24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me 7 to this land? Must I then 8 take your son back to the land from which you came?”
“Yes, 11 my son smells
like the scent of an open field
which the Lord has blessed.
47:26 So Joseph made it a statute, 14 which is in effect 15 to this day throughout the land of Egypt: One-fifth belongs to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh’s.
1 tn For the first time in the narrative proper the verb “create” (בָּרָא, bara’) appears. (It is used in the summary statement of v. 1.) The author wishes to underscore that these creatures – even the great ones – are part of God’s perfect creation. The Hebrew term תַנִּינִם (tanninim) is used for snakes (Exod 7:9), crocodiles (Ezek 29:3), or other powerful animals (Jer 51:34). In Isa 27:1 the word is used to describe a mythological sea creature that symbolizes God’s enemies.
2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 sn Take your son…Isaac. The instructions are very clear, but the details are deliberate. With every additional description the commandment becomes more challenging.
4 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.
5 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.
6 tn Heb “which I will say to.”
7 tn Heb “to go after me.”
8 tn In the Hebrew text the construction is emphatic; the infinitive absolute precedes the imperfect. However, it is difficult to reflect this emphasis in an English translation.
9 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Heb “see.”
12 sn On the use of the expression to this day, see B. S. Childs, “A Study of the Formula ‘Until This Day’,” JBL 82 (1963): 279-92.
13 tn Or “because the socket of Jacob’s hip was struck.” Some translations render this as an impersonal passive. On the translation of the word “struck” see the note on this term in v. 25.
14 tn On the term translated “statute” see P. Victor, “A Note on Hoq in the Old Testament,” VT 16 (1966): 358-61.
15 tn The words “which is in effect” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.