160 me?”
29:33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved, 164 he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. 165
29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, 166 because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. 167
29:35 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” That is why she named him Judah. 168 Then she stopped having children.
30:14 At the time 169 of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants 170 in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
30:27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, 171 for I have learned by divination 172 that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.”
32:9 Then Jacob prayed, 180 “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you said 181 to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.’ 182
35:1 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up at once 183 to Bethel 184 and live there. Make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” 185
37:9 Then he had another dream, 191 and told it to his brothers. “Look,” 192 he said. “I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
38:8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Have sexual relations with 201 your brother’s wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise 202 up a descendant for your brother.” 203
38:24 After three months Judah was told, 207 “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has turned to prostitution, 208 and as a result she has become pregnant.” 209 Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!” 38:25 While they were bringing her out, she sent word 210 to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong.” 211 Then she said, “Identify 212 the one to whom the seal, cord, and staff belong.” 38:26 Judah recognized them and said, “She is more upright 213 than I am, because I wouldn’t give her to Shelah my son.” He did not have sexual relations with her 214 again.
40:16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation of the first dream was favorable, 223 he said to Joseph, “I also appeared in my dream and there were three baskets of white bread 224 on my head.
42:33 “Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘This is how I will find out if you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain 227 for your hungry households and go.
42:37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may 228 put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my care 229 and I will bring him back to you.”
43:8 Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me and we will go immediately. 230 Then we will live 231 and not die – we and you and our little ones.
44:18 Then Judah approached him and said, “My lord, please allow your servant to speak a word with you. 238 Please do not get angry with your servant, 239 for you are just like Pharaoh. 240
48:15 Then he blessed Joseph and said,
“May the God before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked –
the God who has been my shepherd 255
all my life long to this day,
50:15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge and wants to repay 256 us in full 257 for all the harm 258 we did to him?”
50:24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to you 259 and lead you up from this land to the land he swore on oath to give 260 to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
1 tn The Hebrew construction employs a cognate accusative, where the nominal object (“vegetation”) derives from the verbal root employed. It stresses the abundant productivity that God created.
sn Vegetation. The Hebrew word translated “vegetation” (דֶּשֶׁא, deshe’) normally means “grass,” but here it probably refers more generally to vegetation that includes many of the plants and trees. In the verse the plants and the trees are qualified as self-perpetuating with seeds, but not the word “vegetation,” indicating it is the general term and the other two terms are sub-categories of it. Moreover, in vv. 29 and 30 the word vegetation/grass does not appear. The Samaritan Pentateuch adds an “and” before the fruit trees, indicating it saw the arrangement as bipartite (The Samaritan Pentateuch tends to eliminate asyndetic constructions).
2 sn After their kinds. The Hebrew word translated “kind” (מִין, min) indicates again that God was concerned with defining and dividing time, space, and species. The point is that creation was with order, as opposed to chaos. And what God created and distinguished with boundaries was not to be confused (see Lev 19:19 and Deut 22:9-11).
3 tn The conjunction “and” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation to clarify the relationship of the clauses.
4 sn Let there be lights. Light itself was created before the light-bearers. The order would not seem strange to the ancient Hebrew mind that did not automatically link daylight with the sun (note that dawn and dusk appear to have light without the sun).
5 tn The language describing the cosmos, which reflects a prescientific view of the world, must be interpreted as phenomenal, describing what appears to be the case. The sun and the moon are not in the sky (below the clouds), but from the viewpoint of a person standing on the earth, they appear that way. Even today we use similar phenomenological expressions, such as “the sun is rising” or “the stars in the sky.”
6 tn The text has “for signs and for seasons and for days and years.” It seems likely from the meanings of the words involved that “signs” is the main idea, followed by two categories, “seasons” and “days and years.” This is the simplest explanation, and one that matches vv. 11-13. It could even be rendered “signs for the fixed seasons, that is [explicative vav (ו)] days and years.”
sn Let them be for signs. The point is that the sun and the moon were important to fix the days for the seasonal celebrations for the worshiping community.
7 tn As in v. 22 the verb “bless” here means “to endow with the capacity to reproduce and be fruitful,” as the following context indicates. As in v. 22, the statement directly precedes the command “be fruitful and multiply.” The verb carries this same nuance in Gen 17:16 (where God’s blessing of Sarai imparts to her the capacity to bear a child); Gen 48:16 (where God’s blessing of Joseph’s sons is closely associated with their having numerous descendants); and Deut 7:13 (where God’s blessing is associated with fertility in general, including numerous descendants). See also Gen 49:25 (where Jacob uses the noun derivative in referring to “blessings of the breast and womb,” an obvious reference to fertility) and Gen 27:27 (where the verb is used of a field to which God has given the capacity to produce vegetation).
8 tn Heb “and God said.” For stylistic reasons “God” has not been repeated here in the translation.
