19:9 “Out of our way!” 1 they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, 2 and now he dares to judge us! 3 We’ll do more harm 4 to you than to them!” They kept 5 pressing in on Lot until they were close enough 6 to break down the door.
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, 10 “I don’t want him to die like his brothers.” 11 So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.
1 tn Heb “approach out there” which could be rendered “Get out of the way, stand back!”
2 tn Heb “to live as a resident alien.”
3 tn Heb “and he has judged, judging.” The infinitive absolute follows the finite verbal form for emphasis. This emphasis is reflected in the translation by the phrase “dares to judge.”
4 tn The verb “to do wickedly” is repeated here (see v. 7). It appears that whatever “wickedness” the men of Sodom had intended to do to Lot’s visitors – probably nothing short of homosexual rape – they were now ready to inflict on Lot.
5 tn Heb “and they pressed against the man, against Lot, exceedingly.”
6 tn Heb “and they drew near.”
7 tn The words “stay there” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
8 tn Heb “and I will send and I will take you from there.” The verb “send” has no object in the Hebrew text; one must be supplied in the translation. Either “someone” or “a message” could be supplied, but since in those times a message would require a messenger, “someone” has been used.
9 tn If Jacob stayed, he would be killed and Esau would be forced to run away.
10 tn Heb “said.”
11 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.
12 tn Heb “your servants are men of cattle.”
13 sn So that you may live in the land of Goshen. Joseph is apparently trying to stress to Pharaoh that his family is self-sufficient, that they will not be a drain on the economy of Egypt. But they will need land for their animals and so Goshen, located on the edge of Egypt, would be a suitable place for them to live. The settled Egyptians were uneasy with nomadic people, but if Jacob and his family settled in Goshen they would represent no threat.
14 tn Heb “is an abomination.” The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “abomination”) describes something that is loathsome or off-limits. For other practices the Egyptians considered disgusting, see Gen 43:32 and Exod 8:22.