11:31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (the son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and with them he set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. When they came to Haran, they settled there.
19:9 “Out of our way!” 15 they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, 16 and now he dares to judge us! 17 We’ll do more harm 18 to you than to them!” They kept 19 pressing in on Lot until they were close enough 20 to break down the door.
22:3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. 21 He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out 22 for the place God had spoken to him about.
43:23 “Everything is fine,” 33 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. 34 I had your money.” 35 Then he brought Simeon out to them.
1 tn Or “fashioned.” To harmonize the order of events with the chronology of chapter one, some translate the prefixed verb form with vav (ו) consecutive as a past perfect (“had formed,” cf. NIV) here. (In chapter one the creation of the animals preceded the creation of man; here the animals are created after the man.) However, it is unlikely that the Hebrew construction can be translated in this way in the middle of this pericope, for the criteria for unmarked temporal overlay are not present here. See S. R. Driver, A Treatise on the Use of the Tenses in Hebrew, 84-88, and especially R. Buth, “Methodological Collision between Source Criticism and Discourse Analysis,” Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, 138-54. For a contrary viewpoint see IBHS 552-53 §33.2.3 and C. J. Collins, “The Wayyiqtol as ‘Pluperfect’: When and Why,” TynBul 46 (1995): 117-40.
2 tn The imperfect verb form is future from the perspective of the past time narrative.
3 tn The particle הֵן (hen) introduces a foundational clause, usually beginning with “since, because, now.”
4 sn The man has become like one of us. See the notes on Gen 1:26 and 3:5.
5 tn The infinitive explains in what way the man had become like God: “knowing good and evil.”
6 tn Heb “and now, lest he stretch forth.” Following the foundational clause, this clause forms the main point. It is introduced with the particle פֶּן (pen) which normally introduces a negative purpose, “lest….” The construction is elliptical; something must be done lest the man stretch forth his hand. The translation interprets the point intended.
7 tn The words “still covered” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
8 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Noah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the dove) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Heb “and he brought it to himself to the ark.”
11 tn Heb “who have not known.” Here this expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
12 tn Heb “according to what is good in your eyes.”
13 tn Heb “shadow.”
14 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.
15 tn Heb “approach out there” which could be rendered “Get out of the way, stand back!”
16 tn Heb “to live as a resident alien.”
17 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.”
18 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.
19 tn Heb “and they pressed against the man, against Lot, exceedingly.”
20 tn Heb “and they drew near.”
21 tn Heb “Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his donkey.”
22 tn Heb “he arose and he went.”
23 tn Heb “And it was when he saw the nose ring and the bracelets on the arms of his sister.” The word order is altered in the translation for the sake of clarity.
24 tn Heb “and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying.”
25 tn Heb “and look, he was standing.” The disjunctive clause with the participle following the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) invites the audience to view the scene through Laban’s eyes.
26 tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.
27 tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.
28 tn Theoretically the Niphal stem can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Jacob were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in other formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless (i.e., pronounce blessings upon) themselves/one another.” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 28:14 predicts that Jacob will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae (see Gen 12:2 and 18:18 as well, where Abram/Abraham receives this promise). For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.
29 tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”
30 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.
31 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.
32 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.
33 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.
34 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.
35 tn Heb “your money came to me.”