9 tn Elsewhere the Hebrew verb translated “subdue” means “to enslave” (2 Chr 28:10; Neh 5:5; Jer 34:11, 16), “to conquer,” (Num 32:22, 29; Josh 18:1; 2 Sam 8:11; 1 Chr 22:18; Zech 9:13; and probably Mic 7:19), and “to assault sexually” (Esth 7:8). None of these nuances adequately meets the demands of this context, for humankind is not viewed as having an adversarial relationship with the world. The general meaning of the verb appears to be “to bring under one’s control for one’s advantage.” In Gen 1:28 one might paraphrase it as follows: “harness its potential and use its resources for your benefit.” In an ancient Israelite context this would suggest cultivating its fields, mining its mineral riches, using its trees for construction, and domesticating its animals.
10 sn The several imperatives addressed to both males and females together (plural imperative forms) actually form two commands: reproduce and rule. God’s word is not merely a form of blessing, but is now addressed to them personally; this is a distinct emphasis with the creation of human beings. But with the blessing comes the ability to be fruitful and to rule. In procreation they will share in the divine work of creating human life and passing on the divine image (see 5:1-3); in ruling they will serve as God’s vice-regents on earth. They together, the human race collectively, have the responsibility of seeing to the welfare of that which is put under them and the privilege of using it for their benefit.
11 tn The text uses הִנֵּה (hinneh), often archaically translated “behold.” It is often used to express the dramatic present, the immediacy of an event – “Look, this is what I am doing!”
12 sn G. J. Wenham (Genesis [WBC], 1:34) points out that there is nothing in the passage that prohibits the man and the woman from eating meat. He suggests that eating meat came after the fall. Gen 9:3 may then ratify the postfall practice of eating meat rather than inaugurate the practice, as is often understood.
13 tn The Hebrew term הַפַּעַם (happa’am) means “the [this] time, this place,” or “now, finally, at last.” The expression conveys the futility of the man while naming the animals and finding no one who corresponded to him.
14 tn The Hebrew text is very precise, stating: “of this one it will be said, ‘woman’.” The text is not necessarily saying that the man named his wife – that comes after the fall (Gen 3:20).
sn Some argue that naming implies the man’s authority or ownership over the woman here. Naming can indicate ownership or authority if one is calling someone or something by one’s name and/or calling a name over someone or something (see 2 Sam 12:28; 2 Chr 7:14; Isa 4:1; Jer 7:14; 15:16), especially if one is conquering and renaming a site. But the idiomatic construction used here (the Niphal of קָרָא, qara’, with preposition lamed [לְ, lÿ]) does not suggest such an idea. In each case where it is used, the one naming discerns something about the object being named and gives it an appropriate name (See 1 Sam 9:9; 2 Sam 18:18; Prov 16:21; Isa 1:26; 32:5; 35:8; 62:4, 12; Jer 19:6). Adam is not so much naming the woman as he is discerning her close relationship to him and referring to her accordingly. He may simply be anticipating that she will be given an appropriate name based on the discernible similarity.
15 tn Or “from” (but see v. 22).
16 sn This poetic section expresses the correspondence between the man and the woman. She is bone of his bones, flesh of his flesh. Note the wordplay (paronomasia) between “woman” (אִשָּׁה, ’ishah) and “man” (אִישׁ, ’ish). On the surface it appears that the word for woman is the feminine form of the word for man. But the two words are not etymologically related. The sound and the sense give that impression, however, and make for a more effective wordplay.
17 sn And you must not touch it. The woman adds to God’s prohibition, making it say more than God expressed. G. von Rad observes that it is as though she wanted to set a law for herself by means of this exaggeration (Genesis [OTL], 86).
18 tn The Hebrew construction is פֶּן (pen) with the imperfect tense, which conveys a negative purpose: “lest you die” = “in order that you not die.” By stating the warning in this way, the woman omits the emphatic infinitive used by God (“you shall surely die,” see 2:17).
19 tn The imperfect verb form is emphasized and intensified by the infinitive absolute from the same verb.
20 tn Heb “your pain and your conception,” suggesting to some interpreters that having a lot of children was a result of the judgment (probably to make up for the loss through death). But the next clause shows that the pain is associated with conception and childbirth. The two words form a hendiadys (where two words are joined to express one idea, like “good and angry” in English), the second explaining the first. “Conception,” if the correct meaning of the noun, must be figurative here since there is no pain in conception; it is a synecdoche, representing the entire process of childbirth and child rearing from the very start. However, recent etymological research suggests the noun is derived from a root הרר (hrr), not הרה (hrh), and means “trembling, pain” (see D. Tsumura, “A Note on הרוֹן (Gen 3,16),” Bib 75 [1994]: 398-400). In this case “pain and trembling” refers to the physical effects of childbirth. The word עִצְּבוֹן (’itsÿvon, “pain”), an abstract noun related to the verb (עָצַב, ’atsav), includes more than physical pain. It is emotional distress as well as physical pain. The same word is used in v. 17 for the man’s painful toil in the field.
