1:28 God blessed 1 them and said 2 to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! 3 Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.” 4
8:1 But God remembered 5 Noah and all the wild animals and domestic animals that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind to blow over 6 the earth and the waters receded.
22:13 Abraham looked up 12 and saw 13 behind him 14 a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he 15 went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
“Yes, 21 my son smells
like the scent of an open field
which the Lord has blessed.
27:37 Isaac replied to Esau, “Look! I have made him lord over you. I have made all his relatives his servants and provided him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?”
44:1 He instructed the servant who was over his household, “Fill the sacks of the men with as much food as they can carry and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack.
1 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).
2 tn Heb “and God said.” For stylistic reasons “God” has not been repeated here in the translation.
3 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.
4 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.
5 tn The Hebrew word translated “remembered” often carries the sense of acting in accordance with what is remembered, i.e., fulfilling covenant promises (see B. S. Childs, Memory and Tradition in Israel [SBT], especially p. 34).
6 tn Heb “to pass over.”
7 tn The Hebrew word עִיר (’ir) can refer to either a city or a town, depending on the size of the place. Given that this place was described by Lot later in this verse as a “little place,” the translation uses “town.”
8 tn Heb “Look, this town is near to flee to there. And it is little.”
9 tn Heb “Let me escape to there.” The cohortative here expresses Lot’s request.
10 tn Heb “Is it not little?”
11 tn Heb “my soul will live.” After the cohortative the jussive with vav conjunctive here indicates purpose/result.
12 tn Heb “lifted his eyes.”
13 tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to what Abraham saw and invites the audience to view the scene through his eyes.
14 tc The translation follows the reading of the MT; a number of Hebrew
15 tn Heb “Abraham”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
16 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Heb “and he called its name.”
18 sn The name Rehoboth (רְהֹבוֹת, rehovot) is derived from a verbal root meaning “to make room.” The name was a reminder that God had made room for them. The story shows Isaac’s patience with the opposition; it also shows how God’s blessing outdistanced the men of Gerar. They could not stop it or seize it any longer.
19 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 tn Heb “and he smelled the smell”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
21 tn Heb “see.”
22 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the shepherds) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
23 tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother” (twice in this verse).
24 tn Heb “Jacob.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
25 tn Heb “drew near, approached.”
26 tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother.” The text says nothing initially about the beauty of Rachel. But the reader is struck by the repetition of “Laban the brother of his mother.” G. J. Wenham is no doubt correct when he observes that Jacob’s primary motive at this stage is to ingratiate himself with Laban (Genesis [WBC], 2:231).
27 tn Or “for.”
28 tn Heb “before me.”
29 tn Heb “and it has broken out with respect to abundance.”
30 tn Heb “at my foot.”
31 tn Heb “How long [until] I do, also I, for my house?”
32 tn Heb “and he put them in the hand of.”
33 tn Heb “a herd, a herd, by itself,” or “each herd by itself.” The distributive sense is expressed by repetition.
34 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Pharaoh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
35 tn Heb “and he caused him to ride in the second chariot which was his.”
36 tn The verb form appears to be a causative imperative from a verbal root meaning “to kneel.” It is a homonym of the word “bless” (identical in root letters but not related etymologically).
37 tn Heb “they left the city, they were not far,” meaning “they had not gone very far.”
38 tn Heb “and Joseph said.” This clause, like the first one in the verse, has the subject before the verb, indicating synchronic action.
39 tn Heb “arise, chase after the men.” The first imperative gives the command a sense of urgency.
40 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.”