8:8 Then Noah 8 sent out a dove 9 to see if the waters had receded 10 from the surface of the ground.
9:1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
14:21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and take the possessions for yourself.”
16:9 Then the Lord’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit 11 to her authority.
18:27 Then Abraham asked, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord 15 (although I am but dust and ashes), 16
18:33 The Lord went on his way 17 when he had finished speaking 18 to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. 19
22:19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set out together 20 for Beer Sheba where Abraham stayed. 21
24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the Lord’s doing. 22 Our wishes are of no concern. 23
25:17 Ishmael lived a total of 25 137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors. 26
26:16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere, 27 for you have become much more powerful 28 than we are.”
28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman! 34
28:16 Then Jacob woke up 35 and thought, 36 “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not realize it!”
30:22 Then God took note of 38 Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. 39 30:23 She became pregnant 40 and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” 41
33:12 Then Esau 42 said, “Let’s be on our way! 43 I will go in front of you.”
41:17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing 50 by the edge of the Nile.
44:27 “Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife gave me two sons. 52
45:14 Then he threw himself on the neck of his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck.
1 sn This is the first time in the Bible that the verb tsavah (צָוָה, “to command”) appears. Whatever the man had to do in the garden, the main focus of the narrative is on keeping God’s commandments. God created humans with the capacity to obey him and then tested them with commands.
2 tn The imperfect verb form probably carries the nuance of permission (“you may eat”) since the man is not being commanded to eat from every tree. The accompanying infinitive absolute adds emphasis: “you may freely eat,” or “you may eat to your heart’s content.”
3 tn The word “fruit” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied as the direct object of the verb “eat.” Presumably the only part of the tree the man would eat would be its fruit (cf. 3:2).
4 tn Heb “And she again gave birth.”
5 sn The name Abel is not defined here in the text, but the tone is ominous. Abel’s name, the Hebrew word הֶבֶל (hevel), means “breath, vapor, vanity,” foreshadowing Abel’s untimely and premature death.
6 tn Heb “and Abel was a shepherd of the flock, and Cain was a worker of the ground.” The designations of the two occupations are expressed with active participles, רֹעֵה (ro’eh, “shepherd”) and עֹבֵד (’oved, “worker”). Abel is occupied with sheep, whereas Cain is living under the curse, cultivating the ground.
7 tn Heb “Those that went in, male and female from all flesh they went in.”
8 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Noah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 tn The Hebrew text adds “from him.” This has not been translated for stylistic reasons, because it is redundant in English.
10 tn The Hebrew verb קָלָל (qalal) normally means “to be light, to be slight”; it refers here to the waters receding.
11 tn The imperative וְהִתְעַנִּי (vÿhit’anni) is the Hitpael of עָנָה (’anah, here translated “submit”), the same word used for Sarai’s harsh treatment of her. Hagar is instructed not only to submit to Sarai’s authority, but to whatever mistreatment that involves. God calls for Hagar to humble herself.
12 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative indicates consequence. If Abram is blameless, then the
13 tn Heb “I will multiply you exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
14 tn Heb “And he said, ‘No, but you did laugh.’” The referent (the
15 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 30, 31, 32 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
16 tn The disjunctive clause is a concessive clause here, drawing out the humility as a contrast to the
17 tn Heb “And the
18 tn The infinitive construct (“speaking”) serves as the direct object of the verb “finished.”
19 tn Heb “to his place.”
20 tn Heb “and they arose and went together.”
21 tn Heb “and Abraham stayed in Beer Sheba. This has been translated as a relative clause for stylistic reasons.
22 tn Heb “From the
23 tn Heb “We are not able to speak to you bad or good.” This means that Laban and Bethuel could not say one way or the other what they wanted, for they viewed it as God’s will.
24 tn Heb “and we will ask her mouth.”
25 tn Heb “And these are the days of the years of Ishmael.”
26 tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.
27 tn Heb “Go away from us.”
28 sn You have become much more powerful. This explanation for the expulsion of Isaac from Philistine territory foreshadows the words used later by the Egyptians to justify their oppression of Israel (see Exod 1:9).
29 tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive. It carries forward the tone of instruction initiated by the command to “go…and get” in the preceding verse.
30 tn The form is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; it carries the future nuance of the preceding verbs of instruction, but by switching the subject to Jacob, indicates the expected result of the subterfuge.
31 tn Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.
32 tn Heb “listen to my voice.”
33 tn Heb “arise, flee.”
34 tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”
35 tn Heb “woke up from his sleep.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
36 tn Heb “said.”
37 tn Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.”
38 tn Heb “remembered.”
39 tn Heb “and God listened to her and opened up her womb.” Since “God” is the subject of the previous clause, the noun has been replaced by the pronoun “he” in the translation for stylistic reasons
40 tn Or “conceived.”
41 tn Heb “my reproach.” A “reproach” is a cutting taunt or painful ridicule, but here it probably refers by metonymy to Rachel’s barren condition, which was considered shameful in this culture and was the reason why she was the object of taunting and ridicule.
42 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
43 tn Heb “let us travel and let us go.” The two cohortatives are used in combination with the sense, “let’s travel along, get going, be on our way.”
44 tn Heb “listen to us.”
45 tn The perfect verbal form with the vav (ו) consecutive introduces the apodosis of the conditional sentence.
46 tn Heb “daughter.” Jacob’s sons call Dinah their daughter, even though she was their sister (see v. 8). This has been translated as “sister” for clarity.
47 tn Heb “and she added again and she gave birth.” The first verb and the adverb emphasize that she gave birth once more.
48 tn Or “and he [i.e., Judah] was in Kezib when she gave birth to him.”
49 tn Heb “And look.”
50 tn Heb “In my dream look, I was standing.” The use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here (and also in vv. 18, 19, 22, 23) invites the hearer (within the context of the narrative, Joseph; but in the broader sense the reader or hearer of the Book of Genesis) to observe the scene through Pharaoh’s eyes.
51 tn Heb “And look.”
52 tn Heb “that two sons my wife bore to me.”