21 tn Heb “and toward your husband [will be] your desire.” The nominal sentence does not have a verb; a future verb must be supplied, because the focus of the oracle is on the future struggle. The precise meaning of the noun תְּשׁוּקָה (tÿshuqah, “desire”) is debated. Many interpreters conclude that it refers to sexual desire here, because the subject of the passage is the relationship between a wife and her husband, and because the word is used in a romantic sense in Song 7:11 HT (7:10 ET). However, this interpretation makes little sense in Gen 3:16. First, it does not fit well with the assertion “he will dominate you.” Second, it implies that sexual desire was not part of the original creation, even though the man and the woman were told to multiply. And third, it ignores the usage of the word in Gen 4:7 where it refers to sin’s desire to control and dominate Cain. (Even in Song of Songs it carries the basic idea of “control,” for it describes the young man’s desire to “have his way sexually” with the young woman.) In Gen 3:16 the
22 tn The Hebrew verb מָשַׁל (mashal) means “to rule over,” but in a way that emphasizes powerful control, domination, or mastery. This also is part of the baser human nature. The translation assumes the imperfect verb form has an objective/indicative sense here. Another option is to understand it as having a modal, desiderative nuance, “but he will want to dominate you.” In this case, the
sn This passage is a judgment oracle. It announces that conflict between man and woman will become the norm in human society. It does not depict the NT ideal, where the husband sacrificially loves his wife, as Christ loved the church, and where the wife recognizes the husband’s loving leadership in the family and voluntarily submits to it. Sin produces a conflict or power struggle between the man and the woman, but in Christ man and woman call a truce and live harmoniously (Eph 5:18-32).
23 tn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) introduces a new episode in the ongoing narrative.
24 tn Heb “the man knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.
25 tn Or “she conceived.”
26 tn Here is another sound play (paronomasia) on a name. The sound of the verb קָנִיתִי (qaniti, “I have created”) reflects the sound of the name Cain in Hebrew (קַיִן, qayin) and gives meaning to it. The saying uses the Qal perfect of קָנָה (qanah). There are two homonymic verbs with this spelling, one meaning “obtain, acquire” and the other meaning “create” (see Gen 14:19, 22; Deut 32:6; Ps 139:13; Prov 8:22). The latter fits this context very well. Eve has created a man.
27 tn Heb “with the
sn Since Exod 6:3 seems to indicate that the name Yahweh (יְהוָה, yÿhvah, translated
28 tn The Hebrew term יֶלֶד (yeled) probably refers to a youthful warrior here, not a child.
29 sn On the divine style utilized here, see R. Lapointe, “The Divine Monologue as a Channel of Revelation,” CBQ 32 (1970): 161-81.
30 tn Heb “the end of all flesh is coming [or “has come”] before me.” (The verb form is either a perfect or a participle.) The phrase “end of all flesh” occurs only here. The term “end” refers here to the end of “life,” as v. 3 and the following context (which describes how God destroys all flesh) make clear. The statement “the end has come” occurs in Ezek 7:2, 6, where it is used of divine judgment. The phrase “come before” occurs in Exod 28:30, 35; 34:34; Lev 15:14; Num 27:17; 1 Sam 18:13, 16; 2 Sam 19:8; 20:8; 1 Kgs 1:23, 28, 32; Ezek 46:9; Pss 79:11 (groans come before God); 88:3 (a prayer comes before God); 100:2; 119:170 (prayer comes before God); Lam 1:22 (evil doing comes before God); Esth 1:19; 8:1; 9:25; 1 Chr 16:29. The expression often means “have an audience with” or “appear before.” But when used metaphorically, it can mean “get the attention of” or “prompt a response.” This is probably the sense in Gen 6:13. The necessity of ending the life of all flesh on earth is an issue that has gotten the attention of God. The term “end” may even be a metonymy for that which has prompted it – violence (see the following clause).
31 tn The participle, especially after הִנֵּה (hinneh) has an imminent future nuance. The Hiphil of שָׁחָת (shakhat) here has the sense “to destroy” (in judgment). Note the wordplay involving this verb in vv. 11-13: The earth is “ruined” because all flesh has acted in a morally “corrupt” manner. Consequently, God will “destroy” all flesh (the referent of the suffix “them”) along with the ruined earth. They had ruined themselves and the earth with violence, and now God would ruin them with judgment. For other cases where “earth” occurs as the object of the Hiphil of שָׁחָת, see 1 Sam 6:5; 1 Chr 20:1; Jer 36:29; 51:25.
32 tn Heb “and one lip to all of them.”
33 tn Heb “and now.” The foundational clause beginning with הֵן (hen) expresses the condition, and the second clause the result. It could be rendered “If this…then now.”
34 tn Heb “all that they purpose to do will not be withheld from them.”
35 tn The same Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.
36 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
37 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, with the Qal infinitive absolute followed by the imperfect from יָדַע (yada’, “know”). The imperfect here has an obligatory or imperatival force.
