5:1 This is the record 6 of the family line 7 of Adam.
When God created humankind, 8 he made them 9 in the likeness of God.
10:1 This is the account 16 of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons 17 were born 18 to them after the flood.
27:14 So he went and got the goats 39 and brought them to his mother. She 40 prepared some tasty food, just the way his father loved it. 27:15 Then Rebekah took her older son Esau’s best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob.
31:55 (32:1) 46 Early in the morning Laban kissed 47 his grandchildren 48 and his daughters goodbye and blessed them. Then Laban left and returned home. 49
34:8 But Hamor made this appeal to them: “My son Shechem is in love with your daughter. 53 Please give her to him as his wife.
They spent some time in custody. 64
42:27 When one of them 71 opened his sack to get feed for his donkey at their resting place, 72 he saw his money in the mouth of his sack. 73
42:29 They returned to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan and told him all the things that had happened to them, saying,
43:15 So the men took these gifts, and they took double the money with them, along with Benjamin. Then they hurried down to Egypt 77 and stood before Joseph.
43:24 The servant in charge 78 brought the men into Joseph’s house. He gave them water, and they washed their feet. Then he gave food to their donkeys.
46:20 Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt. Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, 84 bore them to him.
“By you 88 will Israel bless, 89 saying,
‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”
So he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 90
49:29 Then he instructed them, 91 “I am about to go 92 to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.
1 tn While the translation “blessed” has been retained here for the sake of simplicity, it would be most helpful to paraphrase it as “God endowed them with fruitfulness” or something similar, for here it refers to God’s giving the animals the capacity to reproduce. The expression “blessed” needs clarification in its different contexts, for it is one of the unifying themes of the Book of Genesis. The divine blessing occurs after works of creation and is intended to continue that work – the word of blessing guarantees success. The word means “to enrich; to endow,” and the most visible evidence of that enrichment is productivity or fruitfulness. See C. Westermann, Blessing in the Bible and the Life of the Church (OBT).
2 sn The instruction God gives to creation is properly a fuller expression of the statement just made (“God blessed them”), that he enriched them with the ability to reproduce. It is not saying that these were rational creatures who heard and obeyed the word; rather, it stresses that fruitfulness in the animal world is a result of the divine decree and not of some pagan cultic ritual for fruitfulness. The repeated emphasis of “be fruitful – multiply – fill” adds to this abundance God has given to life. The meaning is underscored by the similar sounds: בָּרָךְ (barakh) with בָּרָא (bara’), and פָּרָה (parah) with רָבָה (ravah).
3 tn Heb “But Abel brought, also he….” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) stresses the contrast between Cain’s offering and Abel’s.
4 tn Two prepositional phrases are used to qualify the kind of sacrifice that Abel brought: “from the firstborn” and “from the fattest of them.” These also could be interpreted as a hendiadys: “from the fattest of the firstborn of the flock.” Another option is to understand the second prepositional phrase as referring to the fat portions of the sacrificial sheep. In this case one may translate, “some of the firstborn of his flock, even some of their fat portions” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV).
sn Here are two types of worshipers – one (Cain) merely discharges a duty at the proper time, while the other (Abel) goes out of his way to please God with the first and the best.
5 tn The Hebrew verb שָׁעָה (sha’ah) simply means “to gaze at, to have regard for, to look on with favor [or “with devotion”].” The text does not indicate how this was communicated, but it indicates that Cain and Abel knew immediately. Either there was some manifestation of divine pleasure given to Abel and withheld from Cain (fire consuming the sacrifice?), or there was an inner awareness of divine response.
6 tn Heb “book” or “roll.” Cf. NIV “written account”; NRSV “list.”
7 tn Heb “generations.” See the note on the phrase “this is the account of” in 2:4.
8 tn The Hebrew text has אָדָם (’adam).
9 tn Heb “him.” The Hebrew text uses the third masculine singular pronominal suffix on the accusative sign. The pronoun agrees grammatically with its antecedent אָדָם (’adam). However, the next verse makes it clear that אָדָם is collective here and refers to “humankind,” so it is preferable to translate the pronoun with the English plural.
10 tn Heb “from all life, from all flesh, two from all you must bring.” The disjunctive clause at the beginning of the verse (note the conjunction with prepositional phrase, followed by two more prepositional phrases in apposition and then the imperfect verb form) signals a change in mood from announcement (vv. 17-18) to instruction.
11 tn The Piel infinitive construct לְהַחֲיוֹת (lÿhakhayot, here translated as “to keep them alive”) shows the purpose of bringing the animals into the ark – saving life. The Piel of this verb means here “to preserve alive.”
12 tn The verb is a direct imperative: “And you, take for yourself.” The form stresses the immediate nature of the instruction; the pronoun underscores the directness.
