2:15 The Lord God took the man and placed 1 him in the orchard in 2 Eden to care for it and to maintain it. 3
4:19 Lamech took two wives for himself; the name of the first was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah.
8:20 Noah built an altar to the Lord. He then took some of every kind of clean animal and clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 5
13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev. 6 He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot. 7
24:61 Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with 11 the man. So Abraham’s servant 12 took Rebekah and left.
32:22 During the night Jacob quickly took 18 his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons 19 and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 20
36:2 Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: 21 Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter 22 of Zibeon the Hivite,
48:1 After these things Joseph was told, 27 “Your father is weakening.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him.
1 tn The Hebrew verb נוּחַ (nuakh, translated here as “placed”) is a different verb than the one used in 2:8.
2 tn Traditionally translated “the Garden of Eden,” the context makes it clear that the garden (or orchard) was in Eden (making “Eden” a genitive of location).
3 tn Heb “to work it and to keep it.”
sn Note that man’s task is to care for and maintain the trees of the orchard. Not until after the fall, when he is condemned to cultivate the soil, does this task change.
4 sn The Hebrew phrase translated “sons of God” (בְנֵי־הָאֱלֹהִים, bÿne-ha’elohim) occurs only here (Gen 6:2, 4) and in Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7. There are three major interpretations of the phrase here. (1) In the Book of Job the phrase clearly refers to angelic beings. In Gen 6 the “sons of God” are distinct from “humankind,” suggesting they were not human. This is consistent with the use of the phrase in Job. Since the passage speaks of these beings cohabiting with women, they must have taken physical form or possessed the bodies of men. An early Jewish tradition preserved in 1 En. 6-7 elaborates on this angelic revolt and even names the ringleaders. (2) Not all scholars accept the angelic interpretation of the “sons of God,” however. Some argue that the “sons of God” were members of Seth’s line, traced back to God through Adam in Gen 5, while the “daughters of humankind” were descendants of Cain. But, as noted above, the text distinguishes the “sons of God” from humankind (which would include the Sethites as well as the Cainites) and suggests that the “daughters of humankind” are human women in general, not just Cainites. (3) Others identify the “sons of God” as powerful tyrants, perhaps demon-possessed, who viewed themselves as divine and, following the example of Lamech (see Gen 4:19), practiced polygamy. But usage of the phrase “sons of God” in Job militates against this view. For literature on the subject see G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:135.
5 sn Offered burnt offerings on the altar. F. D. Maurice includes a chapter on the sacrifice of Noah in The Doctrine of Sacrifice. The whole burnt offering, according to Leviticus 1, represented the worshiper’s complete surrender and dedication to the
6 tn Or “the South [country]” (also in v. 3).
sn Negev is the name for the southern desert region in the land of Canaan.
7 tn Heb “And Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all which was his, and Lot with him, to the Negev.”
8 tn In the Hebrew text the clause begins with “because.”
9 tn Heb had completely closed up every womb.” In the Hebrew text infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
sn The
10 tn Heb “because of.” The words “he took” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Heb “And she arose, Rebekah and her female servants, and they rode upon camels and went after.”
12 tn Heb “the servant”; the word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
13 tn Heb “and the Philistines stopped them up and filled them with dirt.”
14 tn Heb “his brothers.”
15 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 tn Heb “and he pursued after him a journey of seven days.”
17 tn Heb “drew close to.”
18 tn Heb “and he arose in that night and he took.” The first verb is adverbial, indicating that he carried out the crossing right away.
19 tn The Hebrew term used here is יֶלֶד (yeled) which typically describes male offspring. Some translations render the term “children” but this is a problem because by this time Jacob had twelve children in all, including one daughter, Dinah, born to Leah (Gen 30:21). Benjamin, his twelfth son and thirteenth child, was not born until later (Gen 35:16-19).
20 sn Hebrew narrative style often includes a summary statement of the whole passage followed by a more detailed report of the event. Here v. 22 is the summary statement, while v. 23 begins the detailed account.
21 tn Heb “from the daughters of Canaan.”
22 tn Heb “daughter,” but see Gen 36:24-25.
23 tn The disjunctive clause gives supplemental information that helps the reader or hearer to picture what happened.
24 tn Heb “the cup of Pharaoh.” The pronoun “his” has been used here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
25 sn The cupbearer’s dream is dominated by sets of three: three branches, three stages of growth, and three actions of the cupbearer.
26 tn Heb “and they took their livestock and their possessions which they had acquired in the land of Canaan and they went to Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
27 tn Heb “and one said.” With no expressed subject in the Hebrew text, the verb can be translated with the passive voice.
28 tn The pronouns translated “your” and “you” in this verse are singular in the Hebrew text.
29 tn The Hebrew word שְׁכֶם (shÿkhem) could be translated either as “mountain slope” or “shoulder, portion,” or even taken as the proper name “Shechem.” Jacob was giving Joseph either (1) one portion above his brothers, or (2) the mountain ridge he took from the Amorites, or (3) Shechem. The ambiguity actually allows for all three to be the referent. He could be referring to the land in Shechem he bought in Gen 33:18-19, but he mentions here that it was acquired by warfare, suggesting that the events of 34:25-29 are in view (even though at the time he denounced it, 34:30). Joseph was later buried in Shechem (Josh 24:32).