38 tn The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger, “sojourner, stranger”) is related to the verb גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to stay for awhile”). Abram’s descendants will stay in a land as resident aliens without rights of citizenship.
39 tn Heb “in a land not theirs.”
40 tn Heb “and they will serve them and they will oppress them.” The verb עִנּוּ, (’innu, a Piel form from עָנָה, ’anah, “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly”), is used in Exod 1:11 to describe the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt.
41 tn Heb “look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) introduces the foundational clause for the imperative to follow.
42 tn Heb “enter to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual relations (also in v. 4).
sn The Hebrew expression translated have sexual relations with does not convey the intimacy of other expressions, such as “so and so knew his wife.” Sarai simply sees this as the social custom of having a child through a surrogate. For further discussion see C. F. Fensham, “The Son of a Handmaid in Northwest Semitic,” VT 19 (1969): 312-21.
43 tn Heb “perhaps I will be built from her.” Sarai hopes to have a family established through this surrogate mother.
44 tn Heb “listened to the voice of,” which is an idiom meaning “obeyed.”
sn Abram did what Sarai told him. This expression was first used in Gen 3:17 of Adam’s obeying his wife. In both cases the text highlights weak faith and how it jeopardized the plan of God.
45 tn The clause is introduced with the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), introducing a foundational clause for the coming imperative: “since…do.”
46 tn Heb “in your hand.”
47 tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”
48 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
49 tn In the Piel stem the verb עָנָה (’anah) means “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly, to mistreat.”
50 tn Heb “and she fled from her presence.” The referent of “her” (Sarai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
51 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) focuses on her immediate situation: “Here you are pregnant.”
52 tn The active participle refers here to something that is about to happen.
53 sn The name Ishmael consists of the imperfect or jussive form of the Hebrew verb with the theophoric element added as the subject. It means “God hears” or “may God hear.”
54 tn Heb “affliction,” which must refer here to Hagar’s painful groans of anguish.
sn This clause gives the explanation of the name Ishmael, using a wordplay. Ishmael’s name will be a reminder that “God hears” Hagar’s painful cries.
55 tn Heb “will call his name Isaac.” The name means “he laughs,” or perhaps “may he laugh” (see the note on the word “laughed” in v. 17).
56 tn Or “as an eternal.”
57 tn Heb “he”; the referent (one of the three men introduced in v. 2) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Some English translations have specified the referent as the
58 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.
sn I will surely return. If Abraham had not yet figured out who this was, this interchange would have made it clear. Otherwise, how would a return visit from this man mean Sarah would have a son?
59 tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.
60 tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”
61 tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).
62 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
63 tn Heb “let it not be hot to the
64 tn After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.
65 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
66 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
67 tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “visitors” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
68 tn Heb “Yet who [is there] to you here?”
69 tn The words “Do you have” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
70 tn Heb “a son-in-law and your sons and your daughters and anyone who (is) to you in the city.”
71 tn Heb “the place.” The Hebrew article serves here as a demonstrative.
72 tn Or “one of them”; Heb “he.” Several ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac) read the plural “they.” See also the note on “your” in v. 19.
73 tn Heb “escape.”
74 tn The Hebrew verb translated “look” signifies an intense gaze, not a passing glance. This same verb is used later in v. 26 to describe Lot’s wife’s self-destructive look back at the city.
75 tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
76 tn Heb “and the firstborn said.”
77 tn Or perhaps “on earth,” in which case the statement would be hyperbolic; presumably there had been some men living in the town of Zoar to which Lot and his daughters had initially fled.
78 tn Heb “to enter upon us.” This is a euphemism for sexual relations.
79 tn Heb “came.”
80 tn Heb “Look, you [are] dead.” The Hebrew construction uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with a second person pronominal particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with by the participle. It is a highly rhetorical expression.
81 tn Heb “and she is owned by an owner.” The disjunctive clause is causal or explanatory in this case.
82 tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
83 tn Heb “and she, even she.”
84 tn Heb “with the integrity of my heart.”
85 sn A thousand pieces [Heb “shekels”] of silver. The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of silver here 11.5 kilograms, or 400 ounces (about 25 pounds).
86 sn To your ‘brother.’ Note the way that the king refers to Abraham. Was he being sarcastic? It was surely a rebuke to Sarah. What is amazing is how patient this king was. It is proof that the fear of God was in that place, contrary to what Abraham believed (see v. 11).
87 tn Heb “Look, it is for you a covering of the eyes, for all who are with you, and with all, and you are set right.” The exact meaning of the statement is unclear. Apparently it means that the gift of money somehow exonerates her in other people’s eyes. They will not look on her as compromised (see G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:74).
88 tn Heb “said.”
89 tn The perfect form of the verb is used here to describe a hypothetical situation.
90 tn Heb “drive out.” The language may seem severe, but Sarah’s maternal instincts sensed a real danger in that Ishmael was not treating Isaac with the proper respect.
