3:17 But to Adam 2 he said,
“Because you obeyed 3 your wife
and ate from the tree about which I commanded you,
‘You must not eat from it,’
cursed is the ground 4 thanks to you; 5
in painful toil you will eat 6 of it all the days of your life.
31:43 Laban replied 37 to Jacob, “These women 38 are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, 39 and these flocks are my flocks. All that you see belongs to me. But how can I harm these daughters of mine today 40 or the children to whom they have given birth?
38:11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until Shelah my son grows up.” For he thought, 41 “I don’t want him to die like his brothers.” 42 So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.
43:23 “Everything is fine,” 46 the man in charge of Joseph’s household told them. “Don’t be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks. 47 I had your money.” 48 Then he brought Simeon out to them.
1 tn The phrase “I give” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
2 tn Since there is no article on the word, the personal name is used, rather than the generic “the man” (cf. NRSV).
3 tn The idiom “listen to the voice of” often means “obey.” The man “obeyed” his wife and in the process disobeyed God.
4 sn For the ground to be cursed means that it will no longer yield its bounty as the blessing from God had promised. The whole creation, Paul writes in Rom 8:22, is still groaning under this curse, waiting for the day of redemption.
5 tn The Hebrew phrase בַּעֲבוּרֶךָ (ba’avurekha) is more literally translated “on your account” or “because of you.” The idiomatic “thanks to you” in the translation tries to capture the point of this expression.
6 sn In painful toil you will eat. The theme of eating is prominent throughout Gen 3. The prohibition was against eating from the tree of knowledge. The sin was in eating. The interrogation concerned the eating from the tree of knowledge. The serpent is condemned to eat the dust of the ground. The curse focuses on eating in a “measure for measure” justice. Because the man and the woman sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, God will forbid the ground to cooperate, and so it will be through painful toil that they will eat.
7 tn Heb “my wrong is because of you.”
8 tn Heb “I placed my female servant in your bosom.”
9 tn Heb “saw.”
10 tn Heb “I was despised in her eyes.” The passive verb has been translated as active for stylistic reasons. Sarai was made to feel supplanted and worthless by Hagar the servant girl.
11 tn Heb “me and you.”
sn May the
12 tn Heb “For I have known him.” The verb יָדַע (yada’) here means “to recognize and treat in a special manner, to choose” (see Amos 3:2). It indicates that Abraham stood in a special covenantal relationship with the
13 tn Heb “and they will keep.” The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the subjective nuance of the preceding imperfect verbal form (translated “so that he may command”).
14 tn The infinitive construct here indicates manner, explaining how Abraham’s children and his household will keep the way of the
15 tn Heb “bring on.” The infinitive after לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) indicates result here.
16 tn Heb “spoke to.”
17 tn Heb “who have not known.” Here this expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
18 tn Heb “according to what is good in your eyes.”
19 tn Heb “shadow.”
20 sn This chapter portrays Lot as a hypocrite. He is well aware of the way the men live in his city and is apparently comfortable in the midst of it. But when confronted by the angels, he finally draws the line. But he is nevertheless willing to sacrifice his daughters’ virginity to protect his guests. His opposition to the crowds leads to his rejection as a foreigner by those with whom he had chosen to live. The one who attempted to rescue his visitors ends up having to be rescued by them.
21 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
22 tn Heb “Look, I lied down with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight.”
23 tn Heb “And go, lie down with him and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”
24 tn Heb “How did I sin against you that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin?” The expression “great sin” refers to adultery. For discussion of the cultural background of the passage, see J. J. Rabinowitz, “The Great Sin in Ancient Egyptian Marriage Contracts,” JNES 18 (1959): 73, and W. L. Moran, “The Scandal of the ‘Great Sin’ at Ugarit,” JNES 18 (1959): 280-81.
25 tn Heb “Deeds which should not be done you have done to me.” The imperfect has an obligatory nuance here.
26 tn Heb “give.” This is used here (also a second time later in this verse) as an idiom for “sell”; see the note on the word “grant” in v. 4.
27 tn Heb “in your presence.”
28 tn Heb “silver.”
29 tn Or “the land of my birth.”
30 tn Heb “and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying.”
31 tn Or “his messenger.”
32 tn Heb “before you and you will take.”
33 tn The verb is the Hitpael of הָלַךְ (halakh), meaning “live one’s life” (see Gen 17:1). The statement may simply refer to serving the
34 tn Heb “must come in to me.” The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. She has acquired him for the night and feels he is obligated to have sexual relations with her.
35 tn Heb “I have surely hired.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form for emphasis. The name Issachar (see v. 18) seems to be related to this expression.
36 tn This is the same Hebrew verb (שָׁכַב, shakhav) translated “sleep with” in v. 15. In direct discourse the more euphemistic “sleep with” was used, but here in the narrative “marital relations” reflects more clearly the emphasis on sexual intercourse.
37 tn Heb “answered and said.”
38 tn Heb “daughters.”
39 tn Heb “children.”
40 tn Heb “but to my daughters what can I do to these today?”
41 tn Heb “said.”
42 tn Heb “Otherwise he will die, also he, like his brothers.”
sn I don’t want him to die like his brothers. This clause explains that Judah had no intention of giving Shelah to Tamar for the purpose of the levirate marriage. Judah apparently knew the nature of his sons, and feared that God would be angry with the third son and kill him as well.
43 tn Heb “I will go to you.” The imperfect verbal form probably indicates his desire here. The expression “go to” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
44 tn Heb “for he did not know that.”
45 tn Heb “when you come to me.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
46 tn Heb “and he said, ‘peace to you.’” Here the statement has the force of “everything is fine,” or perhaps even “calm down.” The referent of “he” (the man in charge of Joseph’ household) 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.
47 sn Your God and the God of your father…This is the first clear reference in the story to the theme of divine providence – that God works through the human actions to do his will.
48 tn Heb “your money came to me.”
49 tn Heb “days.”
50 sn On the expression put your hand under my thigh see Gen 24:2.
51 tn Or “deal with me in faithful love.”