13 tn Heb “from all food,” meaning “some of every kind of food.”
14 tn Or “will be eaten.”
15 tn Heb “and gather it to you.”
16 tn The title אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת (’elle tolÿdot, here translated as “This is the account”) here covers 10:1–11:9, which contains the so-called Table of Nations and the account of how the nations came to be dispersed.
17 sn Sons were born to them. A vertical genealogy such as this encompasses more than the names of sons. The list includes cities, tribes, and even nations. In a loose way, the names in the list have some derivation or connection to the three ancestors.
18 tn It appears that the Table of Nations is a composite of at least two ancient sources: Some sections begin with the phrase “the sons of” (בְּנֵי, bÿne) while other sections use “begot” (יָלָד, yalad). It may very well be that the “sons of” list was an old, “bare bones” list that was retained in the family records, while the “begot” sections were editorial inserts by the writer of Genesis, reflecting his special interests. See A. P. Ross, “The Table of Nations in Genesis 10 – Its Structure,” BSac 137 (1980): 340-53; idem, “The Table of Nations in Genesis 10 – Its Content,” BSac 138 (1981): 22-34.
19 tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.” The Hebrew idiom may be translated “to each other” or “one to another.”
20 tn The speech contains two cohortatives of exhortation followed by their respective cognate accusatives: “let us brick bricks” (נִלְבְּנָה לְבֵנִים, nilbbÿnah lÿvenim) and “burn for burning” (נִשְׂרְפָה לִשְׂרֵפָה, nisrÿfah lisrefah). This stresses the intensity of the undertaking; it also reflects the Akkadian text which uses similar constructions (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 75-76).
21 tn Or “bitumen” (cf. NEB, NRSV).
22 tn The disjunctive clause gives information parenthetical to the narrative.
23 tn Heb “say.”
24 sn Tell them you are my sister. Abram’s motives may not be as selfish as they appear. He is aware of the danger to the family. His method of dealing with it is deception with a half truth, for Sarai really was his sister – but the Egyptians would not know that. Abram presumably thought that there would be negotiations for a marriage by anyone interested (as Laban does later for his sister Rebekah), giving him time to react. But the plan backfires because Pharaoh does not take the time to negotiate. There is a good deal of literature on the wife-sister issue. See (among others) E. A. Speiser, “The Wife-Sister Motif in the Patriarchal Narratives,” Oriental and Biblical Studies, 62-81; C. J. Mullo-Weir, “The Alleged Hurrian Wife-Sister Motif in Genesis,” GOT 22 (1967-1970): 14-25.
25 tn The Hebrew verb translated “go well” can encompass a whole range of favorable treatment, but the following clause indicates it means here that Abram’s life will be spared.
26 tn Heb “and my life will live.”
27 tn Heb “will see for himself.” The construction means “to look out for; to see to it; to provide.”
sn God will provide is the central theme of the passage and the turning point in the story. Note Paul’s allusion to the story in Rom 8:32 (“how shall he not freely give us all things?”) as well as H. J. Schoeps, “The Sacrifice of Isaac in Paul’s Theology,” JBL 65 (1946): 385-92.
28 tn Heb “If it is with your purpose.” The Hebrew noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) here has the nuance “purpose” or perhaps “desire” (see BDB 661 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ).
29 tn Heb “bury my dead out of my sight.” The last phrase “out of my sight” has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
30 tn Or “hear me.”
31 tn Heb “intercede for me with.”
32 tn Heb “the servant”; the noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
33 tn Heb “the sons of the concubines who [belonged] to Abraham.”
34 tn Heb “And he sent them away from upon Isaac his son, while he was still living, eastward to the land of the east.”
35 tn Heb “and they got up early and they swore an oath, a man to his brother.”
36 tn Heb “and they went from him in peace.”
37 tn Heb “upon me your curse.”
38 tn Heb “only listen to my voice.”
39 tn The words “the goats” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
40 tn Heb “his mother.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “she” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
41 tn Heb “and he put a journey of three days between himself and Jacob.”
sn Three days’ traveling distance from Jacob. E. A. Speiser observes, “Laban is delighted with the terms, and promptly proceeds to violate the spirit of the bargain by removing to a safe distance all the grown animals that would be likely to produce the specified spots” (Genesis [AB], 238). Laban apparently thought that by separating out the spotted, striped, and dark colored animals he could minimize the production of spotted, striped, or dark offspring that would then belong to Jacob.
42 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the vav with subject) is circumstantial/temporal; Laban removed the animals while Jacob was taking care of the rest.
43 tn Heb “I see the face of your father, that he is not toward me as formerly.”
44 tn Heb “Jacob”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
45 sn The Hebrew word for “pile” is גַּל (gal), which sounds like the name “Galeed” (גַּלְעֵד, gal’ed). See v. 48.