91 tn Heb “Let it not be evil in your eyes.”
92 tn Heb “listen to her voice.” The idiomatic expression means “obey; comply.” Here her advice, though harsh, is necessary and conforms to the will of God. Later (see Gen 25), when Abraham has other sons, he sends them all away as well.
93 tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to an action that is underway.
94 tn Or perhaps “will be named”; Heb “for in Isaac offspring will be called to you.” The exact meaning of the statement is not clear, but it does indicate that God’s covenantal promises to Abraham will be realized through Isaac, not Ishmael.
95 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
96 sn Take your son…Isaac. The instructions are very clear, but the details are deliberate. With every additional description the commandment becomes more challenging.
97 sn There has been much debate over the location of Moriah; 2 Chr 3:1 suggests it may be the site where the temple was later built in Jerusalem.
98 sn A whole burnt offering signified the complete surrender of the worshiper and complete acceptance by God. The demand for a human sacrifice was certainly radical and may have seemed to Abraham out of character for God. Abraham would have to obey without fully understanding what God was about.
99 tn Heb “which I will say to.”
100 tn Heb “And Abraham.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.
101 tn The Hebrew verb is masculine plural, referring to the two young servants who accompanied Abraham and Isaac on the journey.
102 tn The disjunctive clause (with the compound subject preceding the verb) may be circumstantial and temporal.
103 tn This Hebrew word literally means “to bow oneself close to the ground.” It often means “to worship.”
104 sn It is impossible to know what Abraham was thinking when he said, “we will…return to you.” When he went he knew (1) that he was to sacrifice Isaac, and (2) that God intended to fulfill his earlier promises through Isaac. How he reconciled those facts is not clear in the text. Heb 11:17-19 suggests that Abraham believed God could restore Isaac to him through resurrection.
105 tn Heb “Do not extend your hand toward the boy.”
106 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Do not extend…’”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the context for clarity. The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
107 sn For now I know. The test was designed to see if Abraham would be obedient (see v. 1).
108 sn In this context fear refers by metonymy to obedience that grows from faith.
109 tn Heb “give.”
110 tn Heb “silver.”
111 tn After the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose or result.
112 tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified and the words “to him” supplied in the translation for clarity.
113 sn Laban’s obsession with wealth is apparent; to him it represents how one is blessed by the
114 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial.
115 tn Heb “As for me, before I finished speaking to my heart.” The adverb טֶרֶם (terem) indicates the verb is a preterite; the infinitive that follows is the direct object.
116 tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out.” As in 24:15, the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is used here for dramatic effect.
117 tn Heb “And they ate and drank, he and the men who [were] with him and they spent the night.”
118 tn Heb “Send me away to my master.”
119 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, indicating a reason for the preceding request.
120 tn After the preceding imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
121 tn The Hebrew word used here suggests a violent struggle that was out of the ordinary.
122 tn Heb “If [it is] so, why [am] I this [way]?” Rebekah wanted to know what was happening to her, but the question itself reflects a growing despair over the struggle of the unborn children.
123 sn Asked the
124 sn By metonymy the two children in her womb are described as two nations of which the two children, Jacob and Esau, would become the fathers. The language suggests there would be a struggle between these nations, with one being stronger than the other. The oracle reveals that all of Jacob’s scheming was unnecessary in the final analysis. He would have become the dominant nation without using deception to steal his brother’s blessing.
125 tn The rare term לָעַט (la’at), translated “feed,” is used in later Hebrew for feeding animals (see Jastrow, 714). If this nuance was attached to the word in the biblical period, then it may depict Esau in a negative light, comparing him to a hungry animal. Famished Esau comes in from the hunt, only to enter the trap. He can only point at the red stew and ask Jacob to feed him.
126 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so is given a passive translation.
127 sn Esau’s descendants would eventually be called Edom. Edom was the place where they lived, so-named probably because of the reddish nature of the hills. The writer can use the word “red” to describe the stew that Esau gasped for to convey the nature of Esau and his descendants. They were a lusty, passionate, and profane people who lived for the moment. Again, the wordplay is meant to capture the “omen in the nomen.”
128 tn Heb “Surely, look!” See N. H. Snaith, “The meaning of Hebrew ‘ak,” VT 14 (1964): 221-25.
129 tn Heb “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’” Since the verb “said” probably means “said to myself” (i.e., “thought”) here, the direct discourse in the Hebrew statement has been converted to indirect discourse in the translation. In addition the simple prepositional phrase “on account of her” has been clarified in the translation as “to get her” (cf. v. 7).
130 tn The clause begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making it subordinate to the main clause that follows later in the sentence.
131 tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”
132 tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).
133 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.
134 tn Heb “get up and sit.” This may mean simply “sit up,” or it may indicate that he was to get up from his couch and sit at a table.
