24:10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all kinds of gifts from his master at his disposal. 8 He journeyed 9 to the region of Aram Naharaim 10 and the city of Nahor.
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 The traditional rendering here, “who forged” (or “a forger of”) is now more commonly associated with counterfeit or fraud (e.g., “forged copies” or “forged checks”) than with the forging of metal. The phrase “heated metal and shaped [it]” has been used in the translation instead.
3 tn Heb “which [is] between me and between you.”
4 tn Heb “all flesh.”
5 tn Heb “to destroy.”
6 tn Heb “all flesh.”
7 tn The translation assumes that the infinitive לִזְכֹּר (lizkor, “to remember”) here expresses the result of seeing the rainbow. Another option is to understand it as indicating purpose, in which case it could be translated, “I will look at it so that I may remember.”
8 tn Heb “and every good thing of his master was in his hand.” The disjunctive clause is circumstantial, explaining that he took all kinds of gifts to be used at his discretion.
9 tn Heb “and he arose and went.”
10 tn The words “the region of” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
sn Aram Naharaim means in Hebrew “Aram of the Two Rivers,” a region in northern Mesopotamia.