46 sn Beginning with 31:55, the verse numbers in the English Bible through 32:32 differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 31:55 ET = 32:1 HT, 32:1 ET = 32:2 HT, etc., through 32:32 ET = 32:33 HT. From 33:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
47 tn Heb “and Laban got up early in the morning and he kissed.”
48 tn Heb “his sons.”
49 tn Heb “to his place.”
50 sn Your servant. The narrative recounts Jacob’s groveling in fear before Esau as he calls his brother his “lord,” as if to minimize what had been done twenty years ago.
51 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
52 tn Heb “until his drawing near unto his brother.” The construction uses the preposition with the infinitive construct to express a temporal clause.
53 tn Heb “Shechem my son, his soul is attached to your daughter.” The verb means “to love” in the sense of being emotionally attached to or drawn to someone. This is a slightly different way of saying what was reported earlier (v. 3). However, there is no mention here of the offense. Even though Hamor is speaking to Dinah’s brothers, he refers to her as their daughter (see v. 17).
54 tn Heb “we are not able to do this thing, to give.” The second infinitive is in apposition to the first, explaining what they are not able to do.
55 tn The Hebrew word translated “disgrace” usually means “ridicule; taunt; reproach.” It can also refer to the reason the condition of shame or disgrace causes ridicule or a reproach.
56 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
57 tn Heb “of his brothers.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “them.”
58 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
59 tn Heb “speak to him for peace.”
60 tn The text uses an interrogative clause: “Are not your brothers,” which means “your brothers are.”
61 sn With these words Joseph is depicted here as an obedient son who is ready to do what his father commands.
62 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Here I am.’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.
63 sn He served them. This is the same Hebrew verb, meaning “to serve as a personal attendant,” that was translated “became [his] servant” in 39:4.
64 tn Heb “they were days in custody.”
65 tn Heb “the cup of Pharaoh.” The pronoun “his” has been used here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
66 sn The cupbearer’s dream is dominated by sets of three: three branches, three stages of growth, and three actions of the cupbearer.
67 tn Heb “And look, seven other cows were coming up after them from the Nile, bad of appearance and thin of flesh.”
68 tn Heb “the Nile.” This has been replaced by “the river” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
69 tn The perfect with the vav consecutive continues the time frame of the preceding participle, which has an imminent future nuance here.
70 tn The Hebrew verb כָּלָה (kalah) in the Piel stem means “to finish, to destroy, to bring an end to.” The severity of the famine will ruin the land of Egypt.
71 tn Heb “and the one.” The article indicates that the individual is vivid in the mind of the narrator, yet it is not important to identify him by name.
72 tn Heb “at the lodging place.”
73 tn Heb “and look, it [was] in the mouth of his sack.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to look through the eyes of the character and thereby draws attention to the money.
74 tn Heb “is not.”
75 tn Heb “is not.”
76 tn The nuance of the imperfect verbal form is desiderative here.
77 tn Heb “they arose and went down to Egypt.” The first verb has an adverbial function and emphasizes that they departed right away.
78 tn Heb “the man.”
79 tn Heb “concerning peace.”
80 tn Heb “to all of them he gave, to each one, changes of outer garments.”
81 tn Heb “changes of outer garments.”
82 tn Heb “do not be stirred up in the way.” The verb means “stir up.” Some understand the Hebrew verb רָגָז (ragaz, “to stir up”) as a reference to quarreling (see Prov 29:9, where it has this connotation), but in Exod 15:14 and other passages it means “to fear.” This might refer to a fear of robbers, but more likely it is an assuring word that they need not be fearful about returning to Egypt. They might have thought that once Jacob was in Egypt, Joseph would take his revenge on them.
83 tn Heb “and his heart was numb.” Jacob was stunned by the unbelievable news and was unable to respond.
84 sn On is another name for the city of Heliopolis.
85 tn Or “you fathered.”
86 tn Heb “called” or “named.”
87 sn Listed under the names of their brothers in their inheritance. This means that any subsequent children of Joseph will be incorporated into the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.
88 tn The pronoun is singular in the Hebrew text, apparently elevating Ephraim as the more prominent of the two. Note, however, that both are named in the blessing formula that follows.
89 tn Or “pronounce a blessing.”
90 sn On the elevation of Ephraim over Manasseh see E. C. Kingsbury, “He Set Ephraim Before Manasseh,” HUCA 38 (1967): 129-36; H. Mowvley, “The Concept and Content of ‘Blessing’ in the Old Testament,” BT 16 (1965): 74-80; and I. Mendelsohn, “On the Preferential Status of the Eldest Son,” BASOR 156 (1959): 38-40.
91 tn The Hebrew text adds “and he said to them,” which is not included in the translation because it is redundant in English.
92 tn Heb “I am about to be gathered” The participle is used here to describe what is imminent.