135 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.” These words, though not reported by Rebekah to Jacob (see v. 7) accurately reflect what Isaac actually said to Esau (see v. 4). Perhaps Jacob knew more than Rebekah realized, but it is more likely that this was an idiom for sincere blessing with which Jacob was familiar. At any rate, his use of the precise wording was a nice, convincing touch.
136 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
137 tn Heb “Bring near to me and I will eat of the wild game, my son.” Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
138 tn Heb “so that my soul may bless you.” The presence of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) as subject emphasizes Isaac’s heartfelt desire to do this. The conjunction indicates that the ritual meal must be first eaten before the formal blessing may be given.
139 tn Heb “and he brought”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
140 tn Heb “and he drank”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
141 tn Heb “and he said to his father”; the referent of “he” (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity, while the words “his father” have been replaced by the pronoun “him” for stylistic reasons.
142 tn Or “arise” (i.e., sit up).
143 tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.”
144 tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.
145 tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”
146 tn Heb “said in his heart.” The expression may mean “said to himself.” Even if this is the case, v. 42 makes it clear that he must have shared his intentions with someone, because the news reached Rebekah.
147 tn Heb “days.”
148 tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.
149 tn Heb “and the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah.”
150 tn Heb “she sent and called for.”
151 tn Heb “is consoling himself with respect to you to kill you.” The only way Esau had of dealing with his anger at the moment was to plan to kill his brother after the death of Isaac.
152 tn Heb “the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.” The Hebrew word for “father” can typically be used in a broader sense than the English word, in this case referring to Abraham (who was Jacob’s grandfather). For stylistic reasons and for clarity, the words “your father” are supplied with “Isaac” in the translation.
153 tn The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (’erets) can mean “[the] earth,” “land,” “region,” “piece of ground,” or “ground” depending on the context. Here the term specifically refers to the plot of ground on which Jacob was lying, but at the same time this stands by metonymy for the entire land of Canaan.
154 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
155 tn Heb “the day is great.”
156 tn Heb “water the sheep and go and pasture [them].” The verbal forms are imperatives, but Jacob would hardly be giving direct orders to someone else’s shepherds. The nuance here is probably one of advice.
157 tn Heb “and it happened in the morning that look, it was Leah.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes.
158 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
159 tn Heb What is this you have done to me?” The use of the pronoun “this” is enclitic, adding emphasis to the question: “What in the world have you done to me?”
160 sn The Hebrew verb translated tricked here (רָמָה, ramah) is cognate to the noun used in Gen 27:35 to describe Jacob’s deception of Esau. Jacob is discovering that what goes around, comes around. See J. A. Diamond, “The Deception of Jacob: A New Perspective on an Ancient Solution to the Problem,” VT 34 (1984): 211-13.
161 tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).
162 sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”
163 tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”
sn Leah’s explanation of the name Reuben reflects a popular etymology, not an exact one. The name means literally “look, a son.” Playing on the Hebrew verb “look,” she observes that the
164 tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.
165 sn The name Simeon (שִׁמְעוֹן, shim’on) is derived from the verbal root שָׁמַע (shama’) and means “hearing.” The name is appropriate since it is reminder that the
166 tn Heb “will be joined to me.”
167 sn The name Levi (לֵוִי, levi), the precise meaning of which is debated, was appropriate because it sounds like the verb לָוָה (lavah, “to join”), used in the statement recorded earlier in the verse.
168 sn The name Judah (יְהוּדָה, yÿhudah) means “he will be praised” and reflects the sentiment Leah expresses in the statement recorded earlier in the verse. For further discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names ‘Israel’ and ‘Judah’ with an Excursus on the Etymology of Todah and Torah,” JBL 46 (1927): 151-85; and A. R. Millard, “The Meaning of the Name Judah,” ZAW 86 (1974): 216-18.
169 tn Heb “during the days.”
170 sn Mandrake plants were popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac in the culture of the time.
171 tn The words “please stay here” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
172 tn Or perhaps “I have grown rich and the
173 tn Heb “lift up (now) your eyes and see.”
174 tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.
175 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
176 tn Heb “let it not be hot in the eyes of my lord.” This idiom refers to anger, in this case as a result of Rachel’s failure to stand in the presence of her father as a sign of respect.
177 tn Heb “I am unable to rise.”
178 tn Heb “the way of women is to me.” This idiom refers to a woman’s menstrual period.
179 tn The word “thoroughly” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.
180 tn Heb “said.”
181 tn Heb “the one who said.”
182 tn Heb “I will cause good” or “I will treat well [or “favorably”].” The idea includes more than prosperity, though that is its essential meaning. Here the form is subordinated to the preceding imperative and indicates purpose or result. Jacob is reminding God of his promise in the hope that God will honor his word.
183 tn Heb “arise, go up.” The first imperative gives the command a sense of urgency.
184 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
185 sn God is calling on Jacob to fulfill his vow he made when he fled from…Esau (see Gen 28:20-22).
186 tn The name אֵל שַׁדַּי (’el shadday, “El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72. Shaddai/El Shaddai is the sovereign king of the world who grants, blesses, and judges. In the Book of Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness. The patriarchs knew God primarily as El Shaddai (Exod 6:3). While the origin and meaning of this name are uncertain its significance is clear. The name is used in contexts where God appears as the source of fertility and life. For a fuller discussion see the note on “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.
187 tn Heb “A nation and a company of nations will be from you and kings from your loins will come out.”
sn A nation…will descend from you. The promise is rooted in the Abrahamic promise (see Gen 17). God confirms what Isaac told Jacob (see Gen 28:3-4). Here, though, for the first time Jacob is promised kings as descendants.
188 tn Heb “Ruling, will you rule over us, or reigning, will you reign over us?” The statement has a poetic style, with the two questions being in synonymous parallelism. Both verbs in this statement are preceded by the infinitive absolute, which lends emphasis. It is as if Joseph’s brothers said, “You don’t really think you will rule over us, do you? You don’t really think you will have dominion over us, do you?”
189 tn This construction is identical to the one in Gen 37:5.
190 sn The response of Joseph’s brothers is understandable, given what has already been going on in the family. But here there is a hint of uneasiness – they hated him because of his dream and because of his words. The dream bothered them, as well as his telling them. And their words in the rhetorical question are ironic, for this is exactly what would happen. The dream was God’s way of revealing it.
191 tn Heb “And he dreamed yet another dream.”
192 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Look.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse have been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons. Both clauses of the dream report begin with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), which lends vividness to the report.
193 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
194 tn Heb “see.”
195 tn Heb “peace.”
196 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
197 tn Heb “they traveled from this place.”
198 tn Heb “arose, stood”; which here suggests that they stood by him in his time of grief.
199 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Indeed I will go down to my son mourning to Sheol.’” Sheol was viewed as the place where departed spirits went after death.
200 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
201 tn Heb “go to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
202 tn The imperative with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose.
203 sn Raise up a descendant for your brother. The purpose of this custom, called the levirate system, was to ensure that no line of the family would become extinct. The name of the deceased was to be maintained through this custom of having a child by the nearest relative. See M. Burrows, “Levirate Marriage in Israel,” JBL 59 (1940): 23-33.
204 tn Heb “and he went to her.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
205 tn The words “the things” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
206 tn Heb “we will become contemptible.” The Hebrew word בּוּז (buz) describes the contempt that a respectable person would have for someone who is worthless, foolish, or disreputable.
207 tn Heb “it was told to Judah, saying.”
208 tn Or “has been sexually promiscuous.” The verb may refer here to loose or promiscuous activity, not necessarily prostitution.
209 tn Heb “and also look, she is with child by prostitution.”
210 tn Heb “she was being brought out and she sent.” The juxtaposition of two clauses, both of which place the subject before the predicate, indicates synchronic action.
211 tn Heb “who these to him.”
212 tn Or “ recognize; note.” This same Hebrew verb (נָכַר, nakhar) is used at the beginning of v. 26, where it is translated “recognized.”
213 tn Traditionally “more righteous”; cf. NCV, NRSV, NLT “more in the right.”
sn She is more upright than I. Judah had been irresponsible and unfaithful to his duty to see that the family line continued through the levirate marriage of his son Shelah. Tamar fought for her right to be the mother of Judah’s line. When she was not given Shelah and Judah’s wife died, she took action on her own to ensure that the line did not die out. Though deceptive, it was a desperate and courageous act. For Tamar it was within her rights; she did nothing that the law did not entitle her to do. But for Judah it was wrong because he thought he was going to a prostitute. See also Susan Niditch, “The Wronged Woman Righted: An Analysis of Genesis 38,” HTR 72 (1979): 143-48.
214 tn Heb “and he did not add again to know her.” Here “know” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
215 tn Heb “Look, his brother came out.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through the midwife’s eyes. The words “before him” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
216 tn Heb “How you have made a breach for yourself!” The Hebrew verb translated “make a breach” frequently occurs, as here, with a cognate accusative. The event provided the meaningful name Perez, “he who breaks through.”
217 sn The name Perez means “he who breaks through,” referring to Perez reaching out his hand at birth before his brother was born. The naming signified the completion of Tamar’s struggle and also depicted the destiny of the tribe of Perez who later became dominant (Gen 46:12 and Num 26:20). Judah and his brothers had sold Joseph into slavery, thinking they could thwart God’s plan that the elder brothers should serve the younger. God demonstrated that principle through these births in Judah’s own family, affirming that the elder will serve the younger, and that Joseph’s leadership could not so easily be set aside. See J. Goldin, “The Youngest Son; or, Where Does Genesis 38 Belong?” JBL 96 (1977): 27-44.
218 tn The verb has no expressed subject, and so it could be treated as a passive (“a Hebrew man was brought in”; cf. NIV). But it is clear from the context that her husband brought Joseph into the household, so Potiphar is the apparent referent here. Thus the translation supplies “my husband” as the referent of the unspecified pronominal subject of the verb (cf. NEB, NRSV).
219 sn A Hebrew man. Potiphar’s wife raises the ethnic issue when talking to her servants about what their boss had done.
220 tn Heb “to make fun of us.” The verb translated “to humiliate us” here means to hold something up for ridicule, or to toy with something harmfully. Attempted rape would be such an activity, for it would hold the victim in contempt.
221 tn Heb “he came to me to lie with me.” Here the expression “lie with” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
222 tn Heb “and I cried out with a loud voice.”
223 tn Heb “that [the] interpretation [was] good.” The words “the first dream” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
224 tn Or “three wicker baskets.” The meaning of the Hebrew noun חֹרִי (khori, “white bread, cake”) is uncertain; some have suggested the meaning “wicker” instead. Comparison with texts from Ebla suggests the meaning “pastries made with white flour” (M. Dahood, “Eblaite h¬a-rí and Genesis 40,16 h£o„rî,” BN 13 [1980]: 14-16).
225 tn Heb “to all Egypt.” The name of the country is used by metonymy for the inhabitants.
226 tn Heb “and also his blood, look, it is required.” God requires compensation, as it were, from those who shed innocent blood (see Gen 9:6). In other words, God exacts punishment for the crime of murder.
227 tn The word “grain” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
228 tn The nuance of the imperfect verbal form is permissive here.
229 tn Heb “my hand.”
230 tn Heb “and we will rise up and we will go.” The first verb is adverbial and gives the expression the sense of “we will go immediately.”
231 tn After the preceding cohortatives, the prefixed verbal form (either imperfect or cohortative) with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose or result.
232 tn Heb “they left the city, they were not far,” meaning “they had not gone very far.”
233 tn Heb “and Joseph said.” This clause, like the first one in the verse, has the subject before the verb, indicating synchronic action.
234 tn Heb “arise, chase after the men.” The first imperative gives the command a sense of urgency.
235 tn After the imperative this perfect verbal form with vav consecutive has the same nuance of instruction. In the translation it is subordinated to the verbal form that follows (also a perfect with vav consecutive): “and overtake them and say,” becomes “when you overtake them, say.”
236 tn Heb “What is this deed you have done?” The demonstrative pronoun (“this”) adds emphasis to the question. A literal translation seems to contradict the following statement, in which Joseph affirms that he is able to divine such matters. Thus here the emotive force of the question has been reflected in the translation, “What did you think you were doing?”
237 tn Heb “[is] fully able to divine,” meaning that he can find things out by divination. The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis, stressing his ability to do this.
238 tn Heb “Please my lord, let your servant speak a word into the ears of my lord.”
239 tn Heb “and let not your anger burn against your servant.”
240 sn You are just like Pharaoh. Judah’s speech begins with the fear and trembling of one who stands condemned. Joseph has as much power as Pharaoh, either to condemn or to pardon. Judah will make his appeal, wording his speech in such a way as to appeal to Joseph’s compassion for the father, whom he mentions no less than fourteen times in the speech.
241 tn Heb “and they spoke to him all the words of Joseph which he had spoke to them.”
242 tn Heb “the God.”
243 tn Heb “tell Pharaoh and say to him.”
244 tn Heb “the days of.”
245 tn Heb “sojournings.” Jacob uses a term that depicts him as one who has lived an unsettled life, temporarily residing in many different places.
246 tn Heb “the days of.”
247 tn The Hebrew word רַע (ra’) can sometimes mean “evil,” but that would give the wrong connotation here, where it refers to pain, difficulty, and sorrow. Jacob is thinking back through all the troubles he had to endure to get to this point.
248 tn Heb “and they have not reached the days of the years of my fathers in the days of their sojournings.”
249 tn Heb “all Egypt.” The expression is a metonymy and refers to all the people of Egypt.
250 tn The imperfect verbal form has a deliberative force here.
251 tn Heb “Look, I am making you fruitful.” The participle following הִנֵּה (hinneh) has the nuance of a certain and often imminent future.
252 tn The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the certain future idea.
253 tn The Hebrew text adds “after you,” which has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
254 tn The Hebrew word אֲחֻזָּה (’akhuzzah), translated “possession,” describes a permanent holding in the land. It is the noun form of the same verb (אָחַז, ’akhaz) that was used for the land given to them in Goshen (Gen 47:27).
255 tn Heb “shepherded me.” The verb has been translated as an English noun for stylistic reasons.
256 tn The imperfect tense could be a simple future; it could also have a desiderative nuance.
257 tn The infinitive absolute makes the statement emphatic, “repay in full.”
258 tn Or “evil.”
259 tn The verb פָּקַד (paqad) means “to visit,” i.e., to intervene for blessing or cursing; here Joseph announces that God would come to fulfill the promises by delivering them from Egypt. The statement is emphasized by the use of the infinitive absolute with the verb: “God will surely visit you.”
260 tn The words “to give” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.